Royal Navy sailors hurl Ronald McDonald into Chilean harbour Two Royal Navy sailors have appeared in a Chilean court for stealing a life-sized plastic statue of Ronald McDonald from an outlet of the popular animal-products-in-a-bun globocorp. The mischievous matelots were thought to have hurled the tasteful icon of American capitalism into the harbour. The BBC reports that the duo were …
Whilst on HMS Brilliant back in the early 90's I and a few other drunken matelots robbed a massive Sol parasol from outside the harbour bar in Naples and took it down the mess. Next morning nobody could suss out how we managed to bring such a monstrous piece of equipment down the ladder in one piece. After several hours of head scratching we cut it into 3 and carted it over the side.
Just shows how alcohol can make mortal man produce miracles
On a multinational jaunt involving walking somewhere in the netherlands a certain snco stated in a briefing anyone getting caught interfering with another nationality's flag would be handed over to the MPs.
Followed in the same breath with "there'll be a crate of beer for anyone who can swipe the German flag without getting caught."
Can't quite remember what who said it, where it was or what we were doing though
;-)
Anyway.. Good drills those men.
... after all such things are designed to be stolen by [students|squaddies|matelots|scouts|etc.].
No, it's the subsequent throwing it in the harbour - that's despoiling the environment - a much more serious crime!
An aside - as a group of students we once liberated the "Italia" sign from a remote French-Italian border crossing using Swiss Army knives. A big 2 metre square sort of thing, blue, yellow stars, all that stuff. Brought it back to blighty on the roof of the minibus. Typically, as we walked it from the vehicle to its temporary storage location (prior to the planned display in a bar or something) at around 5am, a police patrol car passed us and slowed down. Luckily the quick-thinking rozzers just shook their heads and carried on their way...
Bunch of amateurs. During the Falklands conflict myself and some SAS lads stole a 50ft inflatable pink bullock from the roof of the Argentinian Marine Corps' headquarters at the dead of midnight, carried it fully-inflated through the streets of Rio Grande, filled it with stolen beer and hussled it onto HMS Invincible all WITHOUT being noticed, let alone arrested. The captain, with a tear in his eye, cried 'God Bless you lads' and recommended me for the Victoria Cross.
I was in the U.S. Navy. While docked in Yokusuka, Japan some the boys returning to the ship drunk on Annisette pushed an entire bicycle rack full of bikes off the quay wall into the water. They did this in full sight of the quarterdeck. The next day while the entire ships company was paraded for quarters on the dock the miscreants were obliged to locate and fish it out with a grapnel.
One famous story that circulated in the U.S. Navy was that some white hats stole a Turkish flag while tied up at a Turkish Naval base. Not too bad so far but then the Turks executed the guards. Quite a buzz kill.
Chick who runs the sandwich bar across road from where I used to work previously spent some time working as a chalet host, once had a boisterous group in that had a habit of bring home souvenirs. As she generally got there at 7amish to setup for cooked brekkie, then she usually saw whatever trophy they brought home...
The morning after their last night, the bus had left resort super early, so she went up to the chalet at the normal time wondering if they'd left any more souvenirs, and nearly got knocked off her feet by a St. Bernard dog which was that nights souvenir!! Of course she then got the job of returning it back to the owners in the town it came from!!
Don't get caught. Never heard of Mr Lightoller before: what a great story.
I believe Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch station has similar problems wth its platform signs - it seems this is still a collectors' market.
Paris 'cos she's too tasteful to toss in no stinkin' harbour.
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What is the point of stealing a plastic Ronald McDonald if all you're going to do is chuck it in the sea? Clearly the RN has fallen down on it's duties here.
Did no one even think of the possibilities? A quickly constructed yard arm and public hanging for the entertainment of the locals, as the ship departs, is always a good gag. As is flying the stolen article just beneath your ship's colours.
Seems to me that the current generation employed by our armed forces just don't understand what it takes to be a true British serviceman. They really should understand that our foreign friends expect and enjoy a bit of high jinks from British visitors, and in my view they were more than likely fined for lack of imagination rather than littering.
I trust they've been notable by their absence in Iraq for the last 5 years or so then?!! :-D
Didn't any of you clock the name of the ship? HMS *Manchester* - what else do they expect with such a reputation to uphold? ;-)
When I was in the Vietnam War a group of us stole a 500 foot high figure of Ho-Chi-Minh from the Officers' Mess in Saigon by fooling them singing "Underneath The Arches" and "Lillie Marlene". We then took it to the White House aboard HMS Repulse under cover of darkness where we presented it to Ronald McReagan whom we then threw into the harbour at Boston together with the tea.
Tell that to the matelots of today and they won't believe you!
While a junior Royal Naval officer on board a mine sweeper we (four juniour officers) had a jolly time in the bars of Liverpool. Come chucking out time we couldn't find a taxi so flagged down a cop car and persuaded them to give us a lift back to the ship.
On the journey we devised a jape that the cops went along with: when we arrived we had the cops turn on their flashing lights and sirens; we all then disgorged from the car, hurling insults at the cops who, in turn swore blue murder at us. By the time we'd got up the gang plank the captain, the XO and every other body on board were waiting for us. We got cheers from the crew and a bollocking from the captain.
Good times!
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