The ancient F-100 is now complete and sports Turkish markings over some rather 'pre-owned' paintwork. Why Turkish? Well let's just say that a few weeks ago Bertrand and I had a chat about the 1974 invasion of Cyprus....
Ah yes the Invasion of Cyprus, I remember it well. Yet another war in that supposedly peaceful decade of the 1970s. The most heavily defended border I have ever crossed was that between Greece and Turkey in 1980.
What a super Sabre (sorry Tim, had to be done). They were a find looking plane; swept wing jets of the 50s have something special about them, don't they?
Flicking through the Wikipedia entry to remind myself about the Cypriot crisis of 1974 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_invasion_of_Cyprus in the 1963 section I spotted this little Wargames nugget "Turkey, the UK and Greece, the guarantors of the Zürich and London Agreements which had led to Cyprus' independence, wanted to send a NATO force to the island under the command of General Peter Young.[citation needed]". Sadly no citation. 'General' Peter Young? http://www.militaryhistories.co.uk/greenline/line2
According to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Young_(historian), Peter Young had left the British Army and Arab Legion by 1963 to teach at Sandhurst. Is this the same Peter Young who formed the Sealed Knot and in 1963 would have been playing Wargames with Don Featherstone?
Confused.
Interesting little footnote of history. If it is the same Peter Young, I trust that you have suitably portly Peter Young figure and NATO Intervention force ready? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Young_(historian)
When I was at college in the late 1980s, I shared a corridor in halls of residence one year with some Greek and Turkish Cypriots overseas students. When they met again in September / at term start, they sometimes got very drunk and then annoyed with each other. They would occasionally hurl empty bottles of Ouzo etc down the corridor at each other to each other's room ends. Somebody organising the rooming on the corridor with a sense of ironic humour and history put a few of us Brits in the centre as the DMZ / Green Line. Putting your head out of your door risked getting caught in the crossfire. The next day, once the sore heads had worn off and the glass swept up, they seemed to go back to being quite friendly with other. They made me my first quite wickedly strong Turkish (or Greek) coffee, which was like sweet caffeinated bitumen and was instant caffeine tremors in a small cup!
That Wikipedia disambiguation clarifies that - I'm sure the two high ranking Peter Youngs were often mistaken for each other by name.
You could still insert a fictional mix up where the 'wrong' Peter Young is posted to Cyprus by Cherical Error and thus the Commando trained WW2 veteran creator of the Sealed Knot uses his understanding of the Royalists versus Roundheads to solve or intervene in the Cypriot Civil War ....
Mark, Man of Tin Quite right - Peter Young the wargamer retired from the Army in 1959 as an honorary Brigadier. Interesting 'alternative' you suggest though!
9 comments:
Ah yes the Invasion of Cyprus, I remember it well. Yet another war in that supposedly peaceful decade of the 1970s. The most heavily defended border I have ever crossed was that between Greece and Turkey in 1980.
What a super Sabre (sorry Tim, had to be done).
They were a find looking plane; swept wing jets of the 50s have something special about them, don't they?
Flicking through the Wikipedia entry to remind myself about the Cypriot crisis of 1974 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_invasion_of_Cyprus
in the 1963 section I spotted this little Wargames nugget "Turkey, the UK and Greece, the guarantors of the Zürich and London Agreements which had led to Cyprus' independence, wanted to send a NATO force to the island under the command of General Peter Young.[citation needed]".
Sadly no citation. 'General' Peter Young? http://www.militaryhistories.co.uk/greenline/line2
According to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Young_(historian), Peter Young had left the British Army and Arab Legion by 1963 to teach at Sandhurst. Is this the same Peter Young who formed the Sealed Knot and in 1963 would have been playing Wargames with Don Featherstone?
Confused.
Interesting little footnote of history. If it is the same Peter Young, I trust that you have suitably portly Peter Young figure and NATO Intervention force ready? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Young_(historian)
When I was at college in the late 1980s, I shared a corridor in halls of residence one year with some Greek and Turkish Cypriots overseas students. When they met again in September / at term start, they sometimes got very drunk and then annoyed with each other. They would occasionally hurl empty bottles of Ouzo etc down the corridor at each other to each other's room ends. Somebody organising the rooming on the corridor with a sense of ironic humour and history put a few of us Brits in the centre as the DMZ / Green Line. Putting your head out of your door risked getting caught in the crossfire.
The next day, once the sore heads had worn off and the glass swept up, they seemed to go back to being quite friendly with other. They made me my first quite wickedly strong Turkish (or Greek) coffee, which was like sweet caffeinated bitumen and was instant caffeine tremors in a small cup!
Major General Peter Young - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Young_(British_Army_officer,_born_1912)
That Wikipedia disambiguation clarifies that - I'm sure the two high ranking Peter Youngs were often mistaken for each other by name.
You could still insert a fictional mix up where the 'wrong' Peter Young is posted to Cyprus by Cherical Error and thus the Commando trained WW2 veteran creator of the Sealed Knot uses his understanding of the Royalists versus Roundheads to solve or intervene in the Cypriot Civil War ....
Martin Rapier
It's almost as if these 'small wars' are just an excuse to have yet more pointy aircraft...
James Fisher
I'll forgive you as you're quite correct!
Mark, Man of Tin
Quite right - Peter Young the wargamer retired from the Army in 1959 as an honorary Brigadier. Interesting 'alternative' you suggest though!
Red Cardinal
Thanks - we have our man.
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