The Virgin Soldiers
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The Virgin Soldiers
''The Virgin Soldiers'' is a 1966 comic novel by Leslie Thomas, inspired by his own experiences of National Service in the British Army. It was Thomas' debut novel; he had previously published an autobiography. ''The Virgin Soldiers'' sold millions of copies during the author´s lifetime. Plot summary The core of the plot is the romantic triangle formed by the protagonist, a conscript soldier named Private Brigg; a worldly professional soldier named Sergeant Driscoll and Phillipa Raskin, the daughter of the Regimental Sergeant Major. The location is a British army base in Singapore during the Malayan Emergency. Brigg and Phillipa are virgins in every sense of the word; they're both barely out of adolescence. Brigg is fearful of Phillipa's father and hardly dares go near her. He is equally afraid of the Malay and Chinese prostitutes in the nearby city. His only outlet is with his mates in the barracks, who fantasize endlessly about what they might do without actually knowing ...
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The Virgin Soldiers (film)
''The Virgin Soldiers'' is a 1969 British war film, war comedy-drama film directed by John Dexter and starring Lynn Redgrave, Hywel Bennett, Nigel Davenport, Nigel Patrick and Rachel Kempson. It is set in 1950, during the Malayan Emergency, and is based on the 1966 The Virgin Soldiers, novel of the same name by Leslie Thomas. The film's popularity spawned a 1977 sequel, ''Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers'' with Nigel Davenport repeating his role as Sgt Driscoll. Premise Private Brigg is a soldier sent to Singapore during the Malayan Emergency along with a squad of naïve new recruits. There he falls for Phillipa Raskin, the daughter of the regimental sergeant major. Cast * Lynn Redgrave as Phillipa Raskin * Hywel Bennett as Pte Brigg * Nigel Davenport as Sgt Driscoll * Nigel Patrick as R.S.M. Raskin * Rachel Kempson as Mrs. Raskin * Jack Shepherd (actor), Jack Shepherd as Sgt Wellbeloved * Michael Gwynn as Col Bromley-Pickering * Tsai Chin (actress), Tsai Chin as Juicy Lucy * Christoph ...
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Leslie Thomas
Leslie Thomas, OBE (22 March 1931 – 6 May 2014) was a Welsh author best known for his comic novel ''The Virgin Soldiers''. Early life Thomas was born in Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales. He was orphaned at the age of 12, when his mariner father was lost at sea and his mother died only a few months later from cancer. He was subsequently brought up in a Dr Barnardo's home; the story of this upbringing was the subject of his first, autobiographical, book, ''This Time Next Week''. Thomas attended Kingston Technical School and he then took a course in journalism at South-West Essex Technical College in Walthamstow. In 1949 he was called up for National Service and embarked on a two-year tour of duty in Singapore with the Royal Army Pay Corps. While there he was briefly involved with the military action against communist rebels in the Malayan emergency. He also began to write short articles for publication in English newspapers. Career Upon his return to England in 1951, Thomas ...
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1966 Debut Novels
Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo is deposed by a military coup in the Republic of Upper Volta (modern-day Burkina Faso). * January 10 ** Pakistani–Indian peace negotiations end successfully with the signing of the Tashkent Declaration, a day before the sudden death of Indian prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. ** Georgia House of Representatives, The House of Representatives of the US state of Georgia refuses to allow African-American representative Julian Bond to take his seat, because of his anti-war stance. ** A Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference convenes in Lagos, Nigeria, primarily to discuss Rhodesia. * January 12 – United States President Lyndon Johnson states that the United States should stay in South Vietnam until Communism, Communist aggression there is e ...
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British Novels Adapted Into Films
British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, the English language as spoken and written in the United Kingdom or, more broadly, throughout the British Isles * Celtic Britons, an ancient ethno-linguistic group * Brittonic languages, a branch of the Insular Celtic language family (formerly called British) ** Common Brittonic, an ancient language Other uses *''Brit(ish)'', a 2018 memoir by Afua Hirsch *People or things associated with: ** Great Britain, an island ** United Kingdom, a sovereign state ** Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800) ** United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922) See also * Terminology of the British Isles * Alternative names for the British * English (other) * Britannic (other) * British Isles * Brit (other) * Briton ...
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Novels Set In Singapore
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself from the la, novella, a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ''novellus'', diminutive of ''novus'', meaning "new". Some novelists, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Ann Radcliffe, John Cowper Powys, preferred the term "romance" to describe their novels. According to Margaret Doody, the novel has "a continuous and comprehensive history of about two thousand years", with its origins in the Ancient Greek and Roman novel, in Chivalric romance, and in the tradition of the Italian renaissance novella.Margaret Anne Doody''The True Story of the Novel'' New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1996, rept. 1997, p. 1. Retrieved 25 April 2014. The ancient romance form was revived by Romanticism, especially the historica ...
