Does anyone know anyone who joined the French Foreign Legion?

One of my course-mates at college in the UK had just come out of the legion. Very nice guy. He had, however, a presence about him that told you that he had a short fuse.

One of the guys building my house spent 3 months in the selection process before being turfed out. A couple of his friends who signed-up at the same time as him are still 'in'.
 
Caveat said:
... Edit: just checked Niallers' link - I was more or less right and it's 3 years. Apparently you must join under an assumed identity...
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The plot thickens...
Markjbloggs said:
I have it on good authority that Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy joined the Legion !
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So who were they really - Churchill & Montgomery training for WWII or Biffo & Eddie Hobbs training for post-Tiger Ireland?
 
2 guys I know joined one got kicked out for having bad eyesight and the other rose to Sergeant before being gassed in Syria (I think it was).

Both lads were very very tough
 
Caveat said:
Just interested.

Were they successful and any feedback to report?

I 'know of' 2 guys but I don't 'know' them and have no idea how they got on.
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I know of a couple of guys but they wouldn't be friends, so I couldn't comment. I can recommend the book 'The Naked Soldier' - very good book basically a tell all of one guys life in the legion.
 
The Cork Man who was on George Hook was Padraig O'Keefe. He wrote about his experiences in the book The Hidden Soldier, it is a fascinating read. I used to know him in my youth. He joined the legion for a challenge and something different. He is a fairly "normal" guy.
 
Thanks all - a couple of good book recommendations by the sounds of it.
 
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