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Which city that became famous following an incident in 1984 is the capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh? | Bhopal, India | Article about Bhopal, India by The Free Dictionary
Bhopal, India | Article about Bhopal, India by The Free Dictionary
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Bhopal%2c+India
Also found in: Dictionary , Medical , Acronyms , Wikipedia .
Bhopal
(bō`päl), former principality, Madhya Pradesh state, central India. A region of rolling downs and thickly forested hills, it is predominantly agricultural. Its Buddhist monuments include the famous stupa (3d cent. B.C.) at Sanchi. Bhopal was founded in the early 18th cent. and was ruled from 1844 to 1926 by the begums of Bhopal, famous women leaders. Although the population was mainly Hindu, the princely family was Muslim. Bhopal became part of the state of Madhya Pradesh in 1956.
The city of Bhopal (1991 pop. 1,062,771), the former capital of the principality and now the capital of Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh
, state (2001 provisional pop. 60,385,118), 119,010 sq mi (308,240 sq km), central India, between the Deccan and the Ganges plain. The capital is Bhopal. One of the largest states in India, Madhya Pradesh consists, from north to south, of upland zones separated by
..... Click the link for more information. , was founded in 1728. It is a trade center with manufactures of cotton cloth, jewelry, electrical goods, and chemicals. Bhopal has a very modern section and an old city, and hills and lakes give the environs much scenic beauty. The city is the seat of several institutions of higher education and a large mosque, the Taj-ul-masjid. There are many sites of historical and archaeological interest in Bhopal and nearby.
In Dec., 1984, a cloud of methyl isocynate gas escaped from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal. An estimated 3,000 to 7,000 died immediately, 15,000 to 20,000 died from the effects in the years after the disaster, and 50,000 to 100,000 suffered from serious injuries as a result of the world's worst chemical disaster. The Indian government sued on behalf of 570,000 victims and in 1989 settled for $470 million in damages and exempted company employees from criminal prosecution. The Indian judiciary rejected that exemption in 1991, and the company's Indian assets were seized (1992) after its officials failed to appear to face charges. The chairman of Union Carbide's Indian branch and seven other of its Indian employees (one deceased) were convicted of death by negligence in 2010, and later that year the Indian government sued to increase the damages paid to $1.1 billion.
Bhopal
a city in central India, the capital of Madhya Pradesh state and of the former state of Bhopal: site of a poisonous gas leak from a US-owned factory, which killed over 7000 people in 1984 and was implicated in a further 15 000 deaths afterwards. Pop.: 1 433 875 (2001)
| Bhopal |
What is the common name for the laryngeal prominence in the body? | Bhopal | Article about Bhopal by The Free Dictionary
Bhopal | Article about Bhopal by The Free Dictionary
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Bhopal
Related to Bhopal: Love Canal
Bhopal
(bō`päl), former principality, Madhya Pradesh state, central India. A region of rolling downs and thickly forested hills, it is predominantly agricultural. Its Buddhist monuments include the famous stupa (3d cent. B.C.) at Sanchi. Bhopal was founded in the early 18th cent. and was ruled from 1844 to 1926 by the begums of Bhopal, famous women leaders. Although the population was mainly Hindu, the princely family was Muslim. Bhopal became part of the state of Madhya Pradesh in 1956.
The city of Bhopal (1991 pop. 1,062,771), the former capital of the principality and now the capital of Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh
, state (2001 provisional pop. 60,385,118), 119,010 sq mi (308,240 sq km), central India, between the Deccan and the Ganges plain. The capital is Bhopal. One of the largest states in India, Madhya Pradesh consists, from north to south, of upland zones separated by
..... Click the link for more information. , was founded in 1728. It is a trade center with manufactures of cotton cloth, jewelry, electrical goods, and chemicals. Bhopal has a very modern section and an old city, and hills and lakes give the environs much scenic beauty. The city is the seat of several institutions of higher education and a large mosque, the Taj-ul-masjid. There are many sites of historical and archaeological interest in Bhopal and nearby.
In Dec., 1984, a cloud of methyl isocynate gas escaped from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal. An estimated 3,000 to 7,000 died immediately, 15,000 to 20,000 died from the effects in the years after the disaster, and 50,000 to 100,000 suffered from serious injuries as a result of the world's worst chemical disaster. The Indian government sued on behalf of 570,000 victims and in 1989 settled for $470 million in damages and exempted company employees from criminal prosecution. The Indian judiciary rejected that exemption in 1991, and the company's Indian assets were seized (1992) after its officials failed to appear to face charges. The chairman of Union Carbide's Indian branch and seven other of its Indian employees (one deceased) were convicted of death by negligence in 2010, and later that year the Indian government sued to increase the damages paid to $1.1 billion.
Bhopal
a city in central India, the capital of Madhya Pradesh state and of the former state of Bhopal: site of a poisonous gas leak from a US-owned factory, which killed over 7000 people in 1984 and was implicated in a further 15 000 deaths afterwards. Pop.: 1 433 875 (2001)
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Which photographer has had four wives including Catherine Deneuve and Marie Helvin | The Women David Bailey Photographs Become His Lovers, and Marie Helvin Is the Latest
The Women David Bailey Photographs Become His Lovers, and Marie Helvin Is the Latest
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When photographer David Bailey barged into the dressing room of the new model sent over for a British Vogue assignment, he took one look and snarled, “Is this her?”—making no secret of his aversion to unfamiliar faces. To herself, the model, Marie Helvin, reproached the famous fashion photographer as “a nasty man who disliked me without even knowing me.”
Click! Two months later Marie and David met by chance on the Paris-London air shuttle. Champagne flowed. David was charming. “He made me feel like a princess,” Marie remembers.
Click! Soon thereafter, the two of them dashed off for a weekend in Rome that Marie treasures as “the most glamorous experience in my life.” Actor Helmut Berger, a Bailey chum, sent a Rolls to fetch them at the airport and installed them in his lavishly appointed bedroom, popping in and out to see how they were doing. “We had to retreat to the bathroom,” Marie laughs, “to be alone and make love.”
The leave-’em-gasping technique that won over Marie has made Bailey one of the world’s most flamboyant photographers and lovers, a Cockney Casanova whose romantic life is always on motor-drive. The beautiful faces he photographs—Jean Shrimp-ton, Catherine Deneuve, Penelope Tree—become the beautiful women he lives with. During the 1960s Bailey became a symbol of “swinging London” and the prototype for the dissolute, detached photographer played by David Hemmings in Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1966 film Blow-Up.
After his Roman holiday three years ago with Marie, Bailey cleared out his previous mistress’s gear and asked the $750-a-day Tokyo-born model for Saint Laurent and Valentino to be his roommate. “I didn’t like that in-and-out taxi feeling,” she admits, but accepted nonetheless. That they bothered to marry two years ago—he for the third time, she for the first—was incidental to David (“Only a bit of paper”), if not to Marie (“Maybe I’m just old-fashioned”).
Bailey still bears scars from his traumatic split with Jean Shrimpton, whom he made the Face of the ’60s. When she wanted to wed early in their four-year affair, Bailey was still tied to his first wife, Rosemary, a typist he’d married at 21 and ditched after nine months for the Shrimp. But when his divorce came through, Jean bolted. For David, the loss was “not only my love life, but my work as well. It was like losing your favorite camera.”
He found solace with a post-Vadim Deneuve. He is still the only man she ever married. Then, confoundingly, Bailey split from the glamorous Deneuve—for Penelope Tree, then only 17, daughter of New York socialite and former U.N. delegate Marietta Tree.
David is still friendly with all three women—which leaves Marie unfazed. “I respect their importance to him,” she says. “There are no hangups.” Bailey elaborates, “I’m the way I am because of Jean, Catherine and Penelope. They ironed out the faults in me. Marie is the beneficiary. If there’s cause to be jealous,” he adds, “it’s not over loves of the past.”
David, 39, and Marie, 26, are nesting in his five-story Victorian townhouse in London’s shabby Camden Town section. They share the place with David’s 60 parrots, as well as 14 rabbits, four cats, three lovebirds, two dogs, two turtles, two finches and a Brazilian houseman. The déclassé digs reek of animals and are painted bright blue outside (“like a Jamaican brothel,” he says).
Born a tailor’s son in London’s East End, David showed talent at 5 by drawing Bambi and other Disney characters. (“When a V-2 hit the neighborhood cinema, I was upset because I thought Mickey Mouse had died.”) He bought his first Brownie at 12 to snap some parakeets he was breeding—the beginning of his lifelong infatuation with both ornithology and cameras. After an overseas hitch with the RAF in Singapore, David turned up back in London as a photographer’s assistant. At 21, he emerged full-blown in boots and black leather (“I’d been reading a lot of Kerouac”) into the swinging ’60s—a period he now reviles, because “people began cashing in on what had been a natural thing.” He still huffs that the “distorted view” of Blow-Up cost him jobs because “I looked like I never did any work. Actually, I work my ass off.”
Marie was raised in Hawaii, the daughter of an American real estate investor and a Japanese mother who are divorced. She remembers being “an ugly child”—skinny, with glasses and later braces. “I was always being sent home from school because my skirts were too short.” An early flower child, she was into drugs at 15 and remembers doing “nutty things like buying crinolines and wearing them around my breasts instead of my waist.” As for dressing in purple togas and pinning bougainvillea in her hair, she says, “I imagined myself as Aphrodite. I must have been out of my mind.” She discovered modeling when, on a graduation trip to Japan, her lanky 5’8″ beauty and muted Oriental features created a sensation. But by the time she arrived in London at 20, she looked, Bailey recalls, like “a painted doll—not the kind that appeals to me photographically.” Playing Henry Higgins to her Eliza, David “turned Marie into a woman more sophisticated and grown-up.”
Part of Bailey’s own maturing since marriage is a prominent paunch. Marie’s vegetarian couscous, Indian curry and banana milkshakes laced with soy flour, wheat germ and raw egg must share the blame. “I have to keep him healthy,” she explains ingenuously. They enjoy wee-hour partying with old cronies—the Michael Caines, Mick Jaggers and Paul McCartneys—and getaways to the countryside in their Range Rover. (David has sold his Rolls and Ferrari.)
None of Bailey’s previous liaisons yielded children, though he notes, “There’ve been a few abortions.” Neither he nor Marie wants a family. “I’m too selfish and don’t have the time,” says Bailey, “and I don’t need the ego trip of little David Baileys running around. I’d rather leave a few snaps.”
The Baileys’ professional partnership (she does 80 percent of her work with him) will soon produce a book on Marie—mostly nude photos. She will also appear in a film, Paperback, which Bailey wrote and hopes to start directing next month in France.
David, Marie believes, has “opened my eyes to a lot of things. He taught me to accept beauty and vanity as part of a woman’s gift, not to fight it. For the first time I’m at peace with myself.” David values “the Oriental side of her that she doesn’t realize.” But one friend observes, “The pressure will come when he stops using her as his model and moves on.” Marie counters, “I just accept Bailey for what he is, the man I love and the most important thing in my life.” David agrees, “I don’t know what will happen in 10 years. All I know is that if it’s good now, it’s good. Marie makes me happy. It’s better to have five years of an intense relationship than 50 years of mediocrity.”
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| David Bailey |
What is the first name of Doctor Zhivago in the Boris Pasternak novel | The Monday interview: David Bailey | Global | The Guardian
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David Bailey is walking down the street with his tiny camera hanging from his neck. Just like in the advert, all those years ago. He looks tired and suntanned. Bailey was a beautiful young man, an icon in that most iconic of decades, the 60s. His face is still handsome. His hair is wild, with a bald dome in the middle. His eyebrows could be used for fuse wire. He would make a good Lear these days.
He opens the door to his studio near London's King's Cross station, and we climb the stairs. The studio could have been cryogenically frozen in the 60s. There are wonderful black-and-white portraits of the Krays, of Lennon and McCartney, of Joseph Beuys. The sun is playing on the white walls and the music is loud and life affirming. It's a day for dancing.
There is a huge, fleshy still life of a penis on the wall, alongside an equally huge vagina which, at first glance, could be an ornate butterfly brooch. He looks at the penis. "Yeah, that's me," he says, "but we had to shrink it." I think he is kidding. He giggles. Actually he doesn't giggle, he erupts. It is the first of many eruptions. The eruption is so violent that I think he may be having a heart attack.
To say Bailey is direct is an understatement. He gives me the once-over. "Are you Jewish?" Yes, I say, why? "Because you look like a fuckin' Israeli prime minister." He squeaks with pleasure, like Dudley Moore in a Pete and Dud sketch. "That's a good observation. I always look at people and think how I would cast them." As well as his photos, Bailey has had a successful career as a director of commercials and a disappointing one as a feature-film maker.
He guides me to the sofa in the corner of the room. A teenage girl is sitting there silently. She is a typical Bailey model - unadorned and lovely, but she looks young, even for Bailey.
"This is Paloma, my daughter." Paloma is 17 and studying art. "OK, Simon. Simple Simon met a pieman going to the fair. Said Simple Simon to the pieman, what have you got there? Pies you cunt. Ahahahoohoohooohoohoo." He starts wheezing like crazy.
"I went to the Limerick festival once. The first limerick was in Gaelic; the second one was in Gaelic; the third one was in Gaelic. All of them were in fucking Gaelic. The local priest won the first two prizes. They were so obscene."
Did he get them translated? Oh yes, he says, before weaving off for a brief aside about Anthony Burgess and the history of the limerick, and preparing himself for a recital. Then he rattles off three, only one of which can be reproduced in a family newspaper.
There was a young man of Kent
Whose knob was exceedingly bent
To save lots of trouble
He put it in double
And instead of coming he went.
Ahahahoohoohooohoohooheeeheeee.
He segues from limericks to his love of primitive art - his own paintings hang on the wall. From there on to Picasso, a hero, and Louis Armstrong, another hero, and Vincente Minnelli yet another.
Bailey has never quite fitted into the pigeon hole created for him: the Cockney wideboy with an eye for the dolly birds. There is always something that surprises about him, whether it is his love of John Betjeman or the fact that he chose vegetarianism in his teens and stuck with it.
At 64, he still works crazy hours and talks about the need to move forward, but so many of his current projects are in the service of past achievements. There is the touring exhibition of his early work, a TV programme, The Real Blow Up (after the Antonioni film inspired by Bailey) and a forthcoming exhibition about his 70s photography. Occasionally, we see his byline attached to glamorous cover shots for Vogue, but most of the celebrity work goes out to a younger generation of photographers led by Rankin. On a table, there is a contact sheet of a recent shoot with the actor David Jason. It seems so far removed from Jean Shrimpton, Catherine Deneuve, Marie Helvin. He photographed beautiful women, slept with them, and set up house with a fair few.
Bailey revolutionised fashion photography. Before him it was frigid and overstylised - often the work of gay, upper-class men. He seduced his way through sessions. You could feel the heat in his pictures. He also celebrated a new kind of model - his girls were gorgeous, but the kind of gorgeousness that everyday working-class girls could aspire to.
By his mid-20s, he was massive. He loved his money and his Rollers - that was the East End boy getting one up on the establishment, as he saw it. He still sees himself as an outsider.
I ask him what he thinks of his mate Mick Jagger accepting a knighthood. Could he see himself as Sir Bailey? (No one calls him David). "I'd have one, if they gave it to me, yeah. Any accolades are worth having. When I got my CBE last year, what's he called, Prince Charles, said to me, 'Nice to see you' and I said, 'About time!'" He pauses. "Well it is about time... I said to him, I want you to know, Prince Charles, I'm not joining, I'm infiltrating. Hoo-hoo-hooo."
He talks about the people he really admires; those who stick to their vision. In the 80s, Bailey was attacked by feminists for his sexy photos of his fourth wife, Catherine. The criticism hurt. Now, he says, the world is less dogmatic. "That feminist thing's gone, in a way. If you look at female eroticism, it's much more erotic than men's idea of women; more erotic than Helmut Newton." I ask him if he has seen Newton's portrait of Thatcher - the ultimate dominatrix. "Yeah, it's great. He thought she was the sexiest woman in the world. I quite like Margaret Thatcher. I like people like Enoch Powell and Tony Benn - people who had a vision, whether I agree with it or not. Benn's an amazing man. He's one of my heroes."
All the time, Paloma sits there, puffing away on her cigarettes, listening to her father, intently, lovingly, protectively. Paloma's mother Catherine lives in Devon with their three children; Bailey lives in London most of the time. He says he has to be where the work is and, for him, work is life. "When I stop working, I go out and start working again. Most people paint a picture, or whatever they do, and go home. For me, it has to be continuous."
I ask Paloma if he is a workaholic. "Yeah. He can't not work," she says quietly. 'He can't relax." What's he like when he stops working? "He never stops. He's never been on a holiday. I think that would be the worst thing in the world for him, a family holiday. What's he going to do? Sit on the beach and sunbathe?"
I ask Paloma what he's like as a dad. "He's not like everybody else. He wouldn't go to the park and play football. He teaches you rather than plays with you." Bailey: "They could play chess at three or four. Sascha is seven and he beat me the other day." Paloma: "He's not around all the time." Does she like that? "Yeah, I guess."
Bailey's metallic eyebrows are twitching. I tell him they are amazing. "My wife cuts them when I'm asleep." He looks at the skin under my eyes. "How old are you? Forty?" Thirty-nine, I say. "I can usually guess a woman within six months. Now it's more difficult with Botox!"
I ask him what makes him a good photographer. Dyslexia, he says, instantly. "I think dyslexia is a kind of privilege because it helps you to see differently from other people because you're fucked when it comes to words." Could he have been the photographer he is without loving women? "Yeah. If I was gay, I would have photographed men. In a way, a man's body is more beautiful than a woman's."
No, I say, what I mean is, could you be a great portrait photographer and be a misanthrope? "Anybody can be a great photographer if they zoom in enough on what they love. People take great pictures of humming birds." So you do have to love your subject? "Yeah, I mean, I fall in love with everyone." These days he says he can't help looking at old photos and wondering whether the subject is dead.
Bailey has ben married to Catherine for 16 years. I ask him if he is still close to former wives and lovers. He looks horrified. "Yeah! I've always been friendly afterwards with wives. I don't know how you can live with somebody for even two years and not like them afterwards. I can usually make up my mind in 10 minutes whether I like them." There's something sweet, childlike in his logic. "I didn't dislike any of my wives afterwards or even at the time. It's just that you move in different directions. You don't leave them and they don't leave you, you just drift apart."
He starts totting them up on his fingers. "Marie, I see. Jean, I see not much, maybe once a year. She's still got her hotel. She'll end up mayor of Penzance..."
I ask Paloma whether she knows the women in his life?
Bailey: "You get on all right with Marie [Helvin] don't you?"
Paloma: "Yeah, I like Marie."
Bailey: "Deneuve, she's all right. You don't remember her much do you?"
Paloma: "I remember when we did that shoot in Paris. Wasn't that Deneuve?"
Bailey: "No that was Saffron Burrows." Paloma: "But she came to see you there."
Bailey: "I've got the best one now, though, haven't I," he says as much to Paloma as me. "All that market research paid off, didn't it? Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo! So persevere. No, it's the best thing in the world when you have a relationship with somebody."
I ask him why women like him. But I don't need to. Despite his tremendous rudeness, he makes you feel special. Often, as he talks, he places his hand on your hand or arm, and just leaves it there. "I think women like humour. You can't take yourself too seriously. I think that's partly my problem, too, because I don't come across all sincere. I care what I do probably as much as anybody, but I can't do that sincere soul-searching number."
When one of his closest friends, the photographer Terence Donovan, killed himself in 1996, Bailey said it was the worst thing that had happened to him. He still seems shaken by it. "You get angry at people, don't you. You think, why? What a waste of this great guy who was one of the funniest men you could ever meet. Donovan seemed like he had everything to live for. I had dinner with him about three or four weeks before. He said, 'You're the only fucker who's given me a birthday present.'" He points to the vagina on the wall. "I gave him one of those pussy pictures."
He suddenly seems nostalgic for the old East End, the world where funeral processions passed every day and if you didn't stand still when the car passed, strangers would clip you round the ear.
Values, he says, have changed. Dreams have changed. Heroes have changed. "My heroes were Stravinsky and Ellington and Picasso and John Huston and Fellini, and now the heroes are David Beckham and Posh Spice."
He stops himself, wary of sounding like an old fart. "Things still happen. I mean, somebody like Damien Hirst comes along and knocks you sideways. I've got friends, old photographers, and they're always complaining 'he's not as good as I was', and 'why aren't they using me'... I think Donovan had a bit of that too, I understand why people feel like that, but you've got to be excited by what the younger generation are doing, too."
He talks about how his work still thrills him; how he would like to photograph every single person in Britain. That's the thing, he says, you need love. And passion, Paloma says. He nods. "All you need is love," he says, and bursts into song.
· The Real Blow Up is on BBC2, August 10.
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"""Thank Heaven far Little Girls"" and ""The Night They Invented Champagne"" are songs from which musical?" | BROADWAY REVIEW: Gigi starring Vanessa Hudgens at Neil Simon Theatre - Chicago Tribune
Chris Jones Contact Reporter Chicago Tribune
Vanessa Hudgens is the star of the revival of "Gigi" on Broadway: Wrong time, wrong place and wrong Gigi.
To say that Vanessa Hudgens , the apparent raison d'etre for the anemic, sterile — and, at times, rather creepy — revival of "Gigi" on Broadway is no Leslie Caron or Audrey Hepburn is probably not fair to the former star of "High School Musical." Her predecessors in the role, first conceived by the French writer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, played the beautiful French teenager in a retro era when men could sing lyrics about girls becoming women in front of their eyes and so do with relative impunity. Hudgens has to come up with a Gigi in an era when it is generally thought best that little girls are allowed to grow up in a most delightful way, far away from the prying eyes of older suitors waiting for them to bloom. Imagine "High School Musical" with adults at the prom.
As with a lot of old musicals with books that render young women as commodities to be negotiated over and bargained for (Act 2 even has a number called "The Contract"), the main reason to revive "Gigi" is the score by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. ("Gigi" has been a 1949 French film, a 1951 Broadway play, a 1958 film musical and a 1973 stage musical.) That score has such ditties as "Thank Heaven For Little Girls," "The Night They Invented Champagne" and "I Remember It Well." Warm memories also abound of Maurice Chevalier, who narrates the story in the 1958 movie and sings some of its best songs, including "Thank Heaven," wherein the elderly bon vivant drools over teenage Gigi. A different era, you might say.
Heidi Thomas, who has revised the book for director Eric Schaeffer's production, clearly is aware of these issues. She amps up Gigi's moments of rebellion from her chosen path, and even takes that famous number from Honore (here, Howard McGillin) and gives it to Mme. Alvarez (Victoria Clark) and Aunt Alicia (Dee Hoty), the two women who are raising and grooming Gigi, who has been aged upward in this revival from 15 to 18. That would all be well and good if Hudgens had got the memo. But for most of this show she comes up with the most girlie Gigi you could possibly imagine: it is as if she were told to be as chirpy and childlike as possible, skipping around the stage and, at times, bending at the waist like a rag doll. Whatever good work Thomas was doing to save "Gigi" from its previous self is undermined by the central performance, which is all at sea even before you ponder the vocal limitations thereof.
Hudgens is, for sure, sincere and working hard. But her safe-as-the-valley Gigi feels Californian all the way and, well, not even remotely French. Actually, nothing in this show (and I include both the earnest McGillin and the setting by Derek McLane, replete with a mini Eiffel Tower) feels even remotely French. And without that je ne sais quoi, well, you're left with a piece sans any viable identity.
This is a revival demonstrably afraid of sexuality (for good reason: see above). But by allowing Hudgens to make Gigi so annoyingly asexual and ebullient (one waits in vain for a good teenage mope), the show ends up doing almost exactly what it wanted to avoid. And if everyone is so nervous about seduction, then you really don't have a "Gigi," which has romance and seduction at its core. The French are better at walking these murky paths along the River Seine. This "Gigi" has no idea how to proceed with its own material.
You can see that insecurity in Joshua Bergasse's jerky, overtly stylized choreography, rendering the affluent residents of Paris as long-necked chickens. And you can see it in Corey Cott's vocally proficient performance as Gaston, the handsome adult who comes to appreciate Gigi. There's fear in his eyes — not longing. Although neither can fully emerge from the problematic milieu, Clark and Hoty at least bring a twinkle of irony to the proceedings, a crucial sense of remove. Therein lay the missed key to any revival of this show, one of a big group of beautifully scored romances with books that don't easily fly. Maybe the entire enterprise was hoping for too much, but wit, style, panache and truth would all have helped Gigi on the stairway to heaven.
Chris Jones shows you which musicals to see on Broadway
Chicago Tribune theater critic Chris Jones reviews current Broadway musicals in this comprehensive guide.
Chicago Tribune theater critic Chris Jones reviews current Broadway musicals in this comprehensive guide.
| Gigi |
Nicknamed the Snow Leopard, for which country was Kwame Nkrumah- Acheampong the first representative in the Winter Olympics? (He finished 53rd in the slalom in 2010) | GIGI / THANK HEAVEN - Louis Jourdan / Maurice Chevalier - YouTube
GIGI / THANK HEAVEN - Louis Jourdan / Maurice Chevalier
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Published on Oct 17, 2008
Title song from the movie "Gigi".....
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Which Massachusetts delegate was President of the Second Continental Congress and his large signature on the 1776 Declaration of Independence? | John Hancock - American Revolution - HISTORY.com
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John Hancock’s Early Years and Family
John Hancock was born on January 23 (or January 12, according to the calendar in use at the time), 1737, in Braintree (present-day Quincy), Massachusetts . After his clergyman father died when Hancock was a boy, he was raised by his aunt and uncle, Thomas Hancock (1703-1764), a wealthy merchant, in their elegant Boston mansion.
Did You Know?
Boston's 60-story John Hancock Tower (also called Hancock Place) is the city's tallest building. It was named for the John Hancock insurance company, which was named for the Massachusetts statesman. In Chicago, the 100-story John Hancock Center was the sixth-tallest building in the United States as of 2010.
After graduating from Harvard College in 1754, Hancock went to work for his uncle. When Thomas Hancock, who was childless, died in 1764, his nephew inherited his lucrative import-export business and became one of the richest men in New England. Hancock would later earn a reputation for being generous and using his personal wealth for public projects; however, he also received criticism from some people, including fellow Revolutionary leader Samuel Adams (1722-1803), for his conspicuously lavish lifestyle.
In 1775, Hancock married Dorothy Quincy (1747-1830), the daughter of a Boston merchant and magistrate. The couple had two children, a boy and a girl, neither of whom survived to adulthood.
The Road to Revolution
In 1765, John Hancock entered local politics when he was elected a Boston selectman. The following year, he won election to the Massachusetts colonial legislature. Around this same time, the British Parliament began imposing a series of regulatory measures, including tax laws, to gain further control over its 13 American colonies. The colonists opposed these measures, particularly the tax laws, arguing that only their own representative assemblies impose tax them. Over the next decade, anti-British sentiment among the colonists intensified and eventually led to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783).
Hancock came into direct conflict with the British in 1768, when one of his merchant ships, the Liberty, was seized in Boston Harbor by British customs officials who claimed Hancock had illegally unloaded cargo without paying the required taxes. Hancock was a popular figure in Boston, and the seizure of his ship led to angry protests by local residents. In the ensuing months and years, Hancock became increasingly involved in the movement for American independence. Massachusetts was at the center of this movement, and Boston, in particular, was dubbed the “Cradle of Liberty.”
A Wanted Man
In 1774, John Hancock was elected president of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, which declared itself an autonomous government. In December of the same year, he was chosen as a Massachusetts delegate to the Second Continental Congress, which served as the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution .
Hancock’s revolutionary activities made him a target for British authorities. In 1775, he and fellow patriot Samuel Adams avoided arrest in Lexington, Massachusetts, after Paul Revere (1735-1818) made his legendary nighttime ride to warn them the British were coming.
John Hancock’s Famous Signature
In May 1775, John Hancock was elected president of the Continental Congress, which was meeting in Philadelphia. The next month, the Congress chose George Washington (1732-1799) as commander of the Continental Army. (According to some accounts, Hancock had eyed the role for himself.) During the eight years of war that followed, Hancock used his wealth and influence to help fund the army and revolutionary cause.
On July 4, 1776, Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence , a document drafted by Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) stating that the 13 American colonies were free from British rule. The document also detailed the importance of individual rights and freedoms. As president of the Continental Congress, Hancock is credited as the first signer of the Declaration of Independence. His prominent, stylish signature became famous. (According to legend, Hancock boldly inscribed his name so the English king would not need glasses to read it.) Today, the term “John Hancock” is synonymous with “signature.”
John Hancock’s Governorship and Later Years
After resigning as head of the Continental Congress in 1777, Hancock had his chance for military glory in 1778, when he led some 5,000 Massachusetts soldiers in an attempt to recapture Newport, Rhode Island , from the British. Although the mission was a failure, Hancock remained a popular figure. He went on to help frame the Massachusetts Constitution, adopted in 1780, and was elected governor of Massachusetts by a wide margin that same year.
During his tenure as governor, Massachusetts was plagued by sharp inflation, and a number of farmers defaulted on loans and ended up in prison. In the face of the mounting political crisis, Hancock, who was suffering from gout, resigned the governorship in 1785. The following year, an armed uprising by Massachusetts farmers that later became known as Shay’s Rebellion broke out. The rebellion ended in early 1787, and Hancock was reelected governor that same year. He did not attend the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia; however, he presided over his home state’s 1788 convention to ratify the U.S. Constitution and gave a speech in favor of ratification.
In 1789, Hancock was a candidate in the first U.S. presidential election, but received only four electoral votes out of a total 138 cast. George Washington garnered 69 votes, while John Adams (1735-1826) captured 36 votes, earning the two men the presidency and vice presidency, respectively.
Hancock remained governor of Massachusetts until his death at age 56 on October 8, 1793. Following an extravagant funeral, he was buried at Boston’s Granary Burying Ground.
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| John Hancock |
Which is the only Book of the Bible with a three-letter name | Declaration of Independence (1776)
On July 4, 1776, the
Second Continental Congress
, meeting in Philadelphia, adopted the
Declaration of Independence
, written primarily by Virginia delegate Thomas Jefferson in committee with John Adams, of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin, of Pennsylvania, Robert R. Livingston, of New York, and Roger Sherman, of Connecticut. The Declaration followed a resolution, made by Virginia's Richard Henry Lee on June 7, that the Congress declare independence. The resolution was adopted on July 2, and the Declaration of Independence listed the Congress's grievances with George III . Some spelling has been modernized.
In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
A DECLARATION By the REPRESENTATIVES of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, In GENERAL CONGRESS assembled.
WHEN in the course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.
WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness—-That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security. Such has been the patient Sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the Necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The History of the present King of Great-Britain is a History of repeated Injuries and Usurpations, all having in direct Object the Establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid World.
HE has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public Good.
HE has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing Importance, unless suspended in their Operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
HE has refused to pass other Laws for the Accommodation of large Districts of People, unless those People would relinquish the Right of Representation in the Legislature, a Right inestimable to them, and formidable to Tyrants only.
HE has called together Legislative Bodies at Places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the Depository of their public Records, for the sole Purpose of fatiguing them into Compliance with his Measures.
HE has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly Firmness his Invasions on the Rights of the People.
HE has refused for a long Time, after such Dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the Dangers of Invasion from without, and Convulsions within.
HE has endeavoured to prevent the Population of these States; for that Purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their Migrations hither, and raising the Conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
HE has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
HE has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the Tenure of their Offices, and the Amount and Payment of their Salaries.
HE has erected a Multitude of new Offices, and sent hither Swarms of Officers to harass our People, and eat out their Substance.
HE has kept among us, in Times of Peace, Standing Armies, without the consent of our Legislature.
HE has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
HE has combined with others to subject us to a Jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our Laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
FOR quartering large Bodies of Armed Troops among us:
FOR protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
FOR cutting off our Trade with all Parts of the World:
FOR imposing taxes on us without our Consent:
FOR depriving us, in many Cases, of the Benefits of Trial by Jury:
FOR transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended Offences:
FOR abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an arbitrary Government, and enlarging its Boundaries, so as to render it at once an Example and fit Instrument for introducing the same absolute Rule in these Colonies:
FOR taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
FOR suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with Power to legislate for us in all Cases whatsoever:
HE has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
HE has plundered our Seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our Towns, and destroyed the Lives of our People.
HE is, at this Time, transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the Works of Death, Desolation, and Tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and Perfidy, scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous Ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized Nation.
HE has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the Executioners of their Friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
HE has excited domestic Insurrections among us, and has endeavoured to bring on the Inhabitants of our Frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known Rule of Warfare, is an undistinguished Destruction, of all Ages, Sexes and Conditions.
IN every stage of these Oppressions we have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble Terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated Injury. A Prince, whose Character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Ruler of a free People.
NOR have we been wanting in Attentions to our British Brethren. We have warned them from Time to Time of Attempts by their Legislature to extend an unwarrantable Jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the Circumstances of our Emigration and Settlement here. We have appealed to their native Justice and Magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the Ties of our common Kindred to disavow these Usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our Connections and Correspondence. They too have been deaf to the Voice of Justice and of Consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the Necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of Mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace, Friends.
WE, therefore, the Representatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in GENERAL CONGRESS, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of our Intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly Publish and Declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES; that they are absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political Connection between them and the State of Great-Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which INDEPENDENT STATES may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
Signed by ORDER and in BEHALF of the CONGRESS,
JOHN HANCOCK, PRESIDENT.
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Who organised the original 1985 Live Aid concert with Bob Geldof? | USA for Africa - We Are The World ( Original Music Video 1985 ) HD / HQ - YouTube
USA for Africa - We Are The World ( Original Music Video 1985 ) HD / HQ
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Published on Sep 7, 2013
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert held on 13 July 1985. The event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom (attended by 72,000 people) and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States (attended by about 100,000 people).[1] On the same day, concerts inspired by the initiative happened in other countries, such as Australia and Germany. It was one of the largest-scale satellite link-ups and television broadcasts of all time: an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion, across 150 nations, watched the live broadcast.[2]
The concert began at 12:00 BST ( 7:00 EDT) at Wembley Stadium in the United Kingdom. It continued at JFK Stadium in the United States, starting at 13:51 BST ( 8:51 EDT). The UK's Wembley performances ended at 22:00 BST ( 17:00 EDT). The JFK performances and whole concert in the US ended at 04:05 BST July 14 ( 23:05 EDT). (See the full schedule of the concert here.[4]) Thus, the concert continued for just over 16 hours, but since many artists' performances were conducted simultaneously in Wembley and JFK, the total concert's length was much longer.
It was the original intention for Mick Jagger and David Bowie to perform an intercontinental duet, with Bowie in London and Jagger in Philadelphia. Problems of synchronization meant that the only remotely practical solution was to have one artist, likely Bowie at Wembley, mime along to prerecorded vocals broadcast as part of the live sound mix for Jagger's performance from Philadelphia. Veteran music engineer David Richards (Pink Floyd and Queen) was brought in to create footage and sound mixes that Jagger and Bowie could perform to in their respective venues. The BBC would then have had to ensure that those footage and sound mixes were in synch while also performing a live vision mix of the footage from both venues. The combined footage would then have had to be bounced back by satellite to the various broadcasters around the world. Due to the time lag (the signal would take several seconds to be broadcast twice across the Atlantic Ocean) Richards concluded there would be no practical way for Jagger to be able to hear or see Bowie's performance, meaning there could be no interaction between the artists, which would defeat the whole point of the exercise. On top of this both artists objected to the idea of miming at what was perceived as an historic event. Instead, Jagger and Bowie worked with Richards to create a video clip for the song they would have performed, a cover of "Dancing in the Street". The video was shown on the screens of both stadiums and also broadcast as part of many TV networks coverage.
Each of the two main portions of the concert ended with their particular continental all-star anti-hunger anthems, with Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" closing the UK concert, and USA for Africa's "We Are the World" closing the US concert (and thus the day's proceedings).[5]
Concert organizers have subsequently said that they were particularly keen to ensure that at least one surviving member of The Beatles, ideally Paul McCartney, took part in the concert as they felt that having an 'elder statesman' from British music would give it greater legitimacy in the eyes of the political leaders whose opinions the performers were trying to shape. McCartney agreed to perform and has said that it was "the management" -- his children -- that persuaded him to take part. In the event, he was the last performer (aside from the Band Aid finale) to take to the stage and one of the few to be beset by technical difficulties; his microphone was turned off for the first two minutes of his piano performance of "Let It Be", making it difficult for television viewers and impossible for those in the stadium to hear him. He later jokingly thought about changing the lyrics to "There will be some feedback, let it be".
Phil Collins performed at both Wembley Stadium and JFK, utilising Concorde to get him from London to Philadelphia. UK TV personality Noel Edmonds piloted the helicopter that took Collins to Heathrow Airport to catch his flight. Aside from his own set at both venues, he also provided drums for Eric Clapton and the reunion of the surviving members of Led Zeppelin at JFK. On the Concorde flight, Collins encountered actress and singer Cher, who later claimed not to know anything about the Live Aid concerts. Upon reaching the US however she did attend the Philadelphia concert and can be seen performing as part of that concert's "We Are the World" finale.
An official book was produced by Bob Geldof in collaboration with photographer Denis O'Regan.
HIER STERBEN JEDEN TAG 1000DE MENSCHEN DAS IST ARMUT UND DIE HABEN AUCH KEIN HANDY UND SO
Category
| Midge Ure |
Which American photographed the Queen on her visit to the USA in 2007 and Demi Moore nude and pregnant for Vanity Fair in 1991? | Live Aid
Live Aid
(1985)
Live Aid was a concert held in the UK and America on 13th July 1985. Organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for Ethiopian famine. Organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure.
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By what pen name was Belgian cartoonist Georges Prosper Remy known | Hergé | Tintin Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia
"I seek above all to tell a story…and to tell it clearly."
—Hergé
Georges Prosper Remi (22 May 1907 - 3 March 1983 ), better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. "Hergé" is the French pronunciation of "RG," or his initials reversed. His best known and most substantial work is The Adventures of Tintin comic book series, which he wrote and illustrated from 1929 until his death in 1983, leaving the twenty-fourth Tintin adventure Tintin and Alph-Art unfinished. His work remains a strong influence on comics, particularly in Europe. He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2003 .
Contents
Biography
Childhood and early career
Georges Prosper Remi was born in 1907 in Etterbeek, in Brussels, Belgium to middle class parents, Alexis Remi and his wife Elisabeth Dufour. [1] His four years of primary schooling coincided with World War I (1914–1918), during which Brussels was occupied by the German Empire. Georges, who displayed an early affinity for drawing, filled the margins of his earliest schoolbooks with doodles of the German invaders. [2] Except for a few drawing lessons which he later took at l'école Saint-Luc he never had any formal training in the visual arts.
In 1920 he began studying in the collège Saint-Boniface, a secondary school where the teachers were Catholic priests. [3] Georges joined the Boy Scouts troop of the school, where he was given the totemic name "Renard curieux" (Curious fox). Recently an old strip by him was found on a wall of this school. [4] His first drawings were published in 1922 in Jamais assez, the school's Scout paper, and in Le Boy-Scout Belge, the Scout monthly magazine. [5] From 1924, he signed his illustrations using the pseudonym "Hergé." [6] His subsequent comics work would be heavily influenced by the ethics of the Scouting movement, as well as the early travel experiences he made with the Scout association. [7]
On finishing school in 1925 Georges worked at the Catholic newspaper Le XXe Siècle under the editor Norbert Wallez, a Catholic abbot who kept a photograph of Mussolini in his office. [8] The following year, he published his first cartoon series, Totor , in the Scouting magazine Le Boy-Scout Belge. [9] In 1928, he was put in charge of producing material for the Le XXe Siècle's new weekly supplement for children, Le Petit Vingtième . He began illustrating The Adventures of Flup, Nénesse, Poussette, and Cochonnet, a strip written by a member of the newspaper's sports staff, but soon became dissatisfied with this series. Wallez asked Remi to create a young hero, a Catholic reporter who would fight for good all over the world. [8] He decided to create a comic strip of his own, which would adopt the recent American innovation of using speech balloons to depict words coming out of the characters' mouths, inspired by their use by established French comics author Alain St. Ogan. [10]
Tintin in the Land of the Soviets (1929)
Tintin in the Land of the Soviets , by "Hergé," appeared in the pages of Le Petit Vingtième on 10 January 1929, and ran until 8 May 1930 . The strip chronicled the adventures of a young reporter named Tintin and his pet fox terrier Snowy (Milou) as they journeyed through the Soviet Union. The character of Tintin was partly inspired by Georges's brother Paul Remi, an officer in the Belgian army.
In January 1930 Hergé introduced Quick & Flupke (Quick et Flupke), a new comic strip about two street urchins from Brussels, in the pages of Le Petit Vingtième. For many years, Hergé continued to produce this less well-known series in parallel with his Tintin stories. In June he began the second Tintin adventure, Tintin in the Congo (then the colony of Belgian Congo), followed by Tintin in America and Cigars of the Pharaoh .
On 20 July 1932 he married Germaine Kieckens , the secretary of the director of the Le XXe Siècle, [8] whom he had first met in 1927. [11] They had no children, and eventually divorced in 1977 . [12]
The early Tintin adventures each took about a year to complete, upon which they were released in book form by Le Petit Vingtième and, from 1934 , by the -05-0023Casterman publishing house. Hergé continued to revise these stories in subsequent editions, including a later conversion to color.
The Blue Lotus (1936)
Hergé reached a watershed with The Blue Lotus , the fifth Tintin adventure. At the close of the previous story, Cigars of the Pharaoh, he had mentioned that Tintin's next adventure would bring him to China. Father Gosset, the chaplain to the Chinese students at the Catholic University of Leuven, wrote to Hergé urging him to be sensitive about what he wrote about China. Hergé agreed, and in the spring of 1934 Gosset introduced him to Chang Chong-jen (Chang Chongren), a young sculpture student at the Brussels Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts. [13] The two young artists quickly became close friends, and Chang introduced Hergé to Chinese culture and the techniques of Chinese art. As a result of this experience, Hergé strove in The Blue Lotus, and in subsequent Tintin adventures, to be meticulously accurate in depicting the places which Tintin visited. As a token of appreciation he added a fictional " Chang " to The Blue Lotus, a young Chinese boy who meets and befriends Tintin.
At the end of his studies in Brussels, Chang returned home to China, and Hergé lost contact with him during the invasion of China by Japan and the subsequent Chinese Civil War. More than four decades passed before the two friends would meet again.
World War II
The Second World War broke out on 1 September 1939 with the Nazi invasion of Poland. Hergé was mobilized as a reserve lieutenant, and had to interrupt Tintin's adventures in the middle of Land of Black Gold . [14] Prior to the invasion of neutral Belgium by German forces, Hergé published humoristic drawings in L'Ouest, a paper run by future collaborator Raymond de Becker and which strongly advocated that Belgium not join the war alongside its World War One allies France and Britain. [15] By the summer of 1940 Belgium had fallen to Germany along with most of Western Continental Europe.
Le Petit Vingtième, in which Tintin's adventures had until then been published, was shut down by the Nazi occupiers. [16] However, Hergé accepted an offer to produce a new Tintin strip in Le Soir , Brussels' leading French daily, which had been appropriated as the mouthpiece of the occupation forces. [17] He left Land of the Black Gold unfinished, launching instead into The Crab with the Golden Claws , the first of six Tintin stories which he produced during the war.
As the war progressed, two factors arose that led to a revolution in Hergé's style. Firstly, paper shortages forced Tintin to be published in a daily three- or four-frame strip, rather than the two full pages every week which had been the practice on Le Petit Vingtième. [18] In order to create tension at the end of each strip rather than the end of each page, Hergé had to introduce more frequent gags and faster-paced action. Secondly, Hergé had to move the focus of Tintin's adventures away from current affairs, in order to avoid controversy. He turned to stories with an escapist flavour: an expedition to a meteorite ( The Shooting Star ), an intriguing mystery and treasure hunt ( The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure ), and a quest to undo an ancient Incan curse ( The Seven Crystal Balls and Prisoners of the Sun ).
In these stories Hergé placed more emphasis on characters than plot, and indeed Tintin's most memorable companions, Captain Haddock and Cuthbert Calculus (in French Professeur Tryphon Tournesol), were introduced at this time. Haddock debuted in The Crab with the Golden Claws and Calculus in Red Rackham's Treasure.
The Shooting Star was nonetheless controversial. The story line involved a race between two ship crews trying to reach a meteorite which had landed in the Arctic. Hergé chose a subject that was as fantastic as possible rather than issues related to the crisis of the times to avoid trouble with the censors. Nonetheless politics intruded. The crew Tintin joined was composed of Europeans from Axis or neutral countries ("Europe") while their underhanded rivals were Americans (although in later editions the US flag was removed from the rival ship; see the image on the The Shooting Star page), financed by a person with a Jewish name and what Nazi propagandists called "Jewish features." [19] Tintin also flies in a German Arado Ar 196 plane.
In a scene which appeared when the story was being serialised in Le Soir two Jews, depicted in classic anti-Semitic caricature, are shown watching Philippulus harassing Tintin. One actually looks forward to the end of the world, arguing that it would mean that he would not be obliged to settle with his creditors (see the image on the Ideology of Tintin page).
In 1943 Hergé met -05-0044Edgar P. Jacobs, another comics artist, whom he hired to help revise the early Tintin albums. [20] Jacobs' most significant contribution would be his redrawing of the costumes and backgrounds in the revised edition of King Ottokar's Sceptre which gave it a Balkan feel—in the original, the castle guards had been dressed as British Beefeaters. Jacob also began collaborating with Hergé on a new Tintin adventure, The Seven Crystal Balls (see above).
During and after the German occupation Hergé was accused of being a collaborator because of the Nazi control of the paper, and he was briefly taken in for interrogation after the war. [21] He claimed that he was simply doing a job under the occupation, like a plumber or carpenter.
After the war Hergé admitted that: "I recognize that I myself believed that the future of the West could depend on the New Order. For many, democracy had proved a disappointment, and the New Order brought new hope. In light of everything which has happened, it is of course a huge error to have believed for an instant in the New Order." [22] The Tintin character was never depicted as adhering to these beliefs. However, it has been argued that anti-Semitic themes continued, especially in the depiction of Tintin's enemy Rastapopoulos in the post-war Flight 714 , [23] though other writers argue against this, pointing out the way that Rastapopoulos surrounds himself with explicitly German-looking characters: Kurt, the submarine (or u-boat) commander of The Red Sea Sharks ; Doctor Krollspell, whom Hergé himself referred to as a former concentration camp official, and Hans Boehm, the sinister-looking navigator and co-pilot, both from Flight 714 . [24]
Post-war troubles
The occupation of Brussels ended on 3 September 1944 . Tintin's adventures were interrupted toward the end of The Seven Crystal Balls when the Allied authorities shut down Le Soir. [25] During the chaotic post-occupation period, Hergé was arrested four times by different groups. [26] He was publicly accused of being a Nazi Rexist sympathizer, a claim which was largely unfounded, as the Tintin adventures published during the war were scrupulously free of politics (the only dubious point occurring in The Shooting Star , discussed above). In fact, one or two stories published before the war had been critical of fascism; most prominently, King Ottokar's Sceptre showed Tintin working to defeat a coup attempt that could be seen as an allegory of the Anschluss, Nazi Germany's takeover of Austria. Nevertheless, like other former employees of the Nazi-controlled press, Hergé found himself barred from newspaper work. He spent the next two years working with Jacobs, as well as a new assistant, Alice Devos, adapting many of the early Tintin adventures into colour. [27]
Tintin's exile ended on 26 September 1946 . The publisher and wartime resistance fighter Raymond Leblanc provided the financial support and anti-Nazi credentials to launch the comics magazine titled Tintin with Hergé. The weekly publication featured two pages of Tintin's adventures, beginning with the remainder of The Seven Crystal Balls , as well as other comic strips and assorted articles. [28] It became highly successful, with circulation surpassing 100,000 every week.
Tintin had always been credited as simply "by Hergé", without mention of Edgar Pierre Jacobs and Hergé's other assistants. As Jacobs' contribution to the production of the strip increased, he asked for a joint credit in 1944, which Hergé refused. They continued to collaborate intensely until 1946, when Jacobs went on to produce his own comics for Tintin magazine, including the widely-acclaimed Blake and Mortimer. [29]
Personal crisis
A cartoon of an overworking Hergé with his Siamese cat Thaïke, suffering from the pressure of his characters published in a 1947 Tintin Magazine.
The increased demands which Tintin magazine placed on Hergé began to take their toll. In 1947 Prisoners of the Sun was interrupted for two months when an exhausted Hergé took a long vacation. [30] Hergé, disillusioned by his treatment and that of many of his colleagues and friends after the war, planned to migrate with his wife Germaine to Argentina, but later abandoned the plan when he began a love affair. [31] In 1949 , while working on the new version of Land of Black Gold (the first version had been left unfinished by the outbreak of World War II), Hergé suffered a nervous breakdown and was forced to take an abrupt four month-long break. [32] He suffered another breakdown in early 1950 , while working on Destination Moon . [33]
In order to lighten Hergé's workload Hergé Studios was set up on 6 April 1950. [34] The studio employed several assistants to aid Hergé in the production of The Adventures of Tintin. Foremost among these was artist Bob de Moor, who collaborated with Hergé on the remaining Tintin adventures, filling in details and backgrounds such as the spectacular lunar landscapes in Explorers on the Moon . [35] With the aid of the studio, Hergé managed to produce The Calculus Affair from 1954 until 1956 , followed by The Red Sea Sharks in 1956--05-00701957.
By the end of this period his personal life was again in crisis. His marriage with Germaine was breaking apart after twenty-five years; he had fallen in love with Fanny Vlamynck, a young artist who had recently joined the Hergé Studios . [36] Furthermore, he was plagued by recurring nightmares filled with whiteness. [37] He consulted a Swiss psychoanalyst, who advised him to give up working on Tintin. [38] Instead, he finished Tintin in Tibet , started the year before.
Published in Tintin magazine from September 1958 to November 1959 , Tintin in Tibet sent Tintin to the Himalayas in search of Chang Chong-Chen, the Chinese boy he had befriended in The Blue Lotus . The adventure allowed Hergé to confront his nightmares by filling the book with austere alpine landscapes, giving the adventure a powerfully spacious setting. The normally rich cast of characters was pared to a minimum — Tintin, Captain Haddock, and the Sherpa Tharkey — as the story focused on Tintin's dogged search for Chang. Hergé came to regard this highly personal and emotionally riveting Tintin adventure as his favorite. [39] The completion of the story seemed also to signal an end to his problems: he was no longer troubled by nightmares, divorced Germaine in 1977 (they had separated in 1960 ), and finally married Fanny Vlamynck on 20 May of the same year. [40]
Last years
The last three complete Tintin adventures were produced at a much-reduced pace: The Castafiore Emerald in 1961 , Flight 714 in 1966 , and Tintin and the Picaros in 1975 . However, by this time Tintin had begun to move into other media. From the start of Tintin magazine, Raymond Leblanc had used Tintin for merchandising and advertisements. In 1961 the second Tintin -05-0085film was made: Tintin and the Golden Fleece , starring Jean-Pierre Talbot as Tintin [41] (an earlier stop motion-animated film was made in 1947 called The Crab with the Golden Claws , but it was screened publicly only once). [42] Several traditionally-animated Tintin films have also been made, beginning with -05-0088The Calculus Case in 1961.
The financial success of Tintin allowed Hergé to devote more of his time to travel. He travelled widely across Europe, and in 1971 visited America for the first time, meeting some of the Native Americans in the United States whose culture had long been a source of fascination for him. [43] In 1973 he visited Taiwan, accepting an invitation offered three decades before by the Kuomintang government, in appreciation of The Blue Lotus . [44]
In a remarkable instance of life mirroring art, Hergé managed to resume contact with his old friend Chang Chong-jen , years after Tintin rescued the fictional Chang Chong-Chen in the closing pages of Tintin in Tibet . Chang had been reduced to a street sweeper by the Cultural Revolution, before becoming the head of the Fine Arts Academy in Shanghai, China during the 1970s. He returned to Europe for a reunion with Hergé in 1981 , and settled in Paris in -05-00961985, where he died in 1989 . [45]
Hergé died on 3 March 1983, aged 75. [46] He had been severely sick for several years, but the nature of his disease was unclear, possibly leukemia or a form of porphyria. His death was hastened by the HIV he had acquired during his weekly blood transfusions. [47]
The market artist in The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
He left the twenty-fourth Tintin adventure, Tintin and Alph-Art , unfinished. Following his expressed desire not to have Tintin handled by another artist, it was published posthumously as a set of sketches and notes in 1986 . In 1987, Fanny closed the Hergé Studios , replacing it with the Hergé Foundation. In 1988, the Tintin magazine was discontinued.
Hergé's second cameo in The Land of Black Gold animated episode
An animated cartoon version of Hergé makes a number of cameo appearances in The Adventures of Tintin animated series (see List of Hergé cameo appearances ).
Hergé gave all rights to the creation of dolls and merchandise after his death to Michel Aroutcheff. Michel was Hergé's neighbour and a good friend. Aroutcheff then sold on these rights only keeping the right to make Tintin's red rocket when he goes to the moon.
Bibliography
A short comic charting the moon landings published in Paris Match
Appropriation
In 1989 an Anarchist graphic novel entitled -05-0122The Adventures of Tintin: Breaking Free was published in England under the pseudonym "Jack Daniels". The propaganda story is not related to any of the original Tintin novels, but mimics Hergé's style and includes several Tintin characters. Since the book was published without copyright and was released into the public domain, Hergé's estate could not take legal action.
This was just one of many cases of unofficial books being released, though often, as in the case of Tintin in Thailand , Hergé's estate were able to take legal action. For a list of such books see -05-0124List of Tintin parodies and pastiches.
Awards and recognition
1971: Adamson Awards, Sweden
1972: Yellow Kid "una vita per il cartooning" (lifetime award) at the festival of Lucca [49]
1973: Grand Prix Saint Michel of the city of Brussels
1999: Included in the Harvey Award Jack Kirby Hall of Fame
2003: Included in the Eisner Award Hall of Fame as the Judge's choice
2005: Included in the running for De Grootste Belg (The Greatest Belgian). In the Flemish version he ended on 24th place. In the Walloon version he came 8th.
2007: Selected as the main motif for a high-value commemorative coin, the Euro gold and silver commemorative 100th anniversary of Hergé's birth commemorative coin minted in 2007, with a face value of 20 euro. On the obverse there is a self portrait of Hergé on the left. To the right of the portrait there is a portrait of Tintin. In the bottom of the coin Hergé's signature is depicted.
According to the UNESCO's [ndex Translationum, Hergé is the ninth-most-often-translated French-language author, the second-most-often-translated Belgian author after Georges Simenon and the second-most-often-translated French-language comics author behind René Goscinny. [50]
1652 Hergé , an asteroid of the main belt is named after him (see also 1683 Castafiore ).
References
| Hergé |
Ascot Gavotte and I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face are songs from which film? | Tintin and Snowy Drawing Original Art Signed by Hergé
Tintin and Snowy Drawing Original Art Signed by Hergé
Tintin and Snowy Drawing Original Art Signed by Hergé
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Rare original ink sketch by Belgian cartoonist Georges Prosper Remi (1907 - 1983), known by the pen name Hergé. Best known for The Adventures of Tintin, the series of comic albums that he made from 1929 until his death in 1983, one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century. 8.5 x 11 inch hotel stationary. Inscribed and dated by Hergé in 1972. In Excellent condition. Authenticity guaranteed by Collector's Shangri-La.
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Tintin and Snowy Drawing Original Art Signed by Hergé
Rare original ink sketch by Belgian cartoonist Georges Prosper Remi (1907 - 1983), known by the pen name Hergé. Best known for The Adventures of Tintin, the series of comic albums that he made from 1929 until his death in 1983, one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century. 8.5 x 11 inch hotel stationary. Inscribed and dated by Hergé in 1972. In Excellent condition. Authenticity guaranteed by Collector's Shangri-La.
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What is the four-letter name of the island, the second largest in Wales, that lies just off the west coast of Anglesey? | 15 of the UK’s most beautiful islands | travel inspiration for the road less travelled
15 of the UK’s most beautiful islands
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Over a thousand small islands belong to the UK , so finding the best ones can be a tall order. If you’re thinking of planning a UK trip forget coach holidays and drive yourself independently. From isolated islands with wild, dramatic landscapes to holiday favourites with spectacular sandy beaches, here is our choice for the UK’s most beautiful islands…
Isle of Skye
Recently voted the fourth best island in the world by National Geographic magazine, the Isle of Skye – located just off the coast of Scotland – is a particulary beguiling island destination. It’s blessed with incredible landscapes, wild pristine vistas and a tranquil atmosphere. People come for the wildlife, the immaculate windswept beaches and the tiny villages. It’s a place where time means nothing, and beneath every footstep lies 500 million years of history.
Anglesey
This island (located off the north west coast of Wales) is a place to relax, enjoy the friendly local hospitality or lose yourself in the island’s winding lanes or on its spectacular coastline. It’s home to a coastal path which has 125 miles of stunning scenery to explore, on foot or by kayak. There’s also plenty to do for all the family with events, attractions and outdoor activities on offer, all set in beautiful untouched scenery.
Holy Island
A tidal island which holds an important place in religious history – it was where the Christian message was first honed and spread amongst a mostly pagan area. Standing on a dramatic rocky outcrop overlooking the island is the iconic and much photographed Lindisfarne Castle, a small fortress dating from 1550. Lying just off the coast of Lindisfarne, Northumberland (the most unspoilt county in England) the often bleak weather adds to the island’s intrigue.
Isle of Man
Famous for its annual Tourist Trophy (TT) Motorcycle race, with rugged unspolit landscapes and sometimes unforgiving weather, this self-governing island can be found nestling between Ireland and England. Island highlights include wooded glens running down to the sea, the beguiling and occasionally snow-topped Snaefell mountain, diverse coastal landscapes and time-warp villages.
St. Michael’s Mount
This a small tidal island located 366 metres off the Mount’s Bay coast of Cornwall. It’s a rocky island crowned by a medieval church and castle and is also home to a small community. You can reach the island by boat or by foot (when the tide is out). It’s a photogenic place surrounded by myth and legend.
Isle of Wight
Arguably the most famous of Great Britain’s beautiful islands and certainly one of the most visited – its fine summer weather, wide range of accommodation and old fashioned seaside fun has ensured its status as a popular holiday destination since the Victorian times. It’s simple to get to the Isle of Wight (via ferry), and once you are here, it is even easier to get around. The Island has 15 main towns, all offering a range of attractions and facilities. Visit in summer for the legendary Isle of Wight Music festival .
Guernsey
This is a British Crown dependency island which can be found in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy. It’s known for its heady mix of stunning scenery, contemporary living and milder weather (especially during the summer). Head there for inspiring walks along the cliff paths, rambles through the rural interior or lazy days on the island’s beautiful beaches. Guernsey is unique – British but somewhere completely different.
Isle of Mull
This is the second largest island of the Inner Hebrides located just off the west coast of bonny Scotland. A tradtional and quiet island, it’s known for its bewitching landscapes, white-tailed eagles, whales, majestic mountains and pristine white sandy beaches – although just don’t expect too much sun, this is Scotland after all.
Jersey
The largest of the Channel Islands and another British Crown Dependency just off the coast of Normandy, France. Jersey is known to be a summer’s paradise just an hour away from London – its fine weather and milder climate makes it a holiday favourite. Described as “pieces of France fallen into the sea and picked up by England” and although only nine miles by five, the island has plenty to entertain – in particular superb sandy beaches swept clean by the tides. Go cycling, abseiling or sky diving. Play golf or try ‘blokarting’ on its large beaches – it’s an island speciality.
Isle of Harris
This area is actually the southern and more mountainous part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Harris is often cited as one of the most beautiful island’s in the United Kingdom and is also home to one of the UK’s best sandy beaches. Head to Huisinis for an almost deserted beach which has a pristine cuticle of white sand at the end of a 15-mile, single-track road.
St Mary’s, Scilly Isles
The largest of the Scilly Isles (an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain) St Mary’s is nevertheless only three miles wide. Although it has some of the best links with the mainland, thanks to a good ferry service and its own airport. Tranquil sandy beaches and a village community atmosphere makes this island a popular choice with visitors.
Orkney Islands
This collection of islands have a unique feel – they belong to Scotland but in many ways they are closer in culture to the Scandinavia. Their isolated location means that it that has become a byword for remoteness in the UK making them a perfect choice for a truly isolated island retreat. With a great variety of abundant wildlife (including a puffin population) archaeological sites and coastal walks, Orkney offers some unforgettable experiences.
Shetland
Voted one of the world’s top ten tourist sites by Lonely Planet, Shetland (a subarctic archipelago of Scotland) offers an exciting variety of wildlife and culture. It has a beautiful coastline, with its striking white sandy beaches. Spot whales, otters, seals and puffins, before visiting museums and galleries that proudly showcase a vibrant arts scene.
Islay
Untouristy and traditionally Scottish, Isaly is known as the Queen of the Hebrides. It’s stunningly beautiful with epic, dramatic scenery -mountains, an endless white sandy beach and incredible bird life. With eight distilleries and a golf course there’s also plenty to do. The big problem in Scotland is rain, so you have to go with the attitude that it will rain 24 hours a day and then each hour that it doesn’t is a bonus!
Isle of Arran
The Isle of Arran is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. The island is often referred to as a ‘miniature Scotland’ because it includes a sample of everything Scotland has to offer – both sand and pebble beaches, outstanding mountain scenery, rugged landscapes, thick woodlands and an abundance of wildlife. Arran has also been described as a ‘geologist’s paradise’ as it’s been continuously inhabited since the early Neolithic period, and numerous important prehistoric remains have been found.
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| Holy Island |
Who organised the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh at Madison Square Garden with Ravi Shankar? | Holyhead | Wales, United Kingdom | Britannica.com
Wales, United Kingdom
Holyhead, Welsh Caergybi, port and resort community on Holy Island (Ynys Gybi), Isle of Anglesey county, historic county of Anglesey (Sir Fon), northwestern Wales .
St. Cybi’s Church, Holyhead, Wales.
Noel Walley
Holyhead and Holy Island, just off the west coast of Anglesey island, bear many traces of prehistoric, Celtic, and Roman occupation. In 1801 Holyhead was selected as a port for trade with Ireland , but the chief stimuli to its growth came with a new main road from the English town of Shrewsbury (1815–19) and, later, the railway from Chester . Holyhead’s harbour was improved with a breakwater in 1873 and was enlarged by 1880. It has regular ferry service to Dún Laoghaire , Ireland, near Dublin . Other attractions on Holy Island include Holyhead Mountain and South Stack Lighthouse . Pop. (2001) 11,237; (2011) 11,431.
Learn More in these related articles:
Holy Island (island, England, United Kingdom)
historic small island (2 sq mi [5 sq km]) in the west North Sea, 2 mi (3 km) from the English Northumberland coast (in which county it is included), linked to the mainland by a causeway at low tide. It is administratively part of Berwick-upon-Tweed district.
Isle of Anglesey
county, northwestern Wales, separated from the North Wales mainland by the Menai Strait. The county encompasses Anglesey island—the largest island in England and Wales, with an area of 261 square miles (676 square km)—and Holy Island, adjoining just west of Anglesey. Isle of Anglesey...
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importance to Welsh transportation system (in Wales (constituent unit, United Kingdom): Transportation )
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Date Published: September 10, 2013
URL: https://www.britannica.com/place/Holyhead
Access Date: January 06, 2017
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Which street in Wigan is the home of Wallace and Gromit? | Wallace and Gromit put Wigan on the map | UK news | The Guardian
Wallace and Gromit put Wigan on the map
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The Lancashire town of Wigan declared victory yesterday in its battle with neighbours such as Preston to claim the "genuine" home of the cartoon characters Wallace and Gromit.
Speculation over a glimpse of a Wigan A-Z streetguide in the movie, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, has been followed by a council monitoring exercise which has established that 62 West Wallaby Street, home of Wallace and Gromit , is a Wigan address.
Wigan's head of tourism, Keith Bergman, said: "It's another claim to fame for the town, to go with George Orwell and our success in the Premiership."
| west wallaby street |
In which sport have Ted Copeland, Hope Powell and currently Mark Sampson managed England Women? | Wallace | Wallace and Gromit Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia
Date of birth: 7th August 1959
Age: 55
Wallace Herbertson is an inventor, main protagonist and half of the title duo of "Wallace & Gromit ".
He delights in creating elaborate contraptions that often do not work as intended. He is a self-proclaimed genius, evident from his exclamation when he discovers Hutch's borrowed skill, a talent for all things mechanical. Most of Wallace's inventions look not unlike the designs of Heath Robinson and Rube Goldberg; creator Nick Park has said of Wallace that all his inventions are designed around the principle of "using a sledgehammer to crack a nut". He is also very eccentric and funny, and is always willing to provide a good laugh or listen to one himself.
Wallace can usually be found wearing a white shirt, brown wool trousers, green knitted pullover and a red tie. He loves all types of cheese, but his favorite brand of all is Wensleydale , as proven in A Grand Day Out. Wallace is so obsessed with cheese that it seems he couldn't live anywhere without it, and he himself admits in The Curse of the Were Rabbit that he is simply "crackers about cheese." He is also very disappointed when his friends are shown to have a dislike of cheese, such as in A Close Shave , when his love interest Wendolene Ramsbottom said she was allergic to cheese and "couldn't stand the stuff", he ended his relationship to her.
He also likes crackers, describing them as "cracking". He also likes tea in the afternoon and is shown to have a liking to toast for breakfast; he describes toast in The Wrong Trousers as "cracking" as well. The thought of Lancashire hotpot keeps him going in a crisis. He enjoys a nice cup of tea or a drop of Bordeaux red for those special occasions. He reads the Morning Post, the Afternoon Post and the Evening Post and occasionally Ay-Up!, which is a parody of Hello! magazine.
Wallace in A Grand Day Out
Some of Wallace's contraptions actually are based on a real-life invention. For example, Wallace's method of getting up in the morning incorporates a bed that tips over to wake up its owner, an invention that was exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851 by Theophilus Carter, and is similar to a device sold in Japan that is used to ensure a certain wakeup time. The jelly-toast contraption that gives him breakfast in the morning also bears a similarity to a Rube Goldberg -type machine, with the ability to do more than one thing at the same time. His versatile nature and inventor abilities have caused him to be hired for a wide variety of jobs. In A Close Shave, he was a window cleaner along with Gromit. In The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, he was a pest controller, and in A Matter of Loaf and Death, he was a baker.
He has a kindly nature, and is perhaps a little over-optimistic. At times he can be inadvertently selfish and inconsiderate, but always means well and has a good heart. Nick Park says of Wallace: "He's a very self-contained figure. A very homely sort who doesn't mind the odd adventure." Wallace is loosely based on Park's father, whom he described in a radio interview as "an incurable tinkerer." He described one of his father's constructions, a combination of a beach hut and trailer, having curtains in the windows, bookshelves on the walls, and full-sized furniture bolted to the floor.
Wallace as he appeared in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
In the first photo shown on The Curse of the Were-Rabbit , it was revealed that once, when Gromit was little, Wallace had much hair and moustache and, on the photo that shows Gromit's graduation from "Dogwarts University", Wallace had lost his moustache, but still had a little hair. The reason behind Wallace's loss of hair is unknown. In A Matter of Loaf and Death , when Wallace is talking to Gromit, a picture is seen behind Gromit of Wallace with a brown moustache and brown hair.
Both Wallace and Gromit live together at the ficticious address of 62 West Wallaby Street , Wigan, Lancashire. However, his accent as voiced by Peter Sallis is from Sallis' native Holme Valley in Yorkshire but in 2007, Wallace made a cameo appearance on Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends in the episode "Ticket to Rod" and he was voiced by Dwight Schultz .
In the National Trust's A Jubilee Bunt-a-thon short film, all games except Project Zoo, and Wallace And Gromit's Musical Marvels At The Proms, he was voiced by Aardman Team Member, Ben Whitehead . In Project Zoo, Wallace is voiced by Peter Sallis.
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Trivia
Wallace was originally a postman named, Jerry, but Nick Park felt the name did not fit with Gromit .
Wallace has a different look in A Grand Day Out, his top of his head is smaller, bigger ears and his mouth is not so wide.
In 2009, Nick Park said Wallace is born on the 7th August 1959, So Wallace is currently 57 Years old.
In Season 1 Episode 2 of Rex The Runt, Wallace is a cameo as a window cleaner, cleaning rex's window, before being knocked down by rex
This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia ( view authors) .
Wardrobe
Wallace's usual day clothes is a green knitted pullover, a white shirt, brown colored trousers and red tie.
In " Curse of the Were-Rabbit ", Wallace is sometimes wearing the Anti-Pesto uniform and cap.
In " The Last Resort ", after Wallace gets all the things he need for the Seaside in the cellar, Wallace is wearing an orange tie, a red shirt with white stripes, and red trousers.
In " The Bogey Man ", after Gromit makes Wallace join Prickly Thicket, Wallace is wearing an Prickly Thicket official tank top instead of his pullover for the rest of the episode.
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MIMA is a contemporary art gallery in which large English town? | Terrible - Review of Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA), Middlesbrough, England - TripAdvisor
Reviewed June 13, 2015 via mobile
There used to be an Art Gallery on Linthorpe Road which was outstanding, featuring paintings and photos from local artists. MIMA is a colossal disappointed, a fantastic building from the outside, inside it's mostly empty, local people vote with there feet and stay away, apart from occasionall school parties it's empty, the bored listless staff, who are quick to pounce on you once you start taking photos are unhelpful and even lack basic knowledge about the exhibitions. ( the female staff member with long black hair, sorry I don't know her name, is an exception, she is outstanding)
The art is wrong, third rate traveling exhibitions of instillations and modern art that even the TATE puts into storage. It's great if you have detailed knowledge of modern art but for the general Teesside resident it's cold and unfeeling.
How about exhibitions by local Teesside photographers and artists? reengage the local people, have more to see and reduce staff numbers- I'm so angry that this is such wasted potential.
Lawrence Windrush
“Enjoy the Art”
Reviewed May 14, 2015
Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA) is located in the centre of town, just behind the main library. It is 15 minutes walking from the train station and may be 10 minutes from the town main bus station. The gallery has a modern design with lots of full-height windows and open staircases. It stands out in the centre of the town and is very eye-catching given the other mainly Victorian red-brick buildings nearby.
We visited to see the St Ives art and sculpture exhibition. The exhibition itself was excellent and made very good use of the available space.
The main gallery is located on the ground floor. At the first floor, there is a small room exhibiting jewellery. Some of the jewellery looked nice with very modern designs. Unfortunately, the view deck was closed due to rennovation and upgrading work when we visited.
There is no entrance. MIMA has very good and accessible toilet facilities, a souvenir shop where you can buy art books too besides MIMA souvenirs and an excellent coffee shop with large glass window overlooking the paved communal area outside.
Overall the gallery was very good.I definitely recommend you visit the art gallery when you are in Middlesbrough and explore the current exhibition. For more details you can visit the MIMA official website to check the latest exhibition news.
Visited November 2014
| Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art |
Mrs Danvers is the sinister housekeeper in which 1938 novel | Stephen Bayley: How Boro will lose its 'crap town' tag | Art and design | The Guardian
How Boro will lose its 'crap town' tag
Middlesbrough was an architectural wasteland. And then an inspired Dutchman turned up
How Boro will lose its 'crap town' tag
Middlesbrough was an architectural wasteland. And then an inspired Dutchman turned up
Sunday 28 January 2007 07.45 EST
First published on Sunday 28 January 2007 07.45 EST
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Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art Middlesbrough , Teesside
What makes a crap town? Bad architecture. Middlesbrough is, officially, the 10th crappiest town in Britain. At least according to crap town experts Sam Jordison and Dan Kieran in the most recent version of their standard work on the subject (Crap Towns II, Boxtree, 2004). I do not know their methodology, but, emotionally speaking, the judgment feels right. The TS1 postcode is, by many measures, the most deprived in Britain.
Middlesbrough has always had a European connection. Its first MP was the Anglo-German Henry Bolckow who, in the middle of the 19th century, got rich by busily processing Eston Hills ironstone through his foundries and rolling mills. Later, close links with Germany were confirmed in May 1940 when Middlesbrough became the first large English town to be visited by the Luftwaffe. Now it is the turn of the Dutch.
In 2002, Dutch architect Erick van Egeraat, won an international competition to create a masterplan for the Victorian town centre square and to build a new institute of modern art on the south side of it. Van Egeraat says he is concerned to make 'sensual and intuitive architecture' respectful of history and context. What are his chances in TS1, with its bleak landscape of video stores and kebab shops?
You do look desperately for rooted architectural inspiration here. Middlesbrough is a version of a Wild West landgrab boom town (it is even laid out in a grid pattern). In 1801, it was four farmhouses accommodating 25 bitterly cold yeoman types. Then in 1829, industrious Quakers created a port to ship out coal; the Stockton-Darlington railway had already made the rape of the landscape even more efficient.
Gladstone described Middlesbrough as 'an infant Hercules in England's enterprise'. And, indeed, for a time it was. William Morris's colleague, Philip Webb, built his only commercial design here, the headquarters of engineers Dorman Long on Zetland Road. These same engineers created in 1932 one of the world's greatest structures, but - unfortunately - it is in Australia: the Sydney Harbour Bridge has 'Made in Middlesbrough' boldly stamped on it.
But since then, there has not been a great deal of history and context for van Egeraat to get sensuous and intuitive about. Middlesbrough's recent history has been one of economic decline compounded by politically mucked-up identity. It was once in the North Riding, but in 1968 moved to Teesside. Which became Cleveland in 1974. In 1996, Cleveland was abolished.
No one much cared, so van Egeraat's competition win came at a crucial moment for the town. Already, the stimulating benefits can be seen. In 2005, the Cleveland Shopping Centre became, in accordance with the rites of the 21st century, the groovier 'Mall Cleveland'. Soon, a 120m residential tower, the tallest in the north east, will rise above the wreck of the old Odeon.
Van Egeraat belongs to that new tribe of Prada-clad, business-class Dutchmen, including the sphinx-like celebrity architect Rem Koolhaas and the design collective Droog, who are in surreal contradiction to the international perception of the Dutch as dour conservatives. Van Egeraat's architecture is Modernism version 2.1: he uses bold geometry and ambitious spaces to exploit the potential of industrial compounds and building systems, but mixes them up with unusual materials, forms and effects. Nor is he above using 'irrational' sculpture and surface decoration. Examples are his City Hall in Alphen an den Rijn in the Netherlands and the ING headquarters in Budapest, each with striking angles and attractive, high-finish clarity.
In Middlesbrough, the urban masterplan came first. Van Egeraat, with Rotterdam landscape designers West8, insisted on the square becoming grass. This was a step ahead for Middlesbrough: previously, it was dominated by crisp packets and desultory footer. Not for nothing is Middlesbrough twinned with Dunkirk. The Mima building is essentially very simple: it did not need to be much more, because, as van Egeraat says, this square was such crap that absolutely 'any addition would have made it more attractive'. There are five internal exhibition spaces, none with natural lighting, each a simple white box, a curator's delight.
From the back, the building itself is another larger, featureless white box, reminiscent of a Midwest depository. Most of the £19.2m budget and almost all the high-concept architecture was disbursed on the front. Strict-observation Modernists would denigrate this as facadism, but, hey, times change.
The front of Mima is its public face and its public space. A handsome glass atrium rises about 18m, with steel columns just behind the glazing. A rusticated limestone wall, daringly suspended, slips between outside and inside and, slashed on the diagonal, provides a graphic diagram of the stairways. There is a big external deck and good details, including some cranky 'hazard and delight' windows and vistas that would have pleased John Soane.
Technical areas, including a fine conservation suite, and storage are in the core. Mima has an interesting policy of exploiting, circulating and taking chances with its collections, not leaving them in weary, dreary permanence on the walls. There is the obligatory ace caff, with bespoke Mima chairs by Gijs Bakker and flatware by Takeshi Yasuda.
None but the most gruesome curmudgeon could deny that Mima is a fine thing, but 'on stormy nights when wild north-westers rave', as I recalled Arthur Hugh Clough on the drive back, I had a fundamental doubt. Not about the building itself, but about the realities it represents. The great municipal galleries of the past - the Laing, the Walker, the Tate - were funded by grandees with a direct connection to their communities. The bold, but soulless, Mima is what you get with EU money and other funding abbreviations and acronyms.
And 'modern art'? When exactly did it become so predictable, safe and dull, a badge of honour? But that's me and my lah-di-da ways. Middlesbrough is now very much less a crap town. It has some good architecture.
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Also known as the glutton, what is the most commonly used name for the largest land-dwelling species of the weasel family? | Weasel | Article about weasel by The Free Dictionary
Weasel | Article about weasel by The Free Dictionary
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/weasel
Related to weasel: Least Weasel , Weasel family
weasel,
name for certain small, lithe, carnivorous mammals of the family Mustelidae (weasel family). Members of this family are generally characterized by long bodies and necks, short legs, small rounded ears, and medium to long tails. All have scent glands, generally used for territorial markings but in some animals for defense. True weasels belong to the genus Mustela, with species found in Eurasia, N Africa, and the Americas. Weasels are very active and chiefly terrestrial but are able to climb trees. They prey on small animals by night, often killing more than they eat, and spend the day in dens made in holes in the ground, rock piles, or hollow stumps. Although they are notorious for destruction of poultry, the damage they do is far outweighed by their value as destroyers of rodents. Weasels are usually brown, with white underparts. Species living in snowy regions acquire white coats in winter and are then known as ermine ermine,
name for a number of northern species of weasel having white coats in winter, and highly prized for their white fur. It most commonly refers to the white phase of Mustela erminea, called short-tailed weasel in North America and stoat in the Old World.
..... Click the link for more information. . The most widely distributed weasel, Mustela erminea, is known in Europe as the stoat and in North America as the short-tailed weasel. It is about 16 in. (40 cm) long including the 5-in. (13-cm) tail; it has a white winter coat through much of its range and a characteristic black tail tip the year around. It ranges from the Arctic Ocean to central Asia, S Europe and the central United States. The much smaller M. nivalis, known in Europe simply as weasel, is found in Europe, N and central Asia, and N Africa. It turns white only in the extreme northern parts of its range. Among the New World weasels is the tiny least weasel, measuring only 7 or 8 in. (18–20 cm) in total length; it ranges from the N central United States to N Canada and Alaska. There are many other true weasel species, mostly in the Old World. Besides these, the genus Mustela includes the polecat polecat,
carnivorous mammal of the weasel family. The name refers especially to the common Old World polecat, Mustela putorius, found in wooded areas of N Eurasia and N Africa.
..... Click the link for more information. , ferret ferret,
name for a domesticated polecat, Mustela putorius, common in the Old World. It has been used for centuries to hunt rats, mice, and rabbits. Domestic ferrets are found in many color types including albinos, brown, and black.
..... Click the link for more information. , and mink mink,
semiaquatic carnivorous mammal of the genus Mustela, closely related to the weasel and highly prized for its fur. One species, Mustela vison, is found over most of North America and another, M.
..... Click the link for more information. . African animals of several genera in the weasel family are called striped weasels; they are characterized by conspicuous black and white markings and, in some cases, by the use of scent for defense. Among these is a skunklike animal with a powerful odor known as the zorilla zorilla,
small, carnivorous, nocturnal mammal, Ictonyx striatus, of the weasel family, found in dry regions of Africa. It is also called striped weasel and striped polecat.
..... Click the link for more information. . The weasel family also includes the marten marten,
name for carnivorous, largely arboreal mammals (genus Martes) of the weasel family, widely distributed in North America, Europe, and central Asia. Martens are larger, heavier-bodied animals than weasels, with thick fur and bushy tails.
..... Click the link for more information. , fisher fisher,
name of a large North American marten, Martes pennanti. This carnivorous, largely arboreal mammal is found in hardwood forests of Canada, the extreme N United States, and mountain ranges of the W United States.
..... Click the link for more information. , and wolverine wolverine
or glutton,
largest member of the weasel family, Gulo gulo, found in the northern parts of North America and Eurasia, usually in high mountains near the timberline or in tundra.
..... Click the link for more information. , as well as the more distantly related skunk skunk,
name for several related New World mammals of the weasel family, characterized by their conspicuous black and white markings and use of a strong, highly offensive odor for defense.
..... Click the link for more information. , badger badger,
name for several related members of the weasel family. Most badgers are large, nocturnal, burrowing animals, with broad, heavy bodies, long snouts, large, sharp claws, and long, grizzled fur.
..... Click the link for more information. , honey badger honey badger
or ratel
, carnivore, Mellivora capensis, of the forest and brush country of Africa, the Middle East, and India; it is a member of the badger and skunk family.
..... Click the link for more information. (or ratel), and otter otter,
name for a number of aquatic, carnivorous mammals of the weasel family, found on all continents except Australia. The common river otters of Eurasia and the Americas are species of the genus Lutra. The North American river otter, L.
..... Click the link for more information. . Weasels are classified in the phylum Chordata Chordata
, phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate animals.
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Carnivora, family Mustelidae.
Bibliography
| Wolverine (disambiguation) |
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Zoo Portraits
Golden Snub-nosed Monkey
Golden Snub-nosed Monkey (Rhinopithecus Roxellana)
The golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) is an Old World monkey in the Colobinae subfamily. [1] It is endemic to a small area in temperate, mountainous forests of central and Southwest China . [3] They inhabit these mountainous forests of Southwestern China at elevations of 1,500-3,400 m above sea level. [4] The Chinese name is Sichuan golden hair monkey (川金丝猴). It is also widely referred to as the Sichuan snub-nosed monkey. [4] [5] [6] Of the three species of snub-nosed monkeys in China, the golden snub-nosed monkey is the most widely distributed throughout China. [4]
Snow occurs frequently within its range and it can withstand colder average temperatures than any other non-human primates. [7] Its diet varies markedly with the seasons, but it is primarily an herbivore with lichens being its main food source. It is diurnal and largely arboreal, spending some 97% of its time in the canopy. There are three subspecies. Population estimates range from 8,000 to 15,000 and it is threatened by habitat loss .
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Griffon Vulture
Griffon Vulture (Gyps Fulvus)
The griffon vulture is 93–122 cm (37–48 in) long with a 2.3–2.8 m (7.5–9.2 ft) wingspan. In the nominate race the males weigh 6.2 to 10.5 kg (14 to 23 lb) and females typically weigh 6.5 to 11.3 kg (14 to 25 lb), while in the Indian subspecies (G. f. fulvescens) the vultures average 7.1 kg (16 lb). Extreme adult weights have been reported from 4.5 to 15 kg (9.9 to 33.1 lb), the latter likely a weight attained in captivity. [2] [3] Hatched naked, it is a typical Old World vulture in appearance, with a very white head, very broad wings and short tail feathers. It has a white neck ruff and yellow bill. The buff body and wing coverts contrast with the dark flight feathers .
Description
The griffon vulture is 93–122 cm (37–48 in) long with a 2.3–2.8 m (7.5–9.2 ft) wingspan. In the nominate race the males weigh 6.2 to 10.5 kg (14 to 23 lb) and females typically weigh 6.5 to 11.3 kg (14 to 25 lb), while in the Indian subspecies (G. f. fulvescens), the vultures average 7.1 kg (16 lb). Extreme adult weights have been reported from 4.5 to 15 kg (9.9 to 33.1 lb), the latter likely a weight attained in captivity. [2] [3] Hatched naked, it is a typical Old World vulture in appearance, with a very white head, very broad wings and short tail feathers. It has a white neck ruff and yellow bill. The buff body and wing coverts contrast with the dark flight feathers .
Behaviour
Like other vultures , it is a scavenger , feeding mostly from carcasses of dead animals which it finds by soaring over open areas, often moving in flocks. It establishes nesting colonies in cliffs that are undisturbed by humans while coverage of open areas and availability of dead animals within dozens of kilometres of these cliffs is high. [4] [5] It grunts and hisses at roosts or when feeding on carrion .
The maximum recorded lifespan of the griffon vulture is 41.4 years for an individual in captivity. [6]
It breeds on crags in mountains in southern Europe, north Africa, and Asia, laying one egg. Griffon vultures may form loose colonies. The population is mostly resident. Juveniles and immature individuals may migrate far or embark on long-distance movements. [7] [8]
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Bornean Orangutan
Bornean Orangutan (Pongo Pygmaeus)
The Caspian seal (Pusa caspica) is one of the smallest members of the earless seal family and unique in that it is found exclusively in the brackish Caspian Sea . They are found not only along the shorelines, but on the many rocky islands and floating blocks of ice that dot the Caspian Sea. In winter, and cooler parts of the spring and autumn season, these marine mammals populate the Northern Caspian. As the ice melts in the warmer season, they can be found on the mouths of the Volga and Ural Rivers, as well as the southern latitudes of the Caspian where cooler waters can be found due to greater depth.
It is so-far unclear as to how these seals became isolated in the landlocked Caspian Sea. One of the most widely known hypotheses argues that the seals reached the Caspian during the Quaternary period from the north when continental ice sheets melted, and are descended from the ringed seal .
Adults are approximately 126–129 cm in length. Males are longer than females at an early age, however females experience more rapid growth until they reach ten years of age. Males can grow gradually until they reach an age of about 30 or 40 years. [2] Adults weigh around 86 kilograms (190 lb); males are generally larger and bulkier. Their dental formula is I 3/2, R 1/1, PC 6/5.
The skull structure of the caspian seal suggests that it is closely related to the baikal seal . In addition, the morphological structures in both species suggest they are descended from the ringed seal which migrated from larger bodies of water around two million years ago. [3]
Caspian seals are shallow divers, with diving depths typically reaching 50 meters and lasting about a minute, although deeper and longer depths have been recorded, with at least one individual seen at depths in excess of 165m. [4] They are gregarious, spending most of their time in large colonies.
Caspian Seals can be found not only along the shorelines, but also on the many rocky islands and floating blocks of ice that dot the Caspian Sea. As the ice melts in the warmer season, they can be found on the mouths of the Volga and Ural Rivers, as well as the southern latitudes of the Caspian where cooler waters can be found due to greater depth.
In winter, and cooler parts of the spring and autumn season, these marine mammals populate the Northern Caspian. In the first days of April, spring migration to the southern part of the Caspian Sea begins with mature female seals and their pups, during this migration hungry seals eat the fish in the nets. Male mature seals stay in the northern Caspian Sea longer and wait until the moulting is completed. In summer, seals find empty places in the western part of Apsheron for resting. In the eastern part, the most crowded place used to be the Ogurchinskiy Island, but by 2001 there were fewer than 10 pups recorded on Ogurchinsky, some of which were killed by people on the island.
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Caspian Seal
Caspian Seal (Pusa Caspica)
The Caspian seal (Pusa caspica) is one of the smallest members of the earless seal family and unique in that it is found exclusively in the brackish Caspian Sea . They are found not only along the shorelines, but on the many rocky islands and floating blocks of ice that dot the Caspian Sea. In winter, and cooler parts of the spring and autumn season, these marine mammals populate the Northern Caspian. As the ice melts in the warmer season, they can be found on the mouths of the Volga and Ural Rivers, as well as the southern latitudes of the Caspian where cooler waters can be found due to greater depth.
It is so-far unclear as to how these seals became isolated in the landlocked Caspian Sea. One of the most widely known hypotheses argues that the seals reached the Caspian during the Quaternary period from the north when continental ice sheets melted, and are descended from the ringed seal .
Adults are approximately 126–129 cm in length. Males are longer than females at an early age, however females experience more rapid growth until they reach ten years of age. Males can grow gradually until they reach an age of about 30 or 40 years. [2] Adults weigh around 86 kilograms (190 lb); males are generally larger and bulkier. Their dental formula is I 3/2, R 1/1, PC 6/5.
The skull structure of the caspian seal suggests that it is closely related to the baikal seal . In addition, the morphological structures in both species suggest they are descended from the ringed seal which migrated from larger bodies of water around two million years ago. [3]
Caspian seals are shallow divers, with diving depths typically reaching 50 meters and lasting about a minute, although deeper and longer depths have been recorded, with at least one individual seen at depths in excess of 165m. [4] They are gregarious, spending most of their time in large colonies.
Caspian Seals can be found not only along the shorelines, but also on the many rocky islands and floating blocks of ice that dot the Caspian Sea. As the ice melts in the warmer season, they can be found on the mouths of the Volga and Ural Rivers, as well as the southern latitudes of the Caspian where cooler waters can be found due to greater depth.
In winter, and cooler parts of the spring and autumn season, these marine mammals populate the Northern Caspian. In the first days of April, spring migration to the southern part of the Caspian Sea begins with mature female seals and their pups, during this migration hungry seals eat the fish in the nets. Male mature seals stay in the northern Caspian Sea longer and wait until the moulting is completed. In summer, seals find empty places in the western part of Apsheron for resting. In the eastern part, the most crowded place used to be the Ogurchinskiy Island, but by 2001 there were fewer than 10 pups recorded on Ogurchinsky, some of which were killed by people on the island.
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Wolverine
Wolverine (Gulo Gulo)
The wolverine / ˈ w ʊ l v ə r iː n / , Gulo gulo (Gulo is Latin for “glutton”), also referred to as glutton, carcajou, skunk bear, or quickhatch, is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae (weasels). It is a stocky and muscular carnivore, more closely resembling a small bear than other mustelids. The wolverine, a solitary animal, [1] has a reputation for ferocity and strength out of proportion to its size, with the documented ability to kill prey many times larger than itself.
The wolverine can be found primarily in remote reaches of the Northern boreal forests and subarctic and alpine tundra of the Northern Hemisphere , with the greatest numbers in northern Canada , the U.S. state of Alaska , the Nordic countries of Europe, and throughout western Russia and Siberia . Their populations have experienced a steady decline since the 19th century in the face of trapping , range reduction and habitat fragmentation , such that they are essentially absent in the southern end of their European range.
Taxonomy
Genetic evidence suggests that the wolverine is most closely related to the tayra and martens (scientific names Eira and Martes , respectively), all of which shared a Eurasian ancestor. [2]
Within the Gulo genus, a clear separation occurs between two subspecies : the Old World form Gulo gulo gulo and the New World form G. g. luscus. Some authors had described as many as four additional North American subspecies, including ones limited to Vancouver Island (G. g. vancouverensis) and the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska (G. g. katschemakensis). However, the most currently accepted taxonomy recognizes either the two continental subspecies or recognize G. gulo as a single Holarctic taxon. [3]
Hall[ who? ] regards the North American wolverine as a species (Gulo luscus) distinct from the Eurasian wolverine (Gulo gulo). [1] [ verification needed ]
Recently compiled genetic evidence suggests most of North America’s wolverines are descended from a single source, likely originating from Beringia during the last glaciation and rapidly expanding thereafter, though considerable uncertainty to this conclusion is due to the difficulty of collecting samples in the extremely depleted southern extent of the range. [3]
Physical characteristics
Anatomically , the wolverine is a stocky and muscular animal. With short legs, broad and rounded head, small eyes and short rounded ears, it resembles a bear more than other mustelids. Though its legs are short, its large, five-toed paws and plantigrade posture facilitate movement through deep snow. [4]
The adult wolverine is about the size of a medium dog, with a length usually ranging from 65–107 cm (26–42 in), a tail of 17–26 cm (6.7–10.2 in), and a weight of 9–25 kg (20–55 lb), though exceptionally large males can weigh up to 32 kg (71 lb). [5] [6] [7] The males are as much as 30% larger than the females and can be twice the females’ weight. Shoulder height is reported from 30 to 45 cm (12 to 18 in). [8] It is the largest of terrestrial mustelids; only the marine-dwelling sea otter and giant otter of the Amazon basin are larger.
Wolverines have thick, dark, oily fur which is highly hydrophobic , making it resistant to frost. This has led to its traditional popularity among hunters and trappers as a lining in jackets and parkas in Arctic conditions. A light-silvery facial mask is distinct in some individuals, and a pale buff stripe runs laterally from the shoulders along the side and crossing the rump just above a 25–35 cm (9.8–13.8 in) bushy tail. Some individuals display prominent white hair patches on their throats or chests. [4]
Like many other mustelids, it has potent anal scent glands used for marking territory and sexual signaling. The pungent odor has given rise to the nicknames “skunk bear” and “nasty cat.” Wolverines, like other mustelids , possess a special upper molar in the back of the mouth that is rotated 90 degrees, towards the inside of the mouth. This special characteristic allows wolverines to tear off meat from prey or carrion that has been frozen solid. [9] [10]
Behavior
Diet and hunting
The wolverine is a powerful and versatile predator and scavenger. Prey mainly consists of small to medium-sized mammals, but the wolverine has been recorded killing prey such as adult deer that are many times larger than itself. Prey species include porcupines , squirrels , beavers , marmots , rabbits , voles , mice, shrews , lemmings , caribou , roe deer , white-tailed deer , mule deer , sheep, moose , and elk . [11] Smaller predators are occasionally preyed on, including martens , mink , foxes, Eurasian lynx , [12] weasels , [12] and coyote and wolf pups. Wolverines have also been known to kill Canadian lynx in the Yukon of Canada . [13] Wolverines often pursue live prey that are relatively easy to obtain, including animals caught in traps, newborn mammals, and deer (including adult moose and elk) when they are weakened by winter or immobilized by heavy snow. Their diets are sometimes supplemented by birds’ eggs, birds (especially geese ), roots , seeds , insect larvae, and berries . A majority of the wolverine’s sustenance is derived from carrion, on which they depend almost exclusively in winter and early spring. Wolverines may find carrion themselves, feed on it after the predator is done feeding (especially wolf packs) or simply take it from another predator. Whether eating live prey or carrion, the wolverine’s feeding style appears voracious, leading to the nickname of “glutton” (also the basis of the scientific name). However, this feeding style is believed to be an adaptation to food scarcity, especially in winter. [14]
Armed with powerful jaws, sharp claws, and a thick hide, [15] wolverines, like most mustelids, are remarkably strong for their size. They may defend kills against larger or more numerous predators such as wolves or bears. [16] At least one account reported a wolverine’s apparent attempt to steal a kill from a black bear , although the bear won what was ultimately a fatal contest. [17] In another account, a wolverine killed a polar bear . [18] [19] Wolverines are known to follow wolf and lynx trails, purportedly with the intent of scavenging the remains of their kills. Wolves are thought to be their most important natural predator, with the arrival of wolves to a wolverine’s territory presumably leading the latter to abandon the area. [7]
Wolverines inhabiting the Old World (specifically, Fennoscandia ) hunt more actively than their North American relatives. [20] This may be because competing predator populations in Eurasia are not as dense, making it more practical for the wolverine to hunt for itself than to wait for another animal to make a kill and then try to snatch it. They often feed on carrion left by wolves , so changes in wolf populations may affect the population of wolverines. [21] They are also known on occasion to eat plant material. [22]
Mating and reproduction
Successful males will form lifetime relationships with two or three females, which they will visit occasionally, while other males are left without a mate. [23] Mating season is in the summer, but the actual implantation of the embryo (blastocyst) in the uterus is stayed until early winter, delaying the development of the fetus . Females will often not produce young if food is scarce. The gestation period is 30–50 days, and litters of typically two or three young (“kits”) are born in the spring. Kits develop rapidly, reaching adult size within the first year of a lifespan that may reach anywhere from five to (in exceptional individuals) 13 years.[ citation needed ] Fathers make visits to their offspring until they are weaned at 10 weeks of age; also, once the young are about six months old, some reconnect with their fathers and travel together for a time. [23]
Distribution
Wolverines live primarily in isolated arctic and alpine regions of northern Canada, Alaska , Siberia , and Scandinavia ; they are also native to European Russia , the Baltic countries, the Russian Far East , northeast China and Mongolia. In 2008 and 2009, wolverines were sighted as far south as the Sierra Nevada , near Lake Tahoe , for the first time since 1922. [24] [25] [26] They are also found in low numbers in the Rocky Mountains and northern Cascades of the United States, and have been sighted as far south and east as Michigan . [27] However, most New World wolverines live in Canada . [22]
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Gray Wolf
Gray Wolf (Canis Lupus Lupus)
The gray wolf (Canis lupus [a] ), also known as the timber wolf, [3] [4] true wolf [5] or western wolf [b] is a canid native to the wilderness and remote areas of North America , Eurasia , and North Africa . It is the largest extant member of its family, with males averaging 43–45 kg (95–99 lb), and females 36–38.5 kg (79–85 lb). [7] Like the red wolf , it is distinguished from other Canis species by its larger size and less pointed features, particularly on the ears and muzzle. [8] Its winter fur is long and bushy, and predominantly a mottled gray in color, although nearly pure white, red, or brown to black also occur. [4]
The gray wolf is the most specialised member of the genus Canis, as demonstrated by its morphological adaptations to hunting large prey, its more gregarious nature, [9] and its highly advanced expressive behavior. [10] [11] It is nonetheless closely related enough to smaller Canis species, such as the eastern wolf , [6] coyote [12] and golden jackal [13] [14] to produce fertile hybrids . It is the only species of Canis to have a range encompassing both the Old and New Worlds , [6] and originated in Eurasia during the Pleistocene , colonizing North America on at least three separate occasions during the Rancholabrean . [6] It is a social animal , travelling in nuclear families consisting of a mated pair , accompanied by the pair’s adult offspring. [15] The gray wolf is typically an apex predator throughout its range, with only humans and tigers [9] [16] [17] [18] posing a serious threat to it. It feeds primarily on large ungulates , though it also eats smaller animals, livestock, carrion, and garbage. [4]
The gray wolf is one of the world’s best known and well researched animals, with probably more books written about it than any other wildlife species. [19] It has a long history of association with humans, having been despised and hunted in most pastoral communities due to its attacks on livestock, while conversely being respected in some agrarian and hunter-gatherer societies. [20] It is the sole ancestor of the dog , which genetic and paleontological records indicate was first domesticated in Europe 18,800-32,100 years ago by hunter-gatherers. [21] Although the fear of wolves is pervasive in many human societies, the majority of recorded attacks on people have been attributed to animals suffering from rabies . Non-rabid wolves have attacked and killed people, mainly children, but this is unusual, as wolves are relatively few, live away from people, and have been taught to fear humans by hunters and shepherds. [22]
The gray wolf was once one of the world’s most widely distributed mammals, living throughout the northern hemisphere north of 15°N latitude in North America and 12°N in India . However, deliberate human persecution has reduced the species’ range to about one third, due to livestock predation and fear over attacks on humans. The species is now extinct in much of Western Europe , in Mexico and much of the USA . In modern times, the gray wolf occurs mostly in wilderness and remote areas, particularly in Canada , Alaska and northern USA, Europe , and Asia from about 75°N to 12°N. Wolf population declines have been arrested since the 1970s, and have fostered recolonization and reintroduction in parts of its former range, due to legal protection, changes in land-use and rural human population shifts to cities. Competition with humans for livestock and game species, concerns over the danger posed by wolves to people, and habitat fragmentation pose a continued threat to the species. Despite these threats, because of the gray wolf’s relatively widespread range and stable population, it is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN . [1]
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Sunda Slow Loris
Sunda Slow Loris (Nycticebus Coucang)
The Sunda slow loris (Nycticebus coucang) or greater slow loris is a strepsirrhine primate and a species of slow loris native to Indonesia , western Malaysia , southern Thailand and Singapore . It measures 27 to 38 cm (11 to 15 in) from head to tail and weighs between 599 and 685 g (21.1 and 24.2 oz). Like other slow lorises, it has a wet nose ( rhinarium ), a round head, small ears hidden in thick fur, a flat face, large eyes and a vestigial tail.
The Sunda slow loris is nocturnal and arboreal , typically occurring in evergreen forests . It prefers rainforests with continuous dense canopies and has an extremely low metabolic rate compared to other mammals of its size. Its diet consists of sap , floral nectar, fruit and arthropods. It will feed on exudates such as gum and sap by licking wounds in trees. The species is generally solitary; one study showed only 8% of its active time was spent near other individuals. Social behavior makes up a very small part of the activity budget, though it has monogamous mating system with the offspring living with the parents. It sleeps during the day, rolled up in a ball in hidden parts of trees above the ground, often on branches, twigs, palm fronds, or lianas . The species is polyoestrous , usually giving birth to a single offspring after a gestation period of 192 days. The young disperses between 16 and 27 months, generally when it is sexually mature .
The species is listed as “ Vulnerable ” on the IUCN Red List . It is threatened with extinction due to a growing demand in the exotic pet trade, and has become one of the most abundant primate species on sale at Indonesian pet markets. Its teeth are often pulled out before being sold as pets which can result in infection and/or death, this process makes reintroduction to the wild impossible. It also suffers from habitat loss , which has been severe in the areas in which it is found.
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Red Squirrel
Red Squirrel (Sciurus Vulgaris)
The red squirrel or Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) is a species of tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus common throughout Eurasia . The red squirrel is an arboreal , omnivorous rodent .
In Great Britain, Italy and Ireland, numbers have decreased drastically in recent years, a decline associated with the introduction of the eastern grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) from North America , [3] [4] although habitat loss is also a factor. [5]
The red squirrel has a typical head-and-body length of 19 to 23 cm (7.5 to 9 in), a tail length of 15 to 20 cm (5.9 to 7.9 in) and a mass of 250 to 340g (8.8 to 12 oz). It is not sexually dimorphic , as males and females are the same size. The red squirrel is somewhat smaller than the eastern grey squirrel which has a head-and-body length of 25 to 30 cm (9.5 to 12 in) and weighs between 400 and 800 g (14 oz to 1.8 lb). It is thought that the long tail helps the squirrel to balance and steer when jumping from tree to tree and running along branches and may keep the animal warm during sleep.[ citation needed ]
The coat of the red squirrel varies in colour with time of year and location. There are several different coat colour morphs ranging from black to red. Red coats are most common in Great Britain ; in other parts of Europe and Asia different coat colours co-exist within populations, much like hair colour in some human populations. The underside of the squirrel is always white-cream in colour. The red squirrel sheds its coat twice a year, switching from a thinner summer coat to a thicker, darker winter coat with noticeably larger ear-tufts (a prominent distinguishing feature of this species) between August and November. A lighter, redder overall coat colour, along with the ear-tufts (in adults) and smaller size, distinguish the Eurasian red squirrel from the American eastern grey squirrel. [6] [7] [8]
The red squirrel, like most tree squirrels, has sharp, curved claws to enable it to climb and descend broad tree trunks, thin branches and even house walls. Its strong hind legs enable it to leap gaps between trees.The red squirrel also has the ability to swim. [9]
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Red Panda
Red Panda (Ailurus Fulgens)
The red panda (Ailurus fulgens), also called lesser panda and red cat-bear, is a small arboreal mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and south-western China that has been classified as vulnerable by IUCN as its wild population is estimated at less than 10,000 mature individuals. The population continues to decline and is threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation , poaching , and inbreeding depression , although red pandas are protected by national laws in their range countries. [1]
The red panda is slightly larger than a domestic cat . It has reddish-brown fur, a long, shaggy tail, and a waddling gait due to its shorter front legs. It feeds mainly on bamboo , but is omnivorous and also eats eggs, birds , insects , and small mammals . It is a solitary animal , mainly active from dusk to dawn , and is largely sedentary during the day.
The red panda is the only living species of the genus Ailurus and the family Ailuridae . It has been previously placed in the raccoon and bear families, but results of phylogenetic research indicate strong support for its taxonomic classification in its own family Ailuridae , which along with the weasel family is part of the superfamily Musteloidea . [4] Two subspecies are recognized. [3] It is not closely related to the giant panda .
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Red Fox
Red Fox (Vulpes Vulpes)
The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is the largest of the true foxes and the most abundant member of the Carnivora , being distributed across the entire Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa , Central America and Asia . Its range has increased alongside human expansion, having been introduced to Australia , where it is considered harmful to native mammals and bird populations. Because of these factors, it is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN . [1] Due to its presence in Australia , it is included among the list of the “world’s 100 worst invasive species” . [3]
The red fox originated from smaller-sized ancestors from Eurasia during the Middle Villafranchian period , [4] and colonised North America shortly after the Wisconsin glaciation . [5] Among the true foxes, the red fox represents a more progressive form in the direction of carnivory . [6] Apart from its large size, the red fox is distinguished from other fox species by its ability to adapt quickly to new environments. Despite its name, the species often produces individuals with other colourings, including albinos and melanists . [7] Forty-five subspecies are currently recognised, [8] which are divided into two categories: the large northern foxes, and the small, basal southern foxes of Asia and the Middle East. [9]
Red foxes are usually together in pairs or small groups consisting of families, such as a mated pair and their young, or a male with several females having kinship ties. The young of the mated pair remain with their parents to assist in caring for new kits. [10] The species primarily feeds on small rodents, though it may also target rabbits , game birds , reptiles , invertebrates [11] and young ungulates . [12] Fruit and vegetable matter is also eaten sometimes. [13] Although the red fox tends to kill smaller predators, including other fox species, it is vulnerable to attack from larger predators, such as wolves , coyotes , golden jackals and medium- and large-sized felines . [14]
The species has a long history of association with humans, having been extensively hunted as a pest and furbearer for centuries, as well as being represented in human folklore and mythology. Because of its widespread distribution and large population, the red fox is one of the most important furbearing animals harvested for the fur trade . [15]
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Japanese Macaque
Japanese Macaque (Macaca Fuscata)
The Japanese macaque ( / m ə ˈ k ɑː k / ; [2] Macaca fuscata), is a terrestrial Old World monkey species native to Japan . They are also sometimes known as the snow monkey because they live in areas where snow covers the ground for months each year — no other non-human primate is more northern-living, nor lives in a colder climate. [3] [4] Individuals have brown-grey fur, red faces, and short tails. There are two subspecies. [5]
In Japan, the species is known as Nihonzaru (Nihon (ニホン) “Japan” + saru (ザル) “monkey”) to distinguish it from other primates, but the Japanese macaque is very familiar in Japan, so when Japanese people simply say saru, they usually have in mind the Japanese macaque.
Physical characteristics
The Japanese macaque is sexually dimorphic . Males weigh on average 11.3 kg (25 lb), while females average 8.4 kg (19 lb). [6] Macaques from colder areas tend to weigh more than ones from warmer areas. [7] Male average height is 570.1 mm (22.44 in) and female average height is 522.8 mm (20.58 in). [6] Their brain size is approximately 95 g (3.4 oz). Japanese macaques have short stumps for tails that average 92.51 mm (3.642 in) in males and 79.08 mm (3.113 in) in females. [7] The macaque has a pinkish face and posterior. [8] The rest of its body is covered in brown, greyish, or yellowish hair. [6] The coat of the macaque is well-adapted to the cold and its thickness increases as temperatures decrease. The macaque can cope with temperatures as low as -20 °C (-4 °F). [9]
Macaques mostly move on all fours. They are semi-terrestrial, with females spending more time in the trees and males spending more time on the ground. Macaques are known to leap. They are also great swimmers and have been reported to swim over half a kilometer. [6] The longevity for the macaque averages 6.3 years (at least for females). [10] However, they have been known to live much longer; males have lived up to 28 years and females up to 32 years. [11]
Behavior
Group structure
Japanese macaques live in matrilineal societies, [6] and females stay in their natal groups for life, while males move out before they are sexually mature. [12] Macaque groups tend to contain a number of adults of both sexes. In addition, a macaque troop contains several matrilines. These matrilines may exist in a dominance hierarchy with all members of a specific group ranking over members of a lower-ranking group. [13] Temporary all-male groups also exist, composed of those that have recently left their natal groups and are about to transfer to another group. [6] However, many males spend ample time away from any group [14] and may leave and join several groups. [6]
Males within a group have a dominance hierarchy, with one male having alpha status. The dominance status of male macaques usually changes when a former alpha male leaves or dies. [15] Other ways in which status changes is when an alpha male loses his rank or when a troop splits, leaving a new alpha position open. [15] The longer a male is in a troop, the higher his status is likely to be. [16] Females also exist in a stable dominance hierarchy, and a female’s rank depends on her mother. Younger females tend to rank higher than their older siblings. [13] [17] Higher-ranking matrilines have greater social cohesion. [18] Strong relationships with dominant females can allow dominant males to retain their rank when they otherwise would not. [19]
Females maintain both social relationships and hygiene through grooming. Grooming occurs regardless of climate or season. [20] Females which are matrilineally related groom each other more often than unrelated individuals. [21] Females will also groom unrelated females to maintain group cohesion and social relationships between different kinships in a troop. [22] Nevertheless, a female will only groom a limited number of other females, even if the group expands. [22] Females will also groom males, usually for hygienic purposes, but it can serve to attract dominant males to the group. [23] Mothers pass their grooming techniques to their offspring most probably through social rather than genetic means. [24]
Mating and parenting
A male and female macaque will form a pair bond and mate, feed, rest and travel together, and this typically lasts 1.6 days on average during the mating season. [25] Females enter into consortships with an average of four males a season. [26] Higher-ranking males have longer consortships than their subordinates. [25] In addition, higher-ranking males will try to disrupt consortships of lower-ranking males. [27] Females will attempt to mate with males of any rank. However, dominant males mate more as they are more successful in mate guarding. [28] The female decides whether mating will take place. In addition, dominance does not mean a male will successfully mate with a female. [6] Males may also temporarily join another troop during the mating season and mate with the females. [29] Females will also engage in same-sex mounting . Such behavior is likely because of hormones and females are mounted more often by other females than males. [30]
During the mating season, the face and genitalia of males redden and the tail will stand erect. [31] In addition, females’ faces and anogenital regions turn scarlet. [31] Macaques will copulate both on the ground and in the trees, [32] and roughly one in three copulations leads to ejaculation . [33] Macaques signal when they are ready to mate by looking backward over a shoulder, staying still, or walking backwards towards their potential partner. [34] A female will emit a “smooth-late-high coo”, or “squawk”, “squeak”, or produce an atonal “cackle” during copulation. Males have no copulatory vocalizations.
