load--of--bollocks - Tumblr blog

load--of--bollocks · 2 months

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A Unhinged Historical Info & Tips Master Doc for Cap and Havers Artists + Fanfic Writers!

Once again I have returned to the BBC Ghosts fandom to drop some random crackhead knowledge for all your Capvers fan art and fanfic writing needs!

Disclaimer:

I am not a proper historian/academic (yet-) I just do a lot of military history research! I am writing my own historical fiction story set during / around WWII so I am doing a lot of research that runs parallel with The Captain an Havers' timelines! I will provide links to wikis and other sources where I found some information so you can do some cursory research on your own but always check multiple sources (preferably firsthand records) to get a better idea of historical accuracy!

HOWEVER- if you want the cliff notes version here is your master doc :)

ALSO- I have only seriously researched up to just past June of 1944 so my research is far from complete!

I will not be using Cap and Havers' names and will try to keep spoilers for season 5 to a minimum but advance with caution!

What I will be going over:

WWII British Uniforms what are they + art refs for artists

The Captain and Havers' medal bars [condensed]

Where the F*k did Havers go???

WWII info + misconceptions for fanfic writers

Strap in lads this is going to be a long LONG LOOOOONG post...

British WWII Uniforms

Ok to kick off! There are two types of uniforms you need to know about here: Service Dress and Battledress uniforms.

What's the difference?

Battledress is worn by soldiers in active combat. It looks very different to the uniforms Cap and Havers are wearing in the show. There are several iterations that were used throughout WWII but the ones you most likely will need to know about for art are Battledress Serge and the 1940 Pattern Battledress. The differences are extremely subtle mostly the differences are in the jackets. Battledress serge has a fly front with concealed buttons. The 1940 pattern looses the concealed buttons and fly front.

Service Dress is what Cap and Havers are wearing it is specifically called No.2 Service Dress. No.2 Service Dress is a very old uniform and was used in active combat during WWI but because phased out by Battledress for combat shortly before the start of the Second World War. No.2 Service Dress was still worn by officer ranks as "walking out dress" or for semi-formal functions. Basically, it is a uniform more for non-combat situations like administration and staff but was occasionally worn by senior most officers even after the start of WWII. Think of it as a uniform for special occasions or for non-combat personnel!

Why does Havers have a different belt for his Service Dress uniform? Havers has what I believe to be the standard issue white webbing belt that comes with the uniform. Officers were expected to purchase their own uniforms including the Sam Browne belt that went with it. So a plausible theory as to why Havers' belt is different at this time is he had not bought one.

So you would think that if Havers left for the North Africa front after the fall of France in 1940 he would have the 1940 pattern battledress right? WRONG-

Since Havers fought in North Africa he would have a different uniform entirely something lighter weight more suited for desert and Mediterranean climates/combat. This would be the KD uniform worn with either shorts or slacks.

Bonus Info: You can tell someone's rank quickly by looking at their shoulder boards (the strappy looking things on the uniform shoulders) the 3 pips on Cap's shoulder boards denote his rank. Havers has 2 pips meaning he is a First Lieutenant (Second Lieutenant has 1 pip on the shoulder boards). The boots worn with the uniforms in WWII are called ammo boots, the designs might vary per year and uniform but they are all very similar in appearance.

Useful Links:

[Khaki Drill Uniform] [Battledress] [Service Dress] [British Army Officer Rank Insignia]

Artists! If you are looking for uniform reference images look up old war photographs, historical reenactment sites, old war time government illustrations, and reproduction sellers! Here's some references for you!

[Epic Militaria Reenactment Uniform Sale Listings] [History in the Making Historical Reconstruction KD Uniform] [The National Army Museum Struggle for North Africa + Photos] [History in the Making Historical Reconstruction No. 2 Service Dress] [Ammunition Boots Images + Information]

We also have this lovely collection of photos of Cap's actual costume from eccentricthornback here!

Kinda Spoilers Ahead in the Next Section for Season 5...

The Captain & Havers' Medal Bars [Condensed]

Now I have been through this before in a more extensive deep dive post you can read [HERE] but to recap!

