Posted on 04/25/2015 9:39:10 AM PDT by DeaconBenjamin
With the 200th anniversary of the famous Battle of Waterloo just two months away a survey in Britain has revealed that most ofthe public know little about it and some even think it's just an Abba song, while many thought the French actually won.
A survey of Britons published in the build-up to the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo found three-quarters knew little or nothing about it -- while many thought France won.
The poll of 2,070 people for the National Army Museum found 73 percent either knew nothing or next to nothing about the battle, one of the most important in the nation's history.
When asked what came to mind when Waterloo was mentioned, 54 percent of people aged 18 to 24 said the London railway station named after the battle, while 46 percent cited the Eurovision-winning song by Swedish pop group ABBA.
The Battle of Waterloo, fought outside Brussels in 1815, saw the Duke of Wellington lead the British and allied forces to a final, decisive victory over French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.
But the survey found only 53 percent knew Wellington commanded the British troops.
The other 47 percent thought it could have been 16th-century navigator Francis Drake, Britain's World War II prime minister Winston Churchill, King Arthur, who ruled in the fifth century, and even the wizard Albus Dumbledore from the "Harry Potter" books.
Fourteen percent thought Napoleon actually won.
"Despite the Battle of Waterloo being an iconic moment in British history, UK public awareness is dramatically low," said Janice Murray, director-general of the National Army Museum.
Very Clever
***The Japanese atrocities are pretty much already down the memory hole, ***
We are still hunting Nazi war criminals while many the Jap war criminals skate.
A country literally in its death throes.
LOL! I had to watch an ABBA video, as a youngster, to spark my interest as to what Waterloo was.
I’d bet that a lack of historical knowledge runs pretty wide across the globe....Yet the muzzies remember the exact day in 700 AD a Crusader killed his great, great, great Grand Uncle with a lance.
God, how I miss your writing.
I hope life is well for you Ironjack.
TS
“Most Britons have no idea about Waterloo”
They think it’s indoor plumbing.
LOL! Hey there, stranger. It’s been a while. How are things with you?
What was Napoleon doing in Iowa, anyway? He had already sold the Louisiana Territory to the US.
“As you know...the Duke of Ellington said that the Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Elkton”—Babe Ruth
Yes, good point.
Francis Drake probably did not enter San Francisco Bay. It is believed that he landed at what is known today as Drake’s Bay in Marin County. San Francisco Bay was finally discovered not by mariners but by an expedition coming north from Mexico by land led by Gaspar de Portolà in 1769.
Called over my wife and she laughed. I will save it for my friend from the Elephant and Castle. All expats in Canada.
Well, at least 53% of Brits knew what the the battle of Waterloo and that Lord Wellington was the victor against Napoleon.
Most Americans up to age 30 don’t know that Ronald Reagan
Reagan was president for 8 years, or that he was a Republican.
Never forget what the Kiwis did in two world wars though.
I lost family in both wars..
3 great uncles at Gallipoli ..
an uncle in Italy, 1944...
I am so lucky, all my family came home from both wars, and that includes men who fought at Passchendaele, Normandy, Caen, served on the Malta and Arctic Convoys........
You’re probably right; Japan’s crimes against Allied POWs (and some civilians) will be airbrushed from history, the the Rape of Nanking will be in there because of the actual rapes involved.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t believe her; the last fifty years have created such a divide between the WASP culture and those on the fringes (regardless of income). There is no longer a common national heritage, education standard, etc.; we are worlds apart.
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