A macaque mother moves to the periphery of her troop to give birth in a secluded spot, [35] unless the group is moving, when the female will have to stay with it. [36] Macaques usually give birth on the ground. [6] Infants are born with dark-brown hair. [37] They will consume their first solid food at five to six weeks old, and can forage independently from their mothers by seven weeks. [37] A mother carries her infant on her belly for its first four weeks. After this time, the mother will carry her infant on her back, as well. Infants continue to be carried up to and past a year. [37] A mother and her infant tend to avoid other troop members, and the mother may socialize again very slowly. [38] However, alloparenting has been observed, usually by females which have not had infants of their own. [37] Male care of infants occurs in some groups, but not in others; usually, older males protect, groom, and carry an infant as a female would. [39]
Infants have fully developed their locomotive abilities within three to four months. [40] When an infant is seven months old, its mother discourages suckling; full weaning happens by its 18th month. In some populations, male infants tend to play in larger groups more often than females. [41] However, female infants have more social interaction than their male counterparts. [41] Males prefer to associate with other males around the same age, when they are two years old. [42] Female infants will associate with individuals of all ages and sexes.
Communication
During feeding or moving, Japanese macaques will often emit “coos”. These most likely serve to keep the troop together and strengthen social relations between females. [43] Macaques usually respond to coos with coos of their own. [44] Coos are also uttered before grooming along with “girney” calls. Variants of the “girney” call are made in different contexts. [45] This call also serves as appeasement between individuals in aggressive encounters. [46] Macaques have alarm calls for alerting to danger, and other calls to signal estrus that sound similar to danger alerts. Threat calls are heard during aggressive encounters and are often uttered by supporters of those involved in antagonistic interactions. The individual being supported will support the caller in the future. [47]
Intelligence and culture
The Japanese macaque is a very intelligent species. Researchers studying this species at Koshima Island in Japan left sweet potatoes out on the beach for them to eat, then witnessed one female, named Imo (Japanese for yam or potato), washing the food off with river water rather than brushing it off as the others were doing, and later even dipping her clean food into salty sea water. [48] [49] [50] After a while, others started to copy her behavior. This trait was then passed on from generation to generation, until eventually all except the oldest members of the troop were washing their food and even seasoning it in the sea. [48] [49] She was similarly the first observed balling up wheat with air pockets, throwing it into the water, and waiting for it to float back up before picking it up and eating it free from dirt. [49] [50] An altered misaccount of this incident is the basis for the “ hundredth monkey ” effect. [51]
The macaque has other unusual behaviours, including bathing together in hot springs and rolling snowballs for fun. [49] Also, in recent studies the Japanese macaque has been found to develop different accents, like humans. [52] Macaques in areas separated by only a few hundred miles can have very different pitches in their calls, their form of communication. The Japanese macaque has been involved in many studies concerning neuroscience and also is used in drug testing.[ citation needed ]
Ecology
The Japanese macaque is diurnal . In colder areas, from autumn to early winter, macaques feed in between different activities. In the winter, macaques have two to four feeding bouts each day with fewer daily activities. In the spring and summer, they have two or three bouts of feeding daily. [32] In warmer areas such as Yakushima, daily activities are more varied. The typical day for a macaque is 20.9% inactive, 22.8% traveling, 23.5% feeding, 27.9% social grooming, 1.2% self-grooming, and 3.7% other activities. [53] Macaques usually sleep in trees, but will also sleep on the ground, as well as on or near rocks and fallen trees. [6] During the winter, macaques huddle together for warmth in sleeping grounds. [54] Macaques at Jigokudani Monkey Park are notable for visiting the hot springs in the winter to warm up.
Diet
The Japanese macaque is omnivorous and will eat a variety of foods. Over 213 species of plant are included on the macaque’s diet. [55] It also eats insects, bark and soil. [55] On Yakushima Island, fruit, mature leaves and fallen seeds are primarily eaten. [56] The macaque also eats fungi, ferns, invertebrates, soil and other parts of plants. [56] In addition, on Yakushima, their diets vary seasonally with fruits being eaten in the summer and herbs being eaten in the winter. [57] Further north, macaques mostly eat foods such as fruit and nuts to store fat for the winter, when food is scarce. [58] On the northern island of Kinkazan , macaques mostly eat fallen seeds, herbs, young leaves and fruits. [59] When preferred food items are not available, macaques will dig up underground plant parts (roots or rhizomes) or eat soil and fish. [55]
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House Mouse
House Mouse (Mus Musculus)
The house mouse (Mus musculus) is a small mammal of the order Rodentia , characteristically having a pointed snout, small rounded ears, and a long naked or almost hairless tail. It is one of the most numerous species of the genus Mus . Although a wild animal , the house mouse mainly lives in association with humans.
The house mouse has been domesticated as the pet or fancy mouse , and as the laboratory mouse , which is one of the most important model organisms in biology and medicine . The complete mouse reference genome was sequenced in 2002. [2] [3] It is by far the mammal most commonly genetically altered for scientific research. [4]
Characteristics
House mice have an adult body length (nose to base of tail) of 7.5–10 cm (3.0–3.9 in) and a tail length of 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in). The weight is typically 10–25 g (0.4–0.9 oz). In the wild they vary in color from light to dark agouti (light to dark brown), but domesticated fancy mice and laboratory mice are produced in many colors ranging from white to champagne to black. [5] They have short hair and some, but not all, sub-species have a light belly. [5] The ears and tail have little hair. The hind feet are short compared to Apodemus mice, only 15–19 mm (0.59–0.75 in) long; the normal gait is a run with a stride of about 4.5 cm (1.8 in), though they can jump vertically up to 45 cm (18 in). [6] The voice is a high-pitched squeak. [7] [8] House mice thrive under a variety of conditions; they are found in and around homes and commercial structures, as well as in open fields and agricultural lands.
Newborn males and females can be distinguished on close examination as the anogenital distance in males is about double that of the female. [9] From the age of about 10 days, females have five pairs of mammary glands and nipples ; males have no nipples. [10] When sexually mature, the most striking and obvious difference is the presence of testicles on the males. These are large compared to the rest of the body and can be retracted into the body.
The tail, which is used for balance, [11] [12] [13] has only a thin covering of hair as it is the main peripheral organ of heat loss in thermoregulation [12] along with — to a lesser extent — the hairless parts of the paws and ears. Blood flow to the tail can be precisely controlled in response to changes in ambient temperature using a system of arteriovenous anastomoses to increase the temperature of the skin on the tail by as much as 10 °C to lose body heat. [14] Tail length varies according to the environmental temperature of the mouse during postnatal development, so mice living in colder regions tend to have shorter tails. [5] The tail is also used for balance when the mouse is climbing or running, or as a base when the animal stands on its hind legs (a behaviour known as tripoding ), and to convey information about the dominance status of an individual in encounters with other mice. [15]
In addition to the regular pea-sized thymus organ in the chest, house mice have a second functional pinhead-sized thymus organ in the neck next to the trachea. [16]
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Great Gray Owl
Great Gray Owl (Strix Nebulosa)
The great grey owl or great gray owl (Strix nebulosa) is a very large owl , documented as the world’s largest species of owl by length. It is distributed across the Northern Hemisphere . In some areas it is also called Phantom of the North, cinereous owl, spectral owl, Lapland owl, spruce owl, bearded owl, and sooty owl. [2]
Adults have a large, rounded head with a grey face and yellow eyes with darker circles around them. The underparts are light with dark streaks; the upper parts are grey with pale bars. This owl does not have ear tufts and has the largest facial disc of any raptor .
In terms of length, the great grey owl is believed to exceed the Eurasian eagle-owl and the Blakiston’s fish owl as the world’s largest owl. [3] The great grey is outweighed by those two species as well as several others, including most of the Bubo genus. [4] Much of its size is deceptive, since this species’ fluffy feathers, large head and the longest tail of any extant owl obscure a body lighter than that of most other large owls. The length ranges from 61 to 84 cm (24 to 33 in), averaging 72 cm (28 in) for females and 67 cm (26 in) for males. The wingspan can exceed 152 cm (60 in), but averages 142 cm (56 in) for females and 140 cm (55 in) for males. The adult weight ranges from 580 to 1,900 g (1.28 to 4.19 lb), averaging 1,290 g (2.84 lb) for females and 1,000 g (2.2 lb) for males. [5] The males are usually smaller than females, as with most owl species. [2]
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“black and white cat-foot”; simplified Chinese : 大熊猫; traditional Chinese : 大熊貓; pinyin : dàxióngmāo,
lit.
“big(大 dà) bear(熊 xióng) cat(猫 māo)”), [2] also known as panda bear or thegiant panda to distinguish it from the unrelated red panda , is a bear [3] native to south central China . [1] It is easily recognized by the large, distinctive black patches around its eyes, over the ears, and across its round body. Though it belongs to the order Carnivora , the panda’s diet is over 99% bamboo . [4] Pandas in the wild will occasionally eat other grasses, wild tubers, or even meat in the form of birds, rodents or carrion. In captivity, they may receive honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves , oranges, or bananas along with specially prepared food. [5] [6]
The giant panda lives in a few mountain ranges in central China, mainly in Sichuan province, but also in Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. [7] As a result of farming, deforestation , and other development, the panda has been driven out of the lowland areas where it once lived.
The panda is a conservation reliant endangered species . [8] A 2007 report shows 239 pandas living in captivity inside China and another 27 outside the country. [9] Wild population estimates vary; one estimate shows that there are about 1,590 individuals living in the wild, [9] while a 2006 study via DNA analysis estimated that this figure could be as high as 2,000 to 3,000. [10] Some reports also show that the number of pandas in the wild is on the rise. [11] [12] However, the IUCN does not believe there is enough certainty yet to reclassify the species from Endangered to Vulnerable. [1]
While the dragon has often served as China’s national emblem , internationally the panda appears at least as commonly. As such, it is becoming widely used within China in international contexts, for example as one of the five Fuwa mascots of the Beijing Olympics .
The giant panda has a black-and-white coat. Adults measure around 1.2 to 1.8 m (4 to 6 ft) long, including a tail of about 13 cm (5.1 in), and 60 to 90 cm (2.0 to 3.0 ft) tall at the shoulder . [13] Males can weigh up to 160 kg (350 lb). [14] Females (generally 10–20% smaller than males) [15] can weigh as little as 75 kg (165 lb), but can also weigh up to 125 kg (276 lb). [8] [16] Average adult weight is 100 to 115 kg (220 to 254 lb). [17]
The giant panda has a body shape typical of bears. It has black fur on its ears, eye patches, muzzle, legs, arms and shoulders. The rest of the animal’s coat is white. Although scientists do not know why these unusual bears are black and white, speculation suggests that the bold coloring provides effective camouflage in their shade-dappled snowy and rocky habitat. [18] The giant panda’s thick, wooly coat keeps it warm in the cool forests of its habitat. [18] The panda’s skull shape is typical of durophagous carnivorans. It has evolved from previous ancestors to exhibit larger molars with increased complexity and expanded temporal fossa. [19] [20]
The giant panda’s paw has a “thumb” and five fingers ; the “thumb” – actually a modified sesamoid bone – helps it to hold bamboo while eating. [21] Stephen Jay Gould discusses this feature in his book of essays on evolution and biology , The Panda’s Thumb .
The giant panda’s tail, measuring 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 in), is the second-longest in the bear family. (The longest belongs to the sloth bear .) [15]
The giant panda typically lives around 20 years in the wild and up to 30 years in captivity . [22] The oldest captive, a female named Ming Ming, had a recorded age of 34. [23]
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European Otter
European Otter (Lutra Lutra)
The European otter (Lutra lutra), also known as the Eurasian otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter and Old World otter, is a European and Asian member of the Lutrinae or otter subfamily, and is typical of freshwater otters. The European otter is a typical species of the otter subfamily. Brown above and cream below, these long, slender creatures are well-equipped for their aquatic habits. This otter differs from the North American river otter by its shorter neck, broader visage, the greater space between the ears and its longer tail. [2] However, the European otter is the only otter in its range, so it cannot be confused for any other animal. Normally, this species is 57 to 95 cm (23–37 in) long, not counting a tail of 35–45 cm (14–18 in). The female is shorter than the male. [3] The otter’s average body weight is 7 to 12 kg (15.4–26.4 lbs), although occasionally a large old male may reach up to 17 kg (37 lbs). [4] [5] The record-sized specimen, reported by a reliable source but not verified, weighed over 24 kg (53 lbs). [6]
Description
The European otter is a typical species of the otter subfamily. Brown above and cream below, these long, slender creatures are well-equipped for their aquatic habits. Its bones show osteosclerosis , increasing their density to reduce buoyancy. [2] This otter differs from the North American river otter by its shorter neck, broader visage, the greater space between the ears and its longer tail. [3] However, the European otter is the only otter in its range, so it cannot be confused for any other animal. Normally, this species is 57 to 95 cm (23–37 in) long, not counting a tail of 35–45 cm (14–18 in). The female is shorter than the male. [4] The otter’s average body weight is 7 to 12 kg (15.4–26.4 lbs), although occasionally a large old male may reach up to 17 kg (37 lbs). [5] [6] The record-sized specimen, reported by a reliable source but not verified, weighed over 24 kg (53 lbs). [7]
Range and habitat
The European otter is the most widely distributed otter species, its range including parts of Asia and Africa , as well as being spread across Europe. Though currently believed to be extinct in Liechtenstein , and Switzerland , they are now very common in Latvia , along the coast of Norway and across Great Britain , especially Shetland , where 12% of the UK breeding population exist. [8] Ireland has the highest density of Eurasian otters in Europe.[ citation needed ] In Italy , they can be found in southern parts of the peninsula. The South Korean population is endangered .
In general, their varied and adaptable diets mean they may inhabit any unpolluted body of fresh water, including lakes, streams, rivers, and ponds, as long as the food supply is adequate. European otters may also live along the coast, in salt water, but require regular access to fresh water to clean their fur. When living in the sea, individuals of this species are sometimes referred to as “sea otters”, but they should not be confused with the true sea otter , a North American species much more strongly adapted to a marine existence.
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What was the name of Joe Brown's backing group in the 1960s? | About Joe | Joe Brown
About Joe
A brief history
Biography of Joe Brown
It was over half a century ago in 1958, as Lonnie Donegan was ruling the charts with ‘Rock Island Line’, that Joe joined his first band, the Spacemen Skiffle Group, at the age of 17. Three years later he was the resident lead guitarist on producer Jack Good’s groundbreaking TV show Boy Meets Girls. He found himself backing visiting American stars like Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran and Johnny Cash. (and that’s Joe’s rockabilly lead guitar you can hear all over Billy Fury’s classic 1960 album “The Sound Of Fury”....)
1960 was the year when the Spacemen became Joe Brown’s backing band The Bruvvers as the hits began to roll in, starting with ‘The Darktown Strutters Ball’ and reaching a crescendo in 1962/3 with ‘A Picture Of You’, ‘It Only Took A Minute’ and ‘That’s What Love Will Do’. During this time it was JOE who was headlining British tours that featured Del Shannon, Dion, the Crystals… and an up and coming band called the Beatles.
The Beatles of course changed the whole pop music landscape but Joe was already broadening his own horizons. He starred in the long running West End musical “Charlie Girl” in 1965 and has since appeared in “Sleuth” and “Pump Boys And Dinettes” which in 1985 he directed and took on tour. And there were films “What A Crazy World”, “Three Hats For Lisa”, “Spike Milligan Meets Joe Brown” and “Mona Lisa” with Bob Hoskins. Not to mention his regular TV appearances which included three series of “The Joe Brown Show” on ITV and his Radio 2 stints either side of the new millennium including presenting “The Rock Island Line”, “Good Rockin’ Tonight”, “Let It Rock” and “Joe Brown’s Sunday Roast” which was a regular programme on BBC Berkshire
Throughout these five decades Joe was touring regularly, playing up to 200 shows a year. In the early Seventies he formed Brown’s Home Brew which included his late wife Vicki and Joe Fagin they released two acclaimed albums and toured the UK twice. Joe has continued to headline his own tours as well co-headlining the hugely successful “Solid Gold” tours and with Marty Wilde in the nineties.
Since the new millennium Joe has been confounding people’s expectations of him on a regular basis. In 2002 he appeared at the Glastonbury Festival and endeared himself to the latest generation of rock fans. Later that year he won a brand new world-wide audience with his show-stopping appearance at “The Concert For George”, staged at London’s Royal Albert Hall in tribute to George Harrison with a stellar cast of musicians.
Joe was asked by Olivia Harrison & Eric Clapton to sing ‘Here Comes The Sun”, ‘That’s The Way It Goes’ and to close the show with ‘I’ll See You In My Dreams’, a favourite song of George’s. Joe describes the show as “the highlight of my career” and the DVD of the concert has now been certified many times Platinum in the USA whilst the film has also been shown around the world and continues to be repeated.
If Joe has any regrets, it’s that he hasn’t released enough records. Indeed between the mid Seventies and the early Nineties he scarcely released any. That changed when he took on new management and adopted a new approach in1990. He very soon had a new live album “Joe Brown Live “ released in 1990 and signed a publishing deal with Warner Chappell in Nashville in 1991 when he started going there to write songs for the country market.
That led to the release of the “Come On Joe” album in 1993, recorded at his own home studio, produced by his son Pete and featuring his touring band – guitarist Neil Gauntlett, bassist Rico Nilo and drummer Phil Capaldi. Come On Joe was followed closely by an ‘In Concert’ video and in 1997 "56 And Taller Than You Think”. His next studio album “On A Day Like This” was recorded in Nashville in 1998 and produced by Roger Cook with whom Joe would later write a musical about Skiffle which premiered in 2005. That same year Joe agreed a deal whereby his records would be released by Track Records, the first album released under this agreement being “Hittin’ The Hi Spots”. In recent years he has also released a live double album, an all instrumental album and a live performance DVD.
Next studio recording was “Down To Earth” and the next phase in Joe’s extraordinary career. As well as some strong cover recordings there were also a couple of his own that stand up tall against the illustrious covers. These also include Hoagy Carmichael’s ‘Lazybones’ that Joe learnt from George Harrison. “He loved Hoagy Carmichael. He used to play me his records all the time,” Joe says.
Meanwhile in the Autumn of 2005 Joe completed a 37 date British tour with special guest Sam Brown and a DVD of Down To Earth In The Studio was released in 2006. By Spring of 2007 Joe and the band had just finished a further 36 date solo tour with son Pete firmly in his band.
He completed a sold out 40 date tour in autumn 2007 and for those dates Joe was joined by another British icon....the one and only Dave Edmunds. The man who 'knew the bride when she used to rock n, roll', whose swagger and guitar genius saw him signed to Led Zeppelin's Swansong label and whose hits lit up the charts world-wide. Dave kept the rock beacon burning brightly with songs such as 'Girls Talk', ‘Queen Of Hearts’ and 'I Hear You Knocking' and still found time to work with Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Jeff Lynne and the Everly Brothers and many others.
Joe Brown and Dave Edmunds was a remarkable combination, a brilliant pairing of singer / songwriter / guitar heroes and an evening that was compulsory for anyone who calls themselves a music lover.
2008 was to be a special year – his 50th as a professional musician. The story went on and gathered momentum in a big way when Joe’s 50th Anniversary album released in February confounded certain peoples expectations by going Gold, selling over 125,000 copies in the UK and staying weeks on the chart with several weeks in the UK Top 20 and Joe was the undoubted star at the Mayor Of London’s St Patrick’s Day Concert in Trafalgar Square where with his band and three additional traditional Irish musicians he delighted an Irish crowd of several thousand braving the worst weather of the year.
In June Joe took his band and Special guest Sam Brown to Germany to perform three special concerts for several major Radio & TV stations as a result of the media interest in the Down To Earth release there, it marked his first official album release in over 40 years there. A new album Live In Germany containing performances form the radio tour was the result of that trip and was soon released. Later in 2008 his last studio album More Of The Truth was released and gathered more critical acclaim for the man from the 50’s who in 2008 was as contemporary as you could get and his 50th Anniversary Concert at The Royal Albert Hall in September 2008 was a complete sell out and featured guests such as Mark Knopfler, Jools Holland, Dennis Locorriere, Dave Edmunds, Chas ‘N’ Dave, his daughter Sam Brown and Sha Na Na founder Henry Gross whist his 50th Anniversary Autumn tour sold out tall he major theatre venues it visited here too.
This momentum on the live front continued In 2009 and in June Joe was awarded the coveted Outstanding Contribution to Music Award by MOJO Magazine which was presented to him by Mark Knopfler and two days later it was announced that he was to be awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
On top of the two earlier honours the USA instrument manufacturer KALA, in conjunction with Joe developed a special Joe Brown Signature Series Ukulele which is now available in stores or directly from Joe Brown Productions. They are beautiful instruments and come in various models, a very special higher end of the range series made from Koa & Spruce and a more accessibly priced Mahogany model. All models carry Joe’s signature.
Kala said when first approaching him that they could not think of a better ambassador for the Ukulele worldwide to represent their instrument and were delighted when Joe accepted and started to work with them on its development.
Latterly Joe has continued to break box office records and gain new supporters throughout 2009 and 2010 when having cropped up as a special guest on Bob Harris’ own 40th Anniversary programme for BBC Radio 2 Joe then completed his own UK tour and rounded off the year by joining fellow British institutions Status Quo in December for the arena section of their Quid Pro Quo tour. The response was terrific both at shows and on the Quo website where positive comments from their fan base ran into pages and pages for the 9 shows which Joe and the band performed with them.
Throughout 2011 Joe continued to show the way and his touring even as he moved into his 70’s would still put many a young band to shame . A show was filmed and recorded in Liverpool and the result was a DVD with bonus 2CD box set issued late last year called Live In Liverpool.
Towards Christmas 2011 Joe and the band were to be found recording a very special Ukulele based CD at British Grove, Mark Knopfler’s recording studio and then over Christmas and into January work has carried on at Joe’s own studio and this very special CD will be released in the UK in late Spring this year, 2012 will be another memorable year for Joe.
If Jools Holland’s Later and Hootenanny shows together with Glastonbury, Cropredy and Trowbridge Music Festivals all played their part in Joe’s rise and rise and a new international audience also found him via his stellar performance closing the Concert For George tribute with ‘I’ll See You In My Dreams’ then now this has gone one step further as Joe’s own original album version of I’ll See You In My Dreams recently featured worldwide in one of the hit TV CSI programmes.
Joe is, without doubt, a one off, a compelling and unique performer with a rare and singular track record, an extraordinary talent and a truly enduring Rock Legend – catch him while you can.
| Joe Brown (singer) |
Which ancient road linked Wroxeter to Dover via St Albans | About Joe | Joe Brown
About Joe
A brief history
Biography of Joe Brown
It was over half a century ago in 1958, as Lonnie Donegan was ruling the charts with ‘Rock Island Line’, that Joe joined his first band, the Spacemen Skiffle Group, at the age of 17. Three years later he was the resident lead guitarist on producer Jack Good’s groundbreaking TV show Boy Meets Girls. He found himself backing visiting American stars like Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran and Johnny Cash. (and that’s Joe’s rockabilly lead guitar you can hear all over Billy Fury’s classic 1960 album “The Sound Of Fury”....)
1960 was the year when the Spacemen became Joe Brown’s backing band The Bruvvers as the hits began to roll in, starting with ‘The Darktown Strutters Ball’ and reaching a crescendo in 1962/3 with ‘A Picture Of You’, ‘It Only Took A Minute’ and ‘That’s What Love Will Do’. During this time it was JOE who was headlining British tours that featured Del Shannon, Dion, the Crystals… and an up and coming band called the Beatles.
The Beatles of course changed the whole pop music landscape but Joe was already broadening his own horizons. He starred in the long running West End musical “Charlie Girl” in 1965 and has since appeared in “Sleuth” and “Pump Boys And Dinettes” which in 1985 he directed and took on tour. And there were films “What A Crazy World”, “Three Hats For Lisa”, “Spike Milligan Meets Joe Brown” and “Mona Lisa” with Bob Hoskins. Not to mention his regular TV appearances which included three series of “The Joe Brown Show” on ITV and his Radio 2 stints either side of the new millennium including presenting “The Rock Island Line”, “Good Rockin’ Tonight”, “Let It Rock” and “Joe Brown’s Sunday Roast” which was a regular programme on BBC Berkshire
Throughout these five decades Joe was touring regularly, playing up to 200 shows a year. In the early Seventies he formed Brown’s Home Brew which included his late wife Vicki and Joe Fagin they released two acclaimed albums and toured the UK twice. Joe has continued to headline his own tours as well co-headlining the hugely successful “Solid Gold” tours and with Marty Wilde in the nineties.
Since the new millennium Joe has been confounding people’s expectations of him on a regular basis. In 2002 he appeared at the Glastonbury Festival and endeared himself to the latest generation of rock fans. Later that year he won a brand new world-wide audience with his show-stopping appearance at “The Concert For George”, staged at London’s Royal Albert Hall in tribute to George Harrison with a stellar cast of musicians.
Joe was asked by Olivia Harrison & Eric Clapton to sing ‘Here Comes The Sun”, ‘That’s The Way It Goes’ and to close the show with ‘I’ll See You In My Dreams’, a favourite song of George’s. Joe describes the show as “the highlight of my career” and the DVD of the concert has now been certified many times Platinum in the USA whilst the film has also been shown around the world and continues to be repeated.
If Joe has any regrets, it’s that he hasn’t released enough records. Indeed between the mid Seventies and the early Nineties he scarcely released any. That changed when he took on new management and adopted a new approach in1990. He very soon had a new live album “Joe Brown Live “ released in 1990 and signed a publishing deal with Warner Chappell in Nashville in 1991 when he started going there to write songs for the country market.
That led to the release of the “Come On Joe” album in 1993, recorded at his own home studio, produced by his son Pete and featuring his touring band – guitarist Neil Gauntlett, bassist Rico Nilo and drummer Phil Capaldi. Come On Joe was followed closely by an ‘In Concert’ video and in 1997 "56 And Taller Than You Think”. His next studio album “On A Day Like This” was recorded in Nashville in 1998 and produced by Roger Cook with whom Joe would later write a musical about Skiffle which premiered in 2005. That same year Joe agreed a deal whereby his records would be released by Track Records, the first album released under this agreement being “Hittin’ The Hi Spots”. In recent years he has also released a live double album, an all instrumental album and a live performance DVD.
Next studio recording was “Down To Earth” and the next phase in Joe’s extraordinary career. As well as some strong cover recordings there were also a couple of his own that stand up tall against the illustrious covers. These also include Hoagy Carmichael’s ‘Lazybones’ that Joe learnt from George Harrison. “He loved Hoagy Carmichael. He used to play me his records all the time,” Joe says.
Meanwhile in the Autumn of 2005 Joe completed a 37 date British tour with special guest Sam Brown and a DVD of Down To Earth In The Studio was released in 2006. By Spring of 2007 Joe and the band had just finished a further 36 date solo tour with son Pete firmly in his band.
He completed a sold out 40 date tour in autumn 2007 and for those dates Joe was joined by another British icon....the one and only Dave Edmunds. The man who 'knew the bride when she used to rock n, roll', whose swagger and guitar genius saw him signed to Led Zeppelin's Swansong label and whose hits lit up the charts world-wide. Dave kept the rock beacon burning brightly with songs such as 'Girls Talk', ‘Queen Of Hearts’ and 'I Hear You Knocking' and still found time to work with Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Jeff Lynne and the Everly Brothers and many others.
Joe Brown and Dave Edmunds was a remarkable combination, a brilliant pairing of singer / songwriter / guitar heroes and an evening that was compulsory for anyone who calls themselves a music lover.
2008 was to be a special year – his 50th as a professional musician. The story went on and gathered momentum in a big way when Joe’s 50th Anniversary album released in February confounded certain peoples expectations by going Gold, selling over 125,000 copies in the UK and staying weeks on the chart with several weeks in the UK Top 20 and Joe was the undoubted star at the Mayor Of London’s St Patrick’s Day Concert in Trafalgar Square where with his band and three additional traditional Irish musicians he delighted an Irish crowd of several thousand braving the worst weather of the year.
In June Joe took his band and Special guest Sam Brown to Germany to perform three special concerts for several major Radio & TV stations as a result of the media interest in the Down To Earth release there, it marked his first official album release in over 40 years there. A new album Live In Germany containing performances form the radio tour was the result of that trip and was soon released. Later in 2008 his last studio album More Of The Truth was released and gathered more critical acclaim for the man from the 50’s who in 2008 was as contemporary as you could get and his 50th Anniversary Concert at The Royal Albert Hall in September 2008 was a complete sell out and featured guests such as Mark Knopfler, Jools Holland, Dennis Locorriere, Dave Edmunds, Chas ‘N’ Dave, his daughter Sam Brown and Sha Na Na founder Henry Gross whist his 50th Anniversary Autumn tour sold out tall he major theatre venues it visited here too.
This momentum on the live front continued In 2009 and in June Joe was awarded the coveted Outstanding Contribution to Music Award by MOJO Magazine which was presented to him by Mark Knopfler and two days later it was announced that he was to be awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
On top of the two earlier honours the USA instrument manufacturer KALA, in conjunction with Joe developed a special Joe Brown Signature Series Ukulele which is now available in stores or directly from Joe Brown Productions. They are beautiful instruments and come in various models, a very special higher end of the range series made from Koa & Spruce and a more accessibly priced Mahogany model. All models carry Joe’s signature.
Kala said when first approaching him that they could not think of a better ambassador for the Ukulele worldwide to represent their instrument and were delighted when Joe accepted and started to work with them on its development.
Latterly Joe has continued to break box office records and gain new supporters throughout 2009 and 2010 when having cropped up as a special guest on Bob Harris’ own 40th Anniversary programme for BBC Radio 2 Joe then completed his own UK tour and rounded off the year by joining fellow British institutions Status Quo in December for the arena section of their Quid Pro Quo tour. The response was terrific both at shows and on the Quo website where positive comments from their fan base ran into pages and pages for the 9 shows which Joe and the band performed with them.
Throughout 2011 Joe continued to show the way and his touring even as he moved into his 70’s would still put many a young band to shame . A show was filmed and recorded in Liverpool and the result was a DVD with bonus 2CD box set issued late last year called Live In Liverpool.
Towards Christmas 2011 Joe and the band were to be found recording a very special Ukulele based CD at British Grove, Mark Knopfler’s recording studio and then over Christmas and into January work has carried on at Joe’s own studio and this very special CD will be released in the UK in late Spring this year, 2012 will be another memorable year for Joe.
If Jools Holland’s Later and Hootenanny shows together with Glastonbury, Cropredy and Trowbridge Music Festivals all played their part in Joe’s rise and rise and a new international audience also found him via his stellar performance closing the Concert For George tribute with ‘I’ll See You In My Dreams’ then now this has gone one step further as Joe’s own original album version of I’ll See You In My Dreams recently featured worldwide in one of the hit TV CSI programmes.
Joe is, without doubt, a one off, a compelling and unique performer with a rare and singular track record, an extraordinary talent and a truly enduring Rock Legend – catch him while you can.
| i don't know |
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\facingp\widowctrl\ftnbj\aenddoc\pgnstart251\aftnnar\notabind\wraptrsp\transmf\truncatefontheight\subfontbysize\sprsbsp\wpjst\lytprtmet\hyphcaps0\viewkind4\viewscale100 \fet0\sectd \pgnrestart\pgnstarts251\linex0\headery1440\footery1440\sectdefaultcl {\footerl \pard\plain \sl-240\slmult0\nowidctlpar\adjustright \f16 { \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\kerning2 \par }\pard \sl-19\slmult0\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\lang1024\cgrid {\shp{\*\shpinst\shpleft1440\shptop0\shpright10800\shpbottom19\shpfhdr1\shpbxpage\shpbypara\shpwr3\shpwrk0\shpfblwtxt1\shpz0\shplockanchor\shplid2049{\sp{\sn shapeType}{\sv 1}}{\sp{\sn fFlipH}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fFlipV}{\sv 0}} {\sp{\sn fillColor}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fillBackColor}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fFilled}{\sv 1}}{\sp{\sn lineWidth}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fLine}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fShadow}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fBehindDocument}{\sv 1}}}{\shprslt{\*\do\dobxpage\dobypara\dodhgt0\dprect \dpx1440\dpy0\dpxsize9360\dpysize19\dpfillfgcr0\dpfillfgcg0\dpfillfgcb0\dpfillbgcr0\dpfillbgcg0\dpfillbgcb0\dpfillpat1\dplinehollow}}}}{\kerning2 \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\kerning2 \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tqr\tx9360\adjustright {\b\i\f18\fs28\kerning2 Page }{\field{\*\fldinst {\b\i\f18\fs28\kerning2 PAGE }}{\fldrslt {\b\i\f18\fs28\lang1024\kerning2 260}}}{\b\i\f18\fs28\kerning2 \tab Southeast Asia \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\b\i\f18\fs28\kerning2 \par }}{\footerr \pard\plain \sl-240\slmult0\nowidctlpar\adjustright \f16 { \par }\pard \sl-19\slmult0\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\lang1024\cgrid {\shp{\*\shpinst\shpleft1440\shptop0\shpright10800\shpbottom19\shpfhdr1\shpbxpage\shpbypara\shpwr3\shpwrk0\shpfblwtxt1\shpz1\shplockanchor\shplid2050{\sp{\sn shapeType}{\sv 1}}{\sp{\sn fFlipH}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fFlipV}{\sv 0}} {\sp{\sn fillColor}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fillBackColor}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fFilled}{\sv 1}}{\sp{\sn lineWidth}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fLine}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fShadow}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fBehindDocument}{\sv 1}}}{\shprslt{\*\do\dobxpage\dobypara\dodhgt1\dprect \dpx1440\dpy0\dpxsize9360\dpysize19\dpfillfgcr0\dpfillfgcg0\dpfillfgcb0\dpfillbgcr0\dpfillbgcg0\dpfillbgcb0\dpfillpat1\dplinehollow}}}}{\kerning2 \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\kerning2 \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tqr\tx9360\adjustright {\b\i\f18\fs28\kerning2 Southeast Asia\tab Page }{\field{\*\fldinst {\b\i\f18\fs28\kerning2 PAGE }}{\fldrslt {\b\i\f18\fs28\lang1024\kerning2 261}}}{\b\i\f18\fs28\kerning2 \par }}{\*\pnseclvl1\pnucrm\pnstart1\pnindent720\pnhang{\pntxta .}}{\*\pnseclvl2\pnucltr\pnstart1\pnindent720\pnhang{\pntxta .}}{\*\pnseclvl3\pndec\pnstart1\pnindent720\pnhang{\pntxta .}}{\*\pnseclvl4\pnlcltr\pnstart1\pnindent720\pnhang{\pntxta )}} {\*\pnseclvl5\pndec\pnstart1\pnindent720\pnhang{\pntxtb (}{\pntxta )}}{\*\pnseclvl6\pnlcltr\pnstart1\pnindent720\pnhang{\pntxtb (}{\pntxta )}}{\*\pnseclvl7\pnlcrm\pnstart1\pnindent720\pnhang{\pntxtb (}{\pntxta )}}{\*\pnseclvl8 \pnlcltr\pnstart1\pnindent720\pnhang{\pntxtb (}{\pntxta )}}{\*\pnseclvl9\pnlcrm\pnstart1\pnindent720\pnhang{\pntxtb (}{\pntxta )}}\pard\plain \nowidctlpar\tqc\tx4680\tx5760\adjustright \f16 {\b\fs33\kerning2 \tab Chapter 10 \par \tab Southeast Asia}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3267\tx6000\tx6390\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard\plain \s16\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3267\tx6000\tx6390\adjustright \b\f17\fs32 {\kerning2 Multiple Choice \par }\pard\plain \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3267\tx6000\tx6390\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard\plain \s16\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3267\tx6000\tx6390\adjustright \b\f17\fs32 {\kerning2 Introduction \par }\pard\plain \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \~1.}{\b\fs22\kerning2 \tab The most populated Southeast Asian nation is:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Malaysia\tab *B. Indonesia\tab C. Philippines \par D. Papua New Guinea\tab E. Laos \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \~2.}{\b\fs22\kerning2 \tab Which of the following is false?}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-381\li928\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. \tab Southeast Asia contains over 13,000 islands. \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *B. Thailand was a French colony. \par }\pard \fi-381\li928\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 C. \tab Southeast Asia contains some of the world\rquote s largest remaining stands of tropical forests. \par D. \tab Southeast Asia can be considered a buffer zone. \par E. \tab Southeast Asia can be considered a shatter belt. \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }{\b\f17\fs32\kerning2 Physical Geography}{\fs22\kerning2 \par \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \~3.}{\b\fs22\kerning2 \tab Southeast Asian physiography is dominated by:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-381\li928\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. \tab plateaus \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *B. mountains \par }\pard \fi-381\li928\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 C. \tab hills and basins \par D. \tab rolling plains \par E. \tab none of the above \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard\plain \s16\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright \b\f17\fs32 {\kerning2 Population Geography \par }\pard\plain \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \~4.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Which of the following statements is false? }{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-381\li928\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. \tab The Southeast Asian realm exhibits shatter belt characteristics. \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *B. Compared to neighboring regions, Southeast Asia has a high population density. \par }\pard \fi-381\li928\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 C. \tab The soils of mainland Southeast Asia are mostly leached. \par D. \tab Southeast Asia is very culturally fragmented. \par E. \tab All of the above are correct. \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \~5.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Southeast Asia, compared to the realm dominated by the Indian subcontinent, is:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *A. less densely populated \par }\pard \fi-381\li928\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 B. \tab more densely populated than India and possesses a much lower standard of living \par C. \tab very heavily urbanized, with sparse populations in the rural areas \par D. \tab entirely a remnant of the British colonial empire in Asia \par E. \tab much less affected by Chinese immigration \par \sect }\sectd \sbknone\linex0\headery1440\footery1440\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 \~6.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Several factors have combined to inhibit large-scale migrations of Chinese and Indian peoples into Southeast Asia. Identify the statement below which is not one of these factors.}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-381\li928\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. \tab There are densely forested hills and mountains along the border between India and Myanmar \par \tab (Burma). \par B. \tab North of Laos is the high Yunnan Plateau. \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *C. The large indigenous population makes the population pressure as high in Southeast Asia as \par }\pard \fi-381\li928\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \tab in the surrounding regions. \par D. \tab Much of the region is covered by dense tropical rainforest. \par E. \tab The realm is not an area of limitless agricultural possibilities. \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \~7.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 One of the reasons for the relatively small population in Southeast Asia is:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. the dry climate\tab *B. the topography in the north\tab C. the low rate of fertility\tab D. rice diets reduce the need for large families\tab E. none of the above \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \~8.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Half of Southeast Asia\rquote s population lives in which two countries?}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Indonesia and Laos\tab *B. Indonesia and the Phillippines\tab C. Vietnam and the Phillippines \par }\pard \fi-2850\li3397\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 D. Laos and Cambodia\tab E. Myanmar and Thailand \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \~9.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Large-scale population clusters in Southeast Asia exist in all but one of the following areas.}{\fs22\kerning2 }{ \b\fs22\kerning2 Which one?}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. valleys of major rivers\tab \tab B. deltas of major rivers \par C. zones of plantation development in Malaysia \par D. areas of volcanic soil in the islands\tab *E. interior highland regions \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 10. \tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Agriculture in Southeast Asia is limited by:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. desert conditions\tab B. permafrost\tab *C. leached soils \par D. severe dietary restrictions caused by food taboos\tab E. all of the above \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 11. \tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Which association is incorrect?}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Myanmar, Irrawaddy\tab B. Thailand, Chao Phraya\tab *C. Liao, Laos \par D. Mekong, southern Vietnam\tab \tab E. Red, northern Vietnam \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 12. \tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Which three groups are classified as Indonesian?}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-5784\li6331\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Indonesians, Singaporeans, Malayans\tab B. Indonesians, Thai, Burmese\tab *C. Indonesians, Malayans, Filipinos\tab D. Thai, Burmese, Hmong \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 E. Montagnards, Indonesians, Vietnamese \par \sect }\sectd \linex0\headery1440\footery1440\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \s16\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright \b\f17\fs32 {\kerning2 How the Political Map Evolved \par }\pard\plain \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 13.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 A country in Southeast Asia that remained, for the most part, a free state during the colonial era}{\fs22\kerning2 }{ \b\fs22\kerning2 was}{\fs22\kerning2 : \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Vietnam\tab *B. Thailand\tab C. Borneo \par D. Tonkin\tab E. Myanmar (Burma) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 14.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Which of the following was not a part of French Indochina?}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Tonkin \tab *B. Siam \tab C. Cambodia \par D. Laos \tab E. Vietnam \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 15. \tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Which of the following colonial associations is incorrect?}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Spain, Philippines\tab *B. France, Sumatera (Sumatra) \par }\pard \fi-2850\li3397\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 C. Dutch, Indonesia\tab D. France, Vietnam\tab E. Timur (Timor), Portugal \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 16. \tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Which of the following countries was once part of British India?}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Philippines\tab B. Sumatera (Sumatra)\tab *C. Myanmar \par D. Vietnam\tab E. Thailand \par }\pard \sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 17. \tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Which of the following was not colonized by the Dutch?}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Jawa\tab B. Sumatera (Sumatra)\tab C. Borneo \par D. Celebes\tab *E. Luzon \par }\pard \sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 18.}{\b\fs22\kerning2 \tab The Spanish were replaced in the Phillippines by the}{\fs22\kerning2 : \par }\pard \fi-2850\li3397\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. French\tab B. British \tab C. Dutch \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 D. Japanese\tab *E. Americans \par }\pard \sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 19.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 In 1965, _______ broke away from Malaysia and became the smallest political entity in Southeast Asia.}{ \fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *A. Singapore\tab B. Hong Kong\tab C. Shenzhen \par D. Brunei\tab E. Borneo \par }\pard \sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 20.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 _______ held onto eastern Timur (Timor) well after the Dutch left the East Indies}{\fs22\kerning2 . \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *A. Portugal\tab B. Spain\tab C. U.S. \par D. British\tab E. Japanese \par }\pard \sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 21.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The largest Muslim country in the world in terms of population is:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Egypt \tab B. Indochina \tab C. Pakistan \par *D. Indonesia \tab E. India \par }\pard \sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 22.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The group forming a significant part of the commercial class in Southeast Asia is the: }{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *A. Chinese\tab B. Tibetans\tab C. (Captain and) Tamils \par D. Jews\tab E. none of the above \par \sect }\sectd \linex0\headery1440\footery1440\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 23. \tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 In Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia, most of the people are:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *A. Buddhists\tab B. Hindu\tab C. Muslims \par D. Chinese\tab E. Indians \par }\pard \sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 24.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The dominant religion of both Indonesia and Malaysia is:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *A. Islam\tab B. Hinduism\tab C. Buddhism \par D. Christianity\tab E. Judaism \par }\pard \sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 25.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The \ldblquote Golden Triangle\rdblquote is located at the borders of:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *A. Myanmar (Burma), Laos, and Thailand \tab B. Vietnam, Laos, and China \par C. Indonesia, Laos, and Thailand\tab \par }\pard \fi-5784\li6331\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 D. Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos\tab E. Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam \par }\pard \sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par \par }\pard\plain \s16\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright \b\f17\fs32 {\kerning2 Southeast Asia\rquote s Political Geography \par }\pard\plain \sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 26.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The first stage in boundary evolution is:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. administration\tab *B. definition\tab C. delimitation \par D. demarcation\tab E. superimposition \par }\pard \sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 27.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 A boundary is actually marked on the ground during the stage called: }{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. administration\tab B. allocation (definition)\tab C. delimitation \par *D. demarcation\tab E. antecedence \par }\pard \sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6331\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 28.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The theory that indicates that destabilization in one area will eventually effect surrounding areas is:}{ \fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Vietnam syndrome\tab B. allocation theory\tab C. shatter belt theory \par *D. domino theory\tab E. forward capital theory \par }\pard \sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 29.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 An example of a relict boundary is the boundary between:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *A. North and South Vietnam\tab \tab B. North and South Korea\tab C. Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand\tab D. Somalia and Ethiopia\tab E. United States and Canada \par }\pard \sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 30.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 A boundary developing contemporaneously with a cultural landscape, and adjusting to linguistic,}{\fs22\kerning2 }{ \b\fs22\kerning2 religious, and ethnic breaks, is termed:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. superimposed\tab B. relict\tab C. antecedent \par *D. subsequent\tab E. irredentist \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 31.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 An antecedent boundary is:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *A. defined prior to settlement of an area\tab B. defined after an area is settled \par C. defined by an outside power, often dividing a formerly existing single political unit \par D. an example of a relict border\tab E. delimited but never defined \par \sect }\sectd \sbknone\linex0\headery1440\footery1440\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 32.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The genetic classification of boundaries (superimposed, subsequent, antecedent) relates the}{\fs22\kerning2 }{\b\fs22\kerning2 political boundary\rquote s creation to}{\fs22\kerning2 : \par }\pard \fi-381\li928\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. \tab its appearance on the map as straight, curved, or irregular \par B. \tab its length (or persistence) - whether it is an attenuated or abbreviated boundary \par C. \tab the physical landscape through which it lies - whether that landscape is uniform or complex \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *D. the stage of development of the cultural landscape in the boundary area at the time the \par }\pard \fi-381\li928\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \tab boundary was laid down \par E. \tab the degree of penetration of the boundary by roads, railroads, pipelines, etc. \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard\plain \s16\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright \b\f17\fs32 {\kerning2 Mainland Southeast Asia \par }\pard\plain \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 33.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 A country that is elongated is:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Cambodia\tab *B. Vietnam\tab C. Thailand \par D. Myanmar (Burma)\tab E. Laos \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 34.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Saigon is today named after the}{\fs22\kerning2 }{\b\fs22\kerning2 communist leader who founded modern Vietnam, a revolutionary named:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Kuala Lumpur \tab B. Kim Il Sung \tab *C. Ho Chi Minh \par D. Dien Bien Phu \tab E. Mao Zedong \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 35.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Cochin China was:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-381\li928\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. \tab based on the valley of the Mekong River and its fertile delta \par }\pard \li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *B. France\rquote s only true colony in Southeast Asia; the other political units of French Indochina \par }\pard \fi-381\li928\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \tab were protectorates \par C. \tab located adjacent to Thailand; hence Thailand\rquote s buffer function during the colonial period \par D. \tab part of the Netherlands\rquote colonial period \par E. \tab Britain\rquote s chief cochina-producing area in Southeast Asia \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 36.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Cochin China is today a part of:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. the Philippines\tab *B. Vietnam\tab C. Myanmar (Burma) \par D. Indonesia\tab E. Malaysia \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 37.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The power that lost at Dien Bien Phu in 1954 was the:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. United States\tab B. British\tab *C. French \par D. Japanese\tab E. all of the above \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 38.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Which city was the capital of North Vietnam before the 1976 reunification of}{\fs22\kerning2 }{\b\fs22\kerning2 the country?}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Phnom Penh\tab *B. Hanoi\tab C. Angkor Wat \par D. Brunei\tab E. Saigon \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 39.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Which country shares no common boundary with Vietnam? }{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Laos \tab *B. Thailand \tab C. Cambodia \par D. People\rquote s Republic of China\tab \tab E. All of the above \par \sect }\sectd \linex0\headery1440\footery1440\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 40.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 A country to which the U.S. sent about 500,000 troops in the 1960s and 1970s was:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Hong Kong\tab B. Myanmar (Burma)\tab C. Philippines \par *D. Vietnam\tab E. Cambodia\tab \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 41.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The two core areas of Vietnam are at:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Cochin China and Tonkin\tab \tab *B. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City\tab C. Singapore and Kuala Lumpur\tab D. Da Nang and Dien Bien Phu \par E. Vientiane and Phnom Penh \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 42. \tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The theory used by many in the United States to justify U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia is known as the:}{ \fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *A. domino theory\tab B. irredentist theory\tab C. rimland theory \par }\pard \li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 D. buffer state theory\tab E. none of the above \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 43.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The Southeast Asian nation that exhibits the greatest degree of compactness is:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Laos\tab *B. Cambodia\tab C. Thailand \par D. Papua New Guinea\tab E. Indonesia \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 44. \tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Angkor Wat is located in which country?}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Vietnam\tab *B. Cambodia\tab C. Laos \par D. Brunei\tab E. Indonesia \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 45.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The Khmer Rouge killed as many as 2 million people in an attempt to change the nature of: }{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Vietnam\tab *B. Cambodia\tab C. Laos \par D. Brunei\tab E. Indonesia \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 46.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The poorest nation in Indochina is}{\fs22\kerning2 : \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *A. Laos\tab B. Cambodia\tab C. Thailand \par D. Papua New Guinea\tab E. Indonesia \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 47.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Which of the following associations is false? }{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Philippines and Manila \tab B. Myanmar (Burma) and Yangon\tab C. Indonesia and Jakarta \tab *D. Laos and Haiphong\tab E. Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 48.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Three countries located on the Malay Peninsula are:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam\tab *B. Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma)\tab C. China, Korea, Malaysia\tab D. Malaysia, Korea, Tibet\tab E. Malaya, Indonesia, Singapore \par }\pard \sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 49.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The Southeast Asian nation that has a proruption is:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Laos\tab B. Cambodia\tab *C. Thailand \par D. Malaysia\tab E. Indonesia \par \sect }\sectd \linex0\headery1440\footery1440\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 50.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The Southeast Asian nation with the significant sex tourism industry is:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Laos\tab B. Cambodia\tab *C. Thailand \par D. Malaysia\tab E. Indonesia \par }\pard \sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 51.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The country that historically was called Siam is now called:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Laos\tab B. Cambodia\tab *C. Thailand \par D. Malaysia\tab E. Indonesia \par }\pard \sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 52.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Thailand\rquote s success is due to all but:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. fishing in the Gulf of Thailand\tab B. oil in the Gulf of Thailand \par *C. the best wheat production in southeast Asia\tab D. tourism \par E. production of \ldblquote Japanese\rdblquote cars \par }\pard \sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 53.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Which of the following colonial associations is false?}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Netherlands and Indonesia\tab *B. Spain and Thailand \tab C. France and Kampuchea \tab D. Great Britain and Myanmar (Burma)\tab E. Great Britain and Singapore \par }\pard \sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 54.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Which of the following associations is false?}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Indonesia and Islam \tab B. Philippines and Catholicism\tab C. Thailand and Buddhism \tab *D. Myanmar (Burma) and Hinduism\tab E. Malaysia and Islam \par }\pard \sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 55.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 An example of a country with a proruption is:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Cambodia\tab *B. Myanmar (Burma)\tab C. Vietnam \par D. Brunei\tab E. Malaysia \par }\pard \sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 56.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Which of the following is a former British colony?}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *A. Myanmar (Burma)\tab B. Thailand\tab C. Cambodia \par D. the Philippines\tab E. Senegal \par }\pard \sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 57.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The core area of Burma has moved south from __________.}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Mekong to Red\tab B. Red to Mekong\tab C. Haiphong to Hanoi \par *D. Mandalay to Rangoon\tab E. Myanmar to Bangkok \par }\pard \sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 58.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Which of the following rivers provides Myanmar (Burma) with its chief internal water route?}{ \fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Mekong\tab B. Red\tab C. Chao Phraya \par *D. Irrawaddy\tab E. Ganges \par }\pard \sl234\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard\plain \s16\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright \b\f17\fs32 {\kerning2 Insular Southeast Asia \par }\pard\plain \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 59.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Malays}{\fs22\kerning2 : \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *A. constitute over 50 percent of the population of Malaysia \par }\pard \fi-381\li928\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 B. \tab are traditionally urban-oriented \par C. \tab are divided by linguistic differences \par D. \tab are about 50 percent Muslim \par E. \tab recognize the Malaysian Chinese minority as a partner rather than a competitor \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par \sect }\sectd \sbknone\linex0\headery1440\footery1440\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 60.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The two eastern provinces of Malaysia are}{ \fs22\kerning2 : \par }\pard \fi-2850\li3397\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *A. Sarawak and Sabah\tab B. Borneo and Sumatera (Sumatra)C. Singapore and Malaya \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 D. Brunei and Sabah\tab E. Brunei and Singapore \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 61. \tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The world\rquote s tallest building is located in}{\fs22\kerning2 : \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Hainan\tab *B. Kuala Lumpur\tab C. Luzon \par D. Timur (Timor)\tab E. New Guinea \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 62. \tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The island identified in your text as a future Singapore is:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Hainan\tab *B. Pinang\tab C. Luzon \par D. Timur (Timor)\tab E. New Guinea \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 63. \tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Which of the following is one of the two Malaysian provinces on the island of Borneo?}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Luzon\tab B. Brunei\tab *C. Sarawak \par D. Hainan\tab E. Singapore \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 64.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The small oil rich Islamic sultanate in Southeast Asia is:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Indonesia\tab B. Singapore\tab *C. Brunei \par D. Thailand\tab E. Luzon \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 65.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Which of the following statements is false?}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-381\li928\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. \tab Malays constitute approximately half the population of Malaysia. \par B. \tab Malays adhere to the Muslim faith. \par C. \tab Malaysia has had serious racial problems between its Chinese and Malay populations. \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *D. Brunei is a semi\_autonomous subdivision of Malaysia. \par }\pard \fi-381\li928\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 E. \tab All of the above are correct. \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 66.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Which city is located closest to Southeast Asia\rquote s vitally important Strait of}{\fs22\kerning2 }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Malacca?}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Hong Kong\tab *B. Singapore\tab C. Bangkok \par D. Brunei\tab E. Beijing \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 67.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Singapore:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. was a British Colony\tab \tab B. has a large Chinese population\tab C. was once a part of Malaysia\tab D. is on a small island \par *E. all of the above \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 68.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Singapore}{\fs22\kerning2 : \par }\pard \fi-381\li928\sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. \tab became independent immediately after World War II \par }\pard \fi547\sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *B. is in southeast Asia, not East Asia \par }\pard \fi-381\li928\sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 C. \tab owes its prosperity to rich mineral resource reserves located beneath its offshore waters \par D. \tab has been a victim of disastrous governmental planning \par E. \tab was administered by the Dutch until 1965 \par }\pard \sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par \sect }\sectd \sbknone\linex0\headery1440\footery1440\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \fi-547\li547\sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 69.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Which of the following statements is false?}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *A. Singapore was granted its independence in 1925 by the Netherlands. \par }\pard \fi-381\li928\sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 B. \tab Singapore is Southeast Asia\rquote s smallest state in terms of population and land territory. \par C. \tab Singapore is an excellent example of an entrep\'f4t. \par D. \tab Singapore is one of the \ldblquote Four Tigers of the Orient.\rdblquote \par E. \tab All of the above are correct. \par }\pard \sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 70.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The ethnic group that accounts for over 75 percent of Singapore\rquote s population are the:}{ \fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Hindus \tab *B. Chinese\tab C. Singhs \par D. Khmers \tab E. Malays \par }\pard \sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 71.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 An archipelago is:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *A. a chain of islands\tab B. an elongated state\tab C. a state with two proruption \par D. best exemplified by Laos\tab E. a divided state on the mainland\tab \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 72.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Which of the following nations and territorial morphology types are paired incorrectly?}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *A. Indonesia - prorupt\tab B. Cambodia - compact\tab C. Thailand - prorupt \par D. Philippines - fragmented\tab E. Myanmar (Burma) - prorupt\tab \par }\pard \sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 73. \tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The Dutch:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *A. were ruthless in their exploitation of the East Indies \par }\pard \fi-381\li928\sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 B. \tab colonized Brunei \par C. \tab moved into Timur (Timor) in 1976\tab \par D. \tab discovered large coal deposits in Indonesia \par E. \tab chose Sumatera (Sumatra) as their headquarters \par }\pard \sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 74.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Indonesia is a state located:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. on two major islands\tab \tab B. on more than 13,000 islands \par C. on both the Asian mainland and the island of Borneo\tab \par D. between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean\tab *E. B and D above \par }\pard \sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 75.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Which of the following statements is false? }{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-381\li928\sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. \tab Indonesia is a fragmented state. \par }\pard \fi547\sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *B. Indonesia\rquote s population is small and spread out evenly over the country\rquote s land area. \par }\pard \fi-928\li928\sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \tab C. \tab The island of New Guinea contains not only part of the land area of Indonesia, but the \par }\pard \fi-381\li928\sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \tab independent state of Papua New Guinea as well. \par D. \tab The Molucca Islands are part of Indonesia. \par E. \tab All of the above are correct. \par }\pard \sl232\slmult1\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 76.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Most of the population of Indonesia is on the Island of:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Sulawesi\tab B. Singapore\tab *C. Jawa \par D. Kalimantan\tab E. Timur (Timor) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 77.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The long-time ruler of Indonesia who recently left power is: }{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Sukarno\tab B. Ho Chi Minh\tab *C. Suharto \par D. Kalimantan\tab E. Timur (Timor) \par \sect }\sectd \sbknone\linex0\headery1440\footery1440\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 78. \tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The island of ________ is one of the world \rquote s most densely settled and intensively cultivated areas.}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Singapore\tab B. Brunei\tab C. Sumatera (Sumatra) \par D. Luzon\tab *E. Jawa (Java) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 79. \tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The island of ________ is the largest and westernmost island of Indonesia.}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Singapore\tab B. Borneo\tab *C. Sumatera (Sumatra) \par D. Luzon\tab E. Jawa (Java) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 80. \tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The island of ________ is the Indonesian island that borders the Straits of Malacca. }{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Sulawesi\tab B. Borneo\tab *C. Sumatera (Sumatra) \par D. Luzon\tab E. Jawa (Java) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 81. \tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The island of ________ is the Indonesian island that is identified as a minicontinent.}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Sulawesi\tab B. Borneo\tab C. Sumatera (Sumatra) \par D. Luzon\tab *E. Jawa (Java) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 82. \tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The Indonesian portion of the island of ________ is known as Kalimantan}{\fs22\kerning2 . \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Sulawesi\tab *B. Borneo\tab C. Sumatera (Sumatra) \par D. Luzon\tab E. Jawa (Java) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 83. \tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The Indonesian island of ________ is that has only 15 million population, and is the last refuge of many animal is:}{ \fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Sulawesi\tab *B. Borneo\tab C. Sumatera (Sumatra) \par D. Luzon\tab E. Jawa (Java) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 84. \tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The Indonesian island of ________ contains the Minahasa Peninsula, an area that sided with the Dutch during Indonesia \rquote s liberation from colonial rule.}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *A. Sulawesi\tab B. Borneo\tab C. Sumatera (Sumatra) \par D. Luzon\tab E. Jawa (Java) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 85.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The island of ________ contains the Indone sian province of West Irian Jaya. The indigenous peoples of this island are Papuans. }{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *A. New Guinea\tab B. Borneo\tab C. Sumatera (Sumatra) \par D. Luzon\tab E. Jawa (Java) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 86.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 _______ became an Indonesian province following a referendum}{\fs22\kerning2 . \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. New Guinea\tab *B. West Irian Jaya\tab C. Sumatera (Sumatra) \par D. Luzon\tab E. Jawa (Java) \par \sect }\sectd \linex0\headery1440\footery1440\sectdefaultcl {\footerl \pard\plain \sl-240\slmult0\nowidctlpar\adjustright \f16 { \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\kerning2 \par }\pard \sl-19\slmult0\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\lang1024\cgrid {\shp{\*\shpinst\shpleft1440\shptop0\shpright10800\shpbottom19\shpfhdr1\shpbxpage\shpbypara\shpwr3\shpwrk0\shpfblwtxt1\shpz2\shplockanchor\shplid2051{\sp{\sn shapeType}{\sv 1}}{\sp{\sn fFlipH}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fFlipV}{\sv 0}} {\sp{\sn fillColor}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fillBackColor}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fFilled}{\sv 1}}{\sp{\sn lineWidth}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fLine}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fShadow}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fBehindDocument}{\sv 1}}}{\shprslt{\*\do\dobxpage\dobypara\dodhgt2\dprect \dpx1440\dpy0\dpxsize9360\dpysize19\dpfillfgcr0\dpfillfgcg0\dpfillfgcb0\dpfillbgcr0\dpfillbgcg0\dpfillbgcb0\dpfillpat1\dplinehollow}}}}{\kerning2 \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\kerning2 \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tqr\tx9360\adjustright {\b\i\f18\fs28\kerning2 Page }{\field{\*\fldinst {\b\i\f18\fs28\kerning2 PAGE }}{\fldrslt {\b\i\f18\fs28\lang1024\kerning2 266}}}{\b\i\f18\fs28\kerning2 \tab Southeast Asia \par }}{\footerr \pard\plain \sl-240\slmult0\nowidctlpar\adjustright \f16 { \par }\pard \sl-19\slmult0\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\lang1024\cgrid {\shp{\*\shpinst\shpleft1440\shptop0\shpright10800\shpbottom19\shpfhdr1\shpbxpage\shpbypara\shpwr3\shpwrk0\shpfblwtxt1\shpz3\shplockanchor\shplid2052{\sp{\sn shapeType}{\sv 1}}{\sp{\sn fFlipH}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fFlipV}{\sv 0}} {\sp{\sn fillColor}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fillBackColor}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fFilled}{\sv 1}}{\sp{\sn lineWidth}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fLine}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fShadow}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fBehindDocument}{\sv 1}}}{\shprslt{\*\do\dobxpage\dobypara\dodhgt3\dprect \dpx1440\dpy0\dpxsize9360\dpysize19\dpfillfgcr0\dpfillfgcg0\dpfillfgcb0\dpfillbgcr0\dpfillbgcg0\dpfillbgcb0\dpfillpat1\dplinehollow}}}}{\kerning2 \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\kerning2 \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tqr\tx9360\adjustright {\b\i\f18\fs28\kerning2 Southeast Asia\tab Page }{\field{\*\fldinst {\b\i\f18\fs28\kerning2 PAGE }}{\fldrslt {\b\i\f18\fs28\lang1024\kerning2 267}}}{\b\i\f18\fs28\kerning2 \par }}\pard\plain \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 87.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 National unity in Indonesia is threatened by all but one of the following factors. Identify the incorrect one. }{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-381\li928\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. \tab Cultural differences are perpetuated by wide waters and high mountains. \par B. \tab Political centrifugal forces have been strong. \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *C. Underdevelopment due to lack of resources has increased discontent. \par }\pard \fi-381\li928\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 D. \tab Over 250 individual languages are spoken. \par E. \tab Indonesians are made up of about 30 discrete ethnic clusters. \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 88.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The policy of the Indonesian government to induce Jawanese to move to other islands is called:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. transfer\tab *B. transmigration\tab C. Indonesiation \par D. Jawanization\tab E. ethnic cleansing \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 89.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The Southeast Asian nation that came under U.S. control was:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Myanmar (Burma)\tab *B. Philippines\tab C. Brunei \par D. Laos\tab E. Borneo \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 90.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The two main islands in the Philippines:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *A. Mindanao and Luzon\tab B. Borneo and Celebes\tab C. Singapore and Brunei \par D. Timur (Timor) and Jawa\tab E. Sulawesi and Formosa \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 91.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The language most commonly spoken in the Philippines today is:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 *A. Visayan\tab B. Chinese\tab C. Tagalog \par D. Japanese\tab E. Malay \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 92.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 Which of the following is not a group that has entered Philippine history?}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Muslims\tab B. Malays\tab C. Indonesians \par D. Americans\tab *E. Peruvians \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 93.\tab }{\b\fs22\kerning2 The main religion in the Philippines is:}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Buddhism\tab B. Islam\tab C. Hinduism \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\brdrb\brdrs\brdrw30\brsp20 \tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 D. Methodism\tab *E. Roman Catholicism \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tqc\tx4680\tx5760\adjustright {\b\fs33\kerning2 \tab Chapter 10 \par \tab Southeast Asia}{\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard\plain \s16\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \b\f17\fs32 {\kerning2 True-False \par }\pard\plain \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard\plain \s16\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \b\f17\fs32 {\kerning2 Introduction \par }\pard\plain \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \~1.\tab Mainland Southeast Asia is divided into ten political entities. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \~2.\tab The city commanding access to the strategic Strait of Malacca is }{\kerning2 Xianggang}{\fs22\kerning2 (Hong Kong). (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \~3.\tab No large areas of tropical rainforest remain in Southeast Asia. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \~4.\tab Like Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia is a region of great cultural complexity that merits the label shatter belt. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \~5.\tab Thailand was the only country to remain free from colonial rule in Southeast Asia. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \~6.\tab Southeast Asia can be considered a buffer zone and a shatter belt. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }{\b\f17\fs32\kerning2 Physical Geography}{\fs22\kerning2 \par \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \~7.\tab Much of Southeast Asia is mountainous. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \~8.\tab Many of Southeast Asia\rquote s major rivers rise in the Asian interior and flow through alluvial plains to the sea. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \~9.\tab The Pacific Rim is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par \par }\pard\plain \s16\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \b\f17\fs32 {\kerning2 Population Geography \par }\pard\plain \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 10.\tab The total population of Southeast Asia is relatively modest compared to the populations of India and China. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 11.\tab Thailand and Vietnam are often able to export large quantities of rice. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 12.\tab The population of Southeast Asia tends to be evenly spread over the realm\rquote s fragmented land area. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 13.\tab Southeast Asia, on average, is more densely populated and even less able to feed its people than India and China. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par \sect }\sectd \sbknone\linex0\headery1440\footery1440\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 14.\tab People in Southeast Asia have agglomerated into three types of areas: river valleys and deltas, volcanic soils, and plantation zones. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 15.\tab The island of Jawa (Java) is one of the world\rquote s most intensively cultivated areas, owing to its rich volcanic soils. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 16.\tab The mountains to the north of mainland Southeast Asia have hindered travel into the region. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 17.\tab Except in certain areas, the soils of mainland Southeast Asia are wind-blown loess deposits. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 18.\tab The \ldblquote Golden Triangle\rdblquote is an area where cocaine derivatives are harvested. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 19.\tab Of Southeast Asia\rquote s 529 million population, more than half live in either Indonesia or the Philippines. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 20.\tab The Khmer people form the majority of the population in Cambodia. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 21.\tab Malays are Muslims. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 22.\tab Ethnic strife continues to plague Myanmar with the Shan and Karen peoples challenging the authority of the central government. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 23.\tab The Filipinos, Malays, and Indonesians are all Indonesians, although they are now divided by history and politics. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard\plain \s16\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \b\f17\fs32 {\kerning2 How the Political Map Evolved \par }\pard\plain \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 24.\tab From French Indochina, came the three states of Vietnam, Malaya, and Laos. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 25.\tab Burma received its independence from India in 1955. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 26.\tab The term Malaysia refers to only those former British protectorates on the mainland. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 27.\tab The United States acquired the Philippines at the end of World War II. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 28.\tab The Philippines became independent in 1976. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 29.\tab The Hollanders took control of the \ldblquote Spice Islands\rdblquote of what is today Indonesia through the Dutch West India Company. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 30.\tab Dutch colonialism eventually united over 13,000 islands into one state. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 31.\tab The Philippines came under American rule as a result of the 1898 Spanish-American War. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par \sect }\sectd \sbknone\linex0\headery1440\footery1440\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 32.\tab The Philippines\rquote last colonial master, which granted the country independence in 1946, was the United States. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 33.\tab At the end of World War II there were no independent countries in Southeast Asia. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par 34. \tab The Dutch took control of Laos. (F) \par \par 35.\tab The British colonized much of the Malayan Peninsula. (F) \par \par 36. \tab The island of Singapore was a British colony. (T) \par \par 37. \tab Brunei achieved independence by revolting against Indonesian rule. (F) \par \par 38. \tab Jawa (Java) is the most populous Indonesian Island. (T) \par \par 39. \tab Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia. (T) \par \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 40.\tab Indonesia is the world\rquote s most populous Muslim country. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 41.\tab The dominant religion of both Indonesia and Malaysia is Islam. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 42.\tab Nearly half of Indonesia\rquote s people were converted to the Muslim faith. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 43.\tab Only two states in Southeast Asia have Chinese minorities. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 44.\tab The arrival of the Europeans to Southeast Asia was initially a great disadvantage to the Chinese. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par 45. \tab In Singapore, the Chinese are about 78 percent of the population. (T) \par \par 46. \tab In Myanmar (Burma), only 1 percent of the population is Chinese. (T) \par \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 47. \tab Since the withdrawal of the Europeans from Southeast Asia, the Chinese have become the major targets of antagonism. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par 48. \tab Most of the Philippines is Roman Catholic, having been a colony of Spain. (T) \par \par \par }\pard\plain \s16\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \b\f17\fs32 {\kerning2 Southeast Asia\rquote s Political Geography \par }\pard\plain \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 49.\tab In boundary creation, the delimitation stage precedes the demarcation stage. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par 50. \tab The processes that cause a state to fail are referred to as processes of devolution. (T) \par \par 51. \tab The first stage in boundary evolution is called definition. (T) \par \par \sect }\sectd \sbknone\linex0\headery1440\footery1440\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 52. \tab Antecedent bou ndaries are decided before significant settlement of an area occurs. (T) \par \par 53. \tab Subsequent boundaries are decided after significant settlement of an area occurs. (T) \par \par 54. \tab The boundary between Singapore and Malaysia is known as a relict boundary. (F) \par \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 55. \tab The boundary between West Irian (Indonesia) and Papua New Guinea is superimposed and geometric. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard\plain \s16\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \b\f17\fs32 {\kerning2 Mainland Southeast Asia \par }\pard\plain \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 56.\tab Vietnam constitutes an elongated state. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 57.\tab The three administrative divisions of French Indochina which are now unified as Vietnam were Cochin China, Annam, and Tonkin. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 58.\tab Cochin China was the name of the French colonial stronghold centered on the Mekong Delta of the former country of South Vietnam. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par 59. \tab More than half of Vietnam\rquote s population was born after the Indochina War. (T) \par \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 60.\tab North and South Vietnam were united in 1976. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 61. \tab Ho Chi Minh City is called Saigon by almost all of its inhabitants. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 62. \tab The Domino Theory relates to the notion that people in country A try to get their ethnic brothers in country B to revolt against the rule of country B and become part of country A. When this happens, a domino falls. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 63. \tab About 2 million boat people left Southeast Asia, but more than half perished from storms, exposure, pirates, starvation, and sinkings. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 64. \tab Vietnam feeds its own population and exports rice. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 65.\tab The embargo against Vietnam is tightening in the 1990s. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 66. \tab Hanoi has chosen to keep its communist political system while opting for market economics. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 67.\tab Saigon and the south of Vietnam are ahead of Hanoi and the north in an economic sense. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 68.\tab Vietnam has more than one core area. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 69.\tab Cambodia is a good example of an elongated state. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par \sect }\sectd \sbknone\linex0\headery1440\footery1440\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 70. \tab Angkor Wat is located in Laos. (F) \par \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 71.\tab Cambodia was once called Mekong and was ruled by a democratic government until 1970. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par 72. \tab Laos is Southeast Asia\rquote s only landlocked country. (T) \par \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 73.\tab In their effort to reconstruct Cambodia as a rural society, the Khmer Rouge killed as many as two million people in the mid-1970s. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 74.\tab The population of Thailand is about 12 percent Chinese. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 75.\tab Bangkok is know as the Paris of Southeast Asia because of its fashion industry. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 76. \tab In Thailand, many klongs are today filled in and serve as roadways (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 77. \tab The heart of Thailand is in the Chao Phraya River basin. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 78. \tab Thailand is a major rice exporter. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 79. \tab Many Japanese cars are actually made in Thailand. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 80.\tab The sex industry is an important part of tourism in Thailand. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 81. \tab Burma, unlike other Southeast Asian nations, has no ethnic minorities. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 82. \tab The Irrawady River is the major core area in Cambodia. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par 83.\tab Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand are both classic examples of a prorupt state. (T) \par \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 84.\tab Because of its rich petroleum reserves, Myanmar (Burma) is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 85.\tab The Irrawady connects the Mandalay core area with the Rangoon (Yangon) core area. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 86.\tab Myanmar is one of the world\rquote s largest exporters of opium poppies. (T) \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 87.\tab British administration in Myanmar (Burma) led to the growth of the Indian population. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tqc\tx4680\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 88.\tab The Karens, a people living in the proruption of Burma, wish to create an autonomous area within Burma. (T) \tab \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard\plain \s16\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \b\f17\fs32 {\kerning2 Insular Southeast Asia \par }\pard\plain \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 89.\tab 35 percent of the population of Malaysia is Chinese. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par \sect }\sectd \sbknone\linex0\headery1440\footery1440\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 90.\tab The Chinese in Malaysia form much of the merchant class. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 91. \tab In World War II, the Japanese treated the Chinese with ruthless persecution. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 92. \tab Malaysia\rquote s economy has grown significantly since the 1980s. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 93. \tab The Straits of Malacca are one of the world's busiest and most strategic waterways. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 94. \tab East Malaysia includes Sarawak and Sabah. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 95. \tab Pinang is identified in your textbook as a possible new Singapore. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par 96. \tab Singapore lies on the Straits of Malacca. (T) \par \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 97. \tab Singapore is hoping to attract Chinese leaving Hong Kong when the People\rquote s Republic takes over. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 98.\tab People of Chinese descent are a majority of the population of Singapore. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 99.\tab In Singapore, the Chinese constitute more than 75 percent of the population. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 100.\tab Singapore has an authoritarian government and a market economy. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 101.\tab A state whose national territory consists of two or more separated parts is prorupt. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 102.\tab The island of Jawa (Java) became the focus of Netherlands administration in Southeast Asia. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 103.\tab Indonesia is spread across some 13,000 islands. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 104. \tab The five large islands in Indonesia are Luzon, Mindanao, Pinang, Singapore, and Jawa (Java). (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 105. \tab Indonesia has more than 300 ethnic clusters, 250 different languages and many different religions. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 106. \tab The island of Bali is known for its Bali dancers. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 107. \tab The Dutch were the model for benevolent colonialism in Indonesia. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 108. \tab Timur (Timor) was taken by Indonesia in 1976 after having been a French possession. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 109. \tab Indonesia has a policy of transmigration which involves the resettlement of Jawanese to other islands. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 110.\tab About 120 million people live on the island of Jawa (Java). (T) \par \sect }\sectd \sbknone\linex0\headery1440\footery1440\sectdefaultcl {\footerl \pard\plain \nowidctlpar\adjustright \f16 { \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\kerning2 \par }\pard \sl-19\slmult0\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\lang1024\cgrid {\shp{\*\shpinst\shpleft1440\shptop0\shpright10800\shpbottom19\shpfhdr1\shpbxpage\shpbypara\shpwr3\shpwrk0\shpfblwtxt1\shpz4\shplockanchor\shplid2053{\sp{\sn shapeType}{\sv 1}}{\sp{\sn fFlipH}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fFlipV}{\sv 0}} {\sp{\sn fillColor}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fillBackColor}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fFilled}{\sv 1}}{\sp{\sn lineWidth}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fLine}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fShadow}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fBehindDocument}{\sv 1}}}{\shprslt{\*\do\dobxpage\dobypara\dodhgt4\dprect \dpx1440\dpy0\dpxsize9360\dpysize19\dpfillfgcr0\dpfillfgcg0\dpfillfgcb0\dpfillbgcr0\dpfillbgcg0\dpfillbgcb0\dpfillpat1\dplinehollow}}}}{\kerning2 \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\kerning2 \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tqr\tx9360\adjustright {\b\i\f18\fs28\kerning2 Page }{\field{\*\fldinst {\b\i\f18\fs28\kerning2 PAGE }}{\fldrslt {\b\i\f18\fs28\lang1024\kerning2 268}}}{\b\i\f18\fs28\kerning2 \tab Southeast Asia \par }}{\footerr \pard\plain \nowidctlpar\adjustright \f16 { \par }\pard \sl-19\slmult0\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\lang1024\cgrid {\shp{\*\shpinst\shpleft1440\shptop0\shpright10800\shpbottom19\shpfhdr1\shpbxpage\shpbypara\shpwr3\shpwrk0\shpfblwtxt1\shpz5\shplockanchor\shplid2054{\sp{\sn shapeType}{\sv 1}}{\sp{\sn fFlipH}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fFlipV}{\sv 0}} {\sp{\sn fillColor}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fillBackColor}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fFilled}{\sv 1}}{\sp{\sn lineWidth}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fLine}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fShadow}{\sv 0}}{\sp{\sn fBehindDocument}{\sv 1}}}{\shprslt{\*\do\dobxpage\dobypara\dodhgt5\dprect \dpx1440\dpy0\dpxsize9360\dpysize19\dpfillfgcr0\dpfillfgcg0\dpfillfgcb0\dpfillbgcr0\dpfillbgcg0\dpfillbgcb0\dpfillpat1\dplinehollow}}}}{\kerning2 \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\kerning2 \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tqr\tx9360\adjustright {\b\i\f18\fs28\kerning2 Southeast Asia\tab Page }{\field{\*\fldinst {\b\i\f18\fs28\kerning2 PAGE }}{\fldrslt {\b\i\f18\fs28\lang1024\kerning2 269}}}{\b\i\f18\fs28\kerning2 \par }}\pard\plain \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 111. \tab Wages in Indonesia are even below those in Malaysia, Thailand, and China. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 112. \tab Brunei today is one of the largest oil producers in the British Commonwealth. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 113.\tab The small oil producing country in Southeast Asia is Singapore. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 114.\tab Manila is located on the island of Mindanao. (F) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 115.\tab Visayan is the most commonly spoken language in the Philippines. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 116.\tab There is a Muslim-based insurgency in the southern islands of Indonesia. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 117.\tab The two largest islands in the Philippines are Luzon and Mindanao. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 118.\tab The Philippines has not been one of the major centers of development on the Pacific Rim. (T) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard\plain \s16\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \b\f17\fs32 {\kerning2 Matching \par }\pard\plain \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 119.\tab The official language of the Republic of the Philippines (E) \par 120.\tab A boundary forcibly placed upon a landscape without regard for cultural patterns (B) \par 121.\tab A temple of world renown which was built under the supervision of Suryavarman II in what is now Cambodia (C) \par 122.\tab A group of non-Vietnamese people who under French colonial rule lived in Vietnam's highlands at subsistence levels (A) \par 123.\tab A state with a lengthy land extension in the form of a peninsula or landlocked corridor (D) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Montagnards \par B. Superimposed \par C. Angkor Wat \par D. Elongated \par E. Tagalog \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 124.\tab Southeast Asia\rquote s only landlocked country (A) \par 125.\tab An oil-exporting Islamic Sultanate in Southeast Asia (D)\tab \par 126.\tab An island state (B) \par 127.\tab A region caught between strong external cultural-political forces (C) \par 128.\tab Binding or uniting forces in a state (E) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Laos \par B. Singapore \par C. shatter belt \par D. Brunei\tab \par E. centripetal \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par \sect }\sectd \linex0\headery1440\footery1440\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 129.\tab Largest Muslim country (A) \par 130.\tab Prorupt (D) \par 131.\tab Northeastern neighbor of Thailand (C) \par 132.\tab Compact (B) \par 133.\tab Tagalog speakers (E) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Indonesia \par B. Cambodia \par C. Laos \par D. Thailand \par E. Philippines \par }\pard \fi2880\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 134.\tab Achieved independence in 1984 (C) \par 135.\tab Angkor Wat ruins (E) \par 136.\tab Chao Phraya core area (D) \par 137.\tab Irrawaddy Delta (A) \par 138.\tab Contains Mekong Delta (B) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 A. Myanmar (Burma) \par B. Vietnam \par C. Brunei \par D. Thailand \par E. Cambodia \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par \par }\pard\plain \s16\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \b\f17\fs32 {\kerning2 Fill Ins \par }\pard\plain \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright \f16 {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 139.\tab The boundary\_ type that is defined and delimited before the main elements of its cultural landscape begin to develop, is known as ____________. (an antecedent boundary) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 140.\tab The Communist leader who founded modern North Vietnam and after whom the capital o f reunited Vietnam (formerly Saigon) was renamed in 1976, was __________. (Ho Chi Minh) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 141.\tab Both Thailand and Myanmar (Burma) are examples of states whose territorial morphologies can be classified as __________. (prorupt) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 142.\tab Countries such as the Phi lippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia, whose territory consists of numerous parts separated by water and/or foreign territory, are called __________ states by political geographers. (fragmented) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \fi-547\li547\nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 143.\tab The most important island of the Philippines, which contains the capital of Manila, is called __________. (Luzon) \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1440\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx2880\tx5760\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx-1080\tx-720\tx0\tx547\tx928\tx3397\tx6300\adjustright {\fs22\kerning2 \par }}
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands |
Who plays Kincade the estate gamekeeper in the Bond film Skyfall? | Britain to Lose Gibraltar and the Falklands?
By COGwriter
In the past several decades, two of the United Kingdom's remaining 'sea gates,' Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands, have been in the news as other governments want them.
It got so serious that in 1982, Argentina sent its military to attempt to claim the Falkland Islands for itself.
Will the UK to Lose Gibraltar and the Falklands?
What do political leaders say? What does Bible prophecy show? A related YouTube video would be Will the UK Lose Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands?
David Cameron Says Britain Will Defend the Falklands
Before going further, let us look at how Dictionary.com defines a sea gate (viewed 08/05/2013):
sea gate noun a navigable channel giving access to the sea.
That is part of the definition. But for the purposes of this article, my use of sea gate implies that that some government has the land and thus is able to exert at least some control over the channel that is near that land. Such as, for example, how the UK can control access (to a degree) in and out of the Mediterranean Sea with the peninsula of Gibraltar.
Britain's Prime Minister has made statements concerning the sea gates Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands.
Notice the following news report related to the Falkland Islands:
The UK’s Prime Minister David Cameron made a claim about defending one of the UK’s remaining sea gates, the Falkland Islands:
David Cameron: we would fight a Falklands invasion
Britain is prepared to defend the Falkland Islands with military force if Argentina launched another invasion, David Cameron has said. (January 6, 2013)( thttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9783568/David-Cameron-we-would-fight-a-Falklands-invasion.html )
January 13, 2013
Military chiefs have drawn up plans for a 'show of force' to warn Argentina against hostile action over the Falkland Islands...
Just last week the Mr Cameron insisted that Britain would not shirk from defending the islands if Argentina attempted another invasion.
Referring to a recent briefing on the Falklands at a National Security Council meeting, the Prime Minister said: 'I get regular reports on this entire issue because I want to know that our defences are strong, our resolve is extremely strong.
'We have strong defences in place on the Falkland Islands, that is absolutely key, that we have fast jets stationed there, we have troops stationed on the Falklands.'
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence, said: 'Our overall military posture on the Falkland Islands remains unchanged and they remain well-defended. (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2261616/Britain-set-military-presence-Falkland-Islands.html#ixzz2b7THKaaV )
The war for the Falkland Islands was from 2 April 1982 – 14 June 1982. The Falkland Islands are located in the South Atlantic Ocean on a projection of the Patagonian Shelf about 310 miles (500 kilometers) east of the Patagonian/Argentinian coastline. They consist of two main islands, East Falkland and West Falkland, along with about 700 smaller islands. Stanley, which is on East Falkland, is the capital and largest city. Less than 3,000 people live on them. Argentinians refer to the islands as the Malvinas. Here is a link to an article with a map picture of the Falkland Islands: Falklander Islanders overwhelmingly vote to remain British, but Argentina does not care .
The UK has controlled the Falkland Islands since the 1830's and most who live there want to remain under British rule.
Notice also:
March 25, 2015
The U.K. has sent extra military support to one of its overseas colonies at the bottom of the world, the Falkland Islands, amid concerns that it is facing increased risk of attack from Argentina, backed by Russia.
Two troop-carrying Chinook helicopters and a new surface-to-air missile system have been sent by the U.K. to the remote islands in the South Atlantic, known as Las Malvinas in Argentina . ...
Left-leaning President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, struggling with a debt crisis at home, has also recently brought the islands back to attention. She said late last year: "The Malvinas has always belonged to Argentina, the same way that Crimea also belonged to the Soviet Union until it was given to Ukraine." http://www.cnbc.com/id/102534017#.
March 25, 2015
Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, said the islands will be ready to repel “any potential threat” after reports the Kremlin is preparing to lease 12 Su-24 long range bombers to Buenos Aires in exchange for beef and wheat.
It came as Russia questioned the legitimacy of Britain’s claim to the islands.
Alexander Yakovenko, the Russian ambassador in London, compared the referendum held in 2013 that found 99.8% of the Falkland Islanders wanted to remain a British territory to that held in Crimea last year.
The snap Crimean poll, used to justify Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula, has been widely seen as a sham. ...
The Russian riposte follows weeks of rhetoric from pro-Kremlin newspapers and leading Russian MPs denouncing Britain’s “colonial occupation” of the islands, dubbed the “Crimea of the Atlantic.”
Alexei Pushkov, the head of the Duma’s committee of international affairs, tweeted, “Information for London: Crimea has immeasurably more reason to be a part of Russia than the Falkland Islands to be part of the UK.”
Cristina de Kirchner, the Argentine president, has also backed Mr. Putin.
“The Malvinas has always belonged to Argentina, the same way that Crimea also belonged to the Soviet Union until it was given to Ukraine,” she said last year.
The Kremlin’s reported deal with her government will ease the pressure on Russia’s food supply as a result of western sanctions, and comes alongside arms deals with Venezuela, Bolivia and Peru. http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/03/25/fearing-russia-may-be-arming-argentina-britain-beefs-up-falkland-islands-defences/
The UK wants to keep the Falklands, but the Argentineans want them back. Argentina wants them back so much that it even put a drawing of them on one of its bank notes with the (translated) words “Malvinas Islands, a sovereign love” (see also Argentina to release 50 peso note declaring ‘sovereign love’ for the Falklands ).
Argentinian 50 Peso Note
The above note is a reminder to the Argentinians that they consider the Falkland Islands their territory. Despite UK claims.
David Cameron Insists Gibraltar's Status Will Not Change
There are also concerns about Gibraltar as Spain wants it back:
August 5, 2013
Prime Minister David Cameron is "seriously concerned" about the escalation of tensions at the Spanish-Gibraltarian border.
Spain has said it is considering a range of proposals including a new 50 euro (£43) fee to cross the border into the British territory...
Spain's latest move follows increased vehicle searches at the border last weekend...Mr Garcia-Margallo also hinted at the introduction of other measures including the closing of Spanish airspace to flights heading to Gibraltar. Gibraltar's Chief Minister Fabian Picardo has accused Spain of "sabre-rattling". (David Cameron 'seriously concerned' by Gibraltar events. BBC, August 5, 2013. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23574507
August 7, 2013
Furious David Cameron today warned his Spanish counterpart to back down in the row over controls at the border with Gibraltar.
The Prime Minister told Mariano Rajoy increased checks and plans to charge £43 to enter and leave the Rock were ‘totally disproportionate and unacceptable’ during a 15-minute phone call...
Mr Cameron warned that UK-Spanish relations could be damaged ‘unless the situation at the border improved’.
This week Gibraltar's chief minister asked Britain to send Royal Navy warships to the area in a bid to stop Spanish boat police making unauthorised incursions into the Rock's territorial waters...
A Downing Street spokesman added: ‘The PM made clear that our position on the sovereignty of Gibraltar and its surrounding waters will not change...Britain's ambassador to Spain made a formal protest over ‘disproportionate’ checks at the border... ambassador Giles Paxman also sought an official explanation for Spanish threats to levy a charge on vehicles crossing the border and to close airspace...
‘The ambassador reiterated that the UK would stand shoulder to shoulder with Gibraltar in face of threats from Spain.’ (Chorley M. Cameron warns Spain it must back down from 'disproportionate and unacceptable' threats to Gibraltar. Daily Mail: MailOnline, August 7, 2013. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2385863/Cameron-warns-Spain-disproportionate-unacceptable-threats-Gibraltar.html#ixzz2bI9PSfP4 )
August 8, 2013
Royal Navy warships to visit Gibraltar amid diplomatic row
Exclusive: Britain has said a rapid reaction force of warships will visit Gibraltar on its way to naval exercises in the Mediterranean, even as the fierce diplomatic row over the disputed territory looked set to continue. (Farmer B, Govan F. Royal Navy warships to visit Gibraltar amid diplomatic row Telegraph, August 8, 2013. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/gibraltar/10231438/Royal-Navy-warships-to-visit-Gibraltar-amid-diplomatic-row.html)
So, Britain is trying to tell the Spanish that Gibraltar should not be bothered and is under the protection of the UK.
Gibraltar's territory covers 6.843 square kilometers (2.642 sq mi) and it shares a 1.2-kilometer (0.75 mi) land border with Spain.
In 1704, an Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar from the Kingdom of Castile during the War of the Spanish Succession The territory was subsequently ceded to Britain "in perpetuity" under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 (Wikipedia). Here is a link to an article with an aerial photograph of Gibraltar: David Cameron is concerned about Gibraltar-related tensions, but UK will still lose it .
David Cameron is right to be concerned. But that will not change Gibraltar's destiny.
Argentina and Spain Have Appealed to the United Nations and Others
There was a vote in March 2013 about whether or not the Falklands should cease British rule. The results of the vote by those living in the Falkland Islands show that they wish to remain British:
March 12, 2013
Only three vote against staying British in unsurprising landslide, which Argentina dismisses as irrelevant…
The prime minister said Argentina should take “careful note” of the referendum result and that Britain would always be there to defend the Falkland Islanders.
Despite near zero temperatures and flurries of snow and rain, the turnout was 92% from an electorate of 1,650. All but three people voted yes to the question posed on the ballots: “Do you wish the Falkland Islands to retain their current political status as an overseas territory of the United Kingdom?”
Nobody expected anything but a landslide in a vote that the Argentinian government had dismissed as illegal. ( http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/mar/12/falkland-islands-referendum-votes-yes )
Notice that although the voting people of the Falklands have again made their preferences known, the Argentinean government has a different view.
Also, noticed that in June 2012, Argentina’s President went to the United Nations to try to get the Falkland Islands:
15 June 2012
UNITED NATIONS – Argentina’s president took her country’s claim to the Falkland Islands to the United Nations on Thursday, on the 30th anniversary of Britain’s ouster of an Argentine invasion force from the islands.
In a highly emotional speech, President Cristina Fernandez challenged Britain to “act more intelligently” and sit down to talk about the future of the tiny archipelago. ( http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/159144835.html )
June 14, 2012
Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has demanded that Britain enter negotiations over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.
President Fernandez was addressing the UN Committee on Decolonisation on the 30th anniversary of the UK territory’s liberation from Argentine occupation. She said history and geography backed Argentina’s claim. But an islander told the committee Argentina was “bullying”. UK Prime Minister David Cameron has said there would be “no negotiation”. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18453372 )
Spain wants another sea gate, the UK’s Gibraltar. Gibraltarians rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in a 1967 referendum and again in 2002. Gibraltar is a British overseas territory. The British Nationality Act 1981 granted Gibraltarians full British citizenship. Under the Gibraltar constitution of 2006, Gibraltar governs its own affairs, though some powers, such as defense and foreign relations, remain the responsibility of the UK Government.
Yet, that does not satisfy Spain, so notice the following:
Spain will go to the United Nations on Friday to insist that talks are opened on the sovereignty of Gibraltar. June 13, 2012 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/9329766/Spain-to-go-to-UN-over-Gibraltar-sovereignty.html)
Thus, both Argentina and Spain have both petitioned the UN against the UK keeping territorial sea gates.
Notice also the following:
Latin American and Caribbean nations have agreed to set up a new regional body without the US and Canada. The new bloc would be an alternative to the Organisation of American States (OAS), the main forum for regional affairs in the past 50 years. Mexico has been hosting a regional summit in the beach resort of Cancun. The OAS has been dogged by rifts between some members and the US over economic policy and trade, and criticised for promoting US interests. ‘Regional integration’ The proposed new grouping was one of the main issues on the agenda of the two-day summit, which ended on Tuesday. It “must as a priority push for regional integration… and promote the regional agenda in global meetings”, Mexican President Felipe Calderon told the summit, which includes leaders and representatives from 32 countries… The terms of the new bloc and whether it would replace the Rio Group of Latin American countries has not been clarified. “It’s very important that we don’t try to replace the OAS,” said Chile’s President-elect Sebastian Pinera. “The OAS is a permanent organisation that has its own functions.” On Monday, Bolivian President Evo Morales proposed that it begin operating in July 2011 with a summit hosted by Venezuela.
Falklands row The Cancun summit has also unanimously backed Argentina’s claim over the British-owned Falklands. (Americas bloc excluding US and Canada agreed. BBC - Feb 24, 2010 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8531266.stm).
Argentina has pressed its claims to Latin America, and Spain has made its claims known to the European Union.
Furthermore, Spain is not pleased with the actions that the UK took in August 2012:
August 9, 2013
Spain's prime minister has declared he is prepared to take action over Gibraltar to defend his country's interests after Britain said it would send warships to the island for a "routine" visit. (Mason R. Gibraltar row: Spanish PM promises to protect his country's interests. The Guardian, August 9, 2013. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/09/gibraltar-row-spanish-pm-rajoy)
So, there are major disagreements about these territories. Notice also some headlines in September 2013:
Argentine militant group threatens Princess Royal over Falklands
The Princess Royal has been threatened by a militant Argentinian group as she begins the first official senior royal engagement to the South American country for 14 years. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/falklandislands/10290998/Argentine-militant-group-threatens-Princess-Royal-over-Falklands.html
British man arrested for branding Gibraltar border check police ‘torturers’… as Spain pledges to back Argentina’s claim for Falkland Islands
The British man, named locally as Emilio Esteban, posted attack online
Published the rant alongside pictures of unidentified police officers
Spanish foreign minister backs Argentina over Falklands comparing them to Gibraltar http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2413976/Gibraltar-arrest-Briton-called-Spanish-police-torturers-Spain-backs-Falkland-Island.html
Falklands’ referendum recognized by CPA members and South Africa as ‘free and fair’
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association during its conference in Johannesburg noted a motion recognising the Falkland Islands Referendum as a free and fair expression of the Falkland Islanders wishes and their right to Self-Determination. http://en.mercopress.com/2013/09/07/falklands-referendum-recognized-by-cpa-members-and-south-africa-as-free-and-fair
Argentina and Spain have not given up.
Issues Again Raised in 2016
Notice the following:
Gibraltar, Falklands accuse Spain and Argentina of bullying
April 6, 2016
GIBRALTAR: Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands have accused Spain and Argentina of “bullying” after the two countries called for talks with Britain to end the “colonial situations” of the two territories.
In a rare joint statement issued late on Tuesday, the disputed territories accused the two nations of “ganging up” on them and ignoring the wish of the people of Gibraltar and the Falklands Islands to remain British.
The statement was issued a day after Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said Argentina and Spain were “committed to ending the two colonial situations” of the Falkland Islands and Gibraltar “through bilateral negotiations with the United Kingdom”.
The minister was speaking during a joint news conference with his Argentine counterpart Susana Malcorra in Buenos Aires.
“It also does not say much for the democratic credentials of two large countries that they should seek to gang up in this way in order to bully two very small territories and in the process completely ignore the right of their people to choose what they want to be,” the joint statement said.
“Referenda held in both Gibraltar and in the Falkland Islands have made those wishes abundantly clear,” it added. …
The people of the Falkland Islands voted overwhelmingly in favour of remaining a British Overseas Territory in a referendum held in 2013 in the sparsely-populated territory in the southwest Atlantic Ocean.
In Gibraltar, a rocky outcrop on Spain’s southern shore, nearly 99% of the population rejected sharing sovereignty with Spain in a November 2002 referendum. — AFP http://www.thesundaily.my/news/1752900
The people who live on the Falkland Islands and Gibraltar flat-out want to remain part of the UK. They have consistently made that known, but many in Argentina and Spain still feel that they are entitled to those territories.
Notice also the following:
24 June 2016
The Spanish government has called for joint sovereignty over Gibraltar in the wake of the UK's vote to leave the EU.
The British overseas territory of 30,000 voted overwhelmingly for remain, with 95.9% opting to stay in the union.
"The Spanish flag on the Rock is much closer than before," Spain's acting Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said on Friday. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36618796
Spain still wants Gibraltar.
What Does the Bible Teach?
Various leaders have their own ideas, but what does the Bible teach?
Let's begin by looking at a promise given to Abraham;
16 "By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son — 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." (Genesis 22:16-18)
Enemy gates were promised to Abraham's descendants.
Notice what was told to Rebekah who had just agree to become the wife of Abraham's son Isaac:
“Our sister, may you become The mother of thousands of ten thousands; And may your descendants possess The gates of those who hate them” (Genesis 24:60).
And many "sea gates" were later in the hands of her descendants. But many no longer are.
We in the Church of God have been teaching for decades that the United Kingdom and USA would ultimately lose many of their sea gates–we believe they possessed them because of blessings from God and would lose them because of blatant disobedience.
Notice a couple of prophetic warnings that are consistent with that:
58 "If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD, 59 then the Lord will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues — great and prolonged plagues — and serious and prolonged sicknesses. 60 Moreover He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. 61 Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law, will the Lord bring upon you until you are destroyed. 62 You shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven in multitude, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God. 63 And it shall be, that just as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nothing; and you shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess. (Deuteronomy 28:58-63)
24 ‘Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you. 25 For the land is defiled; therefore I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants. 26 You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you 27 (for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled), 28 lest the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you. (Leviticus 18:24-29)
23 ‘And if by these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me, 24 then I also will walk contrary to you, and I will punish you yet seven times for your sins. 25 And I will bring a sword against you that will execute the vengeance of the covenant; when you are gathered together within your cities I will send pestilence among you; and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. (Leviticus 26:23-25)
So, those that were promised blessings were also told that they would be subject to losing those blessings if they disobeyed God. As far as being plucked from the land, see Will the Anglo-Saxon Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves?
Also consider that for many years, the major sea gates of the world were possessed/controlled by the United States (Panama Canal and certain locations in the Pacific ocean; watch also The Panama Canal and its Impact on Biblical Prophecy ) and the British Empire (Straits of Malacca, Singapore, Suez Canal, Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Simon’s Town/Cape of Good Hope, Malta, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, etc.). And while that is no longer the case for many of them, they seem to have been prophesied to be taken away for disobedience as well (c.f. Deuteronomy 28:52)—and certainly these nations have disobeyed the God of Abraham, as well as actually have lost many of those gates. Thus, it seems logical to conclude that the remaining “sea gates” that the UK has such as Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands will be separated from UK control. Spain directly, or perhaps, through the EU (or some other European confederation) indirectly, will force out British control over Gibraltar.
The fact of the losses so far of many of the Anglo-American sea gates should show us that various curses have began to hit the Anglo-nations. More will as well until the Anglo nations (including the USA) will be no more.
Many people do not realize that the Anglo-descended nations received their wealth and influence partially because of blessings that God had Jacob/Israel give to the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh.
Notice the following blessing that was given to Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph, by Israel/Jacob:
16 Bless the lads; Let my name be named upon them, And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth…
19 “…He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations." 20 So he blessed them that day, saying, "By you Israel will bless, saying, 'May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!' " (Genesis 48:16, 19-20).
The British Empire, including the Commonwealth, was the biggest empire in the world and consisted of a company of nations. And while the Falkland Islands and Gibraltar are not technically separate nations, they are separated from the British Isles, do consider themselves British, and are subject to both the blessings and cursings given to Israel and his descendents.
Prosperity was also promised to the sons of Joseph:
22 "Joseph is a fruitful bough,
A fruitful bough by a well;
His branches run over the wall.
23 The archers have bitterly grieved him,
Shot at him and hated him.
24 But his bow remained in strength,
And the arms of his hands were made strong
By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob
(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
25 By the God of your father who will help you,
And by the Almighty who will bless you
With blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 The blessings of your father
Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors,
Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.
They shall be on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers. (Genesis 49:22-26)
The late Herbert W. Armstrong believed the previous attainment of various "sea gates" helped demonstrate the identity of the modern descendents of Joseph as he wrote:
Genesis 22:17. To Abraham God said: "That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies."
And again, the inspired prophetic parting blessing upon Rebekah, leaving her family to become the wife of Isaac: "And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them" (Gen. 24:60).
Earlier we quoted the correct Fenton translation: "... and your race shall possess the gates [plural] of its enemies." As explained there, the "gates" of enemy nations are the strategic SEA GATES of entrance to or exit from these nations. Although all wealth comes from the ground, prosperity and affluence on a national scale always have come also by industry and COMMERCE. And commerce between nations has been transacted almost altogether by the SEA- LANES of the world — by SHIPS, and, within a continent, by railroads.
How significant, then, that Robert Fulton operated the first steamboat in 1803 — precisely when Britain and America suddenly began to MULTIPLY in national wealth! And also that it was the nineteenth century that saw the development of the railroads!
As explained before, since the birthright pertains to NATIONS, the "GATE" of our enemies would be such passes as Gibraltar, Suez, Singapore, the Panama Canal, etc.
Britain and America came into possession of every such major "gate" in this world! So we MUST be modern Israel. World War II hinged on these "gates." They had become not only strategic passes, but the world's greatest fortifications. But today, we have lost most of them, most recently, the Panama Canal — and it appears that soon Gibraltar, too, will be lost. Why?
Notice Genesis 39:2, 23: "The Eternal was with Joseph, and he was a PROSPEROUS man ....the Eternal was with him, and that which he did, the Eternal made it to PROSPER." And God did prosper Joseph's descendants, Britain and America, with the fabulous birthright promised Joseph's sons! (Armstrong HW. The United States And Britain In Prophecy. 1980)
More on the identity of the American and British-descended peoples can be found in the article Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel (there is also a YouTube video of possibly related interest titled Is The United States Mentioned In Bible Prophecy? ).
Back in 1954, Herbert Armstrong wrote:
The strange TRUTH of the PLANTING and the REBUILDING of David’s throne is revealed in a “riddle and a parable,” couched in symbolic language never understood until this latter day. Yet it stands, today, so clearly explained a little child could understand! It fills the 17th chapter of Ezekiel‘s carefully read. Notice, first, this pro- phetic message is addressed, NOT to Judah, the Jews, but to the House of Israel. It is a Message to give light to the lost Ten-Tribed House of ISRAEL in these latter days! ...“And all the trees of the field” (verse 24). A “tree” in this riddle and parable is likened to a nation. In other words, “All the nations of the earth.” “. . , shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree.” Judah, the high tree, having the throne 130 years after Israel had been taken captive, now is brought down to the low stature of slavery. “. . . have exalted the low tree.” For 130 years Israel had been a “low tree.” Now Israel is exalted, becomes again a nation with a king. “. . . have dried up the green tree”- JUDAH, “ and have made the dry tree to flourish.” ISRAEL, headed by the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, who possessed the BIRTHRIGHT, now shall flourish. become prosperous in due time. “I the Lord have spoken and have done it.” Yes, that BIRTHRIGHT is in ISRAEL. Tho LOST, tho supposed to be a Gentile nation, they are the people who were to grow into the promised multitude--the great nation, and the company of nations, possessing the gates of their enemy nations, becoming a colonizing people spreading around the world, being blessed with national resources and wealth. And, when they become thus powerful and nationally dominant, remember David’s throne will be found transplanted among them!...
Read again the prophetic promises of Genesis 22:17, and 24:60. Since the Birthright pertains to NATIONS, the “GATE” of our enemies would be such passes as Gibraltar, Suez, Singapore, Panama Canal, etc. Britain and America came into possession of every such major “gate” in this world! So we MUST be modern Israel. World War II hinged on these “gates.” They have become not only strategic passes, but the world’s greatest fortifications. (Armstrong HW. The United States and the British Commonwealth in Prophecy. 1954)
Around the time he wrote the above, in 1954 Herbert W. Armstrong spoke in the UK and warned those who would listen that just as the British-descended nations received the sea gates as a blessing, that they would lose those gates (and he specified various ones at that time) as a curse for disobedience. Many of the sea gates have been lost and ultimately the UK will lose Gibraltar and the Falklands.
The Bible does not specify how the sea gates would be lost. Basically it teaches that enemies will rule over the descendants of Israel who turn their back on God:
45 Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed...47 “Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, 48 therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you. 49 The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 a nation of fierce countenance, which does not respect the elderly nor show favor to the young. 51 And they shall eat the increase of your livestock and the produce of your land, until you are destroyed; they shall not leave you grain or new wine or oil, or the increase of your cattle or the offspring of your flocks, until they have destroyed you. 52 They shall besiege you at all your gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you at all your gates throughout all your land which the LORD your God has given you (Deuteronomy 28:45,47-52).
Losing gates was specifically prophesied. This has happened with the Anglo-descended nations and other gates, like Gibraltar and the Falklands, will also be lost.
The Bible also warns that the end time power with the 'strongest fortresses' ( which currently would be the USA and its Anglo-allies like the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) will be be conquered and their lands divided by the final King of the North , a European Beast power:
39 Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain. (Daniel 11:39)
More on this can be found in the article Will the Anglo-Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves? (there is also a YouTube video of possibly related interest titled Is The United States Mentioned In Bible Prophecy? ). And unless it happens before the fulfillment of Daniel 11:39, this fulfillment will soon lead to the loss of the Falklands as well as Gibraltar.
Conclusion: Britain Will Lose Gibraltar and the Falklands
So, there are disputes over the territorial control of both Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands.
Bible prophecy suggests that the Anglo-nations received the 'sea gates' as part of the blessing given to the descendants of Rebecca. Bible prophecy also teaches that those who received those type of blessings would be on the receiving end of curses as they got farther away from God.
Because of disobedience, the USA and UK have lost various sea gates already.
The British Prime Minister can make statements and take physical steps to try to hold on to them, but I believe that the Bible suggests that the UK will end up losing the Falklands as well as Gibraltar. The loss of the Falkland Islands and Gibraltar will come to pass.
Those who live on those territories are subject to becoming slaves (see Will the Anglo-Saxon Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves? ).
Thiel B. Will the UK Lose Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands? http://www.cogwriter.com/sea-gates.htm (c) 2013/2014/2015/2016 1129
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Anglo - America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Saxon (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo-Saxon nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? Here is a link to the Spanish version of this article: Anglo-América & las Tribus Perdidas de Israel . Information is also in the YouTube sermons titled Where are the Ten Lost Tribes? Why does it matter? and British are the Covenant People . A short YouTube of prophetic interest may be Barack Obama and the State of the Apocalypse .
Will the Anglo-Saxon Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves? Will the lands of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand be divided? What about Jerusalem? What does Bible prophecy teach? Are there non-biblical prophecies that support this idea? Who will divide those lands? Who will end up with the lands and the people? Here is a link to a video titled Will the USA and other Anglo-nations be Divided and Their People Made Slaves? Here is a related item in the Spanish language ¿Serán divididas las naciones anglosajonas?
British are the Covenant People What do ‘British’ and ‘Britain’ mean in Hebrew? Are the descendants of the Anglo-Saxons people of the covenant? Does the British royal family connect to the throne of David? What does the Bible teach? What does history show us? Is there any DNA evidence related to British-Israelism? When did Christianity make it to the British Isles? Could Jeremiah have made it to the British Isles? What type of Christians made it to the British Isles? Did the last King of England believe in British Israelism?
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Who won the Marathon T54 for wheelchair athletes at the 2012 Paralympics? | London 2012 Paralympics - Ceremonies, Medals, Torch Relay
London 2012 Qualification Criteria
SPORTS
The Games featured 20 sports, most of which took place in London with the exception of Sailing at Weymouth and Portland, Rowing at Eton Dorney and Road Cycling which was staged at Brands Hatch.
Archery Para athletics Boccia Cycling Equestrian Football 5-a-side Football 7-a-side Goalball Judo Para powerlifting Rowing Sailing Shooting Para sport Para swimming Table tennis Sitting volleyball Wheelchair basketball Wheelchair fencing Wheelchair rugby Wheelchair tennis
TORCH RELAY
IPC President Sir Philip Craven was among the first five Torchbearers to carry the London 2012 Paralympic Flame after it was created at an emotional ceremony at Stoke Mandeville Stadium.
He was joined by four other legends of the Paralympics – Baroness Susan Masham of Ilton, Caz Walton, Sally Haynes and Jane Blackburn – after the four national flames were joined at the birthplace of the Paralympic Movement.
The Paralympic Flame then left on a 92-mile journey to the Olympic Stadium in a 24-hour torch relay that involved 580 Torchbearers working in teams of five.
