An English Golf Notice-1940 (1 Viewer)

[Beaufighter]

Cheers Forum Squadron Members,

Enjoy this 1940 notice...

"So, you thought you were a tough weather golfer. This notice posted in war-torn Britain in 1940 for golfers with stiff upper lips. German aircraft from Norway would fly missions to northern England . Because of icy weather conditions, the barrels of their guns had a small dab of wax to protect them. As they crossed the coast, they would clear their guns by firing a few rounds at the golf courses. Golfers were urged to take cover."

 

[Mitch]

Superb!!!! I particularly like number seven. Brilliant
Mitch

 

[Partner]

Tough course !!!

 

[mikemiller1955]

great post...I emailed this to several friends...

 

[Scott]

It reads like it might be a spoof ....BUT seems to have enough elements of truth to be inspiring. Great!

 

[Larry Allen]

GREAT POST. You gotta' love Number 3. Talk about "HAZARDS" {sm2}.
I would be done for. IF there is a tree I will hit it. IF there is a water trap I will drop into the center. If there is a bunker I will find it. BUT imagine the pressure {sm5}{sm5}{sm5} of trying to 9 iron over a delayed explosive.

"Larry lines up his shot to the flag,..... the swing ...... "BOOM" {eek3}

 

[theBaron]

It does appear to be an urban legend after all, though contemporary in 1940. I checked Snopes.com, and several searches, using various combinations of keywords, failed to return anything. Then I googled "english golf notice 1940", and one of the addresses returned was this blog/forum page at Snopes:

http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=11758

Apparently this was making the rounds in the UK in 1940, and according to one of the posters in that forum, the New York Tribune picked up the story and printed a list. The poster also cites a specific issue of the Los Angeles Times, 30. December 1940. Eventually, it made the rounds here in the States, attributing the rules to the Richmond Golf Club, as shown in our list--Richmond, VA, perhaps?

If not an actual example of British grace under fire, it's certainly an example of the humor that helped keep spirits up in 1940 in the UK.

It reminds me of a couple of cartoons from the time that were included in Peter Fleming's "Operation Sea Lion". One portrayed a gentleman sitting in his club, motioning to a pair of German paratroopers disguised as nuns at the door, and asking the waiter to "ask those gentlemen if they're members or see them out!" The other showed a farmer in Kent giving directions to a traveler along a country road, "Take this road past two Messerschmitts, left at the Heinkel and then it's just past the Junkers" (or something similar).

And today, their grandchildren riot...

Prost!
Brad

 

[Napoleon1er]

"We also ask that as a gentlemanly courtasy, any members of a party in which one member loses one or more limbs in middel of a match play without that particular limb until the offending member has staunched the bleeding."'That seems to be in the spirit . Very amusing thing, true or not.
-Sandor

 

[debrito]

On that circumstances I accept to considered Golf an Sport...{eek3}{sm5}

 

[Rob]

On that circumstances I accept to considered Golf an Sport...{eek3}{sm5}

^&grin

I agree, I think its more 8 hours of televised Sky than Sport!:wink2:

Rob

 

[theBaron]

...On that circumstances I accept to considered Golf an Sport...

I had a roommate once who pooh-poohed the Tour de France, when I was watching it, saying, "Riding a bicycle isn't a sport". So we changed channels to watch....golf.

I heard this variant of "live and let live" once: "Don't pee on my tree, and I won't pee on yours!"

Prost!
Brad