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Recruitment was carried out by a former French paratrooper , Roger Bruni , operating from an apartment on Rue Bachaumont in central Paris . Advertisements , placed in newspapers such as France Soir , offered " a job with a future abroad ... minimum age 22 , former non @-@ commissioned officers preferred " . The body o... |
Once signed up , each man was instructed to travel to Switzerland , where appropriate visas were swiftly procured from the South African Embassy . In early November 1977 , the French recruits flew from Zurich to Johannesburg on a South African Airways liner , then to Salisbury by Air Rhodesia . Already in Rhodesia wai... |
According to an anonymous veteran of the unit , it mostly comprised recently discharged servicemen from the French forces who were having trouble adapting to civilian life . " They didn 't know how to do anything else , only how to jump with a parachute and obey orders , " he explained , " and they liked that kind of ... |
The Rhodesian Army sought to forge a strong esprit de corps among the new recruits , and to this end extended them several sentimental allowances : for example , morale amongst the Frenchmen rose when they were informed that the Rhodesian insignia on their berets would be backed with the French tricolour . In a simila... |
Spirits were high during the unit 's brief training period as the men enjoyed playing sports , observing the country scenery and experiencing the night @-@ life of the nearby capital . They were not adequately trained , receiving only a basic medical examination , a few days ' fitness training and a cursory explanatio... |
The first dent to morale came after about a week when the volunteers were first issued ranks in the Rhodesian Army . In the eyes of some of the French @-@ speaking soldiers , the ranks assigned appeared to have been chosen almost at random by their superiors , and did not reflect their actual respective levels of trai... |
= = Service = =
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= = = First bush trip = = =
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The francophone company was first deployed out of its barracks in late November 1977 , when it was sent to Bindura , about 88 kilometres ( 55 mi ) north @-@ east from Salisbury , for a few days in the bush on Operation Hurricane , the Army 's operational area which covered Rhodesia 's north @-@ east against guerrilla ... |
A company of men from the Territorial Force was already stationed at Rusambo , advised by a team of intelligence officers . " Sticks " of four men ( three FN FAL riflemen and an MAG gunner ) would be sent out into the bush from Rusambo for periods of up to two weeks , equipped with a radio to communicate with the base... |
At first , men from 7 Independent Company were sent out in sticks mixed with the Territorials , but problems soon arose regarding proper regimen and the language barrier . When the Frenchmen were then sent out alone , their Land Rovers prominently flying the French flag , the issue of language was resolved , but that ... |
The Rhodesian Army quickly deemed the French experiment a failure . It reassigned 7 Independent Company in late November to Marymount Mission , a small settlement to the east of Rusambo where there was a minor police station . The number of patrols they would embark on was reduced . Two of the company 's vehicles were... |
= = = Strike = = =
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During their 15 @-@ day rest periods the company 's men congregated around the Belgian @-@ owned Elizabeth Hotel , in the centre of the city at the corner of Causeway and Manica Road . Many of them became seriously disaffected when they first received their salary from the Rhodesian Army . Having apparently been misle... |
The pay dispute split the unit . About two thirds went on strike , saying they would not return to action unless the Army upped their wages and paid them in foreign currency . Meanwhile , some of the more contented Frenchmen made steps to remain permanently , buying cars and having their wives join them in Salisbury .... |
= = = Second bush trip ; dissolution = = =
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Starting on 11 February 1978 , 7 Independent Company spent half a week at Mount Darwin , where there was a major Army base . The company acquitted themselves well during this time , but one of their number was badly injured in a motor accident . They returned to Rusambo , where the camp was now manned by the British S... |
Soon after this , two sticks from 7 Independent Company were despatched to Marymount , led by a deputy intelligence officer who began sending them out on more regular night patrols . The following months were a disaster for the locally based Rhodesian forces ; first one stick fired on another , causing an injury , the... |
= = Legacy = =
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Supported by the French , Rhodesian and South African governments and with Rhodesian logistical assistance , forces led by Denard took part in a coup d 'état in the Comoros later in May , toppling Ali Soilih ( who Denard had himself put into power three years earlier ) . The Comoros subsequently became a key location ... |
Some 7 Independent Company men became civilians in Rhodesia , which was reconstituted as Zimbabwe in 1980 . Two of them , Gervais Henri Alfred Boutanquoi and Simon Marc Chemouil ( both former Foreign Legionnaires ) , were executed in April 1983 , despite a late plea from French authorities for clemency , having been f... |
= Jenova Chen =
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Xinghan Chen ( simplified Chinese : 陈星汉 ; traditional Chinese : 陳星漢 ; pinyin : Chén Xīnghàn ; born October 8 , 1981 ) , known professionally as Jenova Chen , is a Chinese video game designer . He is the designer of the award @-@ winning games Cloud , Flow , Flower , and Journey , and is co @-@ founder of Thatgamecompa... |
