Patrick Cordingley
More monuments VO In a land of military glory, the officer gentleman remains a breed apart … and no-one more so than this gentleman
Patrick into CBC 050 Woman: Hello there, welcome back053 PC: Nice to be back again, I’m a bit smarter this time.055 Woman: you look very elegant, what’s this? Ahhh.057 PC its not on purpose, I promise you.
Cut tov Patrick in front of monitor VO The name’s Cordingley – Patrick Cordingley – rank Major-General retired
Tape 2 Cordingley and woman 125 W: I think normally people are on at 17 past so you’re a bit early127 PC: that’s lovely129 W: so I’ll check my computer132 Any chance of a cup of coffee? That would be absolutely (moves arm).
Tape 2 – PC on lounge seated, or being readied in studio VO With war on Iraq, he’s suddenly famous … his expert view being sought from around the world. Today, in London, its the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Tape 2 Monitor shots VO But at home this soldier’s soldier has created a major stir – he’s dared to oppose Britain’s war. Cordingley Tape 2 2804 my very first reaction was that it was extraordinary to send your armed forces to war without the support of the british people, in this instance I couldn’t see really where our national interests were being threatened, 2816 certainly the country wasn’t being threatened 2818 andcontainment seemed to be working 2826 if you can contain the soviet union for 50 years you can certainly contain Baghdad for 50 years or Iraq for 50 years.
Tape 3 4115 PC and David downstairs 4130 and therefore for instance, that room over there the dining room was known as the coffee room because that’s where the business would have been done, and I have to tell you there’s nothing sordid about business going on here Fade down for VO Tape 2 Cordingley more walk downstairs / cutaways of paintings, sculptures etc VO Patrick Cordingley is at the heart of Britain’s military establishment … he’s chairman of the venerable Cavalry and Guards club … the preserve of Britain’s fighting elite but his anti-war stance has raised the ire of warriors past. Tape 2 Cordingley TT first lines over club interiors 2638 particularly in this building there’s been a certain amount of disagreement about that you know, you’re chairman of a club full of basically retired officers and quite a lot of them haven’t actually liked my stance and I can understand that 26532654 Q have they said things to you?2655 tend not to say it to your face you know you get it third hand, actually getting it third hand is worse, you get it face to face and you can have a decent discussion about it, third hand is always irritating if you’re slightly challenged Tape 1 entering BBC VO But with the onset of war, Patrick Cordingley felt obliged, like many in Britain, to swing his support behind old mates in the desert.At the BBC he’s fighting the good fight against what he sees as a sceptical British media. Cordingley Tape 1 I find my position quite difficult because you know I’ve always been against this, nothings going to change that but but you know when it became inevitable there’s no point in banging on, you lose the argument, you know you say I’m wrong, the system’s got it right, and away you go and in your heart of heart of you think I hope they have got it right CUT TO Tape 1 Tape 1 PC looking at tele VO This morning the attack on Basra dominates the news from Iraq … and there are mixed reports of British progress. Tape 1 30.00 VO The Today programme’s host, John Humphries, and his producer want to caucus before going on air. Tape 1 Producer/Humphries/Cordingley 3048 from a military point of view there is it’s a perfectly normal campaign, it has unfortunately switched to Basra being a military target which is unfortunate but I can see the inevitability of that 3100 PROD: that’s why we have to be quite subtle about it, because we can’t say its .. JH Precisely P: Yes GOOD CUTTING IN POINT JH (all leaving corridor to studio) we can’t say its clearly going wrong can we, we can say its not disaster P: (conspiratorially) my point is its not going wrong militarily (all peel off) 3122 Tape 1 John Humphries in studio 3616 With me is general PC who commanded the desert rats last time around FADE DOWN Tape 1 PC in studio, control room VO Patrick Cordingley does indeed manage to get his assessment across. Start over pix PC leaving studio 4048 D: how do you think it went? P: all right CUT TO Tape 1 PC/David 2 shot conversation 41:10 P: I knew my facts were ha! Ha! Reasonably correct 4115 GOOD LOOK. You know because I’m tipped the wink on what’s going on a bit more, 4120 but one has to be very careful about what you do know. 41264128 P: Did you listen to it? D:Yes P: Did you think it was upbeat? 