Prior to the Stoke Mandeville event, National Flames were created at the summit of the highest peaks of the four home nations: Scafell Pike (England), Snowdon/Yr Wyddfa (Wales), Ben Nevis (Scotland) and Slieve Donard (Northern Ireland).
The four individual Flames were then placed in a miner's lantern and transferred to the nation's capital cities. Paralympic celebrations took place in London, Belfast Edinburgh and Cardiff.
Find out more about the London 2012 Torch Relay here.
OPENING CEREMONY
London 2012 launched in unforgettable style with leading scientist Professor Stephen Hawking and renowned actor Sir Ian McKellen appearing in a memorable event.
The Ceremony took the form of a play, with Hawking introducing proceedings before Sir Ian took over, taking the role of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest and guiding the principle character Miranda through the evening’s proceedings.
All of the athletes received a huge ovation when they entered an Olympic Stadium drenched in colour, before gathering in the centre to play their part in the remainder of the ceremony.
The Games were officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, before Royal Marine Joe Townsend brought the Paralympic Flame into the stadium.
Great Britain 5-a-side footballer David Clarke carried the Flame on, before the country’s first ever Paralympic gold medalist Margaret Maughan lit the Paralympic Cauldron.
MEDALS
For the third consecuitve Games China topped the medals table winning 231 in total. This was 20 more than they won on homesoil in 2008 underlining their position as the Paralympic superpower.
After finishing eighth in 2008, Russia showed the greatest imporvement climbing to second overall with 36 gold medals. Host nation Great Britain, who won 18 more medals than in Beijing, finished third whilst Ukraine and Australia finished fourth and fifth for the second consecutive Games.
In total 75 of the 164 competing countries won at least one medal.
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES
Swimmers were the athletes to take home the most medals from London 2012 with Australia's Jacqueline Freney (8 golds) and Brazil's Daniel Dias (6 golds) leading the way.
On the track Great Britain's David Weir and USA's Martin Raymond were in unbeatable form. Bouyed on by a vocal home crowd Weir took T54 gold in the 800m, 1,500m, 5,000m and marathon whereas 18 year old Raymond, who was making his Games debut, took T52 gold in the 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m.
In wheelchair tennis , Dutch sensation Esther Vergeer was reduced to tears winning her fourth Paralympic gold and 470th consecutive match.
There were also some big upsets in the Games. Brazil's Alan Oliveira beat South Africa's Oscar Pistorius to 200m T44 gold and Canada halted USA's hopes of a fourth wheelchair rugby gold in five Games with a semi-final defeat. Australia eventually picked up the gold.
ATTENDANCE AND COVERAGE
A record 2.7 million tickets were sold for the Games with most events and sessions selling out.
The Games were broadcast to over 100 countries and territories, the most ever. In the UK rights holder Channel 4 screened over 150 hours of live coverage, achieving record audiences. More than 11.2 million watched the Opening Ceremony - the channel's biggest audience of a decade - and most days the channel enjoyed the biggest audience share of all the main UK channels. Channel 4's coverage reached 39.9 million people - over 69% of the UK population.
London 2012 was the first truly social and online Games. Throughout the course of the Games there were 1.3 million tweets mentioning 'Paralympic', 25 million people visited London 2012.com and over 5.8 million people upgraded to the London 2012 Paralympic App.
The IPC also saw huge visitor numbers to its online channels. Nearly 2 million people visited www.paralympic.org - which broadcast over 780 hours of live action - and there were more than 5.1 million downloads of videos on demand during the Games from the official IPC YouTube channel www.youtube.com/paralympicsporttv. A full schedule of the daily live streams can be found here.
The IPC's Facebook following increased by 350% and there were 82.1 million views of its pages. Twitter followers grew by 50%.
Samsung Bloggers , an innovative collaboration between the IPC, LOCOG and Samsung whereby many of the world's top athletes provided behind the scenes video blogs, also proved extremely popular. Over 600 video blogs were uploaded and were viewed by over 300,000 people.
CLOSING CEREMONY
The Closing Ceremony was a spectacular affair with Coldplay, Jay-Z and Rihanna playing to a capacity crowd.
His Royal Highness Prince Edward the Earl of Wessex was present to witness a spectacular show that illustrated the four seasons.
Paralympians Michael McKillop of Ireland, and Kenya’s Mary Nakhumicha Zakayo were given the Whang Youn Dai award for those exemplifying the spirit of the Games.
Speeches by Sir Philip and Sebastian Coe, Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee, were followed by The Final Flame – a section to mark the closing of the Paralympic Games and the last night of London 2012.
The ceremony ended with a spectacular firework display over the Olympic Stadium and Park, providing a fitting finale to an entirely unforgettable London 2012.
| David Weir |
Who was the mother of Achilles in Greek mythology? | Talk:Athletics concludes at London Paralympics with the marathon - Wikinews, the free news source
Talk:Athletics concludes at London Paralympics with the marathon
From Wikinews, the free news source you can write!
WEIR (GBR) and REILLY (USA) win last athletics golds of London 2012[ edit ]
WEIR (GBR) and REILLY (USA) win last athletics golds of London 2012
Sunday, 09 September 2012 - 17:39
LONDON, 9 September - Great Britain's David WEIR won his fourth gold medal of the London 2012 Paralympic Games in a breathtaking finish to the T54 men's marathon on Sunday.
The race came down to a three-man sprint down The Mall between WEIR, Marcel HUG (SUI) and Kurt FEARNLEY (AUS), winner of the marathon in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.
WEIR, a six-time winner of the London Marathon, came out on top to the delight of the crowd in central London and was timed at 1 hour 30 minutes 20 seconds.
HUG took the silver and FEARNLEY the bronze, and the race between them was so close they were given the same time - 1:30.21.
Moments after they had crossed the line with only a second between gold and bronze, the three regular racing rivals were giving each other enthusiastic hugs.
Six men started the last of the three eight-mile (12.875km) laps together, but the three eventual medallists began to put daylight between themselves and the other trio with about five miles to go before they started the serious duelling for the medals over the final 5km.
Just as he had on his way to gold medals on the track over 800m, 1500m and 5000m, WEIR got in front with 500m to go, hitting the accelerator and using his positional skill in the finishing straight to prevent his rivals from passing him.
WEIR finished the Games unbeaten and was one of only two track and field athletes to win four golds at London 2012. The other was T53 wheelchair racer Raymond MARTIN (USA).
The last of the 170 athletics gold medals of the London 2012 Paralympic Games was won by Shirley REILLY (USA) in the T54 women's marathon,
In a finish similar to the T54 men's event, REILLY was part of a four-woman group who turned the final corner in front of Buckingham Palace together. REILLY produced the strongest finish and crossed the line in 1:46.33.
Shelly WOODS (GBR) was cheered home in second place a second behind REILLY, with Sandra GRAF (SUI) third in 1:46.35.
Amanda McGRORY (USA) was unlucky to miss out on a medal when she was judged to have finished fourth in the same time as GRAF.
The chances of Tatyana McFADDEN (USA) adding to her three golds on the track ended when she had a puncture early in the second half of the race, which took five minutes to fix, and then a second puncture between 19 and 20 miles.
Misfortune also befell 5000m winner Edith WOLF (SUI), one of the pre-race favourites. She was second at the start of the final lap but hit a bump in the road which resulted in her retiring from the race after losing feeling in her right arm.
PNS pm/an/gs/adg
Women's marathon T54: WOLF (SUI)[ edit ]
Women's marathon T54: WOLF (SUI)
Sunday, 09 September 2012 - 15:25
LONDON, 9 September - Comments from coach and husband Mark WOLF (SUI) after Edith WOLF (SUI) failed to complete the course through illness at the T54 women's marathon at The Mall on Sunday.
Edith WOLF (SUI)
On failing to complete the T54 women's marathon: "The second lap she felt very good. She smashed into a hole in the street and got a stroke in her neck. After she lost feeling in her neck and lost feeling in her right arm, she didn't recover. She went to the hospital to check what happened. We think it is a nerve problem. Hopefully, she will be OK."
"She was really looking forward to the marathon. She was really prepared, so I think she's really disappointed. I think tomorrow she will wake up and see her four medals and she will be very happy."
On Edith's Paralympic Games: "I think it's important to see your athlete compete at a most important event, reaching their maximum performance. Today with Sandra GRAF (SUI) and Marcel HUG (SUI), we had athletes who performed great and I think for us it's important. We have been a strong nation in the past and, hopefully, we can do it again."
On the perception of disability sports in Switzerland: "There are not so many media here, which is disappointing. But now they have recognised this (the Paralympic Games) is really a great Games. This is the second biggest sports event in the world and they are not here, so it's their loss, they missed a big chance."
On his London Games experience as a coach: "The people were great. The crowd were great. The people working here were so great. They were helpful and this was a well organised Games."
PNS lo/an/mj
Women's marathon T54: McFADDEN (USA)[ edit ]
Women's marathon T54: McFADDEN (USA)
Sunday, 09 September 2012 - 14:25
LONDON, 9 September - Comments from three-time London 2012 gold medallist Tatyana McFADDEN (USA) who finished ninth in the women's marathon T54 which finished in The Mall, central London on Sunday.
Tatyana McFADDEN (USA)
On the race and her problems with flat tyres: "I started out so strong and halfway through the race no one was near me then the tyre went and it took me nearly five minutes to fix it while the pack went past."
"At 18 or 19 miles it went again, this always seems to happen to me in London. Luckily, I had a spare but I was bombed out. I just wanted to sit and cry but I also wanted to finish, there was only about six miles to go and I was determined I wasn't going to get another (flat tyre)."
"Finishing is the most important thing for me, it makes you a better person. I just wanted to compete and stay strong."
On her reaction to her achievements at London 2012: "It's been a phenomenal Games for me, and I've taken four out of five medals and completed the marathon in less than two hours with two flats. I can't complain. I walked away happy, thank you London."
PNS jc/pm/sb
SUAREZ (ESP) sets world record to win T12 men's marathon[ edit ]
SUAREZ (ESP) sets world record to win T12 men's marathon
Sunday, 09 September 2012 - 13:22
LONDON, 9 September - Alberto SUAREZ (ESP) added a London 2012 Paralympics Games gold medal to his 2011 world title when he won the T12 men's marathon title in a world record two hours, 24 minutes and 50 seconds in The Mall on Sunday.
SUAREZ has actually run faster than the time that will go into the record books, having completed the Seville Marathon in February in 2:23:24, but that was in an event without a Paralympic licence.
The Spaniard was on his own in the final 12km after he broke away from Abderrahim ZHIOU (TUN) just after 30km, having gradually shaken off all his other rivals with a furious pace from not long after the gun, going through the halfway point in 1:12:04.
ZHIOU started to tire badly from 35km and had to settle for the bronze medal as Elkin Alonso SERNA (COL) came through strongly in the last quarter of the race and caught up with him 2km from the line, and then overtook the flagging Tunisian to take the silver medal in 2:26:36.
Neverthless, ZHIOU completed his London 2012 medal collection and showed his impressive running range when he finished third in 2:25:56. Earlier in London 2012, he won gold medals on the track over 800m and 1500m, as well as taking a silver in the 5000m.
The T46 men's marathon, which started simultaneously with with its T12 counterpart, was won by Tito SENA (BRA) in 2:30:40.
SENA clinched his win after pulling away from Abderrahman AIT KHAMOUCH (ESP) 2km from the line with the Spaniard finishing 24 seconds behind in 2:31:04.
An audacious early pace was set by ZHANG Lei (CHN), who went through the half-way point more than two minutes ahead of the rest of the field.
However, by 30km ZHANG was clearly tiring. SENA and AIT KHAMOUCH worked together to haul in the Chinese runner, who eventually finished seventh, before embarking on their private duel for the gold medal.
Frederic VAN DEN HEEDE (BEL) ran a solitary race in the final 15km after being dropped by SENA and AIT KHAMOUCH when the leading pair decided to chase down ZHANG. However, he ran steadily to get the bronze medal in 2:31:38 after passing ZHANG at 33km.
PNS pm/kd/sw
Disappearing media[ edit ]
Following the conclusion of the men's wheelchair race, lots and lots of the media up and disappeared. They did not stick around for the female medalists who were about 5 to 10 minutes behind the men. It was rather annoying in the extreme. I had some of my best photos based on waves of people disappearing after the medalists crossing the line. there were some really great stories involving athletes who finished later and not in the medals. -- LauraHale ( talk ) 20:11, 9 September 2012 (UTC)
Guide silver[ edit ]
This was repeatedly said by the announcer during the course of this race: If the guide runner for the blind runner ran the full marathon with the runner, they would also get a medal. The Colombian runner who earned silver had such a guide. Other runners utilized between 2 and 4 guide runners during the course of the T12 marathon. On the scoresheet, this is noted by listing the guide if they ran the whole course. -- LauraHale ( talk ) 20:20, 9 September 2012 (UTC)
Review of revision 1618978 [Passed][ edit ]
Revision 1618978 of this article has been reviewed by Tom Morris ( talk · contribs ) and has passed its review at 07:24, 10 September 2012 (UTC).
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Which British Prime Minister was born in the colony of New Brunswick on September 16th 1858? | Bonar Law, Prime minister • Biography & Facts
Bonar Law
Prime minister
Andrew Bonar Law (16 September 1858 – 30 October 1923), commonly called Bonar (rhymes with honour) Law, was a British Conservative Party statesman and Prime Minister. Born in the colony of New Brunswick (now in Canada), he is the only British Prime Minister to have been born outside the British Isles. He was also the shortest-serving Prime Minister of the 20th century, spending 211 days in office. He had a much longer tenure as Conservative Party leader, November 1911 to March 1921 and October 1922 to May 1923, where he used his business background to good advantage in promoting better organisation and efficiency. His lack of aristocratic family connections helped him broaden the base of the party to include more businessmen.Law was born to a rural preacher and his wife in New Brunswick, where he spent his early life. A few years after his mother's death in 1861, his father remarried, and in 1870 Law moved to Helensburgh, Scotland, to live with his mother's sister Janet and her family, who ran a successful merchant bank. After an education at Larchfield School (now Lomond School), a preparatory school in Hamilton and the High School of Glasgow, Law left school aged sixteen to gain a "commercial education" at the family firm. A few years later the firm was sold to the Clydesdale Bank, putting Law's career in jeopardy until his uncles loaned him the money to buy a partnership in an iron merchants firm. Through his hard work and business acumen, the firm flourished under Law, and by the time he was thirty he was a comparatively rich man.Law first entered politics in 1897, when he was asked to be the Conservative candidate for the seats of Glasgow Bridgeton and then Glasgow Blackfriars and Hutchesontown, accepting Blackfriars. Despite a large Liberal Party majority in his seat, Law campaigned successfully for the 1900 general election and was returned to Parliament. In the House of Commons he became noted for his excellent memory and oratory, and soon gained a position on the Conservative front bench. A strong supporter of tariff reform, Law was made Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade in 1902. The issue of tariff reform split the Conservative Party, and Prime Minister Arthur Balfour resigned, prompting a general election in which the Conservative Party were forced into opposition. In opposition Law continued to argue for tariff reform, both in Parliament and within his party, largely avoiding the constitutional crisis surrounding the People's Budget in 1909. His appointment as a Privy Councillor that year marked him out as a conservative frontrunner, and when it became clear that Arthur Balfour would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party, Law put his name forward. Despite trailing third after Walter Long and Austen Chamberlain , Law eventually won the election when the strong possibility of a draw between Long and Chamberlain that would split the party forced both to withdraw.As Leader of the Conservative Party, Law focused his attentions on two main areas; tariff reform, which he supported, and Irish Home Rule, to which he was opposed. As leader of the opposition he was in no position to make active changes, but his strong campaigning, particularly on Home Rule, turned Liberal attempts to pass the Third Home Rule Bill into a three-year struggle eventually halted by the start of the First World War.
Personal facts
| Bonar Law |
In which US city do the Allegheny and the Monongahela rivers join to form the Ohio River? | Public Service – Andrew Bonar Law – Heroes Centre
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Public Service – Andrew Bonar Law
Andrew Bonar Law – Financier, Politician and the only British Prime Minister to have been born outside the British Isles.
British Prime Minister Andrew Bonar Law was born 16th September 1858 in Rexton, New Brunswick (now Canada) to the Reverend James Law, a minister of the Free Church of Scotland with Scottish and Irish ancestry, and his wife Eliza Kidston Law.
James Law was the minister for several isolated townships, and had bought a small farm on the Richibucto River, which Bonar helped tend along with his brothers Robert, William and John, and his sister Mary. After James’s Law wife Eliza died during childbirth in 1860, her sister Janet Kidston travelled to New Brunswick from her home in Helensburgh to look after the Law children.
When James Law remarried in 1870 his new wife took over Janet’s duties, and Janet decided to return to Scotland with James & Bonar Law.
At the age of 12, Law left to live with his late mother’s three male cousins – the Kidstons, who were rich merchant bankers in Glasgow. As they were all either unmarried or childless, they saw him as a substitute son and heir. He was educated at Gilbertfield School in Hamilton (1870-1873), and then at age fourteen he transferred to the High School of Glasgow, where he showed a talent for languages, excelling in Greek, German and French.
During this period he first began to play chess and eventually became an excellent amateur player, and competed with internationally renowned chess masters. Despite his excellent academic record it became obvious at Glasgow that he was better suited to business than to university, and when he was sixteen Law left school to become a clerk at Kidston & Sons. Janet’s brothers Charles, Richard and William were partners in the family merchant bank Kidston & Sons, and it was generally accepted that Law would inherit the firm, or at least play a role in its management when he was older.
In 1885 the Kidson brothers decided to retire, and agreed to merge the firm with the Clydesdale Bank. The retiring brothers found him a job with William Jacks, an iron merchant (William Jacks & Co) who was pursuing a parliamentary career. The Kidson brothers loaned Law the money to buy a partnership in Jacks’ firm, and with Jacks himself no longer playing an acting part in the company, Law effectively became the managing partner.
During this period Bonar Law, attended lectures given at Glasgow University and joined the Glasgow Parliamentary Debating Association, which adhered as closely as possible to the layout of the real Parliament of the United Kingdom and undoubtedly helped Law hone the skills that would serve him so well in the political arena. In 1888 he moved out of the Kidson household and set up his own home at Seabank, East Clyde Street, Helensburgh, with his sister Mary [who had earlier come over from New Brunswick] acting as the housekeeper.
Bonar Law was a man of simple tastes, a Sunday School teacher and voracious reader who enjoyed tennis, golf, chess and those great pastimes of students, billiards and darts, and served on the first committee of Helensburgh Golf Club and was one of the founding members of Helensburgh Lawn Tennis Club.
In 1890, at the age of thirty-two, Bonar Law he became engaged to Annie Pitcairn Robley, whom he married at West Free Church, Helensburgh, by the Rev. William Leitch, B.A, on 24 March 1891. Annie Pitcairn Robley was born on 2nd January 1866, the eldest daughter of Harrington Robley, a Ship’s Stores Merchant of Robley & Co.,and Isabelle Pitcairn. She had 3 brothers and 3 sisters, but her younger brother, Harrington, died in 1874 when he was 6 years old. She was eight years younger than Bonar, of a more sociable disposition and with a love of dancing. Biographers of Bonar Law speak of her beauty, her charm and the warmth and sweetness of her personality. “Anne Pitcairn Robley, at twenty-four, with dark hair and large brown eyes and a lively manner, was considered quite a local beauty, and Bonar Law – a man whose frivolity had hitherto found its outlet in tennis and golf – seems to have fallen in love with her immediately.”
They set up their home in Seabank but on the death of Annie’s father Harrington Robley they bought his house Kintillo in Suffolk Street, which they sold in 1909, moving to London, Pembrook Lodge, just off Edwardes Square in South Kensington, because the pressure of commuting was becoming too much.
The marriage was to prove very happy and they had seven children. The couple had five sons and two daughters, although the first son was stillborn. The youngest son was Richard Law, [1901-1980] later Baron Coleraine, the third Charlie Law [1897 -1917], who as a soldier with the King’s Own Scottish Borderers was killed at the Second Battle of Gaza. His eldest son, James Kidston Law [1893 -1917] a pilot with the Royal Flying Corps, was shot down and killed, Isabel Harrington Law, the eldest daughter [1896 – 1969], who married Sir Frederick Sykes and Catherine Edith Mary Law [1906 -1992] , the youngest, who married George Archibald, 1st Baron Archibald.
That summer,1909, Annie became very tired, weak and unwell. They took a house at Moncton, on the Ayrshire coast for the holidays and she rested every afternoon, and tried to carry on until the children were back at school. On her return home, specialists were consulted and advised the removal of her gall-bladder. Annie had the operation, went through a convalescence and apparent recovery and then on Sunday, October 31st she collapsed and died. She was only forty two. Annie was buried in Helensburgh. “Many hundreds came to pay their respects to the popular wife of a local hero, and the sad and stately procession stretched for some two miles from Ferniegar to the churchyard where she was laid to rest. Bonar Law said many times thereafter that he never forgot a single sad detail of that day.”
Their six children aged between sixteen and four were left without a mother. Bonar’s sister, Mary Law, heroically moved in, took the household cares off his shoulders and began the task of bringing up their large family. She reluctantly agreed also to act as hostess at Pembroke Lodge, although her eldest niece Isabel gradually took over that duty.
Bonar Law’s interest in politics had grown stronger as the 1890s went by, and after he inherited a very large sum on the death of one of the Kidstons, he was able to consider running for Parliament. In 1897 Law was asked to become the Conservative Party candidate for the parliamentary seat of Glasgow Bridgeton. Soon after he was offered another seat, this one in Glasgow Blackfriars and Hutchesontown, which he took instead of Glasgow Bridgeton.
Blackfriars was not a seat with high prospects attached; a working-class area, it had returned Liberal Party MPs since it was created in 1884, and the incumbent, Andrew Provand, was highly popular. The campaign was unpleasant for both sides, with anti- and pro-war campaigners fighting vociferously, but Law distinguished himself with his oratory and wit. When the results came in, Law was returned to Parliament with a majority of 1,000, overturning Provand’s majority of 381. He immediately ended his active work at William Jacks & Co (although he retained his directorship) and moved to Pembrook Lodge.
He lost his seat to future Labour leader George Nicoll Barnes in the anti-Conservative landslide 1906 General Election, but he returned to represent Dulwich at a by-election later that year. Though hit hard by the death of his wife, in 1909, he continued his political career; after leaving the House of Commons at the December 1910 election, he returned as MP for Bootle at a by-election in 1911.
On the coronation of George V on 22 June 1911, Bonar Law was made a Privy Counsellor on the recommendation of the new Prime Minister and Arthur Balfour. Balfour was to become increasingly unpopular and eventually resigned the leadership of the Conservative Party. Following a deadlock between Austen Chamberlain and Walter Long, the two leadership candidates agreed to stand down in favour of Bonar Law, who became Leader as a compromise candidate. With the unanimous support of the MPs, Law became Leader of the Conservative Party despite never having sat in Cabinet.
In 1921, ill health forced Bonar Law’s resignation as Conservative leader and Leader of the Commons in favour of Austen Chamberlain. 1921-2 the coalition Government had become embroiled in an air of moral and financial corruption. Austen Chamberlain resigned as Party Leader, Lloyd George resigned as Prime Minister and Bonar Law returned on 23 October 1922 in both jobs.
Bonar Law was soon diagnosed with terminal throat cancer and, no longer physically able to speak in Parliament, resigned on 22 May 1923. He died on 30th October 1923. He wanted to be buried in the family plot beside the north wall of Helensburgh Cemetery beside his wife and sons, but as he was Prime Minister the family agreed that the final resting place of his ashes should be the Nave in Westminster Abbey.
Bonar Law was the shortest serving PM of the twentieth century. He is often referred to as “the unknown Prime Minister”, the name comes from a remark by Asquith at Bonar Law’s funeral, that they were burying the Unknown Prime Minister next to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.The stone in the centre of the Nave at Westminster simply reads:
Andrew Bonar Law
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Which planet was discovered by William Herschel in 1781? | Discovery: A new planet
The changing shape of the solar system
He stopped on something unexpected: not a point of light, but a fuzzy disk.
He initially thought it was a comet, but observations over the next several days showed something amazing. A comet that bright would be quite close to the Sun, and thus move rather quickly against the background stars. This object was moving, but too slowly to be a comet. It was moving so slowly that its motion suggested it would have to be far from the Sun’s gravity, even farther away than Saturn – the farthest known planet. To be that bright and that far away, it had to be a planet.
“And I will name him George...”
Herschel had discovered the first new planet. Up until this point, astronomers had known of only five other planets in the solar system: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, which are visible to the naked eye.
Herschel tried to name the new planet after his benefactor, King George III of England. It was eventually named Uranus, after the father of Saturn, to fit with the mythological naming scheme of the other planets.
What we can see today: The Hubble Space Telescope looks at Uranus
Astronomers had actually seen Uranus many times before. It had been noted as early as 1690, when it was recorded as a star in the constellation Taurus. But only Herschel had made a telescope powerful enough to see Uranus was not a star. When the amateur astronomer tried to compare his observations with two professional astronomers, neither had telescopes powerful enough to confirm his find.
Herschel’s discovery shook the astronomical world and thrilled the public. It earned him international fame and a paid astronomy job. People had imagined that other planets could exist in the solar system, but this was proof that more planets did exist. The solar system had just gotten bigger, and astronomy’s possibilities had expanded with it. The search for new planets was on.
| Uranus |
Name either of the animals that are affected by the disease scrapie. | Uranus Discovered by William Herschel in 1781 - Smithsonian Libraries Unbound Smithsonian Libraries Unbound
Uranus Discovered by William Herschel in 1781
by Smithsonian Digital Library
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Portrait of William Herschel
Astronomer Sir Frederick William Hersche l on March 13, 1781 discovered the planet Uranus .He also later in his career discovered infrared radiation while testing telescope filters.
His sister Caroline , who worked as his assistant, discovered eight comets and three nebulae. Her work was acknowledged by the Royal Astronomical Academy.
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In which novel by Dickens is Stephen Blackpool a power loom weaver in Josiah Bounderby's mill? | David Perdue's Charles Dickens Page - Hard Times
Hard Times
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Coketown
It was a town of red brick, or of brick that would have been red if the smoke and ashes had allowed it; but as matters stood, it was a town of unnatural red and black like the painted face of a savage. It was a town of machinery and tall chimneys, out of which interminable serpents of smoke trailed themselves for ever and ever, and never got uncoiled. It had a black canal in it, and a river that ran purple with ill-smelling dye, and vast piles of building full of windows where there was a rattling and a trembling all day long, and where the piston of the steam-engine worked monotonously up and down, like the head of an elephant in a state of melancholy madness.
Hard Times
During the conception of Hard Times Dickens visited the industrial town of Preston where a prolonged strike was in progress (January 1854).
George Bernard Shaw, writing in 1912, observed that with the publication of Hard Times:
"You must therefore resign yourself, if you are reading Dickens's books in the order in which they were written, to bid adieu now to the light-hearted and only occasionally indignant Dickens of the earlier books, and get such entertainment as you can from him now that the occasional indignation has spread and deepened into a passionate revolt against the whole industrial order of the modern world. Here you will find no more villians and heroes, but only oppressors and victims, oppressing and suffering in spite of themselves, driven by a huge machinery which grinds to pieces the people it should nourish and ennoble, and having for its directors the basest and most foolish of us instead of the noblest and most farsighted.
Many readers find the change disappointing. Others find Dickens worth reading almost for the first time..."
In Hard Times Dickens uses the character of Sleary, proprietor of Sleary's Circus, to expose his views on the right of the common man to simple amusements. When Sleary lisps "people mutht be amuthed" he is echoing Dickens own sentiment. Dickens fought against sabbatarian groups who advocated strict observance of the Sabbath on the grounds that Sunday was the only day that working people had to indulge in simple amusements, or even to attend such institutions as the British Museum or the Crystal Palace . Dickens published a pamphlet, Sunday Under Three Heads , in 1836 in opposition to the Sabbath Observances Bill pending in Parliament. The Bill was rejected.
Dickens' life during the serialization of Hard Times
Apr 1854 - Aug 1854
Dickens' age: 42
April 1954
Three essays on divorce are published in Dickens' weekly magazine, Household Words , at the same time Dickens was introducing Stephen Blackpool's wife, whom he is unable to divorce, in the novel. Dickens' own marriage was crumbling during this time.
August 1954
Net receipts for the weekly sales of Household Words , in which the novel was published, rose by 237 per cent during the serialization.
Hard Times touches on themes of divorce and marital incompatibility at a time when Dickens' own marriage was deteriorating. In the novel Stephen Blackpool, whose wife is an alcoholic, is unable to divorce her and marry the woman he loves (Rachael).
Divorce was expensive and legally difficult, as well as socially unacceptable in the 19th century. Dickens and his wife Catherine , with whom he had ten children, separated (but never divorced) four years later in 1858.
Hard Times
Picking the Name
Dickens wrote to his friend and literary advisor, John Forster , on January 20, 1854 asking him to take a look of the following list of possible names for the new story he was going to serialize in Household Words.
Dickens had picked his favorite three from among these and ask Forster to pick the three he thought best.
1. According to Cocker
7. Two and Two are Four
8. Something Tangible
12. A Matter of Calculation
13. A Mere Question of Figures
14. The Gradgrind Philosophy
Forster selected 2, 6, and 11 and Dickens had selected 6, 13, and 14. Since both had selected number 6, the new story was entitled Hard Times.
Hard Times
The Norton Critical Edition - An authoritative text, backgrounds, sources, and contemporary reactions and criticism
Hard Times - Published in weekly parts Apr 1854 - Aug 1854
| Illustrations
Dickens published his tenth novel, without illustrations, in Household Words hoping to bolster lagging sales of his weekly journal. He had not published in weekly parts since Barnaby Rudge in 1841 and found the format "Crushing."
As a result of the demands of weekly serialization Hard Times is stripped of most of Dickens' trademark humor, rich characterization, and subplot. What remains is Dickens stripped down to the bare essentials, what novelist Angus Wilson called "a menu card for a meal rather than one of Dickens' rich feasts."
Dickens again flies the banner of social reform, touching on themes of industrialization, education, and Utilitarianism in the sweeping Industrial Revolution of the 1850's.
Dismissed initially as "sullen socialism", the novel gained new life with F.R. Leavis ' positive critical treatment in The Great Tradition (1948). Leavis considered Hard Times Dickens' "masterpiece" and "his only serious work of art". Since then it has been one of Dickens' best-sellers, widely taught in schools, partly due to the fact that it is Dickens' shortest major work.
Plot (contains spoilers)
Thomas Gradgrind runs a school of hard fact in the industrial city of Coketown. He happens to see his children, Louisa and Tom, peering into a circus in direct opposition to his views on things of fancy. The cause for the offense, suggested by Gradgrind's friend Josiah Bounderby, a "self-made man" banker and mill owner in Coketown, is that Sissy Jupe, the daughter of one of the circus folk from Sleary's traveling circus, has been enrolled in Gradgrind's school and is a bad influence. Gradgrind and Bounderby proceed to visit the girl's father in order to have her removed from school. They find that he has abandoned the girl and Gradgrind agrees to take her in in the hope of reforming her on the condition that she never mention her former life.
Stephen Blackpool, a power loom weaver in Bounderby's mill, is married to a drunk and asked Bounderby how he can get out of the marriage to marry Rachael, another worker at the Mill. Bounderby loftily tells him that he married "for better or worse" and without money cannot be released from the marriage. After his visit to Bounderby he meets an old woman (Mrs. Pegler) in the street who tells him she comes to Coketown every year with the hope of a chance sighting of Bounderby.
Tom, Louisa, and Sissy finish school, Sissy unsatisfactorily. Tom is apprenticed to Bounderby. Bounderby asked Gradgrind for Louisa's hand and she reluctantly agrees to marry him in the hope of helping Tom. Sissy remains with Mrs. Gradgrind to help raise three younger children.
James Harthouse, with a letter of introduction from Gradgrind, now a Member of Parliament, meets Bounderby and becomes a frequent visitor in the household. Harthouse has hopes of going to Parliament.
Stephen Blackpool refuses to unionize with workers of the mill and is ostracized and later fired from his job. Tom has taken to gambling and has fallen heavily into debt. Louisa and Tom visit Stephen and Louisa sympathetically offers money to help him relocate. Tom takes Stephen aside and asks him to loiter around the bank in the evenings before he leaves town on the pretense of offering work.
The bank is robbed and Blackpool, seen loitering about the bank in the days before the robbery, is suspect. Harthouse falls in love with Louisa and tries to lure her away from her unhappy marriage to Bounderby. She flees to her father and reveals the unhappiness she has felt since childhood, he softens as he realizes the mistakes he made in her education. Louisa stays with him, cared for by Sissy. Bounderby abandons her. Mrs. Sparsit, Bounderby's housekeeper, captures Mrs. Pegler and brings her to Bounderby's house where she is revealed to be Bounderby's loving mother, disproving Bounderby's story of being a self-made man, abandoned as a child.
Rachael sends word to Blackpool, who has gotten work in another town, telling of the suspicion in the robbery and expects him to come back to clear his name, but he doesn't show. Rachael and Sissy, walking in the country, come across Stephen's hat near a deserted mine and realize he has fallen in. They summon help, Stephen is brought out alive but dies on the way back to town. Before dying he tells Mr. Gradgrind to question his son, Tom, concerning the robbery. Tom, knowing that capture is close at hand escapes, with the help of Sissy, to a town where Sleary's Circus is performing. Thomas, Sissy, and Louisa meet him there and, after a last minute attempt by Bitzer to capture him, escapes abroad, with the help of the circus folk, where he later dies in misery. Thomas Gradgrind abandons his inflexible demands for facts in favor of "Faith, Hope, and Charity."
Characters:
Dickens' letter to Mark Lemon
(Feb 20, 1854)
Will you note down and send me any slang terms among the tumblers and circus-people, that you can call to mind? I have noted down some-I want them in my new story-but it is very probable that you will recall several which I have not got.
Excerpt:
Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else. You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them. This is the principle on which I bring up my own children, and this is the principle on which I bring up these children. Stick to Facts, sir!
Thomas Gradgrind - Hard Times
People mutht be amuthed...they can't be alwayth a working, nor yet they can't be alwayth a learning.
Mr. Sleary - Hard Times
| Hard Times |
What was the first name of the character played by Geoffrey Hughes in the TV sitcom Keeping Up Appearances'? | Reading for the Literal whats the story about Four levels of - SOSC - 1340
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2. Reading for the Formal (how is the story told?) • Look at the name of this FcTonal town: Coketown. Does anyone know what ‘coke’ is? • “It was a town of machinery and tall chimneys, out of which interminable serpents of smoke trailed themselves for ever and ever, and never got uncoiled. It had a black canal in it, and a river that ran purple with ill-smelling dye” (p. 26) • Name of the town, and metaphors like ‘serpents of smoke’, tell us that the triumph of capitalism also has this tragic side: produces squalid, overcrowded, polluted ciTes (externaliTes)
3. Reading for the Formal • Capitalist and working classes: ‘Listen’ to the accents • Bounderby speaks with fuency and some eloquence (he belongs to class oF ‘Masters’) • Stephen Blackpool (represents the men or ‘Hands’) is someTmes di±cult to understand, but beneath the accent there is a di²erent type oF “raTonality” and eloquence than that represented by Bounderby and Gradgrind • Might suggest a kind oF inequality, too, as we discover Blackpool received li³le Formal educaTon
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4. Expository Level: What does the ‘story’ mean? • Weaving individual biography and social structure • ‘Sissy’s Progress’: At a literal level, it just sounds like she’s having trouble at school • But Dickens is presenTng a criTque of a parTcular way of looking at things like ‘prosperity’ and ‘progress’ • Her teacher, Mr. M’Choakumchild is choking the imaginaTon and ‘fancy’ out of children • Dickens is presenTng a criTque of ‘uTlitarian’ thinking dominant in his Tme: ‘fact, fact, fact’ “everywhere in the material and immaterial aspects of the town” (p. 27)
5. Expository Level: Sissy’s Critique of Political Economy • Sissy’s ethics: What’s the 1 st principle of poliTcal economy? “±o do unto others as I would that they should do unto me” (p. 66). What kind of principle is this? • Is a wealthy naTon a prosperous naTon?
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| i don't know |
Which actor and comedian has the first names James Kimberley? | James Corden - Biography - IMDb
James Corden
Biography
Showing all 23 items
Jump to: Overview (3) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trade Mark (1) | Trivia (15) | Personal Quotes (2)
Overview (3)
5' 8" (1.73 m)
Mini Bio (1)
Describing himself as the "chunky unit", James Kimberley Corden was born in Hillingdon, London and raised in Buckinghamshire, the son of Margaret (Collins), a social worker, and Malcolm Corden, a musician. He studied drama at the Jackie Palmer Stage School before going on to Holmer Green Senior School, near High Wycombe. However, he admits that he had very little academic ambition and turned to acting, making his screen debut in the monochrome Shane Meadows film 24 7: Twenty Four Seven (1997). After taking small roles in television drama series, he landed his first notable role as the teenage member of a slimming club in the British TV comedy-drama Fat Friends (2000). Shortly afterwards, he appeared on the London stage in Alan Bennett 's play "The History Boys", taking part in its subsequent international tour, as well as the cinema adaptation. Whilst working on Fat Friends (2000), he met the Welsh actress Ruth Jones and, between them, they fashioned the sitcom (in which both also appear) Gavin & Stacey (2007), the big hit of the 2007 season, winning British Film Academy awards for them both as Best Comedy Show and for James as Best Comedy Actor. He also persuaded three of the erstwhile "History Boys" to make cameo appearances as Gavin's stag party friends. In 2011 he found fame as a stage actor in the acclaimed farce 'One Man, Two Guv'nors' transferring with it from London to Broadway, thus beginning Transatlantic success topped in 2015 when he became the host of CBS 'The Late, Late Show'.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: don @ minifie-1
Spouse (1)
( 15 September 2012 - present) (2 children)
Trade Mark (1)
Son of Malcolm Corden (b. 1951) and Margaret Corden (née Collins) (b. 1952).
Brother of Andrea Henry (née Corden) (b. 1975) and Ruth Corden (b. 1982).
Paternal grandson of Cedric (b. 1929) and Isabel (née Pattison) Corden (b. 1931).
Uncle of Joel (b. 2003) and Ellen Henry (b. 2006), via sister Andrea.
Is the former roommate of Dominic Cooper .
Is a West Ham United supporter.
Was in a relationship with Gavin & Stacey (2007) co-star Sheridan Smith twice. They began a relationship in November 2007 but later separated in March 2008, only to reconcile in February 2009. However they went on to separate permanently in August 2009 due to work commitments.
Confirmed his engagement to Julia Carey , having proposed on Christmas Day after planting an engagement ring in her stocking (29 December 2010).
Became a father for the 1st time, at age 32, when his fiancée Julia Carey gave birth to their son, Max McCartney Kimberley Corden, on 22 March 2011.
Won the 2012 Tony Award as Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for "One Man, Two Guvnors".
Married fiancée Julia Carey in a private ceremony at Babington House in Somerset before 60 guests, wearing a Saville Row navy suit (15 September 2012).
Became a father for the 2nd time, at age 36, when his wife Julia Carey Corden gave birth to their daughter, Carey Corden, on 27 October 2014.
| James Corden |
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the ruler of which of the United Arab Emirates | James Corden - Biography - IMDb
James Corden
Biography
Showing all 23 items
Jump to: Overview (3) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trade Mark (1) | Trivia (15) | Personal Quotes (2)
Overview (3)
5' 8" (1.73 m)
Mini Bio (1)
Describing himself as the "chunky unit", James Kimberley Corden was born in Hillingdon, London and raised in Buckinghamshire, the son of Margaret (Collins), a social worker, and Malcolm Corden, a musician. He studied drama at the Jackie Palmer Stage School before going on to Holmer Green Senior School, near High Wycombe. However, he admits that he had very little academic ambition and turned to acting, making his screen debut in the monochrome Shane Meadows film 24 7: Twenty Four Seven (1997). After taking small roles in television drama series, he landed his first notable role as the teenage member of a slimming club in the British TV comedy-drama Fat Friends (2000). Shortly afterwards, he appeared on the London stage in Alan Bennett 's play "The History Boys", taking part in its subsequent international tour, as well as the cinema adaptation. Whilst working on Fat Friends (2000), he met the Welsh actress Ruth Jones and, between them, they fashioned the sitcom (in which both also appear) Gavin & Stacey (2007), the big hit of the 2007 season, winning British Film Academy awards for them both as Best Comedy Show and for James as Best Comedy Actor. He also persuaded three of the erstwhile "History Boys" to make cameo appearances as Gavin's stag party friends. In 2011 he found fame as a stage actor in the acclaimed farce 'One Man, Two Guv'nors' transferring with it from London to Broadway, thus beginning Transatlantic success topped in 2015 when he became the host of CBS 'The Late, Late Show'.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: don @ minifie-1
Spouse (1)
( 15 September 2012 - present) (2 children)
Trade Mark (1)
Son of Malcolm Corden (b. 1951) and Margaret Corden (née Collins) (b. 1952).
Brother of Andrea Henry (née Corden) (b. 1975) and Ruth Corden (b. 1982).
Paternal grandson of Cedric (b. 1929) and Isabel (née Pattison) Corden (b. 1931).
Uncle of Joel (b. 2003) and Ellen Henry (b. 2006), via sister Andrea.
Is the former roommate of Dominic Cooper .
Is a West Ham United supporter.
Was in a relationship with Gavin & Stacey (2007) co-star Sheridan Smith twice. They began a relationship in November 2007 but later separated in March 2008, only to reconcile in February 2009. However they went on to separate permanently in August 2009 due to work commitments.
Confirmed his engagement to Julia Carey , having proposed on Christmas Day after planting an engagement ring in her stocking (29 December 2010).
Became a father for the 1st time, at age 32, when his fiancée Julia Carey gave birth to their son, Max McCartney Kimberley Corden, on 22 March 2011.
Won the 2012 Tony Award as Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for "One Man, Two Guvnors".
Married fiancée Julia Carey in a private ceremony at Babington House in Somerset before 60 guests, wearing a Saville Row navy suit (15 September 2012).
Became a father for the 2nd time, at age 36, when his wife Julia Carey Corden gave birth to their daughter, Carey Corden, on 27 October 2014.
| i don't know |
The SRN1 was the first practical design of what type of vehicle | Christopher Cockerell and the History of the Hovercraft
By Mary Bellis
Updated August 17, 2016.
A hovercraft is a vehicle supported on a cushion of air supplied by a powered fan mounted on the craft.
The hovercraft was invented by Christopher Cockerell in 1956. The theory behind one of the most successful inventions of the 20th century, the Hovercraft, was originally tested in 1955 using an empty KiteKat cat food tin inside a coffee tin, an industrial air blower and a pair of kitchen scales. Sir Christopher Cockerell developed the first practical hovercraft designs, these led to the first hovercraft to be produced commercially, the SRN1.
Cockerell's idea was to build a vehicle that would move over the water's surface, floating on a layer of air. This would reduce friction between the water and vehicle. To test his hypothesis, he put one a smaller can inside a larger can and used a hairdryer to blow air into them. The downward thrust produced was greater when one can was inside the other rather than air just being blown into one can.
Background
Cockerell was born in 1910 in Cambridge, where his father, Sir Sydney Cockerell, was a museum curator. Christopher Cockerell went to the primary school of St. Faith's. He studied at Gresham's School in Holt, Norfolk. He matriculated to Peterhouse, Cambridge, to read mechanical engineering and was tutored by William Dobson Womersley. He later returned to Cambridge to study radio and electronics.
Cockerell worked for the Radio Research Company until 1935 and then for the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company from 1935 until 1951. During the war years, Cockerell worked with an elite team at Marconi to develop radar, a development which Churchill believed had a significant effect on the outcome of the Second World War, and Cockerell believed to be one of his greatest achievements. While at Marconi, Cockerell patented 36 of his ideas. Hel was knighted for his achievement in 1969.
The Hovercraft
It occurred to Cockerell that if the entire craft were lifted from the water, the craft would effectively have no drag. This, he hoped, would give the craft the ability to attain a much higher maximum speed than could be achieved by the boats of the time.
Cockerell's theory was that instead of just pumping air under the craft, as previous inventors had, if the air were to be instead channelled to form a narrow jet around the perimeter of the craft, the moving air would form a momentum curtain, a wall of moving air that would limit the amount of air that would leak out. This meant that the same cushion of high-pressure air could be maintained by a very much smaller engine; and for the first time, a craft could be lifted completely out of the water. He tested his theories using a vacuum cleaner and two tin cans. His hypothesis was found to have potential, but the idea took some years to develop, and he was forced to sell personal possessions to finance his research.
| Hovercraft |
Ibadan and Port Harcourt are large cities in which African country | Hovercraft History - The history of hovercraft.
Hovercraft History
A hovercraft, or air-cushion vehicle (ACV), is a vehicle or craft that can be supported by a cushion of air ejected downwards. It can travel over any relatively smooth surface, such as gently sloping land, water, or ice, while having no almost no contact with it.
The first recorded design for a vehicle which could be termed a Hovercraft was in 1716 by Emanuel Swedenborg, a Swedish designer, philosopher and theologian. His man-powered air cushion platform resembled an upside-down boat with a cockpit in the center and manually operated oar-like scoops to push air under the vehicle on each downward stroke. No vehicle was ever built, no doubt because it was realised that human effort could not have generated enough lift.
In the mid-1870s, the British engineer Sir John Isaac Thornycroft built a number of ground effect machine test models based on his idea of using air between the hull of a boat and the water to reduce drag. Although he filed a number of patents involving air-lubricated hulls in 1877, no practical applications were found. Over the years, various other people had tried various methods of using air to reduce the drag on ships.
Col. Melville W. Beardsley (1913-1998), an American inventor and aeronautical engineer, along with Dr. W. Bertelsen worked on developing early ACV's in the USA. It was not until 1952 that the inventor Christopher Cockerell designed a vehicle based on his 'hovercraft principle'. This was the missing link everyone else had not seen and made a commercial craft possible. He was knighted for his services to engineering in 1969 for his work on the Hovercraft. Sir Christopher even invented the word 'Hovercraft' to describe his invention.
Cockerell used simple experiments involving a vacuum cleaner motor and two cylindrical cans. He proved the workable principle of a vehicle suspended on a cushion of air blown out under pressure, making the vehicle easily mobile over most surfaces. His significant advance was developing a peripheral jet system to retain the air cushion under the vehicle. The supporting air cushion would enable it to operate over soft mud, water, and marshes and swamps as well as on firm ground.
The British aircraft manufacturer Saunders Roe which had aeronautical expertise developed the first practical man-carrying hovercraft, the SR-N1, which carried out several test programmes in 1959 to 1961 (the first public demonstration in 1959), including a cross-channel run. The SR-N1 was powered by one (piston) engine, driven by expelled air, and could carry little more than its own weight and two men,and did not have any skirt at first trials. It was found that the craft's lift was improved by the addition of a 'skirt' of flexible fabric or rubber around the hovering surface, to contain the air. The skirt was an independent invention made by a Royal Navy officer who worked with Sir Christopher to develop the idea further.
The first true passenger-carrying hovercraft was the Vickers VA-3, which in the summer of 1961 carried passengers regularly along the North Wales Coast from Wallasey to Rhyl. It was powered by two turboprop aero-engines and driven by propellers. During the 1960s Saunders Roe developed several larger designs which could carry passengers, including the SR-N2, which operated across the Solent in 1962 and later the SR-N6, which operated across the Solent from Southsea to Ryde on the Isle of Wight for many years. Operations commenced on 24th July 1965 using the SR-N6 which carried just 38 passengers. Two modern 98 seat AP1-88 hovercraft now ply this route, and over 20 million passengers have used the service as of 2004.
As well as Saunders Roe and Vickers (which combined in 1966 to form the British Hovercraft Corporation), other commercial craft were developed during the 1960s in the UK by Cushioncraft (part of the Britten-Norman Group) and Hovermarine (the latter being 'sidewall' type hovercraft, where the sides of the hull projected down into the water to trap the cushion of air).
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Jean Bertin developed a hovercraft train dubbed the Aérotrain in France. His I-80 prototype established the world speed record for overland air cushion vehicles with a mean speed of 417.6 km/h (260 mp/h) and a top speed of 430 km/h (267 mp/h).
By 1970 the largest British hovercraft were in service, the Mountbatten class SR-N4 model, each powered by four Rolls-Royce Proteus engines, regularly carrying cars and passengers across the English Channel from Dover or Ramsgate to Calais. This service ceased in 2000 after years of competition with traditional ferries, catamarans, and the opening of the Channel tunnel.
In 1998, the US Postal Service began using the British built Hoverwork AP.1-88 to haul mail, freight, and passengers from Bethel, Alaska to and from eight small villages along the Kuskokwim River. Bethel is far removed from the Alaska road system, thus making the hovercraft an attractive alternative to the air based delivery methods used prior to introduction of the hovercraft service. Hovercraft service is suspended for several weeks each year while the river is beginning to freeze to minimize damage to the river ice surface. The hovercraft is perfectly able to operate during the freeze-up period, however, it could potentially break the ice creating hazards for the villagers using their snowmobiles for transportation along the river during the early winter.
The commercial success of hovercraft suffered from rapid rises in fuel prices during the late 1960s and 1970s following conflict in the Middle East. Alternative over-water vehicles such as wave-piercing catamarans (marketed as the Seacat in Britain) use less fuel and can perform most of the hovercraft's marine tasks. Although developed elsewhere in the world for both civil and military purposes, except for the Solent Ryde to Southsea crossing, hovercraft disappeared from the coastline of Britain until a range of Griffon Hovercraft were bought by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
There are an increasing number of small homebuilt and kit-built hovercraft used for fun and racing purposes, mainly on inland lakes and rivers but also in marshy areas and in some estuaries.
Hovercraft typically have two (or more) separate engines (some craft, such as the SR-N6, have one engine with a drive split through a gearbox). One engine drives the fan (aka the impeller) which is responsible for lifting the vehicle by forcing air under the craft. One or more additional engines are used to provide thrust in order to propel the craft in the desired direction. Some hovercraft utilise ducting to allow one engine to perform both tasks by directing some of the air to the skirt, the rest of the air passing out of the back to push the craft forward.
Hovercraft - the History and Development
The word "hovercraft" was probably coined by a newspaper, or even by Christopher Cockerell himself, to try to capture the essence of the vehicle. The more accurate modern description "air-cushioned vehicle" is more similar to the German Luftkissenboot.
As with any new idea it is fuelled by need, finance, and curiosity, and motivated often by the need to improve an existing product; the word development covers all this and more.
In view of Vosper Thorneycroft's involvement in military hovercraft in the 1960's, it is probably ironic that they were making use of an idea patented by Mr.Thorneycroft, a boat builder in the 1870's who suggested that by pumping air under a boat of a certain design it would help to lift the hull, reducing draft and thereby the drag of the vessel would be reduced. There is a patent to this concept taken out in 1910.
Later in the 1920's a Swede developed an improvement on the ice sledge by propelling it with an air propeller in such a way as to get ram airlift on his platform. Further development was not continued.
The hovercraft as we know it today has largely been credited to Christopher Cockerell, a lateral thinker of his day who, after developing crucial components for use on British radar during the war, retired to a boatyard in Norfolk, where in the interest of making a faster powerboat that would plane at lower speeds came up with a similar idea to that of Thorneycroft; what goes around comes around!!! He took the idea further by the skilful use of vectored air to make the whole vehicle hover, thereby removing the drag from any part of the hull which might have been in contact with the surface, be it land or water.
It is worth mentioning at this point that I do not think Cockerell ever intended his craft to be anything more than an amphibious marine vehicle. Where insurance underwriters and others get the idea that a hovercraft is some sort of low flying aeroplane says much about their lack of understanding of the concept.
At a similar time in the late 1950's a Doctor William Bertelsen in the USA was looking at alternative forms of transport in order to reach his patients when the roads were impassable. He continued to develop various hovering vehicles and roadways for hovercraft over the next 50 years. He is probably best known for the use of fans mounted on gimbals, but as with all things it is not necessarily the product, but the marketing of it, that makes the difference to its success or failure. In the case of Cockerell with his military contacts he was able to head up a British military development group, which with some time, reluctant government funding finally produced SRN1 which successfully crossed the Channel from England to France on the eleventh of June 1959, fifty years to the day after Bleriot did the same crossing in his aeroplane.
As with all things if there is the possibility of a military use money is found to further development from which civilian side-products are often developed.
The Russians built a fleet of very large military craft for use in the upper Baltic, particularly useful over the ice and snow, while the Americans were later to see the military advantages of hovercraft under the Reagan administration: when they did they invested heavily in both amphibious landing craft and rigid sidewall designs as the basis of their hundred miles an hour navy. But as with most things political, the military investment is usually in proportion to the perceived threat, and as the USSR was coming apart at the seams the investment was reduced. But the US Navy now has a fleet of vastly powerful air cushion landing craft, which, with their mother-ships, are now an integral part of the US Marine structure.
Some very successful craft that evolved from the military development work were used on civilian ferry designs, culminating in the large cross-Channel craft.
The small or light [a British government definition of under one tonne] hovercraft of today were originally built, some of them by people in the commercial industry, but mainly by people inspired by the concept. Some of the early craft can be seen at the Hovercraft Museum at Lee-on-Solent. As one would expect many of the designs were scaled down versions of the larger commercial types of the day.
Largely by virtue of the commercial industry being based around Southampton Water, the largest grouping of like-minded people was in that area and so the Hover [later Hovercraft] Club of Great Britain and the Hovercraft Society were formed.
At the Browndown hovercraft event in 1976, which took place on the 10th anniversary of the first Browndown event, Christopher Cockerell told me of the reluctance of his team to the idea of fitting "a ring of Mackintosh" around the SRN1 after its cross-Channel trip. In retrospect the comment is quite interesting because the use of a flexible seal or skirt was possibly the single most important step forward in making the hovercraft a practical transport vehicle, and secondly highlights the difficulty of working with a team of aircraft engineers trying to produce a marine product for military use.
As the British Isles are a relatively small area making interaction between individuals relatively easy, it is not surprising to me that craft produced by the home-builder or small company rapidly evolved and have continued to do so long after the larger military/ commercial designs appeared to consolidate their basic idea's. A lot of time was taken up in the early development of the larger commercial craft in the improvement and refinement of the skirt. Companies such as Hovercraft Development Ltd [HDL] were specifically involved in making skirts more efficient, which gave the craft improved handling. This work made use of and added to the skirt patents, which were held by the British government.
Some development on propulsion systems was also noticeable. Again, in my view, commercially the breakthrough came when the industry stopped trying to make hovering aircraft with aero-engines etc, and started to make air-cushioned boats, both amphibious and non-amphibious [rigid-sidewall]. The rigid-sidewall craft were made using Glass Reinforced Plastic [GRP] technology for use where a shallow draught boat was required, or where there was a lot of water debris, in harbours etc. As these craft were normally diesel-powered driving both lift fans and water props, it was a natural progression to build diesel-powered amphibious hovercraft - e.g. the AP 188.
This rather simplifies the case for the commercial development, but against the same period of 20 to 30 years the light hovercraft had gone from craft that would barely move to ones that could race in tight formation over land and water courses in groups up to 25 at the same time at speeds in excess of 50 miles an hour. On the light leisure/commercial side, craft are being used as viable forms of transport on a day-to-day basis, as well as for just plain fun. At the same time development on small craft often being built with limited resources has been innovative in squeezing the best results out of the often limited materials available. When they were then used competitively or in groups it was inevitable that the better concepts prevailed.
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Who said on radio in 1975 'We've got a streaker down the wicket now. Not very shapely and it's masculine and I would think it's seen the last of its cricket for the day'? | All out at Lord’s: streaker Michael Angelow paints memorable Ashes scene | John Ashdown | Sport | The Guardian
The Spin
All out at Lord’s: streaker Michael Angelow paints memorable Ashes scene
On Monday 4 August 1975, 41 years ago this Thursday, London bathed in a heatwave and Lord’s witnessed a little piece of cricket history
Michael Angelow hurdles the stumps at Lord’s. Photograph: PA
Tuesday 2 August 2016 07.30 EDT
Last modified on Tuesday 9 August 2016 05.49 EDT
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‘We’ve got a freaker!’
It was around 3.15pm on Monday 4 August 1975, 41 years ago this Thursday, and England and Australia were meandering their way towards a draw on the fourth day of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s. The home side were steadily building a declaration total, a heatwave had thermometers hovering around 33C and, sat in front of the Tavern, Michael Angelow was pondering his immediate future.
The immediate past had featured several pints of ale and some good-natured back-and-forth with a group of Australia fans who has also been enjoying the sun and the refreshments. The question of livening up the soporific proceedings had been raised. A member of the antipodean party came up with an idea and offered £20 to the man bold enough to carry it out. Angelow, 24, and a cook in the merchant navy, stepped up to the challenge. “I didn’t have any plan, just to keep running.”
Those around the country tuned into Test Match Special were treated to John Arlott’s description of what happened next , made all the more memorable by his failure to remember the word “streaker”: “We’ve got a freaker! We’ve got a freaker down the wicket now. Not very shapely and it’s masculine. And I would think it’s seen the last of its cricket for the day. The police are mustered, so are the cameramen, and Greg Chappell. And now he’s being embraced by a blond policeman. And this may be his last public appearance but what a splendid one.
A brief history of streaking in sport
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“He’s now being marched down in the final exhibition past at least 8,000 people in the Mound Stand, some of whom perhaps have never seen anything quite like this before. And he’s getting a very good reception.”
(That may be one of the most famous pieces of cricket commentary in existence but years later Arlott felt he had missed an opportunity. “No, I blew it,” he told David Rayvern Allen. “What I should have said was that perhaps his greatest disappointment was not being deprived of further cricket for the day, but that he actually managed to straddle the stumps without even dislodging a bail.”)
Angelow had shed his clothing and, wearing nothing but a pair of black socks and his white Adidas trainers, leaped over both sets of stumps, in doing so creating one of the great cricket photographs. There he is, buttocks shining proudly in the sunshine, a hand (rather than a more personal appendage) poking out jauntily between his legs, fingers spread as if to say: “Ta da!” Such is the picture’s pop-culture cache that it adorns the cover of the Duckworth Lewis Method’s second album , Sticky Wickets.
The police, taking a fairly laissez-faire approach to the spectacle (it’s fair to say any Edgbaston interlopers this week will not experience quite the same relaxed attitude – an Australia fan was jailed for a week in Sri Lanka after streaking during a rain delay in the first Test ), eventually caught up with Angelow after he had wandered over to the Mound Stand and escorted him from the ground. Perhaps their hesitation was borne out of inexperience. Angelow’s amble across the Lord’s pitch had created a little bit of history: he was the first streaker at a Test match in England (the equally-coveted First Streaker at a Major Sporting Event title having gone to Michael O’Brien at Twickenham in 1974).
“No one at Lord’s had seen a streaker before, but I’d seen quite a few back in Australia prior to that,” noted the Australia batsman Doug Walters, who had been on the field at the time. “They were really quite commonplace back home, but you certainly didn’t expect that kind of behaviour in England, certainly not in those days, and at Lord’s of all places. It’s probably fair to say that cricket in England was a bit formal. Times have changed since then, whether for the good or the worse I don’t know.
“The players managed to forget about the interruption pretty quickly. I think it was handled pretty well at the time – there was quite a laugh from everyone on the field, but then it was back to business.”
Such was the attitude at the time that Angelow returned to Lord’s the following day to watch the conclusion of the match (Australia comfortably batting out for a draw to maintain their 1-0 lead in the series). Angelow, though, did not get to hold on to his winnings. “I remember the magistrate asking me how much the bet had been for and I said £20,” he told the Independent. “He said: ‘Right, we’ll have that then’ and that was it.”
He was offered cash to repeat his streak at the Grand National and at Wimbledon but turned all offers down, returning to the comparatively quiet life in ships’ kitchens. “It wasn’t something I was going to make a career out of. Streaker isn’t something you put on your CV.”
Which is very true, although as a antisocial ways of relieving the boredom during a Test-match lull go, give me a streak over a beer snake any time .
| John Arlott |
Which S S is a Cambridge College founded in 1596? | Cricket’s Streak Freaks – what’s the runaround really worth?
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Cricket’s Streak Freaks – what’s the runaround really worth?
© AFP Photo
Alex James. Does that name ring a bell?
Pretty unlikely even if you are the most passionate cricket follower, and were in Pallekele for the opening day’s action in the first Sri Lanka-Australia Test. After all, it is not often that we try to find out the name of a streaker, much less remember it for posterity.
Like several others from Australia, James made the trip from Down Under to watch Steven Smith’s men try and eke out a rare series win on the subcontinent. But, unlike the rest of the travelling fans, James decided that not only would he partake of the action, he would himself provide a slice of it.
So, as the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium outfield was draped in covers following a prolonged rain interruption on day one, James – adequately clothed – leapt over two fences and made his way to the playing arena from the hill in front of the scoreboard.
In itself, it was a silly gesture, fuelled perhaps by a dash of alcohol and indisputable ennui. But once he did reach the covered outfield, he shed his shorts too and indulged in a period of shallow-water swimming in his birthday suit before making his grand exit.
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Throughout this passage, the security staff desisted from interrupting James’s misadventure, and watched on with an admixture of amazement and disgust as he reclaimed his shorts and returned to his original spot on the hill. James must have thought he had gotten away with his rain dance, but before he could leave the ground, he was arrested, spent the night in lock-up and returned the following morning to the Kandy magistrate’s court, where was fined 3000 Sri Lankan rupees and sentenced to a week in prison.
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Wonder what James makes of his ill-advised mid-arena jaunt now. Alright, so the fine translates to only Aus$ 28 and he isn’t exactly spending a week in prison – he is out on bail – but was that brain-fade worth the repercussions? Hasn’t he seen and learnt from the fate that other cricket streakers have suffered in the past?
Am I the only one, or do you also sometimes try to make sense of why an adult who has paid good money to watch international sport would want to make an embarrassing spectacle of oneself? What is it that drives people to streaking? Alcohol and a mid-afternoon dare is a dangerous combination that has claimed many a victim in England and Australia, notably, but a colleague of mine who has seen more cricket than most cricket writers in the world throws in ‘exhibitionism’ and ‘just for a lark’ as other potential driving forces.
There are few sights more unpalatable on a sports pitch than an unclad adult haring around, chased by security personnel at once red-faced with embarrassment and anger at having had one put past them. The unedifying sight of four or five uniformed gents running behind a nude specimen, mostly but not always with a sheet with which to cover the offender once he has been wrestled to the ground, is generally greeted with loud cheers from the rest of the watching populace, and especially when he manages to keep his pursuers at bay for any length of time.
Alright then, let us concede that streaking invaders offer a brand of entertainment that we may not have been prepared for, but one that we soak in whole-heartedly. Maybe it appeals to us at a very basal level, maybe even as we are aghast and mortified, a certain portion of the hypothalamus releases the hormone that also leaves us subconsciously admiring of the daringness – or stupidity – of someone who will perhaps look back on his 15 seconds in the sun or rain with great regret and a deep, underlying sense of shame.
How much money is enough money for you to accept a wager to parade yourself naked in front of 40,000 spectators at the ground and numerous others on television? Or how much is the need for those 15 seconds of notoriety that you are willing to live a state of perennial embarrassment, not just personal but also extending to your family? Perhaps, The Anatomy of a Streaker – pun intended, of course – is worth exploring.
Streaking was pretty much an American specialty until it reached the United Kingdom in 1974, with the first notable sporting streak coming at a rugby game in Twickenham. How could it not then make the natural progression to cricket? And that too, during an Ashes Test, at Lord’s? So it was that in 1975, with Bob Woolmer and Alan Knott at the crease, a certain Michael Angelow – thank heavens for the ‘w’ at the end of the second name – decided that it was time to entertain the MCC members.
© Getty Image
“Ah, a freaker,” John Arlott, the legendary commentator, chuckled on live radio. “We’ve got a freaker. He’s down the wicket now. Not very shapely. And it’s masculine. And I would think it’s seen the last of its cricket for the day.”
And this is what Angelow’s unimpressed mother has been quoted as saying of her offspring’s antics: “I can only think he must have gone to London and started drinking and as a result did this dreadful thing. My first and only reaction was one of utter disgust. We are not that sort of family. He’s in for a ticking-off from me when he gets home.” Good on you, ma’am.
One is not sure of Ashley Summers’s mother gave her a ticking-off after her daughter dared to bare, also coincidentally at Lord’s, during India’s first ever Test win over England at that venue in the summer of 1986. Sunil Gavaskar and K Srikkanth were in the middle when Summers made her grand entry. There is this outstanding photograph that shows Gavaskar engaged in elaborate gardening of the pitch, no more than four feet away from Summers. Even closer to her on the other side is Srikkanth, suddenly deciding that he had to count the exact blades of grass near the popping crease. “Until then,” Gavaskar has said several times, silvery tongue firmly in his cheek, “Cheeka had been struggling to spot the ball. But after this incident, everything was flying off the middle of his bat!”
Not all cricketers take to streakers kindly, not least the Australians. Greg Chappell, with a stated disaffection for those that can’t keep their clothes on themselves, had promised before the 1977 tour of New Zealand that he would deal with any unclothed invaders sternly. As if testing his intent, Leonard Bruce McCauley streaked on to Eden Park in Auckland, only for Chappell to chase and grab him, and rain blows on the ingloriously uncovered backside with his bat. McCualey’s suit against Chappell for assault was dismissed, but the incident’s immediate fallout was the Australian captain being dismissed, ironically run out, not long thereafter.
A more contemporary Australian backlash came at the Gabba in early 2008 when Andrew Symonds, built like a tank and then occasional trainee with the Brisbane Broncos rugby league side, shoulder-charged a streaker during the second final against India in the triangular series. Sitting in the press box, most of us recoiled involuntarily as Symonds’ meaty shoulder made crunching contact with the right shoulder of the invader and sent him sprawling to the turf. That ought to have sealed it for streakers. It clearly hasn’t, as Alex James has reiterated in a bare, naked reality.
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The album Menlove Ave, released posthumously in 1986, is by which musician? | 27 October 1986: US album release: Menlove Ave by John Lennon | The Beatles Bible
Monday 27 October 1986 Release No Comments
Released in time for the Christmas 1986 market, Menlove Ave was the second posthumous long player of John Lennon 's unfinished recordings, following Milk And Honey two years earlier. It was released in the United States on this day.
The album fared poorly. Given little promotion, it failed to chart in the United Kingdom upon its release there on 3 November 1986 , and peaked at 127 in the United States. The lack of chart action made it Lennon's least successful album at the time.
Rock And Roll People was issued as a promotional single to coincide with the release, but was given little airplay. No commercial singles were released from the album.
| John Lennon |
Who created the detective Mike Hammer? | Menlove Avenue
Menlove Avenue
Menlove Avenue - First Pressing Label
Label
Detail :
A posthumous album of John's outtake material.
As you can see on the cover, the album is actually titled Menlove Ave. using the shortform of Avenue.
It is credited to John Lennon.
The A-side are all tracks recorded at the relevant sessions but NOT released.
The B-side features early takes of songs that were all released on the album "Walls And Bridges", albeit in changed versions.
The cover was an Andy Warhol original illustration, made from a photo of John.
Menlove Avenue - As a child John was brought up by Aunt Mimi and Uncle George in their home on Menlove Avenue in Liverpool. In 1956 was John was 16, Elvis Presley happened as a world phenomenon. It changed John's life. John's American rock roots, Elvis, Fats Domino and Phil Spector are evident in these tracks. But what I hear in John's voice are the other roots of the boy who grew up in Liverpool, listening to Greensleeves, BBC Radio and Tessie O'Shea.
Yoko Ono Lennon
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Who created the detective Sam Spade? | Sam Spade
Sam Spade
Created by Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961)
"When a man's partner is killed he's supposed to do something about it. It doesn't matter what you thought of him. He was your partner and you're supposed to do something about it."
The original blonde Satan, Dashiell Hammett's SAM SPADE is surely one of the most important figures in the entire private eye genre. He made his debut in 1929 in the pages of Black Mask, in the serialized first part of The Maltese Falcon, and the genre has never been the same. He's a "hard and shifty fellow," a partner in the Archer and Spade Detective Agency of San Francisco. He doesn't particularly like his partner, and he's not above sleeping with his wife, but when Miles is murdered, he swings into action, and ends up mixed up with a quest for a priceless statuette, a rara-avis, called the Maltese Falcon.
Collected and published in book form, the novel was a bestseller when it first appeared, and remains one of the true classics of the genre, a vastly-influential piece of work, featuring one of the very first P.I.s "with his own private, unorthodox, but absolutely inviolable code of ethics," according to William DeAndrea, in his Encyclopedia Mysteriosa . But it's biggest impact was undoubtedly in another medium. The Maltese Falcon may have left its stamp on literature, but it also became one of the most popular and important films in history. Mind you, it took awhile. It was filmed twice before rookie director John Huston finally released the definitive version in 1941.
The first attempt, starring Ricardo Cortez as Sam Spade was a solid, if unspectacular film. Cortez played Spade as a smirking womanizer, too smug to possibly be taken seriously. But the women in it were well cast, and easy on the eyes. The film was flawed by an anti-climatic jailhouse ending that merely reinforced the notion of Spade as something of a shit. The worst thing about the 1931 version is the awful anti-climatic last scene in the prison. But there was a lot I liked about this version. I liked the guy who played Archer --his being much older than Iva made sense. And I did like the fact Spade at least appeared to have a sex drive (which made him even more credible as a shit to Iva than Bogart was). I thought the women on the whole were more believable (and a whole lot sexier) and the exposition a lot clearer (even if some of the book was MIA). But what struck me the most was how much Huston's version followed this one. The identical camera angles, the set-ups, the framing of shots -- even the way the lines were read are often exactly the same. And the 1941 cast looks like it was chosen for its resemblance to the 1931 originals. It's like they filmed the rehearsal and ten years later Huston tidied up the rough edges.
I'm beginning to think the whole story about Huston handing his secretary Hammett's book, and telling her to type up just the dialogue is a crock. I think possibly he gave her the earlier script, and told her to put his name on it. then he went back and put in some of the missing scenes.
The second version, Satan Met a Lady (Warner Bros., 1936), seemed "incapable of deciding whether to be a screwball comedy or a murder mystery" Many changes were made to the original plot, the characters, even the title. None were for the better.
Sam Spade is now Ted Shane , the Fat Man is now the Fat Lady, Bette Davis is lack lustre as Miss Wonderly, and the Black Bird is now a ram's horn. Generally considered poorly acted, forced and dull. Intended, perhaps, as a spoof, but of what? Warren William as Spade had possibly the biggest head in Hollywood, but so what? At the end of the film, having finally grabbed the bejewelled horn, he gives it a tentative toot. "Honey, it blows," he informs Miss Wonderly. I know how he feels.
The third time was the charm. The Maltese Falcon, released in 1941 by Warner Brothers, written and directed by John Huston, and starring Humphrey Bogart as Spade was an amazing, powerful piece of work. Okay, Bogey didn't match the description of Spade in the book. He was too small and too dark, but can anyone ever picture anyone else ever playing Spade? In fact, Bogart was so good as Spade, that his later appearance as Chandler's Philip Marlowe never seemed right to me. Add a memorable cast of colourful characters (with Mary Astor as Bridgid O'Shaugnessy, Lee Patrick as Effie Perine, Sydney Greenstreet as Casper Gutman, Peter Lorre as Joel Cairo and Elisha Cook Jr. as Wilmer Cook) and a taut moody screenplay that was essentially the novel itself, and you've got the making of the archetypical private eye film. Decades later, film makers are still trying to crawl out from its shadow.
The film proved to be such a success that Sam Spade started showing up all over. Three short stories written by Hammett and published back in the early thirties (all pretty weak, compared to The Maltese Falcon), were collected and published in book form.
There was even a plan to do a sequel with Bogart and the rest, but it nevercame to fruition. A comic sequel, The Black Bird , with George Segal as Sam Spade's son, spoofed the original in the early '70s.
In 1946, The Maltese Falcon was presented in comic book form, adapted by Rodlow Williard, published by David McKay, as Feature Book #48, The adaptation was supposedly quite well-done, very faithful to both the book and the film.
And in the forties, Spade was a staple of the airwaves, thanks to The Adventures of Sam Spade, a popular radio show, featuring Howard Duff in the lead role, and sponsored by Wildroot Hair Oil. In fact, a series of single-page comic strip/hair tonic ads appeared in magazines, newspapers and comic books, featuring Spade shilling for Wildroot Hair Oil. (The ads were drawn by Golden Age artist Lou Fine, who later went on to do the Peter Scratch comic strip.)
In fact, the only real sequel to The Maltese Falcon was not produced for either prose or film, though, but for radio. Both The Adventures of Sam Spade and the great mystery anthology show Suspense were both produced by the same man, William Speir. During the first year or two that Sam Spade was on the air, Suspense was an hour show, hosted by Robert Montgomery. To get fans of Suspense listening to Sam Spade, Speir produced a special one-hour Spade episode called "The Khandi Tooth Caper" and aired it on Suspense.
The episode is a direct sequel to The Maltese Falcon, with Spade once again meeting Gutman, Cairo, and another "gunsel." It explains what happened to the real Falcon, alludes to Brigid O'Shaugnessy's fate, and sets Spade and the bad guys at odds as they again contend in the search for another quest object, the fabled Khandi Tooth. As an inside joke, host Montgomery, who played Philip Marlowe in the screen version of The Lady in the Lake made a cameo appearance as Marlowe in the episode. Later, the episode was presented as a two-parter on Sam Spade's own series. It's available from various radio nostalgia dealers if you're interested in hearing it.
When Hammett and his political views fell out of favor and landed him in hot water during the McCarthy witchhunts in the fifties, the radio show promptly pretended Hammett didn't exist. Sam Spade was now Charlie Wild , the show was retitled Charlie Wild, Private Eye (to cash in on Wildroots commercial slogan: "Get Wildroot Cream Oil, Charlie") and all connections to Hammett were dropped. But it was the same cast, the same characters (with different names), the same hair tonic sponsor, etc. And it was Charlie Wild, not Sam Spade, who eventually made the jump to television.
Hammett's one of the seminal creators in detective fiction. As if writing The Maltese Falcon wasn't enough, he was also responsible for The Continental Op and The Thin Man, the novel that introduced husband and wife sleuths Nick and Nora Charles to the world, and became the basis for a string of popular movies.
Hammett also created and wrote (or at least lent his name to) Brad Runyon, The Fat Man for radio.
...
"Don't be so sure I'm as crooked as I'm supposed to be."
"Childish, huh? I know, but, by God, I do hate being hit without hitting back."
"Here. A crippled newsie took these away from him, but I made him give them back."
-- Spade delivering a subdued Wilmer and his guns to Gutman.
UNDER OATH
"I re-read The Maltese Falcon every year and each time discover new things to admire. Can't beat it.
The Maltese Falcon (1930)... Buy this book
ALSO OF INTEREST
"The Maltese Falcon, Part 1" (September 1929, Black Mask)
"The Maltese Falcon, Part 2" (October 1929, Black Mask)
"The Maltese Falcon, Part 3" (November 1929, Black Mask)
"The Maltese Falcon, Part 4" (December 1929, Black Mask)
"The Maltese Falcon, Part 5" (January 1930, Black Mask)
"A Man Called Spade" (1932, The American Magazine; also in A Man Named Spade and Other Stories)
"Too Many Have Lived" (1932, The American Magazine; also in A Man Named Spade and Other Stories)
"They Can Only Hang You Once" (1932, The American Magazine; also in A Man Named Spade and Other Stories)
COLLECTION
The Adventures of Sam Spade and Other Stories (1944)
A Man Called Spade (1945)
FILM
Based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett
Screenplay by Maude Fulton, Lucien Hubbard, Brown Holmes
Directed by Roy del Ruth
Starring Ricardo Cordez as SAM SPADE
with Bebe Daniels as Ruth Wonderly
Dudley Digges as Casper Gutman
Dwight Fry as Wilmer
Otto Matiesen as Joel Cairo
Una Merkel as Effie Perine
Also starring Robert Elliot, Thelma Todd, Walter Long, J. Farrell MacDonald
Based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett
Screenplay by Brown Holmes
Starring Warren William as TED SHANE (Sam Spade)
Alison Skipworth as Madame Barabas (Caspar Gutman)
and Bette Davis as Valerie Purvis (Miss Wonderly)
Also starring Arthur Treacher, Winifred Shaw, Marie Wilson, Porter Hall, Olin Howlin, Charles C. Wilson, Barbara Blane, Maynard Holmes
Based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett
Screenplay by John Huston
Exectutive Producer: Hal B. Wallis
Starring Humphrey Bogart as SAM SPADE
with Mary Astor as Bridgid O'Shaugnessy
Lee Patrick as Effie Perine
Sydney Greenstreet as Casper Gutman
Peter Lorre as Joel Cairo
Elisha Cook Jr. as Wilmer Cook
Also starring Gladys George, Barton MacLane, Ward Bond, Jerome Cowan, James Burke, John Hamilton, Emory Parnell and
Walter Huston as Captain Jacobi
See also THE BLACK BIRD
(1975, Columbia)
A sorta sequel, sorta spoof of The Maltese Falcon, with Sam Spade's son hot on the trail of "the Black Bird."
RADIO
LUX RADIO THEATRE: THE MALTESE FALCON
(1943, CBS)
Based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett
Starring Edward G. Robinson as SAM SPADE
Also starring Laird Cregar as Casper Gutman
The first radio adaptation of the Hammett classic, making Robinson the first (although certainly not the last) radio SAM SPADE. Generally considered far superior to the 1946 Academy Award Theatre version with Humphrey Bogart.
Based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett
Starring Humphrey Bogart as SAM SPADE
with Mary Astor, Sidney Greenstreet
The second radio version of the classic novel, this time performed by the stars of John Huston's film, but crammed into thirty minutes, it's reportedly nothing but sad, sad, sad. The 1943 Lux Radio Theatre version is generally considered far superior. But reader Bob Toomey begs to differ: "I think the Academy Award Theatre version is the better one. Lux had an hour to do the show, but it just doesn't capture the feel for the story the way this version does -- although Edward G. Robinson and Laird Cregar are interesting as Spade and Gutman."
THE ADVENTURES OF SAM SPADE
(1946, ABC)
Writers: Jason James, Bob Tallman
Starring Howard Duff as SAM SPADE
with Lurene Tuttle as Effie
(Duff replaced on some occasions by Stephen Dunne)
"Sam And The Guiana Sovereign" (July 12, 1946)
"Sam And The Farewell Murders" (July 19, 1946)
"Sam And The Unhappy Poet" (July 26, 1946)
"Sam And Psyche" (August 2, 1946)
"Death And Company" (August 09, 1946)
"Two Sharp Knives" (August 16, 1946)
"Zig Zags Of Treachery" (August 23, 1946)
"Sam And The Scythian Tiara" (August 30, 1946)
"The Corporation Murders" (September 6, 1946)
"The Dot Marlow Caper, Part 1" (September 13, 1946)
"The Dot Marlow Caper, Part 2"(September 20, 1946)
"The Count On Billy Burke" (September 27, 1946)
"The Gutting Of Couffignal" (October 4, 1946)
In 1947, writers Jason James and Bob Tallman received an Edgar Award for Best Radio Drama from the Mystery Writers of America for their work on this show.
THE ADVENTURES OF SAM SPADE
(1946-49, CBS)
Starring Howard Duff as SAM SPADE
with Lurene Tuttle as Effie
Guest stars: Sandra Gould (played the "new secretary" while Lurene Tuttle was on vacation, in the June 27, 1948 show), William Conrad, Jack Webb.
"The Blood Money Caper" (September 29, 1946)
"The Unwritten Law Caper" (October 6, 1946)
"The Ten Clues Caper" (October 13, 1946)
"The Fly Paper Caper" (October 20, 1946)
"The Midway Caper" (October 27, 1946)
"The Certified Czech Caper" (November 3, 1946)
"Sam And The Farewell Murders" (November 10, 1946)
"The Hot Ice Caper" (November 17, 1946)
"The Kandy Tooth Caper, Part 1" (November 24, 1946; (originally aired on Suspense )
"The Kandy Tooth Caper, Part 2" (December 1, 1946)
"The Minks Of Turk Street" (December 8, 1946)
"The Picture Frame Caper" (December 15, 1946)
"Sam And The Three Wise Men" (December 22, 1946)
"The Golden Horeshoe" (December 29, 1946)
"The Liewelyn Caper" (January 5, 1947)
"The Cremona Clock Caper" (January 12, 1947)
"The False Face Caper" (January 19, 1947)
"The Agamemnon Caper" (January 26, 1947)
"The Dead Duck Caper" (February 2 1947)
"The Girl With The Silver Eyes" (February 9, 1947)
"Inside Story On Kid Slade" (February 16, 1947)
"The Big Production Caper" (February 23, 1947)
"The Uncle Money Caper" (March 2 1947)
"Orpheus And His Lute" (March 9, 1947)
"The Ingnorance About Bliss" (March 16, 1947)
"Too Many Spades" (March 23, 1947)
"The Dancing Pearl Caper" (March 30, 1947)
"The Poisonville Caper" (April 6, 1947)
"The Double-Scar Caper" (April 13, 1947)
"The Scrooge Of Portrero Street" (April 20, 1947)
"The Debutante Caper" (April 27, 1947)
"Duet In Spades" (May 4, 1947)
"The Yule Log Caper" (May 11, 1947)
"The Assistant Murderer" (May 18, 1947)
"Jury Duty" (May 25, 1947)
"The Mishakoff Emeralds" (June 1, 1947)
"The Calcutta Trunk Caper" (June 8, 1947)
"The Convertible Caper" (June 15, 1947)
"The Greek Letter Caper" (June 22, 1947)
"The Cosmic Harmony Caper" (June 29, 1947)
"The Simile Caper" (July 6, 1947)
"The Buff-Orpington Caper" (July 13, 1947)
"Sam And The Unhappy Poet" (July 20, 1947)
"The Gold Rush Caper" (July 27, 1947)
"The Crooked Neck Caper" (August 3, 1947)
"The Commonwealth Tankard" (August 10, 1947)
"The Doctor's Dilemma Caper" (August 17, 1947)
"The Jade Dragon Caper" (August 24, 1947)
"The Corkscrew Caper" (August 31, 1947)
"The Forty-Nine Cent, Caper" (September 7, 1947)
"The Cinderella Caper" (September 14, 1947)
"The April Caper" (September 21, 1947)
"The Madcap Caper" (September 28, 1947)
"The Adam Figg Caper" (October 5, 1947)
"The Tears Of Buddha Caper" (October 12, 1947)
"The Untouchable Caper" (October 19, 1947)
"The Bonnie Fair Caper" (October 26, 1947)
"The Wrong Guy Caper" (November 2 1947)
"The Bow Window Caper" (November 9, 1947)
"The Purple Poodle Caper" (November 16, 1947)
"The Caper With Eight Diamonds" (November 23, 1947)
"The Full House Caper" (November 30, 1947)
"The Palermo Vendetta Caper" (December 7, 1947)
"The Gumshoe Caper" (December 14, 1947)
"The Nick Saint Caper" (December 21, 1947)
"The Perfect Score Caper" (December 28, 1947)
"The One Hour Caper" (January 4, 1948)
"The Short Life Caper" (January 11, 1948)
"The Pike's Head Caper" (January 18, 1948)
"The Gold Key Caper" (January 25, 1948)
"The Nimrod Caper" (February 1 1948)
"The Great Drought Caper" (February 8, 1948)
"The Goldie Gates Caper" (February 15, 1948)
"The Mason Grayson Caper" (February 22, 1948)
"The Grim Reaper Caper" (February 29, 1948)
"John's Other Wife's Other Husband"(March 7, 1948)
"The Ides Of March Caper" (March 14, 1948)
"The Nightmare Town Caper" (March 21, 1948)
"The Blood Money Payoff" (March 28, 1948)
"Title Unknown" (April 4, 1948)
"The Judas Caper" (April 11, 1948)
"The Night Flight Caper" (April 18, 1948)
"The Great Lover Caper" (April 25, 1948)
"The Double-S Caper" (May 2 1948)
"The Curiosity Caper" (May 9, 1948)
"The Girl Called Echs Caper" (May 16, 1948)
"The Navarraise Falcon" (May 23, 1948)
"The Prisoner Of Zenda Caper" (May 30, 1948)
"The I.Q. Caper" (June 6, 1948)
"The Honest Cop Caper" (June 13, 1948)
"The Death Bed Caper" (June 20, 1948)... Listen to it free!
"The Bail Bond Caper" (June 27, 1948)
"The Rushlight Diamond Caper" (July 4, 1948)
"The Wheel Of Life Caper" (July 11, 1948)
"The Missing Newshawk Caper" (July 18, 1948)
"The Mad Scientist Caper" (July 25, 1948)
"The Dry Martini Caper" (August 1 1948)
"The Bluebeard Caper" (August 8, 1948)
"The Critical Author Caper" (August 15, 1948)
"The Bafio Cup Caper" (August 22, 1948; possibly "Vafio")
"The Lawless Caper" (August 29, 1948)
"The Stella Starr Caper" (September 5, 1948)
"The Lazarus Caper" (September 12, 1948)
"The Hot 100 Grand Caper" (September 19, 1948)
"The Dick Foley Caper" (September 26, 1948)
"The Sugar Kane Caper" (October 3, 1948)
"The Bostwick Snatch Caper" (October 10, 1948)
"The Rumanian Con Game Caper" (October 17, 1948)
"The Insomnia Caper" (October 24, 1948)
"The Fairley-Bright Caper" (October 31, 1948)
"The S.Q.P. Caper" (November 7, 1948)
"The Gin Rummy Caper" (November 14, 1948)
"The Golden Fleece Caper" (November 21, 1948)
"The Quarter-Eagle Caper" (November 28, 1948)
"The Neveroff Masterpiece Caper" (December 5, 1948)
"The Bouncing Betty Caper" (December 12, 1948)
"The Giveaway Caper" (December 19, 1948)
"The Nick Saint Caper" (December 26, 1948)
"The Three-Sided Bullet Caper" (January 2 1949)
"The Double Negative Caper" (January 9, 1949)
"The Betrayal In Bumpus Hell Caper" (January 16, 1949)
"The Main Event Caper" (January 23, 1949)
"The Double Life Caper" (January 30, 1949)
"The Firebug Caper" (February 6, 1949)
"The Brothers Keeper Caper" (February 13, 1949)
"The Attitude Caper" (February 20, 1949)
"The Three Cornered Frame Caper" (February 27, 1949)
"The Waltzing Matilda Caper" (March 6, 1949)
"The Underseal Caper" (March 13, 1949)
"The Trojan Horse Caper" (March 20, 1949)
"The Loveletter Caper" (March 27, 1949)
"The Vacation Caper" (April 3, 1949)
"The Stopped Watch Caper" (April 10, 1949)
"Edith Hamilton" (April 17, 1949)
"The Hot Cargo Caper" (April 24, 1949)
"The Battles Of Belvedere" (May 1 1949)
"The Fast Talk Caper" (May 8, 1949; aka "The Corpse In The Murphy Bed")
"The Darling Daughter Caper" (May 15, 1949)
"The Cartwright Clip Caper" (May 22, 1949)
"The Jane Doe Caper" (May 29, 1949)
"The Overjord Caper" (June 5, 1949; aka "The Corpse In The Murphy Bed)
"Sam And The Guiana Sovereign" (June 12, 1949)
"The Apple Of Eve Caper" (June 19, 1949)
"The Goat's Milk Caper" (June 26, 1949)
"The Hamburger Sandwich Caper" (July 3, 1949)
"The Queen Bee Caper" (July 10, 1949)
"The Cuttyhunk Caper" (July 17, 1949)
"The Tears Of Night Caper" (July 24, 1949)
"The Hot-Foot Caper" (July 31, 1949)
"The Champion Caper" (August 7, 1949)
"The Sourdough Mountain Caper" (August 14, 1949)
"The Silver Key Caper" (August 21, 1949)
"The Prodigal Daughter Caper" (August 28, 1949)
"The Flashback Caper" (September 4, 1949)
"The Costume Caper" (September 11, 1949)
"Over My Dead Body Caper" (September 18, 1949)
"The Chargogagogmanchogagogchabunamungamog Caper" (September 25, 1949)
SUSPENSE: THE KHANDI TOOTH CAPER
(January 10, 1948-is this right?)
60 minutes
Based on characters created by Dashiell Hammett
Starring Howard Duff as SAM SPADE
THE ADVENTURES OF SAM SPADE
(1949-50, NBC)
Writers: Gil Doud, Bob Tellman
Director/Producer: William Spier
Starring Howard Duff as SAM SPADE
with Lurene Tuttle as Effie
"The Junior G-Man Caper" (October 2 1949)
"The Hot Hothouse Caper" (October 9, 1949)
"The Pretty Polly Caper" (October 16, 1949)
"Title Unknown" (October 23, 1949)
"Title Unknown" (October 30, 1949)
"The Cheesecake Caper" (November 6, 1949)
"The Blues In The Night Caper" (November 13, 1949)
"The Peacock Feather Caper" (November 20, 1949)
"Title Unknown" (November 27, 1949)
"The Floppsey, Moppsey and Cottontain Caper" (December 4, 1949)
"Title Unknown" (December 11, 1949)
"The Whispering Death Caper" (December 18, 1949)
"The Canterbury Christmas 7(December 25, 1949)
"The Gorgeous Gemini Caper" (January 1 1950)
"The Third Personville Caper" (January 8, 1950)
"The Phantom Witness Caper" (January 15, 1950)
"The Wedding Belle Caper" (January 22, 1950)
"The Too Many Leads Caper" (January 29, 1950)
"The Black Magic Caper" (February 5, 1950)
"The Crossword Puzzle Caper" (February 12, 1950)
"The Valentine's Day Caper" (February 19, 1950)
"The Cornelius J. Morningside Caper" (February 26, 1950)
"The Homicidal Husband Caper" (March 5, 1950)
"The Barbary Ghost Caper" (March 12, 1950)
"The Emerald Eyes Caper" (March 19, 1950)
"The Bay Psalm Caper" (March 26, 1950)
"The Endurance Caper" (April 2 1950)
"The Picture Frame Caper" (April 9, 1950)
"The Kansas Kid Caper" (April 16, 1950)
"The Caldwell Caper" (April 23, 1950)
"The Hamite Curse Caper" (April 30, 1950)
"Caper With Marjorie's Things" (May 7, 1950)
"The Prodigal Son Caper" (May 14, 1950)
"The Red Amapola Caper" (May 21, 1950)
"The Honest Thief Caper" (May 28, 1950)
"The V.I.P. Caper" (June 4, 1950)
"The Color Scheme Caper" (June 11, 1950)
"The Elmer Longtail Caper" (June 18, 1950)
"The Toytown Caper" (June 25, 1950)
"The Beryl Green Caper" (July 2 1950)
"The Runaway Redhead Caper" (July 9, 1950)
"The Man Who Knew Almost Everything Caper" (July 16, 1950)
"The Stormy Weather Caper" (July 23, 1950)
"The Rod And Reel Caper" (July 30, 1950)
"The Bell Of Solomon Caper" (August 6, 1950)
"The Missing Persons Caper" (August 13, 1950)
"The Preposterous Caper" (August 20, 1950)
"The Too Many Clients Caper" (August 27, 1950)
"The Farmer's Daughter Caper" (September 3, 1950)
"The Big Little Woody Caper" (September 10, 1950)
"The Femme Fatale Caper" (September 17, 1950)
THE ADVENTURES OF SAM SPADE
(1950-51, NBC)
| Dashiell Hammett |
The Great Pretender is an album released in the USA in 1992 to mark the first anniversary of the death of which musician? | Listen to Adventures of Sam Spade, Detective, Vol. 2 by Hollywood 360 at Audiobooks.com
Duration: 5 hours 49 minutes
Summary:
Sam Spade was a hard-boiled detective with cold detachment, a keen eye for detail, and unflinching determination to achieve his own justice. The character of Sam Spade was created by writer Dashiell Hammett in 1930 for his crime story The Maltese Falcon, and for most people, the character is closely associated with actor Humphrey Bogart, who played Sam Spade in the third and most famous film version of the story.
In 1946 William Spier, one of radio's top producers, brought Sam Spade to the airwaves starring newcomer Howard Duff with Lurene Tuttle (and occasionally Sandra Gould) as Effie Perrine, Spade's secretary. Duff took a more tongue-in-cheek approach to the character than did the novel or movie. Dashiell Hammett lent his name to the radio series but did little more than cash the checks sent to him for the privilege.
Scriptwriters were Jason James and Bob Tallman, who received an Edgar Award in 1947 for best radio drama from the Mystery Writers of America. Howard Duff starred as Spade until 1951 when Steve Dunne took the role. Starring here are Starring Howard Duff or Steve Dunne as Sam Spade, with Lurene Tuttle, Paul Frees, Wally Maher, Verna Felton, Shirley Mitchell, Lou Merrill, and others.
Episodes included in this collection are "The Bow Window Caper" (9 Nov 47), "The Critical Author Caper" (15 Aug 48), "The Sugar Kane Caper" (3 Oct 48), "The Overjord Caper" (5 Jun 49), "The Sure Thing Caper" (9 Feb 51), "The Soap Opera Caper" (16 Feb 51), "The Shot in the Dark Caper" (23 Feb 51), "The Crab Louis Caper" (2 Mar 51), "The Spanish Prisoner Caper" (9 Mar 51), "The Kimberly Cross Caper" (23 Mar 51), "The Vendetta Caper" (30 Mar 51), and "The Civic Pride Caper" (13 Apr 51). "Spade has no original. He is a dream man in the sense that he is what most of the private detectives I worked with would like to have been and in their cockier moments thought they approached. For your private detective does not-or did not ten years ago when he was my colleague-want to be an erudite solver of riddles in the Sherlock Holmes manner; he wants to be a hard and shifty fellow, able to take care of himself in any situation, able to get the best of anybody he comes in contact with, whether criminal, innocent by-stander, or client."-Dashiell Hammett on the character Sam Spade
Genres:
| i don't know |
Which C C is an Oxford College founded in 1517? (Christ Church was not founded until 1546.) | University of Oxford | university, Oxford, England, United Kingdom | Britannica.com
University of Oxford
university, Oxford, England, United Kingdom
Written By:
William Richard Morris, Viscount Nuffield
University of Oxford, English autonomous institution of higher learning at Oxford , Oxfordshire , England , one of the world’s great universities. It lies along the upper course of the River Thames (called by Oxonians the Isis), 50 miles (80 km) north-northwest of London .
Aerial view of the University of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.
Wallace Wong
A brief introduction to Oxford, England’s oldest university.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Sketchy evidence indicates that schools existed at Oxford by the early 12th century. By the end of that century, a university was well established, perhaps resulting from the barring of English students from the University of Paris about 1167. Oxford was modeled on the University of Paris, with initial faculties of theology , law, medicine , and the liberal arts.
In the 13th century the university gained added strength, particularly in theology, with the establishment of several religious orders, principally Dominicans and Franciscans , in the town of Oxford. The university had no buildings in its early years; lectures were given in hired halls or churches. The various colleges of Oxford were originally merely endowed boardinghouses for impoverished scholars. They were intended primarily for masters or bachelors of arts who needed financial assistance to enable them to continue study for a higher degree. The earliest of these colleges, University College, was founded in 1249. Balliol College was founded about 1263, and Merton College in 1264.
University College, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.
Manvyi
During the early history of Oxford, its reputation was based on theology and the liberal arts. But it also gave more-serious treatment to the physical sciences than did the University of Paris: Roger Bacon , after leaving Paris, conducted his scientific experiments and lectured at Oxford from 1247 to 1257. Bacon was one of several influential Franciscans at the university during the 13th and 14th centuries. Among the others were Duns Scotus and William of Ockham . John Wycliffe (c. 1330–84) spent most of his life as a resident Oxford doctor.
Similar Topics
Clemson University
Beginning in the 13th century, the university was strengthened by charters from the crown, but the religious foundations in Oxford town were suppressed during the Protestant Reformation . In 1571 an act of Parliament led to the incorporation of the university. The university’s statutes were codified by its chancellor , Archbishop William Laud , in 1636. In the early 16th century, professorships began to be endowed. And in the latter part of the 17th century, interest in scientific studies increased substantially. During the Renaissance , Desiderius Erasmus carried the new learning to Oxford, and such scholars as William Grocyn , John Colet , and Sir Thomas More enhanced the university’s reputation. Since that time Oxford has traditionally held the highest reputation for scholarship and instruction in the classics, theology, and political science .
Chapel Quad, Pembroke College, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.
Djr xi
In the 19th century the university’s enrollment and its professorial staff were greatly expanded. The first women’s college at Oxford, Lady Margaret Hall, was founded in 1878, and women were first admitted to full membership in the university in 1920. In the 20th century Oxford’s curriculum was modernized. Science came to be taken much more seriously and professionally, and many new faculties were added, including ones for modern languages, political science, and economics. Postgraduate studies also expanded greatly in the 20th century.
The colleges and collegial institutions of the University of Oxford include All Souls (1438), Balliol (1263–68), Brasenose (1509), Christ Church (1546), Corpus Christi (1517), Exeter (1314), Green (1979), Harris Manchester (founded 1786; inc. 1996), Hertford (founded 1740; inc. 1874), Jesus (1571), Keble (founded 1868; inc. 1870), Kellogg (1990), Lady Margaret Hall (founded 1878; inc. 1926), Linacre (1962), Lincoln (1427), Magdalen (1458), Mansfield (founded 1886; inc. 1995), Merton (1264), New (1379), Nuffield (founded 1937; inc. 1958), Oriel (1326), Pembroke (1624), Queen’s (1341), St. Anne’s (founded 1879; inc. 1952), St. Antony’s (1950), St. Catherine’s (1962), St. Cross (1965), St. Edmund Hall (1278), St. Hilda’s (founded 1893; inc. 1926), St. Hugh’s (founded 1886; inc. 1926), St. John’s (1555), St. Peter’s (founded 1929; inc. 1961), Somerville (founded 1879; inc. 1926), Templeton (founded 1965; inc. 1995), Trinity (1554–55), University (1249), Wadham (1612), Wolfson (founded 1966; inc. 1981), and Worcester (founded 1283; inc. 1714). Among the university’s private halls are Blackfriars (founded 1921; inc. 1994), Campion (founded 1896; inc. 1918), Greyfriars (founded 1910; inc. 1957), Regent’s Park College (founded 1810; inc. 1957), St. Benet’s (founded 1897; inc. 1918), and Wycliffe (founded 1877; inc. 1996).
Merton College, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.
iStockphoto/Thinkstock
| Corpus Christi |
Who was King of France from 1643 to 1715? | CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: University of Oxford
Home > Catholic Encyclopedia > O > University of Oxford
University of Oxford
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Origin and history
The most extraordinary myths have at various times prevailed as to the fabulous antiquity of Oxford as a seat of learning. It is sufficient to mention that the fifteenth century chronicler Rous assigns its origin to the time when "Samuel the servant of God was judge in Judæa"; while a writer of Edward III's reign asserts that the university was founded by "certain philosophers when the warlike Trojans, under the leadership of Brutus, triumphantly seized on the Islands of Albion". A much more long-lived fiction one, indeed, which, first heard of in the middle of the fourteenth century, persisted down to the nineteenth was that King Alfred , well-known as a patron of education , was the real founder of Oxford University. The truth is that it is quite impossible to asign even an approximate date to the development of the schools which in Saxon times were grouped round the monastic foundation of St. Frideswide (on the site of what is now Christ Church) into the corporate institution later known as Oxford University. Well-known scholars were, we know , lecturing in Oxford on theology and canon law before the middle of the twelfth century, but these were probably private teachers attached to St. Frideswide's monastery . It is not until the end of Henry II's reign, that is about 1180, that we know , chiefly on the authority of Giraldus Cambrensis , that a large body of scholars was in residence at Oxford , though not probably yet living under any organized constitution.
Half a century later Oxford was famous throughout Europe as a home of science and learning; popes and kings were among its patrons and benefactors; the students are said to have been numbered by thousands; and the climax of its reputation was reached when, during the fifty years between 1220 and 1270, the newly-founded orders of friars Dominican , Franciscan , Carmelite , and Austin successively settled at Oxford , and threw all their enthusiasm into the work of teaching. Kindled by their zeal , the older monastic orders, encouraged by a decree of the Lateran Council of 1215, began to found conventual schools at Oxford for their own members. The colleges of Worcester , Trinity, Christ Church, and St. John's are all the immediate successors of these Benedictine or Cistercian houses of study. Up to this time the secular students had lived as best they might in scattered lodgings hired from the townsmen; of discipline there was absolutely none, and riots and disorders between "town and gown" were of continual occurrence. The stimulus of the presence of so many scholars living under conventual discipline incited Walter de Merton , in 1264, to found a residential college, properly organized and supervised, for secular students. Merton College (to the model of which two institutions of somewhat earlier date, University and Balliol soon conformed themselves) was thus the prototype of the self-contained and autonomous colleges which, grouped together, make up the University of Oxford as it exists today. The succeeding half-century saw the foundation of ten additional colleges: two more were founded during the Catholic revival under Queen Mary ; and three in the reigns of Elizabeth and James I. Between 1625 and 1911 that is, for nearly three centuries, there have been only three more added to the list, namely Worcester (1714), Keble (1870), and Hertford (1874), the first and last being, however, revivals rather than new foundations.
The institution of "non-collegiate" students (i.e. those unattached to any college or hall) dates from 1868; one "public hall" (St. Edmund's) survives, of several founded in very early times; and there are several "private halls", under licensed masters who are allowed to take a limited number of students. As a corporate body, the university dates only from the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when, under the influence of the chancellor, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, an Act of Parliament was passed in 1571, incorporating the "chancellor, masters and scholars" of Oxford. In the same reign were imposed upon the university the Royal Supremacy and the Thirty-nine Articles, subscription to which was required from every student above the age of sixteen; and from that date , for a period of three centuries, the university , formerly opened to all Christendom , was narrowed into an exclusively Anglican institution and became, as it has ever since remained, in spite of subsequent legislation abolishing religious tests, the chosen home and favourite arena of Anglican controversy, theology , and polemics. Keble, however, is now the only college whose members must be Anglicans by creed, although a certain number of scholarships in other colleges are restricted to adherents of the English Church. Attendance at the college chapels is no longer compulsory; and there is no kind of religious test required for admission to any college (except Keble) or for graduating in Arts, Science, or Civil Law. Only the faculty of Divinity (including the degrees of bachelor and doctor) remains closed by statute to all except professing Anglicans ; and the examiners in the theological school , which is open to students of any creed or none, are all required to be clergymen of the Church of England .
Constitution and government
Taken as a whole, the university consists of about 14,500 members, graduate and undergraduate, having their names on the registers of the university as well as of the twenty-six separate societies (colleges, halls, public and private, and the non-collegiate body) which together form the corporation of the university . Of the above number about 3800 are undergraduates, of whom the great majority are reading for the degree of B.A. , and about a thousand are graduates, either tutors, fellows of colleges, officials of the university , or M.A.'s unofficially resident within its precincts. About 4800 members of the university are thus actually living in Oxford , the remainder being those who, while keeping their names "on the books", reside in other parts of the kingdom. All masters of arts remaining on the registers are ipso facto members of "Convocation", the legislative and administrative body through which the university acts; and those actually residing in Oxford for a fixed period in each year form the smaller body called "Congregation", by which all measures must be passed previous to their coming before "Convocation". Legislation in every case, however, must be initiated by the "Hebdomedal Council", consisting of the vice-chancellor, proctors, and eighteen members elected by "Congregation".
The executive officers of the university comprise the chancellor, a nobleman of high rank, as a rule non-resident, who delegates his authority to the vice-chancellor, the head of one of the colleges, and the two proctors, who are elected by the several colleges in turn, and assist the vice-chancellor in the enforcement of discipline, as well as in the general supervision of all university affairs, including the administration of its property and the control of its finances. The peculiar feature of the constitution of Oxford (as of Cambridge), when compared with that of every other university in the world, is that the authority of the vice-chancellor and proctors, that is of the central university body, while nominally extending to every resident member of the university , is not as a matter of fact exercised within the college walls, each college being, while a constituent part of the university , autonomous and self-governing, and claiming entire responsibility for the order and well-being of its own members.
The collegiate system
According to the combined university and college system which prevails at Oxford , each college is an organized corporation under its own head, and enjoying the fullest powers of managing its own property and governing its own members. Each college is regulated not only by the general statutes of the university , but by its own separate code of statutes , drawn up at its foundation (as a rule centuries ago) and added to or amended since as found expedient. Every college is absolutely its own judge as to the requirements for admission to its membership, the result being that in no two colleges is the standard of necessary knowledge , or the mental equipment with which a youth enters on his university career, identical or even necessarily similar. The mere fact of a man having matriculated at certain colleges stamps him as possessed of more than average attainments, while at others the required standard may be so low as to afford no guarantee whatever that their members are in any real sense educated at all.
The twenty-one colleges and four halls, and the delegacy of non-collegiate students that is of students not affiliated to any college or hall have all the same privileges as to receiving undergraduate members; and no one can be matriculated, i.e. admitted to membership of the university by the central authority, until he has been accepted by one of the above-mentioned societies . The colleges provide a certain number of sets of rooms within their own walls for students, the remainder living in licensed lodgings in the city. Meals are served either in the college halls or in the students' rooms; and attached to every college is a chapel where daily service is held during term according to the forms of the Church of England .
Tuition examination and degrees
The university provides 130 professors, lecturers, and readers to give instructions in the several faculties of theology (9), law (8), medicine (17), natural science , including mathematics (27), and arts, including ancient and modern languages, geography, music, fine arts , etc. (69). The chief burden of tuition, however, does not fall on this large body of highly-equipped teachers, whose lectures are in many cases very sparsely attended, but on the college tutors, whose lectures, formerly confined to members of their own colleges, are now practically open to the whole university . The extension of, and great improvement in, the tuition afforded by the college tutors has led to the practical disappearance at Oxford , at least in work for honours, of the private tutor or "coach", who formerly largely supplemented the official college teaching. What is noteworthy at Oxford is the trouble taken by tutors in the work of individual instruction, which, while involving a great, and sometimes disproportionate, expenditure of time and talent, has done much to establish and consolidate the personal relations between tutor and pupil which is a distinctly beneficial feature of the Oxford system.
Examinations
For students aspiring to the B.A. degree are prescribed two strictly-defined compulsory examinations, and two so-called public examinations, in which candidates may choose from a wide range of alternative subjects. Responsions, generally passed before matriculation, includes Latin, Greek, and mathematics, all of a pretty elementary kind. The second compulsory examination, that in Holy Scripture (for which a book of Plato may be substituted), includes the Greek text of two of the Gospels. In the two "public examinations", i.e. Moderations and the Final Schools, either a "pass" or "honours" may be aimed at. The passman must first satisfy the examiners in Moderations (i.e. classics combined with logic or mathematics), and then for his Final School may choose between various subjects, such as classics, mathematics, natural science , and modern languages. The "honour-man", if aiming at "greats", has, as a rule, first a searching examination in classics, and then a final examination in ancient history and philosophy; the successful candidates in both these examinations being divided into four classes. A first class in "Greats" (or literæ humaniores) is still reckoned the highest honour attainable in the Oxford curriculum; but the student has seven other Final Honour Schools open to him, those of modern history (which now attracts the largest number of candidates), mathematics, jurisprudence , theology , English literature , Oriental studies, and natural science .
Degrees
A student who has passed the examinations requisite for the B.A. degree , can further qualify himself for the degree of (a) Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, by passing two examinations in medical and surgical subjects; (b) Bachelor of Civil Law, by passing an examination in general jurisprudence, Roman, English, or international law ; (c) Bachelor of Theology (if in orders of the Church of England ), by presenting two dissertations on a theological subject. For what are known as "research degrees" (Bachelor of Letters or Science) two years of residence are required, followed by an examination, or the submission of a dissertation showing original work. Candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Music are exempted from residence, and need only have passed the examination of Responsions. Bachelors of Arts can present themselves for the degree of Master at the end of a stated period, without further examination; but the Bachelor of Medicine must pass an examination or submit a dissertation before obtaining the degrees of M.D. or Master of Surgery: and there is a similar qualification required for proceeding to the degrees of Doctor of Divinity, of Civil Law, of Music, and of Letters or Science. There is now no religious test in the case of any degrees excepting those of theology ; but all candidates for masters' or doctors' degrees have to promise faithful observance of the statutes and customs of the university . Honorary degrees in all the faculties may be granted to distinguished persons , without examination, by decree of Convocation.
Diplomas in certain subjects, as health, education , geography, and political economy, are granted by Convocation after a certain period of study and an examinational test. These diplomas are obtainable by women students, who are not eligible for any degrees, although they may, and do, enter for the same examination as men. The halls of women students are entirely extra-collegiate; but women receive on examination certificates testifying to the class gained by them in such honour-examinations as they choose to undergo.
