IslandHopper wrote:James J. Walters wrote:I got a question for you guys. I may have missed it, but in the flashback scene where we see Higgins met Vivian for the first time, where is it set? Higgins is in military attire and appears to be involved in some kind of military activity.
You can hear explosions in the background, so some sort of military action is taking place. I don't think the particular location or conflict is mentioned. However, it appears that Higgins' shoulder patch (Tactical Recognition Flash) is that of a British/Gurkha unit. His shoulder patch has two crossed Kurkis (curved knife used as a weapon and tool, a/k/a Gurkha Knife), which is a prominent feature of British/Gurkha military insignia. I am not certain of the specific Gurkha unit, but I believe the conflict is post WWII for two reasons.
First, Higgins introduced himself as a Sergeant Major, and we are led to believe that Higgins was very young during WWII. I don’t believe Higgins ever revealed precisely when he became a Sergeant Major, but I’m almost certain it wasn’t during WWII. Remember, in
“Luther Gillis: File #001” (season 5), Higgins said that in the Spring of 1954 he was the youngest in a squad of six spending three months watching the Andrews‘ Farm.
Second, Vivian Brock Jones appears to be younger than Higgins, so she probably would have been a child during WWII.
There are many Gurkha units serving with the British Army. They have served since well before WWI and continue to serve today. During WWII, Gurkha units fought in North Africa, Syria, Greece, Italy, Burma and Singapore. Following India’s Independence in 1947, six Gurkha units were attached to the Indian Army and four were attached to the British Army. The four units attached to the British Army include,
2nd King Edward VII’s own Gurkha Rifles;
6th Queen Elizabeth’s Own Gurkha Rifles;
7th Duke of Edinburgh’s Own Gurkha Rifles; and the
10th Princess Mary’s own Gurkha Rifles.
The 2nd King Edward VII’s own Gurkha Rifles post WWII history includes action during the Malayan Emergency from 1948 through 1960. Following their tour in Malaya, they served in Malaya, Borneo, Brunei and Hong Kong.
The 6th Queen Elizabeth’s Own Gurkha Rifles post WWII history includes service in the Far East until the British withdrawal from East of Suez. In 1969, the 6th Gurkhas served in Hong Kong, Brunei and Church Crookham.
The 7th Duke of Edinburgh’s Own Gurkha Rifles post WWII history includes service in Malaya, Borneo and Hong Kong through 1970.
The 10th Princess Mary’s own Gurkha Rifles post WWII history also includes service during the Malayan Emergency from 1948 through 1960. From 1962 through 1966, the 10th Princess Mary’s own Gurkha Rifles saw action in the Indonesian Confrontation.
Higgins’ history tells us that he served in Burma in 1945. It is possible Higgins served with the
4th Battalion of the 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles during WWII. This unit fought in Burma during WWII. It was the lead element of the
Indian 7th Infantry Division. Based on Higgins’ history, he very likely could have served with this unit. However, their insignia is a little bit different than the shoulder insignia on Higgins’ uniform in the episode. The Kurkis of the 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles are facing inward, not outward like the patch on his uniform. Therefore, the scene we see in
“A Letter To A Duchess” is probably not from 1945 Burma because the unit patch is different, but more importantly, because Vivian would have been to young in 1945. Additionally, if she was ever in Burma, she most likely would not have still been there 1945. The war was raging and most of the British and Indian troops were very isolated. It would have been far to dangerous for Vivian to be anywhere near Higgins at that time. Therefore, it is more likely that the scene we see in the episode was supposed to take place much later, probably in the late 1950s or early 1960s.
Of course, this is all conjecture, but based on “Higgins’ History,” Higgins‘ shoulder insignia, Vivian’s age and the limited information we have about Vivian‘s history, I would say that Higgins would have been attached to the
6th Queen Elizabeth’s Own Gurkha Rifles in the Far East, perhaps Malaya in 1960, until the end of the Malayan Emergency in July 1960, or during the Indonesian Confrontation from 1962 through 1966. This part of his history is not accounted for, and Vivian would have been in her early to mid 20s. The primary reason I would say Higgins was attached to the 6th Queen Elizabeth’s Own Gurkha Rifles is the shoulder insignia on Higgins' uniform most closely resembles the 6th Gurkha's Tactical Recognition Flash compared to the three other Gurkha units attached to the British Army after WWII.
I would like to know why the costume designer for the show chose that particular shoulder patch for Higgins. I suppose it's always possible that the selection of that particular shoulder insignia is a
flub, and that scene was supposed to take place in 1945 while Higgins was in Burma. However, if this is the case, then this would qualify as a flub for many reasons, many of which have already been mentioned.
Aside from all of the technical stuff involving Higgins' shoulder insignia, this is also one of my favorite episodes from season 4. Higgins doing his commando stuff in an effort to save Vivian in the alley is great. The fight scene on the boat at the end is great too. There is a big guy who jumps from the upper deck onto the lower deck, but basically does a bellyflop onto a table and smashes it to bits. That looked like that hurt no matter how much training you've had, but it was hilarious. As the guy jumps he growls and roars and looks like he is doing his best impression of Superman, but without the ability to fly. He crashes down like a stone smashing the table. Although hilarious, I never realized what the point of that was. No one was really in danger except the poor sap who landed like a stone. Anyway, I really enjoyed this episode as it features Higgins prominently. A "Higgins-centric" episode as
Doc would say.