4130 D: yes it was, yes 4135 P: ish, because I do think it is terribly important that somebody’s got to be upbeat at the moment Cordingley at radio – Volume up LOUD But British casualties though relatively small in number have pre-occupied a nation already divided over the warUpsot radio LOUD Tape 3 Cordingley its dangerous ground 1445 a large number, I’m talking about hundreds,not thousands, would be a big problem and I would argue exactly the same for America too 1454 CUT TO Tape 3 Cordingley Q: 1523 not only Americans, innocent Iraqis too?I genuinely think that is a very good point 1530 I came back from the last one thinking, I don’t know what the figure was 20,000, 30,000, 40,000 iraqis you know, what a terrible waste, probably necessary, probably not necessary to kill that many but probably necessary to kill quite a lot to get the effect that you actually wanted, yeah but an awful lot of waste 1550.
Tape 4 MAY NOT NEED VO IF COVERED OK WITH FILMING VO the anti-war Independent newspaper has gone big on the marketplace story. Tape 4 Cordingley/David on train CUT TO 901 you know it is very interesting there is a feeling of gloom in the country we are having this wonderful weather here and people should be walking around smiling but we’re actually being bombarded with SH’s very successful p/ganda at the moment.918. Q: Are you feeling that this morning are you feeling a little less optimistic than you did yesterday? A: I don’t feel overly c/cerned I think the p/lem where I like everyone else feel when I say like everyone else I like an number of other people felt B/dad would fall because the regime would have huge pressure put on it – it hasn’t happened I don’t think it is going to happen so perhaps I am a little pessimistic because the next phase is not going to be very pleasant Tape 4 VO At Trent Bridge cricket ground in Nottingham, Patrick Cordingley is today’s celebrity speaker … his topic, of course, the war. Tape 4 Run on Cordingley up to stage Sound up Cordingley speech“ In 1991 we had a very clear UN mandate to get Iraq out of Kuwait”.
Archive – Cordingley in tank VO Patrick Cordingley has seen the Middle East in war and in peace. He’s deeply sceptical about the prospects of a United States led administration in Iraq.
Tape 3 Cordingley sync 549 I don’t actually like the thought of the US expanding in this way into the ME, I mean I’ve lived there and 559 I don’t think the US recognises how hated it is in the ME before this thing started, it will be loathed when this thing is finished, why because they’ve never paid attention to the Palestinian problem in an aggressive and robust way 612 and the Arabs can’t understand that, they’re perfectly happy to go and beat up another Arab country, another Arab state Iraq, and yet leave the real thorn in the flesh and it can only build huge resentment and from huge resentment comes terrorism. 630 Tape 3 – Cavalry club scenes Reprise music Tape 2 painting 43ish VO Patrick Cordingley’s favourite painting is a lesson in doing the right thing – an injured Lawrence Oates walking to certain death to save the lives of others on Scott’s expedition to the South Pole. Tape 2 PC 4350 he got up in the morning and walked out with the offhand remark, I’m just going outside I may be some time and that really gets you there doesn’t it, that’s a real gentleman43.58 Back to painting/ dissolve into sandstorm VO - The duty of the officer gentleman to do the right thing means much to Patrick Cordingley but at what point does the human sacrifice of this war become too great … that’s the key question now facing the retired major general as much as the British nation.
