A British Actor's Narrow Escape During World War I - A Red Baron Story.

Actor Ronald Adam

A Little Known Event of a Person's Past Life.

Some people survive incredible encounters and stay modestly quiet about such things. I don’t mean that the event is kept secret, but sometimes old war veterans keep silent about moments of interest. If asked they may speak of such things. Yet if one does not know; interesting questions are not asked in the first place. The following person is a man I would love to have had a coffee or tea with. This is because he achieved many things. Yet one of his remarkable achievements was a fluke as opposed to design. The rest of his life seemed to be well planned and coordinated. He seemed to be good at controlling events. I wonder if the fluke event was dismissed by actor Ronald Adam or kept in an alcove of his memory. Perhaps it played a minor part in shaping his life.

During the late 1920s and through the 1930s Ronald George Hinings Adams was making a name for himself in the world of theatre. He managed several theatres and began to act in many of the stage productions. After the First World War, he trained as an accountant but found the lure of the stage far more compelling. His organisational skills in the theatre industry must have been considerable because he was employed by numerous playhouses at the same time. Like many people in the industry of acting and production, he changed his name. He chose to be called Ronald Adam. He dropped his two middle names and the S on the end of Adams.

In 1938 he made his screen debut. The acting and production of plays and film entertainment was the passion of life for Ronald Adam. He seems to have been a very enthusiastic man who devoted himself to his profession. A way of life he also enjoyed. When the Second World War began he was back in uniform. He had done so in the First Great War. He had been a pilot in Sopwith Camels during this time. Therefore he was back in the Air force. He was the Flight Controller at Hornchurch Airfield in Essex during the Battle of Britain.

My Grandparents’ house was the last house before one entered the old airfield of Hornchurch. It closed in about 1964. During the Battle of Britain, it was a hive of activity as the squadron scrambled for the conflict of 1940.

After the Second World War ended, Ronald Adam resumed his career in the world of entertainment. He would be in numerous plays and a multitude of films and TV productions. He had diverse skills in this industry. Most of his acting in movies was supporting minor parts and I assume he was more into production and direction. Yet his portfolio of movies and TV acting is extraordinary alongside the 'behind scene' things that are integral for a good television or movie production.

I remember seeing him in various screen adaptations. In a movie titled Zeppelin, Ronald Adam played the Prime Minister. It starred Michael York, Elke Sommer, Anton Diffring and Andrew Keir. This movie was made in 1971. I have often seen this war film and I’m sure it may have had some special significance to Ronald Adam.

Actor Ronald Adam as Air ViceMarshal LeighMallory on the left with Kenneth More as Douglas Bader in the Middle.

Hidden Past of WWI.

I’m now going to take the reader on a time trip back to Ronald Adam’s younger life during the First World War and some similar things to what the actor may have had much knowledge on from the movie of Zeppelin. In one episode of the story, our German Zeppelin crew are attacked by home defence biplane fighters. It is a very dramatic moment for the crew who need to gain height to escape the attack of the British Royal Flying Corps’ planes. In real life, Ronald Adams was trained in the RFC home defence group. He actually attacked Zeppelin raiders that came over during the night. I wonder if the story brought back memories of these fearsome times. Much of what was reconstructed in the movie had been witnessed by Ronald Adam for real.

Ronald Adam passed away in 1979. He had lived a long and disguised life. In his obituary, there was another surprise in store for many who would read the article in the papers. It certainly surprised me. Not only did Ronald Adam live a colourful life of theatre and movie production for many decades, he also had another remarkable tale to tell from his younger days of World War One.

Sopwith Camel - the plane Ronald Adam Flew in During WWI

A Number On An Iconic Celebrity's List.

In 1918, he was transferred from the Home Defence. The interception of Zeppelins was to be replaced. Now he would fight over the battlefields of France and Belgium against the German fighter squadrons. The Navel section of the Airforce and the Royal Flying Corps were amalgamated to form the Royal Air Force.

The RAF was born on April 1^st, 1918. Young Ronald Adam had been one of the new RAF pilots for seven days. He got into a dogfight over the northern part of France. During this encounter, his Sopwith Camel was hit and he was badly wounded. He managed to control and crash land the burning plane behind enemy lines. He was severely injured and pulled out of the wrecked craft by German military personnel.

As the young Ronald Adam was coming around during the evening, in a field hospital, he was visited by a young German aide-de-camp. The visiting officer's presence was for the German pilot credited with shooting Ronald down. The pilot could not be there in person but had politely sent the aide on his behalf. This was to offer respectable condolences for being shot down and congratulations for surviving the crash. The German pilot’s name was Manfred von Richthofen – the infamous Red Baron. In actual fact, another pilot also claimed to have shot Ronald Adam down but Richthofen was credited with the kill. Ronald Adam was the ace's 78^th kill.

Ronald Adam had been shot down by the famous Red Baron of Germany and had lived to tell the remarkable tale. Perhaps he did not feel very special at the time. He saw out the last few months of the War in captivity and was realised in December 1918. The Red Barron would die two weeks after shooting Ronald down on 21^st April 1918. He would crash land his plane like Ronald Adam. However, Manfred von Richthofen would die seconds later from his wound to become iconic as a famous fighting ace.

