Hi to all on PF ,
Sculpting of a known person is I am told by my "sculpy type friends" one of the hardest things to capture in putty so it was a brave deciaion to commision and release this subject ....What have we on the review bench :
Title:"Mad Mitch" Mitchell
Sculptor:Fex (our very own on PF)
Box Art:none available
Scale: 200mm
Material:Gray Resin
No of pieces:2
As always lets have Lt Col. Mitchells story:
Colin Campbell Mitchell (17 November 1925 – 20 July 1996) He became famous in July 1967 when he led the A & S Hldrs in the British reoccupation of the Crater district of Aden. At that time, Aden was a British colony and the Crater district had briefly been taken over by nationalist insurgents. Campbell became widely known as “Mad Mitch”.
Although born and raised in a South London suburb, Mitchell always considered himself to be Scottish and exhibited a romanticised view of Scotland.
Mitchell was educated at the Whitgift School in Croydon. In May 1943 was enlisted as a private in the Royal West Kent Regiment. He soon became a lance-corporal and instructed newcomers in physical training.
He was commissioned into the A & S Hldrs in 1944 and fought in the final battles of the Italian campaign. Although he was lightly wounded at the Battle of Monte Cassino, his wartime experience inclined him to take up a career in the British Army.
He subsequently served in various campaigns inPalestine (wounded again in a ‘friendly fire’ incident), Korea(where he commanded his first company), Cyprus,Borneo and the Aden Emergency
He also served on attachment in the UK with the Territorial Armyand in East Africa with the King's African Rifles. Throughout all this time Mitchell was making a reputation as a bold and efficient officer, passing through the Staff College and serving as GSO1 on the staff of the CDS (Lord Mountbatten) Mitchell’s success in a wide range of appointments won him brevet rank as a lieutenant-colonel.
Mitchell was made Officer Commanding 1st Battalion, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (the ‘Argylls’) on 12 Jan 1967. He achieved fame in the Aden Emergency, which was acted out in the final few years of British rule in Aden. He became known as "Mad Mitch" (not his choice) and was Mentioned in Despatches (MID) , he was not awarded the DSO which caused a public outcry.
On 5 July 1967 Mitchell led a force that reoccupied the Crater district accompanied by 15 regimental bagpipers of the Argylls playing "Scotland the Brave". Mitchell subsequently used what were described as “strong arm methods” to keep control of the Crater in the remaining months before British withdrawal. The reoccupation was almost bloodless. Mitchell subsequently used an integrated system of observation posts, patrols, checkpoints and intelligence gathering to maintain the Crater as a tranquil area while security elsewhere in Aden began to deteriorate. The imposition of "Argyll law" (as Mitchell described it) on the Crater endeared Mitchell to the media and to the British public. But it did not endear him to certain of his superiors in both the Army and the High Commission
In July 1968, Mitchell gave notice of his intention to resign from the Army at the end of the year. Although Mitchell had not given the customary 7 months’ notice required of senior officers, his resignation was accepted immediately.
Once he was a civilian, Mitchell assumed a prominent role in the “Save the Argylls” campaign. He wrote his memoirs (“Having Been a Soldier”)
He undertook some freelance journalism and briefly took a job as management trainee with Beaverbrook Newspapers. However, he had become a popular public figure and turned this to his advantage when he started a new career in politics.
Continued in next post:
Nap
Sculpting of a known person is I am told by my "sculpy type friends" one of the hardest things to capture in putty so it was a brave deciaion to commision and release this subject ....What have we on the review bench :
Title:"Mad Mitch" Mitchell
Sculptor:Fex (our very own on PF)
Box Art:none available
Scale: 200mm
Material:Gray Resin
No of pieces:2
As always lets have Lt Col. Mitchells story:
Colin Campbell Mitchell (17 November 1925 – 20 July 1996) He became famous in July 1967 when he led the A & S Hldrs in the British reoccupation of the Crater district of Aden. At that time, Aden was a British colony and the Crater district had briefly been taken over by nationalist insurgents. Campbell became widely known as “Mad Mitch”.
Although born and raised in a South London suburb, Mitchell always considered himself to be Scottish and exhibited a romanticised view of Scotland.
Mitchell was educated at the Whitgift School in Croydon. In May 1943 was enlisted as a private in the Royal West Kent Regiment. He soon became a lance-corporal and instructed newcomers in physical training.
He was commissioned into the A & S Hldrs in 1944 and fought in the final battles of the Italian campaign. Although he was lightly wounded at the Battle of Monte Cassino, his wartime experience inclined him to take up a career in the British Army.
He subsequently served in various campaigns inPalestine (wounded again in a ‘friendly fire’ incident), Korea(where he commanded his first company), Cyprus,Borneo and the Aden Emergency
He also served on attachment in the UK with the Territorial Armyand in East Africa with the King's African Rifles. Throughout all this time Mitchell was making a reputation as a bold and efficient officer, passing through the Staff College and serving as GSO1 on the staff of the CDS (Lord Mountbatten) Mitchell’s success in a wide range of appointments won him brevet rank as a lieutenant-colonel.
Mitchell was made Officer Commanding 1st Battalion, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (the ‘Argylls’) on 12 Jan 1967. He achieved fame in the Aden Emergency, which was acted out in the final few years of British rule in Aden. He became known as "Mad Mitch" (not his choice) and was Mentioned in Despatches (MID) , he was not awarded the DSO which caused a public outcry.
On 5 July 1967 Mitchell led a force that reoccupied the Crater district accompanied by 15 regimental bagpipers of the Argylls playing "Scotland the Brave". Mitchell subsequently used what were described as “strong arm methods” to keep control of the Crater in the remaining months before British withdrawal. The reoccupation was almost bloodless. Mitchell subsequently used an integrated system of observation posts, patrols, checkpoints and intelligence gathering to maintain the Crater as a tranquil area while security elsewhere in Aden began to deteriorate. The imposition of "Argyll law" (as Mitchell described it) on the Crater endeared Mitchell to the media and to the British public. But it did not endear him to certain of his superiors in both the Army and the High Commission
In July 1968, Mitchell gave notice of his intention to resign from the Army at the end of the year. Although Mitchell had not given the customary 7 months’ notice required of senior officers, his resignation was accepted immediately.
Once he was a civilian, Mitchell assumed a prominent role in the “Save the Argylls” campaign. He wrote his memoirs (“Having Been a Soldier”)
He undertook some freelance journalism and briefly took a job as management trainee with Beaverbrook Newspapers. However, he had become a popular public figure and turned this to his advantage when he started a new career in politics.
Continued in next post:
Nap