As Chen was born in a culture other than the culture he now lives in , he tries to make games that appeal universally to all people . His goal with his games is to help video games mature as a medium by making games that inspire emotional responses in the player that other games are lacking . Although he and Thatgamec... |
= = Biography = =
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Chen was born in Shanghai on October 8 , 1981 , and lived there until 2003 . His parents were " a middle @-@ class family " , and his father worked in the software development industry , having previously worked on " one of the earliest giant computers in China " . Although Chen was interested in art and drawing as a ... |
He earned a degree in Computer Science & Engineering in Shanghai Jiao Tong University , which due to his background in computers he found " quite easy " , but describes himself as spending much of his time there teaching himself digital art and animation , and later did a minor in digital art and design at Donghua Uni... |
He then went to the United States to earn a master 's degree in the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California . Chen studied in the Interactive Media Program , a new division of the School of Cinematic Arts . His intention at the time was to use the degree to get the kind of job he wanted back ... |
Chen felt that the reason that Cloud had been so warmly received was because the emotions it sparked in players were different than any other game available at the time , and believed that it was his " calling " to make more games that changed what people saw video games as . Chen went on to do his master 's thesis th... |
After graduating , Chen and Santiago formed their own game company , Thatgamecompany , in Los Angeles where he still lives and signed a deal with Sony for three PlayStation Store games . The PS3 version of Flow was the first , and while it was in development Chen worked for Maxis on the game Spore . Upon Flow 's relea... |
= = = Thatgamecompany = = =
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The next game , Flower , was Chen and Thatgamecompany 's " first game outside the safety net of academia " . Chen was the creative director in charge of the game , while Santiago was the producer and Clark was the lead designer . The company ranged in size from six to nine people at varying stages of the game 's devel... |
After Flower was released to critical praise and awards , Chen and Thatgamecompany moved on to their next game , Journey . Journey was intended by Chen to focus on the element of communication and social interaction in video games . Since in most games the communication between players is focused on specific goals , i... |
= = Influences and philosophy = =
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Chen plays a wide variety of video games , but he names his greatest influences as Katamari Damacy , Ico and Shadow of the Colossus . He also names Final Fantasy VII as an influence , and the game that he took his adopted name from . He personally plays games " competitively " , including titles such as Street Fighter... |
When Chen quit Maxis to re @-@ join Thatgamecompany , he did so knowing that it would mean taking less pay and having a less stable career . He felt , though , that it was important to the industry and medium as a whole to create games that provoked different emotional responses in the player than just excitement or f... |
= E. W. Hornung =
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Ernest William Hornung ( 7 June 1866 – 22 March 1921 ) was an English author and poet known for writing the A. J. Raffles series of stories about a gentleman thief in late 19th @-@ century London . Hornung was educated at Uppingham School ; as a result of poor health he left the school in December 1883 to travel to Sy... |
In 1898 he wrote " In the Chains of Crime " , which introduced Raffles and his sidekick , Bunny Manders ; the characters were based partly on his friends Oscar Wilde and his lover , Lord Alfred Douglas , and also on Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson . The series of Raffles short stories were collected for sale in book fo... |
The First World War brought an end to Hornung 's fictional output . His son , Oscar , was killed at the Second Battle of Ypres in July 1915 . Hornung joined the YMCA , initially in England , then in France , where he helped run a canteen and library . He published two collections of poetry during the war , and then , ... |
Although much of Hornung 's work has fallen into obscurity , his Raffles stories continued to be popular , and have formed numerous film and television adaptations . Hornung 's stories dealt with a wider range of themes than crime : he examined scientific and medical developments , guilt , class and the unequal role p... |
= = Biography = =
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= = = Early life : 1866 – 86 = = =
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Hornung was born Ernest William Hornung on 7 June 1866 at Cleveland Villas , Marton , Middlesbrough ; he was nicknamed Willie from an early age . He was the third son , and youngest of eight children , of John Peter Hornung ( 1821 – 86 ) and his wife Harriet née Armstrong ( 1824 – 96 ) . John was christened Johan Petr... |
When Hornung was 17 his health worsened ; he left Uppingham and travelled to Australia , where it was hoped by his family that the climate would be beneficial . On his arrival he was employed as a tutor to the Parsons family in Mossgiel in the Riverina , south @-@ western New South Wales . In addition to teaching , he... |
= = = Return to England : 1886 – 98 = = =