Expense of the university course
It is difficult to fix this even approximately, so much depends on a student's tastes, habits, and recreations, and also on the question whether the sum named is to include his expenses for the whole year, or only for the six months of the university terms. £120 a year ought to cover the actual fees and cost of board and other necessary charges, which are pretty much the same at all the colleges; and if another £100 or £120 be added for the supplementary expenses of college life, and vacation expenses as well, we arrive at what is probably the average annual sum expended. A man with expensive tastes or hobbies may of course spend double or treble that amount, whereas members of some of the smaller colleges may do very well on much less; while the emoluments of the numerous college and university scholarships and exhibitions lessen the expenses of those who hold them by a corresponding amount. The Rhodes Scholarships, open to Colonial and American students, are of the annual value of £300 each; but it is to be considered that their holders have as a rule to make this sum suffice for all their wants, in vacation as well as in term-time.
University and college buildings
The chief university buildings are grouped round the quadrangle of the Bodleian Library, founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, and first housed in the room (built in 1480) known as Duke Humphrey's Library. Since 1610 the Bodleian has received by right a copy of every book published in the kingdom, and it now contains more than 500,000 books and nearly 40,000 manuscripts . In the galleries is an interesting collection of historical portraits. West of the Bodleian is the beautiful fifteenth-century Divinity School, with its elaborate roof, and further west again the Convocation House, built in 1639. Close by are the Sheldonian Theatre, built by Wren in 1669, where the annual Commemoration is held, and honorary degrees are conferred; the Old Clarendon Printing-house, built in 1713 out of the profits of Lord Clarendon's "History of the Rebellion"; the old Ashmolean Building, and the Indian Institute, built in 1882 for the benefit of Indian students in the university . South of the Bodleian rises the imposing dome of the Radcliffe Library, founded in 1749 by Dr. William Radcliffe for books on medicine and science but now used as a reading room for the Bodleian. The Examination Schools (1876-82), a fine Jacobean pile which cost £100,000, are in High Street; and the chief other university buildings are the New Museum (1855-60), an ugly building in early French Gothic, containing splendid collections of natural science and anthropology, as well as a fine science library ; the Taylor Buildings and University Galleries, a stately classical edifice containing the Arundel and Pomfret Marbles, a priceless collection of drawings by Raphael , Michelangelo , Turner, and other masters, and many valuable paintings ; the Ashmolean Museum, behind the galleries, containing one of the most complete archæological collections in England ; the new Clarendon Press (1830), and the Observatory, founded in 1772 by the Radcliffe trustees.
Taking the different colleges in alphabetical order, we have: All Souls, founded by Archbishop Chichele in 1437, in memory of those who fell in the French wars . Its features are the absence of undergraduate members, the magnificent reredos in the chapel , re-discovered and restored in 1872, after being lost sight of for three centuries, and the splendid library , especially of works on law.
Balliol, founded by Devorgilla, widow of John Balliol, about 1262, and distinguished for the brilliant scholarship of its members, and the liberality and tolerance of its views. The buildings are mostly modern, and of little interest; in the fine hall (1877) is a striking portrait of Cardinal Manning (a scholar here 1827-30). Opposite the Master of Balliol's house a cross in the roadway marks the spot where Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer were burned in 1555 and 1556; and the so-called Martyrs' Memorial (by Gilbert Scott, 1841), opposite the west front of the college, commemorates the same event; it was erected chiefly as a protest against the Tractarian movement headed by Newman .
Brasenose, founded in 1509 by Bishop Smyth of Lincoln and Sir Richard Sutton , as an amplification of the much older Brasenose Hall, a knocker on the door of which, in the shape of a nose, is the origin of the curious name. In the chapel , a singular mixture of classical and Gothic design, are preserved two pre-Reformation chalices . A magnificent new south front in High Street (by Jackson) was completed in 1910.
Christ Church, the largest and wealthiest college in Oxford , founded as "Cardinal College" by Thomas Wolsey in 1525, on the site of St. Frideswide's suppressed priory , and re-established by Henry VIII as Christ Church in 1546. Wolsey built the hall and kitchen (1529), the finest in England , and began the great ("Tom") quadrangle, which was finished in 1668. The old monastic church, dating from 1120, serves both as the college chapel and as the cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Oxford, erected by Henry VIII ; in Catholic times Oxford formed part of the immense Diocese of Lincoln . Peckwater Quad was built 1705-60, and Canterbury Quad (on the site of Canterbury Hall, a Benedictine foundation), in 1710. The hall and library contain many valuable portraits and other paintings .
Corpus Christi , founded in 1516 by Bishop Richard Foxe of Winchester , and dedicated to Sts. Peter, Andrew, Cuthbert, and Swithin, patrons of the four sees, (Exeter, Bath, Durham , and Winchester), which he had held in turn. The buildings, though not extensive, are of great interest, mostly coeval with the founder; and the college possesses some valuable old plate. Angels bearing the Sacred Host are depicted in an oriel window over the great gateway. Corpus Christi has always maintained a high reputation for sound classical learning.
Exeter, founded in 1314 by Bishop de Stapleton of Exeter . Most of the buildings are modern; the chapel (1857) being an elaborate copy by Gilbert Scott of the Sainte Chapelle at Paris . There is a charming little garden. Exeter has of recent years been more frequented by Catholic students than any other college.
Hertford, revived in 1874, having been originally founded in 1740 but dissolved in 1818 and occupied by Magdalen Hall. A handsome new chapel by Jackson was opened in 1909.
Jesus, frequented almost exclusively by Welsh students, was founded by Queen Elizabeth in 1571; and more than half the scholarships and exhibitions are restricted to persons of Welsh birth or education . Sir John Rhys, the eminent Celtic scholar, is the present principal. The buildings are modern, or much restored.
Keble, founded by subscription in 1870 in memory of John Keble, and now the only college whose members must, by the terms of its charter, all be members of the Anglican Church . It is governed by a warden and council (there are no fellows), and one of its principles is supposed to be special economy and sobriety of living. The buildings of variegated brick are quite foreign to the prevailing architecture of Oxford, but the chapel is spacious and sumptuously decorated.
Lincoln, founded by Bishop Richard Fleming and Thomas Rotherham, both of Lincoln, in honour of the B.V.M. and All Saints, specially to educate divines to preach against the Wycliffian heresies . The buildings are of little interest, but the chapel contains some very good seventeenth century Italian stained glass .
Magdalen, perhaps the most beautiful college in Oxford , if not in Christendom , was founded in 1458 by Bishop Waynflete of Winchester . The chapel , hall, cloisters , tower, and other buildings, all erected in the founder's lifetime, are of unique beauty and interest. The extensive and charming grounds include the famous "Addison's Walk", and a deer-park with fine timber. The musical services in the chapel are famous throughout England . Magdalen possesses much landed property , and is one of the wealthiest colleges in the university .
Merton, founded in 1264 by Walter de Merton , in Surry, and transferred to Oxford in 1274, was the first organized college, and the prototype of all succeeding ones. The library (1349) is the oldest in England , and the so-called "Mob" quad is of the same date . The chapel , of exquisite Decorated Gothic, contains some beautiful old stained glass . Merton was specially intended by its founder for the education of the secular clergy .
New, founded in 1379 on a magnificent scale by Bishop William de Wykeham, of Winchester (founder also of Winchester College). The splendid chapel , with its elaborate reredos, was restored in 1879; the ante-chapel windows contain the original pre-Reformation glass, and there are many fine brasses. Other features of the college are the picturesque cloisters (used during the Civil War as a depot for military stores), the great hall, with its rich panelling, the valuable collection of old plate, and the lovely gardens, enclosed on three sides by the ancient city walls. New College vies with Magdalen in the excellence of its chapel choir.
Oriel, founded by Edward II in 1326 on the suggestion of his almoner, Adam de Brome; but none of the buildings are older than the seventeenth century. The college is identified with the rise of the Oxford Movement , led by Newman , who was a fellow here from 1822 to 1845. There are two portraits of him (by Ross and Richmond respectively) in the college common-room.
Pembroke, second of the four colleges of Protestant foundation, erected in 1624 out of the ancient Broadgates Hall, and chiefly notable for the membership of Dr. Samuel Johnson, of whom there is a fine portrait and various relics.
Queen's, founded in 1340 by Robert de Eglesfield, chaplain to Queen Philippa, in honour of whom it was named. The buildings are mostly late seventeenth-century; there is some good Dutch glass in the chapel , and a very valuable library , chiefly historical. The hall is hung with (mostly fictitious) portraits of English kings, queens, and princes.
St. John's, formerly St. Bernards, a house of studies for Cistercian monks , was refounded in 1555 by Sir John White, in honour of St. John the Baptist . The chapel , hall, and other parts of the outer quad belong to the monastic foundation; the inner quad, with its beautiful garden front, was built by Archbishop Laud, president of the college 1611-21. The gardens are among the most beautiful in Oxford.
Trinity, originally Durham College, a house of studies for the Durham Benedictines , was refounded by Sir Thomas Pope in 1554. The old monastic library , and other fragments of the buildings of Durham , remain; the chapel , with its fine wood-carving by Grimling Gibbons, is from designs by Wren. Newman became a scholar of Trinity in 1819; he was elected an honorary fellow in 1878, and visited the college as cardinal in 1880. A fine portrait of him, by Ouless, hangs in the hall.
University, which ranks as the oldest college, though its connexion with King Alfred , said to have founded it in 872, is absolutely legendary. It was really founded by Archdeacon William of Durham in 1249, and acquired its present site a century later. None of the buildings are more than two hundred years old. Frederick William Faber, the famous Oratorian, was a member of this college, which was much identified with the Catholic revival in James II's reign.
Wadham, founded in 1610 by Dorothy Wadham, in completion of her husband's designs; it occupies the site of a house of Austin Friars, who probably laid out the beautiful garden. Wadham is interesting as a fine specimen of Jacobean work, and as the only college whose buildings remain practically as left by their founder.
Worcester, established in 1283, under the name of Gloucester College, as a house of studies for Benedictines from Gloucester and other great English abbeys , survived as Gloucester Hall for a century and a half after the Reformation , and was re-founded and endowed by Sir Thomas Cookes, under its present name, in 1714. There still remain the ancient lodgings used by the students of the several abbeys , overlooking the finely-timbered grounds and lake. The interior decoration of the eighteenth-century chapel is very sumptuous.
The only survivor of the once numerous "public halls" is "St. Edmund's", founded in the thirteenth century in honour of St. Edmund Rich , Archbishop of Canterbury , canonized by Innocent III in 1247. The buildings are all of the seventeenth century. This hall is closely connected with Queen's College, the provost of which appoints the principal.
Catholics at the university
Besides the colleges and single public hall, there are at present three "private halls" conducted by licensed masters (i.e. M.A.'s authorized and approved by the Vice-Chancellor) and receiving a limited number of undergraduate students. Two of these halls are in Catholic hands, one (Pope's Hall) founded for students belonging to the Society of Jesus , and the other (Parker's Hall) established by Ampleforth Abbey, in Yorkshire, for Benedictine students belonging to that monastery . Good work is done in both of these institutions, the members of which, for the most part, are preparing to take part in tuition at the English Jesuit and Benedictine colleges; and many of their members have obtained the highest academical honours in the various university examinations. The Franciscan Capuchin Fathers have recently (1910) opened a small house of studies for junior members of their Order; they have at present the status of non-collegiate students. The lay Catholics who enter the university as undergraduates have no college or hall of their own under Catholic direction, but become members of any one of the colleges which they desire to join, or of the non-collegiate body which, since 1868, has been authorized to receive students who are not members of any college or hall.
Catholics are, of course, exempt from attending the college chapels , and they have a central chapel of their own, with a resident chaplain appointed by the Universities Catholic Board (of which one of the English bishops is chairman), who says Mass daily for the Catholic students. The Board also appoints every term a special preacher or lecturer, who gives, by the special injunction of the Holy See , weekly conferences to the students on some historical, theological , or philosophical subject. There are two or three resident Catholic fellows and tutors in the university ; but the general tone and spirit of the instruction given in the lecture-rooms, though not on the whole anti-Catholic, may be described as generally non-religious. The mission church of St. Aloysius is served by several Jesuit fathers , and good preachers are often heard there; and several religious communities have recently been established in the city. The number of Catholic members of the University, graduate and undergraduate, resident in Oxford does not exceed a hundred.
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Who plays DS Ronnie Brooks in the TV series Law & Order: UK? | Law & Order: UK - Episode Guide - TV.com
Law & Order: UK
6/11/14
6.3
Still reeling from the shocking death of one of their team, Ronnie and Joe have a new case to deal with when an innocent young mother is stabbed to death in a busy London market place. Under pressure from all sides to solve the case and make Londoners feel safe again, Ronnie and Joe struggle to gather enough evidence to charge the youth they believe is responsible - Bobbi Washington. When Bobbi inadvertently confesses to Ronnie, they think they have got him bang to rights - but with Bobbi's confession uncorroborated by anyone else, both Ronnie's honesty and his future as a detective are in doubt.moreless
4/23/14
0.0
Crime drama series. When a spate of shootings claims one of Ronnie and Joe's own colleagues, the pair are left with little time to grieve - they must catch the killer before he or she moves on to the next person on the hit list. The next likely victim seems to be Henry Sharpe, head of the Crown Prosecution Service, but gradually the link between all the targets becomes clear. The connection is Mark Glendon, who has been in prison after being convicted of the murder of his wife four years previously. Although Glendon is still in custody, his case has been reopened for a retrial. The police face an uphill struggle to find any leads implicating Glendon in the shootings. With the new trial already underway, the race is on to catch the killer before the jury deliver their verdict. With Bradley Walsh, Ben Bailey-Smith, Paterson Joseph, Dominic Rowan, Georgia Taylor, Peter Davison.moreless
4/16/14
9.0
A blood-stained hotel room and a stolen credit card lead Ronnie and Joe to Charles Hutton, a wealthy member of the upper classes who dotes on his wife Camille and daughter Georgia. It is hard to work out what crime has been committed, but Ronnie and Joe have enough evidence to suggest that Georgia gave birth in the hotel room. There is no trace of a baby and it proves difficult for Jake and Kate to mount a prosecution case against Georgia and her boyfriend. To make matters worse, the defence counsel turns out to be an old opponent of Jake's, Maitland Cosby. As the evidence against the young couple stacks up, how far is Georgia's father prepared to go to protect her?moreless
4/9/14
9.0
When the body of an elderly woman is discovered at the foot of a well-known suicide leap, Ronnie detects foul play. The dead woman, Ranya Habib, had no apparent reason for killing herself and the finger of suspicion points at Dr Yafeu Elsayed, recently arrived in the UK to visit her. Ronnie wonders if there might be a terrorist connection, but with no evidence attention turns to Ranya's family - her son Tariq and his wife Safia. Even after the detectives obtain a confession to Ranya's murder, Joe is baffled as to the motive and the whole matter seems to be shrouded in a conspiracy of silence. Then as a shocking revelation comes to light, Joe and Kate join forces. It is a move which sees Kate about to jeopardise her entire career as she leaves Jake to prosecute the case on his own.moreless
4/2/14
9.0
Ronnie and Joe are on the hunt for the killer of a seemingly innocent family man when the investigation leads them to Ronnie's old boss, ex-DI Natalie Chandler. The former detective inspector's father is a man in his 70s called Eddie Stewart and he is the prime suspect. Ronnie has a tough time telling Natalie that her father stands accused of murder. No-one can understand why Eddie would commit such a crime, least of all his own daughter. Jake and Kate try to be sympathetic, but explain that there is nothing they can do unless Eddie agrees to cooperate - a man has died and someone has to take responsibility. Natalie persuades Ronnie that he must go above and beyond the call of duty to try and find the real killer - a move that gets him into trouble with an increasingly frustrated Wes. Just how far is Ronnie prepared to go to help his old friend?moreless
3/26/14
9.0
Crime drama series. Ronnie and Joe come across a skeleton in a car boot at the bottom of the Thames. It turns out that the dead man was Taylor Kane, a black undercover police officer who went missing at the time of the Brixton riots in the 1980s. Unsettling evidence comes to light as Ronnie, Joe and Wes begin to raise issues and ask questions which the police would rather forget - and Wes gets an unexpected visit from the Commissioner. In court, Jake takes up the prosecution case as Philip Nevins appears for the defendant, DS Darren Grady. Accusations are thrown and the trial hits the headlines. Wes, Ronnie and Joe are drawn deeper and deeper into a case which sees the law itself in the witness box. Then Kane's sister Nikki comes knocking at their door. It is time to choose sides as friendships and loyalties are tested and careers are put on the line in the interests of justice.moreless
3/19/14
9.0
Crime drama series about the two vital parts of the criminal justice system - the police who investigate crime and the Crown Prosecution Service who bring the offenders to trial. When Ronnie and Joe investigate the fatal stabbing of Dr Philip Gardner, a psychiatrist with a caseload of violent adolescent patients, their first instinct is to question the young people he was treating. Then evidence suggests that he may have been having an affair with one of them, and they begin to suspect the doctor's wife Alison. Although initially she denies killing her husband, Alison changes her defence as the case stacks up against her. Pleading that she was not in her right mind and lost control at the time of the stabbing, she makes a persuasive case. Her case is in fact so persuasive that Kate begins to question whether Alison should be on trial for murder at all, but Jake is determined to see justice done. Thanks to some last minute detective work, the team are finally able to uncover the truth.moreless
| Bradley Walsh |
Hans Holbein the Younger was court painter to which King? | Law & Order: UK S8 ITV
Law & Order: UK will be back with a bang on ITV – literally.
Dependable Detective Sergeant Ronnie Brooks (Bradley Walsh) already has a huge criminal case underway, when a lorry crash reveals a new murder. And, the identity of this body has been deliberately hidden.
It’s not the best time for a detective to have to train a new colleague – in particular a young officer who has come straight from child protection to the murder squad.
But DS Joe Hawkins (Ben Bailey Smith) soon proves his worth and a successful new partnership is built.
ITV is happy to see the return of the rest of the Series 7 Law & Order:UK cast in the new series.
This is series eight of ITV's highly successful drama Law & Order: UK. It is a spin off from the massively successful Dick Wolf US drama, which was the first US show to be adapted to British television in 2009. Series seven, 2013, won its time slot for every episode reaching an average audience of 5.4 million viewers and a share of 21.3%.
Ben Bailey Smith joins the cast as DS Brook’s new partner, Joe. Smith is well known on the comedy circuit as rapper and stand up, Doc Brown. But since moving into acting, he’s been a big success in Hunted and Midsomer Murders.
Bradley Walsh was nominated for the National Television Awards TV Detective of the Year and is hugely popular as wry, loveable, worldly-wise DS Brooks.
Bradley explains: "I’m thrilled to have been in that category. Olivia Colman, Idris Elba, Benedict Cumberbatch; what great company. It’s great to be shortlisted with those guys, especially when the awards are voted for by the British public.
Dominic Rowan, Georgia Taylor and Paterson Joseph also return in the new episodes. Both Georgia (Casualty, Lewis, Coronation Street) and Paterson (Babylon, The Hollow Crown, Hustle, Peep Show) joined the cast last series.
Paterson Joseph plays DI Wes Leyton, who has been in the force since the age of 18 and shares with Ronnie an innate understanding of life on the London streets.
Georgia Taylor is straight talking Crown Prosecutor Kate Passionate and stubborn, Barker resigns from a murder prosecution because she believes the young woman in the dock was acting “in defence of another” – her young daughter.
Jake Thorne (Dominic Rowan) always prosecutes with a clear sense of right and wrong. His trickiest case this series is a teenager who looks as if butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. But what Jake has to remember is that this is a defendant charged with killing her own baby.
Peter Davison returns as respected Director of the Crown Prosecution Service, Henry Sharpe – and this series, his life is threatened by a killer with a grudge. He also has to stand by while his juniors successfully campaign for a trial without a jury – throwing away “800 years of constitutional law.”
An array of guest stars including Helen Baxendale, Hattie Morahan, Joseph Millson, the late Roger Lloyd Pack, Colin Salmon, Roy Hudd, Christopher Fulford, Haydn Gwynne and Harriet Walter join the cast for this season.
Highlights of the new series include the death of a psychiatrist who specialises in violent juveniles and a hotel-room killing with plenty of blood, but without a body.
DS Ronnie Brooks, (Walsh), will meet his match in a drug dealer who repeatedly beats the justice system and in I Predict a Riot, he’ll be investigating other senior police colleagues after the skeleton of a black undercover copper is found in the boot of a car.
The series is produced by Jane Dauncey. The executive producers are Alison Jackson and Jane Featherstone for Kudos and Dick Wolf, creator and executive producer of Law & Order, for Wolf Films. It is a Kudos/Wolf Films/NBC Universal Production.
Law & Order:UK has a unique premise. The show opens at the scene of the crime, follows the investigation and trial all the way through to a verdict – which isn’t always what the audience will be expecting.
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Which capital city is served by Keflavik International Airport | Keflavík International Airport (KEF) | Unserved Routes in the Route Shop
For a enlarged view of Keflavík International Airport’s domestic route map, please click here .
Other major reasons to serve this airport
The airport features comfortable modern passenger and commercial facilities with extensive capacity on the North Atlantic and polar routes linking Europe and Asia with North America. It serves the capital city of Iceland, Reykjavik, and is an international hub of major importance for scheduled operations and technical stops.
In 2012, 647,000 tourists visited Iceland via Keflavik International Airport. In addition to that we have passengers arriving with the ferry Norraena as well as cruise ships that visit Iceland.
Europe's adventure playground: scarcely populated, Iceland is filled with boiling mud pools, spurting geysers, glaciers and waterfalls, making it a popular weekend break destination – Norwegian became the latest major LCC to arrive launching flights from Oslo in June 2012.
Marketing and other support
Marketing support for year on year route traffic growth
Extensive Marketing Communication Support
Press release to the airport’s press contacts
Press conference at the airport
Internet support (news, direct internet links between airports and airlines)
Coverage in the airport magazine
Assistance with getting coverage in local magazines and newspapers
Special activities at the gate in connection with the first flight
Population of over 320,000. 670,000 tourists in 2012 – 19% increase.
Catchment Area
Keflavík International Airport is located about 50 km (45 minutes) from the capital Reykjavík with population of about 120,000. Half of the island’s total population, numbering more than 300,000, live in Reykjavík and neighbouring towns in the southwest. The highland interior is uninhabited (and uninhabitable), and most centres of population are situated on the coast.
Every part of the country has its own unique characteristics that visitors like to experience. The nature, people of Iceland, the amazingly fresh air, the renewable energy and the Icelandic food. Whether it is the north, east, west or the south.
Air cargo has always been a big factor in Icelandic aviation history both by commercial flights and cargo flights. The increase between 2011 and 2012 was 6,1%.
Under-served freight opportunities and other economic impact factors
Please contact the team for more information.
Full flexibility: Europe's Best Regional Airport – according to ACI Airport Service Quality survey – Keflavík Airport offers two runways and a 24/7 operation, paired with comfortable terminal facilities.
Geography
In September 2012 Keflavík was the “Best Airport in Europe” according to the ACI Airport Service Quality Awards based on more than 36 service factors.
Iceland is an island of 103,000 km2 (39,756 sq miles), with an average height of 500m above sea level. Its highest peak, Hvannadalshnjúkur, rises to 2,119 m and over 11% of the country is covered by glaciers, including Vatnajökull, the largest in Europe.
Infrastructure & Operations:
| Reykjavík |
Marie Antoinette, the wife of King Louis XVI, was born in the Hofburg Palace in which city | News » easyJet announces new flights to Iceland- Kefairport.com
News
01.10.2013
easyJet announces new flights to Iceland
EasyJet, the UK’s largest airline, has announced a new route between Bristol and Iceland launching in December. The new route will be served with two flights weekly on Thursdays and Sundays.
EasyJet launched its first route to Iceland from Luton in march 2012 with three flights per week. Manchester was added in February 2013 and Edinburgh in March, all three with direct service year round. With the new route between Bristol Airport and Keflavik International that serves the capital city, Reykjavik, easyJet will offer a total of 10 weekly flights year round to Iceland.
Ali Gayward, Commercial Manager for easyJet, said: “Reykjavik is fast becoming one of the most popular destinations for UK holidaymakers who are attracted to the fantastic scenery and natural beauty as well as the thriving bar and restaurant scene.”
Isavia, the operator of Keflavik International, congratulates easyJet on the opening of the new route to Keflavik.
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Following his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon surrendered to the British aboard which warship? | The Battle of Waterloo: 18 June 1815
The Age of George III
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The Battle of Waterloo: 18 June 1815
After his exile to Elba , Napoleon returned to France in March 1815 to regain his empire in a campaign known as the ' Hundred Days '. On 18 June 1815, the battle was fought that ended the career of Napoleon and ended twenty-two years of European wars that had begun in 1793. At Waterloo the Napoleonic Empire finally crumbled. The battle, fought twelve miles south of Brussels, continued during the whole day, the French foot and cavalry making constant but unavailing attacks on the English lines. Wellington was relying for final victory on the arrival of the Prussians under General Blucher, and late in the afternoon they appeared on the battlefield at the moment when Napoleon had ordered the Imperial Guard to launch itself against the English positions. This attack was already being repelled when the Prussians entered the battle. From that moment it became a rout of the French force.
Napoleon lost the battle for a number of reasons:
an accident of weather. As before all of Wellington's battles , it rained heavily all the previous night so Napoleon could use neither his guns nor his cavalry to their best advantage. His guns sank up to their axles in the mud and his cavalry could not charge uphill in the soggy conditions. The start of the battle was delayed for about two hours, so that the ground could dry out a little.
Wellington's tactics were superb. He refused to move from the high ground into the boggy valley, so the French had to take the battle to him, uphill and through mud.
Wellington used the "thin red line" and hid his troops: this surprised Napoleon, who had never seen this method of fighting. Wellington had perfected them in Spain while Napoleon was occupied in fighting elsewhere.
Wellington's smaller force held the French to a stalemate from about 11 a.m. (when the battle started), until about 4 p.m. Wellington was about to give the order for a general retreat following Napoleon's order for a general advance, when Blucher arrived and tipped the balance in favour of the Allies.
Napoleon said he lost Waterloo because of the "obstinate bravery of the English troops" - many of whom were Irish. [1]
There is an account that Napoleon was not functioning at his best because of a medical problem. It seems that he suffered terribly from haemorrhoids (piles); his physician used leeches to alleviate the pain but during the night of 16 June, the leeches were lost. The physician gave Napoleon laudanum to alleviate the pain but by accident administered an overdose; consequently, at Waterloo, Napoleon's abilities were impaired.
Napoleon fled to Paris, where he found the parliament unwilling to give him further support. Finally, he surrendered to the captain of a British warship, H.M.S. Bellerophon, and was sent to his second exile, this time on the island of St. Helena in the south Atlantic, where he busied himself with writing his memoirs and giving his own version of his triumphs and ultimate defeat. He died in the year 1821.
[1] Although Wellington was the Commander of the forces that fought at Waterloo, there were more non-English troops in his army than there were Englishmen. Napoleon did not differentiate between the various nationalities; English historians have made the same mistake and labelled the Allied army "English". [back]
| HMS Bellerophon |
Situated on the left bank of the Seine in Paris, what is the 'Musee d'Orsay'? | When Napoleon became an English tourist attraction - BBC News
BBC News
When Napoleon became an English tourist attraction
By Greig Watson BBC News
28 September 2015
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Image copyright Plymouth City Council: Museum and Art Gallery
Image caption There were so many boats in Plymouth Sound at least one writer said the sea looked like a giant theatre stage
After his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon Bonaparte was briefly kept prisoner on a warship in Plymouth Sound. The harbour became packed as crowds flocked to see their defeated enemy. Now the city is commemorating this most unlikely, and involuntary, of south coast holidays.
After his shattering defeat in 1815 at the hands of Wellington in Belgium, Napoleon knew he would be hunted down in Europe and had planned to flee to the United States.
He found the port of Rochefort blockaded by his old nemesis, the Royal Navy, however and on the morning of 15 July surrendered to Captain Frederick Maitland of HMS Bellerophon.
Michael Broers, Professor of Western European History at the University of Oxford, said: "Some of the military leaders, especially the Prussians, would have gladly shot him.
"But that was not the political culture of the time, you did not execute a head of state. But they had failed in exiling him to Elba [after an earlier defeat], they could not risk failing again."
Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption A small retinue including officers sailed with Napoleon - and none of them could be sure of their fates
It took nine days to sail to England, the celebrity prisoner emerging rarely, except for one morning when he came up for a last glimpse of the French coast.
Arriving off the coast of England, anchor was dropped near to the tiny Devon fishing village of Brixham. However, despite an attempt at secrecy, news leaked quickly and a flotilla of small boats began to circle.
The ship moved on to the greater security of the naval base at Plymouth but the news had beaten them there too.
Here, while the European powers argued what to do with the world's highest profile prisoner, "Old Boney" pulled in the crowds.
Plymouth Sound was, to use modern phrasing, rammed. Visitors flocked not just from Devon and the South West but London too. No-one who witnessed the scene would forget it.
George Home, a midshipman aboard HMS Bellerophon, recalled: "The Sound was literally covered with boats; the weather was delightful; the ladies looked as gay as butterflies.
Napoleonic Wars
Image copyright Thinkstock
Image caption Napoleon escaped the field at Waterloo but found nowhere to hide in France and knew many would like to see him dead
In wars following the French Revolution in 1789, an obscure Corsican artillery officer called Napoleon Bonaparte made a meteoric rise through the ranks.
Ambition and talent saw him embark on a political career which culminated in him being declared Emperor in 1804.
Time and again defeating the armies of Austria, Russia and Prussia, Napoleon's power was limited by losses to the Royal Navy, such as Trafalgar.
Finally overwhelmed by enemies and exiled to the Mediterranean island of Elba in 1814, a brief comeback was ended by his defeat at Waterloo.
"Bands of music in several of the boats played favourite French airs, to attract, if possible the Emperor's attention, that they might get a sight of him, which, when effected they went off, blessing themselves that they had been so fortunate."
Dr James Gregory, lecturer in Modern British History at the University of Plymouth, said: "When he arrived, the reaction surprised and alarmed the authorities. He sat for 10 days. What should be done with him? Would his presence prompt disorder? Would someone try to rescue him? Would he come ashore? Only one thing seemed certain - this was a unique moment in history."
Monthly Magazine estimated 10,000 sightseers , Hewson Clarke's Impartial History claimed 1,000 vessels were in the Sound, the scene "beggaring all description". Edward Seymour's History of the Wars noted the people came, "regardless of experience or even of personal safety".
Midshipman Home also mentions collisions as boats surged at a possible sighting and according to several accounts, lives were lost.
Image caption Plymouth Sound now plays host to ferries and private boats but memories of Napoleon's visit are to be preserved
Napoleon apparently played up to the attention, regarding the crowds through a telescope and often doffing his famous hat, accompanied with a smile.
The reaction? Despite all the years of war, loss and odium, correspondents noted the atmosphere of general "cheerings and acclamations".
This enthusiasm, and deference shown by the crew, troubled a Times journalist sent to the scene: "This I did not like to see, it hurt the feeling of all to see so much humility paid him."
But what of his ultimate fate?
Professor Broers says: "Napoleon had wanted America, now he suggested a kind of house arrest in England. How seriously he took the idea is hard to tell.
"But it was impossible. Politically and for security reasons, he had to be a long way away. St Helena, a suggestion for his first exile and very, very remote, was quickly selected."
He left for St Helena in the South Atlantic on 7 August. He died, probably from stomach cancer, on 5 May 1821.
To mark the 200th anniversary Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery held an exhibition on the visit. Later this year an "enhanced plaque", made from a stone from the house where he died attached to granite from Dartmoor prison, will be placed on the sea front.
Plymouth's Honorary French Consul, Alain Sibiril, who spearheaded the project, told BBC Inside Out: "When we discovered Napoleon has left Plymouth for St Helena, we felt we wanted to give something back to city.
"But it has not been easy, as it is not easy to sell Napoleon to the English because obviously he's the villain, he's the enemy."
Napoleon in Plymouth was broadcast on Inside Out at 19:30 BST on Monday 28 September on BBC One South West. It will then be available on BBC iPlayer for 30 days.
| i don't know |
What sort of sauce is created by combining Bechamel sauce with grated cheese? | How to make mother sauces, from bechamel to veloute | NOLA.com
How to make mother sauces, from bechamel to veloute
bechamel
A student makes bechamel sauce on the potager cooking surface, to use in potatoes au gratin, during a cooking class in the historic kitchen at the Hermann-Grima House. (The NOLA.com | Times-Picayune archive)
comments
When I worked at Commander's Palace, I often requested a cup of either sauce in which to dunk toasted garlic bread...
My mother loved to cook with white sauce. Green beans, baby peas and cabbage were drenched in it. Even her silky-smooth mac and cheese began with a white sauce. Little did I know back then that what she was making was sauce bechamel.
With the addition of cheese, Mama made mornay sauce but she never called it that. It was simply "cheese sauce" that was sometimes ladled over oven-baked redfish, broccoli or canned asparagus.
In the 1960s, I lived in the university section right off Broadway and whenever I had a few extra dollars, I treated myself to dinner at Compagno's on Panola Street I would belly up to the bar for a dozen or so on the half shell to enjoy with a couple of cold beers while I waited for a table in the small restaurant. The place was always packed and everyone knew each other. My favorite dish there was Oysters Bordelaise. I had no clue that the bordelaise sauce of New Orleans was unlike the classic bordelaise sauce that is made with wine, brown stock, bone marrow, shallots and parsley. The sauce for the oyster dish incorporated lots of garlic, butter, olive oil, herbs and spices.
It was also in New Orleans that I became enchanted with both hollandaise and its cousin, bearnaise. When I worked at Commander's Palace, I often requested a cup of either sauce in which to dunk toasted garlic bread left over from lunch service.
And who, you may ask, is responsible for all these delicious sauces?
French culinary history tells us that Marie-Antoine Careme was born in 1784, five years before the onset of the French Revolution. He spent his younger years working at a patisserie until being discovered by Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord, who would later cook for the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. More important to Careme's career was his contribution to the refinement of French cuisine. The basis for his style of cooking came from his sauces, which he named mother sauces.
Often referred to as fonds, meaning foundations, these base sauces - were sauce Espagnole (brown sauce), Allemande (veal stock with mushrooms), Veloute (white stock), Bechamel (white or milk sauce) - are still used today.
Each of these sauces would be made in large quantities in his kitchen, as they were then the basis of multiple derivatives. Careme had more than 100 sauces in his repertoire. Although many of his preparations today seem extremely extravagant, it must be remembered that he simplified and codified an even more complex cuisine that had existed beforehand.
Are you still with me?
Careme started the job but Georges Auguste Escoffier , in the 1880s and 1890s, is commonly acknowledged as the central figure to the modernization of haute cuisine and organizing what would become the national cuisine of France. Careme demoted Allemande to a secondary sauce of Veloute, and added Sauce Tomat and Hollandaise.
Let's look at the sauce family trees.
ESPAGNOLE (brown sauce family) is based on reduced veal and sometimes beef stock, and is the building block for many meat and poultry sauces.
Add red wine and bone marrow and you have French bordelaise.
Add mustard to make sauce Robert.
Add duxelles for a mushroom sauce.
A Chasseur sauce (cacciatore in Italian) is made by combining brown sauce with mushrooms, tomatoes, garlic and herbs.
Poivrade sauce combines brown sauce with white wine, peppercorns and butter.
For the classic steak Diane, cream is added to poivrade.
*The base sauce is sometimes used at the foundation for boeuf bourguinon and demi-glace.
VELOUTE (white stock usually made with veal, but chicken and fish stock can be used.)
Allemande combines veal stock with mushrooms.
Supreme sauce combines chicken stock with cream.
Vin blanc is fish stock with white wine, shallots, butter and fine herbs.
*These sauces are usually served with delicate dishes such as poached fish or chicken.
BECHAMEL (butter and flour, a roux, is combined with milk.
For a Mornay sauce, add grated cheese.
Combining egg yolks and cream with bechamel makes a Parisienne sauce.
TOMAT (Tomato-based, can be thickend with a roux.) In classic French cuisine, salt pork, mirepoix and garlic is often added. Think of it as the base for Creole, Italian or Spanish tomato sauces.
HOLLANDAISE (egg yolks, butter, usually clarified, and thickened by emulsion.) The sauce can be flavored with black or cayenne pepper, white wine vinegar, salt and lemon juice.
*In New Orleans, gallons are consumed since it is classically served with eggs Benedict.
Add wine, vinegar, shallots and tarragon and you have a bearnaise sauce.
Add tomatoes and tarragon to make a choron sauce.
Add whipped cream to make sauce mousseline.
As you can imagine, there are numerous recipes for each of the base sauces and sauces made from each. Espagnole and veloute base is made from beef or veal stock, which can take hours to make. Although making your own stock would be best, I have found several commercial stocks (not broths) to be quite good. There are also demi-glace concentrates on the market. More Than Gourmet is brand I use. I'm sure Julia Child would not agree, but when time is of the essence....
Here are a few sauce recipes from my cache that may inspire you to jazz up your poached fish, steamed asparagus or whatever you may find on your plate for dinner.
| Mornay sauce |
What name connects a small beetle with a publisher of children's books? | How to make mother sauces, from bechamel to veloute | NOLA.com
How to make mother sauces, from bechamel to veloute
bechamel
A student makes bechamel sauce on the potager cooking surface, to use in potatoes au gratin, during a cooking class in the historic kitchen at the Hermann-Grima House. (The NOLA.com | Times-Picayune archive)
comments
When I worked at Commander's Palace, I often requested a cup of either sauce in which to dunk toasted garlic bread...
My mother loved to cook with white sauce. Green beans, baby peas and cabbage were drenched in it. Even her silky-smooth mac and cheese began with a white sauce. Little did I know back then that what she was making was sauce bechamel.
With the addition of cheese, Mama made mornay sauce but she never called it that. It was simply "cheese sauce" that was sometimes ladled over oven-baked redfish, broccoli or canned asparagus.
In the 1960s, I lived in the university section right off Broadway and whenever I had a few extra dollars, I treated myself to dinner at Compagno's on Panola Street I would belly up to the bar for a dozen or so on the half shell to enjoy with a couple of cold beers while I waited for a table in the small restaurant. The place was always packed and everyone knew each other. My favorite dish there was Oysters Bordelaise. I had no clue that the bordelaise sauce of New Orleans was unlike the classic bordelaise sauce that is made with wine, brown stock, bone marrow, shallots and parsley. The sauce for the oyster dish incorporated lots of garlic, butter, olive oil, herbs and spices.
It was also in New Orleans that I became enchanted with both hollandaise and its cousin, bearnaise. When I worked at Commander's Palace, I often requested a cup of either sauce in which to dunk toasted garlic bread left over from lunch service.
And who, you may ask, is responsible for all these delicious sauces?
French culinary history tells us that Marie-Antoine Careme was born in 1784, five years before the onset of the French Revolution. He spent his younger years working at a patisserie until being discovered by Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord, who would later cook for the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. More important to Careme's career was his contribution to the refinement of French cuisine. The basis for his style of cooking came from his sauces, which he named mother sauces.
Often referred to as fonds, meaning foundations, these base sauces - were sauce Espagnole (brown sauce), Allemande (veal stock with mushrooms), Veloute (white stock), Bechamel (white or milk sauce) - are still used today.
Each of these sauces would be made in large quantities in his kitchen, as they were then the basis of multiple derivatives. Careme had more than 100 sauces in his repertoire. Although many of his preparations today seem extremely extravagant, it must be remembered that he simplified and codified an even more complex cuisine that had existed beforehand.
Are you still with me?
Careme started the job but Georges Auguste Escoffier , in the 1880s and 1890s, is commonly acknowledged as the central figure to the modernization of haute cuisine and organizing what would become the national cuisine of France. Careme demoted Allemande to a secondary sauce of Veloute, and added Sauce Tomat and Hollandaise.
Let's look at the sauce family trees.
ESPAGNOLE (brown sauce family) is based on reduced veal and sometimes beef stock, and is the building block for many meat and poultry sauces.
Add red wine and bone marrow and you have French bordelaise.
Add mustard to make sauce Robert.
Add duxelles for a mushroom sauce.
A Chasseur sauce (cacciatore in Italian) is made by combining brown sauce with mushrooms, tomatoes, garlic and herbs.
Poivrade sauce combines brown sauce with white wine, peppercorns and butter.
For the classic steak Diane, cream is added to poivrade.
*The base sauce is sometimes used at the foundation for boeuf bourguinon and demi-glace.
VELOUTE (white stock usually made with veal, but chicken and fish stock can be used.)
Allemande combines veal stock with mushrooms.
Supreme sauce combines chicken stock with cream.
Vin blanc is fish stock with white wine, shallots, butter and fine herbs.
*These sauces are usually served with delicate dishes such as poached fish or chicken.
BECHAMEL (butter and flour, a roux, is combined with milk.
For a Mornay sauce, add grated cheese.
Combining egg yolks and cream with bechamel makes a Parisienne sauce.
TOMAT (Tomato-based, can be thickend with a roux.) In classic French cuisine, salt pork, mirepoix and garlic is often added. Think of it as the base for Creole, Italian or Spanish tomato sauces.
HOLLANDAISE (egg yolks, butter, usually clarified, and thickened by emulsion.) The sauce can be flavored with black or cayenne pepper, white wine vinegar, salt and lemon juice.
*In New Orleans, gallons are consumed since it is classically served with eggs Benedict.
Add wine, vinegar, shallots and tarragon and you have a bearnaise sauce.
Add tomatoes and tarragon to make a choron sauce.
Add whipped cream to make sauce mousseline.
As you can imagine, there are numerous recipes for each of the base sauces and sauces made from each. Espagnole and veloute base is made from beef or veal stock, which can take hours to make. Although making your own stock would be best, I have found several commercial stocks (not broths) to be quite good. There are also demi-glace concentrates on the market. More Than Gourmet is brand I use. I'm sure Julia Child would not agree, but when time is of the essence....
Here are a few sauce recipes from my cache that may inspire you to jazz up your poached fish, steamed asparagus or whatever you may find on your plate for dinner.
| i don't know |
"""Theirs not to reason why"" is a line from which poem?" | The Charge Of The Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
1809-1892
This poem was written to memorialize a suicidal charge by light cavalry over open terrain by British forces in the Battle of Balaclava (Ukraine) in the Crimean War (1854-56). 247 men of the 637 in the charge were killed or wounded. Britain entered the war, which was fought by Russia against Turkey, Britain and France, because Russia sought to control the Dardanelles. Russian control of the Dardanelles threatened British sea routes.
Many in the west best know of this war today because of Florence Nightingale, who trained and led nurses aiding the wounded during the war in a manner innovative for those times. The War was also noteworthy as an early example of the work of modern war correspondents.
The Charge Of The Light Brigade
by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Memorializing Events in the Battle of Balaclava, October 25, 1854
Written 1854
Half a league half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred:
Charge for the guns' he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Was there a man dismay'd ?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Some one had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do & die,
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd & thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.
Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse & hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!
Note: This poem, including punctuation, is reproduced from a scan of the poem written out by Tennyson in his own hand later, in 1864. The scan was made available online by the University of Virginia.
| Charge of the Light Brigade (disambiguation) |
Who is the current British Heavyweight Boxing champion? | The Charge of the Light Brigade: Stanza 2 Summary
The Charge of the Light Brigade
Get out the microscope, because we’re going through this poem line-by-line.
Line 9
"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
The order is repeated. The speaker really wants us to focus on those words, on the command to move forward. The men are being sent to their doom.
Again, we don't know who's giving the orders here, but this disembodied voice might make us pause and think about why these brave men are being sent into "the valley of Death."
Line 10
Was there a man dismayed?
Now we're trying to get a peek into the heads of these soldiers, trying to imagine how it must feel to charge toward death.
The speaker asks if any of the soldiers were "dismayed." In this case, to be dismayed means to lose your courage, to be overcome by terror or sadness. That would be a pretty normal reaction to a situation like this.
Line 11-12
Not though the soldier knew
Someone had blundered.
Of course the Light Brigade is too tough and loyal to feel dismayed.
That first word, "not," implies that these men don't feel discouraged at all. They're ready to do their job, even though the order might be crazy.
This is a really important point in this poem. The soldiers aren't dumb. They know this charge isn't a good idea, that someone has made a mistake, has "blundered."
This is as close as the poem gets to criticizing the men who ordered this attack. The speaker is no revolutionary, but we think you can feel some anger at the commanders simmering under this poem, especially at this moment.
Lines 13-15
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
This is a famous group of lines, and for good reason. Do you see how they fit together, the way they share the same first word and the same rhyming sound at the end? Do you see how simple they are, too? There's no showing off, no fancy words (in fact almost all the words in these lines are one syllable).
The speaker uses these lines to sum up all of the honest, humble heroism of these men. They're just doing their job. That job doesn't let permit them to talk back to their commanders ("make reply") or to figure out the point of the attack ("reason why"). All they can do is to ride and fight and possibly die ("do and die").
Line 16-17
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
These last two lines are the same as the last two lines in the first stanza. In poetry, that's called a refrain (like the chorus in a song). It emphasizes the main action of the poem, which is these men riding to their death. It also gives a smooth, dignified rhythm to the poem.
| i don't know |
Which Sir Walter Scott novel has the same name as a Scottish football team? | A Stroll Through The Eccentric Names Of Scottish Football Teams. – A Son of the Rock -- Jack Deighton
A Stroll Through The Eccentric Names Of Scottish Football Teams.
Posted in Football , Names at 14:00 on 30 September 2009
Last week I watched a TV programme fronted by Jonathan Meades which was an annotated travelogue through post-industrial Scotland. Meades’s starting point was the almost poetic litany of the names of Scottish football clubs as heard in the results on Saturday afternoons.
Unlike those from England, very few of whom have names that are geographically indeterminate, at least at first glance* (the exceptions are Arsenal, Aston Villa, Everton, Queen’s Park Rangers, Port Vale, Tranmere Rovers; at a pinch Crystal Palace) and most of which are relatively prosaic (Swindon Town, Derby County, Bristol City) – only Nottingham Forest, Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth Argyle and Crewe Alexandra have any rhetorical flourish - a disturbingly large number of Scottish teams’ names give no clue to their geographical location.
*I know Arsenal were once Woolwich Arsenal and that Everton is a district of Liverpool – as Tranmere is of Birkenhead – but Port Vale (the club plays in Burslem) isn’t on maps any more – if it ever was – and the Crystal Palace is long gone: which just leaves QPR and Villa – which may well be a Birmingham geographical locator of which I am ignorant.
The list of obscurely named Scottish clubs is much longer.
I have already, of course, mentioned Kirkcaldy’s finest, Raith Rovers ( dancing in the streets of Raith .) There are two Saints – of Mirren and Johnstone (and until World War 2 there was a third; of Bernard’s) – a Clyde, a Hibernian, two Queens, Queen’s Park and Queen Of The South – famously the only football team mentioned in the Bible – an Albion Rovers and two Easts, of Fife and Stirlingshire, which could be located anywhere in their respective counties. In the case of East Stirlingshire their peregrinations actually took them as far west as Clydebank for a season before returning to their Firs Park home in Falkirk, which they have now had to leave; renting space at Stenhousemuir’s ground nearby.
In this context Rangers and Celtic do not count as their full names include the prefix Glasgow. Similarly it is Greenock Morton. While Midlothian as a county no longer exists, Heart Of Midlothian – the actual heart of the county is in the centre of Edinburgh, not off Gorgie Road; and there is a mosaic over the spot which is supposed to confer luck if you spit into it (Edinburgh is not quite the douce place you might take it for) – are named for a Walter Scott novel, apparently via a local dance hall. Likewise the County of Ross is no more; in any case the eponymous club plays out of Dingwall. Was there ever a county of Stockport by the way? Yes, and no. A county borough apparently.
There is a Raith estate in Kirkcaldy – and a former Raith cinema – so the name makes some sense; but it’s not on any maps of Scotland. Clyde are somewhat disappointingly so called because they first played by the banks of that river, though they now rent a ground in Cumbernauld from the local council.
The Paisley club St Mirren are named after the local Saint, Mirin; St Johnstone from Saint John’s town (of Perth,) and the now long defunct St Bernard’s after a local well by the Water of Leith.
East Fife are located in Methil in – err – east Fife. Like (Glasgow) Celtic, Hibernian FC’s name reflects the Irish roots of its founders but otherwise has no relevance to Edinburgh, or Leith if you must, where they are domiciled.
Albion Rovers play home games in Coatbridge and were formed from a merger between teams called, rather prosaically, Albion and Rovers.
Queen’s Park is obvious but its city isn’t. (Compare Queen’s Park Rangers.) There was, too, once a King’s Park club, but that was in Stirling. Queen Of The South is an epithet given to the town of Dumfries by the poet David Dunbar. The club which took the name amalgamated in 1919 from other teams in the area including 5th Kircudbrightshire Rifle Volunteers and 5th King’s Own Scottish Borderers. In this regard the former Third Lanark team (based in Glasgow, not Lanark) were also geographically obscure, and were again derived from a military source, the Third Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers.
Historical teams in this vein are Northern, whose ground was in Springburn in Glasgow, and Thistle who also played in Glasgow at Braehead. This last is not to be confused with Partick Thistle whose ground is actually in the Maryhill district of Glasgow and not in Partick itself. Other former Scottish League clubs Solway Star, Nithsdale Wanderers and Mid-Annandale (originally Vale Of Dryfe!) had, though, some geographical pointer in their names, albeit to a wide area.
The daddy of all such non-geographically named teams is Royal Albert, for two and a half years in the 1920s members of the Scottish League. Based in Larkhall, they now play junior football. The name comes from a ship their founder also owned. They apparently bear a relationship to the Hawick team, Hawick Royal Albert, who were founded by a man from Larkhall.
I hope all is clear now.
| Heart of Midlothian |
On which island in the Caribbean did Princess Margaret have a home? | Football Clubs in UK
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Everton Football Club
Despite their recent struggles, Everton - originally known as St Domingo's FC before taking their current name from a district in Liverpool in which they played - are one of the most successful clubs in English football history and have had a place in the top-flight ever since 1954. The club's most successful periods occurred in the mid-60s (winning the championship twice and the FA Cup) and the early 1980s when triumph in the European Cup-Winners Cup was supplemented by two more league titles and another FA Cup win. Fast Fact: Everton have reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup on a record 23 occasions. Fast Fact: Everton legend Dixie Dean still holds the record for the most league goals in a season with 60 in 39 matches in the 1927-28 season.
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Fulham Football Club
Like Bolton, Fulham began life as a church side - the Fulham St Andrew's Church Sunday School FC - back in 1879. But they became just plain Fulham FC in 1888 and in 1896 they would take up residence at Craven Cottage. Their history was not a glorious one until they achieved promotion to the top-flight for the first time in 1959, with club heroes Johnny Haynes and George Cohen playing massive parts in keeping them there until 1968. The Seventies in Division Two would also be interesting, with the likes of Bobby Moore, George Best and Rodney Marsh playing their aging trade there.
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Gillingham Football Club
Priestfield Stadium has been virtually re-built since the current Chairman Paul Scally took over in 1995. On one side of the ground is the impressive two tiered, Medway Stand, opened in 2000 , with a row of executive boxes (the type which you can sit outside of) running across the middle. Opposite is the tidy all seater Gordon Road Stand. Unfortunately though, it contains a number of supporting pillars, which may hinder your view. This also has an unusual TV gantry perched on its roof. The Rainham End, has also been re-developed, with a single tier cantilevered stand, which replaced a former terrace.
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Grimsby Town Football Club
The most impressive stand is the John Smiths Stand, which was only built in the mid 80's. This stand is much higher that the remaining three stands, offering excellent views of the North Sea. This does impact on the atmosphere though, as most songs pass straight over the remaining three stands! The rest of the ground is rather dated, and the club is well aware of the need to re-develop. They have recently applied for planning permission to built a new 15,000 all seater stadium on the edge of town, on the M180, and are obviously reluctant to spend vast amounts of money upgrading Blundell Park.
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Hartlepool United Football Club
Hartlepool United Football Club Formed in 1908. The ground was greatly improved in the mid 1990's, with the construction of two new stands. The Cyril Knowles Stand is the newer of the two side stands. It is a small single tier covered, seated stand which is raised above ground level. At the other side is the Camerons Brewery Stand which has covered seating to the rear and open terrace to the front. The newer end is the small Expamet Town End, a covered terrace, for home fans. The other end, the Rink End stand, is a small covered all seated stand which houses away supporters.
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Haverfordwest County Football Club
HAVERFORDWEST Football Club was formed on 7th December 1899 and changed the name, early in its history, to Haverfordwest Town. Most of the team�s fixtures in those early days were friendly matches, but the club gained membership of the Pembrokeshire League before the First World War. Indeed, they remain members of the Pembrokeshire League to this day, fielding their reserve side, but the senior team moved up to the Welsh Football League in 1936. A name change was implemented at the same time and they became known as Haverfordwest Athletic.
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Heart of Midlothian Football Club
Heart of Midlothian F.C. is a football club from Edinburgh, Scotland which plays in the Scottish Premier League. It is one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian. The club is managed by Graham Rix, appointed on November 7, 2005 following the departure of George Burley on October 22, 2005. Vladimir Romanov recently became the major shareholder of Hearts when he took over Chris Robinson's stake. Hearts (the common abbreviation) were founded in 1874 and are named after a dance hall, which in turn took its name from the novel The Heart of Midlothian by Sir Walter Scott. They initially played at the Meadows, Powburn and Powderhall before moving to the Gorgie area in 1881. They moved to their current Tynecastle site in 1886.
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Hibernian Football Club
Hibernian Football Club (informally known as "Hibs") is a Scottish football club from Edinburgh. Along with rivals Hearts, they represent Edinburgh in the Scottish Premier League. They are currently managed by Tony Mowbray. The club was founded in 1875 by Irish born football enthusiasts, and currently plays at the Easter Road ground in Leith. Hibs originally played at a ground near the Meadows, in the south of Edinburgh's Old Town but moved to Easter Road in the 1880s. They were the first major club in Scotland formed out of the immigrant Irish Catholic population (hence the name, from Hibernia, the Latin name for Ireland). As the first such team, their example led to the creation of Dundee Hibernian (now Dundee United) and Celtic.
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Huddersfield Town Football Club
Huddersfield Town Football Club Formed in 1908. The Galpharm Stadium is a multi-use sports stadium in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. Until 2004 it was known as the McAlpine Stadium but a change in sponsorship has led to the new title. During planning and construction, it was referred to as the Kirklees Stadium. It was awarded the RIBA Stirling Prize for architecture in 1995 The Galpharm stadium is home to Huddersfield Giants rugby league club and Huddersfield Town A.F.C. soccer club. It is also a regular venue for international rugby league The stadium was built in 1991, and cost �40 million.
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Hull City Football Club
Hull FC's home, the Kingston Communications Stadium, is situated within the wonderful parkland settings of West Park. The Stadium and associated community sports complex offers the city state-of-the-art facilities for all types of professional and amateur sports, embracing the whole of Kingston upon Hull.The Kingston Communications Stadium has proved to be a massive success for the Black and Whites during their first two years. Attendances went through the roof in 2003 and the club also attracted impressive crowds in 2004. The highest crowd for Hull FC at the Stadium is 19,549 when Bradford Bulls visited in June 2003.
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Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the city of Inverness. They are currently playing in the Scottish Premier League and are managed by Craig Brewster, who is also a player for the club. They play in blue, red and white strips, and are nicknamed Caley Thistle. Their home ground, Caledonian Stadium, is situated beside the Moray Firth, in the shadow of the Kessock Bridge. The club was formed as Caledonian Thistle F.C. in 1994 following the merger of Caledonian F.C. and Inverness Thistle F.C., both members of the Highland Football League, to fill a vacancy in the Scottish Football League.
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Ipswich Town Football Club
The overall look of the ground has greatly improved, with the re-development of both ends in recent years . Both these ends, the Greene King (South) Stand and the North Stand, are similar in appearance and size, and dwarf the smaller older stands, located on each side of the ground. Unusually, both ends have a larger upper tier which overhangs slightly the smaller lower tier . Both have windshields to either side of the upper tier and they are completed , with some spectacular floodlights perched on their roof s . Both sides are much older stands and now look quite tired in comparison.
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Kilmarnock Football Club
Kilmarnock Football Club, founded in 1869 and nicknamed 'Killie' is the oldest professional football club in Scotland. Home matches are played at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock - an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 18,128. They are currently playing in the Scottish Premier League and are managed by Jim Jefferies. Traditional team colours are blue and white striped shirts, white shorts and socks. Kilmarnock's major honours include winning the Scottish Cup three times (1920, 1929 and 1997) and winning the Scottish League Championship in season 1964/65. They competed the 2004/05 season in the Scottish Premier League.
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Leeds United Football Club
Following a fire which destroyed the original West Stand in September 1956, a public appeal raised �60,000 towards a new one which was opened in August 1957 at a cost of �180,000.
The roof of the West Stand has a television commentary gantry and walkway for TV personnel who may be asked to film here on a matchday. The radio and press also have facilities in this stand so they can commentate direct to the public and make notes for their respective papers. This stand houses the Directors Box, where both home and away Team Directors may sit to enjoy the match, plus the Club Doctor.
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Leicester City Football Club
In August 2002 t he club moved into its new home, only a stone's throw away from their old Filbert Street ground. The stadium was built by Birse Construction at a cost of �35m , is completely enclosed with all corners being filled with seating. The sides are of a good size, built in the same style and height. Running around three sides of the stadium, just below the roof, is a transparent p erspex strip, which allows more light and facilitates pitch growth. On the remaining side is a row of executive boxes. Completely encircling the stadium and hanging from the roof itself is a collage of player images.
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Which 19th century composer shares his surname with a character from the TV show 'Are You Being Served'? | Learn and talk about Gustav Holst, 19th-century English musicians, 19th-century classical composers, 20th-century English musicians, 20th-century classical composers
Family background[ edit ]
Holst family tree (simplified)
Holst was born in Cheltenham , Gloucestershire , the elder of the two children of Adolph von Holst, a professional musician, and his wife, Clara Cox, née Lediard. She was of mostly British descent, [n 1] daughter of a respected Cirencester solicitor; [2] the Holst side of the family was of mixed Swedish, Latvian and German ancestry, with at least one professional musician in each of the previous three generations. [3]
Holst's great-grandfather, Matthias Holst, born in Riga, Latvia, was of German origin; he served as composer and harp-teacher to the Imperial Russian Court in St Petersburg. [4] Matthias's son Gustavus, who moved to England with his parents as a child in 1802, [5] was a composer of salon-style music and a well-known harp teacher. He appropriated the aristocratic prefix "von" and added it to the family name in the hope of gaining enhanced prestige and attracting pupils. [n 2]
Holst's father, Adolph von Holst, became organist and choirmaster at All Saints' Church , Cheltenham; [7] he also taught, and gave piano recitals. [7] His wife, Clara, a former pupil, was a talented singer and pianist. They had two sons; Gustav's younger brother, Emil Gottfried, became known as Ernest Cossart , a successful actor in the West End , New York and Hollywood . [8] Clara died in February 1882, and the family moved to another house in Cheltenham, [n 3] where Adolph recruited his sister Nina to help raise the boys. Gustav recognised her devotion to the family and dedicated several of his early compositions to her. [2] In 1885 Adolph married Mary Thorley Stone, another of his pupils. They had two sons, Matthias (known as "Max") and Evelyn ("Thorley"). [11] Mary von Holst was absorbed in theosophy and not greatly interested in domestic matters. All four of Adolph's sons were subject to what one biographer calls "benign neglect", [11] and Gustav in particular was "not overburdened with attention or understanding, with a weak sight and a weak chest, both neglected—he was 'miserable and scared'." [12]
Childhood and youth[ edit ]
Holst was taught to play the piano and the violin; he enjoyed the former very much more than the latter. [13] At the age of twelve he took up the trombone at Adolph's suggestion, thinking that playing a brass instrument might improve his asthma . [14] Holst was educated at Cheltenham Grammar School between 1886 and 1891. [15] He started composing in or about 1886; inspired by Macaulay 's poem Horatius he began, but soon abandoned, an ambitious setting of the work for chorus and orchestra. [13] His early compositions included piano pieces, organ voluntaries, songs, anthems and a symphony (from 1892). His main influences at this stage were Mendelssohn , Chopin , Grieg and above all Sullivan . [16] [n 4] Adolph tried to steer his son away from composition, hoping that he would have a career as a pianist. Holst's health played a decisive part in his musical future; he had never been strong, and in addition to his asthma and poor eyesight he suffered from neuritis , which made playing the piano difficult. [18] He said that the affected arm was "like a jelly overcharged with electricity". [19]
After Holst left school in 1891, Adolph paid for him to spend four months in Oxford studying counterpoint with George Frederick Sims, organist of Merton College . [20] On his return Holst obtained his first professional appointment, aged seventeen, as organist and choirmaster at Wyck Rissington , Gloucestershire. The post brought with it the conductorship of the Bourton-on-the-Water Choral Society, which offered no extra remuneration but provided valuable experience that enabled him to hone his conducting skills. [13] In November 1891 Holst gave what was perhaps his first public performance as a pianist; he and his father played the Brahms Hungarian Dances at a concert in Cheltenham. [21] The programme for the event gives his name as "Gustav" rather than "Gustavus"; he was called by the shorter version from his early years. [21]
Royal College of Music[ edit ]
In 1892 Holst wrote the music for an operetta in the style of Gilbert and Sullivan , Lansdown Castle, or The Sorcerer of Tewkesbury. [22] The piece was performed at Cheltenham Corn Exchange in February 1893; it was well received and its success encouraged him to persevere with composing. [23] He applied for a scholarship at the Royal College of Music (RCM) in London, but the composition scholarship for that year was won by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor . [24] Holst was accepted as a non-scholarship student, and Adolph borrowed £100 to cover the first year's expenses. [n 5] Holst left Cheltenham for London in May 1893. Money was tight, and partly from frugality and partly from his own inclination he became a vegetarian and a teetotaller. [24] Two years later he was finally granted a scholarship, which slightly eased his financial difficulties, but he retained his austere personal regime. [25]
Holst's lifelong friend Ralph Vaughan Williams
Holst's professors at the RCM were Frederick Sharpe (piano), William Stephenson Hoyte (organ), George Case (trombone), George Jacobi (instrumentation) and the director of the college, Hubert Parry (history). After preliminary lessons with W. S. Rockstro and Frederick Bridge , Holst was granted his wish to study composition with Charles Villiers Stanford . [26] To support himself during his studies Holst played the trombone professionally, at seaside resorts in the summer and in London theatres in the winter. [27] His daughter and biographer, Imogen Holst , records that from his fees as a player "he was able to afford the necessities of life: board and lodging, manuscript paper, and tickets for standing room in the gallery at Covent Garden Opera House on Wagner evenings". [27] He secured an occasional engagement in symphony concerts, playing in 1897 under the baton of Richard Strauss at the Queen's Hall . [4]
Like many musicians of his generation, Holst came under Wagner 's spell. He had recoiled from the music of Götterdämmerung when he heard it at Covent Garden in 1892, but encouraged by his friend and fellow-student Fritz Hart he persevered and quickly became an ardent Wagnerite. [28] Wagner supplanted Sullivan as the main influence on his music, [29] and for some time, as Imogen put it, "ill-assimilated wisps of Tristan inserted themselves on nearly every page of his own songs and overtures." [27] Stanford admired some of Wagner's works, and had in his earlier years been influenced by him, [30] but Holst's sub-Wagnerian compositions met with his disapprobation: "It won't do, me boy; it won't do". [27] Holst respected Stanford, describing him to a fellow-pupil, Herbert Howells , as "the one man who could get any one of us out of a technical mess", [31] but he found that his fellow students, rather than the faculty members, had the greater influence on his development. [27]
In 1895, shortly after celebrating his twenty-first birthday, Holst met Ralph Vaughan Williams , who became a lifelong friend and had more influence on Holst's music than anybody else. [32] Stanford emphasised the need for his students to be self-critical, but Holst and Vaughan Williams became one another's chief critics; each would play his latest composition to the other while still working on it. Vaughan Williams later observed, "What one really learns from an Academy or College is not so much from one's official teachers as from one's fellow-students ... [we discussed] every subject under the sun from the lowest note of the double bassoon to the philosophy of Jude the Obscure . [33] In 1949 he wrote of their relationship, "Holst declared that his music was influenced by that of his friend: the converse is certainly true." [34] The year 1895 was also the bicentenary of Henry Purcell , which was marked by various performances including Stanford conducting Dido and Aeneas at the Lyceum Theatre ; [35] the work profoundly impressed Holst, [4] who over twenty years later confessed to a friend that his search for "the (or a) musical idiom of the English language" had been inspired "unconsciously" by "hearing the recits in Purcell's Dido". [36]
Another early influence was William Morris . [37] In Vaughan Williams's words, "It was now that Holst discovered the feeling of unity with his fellow men which made him afterwards a great teacher. A sense of comradeship rather than political conviction led him, while still a student, to join the Kelmscott House Socialist Club in Hammersmith." [34] At Kelmscott House , Morris's home, Holst attended lectures by his host and Bernard Shaw . His own socialism was moderate in character, but he enjoyed the club for its good company and his admiration of Morris as a man. [38] His ideals were influenced by Morris's but had a different emphasis. Morris had written, "I do not want art for a few any more than education for a few, or freedom for a few. I want all persons to be educated according to their capacity, not according to the amount of money which their parents happen to have". [39] Holst said, "'Aristocracy in art'—art is not for all but only for the chosen few—but the only way to find those few is to bring art to everyone—then the artists have a sort of masonic signal by which they recognise each other in the crowd." [n 6] He was invited to conduct the Hammersmith Socialist Choir, teaching them madrigals by Thomas Morley , choruses by Purcell , and works by Mozart , Wagner and himself. [41] One of his choristers was (Emily) Isobel Harrison (1876–1969), a beautiful soprano two years his junior. He fell in love with her; she was at first unimpressed by him, but she came round and they were engaged, though with no immediate prospect of marriage given Holst's tiny income. [41]
Professional musician[ edit ]
Statue of Holst at his birthplace, Cheltenham . He is shown with the baton in his left hand, his frequent practice because of the neuritis in his right arm. [42]
In 1898 the RCM offered Holst a further year's scholarship, but he felt that he had learned as much as he could there and that it was time, as he put it, to "learn by doing". [41] Some of his compositions were published and performed; the previous year The Times had praised his song "Light Leaves Whisper", "a moderately elaborate composition in six parts, treated with a good deal of expression and poetic feeling". [43] Occasional successes notwithstanding, Holst found that "man cannot live by composition alone"; [34] he took posts as organist at various London churches, and continued playing the trombone in theatre orchestras. In 1898 he was appointed first trombonist and répétiteur with the Carl Rosa Opera Company and toured with the Scottish Orchestra . Though a capable rather than a virtuoso player he won the praise of the leading conductor Hans Richter , for whom he played at Covent Garden. [44] His salary was only just enough to live on, [45] and he supplemented it by playing in a popular orchestra called the "White Viennese Band", conducted by Stanislas Wurm. [46] Holst enjoyed playing for Wurm, and learned much from him about drawing rubato from players. [47] [n 7] Nevertheless, longing to devote his time to composing, Holst found the necessity of playing for "the Worm" or any other light orchestra "a wicked and loathsome waste of time". [48] Vaughan Williams did not altogether agree with his friend about this; he admitted that some of the music was "trashy" but thought it had been useful to Holst nonetheless: "To start with, the very worst a trombonist has to put up with is as nothing compared to what a church organist has to endure; and secondly, Holst is above all an orchestral composer, and that sure touch which distinguishes his orchestral writing is due largely to the fact that he has been an orchestral player; he has learnt his art, both technically and in substance, not at second hand from text books and models, but from actual live experience." [17]
With a modest income secured, Holst was able to marry Isobel; the ceremony was at Fulham Register Office on 22 June 1901. Their marriage lasted until his death; there was one child, Imogen, born in 1907. [49] In 1902 Dan Godfrey and the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra premiered Holst's symphony The Cotswolds (Op. 8), the slow movement of which is a lament for William Morris who had died in October 1896, three years before Holst began work on the piece. [50] In 1903 Adolph von Holst died, leaving a small legacy. Holst and his wife decided, as Imogen later put it, that "as they were always hard up the only thing to do was to spend it all at once on a holiday in Germany". [51]
Composer and teacher[ edit ]
Blue plaque at St Paul's Girls' School , London
While in Germany, Holst reappraised his professional life, and in 1903 he decided to abandon orchestral playing to concentrate on composition. [9] His earnings as a composer were too little to live on, and two years later he accepted the offer of a teaching post at James Allen's Girls' School , Dulwich , which he held until 1921. He also taught at the Passmore Edwards Settlement , where among other innovations he gave the British premieres of two Bach cantatas. [52] The two teaching posts for which he is probably best known were director of music at St Paul's Girls' School , Hammersmith , from 1905 until his death, and director of music at Morley College from 1907 to 1924. [9] Vaughan Williams wrote of the former establishment: "Here he did away with the childish sentimentality which schoolgirls were supposed to appreciate and substituted Bach and Vittoria ; a splendid background for immature minds." [34] Several of Holst's pupils at St Paul's went on to distinguished careers, including the soprano Joan Cross , [53] and the oboist and cor anglais player Helen Gaskell. [54] Of Holst's impact on Morley College, Vaughan Williams wrote: "[A] bad tradition had to be broken down. The results were at first discouraging, but soon a new spirit appeared and the music of Morley College, together with its offshoot the 'Whitsuntide festival' ... became a force to be reckoned with". [34] Before Holst's appointment, Morley College had not treated music very seriously (Vaughan Williams's "bad tradition"), and at first Holst's exacting demands drove many students away. He persevered, and gradually built up a class of dedicated music-lovers. [55]
According to the composer Edmund Rubbra , who studied under him in the early 1920s, Holst was "a teacher who often came to lessons weighted, not with the learning of Prout and Stainer , but with a miniature score of Petrushka or the then recently published Mass in G minor of Vaughan Williams". [56] He never sought to impose his own ideas on his composition pupils. Rubbra recalled that he would divine a student's difficulties and gently guide him to finding the solution for himself. "I do not recall that Holst added one single note of his own to anything I wrote, but he would suggest—if I agreed!—that, given such and such a phrase, the following one would be better if it took such and such a course; if I did not see this, the point would not be insisted upon ... He frequently took away [because of] his abhorrence of unessentials." [57]
Literary influences, from top left clockwise: Max Müller , Walt Whitman , Thomas Hardy , Robert Bridges
As a composer Holst was frequently inspired by literature. He set poetry by Thomas Hardy and Robert Bridges and, a particular influence, Walt Whitman , whose words he set in "Dirge for Two Veterans" and The Mystic Trumpeter (1904). He wrote an orchestral Walt Whitman Overture in 1899. [4] While on tour with the Carl Rosa company Holst had read some of Max Müller 's books, which inspired in him a keen interest in Sanskrit texts, particularly the Rig Veda hymns. [58] He found the existing English versions of the texts unconvincing, [n 8] and decided to make his own translations, despite his lack of skills as a linguist. He enrolled in 1909 at University College, London , to study the language. [59] Imogen commented on his translations: "He was not a poet, and there are occasions when his verses seem naïve. But they never sound vague or slovenly, for he had set himself the task of finding words that would be 'clear and dignified' and that would 'lead the listener into another world'." [60] His settings of translations of Sanskrit texts included Sita (1899–1906), a three-act opera based on an episode in the Ramayana (which he eventually entered for a competition for English opera set by the Milan music publisher Tito Ricordi ); [61] Savitri (1908), a chamber opera based on a tale from the Mahabharata ; four groups of Hymns from the Rig Veda (1908–14); and two texts originally by Kālidāsa : Two Eastern Pictures (1909–10) and The Cloud Messenger (1913). [4]
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, British musical circles had experienced a new interest in national folk music. Some composers, such as Sullivan and Elgar , remained indifferent, [62] but Parry, Stanford, Stainer and Alexander Mackenzie were founding members of the Folk-Song Society . [63] Parry considered that by recovering English folk song, English composers would find an authentic national voice; he commented, "in true folk-songs there is no sham, no got-up glitter, and no vulgarity". [63] Vaughan Williams was an early and enthusiastic convert to this cause, going round the English countryside collecting and noting down folk songs. These had an influence on Holst. Though not as passionate on the subject as his friend, he incorporated a number of folk melodies in his own compositions and made several arrangements of folk songs collected by others. [63] The Somerset Rhapsody (1906–07), was written at the suggestion of the folk-song collector Cecil Sharp and made use of tunes that Sharp had noted down. Holst described its performance at the Queen's Hall in 1910 as "my first real success". [64] A few years later Holst became excited by another musical renaissance—the rediscovery of English madrigal composers. Weelkes was his favourite of all the Tudor composers, but Byrd also meant much to him. [65]
The house in Barnes where Holst lived between 1908 and 1913. A commemorative blue plaque is fixed to the front
Holst was a keen rambler . He walked extensively in England, Italy, France and Algeria. In 1908 he travelled to Algeria on medical advice as a treatment for asthma and the depression that he suffered after his opera Sita failed to win the Ricordi prize. [66] This trip inspired the suite Beni Mora , which incorporated music he heard in the Algerian streets. [67] Vaughan Williams wrote of this exotic work, "if it had been played in Paris rather than London it would have given its composer a European reputation, and played in Italy would probably have caused a riot." [68]
1910s[ edit ]
In June 1911 Holst and his Morley College students gave the first performance since the seventeenth century of Purcell's The Fairy-Queen . The full score had been lost soon after Purcell's death in 1695, and had only recently been found. Twenty-eight Morley students copied out the complete vocal and orchestral parts. There were 1,500 pages of music and it took the students almost eighteen months to copy them out in their spare time. [69] A concert performance of the work was given at The Old Vic , preceded by an introductory talk by Vaughan Williams. The Times praised Holst and his forces for "a most interesting and artistic performance of this very important work". [70]
After this success, Holst was disappointed the following year by the lukewarm reception of his choral work The Cloud Messenger. He again went travelling, accepting an invitation from H. Balfour Gardiner to join him and the brothers Clifford and Arnold Bax in Spain. [71] During this holiday Clifford Bax introduced Holst to astrology , an interest that later inspired his suite The Planets . Holst cast his friends' horoscopes for the rest of his life and referred to astrology as his "pet vice". [72]
In 1913, St Paul's Girls' School opened a new music wing, and Holst composed St Paul's Suite for the occasion. The new building contained a sound-proof room, handsomely equipped, where he could work undisturbed. [73] Holst and his family moved to a house in Brook Green , very close to the school. For the previous six years they had lived in a pretty house overlooking the Thames at Barnes , but the river air, frequently foggy, affected his breathing. [74] For use at weekends and during school holidays, Holst and his wife bought a cottage in Thaxted , Essex, surrounded by mediaeval buildings and ample rambling opportunities. [75] In 1917 they moved to a house in the centre of the town, where they stayed until 1925. [76]
The Manse in Thaxted where Holst lived from 1917 to 1925
At Thaxted, Holst became friendly with the Rev Conrad Noel , known as the "Red Vicar", who supported the Independent Labour Party and espoused many causes unpopular with conservative opinion. [77] Noel also encouraged the revival of folk-dancing and processionals as part of church ceremonies, innovations which caused controversy among traditionally-minded churchgoers. [78] Holst became an occasional organist and choirmaster at Thaxted Parish Church; he also developed an interest in bell-ringing. [n 9] He started an annual music festival at Whitsuntide in 1916; students from Morley College and St Paul's Girls' School performed together with local participants. [80] Holst's a cappella carol, "This Have I Done For My True Love", was dedicated to Noel in recognition of his interest in the ancient origins of religion (the composer always referred to the work as "The Dancing Day"). [81] It received its first performance during the Third Whitsun Festival at Thaxted in May 1918. During that festival, Noel, a staunch supporter of Russia's October Revolution , demanded in a Saturday message during the service that there should be a greater political commitment from those who participated in the church activities; his claim that several of Holst's pupils (implicitly those from St Paul's Girls' School) were merely "camp followers" caused offence. [82] Holst, anxious to protect his students from being embroiled in ecclesiastical conflict, moved the Whitsun Festival to Dulwich, though he himself continued to help with the Thaxted choir and to play the church organ on occasion. [83]
First World War[ edit ]
At the outbreak of the First World War, Holst tried to enlist but was rejected as unfit for military service. [9] He felt frustrated that he could not contribute to the war effort. His wife became a volunteer ambulance driver; Vaughan Williams went on active service to France as did Holst's brother Emil; Holst's friends the composers George Butterworth and Cecil Coles were killed in battle. [84] He continued to teach and compose; he worked on The Planets and prepared his chamber opera Savitri for performance. It was first given in December 1916 by students of the London School of Opera at the Wellington Hall in St John's Wood . [85] It attracted no attention at the time from the main newspapers, though when professionally staged five years later it was greeted as "a perfect little masterpiece." [86] In 1917 he wrote The Hymn of Jesus for chorus and orchestra, a work which remained unperformed until after the war. [4]
In 1918, as the war neared its end, Holst finally had the prospect of a job that offered him the chance to serve. The music section of the YMCA 's education department needed volunteers to work with British troops stationed in Europe awaiting demobilisation. [87] Morley College and St Paul's Girls' School offered him a year's leave of absence, but there remained one obstacle: the YMCA felt that his surname looked too German to be acceptable in such a role. [6] He formally changed "von Holst" to "Holst" by deed poll in September 1918. [88] He was appointed as the YMCA's musical organiser for the Near East, based in Salonica . [89]
Holst's inscription on Adrian Boult 's score of The Planets
Holst was given a spectacular send-off. The conductor Adrian Boult recalled, "Just before the Armistice, Gustav Holst burst into my office: 'Adrian, the YMCA are sending me to Salonica quite soon and Balfour Gardiner, bless his heart, has given me a parting present consisting of the Queen's Hall, full of the Queen's Hall Orchestra for the whole of a Sunday morning. So we're going to do The Planets, and you've got to conduct'." [90] There was a burst of activity to get things ready in time. The girls at St Paul's helped to copy out the orchestral parts, [90] and the women of Morley and the St Paul's girls learned the choral part in the last movement. [91] The performance was given on 29 September to an invited audience including Sir Henry Wood and most of the professional musicians in London. [92] Five months later, when Holst was in Greece, Boult introduced The Planets to the general public, at a concert in February 1919; Holst sent him a long letter full of suggestions, [n 10] but failed to convince him that the suite should be played in full. The conductor believed that about half an hour of such radically new music was all the public could absorb at first hearing, and he gave only five of the seven movements on that occasion. [94]
Holst enjoyed his time in Salonica, from where he was able to visit Athens, which greatly impressed him. [95] His musical duties were wide-ranging, and even obliged him on occasion to play the violin in the local orchestra: "it was great fun, but I fear I was not of much use". [95] He returned to England in June 1919. [96]
Post-war[ edit ]
On his return from Greece, Holst resumed his teaching and composing. In addition to his existing work he accepted a lectureship in composition at the University of Reading and joined Vaughan Williams in teaching composition at their alma mater the RCM. [63] Inspired by Adrian Boult's conducting classes at the RCM, Holst tried to further pioneer music education for women by proposing to the High Mistress of St Paul's Girls' School that he should invite Boult to give classes at the school: "It would be glorious if the SPGS turned out the only women conductors in the world!" [97] In his soundproof room at SPGS he composed the Ode to Death , a setting of a poem by Whitman, which according to Vaughan Williams is considered by many to be Holst's most beautiful choral work. [34]
Holst, caricatured as "The Bringer of Jollity", by F Sanchez, 1921
Holst, in his forties, suddenly found himself in demand. The New York Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony Orchestra vied to be the first to play The Planets in the US. [63] The success of that work was followed in 1920 by an enthusiastic reception for The Hymn of Jesus, described in The Observer as "one of the most brilliant and one of the most sincere pieces of choral and orchestral expression heard for some years." [98] The Times called it "undoubtedly the most strikingly original choral work which has been produced in this country for many years." [99] To his surprise and dismay Holst was becoming famous. [34] Celebrity was something wholly foreign to his nature. As the music scholar Byron Adams puts it, "he struggled for the rest of his life to extricate himself from the web of garish publicity, public incomprehension and professional envy woven about him by this unsought-for success." [100] He turned down honours and awards offered to him, [n 11] and refused to give interviews or autographs. [63]
Holst's comic opera The Perfect Fool (1923) was widely seen as a satire of Parsifal , though Holst firmly denied it. [101] The piece, with Maggie Teyte in the leading soprano role and Eugene Goossens conducting, was enthusiastically received at its premiere in the Royal Opera House . [102] At a concert in Reading in 1923, Holst slipped and fell, suffering concussion . He seemed to make a good recovery, and he felt up to accepting an invitation to the US, lecturing and conducting at the University of Michigan . [103] After he returned he found himself more and more in demand, to conduct, prepare his earlier works for publication, and, as before, to teach. The strain caused by these demands on him was too great; on doctor's orders he cancelled all professional engagements during 1924, and retreated to Thaxted. [104] In 1925 he resumed his work at St Paul's Girls' School, but did not return to any of his other posts. [105]
Later years[ edit ]
Holst's productivity as a composer benefited almost at once from his release from other work. His works from this period include the First Choral Symphony to words by Keats (a Second Choral Symphony to words by George Meredith exists only in fragments). A short Shakespearian opera, At the Boar's Head , followed; neither had the immediate popular appeal of A Moorside Suite for brass band of 1928. [106]
In 1927 Holst was commissioned by the New York Symphony Orchestra to write a symphony. Instead, he wrote an orchestral piece Egdon Heath , inspired by Thomas Hardy's Wessex . It was first performed in February 1928, a month after Hardy's death, at a memorial concert. By this time the public's brief enthusiasm for everything Holstian was waning, [105] and the piece was not well received in New York. Olin Downes in The New York Times opined that "the new score seemed long and undistinguished". [107] The day after the American performance, Holst conducted the City of Birmingham Orchestra in the British premiere. The Times acknowledged the bleakness of the work but allowed that it matched Hardy's grim view of the world: "Egdon Heath is not likely to be popular, but it says what the composer wants to say, whether we like it or not, and truth is one aspect of duty." [108] Holst had been distressed by hostile reviews of some of his earlier works, but he was indifferent to critical opinion of Egdon Heath, which he regarded as, in Adams's phrase, his "most perfectly realized composition". [109]
Towards the end of his life Holst wrote the Choral Fantasia (1930) and he was commissioned by the BBC to write a piece for military band; the resulting prelude and scherzo Hammersmith was a tribute to the place where he had spent most of his life. The composer and critic Colin Matthews considers the work "as uncompromising in its way as Egdon Heath, discovering, in the words of Imogen Holst, 'in the middle of an over-crowded London ... the same tranquillity that he had found in the solitude of Egdon Heath'". [4] The work was unlucky in being premiered at a concert that also featured the London premiere of Walton 's Belshazzar's Feast , by which it was somewhat overshadowed. [110]
Holst wrote a score for a British film, The Bells (1931), and was amused to be recruited as an extra in a crowd scene. [111] Both film and score are now lost. [112] He wrote a "jazz band piece" that Imogen later arranged for orchestra as Capriccio. [113] Having composed operas throughout his life with varying success, Holst found for his last opera, The Wandering Scholar , what Matthews calls "the right medium for his oblique sense of humour, writing with economy and directness". [4]
Harvard University offered Holst a lectureship for the first six months of 1932. Arriving via New York he was pleased to be reunited with his brother, Emil, whose acting career under the name of Ernest Cossart had taken him to Broadway ; but Holst was dismayed by the continual attentions of press interviewers and photographers. He enjoyed his time at Harvard, but was taken ill while there: a duodenal ulcer prostrated him for some weeks. He returned to England, joined briefly by his brother for a holiday together in the Cotswolds . [114] His health declined, and he withdrew further from musical activities. One of his last efforts was to guide the young players of the St Paul's Girls' School orchestra through one of his final compositions, the Brook Green Suite , in March 1934. [115]
Holst died in London on 25 May 1934, at the age of 59, of heart failure following an operation on his ulcer. [4] His ashes were interred at Chichester Cathedral in Sussex, close to the memorial to Thomas Weelkes, his favourite Tudor composer. [116] Bishop George Bell gave the memorial oration at the funeral, and Vaughan Williams conducted music by Holst and himself. [117]
Style[ edit ]
Holst's absorption of folksong, not only in the melodic sense but in terms of its simplicity and economy of expression, [118] helped to develop a style that many of his contemporaries, even admirers, found austere and cerebral. [119] [120] This is contrary to the popular identification of Holst with The Planets, which Matthews believes has masked his status as a composer of genuine originality. [4] Against charges of coldness in the music, Imogen cites Holst's characteristic "sweeping modal tunes mov[ing] reassuringly above the steps of a descending bass", [119] while Michael Kennedy points to the 12 Humbert Wolfe settings of 1929, and the 12 Welsh folksong settings for unaccompanied chorus of 1930–31, as works of true warmth. [120]
Many of the characteristics that Holst employed—unconventional time signatures , rising and falling scales, ostinato , bitonality and occasional polytonality —set him apart from other English composers. [4] Vaughan Williams remarked that Holst always said in his music what he wished to say, directly and concisely; "He was not afraid of being obvious when the occasion demanded, nor did he hesitate to be remote when remoteness expressed his purpose". [121] Kennedy has surmised that Holst's economy of style was in part a product of the composer's poor health: "the effort of writing it down compelled an artistic economy which some felt was carried too far". [120] However, as an experienced instrumentalist and orchestra member, Holst understood music from the standpoint of his players and made sure that, however challenging, their parts were always practicable. [122] According to his pupil Jane Joseph , Holst fostered in performance "a spirit of practical comradeship ... none could know better than he the boredom possible to a professional player, and the music that rendered boredom impossible". [123]
Early works[ edit ]
Although Holst wrote a large number of works—particularly songs—during his student days and early adulthood, almost everything he wrote before 1904 he later classified as derivative "early horrors". [4] [124] Nevertheless, the composer and critic Colin Matthews recognises even in these apprentice works an "instinctive orchestral flair". [4] Of the few pieces from this period which demonstrate some originality, Matthews pinpoints the G minor String Trio of 1894 (unperformed until 1974) as the first underivative work produced by Holst. [125] Matthews and Imogen Holst each highlight the "Elegy" movement in The Cotswold Symphony (1899–1900) as among the more accomplished of the apprentice works, and Imogen discerns glimpses of her father's real self in the 1899 Suite de ballet and the Ave Maria of 1900. She and Matthews have asserted that Holst found his genuine voice in his setting of Whitman's verses, The Mystic Trumpeter (1904), in which the trumpet calls that characterise Mars in The Planets are briefly anticipated. [4] [124] In this work, Holst first employs the technique of bitonality—the use of two keys simultaneously. [9]
Experimental years[ edit ]
At the beginning of the 20th century, according to Matthews, it appeared that Holst might follow Schoenberg into late Romanticism . Instead, as Holst recognised afterwards, his encounter with Purcell's Dido and Aeneas prompted his searching for a "musical idiom of the English language"; [36] the folksong revival became a further catalyst for Holst to seek inspiration from other sources during the first decade or so of the new century. [4]
Indian period[ edit ]
Holst's interest in Indian mythology, shared by many of his contemporaries, first became musically evident in the opera Sita (1901–06). [126] During the opera's long gestation, Holst worked on other Indian-themed pieces. These included Maya (1901) for violin and piano, regarded by the composer and writer Raymond Head as "an insipid salon-piece whose musical language is dangerously close to Stephen Adams". [126] [n 12] Then, through Vaughan Williams, Holst discovered and became an admirer of the music of Ravel , [128] whom he considered a "model of purity" on the level with Haydn, [129] another composer he greatly admired. [130] The combined influence of Ravel, Hindu spiritualism and English folk tunes [128] enabled Holst to get beyond the once all-consuming influences of Wagner and Richard Strauss and to forge his own style. Imogen Holst has acknowledged Holst's own suggestion (written to Vaughan Williams): "[O]ne ought to follow Wagner until he leads you to fresh things". She notes that although much of his grand opera, Sita, is "'good old Wagnerian bawling' ... towards the end a change comes over the music, and the beautifully calm phrases of the hidden chorus representing the Voice of the Earth are in Holst's own language." [131]
According to Rubbra, the publication in 1911 of Holst's Rig Veda Hymns was a landmark event in the composer's development: "Before this, Holst's music had, indeed, shown the clarity of utterance which has always been his characteristic, but harmonically there was little to single him out as an important figure in modern music." [58] Dickinson describes these vedic settings as pictorial rather than religious; although the quality is variable the sacred texts clearly "touched vital springs in the composer's imagination". [132] While the music of Holst's Indian verse settings remained generally western in character, in some of the vedic settings he experimented with Indian raga (scales). [133]
The chamber opera Savitri (1908) is written for three solo voices, a small hidden female chorus, and an instrumental combination of two flutes, a cor anglais and a double string quartet. [134] The music critic John Warrack comments on the "extraordinary expressive subtlety" with which Holst deploys the sparse forces: "... [T]he two unaccompanied vocal lines opening the work skilfully convey the relationship between Death, steadily advancing through the forest, and Savitri, her frightened answers fluttering round him, unable to escape his harmonic pull". [9] Head describes the work as unique in its time for its compact intimacy, and considers it Holst's most successful attempt to end the domination of Wagnerian chromaticism in his music. [134] Dickinson considers it a significant step, "not towards opera, but towards an idiomatic pursuit of [Holst's] vision". [135] Of the Kālidāsa texts, Dickinson dismisses The Cloud Messenger (1910–12) as an "accumulation of desultory incidents, opportunistic dramatic episodes and ecstatic outpourings" which illustrate the composer's creative confusion during that period; the Two Eastern Pictures (1911), in Dickinson's view, provide "a more memorable final impression of Kālidāsa". [135]
Folksong and other influences[ edit ]
Holst's settings of Indian texts formed only a part of his compositional output in the period 1900 to 1914. A highly significant factor in his musical development was the English folksong revival, evident in the orchestral suite A Somerset Rhapsody (1906–07), a work that was originally to be based around eleven folksong themes; this was later reduced to four. [136] Observing the work's kinship with Vaughan Williams's Norfolk Rhapsody, Dickinson remarks that, with its firm overall structure, Holst's composition "rises beyond the level of ... a song-selection". [137] Imogen acknowledges that Holst's discovery of English folksongs "transformed his orchestral writing", and that the composition of A Somerset Rhapsody did much to banish the chromaticisms that had dominated his early compositions. [124] In the Two Songs without Words of 1906, Holst showed that he could create his own original music using the folk idiom. [138] An orchestral folksong fantasy Songs of the West, also written in 1906, was withdrawn by the composer and never published, although it emerged in the 1980s in the form of an arrangement for wind band by James Curnow . [139]
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Family background[ edit ]
Holst family tree (simplified)
Holst was born in Cheltenham , Gloucestershire , the elder of the two children of Adolph von Holst, a professional musician, and his wife, Clara Cox, née Lediard. She was of mostly British descent, [n 1] daughter of a respected Cirencester solicitor; [2] the Holst side of the family was of mixed Swedish, Latvian and German ancestry, with at least one professional musician in each of the previous three generations. [3]
Holst's great-grandfather, Matthias Holst, born in Riga, Latvia, was of German origin; he served as composer and harp-teacher to the Imperial Russian Court in St Petersburg. [4] Matthias's son Gustavus, who moved to England with his parents as a child in 1802, [5] was a composer of salon-style music and a well-known harp teacher. He appropriated the aristocratic prefix "von" and added it to the family name in the hope of gaining enhanced prestige and attracting pupils. [n 2]
Holst's father, Adolph von Holst, became organist and choirmaster at All Saints' Church , Cheltenham; [7] he also taught, and gave piano recitals. [7] His wife, Clara, a former pupil, was a talented singer and pianist. They had two sons; Gustav's younger brother, Emil Gottfried, became known as Ernest Cossart , a successful actor in the West End , New York and Hollywood . [8] Clara died in February 1882, and the family moved to another house in Cheltenham, [n 3] where Adolph recruited his sister Nina to help raise the boys. Gustav recognised her devotion to the family and dedicated several of his early compositions to her. [2] In 1885 Adolph married Mary Thorley Stone, another of his pupils. They had two sons, Matthias (known as "Max") and Evelyn ("Thorley"). [11] Mary von Holst was absorbed in theosophy and not greatly interested in domestic matters. All four of Adolph's sons were subject to what one biographer calls "benign neglect", [11] and Gustav in particular was "not overburdened with attention or understanding, with a weak sight and a weak chest, both neglected—he was 'miserable and scared'." [12]
Childhood and youth[ edit ]
Holst was taught to play the piano and the violin; he enjoyed the former very much more than the latter. [13] At the age of twelve he took up the trombone at Adolph's suggestion, thinking that playing a brass instrument might improve his asthma . [14] Holst was educated at Cheltenham Grammar School between 1886 and 1891. [15] He started composing in or about 1886; inspired by Macaulay 's poem Horatius he began, but soon abandoned, an ambitious setting of the work for chorus and orchestra. [13] His early compositions included piano pieces, organ voluntaries, songs, anthems and a symphony (from 1892). His main influences at this stage were Mendelssohn , Chopin , Grieg and above all Sullivan . [16] [n 4] Adolph tried to steer his son away from composition, hoping that he would have a career as a pianist. Holst's health played a decisive part in his musical future; he had never been strong, and in addition to his asthma and poor eyesight he suffered from neuritis , which made playing the piano difficult. [18] He said that the affected arm was "like a jelly overcharged with electricity". [19]
After Holst left school in 1891, Adolph paid for him to spend four months in Oxford studying counterpoint with George Frederick Sims, organist of Merton College . [20] On his return Holst obtained his first professional appointment, aged seventeen, as organist and choirmaster at Wyck Rissington , Gloucestershire. The post brought with it the conductorship of the Bourton-on-the-Water Choral Society, which offered no extra remuneration but provided valuable experience that enabled him to hone his conducting skills. [13] In November 1891 Holst gave what was perhaps his first public performance as a pianist; he and his father played the Brahms Hungarian Dances at a concert in Cheltenham. [21] The programme for the event gives his name as "Gustav" rather than "Gustavus"; he was called by the shorter version from his early years. [21]
Royal College of Music[ edit ]
In 1892 Holst wrote the music for an operetta in the style of Gilbert and Sullivan , Lansdown Castle, or The Sorcerer of Tewkesbury. [22] The piece was performed at Cheltenham Corn Exchange in February 1893; it was well received and its success encouraged him to persevere with composing. [23] He applied for a scholarship at the Royal College of Music (RCM) in London, but the composition scholarship for that year was won by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor . [24] Holst was accepted as a non-scholarship student, and Adolph borrowed £100 to cover the first year's expenses. [n 5] Holst left Cheltenham for London in May 1893. Money was tight, and partly from frugality and partly from his own inclination he became a vegetarian and a teetotaller. [24] Two years later he was finally granted a scholarship, which slightly eased his financial difficulties, but he retained his austere personal regime. [25]
Holst's lifelong friend Ralph Vaughan Williams
Holst's professors at the RCM were Frederick Sharpe (piano), William Stephenson Hoyte (organ), George Case (trombone), George Jacobi (instrumentation) and the director of the college, Hubert Parry (history). After preliminary lessons with W. S. Rockstro and Frederick Bridge , Holst was granted his wish to study composition with Charles Villiers Stanford . [26] To support himself during his studies Holst played the trombone professionally, at seaside resorts in the summer and in London theatres in the winter. [27] His daughter and biographer, Imogen Holst , records that from his fees as a player "he was able to afford the necessities of life: board and lodging, manuscript paper, and tickets for standing room in the gallery at Covent Garden Opera House on Wagner evenings". [27] He secured an occasional engagement in symphony concerts, playing in 1897 under the baton of Richard Strauss at the Queen's Hall . [4]
Like many musicians of his generation, Holst came under Wagner 's spell. He had recoiled from the music of Götterdämmerung when he heard it at Covent Garden in 1892, but encouraged by his friend and fellow-student Fritz Hart he persevered and quickly became an ardent Wagnerite. [28] Wagner supplanted Sullivan as the main influence on his music, [29] and for some time, as Imogen put it, "ill-assimilated wisps of Tristan inserted themselves on nearly every page of his own songs and overtures." [27] Stanford admired some of Wagner's works, and had in his earlier years been influenced by him, [30] but Holst's sub-Wagnerian compositions met with his disapprobation: "It won't do, me boy; it won't do". [27] Holst respected Stanford, describing him to a fellow-pupil, Herbert Howells , as "the one man who could get any one of us out of a technical mess", [31] but he found that his fellow students, rather than the faculty members, had the greater influence on his development. [27]
In 1895, shortly after celebrating his twenty-first birthday, Holst met Ralph Vaughan Williams , who became a lifelong friend and had more influence on Holst's music than anybody else. [32] Stanford emphasised the need for his students to be self-critical, but Holst and Vaughan Williams became one another's chief critics; each would play his latest composition to the other while still working on it. Vaughan Williams later observed, "What one really learns from an Academy or College is not so much from one's official teachers as from one's fellow-students ... [we discussed] every subject under the sun from the lowest note of the double bassoon to the philosophy of Jude the Obscure . [33] In 1949 he wrote of their relationship, "Holst declared that his music was influenced by that of his friend: the converse is certainly true." [34] The year 1895 was also the bicentenary of Henry Purcell , which was marked by various performances including Stanford conducting Dido and Aeneas at the Lyceum Theatre ; [35] the work profoundly impressed Holst, [4] who over twenty years later confessed to a friend that his search for "the (or a) musical idiom of the English language" had been inspired "unconsciously" by "hearing the recits in Purcell's Dido". [36]
Another early influence was William Morris . [37] In Vaughan Williams's words, "It was now that Holst discovered the feeling of unity with his fellow men which made him afterwards a great teacher. A sense of comradeship rather than political conviction led him, while still a student, to join the Kelmscott House Socialist Club in Hammersmith." [34] At Kelmscott House , Morris's home, Holst attended lectures by his host and Bernard Shaw . His own socialism was moderate in character, but he enjoyed the club for its good company and his admiration of Morris as a man. [38] His ideals were influenced by Morris's but had a different emphasis. Morris had written, "I do not want art for a few any more than education for a few, or freedom for a few. I want all persons to be educated according to their capacity, not according to the amount of money which their parents happen to have". [39] Holst said, "'Aristocracy in art'—art is not for all but only for the chosen few—but the only way to find those few is to bring art to everyone—then the artists have a sort of masonic signal by which they recognise each other in the crowd." [n 6] He was invited to conduct the Hammersmith Socialist Choir, teaching them madrigals by Thomas Morley , choruses by Purcell , and works by Mozart , Wagner and himself. [41] One of his choristers was (Emily) Isobel Harrison (1876–1969), a beautiful soprano two years his junior. He fell in love with her; she was at first unimpressed by him, but she came round and they were engaged, though with no immediate prospect of marriage given Holst's tiny income. [41]
Professional musician[ edit ]
Statue of Holst at his birthplace, Cheltenham . He is shown with the baton in his left hand, his frequent practice because of the neuritis in his right arm. [42]
In 1898 the RCM offered Holst a further year's scholarship, but he felt that he had learned as much as he could there and that it was time, as he put it, to "learn by doing". [41] Some of his compositions were published and performed; the previous year The Times had praised his song "Light Leaves Whisper", "a moderately elaborate composition in six parts, treated with a good deal of expression and poetic feeling". [43] Occasional successes notwithstanding, Holst found that "man cannot live by composition alone"; [34] he took posts as organist at various London churches, and continued playing the trombone in theatre orchestras. In 1898 he was appointed first trombonist and répétiteur with the Carl Rosa Opera Company and toured with the Scottish Orchestra . Though a capable rather than a virtuoso player he won the praise of the leading conductor Hans Richter , for whom he played at Covent Garden. [44] His salary was only just enough to live on, [45] and he supplemented it by playing in a popular orchestra called the "White Viennese Band", conducted by Stanislas Wurm. [46] Holst enjoyed playing for Wurm, and learned much from him about drawing rubato from players. [47] [n 7] Nevertheless, longing to devote his time to composing, Holst found the necessity of playing for "the Worm" or any other light orchestra "a wicked and loathsome waste of time". [48] Vaughan Williams did not altogether agree with his friend about this; he admitted that some of the music was "trashy" but thought it had been useful to Holst nonetheless: "To start with, the very worst a trombonist has to put up with is as nothing compared to what a church organist has to endure; and secondly, Holst is above all an orchestral composer, and that sure touch which distinguishes his orchestral writing is due largely to the fact that he has been an orchestral player; he has learnt his art, both technically and in substance, not at second hand from text books and models, but from actual live experience." [17]
With a modest income secured, Holst was able to marry Isobel; the ceremony was at Fulham Register Office on 22 June 1901. Their marriage lasted until his death; there was one child, Imogen, born in 1907. [49] In 1902 Dan Godfrey and the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra premiered Holst's symphony The Cotswolds (Op. 8), the slow movement of which is a lament for William Morris who had died in October 1896, three years before Holst began work on the piece. [50] In 1903 Adolph von Holst died, leaving a small legacy. Holst and his wife decided, as Imogen later put it, that "as they were always hard up the only thing to do was to spend it all at once on a holiday in Germany". [51]
Composer and teacher[ edit ]
Blue plaque at St Paul's Girls' School , London
While in Germany, Holst reappraised his professional life, and in 1903 he decided to abandon orchestral playing to concentrate on composition. [9] His earnings as a composer were too little to live on, and two years later he accepted the offer of a teaching post at James Allen's Girls' School , Dulwich , which he held until 1921. He also taught at the Passmore Edwards Settlement , where among other innovations he gave the British premieres of two Bach cantatas. [52] The two teaching posts for which he is probably best known were director of music at St Paul's Girls' School , Hammersmith , from 1905 until his death, and director of music at Morley College from 1907 to 1924. [9] Vaughan Williams wrote of the former establishment: "Here he did away with the childish sentimentality which schoolgirls were supposed to appreciate and substituted Bach and Vittoria ; a splendid background for immature minds." [34] Several of Holst's pupils at St Paul's went on to distinguished careers, including the soprano Joan Cross , [53] and the oboist and cor anglais player Helen Gaskell. [54] Of Holst's impact on Morley College, Vaughan Williams wrote: "[A] bad tradition had to be broken down. The results were at first discouraging, but soon a new spirit appeared and the music of Morley College, together with its offshoot the 'Whitsuntide festival' ... became a force to be reckoned with". [34] Before Holst's appointment, Morley College had not treated music very seriously (Vaughan Williams's "bad tradition"), and at first Holst's exacting demands drove many students away. He persevered, and gradually built up a class of dedicated music-lovers. [55]
According to the composer Edmund Rubbra , who studied under him in the early 1920s, Holst was "a teacher who often came to lessons weighted, not with the learning of Prout and Stainer , but with a miniature score of Petrushka or the then recently published Mass in G minor of Vaughan Williams". [56] He never sought to impose his own ideas on his composition pupils. Rubbra recalled that he would divine a student's difficulties and gently guide him to finding the solution for himself. "I do not recall that Holst added one single note of his own to anything I wrote, but he would suggest—if I agreed!—that, given such and such a phrase, the following one would be better if it took such and such a course; if I did not see this, the point would not be insisted upon ... He frequently took away [because of] his abhorrence of unessentials." [57]
Literary influences, from top left clockwise: Max Müller , Walt Whitman , Thomas Hardy , Robert Bridges
As a composer Holst was frequently inspired by literature. He set poetry by Thomas Hardy and Robert Bridges and, a particular influence, Walt Whitman , whose words he set in "Dirge for Two Veterans" and The Mystic Trumpeter (1904). He wrote an orchestral Walt Whitman Overture in 1899. [4] While on tour with the Carl Rosa company Holst had read some of Max Müller 's books, which inspired in him a keen interest in Sanskrit texts, particularly the Rig Veda hymns. [58] He found the existing English versions of the texts unconvincing, [n 8] and decided to make his own translations, despite his lack of skills as a linguist. He enrolled in 1909 at University College, London , to study the language. [59] Imogen commented on his translations: "He was not a poet, and there are occasions when his verses seem naïve. But they never sound vague or slovenly, for he had set himself the task of finding words that would be 'clear and dignified' and that would 'lead the listener into another world'." [60] His settings of translations of Sanskrit texts included Sita (1899–1906), a three-act opera based on an episode in the Ramayana (which he eventually entered for a competition for English opera set by the Milan music publisher Tito Ricordi ); [61] Savitri (1908), a chamber opera based on a tale from the Mahabharata ; four groups of Hymns from the Rig Veda (1908–14); and two texts originally by Kālidāsa : Two Eastern Pictures (1909–10) and The Cloud Messenger (1913). [4]
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, British musical circles had experienced a new interest in national folk music. Some composers, such as Sullivan and Elgar , remained indifferent, [62] but Parry, Stanford, Stainer and Alexander Mackenzie were founding members of the Folk-Song Society . [63] Parry considered that by recovering English folk song, English composers would find an authentic national voice; he commented, "in true folk-songs there is no sham, no got-up glitter, and no vulgarity". [63] Vaughan Williams was an early and enthusiastic convert to this cause, going round the English countryside collecting and noting down folk songs. These had an influence on Holst. Though not as passionate on the subject as his friend, he incorporated a number of folk melodies in his own compositions and made several arrangements of folk songs collected by others. [63] The Somerset Rhapsody (1906–07), was written at the suggestion of the folk-song collector Cecil Sharp and made use of tunes that Sharp had noted down. Holst described its performance at the Queen's Hall in 1910 as "my first real success". [64] A few years later Holst became excited by another musical renaissance—the rediscovery of English madrigal composers. Weelkes was his favourite of all the Tudor composers, but Byrd also meant much to him. [65]
The house in Barnes where Holst lived between 1908 and 1913. A commemorative blue plaque is fixed to the front
Holst was a keen rambler . He walked extensively in England, Italy, France and Algeria. In 1908 he travelled to Algeria on medical advice as a treatment for asthma and the depression that he suffered after his opera Sita failed to win the Ricordi prize. [66] This trip inspired the suite Beni Mora , which incorporated music he heard in the Algerian streets. [67] Vaughan Williams wrote of this exotic work, "if it had been played in Paris rather than London it would have given its composer a European reputation, and played in Italy would probably have caused a riot." [68]
1910s[ edit ]
In June 1911 Holst and his Morley College students gave the first performance since the seventeenth century of Purcell's The Fairy-Queen . The full score had been lost soon after Purcell's death in 1695, and had only recently been found. Twenty-eight Morley students copied out the complete vocal and orchestral parts. There were 1,500 pages of music and it took the students almost eighteen months to copy them out in their spare time. [69] A concert performance of the work was given at The Old Vic , preceded by an introductory talk by Vaughan Williams. The Times praised Holst and his forces for "a most interesting and artistic performance of this very important work". [70]
After this success, Holst was disappointed the following year by the lukewarm reception of his choral work The Cloud Messenger. He again went travelling, accepting an invitation from H. Balfour Gardiner to join him and the brothers Clifford and Arnold Bax in Spain. [71] During this holiday Clifford Bax introduced Holst to astrology , an interest that later inspired his suite The Planets . Holst cast his friends' horoscopes for the rest of his life and referred to astrology as his "pet vice". [72]
In 1913, St Paul's Girls' School opened a new music wing, and Holst composed St Paul's Suite for the occasion. The new building contained a sound-proof room, handsomely equipped, where he could work undisturbed. [73] Holst and his family moved to a house in Brook Green , very close to the school. For the previous six years they had lived in a pretty house overlooking the Thames at Barnes , but the river air, frequently foggy, affected his breathing. [74] For use at weekends and during school holidays, Holst and his wife bought a cottage in Thaxted , Essex, surrounded by mediaeval buildings and ample rambling opportunities. [75] In 1917 they moved to a house in the centre of the town, where they stayed until 1925. [76]
The Manse in Thaxted where Holst lived from 1917 to 1925
At Thaxted, Holst became friendly with the Rev Conrad Noel , known as the "Red Vicar", who supported the Independent Labour Party and espoused many causes unpopular with conservative opinion. [77] Noel also encouraged the revival of folk-dancing and processionals as part of church ceremonies, innovations which caused controversy among traditionally-minded churchgoers. [78] Holst became an occasional organist and choirmaster at Thaxted Parish Church; he also developed an interest in bell-ringing. [n 9] He started an annual music festival at Whitsuntide in 1916; students from Morley College and St Paul's Girls' School performed together with local participants. [80] Holst's a cappella carol, "This Have I Done For My True Love", was dedicated to Noel in recognition of his interest in the ancient origins of religion (the composer always referred to the work as "The Dancing Day"). [81] It received its first performance during the Third Whitsun Festival at Thaxted in May 1918. During that festival, Noel, a staunch supporter of Russia's October Revolution , demanded in a Saturday message during the service that there should be a greater political commitment from those who participated in the church activities; his claim that several of Holst's pupils (implicitly those from St Paul's Girls' School) were merely "camp followers" caused offence. [82] Holst, anxious to protect his students from being embroiled in ecclesiastical conflict, moved the Whitsun Festival to Dulwich, though he himself continued to help with the Thaxted choir and to play the church organ on occasion. [83]
First World War[ edit ]
At the outbreak of the First World War, Holst tried to enlist but was rejected as unfit for military service. [9] He felt frustrated that he could not contribute to the war effort. His wife became a volunteer ambulance driver; Vaughan Williams went on active service to France as did Holst's brother Emil; Holst's friends the composers George Butterworth and Cecil Coles were killed in battle. [84] He continued to teach and compose; he worked on The Planets and prepared his chamber opera Savitri for performance. It was first given in December 1916 by students of the London School of Opera at the Wellington Hall in St John's Wood . [85] It attracted no attention at the time from the main newspapers, though when professionally staged five years later it was greeted as "a perfect little masterpiece." [86] In 1917 he wrote The Hymn of Jesus for chorus and orchestra, a work which remained unperformed until after the war. [4]
In 1918, as the war neared its end, Holst finally had the prospect of a job that offered him the chance to serve. The music section of the YMCA 's education department needed volunteers to work with British troops stationed in Europe awaiting demobilisation. [87] Morley College and St Paul's Girls' School offered him a year's leave of absence, but there remained one obstacle: the YMCA felt that his surname looked too German to be acceptable in such a role. [6] He formally changed "von Holst" to "Holst" by deed poll in September 1918. [88] He was appointed as the YMCA's musical organiser for the Near East, based in Salonica . [89]
Holst's inscription on Adrian Boult 's score of The Planets
Holst was given a spectacular send-off. The conductor Adrian Boult recalled, "Just before the Armistice, Gustav Holst burst into my office: 'Adrian, the YMCA are sending me to Salonica quite soon and Balfour Gardiner, bless his heart, has given me a parting present consisting of the Queen's Hall, full of the Queen's Hall Orchestra for the whole of a Sunday morning. So we're going to do The Planets, and you've got to conduct'." [90] There was a burst of activity to get things ready in time. The girls at St Paul's helped to copy out the orchestral parts, [90] and the women of Morley and the St Paul's girls learned the choral part in the last movement. [91] The performance was given on 29 September to an invited audience including Sir Henry Wood and most of the professional musicians in London. [92] Five months later, when Holst was in Greece, Boult introduced The Planets to the general public, at a concert in February 1919; Holst sent him a long letter full of suggestions, [n 10] but failed to convince him that the suite should be played in full. The conductor believed that about half an hour of such radically new music was all the public could absorb at first hearing, and he gave only five of the seven movements on that occasion. [94]
Holst enjoyed his time in Salonica, from where he was able to visit Athens, which greatly impressed him. [95] His musical duties were wide-ranging, and even obliged him on occasion to play the violin in the local orchestra: "it was great fun, but I fear I was not of much use". [95] He returned to England in June 1919. [96]
Post-war[ edit ]
On his return from Greece, Holst resumed his teaching and composing. In addition to his existing work he accepted a lectureship in composition at the University of Reading and joined Vaughan Williams in teaching composition at their alma mater the RCM. [63] Inspired by Adrian Boult's conducting classes at the RCM, Holst tried to further pioneer music education for women by proposing to the High Mistress of St Paul's Girls' School that he should invite Boult to give classes at the school: "It would be glorious if the SPGS turned out the only women conductors in the world!" [97] In his soundproof room at SPGS he composed the Ode to Death , a setting of a poem by Whitman, which according to Vaughan Williams is considered by many to be Holst's most beautiful choral work. [34]
Holst, caricatured as "The Bringer of Jollity", by F Sanchez, 1921
Holst, in his forties, suddenly found himself in demand. The New York Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony Orchestra vied to be the first to play The Planets in the US. [63] The success of that work was followed in 1920 by an enthusiastic reception for The Hymn of Jesus, described in The Observer as "one of the most brilliant and one of the most sincere pieces of choral and orchestral expression heard for some years." [98] The Times called it "undoubtedly the most strikingly original choral work which has been produced in this country for many years." [99] To his surprise and dismay Holst was becoming famous. [34] Celebrity was something wholly foreign to his nature. As the music scholar Byron Adams puts it, "he struggled for the rest of his life to extricate himself from the web of garish publicity, public incomprehension and professional envy woven about him by this unsought-for success." [100] He turned down honours and awards offered to him, [n 11] and refused to give interviews or autographs. [63]
Holst's comic opera The Perfect Fool (1923) was widely seen as a satire of Parsifal , though Holst firmly denied it. [101] The piece, with Maggie Teyte in the leading soprano role and Eugene Goossens conducting, was enthusiastically received at its premiere in the Royal Opera House . [102] At a concert in Reading in 1923, Holst slipped and fell, suffering concussion . He seemed to make a good recovery, and he felt up to accepting an invitation to the US, lecturing and conducting at the University of Michigan . [103] After he returned he found himself more and more in demand, to conduct, prepare his earlier works for publication, and, as before, to teach. The strain caused by these demands on him was too great; on doctor's orders he cancelled all professional engagements during 1924, and retreated to Thaxted. [104] In 1925 he resumed his work at St Paul's Girls' School, but did not return to any of his other posts. [105]
Later years[ edit ]
Holst's productivity as a composer benefited almost at once from his release from other work. His works from this period include the First Choral Symphony to words by Keats (a Second Choral Symphony to words by George Meredith exists only in fragments). A short Shakespearian opera, At the Boar's Head , followed; neither had the immediate popular appeal of A Moorside Suite for brass band of 1928. [106]
In 1927 Holst was commissioned by the New York Symphony Orchestra to write a symphony. Instead, he wrote an orchestral piece Egdon Heath , inspired by Thomas Hardy's Wessex . It was first performed in February 1928, a month after Hardy's death, at a memorial concert. By this time the public's brief enthusiasm for everything Holstian was waning, [105] and the piece was not well received in New York. Olin Downes in The New York Times opined that "the new score seemed long and undistinguished". [107] The day after the American performance, Holst conducted the City of Birmingham Orchestra in the British premiere. The Times acknowledged the bleakness of the work but allowed that it matched Hardy's grim view of the world: "Egdon Heath is not likely to be popular, but it says what the composer wants to say, whether we like it or not, and truth is one aspect of duty." [108] Holst had been distressed by hostile reviews of some of his earlier works, but he was indifferent to critical opinion of Egdon Heath, which he regarded as, in Adams's phrase, his "most perfectly realized composition". [109]
Towards the end of his life Holst wrote the Choral Fantasia (1930) and he was commissioned by the BBC to write a piece for military band; the resulting prelude and scherzo Hammersmith was a tribute to the place where he had spent most of his life. The composer and critic Colin Matthews considers the work "as uncompromising in its way as Egdon Heath, discovering, in the words of Imogen Holst, 'in the middle of an over-crowded London ... the same tranquillity that he had found in the solitude of Egdon Heath'". [4] The work was unlucky in being premiered at a concert that also featured the London premiere of Walton 's Belshazzar's Feast , by which it was somewhat overshadowed. [110]
Holst wrote a score for a British film, The Bells (1931), and was amused to be recruited as an extra in a crowd scene. [111] Both film and score are now lost. [112] He wrote a "jazz band piece" that Imogen later arranged for orchestra as Capriccio. [113] Having composed operas throughout his life with varying success, Holst found for his last opera, The Wandering Scholar , what Matthews calls "the right medium for his oblique sense of humour, writing with economy and directness". [4]
Harvard University offered Holst a lectureship for the first six months of 1932. Arriving via New York he was pleased to be reunited with his brother, Emil, whose acting career under the name of Ernest Cossart had taken him to Broadway ; but Holst was dismayed by the continual attentions of press interviewers and photographers. He enjoyed his time at Harvard, but was taken ill while there: a duodenal ulcer prostrated him for some weeks. He returned to England, joined briefly by his brother for a holiday together in the Cotswolds . [114] His health declined, and he withdrew further from musical activities. One of his last efforts was to guide the young players of the St Paul's Girls' School orchestra through one of his final compositions, the Brook Green Suite , in March 1934. [115]
Holst died in London on 25 May 1934, at the age of 59, of heart failure following an operation on his ulcer. [4] His ashes were interred at Chichester Cathedral in Sussex, close to the memorial to Thomas Weelkes, his favourite Tudor composer. [116] Bishop George Bell gave the memorial oration at the funeral, and Vaughan Williams conducted music by Holst and himself. [117]
Style[ edit ]
Holst's absorption of folksong, not only in the melodic sense but in terms of its simplicity and economy of expression, [118] helped to develop a style that many of his contemporaries, even admirers, found austere and cerebral. [119] [120] This is contrary to the popular identification of Holst with The Planets, which Matthews believes has masked his status as a composer of genuine originality. [4] Against charges of coldness in the music, Imogen cites Holst's characteristic "sweeping modal tunes mov[ing] reassuringly above the steps of a descending bass", [119] while Michael Kennedy points to the 12 Humbert Wolfe settings of 1929, and the 12 Welsh folksong settings for unaccompanied chorus of 1930–31, as works of true warmth. [120]
Many of the characteristics that Holst employed—unconventional time signatures , rising and falling scales, ostinato , bitonality and occasional polytonality —set him apart from other English composers. [4] Vaughan Williams remarked that Holst always said in his music what he wished to say, directly and concisely; "He was not afraid of being obvious when the occasion demanded, nor did he hesitate to be remote when remoteness expressed his purpose". [121] Kennedy has surmised that Holst's economy of style was in part a product of the composer's poor health: "the effort of writing it down compelled an artistic economy which some felt was carried too far". [120] However, as an experienced instrumentalist and orchestra member, Holst understood music from the standpoint of his players and made sure that, however challenging, their parts were always practicable. [122] According to his pupil Jane Joseph , Holst fostered in performance "a spirit of practical comradeship ... none could know better than he the boredom possible to a professional player, and the music that rendered boredom impossible". [123]
Early works[ edit ]
Although Holst wrote a large number of works—particularly songs—during his student days and early adulthood, almost everything he wrote before 1904 he later classified as derivative "early horrors". [4] [124] Nevertheless, the composer and critic Colin Matthews recognises even in these apprentice works an "instinctive orchestral flair". [4] Of the few pieces from this period which demonstrate some originality, Matthews pinpoints the G minor String Trio of 1894 (unperformed until 1974) as the first underivative work produced by Holst. [125] Matthews and Imogen Holst each highlight the "Elegy" movement in The Cotswold Symphony (1899–1900) as among the more accomplished of the apprentice works, and Imogen discerns glimpses of her father's real self in the 1899 Suite de ballet and the Ave Maria of 1900. She and Matthews have asserted that Holst found his genuine voice in his setting of Whitman's verses, The Mystic Trumpeter (1904), in which the trumpet calls that characterise Mars in The Planets are briefly anticipated. [4] [124] In this work, Holst first employs the technique of bitonality—the use of two keys simultaneously. [9]
Experimental years[ edit ]
At the beginning of the 20th century, according to Matthews, it appeared that Holst might follow Schoenberg into late Romanticism . Instead, as Holst recognised afterwards, his encounter with Purcell's Dido and Aeneas prompted his searching for a "musical idiom of the English language"; [36] the folksong revival became a further catalyst for Holst to seek inspiration from other sources during the first decade or so of the new century. [4]
Indian period[ edit ]
Holst's interest in Indian mythology, shared by many of his contemporaries, first became musically evident in the opera Sita (1901–06). [126] During the opera's long gestation, Holst worked on other Indian-themed pieces. These included Maya (1901) for violin and piano, regarded by the composer and writer Raymond Head as "an insipid salon-piece whose musical language is dangerously close to Stephen Adams". [126] [n 12] Then, through Vaughan Williams, Holst discovered and became an admirer of the music of Ravel , [128] whom he considered a "model of purity" on the level with Haydn, [129] another composer he greatly admired. [130] The combined influence of Ravel, Hindu spiritualism and English folk tunes [128] enabled Holst to get beyond the once all-consuming influences of Wagner and Richard Strauss and to forge his own style. Imogen Holst has acknowledged Holst's own suggestion (written to Vaughan Williams): "[O]ne ought to follow Wagner until he leads you to fresh things". She notes that although much of his grand opera, Sita, is "'good old Wagnerian bawling' ... towards the end a change comes over the music, and the beautifully calm phrases of the hidden chorus representing the Voice of the Earth are in Holst's own language." [131]
According to Rubbra, the publication in 1911 of Holst's Rig Veda Hymns was a landmark event in the composer's development: "Before this, Holst's music had, indeed, shown the clarity of utterance which has always been his characteristic, but harmonically there was little to single him out as an important figure in modern music." [58] Dickinson describes these vedic settings as pictorial rather than religious; although the quality is variable the sacred texts clearly "touched vital springs in the composer's imagination". [132] While the music of Holst's Indian verse settings remained generally western in character, in some of the vedic settings he experimented with Indian raga (scales). [133]
The chamber opera Savitri (1908) is written for three solo voices, a small hidden female chorus, and an instrumental combination of two flutes, a cor anglais and a double string quartet. [134] The music critic John Warrack comments on the "extraordinary expressive subtlety" with which Holst deploys the sparse forces: "... [T]he two unaccompanied vocal lines opening the work skilfully convey the relationship between Death, steadily advancing through the forest, and Savitri, her frightened answers fluttering round him, unable to escape his harmonic pull". [9] Head describes the work as unique in its time for its compact intimacy, and considers it Holst's most successful attempt to end the domination of Wagnerian chromaticism in his music. [134] Dickinson considers it a significant step, "not towards opera, but towards an idiomatic pursuit of [Holst's] vision". [135] Of the Kālidāsa texts, Dickinson dismisses The Cloud Messenger (1910–12) as an "accumulation of desultory incidents, opportunistic dramatic episodes and ecstatic outpourings" which illustrate the composer's creative confusion during that period; the Two Eastern Pictures (1911), in Dickinson's view, provide "a more memorable final impression of Kālidāsa". [135]
Folksong and other influences[ edit ]
Holst's settings of Indian texts formed only a part of his compositional output in the period 1900 to 1914. A highly significant factor in his musical development was the English folksong revival, evident in the orchestral suite A Somerset Rhapsody (1906–07), a work that was originally to be based around eleven folksong themes; this was later reduced to four. [136] Observing the work's kinship with Vaughan Williams's Norfolk Rhapsody, Dickinson remarks that, with its firm overall structure, Holst's composition "rises beyond the level of ... a song-selection". [137] Imogen acknowledges that Holst's discovery of English folksongs "transformed his orchestral writing", and that the composition of A Somerset Rhapsody did much to banish the chromaticisms that had dominated his early compositions. [124] In the Two Songs without Words of 1906, Holst showed that he could create his own original music using the folk idiom. [138] An orchestral folksong fantasy Songs of the West, also written in 1906, was withdrawn by the composer and never published, although it emerged in the 1980s in the form of an arrangement for wind band by James Curnow . [139]
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Which group had their only UK number one with 'I Owe You Nothing'? | NUMBER ONE'S OF THE EIGHTIES: 1988 Bros: I Owe You Nothing
NUMBER ONE'S OF THE EIGHTIES
Thursday, 3 September 2009
1988 Bros: I Owe You Nothing
And on the eighth day, the lord said 'Let there be Bros'. Because to my memory, that's how they came about; one minute they weren't while the next there they were, an overnight teen sensation at number one. Nice work if you can get it. Whether this is what actually happened or not I can't say (or be bothered to find out to be honest - why spoil a good memory?), but it seemed that way at the time, and I'll happily bet the farm that they didn't pay too many dues slogging around the pub circuit.
