The Bat Bomb Invention and Other Odd Facts from History and War

1. An Undignified End

Sir Arthur Aston’s authoritarian style of command, learned on the continent, was unpopular in England. He was disliked by his troops, who viewed him as a martinet. Aston was wounded and captured in 1642, then released in a prisoner exchange. He was then appointed governor of Oxford, headquarters of the royalist cause. There, Aston was severely injured in a fall from a horse, lost a leg, and used a wooden prosthetic thereafter. While recovering, he was relieved of his command and pensioned off.

In 1648, Aston joined royalists in Ireland, and was made commander of the port town of Drogheda. There, he was besieged in 1649 by Parliamentary forces led by Oliver Cromwell, who stormed and captured the town on September 11^th. Aston was captured, and Cromwell’s soldiers, convinced that his prosthetic must contain hidden gold, demanded that he show them how to access its secret hidden compartment. They refused to believe his denials, and frustrated at his perceived obstinacy, they ended up beating him to death with his own wooden leg.

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Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading

Anguillian, The, March 27^th, 2017 – The Last Invasion of Anguilla

Atlantic, The, April 4^th, 2011 – Old, Weird Tech: The Bat Bombs of World War II

British Battles – Battle of Trenton

British Civil Wars Project – Sir Arthur Aston

Cooks Info – Francois Vatel

Daily Beast – The Rhinoceros Who Won an Election by a Landslide

Disciples of Flight – Napalm Bats: The Bat Bomb

Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia – Trenton and Princeton Campaign (Washington’s Crossing)

Inc. – What Tootsie Rolls and the Korean War Can Teach Us About Innovation on Veterans Day

Mad Monarchs – Farouk of Egypt