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1966 British Novels
Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo is deposed by a military coup in the Republic of Upper Volta (modern-day Burkina Faso). * January 10 ** Pakistani–Indian peace negotiations end successfully with the signing of the Tashkent Declaration, a day before the sudden death of Indian prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. ** The House of Representatives of the US state of Georgia refuses to allow African-American representative Julian Bond to take his seat, because of his anti-war stance. ** A Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference convenes in Lagos, Nigeria, primarily to discuss Rhodesia. * January 12 – United States President Lyndon Johnson states that the United States should stay in South Vietnam until Communist aggression there is ended. * January 15 – 1966 Nigerian coup ...
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Nigel Davenport
Arthur Nigel Davenport (23 May 1928 – 25 October 2013) was an English stage, television and film actor, best known as the Duke of Norfolk and Lord Birkenhead in the Academy Award-winning films '' A Man for All Seasons'' and ''Chariots of Fire'', respectively. Early life and education Davenport was born in Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire, son of Arthur Henry Davenport and Katherine Lucy (née Meiklejohn). His father was an engineer, educated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge before being employed as an engineer for the Midland Railway, and was later a lecturer in engineering, a Fellow, and the bursar at his alma mater, Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge; he had served for four years in the Royal Engineers during World War I, and was awarded a Military Cross. Nigel's great-uncle, Major Matthew Fontaine Maury Meiklejohn, was awarded a Victoria Cross during the Second Boer War. He grew up in an academic family and was educated at St Peter's School, Seaford, Cheltenham College ...
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Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers
''Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers'' is a 1977 British film directed by Norman Cohen and starring Robin Askwith and Nigel Davenport. It is a sequel to '' The Virgin Soldiers'' (1969).''Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers''
at The screenplay was written by Leslie Thomas based on his 1975 novel of the same name.


Cast

* as Pte Brigg * as Sgt D ...
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David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, particularly for his innovative work during the 1970s. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, and his music and stagecraft had a significant impact on popular music. Bowie developed an interest in music from an early age. He studied art, music and design before embarking on a professional career as a musician in 1963. "Space Oddity", released in 1969, was his first top-five entry on the UK Singles Chart. After a period of experimentation, he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock era with his flamboyant and androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust (character), Ziggy Stardust. The character was spearheaded by the success of Bowie's single "Starman (song), Starma ...
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Lynn Redgrave
Lynn Rachel Redgrave (8 March 1943 – 2 May 2010) was an English actress. She won two Golden Globe Awards throughout her career. A member of the Redgrave family of actors, Lynn trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962. By the mid-1960s, she had appeared in several films, including ''Tom Jones (1963 film), Tom Jones'' (1963) and ''Georgy Girl'' (1966), which won her a New York Film Critics Award, a Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy, as well as earning her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She made her Broadway theatre, Broadway debut in 1967 and performed in several stage productions in New York City while making frequent returns to London's West End of London, West End. Redgrave performed with her sister Vanessa Redgrave, Vanessa in ''Three Sisters (play), Three Sisters'' in London, and in the title role of Baby Jane Hudson in a television production of ''What Ever Happened to..., What Ever Happ ...
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Nigel Patrick
Nigel Patrick (born Nigel Dennis Patrick Wemyss-Gorman; 2 May 1912 – 21 September 1981) was an English actor and stage director born into a theatrical family. During the late 1940s and 1950s, he became known as a debonair leading man in British films, though he could also portray rogues. He featured in ''The Sound Barrier'' (aka, ''Breaking Through the Sound Barrier'', 1952), under the direction of David Lean. Biography Patrick was born in London, England, the son of Thomas Joseph Charles Aubrey Wemyss Gorman (born 1875 – died 19??) and actress Dorothy Hilda Turner (1890–1969). Stage actor He made his professional stage debut in ''The Life Machine'' at the Regent Theatre, in Kings Cross, London, in 1932 following a period in repertory. Thereafter he appeared in many successful plays, including ''Half a Crown'' (1934), ''Ringmaster'' (1935), ''Roulette'' (1935), ''The Lady of La Paz'' (1936) and ''Madmoiselle'' (1936) He starred in the long-running ''George and Margaret' ...
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Hywel Bennett
Hywel Thomas Bennett (8 April 1944 – 24 July 2017) was a Welsh film and television actor. He had a lead role in ''The Family Way'' (1966) and played the titular "thinking man's layabout" James Shelley in the television sitcom '' Shelley'' (1979–1992). Bennett played opposite Hayley Mills in ''The Family Way'', ''Twisted Nerve'' (1968) and '' Endless Night'' (1972). Other notable film roles include Private Brigg in the comedy '' The Virgin Soldiers'' (1969), Dennis in '' Loot'' (1970) and Edwin Antony in ''Percy'' (1971). Bennett's character, Ricki Tarr, was pivotal in the BBC serial adaptation of John le Carré's '' Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'' (1979). In later years, he was often cast in villainous roles including Mr Croup in Neil Gaiman's ''Neverwhere'' (1996), Peter Baxter in ITV police drama ''The Bill'' (2002) and crime boss Jack Dalton in ''EastEnders'' (2003). Early life Bennett was born on 8 April 1944 in Garnant, Carmarthenshire, Wales, the son of Sarah Gwen ( ...
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