London: George Washington has been named as the greatest foe ever faced by the British, according to a contest run by the National Army Museum to identify the country’s most outstanding military opponent.
The first President of US was one of a shortlist of five leaders who topped a public poll and on Saturday was selected as the ultimate winner by an audience of around 70 guests at a special event at the museum, in Chelsea, west London.In second place was Michael Collins, the Irish leader, ahead of Napoleon Bonaparte, Erwin Rommel and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
At the event, each contender had their case made by a historian giving a 40 minute presentation. The audience, who had paid to attend the day, then voted in a secret ballot after all five presentations had been made.
“As British officers conceded, he was a worthy opponent,” the Telegraph quoted Stephen Brumwell, who had championed Washington as saying.
The shortlist of five was selected from an initial list of 20 candidates, drawn up by the museum’s curators.
To qualify, each commander had to come from the 17th century onwards – the period covered by the museum’s collection – and had to have led an army in the field against the British, thus excluding political enemies, like Adolf Hitler. The contest was designed to not only identify UK’s most outstanding opponent, but also to draw attention to some lesser-known adversaries.
The one woman on the list was Rani of Jhansi Lakshmi Bai, who fought British forces in nineteenth century India. (ANI)
