SF 2 - Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader v Sir Isaac Newton FRS

[Napster]

SARF - Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader CBE, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar

v

Drastic Surgeon - Sir Isaac Newton FRS

 

[SARF]

I'll be the first to admit my man has had an easy ride to the semis.. I havnt even had to cut n paste anything yet.. and I wont now.. Bader was by all accounts an ubearable ****.. you know the kind, trappy brash overly self confident.. But that attitude is what served him well, after showing off and stacking his plane. Refusing to give up he battled through his horrific injuries.. using the limited technology of the time he got mobile and got a job.. Naturally he hated it and was desperate to get flying again.. His lucky break was the outbreak of WW2 ..Now global conflicts can hardly be called 'lucky' but for many young men of the time it was the chance of adventure.. Bader actually was knocking on a bit by the start of the war, but was convinced his experience would be invaluable.. and of course was desperate to give the Bosch a bloody good hiding.. Eventually a desperate fighter command gave him his chance and despite a lack of legs he proved himself to be a formidable pilot..and leader of men .. most of us have seen the film Reach for the Sky.. Shot down over france, only got out of his Kite because he could take his trapped leg off.. P.O.W. constant pain in the backside to the Jerries.. Convinced the more trouble he caused the less Germans would be free on the front line.. A complete refusal to give up... Now Bader may have been the kind of man that would grate on most people, but he was of his time.. He was the kind of Englishman that wont ever give up, that refuses to the cowed by those who appear stronger.. More importantly his heroism was conducted on the very edge .. Face to face with the finest the Luftwaffe had to offer with no concern for his own well being.. Rightly honoured leading the R.A.F. fly past at the end of the war..
.
.
An intresting fact, its now thought that Baders lack of legs may actually of been a help in Dogfights.. Pulling high G turns causes the blood to flow from the head into your legs causing pilots to Black out..this is combatted in modern planes by suits that inflate squeezing the legs and stopping the blood flowing down, of course that technology was not available in the battle of Britain.. But in Baders case, no legs, less room for the blood to go to, a Quicker recovery time from those turns...

 

[osymandus]

With out Issac Newtons therioms , ideas and genius , Bader (well in fact any other war hero ) would simply not have exististed . His ideas help shape the world after him .

Bader while brave is one of the Few , all are as worthy as him , and there are many more unnamed . I'd have said tail end charlies or X-baot raiders were in fact braver but hey .

 

[Dave Smiths Love Child]

Want to see some good arguements before deciding, both from different era and back grounds, so cases will be good for both of them

 

[Jedi Shrimper]

Apologies for my lack of campaigning yesterday but I was away on holiday over the weekend, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who’s voted for Isaac Newton throughout the competition until now.

It was always going to be tough persuading people to vote for a scientist, a thinker, when up against a war hero like Douglas Bader. And it makes us ask alot of questions, like what is a hero? Are we really voting for Bader, or for the thousands who like him risked their lives? He was one of the many who we owe so much to.

I have made the case for Newton’s acheivements several times in the course of the competition so I’ll leave you with this, and urge you to vote for a man whose discoveries & theories shaped our world today who strove to understand how our world works and to improve it, a world Douglas Bader & his comrades fought to protect.

“Young men go to war. Sometimes because they have to, sometimes because they want to. Always, they feel they are supposed to. This comes from the sad, layered stories of life, which over the centuries have seen courage confused with picking up arms, and cowardice confused with laying them down”
from ‘The Five People You Meet in Heaven’ by Mitch Albom.

VOTE NEWTON

 

[SARF]

Bader was more than one of the few.. He was the man who galvanised those into a fighting force.. Instilling in his men a fierce sense of pride and comradeship.. Then to lead from the front with 22 1/2 confirmed kills.. After the Battle of Britain he was at the forefront of taking the war back to the Germans over france.. Frequent sorties over France, evtenually colliding with a Me109 and having to bail out.. All of this would have been heroic for a fully able man , to do it with metal legs beggars belief.. Never giving up, the true bulldog spirit..

 

[osymandus]

Bader was more than one of the few.. He was the man who galvanised those into a fighting force.. Instilling in his men a fierce sense of pride and comradeship.. Then to lead from the front with 22 1/2 confirmed kills.. After the Battle of Britain he was at the forefront of taking the war back to the Germans over france.. Frequent sorties over France, evtenually colliding with a Me109 and having to bail out.. All of this would have been heroic for a fully able man , to do it with metal legs beggars belief.. Never giving up, the true bulldog spirit..

He was a group captain he led a group , im not saying he wasnt brave or heroic but in this context of greatest hero , Issac wins (plus i still reckown the forerunners of the MI5/M16 were also brave men and women some who were also disabled)

 

[SARF]

he was a wing commander in charge of 4 squadrons.. group captain came at the end of the war

 

[Jedi Shrimper]

Blimey, I really didn't expect to get Newton close to Bader as war hero's will always tend to get the popular vote, afterall stories of bravery & courage in the face of adversity will always inspire.

Just one vote behind at the moment, 13-14, come on people let's cause an upset!

Vote for Newton, arguably the greatest mind this country has ever produced and the man that put England on the scientific map!

 

[OldBlueLady]

I still can't get past the fact that the loss of his legs was nothing to do with war but a result of his own stupidity. I think I, too, will go for Newton here.

 

[Jedi Shrimper]

20mins left and there's still only one vote in it!

Just one more vote for Isaac Newton will make this a tie...

 

[Jedi Shrimper]

Well done SARF and Good Luck for the Final. :clap:

A big Thank You to all who voted for Isaac Newton throughout this competition, and for making this semifinal so close.

 

[SARF]

Cheers D. S. Close as you like.. Military types have an advantage in 'heros' competitions.. first time I havnt voted for Newton!.. Fear I may get filled in, in the final though!