LEFTOVER Tape 1 030 Neighbourhood/train shot VO 5.30 in the morning – London’s streets are deserted. Tape 1 050 walk to car VO Patrick Cordingley is walking out for another round with the British media. Tape 1 PC back to camera talking to driver 120 good morning my friend, there are no problems in life are there. 128
Tape 1 In car along 428 At home I think our TV is black and white we get BBC1, BBC2 and ITV (laugh) CUT TO
Cut tov Patrick in front of monitor VO The name’s Cordingley – Patrick Cordingley – rank Major-General retired
Tape 2 Cordingley and woman 125 W: I think normally people are on at 17 past so you’re a bit early127 PC: that’s lovely129 W: so I’ll check my computer132 Any chance of a cup of coffee? That would be absolutely (moves arm).
Tape 2 – PC on lounge seated, or being readied in studio VO With war on Iraq, he’s suddenly famous … his expert view being sought from around the world. Today, in London, its the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Tape 2 Monitor shots VO But at home this soldier’s soldier has created a major stir – he’s dared to oppose Britain’s war. Cordingley Tape 2 2804 my very first reaction was that it was extraordinary to send your armed forces to war without the support of the british people, in this instance I couldn’t see really where our national interests were being threatened, 2816 certainly the country wasn’t being threatened 2818 andcontainment seemed to be working 2826 if you can contain the soviet union for 50 years you can certainly contain Baghdad for 50 years or Iraq for 50 years.
Tape 3 4115 PC and David downstairs 4130 and therefore for instance, that room over there the dining room was known as the coffee room because that’s where the business would have been done, and I have to tell you there’s nothing sordid about business going on here Fade down for VO Tape 2 Cordingley more walk downstairs / cutaways of paintings, sculptures etc VO Patrick Cordingley is at the heart of Britain’s military establishment … he’s chairman of the venerable Cavalry and Guards club … the preserve of Britain’s fighting elite but his anti-war stance has raised the ire of warriors past. Tape 2 Cordingley TT first lines over club interiors 2638 particularly in this building there’s been a certain amount of disagreement about that you know, you’re chairman of a club full of basically retired officers and quite a lot of them haven’t actually liked my stance and I can understand that 26532654 Q have they said things to you?2655 tend not to say it to your face you know you get it third hand, actually getting it third hand is worse, you get it face to face and you can have a decent discussion about it, third hand is always irritating if you’re slightly challenged Tape 1 entering BBC VO But with the onset of war, Patrick Cordingley felt obliged, like many in Britain, to swing his support behind old mates in the desert.At the BBC he’s fighting the good fight against what he sees as a sceptical British media. Cordingley Tape 1 I find my position quite difficult because you know I’ve always been against this, nothings going to change that but but you know when it became inevitable there’s no point in banging on, you lose the argument, you know you say I’m wrong, the system’s got it right, and away you go and in your heart of heart of you think I hope they have got it right CUT TO Tape 1 Tape 1 PC looking at tele VO This morning the attack on Basra dominates the news from Iraq … and there are mixed reports of British progress. Tape 1 30.00 VO The Today programme’s host, John Humphries, and his producer want to caucus before going on air. Tape 1 Producer/Humphries/Cordingley 3048 from a military point of view there is it’s a perfectly normal campaign, it has unfortunately switched to Basra being a military target which is unfortunate but I can see the inevitability of that 3100 PROD: that’s why we have to be quite subtle about it, because we can’t say its .. JH Precisely P: Yes GOOD CUTTING IN POINT JH (all leaving corridor to studio) we can’t say its clearly going wrong can we, we can say its not disaster P: (conspiratorially) my point is its not going wrong militarily (all peel off) 3122 Tape 1 John Humphries in studio 3616 With me is general PC who commanded the desert rats last time around FADE DOWN Tape 1 PC in studio, control room VO Patrick Cordingley does indeed manage to get his assessment across. Start over pix PC leaving studio 4048 D: how do you think it went? P: all right CUT TO Tape 1 PC/David 2 shot conversation 41:10 P: I knew my facts were ha! Ha! Reasonably correct 4115 GOOD LOOK. You know because I’m tipped the wink on what’s going on a bit more, 4120 but one has to be very careful about what you do know. 41264128 P: Did you listen to it? D:Yes P: Did you think it was upbeat? 4130 D: yes it was, yes 4135 P: ish, because I do think it is terribly important that somebody’s got to be upbeat at the moment Cordingley at radio – Volume up LOUD But British casualties though relatively small in number have pre-occupied a nation already divided over the warUpsot radio LOUD Tape 3 Cordingley its dangerous ground 1445 a large number, I’m talking about hundreds,not thousands, would be a big problem and I would argue exactly the same for America too 1454 CUT TO Tape 3 Cordingley Q: 1523 not only Americans, innocent Iraqis too?I genuinely think that is a very good point 1530 I came back from the last one thinking, I don’t know what the figure was 20,000, 30,000, 40,000 iraqis you know, what a terrible waste, probably necessary, probably not necessary to kill that many but probably necessary to kill quite a lot to get the effect that you actually wanted, yeah but an awful lot of waste 1550.