Medal bars are pretty self explanatory, they are to display medal ribbons earned and the medal bar is always located on the left side of the uniform jacket (typically above the left breast pocket of any uniform jacket). There are technically 3 different types of ribbons that can be present on a ribbon bar they are for either awards, decorations, or medals.

There are no more than 4 ribbons per medal bar the general rule being you don't want the ribbons hidden by the jacket lapels. There are also different "levels" of ribbons one can earn that determine their order of wear (place on the ribbon bar) the higher the importance/honor placed on a specific medal the higher it is in the hierarchy.

Let's start with "Cap's Medals..." They are in order:

War Medal 1939 - 1945

Defence Medal

France and Germany Star

1939 - 1945 Star

The Captain's medal bar is backwards (if you know you know-) the proper order of wear for these medals is in reverse of this list.

Now let's move on to Havers... his medals in order are:

Top row left or right:

Military Cross

1939 - 1945 Star

Africa Star

Bottom row left to right:

Italy Star

France and Germany Star

Defense Medal

War Medal 1939 - 1945

This has exciting implications for Havers lore I will get into momentarily- but the most interesting medal here for Havers is the Military Cross, it is a decoration for exceptional gallantry!

Useful Links:

[Awards and Decorations of the British Armed Forces List]

Here you will find a master list of the awards, decorations, and campaign medals of the British army as well as their order of wear and additional intel. You can read up on what each one is and why it was awarded.

Where the F*k Did Havers Go?

A lot of people have probably wondered/speculated on just where exactly Havers went after he transferred to the North Africa front, and this section is dedicated to exactly that!

France falls to the n-zis in the Battle of France on the 10th of June 1940, that news of which Havers delivers to The Captain in "Redding Weddy" to the horror of those in the room. Shortly before this the North Africa campaign began the 10th of June 1940 starting a long grueling battle to take it that will end in May 1943.

After North Africa was back in allied hands their attention turned to the planning of the invasion of Sicily which would be known as Operation Husky. During Operation Husky's early phases when they were establishing a foothold in Europe British soldiers from Tunisia were sent over as part of the invasion force. The invasion officially kicks off the 9th or 10th of July 1943 and this is where I propose Havers went after North Africa.

((If you want to read about a really intense battle during the Italian campaign to maybe use as Havers background material in a fic, I would recommend checking into info about Monte Cassino. Things got so bad there for the Allies soldiers were calling it “murder mountain” it’s definitely one of the most hard fought battles of the Italian campaign.))

One of the medals on Havers' ribbon bar is the Italy Star which was awarded to soldiers that fought in the Italian campaign so this reasoning is sound.

So where did he go after Italy? Most likely either fighting up through France or a direct route to fighting toward Germany. At this point in my research I honestly have no clue because currently I am at a point in my notes where the Italian campaign is still going on. If I had to take a educated guess though it would be very likely for Havers to fight through France and into Germany following Allied activity with the Normandy invasion otherwise known as Operation Overlord / D-Day.

Havers has a France and Germany star that would back this theory as well.

This section is just speculation but might be useful for Fanfic writers out there!

Useful Links:

[Battle of France] [North Africa Campaign] [Italian Campaign] [Allied Invasion of Sicily] [WWII Week by Week]

I CANNOT recommend the YouTube channel World War Two enough! It is where (as of right now) 90% of my research comes from. It is a vast wealth of knowledge about WWII where the hosts go over what happens in the war as it happens week by week. They also have other side series that run parallel with the war timeline about everything from spies, life on the home front, and records of war cr!mes that occurred. You can skim through the episodes between the dates of any campaign and get information about what was happening in places like North Africa day by day week by week!

Last Section! You're almost there!

WWII Info + Misconceptions for Fanfic Writers

This one's for you fanfic writers! This is just for some extra information regarding WWII I think might be useful for putting in fan fiction regardless if its Capvers ship-centric or platonic. This Will also clear up a few things I caught while on my midnight jaunts through Ao3. ALSO- TW for mentions of discriminatory laws against homosexuality and Spoiler Warnings for season 5!

In the Trenches / "Going Over the Top"

Sorry friends! You are thinking of WWI also known as the Great War. WWI was primarily fought in brutal trench warfare for months at a time. Going over the top is a phrase commonly used to describe assaults on trenched positions. It is when soldiers would be forced to leave their trenches and move up the line fighting their way through no man's land to reach the enemy trench position.

