Friday 15 August 2014

27th Reg't of Foot - The Inniskillens

"Your old friends, the Inniskillens"  "Ah, yes, Delancy" , says Wellington, "I have flogged more of them than the whole army put together."

I love the movie "Waterloo". Not because of the subject matter, but that the characters, at first viewing seem so over-the-top in their acting; especially one would image Rod Steiger playing 'Napoleon' but the more I read about them, especially the actual correspondence, one come to better appreciate the dialogue of the movie.  I read one of Napoleon's letters to his brother Jerome and it was a screaming rant! So Napoleon, the Corsican he was, was quite the emotional man.
Wellington was not, or outwardly anyway, but perceptive regardless, and the scene with him and his aide coming across the Inniskillen soldier with a plundered pig in his pack was a funny one.

"Take off your pack, sir" demands Wellington of the poor soldier.  "Me. Sir?" "You, sir!"

The 27th is one of those "buff" regiments and while some debate rages whether the army continued the old practice of then having matching buff leather work belts, I chose to do that as it will make them that more distinctive from the other British units I will do. This and having the flags - excuse me - 'colours' of this regiment, and with its fame, I had to paint it and,of course,  re-enact this film's scene on my stand.

"Wellington" is a Essex French officer with lapel removed and the bicorne severely reshaped to give it a more Wellingtonian curve.  It looks quite the part I think.  The poor soldier I did in plastic with strips for the loose straps as he holds it out for his commander's inspection.