Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Daniel Wintle, better known as A.D. Wintle, (b. 30 September 1897, d. May 1966) was a British military officer in the 1st Royal Dragoon Guards who served in the First and Second World Wars. In the U.S. Army, Air Force and Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a commissioned officer superior to a major and inferior to a colonel. ... September 30 is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 92 days remaining. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Combatants Allies: Serbia, Russia, France, Romania, Belgium, British Empire, United States, Italy, and others Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire Casualties Military dead:5 million Civilian dead:3 million Total dead:8 million Military dead:4 million Civilian dead:3 million Total dead:7 million The First World... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II...

He was credited with the single-handed capture of a French village during the First World War and was awarded the Military Cross in 1919 for his actions during the war. He allegedly saved the life of a private dying in hospital by ordering him not to die. The soldier was so frightened, he recovered.

In World War II, he was held prisoner by Vichy soldiers. Maurice Molia, the head of the garrison said on Wintle's This Is Your Life programme in 1959, "Entirely because of Wintle's dauntless determination to maintain English standards and his constant challenge to our authority," the entire Garrison of 280 men had gone over to the Resistance after Wintle was transferred to another prison. This Is Your Life was a television show hosted by Ralph Edwards, first broadcast in the United States from 1952 to 1961 on NBC. It originated as a radio show airing from 1948 to 1952. ...

No stranger to controversy, Wintle was reprimanded for attempting to steal an aircraft (with which he intended to invade France) and firing a gun into the desk of the bureaucratic officer, for which he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. On the way to his prison, the Lieutenant colonel was escorted by a young soldier via the train. The soldier is reported to have lost the arrest warrant and, disgusted by this, Wintle declared the man incompetant, told him to wait where he was and went to get a new warrant. Seeing that there was no other officers of higher rank at the warrant office, he signed the paper himself. For the film with this title, see Tower of London (1939 film). ...

He was the feature of a one-off TV movie in the "Heroes and Villans" series called "The Last Englishman" featuring Jim Broadbent in the title role. "The Last Englishman" is also the title of his autobiography. The title is unusual, as Wintle was born in Russia and educated in France and Germany. Despite this, he appeared to despise every country except England. Jim Broadbent with his Oscar Award for Iris Jim Broadbent (born May 24, 1949) is an English television and film actor. ...

He is said to have regarded the period between the First and Second World Wars as "intensely boring". Combatants Allies: Serbia, Russia, France, Romania, Belgium, British Empire, United States, Italy, and others Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire Casualties Military dead:5 million Civilian dead:3 million Total dead:8 million Military dead:4 million Civilian dead:3 million Total dead:7 million The First World... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II...

He once was so furious about the lack of first class carriages on a train, that he took over the engine and refused to move until more carriages appeared.

Wintle made legal history when he fought a legal action against a dishonest solicitor named Nye. To publicise the case, he served time in prison after forcing Nye to remove his trousers. In the final stage, Wintle ran out of money and had to present the case himself. He became the first non-lawyer to achieve a unanimous verdict in his favour in the House of Lords. This article is about the British House of Lords. ...

Quotes

• "I am never bored when I am present." - on being asked upon his release from prison if he had found it boring.
• "It may have escaped your attention, but there is no fighting to be done in England." - on being told he was being removed from active duty against his will following an injury.
• "No true gentleman would ever unfurl one" - Wintle discussing his umbrella
• "This umbrella was stolen from Col. A.D. Wintle" - note left in his permanently furled umbrella
• "Time spent dismounted can never be regained,"
• "No true gentleman would ever leave home without one" - on why he wore a monocle
• "Guy Fawkes was the last man to enter Parliament with good intentions. You need another like me to carry on his good work."
• "I get down on my knees every night and thank God for making me English."
• "Attend a German school sir? I would rather cut my hands off and blind myself in one eye. Only an English school is good enough for me." - young Alfred upon being told by his father that he was to go to a German school
• "Stop dying at once and when you get up, get your bloody hair cut" - Wintle to Trooper Cedric Mays (Royal Dragoons) The patient lived to a ripe old age of 95 years.
• "Great War peace signed at last." - Wintle's diary, 19 June 1919
• "I declare private war on Germany." - Wintle's diary, 20 June 1919