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Ralph,
Although there is evidence to support your views, I suspect any desire to cover oneself in glory evaporated rather quickly after arriving at the front. I recall a RFC veteran interviewed in a newspaper saying that everyone drank and smoked so much because ther were almost permanently scared. Few combatants would have wanted to do anything to stain the honour of their country or their regiment but that is different from actively seeking fame and prestige. When Wellington said the battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton, he was talking crap. Like WWI, it was won by desparate men in desparate circumstances.
Regards, John.
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