C C Csiders
Life President
We all have people we admire, whether people in the present day or in history. However, not all our heroes are the obvious ones. So, do you have any 'unsung heroes' you would wish to nominate.
My two against the field are:
1. Lieutenant William Bligh - cruelly depicted as a cruel and callous man by Hollywood (with the possible exception of the film Bounty where he is played by Anthony Hopkins), Bligh is in fact a true British hero. He was a key officer on Capt. Cook's voyages, where he charted much of the southern oceans. He was nowhere near as harsh as other captains of his time when given his vessel HMS Bounty for the famous voyage. In fact he rarely gave out corporal punishment unlike his peers, and his own hero Capt. Cook who was in actual fact quite a cruel man. Once the mutiny occured Bligh, in the small launch given to him by the mutineers, sailed for over 40 days in open seas in excess of 3,500 miles to the Dutch East Indies and only lost one man, of the 25 or so, on that voyage. He later played a key role in the Battle of Copenhagen under Nelson's command. He should be held up in the highest regard as a true hero.
2. Jack Sheppard - a highwayman and robber of the 1720's. Hardly the stuff of heroes - but others worship the Krays, so what the hell. He was idolised by the public in the 1720's for his daring escapes from the inescapable Newgate Prison in London. He escaped four times from prison in all (twice from Newgate), before finally being hanged after capture. George I came close to caving under public pressure to deport him for transportation, but the hanging came before he had the chance.
My two against the field are:
1. Lieutenant William Bligh - cruelly depicted as a cruel and callous man by Hollywood (with the possible exception of the film Bounty where he is played by Anthony Hopkins), Bligh is in fact a true British hero. He was a key officer on Capt. Cook's voyages, where he charted much of the southern oceans. He was nowhere near as harsh as other captains of his time when given his vessel HMS Bounty for the famous voyage. In fact he rarely gave out corporal punishment unlike his peers, and his own hero Capt. Cook who was in actual fact quite a cruel man. Once the mutiny occured Bligh, in the small launch given to him by the mutineers, sailed for over 40 days in open seas in excess of 3,500 miles to the Dutch East Indies and only lost one man, of the 25 or so, on that voyage. He later played a key role in the Battle of Copenhagen under Nelson's command. He should be held up in the highest regard as a true hero.
2. Jack Sheppard - a highwayman and robber of the 1720's. Hardly the stuff of heroes - but others worship the Krays, so what the hell. He was idolised by the public in the 1720's for his daring escapes from the inescapable Newgate Prison in London. He escaped four times from prison in all (twice from Newgate), before finally being hanged after capture. George I came close to caving under public pressure to deport him for transportation, but the hanging came before he had the chance.
