JULY 13 2024

Alexander Fiske-Harrison, Britain’s leading bullfighter, is inspired by men who keep their upper lip starched. He writes in Boisdale Life that his hero is Charles Upham, twice winner of the Victoria Cross. In 1943, Upham attempted a bold daylight escape from a prisoner of war camp only to get caught on the barbed wire. A Nazi corporal put a loaded pistol to his head but Upham reminded him that it was only legal to shoot a PoW while escaping. Since he clearly could not move, he should be spared. He then lit a cigarette and said: “And I refuse to be shot by a bloody corporal. Bring an officer.” Upham lived for another 51 years.”