Martyn Bolt @martynbolt

HMS Conqueror returns to Britain flying the Jolly Roger after sinking the Argentine cruiser Belgrano during the Falkland's War. Pictured on 4 July 1982.

Ask most people to name the best British general of World War Two and they will say Montgomery. Ask the historians who study it closely and a lot of them will quietly tell you the real answer is a man most people have never heard of. His name was William Slim, and his soldiers just called him Uncle Bill. Slim was not born into any of it. No fortune, no famous family, no smooth path through the elite schools that produced most British generals. He was a working class kid who had been a teacher and a clerk, and he only slipped into the army through a technicality before the First World War. He got shot up at Gallipoli, wounded again in the Middle East, and clawed his way up the ranks the hard way, on merit, one rung at a time. By 1942 he was handed one of the worst jobs in the entire war. The Japanese had smashed the British in Burma, and Slim was put in charge of the retreat. It became the longest fighting withdrawal in British military history, close to a thousand miles back to the border of India, through jungle and mountains, hounded the whole way. Most commanders are remembered for the battles they win. Slim first had to prove himself by saving a beaten army from being wiped out, and he brought it home still fighting. Then he did the thing that should make him a household name. He took that broken, sick, forgotten army, an incredible mix of British, Indian, African, and Gurkha soldiers, and he rebuilt it from the ground up. He got a grip on the malaria that was dropping more men than bullets. He fixed the food, the training, the supply, and above all the morale. He walked among the troops constantly, talked to them like human beings, and made them believe again. They started calling themselves the Forgotten Army, half proud and half bitter, because the war in Europe got all the headlines while they bled in the jungle. In 1944 the Japanese threw everything into a massive invasion of India, aimed at Imphal and Kohima. Slim let them come, stretched their supply lines to breaking, and then broke them. The fighting at Kohima was so brutal it has been called the Stalingrad of the East, with men grenading each other across a district commissioner's tennis court. When it was over, the Japanese had suffered the single greatest defeat their army had ever endured on land. Tens of thousands of them never went home. And Slim was not finished. In 1945 he pulled off a masterpiece of deception, faked out the Japanese about where he would cross the Irrawaddy river, seized the town of Meiktila and cut the enemy in half, then drove all the way to Rangoon and finished the reconquest of Burma. He had taken the most humiliating defeat in British Far Eastern history and turned it completely inside out. He literally titled his memoir Defeat into Victory, and it is still considered one of the finest books a soldier has ever written. What his men remembered was not the strategy. It was that he never lied to them, never wasted them, and never forgot they were people. In a war full of commanders who spent lives cheaply and hungered for glory, Uncle Bill did the opposite, and they loved him for it. He ended his life as a viscount and the Governor General of Australia, but the title that mattered was the one his soldiers gave him. Montgomery got the fame. Slim got the respect of the people who actually knew.

Referees should be able to give a team a second red card for aggressive petulance after being sent off. Why is this prat Fernandez still on the pitch. Get off now or take a mate with you

I wasn’t there, however this guy was: "I’d like to put the record straight, because I was there. People often forget how the Argentine troops were treated after the Falklands War. We treated their wounded, and many would not have survived without the medical care they received. They were fed, and their officers were even allowed to keep their sidearms for their own safety. After facing each other in battle, that wasn’t easy, but it was the right thing to do. They were fed, cared for, and many were transported home on Canberra. We also cleaned up the mess that had been left behind. There was no complaining—we just got on with the job. Many of the Argentine troops were exhausted and relieved to be going home after experiencing the reality of war. They were defeated and demoralised, and many couldn’t even look you in the eye. Many of those young soldiers were more afraid of their own officers and the military junta than they were of us. They had been sent into an impossible situation by leaders who would never share their hardships. The Falklands’ climate and terrain are brutal, and the weather is unforgiving. I saw young men who were hungry, frightened, dirty, wet and cold, longing to be back with their families in Argentina. Many I spoke to, while sharing hot drinks and sweets, told me they never wanted to be there in the first place. So before anyone starts abusing me, my family or my brothers-in-arms, remember this: we were there. We experienced the full cycle of war, and we also witnessed the immense relief of the Falkland Islanders when the invaders finally left. To those in Argentina who still believe the stories told by defeated generals, I’d simply say this: many of us were there, and we know what happened. Don’t confuse propaganda with the reality witnessed by those who fought and those who surrendered. The war is over. Britain won. History cannot be changed. It’s time to stop reliving old arguments and instead focus on building a better future for the people of Argentina rather than making repeated claims over the Falkland Islands. As my grandmother used to say, “Children should be seen and not heard.” Sometimes it’s wiser to listen to those who were actually there. War tests not only courage in battle, but also humanity in victory. I am proud that we showed both. Feel free to share and comment “war is not a political football “ maybe you should try it sometime it’s not advisable Lives broken families destroyed Respect to those lost to war and those who are still fighting a war long ago." Shared as requested. Falklands #FalklandsWar #veterans

