WATERLOO BIG CLOCK FULL

His second took place on 28th July 1809 at Talavera, near Toledo, Spain. Vimeiro was Wellington’s first experience with the impetuous cavalry. The battle was, nevertheless, a British victory and Portugal was liberated: but, of the 720 British casualties suffered during the battle,

At that point they were charged by Marshal Junot’s cavalry reserve and horribly cut up, taking fifty per cent casualties and losing their commander. Taylor thereupon lost all control of the 20th and they raced on past the now fallen infantry to a distance of over half a mile. Led by a Colonel Taylor, the 20th Light Dragoons were sent against the French infantry reserve whom they caught in column and overran. The first instance of the British cavalry throwing away an opportunity and charging on in blind fury occurred on 21st August 1808 at Vimeiro, in Portugal.

WATERLOO BIG CLOCK FULL

The circumstances and consequences of the six ill-fated charges illustrate in detail the full effect of the combination of these factors. Command structure and tactical doctrine: and The four elements responsible for this are:ģ). An examination of the British military system and the disastrous charges reveals that the actions of the cavalry are the result of four factors which combined in subtle and not so subtle ways to cause the repeated downfall of the British cavalry. Surprisingly, however, very little attention has been paid to discovering why such reckless behaviour became the standard and expected fare. These maddening rushes have been called ‘the curse of of the British cavalry during the war.’ Six charges, at Vimeiro, Talavera, Badajoz, Fuentes de Onoro, Maguilla and Waterloo became as many misfortunate episodes. During the time of England’s conflict with Napoleon, 1803-1815, the British cavalry exhibited a fatal propensity for abandoning all purpose and formation during a charge and running themselves into unnecessary defeats.

Yet, one branch of the army consistently disregarded Wellington’s enforced discipline: the cavalry. In short, he ruled the army with a mailed fist. Long, a cavalry officer, noted that it was tantamount to ‘high treason’ to even question Wellington about a decision. Lieutenant-Colonel William Tomkinson, a veteran of the Peninsular and Waterloo campaigns, once complained that ‘Lord Wellington is so little influenced or indeed allows any person to say a word…' Neither would he tolerate unsolicited appraisals of or deviation from any of his orders. He trusted or relied on few officers, instead preferring to do much of the staff work himself. The tube status probably seems initially to be less useful here for people heading out of London, but it’s a nice feature to have if you’re waiting for someone to arrive and are planning to catch the tube afterwards.Ĭompared to what was there before, the new screens are much easier to read - especially for this glasses-wearing train user - and yet they have managed to include more information in the same space as well.THE MISADVENTURES of WELLINGTON’S CAVALRY from the PENINSULA to WATERLOOĪrthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, was an unyielding taskmaster who demanded absolute obedience from those men under his military command. And very large clocks at that.Ī couple of screens can show more local travel information, and the “Next fastest direct train” screen is now much easier to read. Even in the age of people whipping out a phone to check the time, we find it convenient to have public clocks on display. There was a clock on the old screen but wasn’t much larger than the rest of the text on the screen. Train carriage lengths are also indicated at the bottom of the display, along with branded indication for the train operator, which will be more useful now than when the photos were taken, as the display board can show Southern and Gatwick Express services as well. However, it’s the extra information for each train that makes these displays stand out as more than just swapping lightbulbs.īig colour blocks at the top of the route indicator show clearly whether a person should wait on the concourse or head to the platform, and helpfully the platform indicators show arrows so you know which end of the station the platform you want will be.Ī cancelled train is a screen message we all hope to see rarely, but a nice touch is adding some information as to why the train is cancelled. The screens are much clearer to read, having scrapped the faded orange text for much brighter and cleaner fonts.

A huge new departure board screen has appeared at London Victoria station, and it’s big, bright, and offers a lot more information than the old screens could show.

Waterloo big clock