The Monocled Mutineer

The amount of 'artistic licence' used is debateable but this is BBC drama at its best and its surely time the BBC repeated it? That it certainly ruffled the feathers of Tory Party grandees and their friends in Fleet Street when first broadcast simply adds to the intrigue.

I must say I've come across this title accidentally, in David Suchet's book about his experience of playing Hercule Poirot, where he mentions Paul McGann and his part in "The Monocled Mutineer". Whether the television production and / or the book it is based upon observe the historical details seems to me to be rather irrelevant. I have made my judgement based upon the four episodes alone. The actor playing the main part is perfectly cast, and the music signed by George Fenton is an essential element contributing to the overall haunting nature of the film. All the other actors and actresses play their respective parts to perfection, and make the series a serious contender for a much better reputation in the history of BBC productions. The horrors of war and war-mongering, the stupidity of officers and NCOs alike, the pretext offered by continental conflict to an expression of man's basest instincts, including that of resorting to torture - be it psychological or physical - they are as many chances given to the anti-hero to show himself in his true dimension. Awesome, as the Americans say!

Although some of the comments made on this BBC series are founded in fact, there are several which are completely false; Toplis did exist he was part of the "Mutiny" at "The Bull Ring" which was a brutal training ground for British soldiers during WWI in which troops were exposed to the effects of mustard gas at the hands of there own superior officers and, also in which counts of summary execution for Desertion number in the THOUSANDS!! The reason this adaptation of his story was received with such an extreme reaction from the British High Command was that it highlighted a situation which ultimately could have cost the Allies the war and which was totally caused by the Brutal nature shown by officers and military police to there own Conscripted soldiers. It is indeed true that the British Army files must be made available to the public in 2017, my only concern is that after 100 years of lies and deceit, how much of the truth remains unaltered and unabridged? This story, for me, highlights the view that any and all military powers have towards there own troops, one of complete contempt.

Whether the events portrayed at Passchendale are true or not exactly accurate,this is still moving and emotive drama.Maybe useful as a training manual on how not to treat recruits, as bullying and brutality can still raise their ugly heads.Everyone has a breaking point and rather than instilling pride the Redcaps degraded and abused to the extent the soldiers were stripped of their dignity and had nothing to lose in mutiny.The drama certainly gets the viewer on the side of Percy Topliss,i was urging his escape from the pernicious official Woodhall.Whether mutiny jeopardised the allied cause,the underlying themes showed the complexity of the situation and how discipline stretched to inhumanity can backfire.

The reason this drama has not been repeated is that after the first broadcast the BBC came under fire from the government and were banned from screening it again. This was due to the sensitivity of the subject matter, i.e. Percy Toplis and the mutiny at "The Bull Ring", a harsh British Army training ground in Etaples, France. There is a lot of mist around Percy Toplis who was finally tracked down and killed some years after the end of the war. No one truly knows the events that transpired at the Bull Ring for certain and we won't know until 2017 when the files on the event will finally be released. Until then all we have is this drama and i think there should be a demand that it should be broadcast again, some 18 years on.