Posted on 11/09/2012 3:35:22 AM PST by naturalman1975
A pub refused to serve soldiers as they celebrated their return from fighting in Afghanistan in a parade through the town.
Staff at The Bull told stunned troops that they were ‘not allowed to serve squaddies’ when the troops tried to order a round after their homecoming march in Romford, Essex on Tuesday.
The astonishing ban was imposed on the 600-strong 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment, in which 16 men were killed in Afghanistan, on the day they paraded through town to mark the end of its final tour of the war-torn country.
The soldiers’ proud families and friends had joined thousands of locals and officials to cheer and salute them in the high-profile Remembrance Day week event.
The tough mechanised infantry unit, famously known as The Vikings, has just been awarded the Freedom of the Borough of Havering.
Outraged Denise Coe, whose son serves in the regiment, criticised the pub in the town’s Market Place, for the sensational snub.
Mrs Coe, of Romford, said: ‘I think it was absolutely disgusting and they should all be ashamed.
‘What is the point of them having the Freedom of the Borough when the soldiers can’t even go to get a drink in a pub in the town?’
Christine Clark, 70, from Romford, was with her grandson, who is in the regiment, and five of his mates, who had also marched in the stirring ceremony.
She said: ‘There were about 15 soldiers just standing outside the bar and they told us that they wouldn’t serve them.
‘When we went in to the pub they told my grandson and his friends that they “are not allowed to serve squaddies”
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide,
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.
Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.
We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind",
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind.
You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool - you bet that Tommy sees!
the only decent reponse...given 125 years ago!
Hear, hear!
An indecent response by a leftist in the same circumstance would not be pretty. Those soldiers need to mount an information campaign about the place. File every complaint possible for inspection etc.
Typical useless journalism. Did nobody think to ask WHY the troops were banned? Afraid of ruffling the feathers of muslim immigrants? Some pacifist freak own the pub?
I knew Tommy would be in the first few responses. Guess I been lurkin’ too long. And....and, don’t misunderstand I was ready to post it.
The only decent response would be to boycott that pub permanently. I hope today’s Brits have the humanity to do so.
As Kipling’s words show, this is nothing new. Tommy would do well to take note, as should outraged citizens.
I read the thread and thought of the Kipling poem. You beat me to it.
A tiny bit more checking show -
A red-faced spokesman for The Bull, which dates back to 1890, admitted that soldiers had been banned from the big historic 19th century pub.
He said: “This was a mistake.
“We absolutely welcome the armed forces into The Bull and we apologise for any offence caused to the soldiers.”
“We are talking to the team members involved and clarifying that we welcome the armed forces into the pub.”
British squaddies, much as I love them, DO have a reputation for violence when drunk.
However, the pub should simply ban individuals, not squaddies wholesale.
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