Landships II

James H · Legend

"The Tanko"

Ironsides · Legend

Curious..... smile

Rectalgia · Legend

James H wrote:

...A recording of the song can be heard here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVhdyiVjmtM�The lyric is barely distinguishable and it seems extremely tame nowadays, but it infuriated Siegfried Sassoon, prompting him to write the poem, "Blighters". ...

The lyrics are indeed 'difficult' and so far I have been unable to find a transcript of them. In contrast, Sassoon's polemic response has lasted very nicely so I suppose his is the last word in every sense.

I had a similarly fruitless time looking for the words of "The ANZACs" which was part of the same revue ("Vanity Fair"). Well, not entirely fruitless, I stumbled across W.T. Masey's "The Desert Campaigns", the final chapter of which is a vivid account of the 200-mile "dash on Siwa" (1917)

So far as those of us who were with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force know, no motor-car column has done anything on so large a scale in the war ...Rolls-Royce armoured cars, Talbot wagons, Ford light patrol and supply cars, a Daimler lorry carrying a Krupp gun made in 1871 and captured from the enemy in 1916, and over a score of motor lorries ... To the surprise of everybody but their riders, two motor cycles managed to plough their way through from end to end. ...
Well, that's another story but probably of some interest to the vehicle modellers. I should think it has arisen before on these pages though.

James H · Legend

Curiouser and curiouser.

Wondered if Kitchener's supposed phrase "a pretty, mechanical toy" had been used for the title of anything. It has. It's the title of an album by an American band called Big Green Tanks:

http://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/1822360-big-green-tanks

Subsequently stumbled across this: an album by another US band called These Wonderful Evils. Its title is Regine Flory, and one of the tracks is The Tanko.

You can listen here: http://www.myspace.com/thesewonderfulevils

Mostly what I believe is called "ambient", but after 3'20" there's a couple of lines of the lyrics. How very odd.

It seems Ms Flory committed suicide in 1926, shooting herself in her dressing room at Drury Lane Theatre.

http://newspapers.nl.sg/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19260717.2.63.aspx

-- Edited by James H on Thursday 10th of June 2010 09:02:49 AM

kieffer · Commander in Chief

Hi All,

there was another popular song, meant to be used in pantomime performances:
The Tanks that broke the Ranks. Based on a tune called 'The Man who broke the Bank in Monte Carlo'.

The Tanko song was from a Max Darewski. I only found two lines:
'I will teach the Kaiser &Co.,we know how to win/when they see us dance the Tanko right into Berlin'. But probably you already knew that,

regards, Kieffer

mickk · Captain

Is that the song that has the bit "With an independant air"� in it.
Have been trying to find that old tank song for ages.� confuse

-- Edited by mickk on Friday 11th of June 2010 01:33:24 PM

James H · Legend

If you google "The Tanks That Broke The Ranks" you'll find a couple of versions of it.

What's the story behind the painting?

Hughbearson · General

There's something that I find weirdly creepy about this...

Rectalgia · Legend

Hughbearson wrote:

There's something that I find weirdly creepy about this...

All part of "the rich tapestry of life" Hugh

- and an insight into life, back in the day.

Talking of which, Mick, the painting. There appears to be a lady smoking in the theatre. My take on it FWIW - not sure about theatres specifically (it being dark and all) but in general British ladies NEVER smoked in public, it was simply too "unrefined". That pretty-well held up into the thirties too, even into the fifties amongst the more conservative. Some cigarette company went so far as to introduce an oval cigarette so that women could appear a little more demure, if they just couldn't help themselves. The symbolism was just a little too much for our forebears, perhaps. Yes, "The past is a different country ..." and all that.

mickk · Captain

Thanks for the info everyone smile

�I always find out something new when I come on here.�I didnt know that about the smoking ( could be someone in the row in front wink

)�
That painting is�a few years old now , I think its in the shed. Had the idea for it after reading "Blighters". Didnt come out as I wanted so got fed up and left it unfinished. cry

kieffer · Commander in Chief

Hi Steve!

