Posted on 04/08/2007 11:09:55 AM PDT by Starman417
Amid the deaths and the grim daily struggle bravely borne by Britain's forces in southern Iraq, one tale of heroism stands out.
Private Johnson Beharry's courage in rescuing an ambushed foot patrol then, in a second act, saving his vehicle's crew despite his own terrible injuries earned him a Victoria Cross.
For the BBC, however, his story is "too positive" about the conflict.
The corporation has cancelled the commission for a 90-minute drama about Britain's youngest surviving Victoria Cross hero because it feared it would alienate members of the audience opposed to the war in Iraq.
The BBC's retreat from the project, which had the working title Victoria Cross, has sparked accusations of cowardice and will reignite the debate about the broadcaster's alleged lack of patriotism.
advertisement"The BBC has behaved in a cowardly fashion by pulling the plug on the project altogether," said a source close to the project. "It began to have second thoughts last year as the war in Iraq deteriorated. It felt it couldn't show anything with a degree of positivity about the conflict.
"It needed to tell stories about Iraq which reflected the fact that some members of the audience didn't approve of what was going on. Obviously a story about Johnson Beharry could never do that. You couldn't have a scene where he suddenly turned around and denounced the war because he just wouldn't do that.
"The film is now on hold and it will only make it to the screen if another broadcaster picks it up."
The independent production company which was developing the project for a prime-time slot on BBC1 is now believed to have taken the script to ITV.
Pte Beharry, 27, who was awarded the VC in March 2005, was the first person to receive the country's highest award for valour since 1982 and the first living recipient since 1965. He was honoured for two acts of outstanding gallantry which occurred just over a month apart while he was serving with the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, in the Iraqi town of al-Amarah, in 2004.
He was cited for "valour of the highest order" after he drove a Warrior tracked armoured vehicle through heavy enemy fire in May 2004 to come to the rescue of a foot patrol that had been caught in a series of ambushes. The 30-ton Warrior was hit by multiple rocket-propelled grenades, causing damage and resulting in the loss of radio communications. Pte Beharry drove through the ambush, taking his own injured crew and leading five other Warriors to safety. He then extracted his wounded colleagues from the vehicle, all the time exposed to further enemy fire.
The following month, Pte Beharry was again driving the lead Warrior vehicle of his platoon through al-Amarah when his vehicle was ambushed. A rocket-propelled grenade hit the vehicle and Pte Beharry received serious head injuries. Other rockets hit the vehicle incapacitating his commander and injuring several of the crew.Despite his very serious injuries, Pte Beharry then took control of his vehicle and drove it out of the ambush area before losing consciousness. He required brain surgery for his head injuries and he was still recovering when he received the VC from the Queen in June last year.
The script of the film about his heroics was being developed by Darlow Smithson, the production company responsible for the Bafta-winning Touching The Void and the docu-drama Tsunami, which was recently aired by the BBC. The Ministry of Defense is believed to have been supportive of the project and was offering the film-makers technical advice.
The BBC's decision to pull out will only confirm the fears of critics that television drama is only interested in telling bad news stories about the war.
The Ministry of Defence recently expressed concern about Channel 4's The Mark of Cain which showed British troops brutalizing Iraqi detainees. That programme was temporarily pulled from the schedules after Iran detained 15 British troops.
A spokesman for the BBC admitted that it had abandoned the VC project but refused to elaborate.
We should expect nothing less from the Beeb. I think they’re still in mourning from the collapse of the Soviet Union.
}:-)4
They probably would not play any of Churchill’s great speeches (”we will fight them on the beaches”, etc) if they were uttered today.
Incredible, but the younger freepers may not remember that Hollywood and American television sometimes submitted to Soviet censorship of projects.
Because of public pressure, this soldiers tale may yet be told.
I can’t think of what to say about the perfidity of the BBC on this.
Well, maybe Channel 4 will pick it up: they did have the courage to do that great exposure on global warming fraud.
What morons!!!!!!!!!!!
If nothing else, this Private’s story should be told to all members of the British Armed Forces as a lesson in how to behave in the face of the enemy.
Has the world gone mad?
Beharry has proved to be a damn good soldier. He didn’t just save comrades once, he did it again.
Expect nothing less from the BBC, they’re a complete sell-out.
I don’t need to be told how to behave in the face of the enemy
BBC = garbage. They were against the US during the cold war and continue to this day to nip at our heels like a pathetic foaming at the mouth anti-US rabid mutt.
Jerks.
Give credit where credit is due.
Now you can identify another enemy by their three initials. It sure ain’t your grandaddies BBC, which stoutly supported Britain’s soldiers in time of war. It’s been taken over by a horde of Lord Hawhaw’s.
One NCO to another: the men in our charge can always do with a visual example. There is no such thing as too much gallantry.
You and I may not need the reminders, Color Sergeant, but I would not deny others an example. This story needs telling; and not just at our tables, but in the pubs and parlors across the land.
Please accept my apology. My comment was in reaction to what I have read concerning the behavior of the 15 Royal Navy sailors and Royal Marines that were captured by Iran.
Yes, I totally agree with you, the BBC has been taken over by the left. I try not to watch BBC news services for fear of becoming depressed.
Our news services used to do a grand job of propaganda in disheartening the enemy, now it just spouts propaganda about its own servicemen and women, however, Brit soldiers and Marines do remain thick skinned to it all because those we serve back us and we’ve always been hugely supported by the UK public...
Sadly it’s not just the BBC - Most of the media outlets filter the news to fit their agenda.
“One NCO to another: the men in our charge can always do with a visual example. There is no such thing as too much gallantry.”
‘Ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do and die....’
When I went through basic, my DS were soldiers that had served in the Falklands, Aden, Oman and the WO2 had even served in the jungles of Borneo. We were left in no uncertain terms that we always did things for a reason, that reason may not be clear or explained but there was a reason nonetheless. We are only told things that we ‘need to know’. It was also drilled into us that as British soldiers, if we were ever taken by the enemy, all we were required to tell them were the big 3 ‘name, rank and number’, questions requiring a ‘yes/no’ answer were to met with the the big 3. If we were captured and later re-patriated, and a subsequent investigation into our capture found that we hadn’t made all efforts to escape, or that we’d surrendered without a fight, then we would be court martialled and shot, but not necessarily in that order!!!
My platoon is an experienced platoon, some of my blokes are longer servers than myself who do not wish to climb any further up the promotion ladder, but I was an instructor at an ITC a while back and it pained me to see some of the recruits questioning things that they were asked to do wanting to know the reason behind everything. Unfortunately, society lets our youth get away with far too much and teaches them that there is very little consequence in disrespect. I ran one particular training platoon through their IAs on contact drills over and over again, in order to get the required reaction, then put them on restricted priviledges when I got my reaction.
Beharry’s story is a story of bravery that must be told. His exploits are well known among British soldiers and are seen as an example, as is what his regiment did as a unit in Al-Amarah.
As for the 15 sailors and marines held in Iran. It has since become clear that the marines held out and didn’t play ball, but the behaviour of the sailor element was despicable, and that is the belief held by the vast majority of British soldiers and marines. I have heard reasons as to why they didn’t resist the initial contact, but for the sailors to ‘sing like a canary’ at the first opportunity was a poor show!
Apparently Rosie is wrong, if you want to know what is going on in the world one can not find it on foreign TV...at least if that’s the BBC.
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