Ok- so what was WWII like then?

WWII was a very mobile conflict fought in the air, sea, and sky. The n-zis opened the Second World War with what is called "Blitzkrieg" tactics (translates to Lightning War in German). Although blitzkrieg tactics are older than WWII they are most well known for being used in this war. In short this type of tactic employed is a "combined arms surprise attack using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, together with artillery, air assault and close air support, with intent to break through the opponent's lines of defense, dislocate the defenders, unbalance the enemies by making it difficult to respond to the continuously-changing front, and defeat them in a decisive battle of annihilation." All across every front in WWII it was a very mobile war even on the side of the Allies. Trench warfare was EXTREMELY rare and primarily old trenches were used as enemy defensive lines (this happened in the Battle for Leningrad).

What about North Africa?

North Africa was a brutal campaign that the Allies got beat back in multiple times before eventually reclaiming. It was a hot, dry, and unforgiving climate with very little cover. During battles there would sometimes be very little to shield someone from enemy fire in the desert so soldiers would often dig pits called foxholes to try and get away from enemy fire. Also think about it from a Allied perspective, they were at a disadvantage with the terrain because what ground that was high up in passes and such was held by the enemy and would be very difficult to launch attacks against.

There were MANY key figures in the North Africa campaign but the most famous ones you are liable to come across are Archibald "Archie" Wavell, Claude Auchinleck, Harold Alexander, and Bernard Montgomery for the British. (Cap has verbally mentioned Harold Alexander and Bernard Montgomery "Monty" in the show!) As for the N-zis you have 3 main commander Albert Kesselring, Erwin Rommel, Hans-J. von Arnim. Rommel is very infamous as an Axis commander and Kesselring later goes on to be a problem for the Allies in Sicily and other areas of the European theatre. The North Africa campaign was primarily a British led campaign against Italian forces but Vichy French forces and N-zi forces were also present and on the side of the Allies there were also American and Free French forces involved in the conflicts.

SO! The long and the short of it if you are going to focus on North Africa probably mentioning Montgomery or Alexander is your way to go for the British and Rommel for the n-zis. Rommel was very well known for tank battles (I believe but don't quote me on it dude did A LOT-) and had the nickname "The Desert Fox" however when the Allied recaptured North Africa at the end of the Tunisia Campaign Rommel was called away back to Germany for health reasons so was not captured.

Would Cap and Havers be executed for being gay?

No, you are thinking of an earlier discriminatory British law this gets sticky to say the least- and I am absolutely NOT an expert on this but I will take my best crack at explaining it. TW I am about to mention some really awful LGBTQ+ history. The law you are thinking of is the Buggery Act of 1533 passed in the reign of Henry VIII. It made homosexuality a capital crime and it remained that way until 1861. Although the last execution was in 1835.

So what would have happened to Cap and Havers then?

TWs for unfortunately more awful portions of LGBTQ history... During WWII acts of "gross indecency" were outlawed under the "Offences Against the Person’s Act of 1861" it was followed by Section 11 of the "Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885" which defined the punishment as: "a term of imprisonment "not exceeding two years", with or without hard labour, for any man found guilty of gross indecency with another male, whether "in public or in private". No definition was given of what, exactly, constituted "gross indecency"." Actual s-x acts between men were treated with harsher punishment. In the "Offences against the Person Act 1861" which repealed the death sentence for acts of "buggery" it mentions: "a person convicted of this was liable to be kept in penal servitude for life or for any term not less than ten years."

So if caught at worst it would most likely mean life in prison or a sentence of no less than 10 years in a civilian court. For officer ranks it would be worse and in the military from my understanding men would be prosecuted under the "1879 Army Act and the 1881 Regulation of the Forces Act" and if they were acquitted or even CONVICTED he could face retrial in the civil court, but if they were tried in the civil court they could not then be prosecuted in a military court. There were a couple sections they could be tried under but basically the sentences varied and arrests were very infrequent. During WWII it was costly to court martial a service man and quite frankly they did not have the time. Punishments could range from jail time to a slap on the wrist and some chastising depending on the individual, crime, and accuser. Sometimes these laws would be weaponized against service men by other service men but in some cases homosexuality went unaddressed. Commanding officers mostly handled discipline in house and if someone could not be "rehabilitated" they could be transferred.

