In June, 1983 Iron Maiden released the single
The Trooper from their Piece of Mind album; released in May of the same year. Clicking the link in the song's title will take you to the lyrics, should you wish to read them.
The inspiration for the song came from "The Charge of The Light Brigade" which took place at the Battle of Balaklava in 1854 during The Crimean War and also the incredibly moving poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson of the same name which describes the horror and futility of the campaign so perfectly that I have tears in my eyes every time I read it.
 |
| The Trooper 7" Vinyl Cover (www.google.co.uk) |
Britain's participation in The Crimean War began on 28th March 1854, when Britain declared war on Russia. The war had already began in October 1853, between Russia and The Ottoman Empire. British fatalities in this war are estimated to have been 21,097 men.
The official estimates of casualties on both sides place the figure at around 300,000 soldiers, an absolutely tragic waste of life.
One of the most tragic and futile events that happened during The Crimean War was The Charge of The Light Brigade when 600 British Cavalry Soldiers charged the Russian Artillery, led by James Brudenell, the 7th Earl of Cardigan.
This charge came about by a miscommunication of an order given by Commanding Officer, Lord Raglan during The Battle of Balaklava as part of the Siege of Sevastopol.
Men on horses armed with only sabres and lances are no match for men with cannons and though they fought hard the brave soldiers of The Light Brigade fell; 118 died, 127 were injured and approximately 60 were taken prisoner.
Six weeks after these events, Tennyson wrote his poem dedicated to those brave men.
The last survivor and longest living one, passed away aged approximately 165 years old in 2004.
Her name was Timothy The Tortoise - a misgendering which wasn't known until many years later when mating attempts failed miserably!
 |
| www.urbanghostsmedia.com |
Timothy The Tortoise was The Ship's Mascot on the HMS Queen which took part in the bombardment of Sevastopol. After surviving the War, Timothy returned to Britain and lived out her retirement in relative luxury on the estate of The Earl of Devon in the rose garden of Powerham Castle.
If you are interested in learning more about Timothy's amazing life story, you can find information by clicking her name in the text above.
Several items of clothing which are still common today came about due to necessity during The Crimean War:
British Troops wore knitted headgear to keep their heads warm which became known as Balaclavas and are commonly worn in extremely cold conditions and as part of skiing outfits.
The term "Raglan Sleeves" comes from the Commander of The British Troops, Lord Raglan who wore sleeves after losing an arm in The Battle of Waterloo.
Cardigans were named after the 7th Earl of Cardigan, James Brudenell, whose men wore sleeved knitted garments to keep warm during the campaigns in The Crimean War.
Iron Maiden's "The Trooper Eddie" figure was released in 2017 and comes dressed in the Infantry costume worn by soldiers in The Crimean War as depicted on the cover of the 7" single, designed by Derek Riggs.
Eddie's Infantry uniform is made of fabric, except his boots which are moulded from the same material his body is made from. He comes with a bloody sabre and a tattered and torn Union Jack flag, which is textured like fabric but is much thicker so is most likely made of thin plastic.
After removing him from the plastic inner I was very pleased to discover the inside of his box is doubles up as a display backdrop printed with the background of cover of The Trooper single's artwork.
The figure is posable and stands well independently without falling over. He has a ball neck joint so his head came move from side to side and up and down.
He is hinged at the ankles, elbows and knees so these areas can only move up and down.
His hands move side to side only and are moulded into loosely clenched fists to enable him to hold his accessories without them dropping.
His waist can be twisted and his hips are ball jointed so allow his legs more freedom for posing.
I'm not 100% sure as to the type of joints used for his shoulders as the straps on his uniform appear to be moulded closed and I don't want to risk breaking them to remove his shirt and find out.
His trousers and ankle straps are removable, but I can't think of a single reason for wanting to see Eddie naked so I haven't given this a go!
Iron Maiden, The Trooper, 02 London, 10th August 2018
Paul managed to secure us tickets to see Iron Maiden at The O2 in London on 10th August this year, we were pretty lucky in getting them as the gig was a sell out, we were two of 20,000 fans having an absolute blast.
The video above was taken from Youtube - I totally lost it when The Trooper started up as I knew Eddie was about to make an appearance, you know I love Eddie, right?!
I got so excited I went to video the song only I don't know what happened; my video didn't that's for sure, but I happily found several people on Youtube who actually managed to keep their brains intact and press record in the right place!
