Victor McLaglen’s life was greatly influenced by, and mir- rored, his experiences of the British Empire, an empire he travelled widely and knew well. He had been a Boer War volunteer, potential Canadian homesteader, gold and silver miner in Canada and Austra- lia, farm worker, boxer, wrestler, pearl diver, big game hunter, ma- cho carnival tough guy, music hall performer, World War I soldier, Assistant Provost Marshal of Baghdad, and an actor in the early Brit- ish film industry. Some of his brothers would settle in Kenya and South Africa. He knew the British Army and its imperial mission. .
