When I was young, it was common for the Church News to have pictures and accompanying articles about jack rabbit hunts that had been sponsored by Deacon’s quorums. For those who aren’t familiar with farming back in those days, jack rabbits ate a lot of hay that was been stockpiled for use by cows during the winter, and farmers considered the rabbits pests.

And you’re right about Churchill being forced from the Admiralty in 1915 after the Gallipoli disaster–he had been First Lord of the Admiralty since 1911. But he did serve as the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster for several months (a sinecure with no responsibility), until he resigned and took a commission in the army and went to the Western Front. More important, he was in the government in the 1920s, acting as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1924 until the government fell in 1929. Then he went into the “wilderness” from which he didn’t return until the beginning of the war with Germany, when he was appointed again to the Admiralty.

(If you’re concerned–I really don’t have all this committed to memory. The vague outlines in my head are helped considerably by a quick look at some online resources.)

I did like “Gallipoli”–but it’s just unutterably sad. For all of you who are signing up to have NetFlix send you “Breaker Morant” (put it number 1 on your list!), I won’t go into a long explanation about what tempers the sadness of that movie–I don’t want to spoil it.

Peter Weir chose Albinoni’s Adagio as the theme for “Gallipoli.” Here’s a recording by von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic, a slightly slower tempo than I’m accustomed to. It can almost bring one to tears even without the memories it evokes for those who have seen the movie.

Mark IV: glad to find another true believer! Terrific characters (what a collection: Morant, the poet, Handcock, the uneducated rake, and Witton, the callow lad), well played; great dialogue–a few of my favorites:

Sentry: Do you want the padre?
Harry Morant: No, thank you. I’m a pagan.
Sentry: And you?
Peter Handcock: What’s a pagan?
Harry Morant: Well… it’s somebody who doesn’t believe there’s a divine being dispensing justice to mankind.
Peter Handcock: I’m a pagan, too.

Or, in their first meeting with their defense lawyer:

Harry Morant: As a matter of interest, how many courts-martial have you done?
Major Thomas: None.
George Witton: None?
Peter Handcock: Jesus, they’re playing with a double-headed penny, aren’t they?
Major Thomas: Would you rather conduct your own defence?
George Witton: But you have handled a lot of court cases back home, sir?
Major Thomas: No. I was a country-town solicitor. I handled land conveyancing and wills.
Peter Handcock: Wills. Might come in handy.

To say nothing of the hard questions it asks (and doesn’t really answer, except that the British didn’t get them right).

Put it at the top of your queue, Researcher.

Not only do we share similar names, we are kindred souls when it comes to movies. I’ve given up telling people that Breaker Morant is my favorite movie ever, because most of them have never heard of it. Another great part is when their inexperienced lawyer makes his first appearance in court and tries to get the charges thrown out. In response to the judge’s question as to why, he responds: “Because this trial is unconstitutional.” Classic.