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Britain
147 Years Later - British Private John Moyse Spins in His Grave
2007-04-07
Perhaps it's time for the Brits to revisit their heritage, to wit - A story from the Second Opium War:

On 13 August 1860 during the march on the Taku Forts, a party of Sikh sappers and some laborers transporting their column's rum rations was captured by a force of Tartar cavalry. Among them was Private John Moyse of the 3rd (East Kent) Regiment ...

The next day the prisoners were brought before a local mandarin and were ordered to kow-tow, under penalty of torture or execution if they didn't comply. Private Moyse alone refused and was savagely beaten and then beheaded, his body afterwards thrown on a dungheap. He was, ironically, his regiment's only casualty in the fighting.

The cause of his refusal has been a subject of much dispute. The popular story was that it was on the grounds that it would disgrace his country. Contemporary reports, however, have him saying that "...he would not prostrate himself before any Chinaman alive." His stubborness is not surprising because he had a history of insubordination and willfulness while in the service.
Posted by:Lone Ranger

#5  Seeing as it is Wikipedia I am going to surf on over and get to editing...

The cause of his refusal has been a subject of much dispute. The popular story was that it was on the grounds that it would disgrace his country. When the prisoners were released a week later, their tale of Moyse's bravery spread through the army and his act of defiance was later celebrated in "The Private of the Buffs" [1], a poem by Sir Francis Hastings Doyle. The poem refers to Moyse as a young Kentish farmboy but it is more likely that he was, in fact, a middle-aged Irishman. However, the poem was written on the strength of newspaper reports, and it is likely that Doyle was unaware of the discrepancies.

His personal bravery - and its celebration by his fellow soldiers and countrymen - stands in marked contrast to the less exalted present of Her Majesty's Royal Navy.

Better.
Posted by: Excalibur   2007-04-07 12:25  

#4  As Wm. Roger Louis recently put it, "Britishness is an idea in apparently terminal decline." After this latest fiasco with Iran, Lieutenant Chard, John Nicolson, the Lawrence brothers...hell, most of Britain's old graveyards must sound like turbine testing centers these days.
Posted by: Mac   2007-04-07 12:21  

#3  "...he would not prostrate himself before any Chinaman alive."

Obviously this chap would not have a place in present-day corporate America, especially in Yahoo or Google.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy   2007-04-07 11:21  

#2  It's Wiki - Aris is a big contributor - 'nuff said
Posted by: Frank G   2007-04-07 10:55  

#1  His stubborness is not surprising because he had a history of insubordination and willfulness while in the service.

Gotta denigrate the thought of heroism and noble actions, You even find a slam for the long dead to paint their actions as "Baaaaaad

Fuck you, and the Newspaper you shit these words on.
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2007-04-07 10:38  

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