Hindsight has shown that Bros were forerunners of the boy band epidemic of the nineties. Sure, there had been teen boy bands designed to appeal to the pre pubescents in the past, but where acts like The Monkees or Jackson 5 (to take two extremes) had the talent and the songs to back them up, Bros were sold entirely on hype, the image on the cover of their records rather than what was in the grooves. Talent was in short supply within the set up and 'I Owe You Nothing' does precious little to convince otherwise.
Rather than go to the trouble of writing an actual song, the folk behind this seemed happy enough to let Matt Goss improvise a tune of his own around the "I owe you nothing, nothing, nothing at all" refrain which he repeats until the cows are home, milked, calved and slaughtered. Goss gives it his best shot, but despite his enthusiasm any group of words with the same number of syllables would fit and work just as well in this setting (try it......see what I mean)? Like some Butlins Redcoat on a drizzly Saturday night, 'I Owe You Nothing' does it's darndest to get everyone in a party mood with blaring keyboards, a busy busy bassline and copious 'Wooooo, Oooh yeahhh!'s, but the sound is an anaemic thin slice of Lo Cost funk that tries to cover up it's failings with a typically thin, bright and brash eighties production.
It's a production that does not gel with the generally poisonous tone of the whole affair; "I'll watch you suffer with no feelings, no feelings at all" - is this something that pre-teens can relate to in any way I wonder? Probably not, but they probably didn't listen that closely anyway, not when they had Matt's mug to swoon over and they'd be the last to recognise this for the abject failure that it is.
And that it fails, and fails badly, is down to the fact that it's lazy, it simply does not try hard enough to do anything other than to provide some sounds for Messer's Goss and the other one to prance about and cut shapes to. At least SAW put in a modicum of effort on their stuff, 'I Owe You Nothing' sounds more like a rough demo than the finished article.
So lazy then, but I think that no matter what anyone else may or may not have been able to bring to the table to improve it, nothing would dispel the empty, sinking feeling a few seconds in when Goss does his best Poundstretcher Michael Jackson on the opening "I'll watch you crumble like a very old wall". Oh dear. Bros had their time in the sun, but it didn't last long because on the ninth day the lord grew displeased with his creation and said 'Let there be no more Bros'. And lo, Bros were no more. It's just a shame the door wasn't locked and barred behind them. There would be far worse to come through it in the future.
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Which is the most famous building on the Ile de la Cite in Paris? | Bros / “Push” 25th Anniversary 3CD Deluxe Edition track listing | superdeluxeedition
Bros / “Push” 25th Anniversary 3CD Deluxe Edition track listing
September 5, 2013 by Paul Sinclairtags: 1980s , Bros
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Cherry Pop will reissue eighties boy band Bros‘ debut album Push as a three-CD 25th anniversary deluxe edition on 28 October 2013.
The 1988 album, which sold 1.2 million copies in the first year of release in Britain alone, contains five top 5 UK singles, including the number one I Owe You Nothing. It would be the band’s only album as a trio, before the acrimonious departure of bassist Craig Logan.
This three CD set contains a wealth of remixes that kept Shep Pettibone (and other remixers) very busy at the time, including the 18-minute “Over 18 Mix” of I Owe You Nothing, six versions of When Will I Be Famous? including the sample heavy “Contender Dub Mix” and the various B-side tracks, such as The Boy Is Dropped, Silent Night (technically an ‘A’ side), and The Big Push Overture.
In total, 21 bonus tracks in this remastered Bros-fest.
Push 3CD Deluxe track listing:
Disc One
When Will I Be Famous?
Drop The Boy
Ten Out Of Ten Push
Liar
It’s A Jungle Out There
Shocked Push
I Owe You Nothing (The Shep Pettibone Mix)
I Owe You Nothing (Pettibeats)
I Owe You Nothing (The Voice)
I Owe You Nothing (Club Mix)
I Owe You Nothing (The Beats)
I Owe You Nothing (Over 18 Mix)
Disc 3
When Will I Be Famous? (The Contender Dub Mix)
When Will I Be Famous? (Infamous Mix)
When Will I Be Famous? (Club Mix)
When Will I Be Famous? (Acapella Mix)
When Will I Be Famous? (Bonus Beats)
Drop The Boy (Art Mix)
Drop The Boy (Shep Pettibone Dub Mix)
Drop The Boy (Shep Pettibone Mix)
I Quit (Acid Drops)
I Quit (The ”Turn-On” Mix)
I Quit (The Acidic Mix)
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44 responses to Bros / “Push” 25th Anniversary 3CD Deluxe Edition track listing
Mike
September 5, 2013 at 19:08
at the risk of driving everyone else crazy like i am trying to recall the details, there was a show in the late 80s that was class – i am almost certain it was Sunday Mornings, Channel 4. i was reminded of it here as i am certain the guys that did the Acid Drops remix of I Quit were on it once and basically did an acid house remix of a new single by a visiting guest. i suspect it was either Owen Paul, Nik Kershaw or quite possibly even Paul King.
the only other thing i can recall of the show was they had Vim Fuego out of Bad News in once, and sat him down to watch Evil Dead II. when they checked in on him, he was smoking about 8 cigarettes at once!
September 5, 2013 at 19:17
That sounds like Network 7 (I’ve got the theme tune on 12″ somewhere!).
I seem to recall them having Coldcut on the decks mashing up Vivaldi & hip hop breaks, in the same kind of situation yo mention.
September 5, 2013 at 19:37
This looks pretty ace, of course. But where are the 7″ edits/remixes of When will I be famous, Drop the boy, I owe you nothing (2nd release) and I quit? Why aren’t these appended to the album on disc 1? Frankly, their absence spoils this a bit. Is it too late?
September 6, 2013 at 08:24
Pretty sure Cherry Pop wanted to include 7″ versions/edits. I think it was down to licensing in the end (Sony have to approve everything after all). Maybe Sony are planning a future hits collection and want to ‘keep’ the 7″ edits for that?
yea true, hope it’s not too late to rectify this…..
Mike
Actually quick check, i think the following are missing,
IOU – pettibone dub mix, wake dub mix, pettibone re-remix, illegal mix
Famous – illegal mix, wake dub mix
Quite a lot!
Pre-ordered…been after some of these Pettibone remixes for ages!
A definitive Pettibone remix boxset would be a must buy!
September 5, 2013 at 22:08
The over-18 mix. At bloody last! I’ve just remembered going into my local record shop and feeling a little embarrassed (at only 15 i might add) asking for the ultra-rare ‘Over 18′ 12″ of ‘I owe you nothing’ which was so-called as it was 18 minutes and 1 second long i think. I thought it might have swearing as titled over-18 and expected them to have it and maybe refuse selling it to me if rated 18+ lol. They were clueless of it to my surprise. Wonderful to finally see it make it onto CD. Will get this release. Used to play I quit (Acid drops) a lot. It was the ‘b’ side of I quit i’m sure. I was embarrassed BTW cause it was Bros, not cause i thought it was rude, lol!
More 80s stuff thats best left in the 80s.
Surely they can find some better music to create deluxe editions of?
I own all of the cd singles from the album, along with a few japanese cd releases which include the over 18 mix, but it is nice to see them altogether.
Deffo pre-ordered now.
Not sure whether it’s a good thing to admit or not but err.. I own a copy of the 12″ promo of the Over 18 mix on vinyl…. The remix breaks down as follows:
Produced by Nicky Graham
September 6, 2013 at 10:45
Not a fan of Bros, but I was interested to see how this faired against the recent Belinda Carlisle reissues. Not too well in my (limited) opinion. No 7″ edits and no promo vids which I thought would have been essential to make this comprehensive?
September 6, 2013 at 15:15
Bros. never had much of a presence in the U.S. – I was looking at this just to see what they had in the way of 3 CDs worth of material. I sense some unused space on the discs, but it seems they could still do with a 4th disc. Terrifying.
When you just smack a few bonus tracks on a re-release, it’s hard to feel the value. Looking at this, and not being a Bros. fan, I see an album plus 4 import CD-singles (or 12″s), and the fact that it will probably sell for about the same cost that the original album did when it first came out (?) really underscores the value of these deluxe editions.
I’m very excited by the Belinda Carlisle and Bananarama re-releases. They are definitely giving value to fans. With a lot of late 80’s releases, there were many supporting CD-singles for each album. When a re-release’s bonus tracks don’t even offer enough material to duplicate a 12″ or CD-single tracklistings, I feel better off with the original releases. Thankfully releases this year seem to be getting a lot right!
September 6, 2013 at 20:41
If you can’t include the hit single 7″ mixes on a THREE DISC version of an album, why bother? If it’s a licensing issue, then either the companies should come to an agreement or the project should be shelved. This was the chance to put everything in one place, and yet again – like on so many contemporary deluxe editions – that hasn’t happened.
Seems to me that we got a better standard of reissue when there were only 1 or at most 2 discs to play with. The bigger they get, the more omissions, flaws, errors and general botches they bring us. I would rate Push as one of the better late 80s pop albums, but even I wouldn’t say it deserves a triple disc treatment.
CD1 could be the album plus b-sides. CD2 the 7″ mixes and a few choice 12″ mixes. Is it really so hard?
September 6, 2013 at 21:25
I love things to be as good as they can be too, but I’m not sure I’d take the “if it’s not perfect, don’t do it” line.
What you are suggesting isn’t straightforward either. I mean “a few choice 12″ mixes”? Everyone is going to have their own idea about what the right ones to leave off and the right ones to include are.
Not having the 7″ edits is certainly disappointing BUT if you look at what we are getting, I think saying “why bother?” is overdoing it a little :)
September 6, 2013 at 21:43
Oh, I’m sure not everyone would agree with me, after all a lot of people like to have as much available/licensed material as they can get! I just view deluxe editions as a sort of definitive vision/representation of an album, and as such should have the main A side mixes and 12″ A side mixes to be worthwhile. If that’s not possible, maybe the parties involved could wait until those mixes are able to included….I wouldn’t be so critical if it were a 1 or 2CD affair…but to stretch what’s effectively a bargain bin 80s pop album (as much as I love it!) to three discs and then still omit vital material, seems a baffling decision.
September 7, 2013 at 09:35
Do we suspect there may be a DVD release / re-release at some point as the one with the videos / live show is really hard to find now.
I was wondering also whether The Time may get the same treatment as there was an expanded 1 CD version a few years back but there are many more mixes available, and I seem to remember about a “Madly In Love” suite which was around 18 minutes long, which they they ditched and had Madly in love and Too much as separate tracks. Anyone heard this / know more about it?
September 8, 2013 at 21:01
Bros
As far as I know (correct me if I’m wrong) I owe you nothing The Beats=PettiBeats!
http://www.sheppettibone.com/sp_i_owe_you_nothing.html
Why don’t they hire you/Paul S. as their consultant? Of course if they are different I would be happy to have them both.
If you have their I owe you nothing-The best of then you have all/most single edits/mixes! So it’s big deal if they aren’t here (of course it would more complete to have them all here)!
I agreed with Mike there are still some missing remixes! I hope it’s still not too late for Cherry Red/Pop to include those & of course EVERYTHING should be only from Mastertapes:
I Owe You Nothing [Shep Pettibone Re-Remix] 7:29
I Owe You Nothing [Dub Mix] 6:34
White Label/Bootleg Remixes (licensing could be a problem):
I Owe You Nothing [Blues Bros. Democratic Three Mix] 6:23
I Owe You Nothing [DJ Slack-Ill-Legal Mix] 6:23
When Will I Be Famous? [DJ Slack-Ill-Legal Mix] 5:59
I’ll still get this set because of When will I be famous? Acapella Mix/Bonus beats & Drop the boy Art Mix.
These are the ones I have from CD’s/CD singles/Promo CD’s/Compilation CD’s/etc:
When Will I Be Famous? [Single Version] 3:58
When Will I Be Famous? [Album Version] 5:00
When Will I Be Famous? [Freddy Bastone-The Infamous Mix] 5:40
When Will I Be Famous? [Freddy Bastone-The Contender 7” Mix] 4:23
When Will I Be Famous? [Freddy Bastone-The Contender 12” Mix] 5:48
When Will I Be Famous? [Freddy Bastone-The Contender Dub Mix] 8:18
When Will I Be Famous? [Ric Wake & Richie Jones-12” Club Mix] 8:02
When Will I Be Famous? [Ric Wake & Richie Jones-12” Dub Mix] 7:34
When Will I Be Famous? [Karaoke Version] 3:59
Drop The Boy [Album Version] 4:08
Drop The Boy [Single Remix] 3:48
Drop The Boy [Shep Pettibone-The 12” Mix] 6:45
Drop The Boy [Shep Pettibone-The Dub Mix] 7:02
Drop The Boy [Passive Verb Version-The Boy Is Dropped] 3:51
I Owe You Nothing [Shep Pettibone-The 7” Mix] 3:39
I Owe You Nothing [Shep Pettibone-The 12” Mix] 6:19
I Owe You Nothing [Shep Pettibone-The Beats=PettiBeats] 3:40
I Owe You Nothing [Shep Pettibone-The Voice=Acappella] 3:15
I Owe You Nothing [Ric Wake & Bob Cadway-7” Remix] 3:53
I Owe You Nothing [Ric Wake & Richie Jones-Club Mix] 7:39
I Owe You Nothing [Ric Wake-Over 18 Mix Incl. Ill-Legal Mix] 17:52
I Quit [Album Version] 3:56
I Quit [Fred Maher-7” Remix] 3:33
I Quit [Fred Maher-The ”Turn-On” Mix] 6:53
I Quit [Zoe-Acid Drops] 3:58
I Quit [Zoe-Acidic Mix] 8:05
The Big Push Overture 5:45
Cat Among The Pigeons [Album Version] 4:05
Silent Night [Simon Humphrey-7” Mix] 3:49
Silent Night [Simon Humphrey-12” Mix] 5:06
September 15, 2013 at 17:56
Hi Everyone,
Being a Huge, Huge Fan of Bros reading the comments above amazes me just how much interest has been generated and how opinions still remain divided over this Iconic Trio/Duo 25yrs on from the release of what is possibly the greatest Pure Pop Album of the 80’s!! The first thing I’d like to say is that this release is long long overdue, especially when you consider the first four single releases from the Album(WWIBF? (UK No.2), Drop The Boy (UK No.2), I O U Nothing (UK No.1 upon Re-release) and I Quit (UK No.4)) are (in my opinion) 4 of the best 7″ Cuts not only of 1988 bu also the Late 80’s!! Yes the absence of the 7″ Mixes/Remixes is disappointing, especially those of
I O U Nothing and I Quit as they amply show off the incredible Vocal talent that Matt Goss was and still is. Moreover, they were also great Mixes from Rik Wake and Fred Maher respectively that simply deserve inclusion. However, I am not entirely surprised by this because fans of the band will no doubt tell you that the Rik Wake/Bob Cadway 7″ Remix of I O U Nothing (Which is still Bros’ Greatest Hit and only UK No.1) does not appear on either of their Greatest Hits Releases – 2004’s The Best of Bros and 2010’s I Owe You Nothing – The Best of Bros!!!!!
But I do feel the depth of Bonus Material & CD/Digital Rarities make this a must for all of us fans of The Boogie, The Beat and The Bass… Ironically hot on the heels of the clearest indication yet that all 3 Members are talking about reforming for the first time since The 89 Brits!! :D
That said the missing 7″ Mixes, Pettibone Mixes of I O U Nothing and a 4th CD incorporating 88’s VHS Release of The Big Push Tour – Live! would’ve been the icing on the cake…But Bros Are Still The Boogie!
September 23, 2013 at 17:09
@Terence Delaney,
These from from compilation cd’s I made a few years back! I don’t remember every details. I’ll try my best.
I Owe You Nothing [Shep Pettibone-The 7” Mix] 3:39
The single came out first. Then it was included on the album. This is the album version as others refered to.
When Will I Be Famous? [Freddy Bastone-The Contender 7” Mix] 4:23
This was one of the side tracks from one of the Bros CD singles! Not the single version. “Same” as the Contender Dub Mix, but with more vocals in a shorter form.
When Will I Be Famous? [Freddy Bastone-The Contender 12” Mix] 5:48
This was from one of the Bros CD singles! About the same length as The Infamous Mix, but different from it. “Same” as the Contender Dub Mix, but with more vocals in a shorter form. Though longer than the 7″ mix I found on other CD single.
When Will I Be Famous? [Freddy Bastone-The Contender Dub Mix] 8:18
This was the easiest one, from their CD single.
I hope this helps.
November 1, 2013 at 02:46
Hi Griffin!! As you said, as far as I know (because I have both versions on vinyl) the IOU ‘The Beats’ and ‘Pettibeats’ versions are the same…well, the Pettibeats version includes a last ‘Woooh!’ scream at the very end, after a few seconds of silence, but this is not worthy to be included twice!! I hope we´ll have the nice surprice to discover that two really different ‘beats’ versions do exist!! If not…hmmmm…a BIG FAILURE!!!
And a last thing not included in your list: the IOU Shep Pettibone Mix included on the promo 12″ is longer than the usual Shep Pettibone Remix! The full lenght 12″ version is 6:34, not 6:19 as usual (and I´m not talking about the Re-remix. wich is 7:28 nor the Dub that runs for 5:32 ;) )
November 12, 2013 at 20:17
Hi Griffin….bad news!!!!! :(
As we were afraid of, ‘The Beats’ version and the ‘Pettibeats’ versions are…THE SAME!!!! Not even the late ‘Whooo!’ we can hear on the promo 12″ on the Pettibeats version is here, so we have TWICE the exactly same version on the same CD, with just two tracks between them. A BIG shame, unforgibeable and really hard to explain on a release like this, where it seems that there was real care around the making of it…how can things like this happen???? Nobody with an intent ear listened to ALL the different tracks first, and the complete thing later, to prevent mistakes like this to happen?? I still can´t believe how negligences like this can ruin an otherwise really nice set release :(
November 23, 2013 at 10:48
@PCL,
Yeah, I know :( At least we’ve got the full length Shep 12″ Mix of IOUN, Acapella & beats of WWIBF and ART mix of DTB! I got the shorter mix from Various – Fantastic 80s! Extended.
It’s “good” to have them twice than some reissues claimed to have a specific mix (unreleased/1st time on CD) but it’s a released one or an easy obtainable mix!
Often record companies/labels don’t know what mixes they have/own of a song. That’s why back in those days 80’s/90’s we got so many hidden treasures. I wouldn’t know there were so many different versions of WWIBF (contender 7″ & 12″ mixes for example) if I didn’t compile the Bros compilation myself. I listened & relistened to them back to back. And i found the different mixes myself (not mentioned on discogs etc)! So I suggest Cherry Red/Pop or Demon/Edsel to work with fans (involvement by fans) like Paul Sinclair did with Paul Young 2CD’s compilation. Then success is guaranteed: happy fans & very good sales numbers.
| i don't know |
Lord Longford was the best man at the wedding of which criminal, whose real name is Michael Gordon Peterson? | Charles Bronson: Quotes, Before Prison, Life in Prison, Personal Life, Film of Bronson's Life, Bibliography, and a List of Books by Author Charles Bronson
Quotes more � � less
"Audiences like to see the bad guys get their comeuppance.""I don't have friends, I have thousands of acquaintances. No friends. I figured I had a wife and children.""I don't look like someone who leans on a mantelpiece with a cocktail in my hand, you know.""I felt along with her - not the physical pain, of course, but all her mental anguish. You can't be detached. She needed to have someone who understood what was happening in her mind.""I look like a quarry someone has dynamited.""I look like the kind of guy who has a bottle of beer in my hand.""I wouldn't tell Jill how I felt. I behaved in such a way that was opposite to how I felt. I must have seemed strong to her. I didn't want to bring her down.""Maybe I'm too masculine. Casting directors cast in their own, or an idealized image. Maybe I don't look like anybody's ideal.""Part of the problem is how little we understand about the ultimate betrayal of the body when it rebels against itself. You always worry about charlatans. We found that specialists did not know as much as we thought.""The fear really hits you. That's what you feel first. And then it's the anger and frustration. Part of the problem is how little we understand about the ultimate betrayal of the body when it rebels against itself.""We found that specialists did not know as much as we thought. So, you think maybe there are other answers. There are not but if you belief something will help you it probably will: it will help, not cure.""What kind of man would I have been if I had not been there to help her? I felt along with her - not the physical pain, of course, but all her mental anguish. You can't be detached."
Early life
Bronson was one of three sons
of Eira and Joe Peterson, who would later run the [[Conservative club]] in [[Aberystwyth]]. His uncle and aunt were [[mayor]] and mayoress of the town in the 1960s and 1970s. His aunt, Eileen Parry, is quoted as saying, "As a boy he was a lovely lad. He was obviously bright and always good with children. He was gentle and mild-mannered, never a bully — he would defend the weak."
He lived in Luton from the age of four but, when he was a teenager, Bronson moved with his family to Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, where he started getting into trouble. Bronson later returned to Luton, which is often referred to as his home town, where he earned a living as a circus strongman. He was married in December 1970 to Irene, with whom he had a son, Michael.
Boxing career and name change
Prior to being imprisoned, Bronson had a short-lived career in bare-knuckle boxing in the East End of London, during which time he became an associate of Lenny McLean. He changed his name from Mick Peterson to Charles Bronson in 1987 on the advice of his fight promoter, "not because he liked the idea of the ‘Death Wish’ films starring the original Charles Bronson."
Life in Prison more � � less
Bronson was imprisoned for seven years in 1974, aged 22, for an armed robbery at a Post Office in Little Sutton, a suburb of Ellesmere Port, during which he stole �26.18. His sentence was repeatedly extended for crimes committed within prison, which include wounding with intent, wounding, criminal damage, grievous bodily harm, false imprisonment, blackmail and threatening to kill.
Bronson has served all but four of his years in prison in solitary confinement due to a number of hostage situations, rooftop protests, and repeated attacks on prison staff and on other inmates. His dangerous behaviour has meant that he has spent time in over 120 different prisons, including all three maximum security hospitals: Broadmoor Hospital, Rampton Secure Hospital, and Ashworth Hospital.
Bronson has spent a total of just four months and nine days out of custody since 1974. He was released on 30 October 1988 and spent 69 days as a free man before being arrested for robbery, and then released again on 9 November 1992, spending 53 days as a free man before being arrested again, this time for conspiracy to rob.
In 1999 a special prison unit was set up for Bronson and two other violent prisoners from Woodhill, to reduce the risk they posed to staff and other prisoners.
In 2000, Bronson received a discretionary life sentence with a three year tariff for a hostage-taking incident. His appeal against this sentence was denied in 2004.
Bronson remained a "Category A" prisoner when he was moved to Wakefield High-Security Prison. He was due for a parole hearing in September 2008, but this was postponed when his lawyer objected to a one-hour parole interview, requesting a full day to deal with Bronson's case. The parole hearing took place on 11 March 2009 and parole was refused shortly afterwards. The Parole Board said that Mr Bronson had not proved he was a reformed character.
Hostage incidents
Bronson has been involved in over a dozen hostage incidents, some of which are described below:
In 1983, Bronson took hostages and staged a 47-hour rooftop protest at Broadmoor, causing �750,000 of damage.
In 1994, while holding a guard hostage at Woodhill Prison, Milton Keynes, he demanded an inflatable doll, a helicopter and a cup of tea as ransom. Two months later, he held deputy governor Adrian Wallace hostage for five hours at Hull prison, injuring him so badly he was off work for five weeks.
In 1998, Bronson took two Iraqi hijackers and another inmate hostage at Belmarsh prison in London. He insisted his hostages address him as "General" and told negotiators he would eat one of his victims quickly unless his demands were met. At one stage, Bronson demanded one of the Iraqis hit him "very hard" over the head with a metal tray. When the hostage refused, Bronson slashed his own shoulder six times with a razor blade. He later told staff: "I'm going to start snapping necks — I'm the number-one hostage taker." He demanded a plane to take him to Cuba, two Uzi sub-machine guns, 5,000 rounds of ammunition, and an axe. In court, he said he was "as guilty as Adolf Hitler", adding, "I was on a mission of madness, but now I'm on a mission of peace and all I want to do now is go home and have a pint with my son." Another seven years were added to his sentence.
In 1999, he took Phil Danielson, a civilian education officer, hostage at Hull prison. He can be seen in CCTV footage singing the song "Yellow Submarine", walking around with a makeshift spear (after having caused havoc inside the prison) and causing the wing to be locked up for over 40 hours.
In 2007, two prison staff members at Full Sutton high security prison in the East Riding of Yorkshire were involved in a "control and restraint incident", in an attempt to prevent another hostage situation, during which Bronson (who by now needed spectacles) had his glasses broken. Bronson received �200 compensation for his broken glasses, which he claimed were made of "pre-war gold" and given to him by Lord Longford.
Personal Life more � � less
First marriage
Bronson met his first wife, Irene, in 1969, when he was still called Michael Peterson. Irene remembers that he "was so different from any other boys I knew. He always wore tailored suits, had perfectly-groomed sideburns and a Cockney accent." Eight months later, when Irene was 4 months pregnant, they married at Chester Register Office in December 1970. Four years later, when their son Mike was three years old, the police raided their house searching for Peterson. He was eventually caught and sent to prison. Five years later they divorced and Irene later remarried and became Irene Dunroe. She had two children with her new husband.
Second marriage and second name change
In 2001, Bronson married again, this time in Milton Keynes', HMP Woodhill to Fatema Saira Rehman, a Bangladeshi-born divorcee who had seen his picture in a newspaper and begun writing to him. Rehman had visited Bronson ten times prior to their wedding. She had worked at a women's shelter prior to their meeting, but lost her job when her employer found out about the relationship. For a short time, Bronson converted to Islam (Rehman is Muslim) and wished to be known as Charles Ali Ahmed. After four years he and Rehman divorced. Rehman has since given many interviews regarding her short marriage to Bronson, portraying him in a negative light. In one interview she was quoted as saying, "He fooled me - he is nothing but an abusive, racist thug."
Bronson claims that shortly after the 9-11 attacks in New York, two men visited him (he was then known as Ahmed) offering to release him into general population if he would infiltrate the Muslim prison population.
Occupations and projects
While in prison, Bronson has developed an extreme fitness regime and claims he is still able to do 172 press-ups in 60 seconds and 94 press-ups in 30 seconds. In 2002, he published the book Solitary Fitness, detailing an individual training process with minimal resources and space.
For the past ten years, Bronson has occupied himself by writing poetry and producing pieces of art; he has had eleven books published, including in 2008 his only self-penned book Loonyology: In My Own Words. He has won 11 Koestler Trust Awards for his poetry and art.
On 28 April 2010, BBC News reported that artwork by Bronson were displayed on the London Underground at Angel Station from 26 April 2010 for two weeks. The display was organised by Art Below, which is unrelated to the official Transport For London art program, and there is controversy over whether it should have been shown. His work has since been removed by an unknown party.
Film of Bronson's Life more � � less
Bronson, which loosely follows Bronson's life, was released in Britain on 13 March 2009. It stars Tom Hardy in the titular role, and is directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. There was some controversy caused at the premi�re, when a recording of Bronson's voice was played with no prior permission granted by officers at HM Prison Service, who called for an inquiry into how the recording had been made.
| Charles Bronson |
How many pounds are there in a hundredweight? | Charles Bronson: Quotes, Before Prison, Life in Prison, Personal Life, Film of Bronson's Life, Bibliography, and a List of Books by Author Charles Bronson
Quotes more � � less
"Audiences like to see the bad guys get their comeuppance.""I don't have friends, I have thousands of acquaintances. No friends. I figured I had a wife and children.""I don't look like someone who leans on a mantelpiece with a cocktail in my hand, you know.""I felt along with her - not the physical pain, of course, but all her mental anguish. You can't be detached. She needed to have someone who understood what was happening in her mind.""I look like a quarry someone has dynamited.""I look like the kind of guy who has a bottle of beer in my hand.""I wouldn't tell Jill how I felt. I behaved in such a way that was opposite to how I felt. I must have seemed strong to her. I didn't want to bring her down.""Maybe I'm too masculine. Casting directors cast in their own, or an idealized image. Maybe I don't look like anybody's ideal.""Part of the problem is how little we understand about the ultimate betrayal of the body when it rebels against itself. You always worry about charlatans. We found that specialists did not know as much as we thought.""The fear really hits you. That's what you feel first. And then it's the anger and frustration. Part of the problem is how little we understand about the ultimate betrayal of the body when it rebels against itself.""We found that specialists did not know as much as we thought. So, you think maybe there are other answers. There are not but if you belief something will help you it probably will: it will help, not cure.""What kind of man would I have been if I had not been there to help her? I felt along with her - not the physical pain, of course, but all her mental anguish. You can't be detached."
Early life
Bronson was one of three sons
of Eira and Joe Peterson, who would later run the [[Conservative club]] in [[Aberystwyth]]. His uncle and aunt were [[mayor]] and mayoress of the town in the 1960s and 1970s. His aunt, Eileen Parry, is quoted as saying, "As a boy he was a lovely lad. He was obviously bright and always good with children. He was gentle and mild-mannered, never a bully — he would defend the weak."
He lived in Luton from the age of four but, when he was a teenager, Bronson moved with his family to Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, where he started getting into trouble. Bronson later returned to Luton, which is often referred to as his home town, where he earned a living as a circus strongman. He was married in December 1970 to Irene, with whom he had a son, Michael.
Boxing career and name change
Prior to being imprisoned, Bronson had a short-lived career in bare-knuckle boxing in the East End of London, during which time he became an associate of Lenny McLean. He changed his name from Mick Peterson to Charles Bronson in 1987 on the advice of his fight promoter, "not because he liked the idea of the ‘Death Wish’ films starring the original Charles Bronson."
Life in Prison more � � less
Bronson was imprisoned for seven years in 1974, aged 22, for an armed robbery at a Post Office in Little Sutton, a suburb of Ellesmere Port, during which he stole �26.18. His sentence was repeatedly extended for crimes committed within prison, which include wounding with intent, wounding, criminal damage, grievous bodily harm, false imprisonment, blackmail and threatening to kill.
Bronson has served all but four of his years in prison in solitary confinement due to a number of hostage situations, rooftop protests, and repeated attacks on prison staff and on other inmates. His dangerous behaviour has meant that he has spent time in over 120 different prisons, including all three maximum security hospitals: Broadmoor Hospital, Rampton Secure Hospital, and Ashworth Hospital.
Bronson has spent a total of just four months and nine days out of custody since 1974. He was released on 30 October 1988 and spent 69 days as a free man before being arrested for robbery, and then released again on 9 November 1992, spending 53 days as a free man before being arrested again, this time for conspiracy to rob.
In 1999 a special prison unit was set up for Bronson and two other violent prisoners from Woodhill, to reduce the risk they posed to staff and other prisoners.
In 2000, Bronson received a discretionary life sentence with a three year tariff for a hostage-taking incident. His appeal against this sentence was denied in 2004.
Bronson remained a "Category A" prisoner when he was moved to Wakefield High-Security Prison. He was due for a parole hearing in September 2008, but this was postponed when his lawyer objected to a one-hour parole interview, requesting a full day to deal with Bronson's case. The parole hearing took place on 11 March 2009 and parole was refused shortly afterwards. The Parole Board said that Mr Bronson had not proved he was a reformed character.
Hostage incidents
Bronson has been involved in over a dozen hostage incidents, some of which are described below:
In 1983, Bronson took hostages and staged a 47-hour rooftop protest at Broadmoor, causing �750,000 of damage.
In 1994, while holding a guard hostage at Woodhill Prison, Milton Keynes, he demanded an inflatable doll, a helicopter and a cup of tea as ransom. Two months later, he held deputy governor Adrian Wallace hostage for five hours at Hull prison, injuring him so badly he was off work for five weeks.
In 1998, Bronson took two Iraqi hijackers and another inmate hostage at Belmarsh prison in London. He insisted his hostages address him as "General" and told negotiators he would eat one of his victims quickly unless his demands were met. At one stage, Bronson demanded one of the Iraqis hit him "very hard" over the head with a metal tray. When the hostage refused, Bronson slashed his own shoulder six times with a razor blade. He later told staff: "I'm going to start snapping necks — I'm the number-one hostage taker." He demanded a plane to take him to Cuba, two Uzi sub-machine guns, 5,000 rounds of ammunition, and an axe. In court, he said he was "as guilty as Adolf Hitler", adding, "I was on a mission of madness, but now I'm on a mission of peace and all I want to do now is go home and have a pint with my son." Another seven years were added to his sentence.
In 1999, he took Phil Danielson, a civilian education officer, hostage at Hull prison. He can be seen in CCTV footage singing the song "Yellow Submarine", walking around with a makeshift spear (after having caused havoc inside the prison) and causing the wing to be locked up for over 40 hours.
In 2007, two prison staff members at Full Sutton high security prison in the East Riding of Yorkshire were involved in a "control and restraint incident", in an attempt to prevent another hostage situation, during which Bronson (who by now needed spectacles) had his glasses broken. Bronson received �200 compensation for his broken glasses, which he claimed were made of "pre-war gold" and given to him by Lord Longford.
Personal Life more � � less
First marriage
Bronson met his first wife, Irene, in 1969, when he was still called Michael Peterson. Irene remembers that he "was so different from any other boys I knew. He always wore tailored suits, had perfectly-groomed sideburns and a Cockney accent." Eight months later, when Irene was 4 months pregnant, they married at Chester Register Office in December 1970. Four years later, when their son Mike was three years old, the police raided their house searching for Peterson. He was eventually caught and sent to prison. Five years later they divorced and Irene later remarried and became Irene Dunroe. She had two children with her new husband.
Second marriage and second name change
In 2001, Bronson married again, this time in Milton Keynes', HMP Woodhill to Fatema Saira Rehman, a Bangladeshi-born divorcee who had seen his picture in a newspaper and begun writing to him. Rehman had visited Bronson ten times prior to their wedding. She had worked at a women's shelter prior to their meeting, but lost her job when her employer found out about the relationship. For a short time, Bronson converted to Islam (Rehman is Muslim) and wished to be known as Charles Ali Ahmed. After four years he and Rehman divorced. Rehman has since given many interviews regarding her short marriage to Bronson, portraying him in a negative light. In one interview she was quoted as saying, "He fooled me - he is nothing but an abusive, racist thug."
Bronson claims that shortly after the 9-11 attacks in New York, two men visited him (he was then known as Ahmed) offering to release him into general population if he would infiltrate the Muslim prison population.
Occupations and projects
While in prison, Bronson has developed an extreme fitness regime and claims he is still able to do 172 press-ups in 60 seconds and 94 press-ups in 30 seconds. In 2002, he published the book Solitary Fitness, detailing an individual training process with minimal resources and space.
For the past ten years, Bronson has occupied himself by writing poetry and producing pieces of art; he has had eleven books published, including in 2008 his only self-penned book Loonyology: In My Own Words. He has won 11 Koestler Trust Awards for his poetry and art.
On 28 April 2010, BBC News reported that artwork by Bronson were displayed on the London Underground at Angel Station from 26 April 2010 for two weeks. The display was organised by Art Below, which is unrelated to the official Transport For London art program, and there is controversy over whether it should have been shown. His work has since been removed by an unknown party.
Film of Bronson's Life more � � less
Bronson, which loosely follows Bronson's life, was released in Britain on 13 March 2009. It stars Tom Hardy in the titular role, and is directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. There was some controversy caused at the premi�re, when a recording of Bronson's voice was played with no prior permission granted by officers at HM Prison Service, who called for an inquiry into how the recording had been made.
| i don't know |
Which film starring Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson is about a lawyer defending two Marines on a charge of murder? | A Few Good Men (1992) - IMDb
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A Few Good Men ( 1992 )
R |
Neo military lawyer Kaffee defends Marines accused of murder; they contend they were acting under orders.
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Title: A Few Good Men (1992)
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Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 19 nominations. See more awards »
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Storyline
In this dramatic courtroom thriller, LT Daniel Kaffee, a Navy lawyer who has never seen the inside of the courtroom, defends two stubborn Marines who have been accused of murdering a colleague. Kaffee is known as being lazy and had arranged for a plea bargain. Downey's Aunt Ginny appoints Cmdr. Galloway to represent him. Also on the legal staff is LTJG Sam Weinberg. The team rounds up many facts and Kaffee is discovering that he is really cut out for trial work. The defense is originally based upon the fact that PFC Santiago, the victim, was given a "CODE RED". Santiago was basically a screw-up. At Gitmo, screw-ups aren't tolerated. Especially by Col. Nathan Jessup. In Cuba, Jessup and two senior officers try to give all the help they can, but Kaffee knows something's fishy. In the conclusion of the film, the fireworks are set off by a confrontation between Jessup and Kaffee. Written by Matt Curtolo <[email protected]>
See All (82) »
Taglines:
In the heart of the nation's capital, in a courthouse of the U.S. government, one man will stop at nothing to keep his honor, and one will stop at nothing to find the truth.
Genres:
Rated R for language | See all certifications »
Parents Guide:
11 December 1992 (USA) See more »
Also Known As:
Cuestión de honor See more »
Filming Locations:
First film role for Wolfgang Bodison , who portrays Lance Cpl. Harold W. Dawson. See more »
Goofs
When Kaffee, Galloway, and Weinberg, are at Kaffee's house and call it a day, Kaffee opens the door for Weinberg so he can leave. In the next shot the door is closed again and Weinberg himself has to open it. See more »
Quotes
Thought Provoking Drama From Rob Reiner
11 June 2001 | by jhclues
(Salem, Oregon) – See all my reviews
In one of the most telling scenes in this movie, Navy Lieutenant Commander Jo Galloway (Demi Moore), a lawyer who is helping to defend two Marines on trial for murder, is asked why she likes these guys so much. And she replies, `Because they stand on a wall, and they say nothing is going to hurt you tonight, not on my watch'.' Which veritably sums up the sense of duty and honor which underscores the conflict of `A Few Good Men,' directed by Rob Reiner, and starring Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise. There is a code by which a good Marine must live and die, and it is: Unit, Corps, God, Country. But to be valid, that code must also include truth and justice; and if they are not present, can the code stand? Which is the question asked by director Reiner, who examines the parameters of that code with this film, which centers on the murder of a young Private First Class named William Santiago, who was killed while stationed at the Marine Corps base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The case draws the attention of Commander Galloway, Special Counsel for Internal Affairs in the Judge Advocate General's Corps in Washington, D.C. Galloway, taking into consideration the impeccable service records of the two Marines charged with the crime, convinces her superiors that a thorough investigation is warranted in this case, though there are those in high places who would rather see this one plea bargained and put to rest.
Galloway persists, however, believing that Santiago's death may have resulted from a `Code Red,' a method of disciplinary hazing employed in certain circles of the Corps, though illegal. And if this was a Code Red, the real question is, who gave the order? Ultimately, her tenacity prevails, but though Galloway is a seasoned lawyer, she has little actual courtroom experience, so Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee (Cruise) is assigned to the case, along with Lieutenant Sam Weinberg (Kevin Pollak), with Galloway, as ranking officer, to assist. Kaffee, the son of a legendary lawyer, has skated through the first nine months of his Naval career, successfully plea bargaining forty-four cases. Outwardly upbeat and personable, Kaffee seems more concerned with his softball game than he does with the time he has to spend on the job. But underneath, he's coping with living his life in the shadow of his late father's reputation, which is an issue with which he must come to terms if he is to successfully effect the outcome of this case. And on this one he will have a formidable opponent: Colonel Nathan R. Jessup (Nicholson), who commands the base at Guantanamo.
As Jessup, Nicholson gives a commanding performance, and once he enters the film you can sense the tension he brings to it, which begins to swell immediately, and which Reiner does a great job of maintaining right up to the end. Jessup is a soldier of the old guard, a man of narrow vision and a particular sense of duty; to Jessup there's two ways of doing things: His way and the wrong way. He's a man who-- as he says-- eats breakfast three hundred yards away from the enemy, and he's not about to let a couple of lawyers in dress whites intimidate him. And that's exactly the attitude Nicholson brings to this role. When he speaks, you not only hear him loud and clear, you believe him. It's a powerful performance and, as you would expect from Nicholson, entirely convincing and believable.
Cruise, also, gives what is arguably one of the best performances of his career as Kaffee. He perfectly captures the aloofness with which Kaffee initially regards the case, as well as the determination with which he pursues it later. Cruise is convincing in the role, and some of the best scenes in the film are the ones he plays opposite Nicholson in the courtroom, the most memorable being one in which Kaffee exclaims to Jessup, `I want the truth!' to which Jessup replies, `You can't handle the truth!' And the atmosphere fairly crackles.
Moore is outstanding, as well, and she manages to hold her own and make her presence felt even in the scenes dominated by Nicholson and Cruise. It's a fine piece of acting by Moore, who deserves more than just a passing mention for it. Also turning in notable performances are Pollak, whose dry humor adds such an extra touch to the film, and Wolfgang Bodison, who makes an impressive screen debut as Lance Corporal Dawson, on of the Marines on trial for the murder of Santiago.
The supporting cast includes Kiefer Sutherland (Kendrick), Kevin Bacon (Ross), James Marshall (Downey), J.T. Walsh (Markinson), Cuba Gooding Jr. (Hammaker) and Christopher Guest (Dr. Stone). A powerful drama, superbly delivered by Reiner, `A Few Good Men' is a thought provoking, unforgettable motion picture that makes you take pause for a moment to consider some things that are for the most part out of sight and out of mind. Like who is on that wall tonight, and are we safe because of him. And it makes you reflect upon some things perhaps too often taken for granted. And that's what really makes this film so good; and it's all a part of the magic of the movies. I rate this one 10/10.
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| A Few Good Men |
"""I will put my pyjamas in the drawer marked pyjamas, I will take my balsam which is good for me"", is a line from which play?" | The 10 best courtroom films - Telegraph
The 10 best courtroom films
The finest courtroom movies, from 12 Angry Men to Erin Brockovich
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Gregory Peck won an Oscar as Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird Photo: Rex
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Henry Fonda and Lee J Cobb clash during Twelve Angry Men, the 1957 Oscar winning film
Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men
Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington in Philadelphia
By Charles Bogle
9:00AM GMT 15 Dec 2010
The Paradine Case (1947)
Gregory Peck stars as a barrister hired to defend Mrs Paradine when she is accused of killing her wealthy, older husband in Alfred Hitchcock's thriller. The film revolves around the key question: did Mrs Paradine or the valet kill Mr Paradine? During tough questioning by Peck, the valet confesses an affair with the wife then leaves the courtroom and kills himself. The killer's identity is then revealed.
12 Angry Men (1957)
A teenage boy is on trial for killing his father. Henry Fonda, one of the jurors, begs his 11 colleagues to look closely at the facts of the trial. What results is a study in humanity as each of the jurors faces his own prejudices and emotions.
Judgment At Nuremberg (1961)
To Kill a Mockingbird tops poll
16 Jun 2008
Based on a real trial from 1947, Spencer Tracy stars as an American judge determined to understand a case involving four German judges accused of human atrocities under the Nazi regime.
To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
Based on the novel by Harper Lee, Gregory Peck stars as an attorney in a small southern town who is selected to defend a black man accused of raping a white woman. The story is told through the attorney’s young daughter, Scout.
The Verdict (1982)
Drunken lawyer Paul Newman rebuilds his life as he fights a tricky medical malpractice case for the family of a young mother left in a vegetative state.
Cry in the Dark (1988)
Meryl Streep and Sam Neill star in this true story of Lindy and Michael Chamberlain, an Australian couple who lost their infant daughter during a family camping trip. Streep gives a stunning performance in her role of a woman imprisoned despite a lack of evidence. She was later exonerated.
A Few Good Men (1992)
Tom Cruise and Demi Moore star in this movie directed by Rob Reiner. Cruise plays an young lawyer defending two Marines accused of murdering a fellow Marine. He has to take on a tough, veteran Colonel (Jack Nicholson) in a dramatic courtroom battle.
My Cousin Vinny (1992)
Two young men are accused of a murder they did not commit as they were driving through a small southern town, they hire the only lawyer they know and can afford – a cousin from Brooklyn, brilliantly played by Joe Pesci.
Philadelphia (1993)
The film, starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, was inspired by the story of Geoffrey Bowers, an attorney who in 1987 sued the law firm Baker & McKenzie for unfair dismissal in one of the first AIDS discrimination cases.
Erin Brockovich (2000)
An Oscar-winning performance from Julia Roberts, playing the real-life Brockovich - a single mother who was instrumental in constructing an environmental damages case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company of California.
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Who created the 'Daleks' in 'Dr. Who' as well as the science fiction series 'Blakes's Seven'? He died in 1997. | Dr. Who and the Daleks Reviews & Ratings - IMDb
IMDb
25 out of 25 people found the following review useful:
Peter Cushing Is WHO?
from los angeles
26 May 2003
One night in 1968 in Los Angeles as I remember, I went to a theater in East Los Angeles because I wanted to watch a movie called "Night of the Living Dead." In those days, two movies were shown. The second feature was some film about an old man that traveled to another planet and battled against some metal creatures. It was low budget, much like the first feature but did have someone that I recognized, Peter Cushing. I had no idea that there was a TV Serial in England by the name of "Doctor Who." It was slow at times but an interesting concept of travel in time and space, a telephone box call the TARDIS. The metal beings were rather primitive because they had what look like a plunger on them and always wanted to kill and exterminate living beings. There was a sequel the next year but little did I know that this film would be my first experience into the world of Doctor Who. In Los Angeles, California 1977 on a local TV station, I would be able to watch that TV Serial and would remain a Dr. Who fan even after the series ended in 1989. It was this movie that started it all, just a quiet night, after watching zombies eating people. Who would know what the future would bring!
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26 out of 30 people found the following review useful:
Best suits pulp-style tastes
from Lafayette, IN
16 January 2002
If, like me, you enjoy checking out the reviews *before* seeing the film, here's the premise in a nutshell: A mishap with silver-haired scientist Doctor Who's latest invention hurls the cast through space and time, landing them in the midst of an eerie alien wasteland. The Doctor's companions on this unanticipated adventure are his granddaughters Susan and Barbara, and Barbara's boyfriend Ian. Needing parts to repair their damaged time machine, the company seeks help in a nearby city, only to be captured and imprisoned by the ruthless mechanical Daleks, a race of machine-bound mutants bent on world domination.
To followers of the original TV series, this plot will be as familiar as the Daleks' squawking cries of 'Exterminate,' and despite some changes to the cast (most notably the Doctor being portrayed as a human), it faithfully captures the spirit of the early programs. For viewers who've never experienced the original Who, or who don't have a taste for early pulp-style adventure sci-fi, this movie will probably be less appealing. It's a fan flick pure and simple, expressly designed to capitalize on the wave of Dalekmania that swept Britain in the mid-1960s following the show's BBC premiere.
Ironically, the film's weakest link is the Daleks themselves. The writers and producers were no doubt keen to capitalize on the popularity of the metal meanies, but it has to be said that the Daleks really don't have much of a screen presence. With their absolute lack of expression, clumsy movement, and painfully slow, mechanical, grating voices, they should never have been scripted to carry any scenes by themselves; however (alas) there are more than a few passages in the film that consist of nothing more than Dalek cross-talk acts, with one metal peppergrinder haltingly rasping its lines to another. Still, I'm one who's been spoiled by the routinely mind-blowing special effects of the 21st century; to Britons of the '60s, the stuff I find boring might have seemed menacing.
Daleks aside, the most memorable aspect of the film is the eye-popping color. The filmmakers pulled out all the stops to give the sets a wonderfully vibrant feel, liberally filling every scene with multi-hued Daleks, glowing control panels, or eerily-lit alien landscapes. This film was the first opportunity for fans to see Doctor Who in color (sorry, `colour'), and they certainly got it in spades. (The original TV series didn't drop the black-and-white format until 1970, five years later.)
The film's greatest strength is its casting, with the best performance by far coming from veteran actor Peter Cushing, best known to U.S. audiences as Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars. Cushing's delivery is predictably brilliant, and helps bring conviction and flair to a script that might otherwise come off as unbearably campy. As the Doctor he's also just plain likeable - much more so in fact than his TV counterpart (played by William Hartnell) who often came off as crusty and gruff. Roberta Tovey as the young Susan also gives a marvelous performance, something that's a true rarity among kid actors. Jennie Linden does an adequate job as Barbara, though her character has no clear role in the story and was probably just included to suggest continuity with the TV series, while Roy Castle provides some (generally successful) comic relief with his portrayal of the bumbling klutz Ian. Kudos also to Barrie Ingham (Thal leader Alydon) for actually giving a credible performance from beneath false eyelashes and a blonde wig.
The bottom line? The film's a little too far removed from modern tastes to be enjoyed by the average Joe, but to Who fans and sci-fi aficionados it'll be a delight.
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17 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
Terrific Film Adaptation Of Science-Fiction TV Classic
17 May 2005
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Dr Who, a traveller in space and time, lands on a remote planet where he discovers two strange tribes; the Thals a race of beautiful humanoids living in simple ignorance in the forests, and the Daleks, a race of evil machine creatures living in a metal citadel. The Daleks plan to destroy the Thals, whom the Doctor must help by first convincing them of the danger they are in.
The BBC TV science-fiction show Dr Who is arguably the greatest British cult series of all time, and this is a smashing adaptation of Terry Nation's original serial featuring the Daleks - unforgettably monstrous, soulless, destructive, robotic fiends. The film benefits greatly from production values the TV show could only dream of - Bill Constable's sets are simply fantastic, particularly the Dalek city with its gleaming control rooms, sliding panels and trippy architecture. Unlike the serial, the movie is pitched squarely at children but is never stupid or condescending, and has all sorts of interesting themes going on; atomic mutation, space travel and (interestingly for a film made at the height of peacenik sensibilities) the inevitability of conflict. Cushing is as wonderful as always, playing the enigmatic Dr Who as a kindly, absent-minded grandfather figure. Whilst this may not be a great movie, it has action, style and charm to spare. A terrifically enjoyable sci-fi classic from the great producer team of Milton Subotsky and Max J. Rosenberg.
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18 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
Fun and lighthearted adaptation of the television series, perfect for a rainy Saturday afternoon's viewing.
from Here
9 December 1998
A fun adventure film that, while it may be too dated for today's youngsters, still has a certain sparkle that is perfect fare for a rainy Saturday.
While fans of the BBC series "Doctor Who" (1963), upon which the film is based, may be distracted by the film's use of creative licence (the characterizations are very different from those of their television counterparts,) if not taken too seriously, this is a quite enjoyable trek across an alien landscape and a classic battle of good vs. evil.
The character of Ian is played comically by Roy Castle though he is heroic where the situation demands. Jennie Linden's Barbara is a bit different from other females of the genre as she holds her own when things get tough, rarely dissolving into screams. Roberta Tovey is delightful as Susan, and kids will love her. Peter Cushing really shines, wisely not trying too hard to emulate his television counterpart William Hartnell, and makes the character his own.
All-in-all, an exciting romp.
from United Kingdom
9 April 2002
When visiting his girlfriend Barbara, Ian is given a tour of the TARDIS by Dr Who. However he accidentally activates it and sends them to an unknown planet. Keen to explore they find themselves prisoners in a city controlled by the Daleks. The Daleks seek to rule the whole planet and get rid of the peace loving natives. When Dr Who et al accidentally help the Daleks to achieve this, they have no choice but to work with the natives to stop the Daleks.
Made to cash in on the huge popularity mid-sixties of both Dr Who and the Daleks, this film version has much higher values than the TV show, but doesn't mean it's better. The story is weak like an introduction to the Doctor. It's very basic and provides little opportunity for thrills right up until the final battle. It's not that bad, but for a film you'd expect more.
The Daleks themselves are good but the film uses them badly we see them as things trapped in a city with little power outside of their own walls. To make matters worse them seem very vulnerable and easy to beat all you have to do is push them very hard! They also don't `do' dialogue very well they are used several times for long scenes where they talk to each other and explain the plot to the audience, these scenes are poor as their delivery mixed with the dialogue is terrible!
Cushing makes a good doctor and is better than many of the TV incarnations. Record breaking Roy Castle is quite good as Ian, but his comedy clowning doesn't really fit in with the tone of the film. The female lead is vapid but Susan (played by Tovey) is actually pretty good.
Overall this is TV standard fans will enjoy it but anyone looking for thrills or good plotting will be disappointed. Check out Dalek Invasion Earth that is a much better use of these tin-can bad guys.
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14 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
Old Grandfather Time Who Leads the Way.
from An English Shire.
20 August 2006
Doctor Who was written by Terry Nation (1930 - 1997), amongst others, who before his inauguration into the Doctor Who franchise, and personally creating the Dalek, was already writing for television, with works as The Saint with Roger Moore and The Avengers during the 1960's. The year 1963 was to be the year that an unsuspecting British television audience would be captured and mesmerised, and for the next forty years too, by an old mysterious being from another world, another time; Dr. Who had arrived.
Doctor Who: The Dead Planet, a seven-episode show for television, which first aired in 1963, was his first adventure into this concept, that was played by the original Doctor: William Hartnell (1908 - 1975). Terry Nation continued to be one of the main innovators' toward the Doctor Who legend, with writing creditability's from 1963 to 1979. His work also includes the British sci-fi Blakes 7 and The Persuaders! With Roger Moore and Tony Curtis.
Dr. Who and the Daleks is based around the 1963 episodes The Dead Planet, with a movie feel towards it and by 1960's standards a huge budget of £180,000. This was a big production; the first of it's kind for this franchise and shot in Technicolor and Technoscope, a 35mm film technique that laid each frame horizontally end-to-end instead of vertically. With the international movie star Peter Cushing O.B.E. to headline, not as a time travelling alien, the last of his breed, but an eccentric, inquisitive and inventive scientific Grandfather, known as Dr.Who, not as The Doctor as he is referred to in the television series.
Dr. Who and the Daleks was the first taste of the Doctor Who name for the American market, released there during July 1966, though not too successful in the US', as here in England. This well-known television show spin off needed very little prompting, just the mass hysteria and movie publicity throughout the nation would most certainly keep these wheels of industry well oiled. Star Wars some twelve years later would be the next huge movie franchise, but on a global stage, rather than on an English lawn as Dr. Who and the Daleks were. Successful it was indeed, with massive merchandising rights too, toys, books etc, this was the big time for the small screen; Dalekmania had landed.
Dr. Who's invention of the time travelling machine T.A.R.D.I.S. (fully known as Time And Relative Dimension In Space), that he with his two young granddaughters and young male friend, played by Roy Castle (1932 - 1994) as Ian, set of to another world and time with, land on planet Skaro. Here they encounter the passive life forms of the Thals, and their struggle against the repressive and destructively evil Daleks, these living creatures that can only live inside their metal casings to survive, their aim, is for interplanetary domination, taking no prisoners along the way, to destroy, to exterminate everything that crosses their path.
Dr. Who and the Daleks can share, coincidently, similar parallels to the 1960 movie The Time Machine, with Rod Taylor as George Wells, such as the time traveller and his plight against the evil Morlocks fighting the also passive Eloi people and their uprising for survival.
Dr. Who and the Daleks, remember this is 1965, is a wonderful concoction of colour and imagination, with an impressive budget to play with, there was little wasted in creativity and design, with the full use of the Shepperton Studios to their advantage, no expense was spared, the sets are stunning and the Thal costumes look very chic. This also is the first outing for the Daleks to be seen in full colour, and the differing colours of the Daleks, to signify their ranks, would, and still do, thrill and captivate their audience, particularly the children who were hiding behind their cushions while watching.
Dr. Who here is a sixties nostalgia trip, with its now retro styled look and feel, feeling dated but never out dated. This is nineteen sixties science fiction at its visual best, it really is, along with its international star, the Doctor Who brand name had transcended to a higher level of escapism. Though differing from the television series, this doppelgänger, the parallel world that is Peter Cushing's Dr.Who is at times a little flat, while we are hypnotised by the colourful Daleks and their surrounds, we are sometimes left behind in a script whose pace can reel us back not forward. Peter Cushing's Doctor is a lovable old sea dog type, of the time traveller variety, very nice to know and not at all grumpy, spiteful and rude; placid and charming is his nature here, it's the adventures that he stumbles across that make him interesting.
Dr. Who and the Daleks is basically relying on the success of the television series to help cash in, then watched by millions of children each week. With its target audience already in great supply and ever hungry, as children always are, to help itself to its own fame and fortune, this helps, only for a while, until we are left with a parody, a pastiche of the real thing. Not an out and out copy, just a good movie with an interesting idea that could blossom into a beautiful friendship between makers and fans alike, I feel another movie in the air, time will tell.
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21 out of 32 people found the following review useful:
A Disappointing Reinterpretation
from San Francisco Peninsula
3 February 2006
In 1963, the BBC produced an extraordinarily low-budget science fiction series. Doctor Who featured an enigmatic character known only as The Doctor, an extra-terrestrial time traveler, who flitted about time and space in his TARDIS timecraft, encountering strange lifeforms and cultures and righting wrongs wherever he went. The show was originally conceived as an "edutainment" program (before the word had been coined) with the Doctor traveling throughout Earth history and encountering major events. For this reason, the show very nearly died on the vine. But in the second serial, the Doctor travels millions of years into the future to the planet Skaro and encounters the iconic alien menace that would capture viewers' imaginations and propel the show forward for over twenty five years: The Daleks.
By 1965, Doctor Who's popularity made a film adaptation inevitable. Thus was born, "Doctor Who and the Daleks," which is strongly based on the original television serial that introduced them. The Doctor travels to the planet Skaro, a planet ravaged by radiation from an atomic war, and encounters the Thals, a peace-loving humanoid race; and the Daleks, an aggressive, horribly mutated race who must move about in mechanized armored travel vehicles that resemble large salt cellars. The Doctor befriends the Thals and helps protect them from the Daleks, who seek to exterminate them all.
Since its inception, the television series has developed a fan base with a dedication rivaling that of "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" fans. As such, enthusiasts will find little that's familiar, and will immediately spot the glaring changes made to Who canon (presumably to make the film more accessible to people who didn't watch the TV series), The main character -- the extra-terrestrial Doctor -- is now a human named Doctor Who, an eccentric scientist who invented the TARDIS in his back yard. And while the TARDIS exterior still resembles an old London police box, the interior resembles nothing so much as a messy workshop. The TARDIS' horrible grinding noise when it takes off? Gone, replaced with a flaccid electronic "thwiwiwiwiwpp!" The iconic theme music has been abandoned for a contemporary original orchestral score which fails to enthuse. Even the Dalek's chilling battle cry -- "EXTERMINATE!" -- is essentially absent.
Okay, so the hard-core fans will always magnify insignificant differences into catastrophic flaws. But how might the film appeal to more ordinary people? Sadly, not very well. The chief problem is one of pacing, and it is here that the movie's biggest attraction, the Daleks, becomes its greatest handicap. Daleks speak in an electronic monotone, which means you're going to get odd pauses in the speech. Sadly, the actors chose to draw these pauses out and, in some cases, insert them between every syllable. This means that scenes featuring dialog between two or more Daleks -- and there are a fair number of them -- just drag on for seemingly ever and completely kill the pacing.
A big selling point of the movie was that, for the first time, viewers would be able to see the Who universe with a bigger budget, and in color (the television series would not be shot in color until 1969). In this respect, the film delivers 100%, with widescreen Technicolor. In fact, the film quality is so good that it reveals every detail, including just how cheap the production actually is.
In short, there's not much here to appeal to newcomers (too cheesy and clumsy) or to loyal fans (gratuitous changes from canon). In the end, it's probably little more than a historical curiosity, an adjunct to the "real" show from which can be drawn dozens of other, better examples of the Doctor's travels.
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9 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
An exercise in nostalgia
from United Kingdom
2 April 2008
I have fond memories of seeing this at the cinema (a treat on a friend's birthday) when it first came out. I was a big Dr Who fan anyway as a 12 year old, and this big screen colour adaptation of the 2nd Dr Who serial and first Dalek story was just what the Doctor ordered.
It never occurred to me, as a 12 year old in 1965, that the Doctor was a mere human and not a Time Lord from Gallifrey, and that was because, at the time, he was a mere human and not a Time Lord from Gallifrey on TV, too. That particular wrinkle wasn't introduced until long after the first couple of Dalek TV series and the two movies.
That said, while the film brings back fond memories, and is particularly good to see in widescreen, it is very much a product of its time, and specifically targetted at its market - youngsters who were mad keen on Daleks. That market is not there any more. The movie shows its age, and doesn't stand up that well to today's demands. For all that, there's still a genuine sense of jeopardy involved, the principals play well, the production values are (for the time and the UK cinema industry) very high, and it remains good, colourful innocent fun.
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11 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
Quite a good adaption.
from Skaro, England
21 June 2001
Dr Who and the Daleks is a good little film. It is fairly typical of the British Sci-Fi movies made at this time. The plot is ok, but where the movie succeeds is with the acting and set pieces. Peter Cushing makes an excellently dotty Doctor, Roy Castle is bumbling as Ian Chesterton and Roberta Tovey does well as a young Susan. The action scenes set on Skaro are fantastic and quite chilling, and the set designs, costumes and Dalek design are all frst rate. What is a sin is that the Television theme tune is discarded for a more bouncy swinging sixties type, and the TARDIS interior is abolished for what looks like a gatecrashed science lab. The Doctor is referred to as 'Dr Who' throughout the movie and the whole thing is slightly camp. If these thing would have been ironed out this could have gone on to be come an all time classic. On a final note it is also a shame William Hartnell didn't play the Doctor in the movie, that would have been fantastic, but Peter Cushing is more than good as his replacement.
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12 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
You'll have to leave your series allegiance behind, but...
from California
22 October 2005
First of all, I've seen several episodes of the Dr. Who series, but I don't follow it. It has its fan base and that's fine. If you are looking for a good Dalek adventure without getting into the whole Dalek "genesis," then this movie works well. You don't have to know all about Who-ville as a prerequisite.
There are some visual elements that needed more budget or something - miniature exteriors of the city, the burnt forest set, and the make-up on the humanoids don't quite make the grade. But the Daleks themselves inside their metal city are something to see (be sure to look for the lava lights). The Dalek robot mechanisms are very convincing, and they are very menacing as they roll around with their modulated voices trying to exterminate anything with two legs. The camera work is good - it looks like the director tried to add some interesting angles and follow shots when others maybe wouldn't bother. The cast plays well in their roles, and the story is simple and straight-forward. This is no "2001 A Space Odessey," but then again, you don't have to think too hard about what the ending really means.
This movie will probably disappoint most loyal Dr. Who followers, but it will entertain sci-fi fans who enjoy some light fare and aren't too attached to the series.
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Which saint, whose feast day is on October 25th., was made even more famous in a speech by Shakespeare's king 'Henry V'? | Blake's 7 - 2x12 - The keeper - YouTube
Blake's 7 - 2x12 - The keeper
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Published on Mar 20, 2014
Blake's 7. Full Episodes and Seasons in playlists on YouTube -
http://bit.ly/Blakes7Movies
Blake's 7 is a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC for broadcast on BBC1. Four 13-episode series of Blake's 7 were broadcast between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also created the Daleks for Doctor Who. The script editor was Chris Boucher. The series was inspired by a range of fictional media including Passage to Marseilles, The Dirty Dozen, Robin Hood, Brave New World, Star Trek, classic Westerns and real-world political conflicts in South America and Israel.
The series is set in a future age of interstellar travel and follows the exploits of a group of renegades and convicted criminals. Gareth Thomas played the eponymous character Roj Blake, a political dissident who is arrested, tried and convicted on false charges, and then deported from Earth to a prison planet. He and two fellow prisoners, treated as expendable, are sent to board and investigate an abandoned alien spacecraft. They get the ship working, commandeer it, rescue two more prisoners, and are joined by an alien guerrilla with telepathic abilities. In their attempts to stay ahead of their enemies and inspire others to rebel, they encounter a wide variety of cultures on different planets, and are forced to confront human and alien threats. The group conducts a campaign against the totalitarian Terran Federation until an intergalactic war occurs. Blake disappears and Kerr Avon then leads the group. When their spacecraft is destroyed and one group member dies, they commandeer an inferior craft and a base on a distant planet, from which they continue their campaign. In the final episode Avon finds Blake and, suspecting him of betraying the group, kills him. The group is then shot by Federation guards, who surround Avon in the final scene.
Blake's 7 was popular from its first broadcast, watched by approximately 10 million people in the UK and shown in 25 other countries. Although many tropes of space opera are present, such as spaceships, robots, galactic empires and aliens, its budget was inadequate for its interstellar narrative. It remains well regarded for its strong characterisation, ambiguous morality and pessimistic tone. Critical responses to the programme have been polarised; reviewers praised its dystopian themes and "enormous sense of fun", and broadcaster Clive James described it as "classically awful".
A limited range of Blake's 7 merchandise was issued. Books, magazines and annuals were published. The BBC released music and sound effects from the series, and several companies made Blake's 7 toys and models. Four video compilations were released between 1985 and 1990, and the entire series was released on videocassette starting in 1991 and re-released in 1997. It was subsequently released as four DVD boxed sets between 2003 and 2006. The BBC produced two audio dramas in 1998 and 1999 that feature some original cast members, and were broadcast on Radio 4. Although proposals for live-action and animated remakes have not been realised, Blake's 7 has been revived with two series of official audio dramas, a comedic short film, a series of fan-made audio plays, and a proposed series of official novels.
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Dr. Buck Ruxton, who distributed the body parts of his murdered victims throughout Scotland, practiced in which city? | Supernaturalearth.myfreeforum.org :: Haunted Prisons and Jails
Haunted Prisons and Jails
Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 10:11 pm Post subject: Haunted Prisons and Jails
(was written and posted by madmart ADMIN )
Haunted Prisons and Jails
Location: Belfast (Ulster) - Belfast Prison
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time reported : October 1986
Further Comments: A prison officer reported hearing the sound of heavy rubber-soled boots while on his rounds, even though all staff were issued with sneakers. Believing his co-workers were playing a joke on him, he checked up on them, and found that they were playing cards. A couple of hours later, the officer heard a voice call out 'numbers C3', though once again could not find who was responsible. Asking his co-workers if they were responsible, they denied it, and recommended that the officer didn't say anything to anyone.
Grunting
Location: Bodmin (Cornwall) - Bodmin Jail (no longer a prison)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time reported : 2005
Further Comments: After spending a night at the jail, a ghost hunting group reported recording EVP containing a strange grunt. Members of the organisation also reported having stones thrown at them, even though they report they were alone.
Screaming skull
Location: Bury St Edmunds (Suffolk) - Old prison
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time reported : Unknown
Further Comments: The skull of William Corder, infamous for the Red Barn Murder, was stored in the prison - it was thought to be possessed by evil, and a number of sounds and spectral figures were seen around it. The skull was finally removed and buried in an unknown graveyard.
David Davies
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time reported : Weather dependent: Misty nights (Davies)
Further Comments: Davies tended to the prison sheep between 1869 and 1929. He died soon after being released, but his ghost is said to have returned, walking the prison grounds on misty nights. The prison is also haunted by French PoWs from the Napoleonic wars, while some inmates believe jackdaws which fly around the area contain the souls of dead staff.
The Condemned
Location: Derby (Derbyshire) - Derby Gaol (former prison), Friargate
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time reported : 2002
Further Comments: An Australian tourist who decided to spend the night in this haunted building, a former jail, reported hearing a number of strange sounds during the night. She also reported that her pillow moved by itself.
Murdered Inmate
Location: Durham (Durham) - Durham Prison
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid twentieth century
Further Comments: A ground floor cell is said to be haunted by the scene of one prisoner murdering another with a table knife.
Dead Prisoners
Location: EC4 (Greater London) - Former site of Newgate Prison
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late nineteenth / early twentieth century
Further Comments: Newgate was haunted by several ghosts. Footsteps were reported along Dead Man's Walk late at night, one warden reported seeing the face of a decaying, hanged man in a cell, while others reported seeing the ghost of an aging female form in the yard.
Bluidy MacKenzie
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - Kirkyard, Coventanter's Prison
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1996
Further Comments: While George MacKenzie has been blamed for the phantom attacks on sightseers at this locale, other people say it is the spirits of the prisoners. Either way, many visitors on the local 'ghost walks' have been pinched, pushed, pulled and even �suffered cut s while at this spooky site.
Lady Charlotte Watson-Taylor
Location: Erlestoke (Wiltshire) - Erlestoke Prison
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Both prison workers and villagers have reported seeing this phantom lady inspecting the prison grounds, and even driving her horse and carriage over a road close by where a bridge once stood.
The Last Executed
Location: Exeter (Devon) - Exeter prison
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1973
Further Comments: Two prisoners reported seeing a middle-aged man walking along the upper gallery, vanishing as he reached a cell door. After staff carried out a little research, they discovered the man was the last person to be executed in the prison.
Female Prisoner
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This ghost is thought to be a woman who was held in the cells of the nearby abbey - she now appears in the jail and mocks the prisoners. Another story says she was killed by an inmate, and returns to continue her search for him.
Women
Location: Lancaster (Lancashire) - Lancaster Castle (former prison)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: As a prison, this building held both prisoners and several ghosts. The ghosts of a �middle-aged woman with a young girl were reported moving around near a cell. �other prisoners again have reported the ghost of the young girl, but his time with a haggard old woman. Also, the grey form of a monk has been seen, reportedlywho was once hanged there.
Victorian Woman
Location: Lewes (Sussex) - Lewes Prison
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990's
Further Comments: This ghostly figure is thought to have dropped dead in the prison after seeing a relative �being imprisoned there in the nineteenth century.
William Kennedy
Location: Liverpool (Lancashire) - Prison, cell G2
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Executed for murdering a policeman in the 1920s, Kennedy's shade remains in his former cell and continues to unnerve inmates.
Sitting Prisoner
Location: Parkhurst (Isle of Wight) - Parkhurst Prison, unstated cell in A Wing
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: A prisoner who committed suicide in the jail reportedly returned to his cell after death, and was seen with his legs dangling over the edge of his former bunk. Newspapers reported that the shade caused other inmates to demand relocation to other cells/ prisons.
Napoleonic Prisoners
Location: Princetown (Devon) - Prison burial ground
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time reported: Twentieth century
Further Comments: A burial place for French POWs, their shades still lurk in the area.
Monk
Location: Redditch (Hereford & Worchester) - Blackhill (or Brockhill) Women�s Prison, on the grounds of Hewell Grange
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time reported: 2001
Further Comments: Several people reported seeing a ghost in a habit pass through a wall inside the prison complex. Staff at the prison have also reported feeling 'uneasy' at night.
Self Locking Door
Location: SE1 (Greater London) - Lollards Prison
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time reported : Twentieth century
Further Comments: Thought to contain the spirits of many a former prisoner, one door in particular is renown for locking and unlocking itself.
White Lady
Location: Shepton Mallet (Somerset) - Prison
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time reported : Mid twentieth century
Further Comments: Believed by staff at the prison to be the ghost of a woman executed there during the seventeenth century, this female presence was blamed for every cold spot and freak gust of wind within the building.
Annie
Location: SW18 (Greater London) - Wandsworth Prison
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time reported : Unknown
Further Comments: Dressed in grey, the ghost of Annie (former inmate) is sometimes seen by prisoners and staff alike drifting around the corridors of the building.
_________________
The supernatural & paranormal is out there.
(ADMIN) madmart
Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:33 pm Post subject: prison ghosts
Strangeways Prison
Strangeways Prison in Southall Street, Manchester was built to replace New Bailey prison in Salford which closed in 1868. It was designed by Alfred Waterhouse in 1861, using the Panopticon (radial) concept that was being employed all over Britain at the time. Waterhouse was assisted by Joshua Jebb, the Surveyor General of Prisons, who had also been involved with the design of London's Pentonville Prison. Construction was completed in 1869 at a cost of �170,000.
The new brick built prison stood on the site of the original Strangeways Park and Gardens, hence its name, and was able to house a 1,000 prisoners. Thee are two imposing gatehouses and a central dodecagonal hall, with wings A to F radiating off from it. �The 234 feet high tower, which was used for heating and ventilation, has been a local landmark ever since it was built. The T-shaped F wing is used to house the administration on ground floor with the prison chapel above. �A plaque in the entrance commemorates the official opening on the 25th of June 1868.
Strangeways also became the place of execution for the area after the closure of Salford prison. It initially had a purpose built execution shed in one of the yards, as this was the normal practice for private executions from 1868 up to around the end of World War 1.
The later 20th century condemned cell and execution room were situated at the end of 'B' wing in the central area. Strangeways had a permanent gallows, one of the few English prisons to do so, up to the abolition of capital punishment. In total, there were 100 hangings carried out within its walls, all in private. Twenty eight men and one woman were hanged there between 1869 and 1899, the first being a young man of 20 called Michael Johnson, who was hanged by William Calcraft for murder on the 29th of March 1869.
A further 71 people were executed at Strangeways in the 20th century - 68 men and 3 women. In the latter part of this period, executions became quite rare - no one was to be hanged there between 1954 and 1962. James Smith was executed in that year and then one of the last two UK hangings of all was carried out at Strangeways at 8.00 a.m. on the 13th of August 1964. Gwynne Owen Evans (real name John Robson Walby) was hanged by Harry Allen (assisted by Royston Rickard) for the murder of John West, a laundryman, in the course of robbing him in April 1964. Peter Anthony Allen was hanged at the same moment in Liverpool's Walton prison for his part in the crime. Murder committed in the course of robbery was still a capital crime under the 1957 Homicide Act.
There were 4 double hangings, all the rest being carried out individually. William Calcraft officiated at the first 3 executions within the walls of Strangeways (Michael Johnson plus Patrick Durr in December 1870 and Michael Kennedy in December 1872) before William Marwood replaced him and introduced the long drop method.
The condemned block is reputed to be haunted by the ghost of one of the hangmen who officiated there. Staff on night duty have reported seeing a mysterious man in a dark suit carrying a small briefcase. He is always seen walking along 'B' wing from just outside the condemned cell towards the central control area. When they try to follow this dark suited man, he vanishes just before the old iron staircase leading up to the main office. One wonders if this could be John Ellis who committed suicide in 1932.
Some of the criminals who were hanged at Strangeways.
Thirty eight year old Mary Ann Britland of Ashton-under-Lyne in Lancashire was hanged by James Berry on the 9th of August 1886, the first woman to be executed at Strangeways.
Mary and Thomas Britland had rented a house in Ashton-under-Lyne, which she liked very much, except for the fact that it was infested with mice. To eliminate these, she went to the chemists and bought packets of Harrison's Vermin Killer. This contained both strychnine and arsenic and, therefore, Mary had to sign the poison register. Mary's first victim was to be her daughter Elizabeth in March 1886, her death being put down to natural causes by the attending doctor. This was not unusual at the time as food hygiene standards were not very good and there were no refrigerators to preserve food. A few days later, Mary claimed Elizabeth's �10 life insurance. Her next victim was Thomas, her husband. His death was diagnosed as epilepsy and again Mary claimed on his insurance. Mary had been having an affair with her neighbour, Thomas Dixon, and after her own husband's death, she was invited round to the Dixon's house by his unsuspecting wife, also called Mary. She was to become the next and last victim of this serial poisoner. The 3 deaths, all with their identical and somewhat unnatural symptoms, raised suspicion. Mary Britland was interviewed by the police in connection with Mary Dixon's death and her body was examined by a pathologist. It was found to contain a lethal quantity of the two poisons and Mary was immediately arrested. She came to trial on Thursday, the 22nd, of July 1886 before Mr. Justice Cave at Manchester Assizes. Her defence was absence of motive - it was contended that the small insurance payouts were no compensation for the loss of her husband and daughter. It took the jury some time to convict her, although in the end they did. After she was sentenced, she declared to the court, "I am quite innocent, I am not guilty at all."
She was in a state of collapse on her last morning and had to be heavily assisted to the gallows and held up on the trapdoors by two male warders while Berry prepared her for execution.
A young man called John Jackson, who had been a plumber by trade, was mortified when his teenage idol, Charles Peace, was hanged at Leeds' Armley prison on the 25th of February 1879. After a session of heavy drinking in the pubs of Leeds, he made up his mind to join the army. He was convicted of horse stealing while serving with the army and was sentenced to 6 months in prison, which he began to serve at Wakefield prison and from which he managed to escape. He was recaptured and sent to Armley prison in Leeds from which he was released in the summer of 1885. He was soon breaking into houses and was to move to Manchester by 1888, where he was caught red-handed outside one of the properties. He was sentenced to another 6 months - this time in Strangeways. His old plumbing skills were to come in useful when the matron of Strangeways smelt gas in her home. Jackson was taken to the house in charge of warder Webb on Tuesday, the 22nd of May 1888. After completing the repair, he hit Webb on the back of the head with a hammer fracturing his skull. He stole Webb's boots and then escaped into the roof void from where he was able to remove the slates with the hammer (murder weapon) and get out onto the roof. He was thus able to escape from the matron's house and get down into the street. On the run, he supported himself by housebreaking, as usual, before being finally caught in Bradford on the 2nd of June 1888, where he gave himself up without a struggle and immediately confessed to the killing. He was taken back to Manchester for trial. He was convicted of Webb's murder and hanged by James Berry on Tuesday, the 7th of August. Jackson was described in a contemporary newspaper report as "a daring and adroit criminal, the recital of whose exploits caused wonder and consternation throughout the land,"
Lieutenant Frederick Rothwell Holt was hanged by John Ellis on the 13th of April 1920. In the early morning of Christmas Eve 1919, the body of 26 year old Kathleen (Kitty) Breaks was found among the sand dunes at Lytham St. Annes near Blackpool. She had been shot 3 times with a revolver. Holt's footprints, together with his Webley service revolver and bloodstained gloves, were found in the dunes. Holt, who had been her lover, was arrested and charged with her murder. He was tried at Manchester Assizes between the 23rd and 27th of February before Mr. Justice Greer. His barrister, the famous Sir Edward Marshall Hall, tried to put forward a defence of insanity but this was rejected. The prosecution's case was that Holt had murdered Kitty for her substantial life insurance, having persuaded her to make him the sole beneficiary under her will. Holt appealed his death sentence and was, unusually, allowed to have new evidence submitted which showed that he had contracted syphilis in Malaya which might have unbalanced his mind. Having been examined by Home Office psychiatrists, this was rejected and a new execution date set.
Louie Calvert, 33, had criminal tendencies and was known to the police. She battered and strangled her landlady, Mrs. Lily Waterhouse, who had confronted her over things that had gone missing from the house and had reported Louie to the police. In the condemned cell, she also admitted to the murder of a previous employer - John Frobisher - in 1922. Louie Calvert was hanged by Tom Pierrepoint at Strangeways prison on the 24th of June 1926. Click here for the full story behind this case.
Doctor Buck Ruxton murdered his common law wife, Isabella Ruxton, and his housemaid, Mary Jane Rogerson, at their home in Lancaster on the 15th of September 1935. After killing the two women, he dismembered them and removed all their distinguishing features which made it difficult to identify the bodies and determine the cause of death. It was alleged at his trial that Mary Rogerson had been smothered and Mrs Ruxton manually strangled. He wrapped the body parts in sheets of a special edition Sunday Graphic newspaper sold only in the Lancaster area, and then drove them to Scotland where he threw them into a river. They were discovered by a man out walking his dog across a bridge at "The Devil's Beeftub" near the town of Moffat, in Dumfriesshire. As a result of the location, the case became known as the "Bodies under the Bridge Murder."
Mary Rogerson's parents had reported her missing and the local people thought it strange that Isabella Ruxton had not been seen around. The sheets of newspaper allowed the police to trace the remains back to the Lancaster area and thus to Ruxton who was arrested on October the 13th, 1935. The Glasgow Police Identification Bureau used new fingerprint techniques to help identify the bodies and also the, then new, technique of photographic superimposure, matching a photo of Isabella to the shape of one of the skulls found. The match was perfect. (These interesting photos still exist.)
After the murder, Ruxton did several things that were to incriminate him. Whilst disposing of the bodies, he had cut his hand and he told several people about this incident, saying he done it whilst opening a can. He also asked one of his patients to help him tidy up the house. She saw bloodstains all over the house - on carpets, in the bath and on an old suit.
The motive for killing Isabella was jealousy. Ruxton was considered a kindly and popular doctor but a very jealous husband. Isabella was an attractive woman who liked to socialise, which did not suit Ruxton. The marriage deteriorated with Ruxton becoming ever more jealous and controlling. He killed Mary Rogerson, as she had witnessed Isabella's murder, to prevent her from giving him away.
Ruxton was tried at Manchester Assizes in March of 1936 before Mr. Justice Singleton, the jury taking just over an hour to convict him. He was hanged at Strangeways on the 12th of May 1936. Amazingly, a petition for clemency was got up prior to the execution and signed by some 10,000 people. A few days after his death, his signed confession was published dated the 14th of October 1935 - it said, "I killed Mrs. Ruxton in a fit of temper because I thought she had been with a man. I was mad at the time. Mary Rogerson was present at the time. I had to kill her."
Margaret Allen was a "butch" lesbian who dressed in men's clothes and preferred to be called "Bill." �She lived at Rawtenstall, a few miles outside Blackburn, where she had worked as a bus conductor. On the 28th of August 1948, she battered Nancy Ellen Chadwick to death with a hammer. Mrs. Chadwick was an elderly widow and had come to her door to borrow a cup of sugar. She had irritated Allen in various ways over the years. Allen readily confessed to the police saying, "I didn't do it for money, I was in one of my funny moods." She was convicted after a short trial, lasting just one day - the 8th of December 1948. �Forty two year old Allen was hanged by Albert Pierrepoint on the 12th of January 1949. Hers was the first female execution in Britain for 12 years and only the third at Strangeways.
The fastest execution on record took place at Strangeways on the 8th of May 1951. Albert Pierrepoint, assisted by Sid Dernly, had to almost run with James Inglis from the condemned cell to the gallows. Just 7 seconds later his lifeless body was dangling in the cell below.
Inglis had been convicted of the murder of 50 year old Alice Morgan, whom he had battered and strangled to death. Alice was a prostitute and she and Inglis quarrelled over her payment, having spent some time drinking together before she took him home for sex. The following day, he nearly killed his landlady. He confessed immediately when he was interviewed by the police. At his trial, the defence of insanity was put forward but rejected by the jury. He was thus sentenced to death by Mr. Justice Ormerod on the 20th of April and hanged 3 weeks later, as he had no wish to appeal his sentence. Sid Dernley recalls in his memoirs that Inglis tried to help Pierrepoint pinion his arms and was smiling when they entered the condemned cell.
The fourth and last woman to be executed at Strangeways was 46 year old Louisa May Merrifield who had been convicted of poisoning Mrs. Sarah Ricketts. Sarah Ricketts was a 79 year old, bedridden widow who lived in Blackpool. She had hired Louisa and her husband Alfred to look after her in March 1953 and soon made a new will leaving her bungalow to Louisa. Mrs. Ricketts had some rather strange dietary habits. Apparently, she was very fond of very sweet jams which she ate directly from the jar by the spoonful, washed down with rum or a bottle of stout. Louisa, having got the will made in her favour, capitalised on these peculiar habits by adding Rodine, a phosphorus based rat poison, to the jam. Mrs. Ricketts' death was considered suspicious and so a post-mortem was carried out which quickly revealed the presence of the poison. A local chemists had recorded the sale of the Rodine to Louisa, but the police could not find the poison container which she had purchased, but felt that they had enough circumstantial evidence to charge both her and Alfred. She had talked openly of inheriting the bungalow and this also threw suspicion on her. The pair came to trial at Manchester Assizes on the 20th of July 1953. Alfred was acquitted, there being no real evidence that he was part of the plot, but Louisa was found guilty.
She was duly hanged by Albert Pierrepoint on the morning of Friday, the 18th of September 1953. Several hundred people gathered outside the prison gates that morning to see the death notices displayed. It is said that there was an unwritten rule in the Home Office that poisoners should always hang.
The worst prison riot in Britain took place at Strangeways between the 1st and the 25th of April 1990 and virtually destroyed some of the original buildings and also some of the prison records. 147 staff and 47 prisoners were injured and one prisoner was killed. These riots led to the Woolfe Inquiry The prison was rebuilt and is now known as Her Majesty's Prison, Manchester, in accordance with current thinking which has removed the names from these prisons (e.g. Birmingham's Winson Green prison is now just called HMP Birmingham) and continues as the main prison for the Manchester area.
Bridewell
The name Bridewell is the generic term for a Town Lock Up, a small prison used to house prisoners arrested in the town, and awaiting their appearance in court. The name comes from a prison for vagrants and petty offenders in London, which was near the church of St. Brides, and also near a well, hence the Bridewell.
The official name of the Bridewell is the Central charge Office, and in Leeds it was situated in the basement of the Town Hall. When the Town Hall opened in 1858 there were police offices, accommodation for the gaoler and his wife, and thirteen cells on the western side of the town hall, with the entrance near the northwest corner.
In 1864, when Leeds became an assize town the prison accommodation was extended and new cells built under the front steps of the town hall. Each cell had a wooden bench, and shackle rings for wrists and ankles fastened to the bench and the wall. The cells, which are still there to-day, are small and dark, with stone flagged floors, whitewashed walls, and no windows. Food was provided through a hatch in the door. It is said (although there appear to be no documents to prove it) that according to the 'Bridewell Charter' each prisoner 'should have half a loaf of bread and a pint of ale together with sufficient straw for bedding'. Each cell could hold up to four prisoners, who would have been cold and very uncomfortable. The cells were later condemned.
The gaoler's rooms were also converted to prison cells. They were situated near the entrance door, and had only barred doors between them and the weather. They were known as 'the Cooler', and were used for violent and drunk offenders. At this time two new entrances to the Police Station were made at the front of the building.
In 1937 the Bridewell was modernised; more cells were added and new toilets installed. Ventilation was improved by making windows in the outside walls. The old whitewashed walls were tiled, and the lighting and kitchen facilities improved.
The Bridewell remained in the Town Hall until 1993, when it was moved to the new Magistrates Courts building.
The Town Hall Ghost
The Bridewell is said to be haunted by the ghost of Charlie Peace, a notorious criminal executed on 25th February 1879. Peace, responsible for numerous burglaries, and for two murders had evaded capture for years. He was finally arrested in London, for the attempted murder of a policeman, and was found guilty. He then was sent to Leeds Assizes to stand trial for the murder of Arthur Dyson. He was held at Her Majesty's Prison at Armley, and at eight-o-clock on the evening of 3rd February 1879 he was taken from the prison to the borough lock-up at the Town Hall, in preparation for his trial which took place the next day. He had already escaped from police custody on other occasions, and this time, handcuffed and in leg-irons, he was accompanied in the horse-drawn police van by six warders. According to newspaper reports he was placed in a large cell known as 'the sick room', and was accompanied by three warders, with a fourth officer guarding the corridor approaching the cell. This time Peace did not escape. He was condemned to death for the murder of Arthur Dyson, and was hanged at Armley Gaol on Tuesday 25th February 1879. He was buried within the prison walls. �
MORE about The Bridswell story
Beneath the front steps of Leeds Town Hall is the old Central Charge Office or Bridewell (a general term for a small prison), the reputed haunt of the ghost of the notorious burglar and murderer Charles Peace.
Leeds Town Hall was designed by Cuthbert Broderick and completed in 1858. Opened by Queen Victoria, it is the seventh highest building in Leeds (225 ft) and one of the largest Town Halls in Britain. At the time of construction the western side of the basement housed thirteen cells, a Police Office and accommodation for the gaoler and his wife (a converted cell). This was extended out under the front steps in 1864. The building was modernised again in 1937 then subsequently closed in 1993 in favour of the new Magistrates Court building.
Charlie Peace (1832 -1879) was described in Charles Whibley�s �A Book of Scoundrels�: "Not only had he reduced house-breaking to a science, but, being ostensibly nothing better than a picture-frame maker, he had invented an incomparable set of tools wherewith to enter and evade his neighbour's house�..He lived the king of housebreakers, and he died a warning to all evildoers, with a prayer of intercession trembling upon his lips. At a single stride he surpassed his predecessors; nor has the greatest of his imitators been worthy to hand on the candle which he left at the gallows."
Charles Peace was born in Sheffield on 14 May 1832 and served an apprenticeship in a rolling-mill before being injured and taking up the career of playing and selling musical instruments. He was supposed to have been good at playing string instruments, including the violin, performing in public houses and small local concerts. : "A complex mind," said Holmes. "All great criminals have that. My old friend Charlie Peace was a violin virtuoso." This was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle mention of Peace in The Adventure of the Illustrious Client (1924). Peace was one of the few real life criminals to appear in his Sherlock Holmes stories. In November 1876 Peace murdered a police officer named Arthur Dyson and went into hiding with a �100 reward on his head. He adopted the name of Thompson and lived in East Terrace, Peckham, London where he continued his string of burglaries until the early hours of 10th October 1878 when he was seen whilst breaking into 2 St John�s Park. PC Edward Robinson gave chase after Peace leapt from a window. Peace opened fire five times on Robinson with at least one wounding him. Robinson however continued the chase and apprehended him.
Peace gave his name as John Ward and was sentenced on 19th November 1878 to life imprisonment for the attempted murder of PC Robinson who was awarded �25 for his bravery. Eventually the true identity of Pearce was learnt from his girlfriend Susan Grey and he was taken North to stand trial for the murder of Arthur Dyson.
On 3rd February 1879 Charlie Peace was brought to the cells under the Town Hall from Armley, ready to stand trial the following day. The trial took place in Leeds Azzies on 4th February 1879 and the Jury took just 12 minutes to find him guilty of murder. Peace was sentenced to death.
Charles Peace was hanged on 25th February 1879, but just before his death he confessed to a priest that he committed a second murder. Several years earlier he had shot PC Nicholas Cook dead in Manchester after he had disturbed Peace on a burglary. William Habron, an eighteen year old was convicted of the murder, watched by Peace who attended the trial. There are a number of sources on the internet that show William Habron being executed for Charles Peace�s crime. In actual fact after Peace�s confession to Rev Lockwood in his cell, Habron was released. He had served three years for a crime he had not committed but received a �500 indemnity for his erroneous conviction.
The original Will of Charles Peace, dated 7th February 1879 has recently been discovered according to The Star on 12th February 2008, in which he bequeathed all he had to his wife Hannah Peace. Prior to his execution Peace is supposed to have shown real remorse for his actions and repented his crimes.
� �On Tuesday 25th February 1879, Charlie Peace was condemned to death for murdering Arthur Dyson, he was taken �to Armley gaol and at 8am he was hanged for his crimes; he was later buried in the walls of Armley Gaol which was on unconsecrated ground. He body may still be there.
Charlie Peace is now said to haunt the Brideswell. His ghost has also been reported to have been seen at armley goal leeds, where he is burie
A Tale of Stone Lions
The following local Folktale was contributed by one of our readers:
Sometimes, no-one really knows when or why, the big clock that resides above the Town Hall in Leeds, strikes thirteen. It doesn�t happen often, and it usually happens at night, but not always.
When this happens, all the people �freeze�, as if time stands still. Then the four white lions that guard the entrance to the building begin to move, very slowly at first, as if they had been frozen themselves for a long, long time.
They stand up, stretch, greet each other lovingly and move around the city, but not too far from the steps of the old building. After a while they would return to their places of residence at the foot of the steps. As soon as all four lions had become solid once more the people around the city carried on as normal.
The only proof that this happened was that the lions NEVER returned to their previous positions exactly, there were always subtle differences in posture and facial expression.
� � � � � � �
Armley Gaol - Leeds.
Armley Jail opened in Leeds in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1847 and was constructed on the then modern penitentiary principal with four radial wings. It was a grim and forbidding building in line with the Victorian ideas of prison and was responsible for housing prisoners sentenced in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It also took over duty of carrying out West Riding executions from York Castle. Ninety three men and one woman were to suffer the death penalty at Armley between 1864 and 1961. An average of almost exactly one per annum.
Executions at Armley.
There was to be only one public execution outside the jail - a double hanging on the 10th of September 1864. It was of murderers James Sargisson and Joseph Myers. Myers had tried to cheat the hangman by cutting his throat while in prison but was saved by the surgeon. The hangings were reported in detail by The Leeds Mercury newspaper which claimed that between 80,000 to 100,000 people had come to watch the event on that Saturday morning. At five minutes to nine, the prison bell began to toll and inside the two men were being pinioned by Thomas Askern of York. They were led out onto the gallows supported on each side by warders and preceded by the Under Sheriff and the Chaplain. Askern pulled down the white caps over their faces but both men continued to speak, Sargisson's last words to Myers were reportedly "Art thou happy lad?" to which Myers responded 'Indeed I am." �Askern then operated the drop which fell with a thud, their bodies being almost completely hidden from the crowd. Myers seemed to die almost immediately, but Sargisson struggled for some minutes. As feared the wound in Myers' throat had re-opened and there was an amount of blood on his shirt. After hanging the customary hour, they were removed from the gallows and buried within the prison.
Botched executions were not uncommon at this time and "a shocking scene" was reported by the Yorkshire Post newspaper following the hanging of 37 year old John Henry Johnson on Wednesday the 3rd of April 1877. Johnson had been condemned for the murder of Amos Waite who had been showing interest in Johnson's wife Amelia on Boxing Day 1876. After a drunken quarrel in the pub where they were all drinking, Johnson went home returning a little while later with a gun and shooting Waite in the chest. Thomas Askern was called to Leeds to dispatch Johnson and had made the usual preparations on the Tuesday afternoon, but when he pulled the lever the rope broke and Johnson plummeted through the trap. He was immediately rescued by the warders who removed his straps and hood and sat him on a chair. It took Askern 10 minutes to rig a new rope and reset the trap before Johnson could again be led up onto it. This time the rope held but it was reported that Johnson "died hard" struggling for some 4 minutes on the rope. His death was formally recorded as being from asphyxia but no official mention was made of the failure of first attempt to hang him. It was to be Askern's last execution at Armley.