well, some ladies did smoke in public, suffragettes did, even cigarillos! And mundane ladies too, using cigarette holders. But you're right: a decent woman who knew how to behave didn't do such vulgar things. Oval cigarettes, they probably were Turkish, they were 'flattened' as some Russian brands were too.
Though the scientific link between illness and smoking was not worked out that precisely as it is nowadays, it was known already that smoking wasn't healthy, and some propaganda was made, warning youngsters. At the other hand, sometimes cigarettes were even medically prescripted..menthol cigarettes were considered as a cure in some cases.

regards, Kieffer

James H · Legend

My granddad was a wholesale tobacconist. In�a corner of the warehouse was a stack of very old cigarette brands that had gone out of fashion and were gathering dust. I remember Passing Clouds were oval, supposedly to make them look more "refined" and possibly more suitable for ladies, but the overall effect was just that they looked as if you had sat on them. I should imagine that the difference between them and ordinary cigarettes is barely noticeable in 1/72 scale.

A Ukranian firm called Sobranie made Black Russian, which were black with a gold tip, and Cocktail,�"particularly made for ladies with�their slim features and bright colours." Kieffer's observation is correct; suffragettes and other unconventional women smoked partly as a gesture of rebellion.

Under the floorboards of my first house I found a couple of old cig packets, presumably discarded by the builders�- Mitchell's Golden Dawn and one with, I think, a picture of a cavalry charge on the front. I suggest this is not as off-topic as it seems - it was a late Victorian house, and the men who smoked them would quite posibly have been of military age in 1914.

kieffer · Commander in Chief

Hi James,

that's nice information! Trying to recall my memories, I think flattened cigarettes were called 'egyptian' and were fashionable in the 30's, as far as I can remember my dad's stories. Very hip it was to take a cigarette out of the box and tap the butt before lighting, like movie stars did..
No, I don't think this is off-topic: war times are golden times for the tobacco industry.
Sometimes cigarettes replace currency and for many fighting man cigarettes were as important as mail from home.
The Berliner company Manoli even went further: they changed their 'foreign' product names into 'real' German ones. Their cigarette brand "The Kaiser" became "Manoli Kaiser" and 'Gibson Girl' was called "Wimpel".

regards, Kieffer

Rectalgia · Legend

Ah yes, you are both undoubtedly correct about the cigarette and cigarillo-smoking suffragettes - we didn't have them so much in Australia (or New Zealand either). What we did instead in the antipodes was to give them the vote

. That seemed a prudent move at a time when women would wring the excess water out of the washed clothes with their hands. The forearms they had! And strangler's hands. But I'm not sure those details would show in 1/72 scale either.

Ah, the Black Russian Sobranies - and Gauloises Disque Bleu Caporal with the picture of the marvellous winged helmet on the pack. They helped keep the cravings in check (the cigarettes, not the helmets). Sensible folk smoked Woodbines or Capstans or Player's Navy Cut or Turf (with Pegasus climbing out a porthole) - there was little health concern in those days, even (as has been said) they were sometimes prescribed to those of a "nervous disposition" by doctors for their calming effect. All those "sensible folk" brands would all have been available during WW1, I think.

Certainly children were discouraged from ever starting but governments, with their certain and instinctive sense for commodities with an almost infinite price elasticity of demand and appreciation for the capacity to progressively increase benefit to the exchequer through relentless increments to the taxes and tariffs on same, never showed much interest in the health question until quite recently. Soldiers smoked like chimneys by and large - but it would have been more pipes than cigarettes in WW1, I fancy.

