Tuesday 25 April 2017

B is for... Bonaparte, Napoleon


The Doctor didn't get to meet Napoleon Bonaparte when he and his companions arrived in France during the Reign of Terror. The English spy James Stirling knew of a meeting that was to take place at an inn on the Calais Road, to be attended by Paul Barras, who was plotting the overthrow of Maximilien Robespierre. He wanted to know the identity of the man Barras was going to recruit to help him, and so Ian and Barbara went to the inn disguised as its temporary staff. They recognised Barras' guest as Napoleon. When Ian and Barbara reported back, no-one could believe that the young Corsican general could possibly come to anything.
The Doctor did come to meet the French Emperor at some point later, or so he claimed. Raiding Sir Reginald Styles' well-stocked larder, he took the credit for initiating Napoleon's famous phrase about an army marching on its stomach.

Played by: Tony Wall. Appearances: The Reign of Terror (1964).

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