Captain Jack Fosdyke
Kurt & Nancy Harris
hard-earned cash and buy "Who's Who in Wodehouse," but in the meantime I
wonder if someone here can help fill in the gaps. In which stories does
Captain Jack Fosdyke appear and what is the chronology of those stories?
Thanks.
the pink chap
(returning to his normal roseate hue)
charles
of Hollywood stories contained in "Blandings Castle) and in the golf story:
"Feet of Clay" (in the book "Nothing Serious")
Pillingshot
"Kurt & Nancy Harris" <har...@singnet.com.sg> wrote in message
news:3BECBD91...@singnet.com.sg...
Kurt & Nancy Harris
asked the question, I was thinking of those two stories, but thought
this truly laughable character must certainly have appeared elsewhere in
some story that I hadn't yet come across. Seems a shame to waste Captain
Jack on just two short stories, what?
the pink chap
charles
Brabozon-Plank for example. That is BP not Brabazon-Biggar of Major Plank.
All these chaps were real big game hunters, not like that scroundrel Captain
Jack who was nothing short of a cad. In one of the golf stories there was
also a female equilivlent to the Brabazon Planks of this world but I am
dashed if I remember her name or the story.
Pillingshot
"Kurt & Nancy Harris" <har...@singnet.com.sg> wrote in message
news:3BED2DF6...@singnet.com.sg...
Alistair Gale
<csto...@optusnet.com.au> wrote:
>True, true my dear Pink Chap. Other adventurers do appear in the canon;
>Brabozon-Plank for example. That is BP not Brabazon-Biggar of Major Plank.
>All these chaps were real big game hunters, not like that scroundrel Captain
>Jack who was nothing short of a cad. In one of the golf stories there was
>also a female equilivlent to the Brabazon Planks of this world but I am
>dashed if I remember her name or the story.
>
>Pillingshot
>
I'm guessing Clarice Fitch, the future Mrs Ernest Plinlimmon.
"She was speaking to me yesterday in terms of admiration of the hero
of a novel by a female writer, whose custom it was to wear riding
boots and to kick the girl of his heart with them." _There's always
Golf_
--
alistair
charles
club by the hands of this Earnest chap then she is indeed the gal I am
thinking of.
Pillingshot
"Alistair Gale" <alis...@caribsurf.com> wrote in message
news:bvdsutg7cfks6hnf8...@4ax.com...
Swordfish
> Thank you, Pillingshot, for what is certainly an accurate answer. When I
> asked the question, I was thinking of those two stories, but thought
> this truly laughable character must certainly have appeared elsewhere in
> some story that I hadn't yet come across. Seems a shame to waste Captain
> Jack on just two short stories, what?
>
> the pink chap
Pink chap, my dear fellow,
You will find no cause for such a complaint on the pages spent on a
equally famous big game hunter, Captain Biggar, in the novel 'Ring for
Jeeves'. [I hope i got the name of the novel right, the story where
Jeeves is lent to Lord Towcester, his main duties being to assist his
Lordship in his clandstine race course bookie activity].
Many delightful passages on the big game hunter and his erstwhile
colleagues , Subedar and Major Frobisher.
The Captain also reminds his Lordship's brother in law Rory to recite
several couplets on the Biggar family, ''who is bigger, Mr Bigger or
Mrs Bigger? Mrs Bigger, becuse she became Bigger'' etc.
Happy reading my dear fellow.
Pip pip,
Swordfish
Kurt & Nancy Harris
endeavor to get my pink hands on "Ring for Jeeves" post haste if not
sooner. I do hope that Captain Biggar is the blowhard kind of big game
hunter, the kind who talks a tough game, but faints at the sight of mice
and pekes. That's what endeared me to Captain Jack.
Having just been diagnosed with Dengue fever, I hope to spend my days of
recovery between the pages of several Wodehouse books. I presume "Ring
for Jeeves should be available in one of the Jeeves omnibi?
sincerely,
the pink chap
Reggie "Kipper" Herring
<srt...@vsnl.com> wrote
>You will find no cause for such a complaint on the pages spent on a
>equally famous big game hunter, Captain Biggar, in the novel 'Ring for
>Jeeves'. [I hope i got the name of the novel right, the story where
>Jeeves is lent to Lord Towcester, his main duties being to assist his
>Lordship in his clandstine race course bookie activity].
>Many delightful passages on the big game hunter and his erstwhile
>colleagues , Subedar and Major Frobisher.
That would be *The* Subahdar and Major Tubby Frobisher. Captain Biggar
was somewhat punctilious about using their correct names. But who or
what is a Subahdar?
That sounds like the cue for a delightful game where we list all the
not-quite-Noms who are mentioned in passing but never appear in person,
as it were. Rather like those Sherlock Holmes episodes old Watson
alludes to, but cannot tell because His Lips Are Sealed.
And then there's all those even more insubstantial characters in the
writings of Rosie M Banks, and the products of the Perfecto-Zizzbaum
Corporation.