So, if you want my opinion on it- likely it would mean anything from serious prison time to being transferred to being verbally reprimanded. So take your pick because from my understanding any of them were possible. THIS IS JUST SPECULATION BUT- perhaps there could also be fines involved, someone could be stripped of rank or discharged from the army/lose their penchant. I have no sources to back this speculation up but it seems plausible.

Let's move on to something a bit more lighthearted shall we?

What about the development of the real Limpet mine?

Needless to say its more unhinged than you think! It was primarily developed by Stuart Macrae and Cecil Clarke. It was developed out of the need for a mine that could stick to ships to blow holes in the hull and after reading a issue of the popular magazine "Armchair Science" Millis Jefferis called upon the editor of the magazine (Macrae) and a managing director of the Low Loading Trailer Company (Clarke) to help develop the mine. During its development they needed to figure out a solution for the detonator that would allow the mine to go off with a fuse delay but not kill the diver before attaching it to a target. When looking for a dissolving pellet for the spring-loaded striker they were in Clarke's living room and his children inadvertently gave them their solution. Aniseed balls a type of candy was used as the prototype pellet because it took a consistent time to dissolve in water that was ample enough to set the mine. The next day they went around Bedford and bought up A LOT of aniseed ball candies to use for the prototypes.

The last issue was finding a way to store the magnetic mine because the aniseed balls had to be protected from damp, otherwise the mine could go off in storage. In order to do this they put a condom over the striking mechanism and found it was the perfect solution. So what did these two grown ass men do in a short span of time? Go from chemist to chemist within Bedford buying up entire stocks of condoms after buying up a lot of children's aniseed ball candies. This story makes me laugh every time I read it and it was very clever.

Also- I have DEFINITELY read this in a fanfic somewhere so kudos to you good writer! You know your stuff gold stars all round!

If you want to read where I have got this information from I am referencing a book I bought by Giles Milton called "Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare the Mavericks Who Plotted Hitler's Defeat" it is a book about the SOE (Special Operations Executive) and I highly recommend it. You will find the story of the Limpet mine in the beginnings of chapter I "The Third Man".

Air Raids & Black Outs

I will make this my last section for now as this post is already insidiously long but let's talk about air raids and black outs in Britain because fic writers I am telling you there's some untapped potential here-

Air raids were a huge problem during WWII for multiple reasons, 1 being they were very ineffective and unreliable. Contrary to popular belief no bombing the shit out of Britain and Germany did nothing to squash morale. (The RAF actually had DATA backing up this fact but bomber command Arthur Harris elected to conveniently ignore this fact-) The Battle of Britain between the Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe took place between the 10th of July to the 30th of October 1940. Nightly the Luftwaffe would fly over Britain in air raid sorties dropping bombs on various important cities and military targets engaging with the RAF in air battles over Britain. During the Battle of Britain and even later the government issued mandatory black outs where every window would be covered and electricity would be cut so that the Luftwaffe pilots would have a harder time targeting cities. The black outs were just as dangerous as the air raids at times with crime going up and the rates of car crashes skyrocketing. During WWII radar targeting systems in planes were still relatively new and were not as precise as they should be, both Allied and Axis planes regularly missed targeted drop zones and resulted in surrounding countrysides and villages getting hit in the air raids.

Also around mid-June of 1944 you had the V1s to contend with also called "doodlebug" or buzz bombs for the horrifying noises they make. They terrorized British civilians for a little while until British air defenses finally got the situation mostly under control. The V1s made a terrifying buzzing noise until their engines cut out and when they cut out it signaled that the bomb was falling. (So this is perhaps something you could call mention to since Cap was in Britain, it's within the realm of possibility.)

So- consider that when writing fanfics might get some good ideas out of it!

Useful Links:

[Trench Warfare] [Blitzkrieg] [North Africa Campaign] [Limpet Mine] [Battle of Britain] [V1 Flying Bomb]

TW the following links contain information about bigoted laws that were in place in Britain: [Offences Against the Person Act 1861 S-xual Activities Section] [Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885] [Section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885] [Buggery Act of 1533]

This link is a bit of a lighter read but the same TWs apply for some segments: [Same-sex desire in the British Armed Forces, 1939-1945]

Congrats You Made it to the End!

