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My, my! Many Britons ignorant about Battle of Waterloo


(Reuters) - As Britain prepares to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, a survey shows that many Britons know little about the fight and associate the name with an ABBA song or a London railway station.

The National Army Museum survey revealed that more than a quarter of the people surveyed - 28 percent - had no idea who won the battle and 14 percent believed the French were victorious over the British and their Prussian allies. One if five knew absolutely nothing about it.

Just over half - 53 percent - correctly knew that the Duke of Wellington had led the British army against Napoleon's French forces. Participants who did not know put forward the names of Francis Drake, Winston Churchill, King Arthur and even Harry Potter wizard Albus Dumbledore as the possible commander.

Young people showed a particular lack of awareness.

Asked what came to mind when Waterloo was mentioned, they showed greater recognition of London's Waterloo Station - 54 percent - and the song "Waterloo" by Swedish pop group ABBA - 47 percent - than they did about the battle.

The 1974 ABBA song begins with the line: "My, my, at Waterloo Napoleon did surrender".

The survey results might be something of a shock as Britain gears up to commemorate the battle fought on June 18, 1815, just outside Brussels in Belgium.

Generally considered one of history's great battles and described by Wellington as "a close run thing", it brought an end to the Napoleonic Wars and set the stage for an era of British domination of much of the world.

A series of events, including re-enactments, are planned across the country and book shops are filled with new studies.

But, said National Army Museum director Janice Murray: "Despite the Battle of Waterloo being an iconic moment in British history, UK public awareness is dramatically low."

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/04/1 ... 18?rpc=401

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

If most people associated Waterloo with the ABBA song they would know who won the battle. The answer is in the first line of the song. Since when has there been much of a commemoration of the battle? How many of the people asked in the survey would have been foreign nationals who now live in Britain.

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Grandad,

many foreign nationals who now live in Britain know more about history of this Island than the Natives, same as about geography, foreign languages and general viewing of the world... mate, we are backing to 16th, 17th century now, scots, irish, welsh fightin in the polish and russian armies as mercenaries did you know about it? did you knowt that City of Donetsk was built and located by John Hughes a welsh bussinesman in 1869... so mate we know what Waterloo means same as Brittania and who all wives of Henry the VIII were and even we know where a popular drink bloody mary in known from... more kings? vikings, romans? anglo-saxons and normans? why english language contains always min. two varieties of almost each word?

It was a coalition army

England
Russia
Prussia
Hanover
Nassau
brunswick
Sweden
Netherlands
Spain
Portugal
Sardinia
Tuscany
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
France (Kingdom of)


For me, Englands greatest victories were Agincourt, Crecy and Poitiers, If they know nothing of Waterloo doubtless its pointless asking what they DO know...

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

Culloden was brill

England 1 Sweaty socks nil

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

And where it was won.

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IDFIMH

oh stop it

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

at a train station in London innit

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

doesn't nobody watch Sharpe

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Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

Most of your team were "Sweaty socks" as well

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

Most of your team were "Sweaty socks" as well [/quote

We couldnt get many to travel that far, so we let a few of yours think we liked em

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

Just England..not British?

No, Just England, they came before James I (or VI if your Scots), therefore strictly English.

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Chris The Fish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdlyi5mc ... re=related

Same thing to some

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/