This is the latest addition to my Hinton Hunt personality figure collection namely BN257 Maj-Gen Sir William Ponsonby mounted on BNH11 General’s Horse. Another nice little figure and again this one is a David Clayton casting. There are more than 25 personality figures in the HH range and I currently have 15 of them. I’m going to be using mine as Colonels for each of my units and Ponsonby will be given pride of place in command of the British Cavalry.Ponsonby arrived on the Peninsula in 1811 with the 5th Dragoon Guards. He subsequently took part in the charge of the Heavy brigade at Salamanca and was promoted to command of the brigade following the battle. At Waterloo he commanded the Union Brigade and became its most famous casualty during the headlong charge into D’Erlon’s columns. Some put his death at the hands of seven French lancers down to the fact that he was not riding his best horse at the time.
In the film Waterloo there is a sequence where Ponsonby meets his fate having given his watch to an aide for safekeeping. It’s one of those odd sequences in the film (like the charge of the Scots Grey’s) where the rest of the battle disappears and all you see is Ponsonby being circled by the lancers (anyone remember who plays him in the film?). I think the aide gets the chop as well, quite dastardly really.
15 comments:
Another nice little character. As for the film...I remember it well. The aide does get the chop-in the back by more of the same Lancers, but cannot remember the Ponsonby actor's name.
Matt
A search on the web reveals that Michael Wilding plays Ponsonby in the Bondarchuk film of Waterloo.
I would be amazed if anyone on this blog does not have it on dvd!
Lovely model Ian
Roy
Hi Ian
Very nice painting
Your last few posts have been with Clayton figures,
they look fine to me, Which is good news for those of us waiting for them to come back into production.
( Michael Wilding played Ponsnby)
Paul
Michael Wilding, wasn't it?
Michael Wilding it is then - I do have the DVD (of course) but I couldn't see his name on the box.
Paul - yes, I do seem to have entered a bit of a Clayton period and the figures I have are superb. They all came via Clive from the same source (I think old stock from a US shop - Clive?). If they are the product of the current moulds then there is certainly hope for the future!
Ian
Hi
I own the Waterloo film on a CD after emulating it!. The Ponsonby scene is not easy to forget
Rafa
One way to tell a Clayton from an original HH is the feed lines on the bottom of the base. Marcus always cut a triangular feed and mostly these come to a point on the base of the figure, sometimes a little thicker. David Clayton usually used a flat feed of rectangular section that joined full width to the base , giving a squared long stub!!
Roy
Nice figure - well painted - I'd appreciate ut if you would add my blogg to your links list - thanks Ron
Will do Ron...
I once did some holiday work in a scrap yard in Essex where the gaffer was a bloke called Ponsonby-Smythe, who reckoned he was a relative and that the 'family' still have possession of the locket. Hmm, could've been an itchy beard though!
I do have two versions of Waterloo on DVD. One of them, bought in Amsterdam, has a number of sequences that the British released one doesn't have, including shots of the charging Scots Greys where the Russian stunt riders can be seen yanking the legs from beneath the galloping horses and sending them crashing to the ground in vivid and horrible detail.
There is a legend that a 3-4 hour Russian version of the film exists. So, if the Dutch can get a brutal, less sanitised version, who knows, maybe ...
I enjoy your blog. Terrific work.
Lorne
Hi Lorne
Glad you're enjoying the blog. I went to see the film Waterloo when it first came out (1970?) and I also managed to borrow the paperback book that accompanied it from someone at school. I remember reading it by candle light during a power blackout (ah, the seventies what good times!). Bit sad about the 'stunt' horses but it would be great to see all that extra footage.
Ian
Ponsonby was played by Michael Wilding, or possibly vice versa. One of my favourite films, despite its many famous flaws. I remember being particularly impressed by the story that it took 3 goes to get the British squares to stand still when the cavalry attacked - these were serving Russian soldiers, trained for nuclear war etc, but when the horses started the ground shaking they just legged it. Each time, they had to find a fresh bit of the Crimea to re-shoot it, since the ground was all torn up and would ruin the aerial photography. Great. But why do we kill each other? How can we? Regards - Tony
Ian - your tale of clandestine reading reading of the paperback (Frederick E Smith?) reminds me that there is a classic moment in that book during the battle of Ligny, when Blucher's horse gets shot. As I recall, it says "suddenly a shot rang out". Really? In the middle of the Battle of Ligny, a shot suddenly rang out. Professional writers at work, you see - that used to crease me up when I was a young lad. Cheers - Tony
Does Clive still have any figures for sale (9?years later). If so, how do I contact him?
Nolan - there is a contact email address for Clive on his 'Hinton Hunter' blog.
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