The most infamous Victorian criminal to die at Armley was Charles Peace who was hanged by William Marwood on Monday, February 25th, 1879 "For that I don but never intended" as Peace said. Peace was a violent career criminal who had murdered two people, one of them a police constable and was serving life in prison for armed robbery and the attempted murder of another policeman who was trying to arrest him. Peace was born in Sheffield in May 1832 to non criminal parents. By the age of 14, he was working in a steel works where he was badly injured in the leg by a piece of red hot steel. After this, he turned to crime with his first recorded conviction being for house burglary in 1851, for which he was given a month in prison. His next conviction for the same offence came in October 1854, when he was sentenced to 4 year�s penal servitude at Doncaster Sessions. This was followed by a 6 year sentence in 1859 and an 8 year sentence in 1866. He tried to escape during this term of imprisonment but was recaptured and was to spend the next 6 years in various prisons up to 1872, after which he returned to Sheffield. In 1875, Peace moved out of Sheffield into the suburb of Darnall where he met a Mr. and Mrs. Dyson. Peace was a womaniser and began having an affair with Mrs. Dyson, or at least so he claimed and she denied. She had certainly gone out with him to music halls and pubs but it seems that she had rejected his sexual advances and this was something he was not happy about. Peace threatened to kill Mr. Dyson and he, in turn, took out an injunction against Peace in the hope of him leaving the couple alone. Peace did for a time, moving to Hull and opening a caf�. His burglaries continued and one night he went to Manchester, armed as usual with his revolver. Peace was spotted by two policemen in the grounds of a house at Whalley Range, around midnight on the 1st of August 1876. Constable Cock tried to arrest him but Peace took out the revolver and warned Cock to stand back, firing a warning shot at the officer. Cock took out his truncheon and advanced towards Peace, who fired a second time, killing him. Peace was able to escape and get back to Hull and two local villains, brothers John and William Habron, were arrested for the crime. William was convicted and sentenced to death but fortunately reprieved and later pardoned.
Peace's second murder was to be that of Mr. Arthur Dyson on the 29th of November 1876, whose wife he still desired. He went to the Dyson's home and during an argument shot Mr. Dyson through the head, killing him instantly. Once again, he was able to escape back to Hull where he was nearly arrested as Mrs. Dyson had been able to identify him as her husband's killer. A reward was offered for his capture and he was now the nation's most wanted man moving constantly from one town to another, eventually ending up in London, where he was to evade capture for over two years. Peace had always had a love of music and musical instruments and set up as a dealer in them, partially as a front to his usual business of house burglary. He sometimes carried his burglary tools in a violin case when he went out on a job. He was able to live in some style from the proceeds of these activities, with a "Mrs. Thompson" as his mistress. This married lady's real name was Susan Bailey and she was eventually the one who betrayed him. His career as a burglar in London lasted from the beginning of the year 1877 until October the 10th, 1878, when he was finally caught red handed by three policeman in Blackheath trying to rob a house. Peace fired several shots at one officer before he was overpowered. When he was questioned he gave his name as John Ward and was tried under this name. Susan Thompson was also arrested for trying to sell stolen property and identified Ward as Peace for whom there was a reward out, which she hoped to obtain. An officer was sent down from Yorkshire and was able to positively identify Peace in Newgate prison. Peace stood trial at the Old Bailey in November 1878 on the charges of burglary and attempted murder and was sentenced to life in prison. However, he had now to answer to the charge of the murder of Mr. Dyson and so was moved by train to Sheffield, where he was charged with the murder of Arthur Dyson on January 18th, 1879. During the journey north, he attempted to escape by throwing himself out of the train but was quickly recaptured. His trial before Mr. Justice Lopes began on the 4th of February 1879. Mr. Campbell Foster, Q.C., led for the prosecution. Peace was defended by Mr. Frank Lockwood. Mrs. Dyson was to be the principal witness for the Crown and described the murder of her husband to the court. Forensic evidence was able to show that the bullet which killed Mr. Dyson was fired from the revolver recovered from Peace when he was arrested in London. Late in the afternoon the jury retired and took just 10 minutes to convict Peace, who was then sentenced to death. The Times newspaper reported that since Franz Muller murdered Mr. Briggs on the North London Railway and the poisonings of William Palmer, no criminal case had created such excitement in the public mind as that of Charles Peace. Peace confessed in the condemned cell to the murder of PC Cock and thus William Habron was given a pardon. His hanging was scheduled for Tuesday the 25th of February and, although in private by this time, was attended by four newspaper reporters. As Marwood attempted to place the white hood over Peace's head, he asked for a glass of water (which was refused) and spoke to the journalists, which he was allowed to do before Marwood pulled the lever. His last words were reported to be "My last thoughts are for children and their mother, a wonderful woman, they mustn't worry about me I know where I am going. I am going to Heaven." �No doubt every detail of the hanging was lapped up by the public the following morning. A large tableau of Peace and Marwood soon appeared in Madame Tussuard's waxworks, depicting the execution scene.
James Billlington's first execution was at Armley Gaol in Leeds on the 26th of August 1884 when he hanged a hawker from Sheffield called Joseph Laycock for the murder of his wife and four children. Laycock was to have said just before being hanged "You will not hurt me?" to which James Billington replied, "No, thaal nivver feel it, for thaal be out of existence i' two minutes."
On Tuesday the 29th of December 1903, Emily Swann, the only woman to be executed at Armley, was hanged by William Billington and John Ellis, beside her 30 year old lover John Gallagher, for the murder of Swann's husband William. Hooded and noosed on the trap doors, Emily said "Good morning John" to which he replied "Good morning love." �Emily replied "Goodbye, God bless you" before the drop fell ending any more conversation. Click here for a full description of this famous case.
Twenty eight year old Edwin Sowerby, a miner from Crofton near Wakefield, was hanged on Thursday, December 31st, 1920, for the murder of his former girlfriend,19 year old Jane Darwell. He had taken the break up of the relationship very hard and when he saw Jane at the village dance in the schoolroom at Crofton on the night of October 25th, he walked over to her and cut her throat in front of several witnesses. His defence at the trial was one of insanity due to war injuries in World War I �but this was not accepted by the jury who found him guilty after just 20 minutes. Sowerby was visited in prison several times by his parents and on the day before execution, his brother and sister had their last interview with him. He handed over to his sister the whole of his personal belongings except for a photograph, believed to be that of Jane, which he took to the gallows. This was the 50th execution at Armley and was carried out by Tom Pierrepoint. An inquest was held after it by the City Coroner (Mr W. H. Clarke) and the jury certified that death was due to dislocation of the vertebrae caused by hanging, duly and properly carried out.
On the 3rd of September 1925, Tom Pierrepoint carried out a double hanging at Armley and on the following day a further single execution. The first two prisoners were Alfred Bostock who had killed his mistress, Elizabeth Sherratt and 23 year old William Fowler, who was a Sheffield gangster who had taken part in the murder of an ex boxer called William Plommer in a street ambush. Fowler's brother and leader of their gang, Lawrence, was to die the following day for the same crime.
Alfred Bostock and Elizabeth Sherratt both worked for the Parkgate Ironworks in Rotherham and had fallen for each other virtually on sight. Albert was married but had a passionate affair with Elizabeth which went along very well until Elizabeth announced that she was pregnant, a setback that Alfred could simply not accept. On May 3rd, 1925, her body was found floating in the river at Rawmarsh - she had been battered to death. Bostock was the prime suspect and quickly arrested for the murder. He presented a weak alibi in his defence and although the evidence against him was circumstantial, it only took the jury 15 minutes to convict him. It is unclear why he was hanged alongside William Fowler and not alone. One surmises that the prison authorities thought there would be trouble between the Fowler brothers so had decided to hang them separately. Lawrence and William Fowler were leaders of a Sheffield gang that had been terrorising the city for some time and who considered themselves beyond the law. One of the gang's members, Trimmer Welsh, had got into a fight with William Plommer over his treatment of the barmaid in the pub where they were both drinking, and Plommer gave the man a good hiding. Plommer was ambushed by another two members of the gang, including young Wilfred Fowler, but they were no match for this powerfully built and courageous ex fighter either. Two defeats for the gang were more than its pride and arrogance could stomach so a mob of a dozen or so went to Plommer's house and when he came out to face them, they beat, stabbed and kicked him to death. They were soon rounded up, some getting prison sentences and Lawrence and William, being convicted of murder, sentenced to hang. Their executions brought to an end the gang terror in Sheffield in the 1920's.
The last double execution at Armley was that of Thomas Riley and John Roberts on the 29th April 1932. It was carried out by Tom Pierrepoint, assisted by Thomas Phillips and Alfred Allen and took a reported 90 seconds to complete. Riley was hanged for the murder of 52 year old Elizabeth Castle who had befriended him whilst Roberts was executed for the unrelated murder of greengrocer Alfred Gill whom he had battered to death. Double executions ceased in 1954 and were outlawed by the 1957 Homicide Act, as it was felt that the extra time they took subjected the prisoners to greater emotional suffering.
Arthur Osborne's case was probably unique, in that he was hanged on his birthday. Osborne had been found guilty of the murder of 70 year old Ernest Westwood on 25th September 1948. He had stabbed Mr. Westwood and robbed him in his own home. After the murder, Osborne fled to Chichester in Sussex where he was going to marry Dorothy Ball. He was already married but his wife was in a mental hospital. At the end of his three day trial at Leeds Assizes, the jury recommended mercy, but the Home Secretary saw no justification for this and Osborne was duly hanged by Steve Wade and Harry Allen on his 28th birthday, the 30th of December 1948. �The last execution in the old facility on �A� Wing was that of 19 year old Walter Sharpe on the 30th of March 1950. �Sharpe had been convicted of the robbery/murder of jeweller, Abraham Harry Levine in November 1949.
The last person to be hanged at Armley was 31 year old Hungarian born, Zsiga Pankotia, on the 29th June 1961 by Harry Allen. Pankotia had stabbed to death a wealthy market stall holder called Eli Myers, while trying to rob him in his home.
Under the name of Her Majesty's Prison Leeds, Armley continues in service to this day.
Last edited by sinfulldude on Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:39 pm; edited 1 time in total
Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:37 pm Post subject: Durham prison
Durham prison.
Like most of the older jails, Durham Prison also reputedly has its ghost. In December 1947, an inmate stabbed a fellow prisoner to death with a table knife it is reported, is it the ghost of this stabbed inmate who huants the prison or one of the other named inmates listed below who died here for their crimes ?
Durham prison was built at Elvet in 1810 to replace the earlier jail in the Great North Gate which was the cause of serious traffic congestion in its day. Bishop Shute Barrington pledged �2,000 towards the construction of the new building and on the 31st of July 1809, the foundation stones were laid by Sir Henry Vane Tempest. The building was started by a Mr. Sandys, who was dismissed before its completion. A new architect called Moneypenny took over, but died during its construction and the prison was finally completed by Ignatius Bonomi. Durham prison has some 600 cells and took its first batch of prisoners in 1819.
In total, 92 men and 3 women were hanged at Durham between 1800 and 1958. Ninety one of these executions took place at the prison or nearby courthouse (14 in public) and 4 at Dryburn in public. Fifty five men were hanged here in the 20th century. Of these 95, only 5 were to die for crimes other than murder.
Like most of the older jails, Durham Prison also reputedly has its ghost. In December 1947, an inmate stabbed a fellow prisoner to death with a table knife. A few days later another prisoner was put into this cell and was found the next morning crouched in the corner, in abject fear. He told the warders he had seen the murder re-enacted. Other prisoners objected to being locked up in this cell so it was converted into a storeroom.
The gallows at Durham.
Up to 1816, the place of execution at Durham was in the grounds of the present day Dryburn hospital. The name Dryburn may have come from the case of a man who was hanged there for being a Jesuit priest. The legend has it that after his death, the local stream (burn) mysteriously dried up and never flowed again, hence Dryburn. Alternatively, the name may be a corruption of Tyburn, the site of London's gallows at the time.
Ann Crampton was probably the last person to die at Dryburn, having been found guilty of "cutting and maiming." Forty year old Ann suspected her husband was being unfaithful to her. So when he was asleep she cut off his penis! For this she was reputedly hanged on Thursday, the 25th of August 1814, although this cannot be absolutely confirmed. Cutting off his manhood was seen as almost equivalent to cutting him off in the male dominated society of the time. Was Ann the original role model for Lorena Bobbitt, who hit the world headlines in the 1990's for committing the same offence?
After 1816, a "New Drop" style gallows was erected on the steps outside the new courthouse for each hanging. The holes for the beams supporting the platform can still be seen in the wall, filled with stone plugs. The courthouse is next door to the prison and the prisoner was brought back from the prison through an internal passage, now blocked off. The condemned person came out through a window onto the platform of the gallows set over the main door. (This was not an unusual arrangement as it was simpler and more secure than bringing the person out of the prison gates and then making them climb steps up to the gallows platform. It was thus quite convenient and was an easy location to guard. Across the street is a house with an iron balcony that was rented out to wealthy spectators to watch the hanging from.)
After the abolition of public hangings, the gallows was set up in the condemned prisoner�s exercise yard. The platform was level with the ground set over a brick lined pit. Later still, around 1890, an execution shed was built. This was standard practice at the time but still involved the prisoner in quite a long walk from the condemned cell on A Wing to the gallows. Normally, the shed was used to house the prison van, which was also a common practice at other prisons, e.g. Exeter.
In the 20th century, Durham was one of the few prisons to retain a permanent gallows. This was housed in a fairly standard pattern Home Office execution block at the end of D wing which was built in 1925. It had two condemned cells, one immediately adjacent to the gallows and one separated from the execution chamber by the corridor which led to the exercise yard. The main condemned cell was formed from 3 standard cells knocked into one and contained a toilet and washbasin. There was a small lobby between the cell and the gallows room. A mortuary was available in the yard adjoining the ground floor of the execution chamber. Parts of the execution block still remain to this day, although the condemned cell has been removed and the pit covered over (this area is now used for storage). This wing was later renamed E Wing.
In the early 1990�s when the prison was being modernised, the graves of some of those executed were disturbed, including that of Mary Ann Cotton. A pair of female shoes belonging to her were found along with her bones. Several bodies (including Cottons) were removed and all were later cremated. All of the inmates hanged in the 20th century were buried alongside the prison hospital wall with only a broad arrow and the date of execution carved into the wall to mark the location of their grave. The original instructions regarding the burial of executed inmates stated that the only clothing an inmate should be buried in was a prison issue shirt. The body was to be placed into a pine box and covered with quicklime and that holes were to be bored into the box before burial.
Some of Durham's famous cases.
The first execution outside the courthouse, took place on Saturday, the 17th of August 1816 when John Grieg was hanged for the murder of Elizabeth Stonehouse.
On April the 12th, 1819, 68 year old George Atcheson was hanged at the same location for the rape of 10 year old Isabella Ramshaw. The only other execution for rape here took place on March the 18th, 1822, when a miner called Henry Anderson suffered for raping Sarah Armstrong.
Nineteen year old Thomas Clark, a domestic servant at Hallgarth Mill, was convicted of the murder of 17 year old Mary Ann Westhorpe, the housemaid there on Sunday, the 8th of August 1830. On that day their employers, Stephen Oliver and his wife, had gone out and left some money locked in the house. Mary's body was found to have been severely beaten and her throat had been cut. The house had been ransacked and the money was missing. When questioned, Thomas claimed that he and Mary had been attacked in the house but that he had managed to escape. This story was not supported by the crime scene evidence and Thomas was arrested, coming to trial on Thursday, the 25th of February 1831 before Justice Littledale. There was great public interest in the case which was to hear the testimony of more than 40 witnesses over two days. It took the jury just 22 minutes to find Thomas guilty. He was sentenced to hang and afterwards for his body to be handed over to surgeons for dissection, as was still the practice with murderers. The execution took place at midday on the following Monday, (the 28th of February) in front of a crowd estimated at more than 15,000. On the gallows, Thomas is reported to have said "Gentlemen I die for another man's crimes. I am innocent."
In 1832, there were public protests over the conditions in the South Shields workhouse which were supported by strikes of the local miners. The authorities attempted to crackdown on these and sent in soldiers to quell the disturbances. They also tried to evict striking miners from their tied houses. One of the miners, William Jobling, was convicted of the murder of Nicholas Fairles, a local magistrate, near Jarrow Slake. A policeman was also killed in the disturbances. Jobling was hanged in the normal way amid tight security. Fifty mounted Hussars and 50 infantrymen were positioned in front of the goal to protect the gallows. To make a special example of him, his body was gibbeted after death, as a warning to the populace. Gibbeting was still a legal punishment at the time but was abolished 2 years later. After hanging for the customary hour, his body was taken off the rope, stripped naked and immersed in molten pitch (tar) to preserve it. It was then re-dressed in the original clothes and loaded into a cart and taken on a tour of the area before arriving at Jarrow Slake where the crime had been committed. Here it was placed into an iron gibbet cage. The cage and the scene being described thus," the body was encased in flat bars of iron of two and a half inches in breadth, the feet were placed in stirrups, from which a bar of iron went up each side of the head, and ended in a ring by which he was suspended; a bar from the collar went down the breast, and another down the back, there were also bars in the inside of the legs which communicated with the above; and crossbars at the ankles, the knees, the thighs, the bowels the breast and the shoulders; the hands were hung by the side and covered with pitch, the face was pitched and covered with a piece of white cloth." The gibbet was a foot in diameter with strong bars of iron up each side. The post was fixed into a 1-1/2 ton stone base, sunk into the Slake. Jobling's body was suspended and left as a grim reminder of the consequences of crime.
Sadly, Jobling was not actually guilty of this murder. Before he died, Nicholas Fairles was able to identify his killer (a friend of Jobling's, one Ralph Armstrong). However, Armstrong was not able to be arrested and Jobling, who had been present and had done nothing to prevent the killing was therefore judged to be equally guilty.
At this time, however, large number of death sentences were commuted to transportation, even for very serious crimes. On the 9th of April 1836, two men who had been sentenced to death for rape and robbery, were offered a reprieve on condition of being transported for life to Australia.
The last public execution here occurred on the 16th of March 1865 when Matthew Atkinson was hanged by Thomas Askern for the murder of his wife at Spen, near Winlaton. When Askern drew the bolt, Atkinson plunged downwards and the rope broke. He had to be extracted from under the scaffold and a new rope found so that he could be hanged again 30 minutes or so later. Thomas Askern was the hangman of York, but also worked further afield and continued to visit Durham up to 1873.
After the Act of 1868, all executions had to take place within the prison walls and the first of these "private" executions at Durham was a double hanging that took place on March the 22nd, 1869, when 37 year old John Donlan suffered for the murder of Hugh Ward at Sunderland. Beside him on the drop, was 23 year old John M'Conville, who had been convicted of the murder of Philip Trainer at Darlington. William Calcraft officiated at this hanging.
Mary Ann Cotton has the dubious distinction of being Britain's worst female serial killer and her tally of killings remained unequalled by either sex until the 1980's. She is strongly suspected of 14 or 15 murders, either for gain or to enable her to marry or both, and 21 people who were close to her died over a 20 year period. These comprised of 10 children, 3 husbands, 5 stepchildren, her mother, a sister in law Margaret, and one lover.
She was born Mary Ann Robson in 1833 to a mining family, and her father was killed in an accident at the colliery when she was 8, leaving her and her mother in poverty. Mary bitterly resented this poverty and vowed that she would not live like this as an adult.
She married for the first time on the 18th of July 1852, to 26 year old William Mowbray and moved with him to Cornwall, where Mary was to give birth to 4 children, all of whom died in their first year of life. All the deaths were officially recorded as being from "gastric fever," a common enough diagnosis at that time. In January 1865, William succumbed to the same "illness" and Mary collected �35 in life insurance.
Mary moved back north and took a job at Sunderland Royal Infirmary as a ward attendant. In this role, she had free access to the hospital's drug stocks.
While working at the Infirmary, she met and married a patient there, George Ward (also given as Wade). George too began to get symptoms of poisoning and was to remain married just 15 months, before he too died in 1866. Naturally, Mary had taken out a life insurance policy on him as well as benefiting under his will.
Her next marriage was to widower John Robinson, a foreman in the shipyard, who had 4 children by his previous marriage. Three of these children died of the, by now, inevitable "gastric fever" within a year. The marriage didn't last as John evicted Mary after he found out that she had helped herself to some of his possessions. He probably didn't realise at the time just what a good decision he had made. Mary then went to look after her elderly mother, Margaret, who not surprisingly did not survive the experience for long and soon died of gastric fever!
Mary Ann's next (bigamous) husband was to be widower Frederick Cotton whom she married in September 1870 and by whom she quickly became pregnant, with her sixth child. The new family moved to West Auckland and Mary took out life insurance policies on all of them, except herself. Predictably, death now entered the Cotton family, firstly Frederick's sister, Margaret, died followed by 39 year old Frederick himself in September 1871, soon after his 10 year old son Frederick, Jr., then by the couple�s new baby, Robert, and finally on the 12th of July 1872, Charles, Frederick's younger son by his former marriage. Mary was also seeing her erstwhile lover, Joseph Natrass, who died soon after moving in with her at the beginning of 1872. Young Charles Cotton was seen as an impediment to Mary's love life and she offered him to the local workhouse. They would not accept him on his own without her so clearly another means of removing him had to be found. Arsenic as usual provided the solution! The manager of the workhouse, who had interviewed Mary, became suspicious when he heard of the death of Charles and reported it to the police.
Mary Ann, who was now unencumbered by children and relationships, once more began an affair with the local excise officer, Mr. Quick-Manning by whom she as usual became pregnant, giving birth to Mary Edith Quick-Manning Cotton on the 10th of January 1873 while in prison on remand. The little girl was adopted after Mary's execution.
So many deaths in one household looked increasingly suspicious and after the death of Robert, Dr. Kilburn ordered a post-mortem which discovered a large amount of arsenic in the child's body. Arsenic always tends to deposit itself in the fingernails and hair even when it has left the stomach. The symptoms of arsenic poisoning are in some ways similar to gastric fever (gastro-enteritis) and include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, fever, cramps, lethargy, convulsions and dizziness.
Mary Ann was arrested on the 18th of July 1872 and remanded in custody by the magistrates to stand trial at the Spring Assizes of the following year. The police now sought permission to exhume the bodies of those who had been close to Mary Ann and called on the services of Professor Thomas Scattergood from Leeds University, a leading pathologist of his day, to examine them. Predictably, he found large amounts of arsenic in each one. It could not, however, be proved that Mary Ann had administered it.
Mary was to be charged only with the murder of her stepson, Charles Edward Cotton. This was standard practice at the time as the defendant would be sentenced to death for a single murder. If the first trial resulted in an acquittal, a second charge could be brought.
Mary Ann was tried before Mr. Justice Archibald at the Durham Assizes of March 1873, her trial opening on Monday, the 3rd. She pleaded not guilty and was represented by Mr Thomas Campbell Foster who put forward a defence that Robert had been poisoned accidentally by the arsenic contained in their green floral wallpaper which formed a poisonous dust when cleaned with soft soap. This was not as fanciful as it may sound today. Arsenic really was used in some wallpaper dyes at the time. The prosecution, led by Sir Charles Russell, however, were able to show that Mary had actually purchased arsenic and pointed out that at least 10 of her alleged victims had never been in the "arsenic room." The trial lasted 5 days and the jury brought in their verdict after about an hour's deliberation. Mr. Justice Archibald donned the black cap and passed sentence upon her, saying :
"In these words I shall address you, I would earnestly urge you to seek for your soul that only refuge which is left for you, in the mercy of God through the atonement of our Lord, Jesus Christ. It only remains for me to pass upon you the sentence of the law, which is that you will be taken from hence to the place from whence is that you came, and from thence to a place of execution, and there to be hanged by the neck until you are dead, and your body to be afterwards buried within the precincts of the gaol. And may the Lord have mercy upon your soul." On hearing her sentence Mary exclaimed, "Oh no! Oh no! She had to be carried from the dock in a state of collapse.
Extraordinarily, there was some public sympathy for Mary Ann and a petition was got up for a reprieve, possibly because of her baby. The Home Secretary declined this, however, so 5 days before her execution her new baby daughter was taken from her and placed with a childless couple for adoption.
On the Saturday before the execution the simple gallows, comprising two uprights and a crossbeam with a double leaf trap below, was erected over a brick lined pit in the condemned prisoner�s exercise yard and hidden from direct view until Mary Ann and her escorts rounded a corner. Thomas Askern, assisted by William Calcraft, had been hired by the Under-Sheriff to carry out the execution. Both men were noted for their short drops. There had been some discussion as to whether in view of the nature of her crimes, she should be hanged strapped to a chair. The pit beneath the trapdoors was apparently widened to accommodate this, although in the event the chair was not used.
The execution was set for 8.00 a.m. on the morning of Monday, the 24th of March 1873 and Mary breakfasted on just a few sips of tea. Throughout her time in prison she had refused religious counsel but during her last few hours, became most devout and contrite. She prayed with the 3 matrons who guarded her round the clock in the condemned cell and recalling her childhood Sunday school lessons, declared her favourite hymn to be "Rock of ages."
It is said that Mary made the warders wait to escort her to the gallows while she brushed her long black hair. When she was ready, she let the hangman pinion her wrists in front of her with a leather strap and place a further leather strap around her elbows and upper body. Wearing a coarse black and white checked shawl, Mary walked resignedly to the gallows. Once on the trapdoors, her legs were strapped and the white hood placed over her head, followed by the noose. Two warders supported her during this preparation. The trap was released from under her and she dropped about 18 inches (450mm). For a moment she hung still, presumably stunned by the impact of the drop. But then she began to struggle violently, her agonies lasting some 3 minutes before she dangled lifeless in the pit. Local newspaper reporters recorded the distressing scene. Following the post mortem, a plaster cast was taken of her face and she was buried in the western part of Durham prison at 2 p.m. She is said to still haunt her old home in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Mary Ann seemed to have become addicted to murder by arsenic poisoning when she found how easy it was to do, how she could get away with it, and how each killing could earn her a small amount of life insurance or remove some inconvenient person in her life or both. It is often said that the first murder is the hardest - it gets easier the more one does. Today it would be much more difficult to get away with so many murders of this sort but in those days, public hygiene standards were low and child (and adult) mortality rates very high. By moving around, she was able to get different doctors to sign death certificates so that she was not immediately suspected. Communications were very limited - there were no telephones in 1873, so the doctors were unlikely to talk to each other and post-mortems were rarely carried out on deaths that appeared natural. Gastric fever was a common cause of natural death at this time.
Mary Ann seemed also to have a magnetic attraction for men - she was never without one!
No doubt to the relief of the prison officials, William Marwood took over from Askern and Calcraft after this and introduced the long drop method of hanging which (normally) removed the distressing duty of having to watch another human being strangle to death a few feet away. His first appointment at Durham was a triple hanging on the 5th of January 1874. His clients were Charles Dawson, who had murdered his girlfriend, Margaret Addison, at Darlington, Edward Gough, for the murder of James Partridge, at Marley Hill and William Thompson, for the murder of his wife, at Annfield Plain. These were the first of a dozen hangings carried out here by Marwood, including two triple executions and one double. At this time, it was normal to execute prisoners in groups after the Assize, for unrelated crimes, as it saved on the expense of erecting and guarding the gallows and travelling expenses for the hangman.
The only other woman to be hanged within Durham prison was 28 year old Elizabeth Pearson on Monday the 2nd of August 1875. She had been convicted at the Summer Assizes of that year of the wilful murder of her uncle, James Watson at Gainford, Durham. She was acting as a housekeeper for her uncle, after the death of his wife. She soon started stealing from him and decided to get rid of him, presumably in the hope of inheriting from him. To this end, she added a strychnine based rat poison to his medicine which had the desired effect. The death had all the classic signs of strychnine poisoning and James' son, Robert, was suspicious and obtained a post-mortem. Elizabeth began to empty the house of its contents, in the meantime, further casting suspicion on herself. James' stomach contents revealed large quantities of strychnine and iron cyanide.
At her trial, Elizabeth's lawyer contended that she had no motive for killing her uncle and the poison must have been given to James by their lodger, who had since left. The jury were unimpressed with this and brought in a guilty verdict within an hour. Elizabeth was to be one of 3 people to be hanged that morning. With her on the gallows was William M'Hugh, who had been convicted of drowning Thomas Mooney and Michael Gillingham, who had murdered John Kileian. At just after 8.00 a.m., William Marwood launched them all into eternity together. Elizabeth was buried in an unmarked grave next to Mary Ann Cotton, from whose death two years earlier, she had apparently learned no lessons.
James Burton, aged 33, went to the gallows on the 6th of August 1883 for the murder of 18 year old Elizabeth Ann Sharpe at Tunstall in Sunderland. Burton had married Elizabeth, but the marriage had quickly fallen apart and she left him. In a fit of jealous rage, he had battered her to death. He was arrested and tried at the Summer Assizes of 1883 and was convicted after the jury had deliberated for just 23 minutes. In the condemned cell, he made a full confession to the crime. His execution was set for 3 weeks hence and the Under Sheriff had given the job of executing him to William Marwood. Burton's drop was set at 7 feet 10 inches, which should have been quite sufficient to produce a pain free death. Marwood did not coil up the free rope as some of his successors did, but instead allowed it to loop down behind the prisoner's back, to about waist level. As newspaper reporters were still permitted at executions, we are able to know the sad details in this case.
"The culprit walked firmly to the scaffold but on being placed in position looked up at the cross beam and on those assembled around the scaffold. Marwood the executioner at once placed the white cap over the culprit's face, fastened his legs and fixed the rope. Immediately the bolt was drawn it was obvious something had gone wrong, the body was swinging violently to and fro in the pit. Marwood seized hold of the rope and assisted by two warders, dragged the still living man out of the pit. When drawn up Burton presented a shocking appearance." As Marwood went to pull the lever, Burton fainted and began to fall sideways, his pinioned arms catching in the loop of the rope hanging down his back, thus prevented him dropping properly. The noose had also slipped up over Burton's chin. Marwood and the warders now had to get the poor man back onto the platform to disentangle him and having done so, Marwood pushed him off the side of the trap. He swayed back and forth, struggling for a couple of minutes before unconsciousness supervened. His face was badly contorted and his neck very swollen when his body was viewed by the coroner's jury at the formal inquest the following day, and it was clear that he had strangled to death.
The press were still permitted to attend executions up to 1934 (in some counties), and thus we have the benefits of the report of two Durham hangings.
The first was carried out by Henry Pierrepoint and William Willis on Wednesday, the 8th of December 1909. The criminal was of 29 year old, Abel Atherton, who had been convicted at Durham Assizes, before Mr. Justice Walton, of the murder by shooting of 33 year old Elizabeth Ann Patrick. He maintained throughout that the shooting was an accident and that he had not meant to kill Elizabeth.
At 7.50 a.m. that Wednesday morning, the Under Sheriff entered the prison with 3 newspaper reporters who were stationed in front of the execution shed. Atherton was brought to the doctor's room by two warders, where his hands were pinioned, and then led forward to the gallows in a procession consisting of the Chief Warder, the Chaplain, Atherton, held by a warder on either side, Pierrepoint and his assistant William Willis, the Principal Warder, the governor, the prison surgeon and finally another warder. All but the Chaplain entered the shed and once Atherton was on the drop, Willis dropped to his knees behind him to pinion his legs, while Pierrepoint placed the noose over his head and adjusted it before pulling the white hood over him. (Henry Pierrepoint did do it in this order, unlike most other hangmen.) On the gallows, Atherton exclaimed "Yer hanging an innocent man."
The prison bell was tolling and the nearby Assize Courts clock striking the hour when Pierrepoint released the trap giving Atherton a drop of 7 feet 3 inches. The execution was over before the clock finished striking and the press men who looked down into the pit reported that Atherton's death was instantaneous and that he was hanging perfectly still. The execution shed was locked up and Atherton was left on the rope for the customary hour. The official notice of the execution was posted on the prison gate and an autopsy carried out later in the morning.
The second is that of 44 year old Joseph Deans who had been convicted of the murder of his girlfriend, 48 year old Catherine Convery. He had battered Catherine with an axe at Monkwearmouth in Sunderland, on the night of October 7th 1916, and she died of her wounds 6 days later. He was tried at Durham on the 15th of November and it took the jury only 5 minutes to convict him. When asked if he had anything to say before he was sentenced, he replied, �I killed the woman and I am pleased I killed her�. He was transferred after the trial to the Condemned Cell in A Wing. The following description of his execution comes from the Durham Chronicle of Friday December 22nd 1916.
�The morning broke the cold and cheerless for Deans last brief day on earth. He had retired to rest early on Tuesday evening and slept most soundly, having to be wakened in order to await the coming of the prison chaplain. Attired in the clothes that he wore for the trial Deans ate a hearty breakfast and afterwards listened very attentively to the ministrations of Rev D. Jacob who remained with him to the end.
Outside the prison everything was quiet and peaceful and the only thing to indicate that a terrible tragedy was being enacted within the prison walls was a notice issued the previous day by the High Sheriff (Mr Hustler) and the Governor (Mr. Hellier), under the Capital Punishment Amendment Act. 1868 to the effect that the sentence of the law passed upon Joseph Deans, found guilty of murder would be carried into execution at 8am on Wednesday morning. Only a solitary pressman and a police sergeant were to be seen on the prison green, the public apparently taking no interest in the proceedings. The only sound heard by them was the padded doors of the scaffold, and the noise they made could be distinctly heard in the calm of the morning outside. The prison bell was tolled when all was over, and notices signed by Dr. Gilbert the prison surgeon to certify that the man was dead, and by the Governor and the Under Sheriff and the chaplain intimating that the sentence had been carried into execution were afterwards casually read by the passers by.
Meanwhile the arrangements had been completed for the carrying out of the sentence. John Ellis the executioner and his assistant (George Brown) who had arrived the previous night and were accommodated with lodgings in the prison, made a final test of the arrangements and found all satisfactory. The prison chaplain arrived early then came the Under Sheriff, followed at quarter to eight o'clock by the prison surgeon and the Governor. In the doctors room the next scene was enacted, and there the condemned man met his executioner face to face for the first time. Ellis speedily strapped the condemned mans hands behind his back and bared his neck, and whilst the Cathedral bell was striking the hour the little procession started on its way to the place of execution. In front came the chaplain reading the service for the dead, the intervening space between the doctors room and the van house was covered in a few seconds and what followed was also the work of a remarkably short space of time, walking across the van house over the drop to the west wall he then turned and faced the culprit Deans who was accompanied by two warders walked firmly and without assistance followed by Ellis and his assistant the rear being brought up by the Governor, prison surgeon and other officials. Deans entered the van house and took up his position on the drop indicated by a chalk mark, then he was given into the hands of the executioners and whilst Ellis arranged the noose his assistant adjusted the ankle straps then Ellis produced the sugar loaf white cap and having drawn it over Deans head he sprang aside gripped the lever and released the bolts, the heavily padded doors swung open and Deans was precipitated into the pit below. The signal having been given a warder rang the bell announcing the fact that the grim tragedy was over. The execution was speedily carried out and death which was instantaneous, occurring just as the last stroke of eight rang out from the Cathedral clock, for an hour the corpse was allowed to hang and afterwards was drawn up and placed in a plain coffin. The Governor intimated privately that the execution had been most expeditiously carried out, in fact he never remembered an occasion where the sad proceedings had been so short and satisfactory.�
On the evening of Thursday, the 29th of February 1940, a robbery took place at a shop in Cuxhoe County Durham. Two young men, 24 year old Vincent Ostler and 27 year old William Appleby, had broken into the Co-op store there in the early hours of the morning. A passing cyclist, Jesse Smith, noticed the light on (unusual in a shop at night in those days) and thought he saw a person inside. He decided to report this immediately to the police and Constables William Shiell and William Stafford went back with Smith to see what was going on. When they heard the police, the robbers made a break for it and were chased by Shiell. One of the men shot Shiell in the stomach and he remained conscious long enough to tell Stafford that there were two assailants and that one of them had said "let him have it" before the shot was fired. (Sound familiar? See the case of Derek Bentley.) Shiell was able to describe one of his attackers to colleagues before he died later the next day in hospital. Ostler and Appleby were arrested on the 4th of March, both blaming the other. Once again the words "let him have it" were to prove significant at their trial at Leeds before Mr. Justice Hilbery in May. It was shown that Ostler had fired the fatal shot but by saying "let him have it" which constable Shiell had insisted Appleby had said. Appleby was held to have incited Ostler and was therefore equally guilty. Their appeals were dismissed and the law took its course on Thursday, the 11th of July 1940 when Thomas Pierrepoint hanged them side by side.
Most prisons seem to have their "oddball" cases and that of Patrick Turnage was certainly one. Turnage pleaded guilty to the murder of 78 year old Julia Beesley, at his 7 minute long trial at Durham on the 26th of October 1950. Julia Beesley was a prostitute and Turnage a merchant seaman who had come ashore for drink and sex on the 22nd of July 1950. After they had had sex, they quarrelled over her proposed charge for this service and he had strangled her. He was arrested the next day and confessed that he had killed Julia. However, the facts of the case pointed more to a conviction for manslaughter than murder, but Turnage refused to accept this and insisted on pleading guilty to murder so that he could be hanged rather than serve a potential 15 year sentence for manslaughter. Steve Wade granted him his wish on Thursday, the 14th of November 1950.
Twenty two year old John Vickers became the first person executed in England and Wales since August 1955, and the first under the Homicide Act of 1957, having been convicted of the murder of 72 year old Jane Duckett. Miss Duckett owned and ran a small grocery shop in Carlisle and Vickers decided to rob her. She heard the sounds of someone on her premises and put up a fight in the course of which he battered her to death. Section 5 of the Homicide Act made murder committed in the course or furtherance of theft a capital crime.
Vickers was soon arrested and tried at Carlisle on the 23rd of May 1957. He was convicted and sentenced to death but appealed on the grounds that there was no malice a forethought in the killing. The appeal was dismissed and after an unsuccessful attempt to take the case to the House of Lords, he was hanged on Tuesday, the 23rd of July 1957 by Harry Allen, assisted by Harry Smith.
Private Brian Chandler was the last person to be executed at Durham. The 20 year old soldier was hanged on Wednesday, the 17th of December 1958 by Robert Stewart, assisted by Tommy Cunliffe, for battering to death 83 year old Martha Dodd at Darlington in June of that year. Like Vickers before him, it had to be shown that he had stolen from Mrs. Dodd, to be guilty of capital murder under the provisions of the Homicide Act of 1957. The jury found that he had after only 1-1/2 hours of deliberation, and he was sentenced to death on the 29th of October by Mr. Justice Ashworth.
As HMP Durham, Durham remains in operation to this day and as a Category B prison.
Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 11:51 am Post subject: GHOSTS OF ARMLEY PRISON ;- LEEDS UK
Ghosts of armley prison
First hand eye witness accounts of �armley prison.
The Victorian prison at armley in leeds is reputedly one of the most haunted buildings in west Yorkshire and it has it abudance of �paranormal activity both at day and night, including FULL solid apparitions appearing almost daily. There has been some major �reports just recently , the ones that are mentioned here are only the tip of the iceberg. Many full apparitions have been seen most days and nights here mostly �by staff, the most recent one being a ghost of a prison officer wearing a barathea , which is a �number one� uniform only worn on special occasions, the witness who saw the ghost noticed that as he walked passed it, it did not communicate, he also noticed that its shoes were highly polished and it wore a blue shirt (modern guards now a days are allowed to wear white shirts only), the figure went on to walk straight through the old gate wall in board daylight, this frighten the witness so much that he had to radio the CCTV control room to confirm what he had just seen, but it had not been caught on camera. Maybe there is some sort of �time anomality manifesting itself here for some reason.
There has been movement of furniture in cells too which has been witnessed by prisoners. Doors and windows open by themselves usually in front of peoples eyes mostly at night. In august 2008 someone saw a ghostly figure of a man wearing a old style prison officers cap he was smoking a cigarette outside the old gate, the same figure has been seen through out different parts of the jail by three other independent witnesses. Fleeting shadows are seen regularly on the landings at night, sometimes figures have been seen wandering around the landings and other areas at night thus prompting a full head count of prisoners to be done. Various areas have had to be blessed, some say it was exorcised by a nun to clear the atmosphere.
Very recently around the end of �December 2008 �someone saw just a pair of legs walking past a main door area, even more recently someone else saw just a pair of legs walking in front of someone up a flight of stairs around the old part of the building, others claim to have seen the top half of this figure.
Apparently there has been some major renovation �work done to one of the wings, people are saying that this has opened up something weird and is causing a plethora of experiences daily, even some major sceptics who have scoffed �about the idea of ghosts within the prison walls have changed their views.
Armley prison is still a working jail and no paranormal investigator would ever get permission to investigate it, so it is only by the eye witness accounts by prison staff and prisoners who make notes and reports of their experiences before they are forgotten about, that you are now reading �this
There has also been knockings on doors when no one is there, noises coming from cells known to be empty. Two admin staff have seen a apparition both at the same time in board day light whilst they where sat outside in a yard area eating their sandwiches, the figure they say just vanished before them into thin air. The ghost of Charlie peace has been blamed for many of the sightings around the admin block, Charlie was hung by the long drop (rope) at the jail and his body was buried with in the prison. Other witnesses have seen a man with sunken eyes and a protruding jawline, which many say is a good description of Charlie according to old photographs of him.
Prison officers have also seen the ghost of a soldier who was know to have murdered his partner Anne Mayner by slitting her throat and thus he was subsequently hung by Albert Pierrepoint in 1919. There is some historical reference to a soldier who killed his partner after finding her in bed with another man, at his trail he repeated the words � she is a jezebel� (slut). A former prisoner serving time at armley claims he heard these same words being whispered into his ear one night in his cell, whilst �knowing he was the ONLY one present and assigned to this cell at the time.
Ghosts are seen walking though walls in certain parts of the jail. A prisoner who once took his own life while serving time in the segregation block was seen the NEXT night walking though the wall to his old cell, it frightened a member of staff who saw it happen that much that their quit job. The ghost of a recently passed guard has been seen in board daylight carrying out his old duties before he died. The sounds of objects being thrown around known to be empty rooms is another daily common occurrence.
A oppression feeling is often felt in and around the �topping shed where prisoners where once hanged. Guards have heard footsteps following them and the sound of chains or key-chains rattling when no one else has been around or is there. There is also the ghost of the Grey lady who is said to be a former female guard, she�s often seen wearing period uniform and haunts the wings and chapel, its believed she died at the prison sometime in the early 1800�s.
Workmen carrying out repairs and renovation work at the jail are still to this date are un-covering wooden coffins, it is known that prisoners who were once hanged at the prison were actually buried within the walls of the jail. The new E and F wings of the prison are built on top of the old prison grave yards
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The supernatural & paranormal is out there.
(ADMIN) madmart
Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 5:53 pm Post subject: prison ghosts
Location: Leeds (Yorkshire) - Armley Prison
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: This phantom manifests as a light that moves around the cells. One former employee once reported �seeing prison officers in Victorian uniform and the sounds of clanging chains, with the most paranormally active areas being the new wings which were constructed over executed prisoner's graves.
Description: ( above picture )
A 1937 Aerial view of Armley Gaol, built as Leeds Borough Gaol and completed in July 1847 at a cost of �43,000. The buildings were designed by architects Perkin and Backhouse. The road from top to bottom across the centre is Hall Lane and New Wortley Cemetery is at the left edge from the middle to the top. The prison is surrounded by a high wall and wihin the boundaries there is an exercise yard. Inmates can be seen walking the circular paths. The rows of terraced houses, bottom left, are Hawthorn Place and Hawthorn Terrace. Behind the prison Winchester Road runs from the junction with Hall Lane.
(above ) Description:
View of a the chapel in Armley Jail in Stanningley Road. This place was where the condemned prisoner would go to pray. The Victorian prison, built in 1847 was a place of execution between 1864 and 1961 when 93 men and 1 woman were hanged. The final execution took place on 29th
June 1961.
( picture below ) One of the wings in Armley prison
Armley prison opened in Leeds in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1847 and was constructed on the then modern penitentiary principal with four radial wings. It was a grim and forbidding building in line with the Victorian ideas of prison and was responsible for housing prisoners sentenced in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It also took over duty of carrying out West Riding executions from York Castle. Ninety three men and one woman were to suffer the death penalty at Armley between 1864 and 1961. An average of almost exactly one per annum.
Executions at Armley.
There was to be only one public execution outside the jail - a double hanging on the 10th of September 1864. It was of murderers James Sargisson and Joseph Myers. Myers had tried to cheat the hangman by cutting his throat while in prison but was saved by the surgeon. The hangings were reported in detail by The Leeds Mercury newspaper which claimed that between 80,000 to 100,000 people had come to watch the event on that Saturday morning. At five minutes to nine, the prison bell began to toll and inside the two men were being pinioned by Thomas Askern of York. They were led out onto the gallows supported on each side by warders and preceded by the Under Sheriff and the Chaplain. Askern pulled down the white caps over their faces but both men continued to speak, Sargisson's last words to Myers were reportedly "Art thou happy lad?" to which Myers responded �Indeed I am." �Askern then operated the drop which fell with a thud, their bodies being almost completely hidden from the crowd. Myers seemed to die almost immediately, but Sargisson struggled for some minutes. As feared the wound in Myers' throat had re-opened and there was an amount of blood on his shirt. After hanging the customary hour, they were removed from the gallows and buried within the prison.
Botched executions were not uncommon at this time and "a shocking scene" was reported by the Yorkshire Post newspaper following the hanging of 37 year old John Henry Johnson on Wednesday the 3rd of April 1877. Johnson had been condemned for the murder of Amos Waite who had been showing interest in Johnson's wife Amelia on Boxing Day 1876. After a drunken quarrel in the pub where they were all drinking, Johnson went home, returning a little while later with a gun and shooting Waite in the chest. Thomas Askern was called to Leeds to dispatch Johnson and had made the usual preparations on the Tuesday afternoon, but when he pulled the lever the rope broke and Johnson plummeted through the trap. He was immediately rescued by the warders who removed his straps and hood and sat him on a chair. It took Askern 10 minutes to rig a new rope and reset the trap before Johnson could again be led up onto it. This time the rope held but it was reported that Johnson "died hard" struggling for some four minutes on the rope. His death was formally recorded as being from asphyxia but no official mention was made of the failure of first attempt to hang him. It was to be Askern's last execution at Armley.
The most infamous Victorian criminal to die at Armley was Charles Peace who was hanged by William Marwood on Monday, February 25th, 1879 "For that I don but never intended" as Peace said. Peace was a violent career criminal who had murdered two people, one of them a police constable and was serving life in prison for armed robbery and the attempted murder of another policeman who was trying to arrest him. Peace was born in Sheffield in May 1832 to non criminal parents. By the age of 14, he was working in a steel works where he was badly injured in the leg by a piece of red hot steel. After this, he turned to crime with his first recorded conviction being for house burglary in 1851, for which he was given a month in prison. His next conviction for the same offence came in October 1854, when he was sentenced to four year�s penal servitude at Doncaster Sessions. This was followed by a six year sentence in 1859 and an eight year sentence in 1866. He tried to escape during this term of imprisonment but was recaptured and was to spend the next six years in various prisons up to 1872, after which he returned to Sheffield. In 1875, Peace moved out of Sheffield into the suburb of Darnall where he met a Mr. and Mrs. Dyson. Peace was a womaniser and began having an affair with Mrs. Dyson, or at least so he claimed and she denied. She had certainly gone out with him to music halls and pubs but it seems that she had rejected his sexual advances and this was something he was not happy about. Peace threatened to kill Mr. Dyson and he, in turn, took out an injunction against Peace in the hope of him leaving the couple alone. Peace did for a time, moving to Hull and opening a caf�. His burglaries continued and one night he went to Manchester, armed as usual with his revolver. Peace was spotted by two policemen in the grounds of a house at Whalley Range, around midnight on the 1st of August 1876. Constable Cock tried to arrest him but Peace took out the revolver and warned Cock to stand back, firing a warning shot at the officer. Cock took out his truncheon and advanced towards Peace, who fired a second time, killing him. Peace was able to escape and get back to Hull and two local villains, brothers John and William Habron, were arrested for the crime. William was convicted and sentenced to death but fortunately reprieved and later pardoned.
Peace's second murder was to be that of Mr. Arthur Dyson on the 29th of November 1876, whose wife he still desired. He went to the Dyson's home and during an argument shot Mr. Dyson through the head, killing him instantly. Once again, he was able to escape back to Hull where he was nearly arrested as Mrs. Dyson had been able to identify him as her husband's killer. A reward was offered for his capture and he was now the nation's most wanted man moving constantly from one town to another, eventually ending up in London, where he was to evade capture for over two years. Peace had always had a love of music and musical instruments and set up as a dealer in them, partially as a front to his usual business of house burglary. He sometimes carried his burglary tools in a violin case when he went out on a job. He was able to live in some style from the proceeds of these activities, with a "Mrs. Thompson" as his mistress. This married lady's real name was Susan Bailey and she was eventually the one who betrayed him. His career as a burglar in London lasted from the beginning of the year 1877 until October the 10th, 1878, when he was finally caught red handed by three policeman in Blackheath trying to rob a house. Peace fired several shots at one officer before he was overpowered. When he was questioned he gave his name as John Ward and was tried under this name. Susan Thompson was also arrested for trying to sell stolen property and identified Ward as Peace for whom there was a reward out, which she hoped to obtain. An officer was sent down from Yorkshire and was able to positively identify Peace in Newgate prison. Peace stood trial at the Old Bailey in November 1878 on the charges of burglary and attempted murder and was sentenced to life in prison. However, he had now to answer to the charge of the murder of Mr. Dyson and so was moved by train to Sheffield, where he was charged with the murder of Arthur Dyson on January 18th, 1879. During the journey north, he attempted to escape by throwing himself out of the train but was quickly recaptured. His trial before Mr. Justice Lopes began on the 4th of February 1879. Mr. Campbell Foster, Q.C., led for the prosecution. Peace was defended by Mr. Frank Lockwood. Mrs. Dyson was to be the principal witness for the Crown and described the murder of her husband to the court. Forensic evidence was able to show that the bullet which killed Mr. Dyson was fired from the revolver recovered from Peace when he was arrested in London. Late in the afternoon the jury retired and took just 10 minutes to convict Peace, who was then sentenced to death. The Times newspaper reported that since Franz Muller murdered Mr. Briggs on the North London Railway and the poisonings of William Palmer, no criminal case had created such excitement in the public mind as that of Charles Peace. Peace confessed in the condemned cell to the murder of PC Cock and thus William Habron was given a pardon. His hanging was scheduled for Tuesday the 25th of February and, although in private by this time, was attended by four newspaper reporters. As Marwood attempted to place the white hood over Peace's head, he asked for a glass of water (which was refused) and spoke to the journalists, which he was allowed to do before Marwood pulled the lever. His last words were reported to be "My last thoughts are for children and their mother, a wonderful woman, they mustn't worry about me I know where I am going. I am going to Heaven." �No doubt every detail of the hanging was lapped up by the public the following morning. A large tableau of Peace and Marwood soon appeared in Madame Tussauds waxworks, depicting the execution scene.
James Billlington's first execution was at Armley Gaol in Leeds on the 26th of August 1884 when he hanged a hawker from Sheffield called Joseph Laycock for the murder of his wife and four children. Laycock was to have said just before being hanged "You will not hurt me?" to which James Billington replied, "No, thaal nivver feel it, for thaal be out of existence i' two minutes."
On Tuesday the 29th of December 1903, Emily Swann, the only woman to be executed at Armley, was hanged by William Billington and John Ellis, beside her 30 year old lover John Gallagher, for the murder of Swann's husband William. Hooded and noosed on the trap doors, Emily said "Good morning John" to which he replied "Good morning love." �Emily replied "Goodbye, God bless you" before the drop fell ending any more conversation. �~~~
Emily Swann & John Gallagher - the Wombwell Murder.
It is amazing what a glass of brandy will do! A few minutes before 8 o'clock on the morning of Tuesday, December 29th, 1903, Emily Swann was in a state of virtual collapse, moaning pitifully on the floor of her cell and yet, after a drink of brandy, she was able to regain her composure and walk to the execution room where she said, "Good morning John" to her hooded and pinioned boyfriend, John Gallagher, as she was brought up beside him on the gallows in Leeds' Armley prison. He wasn�t aware that she was there and was completely taken aback by this but managed to reply, "Good morning love." As the noose was placed round her neck, she said: "Good-bye. God bless you."
The crime.
Emily was a 42 year old mother of 11 children. She was described as a stumpy little, round-faced woman, 4 ft.10 in. tall and 122 lb. in weight and from a "respectable" background. She was married to William Swann who was a glass-blower and they had a lodger, a 30 year old miner called John Gallagher, who was living with them at Wombwell in Yorkshire.
It is probable that Emily and John were having an affair and it was common knowledge to their neighbours that William beat Emily up at times, although whether this was because he felt she was too friendly to John or for other reasons is not known. Domestic violence was not uncommon at this time anyway. Attitudes to extramarital relationships and wife beating were very different 100 years ago, and it is probable that William felt well within his rights to lay into Emily over her liaison with John.
There had been lots of quarrels and John had decided to leave the Swanns' household, although he was still a regular visitor. His visits always seemed to provoke another fight so he had resolved to leave Wombwell for good in June 1903 and move to Bradford.
Things came to a head on the afternoon of the 6th of June when Emily went into her neighbour's house with a shawl over her head. She removed the shawl and showed the neighbour her two black eyes and facial bruises, saying: "See what our Bill's done!"
On seeing Emily's injuries, John, who was also at the neighbour's house, became instantly enraged and said, "I'll go and give him something for himself for that." Another neighbour saw him dashing into the Swanns' house, followed closely by Emily. John was shouting, "I'll coffin him before morning." The neighbours heard the sounds of a struggle from inside the house.
The noises of fighting went on for some 10 minutes, at the end of which John came out and went back to the neighbour's house.
"I've busted four of his ribs and I'll bust four more," he announced. A few minutes later he told the neighbour, "I'll finish him out before I go to Bradford." As he went back into the Swanns' house, he said, "I'll murder the pig before morning. If he can't kick a man he shan't kick a woman." Another fight ensued and the neighbour heard Emily say, "Give it to him, Johnny."
Ten minutes later Emily and John emerged from William's house holding hands and being described by neighbours as showing "every sign of affection." Behind them, in the shambles of the house, William lay dead. John and Emily calmly went over to their friends house and told them the situation.
The police had been sent for and when they arrived, they immediately arrested Emily. John, however, had escaped and went on the run for two months before finally being tracked down to the house of a relative in Middlesborough, having spent some time living rough.
Trial.
John and Emily came to trial in October 1903 at Leeds Assizes. Their barrister admitted that the relationship between them was "of a misdirected order," but contended that John had merely gone to the house to remonstrate with William for his brutal treatment of Emily. Their defence insisted that neither John nor Emily wanted William dead.
However, the judge advised the jury that John's remark, "I'll finish him out before I go to Bradford" showed that there was intent. This remark had been allegedly made between the two fights, after which he had gone back into the house and carried out his threat.
"As for the woman" continued the judge, "it is my duty to tell you that one does not commit murder only with one's hands. If one person instigates another to commit murder, and that other person does it, the instigator is also guilty of murder."
Not surprisingly, they were both found guilty of William's murder on what was very clear evidence, the jury taking only an hour in their deliberations.
Emily remained calm as the foreman of the jury gave the guilty verdict and when asked if she wanted to say anything before sentence of death was passed, told the judge, "I am innocent." "I am not afraid of immediate death, because I am innocent and will go to God." Both she and John were then formally sentenced to death.
The judge was aware of some more evidence which it had been decided would not be put before the jury because it would prejudice Emily's case. After the sentencing and before he discharged the jury, the judge told them that when Gallagher was taken into custody, he had told the police that Emily hit William and beat him with a poker, and that he (Gallagher) did not touch the dead man, although he was present. "That statement was not direct evidence against the woman but from the proved position of the poker I am convinced that the statement was partly true and that Mrs. Swann did really take part in the actual killing." Understandably, this caused quite a stir. It was held up as an example of the fairness of the judicial system which declined to take unfair advantage of an accused person. It was also a matter for satisfaction to the prosecution that even without that vital evidence, the jury had still been convinced of the woman's guilt.
After she was sentenced to death, Emily seemed quite unperturbed and smiled and blew a kiss to someone in the gallery as she was led down from the dock.
They were taken from court to Armley prison, Leeds and lodged in separate condemned cells.
Both were informed that would be no reprieves and that their executions would take place on the 29th of December 1903.
Apparently, John had not expected to be reprieved but Emily had hoped that she would be and had had major mood swings in the condemned cell where she was guarded by pairs of wardresses 24 hours a day.
Emily was greatly distressed and in a state of near collapse when the governor informed her that there would be no reprieve. Emily told her wardresses repeatedly that she was very worried about the disgrace she was bringing on her family. Emily's family made a last, forlorn appeal to the King for clemency but this was, as usual, ignored.
The only time Emily and John saw each other between sentence and execution was at the prison chapel service on Christmas morning where they were kept separate and not allowed to speak. It is reported that they both ate a substantial Christmas dinner.
Execution.
At this time, double (and even treble hangings) were still allowed and it was decided to execute them side by side. John Billington was the principal executioner assisted by John Ellis.
They went first to John Gallagher who was quite calm and pinioned his wrists behind him. He was then led forward to the gallows by warders, while Billington and Ellis pinioned the now much recovered Emily, whom they escorted into the execution room flanked by two male warders.
John was already on the trap, surrounded and supported by warders, with the white hood over his head when Emily was led in. She would have been able to see the two nooses dangling from the beam. As she came onto the trap, Billington drew the white hood over her head and then she made her famous remark. A moment later the lever was pulled and they plummeted down through the trap together. The autopsy found that death had been "instantaneous" in both cases.
Comment.
This was very much an "open and shut" case where the evidence against both defendants was strong and one which involved the doctrine of Common Purpose that was part of English law in 1903 (and still is now). The law states that if two (or more) people commit a crime, they can be held equally responsible where there was common purpose, i.e. they both intended or could have reasonably foreseen the outcome. This seems to have been true in this case - if Emily's words were accurately reported by her neighbours, it is clear that at that moment, at least, she wanted John to kill William and, therefore, would be equally responsible for the outcome. Her precise role in the actual killing is unclear, although it is probable that she did in fact take part as John had claimed.
It is unlikely that either John or Emily intended to kill William, because he was in the way of their affair, but rather because John lost his temper when he saw Emily's injuries and between them things went too far in the "heat of the moment." Today Emily might be seen more as the victim than she was then, but they would almost certainly still both be found guilty of murder because she played an active role in the killing and did nothing to restrain John.
The factor that makes this case unusual is the behaviour of Emily on the gallows. Normally not a word was spoken by the prisoner in this situation. They were not invited to speak and many were probably paralysed with fear or had retreated into a world of their own by the time they were pinioned and hooded.
Double hangings were ultimately abolished because they took longer to carry out, and this was felt to prolong the suffering of the first prisoner especially. After about 1920 where two or more people were to be executed for the same crime, they could be hanged in separate prisons at the same moment in time, as happened with Edith Thompson and her boyfriend, Frederick Bywaters. In this case, it was probably far less cruel, especially to Emily, to allow her to die beside John rather than make her suffer on her own. Edith Thompson may well have held up better if she had been allowed to be hanged with Bywaters.
This was the first of a trio of female hangings that John Ellis was involved in and all three had unusual features. Susan Newell refused the white hood and Edith Thompson's was very unpleasant and also involved the killing of the husband by the boyfriend. John Ellis had a very strong dislike of hanging women.
� � �---------------------------
MORE ARMLEY GOAL HANGINGS -
Twenty eight year old Edwin Sowerby, a miner from Crofton near Wakefield, was hanged on Thursday, December 31st, 1920, for the murder of his former girlfriend,19 year old Jane Darwell. He had taken the break up of the relationship very hard and when he saw Jane at the village dance in the schoolroom at Crofton on the night of October 25th, he walked over to her and cut her throat in front of several witnesses. His defence at the trial was one of insanity due to war injuries in World War I, but this was not accepted by the jury who found him guilty after just 20 minutes. Sowerby was visited in prison several times by his parents and on the day before execution, his brother and sister had their last interview with him. He handed over to his sister the whole of his personal belongings except for a photograph, believed to be that of Jane, which he took to the gallows. This was the 50th execution at Armley and was carried out by Tom Pierrepoint. An inquest was held after it by the City Coroner (Mr W. H. Clarke) and the jury certified that death was due to dislocation of the vertebrae caused by hanging, duly and properly carried out.
On the 3rd of September 1925, Tom Pierrepoint carried out a double hanging at Armley and on the following day a further single execution. The first two prisoners were Alfred Bostock who had killed his mistress, Elizabeth Sherratt and 23 year old William Fowler, who was a Sheffield gangster who had taken part in the murder of an ex boxer called William Plommer in a street ambush. Fowler's brother and leader of their gang, Lawrence, was to die the following day for the same crime.
Alfred Bostock and Elizabeth Sherratt both worked for the Parkgate Ironworks in Rotherham and had fallen for each other virtually on sight. Albert was married but had a passionate affair with Elizabeth which went along very well until Elizabeth announced that she was pregnant, a setback that Alfred could simply not accept. On May 3rd, 1925, her body was found floating in the river at Rawmarsh - she had been battered to death. Bostock was the prime suspect and quickly arrested for the murder. He presented a weak alibi in his defence and although the evidence against him was circumstantial, it only took the jury 15 minutes to convict him. It is unclear why he was hanged alongside William Fowler and not alone. One surmises that the prison authorities thought there would be trouble between the Fowler brothers so had decided to hang them separately. Lawrence and William Fowler were leaders of a Sheffield gang that had been terrorising the city for some time and who considered themselves beyond the law. One of the gang's members, Trimmer Welsh, had got into a fight with William Plommer over his treatment of the barmaid in the pub where they were both drinking, and Plommer gave the man a good hiding. Plommer was ambushed by another two members of the gang, including young Wilfred Fowler, but they were no match for this powerfully built and courageous ex fighter either. Two defeats for the gang were more than its pride and arrogance could stomach so a mob of a dozen or so went to Plommer's house and when he came out to face them, they beat, stabbed and kicked him to death. They were soon rounded up, some getting prison sentences and Lawrence and William, being convicted of murder, sentenced to hang. Their executions brought to an end the gang terror in Sheffield in the 1920's.
The last double execution at Armley was that of Thomas Riley and John Roberts on the 29th April 1932. It was carried out by Tom Pierrepoint, assisted by Thomas Phillips and Alfred Allen and took a reported 90 seconds to complete. Riley was hanged for the murder of 52 year old Elizabeth Castle who had befriended him whilst Roberts was executed for the unrelated murder of greengrocer Alfred Gill whom he had battered to death. Double executions ceased in 1954 and were outlawed by the 1957 Homicide Act, as it was felt that the extra time they took subjected the prisoners to greater emotional suffering.
Arthur Osborne's case was probably unique, in that he was hanged on his birthday. Osborne had been found guilty of the murder of 70 year old Ernest Westwood on 25th September 1948. He had stabbed Mr. Westwood and robbed him in his own home. After the murder, Osborne fled to Chichester in Sussex where he was going to marry Dorothy Ball. He was already married but his wife was in a mental hospital. At the end of his three day trial at Leeds Assizes, the jury recommended mercy, but the Home Secretary saw no justification for this and Osborne was duly hanged by Steve Wade and Harry Allen on his 28th birthday, the 30th of December 1948. �The last execution in the old facility on �A� Wing was that of 19 year old Walter Sharpe on the 30th of March 1950. �Sharpe had been convicted of the robbery/murder of jeweller, Abraham Harry Levine in November 1949.
The last person to be hanged at Armley was 31 year old Hungarian born, Zsiga Pankotia, on the 29th June 1961 by Harry Allen. Pankotia had stabbed to death a wealthy market stall holder called Eli Myers, while trying to rob him in his home.
Under the name of Her Majesty's Prison Leeds, Armley continues in service to this day.
� � �~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Location: Manchester (Lancashire) - Strangeways Prison, condemned cell, B Wing
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: This phantom, is reported to be a man wearing a dark suit and carrying a briefcase has been reported by staff. If someone tries to follow the ghost, it vanishes near the condemned cell. Some have named him as John Ellis, a former executioner who committed
Posted: Tue May 31, 2011 5:03 am Post subject: graveyard construction is too common...
san4uzel,
Very chilling old and fresh ghost accounts up there.....!
The old prisons and old jail sites expand to accommodate the encapsulation of graves, with the government's building engineers total indifference. Some from prisoners naturally �dying or executed there and some from ancient people lying in unmarked graves.
These prison ghost stories would be a better deterrent than the convicts expected jail time by itself.
"A well known UK paranormal show shows interest in investigating this location but cant due to prison rules one inmate writes in a letter to his family in 2009."
Prison rules? How public are these great stories? Do they make the papers and tabloids? These stories need publicity about this.
Over here in the States the highway engineers build roads over ancient Native American burial grounds.
Travelers see spirits in those areas.
_________________
| Lancaster |
Yerevan is the capital of which country? | Stephen wade notorious murders of the twentieth by johny odisho - issuu
issuu
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First published in Great Britain in 2011 by Wharncliffe Books an imprint of Pen and Sword Books Ltd 47 Church Street Barnsley South Yorkshire S70 2AS Š Stephen Wade 2011 ISBN: 978-1-84563-130-7 ePub ISBN: 978-1-84563-130-7 PRC ISBN: 978-1-84563-130-7 The right of Stephen Wade to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of the publishers. Typeset in 11/13pt Plantin by Concept, Huddersfield. Printed and bound in England by CPI UK. Pen & Sword Books Ltd incorporates the imprints of Pen & Sword Aviation, Pen & Sword Maritime, Pen & Sword Military, Wharncliffe Local History, Pen & Sword Select, Pen & Sword Military Classics, Leo Cooper, Remember When, Seaforth Publishing and Frontline Publishing. For a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contact PEN & SWORD BOOKS LIMITED 47 Church Street Barnsley South Yorkshire S70 2BR England E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
Contents Introduction 1 The First Fingerprint Conviction 2 Poison in Idyllic Hay-on-Wye 3 Jeannie Donald: Not Proven 4 Lily's Story 5 The Bryant Poisoning Case 6 The Wife Pulled the Trigger 7 The Mystery of Walter Rowland 8 Buck Ruxton 9 The Wallace Enigma 10 Cornered in Kirkheaton 11 A Case of Provocation? Leonard Holmes 12 Guenther Podola 13 Late Confessions 14 Devlin and Burns 15 Homer and Standen 16 Appeals and Doubts 17 Three Famous Tales from the Last Years of the Rope 18 Hull's Great Unsolved Mystery 19 Sentenced to Die: Two Manx Cases 20 His Ghost Walks the Corridors 21 Miscarriage of Justice – by Earprint Epilogue Acknowledgements Bibliography and Sources Index
Introduction
U
nfortunately, the crime of murder is extremely common, so much so that the majority of murders happen within relationships or are committed by people who know their victims. The ‘famous’ murders are the ones that are forever being written about – mainly by serial and mass killers. Every daily paper carries murder stories, and they tend to cause a stir, but that is no more than a wave rippling on an ocean. For a crime to really whip up a tempest there has to be an extraordinary element of evil, often with a psychological element. The really famous murders tend to have the adjective changed to ‘infamous’ and they are a subject of constant fascination. We may theorise endlessly about why a serial killer did what he or she did but in the end, there will be something enigmatic about it. On the other hand, there have been a number of extraordinary murders which were undoubtedly famous and have remained so, albeit in the media that caters for true crime enthusiasts. Some are unsolved, and so they have their own mystery, others are simply strange and intriguing. They are forgotten in the sense of being out of the public eye, but there they still lie, in books, magazine articles and on the internet. Such are the subjects of this book. Most murder cases also tend to follow a template which stems from the classic structure from the days of hanging, of: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
the crime; the pursuit; the arrest; the trial; and the closure – noose or cell.
Since 1964 this established courtroom drama, in which a trial really was a matter of life and death, has gone, although (as my last chapter shows) there were death sentences meted out from the Tynwald on the Isle of Man in the 1990s. Still, the really compelling famous murders tend to be either the unsolved or the highly sensational. For that reason, I wanted the cases retold here to be either unfamiliar or classically mysterious. The mix selected is composed of four categories: 1. The classic unsolved – such as the Wallace case, in which several logistical problems related to Wallace's behaviour remain open. 2. The outright savage and brutal – perhaps best represented by Buck Ruxton, whose case was also a forensic first. 3. The issue of a reprieve being given. 4. The bizarre and unexpected in a courtroom triumph – the clearest case here being that of Jeannie Donald. Of course there are many other categories, such as a miscarriage of justice and indeed the most dramatic of all, a reprieve of a condemned woman, in the story of Florence Maybrick. What persists, in the history of true crime writing, is the fascination of a voyeuristic perspective: the general reader, a lay person outside the professional arena of the detective, the judge or the
pathologist, feels the most intense curiosity at the thought of what consequences may follow the taking of a human life. If that murder is by a husband, wife, son or daughter, then the voyeurism takes on another dimension: because most of us know family life and we know the stresses and demands of relationships, we therefore feel a certain level of insight and empathy in these case; and this is nothing to do with the old adage that ‘any one of us could take a life, if pushed too far’. That statement is always open to debate and it is far too simplistic.
What is murder? In 1957, when the possible abolition of the death penalty for murder was in the air, an official report listed fifty homicides in Britain in the year preceding the publication of the paper. The authors noted that all fifty involved a factor which was either accidental or circumstantial: in other words, a killing with a possibility of manslaughter rather than murder. That simple difference is crucial, of course. In a murder, there have to be these two elements: Mens rea – a guilty mind or intent (malice aforethought). Actus reus – the elements of an offence excluding those which concern the mind of the accused.
There has to be an intent to take life or to act in such a way that death would be a possible outcome; then there has to be such an act taken. An accepted definition of murder is: ‘…unlawful homicide committed with malice aforethought, express or implied. Express malice exists where the person killing does so with the intention of causing death or grievous bodily harm. Implied malice exists where the person killing does not actually intend to kill or do grievous bodily harm, yet intentionally does an act which to his knowledge is likely to cause death…’(Mozley and Whiteley's Law Dictionary) There is also in the classic definition the added clause: ‘…the death occurzring within a year and a day’ and that has given a number of fascinating cases over the years in which the accused waits to see if the charge might be manslaughter or murder – the noose or a long spell inside. Also, in Britain, we have the issue of the crime passionel, and as Sir Harold Scott wrote as a commentary on this: ‘Thus crimes passionels arising out of sexual jealousy amount to murder unless the jury considers that the provocation was enough to make a reasonable man do as the killer did through loss of self-control because of what he saw or of what was said to him.’ In popular culture, though, such fine distinctions hardly matter. The fact is that in a narrative in popular genres, a killer is a killer, and the ambivalence is of little interest. What always attract attention are the motives. A true crime murder story, like all stories, is about the question why. There are so many possible reasons for taking a life that every murder story will probably have a factor that is indicative of intentions that may or may not be provable as aims to kill. In other words, the commonest defence of ‘I didn't mean to kill him/her’ is hard to prove and also hard to disprove. Even more interesting is the killing done for money, a hit killing. There, there is an element of it being a ‘business’ and so motivations are plain and onesided. There may well be other emotions beneath the surface but what arises in the heart of the story is killing for cash. Of course, there are also ‘firsts’ and I start with the once famous case of the murders which were solved by means of fingerprints, and for which the fingerprint evidence was judged to be admissible. There were plenty of others in that category to choose from, but few forensics firsts have such appeal. What about weapons and methods? The modus operandi in the majority of cases is plain and direct – poison, the blunt instrument, the blade or the bullet. Poisonings have always been prominent in the
famous cases, and many of these are baffling in their complexity. But there are the straightforward approaches such as the Hay case when food was poisoned, and in fact consumed in the presence of the apparently amiable and well-respected killer. Poison is in some ways the expert's chosen means: this is because there is a wide choice, each with a different method of extinguishing life. There is a huge difference between the killer wanting the victim to die mercifully quickly, as with strychnine, and the poison which will provide a long and agonising death, as has often been the case with arsenic, given in small doses. The latter was complicated in Victorian times because, as with James Maybrick, arsenic was used in tiny doses as an aphrodisiac. There are great murder stories too, in the sense that something about them captures the public imagination, and there is a strange element to this: something that creates almost a fictional feel to the tale. of course that is because such affairs are distant from the man in the street and that distance lends an unreal quality. In my cases, the story of Guenther Podola perhaps comes closest to this. I was eleven when Podola shot a policeman dead – Sergeant Purdy. This was reported on television, and as it was 1959, it was the early days of television being in ordinary homes. I have a lingering image of a phone box being involved in the story and of the uproar at the thought of someone killing a police officer. The image was correct, as it turned out that Podola had rung his intended victim from a phone box at South Kensington underground station. What this illustrates is the tendency for prominent murder stories to haunt the imagination, just as a scene from a novel or a film might do. I have three stories of police killings here, and that makes sense when we consider how much the officers are in the front line, taking the bullets as well as the threats. They often live in very dangerous situations, and their heroism in facing a gun barrel has figured in hundreds of famous murders – unfortunately many of which are forgotten. That is in the sense that they are a furore, but a temporary one until the next, more horrendous killing comes along. Crime magazines tend to make lists and write from the basis of the arithmetic of death: they make copy from questions about which serial killer has done the most murders, or who has committed the most disgusting killings. It is significant though, that as I write this, there are eighteen criminals serving life sentences without the possibility of parole who were once infamous as well as famous and who are now in all the books about murder in Britain, yet the younger generation will not know them. The man who was once a horrific and highly dangerous killer is now a zombie on drugs, harmless and aged, walking a hospital ward or watching television and sipping cocoa, safely behind a very high wall. A murder story offers the most transient fame, and yet many lust after that ‘cred’ and what it brings both in jail and inside the covers of true crime books. Any accidental discovery of an old yellowing newspaper will confirm that. There will almost certainly be a headline asking who killed someone or quoting the numbers of the slain. Why write about the famous but forgotten cases then? We write about such murders because they teach us, with very special insights, about the nature of the worst transgression, one of the key Ten Commandments, an act going back to Cain and Abel. They involve intricate questions of morality and they show that morality becomes entangled with the condition of the criminal law at the time of the events. At one point in time, the moral fabric of the community will be outraged by something that, some years later, is very ordinary. The obvious example is what is known in the slang of everyday talk as ‘queer bashing’. In the days of Quentin Crisp and his adventures around London clubs, when gay men were targets for cruelty and violence, there were murders; and they illustrate the nature of the social context that existed before the acceptance of homosexuality within mainstream culture. Another vivid example of this crossing of morality and law in murder cases is the murder trial
involving a woman in the dock. One of the most celebrated cases in Scottish history, that of Jeannie Donald (see Chapter 3), was something that reached out into a specific community, its geography, its patterns of behaviour and its integration and divisions. In other words, a murder can shine the torch of knowledge into the dark corners we previous ignored or chose to forget. There is a literary tradition to crime writing about famous murders which tends to create a line of thinkers, each adding to what has gone before, and each developing a new theory. In my collection there is one outstanding example: that of William Herbert Wallace. As Douglas Wynn wrote in his book, On Trial for Murder (1996), ‘This was one of the strangest murder cases ever. The murder reads like a detective story and there have been some twenty books written about it. Raymond Chandler called it the “impossible murder”…’ In writing my contribution to the debate, I am conscious that this murder case has gone so far into the realms of literature rather than life that I feel the creative weight of previous minds at work on the enigma. Finally, as well as writing about killers, I have worked with several in the capacity of a writer working in prisons. The majority of murderers are sad individuals who made a bad choice of behaviour, lost control in a confrontation, or allowed something dark to enter the soul, something that took away the restraint, the block to action. A cold killer has no block, no filter to allow the right human feelings in at the crucial moment. The killers I have met have been people who would be horrified at the thought that some would think them ‘evil’. A few I have worked with might perhaps relish the thought of that word being applied to them. We now have a great deal of scientific knowledge applied to human aggression and the neuroscientists have developed theories about which parts of the brain may be damaged or tend to malfunction when it comes to applying violence. Whatever the causes, the killers in most cases, if we avoid ideological and religious elements, tend to slip into one of these three categories: (1) The killer who is temporarily controlled by some urge that dominates the natural restraint we have from socialised behaviour. (2) The killer who purposely allows the urge to take life into his or her being, for ‘kicks’ or for gain. (3) The killer who places no value on human life and who sees murder merely as a business, a way of life. Murder and memory make an interesting enquiry in this context. Ever since the street ballad singers and sellers of chapbooks sold a tale of ‘a good murder’ back in the Victorian period, the theme has been one of ‘out of sight, out of mind’. Crowds of thousands swarmed to watch the hanging of Courvoisier, the man who murdered his aristocratic employer in 1840, but that was soon forgotten when the next hanging came along soon after. The subject causes sensations but they are fleeting ones, merely passing interests. But choosing which ones provide truly fascinating revisits from a crime writer has been full of interest, and in the end, the main attraction has been that of tantalising questions. Choice has been immense: the same problem confronted Jonathan Goodman when he edited The Daily Telegraph Murder File volume. In his preface he says, ‘When I came to choose according to the Telegraph accounts of matters to do with murder for this book, the Palmer case was already chosen. Deciding what else to include was made hardly less daunting by my having decided to stay within the 113 years till the abolition of capital punishment in Great Britain. During those years [since the founding of the Telegraph] there were some 40,000 known murders in England and Wales…’
Writing about the crime of murder attracted its first grandly literary treatment in the hands of the writer who moved in the Wordsworth circle, Thomas de Quincey, and he more than anyone understood its appeal to readers other than those who hanker after tales of the noose and back-street garottings. He said, in his famous essay, Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts, ‘Murder may be laid hold of by its moral handle…or it may be also treated aesthetically. As the Germans call it, that is, in relation to good taste…’ He was hinting at the way in which readers of crime stories tend to divide into those who see a murder as totally serious business, related to the close study of criminology, and those who enjoy the story on a more playful level, with little to do with the dark reality of its occasion. Gershon Legman once wrote that ‘Murder is a crime. Writing about it is not.’ He was noting that there is an element of the subject which relates to the way we divorce the actual facts from the relish of the drama and sensation. This, after all, is there in the so-called ‘cosy’ genre of crime fiction, in contrast to the direct shock of a serial killer story or explicit forensic writing. I have attempted to include both aspects of crime writing here – there is plenty of commentary on the harsh reality of someone taking a life, but also a dash of the aesthetic, as De Quincey would say.
Technology Writing in 2004, Danny McGannan recalled working in computers early in his career: ‘As a computer operator in the 1970s, many frustrating night shifts were spent chasing a fast unwinding reel of paper tape containing criminal record details that had inexplicably made a bid for freedom from the noisy reader device. Tracking criminals took on a different meaning in those days.’ The Police National Computer was established in 1974. Before then computer rooms were massive, taking up long and broad floors in huge buildings. It is common knowledge that, in the Yorkshire Ripper investigation, record-keeping and technological back-up were still in the pre-computer days, well before DNA and before the Phoenix Names Application which was introduced in 1995. The Phoenix Application was the first step in the national database of names and historical information on convicted criminals. Since then there has been a second technological revolution. In 2005, for instance, an international police partnership was set up when the police computer was linked to the Schengen Information System which was created to integrate criminal information across Europe. Today, DNA sampling is so sophisticated that we might think that it is becoming more difficult than ever to commit a murder and not be traced. In one sense that is so, yet there are over 1,000 unsolved murder cases in the United Kingdom. As a report given by BBC News in March 2010 stated, ‘Detectives never close the files of unsolved homicides. They simply keep hoping that one day they will find the killer.’ The BBC did a survey to find where the unsolved cases were; the Metropolitan Police, predictably, had 341, but the figures only go back as far as 1996. The West Midlands had 78 unsolved cases, Greater Manchester had 54 (for the last decade only) and Strathclydehad 53. The following cases include one of the most annotated and investigated cold cases of them all in the regions: that of Christopher Laverack in Hull. The local studies library in the city (now part of the Hull History Centre) had several drawers of press cuttings; mention the case in Hull and the chances are that the listener will have an opinion. Technology still only works when the right kind of police thinking is applied. Will O'Reilly retired recently from the Met and he told the press what happens in classic murder investigation thinking: ‘Time is of the essence at the beginning of any investigation…we talk about a golden hour where
there is an opportunity to make progress – but that can often be pushed further to the first twenty-four hours and then the first forty-eight. But once you give up the crime scene, you start to lose things.’ Current practice is for a murder to be considered cold when a team of detectives have met and agreed to box the papers; but paperwork is reviewed every two years. The new forensic technology will improve matters, and continue to do so, but we can see from this how a case becomes ‘cold’. Famous but forgotten cases are either constantly fascinating because we know all salient facts or because we know practically nothing. We know a great deal about the Wallace case but we do not know the killer.
CHAPTER 1
The First Fingerprint Conviction The advantage of fingerprints as a means of proving identity is no longer open to discussion… Home Office Committee report (1900)
A
lawyer as well as a writer, J P Eddy, noted in his 1960 autobiography: ‘It was as a young journalist in London that I was brought into direct contact in 1905 with the first murder case in England in which fingerprint evidence was used.’ He even added: ‘I remember very well as a young journalist going to see the scene of the crime before writing an account of it.’ But amazingly, he does not include that response in his memoirs. He was present at a truly significant event in criminal and legal history. One of the most celebrated detectives of the twentieth century, Fred Cherrill (‘Cherrill of the Yard’), explained his early fascination with fingerprints by telling the tale of his going to an old mill with his father in a storm. The miller was ill and someone was needed to grind the corn to meet demand. In the mill, lour was sprayed everywhere, putting a white film over every surface, and young Fred found himself grabbing an eel his father threw across the room at him, with orders to put it in a sack. His hands were caked in eel slime and then he writes, ‘Startled, I put out a hand to steady myself. For just a moment my slime-covered fingers rested on the wooden chute, which had become highly polished by all the flour and meal which had passed over its surface…I was gazing at the chute in awed fascination…There, by the agency of nature alone, were my fingerprints!’ Cherrill's story accounts for the long history of the knowledge of fingerprints, long before they were used in forensics. There had been various academics who had done work on prints but nothing had come of it: a professor at the University of Breslau in 1823 had read a Latin thesis on fingerprints in a lecture, and the artist Thomas Bewick had done some wood engravings of fingerprints, using them as identifying signatures on his works. In China, for many centuries, thumb-prints had been used in documents for identity purposes in ratification. Similarly, these impressions had been used in India with illiterate members of the population. When the scientist Francis Galton got to work on the subject, he wrote a book-length study, simply called Fingerprints, published in 1892. In some ways, the introduction of fingerprinting into police work is similar to the rivalry to reach the South Pole: while Sir Edward Henry was using fingerprints in India for crime investigation, the same work was being done in Argentina by Francesca Rojas. But after Henry had introduced fingerprinting into the repertoire of detection methods at the Yard, it was to effect a revolution in detective procedure. The prototype scenario and first conviction by the use of prints came in 1902, when the Yard had around 100 fingerprints in their first small volume of records. It was a murder case, and it took place at Chapman's Oil and Colour Stores in Deptford. An old couple, Thomas and Ann Farrow, ran the shop and they had an assistant, young William Jones, who, along with Louis Kidman, found Thomas's corpse and later the still breathing Ann Farrow. The old man had been brutally beaten, with a broken cheekbone and a fractured skull. The doctor said that the man had died around ninety minutes earlier. When Ann Farrow had been taken to hospital and the scene was ready for some inspection, Chief Inspector Fred Fox arrived to do his work, with
two photographers. Crime scene investigation, in something close to the modern sense, was being born that day. No less a figure than Melville Macnaghten came to assist and then took charge. The killer had not forced an entry, that was the first important detail established. There had been a frenzied search of the whole shop and house, but after going upstairs and hitting Mrs Farrow, the scene suggested that they had come downstairs and then fought the old man again, as he had recovered from their first blow. There were no witnesses; three masks were found abandoned in the shop so now Macnaghten knew he was looking for three killers, and that made the murder all the more savage and reprehensible. There was no indication as to what weapon had been used in the murderous attacks either. The question now on the detective's mind was whether Ann Farrow would recover and give descriptions. What was particularly unhelpful in the course of following the usual tracing procedure in pawn shops and similar outlets, was that the killers had only taken money. That created a dead end in the normal line of enquiry. It was looking desperate for the Chief; another shopkeeper had been killed in London the same day. Then, the final blow, Mrs Farrow died. Macnaghten went back to the bloodbath that was the sitting room of the Farrow household. Casting his eye across the room and the pools of blood, he thought of the surface prints that had just been perused in smaller scale arrests. Would the Farrow murder be the first opportunity to try this new device? He established that none of the police personnel at the shop had touched the cashbox, then he covered his fingers with a handkerchief and showed his team the print on the box. Collins, of the new Fingerprint Branch, was a sleuth with a scientific bent; he had been working on other types of basic forensics and was excited about this new technique. It was a matter of magnifying glasses and intense study at that time; he had a small collection of filed prints from known criminals and that was that. There had been a long-established method of filing basic records of habitual offenders, so there was some hope of a ‘result’. But the print on the cash box had no match in Collins's shelves. Only a month before this case, Collins had been called in to help define a prisoner's identity. This was the case of Albert Wilkinson, charged with theft and grievous bodily harm. He had been arrested on suspicion but his identity could not be proved. Police thought he was the same man who had committed a similar offence in Hull and elsewhere. Collins was called in and as there was a fingerprint on a document in the hands of the accused, a comparison was made. Collins, it was reported, ‘…compared the original impressions with those taken at Dartmoor of a convict named Hargreaves, who was sentenced at Hull for larceny…they were absolutely identical’. The Wilkinson case was surely in the minds of the legal professionals in court for or against the Strattons, and Collins was bristling with professional pride after that triumph. Basic police work, however, provided the lead that would eventually take the investigation back to the cash box. A milkman at work on the day of the killing had seen two men leaving the shop and he gave a description of them. The milkman saw that they had left the door open and told them so but they took no notice as they said there was someone behind them. Totally with this, three men had been seen in a local pub very early that day – and they answered the descriptions. It was when a certain Ellen Stanton came forward that things accelerated; she had seen two men running at the right time, and they had the same appearance as two suspects, and Ellen knew one of them. Macnaghten was now searching for Alfred Stratton. The man was taken in Deptford. The identification parade failed, but Collins took the prints of Stratton and his brother. One print matched that of Alfred. Other results from basic investigation had been productive, such as the evidence of a landlady that she had found a pair of silk stockings, which had been cut in such a way as to make masks, lying
under the bed of Albert Stratton. These had been left at the paint shop. What happened then is a pattern for almost all succeeding scientific forensic advances when it came to actually implementing the knowledge and seeing it take part in a process of law in the courts. In other words, this new detective force, with its fingerprints and other types of records, was going to find it hard to convince judge and jury about the new methods of detection. But the Stratton brothers went to the gallows; hangman John Billington officiated at Wandsworth. The judge, Mr Justice Channell, had said in court that the men should not be convicted on fingerprint evidence alone and that was the case. But the first trial involving fingerprint evidence had happened; from that point on the concept would be a little more familiar, and the newspapers played their part in ensuring that would be the case. The court room drama was at the old Bailey. Mr Justice Channell presided, and he and the jury was startled and surely impressed by Inspector Collins, who took an impression of a thumb from one of the members of the jury who had requested it. Collins demonstrated the difference in the whorls and lines with regard to the amount of pressure applied when the thumb was used. Expert witnesses then clashed. The defence had brought in J G Garson, a man who had formerly been working for the Home Office and he spoke about the differences between Stratton's print and that on the cash box. He said that it was not impossible that these came from the same person, but in his professional opinion, they were from different hands. Was Stratton going to be saved from the scaffold? The answer lay in the hands of R D Muir for the prosecution, who used two letters written by the defence expert. It was to cast doubt on everything he had said. One letter was for the defence, claiming that the use of the fingerprints by the police was not sound and would ruin their reputation in that branch of forensics; but the other letter was to the Director of Public Prosecutions asking whether witnesses were to be called to give scientific interpretation. He wrote: I feel that the Government have perhaps the first claim on my services. I may say that if I am not retained by the Treasury as an expert I shall probably give evidence as such for the defence, and that is the reason I am desirous of knowing as soon as possible whether my services are required by the Treasury.
It would be useful to know where Muir obtained that letter, but the outcome was, naturally, devastating for the defence case. Muir asked the man, ‘How can you reconcile the writing of those two letters on the same day?’ ‘I am an independent witness,’ he replied. ‘An absolutely untrustworthy one, I should think. After writing two such letters.’ Garson later wrote to The Times to defend his position and indeed his professional standing, saying, ‘My intention was entirely on public grounds, and I hoped to place before the Crown the result of a careful independent examination of the fingerprints. It was in this sense, and in this sense only, that I offered to give evidence for the prosecution. Failing my being asked to place my statements before the Crown, I felt it a public duty to offer the same thing to the defence.’ His argument had no effect and changed nothing with regard to public opinion. J P Eddy explained the judge's summing up: ‘…he said that if it was correct that people's hands and fingers varied so much, there was at any rate an extraordinary amount of resemblance between the two marks and therefore to a certain extent it was corroborative evidence in regard to Alfred, though he did not think the jury would act on it alone.’ The brothers were found guilty. The judge had felt a certain reluctance to take the scientific evidence. His reservation was that ‘the fingerprint system is used for the purpose of identifying a criminal who has been convicted once, and has been convicted again, in each of which cases a proper
impression has been taken for the purpose, but it is a different thing to apply it to a casual mark made through the perspiration of a thumb’. He had not grasped the significance of the new weapon in the forensic armoury. As Fred Cherrill commented on the case: ‘Unfortunately murderers do not walk about with bottles of ink, and we have to work with what we find. But that does not make our conclusions any the less certain.’ As for Alfred and Albert Stratton, they were hanged on 23 May that year at Wandsworth, by John Billington, with Henry Pierrepoint and John Ellis assisting. What was happening in the closing years of the nineteenth century and the first years of the new century was that Scotland Yard was acquiring a much more sophisticated records department than ever before and fingerprints were beginning to play a major part in that. Edward Henry initiated the Central Fingerprint Bureau and together with the Register of Habitual Criminals, the Criminal Records Office was created. Three CID men, Stedman, Collins and Hunt, were to run the new section. Fred Cherrill's memoirs give us an insight into what the Fingerprint Bureau was like in its early days; he joined it in 1920, when it was in the old part of Scotland Yard. Cherrill was working, in his early years, with the same format of records that had existed fifteen years before: these were various anthropometric sources and he was very critical of this ‘chest of drawers’: ‘The intrinsic value was nil. But to me it had more than a little sentimental appeal.’ It was, in fact, the basic product of the system begun by Alphonse Bertillon (1853–1914) who had been a worker in the Paris Prefecture of Police records department. Bertillonage became the method of classification by ‘mug-shot’ as he had been interested in using photography for recording purposes. His portrait parle became a standard concept in visual records of criminals. He was opposed to fingerprinting and thought that photographs were the better means of identification. He had worked out that the chances of two people of similar profiles being exactly the same height were four to one. He extended this to all areas of dimensions in all parts of the frame and so produced a template for individualising the subject. If the subject were to be a criminal, then think of the value of that in the detective's records. The Deptford case, known generally as The Mask Murder, is undoubtedly famous for many reasons, but most clearly for the credibility and admissibility in law of fingerprints – something now completely matter of fact and accepted without question. In 1953, the report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis was presented to Parliament and in that report it was stated that the fingerprint collection at Scotland Yard at that time was over 500,000 prints. Between the Stratton case and the date of that report – covering fifty years of police history – there was only one other fingerprint issue at the court of appeal: one in which a burglar claimed that his prints found on a candle could have been put there by one of his gang. The appeal failed, and Lord Darling's question was the only one that ever carried the day. He asked, ‘Can the prisoner find anybody whose fingerprints are exactly like his?’ That simple question reflects a massive revolution in forensics.
CHAPTER 2
Poison in Idyllic Hay-on-Wye Armstrong was hen-pecked and his wife made no secret of the fact that she ruled him. Robert Jackson
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n my childhood in the 1950s, an everyday sight was the number of dangling brownish strips of paper hanging from the ceiling, usually by the light: these were fly-papers, and they were loaded with arsenic. Even at that time, arsenic had such domestic uses. It was still, in spite of various controlling acts, a familiar domestic poison. It had also been a substance with a very long history of use as a method of murder, and this story is one of the most celebrated cases of that horrific means of taking life. Hay-on-Wye, Brecon, is Wales’ ‘town of books’. Today, it is a place with a prestigious literary festival and locks of book-loving visitors, principally in the summer months. People wander and browse in the dust-caked shelves of old books, chat and eat ice-creams, sip soft drinks and stare into the peaceful vista towards Hereford. Even more idyllic is the hamlet of Cusop Dingle just half a mile down the road, and there lived a killer, a man with murderous designs on his wife and on a fellow lawyer. This prosperous, amiable man's spirit haunts that tranquil place. A moment's reflection will bring to mind a former Hay, a place where farmers met and where the vicar and diarist Francis Kilvert would walk and meet the ordinary folk who respected him, just as they respected Major Armstrong, clerk to the magistrates and local solicitor – and poisoner, with a penchant for applying arsenic to scones. The case of Major Armstrong and the poisoning of his wife in the quiet market town of Hay-on-Wye is one which has been written about almost in the melodramatic manner of the television series, Midsummer Murders. The reason for this is that the ingredients of the tale are highly dramatic and are also riddled with clichés and standard ‘characters’. The Major himself was a natty dresser and charming company, diminutive and chirpy, well liked in the community. His wife was domineering and from a good family. He was a Cambridge man but was by no means upper class in his origins. To cap all this, we have in the Hay poisoning case the established storyline of professional rivalry and ambition, with ironic twists all along the way. Yet all this is somehow annoying and distracting because, after all, this is a story of a monster with a disarming smile. One of the most admired of all true crime stylists, Richard Whittington-Egan, has written of this case, that in 1955, when a book on the case appeared: ‘Oddly, old Hay folk speak of him, not as a murderer, but with affection as a sort of benefactor. They rise fiercely to his defence if a stranger… shows lack of proper respect for his memory. They speak out strongly of his many acts of goodwill and kindness.’ It is almost as if, thirty years after the criminal events around Armstrong and his victims, the villainy was outweighed by the man's civic standing. He was a mason as well as a general all round ‘good sort’. His predilection for murder was apparently seen by some as a mere aberration. Some famous murders are of this character. To understand this one, we have to travel back in imagination to 1910, when Herbert Rowse Armstrong moved to his new home, Mayfield, in Cusop Dingle, with his wife Katherine and their three children. We have to make an effort to call to mind
what this man was like and where he came from. The man lived very well in Hay, with a housekeeper and a maid. With his large garden, he could spend time outside, away from the wife who nagged. He was tiny – barely 5 feet tall – but worked hard on his military bearing. He had been a Volunteer and a Territorial, and although he did briefly go over the France, most of the Great War for Armstrong was in English depots. But he came back from his part in the war and settled back into practice as a solicitor. He had read law at Cambridge, and was then admitted as a solicitor in 1895. His first experience in that profession had been in Newton Abbot, where he was born in 1870, and then in Liverpool. When he came to settle in Hay his rival was the firm run by Mr Griffiths. Griffiths was in Armstrong's mind as he nurtured his ambition: he wanted the two companies to amalgamate. But as Mr Griffiths became ill, he took on Mr Oswald Martin, and in 1920, Griffiths died. Martin, who was wounded severely in the war, was left with a severe facial tic; he was clearly a competent man in his profession and he became a partner in the Griffiths business. The first biographers of Bernard Spilsbury, Browne and Tullet, pointed out back in 1952 that as Armstrong tried to become friendly with Martin and developed his standing in the town, there was a notorious murder case quite close at hand: Harold Greenwood, also a solicitor, was on trial in Carmarthen, and he was charged with poisoning his wife with arsenic. He was acquitted, but Browne and Tullet point out: ‘The result must have been in Armstrong's thoughts when he made that last purchase of arsenic, on 11 January, at the shop of his rival's prospective father-in-law, Mr Davies, the chemist.’ Armstrong, the keen gardener, was at war with weeds. As was common at the time, arsenic was used in weedkiller and Davies the chemist was familiar with Armstrong's habits of using such a weedkiller in a tube with which he targeted dandelions. At the same time as these purchases, Mrs Armstrong was ill, and was deteriorating. The doctor who examined her thought that she was mentally ill, and her attitudes to Herbert had included a repressive regime which may have been partly a result of her mental anguish. He was forced to stay away from strong drink and he could smoke only in one designated room. Some writers have described her as a ‘crack’ and others as a ‘terror’ who made Herbert noticeably hen-pecked and was observed as so by the neighbours. By August 1920, Katherine's health was indeed cause for concern. Medical advice was followed: she was taken away to a private asylum in Gloucester. Katherine was there for six months, and then when she returned home she was ill again, and in February 1921, she died. Armstrong stood to collect £2,300 by her death, but he was still short of cash, and he owed Martin £500 which had earlier been paid to Armstrong by a client in a land sale transaction. This situation made relations between Armstrong and Martin even more strained. Now that Mrs Armstrong was no longer at home – and she could not object to the clothes he wore – Martin could visit Armstrong. He did, and he was offered buttered scones. The Major's words, ‘Excuse fingers,’ as he served the food to his guest, have since reached the status of one of those iconic statements from great crime stories – the polite and mannered words masking the fact that the scones had been injected with arsenic contained in the applicator for treating dandelions. Martin felt very ill after the tea-time chat, and matters escalated. Suspicions were aroused and a Dr Hincks was brought in. The Martins also received a box of chocolates, delivered by post, a present from Armstrong. Sure enough, Mrs Martin, who ate a chocolate, was violently sick. Putting two and two together, Martin made a case for attempted murder, and thoughts turned to Mrs Armstrong and how she may have conceivably died. Armstrong was now investigated, and the medical men started a process which would lead to the exhumation of Katherine Armstrong. The moment is a very dramatic one: the great forensic scientist,
Sir Bernard Spilsbury, made the journey from London to Hay on 2 January 1922. What had raised suspicions even more was the fact that Armstrong was in the habit of keeping small quantities of arsenic in screwed up parcels of brown paper. He would keep these in his pockets and in his desk drawers. When first questioned by police, they were aware of this, and of the fact that he had regularly bought arsenic from Mr Davies. Davies, Hincks and Martin must have had long and exploratory conversations about Armstrong before action was taken. Spilsbury had conducted the investigation of Mrs Armstrong's corpse under a tent in the churchyard, and he had taken away several specimens for analysis. When it came to the process of investigation and eventually the charge of murder against Armstrong in April 1922 the trial opened at Hereford Assizes. Sir Henry Curtis-Bennett defended Armstrong and Mr Justice Darling presided. For the prosecution, Sir Ernest Pollock led for the Crown. Armstrong was on remand in prison at Gloucester and every day of the trial he was driven to Hereford and back. The trial was a momentous one for the great judge Darling. He was seventy-three and it was his last murder trial. Curtis-Bennett was a very astute man and a skilful speaker in court. All this made for this being one of the great criminal trials – and this escalated the status of the affair in the annals of murder in Britain. Spilsbury's evidence was totally convincing and impressive. The chemist told the court that just before Mrs Armstrong came home from the asylum, the Major bought arsenic, and it seems that the chemist was remiss, in that he perhaps did not mix the arsenic with charcoal as he was supposed to do. Some coloured white arsenic was found on Armstrong's person, and then a second search of his desk revealed another arsenic parcel trapped at the back of a drawer – something that had been missed in the first police search. The stage was set for the conclusive evidence of Spilsbury. He told the court: From the amount of arsenic which was present in the small and large intestines it is clear that a large dose of arsenic must have been taken – I mean, a poisonous dose, possibly a fatal dose – certainly within twenty-four hours of death; and from the amount of arsenic which was found in the liver – over 2 grains – and from the disease which I found in the liver, it is clear that poison must have been given in a number of large doses extending over a period, certainly of some days, probably not less than a week…
The centre point of sheer sensation and puzzling interest was the fact that the packet of arsenic had been discovered at the back of the desk drawer in Armstrong's office. The defence, led by Curtis Bennett, appear to have used this as a gambit. One opinion is that it was placed there by the defence but that is a very cynical allegation. More likely is the possibility that Armstrong recalled that it was there and he told his defence team. The packet was two-faced though: Lord Darling thought the discovery was very damaging evidence, and both sides waited with bated breath for Armstrong himself to take the stand. What happened was that the court was asked to accept that Armstrong had the habit of poisoning each dandelion in his garden individually with a tool having a fine point. The defence had to find a way to explain away that odd fact – not only that Armstrong used the tool with the fine point on the weeds, but that small holes had been found in poisoned chocolates which were surely the result of the use of that same tool. Curtis Bennett tried his best in his last speech to the jury, but nevertheless, according to those present, such as Filson Young who wrote about the case later, the general feeling was that Armstrong would be acquitted. This was wrong. Bennett actually went for a walk while the jury were out, and he expected to come back to a not guilty verdict. But Armstrong was found guilty and was sentenced to death. Young mentions a story current at the time, and given in the popular press, about the jury: that there had been eleven statements of guilty on scraps of paper written by the jury, and one that said, ‘Not proven’. As Young relates: ‘…when the foreman announced the result the man who had written “not proven” said, “Well Tom, you know what not proven means. I really believe the man is guilty”. After
which the foreman is alleged to have said, “We have heard enough of the case and we needn't discuss it any more. Let's have a quiet smoke before we go back into court.” ‘ When he was asked if he had anything to say before sentence was passed, the little Major said simply, ‘No, nothing.’ At the appeal court, Lord Hewart presided and he and his fellow judges had to endure a long and tedious speech by Bennett, covering a wide range of previous murder cases. They interrupted Bennett several times, and at last Hewart simply said, There is the clearest possible evidence that Armstrong, on 11 January, purchased a quarter of a pound of white arsenic, and that when he was arrested, on 31 December, he had in his pocket a packet containing a fatal dose of white arsenic. In these circumstances, as soon as he stated his defence – that he bought and was keeping the poison for the innocent purpose of destroying weeds – it was open to the prosecution to show by means of the evidence relating to Martin that Armstrong neither bought nor kept the poison for that pretended innocent purpose…
The appeal was dismissed, as Hewart said, it raised ‘no new principles of law; it elucidates no new aspect of familiar principles…’ The plain fact was that Armstrong was to hang. The date for his execution was set for 31 May 1922 and Rochdale hangman John Ellis was asked if he was available. Ellis, a racing man, knew that the date was Derby day; he also had another hanging date in the diary – he was due to hang the tall ex-soldier Hiram Thompson the day before. He arranged to leave Strange ways prison immediately after the first job, taking a train to Gloucester to hang Armstrong. As for his bet on the Derby, a warder put the bet on for him. Armstong, as we have seen was very tiny man, and to make Ellis's job more difficult, the prisoner had not been weighed for three weeks. His weight had to be calculated to that Ellis could calculate the drop required from the scaffold. He was weighed, and he was just 8 stones 3 pounds, so the drop would have to be very deep – just 4 inches short of 9 feet. In Ellis's memoirs, there is a sidelight which throws a great deal of relevant knowledge about Armstrong. It relates to his reputation in the Welsh Marches and Herefordshire. Ellis wrote: When I went to Gloucester prison to hang him, the first words spoken to me there were by an official, who said, ‘I hope you'll be as gentle as possible with Armstrong. He isn't an ordinary man.’ For a moment I was absolutely stunned. The suggestion implied that I was in the habit of treating condemned men in a cruel way, and second, that Armstrong was entitled to some sort of special treatment. Can anyone wonder that I was resentful of such imputations?
Ellis, touchy and proud, formed an opinion of the man: Although he was only charged with the murder of his wife, I happen to know that if that case had failed there was enough evidence about the deaths of other people to have him hanged three times. This was the man they wanted me to be tender with.
The dapper, confident Armstrong whose photo has come down to us as a man with a flower in his button-hole and a warm smile, a man of military bearing, disappeared after the sentence, as Ellis noted: ‘The hideous arrow-marked clothes seemed to bring home to him the truth…he was in a state of total dejection.’ However, Armstrong had the required fortitude when his hour came. Ellis recalled: ‘To give Armstrong his due, he went bravely to his death. Immediately he reached my side I whipped the white cap over his head and fastened the noose. Just as I put my hand on the lever I heard him speak his last words, “I am coming, Kate!” ‘
CHAPTER 3
Jeannie Donald: Not Proven The accused was in possession of sacks, similar to that in which the body was found… William Roughead
T
his has to be the classic template case of lingering doubt, theory and supposition. It has the added dimension of interest we find in stories embedded in the ordinary, and in which the suspicious death at the heart of the enigma was never satisfactorily explained by forensic enquiry. The murder of Helen Priestly, eight and a half years old, in April 1934, in Urquhart Road, Aberdeen, appears to be resigned to the ‘unsolved’ category, in spite of the best minds in criminal analysis being applied to the known facts. Even the great William Roughead, doyen of true crime writers, admitted that all that was left, after the facts were given and the evidence assessed, was a puzzle, albeit one that offered a temptation for commentators and criminologists to apply their own thoughts. Helen's body was found after a night's searching in the lobby of her parents’ home in the tenements, and she was in a sack, with her feet projecting out; the sack had not been in the lobby at two in the morning of that day, and it was first discovered around five, after hope had almost gone that the girl would be found. She had been sexually interfered with, and there had been a reported cry of ‘She's been used!’ from someone during the chaos of the discovery and the gathering crowd that wanted to be present at the gruesome scene. The story begins with Helen being sent out by her mother to buy a loaf of bread. She did not return and a search began. Jeannie Donald lived with her husband and daughter in the flat below the Priestly family. The neighbours searched around the street for hours, and Jeannie later said that she had been out at a local pavilion fair with her daughter, all evening until 11.00pm. In spite of the apparent alibi of all members – Mr Donald being at work that day, as a hairdresser, Jeannie was arrested and charged. There was a police operation, and the green area behind the tenement was inspected for footprints; then of course the body and the sack were studied. Several famous scientists were involved in that work, including the charismatic Professor Sydney Smith. All the medical men found several details of great interest. There were cinders in the sack and in the child's mouth and hair. There were some small traces of blood there too. The cause of death was asphyxia, but there was an interesting fact here: Helen had an enlarged thymus and any pressure on that would have easily caused death. There were signs of apparent rape, but on closer inspection, a perforation of the lower bowel and other signs of injury by a smallish and thin object. Professor Glaister from Glasgow University was a specialist in hair analysis and he looked at hairs found in the sack, in the Donald hearth, and in a brush taken from Jeannie Donald while on remand. All the expert could say was that there was a striking similarity: he had no definite confidence in saying they were all from the same source: Helen Priestly. At the trial, as William Roughead wrote: ‘A long and learned cross-examination by Mr Blades left the matter much where it was.’ But some work of much more significance came from the evidence given by Professor Mackie of Edinburgh who subsequently explained that a rare bacillus, coliform in nature, was present in the underwear of the dead girl and also in a cleaning cloth in the Donald household. He said in court: ‘I
have given this very careful consideration and it is my considered opinion that the findings I have stated are very suggestive that these cloths had been contaminated from the same source as bloodstains on the child's combinations.’ He said he would recommend a ‘public authority’ when faced with this contrast, to take action, and if it were a disease, he would ‘recommend action with equal confidence’. Fibres were also examined, by an expert from Bradford, and some found in the sack matched those in the Donald house; but the problem with that was that the Donalds kept lots of sacks for cinders and other waste, and so such materials would be expected. Far more useful were the findings of Sydney Smith, who was described by Roughead (who was at the trial) in this way: ‘An ideal witness, alert but calm, positive but polite, clear, competent and urbane under the most rigorous cross-examination.’ He had been the first to spot the coliform bacillus and he examined a large number of items from the Donald house; he looked at fibres and cinders and found matches. The wiping cloth had traces of vomit on it, and that was important later. Smith was also sure that the knickers were torn before there was bleeding, and that the child had at first been lying face-down. What all experts agreed on was that there had been no male rape. This point was important because that had been taken as a strong possibility. A little boy told police that he had seen Helen being abducted by a man, but later he confessed that he had made up the tale. There was also the reported statement about a man hanging around the area. But several people who had been involved in the hunt for the girl later said that there had been no unusual sightings of unknown people as they looked around the whole area in the early hours of the morning. The crucially vital details that pointed the finger of guilt at Jeannie Donald were that the light on her flat had been seen on at around 3.00am but no one from her family had come out to help; the sack from her lat, containing the body, had apparently been placed there later in the morning after the main search. There was no evidence of any other person present who could have done the killing. Jeannie Donald and Mrs Priestley, though they had no open confrontations nor anger expressed, did not speak to each other. Jeannie expressed the situation with these words: ‘It was because of water coming down; we had no row, only we did not speak…’ All this was fairly strong material to work with. Add to that the established fact that little Helen used to tease and annoy Jeannie in various ways, and the minutiae of the forensic evidence – such as the cinders on the body and in the sack and the mysterious disappearance ofa box of ash from the floor in the Donalds’ room, and things looked bleak for the accused. If she were guilty, then it seemed that the body of the little girl must have been kept in the Donalds’ flat somewhere for several hours – certainly from 11.30pm through to around 5.00am. That implied a callous and evil nature behind the reserved and quiet front that Mrs Donald put on for the world when questioned. When the accused was asked why there was no demonstrable involvement from her in the search for the girl and other matters pertaining to Helen, she replied that she had given a shilling towards a wreath. When, in the early hours when the body had been found, a neighbour had said to Jeannie that, ‘They are thinking that she met her death here…it was some person about the door…’ Jeannie had said nothing, but simply gone inside her own rooms. Before leaving for the pavilion with her daughter, Jeannie said that, in the afternoon, two suspicious and disreputable men had called at her house. One she said was a dirty, unshaven old man with his hands in his pockets. It all seems rather weak and stereotyped. But on the final day of the trial there was a new witness, and the defence counsel, Mr Blades, said that at 3.30pm, on the afternoon of the killing, a teenager had seen what she thought was a tramp walking with a little girl who had a blue dress, a tammy hat and black stockings. She was also carrying a parcel suggestive of a loaf and she
seemed ‘scared like’. But this had been already looked into earlier, and there was a suspicion of yet another fabrication. When the court process was complete, matters were looking bad for Mrs Donald. There were no other suspects and no other related lines of thought. Some things he could use were actions such as a police surgeon who had said that blood was found in the Donald flat but he later changed his mind, and also that the forensics had not been conclusive. The alibi for the afternoon–that Mrs Donald and her daughter had been to the pavilion and had also been shopping at a market – was not contested and no witnesses were called to say yes or no to that claim. But in the end, as the Lord Advocate reminded everyone in his summing-up, the evidence from Professors Mackie and Smith about the bacillus was hard to deny. There was also the strange business of the Donald's light being on at 3.00am and their absence from the search. The latter point must have been a formative detail in the general condemnation of the accused. It took less than twenty minutes for the jury to reach a decision. There are fifteen people in a Scottish jury and in this case, thirteen found Mrs Donald guilty of murder and two decided it was not proven. The death sentence stated that Mrs Donald ‘be hanged in the prison of Aberdeen on 13 August…’ But there was an appeal for clemency and for the sentence to be commuted to prison for life. This was done by means of 1926 legislation: The Criminal Appeal (Scotland) Act. This laid down that an appeal had to be lodged within ten days of the sentence, and so the lawyers lost no time, and when the response came from the Scottish office in London it was favourable for the condemned: With reference to the case of Jeannie Ewen or Donald, now lying under sentence of death in His Majesty's Prison, Aberdeen, I have to inform you that, after full consideration, I have felt justified in advising His Majesty to respite the execution of the capital sentence, with a view to its commutation to penal servitude for life.