kieffer · Commander in Chief

..and not to forget the 'Schnupftabak', snuffing stuff that made Friedrich der Grosse an addict, the man was famous for his stained uniform. The last Kaiser was at least a passionate collector of snuffboxes, and probably a snuffer himself. His collection is still on display in Doorn, The Netherlands were he stayed after his abdication.
'Huis Doorn' is a museum now, the interior kept intact. It became government property after the second world war, the Dutch didn't forgive the Kaisers greedy enthousiasm when the nazi's invaded Holland. His optimistic belief was that he would be re-installed, but to his disappointment the nazi's were not interested in the man at all. He is still buried in The Netherlands, his will states that he can only brought back when Germany is a monarchy again.
Another habit of the man: lumber jacking. Like his cousin the tsar he did a lot of wood chopping and sawing, always assisted by adjuncts (German cadets who spent their leave with helping the kaiser, voluntarily, unpaid and bullied) because of his handicapped arm. Visitors of the kaiser always got a little souvenir: a slice of wood with Willie's signature on it.
Back to smoking: as Steve pointed out, there was a pipe smoking habit. But I don't know how wide spread, as I mainly see pictures of German soldiers, and French with pipes, lesser British? And what about chewing tobacco...I think they still do that in the southern parts of the US, but on the continent you never see that anymore.

Hughbearson · General

Its not particularly of the time, I just have an irrational phobia of the music hall...

Rectalgia · Legend

Good heavens that's unusual but "back in the day" it would have been much less uncommon due to the prevailing social mores and resulting anxieties, if that helps.

kieffer · Commander in Chief

I only hope Hugh's music hall phobia does'nt affect his daily life too much! Me myself, I don't like circus clowns, in an irrational and rational way. Completely of topic once again but at the other hand it wouldn't surprise me if somebody is coming up now with some clown that entertained the troops in the trenches or something like that.

regards, Kieffer

Rectalgia · Legend

Who needs clowns when there are generals? Fear of generals however is entirely rational.

kieffer · Commander in Chief

yes..you might have a point there but (most) generals don't wear these 'funny' clown trousers and their shoes have the proper size. Never seen a general with make up on the beak though. Try Steve..there must have been a soldier-clown who did something amazing, something very gallant instead of stumbling and bouncing his head against poles. And with a decent soldiers haircut.

Rectalgia · Legend

Then his details are, regrettably, unknown to me. But someone will know. Roy Rene would have scared the daylights out of you but he only entertained troops who were on leave, I think. The military didn't like his style. And he spat a lot, as he spoke.

But in the early days of basic training, at Puckapunyal, deep in the winter, while we were still learning about "left" and "right", a matter which seemed of great importance to our Regimental Drill Instructor (a Corporal with the pay of Sergeant for his troubles) who would frequently inform us ("Twelf Schplatoon, Charlie Gumpany" - he was German before taking the Queen's shilling) that we were a bunch of clowns. And he would hide his face and his shoulders would heave and muffled sounds would escape him - I think we caused him much merriment. We would have caused you no discomfort Kieffer, we clowns. No make-up, no that was forbidden (to our chagrin) but proper soldier's haircuts. And very large, floppy footwear and funny hats.

kieffer · Commander in Chief

a famous comedian, and I don't consider him as a clown which he wasn't: Karl Valentin, from Germany. He entertained troops or wounded in lazarets, he himself in rather poor health condition and unfit for active duty.
The nazi's tried to win the man for their propaganda business as he was most popular.
They simply couldn't get the grip on the fellow and he certainly didn't like the nazi thing too. He was a genius in word games, a bit like Groucho Marx but with less visual gadgets.
And mostly with his female side kick called Lisl.

regards Kieffer

mickk · Captain

The tanks that broke the ranks smile

. Does anyone have the words to the song?�

Ironsides · Legend

Hi Mickk.....

lyrics
http://www.forumeerstewereldoorlog.nl/wiki/index.php?title=The_Tanks_That_Broke_The_Ranks_Out_In_Picardy&printable=yes

Audio
http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/tanksthatbroketheranks.htm

Cheers smile

-- Edited by Ironsides on Friday 25th of June 2010 07:13:08 PM

Rob · Legend

Love that 'Tanks that broke the ranks' image!

James H · Legend

I have had a communication from Mr. Zak Boerger, of the band These Wonderful Evils.

"I came across the history of the song here, and liked the obvious absurdity of a West End musical 2 years before the end of the war claiming that victory was near. That's really all it is, just of bit of aesthetic appropriation in the name of an "anti-war-song."

So there we are. Still a bit creepy, though.

-- Edited by James H on Saturday 30th of October 2010 06:23:14 PM