Zizzbaum? The spillchucker will have fun with this one.
--
Reggie "Kipper" Herring
Rick Rashid
"Reggie "Kipper" Herring" <ric...@clupeid.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:73MGzAMT...@clupeid.demon.co.uk...>
> That would be *The* Subahdar and Major Tubby Frobisher. Captain Biggar
> was somewhat punctilious about using their correct names. But who or
> what is a Subahdar?
>
The word comes from Urdu. Subah (pronounced Sooba) means province.
Dar means holder.
During the Mughal rule in India the Subadar was the governor of a province.
During the British Raj the word came to mean a (native) leader of a company
of native sepoys (soldiers).
Now I don't mean to start a controversy or anything. The British Raj after
all has been over since 1947, and one has to let the dead P bury it's D and
so forth, but I have always thought it odd that Captain Bigger and Tubby
Frobisher would have an Indian drinking buddy. (It would have been highly
unusual for an Englishman to be a Subahdar). After all, what got the British
Raj so disliked by the Indians was the custom of the Anglo Sahibs to
maintain a rigid system of segregation. I would have thought Captain Bigger
and Mr. Frobisher would have sooner appeared in public without their solar
topees than to be seen drinking in company of an Indian.
Merolchazzar, King of Oom
Swordfish
Biggar
> was somewhat punctilious about using their correct names. But who or
> what is a Subahdar?
>
>
I was not aware that the Captain spelled the word 'Subhedar' that way.
No matter, you wanted to know what a 'Subedar'is. Well, the " Subhedar
major' was the highest rank for a non commisioned officer in the
Indian Army
Obviously, 'Subahadar' is a shortform for that rank. But it is a
mystery why a Britisher should have ended as a non commisioned officer
in the Indian Army.
Any way, your mystery for the day is solved as of now.
Incidentally, one of these two, "the Subhadar' or Major Frobisher was
said to be profficient in reciting 'Gangadin'. Both had a demoralising
habit[from Captain Biggar's point of view], of issuing invisible
celestial warnings to the Captain when he was at his strongetst in his
wooing of the rich widow
Pip pip,
Swordfish
Donald Renouf
I would have thought Captain Bigger
> and Mr. Frobisher
Major Frobisher, dammit
would have sooner appeared in public without their solar
> topees than to be seen drinking in company of an Indian.
>
or an N.C.O., more to the point.
Mightn't "the Subahdar" have been a nickname?
A.B.W.ff.-ff.
Reggie "Kipper" Herring
>Biggar
>> was somewhat punctilious about using their correct names. But who or
>> what is a Subahdar?
>>
>>
>Kipper, my dear fellow,
>I was not aware that the Captain spelled the word 'Subhedar' that way.
Well, that's how Wodehouse reports it. We have no evidence as to how the
Captain would have written the word. In Arabic, presumably, if it's
Urdu. Or possibly Devanagari, if it passed into Hindi. Either way, the
spelling in the Roman alphabet is clearly somewhat optional.
--
Reggie "Kipper" Herring
Sebastian Beach
>
>"Reggie "Kipper" Herring" wrote
>
>> That would be *The* Subahdar and Major Tubby Frobisher. Captain Biggar
>> was somewhat punctilious about using their correct names. But who or
>> what is a Subahdar?
>>
>
>The word comes from Urdu. Subah (pronounced Sooba) means province.
>Dar means holder.
>
>During the Mughal rule in India the Subadar was the governor of a province.
>During the British Raj the word came to mean a (native) leader of a company
>of native sepoys (soldiers).
>
>Now I don't mean to start a controversy or anything. The British Raj after
>all has been over since 1947, and one has to let the dead P bury it's D and
>so forth, but I have always thought it odd that Captain Bigger and Tubby
>Frobisher would have an Indian drinking buddy. (It would have been highly
>unusual for an Englishman to be a Subahdar).
Perhaps this is a nickname given to a hunter who employed a troop of
native bearers. Tubby and Captain Biggar might have jokingly referred
to the bearers as Sepoys, and hence (by extension) their chief as the
Subahdar.
In days gone by it was not unusual to hear a bossy person called a
"Sergeant Major", despite the fact that they had never served in the
armed forces. Admittedly this was never used to the person's face, but
maybe the Subahdar had a more robust sense of humour.
Beach. The Butler's Pantry, Blandings Castle.
Lorrill Buyens
<ric...@clupeid.demon.co.uk> ordered a alt.fan.wodehouse pizza with
extra cheese, but got this instead:
>And then there's all those even more insubstantial characters in the
>writings of Rosie M Banks, and the products of the Perfecto-Zizzbaum
>Corporation.
*Insubstantial*? I'll have you know that I do *not* write cardboard
characters! If you only knew the *time* and *love* and *effort*
which go into the making of my every best-seller...