The life was spared but the mystery remains. It is hard not to agree with William Roughead, who sees the solution as being a case of anger on the part of Jeannie Donald, after being once again teased by the girl who called her ‘Cocoanut’ and banged on her door. Was it just a temper that went too far and a shaking at the neck did damage to the girl with the enlarged thymus gland? Everything after that would be explained by a need to cover up the actual accidental death with signs of attack and rape. It was in the end, perhaps, a tale of the last straw in a long line of childish torments. Then, all the actions (or lack of action) by the women in the flat downstairs could be interpreted as the hard, disgusting deeds of a killer rather than as the silence of a terrified criminal who knew that she had done something seriously wrong and that the world must not know the truth. We don't know the truth today, but the theory of accidental death, on a fragile little girl, makes sense. With regard to the general view of execution on women, this reprieve was not unusual: there had been others as attitudes changed, but only six months after this case, Ethel Major was hanged in Hull prison for poisoning her husband in the little Lincolnshire village of Kirby-on-Bain. Britain was not such a civilised country after all, many thought that Christmas when the death was reported in the press. Naturally, in Aberdeen, there were many who had no problem with hangings, and they were sorely disappointed that Mrs Donald did not swing on the gallows for killing ‘one of their own’.
CHAPTER 4
Lily's Story I did not know my husband had died from strychnine poisoning. Ethel Major
I
n February 2010, I stood in Hull prison, staring at the death cell and the execution suite just across the corridor, on ‘twos’ as the second level is called in prison parlance. The bare cell still has the stone slab. I imagined a straw mattress but maybe that was too melodramatic. Then I took in the few steps required for the hangman's victim to be taken, pinioned, from that box to the small space across from the door in which the trapdoor would have been, ready for the convict to be stretched and the body dropped down to ground level. I also noticed, above me, and placed in such a way that someone looking could see anyone walking around outside the cell, there was a small window. This is where the executioner would have watched Ethel Major, a small, thin woman. He would have looked and assessed her body weight, to help calculate the length of drop required when he hanged her. He did just that, five days before Christmas Day in 1934. I shuddered as I looked at this so-called ‘suite.’ That word has to be the most sick and nasty euphemism in the language. There are dozens of reasons for calling this case the most significant and contentious in the history of crime in Lincolnshire. Reappraisals of the reasons why Ethel Major was hanged for the murder of her husband when she mounted the scaffold in Hull prison a few days before Christmas 1934 have been made regularly over the years. The problem is that nothing can turn the clock back, and reexamining this case is a painful business. The outline of the case is reasonably straightforward, but a controversy will follow. The Majors, lorry driver Arthur and wife Ethel, lived in Kirkby-on-Bain near Horncastle with their fifteen-yearold son. They were not happily married; she was forty-two and her husband forty-four. Arthur had a drink problem and he was very difficult to live with. He also appeared to be having an affair with a neighbour, a Mrs Kettleborough, and Ethel said that she had seen two love letters written by this woman to her husband. Hard though it is to believe in hindsight, Ethel Major showed these to her family doctor and said these words to him: ‘A man like that is not it to live, and I will do him in.’ Arthur Major died as a result of what was defined as an epileptic it, but then, before the funeral could take place, this anonymous letter arrived on the desk of Inspector Dodson of Horncastle police: Sir, have you ever heard of a wife poisoning her husband? Look further into the death (by heart failure) of Mr Major of Kirkby-onBain. Why did he complain of his food tasting nasty and throw it to a neighbour's dog, which has since died? Ask the undertaker if he looked natural after death? Why did he stiffen so quickly? Was he so jerky when dying? I myself have heard her threaten to poison him years ago. In the name of the law, I beg you to analyse the contents of his stomach.
This was signed, ‘Fairplay’. A coroner's order stopped the interment and Major's body was examined again. The coffin was actually removed in the presence of the mourners. Ethel was in her house with relatives, including Arthur's two brothers, when the police arrived. ‘It looks as though they're suspicioning me’ she told her father, and he agreed. Ethel, small, spectacled and short-sighted, was an unassuming woman with some quirky habits and a complicated nature. It soon emerged that indeed the dog, a wire-haired fox terrier, had died after having muscular
spasms. The pathologist, Dr Roche Lynch of St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, also confirmed that Arthur Major's body had the quantity of strychnine sufficient to kill the man. On examination, the surface of his body was blue, and almost any contact on the skin would initiate a spasm. Arthur's body had 1.27 grains in it and the dog had 0.12 grains. The average fatal dose for a man was between 1 and 2 grains. Lynch opined that Major had taken two doses: one on 22 May and the fatal one on 24 May. To dismiss any possibility of suicide, Lynch said, ‘On account of the awful agony he would go through, I do not think that any would-be suicide would take it a second time, unless he were insane.’ It had been a terrible and agonising death. His son Lawrence saw Arthur walking into the front room with his head between his hands, then as the man went outside, Lawrence saw him fall over. He was put to bed, and when Tom Brown came later, he saw Arthur foaming at the mouth and in the throes of violent spasms. Later, when Dr Smith came, he made up his mind that this was epilepsy. It was going to be a long process of dying for the man, and in court it was revealed that Ethel had left him alone for the night, then in the following morning, she had gone shopping. Later in the day he seemed to recover and he actually drank some tea, but then there was a relapse. Virtually the last words Arthur Major spoke to his wife were, ‘You have been good to me.’ Ethel Major was interviewed by Chief Inspector Hugh Young of Scotland Yard, and he has given an account of her in which she stated that her husband had died of eating some corned beef. ‘She appeared over-eager to impress me with the fact that she had nothing to do with providing his meals, explaining that for a fortnight before her husband's death she and her son had stayed with her father…’ Young was eager to point out that Ethel was a cool and resourceful woman and that she ‘showed no pangs of sorrow at the loss of her husband’. The crucially important statement made by Ethel to Young was, ‘I did not know my husband had died from strychnine poisoning’ and Young replied, ‘I never mentioned strychnine poisoning. How did you know that?’ As H Montgomery Hyde pointed out in his biography of Lord Birkett, that in Birkett's time poisoning ‘was considered such a repulsive crime that convicted prisoners were practically never reprieved’. When Ethel Major was arrested and charged, the full story emerged and Lord Birkett, talented as he was, knew that he would lose this case. There was too much evidence against her. At Lincoln Assizes, on 30 October 1934, she appeared before Mr Justice Charles. Richard O'Sullivan and P E Sandlands prosecuted, and Ethel pleaded not guilty. One of the most convincing pieces of evidence against her was the fact that she had a key belonging to a chest her father, Tom Brown, used to store strychnine; this was used to kill vermin. Tom Brown testified that he had lost the key to his chest some years before and that he had had a new key made. When Sandlands brought out a key, Brown confirmed that it was the one he had lost. This key had been in Ethel Major's possession. There was also a hexagonal green bottle for storing strychnine; this had been found in the Majors’ house. Then came further information about the access Ethel had to her father's house. She had known where a key was hidden outside, and a purse she had containing the key to the chest was confirmed as being one that belonged to her mother. Tom Brown was questioned about this key. Here is a point of real fascination: the father was testifying against his daughter. Lord Birkett must have seen this as another nail in the coffin for his already flimsy defence. There he was in the witness box, a whiskered old countryman. Regarding the key, the prosecution pointed out that the last key had turned up ‘shining as though it had been recently polished’ in Ethel Major's possession. Birkett desperately tried to retrieve the situation by saying that lots of women carried trivial objects and mementos around in their handbags. In other words, she may
have had the purse and key, but not the strychnine. Tom Brown had looked at the little bottle and suggested that it seemed to have the same amount in it as it had had the last time he looked at it. The heart of the situation was the strychnine and the corned beef she knew was her husband's last meal. Ethel had admitted that she knew some corned beef in the cupboard was not really edible and yet she had left it, saying nothing to anyone. She had known Arthur was due to eat it. Looking into the tale of the corned beef was to be important in court. Contradictory things were said about the purchase of the tin of beef, Ethel saying Arthur had sent Lawrence to buy it, and Lawrence saying the opposite. All this cast doubt on Ethel's statement, though it has to be said that the retailer recalled that Lawrence had come for the beef and said that his father had given him the money to buy it. Tom Brown did, however, have quite a lot to say about Arthur Major's character, relating that when Brown's first wife had died in 1929, Arthur had come to the Majors’ place very drunk and had used threatening words. Ethel Major's daughter, Auriel Brown, was asked about the love letters and the supposed affair Arthur was having with Mrs Kettleborough. Birkett knew that if there was to be any chink in the armour of the prosecution's case, it was going to be in the possibility of provocation with regard to this affair. The focus of their dialogue was not promising in this respect: Mr Birkett: ‘Did you ever see anything that you thought suspicious between Mrs Kettleborough and Major?’ Auriel: ‘I saw them once making eyes at each other. Mrs Kettleborough was always outside the house when Major came home. She put herself in his way.’ Mr Birkett: ‘The advances that you saw were on one side?’ Auriel: ‘Both sides.’
A great deal more information about the Majors’ life together was to emerge. They hated the very sight of each other. Arthur Major had severe financial problems and he was of the opinion that his wife was a spendthrift and was helping to ruin him. Only a few days before he died, Arthur Major had placed an announcement in the local paper, the Horncastle News, removing himself for any responsibility in debts his wife had accrued. The situation at No.2 council houses was far worse than many around the village would have suspected. One fundamental cause of their rift was the fact that Ethel, before she met Arthur, had given birth to a child (Auriel) in 1914, when she was only twenty-three. She never revealed the name of the father, and the girl was brought up as a daughter of the Browns. This refusal to give details of the business infuriated Arthur; things deteriorated so much that she left him for a while, going back home to the family home. In court at Lincoln, Lord Birkett wrote later, he knew the verdict of the jury when they came back into court after an hour's deliberation; none of them looked in the direction of Ethel Major. They found her guilty, but with a recommendation for mercy. Ethel collapsed and moaned that she was innocent as she was carried away. There was a sure feeling that a formal appeal was a waste of time; but Birkett did join a group of lawyers who petitioned the Home Secretary for a reprieve. The response was that there was ‘insufficient grounds to justify him in advising His Majesty to interfere with the due course of law’. One last ditch appeal came from the Lord Mayor of Hull, in the form of a telegram to the King and Queen, pleading for their intervention. On 19 December, Ethel Major was executed by Thomas Pierrepoint, with the Under Sheriff of Lincolnshire present. As usual, the Governor, Captain Roberts, made the statement about the hanging being done in ‘a humane and expeditious manner’. Yet in many ways, this is only the beginning of the Ethel Major story. After all, the sentence was
based on circumstantial evidence and there were certainly factors of provocation, an argument that she was not her normal self when she acted, and that there was considerable enmity and aggression towards her from her husband. A more close and searching account of Ethel Major's life is helpful in understanding these events, and also in seeing why there have been so many reassessments of the case. She was born Ethel Brown in Monkton Bottom, Lincolnshire, in 1891. Her father was a gamekeeper and they lived on the estate of Sir Henry Hawley. By all accounts she lived a good life as a child, with her three brothers and parents, going to a small school at Coningby and then at Mareham-le-Fen. She stayed at home for some years, learning dressmaking and the usual domestic skills. But after came the liaison with the unknown lover and her pregnancy. Some writers make something of this with regard to her later criminality; it has been pointed out that of eight women hanged in Britain in significant cases, five had illegitimate children. That doesn't have any real significance, but it illustrates the need some writers on crime have to find patterns and profiles. Ethel had known Arthur Major when they were children. In 1907, he left the area to live in Manchester, but then, in the Great War, he joined the Manchester Regiment and they began to meet. When he was wounded and hospitalised back home, in Bradford, they wrote to each other. Keeping the truth about Auriel quiet until they were married was perhaps the basic error in her understanding of her new husband's personality. In court, in 1934, there was to be a great deal said about potential provocation on the part of Arthur Major, and even more written in years to come. Birkett cross-examined Lawrence in an attempt to provide a clearer picture of Arthur Major's character traits. Lawrence confirmed that his father came home drunk almost every night and that this was becoming more severe in recent months. The topic then shifted to violence and fear: Birkett: ‘When he was in that state, did he quarrel violently with your mother?’ Lawrence: ‘Yes, if we were in.’
When wife and son did retreat to Tom Brown's, they would sleep on a couch in the kitchen or in a garden shed, Lawrence sleeping in his topcoat and all his day-clothes. A story began to emerge that would, in other times and places, be part of a full picture of provocation and mitigating circumstances. In 1931, Ethel Major had taken out a summons for separation, so violent had his behaviour been. Arthur made vows to reform his life and Ethel changed her mind. Tom Brown had confirmed that ‘Major used violent and filthy language to his wife and also threatened her.’ As in most marital situations of such conflict, questions will be asked about the nature of the relationship and whether or not there really was a victim and an aggressor. At this trial, Judge Charles and indeed Norman Birkett used this approach. Birkett boldly asked young Lawrence, ‘Should I be right in saying that your mother all your life has been very kind to you, and your father very wicked?’ Judge Charles went ahead and asked witnesses in general about where blame might lie. Therefore we have questions such as, ‘What sort of a fellow was Major?’ and ‘Did you ever see him the worse for liquor?’ One could guess the outcome of this. People such as the vicar's wife and the rector talked of Major as ‘sober’ as far as they knew. He was a man with a very amiable public persona; yet inside his own home he was often monstrous to his own family. If we turn to the other element in potential defence of provocation, the subject of the love letters comes up. What exactly was the truth about Arthur Major and his affair? We need to recall here that Major was many things in the village: not only voluntary work for the church but time put in as a local councillor. Ethel's report was that she found some love letters in their bedroom, and of course this has
the implication that she had been searching for evidence after so much innuendo and whispering about an ‘affair’. One such was this, which was read out in court: To my dearest sweetheart, In answer to your dear letter received this morning, thank you dearest. The Postman was late I was waiting a long time for him…I see her watching you in the garden…Well, sweetheart, I will close with fondest love to my precious one… From your loving sweetheart, ROSE
When she faced Arthur with her new knowledge (she had already told her doctor, Dr Armour) he said he would do nothing. The issue became a cause and a local crusade for Ethel; she wrote complaints about her husband to the local police and even tried to change the terms of the leasehold of their property so that she could be classed as a ‘tenant’. The natural end of this was a talk with a solicitor, and a letter was drafted, as she said, on behalf of her husband, warning Mrs Rose Kettleborough not to write again. This solicitor had witnessed Major making violent threats against Ethel, but not taken it to be anything serious. The Kettleboroughs in court provide a record of what can only be called tittle-tattle, and some of the discussion of the case on record seems entirely trivial; yet when Rose herself took the stand, there was clearly something interesting to come. In her fur coat, this small, attractive woman said that she had never ‘been out’ with Arthur Major. She also denied loitering to wait for Arthur by the house, as Auriel had said. When the subject of the letters came up, Birkett tried very hard to do some amateur handwriting analysis, comparing her orthography and style in the love letters to other writing she had done. Nothing was achieved by this, and even an exploration of her past knowledge of Arthur led to nothing significant. To sum up, Birkett had attempted every ploy he could think of, but in the end, the record of the trial can be made to read more like an indulgence in small scale scandal than a murder case. But this is not the end of the saga of Ethel major. A study of the case by Annette Ballinger in 2000 takes a closer look at the provocation line of thought. In her book, Dead Women Walking (2000), Ballinger pays attention to comments made at the time about the discontent in the Major home, such as the statement by a solicitor's clerk that ‘Arthur often threatened his wife. I gather that their home life was unhappy.’ She also puts great emphasis on the change in Major as he drank more. His son's words that ‘The drink was having an effect on my father, he was not the man he had been’ do imply an almost submerged narrative that has only been re-examined closely since this sad affair came to a close. For Ballinger, it was the issue of the right to remain silent that shaped Ethel's destiny. The factors which stood most prominently in court – the fact that the day before Major's death he had withdrawn from responsibility for her debts, and her husband's apparent condition of being a poor victim – made her silence worse. As Ballinger notes: ‘…the case of Ethel Major demonstrates how the prisoner's right to remain silent could be interpreted as evidence of guilt. Thus the judge referred to Ethel's nonappearance in the witness box no less than six times in his summing up. The 1898 Criminal Evidence Act had made the ‘right to silence’ concept very important in the construction of defences. But unfortunately, the unforeseen side-effects were that juries would tend to interpret silence as guilt in many cases. This would be despite the fact that some people in the dock would be nervous, apprehensive, or even in some cases, would have been advised by their brief to say nothing. Ballinger sees Ethel Major as a ‘battered woman’ and notes that generally such women are too traumatised to give evidence. But there was no militant, prominent feminist movement in the inter-war years, of course. One common view, and this is something that helps us understand Ethel Major's
situation, is that, according to Lind Gordon, ‘wife beating became part of a general picture of slovenly behaviour, associated with drunkenness, and squalor of the wife's own making’. Finally, if the notion of Ethel's failure to safeguard her reputation is on the agenda in this notorious case, then aspects of her behaviour in the village have to be an important factor in understanding how she was perceived and judged in court. Her eccentric questioning of various neighbours, her interviews with the doctor, and her letters to the press, all add up to a picture of a woman who was both desperate and indeed in a very nervous state. The documented behaviour of this woman as she worked hard to put things right in the household only made her situation worse. Of course, in court, these actions would be seen as reinforcing the moral condemnation of her as someone who had, earlier in her life, had an illegitimate child and not told her husband about it. Part of the judgement on her was also that she was generally bad tempered, and this was made more prominent than her husband's equally capricious and aggressive behaviour. On one occasion she had thrown a brick and had ‘embarked on a wild round of revenge and malice that included half the population of the village’, according to another commentary on the case. The executioner at the time, Albert Pierrepoint, wrote about the other way women killers need to be seen: not as the hard, rational poisoners of the media images, but as ‘ordinary women, rarely beautiful…square faced, thin mouthed, eyes blinking behind National Health glasses…hair scraped thin by curlers, lumpy ankles above homely shoes…’ As Annette Ballinger has said, ‘…poison was responsible for her death’. By that she means that the nature of that specific version of homicide carries with it a discourse and a media amplification going back centuries, as something that has entered folklore. When Ethel Major's case started covering the main pages of newspapers, the whole back-list of women poisoners was invoked. All the images of women using arsenic on husbands, from Mary Ann Cotton back in the mid Victorian times, to the earlier Lincolnshire instances, were on the stage as the sad story unfolded. For decades, the pages of the Police Gazette had been full of lurid tales of women poisoners; what hope was there for truth to emerge when the media had categorised them as the worst kind of heartless killers? Alderman Stark of Hull, when he wrote a last appeal for clemency, saying, ‘For the sake of humanity I implore you to reconsider your decision, especially having regard to the nearness of Christmas…The heartfelt pleas contained in this telegram are those of 300,000 inhabitants and particularly those of the women of this great city’, was fighting more than a judicial decision. He was going against the grain of many centuries of myths around the ‘women are more deadly than the male’ notion. The sense of defeat and the inevitable conclusion on the scaffold was hovering over her defence from the beginning. Lord Birkett's memoirs contain his view that Crown Counsel had opened with a statement that had a ring of finality: ‘…the case is really on the evidence unanswerable’. One of the very best defence lawyers in the land could do nothing. It seems odd with this in mind that the Daily Express had insisted that ‘Nobody believes she will be hanged’, just a few weeks before the sentence. There was no way that an appeal based on the unfairness of the judge's summing up would succeed. Whoever ‘Fairplay’ was who sent the anonymous letter, he or she had opened the path to the gallows for Ethel Major, and the only consolation, looking back over the years, is that the Pierrepoints were very skilled men in their trade. Ethel would have left this world very speedily indeed, though they must have felt something similar to John Ellis when he hanged Edith Thompson in 1922: ‘My own feelings defy description…I kept telling myself that the only humane course was to work swiftly and
cut her agony as short as possible.’ This is a stark reminder of what feelings were with James Berry when he dealt with Mary Lefley, in 1884. Unfortunately, in spite of all the above discussion of this fascinating case study, the reference books will always have the same kind of simplified statements for the record, as these words from Gaute and O'Dell's The Murderers’ Who's Who (1979): ‘Major, Ethel Lillie. A forty-three-year-old Lincolnshire gamekeeper's daughter who murdered her husband with strychnine.’ The woman who never gave evidence at her trial is being judged by posterity, still enveloped in silence. In modern terms, and with a more feminist, open-minded view of mens rea, the mind-set to take a life, it can be argued that in 1934 there was a too narrow definition of intention, because the accused is supposed to see the same probability that the jury do, in the way that the intention is given to them by lawyers interpreting the defendant's actions. But all that would have been far too subtle for the court in Ethel Major's case. For anyone with a belief in the possibility of paranormal events, it must be said that the story of Ethel Major, in a sense, goes on. Several officers in HMP Hull have reported seeing a woman's spirit walking the landing where Ethel was hanged. Perhaps most convincing in this is that she had become accepted: new officers are usually expected to report seeing a ghost and the response is usually, ‘Oh that's just Mrs Major.’
CHAPTER 5
The Bryant Poisoning Case The coward's weapon, poison… Phineas Fletcher
T
he old adage that ‘whatever nourishes me, destroys me’ could be applied to any of the seven deadly sins, but it fits lust perfectly. Charlotte Bryant, had she the education to reflect on such literary texts, would have seen how those words applied to her as she sat in the condemned cell in Exeter jail in 1936. Her pursuit of a travelling man while still married to her dairyman, John, led to her desire to remove the husband from the scene with the help of some weedkiller. This case was one of many involving arsenic in the 1920s and 1930s. Like Armstrong and like Ethel Major, Charlotte saw the answer to her problem in the weedkiller she could buy at the pharmacist. Since the first Arsenic Act of 1851 there had been attempts to regulate the sale of the poison; by the early twentieth century, the sale of white, as opposed to yellow, arsenical powder, sold in the pure state, meant that it had to be coloured with indigo to make it distinctive. But arsenic in other substances, such as the tin of Eureka weedkiller Charlotte bought, simply had to be sold to a known buyer and the sale recorded. When she went to buy the stuff she could only sign with an ‘x’, as she was illiterate. That purchase was the beginning of the end for the young woman from Derry who had married a soldier, John Frederick Bryant, and gone to settle in Coombe, near Sherborne. Dying of arsenical poisoning has to be one of the most agonizing exits from the world we can imagine. The stuff has been the preference of killers down the centuries because it is easy to hide in food, having only a slightly sweet and metallic scent to it. But its effects are horrific. It is something which can be administered piecemeal, so being stored in the liver, and when the final and deadly dose is given, the terrible death trajectory begins. The sensations experienced have been described as the sense of having a burning ball of hot metal in the gut; on top of that, the victim has vicious diarrhoea, vomiting and spasms in the joints, dizziness and consequent depression. Frederick Bryant was to die in that way. But the Bryant story begins long before 1936. The couple met in 1922 when Bryant was serving as a military policeman in the Dorset Regiment. In Derry, where he was stationed, Charlotte was well known among the soldiers, being called ‘Darkie’ with reference to her swarthy looks. She was keen on going out with soldiers, and indeed risked being attacked by the republicans for that habit. She was an ‘easy lay’, and no doubt earned cash by selling her-self around the local military patch. She was born in 1904, and Frederick was eight years older than her. They married in Wells, Somerset and then moved into Bryant's home county of Dorset where he found work as a farm labourer. It is clear, with hindsight, that such a cultural shock, going from being the centre of sexual attention from hordes of squaddies to being a farm worker's wife in an isolated cottage, was a recipe for disaster. From the beginning, there is a rare peculiarity about this case. That is in Bryant's tolerance of his wife carrying on her sexual affairs in Dorset, and her behaviour being common knowledge. She earned some cash from her sexual favours, and it is on record (from the trial interviews) that Bryant said, ‘I don't care what she does. Four pounds a week is better than thirty shillings!’ Then, in December 1933, Charlotte met Leonard Parsons, also known as Moss, a horse-trader. Not only did
Bryant not mind his wife putting it about around the village: he allowed her new lover to settle into the family home and create the classic menage a trois from which so much grief and conflict comes. At first the arrangement seems to have been amicable and worked well, giving each person what they wanted from life. But when it came to Frederick telling Parsons to leave, matters became bitter. Charlotte began to realize that in order to keep the man she really wanted, her husband would have to go. In May 1935, Frederick was severely poorly after eating a meal prepared by his wife. As he recovered a few days later, the doctor ascribed the problem as being gastro-enteritis. Then in August he was ill again, with the same symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea. Again he came back to health. But in November, the lover told Charlotte that he would have to leave, to find work elsewhere. This was probably the turning point for Charlotte, and in early December Frederick was ill again, and for a third time he recovered. Charlotte was friendly with a woman called Ostler, and the latter was invited to come and live with the Bryants; the guest was to become a key witness. Just a few days before Christmas, Bryant was ill again. This time it was very serious; he was taken to Sherborne Hospital, where he died. It appears that he was considering signing off the panel and resuming work on 20 December, but on the afternoon of the following day he was much worse; the doctor who had treated him on the previous occasions made his suspicions of arsenical poisoning known to the police, and the doctor would not issue a death certificate. A post mortem was done, and the coroner directed that the usual specimens be sent to Dr Roche Lynch, a forensic expert working with Scotland Yard. He had been working with the CID since 1920, when he was appointed assistant official analyst. We can see how thorough this was if we note the report of the man called in to lead the investigation – Inspector Arthur Bell. He listed the materials sent to Lynch: these included complete organs, including the stomach and contents, small and large intestines, urine in the bladder, vomit and excreta, complete lungs, portions of skin and hair, brain and nails. In addition, these were taken from the area around the body: samples of soil from above the coffin, below the coffin and from adjacent ground, sawdust from the coffin, and a portion of the shroud. Lynch found plenty of evidence of arsenic, but while that was going on, Bell and other officers spent several days at the Bryants’ home, searching for anything that would be a factor in proving the presence of arsenic. The Bryants had five children, ranging from fifteen months to fourteen years of age, and Mrs Ostler had two children. These were all removed to a Poor Law institution by the NSPCC. They were settled at the institution at Sturminster Newton. Bell went to the cottage and later reported: As an indication of the thoroughness with which the officers concerned carried out their distasteful work, it may be mentioned that they were occupied in daylight hours for weeks…dust was taken from shelves and cupboards, drawers, lino, mats, articles of furniture…Samples of ashes, earth, rubbish and water were also taken. In all, more than 150 samples of dust, scrapings etc., were submitted to the analyst.
While Lynch was at work on the materials collected, Bell got to work on Charlotte: he said that there were two notable conclusions from his interviews with her; that she lied continually, and that she tried to implicate Mrs Ostler and cast suspicion on her. The police were determined in their search for arsenic and for anything which may have absorbed arsenic, watching every move Charlotte made, such as her request to cut her long and filthy fingernails. When she had done this, the cuttings were inspected but no traces were found. As Bell commented: ‘It will be realized that if arsenic had been found it would have been very damaging to her defence.’ She had a solicitor appointed, and so
said nothing else to the detectives while investigations continued. Then Mrs Ostler spoke to police and some intriguing information was given, notably that the two women had had a conversation about a tin of weedkiller. Bell explained this: She said that on the 24th December after the inquest, when Sergeant Taylor called for a bottle of medicine, Mrs Bryant asked Mrs Ostler the reason why the officer had called. Mrs Ostler replied to the effect that it was evident they found something in the body which ought not to have been there. Shortly afterwards, Mrs Bryant called her son into the outhouse to clear up some rubbish and also to clear that part of the garden near the rubbish heap. She also went to the cupboard in the room on the ground floor and from the bottom shelf she took a weedkiller tin…
Behind this, she went on to say, there was another tin, a brand of weedkiller called Eureka. When Mrs Ostler asked what she had that for, Bryant said, ‘I must get rid of this…Don't you say anything. If nothing is found, they can't put a rope round your neck!’ Meanwhile, Roche Lynch was studying the materials and the body organs. The dust was found to have 58,000 parts per million of arsenic; 37 of the 153 articles taken from the cottage were found to have arsenic. From this, other conclusions were reached, such as the fact that dust taken from the right-hand pocket of the coat Charlotte said she had worn on the day she went supposedly for medicine was also found to have arsenic. When, after a further search, the tin of Eureka weedkiller was found, partly burned, what was needed was some evidence that Charlotte had been to buy it. Police were hopeful when a chemist at Yeovil was found on whose register a sale of the substance was found on the register for the right date, and with a cross instead of a signature. The chemist said that he knew the woman who had come for the poison, but amazingly, he could not identify her, and even her Irish accent which should have been memorable to him, did not lodge in his mind and provide a positive identification. Bell was sure that Charlotte had ‘bounced’ the weedkiller from the young assistant in the shop, although she was a complete stranger. The assistant was possibly covering himself for not having been meticulous with his paperwork, recording and being observant in such a sale. The police must have thought that they were stuck in a cul-de-sac in the pursuit of real evidence about the poison. But then more forensic information was forthcoming: soil naturally contains arsenic, as does coal, and the average proportion for that is 18 parts per million. In the soil just below the rubbish tip where there had been an attempt to burn the tin, the arsenic content was 73 parts per million. Ashes taken from that tip showed 92 parts per million. The challenge then facing Inspector Bell was to study the manufacture of the tin. This was to prove that the partly burned tin was the same as the one on the shelf just before Christmas. Sergeant Tapsell was the man who went out to talk to the manufacturers; he found that the first maker looked at the tin and said it was not one of his, but at the second manufacturer, Tapsell, used Holmesian deduction: …by placing a sheet upside down…the girl operating the machine accepted it without question, with the result that it was locked in exactly the same way as the burnt tin. This demonstration so convinced the manufacturer that…with conviction, he gave evidence that the tin was similar to those manufactured by his firm for the Eureka Weedkiller Company…
Bell and his team were tireless in their search for information about the Bryants, Parsons and other people who knew the family. Parsons was interviewed, but he had a sound alibi. Around 300 statements were taken, and from this persistent police work there came at last a valuable piece of evidence. A neighbour recalled that, earlier in the year, when Bryant had suffered one of the first attacks of sickness, he had taken some tea out to the field – tea prepared by Charlotte. He only remembered this while he was doing the same thing a year later. Inspector Bell wrote that ‘There was none of the so-called brilliant detective work in this case, but
there was a lot of hard work done by loyal, enthusiastic, intelligent officers…The officers of the Dorset Constabulary were on excellent terms with all the local officials, from whom we readily received valuable assistance…’ Bell's participation was unusual: it was the first time since the Great War period that the Met had gone to work in the shires. Then, with evidence in place, Charlotte Bryant went to court. She stood in the dock at the Dorset Assizes on 29 May, 1936. Mr Justice MacKinnon presided; the defence was led by J D Casswell and the case for the Crown was led by Sir Terence O'Connor, who was the Solicitor General. Charlotte, aged thirty-three and with a very real threat of never seeing her next birthday birthday, pleaded not guilty. Casswell's argument was that the jury must keep out of their minds the moral condemnation so easily applied to woman who not only ‘…slept around; but who lived with a lover under the same roof as her husband’. The barrister said, ‘There is plenty of suspicion, but that falls very far short of evidence and a case for conviction.’ Under questioning by Casswell, Charlotte's brief was to insist on her ignorance of any poison, and to try to have the incriminating Eureka tin discounted: Mrs Bryant denied that there was a tin of weedkiller in the living room on the shelf. She denied also that she said, ‘I must get rid of this’ and that she took it away to destroy.
But then O'Connor aimed straight at the main issue: You know that after your husband died, large quantities of arsenic were found inside him, which would have been quite enough to cause any of the symptoms we have heard about?
Mrs Bryant replied, ‘I do not know anything whatever, Sir, about arsenic.’ Casswell made much of the danger of rumour and suspicion without evidence, but the reports on the trial made it clear that the uncommon situation regarding sex and marital infidelity was at the heart of the case. The Times reported: It was suggested that this was a case of what was called the eternal triangle, but there was one element that was usually found in such cases that was missing here. They had a husband who did not seem to mind what was happening, who knew his wife was going out with Parsons for the whole day, and who had been with him as his wife on two or three occasions, and yet he allowed him to stay in that house…
This was planted in the jury's mind, and when it came to evidence that Charlotte had tired of Frederick and she wanted to have Parsons all the time. Under questioning, she tried to argue that Parsons had pressured her to leave with him, saying, ‘He wanted me to leave my husband. He wanted me to go away with him.’ The summing up by MacKinnon was about the key questions of first, was the victim poisoned with arsenic, and did his wife administer it. The jury was out for an hour and then returned a verdict of guilty. All she said before sentence was passed was, ‘I am not guilty.’ There was an appeal on 29 June at which Lord Hewart, the Lord Chief Justice, presided. There had been certain weaknesses in the case against her: there was no real evidence that she had bought the poison, and there was no totally certain evidence that she had actually poisoned the food. The evidence was circumstantial, but that was often enough in such cases. However, before Lord Hewart, the defence made the under standable gambit of bringing in an expert witness to try to counteract Roche Lynch's statements about the location and quantity of the arsenic found. The man in question was Professor William Bone of the Imperial College of Science and Technology. Again, the debate surrounded the issue of the tin. Bone's case was summarized in the appeal court report:
Dr Roche Lynch's evidence was that 149.6 parts of arsenic per million…was so excessive that arsenic must have been burnt in the fire to produce it. The evidence of Professor Bone, which he asked leave to call, would be to the effect that, while the figure varied considerably with different coals, the average normal residue contained in the neighbourhood of 1,100 parts of arsenic per million, and that the lowest normal proportion was about 240 parts per million.
Hewart was not moved. His dismissal was succinct and dogmatic: The court is unanimously of the opinion that there is no occasion for the further evidence. The application is of the objectionable kind which we foresaw in a recent case when in very exceptional circumstances we admitted further medical evidence. This kind of possibility was adumbrated and we set our faces like a flint against it…
The final words were that there was nothing to the appeal, except that it arose out of a case of murder, and the appeal was dismissed. Charlotte Bryant was hanged on 15 July 1936 at Exeter, by Thomas Pierrepoint. Her last act before death was to write a letter to the King, begging for the Royal pardon. That letter never reached the King, being taken by the Home Secretary. She refused to see her children, and the plight of the family provides a coda to the story. That is to note that Mrs Violet van der Elst, a noted anti-capital punishment campaigner, drove up to the Exeter prison at eight o'clock and broke through a police cordon. She was arrested and taken before a magistrate, then fined £5. She had aimed to arrive at the moment of execution, but in fact, Charlotte had been hanged at seven o'clock, because of the demonstration outside. Mrs van der Elst started a fund, with a huge first contribution of £50,000 (£1,849,000 today), to help the children of executed convicts. She told the press that she intended to take care of the Bryant children, planning to pay for their education. Mrs van der Elst was something of an eccentric, but her philanthropy extended to the plight of the condemned person: she joined in all kinds of campaigns and set out to run a media campaign, including having her large saloon car placed in obstructive places around prison, speaking to the assembled crowds, and generally becoming a nuisance. Is there any possibility that this was a case of an unsafe conviction leading to a wrongful execution? It is not difficult to argue that the forensic evidence was flawed, but then circumstantial evidence had been accepted in hundreds of other similar cases; what makes this more horrific is the mix of morality and legal procedure that provided a guilty verdict.
CHAPTER 6
The Wife Pulled the Trigger O beware my Lord, of jealousy It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on. Shakespeare, Othello
T
he steel town of Scunthorpe had its problems with crime in the 1930s, along with every other place in which there was immigrant labour, poverty and social divisions of the rich and the poor. But in 1937 the big news in the town was of a killing in a quiet street just a few hundred yards away from the police court. But this was no death during a robbery and no mugging. Just after Christmas 1936 Mrs Doris Teesdale shot her husband with a gun that he kept under a mattress. Cecil Teasdale was a butcher, twenty-nine years old, and Doris just a year younger. Cecil liked to stay out late and he enjoyed the company of other women. There had been stresses and strains in the marriage for some time and, to make things worse, their first son, just four years old, had died not long before. On the fateful morning, Cecil came down to eat his breakfast and then a maid heard the conversation. The husband saw Doris with the gun and told her to stop fooling. ‘I'm not fooling,’ she said. Then a shot was fired and Doris ran out in a panic, screaming for help. A doctor was called and a neighbour came to try to help. Cecil was not dead, but severely wounded. Everything in their story points to a tragic accident and so the court decided, but it was a close-run thing. Doris was sure that the gun only had blanks, and her husband had told her so not long before. In court, Doris Teasdale had to prove that she had no intention of killing her husband, but that she was intending only to frighten him. At the trial in Lincoln, the famous Mr Justice Travers Humphreys presided, and he put his finger on the legal dilemma: ‘If this is the truth it is highly dangerous and most unlawful for any person to ire a revolver in the neighbourhood of another person.’ In court, then, lawyers had to probe her real feelings towards her husband, who had taken several days to die in hospital. Mr Richard O'Sullivan prosecuted, and he moved in with the relevant questions, asking if she were ‘reckless in this matter if the gun were loaded’. She had taken a gun she knew to be loaded, but that she was convinced there were blanks in it. She said that she was ‘fooling’ not in the sense of taking the gun to him but in picking it up at all. The famous Norman Birkett defended, and he drew out her feelings with care and directness: Birkett: ‘When you married your husband you were very much in love with him?’ Witness: ‘Very deeply.’ Birkett: ‘Did that love for your husband never die?’ Witness: ‘Never.’ Birkett: ‘When you found that he was with other women, staying out…why didn't you leave him?’ Witness: ‘Because I loved him too much for that.’
When their child had died, Cecil had been out until two in the morning. As Birkett said, ‘It was during the week that he lay dying.’ Doris told the court that she went towards the room that morning with the thought of just scaring her husband.
But she stood there and brandished the weapon. When he saw her he had said, ‘Stop fooling Dot’ and then, ‘Oh well, it doesn't matter. It's loaded with blanks.’ But before a shot was fired they talked in an animated way about where he had been and why he stayed out. She tried reasoning with him, and she told Birkett that she had never become enraged at the time. So we have a situation in which a person entered a room carrying a gun with the intention of causing fear, not causing grievous bodily harm and certainly not murder. But it was a tough job sorting out why both murder and manslaughter should be discounted. They had had a second child, born just over a year before these events, having married in 1927 in Lincoln; they were happy until, around 1932, Mr Teasdale took a new shop. Things became notably unsteady and sometimes rocky. There were testimonies about their having quarrels – something Doris denied. ‘They were more arguments than quarrels’ she said. But through the eyes of the law, the delicacy of the situation was summed up by Humphreys: ‘The law of this country is jealous of the lives of its citizens, so jealous that to take the life of another citizen done without consent of that citizen is murder…or to take a life by negligently firing a gun which turns out to be loaded is at least manslaughter.’ On the face of things, it must have seemed as though manslaughter was a strong possibility. After all, what she did could easily be interpreted as ‘reckless’ and of course she took the gun with ‘negligence’ as to the real facts of the case. What turned matters in her favour was evidence that Mr Teasdale, not long before, had fired a chamber, saying that there were merely blanks there, and then being astonished when a bullet was fired. O'Sullivan puts things boldly: ‘My submission is that she is at least guilty of manslaughter…’ But as the truth of their lives together came through, sympathy was gathered for Mrs Doris Teasdale, partly through the bereavement she had suffered, and for the stoical way she dealt with the adultery. But mostly, her ignorance of firearms was obvious and all the witnesses testifying to words she spoke immediately after the shooting confirmed this. They also confirmed the view that she was genuinely shocked at what had happened. The gun, clearly fired with the intention of firing a blank well wide of the man, had juddered and he had been hit. He died of peritonitis; the bullet had broken a rib and entered the abdomen, and then the peritonitis set in. Because Teasdale was often out for so long and he tended to leave the garage doors open, he kept a gun to scare any intruders. That was reckless, of course. So some of his habits tended to add to the opinion of Doris as a hapless victim of his lifestyle and odd ways that developed in court. Not only did she have a young child and had been a long-suffering wife, she had also, it was said, been cruelly treated in custody. Her lawyer had found her in a pitiful state in the police cell, as the local newspaper reported: ‘Mr Lewes wished to make a strong protest against the accommodation provided at Scunthorpe for a woman on remand…’ The sympathy piled up: the human story came through, a tale of tragic proportions and without doubt the tale of a long-suffering women whose actions on that day had been thoughtless and foolish rather than malevolent. By 16 January, the townspeople of Scunthorpe had raised a defence fund for Doris Teasdale amounting to £350, a very large sum (worth almost £13,000 today). She was on remand at Hull prison at the time, and a local butcher, Tom Fisher, after consulting Mr T J Lewis, her solicitor, had taken charge of that fund-raising. He did a great job, even announcing the campaign on local cinema screens. It was known that she had no money and a good ‘brief’ was desired for her. She got the very best: Norman Birkett KC.
In the biography of Birkett by Montgomery Hyde, it is noted that Birkett's opinion was reiterated: he had said, ‘When you are dealing with the important question of intent, consider her attitude in the [witness] box. There was no venom. It was plain she never intended to do the slightest harm to her husband. The atmosphere of that room was not threatening…’ Doris Teasdale stood in the dock on 12 February 1937, a frail, pathetic figure. It was noted that she stood ‘pale but composed’ between two women warders. Mr Justice Humphreys took over an hour to sum up; he was confident that the jury should settle on the decision of manslaughter. That would, of course, have been expected after such a direction from his eminence. But those present were in for a surprise, as it was reported at the time: The jury, absent for two hours and ten minutes, disagreed and to the relief and astonishment of an eagerly awaiting court, they returned a verdict of not guilty on both charges.
The young woman ‘sobbed for an hour’ in between thanking her legal team. After that she disappeared into the rural calm of Lincolnshire, ‘reunited with her sixteen-month-old baby’. As for Cecil Walter Teasdale, he was buried at Brumby Cemetery, Scunthorpe. He had died in Scunthorpe War Memorial Hospital. Some say the truth was buried with him, others are convinced that the legal outcome was the right one. The house still stands – just a small house in a quiet street near the town centre.
CHAPTER 7
The Mystery of Walter Rowland I wish to say that the statements I have given confessing to a murder are absolutely untrue. David Ware
T
his is a story with a potentially tragic undertone, a case with twists and turns, strange coincidences and faulty police work. First, it is necessary to give the salient facts, and then the assessment of the problematic case may be made. In 1934, this ‘minder’ from Derbyshire was sentenced to death after he killed his two-year-old daughter by strangling her with a stocking. In his appeal statement, Rowland had said, ‘I am innocent and a victim of circumstances.’ In short, the prosecution, it was felt at appeal, never really proved the crime, but that there was enough to persuade the jury of Rowland's guilt. The evidence was seen as purely circumstantial. In the summing up, the judge said, ‘It is perfectly clear that the little child has been killed by somebody, that she had been left in the charge of her father… and she was murdered while her mother was elsewhere…’ The appeal was dismissed, but Rowland was later reprieved. He served some time and then joined the armed forces. Like Simcox, though, years later, he was once again on a murder charge. This time the scene was Manchester, and the body of prostitute Olive Balchin was found on waste ground in Cumberland Street, Manchester. She had been battered to death with hammer blows to the head. But Rowland was a violent man, and had another conviction as well as the child-murder. He was in Manchester, so he was questioned; he had an alibi, stating that he was at 36 Hyde Road, in lodgings. In fact his presence had been noted, and he had been signed in on the night of the murder, but that was overlooked. But Rowland admitted that he had been with Olive. He also made several rash statements to the police, including the fact that he had VD and that if it had been Olive who had given him that then she deserved what she got. Everything was pointing to him as the killer. He was identified on parades, and the times of his stated movements meant that it was just possible for him to have been with Olive at the time she died. He was charged and forensic evidence made his situation look very bleak, notably the fact that in his trouser turn-ups there was a cluster of materials that matched the same substances at the bomb-site. He was sentenced to death, but then came the stunning news that a man in Walton gaol had confessed to the crime. This was David Ware, and he wrote: ‘I wish to confess that I killed Olive Balshaw [that spelling is important] with a hammer at the bombed site in Deansgate, Manchester, on Saturday 19 October at about 10.00pm. We had been in a picture house near the Belle Vue stadium.’ This was to prove tantalisingly ambiguous and problematic for the detectives who went to check the man out. The dapper and celebrated Detective Inspector Herbert Hannam of Scotland Yard led the interrogation. Amazingly, Ware gave a detailed account of the night at the pictures, with lots of other details that seemed convincing. Surely this would mean that, like Simcox in 1914, Rowland was going to be saved from the noose a second time? But Hannam was of the opinion that the details Ware had mentioned could be seen by someone passing by – he did not accept the tale as convincing and thought that Ware was fantasising – being of unsound mind. A report was written for the Home Secretary on Ware's statement. He said his confession was a fabrication: ‘I do remember reading in
the paper about the peculiarity of the buttons on the coat worn by the murdered woman.’ He also finally said, ‘I would like to say I am sorry I have given the trouble I have and I didn't realise the serious consequences it might entail had the confession been believed.’ Herbert Hannam reported that he had found a number of press cuttings with details relevant to the case. He wrote: ‘In two of these cuttings the victim is said to be ‘Balshaw.’ In one of these cuttings published within a few days of the discovery of the body the name is said to be Balshaw…’ Was Rowland innocent after all? The questions began very early in the post-execution history of the case. Leslie Hale thought so. In his book, Hanged in Error (1961), he says, ‘The register at the lodging house where Ware claimed to have spent the Saturday night from about 11.15pm onwards had been inspected by two police officers after Ware's confession … Inspector Hannam went to see it in late February. He was told that the book had been destroyed. The report does not state whether an explanation was asked for or supplied.’ Now we return to the murder itself and look in more detail. The story began on a Sunday – 26 October 1946. It was peaceful, and that must have been welcomed after the Blitz. The bombings had left Manchester, along with many other great cities, a place of desolate bomb-sites, natural adventure playgrounds for children. On that day, two boys went from a service at St Mary's church into Deansgate; passing a bomb site, they saw the usual crumbling stone and the scattered vegetation. But they also saw a corpse. They ran to it, then stopped to stare in awe. The body was that of a woman, with her arms out and her legs bent underneath her body. She was wearing an overcoat and a beret, and near her was a handbag. Naturally, the boys sprinted to find a policeman. Detectives Valentine and Stainton came to the crime scene and saw at once that here was someone who had been beaten to death: it was the standard ‘blunt object’ killing. In fact, it didn't take Sherlock Holmes to see that the murder weapon was lying just a few feet away – a hammer, still with flesh and blood smeared on it. There were signs of a struggle, and in the handbag they found what everyone had at that time – an Identity Card. The victim was Olive Balchin. The next stage was for the doctor to take a look, and a police surgeon came, along with DS William Page. The investigation swung into action, and the first place to go and ask questions was in Birmingham, where Olive lived, the address on her Card. Her home was found, a lodging house, and the landlady described Olive as having a sad face. That was her basic description. How was the detective to know? He had only seen a corpse, but it was a personality trait, and that counts for something in a murder investigation. The victim had last been seen in Birmingham two days earlier. Following up on that lead, the police learned that there was a couple who had brought Olive up, as she was an orphan. The foster-father said that as Olive had grown up, she had not been happy, and that there had been a miserable affair that did not work out. When she moved away, her name changed from Balchin to Balshaw, as if she was determined to start a new life. But that new life was destined to be prostitution. The police did not immediately know that. They concentrated on the usual gambits: the forensic report stated that the death was indeed caused by the hammer, a very distinctive one known as a leather-beater's hammer. The obvious move then was to find out where such a tool would be sold, and sure enough, the owner of a toolshop in Downing Street recalled selling it. It was marked, so he knew the tool exactly, and the man who had bought it was described: ‘He was a rather handsome man, medium build, well-dressed, and he had a kind of low, rich voice. I think he was wearing a tan coat and a grey slouch hat.’ That was an incredibly precise and useful visual description, and it helped
enormously in the hunt. The hammer had been sold on Saturday afternoon. Sales of that particular tool were so rare that the shopkeeper recalled the sale vividly. In fact, the description was so specific that a waitress at a café in Deansgate, when given the words, immediately said that she recalled a woman fitting Olive's description being with a man wearing those clothes, and that had been late on the Saturday night. The pieces of the jigsaw were fitting together very easily. The couple were also seen by a publican very late on that night, standing at the edge of the bombsite. He heard enough to know that they had been quarrelling. The police had dressed a WPC as Olive in order to circulate to find other witnesses, and shown the picture, the publican confirmed that that was the woman he saw. What was then needed was hard evidence from the scientists in forensics. But unfortunately, there were no prints on the hammer, and no shoeprints on the site earth either. Then the unexpected happened. The waitress in the café, when talking again to a detective, stopped and pointed at a man sitting at a table and said, ‘That's him!’ The man was immediately questioned: he was Walter Rowland, and he had recently been demobbed, and was lodging in Furness Street. He was a Derbyshire man but had come to Manchester looking for work. He was born in New Mills, and when the detectives were told that yes, he did know Olive, and had spent time with her, the case must have seemed sorted. But Rowland said on the Saturday night he had had a drink with the woman in the past, but on the Saturday in question had caught a bus to New Mills to see his mother and then returned to his lodgings. The times of the bus and the journey were assessed, and the detectives saw that there was a ‘window’ – there would have been time for Rowland to go to the café and then kill Olive. It looked black for Rowland, who was strongly insisting on this being a case of mistaken identity, because both the waitress and the publican picked out Rowland and identified him. The witness who could give him an alibi was the landlord of the hostel. He said he could confirm that Rowland had stayed at his place on that night, but when pressed to say he was absolutely sure, he could not say so. The alibi could not be confirmed. Again, the next stage was up to the forensics team, who were studying things more deeply and thoroughly at that point. The most important aspects of the information given by witnesses were confirmed by the forensic analysis: hairs were found on Rowland's overcoat, and he admitted that he had worn that coat on the evening of the murder. In his trouser turn-ups brick dust was found, along with a number of other residues which were all evident on the bomb site, such as charcoal and leaf remains. There were bloodstains on one of his shoes, although these could not be confirmed as having belonged to Olive. All the material evidence pointed to Rowland as the killer and he was charged with murder. In court, at Manchester Assizes, right next to Strangeways prison, Mr Justice Sellers presided and for the Crown, Basil Nield acted. The heart of any argument was motive, of course. Why did he kill Olive? The reasoning was the oldest in history – the spurned lover. Nield argued that Rowland had wanted to marry Olive but had been turned down. The narrative of the crime he presented concerned the visit to his mother, the return to town to meet Olive, followed by the argument, and then the attack. Kenneth Burke spoke for the defence and Rowland insisted he was not guilty, repeating what he had told police time and time again: that he was peacefully asleep in the hostel when the murder took place. He was, he said, not the man the witnesses thought they had seen. Defence argued that the evidence was simply circumstantial. Burke's main line of thought was given to the jury: ‘Does this constitute evidence of murder? The man who killed Miss Balchin with this weapon must have held it firmly while striking the blows. Yet the prosecution has failed to prove that there were any fingerprints upon it.’ That was a solid argument, but of course, the killer could have been wearing
gloves. Even the blood on the shoe was not definitely from the victim. Burke did a convincing job of casting doubt on the prosecution's case, and he closed with some high drama, saying, ‘Can you send a man to his death on the basis of this evidence?’ After two hours, the jury returned with a guilty verdict. Rowland was galvanised into action, saying vehemently that he was not guilty and that they had condemned an innocent man. He said, ‘Somewhere there is a person who knows I stand here an innocent man.’ The judge put on the black cap and the death sentence was passed. The process towards an appeal went on, but then came the shock of a confessional letter, written apparently from St Helens. Detectives went to work to try and trace the author. On 24 January, after a man in Walton jail, Liverpool, David Ware, told the prison authorities: ‘I killed the Balchin woman. I wrote those letters.’ Ware was interviewed and notes taken. His facts tallied remarkably well with known events, and most telling of all was a reference to going to the pictures – something Rowland had told the police. This confession happened just as the appeal was about to take place; Lord Goddard, who was to sit there, ordered an adjournment. This is the point at which Inspector Hannam of the Yard makes his entrance. Ware's statements had been convincing, so verification was needed as to whether or not he really was the killer. In one statement, for instance, he had written: After meeting the woman at the Hippodrome Theatre, we got on a tramcar the indicator of which read Belle Vue. We left the tramcar at the stadium then walked up the road quite a long way until we came to a third-rate picture house together…
and also: After I had felt this woman feeling in my pockets, I felt in my trousers cash pocket and found that a ten shilling note which I was certain I had, was gone…
This kind of detail was very impressive. A ten shilling note had indeed been found on Olive's person. There was an enquiry conducted into the confession, led by John Jolly, and from this we learn what Hannam did. Jolly sent Hannam to dig deeper into Ware, and the result was this statement from the ‘Count of Scotland Yard’: I have examined numerous press cuttings published prior to the committal of Rowland. One of these includes … a photograph of the coat worn by Balchin and comment is made of the distinctive nature of the buttons upon that coat. In at least two of these reports the price paid for the hammer is quoted… In two of these press cuttings which appeared quite early after the discovery of the body the name of the victim is said to be ‘Balshaw’ …
Ware had, Hannam argued, read all the press reports closely, and that is why he had created a plausible narrative of the supposed time he spent with Olive. Crucially, the name Balshaw rather than Balchin was given: in the papers she was Balshaw. The appeal finally took place on 27 January. Justices Humphries and Lewis presided, and they heard Burke put forward material relating to Ware, but in the end, Humphreys concluded: The court has come to the conclusion that this appeal must be dismissed; but as a question has arisen here with regard to an application to cal the evidence of a witness who is alleged to have made some confession with regard to this crime, and the court has refused to allow that evidence to be given…
He was to hang and there was no hope. Henry Cecil, in the first book written on the case, insists that a major factor in the death sentence was that Rowland was ‘a dog with a bad name’. Back in 1927 he had been convicted of grievous bodily harm after trying to strangle May Schofield, and despite this they married, and in 1932 he had strangled and killed their child Mavis. Later, he had twice tried to take his own life.
Rowland was hanged on 27 February 1947 at Manchester. The hangman was Albert Pierrepoint, fresh from Germany where he had been hanging Nazis. In contrast, the topping of just another seedy woman-killer was bread and butter work. He makes no mention of it in his memoirs. The doubt in this case, and the lingering worry that an innocent man died, hinges partly on the nature of Ware's letters, but partly on certain mysteries, the most notable of which is that reported by Leslie Hale in 1961: The register at the lodging house where Ware claimed to have spent the night from about 11.15 onwards, had been inspected by two policemen after Ware's confession, late in January. Inspector Hannam went to inspect it late in February. He was told that the book had been destroyed. The report does not disclose whether any information was asked for or supplied.
But there is a strange coda to this story: on 10 July 1951, David Ware tried to kill a woman in Bristol. He had bought a hammer and had tried to batter her to death. Ware told police, ‘I have killed a woman. I don't know what is the matter with me. I keep on having an urge to hit women on the head.’ He was found guilty but did not hang, for reasons of unsound mind. In fact, he took his own life in Broadmoor, hanging himself in his cell in 1954.
CHAPTER 8
Buck Ruxton Red stains on the carpet, Red stains on the knife, Oh Dr Buck Ruxton You murdered your wife… Adaptation of the popular song Red Sails in the Sunset
T
his is a story of maggots, old newspapers and sharp knives. That might seem to be a bizarre statement, but in fact these are the key words in one of the most remarkable stories of amoral, brutal and savage murders ever carried out in England. It brought the very specialised science of forensic entomology into the public domain, so that readers of the morning papers, once they went past the revulsion of reading about chopped up bodies, had to try to understand how blow flies – the bluebottles they swatted every day with rolled-up newspaper – helped in the investigation of the killing of two women. The story begins at a stream near Moffat in Dumfriesshire on 19 September 1935. It is a pleasant spot, and has always been popular with holidaymakers in search of tranquillity. But when Susan Johnson walked to a bridge to look down at the stream she saw something protruding from a package of some kind. Taking a closer look, she almost retched: the object was a human arm. Susan ran to her brother, and he went to inspect the ‘package’. It was an arm, wrapped in old newspapers. In no time, the place was full of police. Later that day, a sergeant from the Dumfriesshire Constabulary found more packages containing various chunks of corpses. The search was on, as the wider area around the Linn (the stream) was searched in the following weeks. There was even a piece of body – a foot – found on the road, nine miles away from Moffat. It was not until 4 November that the last find was discovered, a hand and forearm. In total, the pieces of human corpses included two heads, seventeen chunks of arms and legs, and lots of smaller pieces of flesh. They would have to be inspected for whatever information they had which might help the police, so the body parts were sent to Edinburgh University. That is where the maggots took centre stage in the enquiry. Meanwhile the usual police moves were made: searches for missing persons, checks on motorists who had used the road, and of course hunts for possible witnesses who might have seen anything unusual around the Linn. The first breakthrough came with the realisation that one of the newspapers used to wrap some of the remains was a special local edition of the Sunday Graphic, only distributed around Morecambe and Lancaster. The next logical step was to check in those two towns for anyone who had been reported missing. Mary Jane Rogerson was working as a maid in the home of Dr Buck Ruxton, who had his practice in Lancaster, and her parents were becoming very worried about her by the 20 September. She had not been seen for five days and that was very unusual for her: Mary always kept in touch with her parents. They were at first mollified by Ruxton but eventually went to the police. At the same time, a Glasgow detective called Ewing had been extremely observant and attentive to all sources of information; he read in another paper that the wife of Dr Ruxton was missing, and then he saw the
similarity between the description given in the news of Mary Rogerson and the account given of some of the remains at Moffat, given by the forensics expert in Edinburgh, Dr Glaister. Things were falling into place, and the focus of interest was Ruxton. When Mrs Rogerson identified items of clothing from the parcels of limbs, she was sure that Mary was one of the deceased: specifically, a patch sewn on a blouse and some rompers made her sure that they belonged to her daughter. The Ruxtons used to go to a Mrs Holme in Grange-over-Sands, across Morecambe Bay, to collect clothes, and a visit to that lady in the quiet seaside village confirmed what Mrs Rogerson had surmised. Fine details were noticed, such as a specific knot tied in the elastic of the rompers which Ms Holme saw at once. Enquiries were made about Ruxton. Obviously, not only did the objects related to the case point to him, but also the fact that the skill needed to cut up the bodies in such professional ways made it certain that the person who had done this had medical knowledge. Who was Buck Ruxton? He was born Bukhtyar Hakim, in 1899, and was from a Parsee family: these are people who are descended from Persians (Persia is the former name of Iran). They moved to Gujarat in India in the seventeenth century to escape religious persecution, and in the process of historical change, they were active in creating the city of Bombay, and they were a solid base of the middle class in that place. The Hakims were of that kind. Hakim qualified in medicine in Bombay, and also became a surgeon. He won first class honours in midwifery and gynaecology, and he married a Parsee woman when he was twenty-six. But that did not work out, and he went to Britain. That was the beginning of a new life and a new identity for him. He was now Dr Gabriel Hakim. It was entirely natural that a medical man would move to Edinburgh – one of the most highly-respected centres of medical study in Europe. There he was not so brilliant, failing to achieve a Fellowship of the College of Surgeons, but his Indian qualifications were enough for him to go into practice. He married a second time, his new wife was Dutch – Isabella van Ess. As he took on aspects of a new life, the Indian heritage was played down. He changed his name by deed poll. Thus Dr Buck Ruxton came into being, establishing his practice in Lancaster. In the early 1930s they had children and at that point they employed Mary. On 14 September, Isabella went to Blackpool to be with her sister, a Mrs Nelson, who was on holiday there from Edinburgh. For some time, Ruxton had been insanely jealous of his wife, always suspecting that she was having affairs. On that occasion, he thought she had been to Blackpool to meet a man, and when she came back, he was waiting for her, and in a rage. He attacked her, strangled her and she was stabbed. Mary was working close by and came to see what was happening. That was her death warrant. She could not be allowed to live and so she too was killed, also strangled. We know from Chief Constable Vann, who led the investigation, what happened next: He dragged the bodies to the bathroom, laid them on a long seat approximately 15 feet long and 18 inches wide, and cut them up. After filling the bath with cold water, as each limb was dismembered he cut the arteries and placed it in the bath, thereby allowing the blood to dissolve. Having drained the portions of bodies completely of blood he dried them with cotton wool, wrapped them in sheets and newspapers and packed them into suitable parcels…
He must have driven to Moffat through the night and then returned home early. He was heard by his charwoman going to and from a room in the house in the middle hours of the day of the 19 September. He was, police were sure, shifting the bodies and storing them in a large cupboard. When the body parts were bagged up, there was a clear attempt to confound matters by mixing them – so that for instance, his wife's pelvis was packed with Mary's legs. Ruxton was not the main focus in another sense. Basic police work leading to him from the clothes
and the newspaper were one thing, but the forensic experts were needed to make matters regarding the identity of the victims certain. What was needed was a reconstruction of the remains, and the man with that unenviable task was Professor John Brash from Edinburgh, but he had Professor Glaister to help, and the latter became the main forensic witness at the trial. First, the parts were assigned to the labels of ‘Body No. 1’ and ‘Body No. 2’. Chief Constable Vann, writing in 1937, listed these: Body No. 1
Body No. 2
No trunk
One foot Complete trunk
The softer parts of the remains were covered by maggots. Dr A G Mearns was able to gauge the time the murders took place from the state of the maggots. The source of the maggots is that they are the pupae of blow flies, insects attracted to rotting flesh. Specimens are studied to ascertain how long ago the female lies settled on the body and laid eggs – usually done at the orifices of the body. The flies have four life stages, and so that helps timing to take place, as each stage exists for an average period of time, as long as the temperature has been right. The cause of death in both cases was strangulation, and it was also found that, after study of the top of the stairs, the killings had taken place there. After the main part of the forensic work, the time and place of death was known. The main task was to reconstruct the bodies as far as possible. The two bodies were assembled as much as could be done; there was no problem in defining the sex; pieces of flesh were found to be female breasts. From skull, bones and teeth the relative ages of the two women were ascertained. The result of all this was that Body 1 was between eighteen and twenty-five years old and just under 5 feet; Body 2 was between thirty-five and forty-five years old and was about 5 feet 3 inches. Yet another expert played a part too: Dr Arthur Hutchinson studied the teeth. He could assess the dates of the extraction of teeth from sockets and gums. Some teeth had been removed just before the dissections, while others were long-standing. By all these means, a narrative was put together, a forensic story to back up whatever the police could get out of Ruxton himself. In fact, that was to prove a very simple thing to do. As Chief Constable Vann recalled: I asked him to come over to my office on Saturday, 12 October, 1935, as the police had some information about his wife…he was taken aback to find a number of highly placed police officials there. I told him I was anxious to trace his wife and maid and suggested that he might be able to give some assistance in finding them. He was also asked to account for his movements from the night of 14 September to 29 September. He was cautioned…Ruxton appeared to be delighted to have the opportunity and said, ‘Go on, ask me…ask me anything you like, I will be only too pleased to tell you…’
Vann and others fired the important questions at him, and the police officer recalled that after being charged with the murder, Ruxton was ‘in turn violent and emotional and on one occasion thumped violently on the table…’ But a little later he was apologetic and repented his lack of self-control.
The trial was at Manchester High Court of Justice on 2 March 1936. Mr Justice Singleton presided. Ruxton was defended by the great Norman Birkett and the prosecution was led by J C Jackson and Maxwell Fyfe. Before that, back in November 1935, when he first appeared before the magistrates, he had been loud and violent, asking crazy questions and raving. Of course he had been the biggest story in the media for the months preceding the trial. Although the trial took eleven days, the outcome was certain really, such was the evidence. There were no witnesses other than Ruxton himself for the defence, and as well as the forensic evidence, there was all the evidence from the scene, notably the clumsy attempts made to burn the carpet and other materials on which blood had been left. Norman Birkett, who later became Lord Justice, had been prominent in a number of major criminal cases in the previous years, but this was a challenge to say the least. As his biographer, H Montgomery Hyde, explained, ‘There were over 200 exhibits in court, including a scale model of the prisoner's house complete with furnishings and the nameplate on the door.’ Ruxton added further pressure on Birkett by constantly scribbling notes, suggesting questions he should ask. It took seven days for the prosecution to present all their evidence and give their arguments. One of the most remarkable aspects of the forensic evidence was that of the photographic work done by Professor Brash. He had two photos of the women enlarged to life-size proportions; he then photographed the two skulls, making these images equate to the picture of the women as she was in life. The distinct facial features were then transferred to sheets of transparent paper, and then the photographers produced positive and negative images which could be superimposed. When seen by a jury, this was so convincing as proof of the body being that of Isabella, that it was a keystone in the case for the Crown. Birkett tried to think of a way to make this inadmissible but failed. Birkett wrote notes on the structure of the defence, the most important of these being: The medical evidence to be of any avail must deny the medical evidence of the prosecution in its essential feature, i.e. these are the bodies of Mrs Ruxton and Mary Rogerson, and I am informed by medical experts that this is impossible. Contradictions in minor matters are useless…In my clear and very strong view, if Dr Ruxton desires to give evidence, we should confine our evidence to him…
In the dock, Ruxton's mental state was more than evident. He said, after dabbing his tearful eyes with a handkerchief, ‘We could not live with each other and we could not live without each other… He who loves most chastises most…’ He denied any acts of violence and tried to explain away the blood and the petrol (found around the place and used to try to burn the carpet). When the prosecution tackled the subject of his wife's supposed infidelity, this exchange took place: Question: ‘You have for a considerable time thought your wife unfaithful?’ Reply: ‘She has done some silly things that would not have been done by a sensible woman…’
He explained that by infidelity, Ruxton meant ‘not a misconduct of a sexual nature but a transfer of affection…’ It was inevitable that Ruxton would be found guilty, and he was. Sentence of death was given. Even in his last words before judgement, Ruxton was verbose, scatty and odd, saying, Subject to the point that I be allowed to appeal…in the administration of justice…I submit to your Lordship…I want to thank everybody for the patience and fairness at my trial…
There was an appeal. All Birkett could do was concentrate on the fact that Ruxton's car was very clean. He said, ‘There was not a spot of blood on the car, isn't that a most remarkable thing?’ If there was doubt on Ruxton's long drive to Moffat, then in spite of all the forensic evidence, the prosecution's case might collapse. But Lord Hewart's decision was stated directly, completely reliant
on the forensic analysis: ‘The evidence that the dismembered bodies were those of Mrs Ruxton and Mary Rogerson is really overwhelming…The application is of a kind that the court cannot grant.’ Ruxton was hanged on 12 May 1936 at Manchester. But before he died he wrote to Birkett to ask him to help his three children: ‘I am leaving three bonnie little mites behind. If you can, please be good to them…’ Birkett was good to them. He arranged for them to be brought up, placed in an orphanage. But a stranger thing then happened. Ruxton wrote another letter, a confession, and he handed it to a journalist: I killed Mrs Ruxton in a fit of temper because I thought she had been with a man. I was mad at the time. Mary Rogerson was present at the time. I had to kill her. B Ruxton
As Montgomery Hyde pointed out, ‘This sealed confession was unique, since never before, so far as is known, had a document of this character been entrusted to a newspaper by a man who was destined for the scaffold.’ Ruxton was paid the then huge sum of £3,000 (almost £111,000 in today's money) for that confession – money which easily paid Birkett's fees. We know a great deal about Buck Ruxton, but what still remains in doubt is who hanged him. According to John Eddleston, in his massive encyclopaedia of the hanged of the last century, the hangman is unknown. Yet Steve Fielding, also a specialist historian of the gallows, says that Ruxton was hanged by Tom Pierrepoint, assisted by Robert Wilson. Fielding notes that in Pierrepoint's diary, the name of Ruxton is written: ‘Parsee doctor Buck Ruxton…was the next name in Tom's diary.’ That would seem to settle the issue.
CHAPTER 9
The Wallace Enigma Misleading telephone messages, false addresses, contrived alibis, numerous witnesses, deep-seated family secrets – this case has them all… CliffordElmer
S
ome crimes defy explanation. Some crimes have an abundance of facts and ine detail, yet still offer no resolution, no closure. The reasons for this may be because too much time has passed and history has cast a dark shadow over events and motives. Yet the enigma may be from some other reason, something to do with failures of logic and apparent deceptions. If the narrative of a crime is such that all the resources of a mind such as that of Sherlock Holmes would find defeat the only outcome, then the events will go on and on, being revisited by the most assiduous and enquiring minds of writers, criminologists and novelists. If a search were to be made to find the crime that best its this description, it would very likely be that of the murder of Mrs Wallace. This is a murder story. A life was definitely taken. But the journey towards a solution is a succession of dead ends. In an ordinary suburb of an English city, someone took a life and in a brutal way. At the moment, the identity of the killer is shrouded in a mist of uncertainty. One candidate has always been under scrutiny – her husband, William. But again, certainty eludes investigation. If Liverpool can claim to be the setting for several infamous and problematic homicides, then first among these has to be the Wallace case. The year 1931 was notable for its crime mysteries. There was the notorious ‘BlazingCar’ case in Northumberland, still unsolved, and also the Margaret Schofield case in Dewsbury (unsolved). But in sheer complexity, the death that has been called by many ‘the perfect murder’ is Liverpool's own, and presents the historian with a riddle: if William Wallace, gentle chess-playing insurance agent living in a quiet suburb, did indeed create an alibi and a hoax, then why did he make it all so dificult for himself? There were easier ways to create a ruse and a suspicious stranger. The story began on 19 January 1931, when a phone call was made to the Central Chess Club in Liverpool by a man calling himself Qualtrough. He wanted to see Wallace urgently, on a business matter. Wallace was not yet at his club, but he was due to arrive to play a match at 7.00pm. Wallace arrived at 7.40pm, and then he was told about the phone call. The club was at the City café, and Wallace had not been doing too well of late, walking the streets for the Prudential. This call meant a potential customer, so he asked about the address given. Here lies the heart of the mystery: Qualtrough said he lived at Menlove Gardens East – an address that did not exist. Wallace asked several people about the address, and it was known that there was a street called Menlove Gardens North. All this became important when Wallace's steps are traced the next day, when he went in search of the mystery man. He left his home in Wolverton Street and went to Smithdown Road; then he caught a No 4 tram at Lodge Lane. We know that he went to Menlove Gardens and started looking for ‘East’ in the area. He made a point of asking lots of people about the address. But by 8.00pm he had given up and went home. It was when he arrived home, just before 9.00pm, that he found the body of his wife. Julia Wallace lay in a pool of her own blood, in her cosy room.
The Wallaces were a quiet couple; neighbours reported no scenes of anger or disagreement. William was a bookish man; he read Marcus Aurelius and based his behaviour and attitudes on that Roman's stoical philosophy. He was firm and controlled right through the coming investigation and trial, something that went surely against him. The image he gave was of a callous, unfeelingman, who should have shown extreme emotion after the violent killing of his wife in their own home. Wallace had been born in the Lake District in 1878; he had worked for a short while in India, and then in Ripon, before settling down to the life of a clerk in Liverpool. He had married Julia in 1913. We need to ask more questions about William Wallace. In fact, all major studies of the case have tried to assess his character based on what we know of him. A true understanding of the case has to be based on an assessment of his personality. He lived quietly, and his wife was very cultured and reined; she played the piano and took an active interest in the arts. He liked chess, worked hard to practise his stoicism in his everyday life, and also liked to conduct amateur experiments in chemistry, having a small lab in his home. He took up the violin after turning forty. In fact, this proile suggests a man who wanted to be, on his own level and on his own terms, a Renaissance man. In 1950, the writer F J P Veale provided an interesting assessment of this aspect of Wallace, responding to the cerebral element in the man: The murder of his wife gave nationwide publicity to what before had only been known by a narrow circle of acquaintances. William Herbert Wallace was a highbrow, not indeed an academic highbrow, but nevertheless a genuine and persistent highbrow. Far from limiting his intellectual activities like a healthy- minded man of his class to sports results, crossword puzzles and an occasional denunciation of the government in power, Wallace presumed to study and investigate subjects quite outside his humble sphere of life.
In fact, his stoicism went against him. Such a view of life involved suppressingany public show of emotion. This meant that after the killing, it was noticed that his behaviour did not seem to fall in line with expectations about how a bereaved husband in those circumstances should behave. Wallace was arguably a typical example of the autodidact, the man who is self-taught and who chooses his intellectual and cultural pursuits. He had been a political agent in Ripon earlier in his life and had then worked in India and China in sales, but his health had suffered. Working in insurance suited him admirably: he excelled in keepingrecords, he was meticulous in everything, and he had a certain level of charm. Clients told police that Wallace told humorous stories and was good company. In other words he had a social self – he projected personality when there was a need to do so. Otherwise he was very reserved. All this falls in line with the thoughts of Marcus Aurelius, the writer who most influenced his view of life. The essence of Marcus is that he had been a Roman emperor, had participated in life and had known status, but then had withdrawn into the private life so admired in Roman philosophical thinking. A perusal of Marcus's book, The Meditations, soon offers an understanding of Wallace. The spirit of that book is that a man should have a regulated life, have dignity, not suffer fools gladly, and learn a broad acceptance of things. For instance, there we have: ‘I learned from Sextus … the example of a family governed in an orderly manner, gravity without affectation, and to tolerate ignorant persons.’ Through the book runs a line of thought which perfectly matches Wallace's professional life: ‘he had the power to readily accommodate himself to all’. The stress is on how such things as piety and abstinence are learned. Marcus makes much of the need to have ‘abstinence not only from evil deeds but from evil thoughts.’ The backbone of stoicism is the notion of perseverance. At one point, Marcus writes: ‘I never stop enquiry in all matters of deliberation… never stop investigation, though being satisied with appearances.’ When Wallace went in search of Menlove Gardens East, he persisted. He went on, in
spite of the fact that several people he met had no idea where that address was. Of course, it did not exist. From the viewpoint of the prosecution, the search for Qualtrough was so packed with apparently deliberate conversations with people, including a police officer, that here was a man creating an alibi; but from the viewpoint of the defence, here was an assiduous man following the precepts of his everyday philosophy. The scene of crime was horrific. When Wallace came home, he could not open the front door, so he went around to the back. He managed to enter, walked upstairs, and found nothing unusual; but when he went down to the parlour and turned on the light, there was her body, lying face down on the rug. There was a pool of blood around her head and such was the force of a blow to her skull that bone was visible. Wallace was accompanied by a friend, Jack Johnson, as he saw this, and Johnson went to bring a police officer. Meanwhile, Wallace realised that his insurance takings had been stolen from a box in the kitchen. But it was puzzling that a jar of pound notes in the bedroom had not been stolen, despite the fact that they were smudged with blood. When PC Williams arrived, he and Wallace checked details, but then the forensic expert came, Professor MacFall. He discovered no less than ten more wound marks on the head. There was a mess in the house – evidence of an apparent frenzy. But MacFall noted that the gas-lights were out, so the rage and the supposed search for booty would have taken place in the dark. Also, there were no blood-marks in places where one would have expected them, such as on door handles for instance. Clearly, Wallace himself would have to be questioned intensively, as there were so many pointers to an alibi and so many oddities at the scene of the murder that did not seem to square with the supposed crazed murder and attack. DS Hubert Moore led the investigation. He had had long experience, over thirty years of police work. At Dale Street police station, the interviews began. Attention was paid to the Qualtrough call, and to the witnesses who recalled talking to Wallace on his hopeless quest for Menlove Gardens East. It all appeared to be so fabricated, after all: a phone call at a point when there would be an alibi and yet enough time for Wallace to have made the call himself before arriving at the chess club; then all that asking for directions even to the point of making sure that conversations were memorable. It must have all seemed so purposeful to Moore as he faced this quiet, restrained and inscrutable man who controlled his emotions with perfection. Amazingly, the Qualtrough phone call was traced; it was made from a box defined as Anfield 1627 – a box only 400 yards from Wallace's house in Wolverton Street. But evidence at the scene was unavailable: there was no weapon, no prints and no items found even in the drains and sewers. It was noted, though, that a poker was missing. More important, what would be the motive? Julia had only £20 due from insurance on her life. Wallace had no need of that as he had money saved in his account. At the trial, people started looking for motives in the area of personality and relationship, even to notingWallace's diary entries, such as one comment about Julia's ‘aimless chatter’. But in context, he had written this after her death, saying that he missed her ‘loving smiles and aimless chatter’. The trial began on 22 April at St George's Hall. The judge was Mr Justice Wright; for the prosecution there was E G Hemmerde, and Roland Oliver for the defence. They were all brilliant lawyers in their way: but they were to find several anomalies and unanswered questions in this affair. Wallace's own statement included his own assertion that any hint of him having killed his wife was ‘monstrous’. In gathering evidence for the defence (and they had to concentrate on the timing of a milk delivery at the murder house) a certain Elsie Wright, who was sure that the call at the house, at which
Julia was alive, was close to a 6.45pm, not 6.30pm. Little details such as this would count for a great deal in the case, as everything rested on the movements of Wallace around Liverpool that day. Everything except the issue of the raincoat. Wallace's mackintosh was under Julia's body. Here, the limitations of forensics at the time were exposed, particularly in blood movements and splattering, the blood on this coat being either caused by the wounding, or in fact dripping after death. There were also burn stains on the coat, so another question arose: did Wallace fail in an attempt to burn the material? Or equally sensible was the line of thought that it could have been burned in the attack, because Julia was close to the gas fire. The questioning by the prosecution was aimed at locating all the strange and oddly convenient circumstances of the phone call, the attempt to find the address, and the arguably transparent and feeble creation of an alibi. It had also seemed un-convincing that an innocent man would have walked upstairs in his home before going through to the parlour, the implication being that he was fabricating a likely ‘geography’ of the movements of the supposed frenzied attacker. Equally, in the examination of Julia Wallace's nature and character, it had been made extremely unlikely that she would have a lover, so if the motive of the anonymous killer was related to a crime of passion, then where was the evidence for that? So profound has been the study of the case that arguments for and against his guilt tend to be lengthy and complex. But this would be a reasonable summary.
The case for the defence • The phone call to the chess club was by the murderer. That means he knew Wallace would be at the club and that the message would be passed on. There was a notice on the wall saying that Wallace was to play a chess match that night – 20 January. • The killer would have known at what time Wallace would leave the house the next day – the day of the murder, and would easily enter. • The killer had plenty of time to kill: between 6.45pm and 8.40pm. By witness sightings, Wallace only had twenty minutes to kill his wife and then clean up. • Money was taken from a cash-box, so perhaps the thief was disturbed and so attacked Julia. • No bloodstains were on Wallace. • Wallace's mackintosh was next to the body, and bloody. The killer only had to take it from a hook, and use it to shield himself from blood. • The missing iron bar by the fire – Wallace knew of it, but the killer would have taken it away. • Regarding the several blows inflicted, arguably the thief was known to Julia. Hence, he had to ensure she died. It takes two blows to kill, anyway, regardless of who did it or how it was used. • Wallace checked all other rooms before finding the body – maybe he thought she was in bed. • There was no money motive – they were comfortably off.
The case for the prosecution • The call box was near a tram stop. He could have made the call and got to the club quickly. Also, the witnesses said that two tones of voice were used by the caller. • Wallace could have committed the murder between around 6.30pm and the time he was see on a tram, 7.10pm.
• There was no forcible entry into the house. • The mackintosh was badly burned in parts. He denied knowledge of owning the coat until closer inspection. • The multiple blows came from savage intention, a stored-up hatred bursting into a murderous assault • Searching for the Menlove Gardens address, he rather purposefully helped people to remember him if asked later – a perfect attempt at establishing an alibi The crux of the case as heard in court was arguably the visit to the house of the boy, Alan Close, to deliver milk. Wallace said he came home from work at around 6.00pm and then Alan Clsoe came at 6.30pm. Julia answered the door to him. Defence proved that the boy was there later – actually nearer 6.40pm. Wallace left at 7.00pm to catch the 7.05pm tram. That is why, if he had been the killer, Wallace only had around twenty minutes to kill and to clean up some of the mess. As to the route and events of the search for Qualtrough's address, this is the series of actions logged: 1. He asked the tram conductor about the address. 2. Seven other people were asked: these included another tram conductor, a clerk walking past him, a person who lived at Menlove Gardens West, a policeman, another pedestrian, a post office clerk and a newsagent. 3. Most suspicious was perhaps the fact that when he talked to the police officer, he made a point of mentioning that the time was 7.45pm. However suspicious all this might be, the defence had a good response, as summarised by F J P Veale: To this argument the defence responded that properly considered, Wallace's persistence was perfectly natural. He had had a weary day traipsing dreary streets interviewing estimable but uninteresting people. He had decided to devote this evening to obtaining what might prove to be a valuable piece of business. Having sacrificed his evening and travelled four miles on a winter's night, he was reluctant to admit that Menlove Gardens East was mythical …
It should also be recalled that the tone and vocabulary in the call itself offered something more unusual than the normal insurance discussion. The words were: ‘I have something in the nature of his business about which I must talk to him.’ That wording was far from the language used by his usual clients. Working-class and respectable middle-class Liverpudlians had been open to all kinds of insurance offers for some considerable time. It was a city in which the First Life insurance firms had sprouted seventy years before. The vast majority of clients for the Pru would have simply rungand said something like, ‘I want to talk to Mr Wallace about sorting out some insurance. Could you ask him to call and see me?’ Wallace and his colleagues did indeed spend many days walking and riding around the city, paying calls and helping people to understand the workings and the paperwork of insurance. That message – and it was delivered word for word – would have been intriguing. The voice on the phone also used the phrase, ‘I want to see Mr Wallace urgently on a matter of business.’ That was not by any means a routine call. One other focus of debate which has to be mentioned is how Wallace behaved when he returned and had difficulty entering his own home. The neighbours, Mr and Mrs Johnston, also came out, and they found him standing in the passage at the back of the house. He would hardly wait there, away from sight, if he was planning to raise the alarm after finding the corpse. Then, when the body was
discovered and police arrived, it was noted that, although he sat and smoked, with a cat on his knee (which he stroked), Professor MacFall, who was at the crime scene later, commented that Wallace did not seem at all like a man who had just killed his wife. The prosecution had a number of pertinent questions to put to Wallace. Perhaps top of the list was why he went on the journey to the supposed client's address without checking. Hemmerde went on the attack: Hemmerde: ‘You are a businessman … you realised that this person who had telephoned the chess club had not the least idea whether you had received his message or not. Yet you go off to Menlove Gardens East?’ Wallace: ‘No.’ Hemmerde: ‘He would have to risk that?’ Wallace: ‘Yes’ Hemmerde: ‘And of course you could have found out at once if you had looked up in a directory where Menlove Gardens East was or was not?’ Wallace: ‘Yes, I could have done.’
But what followed, on closer inspection of his motives for going to find Qualtrough, was that Wallace had had a poor week and he needed to contact the man, saying that the business might turn out to be ‘a £100 endowment policy or some-thing of that nature’. A major factor in the development of the trial was the impressive deportment and control evident in Wallace; but that did not affect the outcome in his favour. In the early afternoon of the fourth day of the trial, the jury retired to consider their verdict. Their decision was that Wallace was guilty of wilful murder. The judge stated that it was a ‘murder unexampled in the annals of crime’. After the death sentence was passed, Wallace still showed no response. The Liverpool Post and Echo reported that ‘Wallace's bearing after the verdict was as calm and impassive as throughout the trial, and when asked if he had anything to say, he replied in a quiet tone, “I am not guilty. I don't want to say anything else”.’ But that is not the end of the story. At the Court of Appeal on 19 May 1931, his case was reconsidered. This was after his being moved to Pentonville in April, and after prayers being said for him in Liverpool Cathedral. He played the violin, and as death was looming, his violin and his chess set had been brought to him. In Pentonville, though, he was housed in the death cell. Hemmerde took a longtime at appeal to elaborate on how all the evidence stacked against his client was circumstantial. There was a forty-five minute wait for Wallace, before he would know if he were to hang or not. Lord Hewart had found three clear elements which had to be weighed and discussed: irst, Mr Oliver had not said that there was no case to answer in the original trial; secondly, was the summing up done with accuracy? Third, as Hewart said, ‘The whole of the evidence was closely and critically examined… The court was not concerned with suspicion, however grave, or with theories, however ingenious.’ In using Section 4 of the 1907 Criminal Appeal Act, Hewart quashed the conviction. The summary was: It would not have been in the least surprising if the verdict had been the acquittal of the prisoner. It was a case that was eminently one of difficulty and doubt, but we are not concerned with suspicions, however grave, or with theories, however ingenious. The evidence has not fulilled the real test of circumstantial evidence – it did not exclude the possibility that someone other than the appellant has committed the crime.
Basically, there must have been an inklingin the mind of the lawyer submitting the appeal application that there was a chink of light, some cause for optimism: after all, in the trial, the judge's summing up had lasted for seven hours. That invariably meant confusion, elaborate explanation, and a
certain amount of speculation. The appeal court also had to cope with allegations from Wallace's defence that at the trial the police had been vetting witnesses and jury. Hemmerde, for the Crown, responded to that charge: Mr Hemmerde, addressing the court on behalf of the Crown, said that he did not know whence Mr Roland Oliver had got the idea that the jury at the trial were prejudiced against the defence. Mr Oliver had spoken about his (Mr Hemmedre's) speech to a jury in Liverpool. In fact it had been deliberately arranged that there should not be a jury in Liverpool and the jury were drawn from the surrounding country some way from Liverpool.
Mr Justice Wright responded to the charge against the police also, saying, ‘So far as the police are concerned, I took charge of this case at least a week before the trial. If this case was pressed, I pressed it. I take full responsibility for everything that was done.’ The last word has to go to Wallace himself. He said, ‘I hardly knew what it all meant. It seemed ages before he reached the sentence which conveyed to me the knowledge to step out of the dock, free.’ But the stigma in such affairs does not go away; by the end of 1932, he had moved away from Anield and he was a sick man, with kidney disease. He died in Clatter bridge Hospital on 26 February 1933 and was buried with his wife in Anfield cemetery. In 1968, a report in The Times noted that ‘In Anfield, a neighbourhood which has changed little in 40 years, people still talk of him and discuss many strange aspects of the case. He was ‘the man from the ‘Pru’ and as has been pointed out, his employers staged a mock trial before the actual one, and then paid for the defence’. If the man's innocence is to be confirmed, then it is worth quoting that very skilful and respected crime writer, Jonathan Goodman, who worked on the basis that the milk delivery boy who saw Wallace would not have been there if his bike had not had a puncture. Good man told the press on the publication of his book, The Killing of Julia Wallace (1969) ‘While I'm obviously making no charges, I believe the real killer is still at large.’ In the end, all opinions have to cope with the basic fact that Wallace received a phone call from a man who was never traced, and that a street was referred to that did not exist. That one aspect surely leads to the highly likely point that some one wanted the husband out of the house before they attacked and killed the wife. However, as the appeal court session made clear, there were still problems with that: after all, if the man who came to the Wallace home after making the phone call simply wanted to rob the place, what on earth would be his motive for such a murderous and savage attack on Julia Wallace?
CHAPTER 10
Cornered in Kirkheaton Anyone who reads the evidence would conclude that Moore was innocent. Steve Lawson
T
he following few paragraphs tell the established view of a crime in Yorkshire sixty years ago. In 1951, the quiet suburb of Kirkheaton, just a few miles from Huddersfield town centre, was the stage for high drama. At Whinney Close Farm, Alfred Moore had been the focus of a police hunt after a burglary and officers were waiting at his home. Their plan was, of course, to get hold of him with the stolen goods on his person. In the early hours, shooting began from the farm, and two officers went down, mortally wounded. The man they wanted was inside, and gun-crazy; as the injured men were taken to hospital, the detectives in charge had to make their men remain patient, as they were eager to get to grips with a man who dared to ire on the officers of the law. They were keen to grab him as they knew that DI Fraser had died before reaching the hospital; he had three bullet wounds in him. More police arrived, and it was then a question of how to conduct this siege without more loss of life. The farm was searched and plenty of goods were found that had almost certainly been stolen; Moore had been approached by Fraser and PC Jagger earlier in the day, and Jagger had seen Moore shoot his officer. An identiication parade was held at the bedside of the wounded constable, and Moore was picked out. PC Jagger died the day after this identification. Moore was hanged in Armley on 6 February 1952. Most reference works have more or less that outline of the events and the killings. As with all historical material, the narrative is broadly accepted and then reproduced, without too much digging into circumstances. Much the same summary of events is given, for instance, in Gaute and Odell's reference work, The Murderers’ Who's Who (1979) and also in many other general crime reference works. That all seems very simple and straightforward. But as Oscar Wilde memorably said, ‘Truth is rarely pure and never simple.’ In fact, the above summary is so far from being an established account of events that as I write this in May 2010, a new investigation into the events of that day is being undertaken. In an article written for The Huddersfield Examiner in January, Barry Gibson reported: ‘The Criminal Cases Review Commission has announced it will launch a full investigation into the conviction of Alfred Moore.’ The figure behind this move is undoubtedly Steve Lawson, a former detective who has been campaigning for that to be done for many years. Lawson was the man who presented the case to the CCRC. He told the press, ‘If the Commission decides that my argument stands, then the case can be sent to the Court of Appeal which can quash the conviction. I would hope that Alfred Moore would then be given a posthumous pardon.’ Before that material given is discussed, it is necessary to review the events of the murder and the trial. On the night of 14 July 1951 a group of ten police officers surrounded the Moore's home, Whinney Close Farm. Alfred Moore was a known burglar, and the reason for the police presence was ostensibly that they wanted their man – he being a well-known criminal in the area. We have to ask
why there were ten officers there. The police statements in court made out that shots were fired at the police from the property. PC Jagger, who had been mortally wounded but lived long enough to speak, said that Moore had shot him with an automatic pistol, after seeing Inspector Fraser stagger towards him, also shot, and about to die. Jaggers's statement was reported in the press: ‘Police Constable Jagger stated that he saw Moore at 2.00am on 15 July as Moore was walking towards his farm. He shone his torch in his face, which he saw clearly in the light. He took hold of Moore's arm and Inspector Fraser approached. When Inspector Fraser said, “We are police officers and you are coming with us” Moore replied, “Oh no sir, oh no sir.” As soon as he said that, the statement alleged that he whipped out his right hand from his coat pocket and shot him (Jagger) and Fraser.’ Later, according to police, armed police reinforcements arrived and Moore came out of his farm and was grabbed by the arm. Moore was later charged and his response was: ‘How could it be me? I have told you I was not there… I'm on the spot. I know I am.’ After extensive searches, the alleged weapon could not be found, but apparently a number of important items were found in the Moore house. At the West Riding magistrates’ court on 28 August, as Jagger had then died, Moore was charged with a double murder. DCS Metcalfe told the court that in the early hours of 15 July when reinforcements had arrived, he and an armed officer, PC Cleaver, approached the farm. He said that he saw a woman at a window, with a man behind her. He shouted to them and eventually Mrs Moore came out, while Alfred stayed behind, partly behind the door. The officers then walked towards Moore, and he came out and was handcuffed. When told that he was arrested in connection with the murder of an officer he said, ‘Oh it is serious … it's awful!’ Bullets were examined by Dr H A Mays from the Ministry of Supply at Woolwich. He could only say that the bullets in both officers came from the same weapon – more likely a revolver than an automatic. Three cartridge cases were found, and he conirmed that they came from the same weapon. At Leeds Assizes in December, Moore stood in the witness box and denied any shooting. He said that on the night they were shot he was not concerned with any crime at all. He told the court that, since he had moved into the farm in May that year, he had left his life of crime and had been determined to make a living from poultry farming. He also said that he had never owned a revolver and had no ammunition of the kind described by Mays – 9 millimeter. On the night in question, Moore said that he had been to see his brother, and left him around 11.20pm, and had come back home without meeting anyone. He asserted that he had no gun on his person and did not have a gun when he set out. The prosecution, led by G R Hinchcliffe, insisted that all the evidence pointed to Moore as the killer of the two officers. He said that the motive was simple – to resist arrest. The Times reported that Moore had given himself time to hide stolen goods after shooting the men: ‘With the time he gained he was able to destroy a quantity of valuable pieces of jewellery in the cavity wall, to hide the discharged cartridge cases and a live round. It was perfectly true that the weapon that ired the shots had never been found.’ For the defence, H B Hylton-Foster stated that his client was a burglar, not a killer. He told the jury that the prosecution had given no proof that there was stolen property at the farm. It had been raining heavily that night, and yet, he pointed out, Moore's overcoat was ‘bone dry’ when it had been discovered by police a few hours later. The barrister added that the long and painstakingsearch for the weapon had been fruitless because Moore did not posses such a thing. There had even been two
army teams with metal detectors out looking for the gun, and that had come to nothing. All that was of no use. On 12 December, Mr Justice Pearson heard the guilty verdict of the jury and sentenced Alfred Moore to death. It had taken the jury just fifty minutes to reach their decision. Such are the salient features of the case. What strikes us now is just how many unanswered questions exist here. First, why were so many police surrounding the farm that night? Such a massive presence suggests a fear of irm resistance, and in fact also arguably suggests that the officers had a reason to fear being attacked. Otherwise they would have walked up to the door and demanded to see their man, and they would have spoken directly, and made an arrest. It smacks of overkill to say the least. Such a heavy presence hints at a vendetta action. The words ‘teach him a lesson’ come to mind. At best, it appears like the worst scenes from Ashes to Ashes in which earlier and more brutal policing methods were done in the spirit of a gang confrontation. The problem in defending Moore comes principally from Jagger's insistence that he shone the torch and saw Moore's face, and then that Moore went for a gun. What we don't know is whether or not Jagger knew Moore. How did he know it was Moore? We have no certainty that the constable was acquainted with the man – or even whether or not he had seen photographs. That encounter was reportedly in the early hours, whereas Moore said he had got home by 11.30pm. His only alibi was that of his wife in that respect, and his brother could provide an alibi only up to the return home. It was one man's word against another – and in the case of Jagger, he knew he was dying, so what did he have to lose if he was going along with a fabricated narrative of the night's events, to end his life and career with playing a prominent part in catching a crook? Then we have the amazing lack of forensics. As the gun was never found, the only forensic statement on ballistics ascertained nothingat all that would incriminate Moore. Why was there nothing done with regard to foot and boot prints? It was a wet night and they were on a track. Shoe or boot prints would surely have given information as to whether Moore did or did not walk out towards Jagger that night? More fundamental was the accused's character. He had no history of violent crime. Why on earth would he suddenly use a gun so recklessly? He was, or had been up until may, a career criminal. There was no record of armed robbery. He was a ‘brain’ not a ‘brawn’ offender. Now, after these criticisms, it is essential to look at what Steve Lawson has established in his own meticulous research. Lawson has spent years investigating this crime, and what affects the present writer most in this is the horrendous repercussions on Moore's family after the trial and execution. The farm was lost and the family ruined. They had known a good life before the night of the killings: the two daughters in the house were taken to a private school, and the family enjoyed holidays together. That lifestyle could only be maintained in Moore's case by crime – by theft of quite a high order. That explains why there was a determination to catch their man with his booty that night. The only explanation for the police presence that makes sense is that of a determination, as described above, to catch their thief, and to do so red-handed. It was a stake-out. Lawson is convinced that Moore was indeed in bed at the time. He has spoken to all four of Moore's daughters about that fateful night, and they are convinced that their father was innocent. They have led quiet, anonymous lives over the succeeding years, trying to forget the fact that their father died at the end of a rope. One daughter, Patricia, told Lawson that on that night she woke up to the sound of police whistles, and that she was then bullied into signing a false statement. She spoke to the Yorkshire Post and said, ‘It has very much affected my entire life … When I saw him at Armley he asked me to look after mum and she held me to it. He just said he loved us all. Mum was bitter – she
didn't really like us to have a life of our own. She had gone from having everything to being absolutely destitute.’ After the execution, the family moved away, names being changed. Tina, a younger sister, spoke to Lawson. She spoke of her mother's struggle to keep the family together. She added: ‘I have worried throughout my life that people might find out… I used to worry about things like that but now I don't. I hope that Steve can get this review and maybe dad can be pardoned.’ The Moore case is a perfect template for that crime story everyone concerned dreads: the hanging of an innocent man. That has been the case with the stories of Timothy Evans and others of course, where circumstances have been complex. But the Moore case is a terrible example of the reach of such a stigma into other lives. Innocent relatives have lives of trauma and shame, when there is no basis for that. In true crime writing, the more everyday repercussions of murder are rarely documented on the side of the supposed perpetrator. The story of Alfred Moore provides that unusual perspective. Steve Lawson puts his cases succinctly: ‘The depositions of all the police witnesses gave an entirely wrong account of what happened and appear to have been manufactured and are mainly untruthful in the contents.’ He told the Yorkshire Post: ‘The Moore family singfrom the same hymn sheet in their statements. The police are all over the place. Alfred Moore was a totally innocent man and everybody seems to have forgotten about this case. If there was a public outcry it would be reviewed.’ Hopefully, this critique of the actions taken that night in Kirkheaton will reclaim a story of truth, tragedy and injustice – a major crime story submerged beneath the present-day normality of that Huddersfield suburb. Drivers turn off the road to Lepton after leaving Huddersfield, and arrive at a peaceful bunch of streets with speed-bumps and suburban calm. But even today there is still in Kirkheaton, as in so many small places in the West Yorkshire conurbations, a sense of the rural – of small holdings, people keeping animals, walks into the country and neighbours walking dogs and talking about local issues. That was the life reformed criminal Moore seems to have wanted. No one who mattered at the time believed him. His past was a weight on him, a burden he could not shift, and his life was destined for a dark, sorrowful closure. The light of justice is now in the hands of the Criminal Cases Review Commission. Their decision will take time, but Steve Lawson and the Moore family wait with anxiety, stress, and perhaps a tinge of optimism.
CHAPTER 11
A Case of Provocation? Leonard Holmes Even if lago's insinuations against Desdemona's virtue had been true, Othello's crime was murder and nothing else. Viscount Simon
T
his is as much a story about lawyers, court rooms and legal technicalities as it is about murder. But the arguments about whether a killing was murder or manslaughter make it a very sensational and important case. It happened over sixty years ago, when thoughts about ‘reasonable’ behaviour and provocation were more than relevant – they were matters of life or death. If an appeal was lost, the noose waited the person in court. Leonard Holmes was thirty-one when he came back from the war, and he settled back into family life in 1945, with his wife, Peggy, and their six children in their home in Central Avenue, Walesby, north of Nottingham. On 17 November his parents came to see them and the couple went with them to have a drink at the Carpenter's Arms. Everything seemed fine. But that was on the surface. In fact, Holmes had sent a telegram to his lover in Huddersfield, where he had been stationed a few years earlier, saying, ‘See you Sunday or Monday for sure. Be prepared. OK All fixed. Len.’ May Shaw, the lover in Yorkshire, must have thought that, at last, Holmes was free. She thought Peggy had left him. In a sense she had but that sense of leaving was in death – she had been killed by the man who had smiled and relaxed earlier in the pub. On Monday 19 November, Holmes and Peggy had a row, based at first on the fact that Holmes claimed some American airmen had been winking at Peggy in the pub. In a rage, he took a coal hammer and struck her. She did not die immediately, but in fact her dentures had slipped into her throat. He took these out, and then, feeling that it was too late for her life to be saved, strangled her. After that, everything he did was as perfunctory as his army duties must have been: he washed, then burned his clothes which had been stained with Peggy's blood, then got the children out of bed to have breakfast and go to school. Somehow, he kept the corpse out of the way, and must have chivvied them along, dismissing questions about their mother. They were told not to come home that night, but to go to grandmother's house. He then went to Huddersfield to meet May, but set off home again. He never made it to Walesby, but was met by police at Retford. He said to them, ‘All right, I know what you want from me.’ He was cautioned but spoke again, saying, ‘Yes, it happened on Sunday night. It was all over something she said. I hit her with a hammer-head from out of the hot cupboard.’ The statement Holmes gave the next day was to be the basis of a long and complex trial and appeal hearings, all trying to deal with the knotty question of provocation. The story from Holmes was that after the night out, he and Peggy had been in the kitchen when he talked about his jealousy – the winks he thought he saw, and also how he suspected Peggy of having an affair with his brother. In the heat of their quarrel, he said that Peggy said, ‘Well, if it will ease your mind, I have been untrue to you, but I have no proof that you haven't at Mrs Shaw's.’ Peggy also said that May had been a good friend to them both ‘having them at their house’. Holmes’ confession was:
I lost my temper and picked up the hammer-head from the hot box and struck her with the same on the side of the head. She fell to her knees and then rolled lover onto her back, her last words being, ‘It's too late now, but look after the children.’ She struggled just a few moments and I could see she was too far gone to do anything. I did not like to see her lay there and suffer, so I just put both hands round her neck until she stopped breathing, which was only a few seconds.
Holmes said later that he had seen Peggy's suitcase in the hall, and thought that she was planning to leave him, and that was why he had telegrammed to May. But even leaving that aside as an open question, what came to be the focus of attention in the trial and in two appeal court sessions was what Holmes said at Nottingham Assizes on 28 February 1946: in the witness box he told the same tale, and then this interchange took place: Question: ‘When you put your hands round that woman's neck and gave pressure through your fingers, you intended to end your wife's life did you not? Holmes: ‘Yes.’
That simple answer led the judge to direct the jury to ignore the possibility of manslaughter. Holmes had clearly intended to kill, although he made it sound as though it was through mercy, to speed her end, rather than take life in order to complete his murderous attack. The judge's action at the trial, which ended in a death sentence for murder, became the basis for two long appeal court dramas. First, at three hearings through March and May, and then a session before the House of Lords in July, the learned judges and counsel debated and argued on points of law, sorting out what constituted provocation, and they had to decide whether or not Leonard Holmes had been provoked to act in such a way that the crime of murder might be mitigated. The theory of provocation with regard to adultery was that a certain action forming manslaughter would be the sight of a partner in flagrante delicto – in the act of adulterous behaviour. In Holmes's case, the alleged provocation was simple in the words Peggy had spoken. The heart of the issue was that Holmes had taken two distinct actions: One – he had taken the hammer head and attacked her; and two – he had strangled her to make sure that life was taken. The line of thought lodged in the appeal judges was that the doctrine of provocation depends on the fact that it causes or may cause, a sudden and temporary lack of control, whereby malice, which is the intention to kill or to cause grievous bodily harm, is negatived (a legal term). As the appeal court report states: ‘A sudden confession of adultery without more can never constitute provocation sufficient to reduce murder to manslaughter. In no case can words alone, save in circumstances of a most extreme and exceptional character, so reduce the crime…’ This thinking led in the Holmes case to the defence barristers searching the precedents – and there were plenty of these, as ‘crimes of passion’ are and always have been, plentiful. Peggy's body was found by Holmes’ brother on the day after the killing, when Holmes was in Huddersfield. The telegram had been sent, and Holmes’ behaviour in going immediately to his lover looked very black of course. The judge at the assize trial followed the expected course of action in directing the jury to ignore manslaughter, but at the appeal, Holmes’ counsel had found a case from 1871 and some later ones which made the appeal worth consideration. Working for Holmes was Elizabeth K Lane. She and her husband had read law together, and she was called to the Bar in the Inner Temple in 1940. She joined the Midland circuit, and became a QC not long after the Holmes’ trial. Her experience with tricky cases such as this gave her good experience: she became a member of the Home Office committee on depositions in 1948, and a county court judge later in life. She and her colleague, P E Sandlands, must have known that a fight to reduce Holmes's crime to manslaughter was a tall order, but they tried. Lane and Sandlands argued that in a possible conviction for murder, if there was a potential for a defence of provocation, the
judge should not direct the jury to discount the provocation argument. Their argument relied on the fact that Holmes had done two actions: and the essence of their case was: ‘Where there is evidence of a provoked attack made by one person on another which consists of more than one blow or other act, it is a question of fact for the jury whether such blows or other acts form part of the same attack or whether, if they do not, the later attacks were due to the same provocation.’ They said that it was ‘improper’ for a judge to direct the jury not to believe what the accused had said, especially here, where there were no witnesses. In a sense the defence counsel were clutching at straws. Common sense dictates that Holmes, in strangling his wife, had made the decision himself that she was certain to die. He had played God, as it were, in taking a life which may well have been in the balance. On top of that, there was no remorse in him, nor any attempt to put right what he had just done in the hammer attack. There was a case in 1871 in which a man had been allowed a defence of provocation based on spoken words, but as Viscount Simon at Holmes’ appeal said of that case, ‘As a general rule of law no provocation of words will reduce the crime of murder to that of manslaughter, but under special circumstances there may be such provocation of words as will have that effect; for instance if a husband hearing from his wife that she had committed adultery, and he having no idea of such a thing before, were there upon to kill his wife, it might be manslaughter.’ But the Rothwell case was different: in that case some tongs were already in the man's hands, and he used them to strike the blow that killed his wife. Holmes had purposely reached for the hammer-head in the box and then used it. In the end it was stated simply by Simon: the fact was that where the provocation causes an intention to kill ‘the doctrine to reduce the offence to manslaughter seldom applies’. The word ‘seldom’ was what gave Holmes and his barristers a slight inkling of a chance of saving the condemned man's neck. The extensive discussion about provocation was no doubt fascinating to those who attended court and were keen on legal theory. But to imagine Holmes in the dock, his head going back and forth as if he were watching a deadly game of legal tennis, is to contemplate a kind of torture. The last words uttered in July at the end of the final hearing, which were directly concerned with the case, were that the judge in Nottingham had done the right thing and the appeal was dismissed. Holmes was hanged at Lincoln prison on 28 May. The hangman was Tom Pierrepoint, and it was to be the last execution he performed. As Steve Fielding has pointed out, Tom was ‘walking with a stick and becoming more disabled with arthritis … the end was moving closer and closer’. The end for Holmes was surely something he must have realised was inevitable from the moment he arrived in Huddersfield, knowing what he had done, and simply fooling his lover that Peggy had left him. Through all human history, people have killed for love, or so they have reasoned with themselves. Holmes had clearly planned this murder for some time. He had his lover, many miles away, and he had met her in wartime circumstances. The likely thinking came from a romantic and sexual urge: he wanted the new woman and his wife stood in the way. The fact that he had a large family and a good life in Nottinghamshire was pushed to the back of his mind. To call this killing a crime of passion is to lift it beyond the seedy, savage and amoral outrage that it undoubtedly was. If Holmes tried to calculate possible consequences, and even if he played the lawyer and attempted to speculate about creating a scene in which he would be seen to have been provoked, it was never going to stand up in the light of reason. The court room at Nottingham was definitely a place where reason would prevail, and at the centre of all the subsequent wrangling was the concept of the ‘reasonable man’ – and the jury surely saw that
the man in the dock was in fact a schemer, a monster who would kill his own wife and leave his children to abandonment and emotional distress all for ‘love’ or whatever word he might have used. If he had persuaded himself that he was killing for love, then that does not diminish the contempt we feel for what he did. Even his expressed and irrational jealousy appears to have come from something weak in him, an element Shakespeare explored in his tragedy of Othello, and as Viscount Simon said at the last appeal: ‘Even if Iago's insinuations against Desdemona's virtue had been true, Othello's crime was murder and nothing else.’ Maybe some would put much of this down to the war – Holmes, along with thousands of other men, escaped the humdrum life of wife, kids, job and dead routine, for the thrill of a wartime life, when sexual manners and morals were generally more lax. Maybe there was an element on the man that saw the often repeated words, let's do it now, because we might be dead tomorrow, as a licence to push away the thoughts of duty and responsibility that tugat all people in some way. Yet that would be a feeble attempt to explain away a heinous crime. It would ask for understanding, though never sympathy. Holmes deserves no gram of sympathy at all. What began as some form of pathetic weakness grew into a profound desire to kill in order to have what he thought was happiness and freedom. Leonard Holmes had written the script of a story in his head, considering every twist and turn, and this had simpliied people, motives and emotions to such an extent that he could not see the one, massive fatal flaw in the plot: that he purposely took Peggy's life, ‘with malice aforethought’.
