Businessman and adventurer Simon Murray has another battle honour to add to his collection, which includes seeing commodities trader Glencore through its float as chairman.
Murray, a former legionnaire, joined some old comrades a few weeks ago when the Foreign Legion celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Camerone, in which 60 or so legionnaires died gloriously, fighting off 3,000 Mexicans. Murray was unexpectedly ordered by a general to stand forward, and he was presented with the regimental flag at the legion's headquarters near Marseilles.
"It was a wonderful honour and quite moving," said Murray, 73, who joined a legion paratroop regiment in 1960 and served for five years in Algeria during its war of independence. "It's normally given to the head of the regiment on retiring, but never, never to below the rank of colonel," said the latter-day Beau Geste, who was once Li Ka-shing's right-hand man. "Quite nice for an ex-corporal to have that thrust on upon him."
The flag now adorns his Norman Foster-designed offices in London.