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Hornung returned to England in February 1886 , before the death of his father in November . From a position of relative prosperity , John 's coal and iron business had encountered difficulties and he was in financially straitened circumstances by the time of his death . Hornung found work in London as a journalist and... |
Hornung had worked on the novel manuscript he brought back from Australia and , between July and November 1890 , the story , " A Bride from the Bush " , was published in five parts in the Cornhill Magazine . It was also released that year as a book — his first . The story — described by Rowland as an " assured , grace... |
Hornung knew Doyle 's sister , Constance ( " Connie " ) Aimée Monica Doyle ( 1868 – 1924 ) , whom he had met when he visited Portugal . Connie was described by Doyle 's biographer , Andrew Lycett , as being attractive , " with pre @-@ Raphaelite looks ... the most sought @-@ after of the Doyle daughters " . By Decembe... |
Like Hornung 's first novel , Tiny Luttrell had Australia as a backdrop and also used the plot device of an Australian woman in a culturally alien environment . The Australian theme was present in his next four novels : The Boss of Taroomba ( 1894 ) , The Unbidden Guest ( 1894 ) , Irralie 's Bushranger ( 1896 ) and Th... |
= = = Introducing Raffles : 1898 – 1914 = = =
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In 1898 Hornung 's mother died , aged 72 and he dedicated his next book , a series of short stories titled Some Persons Unknown , to her memory . Later that year Hornung and his wife visited Italy for six months , staying in Posillipo ; his account of the location appeared in an article of the May 1899 edition of Corn... |
The fictional character Stingaree proved to be a prototype of a character Hornung used in a series of six short stories published in 1898 in Cassell 's Magazine , A. J. Raffles . The character was modelled on George Cecil Ives , a Cambridge @-@ educated criminologist and talented cricketer who , like Raffles , was a r... |
After publishing two novels , Dead Men Don 't Tell Tales in 1899 and Peccavi in 1900 , Hornung published a second collection of Raffles stories , The Black Mask , in 1901 . The nearly broke Manders is told to apply for the post of a nurse to an elderly invalid , who then reveals himself to be Raffles , who , as Mander... |
In 1903 Hornung collaborated with Eugène Presbrey to write a four @-@ act play , Raffles , The Amateur Cracksman , which was based on two previously published short stories , " Gentlemen and Players " and " The Return Match " . The play was first performed at the Princess Theatre , New York , on 27 October 1903 with K... |
In 1905 , after publishing four other books in the interim , Hornung brought back the character Stingaree , previously seen in Irralie 's Bushranger . Later that year he responded to public demand and produced a third series of short Raffles stories in A Thief in the Night , in which Manders relates some of his and Ra... |
Hornung turned away from Raffles thereafter , and in February 1911 published The Camera Fiend , a thriller whose narrator is an asthmatic cricket enthusiast with an ironmaster father , much as Hornung was himself . The story concerned the attempts of a scientist to photograph the soul as it left the body . Hornung fol... |
= = = First World War and aftermath = = =
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Oscar Hornung left Eton College in 1914 , intending to enter King 's College , Cambridge later that year . When Britain entered the war against Germany , he volunteered , and was commissioned into the Essex Regiment . He was killed at the Second Battle of Ypres on 6 July 1915 , aged 20 . Although heartbroken by the lo... |
In July 1917 Hornung 's poem , " Wooden Crosses " , was published in The Times , and in September , " Bond and Free " appeared . Towards the end of the year , he was accepted as a volunteer in a YMCA canteen and library " a short distance behind the Front Line " . During his service in Arras , in February 1918 he borr... |
= = = Death and legacy = = =
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Hornung finished his work with the YMCA and returned to England probably in early 1919 , according to Rowland . He worked on a new novel but was hampered by poor health . His wife 's health was of even greater concern , so in February 1921 they took a holiday in the south of France to recuperate . He fell ill on the t... |
When Hornung had still been courting Doyle 's sister , Doyle wrote that " I like young Willie Hornung very much ... he is one of the sweetest @-@ natured and most delicate @-@ minded men I ever knew " . Honouring him after his death , Doyle wrote that he " was a Dr. [ Samuel ] Johnson without the learning but with a f... |
Much of Hornung 's work fell out of favour as time passed ; Rowland observed that " all of Hornung 's other works have been forgotten , with the possible exception of Stingaree , but the cricketing Cracksman continues to enthral " . The idea of a criminal as a positive character was one of Hornung 's legacies , and Tw... |
The character continued in book form : the writer Philip Atkey , under the pseudonym Barry Perowne , obtained permission from the Hornung estate to continue the Raffles stories , and seven more novels followed between 1933 and 1940 , with Raffles transformed from a gentleman thief to a tough adventurer . Perowne conti... |
There were several Raffles films made during Hornung 's lifetime , Further films followed in the years after his death , including Raffles , the Amateur Cracksman ( 1925 ) , with House Peters , Sr. ; Raffles ( 1930 ) , featuring Ronald Colman ; The Return of Raffles ( 1933 ) , with George Barraud ; and Raffles ( 1939 ... |
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