>Reggie "Kipper" Herring
*Far* from cordially yours,
Rosie M. Banks
--
| Rosie M. Banks |
|Author of _Mervyn Keene, Clubman_; _Only a |
|Factory Girl_; and other fine literary works|
Support the Jayne Hitchcock HELP Fund
http://www.geocities.com/hollywood/6172/helpjane.htm
Reggie "Kipper" Herring
<buy...@interlacken.com> wrote
>On Mon, 12 Nov 2001 19:48:35 +0000, "Reggie \"Kipper\" Herring"
><ric...@clupeid.demon.co.uk> ordered a alt.fan.wodehouse pizza with
>extra cheese, but got this instead:
>
>>And then there's all those even more insubstantial characters in the
>>writings of Rosie M Banks, and the products of the Perfecto-Zizzbaum
>>Corporation.
>
>*Insubstantial*? I'll have you know that I do *not* write cardboard
>characters!
Dash it all, old thing, you know that's not what I meant. I'm sure your
characters are paragons of, er, fully-rounded characterisation. But they
do seem to be a little on the incorporeal side. Whenever I visit my
club, Mervyn Keene is conspic. by his a.
> If you only knew the *time* and *love* and *effort*
>which go into the making of my every best-seller...
And on that subject, I think you need to take a sharp stick to your
agent and publisher. I never seem to see any of them in the shops.
--
Reggie "Kipper" Herring
Swordfish
> Dar means holder.
>
> During the Mughal rule in India the Subadar was the governor of a province.
> During the British Raj the word came to mean a (native) leader of a company
> of native sepoys (soldiers).
>
> Now I don't mean to start a controversy or anything. The British Raj after
> all has been over since 1947, and one has to let the dead P bury it's D and
> so forth, but I have always thought it odd that Captain Bigger and Tubby
> Frobisher would have an Indian drinking buddy. (It would have been highly
> unusual for an Englishman to be a Subahdar). After all, what got the British
> Raj so disliked by the Indians was the custom of the Anglo Sahibs to
> maintain a rigid system of segregation. I would have thought Captain Bigger
> and Mr. Frobisher would have sooner appeared in public without their solar
> topees than to be seen drinking in company of an Indian.
>
> Merolchazzar, King of Oom
Rick,
A small question, were there no British Non Commissioned Officers
[NCO's ], in the Indian Army at all? Subahdar Major, as I said earlier
was the topmost NCO rank then.
The Subahdar could well have bben that rare Britisher with no formal
education and hence the non commissioned status.
Possible?
Pip pip,
Swordfish.
Rick Rashid
"Swordfish" <srt...@vsnl.com> wrote in message
news:2f9abe2a.01111...@posting.google.com...
>
> Rick,
> A small question, were there no British Non Commissioned Officers
> [NCO's ], in the Indian Army at all? Subahdar Major, as I said earlier
> was the topmost NCO rank then.
> The Subahdar could well have bben that rare Britisher with no formal
> education and hence the non commissioned status.
> Possible?
>
> Pip pip,
> Swordfish.
I suppose it may have been possible. Although the upper crust Anglo Indians
did'nt care for the British NCO's any more than Indians.
I don't know if you have read Paul Scott's Raj Quartet. (A set of four
novels deaing with the waning days of the Raj). Scott's has drawn a vivid
picture of the attitudes and hangups of the British in India during and
immediately after WW2, with a particular emphasis on army life. My
impresssion from Scott's works is that the british NCOs, known as BORs
(British Other Ranks), were no more welcome in the clubs than Indian KCOs
(Kings Commisioned Officers).
My guess is that Plum must have read the word 'Subhadar' somewhere, liked
the sound of it, and bunged it into Return of Jeeves without thinking of the
social implications. I am sure he had no idea that 40 years on a group of
fans would be disecting every nuance in his writings on something called the
internet.
Merolchazzar, King of Oom
The Mixer
> My guess is that Plum must have read the word 'Subhadar' somewhere, liked
> the sound of it, and bunged it into Return of Jeeves without thinking of the
> social implications.
It could also have been Guy Bolton's work. Wodehouse loaned Jeeves to Bolton
for a play and then turned Bolton's script into the novel we know as 'Ring For
Jeeves/The Return of Jeeves'.
The Mixer
Swordfish
> did'nt care for the British NCO's any more than Indians.
>
> I don't know if you have read Paul Scott's Raj Quartet. (A set of four
> novels deaing with the waning days of the Raj). Scott's has drawn a vivid
> picture of the attitudes and hangups of the British in India during and
> immediately after WW2, with a particular emphasis on army life. My
> impresssion from Scott's works is that the british NCOs, known as BORs
> (British Other Ranks), were no more welcome in the clubs than Indian KCOs
> (Kings Commisioned Officers).
>
> >
Yes indeed, and the delightful TV serial, 'The jewel in the crown',
based on the quartret. A very good portrayal of the life under the
Raj.
Dont recall any NCO's though in the Army mess.
Pip pip,
Sordfish