MrPresident
Anglo-Saxon Liberal
South Africa has recently unveiled their new warship, a Meko A-200 SAN corvette (for those who are interested) and have named it the SAS Isandlwana. For those who don't know Isandlwana was the site for a military defeat that the British have done their best to forget. More than 1,000 men, including six companies of the Warwickshire regiment, were killed by 20,000 Zulus. The British tried to gloss over the catastrophe by celebrating the near-simultaneous battle at Rorke's Drift, where a small contingent of soliders held out against a vastly superior Zulu force.Now the South African navy knew that the name might appear insensitive and said the following, "The symbolism, however, is not in the battle itself, and who the victors were, but the extreme valour shown by the forces invovled - both the victors and the defeated. The name SAS Isandlwana therefore symbolises the valour of those who participated in this historic battle." By that logic then the French would be honoured were the next British warship to be named HMS Waterloo, or HMS Agincourt. So I was wondering should countries give their warships etc names that might appear insensitive or should they not care in the slightest. Also you are more than welcome to come up with your own suggestions for the names of warships for any countries.
