Pop quiz

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Sun Apr 05, 2020 12:22 am

This man shares his name with a sweater made from wool and buttoning down the front. What is his name and what action brought his name to public attention?

mike robel · Post by **mike robel** » Sun Apr 05, 2020 6:46 am

panzergator wrote:Likely that is because most people think it is from horsetail.

In 1984, my wife and I were stationed in Germany. We drove to England, taking the ferry across the channel (no "chunnel" yet). Took a room in a small hote!. After settling in and discovering the TP was WAX PAPER, I strapped on a backpack with the recording unit of our brand new vid camera and four 9x3x2 batteries, shouldered the large camera, and set off for Horse Guards Palace. There, my wife, with the patience of Job, stood with me for three hours, while I taped, basically, the "south ends of north-bound" horses, waiting for some action, which, by the way, never came, unless you count the occasional plop of road apples smacking into the ground. During that interminable event, however, an announcer treated us to some history and other details of the two regiments involved, which included the fact that the plumes were made of strips of whalebone. We still have that videotape, by the way. I hope to convert it to DVD soon.

Wholesome seems a stretch to me. This company claims to manufacture true the plumes from horses via humane gathering. Still looking.

http://theplumery.co.uk/modern%20milita ... plumes.htm

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Sun Apr 05, 2020 7:39 am

I don't mind being wrong. On the other hand, none of those helmets is from the Life Guards. In fact, most of them are from regiments that have been amalgamated with others or stricken from active rolls. The plumes do not have the same appearance of those I saw.

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Sun Apr 05, 2020 7:39 am

Deleted duplicate

redleg · Post by **redleg** » Sun Apr 05, 2020 8:15 am

I was thinking the sweater was the Montgomery, but then I googled Montgomery Sweater and it looked like a turtle neck. Maybe there are some with buttons?

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Sun Apr 05, 2020 8:22 am

It isn't Monty.

chrisswim · Post by **chrisswim** » Sun Apr 05, 2020 8:52 am

Cardigan sweater.

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Sun Apr 05, 2020 9:21 am

Chris, your answer is not complete.

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Sun Apr 05, 2020 9:25 am

Deleted

Guroburov · Post by **Guroburov** » Sun Apr 05, 2020 9:31 am

I'd gotten horsehair from a UK article about the different regiments and the sources of their more unique elements. (None of the official websites talked about it at all) So my guess is based on a media source that may be wrong. Whalebone is certainly an interesting choice for the plumes. No idea about hte sewater.

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Sun Apr 05, 2020 9:43 am

It may be that not every unit used or used whalebone. The plumes of Life Guards did not appear to be hair. It wasn't fuzzy like hair, it's fall was more graceful and heavy.

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Sun Apr 05, 2020 9:47 am

I am still hoping for other contributions to this thread, Folks. Surely there are a few more of you with good questions.

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Sun Apr 05, 2020 10:06 am

I am still waiting on the source of the metal for the Victoria Cross.

chrisswim · Post by **chrisswim** » Sun Apr 05, 2020 12:20 pm

Shetland Wool Cardigan sweater.

VC: How the VC is made. The bronze from which all Victoria Crosses are made is supplied by the Central Ordnance Depot in Donnington. This metal is cut from cannons captured from the Russians at Sebastopol during the Crimean War. Other metal used is from captured cannons from the enemies of the UK.

mike robel · Post by **mike robel** » Sun Apr 05, 2020 1:51 pm

Vergeltungswaffe wrote:Well THIS link about the Household Cavalry museum backs up using whalebone once upon a time.

Interesting. Wonder how one the British Government said was one from their museum and was donated for a charity sale has horsehair? Hmm....

An excellent find. Interestingly enough, though, the clue here is corsets. Corsets, whips, and some other items were actually made of baleen, the filtering structures from baleen whales, which could be shredded/seperated and made into a variety of things that would have been made from plastic today. baleen is apparently something in between hair and horn. However, a carved whalebone was used in the frontspiece of the corset called a busk, which I think is what you can see Faye Dunaway pulling out of her corset in a scene from the three or four musketeers.

http://www.madehow.com/Volume-7/Corset.html

I stand/sit corrected. Well done Vergeltungswaffe and an excellent memory Jim.