George

Attack
AT dawn the ridge emerges massed and dun
In the wild purple of the glow'ring sun,
Smouldering through spouts of drifting smoke that shroud
The menacing scarred slope; and, one by one,
Tanks creep and topple forward to the wire.
The barrage roars and lifts. Then, clumsily bowed
With bombs and guns and shovels and battle-gear,
Men jostle and climb to meet the bristling fire.
Lines of grey, muttering faces, masked with fear,
They leave their trenches, going over the top,
While time ticks blank and busy on their wrists,
And hope, with furtive eyes and grappling fists,
Flounders in mud. O Jesus, make it stop!

Seigfried Sassoon

Heroes

Vera Brittain is best known for her book ‘Testament of Youth’, in which she tells the story of her harrowing experiences in the First World War. It was then that she realised that war wasn’t the glorious adventure many young men thought it to be. Afterwards she became strongly - and famously - associated with the peace movement, to which she was committed for the rest of her life.
http://www.ppu.org.uk/learn/infodocs/people/pst_vera.html

Not that I'd have agreed with her about everything but her example is extraordinary.

Bobby Moore. The best footballer I ever saw. Did anything ever ruffle his composure?

Paula Radcliffe. The greatest female endurance athlete the world has ever seen. I guess none of us can imagine what it takes to do that bit more to be so successful. Work hard doesn't even begin to describe it.

David LLoyd George. Not without his faults but as a young man a fearless reformer.