Tape 4 MAY NOT NEED VO IF COVERED OK WITH FILMING VO the anti-war Independent newspaper has gone big on the marketplace story. Tape 4 Cordingley/David on train CUT TO 901 you know it is very interesting there is a feeling of gloom in the country we are having this wonderful weather here and people should be walking around smiling but we’re actually being bombarded with SH’s very successful p/ganda at the moment.918. Q: Are you feeling that this morning are you feeling a little less optimistic than you did yesterday? A: I don’t feel overly c/cerned I think the p/lem where I like everyone else feel when I say like everyone else I like an number of other people felt B/dad would fall because the regime would have huge pressure put on it – it hasn’t happened I don’t think it is going to happen so perhaps I am a little pessimistic because the next phase is not going to be very pleasant Tape 4 VO At Trent Bridge cricket ground in Nottingham, Patrick Cordingley is today’s celebrity speaker … his topic, of course, the war. Tape 4 Run on Cordingley up to stage Sound up Cordingley speech“ In 1991 we had a very clear UN mandate to get Iraq out of Kuwait”.
Archive – Cordingley in tank VO Patrick Cordingley has seen the Middle East in war and in peace. He’s deeply sceptical about the prospects of a United States led administration in Iraq.
Tape 3 Cordingley sync 549 I don’t actually like the thought of the US expanding in this way into the ME, I mean I’ve lived there and 559 I don’t think the US recognises how hated it is in the ME before this thing started, it will be loathed when this thing is finished, why because they’ve never paid attention to the Palestinian problem in an aggressive and robust way 612 and the Arabs can’t understand that, they’re perfectly happy to go and beat up another Arab country, another Arab state Iraq, and yet leave the real thorn in the flesh and it can only build huge resentment and from huge resentment comes terrorism. 630 Tape 3 – Cavalry club scenes Reprise music Tape 2 painting 43ish VO Patrick Cordingley’s favourite painting is a lesson in doing the right thing – an injured Lawrence Oates walking to certain death to save the lives of others on Scott’s expedition to the South Pole. Tape 2 PC 4350 he got up in the morning and walked out with the offhand remark, I’m just going outside I may be some time and that really gets you there doesn’t it, that’s a real gentleman43.58 Back to painting/ dissolve into sandstorm VO - The duty of the officer gentleman to do the right thing means much to Patrick Cordingley but at what point does the human sacrifice of this war become too great … that’s the key question now facing the retired major general as much as the British nation.
LEFTOVER Tape 1 030 Neighbourhood/train shot VO 5.30 in the morning – London’s streets are deserted. Tape 1 050 walk to car VO Patrick Cordingley is walking out for another round with the British media. Tape 1 PC back to camera talking to driver 120 good morning my friend, there are no problems in life are there. 128
Tape 1 In car along 428 At home I think our TV is black and white we get BBC1, BBC2 and ITV (laugh) CUT TO