@seatedskydiver Put the washer on? Will it suit you 😀

change.org/p/victims-righ…

@BigBearF1 Rugby team should have given them their white flag back 😀

According to Clint Eastwood, during the filming of "The Shootist" (1976), Don Siegel got into trouble with John Wayne. He asked Wayne to shoot the villain in the back in one of the scenes in the movie. After a long pause, Wayne asked, "You mean I shoot him in the back?". Siegel replied, "Yeah, just shoot him, because he has got four other guys with him". Wayne replied back, "I don't shoot anyone in the back". Siegel then told Wayne that Eastwood would have shot him in the back. Wayne's face turned blue and he said, "I don't care what that kid would have done, I don't shoot him in the back". Eastwood felt that it was a terrible error on the part of Siegel in saying that. P.S: On this day, 50 years ago, "The Shootist" (1976) premiered in Carson City, Nevada, USA.

Many congratulations to my predecessor, Mr Ed Anderson CBE, on being awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Leeds. A well-deserved recognition of his outstanding contribution.

@martynbolt Good evening mate. Here you are sir. Thank you for your support Martyn. 💂🏻‍♀️👋🏻🇬🇧🍻🚴events.combatstress.org.uk/s/14327/33809/t

@BigEorl Congrats old chap 😀

@BigBearF1 The link goes to the member login have you got one for the event or your fundraising mucka

@ash91168 @HuddsHub And living rent free in your head 😀 You might not think holding them to account for their statements is needed or that asking for police action against illegal vehicles is worthy If you think you can do better put your name on the next ballot paper I won’t hold my breath

When the Tour de France returns to Chalon-sur-Saône today, it touches a place where British cycling history was made in one long, lonely and magnificent stride. In 1959 Brian Robinson won here after one of the great solo rides in Tour de France history; 130 kilometres alone, into the wind, after a full-on descent riding the most fragile 170 gram (6 oz) tyres. Robinson made history once already, when in 1958 he was the first British rider to win a Tour stage, but his second victory showed something deeper than talent. It showed craft. He’d been ill earlier in the race, so ill that his team-mate, the Irishman Shay Elliott looked after him. They finished outside the time limit, but only Elliott was eliminated. Robinson was high enough overall to benefit from the rules that said anyone who started a stage inside the first 10 couldn’t be eliminated. Robinson owed Elliott as much as he did the rules, and he was determined to repay. He looked for a stage he might be able to use, and the final day out of the mountains was that stage; the stage to Chalon-sur-Saône. It was before a time trial, and Robinson reasoned the favourites who’d been at war on the climbs would want peace. He knew the last classified climb offered an opportunity. Robinson told his trade-team, Gérard Saint he’d lead him out to take the mountains points on offer on the last climb, so long as Saint backed off once he had them and let Robinson go clear. “It was my time trial stage, but a day early. I asked the team mechanic to fit my light time trial wheels and tyres and set myself to ride alone to Chalon. I was far enough down overall for the contenders to let me go. In fact, they were probably laughing at the daft Englishman spending the afternoon alone in the wind,” Brian told Chris Sidwells. And that is exactly how it played out, Robinson spent the afternoon riding alone into the wind and won by 20 minutes. There’s a wonderful interview with Brian in our book, Cycling Legends 01 Tom Simpson - cyclinglegends.co.uk/products/cycli…

So in the “beautiful game “ British players get told that symbols like the Remembrance Poppy are political statements Yet the Argentinian team have a banner prepared for the end of the match against England @FIFAWorldCup need to take firm action

@BigBearF1 @JeremyClarkson Oi watch argies getting stuffed again

Get in

Historic Huddersfield company Hanson reveals its new self-storage centre following a multi-million-pound investment. huddersfieldhub.co.uk/new-era-for-18…

Class 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