My " RUPERT " Paradummy

[Mike]

Hi Guys ?Because of work I have not been around or had time to post but , I?m back for a bit. Over the past few weeks a few new things came my way ?nothing as nice as some of the SOS Show bring backs I?ve been seeing and hearing about though. I wish I could have gone ..maybe next year.

Anyway , luckily even when we don?t actively search for stuff ..things do have a way of showing up.

I never really thought I'd find one BUT , GOT HIM !! He's in great condition with the original chute still packed up.

Here's some info about "Rupert" (for those who've never met him)--

The British carried out the most famous of all paradummy missions during the early hours of D-Day June 5/6th, 1944. The paradummy operation was code-named "Titanic" and involved dropping hundreds of paradummies along the French coast to confuse and deceive the Germans as to where the actual Allied Airborne drops would occur.

Six brave SAS men jumped along with the paradummies to make a lot of noise on the ground, play combat recordings, make small attacks on German troops (like couriers) and generally help make the landings appear real to the Germans. The SAS men were Lt. Fowles, TPR. Hurst, TPR. Merryweather, Lt. Poole, TPR. Dawson, and TPR. Saunders. Days after the operation only two of these six men had returned to friendly lines. The other five were likely killed or captured but it is possible some survived so this web site is still trying to research their exact fate. Titanic is surely one of the best kept secrets of WWII involving sheer bravery amongst Allied Special Operations soldiers, out there on their own behind enemy lines.

The Titanic operation worked well and actually caused a good number of German troops to spread out away from the real landing areas, and also caused much confusion and doubt amongst German commanders who were then completely unsure if there was in fact an attack happening or not. Titanic is credited with surely reducing many Allied casualties as a result.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:

There are many surviving examples of original British D-Day paradummies so physical details are available. These dummies, which have come to be known as "Ruperts" (as opposed to the American "Oscars") were made of simple stuffed burlap sack cloth. They were filled with sand, straw, or wood shavings and were attached to small scale sized parachutes. They were small, only about 3 feet tall, and could be dressed in actual small uniforms.

A few original D-Day Ruperts, which were actually dropped during Operation Titanic, can be found these days in war museums in the U.S. and in Europe and in the hands of a few lucky private collectors. There was also several left over vintage crates of these paradummies found in storage at an old English airfield in the 1980's. These unissued, mint condition original Rupert paradummies, are often found at collector's shows and auction web sites. They are originals from the era, but were never actually dropped during the war.

http://home.att.net/~1.elliott/paratrooper...istorysite.html

[Mike]

There's an extra flap sewn in near each end so once you fill his Arms and Legs with sand , you turn down the flap and then tie the rope ..the flap holds the sand in place

[Mike]

Are they more readily available in the UK ? I've been looking off and on for years over here and ...they don't seem to turn up that often.

[Roeland]

that's one hell of a para hero you got there, ready to give his life...lucky for you he didn't have to.

Really a nice rare object , always interesting to see them.

[peter monahan]

Great find indeed. A "real" Rupert, as opposed to a wet behind the ears 2nd Lt! (I gather "Rupert" is one of the more repeatable names British squaddies use for officers of a certain type).

Don't I recall these little guys making it into THE D-Day movie, The Longest Day? I'm pretty sure I recall a scene where a German officer watches "parartroops" landing in a field near his headquarters until one of his men runs up with one in tow. Of course, Hollywood style, it was a real dool, face, uniform etc. but still a memorable moment in a great film. Never stopped to wonder though whether, if it was true, what the "dummies" really looked like. (No cheap shots here!)

Peter

[landsknechte]

Nice bit of history there.

[Mike]

I'm glad you guys liked seeing him ...I was also amazed at how simple he was compared to the high detailed versions the Movie studios made ..but it wouldn't make sense to make them with all the details during the War , so why bother? They'll be seen from a distance and did the job just fine.

It was a "Canvas Bag" full of History that I just couldn't pass up

Have any of you seen any others for sale ? ..wonder what they are going for these days

Edited March 1, 2007 by Mike

[Toolkit]

The Dummy paratrooper shown in 'The Longest Day' was NOT an original sand filled piece, rather a 24" high toy-like figure of a soldier, something like Marx Toys were making at that time. I've only ever seen one original dummy in 40 years of collecting and that was in the Market Hall in Crickhowell, Powys. I couldn't find out who owned it so was unable to get any more info. on it.

[Mike]

You're 100% right ...it's too bad that many people (incl some Collectors) watch the movie and get the wrong idea ....then when they see one of these original Canvas Ruperts , they think it's a fake because that's not what it looked like in the Movie !

[tomtindall]

I'm glad you guys liked seeing him ...I was also amazed at how simple he was compared to the high detailed versions the Movie studios made ..but it wouldn't make sense to make them with all the details during the War , so why bother? They'll be seen from a distance and did the job just fine.

It was a "Canvas Bag" full of History that I just couldn't pass up

Have any of you seen any others for sale ? ..wonder what they are going for these days

Hello. I know this is long after this discussion but i have to "ruperts" i did not know that they were such a collectors item until i was told. Do you have any idea where i could possibly sell them. Thanks Tom

[Mike]

Hello. I know this is long after this discussion but i have to "ruperts" i did not know that they were such a collectors item until i was told. Do you have any idea where i could possibly sell them. Thanks Tom

Welcome to the Forum Tom !

I was told that a Rupert sold for over $2000 through a European Auction House so , it might be worth putting a reserve on it and giving Ebay a try.

How did you end up with 2 of them ?

--Mike

[tomtindall]

Welcome to the Forum Tom !

I was told that a Rupert sold for over $2000 through a European Auction House so , it might be worth putting a reserve on it and giving Ebay a try.

How did you end up with 2 of them ?

--Mike

Well im from the far west midlands if you know what i mean and after dday they ended up at a military base. I cant say much but i aquired them of a relative and as i said i've only just found out about thier collectability. Thanks for the information Mike.

Tom

[leigh kitchen]

The museum at Arromanches couldd do with one - the one they have on display is one of the "realistic" little dummies used in the film "The Longest Day"