This was a LONG post- I will not be doing this again lmao-

This was tangentially connected to my own research (I am writing a historical-fiction story about 2 British spies in enemy territory and one is gay the other bisexual) so it was within my general wheel house! An I figured if it will help fan artists and writers I will just leave my delusional ramblings here.

BBC Ghosts has consumed my soul on a unhealthy level and this took a disgusting amount of time lol-

Anyways~! Hope this helps!

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load--of--bollocks · 5 months

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As warm as a dead man can be - The Captain x male reader

Summary: A small look into the life of you and the Captain.

Comments and reblogs are much appreciated and help more people read my works.

A/N: One of my favourite gay Ben Willbond characters, which there's a lot of...

It took a few decades to get over your own death, to come to terms with the fact that you’re forever stuck in the same house where you died, giant bleeding gash in your abdomen and outfit never changing.

Though through all it he’s been there.

At first he’d check in on you, minding not to stand too close, his posture stiff but his eyes shaped like hearts. He would watch on as you entertained Kitty, the young woman becoming a sister to you, his heart swelling with pure love he hadn’t felt since Havers, his hands itching to be held.

Then the check ins evolved into him sitting next to you whilst you stared off into space, the early nineties being the hardest for you because the sudden realisation that you’d never age another year age had dawned upon you. He’d sit close, sometime he’d tell a story to quell your nerves, other times he’d allow you to talk about the seventies and the hippy movement, about passed lovers, how for just a moment you felt a part of something bigger. However, one day when the skies cried out heavy thunderous rain, the other ghosts hidden away and quiet, you had flung your arms around him in the tightest hug.

Those hugs became frequent when eyes weren’t watching, your fingers always touching him when you walked passed and you'd always aligning the lapels of his uniform just to be close.

The Captain likes that you’re a very touchy person. Maybe it’s because he can't touch anything else with his hands, that the only thing that he can feel are the cold dead skin of the other ghosts.

The Captain loves to watch you dance with Kitty, the young woman always begging you to teach her disco dance moves, either that or she’s dragging you about the house like a hyper little child pointing at everything like she’s never seen it before. Just imagine the sight, you dressed in your flared jeans, cowboy boots and white shirt (not minding the blood stains) being twirled around by Kitty, your eyes catching the Captain’s with every spin, a giant smile on your face.

You’d get the courage to steal kisses from him years later. The first time it happened it must have been two thousand and four in late afternoon, you both were sitting outside watching the clouds in silence when all the sudden you leaned over, peck him on the cheek followed by fleeing.

The Captain had sat in the same place red faced for a half hour before Fanny came around disturbing the peace.

That very same day the Captain had the courage to ask for another kiss, for he was too shy to do it himself, which you did. Then you did it again. And again, and- well you get the picture.

His hands are as warm as a dead man could be, his fingers intertwined with yours as you relax in a quiet corner of the house. His jacket if off, though he can’t go far without it for it is a part of what he died in. Your hands are warm and so connected to his that they refuse to let go.

Pat would have described your hands like a stubborn knot that could only be untied by the best of knot tiers.

Your face leans on the Captain shoulder, his cheek pressed in the short crop of your hair, the seventies style jostled by the occasional kiss.

The radio plays in the background, radio four playing for it’s the best compromise between your music tastes, the long talking of the presenters lulling in the background almost like the two of you have left Button house and are sat in a nice café or park.

“It’s a nice day today.” you say as your eyes trail to the small window overlooking the large back garden, the radio mixed with the birds songs calming you down from morning filled with disorganised chaos and too many dead bodies.

“It is indeed.” he replies as you nestle into his shoulder some more.

“My Captain how I wish to stay like this forever.” you whisper as you take you other hand and cup his face, your fingers moving across his jaw.

The Captain happily hums almost like a purr, a thing he only really does around you, his body sinking closer to yours.

“Let’s stay here until the sun sets and everyone lays down to sleep.” you carry on.

“I would stay here forever if it was here with you.” Captain whispers, his voice so quiet that you almost miss it.

You smile and snuggle closer, the sun yet to set.

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