The modest Ronald Adam would go on to become a celebrity of the stage and cinema. Hardly anyone would know of his exploits during both world wars until after his death at the age of 82. He seemed to have been a modest man in some ways, but also a man who liked the limelight of stage and cinema.

Ronald Adam Talks about his Days as The Flight Controller During WWII Battle of Britain.

In this radio narrative, Ronald Adam speaks of his days during the Battle of Britain. I wonder if he spoke of his experience with the Red Barron on occasion. Perhaps he did among selected friends. I wonder what went through his mind when he received the news from the German messenger. Did he know he was shot down by the Red Baron's distinct looking red aircraft? Or did he find out in the hospital?

The opening credits for Ronald Adam in his first movie as Major Gregoff in The Drum (1938)

© 2017 colin powell

Story of a Bow Street Runner has Growing Fans

Unusual story of a Bow Street Runner in 1810. He is a discharched Green jacket from Britain's famous rifle regiment of the Peninsular War. An ex-officer. He now works in London as one of the new types of policeman and is charged with solving a highway robberry in which a government official is murdered and robbed of valuble information concerning national security. 

Our Bow Street Runner (Matthew Hawkwood) is taken into a world of espionage with French secret agents and a villinous American who is making a submarine. The story is a good page turnner that is obviously a little far fetched, but hey! We all like a bit of escapism - don't we? Well this tale had it all and I really enjoyed it. There are more stories to come about Mattew Hawkwood. I shall give them a go too.

German Tiger II Tank WWII

 

This ferocious piece of engineering was an absolute beast. It was dreaded by all allied forces through out World War II and in all theatres of campaign. The Tiger II was an impressive upgrade and was produced from 1943 to 1945.

 

Its main service was from 1944 to 1945 - coming into service when Nazi Germany was already losing the war. If such a heavy armoured tank had been in production when Germany invaded the Soviet Union, one shudders at the thought. The tanks official title was; Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B. As previously mentioned, the tank was an upgrade, hence the B, but it was shortened to Tiger B or Tiger II as we commonly know the tank today. There are still some left in various museums around the world, including UK Bovington Museum. 

 

The Tiger II made its infamous presence known to the allies during the Normandy campaign on 11th July 1944 and went into service on the Eastern front against Soviet forces on 1st September 1944. The were used by the German Army and Waffen-SS. Sometimes Germans refereed to the Tiger II as Königstiger. This translated means Bengal Tiger.

 

 



 

Margaret Thatcher's political end (Poll Tax Riots London 1990)

She was one of the best though she was a person with many faults. I think Maggie deserves recognition because she was a true patriot and many did admire her greatly.

Well, I would not mind betting that there are a lot of people shouting "No Way" But then there will be as many applauding. When I was 18 years of age, Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister of United Kingdom and she gave the country a blooming big kick up the arse. The trouble was, I don't think she always knew when to stop kicking and many of us imagined we had bottoms that were constantly smarting. The reason I have picked Margaret Thatcher for praise is because I am  now 53 and I own my house because of her. I did not appreciate it at the time. I thought she was as hard as nails, which she was.

I worked in the Royal Mail (Post Office) throughout the 1980s decade and it seemed to be a rather turbulent time. I remember the unemployment and the clashes with the unions, most notably the miners strike. Everyone that confronted her was swept aside and I was one of the young who thought she was too harsh.

As much as it pains me to say this, I believe she got more right then she got wrong. I can visualise myself as a young man in his twenties - full of high ideas and morals - being disgusted with this older me, who is writing this. But if I could, I would like to reach down that time corridor and grab myself by the collar. I'd spit. "You are so full of Bull - you know nothing and she will do you right in years to come." She did, and to be fair on Maggie, she is one I did not appreciate at the time. I think a lot of us secretly miss her. Sometimes undesirable elements took the country on and I could not have wished such enemies upon a more formidable opponent. (I almost felt sorry for them)

If I could make one complaint to Margaret Thatcher it would be:

Why did you steam roller through the Pole Tax without properly reviewing such things. It could have been a good idea if you had taken the many variables of income into the equation. You really did drop the ball on that one and then it was the old; "And you to Brutus" from most of your ministers. It all stemmed from the Pole tax - I'm certain it did. You could have had a few more years, but for that.

No doubt, Mrs Thatcher would still hear none of this.

It is believed that the Poll tax signified the beginning of the end for Margaret Thatcher. She had stood her ground on many issues over 11 years and won. This, the hated Poll tax, was one she would loose, but only after her ministers manoeuvred her into quitting a short time later on other issues. However, the Poll tax was the original cause that began to really spiral out of control for her.

It is thought that the riot in central London, with the countrywide opposition to the Community Charge (especially vehement in the North of England and Scotland) contributed to the downfall of Margaret Thatcher, who resigned as Prime Minister in November the same year, defending the tax when opinion polls were showing 2% support for it. The next Prime Minister, John Major, announced it would be abolished.