My father, the Loony hero
QUESTION Max Hastings recently made reference to a Brigadier ‘Loony’ Hinde stopping a combat briefing to study a rare caterpillar. How did he earn his soubriquet?
My father, Sir robert William Norris ‘Loony’ hinde (1900-1981), joined the 15/19th hussars (amalgamated because of great losses in World War I) in 1919. his army career soon took him to egypt, where he was involved in various madcap pranks which earned him his nickname. I suppose he was eccentric but, as children, we accepted him as normal.
Now married, he went to India where he fought the Pathan tribes on the North West frontier while finding time for polo, pig sticking and other sports. Despite being described as a ‘sack of potatoes’ at cavalry riding school, he became very good at polo and represented Britain at hitler’s 1936 Olympics in Berlin. the team won a silver medal, losing in the final to argentina.
On his return from India, my mother evelyn’s father, an MP, pulled the necessary strings to allow his son-in-law to take the Staff College exam, essential f or advancement in those days, despite being over-age. But my father filled every spare hour with polo and did not swot.
When the exam day arrived, my mother kept him in bed, withheld his porridge, powdered his face, drew the curtains and summoned the doctor, saying: ‘Oh dear! another bout of malaria, we must get him atabrine and plasmochin forthwith!’ and it worked! My mother was just as ‘loony’.
at the Olympics, infuriated to find she had received tickets only for the equestrian events, she and another polo wife, Lady Katherine Dawnay, donned shorts and singlets, threw towels over their shoulders and strode into the competitors’ enclosure.
My father had a distinguished career in World War II. In 1939-40 his regiment was part of the British expeditionary force in the 3rd Division under then Major General Montgomery. In 1940, he was second-incommand of the regiment when the German Blitzkreig invasion of Belgium commenced on May 10 and the Bef was ordered into Belgium to block the advance.
the regiment took up a line in front of the river Dendre, centred on the village of assche. the situation fell rapidly out of control with the Belgians on the left withdrawing without warning and German forces breaking through and outflanking in several places in considerable strength.
My father and his adjutant, anthony taylor, joined up with B squadron to fight their way back to the one remaining bridge over the Dendre. In the chaos, there were many losses, including the commanding officer Lt Col Donald frazer, who was captured. My father was wounded in the neck and arm and had to order the abandonment of vehicles and retreat on foot.
Despite his wounds and coming under fire, he swam the river, was evacuated and ended up in hospital in england. he was awarded the DSO for his conduct at the catastrophic Battle of assche.
In July 1940, he returned to the regiment as commanding officer. In august 1942, he was made Brigadier and appointed to command 22 armoured Brigade in the Western Desert, where he earned a bar to his DSO. In 1943 he served in the Italian campaign, and on June 6-7, 1944, landed on Gold beach in the D-Day campaign, then fought their way into Normandy.
It was during the battle of Villers-Bocage that the famous caterpillar incident took place: ‘anyone got a matchbox?’ he demanded in excitement. Under the acute strain of battle, Lieutenant Colonel Carver suggested this might not be a good moment to worry about nature.
‘Don’t be such a bloody fool, Mike!’ he exploded. ‘you can fight a battle every day of your life, but you might not see a caterpillar like that in 15 years!’
after the war, he was Deputy MilitaryGovernor British Sector Berlin (1945-48). My older sisters at the time were attracting the attention of young soldiers and my father dubbed our house ‘hinde Quarters’.
from 1952-1953, he was District Officer Commanding Cyrenaica District (Libya), North africa and, from 1953-1956, Director of Operations, Kenya. he retired in 1957 as a Major General.
Victoria d’Avanzo, Salisbury, Wiltshire.
QUESTION A recent article suggested the term ‘kaylighed’ (blind drunk) derived from ceilidh, a Gaelic word for a ‘knees-up’. Is this correct?
the origin is uncertain, but I understand it goes back to pre-World War II when sherbet powder was called Kali powder. It came in paper packets and was sucked through a liquorice straw, licked from an inserted finger or made into a fizzy drink.
the drink became a euphemism for strong ale. It’s related to the phrase ‘have a few sherbets’. It’s perhaps not used as much by the post-war generation as it once was, but their elders still retain it in their vocabulary and air it on occasion.
David Ludlam, Sheffield.
QUESTION Does any other country use the ‘I’m A Celebrity’ jungle set?
the ItV set was built in 2001 on a disused banana plantation in the australian farming community of Dungay, New South Wales — 90 minutes by road from Brisbane.
the franchise has been sold to france, Germany, hungary, India, the Netherlands, Sweden and the U.S.
for each UK series there are about 500 crew members, from security to producers. ItV has shared the site since 2004 with the rtL-produced German version Ich Bin ein Star — holt Mich hier raus! (now in its ninth season).
the french version is set in teresopolis in Brazil. the hungarian version is set in desert and jungle locations in Kruger Park, South africa. the Indian and Swedish versions are filmed in taman Nagra, Malaysia, the Dutch version in Suriname. there have been two U.S. seasons; the first in 2003 was held on the ItV site, while the 2009 version was filmed in Costa rica.
Jez North, Manchester.
QUESTION The word ‘awful’ originally meant ‘aweinspiring’: what other words have changed their meaning over time?
FURTHER to an earlier answer, I still remember my grammar school english Lit teacher of almost 60 years ago saying, as we acted out a reading of a Shakespeare play, that the word ‘presently’ meant immediately and not, as has become the modern conventional meaning, a short time hence.
Robert Smith, Hinckley, Leics.
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