If you'd prefer to watch it on Youtube just click the title link below the video to be taken to
banifibil's channel to watch the video; I chose this one as it was recorded from the same side of the stage as we were, so you can view it from the same angle (almost) as we did on the night!
 |
| https://twitter.com/ironmaiden/status/1009403335395414016 |
Here's a close up image of Eddie I found on Iron Maiden's Twitter account so you can compare how close to the original my little man is.
 |
| www.ironmaidenbeer.com |
Of course being such a fan Girl I had to raise a glass of Trooper Beer while watching Iron Maiden too!
Five years ago, Bruce Dickinson and Robinsons Brewery got together to create Trooper Beer, not only does it taste good, it looks good too... The bottles have a cool image of Trooper Eddie on the label, a bit of info about the Charge of The Light Brigade on the back and really cool Eddie caps which I of course collect!
Last Christmas I bought Paul a mini keg of Trooper filled with 5 litres of the lovely stuff.
I also bought him six bottles of the Limited Edition Iron Maiden "Hallowed" Beer, as I preordered they came with a Hallowed bottle opener and a large replica of the label in sticker form, shown above.
I also got him a Trooper Gift Tin which included a bottle of Trooper and a glass from Robinsons Brewery as part of his gifts ... Man how I coveted that glass!
The Trooper glass has the same info as is written on the back label of the bottle :
"Onward, onward rode the 600...
The charge of The Light Brigade which inspired the Iron Maiden song The Trooper, took place at The Battle of Balaclava (1854) during The Crimean War when 600 British Calvary courageously charged the massed Russian Artillery. This gallant but foolhardy assault resulted in a massive loss of life and came about due to a misunderstanding of an order given by Commanding Officer Lord Raglan."
It also has a cute little etched Eddie at the bottom of the glass. 😋
 |
| The Light Brigade - Robinsons Brewery. |
For my Birthday, Paul bought me a variety of band label beers amongst other things, one of which was Iron Maiden's "The Light Brigade" Beer, personally I'm not as keen on it as I am Trooper but it was good to get a taste, plus I now have a cool bottle as a keepsake!
The Light Brigade Beer is of course a twist on Trooper Eddie, again made in collaboration with Bruce Dickinson and with every bottle sold Robinson's Brewery donate 5p to Help The Heroes.
The Robinsons Brewery Website has a lot of information on The Crimean War and Eddie's role in it, you can read it by clicking this
link.
 |
| http://www.pinsdaddy.com |
Anyone who enjoys watching the Isle of Man TT Races will no doubt be aware that Robinsons Brewery sponsor Peter Hickman and have decked out his bike in Trooper graphics, he also has Trooper leathers and Helmet (lucky sod!)
 |
| Peter Hickman - www.ironmaidenbeer.com |
I can't ride a bike and there is no way with my back I'll ever be able to lift this one but by all the Gods I want it!!
While we were in Camden for The Frost and Fire Festival in May, we did some hanging out at The Devonshire Arms - I love that place ...
I noticed a Trooper beer poster Celebrating their 5th anniversary and also clocked the bit which read that they're giving out free Trooper badges with each pint or bottle of Trooper sold, so I moseyed on up to the bar and ordered two Troopers, Trooper was off, so I decided to be cheeky and ask if he still had badges anyway after ordering two pints of Motorhead's Bastard instead...
The barman not only said there was badges but gave us one each just because we did order Troopers so yay we got our ltd edition badges...
After I finished my bastard I felt emboldened so I asked for the Trooper Poster too, they told me to come back after the gig and I could have it then so I decided I'd do just that, then another barman came over to me and told me he didn't have anything else he could give me but I could have this if I like, while placing a Trooper glass in front of me... Oh hell yeah did I want that!
I thanked him profusely and then made him keep it behind the bar for me cos glasses and gigs...not a good idea...
Later that evening, we went back and I got my poster too so when I got home I bought a frame and framed it along with a Trooper beer mat Paul gave me, my ltd ed' badge and the labels I stole from one of Paul's Hallowed bottles.
It has pride of place on my wall now!
While checking my facts and collating my stuffs for this post I happened upon a cool holographic Trooper poster, which of course being the massive Fan Girl I am will soon also be adorning my wall!!
Of course as there is pretty much no limit to the things Eddie's face or Trooper Eddie could be put on, it's very likely that I'll soon find more Trooper treasures to stash away... watch this space I guess!
Hugs,