CHAPTER 12
Guenther Podola I've a grand memory for forgetting. R L Stevenson
T
o understand the twists and turns of this extraordinary murder case, the first step is to relect on amnesia and what it is. The simple definition, ‘loss of memory’, will not do. The word is used to cover both partial or total memory loss. It can include the loss of a certain period of time or it can be used to label a condition that is permanent, involving loss of some areas of experience while others are retained. There are several different varieties: in general terms, as an ongoing condition, there is anterograde amnesia which is part of the effects of head injuries; the person has problems recalling day-by-day events, though earlier memory may be sound. In contrast there is retrograde amnesia, which adversely affects memory previous to a trauma to the head. Other varieties cover a range of injury and damage. The most elusive, and therefore the most troublesome in a court of law, is hysterical amnesia. Here, episodes of memory loss are linked to trauma, and the condition is usually temporary. In other words, it is related to a neurosis, and that may have several causes. Clearly, a condition of amnesia would cause problems in a murder case, and it certainly did in July 1959 when Guenther Podola was arrested after the murder of a police officer. He was beaten up and there were injuries to his head. The sight of the accused in the dock at the magistrates’ court standing before the bench with a black eye was just the beginning of a long and tortuously difficult journey through legal wrangling that awaited the German who had been, almost twenty years before, a keen member of the Hitler Youth and who had become a dangerous gangster. Some news stories imprint themselves on the consciousness. When I was eleven, our family bought their first television set. It was 1959 and when I wasn't playing cowboys and Indians I was watching adventure tales on television. One of my strongest memories of that summer was hearing the full name – Guenter Fritz Erwin Podola – and seeing a telephone box on the screen during the news bulletin. There was the picture of the man, rough, bruised, as if he has emerged straight from a ruck. He was from the fantasy world of James Cagney and Edward G Robinson. I wasn't the only one who found that the long and strange name stuck in the memory. But ironically, Podola was to claim that nothing stuck in his memory in the period between 16 July and the time of his first trial in September, and it was claimed that he was unfit to plead – something that equated him with an insane person, and therefore, if accepted, that would save him from the gallows. The Podola story began not long after his move to London from West Germany in May 1959. Previously he had lived in Canada from 1952, and there he had done two jail stretches of over two years for burglary. In London, he took the name Mike Colato, a moniker suggesting a certain mafia or gangland identity, and soon he was breaking the law. On 13 July that year at some flats in Onslow Square, Kensington, gunshots were heard and residents in that wealthy area came out to see what was happening. They saw the body of a man in the hallway of one flat. The body was that of DS Raymond Purdy, and he had been there to look into a blackmail allegation. An American model called Verne Schiffmann had had jewellery and furs to the value of £2,000 stolen
and she was being blackmailed by the thief – Podola. His call had been traced to a phone box at South Kensington underground station. That was the phone box lodged in my memory. Purdy and DS Sandford had seen the caller, watched him leave the box, and had trailed him to the lats. Podola was aware of them and broke into a run, so they followed. Podola was grabbed and taken to the hall. As Sandford rang the porter's bell in order to get back-up, Podola brought out a gun and shot Purdy. Residents came to the scene, and one of them rang 999, but it was too late to save Purdy. Podola had run off, so the police hunt was on. At Chelsea police station, the model told the whole story of the theft and blackmail. It didn't take long to track down their man, and a few days later he was cornered at the Claremont House Hotel. The detective team with Albert Chambers in the vanguard, battered down the door and Podola was overpowered. He was knocked to the floor, receiving a severe blow to the head. He lost consciousness and he was taken to hospital later – to St Stephen's in Fulham. A statement was issued from there reading: ‘Mr Podola was a patient at this hospital for four days. Any information about him is confidential as between him and the hospital. He has a solicitor acting for him and any information will be given to his solicitor…’ But journalists pressed for more and eventually, after Podola was examined by Dr Colin Campbell at Brixton Prison hospital, it was clear that there was a serious problem, because the doctor was a specialist in neurology and neurosurgery. The readers of the popular papers were thinking that he had been brain damaged by the cops after one of their own had been killed. On 21 July, parliament wanted to know what brutality, if any, had taken place. R A Butler, Home Secretary, said that as Podola was being taken before a magistrate, it would not be proper for him to say anything. But members shouted in protest and one asked, ‘What happened to Podola at the police station which necessitated his removal to hospital on a stretcher?’ Mr Paget pressed for more, saying, ‘I am concerned with the people who beat him unconscious.’ Butler replied that Paget had no right to make such allegations and that there was no proof of a beating. Paget shouted that it was intolerable to contemplate ‘the idea that one can say sub judice to hush up something’. Butler repudiated the whole idea. But other matters in the news made the general feeling that there had been police brutality more general. One factor in this was that at Purdy's funeral, 1,000 London policemen had lined the last half mile of the route taken by the cortege. The procession was a mile long. It was also reported that Podola had not been allowed to see a lawyer. Once again, Butler was pushed for an explanation. He said that the prisoner had not asked for one, but that a solicitor had called at the hospital, to find that Podola was unit to see him. On 12 August, Podola was due to stand before the magistrates at the West London Police Court. An application for a closed court hearing was given by F H Lawrence, defence counsel, because there had been no possibility of havingany information from Podola, who sat in the court, not saying a word. He still had a black eye. The magistrate, E R Guest, made this statement: ‘It is now three weeks since this man was arrested and charged. During that time it has been impossible to get any instructions from him about the circumstances of his arrest or the events leading up to his arrest… If it still exists at the time of arraignment there will obviously be a preliminary issue …’ By that he meant that the accused might be unfit to plead. This issue became on of whether or not Podola, despite the amnesia he was said to have, could still give instructions to his counsel. But following that, a cross-examination would not be possible if the prisoner had no memory of the crucial events of the day of the killing. The defence plea of a ‘disadvantage’ was accepted. A preliminary hearing, not in open court, was then arranged.
At last the trial began, at the Old Bailey, on 11 September. The fundamental question still was there: the defence put forward a plea of insanity, arguing that Podola had suffered hysterical amnesia for the period in question. The prosecution were sure that the accused was fakingit. F H Lawrence, the defence counsel, told the court that his client has completely lost his memory of all events before 17 July that year. It was the first time in English legal history that a defence of amnesia had been argued. Maxwell Turner for the Crown, and Lawton for Podola, took several hours to argue their cases. Much of their discussion was about what constituted ‘unitness to plead.’ Mr Justice Edmund Davies finally said that they could go ahead, and that Lawton would have to satisfactorily demonstrate Podola's insanity. The basis of the argument for the defence was that, stemming from the Criminal Lunacy Act of 1800 (which followed an attempt on the life of George III) there was only one exception to the general rule of ‘unsound mind’ and loss of the faculty of reason. That was the example of a person charged being a deaf mute. Because that condition would mean that the accused could not participate in the communication essential to a trial, it was impossible to proceed. The question was, could amnesia create the same kind of condition? Would Podola's case be accepted as a condition of insanity? However, The Times reported, Lawson's first address suggested an indirect reference to alleged police brutality: Mr Lawson spoke of an amount of bloodshed when the arrest was made, and that so far as Podola was concerned it might well be that the scene was one of bloody terror. He observed … that much of the blood might only have arisen from slight injuries or even nose bleeding. He added … that there was no evidence of any violence having been done to Podola at Chelsea police station … But the scene of blood and the shock of his arrest Mr Lawton submitted, might well have been enough to bring about loss of memory…
This was clever. Everyone would have been expecting a statement alleging that a beating had caused the amnesia. That would have been too simple. In a sense, he was doing what Shakespeare has Richard III do in the scene in which Richard refuses the proffered crown – deny the obvious by falsely restrained and underplayed reasoning. As the trial went forward, the focus was to be on various experts trying to assert or to deny that Podola had amnesia, and if he did, what the repercussions of that would be for the case. This began with the testimony of Dr Shanahan who had seen Podola at the Chelsea station. He said that he ‘found difficulty in establishingmental contact with Podola’ saying that he had withdrawn as a reaction to his arrest – no more than that. When taken to hospital, Dr Harvey found him to be ‘in a stuporous state’. It was beginning to look as though a number of factors were building, the result of which might prove amnesia. For the defence, Dr Colin Edwards said that Podola's mental condition was normal in all respects, apart from the amnesia, which he confirmed; Lawton challenged the question of a feigned amnesia: Lawton: ‘There is a problem to decide whether or not a patient is telling the truth?’ Brown: ‘Yes.’ Lawton: ‘In what ways are you helped by your medical knowledge in deciding if a man is feigning?’ Brown: ‘Firstly we see whether the condition described fits in with recognized disease which one has seen previously…’
Lawton asked for more, and Brown described what he would expect to see – emotional stress. Podola at first, when seen by Dr Edwards, said he felt weak all over but had no pain. Then Edwards went into more searching questions about the amnesia. The accused could not recall where he got a scar over his left eye, nor could he recall any jobs he had done earlier in life. Edwards concluded that a physical shock could have been the trigger for the amnesia. Again, Lawton asked Edwards about the possibility of feigning and the doctor said he dismissed the idea of any pretence.
The topic of mental damage – in the sense of harm caused by an attack (by police) had to be faced. Lawton referred to a report by the path lab which said that there was no bruising on the brain, and Edwards accepted that. The judge interposed and asked what a malingerer would do to try to fool doctors and the reply was that ‘a malingerer would have been very careful to give an exact reason, chapter and verse’. Edwards told the court that generally memories came back piecemeal and that malingerers ‘were very keen to give one symptom which they thought one would expect to find’ and the doctor was impressed by the fact that Podola had managed to express one early memory – of being on a railway track the week before. Again, he said that recall came back bit by bit, so that was a convincing sign. Several experts were called as the days wore on. One of the most interesting was Dr David Stafford-Clark, who had had an extraordinary career in Bomber Command and in popularising psychiatry for the general reader. He had studied stress and mental trauma among servicemen and had been on aircraft raids himself, at one time contracting an asthmatic condition duringtests. His testimony set a precedent regarding the admissibility in court of psychiatric evidence, and he was to be called on again the year after the Podola case, to speak at the Lady Chatterley trial. Stafford-Clark could explain aspects of amnesia in terms of describing the effects of trauma. The court (and the general public) really wanted to know if the supposed amnesia had come from a police beatingor from the nervous shock of the general violence of the time in which the hotel door was smashed and bodies fell on him. Nothing quite to definite was on offer. But at least the psychologists and general practitioners had made the amnesia seem quite believable. However, the account of the crime and the events of the day when DS Purdy died tended to counterbalance this discussion with a more emotional and tragic tale. This came from DS Sandford's testimony in court. He said that he and Purdy had acted that day in response to Miss Schiffmann's allegation that she was suffering demands for money with menaces. Maxwell Turner described what had happened in the flats: ‘Podola shot Purdy at point blank range through the heart. Under the 1957 Homicide Act, murder by shootinga police officer in the execution of his duty was capital murder.’ On the fateful day, when the two detectives cornered Podola, Sandford told him they were police officers, then he went to the porter, telling Purdy to keep an eye on the prisoner. Maxwell Turner again made it clear to the jury what happened: ‘As Sandford spoke to Purdy, Purdy looked towards Sandford, which meant he looked away from Podola. Sandford saw that when Purdy looked away, Podola (who was on a window ledge) put his right hand inside his pocket … “Watch out, he may have a gun” Sandford said. “He produced a gun from his inside left-hand pocket, ired it at point blank range, and Purdy fell to the ground.” ‘ Podola then ran off down the street. Then, in a search of the Clarendon Hotel after Podola was tracked down, police found, in an attic, a purple pullover inside which was a pistol and holster. It was wrapped in a copy of The Times for the day Purdy died. An account was then given of the arrest. DS Albert Chambers, who battered down the door, said, ‘I was armed with a revolver and three other officers were also armed.’ He said that after he and other officers had taken positions outside Podola's door, they heard a metallic click inside. That prompted him to run at the door and charge inside. Chambers said that he never drew his gun, but that, as was reported in the press, at that time Chambers weighed over 16 stones and ‘There was no resistance to him, the door burst open and swung into the room. As it opened he caught a glimpse of Podola… who staggered across the room and finished up on the loor face upwards, with his head in the fireplace.’ Podola had a cut over one eye and was bleeding. Chambers told him they were police and added,
‘Keep still so we can talk to you.’ Five officers were then holding Podola down on the floor. He then went limp after a short struggle; he was put on the bed and given first aid, according to Chambers. They sluiced his head with water and then took him to Chelsea police station. At the end of eleven long and verbose days in court, the jury found Podola guilty of capital murder, in spite of all the medical opinion. The issue about insomnia being a version of an insanity defence had been overridden by other matters. He was sentenced to hang. But there was another long haul through legal language and theory in the appeal court to come. That spanned a week in October in which the case was heard by five judges, headed by the Lord Chief Justice, Parker. The basis of the appeal was this, as expressed by the defence: ‘Assumingthat the court is satisied that there was a misdirection on onus of proof on the issue of itness to plead, it would be open to the appellant [Podola] to say that, on a proper direction, he ought never to have been called to plead and therefore there was a mistrial.’ The focus of debate was the assertion by Podola and counsel that he had no memory of events between 1 July and 16 July and therefore was insane, by reference to the 1800 Act on lunacy. The barristers had searched past cases for precedent and they found helpful trials in cases going back to mid-Victorian times, and even to one in Scotland. Maxwell Turner, for the Crown, put the problem clearly: ‘There never has been a case in English law where it has even been contended that amnesia relating to the time of the commission of the offence can render the prisoner otherwise sane and normal unit to plead.’ The appeal court found that the judge at the Old Bailey had been right to direct the jury to say that Podola had been it to stand trial. The argument of appeal was based on the fact in the preliminary hearingabout itness to plead, errors were made regarding the allowance for the trial to be undertaken. Lawton had begun the appeal after consulting a classic statement in Matthew Hale's cardinal and influential legal text, Pleas of the Crown, which states, ‘If a man in his sound memory commits a capital offence, and before arraignment becomes absolutely made, he ought not by law to be arraigned during such his frenzy, but be remitted to prison until that incapacity be removed the reason is that he cannot advisedly plead to the indictment…’ In the end, that premise could not be extended to cover the state of amnesia. The appeal was dismissed. The execution was to go ahead, and the date fixed was 5 November that year, 1959. Even then there was still controversy. There were accusations in the press that the hangman, Harry Allen, was a friend of the victim, DS Purdy. The Sheriff of the County of London told the papers that this was not so: ‘Mr Allen denies that any such friendship existed and states that he met Sergeant Purdy on just one occasion, which was over five years ago. The Sheriff is accordingly satisfied that Mr Allen is a proper person to act as executioner in this case.’ There was also a petition put together to ask for clemency, as for many the idea of Podola's sufferingat the hands of the police made him deserve some sympathy. There was even a mysterious visit from a woman who brought a bunch of violets to the prison where he was to be hanged – Wandsworth – and the lowers were taken in by a warder after a slightly embar-rassingpause. The West German authorities also pressed for a reprieve, saying that they did not have a death penalty; that was of no consequence of course, and was dismissed. Podola was hanged, and the fact that he had killed a police officer meant that the case would be prominent in a number of contexts. In fact, a complete book-length account of the case was in print within a year, by Rupert Furneaux. In 1966, the name of Podola was then in the papers once more, when the Police Federation campaigned to bring back hanging; their argument related to the murder of
officers, and their statement included reference to previous cases: there had been three police killings since the abolition of hanging the year before: in West Ham, Carlisle and Wolverhampton. Arthur Evans, of the Federation, said, As the Federation told parliament when they were discussing the no-hangingbill, a desperate criminal can escape arrest and conviction by shootinga policeman. It is vital to restore capital punishment for the murder ofa policeman or to arm them, preferably the former.’
As a coda to the Podola story, it should be noted that Judge Maxwell Turner, who led for the Crown against Podola, died just a year after the case ended. In a classic case of English understatement, the obituary notice said, ‘The Podola case was a complex one and many who did not know him were struck by the fairness and clarity of his presentation.’
CHAPTER 13
Late Confessions The luxury of an intimate confession to a stranger … T S Eliot
T
he following consists of two murder stories from the 1950s and 1970s for which there have been confessions. One has come from a phone call and the other in a letter found with a dead man's possessions. For those reasons, each case opens up frustrating but tantalising questions about events from many decades ago. Such findings are often nothing more than yet further puzzlement in cases which have been problematical from the start. Other confessions may be direct and convincing, but still be open to doubt. In the first of these stories, the haunting taking of a call by a journalist opens up a long-standing mystery of the savage murder of an aged shopkeeper; in the second, a confession found after death could have given the forensic linguists a tough challenge (and they still did study it of course) but the information there was utterly believable to the cold case detectives. What both stories share is the intriguing potential closure – and so quickly – of matters which have defeated the rigours of investigation and the best police minds of their time and place. On Whitsun Saturday of 1957, Detective Superintendent Herbert Hannam and Detective Sergeant Rowe, both of the Yard, were on their way north to Halifax. They had been called in by the Chief Constable of the town very soon after the body of Emily Pye was discovered, brutally murdered, in the house behind her grocer's shop on Gibbet Street. Emily, aged eighty, had been severely bludgeoned to death in what one officer described as ‘a rain of blows to the head’ by a ruthless killer. The town end of Gibbet Street is today in the heart of the Asian population's community; there is a mosque quite near to the shop which still stands where Emily's body was found all those years ago. The streets around are crowded and busy. The thoroughfare of Gibbet Street leads down to the centre of the town and is always noisy. In 1957, it was not so busy, but it is easy to imagine what it was like then, as the red-brick terraces still stand behind the current establishment, and Back Rhodes Street, in which her home stood and where she was killed, is still there, unchanged. It was a Saturday when she died. Police later found that the shop and the house had been locked from around 1.45pm. Her body was discovered when her relatives, Mr and Mrs Wilson of Northowram, who had come to invite Emily to spend some of the holiday with them. Doris Wilson was her niece. But they found the premises locked, and through a window Derek Wilson saw the old lady's body, covered with a rug. The whole investigation was dramatic and high-profile. The forensic specialists came, including Professsor Tryhorn from the Science Laboratory in Harrogate. Crowds gathered to watch as officers stood around talking, or walked through enclosed alleys, before actions were taken. It was a senseless murder, apparently done for a small amount of money taken from the till. It became clear that another, more substantial amount of money was hidden on the premises and had not been found. Superintendent Hannam said he would not have been able to find it. The murder was possibly not done by anyone who knew her, then, and police and police at the time thought that it may have been an opportunity killing by a chance passing casual customer, perhaps en route to Lancashire. It was unusual for such a high-ranking officer to be there. Hannam was very highly thought of (he
will be discussed at length in the next chapter), a smart, dapper man, wearing a Homburgand a very expensive suit. A picture in the Halifax Courier shows him almost posingfor the camera, lookingdigniied and impressive. Then forty-seven, he had been a leading figure in many West End cases and had been on assignments abroad. The affair reached almost mythic status in the area for some time, as the very name ‘Emily Pye’ as an unsolved murder perhaps done by an unknown assailant resonated through the local community. The woman had been such a popular and warmhearted person, and had lived alone for fifteen years, but before that had had a ‘life-longcompanion’ for thirty years, as long as she had owned the business. At one time when she had been ill and had closed the shop when she was in hospital, she had told her niece that she thought a lot of the customers and ran the shop more as a hobby than anything else. All the more horrible, then, that such a kind and sociable woman should die in that way. Considerable force was used to kill Emily; it had all the hallmarks of a violent robbery and was representative of a template killing across the country. In the early to mid-1950s there had been a stream of such attacks on lonely women living alone, often on commercial premises. The ultimate irony is that the plain, low-key figure of Emily Pye attracted in her death a media frenzy and a host of law officers who became local celebrities overnight. Such detail was given about Herbert Hannam that readers of the local papers were told that he wore ‘designer’ clothes and the information was given that his son was highly educated. Hannam was interviewed almost as if he were a figure from a Boy's Own hero and much was made of his involvement in monetary fraud in the USA. He was, undoubtedly, a remarkably interesting figure to find walking around a northern industrial town. But nothing came of the enquiry and it remained unsolved until a death-bed confession given to Calderdale Police in 1988, but the full details of that have not been released. Superintendent John Parker told the Halifax Courier. ‘This man made a number of anonymous calls. He told the newspaper that his father had admitted to Emily's murder two or three days before he had died. The caller refused to give details because his mother was still alive at the time and unaware of her husband's secret.’ The man added that his father had said what he had done was not worth the anguish he had gone through. In 2006, the police again appealed for the caller to come forward with full details, but as yet there is no closure. Hannam and Rowe had come north, been highly visible, attracted the media, and then returned home. When a seventy-seven-year-old ex-librarian died in a hospice in 2009, workmen, while looking at the belongings left in the man's room, found an old pistol, a batch of press cuttings and a bundle of yellowing papers on which was written a murder confession. This was in Aspull, Wigan, but it was an apparent solution to an unsolved murder which took place in Liverpool on 2 September 1970, by some binmen, behind the YWCA hostel. On that date, the body of Lorraine Jacob, just nineteen years old, was found. Richardson wrote that late the night before he saw her and approached her, and he recalled that she was carrying three bags of chips; and had just been for a drink at Yates’ Wine Lodge. It was 9.00pm and so she was easily spotted by the man with a grudge against her. They had a row, and we know that this was about a camera which the girl had taken from Richardson. They fought, and she was killed. The confession stated that she had a pawn shop ticket in her purse, and he said that he tore that up. He took her tights and knickers after she died, but there was no sexual attack. At the time, the murder hunt involved 100 officers, but Richardson was never found; he went back to Manchester and continued his life as a librarian. Some 900 witness statements had been taken, and there was even a
loudspeaker appeal at a football match at Anfield when Liverpool played Manchester United. Quite a lot is now known about this academic recluse. Although he lived alone later in life, and simply studied and developed his interests in languages, he had a family – though they were estranged. DS Kemble told the press in 2009 that the confession was written ‘in a learned hand with great articulacy… it contained details never made public at the time’. Richardson was a loner; apparently he had some platonic relationships with women and they have said that he was always courteous, and behaved like a gentleman. He had a degree in German and taught himself Russian. He was born in Rochdale, where his father was a chest surgeon. DNA did link him to the killing, and in a BBC documentary, a former friend of the man said that she had been haunted for the past four decades after she had suspected him but had been too frightened to tell police. The informant said that not long after the killing, Richardson went for a walk with her and told her things that only the killer could have known. She thought that she might be killed also. This partly came from the fact that Richardson read a book about a serial killer and tended to fantasize about doing a random murder. The DNA was only just accessed, because after the finding of the confession, there were only a few hours available before the body was cremated for samples to be taken. Lorraine's sister spoke for the first time also, in the documentary, saying, ‘He took that girl's life… she'd two children, a youngmother, nineteen. She was only a kid.’ At the time, Richardson was working in a restaurant in North John Street and living in Toxteth. He had taken a photo of her child and she and a friend came to his house and took the camera. That seems to have been the root cause of the row that took place. Geoffrey Wansell, biographer of Fred West, has commented that ‘It is usually the men who seem the least terrifying who keep the darkest secrets.’ This polite and well educated gentleman who lived for his books certainly had a secret. as a neighbour said, ‘he was a man who liked to keep to himself’ and he also, according to police, expressed no remorse in his written confession. It was not something written to relieve a burden of guilt. Colin Davies, from the Crown Prosecution Service, told the Daily Mail in 2009 that ‘Following the forensic evidence and the thorough investigation by the police, I decided there was sufficient evidence to justify a prosecution in the case of Harvey Richardson for the murder of Lorraine Jacob in the event that he was still alive.’ On the day of her death, Lorraine had met a man who, by his own admission, had spent the day getting drunk, after failing some librarianship exams. He wrote that he went to the area to meet some women ‘friends’ and there he saw Lorraine. Almost certainly, the gentle scholar used prostitutes and also spent time in their company, much as other killers (such as Steve Wright in Ipswich and of course Peter Sutcliffe) did. He may have liked the company of books, and been capable of taking out ‘respectable’ women for dinner, but his dark side very likely included fantasies of sex and violence. One comment about him in 1970 is that he was ‘something of a player among the ladies of Liverpool’. Did he kill others? Was his fantasy about serial killing fulfilled? There has been some thought that he might be linked to the killings of Barbara Mayo in Derbyshire and Jackie Ansell-Lamb in Cheshire. Is there more to come from the Harvey Richardson story? It seems unlikely, but not impossible, of course. Speculation on him and his lifestyle soon brings up a pattern and a character proile which it a certain template of serial-killer mentality. So often these psychopaths are Jekyll and Hyde in their social projection of personality, having a dark and dangerous shadow-self; often they develop fantasy and sensual thrill to a point at which there has to be the transgression that the fantasy feeds on.
As to the social front of being a ‘gentleman’ – well so was Harold Shipman, a supposedly good doctor, friendly and reliable. People who knew Harvey Richardson will feel a shiver of revulsion as his real story emerges, and there may be much more still to come.
CHAPTER 14
Devlin and Burns Murder most foul, as in the best it is; but this most foul, strange and unnatural. Shakespeare, Hamlet
C
ranborne Road hardly evokes a setting for a desperate and confusing mess of a murder, but then Britain is packed with mundane suburban addresses in which the most horrendous murders took place. Most of us probably stroll out to work or to the park every day and walk past a dark place where a life has been forcibly and brutally taken. The ghosts of the victims maybe do not actually haunt these places, but once the back story is known, we take a second glance at them and wonder about what went on inside those remarkably bland-looking walls. Cranborne Road evokes afternoon tea, a spot of gardening, and nothing more exciting that a chat about the latest score from Lord's. But anyone in Liverpool with a sense of its more eventful history will feel a quiver of unease at the name. Syd Dernley, the hangman, wrote in his book, The Hangman's Tale, a neat paragraph that with hindsight is a wonderful understatement about this case: … The double execution was at Walton prison in Liverpool and went ahead amid extraordinary fuss and uproar from people who protested right to the end, and indeed, beyond, that we were hanging two innocent boys.
The furore he refers to had involved a high-profile enquiry into the possibilities of a miscarriage of justice. The two ‘boys’ in question were Edward Devlin and Francis Burns; they had been accused of the brutal murder of Mrs Beatrice Rimmer in her own home at Cranborne Road, Wavertree. There had been word in the neighbourhood that Mrs Rimmer had been left a lot of cash by her husband and, as was a common habit in those days, she had not banked it, but kept it somewhere at home. On 19 August 1951, she came home late and as she opened the door and stepped inside she saw that two men had tailed her and now stood before her, ready to do some harm. They set about their victim with a piece of wood and she was brutally beaten to death. Mrs Rimmer took a long time to die, but amazingly no one in the neighbouring houses heard any disturbance. The next night her son came to see her, and he had the terrible experience of peeping through the letterbox to see the body of his mother outstretched in the hall. She was lying in her blood, still clutching some flowers she had bought the day before. The poor victim had a dozen head-wounds. The overall number of wounds on her body was fifteen, and that two weapons had been used. The killers had not been able to find the supposed money and it had driven them to a wild fury. They had broken in through a window. There was a network of communications on the streets in a crime of this nature, and information soon led officers to the two young men, Manchester criminals: Devlin, twenty-two and Burns, twentyone. They claimed that they could not have done the killing because they were doing a ‘job’ in Manchester that night. But there was a host of people with witness statements about the men, and they were charged. The celebrated Liverpool detective, Herbert Balmer, went to talk to Burns's girlfriend, Marie Milne (known as Chinese Marie) and she told a tale of her being involved as a look-out but then that plan was abandoned later. It was also discovered that one early plan had been to use a local woman called Bury, who figured later in the enquiry, to go to Rimmer's front door and keep her talking while the two men went in through the back and looked for the cash. Obviously, for the fortnight between them being
heard to talk about the robbery on the train and the day of the murder, a number of ideas had been discussed. At their trial, they relied on naming a range of other characters who were allegedly trying to spread the blame; they were arrogant and abusive, both to the judge and jury. The public gallery was packed with curious citizens and there were long queues outside on the last day of the ten days of the trial, eager for the verdict. For defence the men had Rose Heilbron and Noel Goldie – a formidable team. The defence case rested mainly on the alibi that the two men were in Manchester at the time of the murder. They had three testimonies to back that up: a statement made by Elizabeth Rooke, a confession made by Joseph Howarth and other information, gleaned from other people (one in Walton gaol at the time). But the sheer conceit and bad behaviour of the accused was going to be an obstacle to effective legal work in the arena. But their expertise was to be tested later; at first the verdict was guilty and Justice Finnemore put on the black cap. The case went to appeal and failed, but then, on 27 February 1952, the Home Secretary, Sir David Maxwell Fyfe, appointed Albert Gerrard QC to lead an enquiry to see if there had been a miscarriage of justice. This sprang from Rose Heilbron's handing a copy of a statement to the appeal court judge, and he said, ‘It may be a matter for the Home Secretary in certain events.’ The reason for this was that there were dozens of people involved who had all given garbled or partial statements regarding both the alibi of the Manchester robbery and about the possibility that the men had been framed. The Times reported the announcement in dramatic terms: The Home Secretary has appointed Mr Albert Dennis Gerrard to inquire into the statement made on 27 March 1952 by Elizabeth Rooke to the effect that June Bury and other persons had told her that the prisoners… had not committed the murder… and that it had in fact been committed by another unnamed person who is alleged to be the father of Bury's child…
The aim of the enquiry was primarily to look into this statement made by one Elizabeth Rooke, the confession made by Joseph Howarth that he had done the murder and a batch of other statements made to officers and to prison staff. Gerrard stated that she was lying. As The Times reported about this woman's testimony: ‘She knew or believed that the father of that child was one Edward Duffy, and that he was in prison at the time of the murder.’ The problem for the inquiry was just how substantial the narrative put together by June Bury was. She said that she had first met Burns at a pub called ‘The Dive’ in Liverpool and that she had heard Devlin and Burns, as they sat in a café, plan a job. They said that this job was at a house where an old woman lived alone. Bury also claimed that on a train journey from Liverpool to Manchester, she had heard the two men have a similar discussion about the same job. The prosecution at the trial made a strong argument that both conversations were about the Rimmer break in and murder. Gerrard, in his special inquiry, had to chase up the stories. He said in his report that he went out and did some detective work of his own: I thought it desirable to try to establish if Rooke, Joan Porter, the unidentified girl whose name might be Margaret, and June Bury had been resident in the Upper Duke Street Girls’ Hostel, Liverpool, at the same time, and if so, when. I was assisted in this investigation by Mrs Wilkins, an organiser at the Girls’ Welfare Association, an official at that hostel.
He was right, records showed that all three girls, Rooke, Porter and Bury had been at the hostel at the same time in October 1951. The Bury story was seen with suspicion as a fabrication. But further investigations took place, and statements were verified, mainly the fact that the man with a name like ‘Aussie’ whom she referred to was actually traced. If she could be believed on these matters, then her story was worth listening to.
At the Court of Appeal it emerged that a teenager, Rooke, had made allegations about the probity and reliability of the key witness, June Bury. The basic facts about the case in terms of prosecution were that the men had planned the robbery on a train journey from Manchester to Liverpool, as Bury had said, two weeks before the attack and murder. Another woman witness had stated that she had been with the men for three days around the time of the murder and had left them at the time of the break-in. Despite these accounts, the defence counsel were still seeking to establish that the men had the Manchester alibi: that they were breaking into Sun Blinds of Great Jackson Street on the night of the murder. There were six major statements to be checked out, most notably a supposed confession. This had been made by Howarth. He had said that he had been in the home of Mrs Rimmer that night and had been hidden in a cupboard, waiting for her return. He said that he jumped out and hit her when she came home. It didn't take Gerrard long to dismiss this. Not only local police but Jack Spooner of the Yard had been to check this, and Spooner had made it clear that the only cupboard in the place was under the stairs, and on the murder night it had been full of household appliances – objects that had not been moved for some time, and so were in that space on the fateful night. Howarth was in the opinion of Gerrard, giving the court the ‘stuff of pure invention.’ All through the enquiry, Gerrard made comments about how he formulated judgements about the reliability of the various statements. Another player in the drama was one McLoughlin. Devlin had written a petition in which he claimed that when he had been picked out and his arrest confirmed, McLoughlin had been given a physical description of them both by a confederate called Milne. Devlin said that he had never seen McLoughlin, ever. But McLoughlin had been in Walton for several days, and had made judgements at two identity parades. How did he get the prior information about the two men if he was inside? In Walton prison, more important information was gathered by Gerrard, about the alibi of the two men beingin Manchester. Gerrard went to speak to the governor, and there was valuable information given by a prisoner, ‘X’, about the construction of the alibi. Mr ‘X’ said: … Devlin told him that the trial was going all right for him … Devlin further told ‘X’ that whilst in prison he had learned every little detail from the man who had committed the Manchester warehouse breaking… of how that crime had been carried out, and that he had procured this man to support his, Devlin's, statement that Devlin had taken part in that crime. ‘X’ stated that Devlin boasted to him how they had built up the alibi…
Was ‘X’ telling the truth? Gerrard had no doubt when he interviewed the prison Governor, Sheed, because Sheed had visited Devlin in the death cell. He said that Devlin had said, ‘If I win my appeal at the Appeal Court on Monday will I be arrested by the police?’ When asked why he said that in the trial he had admitted doing the Manchester job. But Devlin added that that was all false, saying, ‘Of course we did not do the job.’ Devlin later tried to recant that, even to quibbling about the punctuation in the way that the Governor had written it down. This alibi was the difference between life and death, so Gerrard had to check out all details with all available parties. He spoke to Allan Campbell, who was supposed top have done the Manchester break in with the two men. He confirmed that yes, they had done that job together. Gerrard was nothing if not thorough. He checked Campbell's account of a part of that break in where they sorted out using a lorry or a wagon to take away the stolen goods. The replies to questions in the trial differed considerably from the answers given to Gerrard. Later, it emerged that Howarth had recanted his ‘confession’ as well; he was asked why he had told a pack of lies and could only reply: ‘I heard a lot of people sayinghe was innocent and I sort of believed that he was innocent myself.’ To DS Newton, Howarth said, ‘I was canned up when I said it.
I've never seen Burns in my life…’ Under all this complex investigation, one important fact counted most profoundly: Gerrard concluded that June Bury had not been telling the truth when she said she had never made statements about the two men while she was in the Liverpool hostel. She was also lying when she said the murder was done by the father of her child (‘Aussie’). Really, she knew that the father of her child was called Duffy, a man in prison at the time of the murder. As for Howarth, Gerrard reported that his reasons for the confession were ‘confused’ and that everything he had said was pure invention. The die was cast. Nothing in the long enquiry changed any opinion of the appeal judgement. The two men were to hang, and they had their appointment with Syd Dernley. It must have been a momentous statement when Mr Gerrard gave his decision: I have examined this relationship very carefully. As a result I have to report that in my opinion there has been no miscarriage of justice.
The very last gambit from the killers’ lawyers was a memorandum begging for a reprieve from Her Majesty; this came to nothing. They were not quick in doing that. After all, it was quite a challenge after the inquiry, to decide on what grounds a reprieve should be asked for. Locally, there were still voices clamouringfor a revision and that the men were innocent; then there were rumours in the popular press that the men had made death-cell confessions. Dernley recalled that in their cells, the men were ‘trying to play the hard men’. It's hard to believe, but he reported that even in the death cell, Burns was planning revenge on those who had spoken against him. On 25 April they were hanged. Apparently Devlin started to weaken near the end and the tough image dissolved. As for Burns, he was, said Dernley, puttingup a front until very near the end. Even this was not the end of this saga. On 19 May, one G Rowland wrote to The Times after reading about the Lords discussing the point that the Court of Criminal Appeal should have the power to order a retrial. He wrote: ‘The surprising thing is that the Lord Chancellor said that any legislation to this end would certainly be controversial.’ Then he added,’… who, I would ask, is against this salutary reform?’ The two young killers had not only stirred up public indignation and created more open discussion of the death penalty, they had also pinpointed the odd process of having to ask the Home Secretary to order an enquiry into a possible miscarriage of justice. The result of that inquiry was the cause of a major statement by Lord Goddard, Lord Chancellor, in the House of Lords. He was not happy with the separate judicial inquiry headed by Gerrard. Goddard referred to the Criminal Appeal Act of 1909 saying that there should have been a retrial of Devlin and Burns, or at least a prosecution of Bury for committing perjury. The source of the debate was a letter from the Director of Public Prosecutions to the inquiry administration: I consider it right, in the circumstances, that the Secretary of State should know, for the information of the tribunal, that no prosecution will be instituted by me based upon evidence given to the tribunal in respect upon any matter relevant to the terms of reference. Moreover, I will not make use, and will take such action as is open to me to ensure that no use is made as evidence in criminal proceedings, of any relevant information which may be given to the tribunal.
Goddard pointed out that that letter gave Gerrard carte blanche to gather any information at all on the case, and be able to promise that whatever was said to him, no proceedings would follow. That is why everyone spoke to him so freely. Goddard expressed the problem very clearly: ‘If June Bury had committed perjury, if the findings of the commissioner had been different, should she not have been prosecuted for swearing a man's life away?’ The separate inquiry by Goddard became a White Paper, no more. In other words, it was something
totally outside the courts system, and Goddard was right to make a furore about it. The purpose of the appeal was to decide whether there had been a miscarriage of justice. It had no power to order a second trial, but could only allow or dismiss an appeal. In other words, in the end, the Gerrard inquiry was really irrelevant to the situation of the condemned men, and was more about perjury and false confession. It was, in effect, tyingup loose ends. As the debate was continuing on the inquiry, Devlin and Burns were waiting to die. Behind all the debate and the letters to the papers, though, what remains as the powerful image of the Cranborne Road murder is the gallery of faces showing the people involved: Burns’ photograph shows a hard face with set, firm lips; Devlin has a face reminiscent of the Teddy boys of the era. Finally, in the records there is the sad, ironically happy face of Mrs Rimmer, wearing a formal hat and smiling broadly.
CHAPTER 15
Homer and Standen All cases of remarkable courage, bravery or intelligence shown by constables in the discharge of their duties will be reported by the Superintendents in charge of Divisions … such reports are kept at the Chief Constable's office. Constabulary Handbook, 1915
I
n 2000, PC Joe Holness of Kent Police researched the subject of the killings of police officers on duty. He discovered to his amazement that there was no special commemoration in practice. As he told the Police Review: ‘I found it astonishing that there have been so many officers who have lost their lives on duty and yet there is no fitting National Memorial Day for them.’ He went to work to put matters right, and in 2004 the first such event was held. What spurred him into this research was the death of his colleague, PC Jon Odell in 2000. From the very beginning of the Metropolitan Police and the first professional force in 1829, officers died on duty, and by violence. Apart from murders of officers in the Bow Street Runners, the first police killing after the 1829 Act was of PC Joseph Grantham who was on patrol in Somers Town. He went to intervene in a quarrel involving two drunken Irish men arguing over a woman. When Grantham went to them, he was knocked to the ground, kicked on the head and body and left to die. That was the first, but the murder of officers goes on. It is not hard to find such cases from the past, but it is worth asking under what circumstances do police murders tend to happen? Most often, they happen because the criminals are desperate, cornered and exceptionally keen not to go to prison. Debates could continue all day about what would constitute a deterrent, but the question arises about what makes such killings ‘famous but forgotten’. Sadly, the deaths of police officers are soon forgotten by the media; the public will read the report in the paper, feel sad and express sympathy, but then life will go on and another murder will soon follow. The following case from 1982 illustrates one aspect of these categories of killings, and it does not make educative reading: it is as senseless as could be imagined. It might seem highly incongruous to mention Hollywood in connection with the company of Chamberlain Phipps Wallpapers Ltd, of Bishop Auckland, but in March 1982 a gunfight outside their factory was like something from a gangster film. There had even been a shout of ‘This is a stick-up!’ When the police arrived not long afterwards less than eight shots had been fired and the two robbers got away with £5,000 in wages money. In fact, the two men who igured in the following story would seem to illustrate Shakespeare's words about his tragic hero, KingLear: ‘He hath ever but slenderly known himself.’ The main difference here being that the two men who ended up behind bars were far from being tragic heroes: they were everyday, despicable criminals with no regard for human life. The problem was – and this is where the glamour fades away into the grey reality of County Durham – Constable James Porter of the Durham Constabulary was killed that day. It was one more tale of a gunfight in a country increasingly troubled by this type of criminal activity. Only the day before, police had shot a man in a Essex robbery and, in the popular dailies, this was reported alongside the episode of violence in Durham. Unusually for such a crime, the motive behind this loud and reckless day of murder and robbery
was a grudge held by the two men involved, together with a highly charged political atmosphere in an era when strikes were commonplace and there was frequent unrest in the workplace. Two men, Eddie Horner and Paul Standen, were in their twenties; they were very close, and part of their friendship was a sense of allegiance against the capitalists they believed were exploiting workers. It has to be remembered that at this time reading Karl Marx was de rigeur in student communities and in young people everywhere who saw the inequalities all around them. The friends had been involved, as so often at that time, in unofficial strike action and had been sacked as a consequence of this. But these two were not just going to simmer away, bearing their grudge and reading socialist books – they had an urge to create mayhem and take some direct action. That meant breaking the law and taking some risks. The plan was that they would be driven to the factory by Thomas Bright, a fiftytwo-year-old who had also lost his job with the firm. They would then pull on balaclavas, take the money in time-honoured fashion by creating fear and a great deal of noise, and then escape. It worked as they had planned, but Standen was enjoying pulling the trigger. As they left with a sack of money, a foolhardy salesman refused to lie down and had the presence of mind to take in some details of the attack. As they made their getaway, running across a field, Standen fired at the works manager. The plan was going badly wrong. If they had expected it to be easy, they were very wrong. The alarm system and some phone calls meant that two police officers, DC Porter and DC Simpson, were quickly dispatched into the surrounding area to look for them. They were in plain clothes and they left their unmarked car to approach two men walking towards them. Their mode of address was casual, as Porter asked if they had seen ‘two lads further down the lane’. They were the last words DC Porter spoke. Homer shot him from close range, the bullet from the Magnum going right through his chest. Homer then shot at Simpson but missed. In a desperate ploy to avoid the same fate as his colleague, Simpson pretended to be injured – and it worked. The two men took Porter's car keys and fled, knowing that there would be more police arriving soon. But the film scenario was not over yet. As in many a scene from The Sweeney on television at the time, another police vehicle, driven bravely by DC Brian Stewart, smashed head – on into the villains and Stewart was fortunate to receive only minor abrasions. He ran out to face the gunmen and found that he had the element of surprise on his side. Homer was unconscious and Standen, although ready to use the gun, was pointing it away from Stewart at that moment. The officer grabbed for the gun while using Homer as a shield. Stewart then stood on Standen's hand and waited for assistance. Standen later said that Stewart was ‘a brave bastard’ and he summed up his attitude to the world and to the desperate crimes he had committed when he added, ‘Up the revolution!’ The driver, Bright, was arrested later on. At the trial, Standen said, naively, that he had never expected anyone to be hurt in the attack. To back up this shallow and somewhat childish attitude, he referred to takingup a ‘two-handed combat stance’ to deter the manager, who was thinking about approaching them as they made their getaway. He claimed that he had really wanted to give himself up when he saw the car with the detectives stop in the lane. It does seem true that it was Homer who was the one who ‘lost it’ – Standen said that he thought his friend ‘flipped, gone berserk’. The fact is that Standen had put his gun away before the fatal confrontation with the officers. His story was believed by the jury. Homer and Standen got what they wanted from each other – partnership and fantasy. What made one the heartless killer and the other a more fearful partner will never really be explained. It was a particularly tragic affair as DC Porter had a young family. Despite being shot so close and with such a powerful gun, he did not die immediately but in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
He had lived in Meadowfield, County Durham, and he was just thirty-one. Standen's attitude at the trial at Teesside Crown Court was firm, unemotional and without a dash of remorse. He told the court that he did not recognise its authority and that he was ‘guilty and proud of it’. Both men hated their own society and Eddie Homer spoke as if he were livingin a weird inner world of fantasy, sayingat one point, that he wanted to be ‘like Carlos the Jackal’. Standen was described in court as a drifter who was on the fringe of the Socialist Party. He was sacked after being on a picket line during a one-day strike. He had even been in a group of activists who visited the House of Commons a few weeks before the murder and, while there, he shook hands with Michael Foot. Standen's story is typical of so many disenchanted individuals. He was raised in a council house in Polegate, East Sussex, where he lived a repressed childhood with an authoritarian father. When he grew up, he joined the army, enlisting with the Royal Signals at the age of twenty-one. But this lasted only a few weeks and he became one of the mass of casual labourers who moved across the land, doing temporary jobs. In 1980, he was in Durham, and there he met Homer, who was a kindred spirit who enjoyed radical talk, imaginative speculation about ‘revolution’ and Socialist theory. Homer was, at that time, a steady worker, but together they formed a dangerous politicised unit and became obsessed by leftist militancy. In December 1980, talk turned to the perilous business of buying a gun. It cost them £138 and possession of it justified their description as ‘two violent and ruthless men’, as David Savill QC expressed it at Teesside Crown Court. They became ‘joined at the hip’ in their bizarre plottings and dissent against any state or other related authority. When the one-day strike came along in September 1981, Bright and Homer were sacked, along with many more men and this rankled deeply. Oddly, it was when the two men went south to spend time in Eastbourne that they hatched their plan of armed robbery. Homer was from Woodhouses, St Helen Auckland, and the driver, Bright, hailed from Oakley Green. Bright was given a five-year sentence for aiding and abetting but was cleared of manslaughter. As discussion progressed and the details were revealed, it became clear in court that the two gunmen were to be severely dealt with. Eddie Homer was convicted of murder and ordered to be detained for life with a recommendation that he serve twenty years. Standen was found guilty of manslaughter and given two concurrent twelve-year sentences. It would be possible to take a broader view of cases such as these, gun crimes by people who should never have been allowed near any weapons at all, even toys, and say that the perpetrators were victims of fantasy, that their Socialist dreams mixed with the wild west fantasy land of B movies and their stagecoach hold-ups. But in truth, a reality check should have come to them well before a gun was pointed at a police officer and fired. The memorials go on then, memories of officers who died doingacts of bravery. In this case, as in so many, facing the barrel of a loaded gun was just another sentence in the job description. Fantasy is one thing, but in the end, this is a story of a heist that was planned: to implement such a design, actually intending to rob and to carry a lethal weapon, was a matter of hard fact, and with hard consequences.
CHAPTER 16
Appeals and Doubts The punishment of a criminal is an example to the rabble; but every decent man is concerned if an innocent person is condemned. Jean de la Bruyere
A
search through the archives in search of a criminal record can be a frustrating business; sometimes the material is spare and there is very little to explore. But other searches may yield a real embarrassment of riches and in the case of appeals from the condemned, the sense of importance, and of the desperate work done by the lawyers involved, is great. Such is the last phase in the story of Mary Daly. Some cases of homicide are particularly complicated with the problem of finding out exactly what the circumstances are that led to a violent death. If we have a death in which two people struggled and grappled in extreme passion, with no-one else present, then everything in court is going to rest on exactly what went on and who did what. Today, with the modern sophisticated techniques of forensics applied to materials at the scene of crime, a detailed narrative of events leading to a death may be constructed with scientific support. But sixty years ago, when two women fought in a Dublin church, there was uncertainty as to exactly how the struggle resulted in a death. The fight happened in the Glasnevin church of Our Lady of the Seven Dolours. The church has now been replaced by a more modern building so again, we have to imagine the scene and its physical environment, but what happened was that Mary Gibbons, who was eighty-three years old and lived in Botanic Avenue, walked to church in August 1948, as she did every day. She walked through a warm summer day to the dark interior of the church and there she found a pew and began to pray. She was near the confessional, but was completely alone in the church, at least until the door opened again and someone else came in. The door closed after a beam of light had shot in momentarily. Then we have another woman's story before we find out what happened in the church. Mary Daly was very hard up. Her landlady said that she was living at this time in lodgings with her husband and child, in Botanic Road. They had a struggle to find the weekly rent. Mary had been to begmoney from a priest, things were so bad, and he had given her the cash for the week's rent. But it was always going to be a constant battle to survive. In desperation, Mary went to the church in Glasnevin that day, but she had a hammer in her shopping bag. Her motives will always be a mystery, but the fact is that she went to the church with that potential murder weapon. As Mary Gibbons prayed she was suddenly aware of a crack on her head. She was a large woman, well-built and still with some strength in spite of her age. After an initial sense of sheer stunned shock she turned to find Mary Daly, who was small and lightly made, wielding a hammer in the light of the church candle. One second she had been saying her hail Marys and the next she was fighting for her life. Mary grabbed Mary Daly's hand and the fight began. Mary Gibbons was bleeding profusely and she broke away and ran to the door of the church to cry for help but more hammer blows were slammed on her head. There was a trail of blood from the pew where the attack began, right to the door. Some children came to church at that moment and they heard the cries and screams inside, so they
decided to run for help. A local butcher called James Canavan and a lorry driver, Thomas Mitchell, rushed to the scene and they had to force open the door, as one woman was lodged against it. When they got inside, Mitchell immediately realised he had to snatch the hammer from the smaller woman, and he did so, while Canavan tried to help the old lady in her pain. What happened then could have been the scene of any small-scale street brawl in Dublin, something not that uncommon. But it was the beginning of the confusion set before the forces of law in court, because a crowd had gathered, including the children, and what they saw and heard was not a hammer attack from behind but two women screaming, accusing each other of violence. Old Mary Gibbons naturally told everyone that the younger woman had attacked her, but Daly then retorted with an accusation that Gibbons had tried to rob her and snatch her handbag. Detective Sergeant Joe Turner then arrived and that was the scene of noise and confusion he saw, in a most unseemly place. An ambulance was called and Turner questioned Daly, who insisted that the old woman had tried to steal her bag. ‘I was struggling with her to get my bag back!’ she said. As for Mary Gibbons, who was in hospital as Mary Daly was carried off to the police station, she was very seriously injured. Her skull had several wounds and bones were cracked; but she was able to give evidence in a special court held in the hospital of Mater Misericordiae in Eccles Street. It was to be a period of uncertainty for all concerned, mainly because the victim was confused about the actual events in the church. There was no confidence in her medical condition being either one thing or the other. At first, the doctors thought that she was pulling through and so when Daly stood before Judge O'Flynn on 16 August, the charge was wounding with intent, not attempted murder. But that was to change. At first the old lady was thought to be ‘out of danger’ but with in a day she was dead. Back came Mary Daly to court to face a murder charge. The trial was on 8 November at the Dublin Central Court. From the accused's home and family situation there came a motive, put together by the counsel for the prosecution, Sir John Esmonde. The financial difficulties of the Daly family (with a young baby to support) meant that facts were uncovered that showed how desperate Mary Daly would be to get hold of some money; there had been a court order served on her to pay her rent. It was in the Church of the Seven Dolours that a priest had given her money just a short time before the attack, so it was an easy matter to find a motive in her return to that church in such dire straits. Was she carrying the hammer in case she had to extort money with threats this time, as opposed to begging and hoping for further largesse from the priest? That seemed to be the case. The issue was, as there were no witnesses, whether or not Mary Daly went to the church with an intent to kill for money or whether there were other reasons for what she had in her bagthat day. Testimony from the lorry driver who saw her that day and who restrained her, Mr Mitchell, was that Daly was distressed and excited, and that she did say that the hammer, which she had bought in Woolworth's store, was hers; similarly, the children in court, who heard the attack but did not see it, said that they did hear a voice saying, ‘Help … she's murdering me!’ So who was doing the attacking? Mary Daly was small and the older Mary Gibbons was tall and well-made; that was a factor that complicated things of course. Daly's defence argument was still that Gibbons had taken the hammer and attacked her; she may have been just 5 feet 2 inches tall and delicately made, but in the end, who had the clear motive? Why would the old lady have attacked Daly? The defence brought in a medical expert to say that the accused was so frail that she could not have used a hammer, and on the matter of her financial straits, Daly said that she did have £5 on her that day, and that the old lady was intending to steal that from her. The lengthy defence narrative was the familiar one of self-defence, creating a
story in which Daly, going into the church for quiet prayer and carrying her bag and purse, was attacked in the semi-darkness and that she happened to have the hammer with her and so she used it. That does not sit easily with the statement that she was too delicate to use a hammer. The contradiction and confusion continued as Daly claimed that she had only at first hit Gibbons on the arm, that the old lady took the hammer and turned on her; being the stronger, she argued, the old lady then set about whacking her about the body with the weapon. She said, ‘I tried to get out the door. I could not as the woman was leaning against it. I kept shouting for my husband for help. I thought I heard footsteps outside. I gave the woman another blow of the hammer on the head… I did not know where I was hitting her. I hit her to get rid of her.’ The defence really dramatised this situation with great emotional emphasis, saying, ‘Anyone who found themselves in Mrs Daly's position would probably have acted as she had done. There was no criminal intent.’ But the judge pointed out that Mrs Gibbons had been praying and so that small as she was, Daly would have approached the old lady from a position above. That was a hypothetical detail that had some influence on the jury, who were out to deliberate for an hour or so and came back in with a guilty verdict, though they recommended mercy. But the sentence was one of hanging, with a date fixed in December that year. The final chapter of this case is one of an incredible series of appeals; a date for appeal was set and then everything depended on points of law, mainly that the deceased had made a formal ‘dying declaration’ regarding the attack (at that time only one of minor assault of course) and that such a matter could not be admissible in a murder trial. In an example of what must have been a desperately stressful situation, the judges rejected this but then opened up the possibility of a final appeal to the Supreme Court. There was then a complete re-trial because of legal technicalities, and again the judgement was guilty of murder. For a second time Mary Daly stood in court and heard her death sentence. But the string of frustrating and dramatic trials ended there, as shortly after that second decision her sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Mary did a seven-year stretch, followed by time with a religious order, and then went back into her life. The start of her prison stretch coincided with the first implementations of Sir Samuel Hoare's new Criminal Justice Act, which was created in July 1948. That meant that as Mary went into her cell, reforms were about to be put in place: corporal punishment was to be reduced, penal servitude was abolished, imprisonment with hard labour ended, and there was a new classification of prisoners into three divisions. Small concessions to the tough regime had been made throughout the 1940s, such as smoking being allowed by long-term prisoners in 1947, and visits and letter writing were given more freedom to operate. But the attitudes to the death penalty remained. Yet still there was clemency. A typical attitude to capital punishment was given by Sir Thomas Molony in a paper he read in 1948: ‘… in 1922 it fell to my lot to deal with the accumulation of crime from all parts of the country at the Commission Court in Green Street. The country had been in a very lawless state … I had eighteen cases of murder to try… in seven distinct cases verdicts of murder were returned and I sentenced each of the prisoners to death, as I was bound to do… In four cases the prisoners were hanged …’ In that same year, another Irishman, George Bernard Shaw, had written a critical piece on the death penalty, saying, ‘The dilemma of kill or be killed, which confronts civilized society daily and inexorably, is bedeviled by the jumble of panic, superstition and angry resentment we call punishment…’ What would prison have been like for Mary Daly? Mr Justice Kingsmill Moore described the conditions in Mountjoy prison, Dublin, in the 1940s: ‘Hard labour, in the old sense, had ceased to
exist… weaving was the task which involved most physical exertion. Food was more than adequate in quantity and of good quality. The old exercise rings, where prisoners circled in silence, were a thing of the past and exercise was taken in small casual groups…’ Mary's case was reviewed by the government on 3 May 1949. She served a period of penal servitude from 1948 to 1953 and then was ten years in a convent. Seamus Breathnach has explained the place of the church in the penal system at the time: ‘The RC church … acquired a Barabas-like power of release with respect to some prison inmates… The church could… direct penal policy for the state, not just with respect to children under their control, as we appreciate more fully in the twenty-first century, but with respect to a wide range of issues, including the education and release of prisoners…’ Only very rarely in criminal trials has there been such doubt and uncertainty about the actual events of a case, and the fact that so many people arrived on the scene just a little too late to have any definite evidence on the series of events in the fight only served to make the trial more complex. In the end, the inescapable fact of Mary Daly's story is that in the church on the fatal day, there were no witnesses, two women were in the church, and circumstantial evidence pointed in just one direction. All those circumstances were made much worse when, in front of the jury, the savagery appeared to be all about a small sum of money. In such instances, the biographies supplied by the prosecution are easily angled towards a back-story that its well with the case as it is told to the court.
CHAPTER 17
Three Famous Tales from the Last Years of the Rope …at school assembly, we were asked to pray for the soul of Vivian Teed. Andrew Hinton
T
he three stories in this chapter are all famous (and certainly were in their time) because they have entered the statistics of capital punishment in Britain. The first is the case of the last man hanged in Wales; the other two are dramatic stories from the last year of judicial hanging in England. These kinds of statistics have attracted a large readership, as that terrible branch of crime writing concerned with execution and punishment still attracts attention.
1. Vivian Teed William Williams, seventy-three years of age, was postmaster at Manselton, Swansea, in 1958. The shop and home, all one, were at Fforestfach. On the morning of 16 November 1957, young Margaret John came to work at the post office and couldn't get into the premises; but she looked inside through the letter box and there she saw, to her horror, the body of Mr Williams in the hallway. When the police came, they found that the man was dead, the victim of a savage attack. His skull was fractured; he had clearly been attacked with a hammer or something similar. The assailant had not been too worried about leaving traces – there were bloody footprints around the body and a silk stocking beneath Mr Williams. It was a time when small corner shops and sub-post offices were particularly vulnerable to attack, often with violent attack and murder following. In most parts of the country, this was happening, and local forces were having to call out Scotland Yard and work harder than usual on the study of the crime scenes. In many of these cases the murders or assaults had been committed for quite small booty. The murder in Fforestfach was in keeping with that trend – the motive being robbery. But in this case, the suspect was soon tracked down. Vivian Teed was found and sure enough there was blood all over his clothes; he had not destroyed the shoes or trousers he had worn in the attack. Teed had gone to the post office expecting to find no one at home. He knocked, being sure that there would be no response, but to his surprise, Mr Williams came to the door. Teed had gone there to rob the place, and he soon overcame his surprise and pushed the old man back. The killer had gone to the post officer with a weapon – a hammer – and when the old man put up a fight, Teed struck him. It took several blows, and the younger man was pulled down, and soon the man beneath him was dead. Teed told the police, ‘I went and tried all the drawers to see if there was any money. I had a look round like. He was still moving and groaning. I didn't want him to see me so I switched off the light and made for the door …’ He then put the light back on, hoping, so he said, that a policeman would see it and come to help. He said that he didn't want the old man to lose too much blood. Teed told another man about what he had done – someone called Ronald Williams at Cwmbwria; he told this man that he had never meant to kill. But the murder scene had been horrific. Teed added that Williams had managed to get up again: ‘He had been struggling to get up all the time but he couldn't get a
footing. It was too slippery in the blood. The last thing I saw was he was up on his knees.’ Teed, clumsy as he was, had put the silk stocking over his hands so that there would be no prints; that was to matter very little, as there was so much else that would lead the police to him. The main clue was that the hammer used had been left at the scene; Teed had worked at the post office for a short time and so he was checked out. There was a hammer missing from his father's toolbox. Also, the shoeprints in the blood soon were compared to shoes owned by Teed. He stood in Cardiff Assizes on 17 March 1958, before Mr Justice Salmon. W L Mars Jones prosecuted and F Elwyn Jones defended, and the defence argument was for diminished responsibility. The words applied to Teed were that he had been ‘suffering from an abnormality of the mind’ when he killed. Only the year before the trial the new Homicide Act had stated that if the notion of diminished responsibility was accepted, then the charge had to be reduced to manslaughter. The Act had this wording: Where a person kills or is a party to a killing of another, he shall not be convicted of murder if he was suffering from such abnormality of mind as substantially impaired his mental responsibility for his acts and omissions in doing or being a party to the killing.
The important section also had a wide definition of such a malaise: this covered ‘arrested or retarded development of mind’ and ‘any inherent cause induced by disease or injury’. The defence had to prove such a defence convincingly to have the manslaughter charge applied. Elwyn Jones had to argue that some force drove Teed to kill, but Mars-Jones stressed the terrible fact that twenty-seven blows had been struck. It had certainly been a frenzied and relentless attack. The forensic evidence in court, mainly given by Emlyn Davies, made it clear that in the bloodbath of the hall, there was so much left there which could be traced to a number of items of clothing belonging to Teed, that the finger of guilt had only one way to point. What could Elwyn Jones muster as support for his defence case? He had to call on every medical testimony he could scrape together. First he had a statement by the hospital officer at HMP Swansea, and luckily he had been methodical and had monitored Teed's behaviour in prison. He told the court that Teed was ‘a dangerously jealous man who needs careful watching’. It was noted that he had fits of violent temper, often more apparent when he had had a prison visit from his girlfriend. The officer also recalled that at one time, Teed had told a visitor that he hit Williams because he was holding him, and that he never meant to murder him. That does not tally with the twenty-seven blows of course. Manslaughter would hardly apply there. However, perhaps, Elwyn Jones must have thought, diminished responsibility might be easier to prove given the manic actions of ‘overkill’ in the attack. There was also Dr Eurfyl Jones, the consultant psychiatrist from St David's Hospital, Caernarvon. His words were not really specific enough to offer a clear perception, as he summed up Teed as ‘a psychopathic personality’. At that time, a jury would have had dificulties grasping the implications of that. Yet the biography of the accused would seem to align with a familiar murderous and dangerous character: he was from a family of nine, born in Swansea, and then had been evacuated into the country in the war. He certainly had a criminal record – three previous spells inside. Dr Jones presented two opposing views: irst, that Teed knew he was doingwhen he attacked, but that he was mentally ill. That left plenty of room for manoeuvre but then the doctor added that he did think that there was impairment of Teed's mind at the time and that the ‘abnormality’ was definitely apparent. But the fact remained, as he also said, that Teed had shown no remorse. The recurrent problem of the expert witness in the matter of mental illness was a strongelement in the trial. Another prison doctor, Dr Fenton, disagreed with Jones and insisted that Teed had no mental
abnormality. He even stated that he did not consider Teed to be a psychopath. Elwyn Jones must have felt a shiver of defeat on hearing that opinion expressed. The jury took almost five hours to reach a decision; they failed to reach a unanimous decision, in spite of Mr Justice Salmon directing them to think only in line with clear evidence, and to avoid supposition. One person in the jury was not convinced by the prosecution's reasoning. Salmon took control, and he said to the court: ‘It is my duty to remind you that as far as impaired responsibility is concerned, it is not for the prosecution to prove that the accused had not diminished or impaired responsibility.’ The Homicide Act of the previous year made it very clear as to what circumstances in a homicide made a hanging decision essential. The crucial words were about homicide committed ‘in the course or furtherance of theft’. The guilty decision was announced and Salmon told Teed that he would ‘suffer death in the manner authorised by law’. The progression towards the scaffold had begun. It has to be recorded that, in a largely meaningless way, Teed was examined by psychiatrists in his death cell; the medical men were out to prove that he was not mentally ill in any way that would encourage a reprieve. There was a petition, signed by a thousand people, and there was an appeal, with Lord Goddard presiding. The panel of appeal judges found no evidence of diminished responsibility and the appeal was dismissed. After that Teed's only chance of stayingalive was an appeal to the Home Secretary for a reprieve. It did not happen, and that was announced on 25 May. He was doomed. Teed was hanged at HMP Swansea on 6 May 1958. The executioners were Robert Stewart and Harry Robinson. That death certainly had an impact across Wales. Andrew Hinton has recorded that, with his memory of beingtold to pray for the soul of Vivian Teed, at his school in South Wales. It is not often that we have accounts by judges and barristers of their formative experiences in the era of hangings, but Elwyn Jones was later to become Lord Elwyn Jones, and in his memoirs he is candid (and enlightening) about the drama and tensions in criminal trials in the early 1960s when a guilty verdict in a murder case was an appointment with the noose. As he wrote in his autobiography, ‘A trial for life introduced a new dimension of drama and emotion’ and he made the point, easily overlooked now, about the wording the clerk of assize used when asking for a verdict: ‘Look upon the face of the prisoner and say whether he is guilty or not guilty of murder.’ He also makes a great deal of the clerk's other solemn words before sentence: My Lords, the Queen's Justices, do strictly charge and command all persons to Keep silence while sentence of death is passed upon the prisoner at the bar…
2. Richard Latham The case of Richard Latham was yet another involving potential diminished responsibility. He was discharged from the RAF as a ‘psychopathic personality with anti-social trends’. Back in civvy street, Latham began an affair with a married woman, Doreen Wass. They met in early 1963, and not longafter she borrowed a large sum of money from Latham, but then left him and went into hiding. He searched for her, and with a feeling of revenge and hurt pride, he had violent intentions towards her. Latham went to see Mr Wass and insisted on being told where Doreen was. When the husband refused to say, he was assaulted, and Latham, according to later testimony, at first wanted to give her ‘a good hiding’ but then his thoughts turned to murder. In May 1964 he bought a revolver and in November that year he found out where she was. He went to her house, intending to use the gun, but he saw that she was pregnant so he waited until the child was born and then returned. On that second occasion, he couldn't do it and went away. But
after that his dark and dangerous resolve took hold of him: he went a third time went into the house, and shot her three times at close range. He told police later that at first, going to her with the gun, he had been frightened. But when he did finally shoot, there was no doubt that her life would be taken. He went home, then hid the spent cartridges, bullets and some glasses inside a glove and put the glove in his henhouse. But later his feeble attempts to cover himself, such as disguising himself with the glasses and then hiding the items, all disappeared into a straightforward admission of guilt to the police when they came. He simply said, ‘It is all right … I am the man you are looking for. It was I that shot her.’ Again, when asked where the gun was, he acted in the same way, at first sayinghe had thrown it over a railway embankment but then comingclean and tellingpolice where it really was. He said, ‘I did think I might get away with it at first, but when it came to it I was not bothered.’ That was to be the start of yet another lengthy debate on the theme of mental abnormality. But at first the outcome was clear: three doctors gave evidence – two for the defence made much of his past history, and of course he had already been labelled a psychopath. But the fact is that the medical officer of Armley jail, who had actually seen and observed the man, rather than simply applying theory from established documentation, spoke for the prosecution. The jury did not accept diminished responsibility and Latham was found guilty. His case went to the appeal court, and there the case argued was that the evidence about Latham's mental instability was clear, and should be reconsidered in the light of the key word in the 1957 Act, ‘impaired’ ability to function mentally. But the evidence of the doctors was unchallenged. As the report of the appeal said at the time: ‘In particular, it was put to Dr Roberts and Dr O'Brien (for the defence) that for a very long time Latham had determined to kill this woman, that from November onwards he knew where she was, and that, although he had been the subject of psychological disorder some eleven years previously… this was not a case of giving way to sudden impulses…’ The decision as to mental impairment was for the jury to decide and they had done that. Dr Wray was the expert who was most forth right in saying that he was uncertain about Latham's ‘impairment.’ In the Act the impairment had to be ‘substantial’ and the doctor could not assert that with any confidence. The official appeal report concluded: If there are facts which would entitle a jury to reject or differ from the opinions of the medical men, this court would not, and could not, disturb their verdict, but if the doctors’ evidence is unchallenged and there is no other on this issue, a verdict contrary to their opinion would not be ‘a true verdict in accordance with the evidence’.
That decision was on 28 April. A week later, after an appeal for a reprieve, it was granted by the Home Secretary. Soon after the trial, the Murder (Death Penalty) Act suspended the capital punishment for murder for a period of five years, to be made permanent if that could be agreed, after that ive years.
3. David Chapman But Latham was not the very last man to be sentenced to die in England. That distinction goes to twenty-three-year-old John Chapman, who was charged with the murder of Alfred Harland, a man of sixty-five, who was drowned while Chapman and his friend Makinson were, in the words of the 1957 Act, ‘in the furtherance of theft’. The two men drowned Mr Harland in the North Bay swimmingpool in Scarborough. The killers were both Scarborough men; only Chapman was found guilty of murder, as Makinson was found to be an accessory and was guilty of grievous bodily harm. The two assailants had said that Mr Harland had merely fallen into the water.
The two men had broken into the office at the pool and stolen £51-3s-7d. It was a small sum to grab by way of a killing. Mr Harland was a nightwatchman and had tried to face the robbers. There was no doubt that the death happened while a theft was in progress. Chapman was sentenced to death on 4 November. Five days later, capital punishment in England was suspended for five years. Finally, on 16 December 1969, the abolition was confirmed. Chapman was reprieved. Shortly before abolition was announced, Ducan Sandys, the MP for Streatham, raised a petition askingfor the re-establishment of hanging; 8,000 people living in Sussex signed it. Sandys told the press: ‘We have found all over Britain that about 85 per cent of those who are approached readily sign the petition which simply asks that the death penalty should be restored for murder.’ But, opposing this, just a month before the announcement of abolition, thirty prominent criminologists wrote to The Times to state that’… such evidence as there is suggests that the rate of murder in society is a function of ininitely more complex and psychological factors. We believe that to return to the situation as it obtained under the Homicide Act of 1957 … would be shot through with unjust anomalies…’ Those ‘anomalies’ are clearly reflected in the murder trials in the ten preceding years. The jury decisions, the expert witnesses and the directions of judges all combine in these trial reports to remind us that the situation was actually riddled with uncertainties and contradictions. One man would walk to the scaffold while another would walk free. As for Chapman, he was in the death cell when the more welcome kind of suspension was announced. He must have whooped with joy, we might think, but in fact, records show that late reprieves tend to produce a stunned, shocked period of stupor and trauma. After all, a person moves swiftly from acceptance to giddy appreciation of unexpected freedom.
CHAPTER 18
Hull's Great Unsolved Mystery This investigation is not exhausted, but Humberside's murder rate has soared in recent years and it is a case of prioritising. DS Morriss, Humberside Police
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here are few murders as upsetting and repulsive as those of children. Killing a child, and mixing that with sexual assault or rape, makes us search for words that adequately describe the response we feel. The words we use – ‘heinous’ or ‘repellent’, or even ‘barbaric’, fall short of the emotive pull on us as such an outrage. When such crimes happen in our homes, the sense of revulsion is even greater. In this case the killer had an hour in which to work – the guardian of the child was out for just one hour – and the lurking, calculating killer struck. On 9 March 1984, nine-year-old Christopher Laverack was in his sister's house in East Hull; he had been taken there by his parents as it had been arranged that his sister, Kim and her husband, Stephen, would look after him. The couple had a baby, just nine months old, and that night Stephen went out to the Crown, where Kim worked, to buy some crisps for young Christopher. That was at a 9.15pm. When Stephen went home again an hour later, there was no Christopher. His own little son, Martin, was crying, and there was no one else in the house. The most notable change in the room was that the television was missing. The search for him began. Then, almost two days later, a dog-walker at Beverley Beck saw a plastic sack in the water and on investigation, that parcel proved to be a roll of carpet overlay in which was the body of Christopher. He had been sexually abused and then battered to death. A mystery had begun: no knowledge of where the boy was killed was ever gained, and the murder weapon was never located either. There had been sightings – a man had come to the house in that hour when the two children were alone – and a car had been seen parked outside. In 2004, a feature in the Police Review focused on DS Morriss as the cold case was looked at again. The first phase of the murder hunt was in the hands of DCS Peter Baker, and he retired with the case still unsolved. The murder remained very much in the arena of public interest and activity, though, especially after someone donated the huge sum of £100,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer. There was even a determined effort by a local charity, SCARF, to solve the case, but it still remained a mystery. The twenty-year anniversary of the boy's death was the ideal time to think again, and DS Morriss said then that ‘attempting to bring closure to the inquiry’ had ‘proved a learning experience for a force that previously had only limited experience of cold case investigations.’ Morriss took charge of the case in 2000 and he was faced with all kinds of difficulties when he reviewed the details of the investigation, mainly that of the retirement of some of the officers originally involved. One of the original sergeants who worked on the case had died by 2004. Those officers who were asked about the case had forgotten many of the details of course. The one person you would want to talk to in such a situation would be the scene of crime officer, and Morriss commented that the officer had forgotten
the process of the scene being studied. One of the most discouraging aspects of the cold case work then was that some of the boxed physical evidence had been destroyed when Morriss started work; the obvious question to ask is what about DNA sampling? Again, even as recently as 2004, forensic work had not brought any new knowledge to light. The heart of the challenge for Morriss and colleagues was, as was said at the time, the Humberside Police had little formal process in place for cold case work. What about the place where Christopher's body was found? We might think that a close look at that would lead to some ideas about where the killing took place. But the material environment around the Beverley Beck had changed by 2004 also. Morriss, a man born in the area, told his interviewer, John Dean, ‘I am a local man, but I have difficulty recognising that stretch of the beck – so much has changed. But one thing remains: at the time Christopher's body was found, it was a stretch of beck that was not particularly well known, which leads us to think that the killer had local knowledge.’ The one potentially very useful item needed by the investigation was the missing television, and when the beck was dredged in 2003, that seemed to be a chance to find the it, but the dredging was unsuccessful. With all this discouraging list of dead-ends and frustrations, the one thing that police would still have as an asset would be the public, and there has never been any shortage of response there. Endless lines of thought have been explored, and minor observations followed up. In 2004, Morriss said, ‘We get something every month … but because the case is so emotive and everyone had their own views and theories, we have tended to keep it out of the press.’ The work of appealing for information, naturally, was always strong: from the first moment available, Pam Cawley, Christopher's mother, made several appeals for help. Six years ago, Morriss summed up the situation: ‘Either the killer never told anyone about committing the crime, or somebody out there has suspicions but has kept quiet because they are concerned about the implications.’ Then in May, 2008, the media were keen to tell the public that the chief suspect in the case had died in prison. What more frustrating development could there have been? DS Higgins of Humberside Police said that the man's death could lead to new witnesses coming forward.’ He was right. Two months later, the identity of the dead man, who had died of cancer in jail just a few months before his due release date, was revealed: he was Melvyn Read, Christopher's uncle. Other potential offences of child sex abuse were levelled at Read, and it emerged that he was the prime suspect for the murder of Christopher. He had been questioned but released in 2006 in connection with the case. Police told the press in 2008, ‘There is a substantial amount of evidence linking Read with the murder of Christopher.’ The dead man was sixty-four. What we are left with is the staggering thought that a common view of paedophiles and killers related to that condition is that they are planners with an instinct. Time and again we read of cases in which a child has been abducted and then later killed and abused, and that crime has taken place when a ‘window of opportunity’ arises – a moment when the prey is attainable. There have been such cases in which a child had been abducted from its own home, taken from bed while sleeping and pulled through a window; there have been cases in which a family at a caravan site or beach have been located, watched and then deprived of a child. Such killers are akin to animals, hunters, waiting and watching for the time to strike and for their hunger to be appeased. This makes far more sense than some of the theories put forward. There have even been writers who have insisted that there are cults indulging in human sacrifice around and that Christopher was a victim of such a cult. Surely the more generalised but credible line of thought about a relative or person who knew him well is the one that counts. After all, a boy would open the door to a relative,
and that would be seen as a normal event, although observers who noticed the car outside did not appear to say that the same car had been seen before. The explanations about the most likely events of that night are where the attention must lie: not in the fanciful and desperate imaginings on which our moral panics thrive. The Laverack case has to be defined in just those three resonant but somehow inadequate words. The fact is that a small boy suffered a terrible death and the most likely killer has evaded justice by dying: so we have that infinite silence, something just as empty and tormenting as the thought of this being a story with no possibility of closure. There may be other lines of thought still to come, but we have to say that these are likely to be as tantalising and ultimately frustrating as some of the theories in the earlier phases of investigation.
CHAPTER 19
Sentenced to Die: Two Manx Cases I do not now believe that any one of the hundreds of executions I carried out has in any way acted as a deterrent against future murder … Albert Pierrepoint
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n 1079, Godfred Crovan invaded the Isle of Man and in his reign the Tynwald parliament was established; and still today, on Tynwald Hill, the impressive seat of government stands proud. Her Majesty the Queen is now Lord of Man, and she was there in 1979 when the millennium celebrations took place at Tynwald. This might suggest a place out of step or antiquated when we come to matters of law, but in fact the truth is that Man has simply had different legal traditions and processes. The Tynwald was not really reformed until 1866, and at that time the first island police force was established, with a Chief Constable based in Douglas. But when it comes to criminal law, they were still sentencing people to death there as recently as 1992, when Deemster Callow sentenced Anthony Teare to die for capital murder. Teare's story, with that of arguably the most troublesome and problematic Manx murder case in its history back in 1872, provides the sensational stories for this chapter. First the High Court of Man has to be explained and an account of what existed before it was created. It was formed in 1884. From then on serious crimes have been heard at the Court of General Gaol Delivery. A judge called the Second Deemster presides, and the Court handles every trial by a court of summary jurisdiction. The jury is of seven, not twelve, people. Traditionally, there have been two Deemsters, and courts were always held in the main towns. Since 1921 there has been a court of criminal appeal, so today there is a vague comparison between English crown courts and the Man Court of General Gaol Delivery. But in 1872 the disparities came into public notice with the case of John Kewish. He committed murder at a time when the Isle of Man's various methods of execution were simplified into hanging only: previously, before 1817, there had been several possibilities: traitors, regardless of sex, were hanged, drawn and quartered, but male felons were hung, and female felons sewn into a sack and thrown into the sea. Kewish lived with his old parents and a disabled sister. In a family argument, he killed his father with a pitchfork. The setting was the isolated family farm at Sulby Glen. The High Bailiff of Ramsey was told of the affair, and fortunately he acted quickly, because the family were about to carry on with the funeral arrangements as if this was just another natural death. It was far from that. The source of the confrontation went back to a law suit from the father against the son for £42. That debt had supposedly been settled when John gave his father a cow. The constable who arrived first said in court that he had heard Kewish say, in Manx, to his mother: ‘Be careful and say just what you need to say, on oath… We'll get to the end of this day and it will be well.’ The constable also said that Kewish had told him that his father had deserved such a fate for a long time, as he had been stealing sheep, and he had also been ‘thrashing’ Mrs Kewish for as long as
John could recall. The surgeon was F S Tellett, and he described the injuries and cause of death: ‘We observed two wounds on the right side of his chest… Both of these were puncture wounds and on passing a probe into one, it penetrated about eight inches.’ The surgeon and his assistants also found four more wounds on the back, and they noted that the lungs were collapsed and clotted blood in the airway. Death had been caused by a deep cut across the aorta. Mrs Kewish was noted as saying that Johnny would ‘have more life now’ that the father was gone. That was indeed full or irony as the death sentence was to be passed. There were no other suspects, and the pitchfork had been used to kill Mr Kewish. John was the only man with a motive, and the main complication was whether or not Kewish was simple-minded. The jury went to consider the evidence and it took fourteen hours. Even then no verdict was reached. A new trial with a new jury followed. The obvious next move was for the defence counsel to argue for a defence of insanity. They reasoned that his mental defectiveness was enough to free him from a murder charge. But this failed, and the second jury found him guilty. He was sentenced to death by the Deemster, Mr Drinkwater. The Isle of Man Times and Advertiser reported this with a maximum dramatic effect: The names of the jurors having been called over by the Clerk of the Rolls, the Deemster asked the usual question: ‘Gentlemen, are you agreed on your verdict? Mr BACKWELL (for the jury): ‘Yes, your Honour.’ DEEMSTER: ‘Do you find the prisoner guilty or not guilty? Mr BACKWELL, ‘Guilty your Honour.’ The Deemster addressed the prisoner at the Bar: ‘I do not know whether you have manifested any remorse for having committed so dreadful a crime. What have you to say why sentence should not be passed upon you for the crime you have committed?’ The prisoner made no reply…
The words and the ritual had been said so many times. The sentence of death was then passed. He was sent back to prison at Castle Rushen to await his execution. But there was hope of a reprieve: the Queen could have reduced this to life imprisonment, but the Home Office took over that responsibility. Efforts were made, with the Lieutenant-Governor gathering statements which would appeal for leniency in the case. It turned out that in the first trial, five of the jurors had told the authorities that the majority were for an acquittal. The information about Mr Kewish's violence towards his wife was a factor, no doubt. But the Home Office took no notice of anything the Lieutenant-Governor submitted and the Queen was told by the Home Secretary that mercy could not be condoned. The fact was that the Queen was not comfortable with the apparent duty of her being involved, and she wrote to the Home Secretary making clear her unease and displeasure at this responsibility. Once more, the clash of Manx law with that of English law was apparent, and it was determined that this would be put right in case there were other capital offences comitted on the island which would make this situation arise again. There had been no execution on the island for half a century, and there were practical obstacles in that it proved to be hard to have a gallows erected. Eventually the national hangman, William Calcraft, came over to carry out the dictates of the law. As the old hangman was busy, handling judicial killings from London to Scotland and now on the Isle of man, Wiliam Marwood in Lincoln was developing the more humane calculation of the ‘long drop’ Reynolds News reported the scene on 11 August. It had been a private execution, but with the press present. The reporter noted that Calcraft had arrived by boat from Liverpool and was recognised. A mob walked with him for some way until he took a cart to Castletown.
Not long before the date of execution, Kewish made a confession to PC Thomas Kneale: My father was ready to go to bed, with his jacket and waistcoat off, and sitting by the fire on a stool, smoking, when the Devil tempted me to shoot him. I came out of my own room and struck my father in the back. The gun was charged with four slugs. I fired the gun and my father fell, saying ’Chee Chreese’ which means ‘the peace of Christ go with you’…
Kewish also said that Satan made him do and that it was because he ‘had no schooling and ‘knew no better.’ His statements demolished the forensic thinking, because he told a turnkey that the father had not been stabbed at all, but shot, confirming the story he first told the constable. His story was confirmed when a search was made for a slug in the wall of the house, where he had said it went in, and the slug was found. Naturally, the hanging was a major event on Man after so many years without a death sentence being carried out. Mr Kermode, the prison governor, told the press that selected reporters would be allowed into the place of execution, and the writer for the Mona Herald told his readers exactly what he saw: We were conducted to the debtors’ yard where we found a large and imposing structure of timber erected as a scaffold. The work had been done on a design concocted by the officers of the gaol and the builders… it met with the entire approbation of Calcraft, who professed himself pleased with everything connected with it… The structure is composed of a series of wooden pillars 12 feet high on which rests a smooth and firm platform around which runs a 3-foot high protection railing, which is draped in black cloth.
He then saw Calcraft arrive with his instruments of death. Kewish walked out to meet his death, the reporter noted, ‘With a tread as firm as a rock’. He walked to the beam and stood, ready for the end; Calcraft put on the white hood, adjusted the rope and within a minute, Kewish was ‘launched into eternity’. Readers of the Mona Herald absorbed the fact that ‘Death was instantaneous. Not a movement of the shoulders, scarcely a vibration of a limb, testified to the quick and certain fatality of the law's revenge.’ The most nervous man there had been the chaplain, who just managed to say, while trembling, ‘Lord, receive the soul of John Kewish.’ The very last death sentence passed in the United Kingdom was on Anthony Teare, on the Isle of Man, so once again, that island takes centre stage in criminal history. Teare was described as a ‘loner with low self-esteem’ who murdered a young woman, possibly as a contract killing, but that is not certain. He was found guilty of murder in 1992, and sentenced to death. Amazingly, no commutation of the sentence immediately followed, as was the usual practice. But an appeal followed, and the conviction was found to be unsafe. Everything about the case was singular: he was not acquitted, but a retrial was to take place; yet before that new trial could be arranged, something radical happened to the constitution and the criminal code, revising the code of 1872: the death penalty was abolished and life imprisonment for murder was put in its place. Still, Teare was retried: he was found guilty of murder in 1994 and he was sentenced to life imprisonment. The Isle of Man may not have often figured in British criminal history, but these two murder cases certainly caused a stir, and they provide astonishing statistics whenever questions of capital punishment occur. The tales of Kewish and Teare provide stories in which the consequences of the crimes impact on the central criminal justice system in England. Although the legal traditions of the Isle of Man have been very different from those in England, the anomalous procedures and protocol of the island have given the lawyers considerable headaches, and of course, have also given Queen Victoria a notable crisis of conscience and given cause for concern from the ‘Widow of Windsor’ who preferred to keep well clear of the criminal law and its responsibilities.
CHAPTER 20
His Ghost Walks the Corridors Prisoner at the Bar, you have been arraigned upon a charge of murder and have placed yourself upon your country. That country has now found you guilty… Clerk of the Assize, Nodder trial
T
his is the story of a lorry-driver lodger – from Hell. It is disgusting for a crime writer to see the man's name dignified with a place in the reference works of murder now established in reference libraries. But the tale has to be told. Missing from her home… at 11, Thoresby Avenue, Newark, since Tuesday, 5 January, 1937, Mona Lilian Tinsley, aged 10 years (rather short for age), dark hair (bobbed with fringe) rosy cheeks, four prominent teeth at the front… It has been established that this girl was seen at Hayton Smeath, near Retford at about mid-day on Wednesday, 6 January, 1937. (Text from a police poster)
Frederick Nodder moved into new lodgings in Newark in 1935, where his landlady was Mrs Tinsley. He didn't stay long, but he made a mark with the children. To them he was ‘Uncle Fred’. He was clearly a man who was difficult to live with, at least in the adult world. When he moved on to East Retford, he still proved to be a handful for the landlady, with his bad habits and tendency to create a mess. Nodder appears to be a man with a mission – to destroy everything and everyone around him that could be classified as weak or vulnerable. But back in Newark, the large family of Tinsleys was now one short of the usual number. Little Mona, aged ten, was missing. Her father, Wilfred, was frantic with worry. Mona did not return home from her school on the 5 January 1937. The search began. Her school was not far away and he began his search there. Mona's poor father was distraught with anxiety. After the police were called, the description went out: she was wearing a knitted suit and wore Wellingtons. But a boy called Willie Placket recalled seeing Mona talking to a man and said that he would recognise the man if he saw him again. A Mrs Hird had also seen Mona with a man ‘who was a lodger with the girl's mother…’ The net was closing in on the person described as ‘a man with staring eyes’. Nodder had a hook nose and his moustache was ginger; he seems to have been memorable, as lots of people remembered him on that journey with little Mona. A bus conductor recalled him. The police traced him to Retford and he was picked up. He had been living as Hudson, and was the father of a child living locally. Mona had been seen with ‘Uncle Fred’ and consequently, as Mona was now officially missing and the anxiety increased, Nodder was interviewed. His story was that he had given the girl a lift to Sheffield, and then put Mona on a bus to her aunt's in Worksop. It was all highly suspicious and he was arrested for abduction. There was no body, so there was no murder charge. In court, the abduction still stood and he was sent to prison. As he was in custody and there was a feeling that Mona had been attacked or even killed, a massive search began; 1,000 people joined in to search areas between Retford and Newark. It was such a wide stretch of land that the police from Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Derbyshire all spent time and manpower on the case.
Scotland Yard now sent men to step up the campaign. The Chesterfield canal was dragged. Nodder had been tried at Birmingham, but now off he went to Nottingham to face a murder charge. So began Fred Nodder's period inside the walls of Lincoln prison. Only three months after his trial, Mona's body was found in the River Idle close to Bawtry. She had been strangled. Nodder was in court again, trying to tell tales to escape the noose. Nothing he could say did him any good. The presiding judge, Mr Justice Macnaughton, said, ‘Justice has slowly, but surely, overtaken you and it only remains for me to pronounce the sentence which the law and justice require…’ The great barrister, Norman Birkett, had spoken for the prosecution; it was to be his last trial, appearing for the Crown. It was a terrible case, with a widespread sense of outrage around it, as Nodder had sexually assaulted Mona before killing her. ‘Uncle Fred’ had turned out to be a monster. The photos of him show a man with a matching flat cap and scarf of small check pattern and a thick overcoat. His eyes are piercing and he shows a face to the world that expresses nothing substantial. ‘Something is missing in him’ as is often said of these types of killers. Here was a twisted personality who enjoyed inflicting pain on helpless children. It had taken Mona five minutes to die. Ironically, this man who had created so much pain and torment to others, lived in a place called ‘Peacehaven’. He was sentenced to hang. A few days after Christmas 1937, he was in the hands of the hangman and left this world. Or did he? He was hanged in Lincoln Prison on Greetwell Road, and his last moments would have been on the wing of the execution suite. He would have fallen through the trap to dangle and die – very quickly – taking less time to expire than his victim had done. The corpse was taken down and buried, with quicklime, as was the custom. But was that the last of Fred Nodder inside the prison walls? Some think not. Since then, there has been development in the prison, as there has with almost every other Victorian building. Staff report sightings of a man walking the corridors, a man with a dark overcoat and flat check cap. One report is of turning a corner to see a man with piercing eyes coming towards you. Some have merely glimpsed the profile, with the hooked nose and moustache. There are many dark roads and corners around Greetwell Road. A spirit could wander those streets, a restless, evil entity like Uncle Fred. If the tales are true, then this evil man is as restless now as he was in life – always open to do some horrible mischief. In fairly recent times, when building work was done on the prison site, the graves of executed prisoners were taken up and carried to the city cemetery. The more serious ghost hunters date the appearances of the ghost of Uncle Fred to that time. When the ground opened up, his nasty spirit walked into the world again, out to disturb the unwary. The man with the staring eyes, if he exists in spirit form, will still try his hardest to unsettle the unwary night-walker. Nodder was always a man who haunted, loitered, and watched people. Even if the Lincoln walker through Greetwell Road has no belief in ghosts, a glance at the forbidding high and dark walls of the prison there will do enough to suggest that this killer had no pleasant stay in his last hours on earth.
CHAPTER 21
Miscarriage of Justiceby Earprint Elected silence, sing to me, and beat upon my whorled ear. G M Hopkins
T
his is one of the saddest murder stories ever told. The reason for that sadness is that the victim was a remarkable woman who had been a wonderful servant to her community: humanitarian, selfless and admirable in every way. Yet her life was ended at the hands of a heartless killer, unknown to this day. But this sad story also has a parallel – a tale of offbeat and wonderful forensics. On 7 May 1996, Dorothy Wood, aged ninety-four and weighing only 6 stones, was found dead in her bed at her home in Whitby Avenue, Fartown, Huddersfield. She had been smothered, and it was clear that her home had been burgled; the attacker had taken her life in the course of robbing her. Her neighbours told the press later that, as Dorothy was deaf, they had to write everything down for her as she was unable to lip-read. It was a horrendous, callous killing. A reward of £5,000 was offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction. It didn't take long to arrest a suspect – the evidence of an earprint on one of the house's windows led police to Mark Dallagher. A Dutch forensic expert on earprints, Cornelius van der Lugt, testified that the earprint on the window matched the ear of Dallagher: it was as convincing as a fingerprint source in its forensic value. But the defence counsel never called their own earprint expert, and Dallagher was convicted of murder. Then, in January 2004, Dallagher was freed at an appeal hearing, the victim of a serious miscarriage of justice. A retrial was ordered in 2002 as his conviction was unsafe then; a new investigation was set in motion, and further forensic study began. DNA played a part in that new work, and it was announced that, as the press report said: ‘West Yorkshire police and the Crown Prosecution Service later issued a statement about the case, which was originally heard at Leeds Crown Court. They said that when the Court of Appeal ordered a retrial, “it made no criticism of the way in which the Crown had presented its case at the first trial.”’ The case had made legal history as it was the first trial in which ear prints led to a successful prosecution. There is a terrible irony in the statement made at the time by one lawyer that such forensics was ‘a great leap forward for forensic science’. What had been done to make it certain that Dallagher was innocent? The basis for study is that the human ear, when pressed to a flat surface, forms a two-dimensional print; each one of such prints is reckoned to be unique – an anatomical pointer to the person. Collection of a copy of the print is similar to the methods used in taking copies of finger prints. But there is now no absolute certainty on this and the jury is out on the nature of expert evidence. The National Training Centre for Scientific Support to Crime Investigation is establishing a database based on further research. It follows that, in a court of law, one expert will be against another, as in all areas of forensic evidence in earlier years of crime investigation. There is always a period of uncertainty in any area of forensic expertise; even DNA sampling had a ‘teething period’ for both the science itself and for the application of knowledge to court procedure. Just a year before Dallagher's conviction, a conference for shoeprint and toolmark examiners was
held in Holland, and in a paper given there on ear prints by Mr van der Lugt, he states that an earlier researcher had said that ‘The ear has the most characteristic feature elements of the human body thanks to the variation in height and depth of the form. It has such a great quantity of different forms that that it is almost impossible to find two persons with parts that are absolutely identical. Besides that the form of the ear does not change from birth to death.’ That seems like a very strong basis of thought for the man who stood there at Leeds Crown Court and said that Dallagher's ear was easily linked to the earprint. There was also some reassurance for the CPS and police in the examples from earlier investigations, such as one from 1985 in which a raid on a banker and his wife near Rotterdam left some evidence for detectives – the print of a left and right ear on a door – and this led to the arrest of the attacker. Van der Lugt wrote: ‘Now the ear prints are the only traces that can lead to the identity of the offender.’ But then, as Dallagher, an innocent man, was stuck in a prison cell, DNA analysis was more refined than in the earlier days in the mid-1980s and along came methods by which less substantial residual material could be tested for DNA sequences. The earprint in taken Fartown was not that of Mr Dallagher. In fact, there is doubt about the use of earprint forensics. Before Dallagher was freed, Professor Peter van Coppen, of Leiden University, stated that there were limitations in the research: ‘There has been no research done in which you can say, for instance, what the national distribution of lobes is, so you don't know if the ear print is one which would match 80% of everyone else's or whether it has unique characteristic.’ Van der Lugt, apparently, does not agree. That difference in expert opinion, it is clear, can open the floodgates to other appeals for potential miscarriages of justice from ear print evidence, as in the case of Albert James, for instance, who was convicted on earprint evidence at Preston Crown Court – he was convicted on earprint evidence when no fingerprints were found. Earprints as a second-best print source of evidence are clearly under a shadow of doubt now. Dorothy Wood, as her biographer Graham Thurgood has written, was born in 1901 and trained as a nurse in Halifax, gaining qualification as a midwife also and spent four years working as a Queen's Nurse. She later went to Canada on a scholarship and then returned to work in Yorkshire. Graham Thurgood sums up her achievement: ‘All who have watched her career have been impressed by her enthusiasm for her work. She has had remarkable success in all her examinations … and excellent reports form those in authority.’ She retired in 1956, after doing a stint of health visiting. In other words, she had made a massive contribution to the health and well-being to thousands of people in the Huddersfield area, and the end of her life, killed by an intruder, was indeed a terrible injustice and somehow tragic in the most dignified sense of the word. There must have been a certain level of satisfaction when an arrest and conviction followed. But her real killer remains unknown. Whoever broke into her home that night found her in bed on the ground floor, as she had a heart condition, and it is surely the case that the intruder saw a danger of the alarm being raised and took the easiest action possible. He would have thought that such a manner of death might be taken as something happening through natural causes, as Dorothy was so old and frail. It all has a nasty ring of truth about it – a simple theory of the narrative of the murder that night in Fartown. A memorial service was held at Woodhouse Parish Church in 1996 and there was a memorial bench placed near her home in Fartown. Her good deeds and public service record will live on in the minds of those who knew her. As for Mark Dallagher, he spent almost seven years in gaol for a crime he did not commit. He had
always said he was innocent, and had even made it clear to police at the time that he was ill with an ankle injury and could not have done a burglary. He spoke to the press and said, ‘I've waited seven years for this day. I've spent six of those years in prison, protesting my innocence to deaf ears. The last nine months has been a terrible ordeal all as a result on the prosecution's reliance on now discredited expert evidence.’ The science will go on though. At the moment, there are efforts to streamline ear print evidence by using computerised data. In a paper written for the journal, Legal Medicine, GN Rutty and others suggest that it is possible to use a computerised ear print identification system. They add: ‘To assist those considering similar developments we share the concept and possible solutions we have identified and encountered to date, and highlight the advantages for such a system over traditional manual methods used for ear print identification.’ In other words, we are still at the ‘back to the drawing board’ stage in this context. It is amazing to think that the use of earprints is not new. They were being studied as evidence in investigations back in Victorian times. Surely we have to pity the poor villains who were caught by these very questionable means. So the jury is out – but unfortunately for Mr Dallagher, his jury were ‘in’ – and were convinced by the science they were asked to understand. Today, it is easy to imagine one expert pitched against another, even though data may be computerised – in the middle would be the baffled jury of laypeople, trying to grasp the identifying markers of specific ear prints and coping with the technical jargon involved. The murder of Dorothy Wood remains a mystery, and so does the value of the earprint as forensic evidence.
Fingerprints from the early years of their use in forensics. police Journal
Hay-on-Wye from a postcard of c.1900. Author's Collection
The girl who was the victim in the Donald case. Vicki Schofield
The street: Urquhart Road. Author’ collection
Ethel Major. Laura Carter
Lincoln Crown Court. Author's collection
Norman Birkett. Author’ collection
Steve Wade who assisted at the hanging of Rowland. Laura Carter
Home Office enquiry into the Blachin case. HMSO
WPC as Balchin. Police Journal
The hammer used in the attack. Police Journal
The heads of the two victims in the Ruxton case. Police Journal
Wallace. Laura Carter
| i don't know |
Which new racecourse in Wales opened in June 2009? | BHRC
The BHRC will close at 1.30pm on Thursday 19th January 2017.
Apologies for any inconvenience.
OBITUARY – Joan Ackers
17Jan
The BHRC have been informed of the sad passing of Joan Ackers, who passed away peacefully on 10th January following a short time at the Willow Wood Hospice.
Joan acted as Paddock Steward and Starter for many years at Chasewater and Droylsden.
The funeral will be held at Dukinfield Crematorium on Monday 23rd January 2017 at 10.30am.
Family flowers only please, donations are requested for Willow Wood Hospice.
BREEDERS CROWN NEW ONLINE FOAL/RACE REGISTRATION
16Jan
To make things easier for those involved, we have now made it so that yearling and race registrations can now be done online.
To register a horse all you need do is click one of the links at the top right hand of our website, fill in the relevant form and pay via PayPal or card. You can register as many horses at once if required by just adding them to your cart before paying.
16Jan
Applications to renew Public Trainer licences must be received at BHRC prior to 31st January 2017:
W40. [b] Licence Renewal Applications in reference to a Public Trainer Licence must be made prior to 31st January of the year for which the licence will be valid. Only licences for persons never having previously been registered as a Public Trainer will be considered after this date, except in the cases of extenuating circumstances and at the discretion of the BHRC.
FFOS LAS RACEDAY – Organised by Tregaron Trotting Club
13Jan
Fancy a day at the races, join us for a trip to Ffoslas in February. Something different before the start of the harness racing season.
SUNDAY 19th FEBRUARY 2017
Bus + Admission £20pp (min 40 people)
Bus to leave Bont at 11am (pick-ups enroute)
Lunch package available
Payment MUST be received by 11th February 2017
Contact David Edwards 07833 564941 or Huw Evans 07985 558653
13Jan
The Sire Stakes races in 2017 will be staged at Tir Prince Raceway
Trialing a new format, the divisions will be split to be raced on separate fixture dates to better incorporate them into the juvenile racing calendar:
2YO races will be staged on TUESDAY 1st AUGUST
3YO races will be staged on FRIDAY 1st SEPTEMBER
4YO races will be staged on SATURDAY 15th JULY
Stallion Nominations, Yearling Sustaining and 2YO, 3YO & 4YO 1st Sustaining Fees are all due by 1st March 2017.
Full details: ...
HARNESS HORSEMAN’S ASSOCIATION MEETING
10Jan
The meeting scheduled for 12th January has been rescheduled due to the bad weather forecast for the area.
The Harness Horseman's Association meeting will now be held on THURSDAY 19th JANUARY, at Hellifield House, Hellifield @ 8pm.
YORK MAJOR 3YO 2017 – Saturday 24th June
6Jan
Racing is back at York in 2017 and is set to bring forward some prominent races with impressive purses on offer - starting with the Major 3YO.
To be held on Saturday 24th June - Colts & Fillies to run separately
Nomination Fee of £100 due by 15th February 2017
6Jan
Applications to renew Public Trainer licences must be received at BHRC prior to 31st January 2017:
W40. [b] Licence Renewal Applications in reference to a Public Trainer Licence must be made prior to 31st January of the year for which the licence will be valid. Only licences for persons never having previously been registered as a Public Trainer will be considered after this date, except in the cases of extenuating circumstances and at the discretion of the BHRC.
LICENCE RENEWALS 2017
6Jan
Please Note that a fully completed Licence Renewal Form must be submitted to the BHRC by email, fax or MMS prior to payment being accepted and the renewal or application processed.
Any persons applying to renew a trainer licence will be required to give the full postal address of their stables/training premises.
Please be aware that licence fees increase on 1st March and 1st May in every licensing year.
There are THREE primary flu vaccinations before annual boosters:
1st PRIMARY vaccination must be given
2nd PRIMARY vaccination between 21 and 92 days after 1st primary vaccination
3rd PRIMARY vaccination between 150 and 215 days after 2nd primary vaccination
Further booster vaccinations at intervals of not more than a year apart (or such lesser time as the Authority may, in an emergency, decide)
REMEMB...
5Jan
** IMPORTANT NOTICE **
From 2017 applicants for a Provisional Licence will be required to complete the Provisional Licence Application Form (page 1) and return to the BHRC Office with the current Insurance Premium payments (£30). This application form will then be forwarded by the BHRC to the relevant Track Officials where the applicant intends to take part in the required demonstration of driving skills and ability. If deemed suitable by...
Blodbanken - Uliana Orange
She is in foal to Quaro, 12-3-2017
Already bred: 2014 Eloge du Tresorier (Quaro), 2015 Frere du Tresorier (So Lovely Girl), 2016 Gwen du Tresorier (Vramdao) half brother of TIMOKO € 4.300.000
French foal money will be €3300 - Mare: €1250
For further information: [email protected] ...
BHRC & STAGBI ANNUAL AWARDS EVENT RAFFLE
5Jan
Grab yourself a chance to win a family weekend accommodation at your favourite Harness Racing fixture in 2017 - Appleby (Spring), Aberystwyth (Ceredigion), Tregaron or Musselburgh
ALL PROCEEDS DONATED TO 'YOUR LOCAL AIR AMBULANCE CHARITY'
1st PRIZE - 2 Night Family B&B Stay (2 Adults & 2 Children)
2nd PRIZE - 1 Night B&B Stay for 2 (2 Adults)
To be drawn on Saturday 25th February 2017
Ticke...
30Dec
It is with sadness that the BHRC has heard of the passing of Mr Daniel Trefor Morgans.
A true trotting gentleman, racing most recently Meadowbranch Josh, he supported the sport of Harness Racing in all ways possible. He will be sadly missed.
Sincere condolences to his family and friends.
A Public Funeral will be held on Wednesday 4th January 2017 at 1pm at Gosen Chapel, Rhydyfelin, Aberystwyth, SY23 4PY. The wake afterwards will be held at Park Lodge Hotel, Aberystwyth.
16Dec
Public Trainer- George Carson
Pacers or Trotters taken for training 2017 season or 2017 prep training, last few stables available.
Reasonable rates and owners can choose who they wish to drive their horses with William Drysdale, William Greenhorn and Grant Cullen being the stables first choice drivers.
We race locally at Corbiewood, Haugh Field, Bells Field and Musselburgh and also willing to travel anywhere with the right horse for the right race.
2017 will see racing in Scotland f...
RULE CHANGES 2016
16Dec
The following rule changes have been approved at the AGM and adopted to the BHRC Rule Book. Please ensure that you read these changes and are fully informed of all updates:
M31:
If a horse is declared to have fallen during a race, it shall not be permitted to run in any rerun or race at that meeting. Such declaration shall be made if the horses quarters and/or shoulder touch the ground, or the driver has lost contact and/or control of the horse.
S22:
OBITUARY – Mr Geoffrey Meachin
7Dec
It is with great regret and sadness that I have to inform you all of the loss of Geoff Meachin, who passed away very suddenly yesterday. A long time supporter of harness racing who achieved much success with his many horses throughout the years both in racing and breeding. A true character who will be sadly missed by daughter Catherine, son Joe and family, along with all of those who knew him as a great friend.
Bret Strickland
Thanks to all those that attended and contributed to the 2016 BHRC AGM.
Mr Roy Sheedy was returned as Chairman
Mr Jim McInally was returned as Vice Chairman
Messrs Bret Strickland and Barry Delaney were returned as Stewards
Mr Roland Pugh was confirmed as Regional Steward (Wales & West)
The Council have conducted interviews with Craig Stevenson & Sarah Thomas in regard to their application for Regional Steward for Scotland. Mr Robert Thompson has also been interviewed by the Council ...
2Dec
BHRC Committee Owners Club and Association Meetings will be held as follows:
HHA & WWHRA meetings were held on 17th November, EVHRA on 24th November & H&B HRC on 27th November, NWSA & SHRC on 29th November and MHRC on 2nd December
OBITUARY – Mr Joe Wilson
25Nov
The BHRC recently learned the sad news of the death of Mr Joe Wilson. Joe was a bookmaker at Corbiewood since it's opening in 1966 and a regular at Highland games and point to point meeting's as well as the North of England trotting circuit. A great supporter of the sport unfortunately a stroke two years ago led to ongoing health problems but Joe will always be remembered for his "LONG ODDS" pitch at Musselburgh racecourse.
Funeral will be held on Tuesday 29th November at Falkirk Crematori...
BHRC ANNUAL AWARD NOMINATIONS 2016
16Nov
HORSE OF THE YEAR will be voted on by the BHRC Committee from the winners of the below categories in 2016. The winners of the below categories will be voted on at the AGM in December, with a further vote at a later date to finalise the Horse of the Year 2016.
Pacer of the Year
Evenwood Sonofagun
From 11 starts he has only been outside the top four twice. Most notably in August he won the Bells Field Heat and Final and within the w...
BHRC – Integrity
14Nov
The BHRC have received a positive integrity result from a sample obtained at Tir Prince on Saturday 15th October 2016.
Disciplinary procedures will be undertaken in accordance with the BHRC Rules and Regulations.
The BHRC AGM will be held at Days Inn, Wetherby on Sunday 4th December 2016.
Officials due for re-election at the 2016 AGM:
Chairman - Roy Sheedy
BHRC Stewards - Barry Delaney, Bret Strickland
BHRC Regional Steward - Roland Pugh
Please note that applications are open for ...
10Nov
Harrisburg Yearling Sale Up Sharply
The yearling sale concluded Wednesday with an average of $38,608 that was the highest in nine years and up 25.3 per cent over last year.
CHELMSFORD – the time has come…
9Nov
Thanks to everyone involved, and especially George Button, we should be able to provide two excellent races at Chelmsford tomorrow (Thursday) evening, in front of our French guests and the predominantly thoroughbred audience at the track and in the many betting shops taking the races
TROTBritain will be pleased to welcome old friends Emmanuelle Morvillers and Marie-Anh Schwartz of the International Department of Le Trot, and Damien Beau, senior Le Trot Commissaire (Steward. They will be j...
TROTBritain Le Trot 3yo Series 2017 – Deposit Day November 10
9Nov
The number expressing serious interest in acquiring a young Trotteur Francais for our 2017 series means we could be heading for a total purse of £55,000, with Finals approaching £35,000 (Gold £20,000, Silver £10,000, Bronze £5,000) and 20 Heats totaling approximately £20,000, Heats will be run where we can get sufficient entries, but most at Tir Prince and York.
We have decided that it will be possible to express a preference for gelding or mare. (All mares selected will be eligible to br...
| Ffos Las |
What nationality is fashion designer Raf Simons? | BHRC
The BHRC will close at 1.30pm on Thursday 19th January 2017.
Apologies for any inconvenience.
OBITUARY – Joan Ackers
17Jan
The BHRC have been informed of the sad passing of Joan Ackers, who passed away peacefully on 10th January following a short time at the Willow Wood Hospice.
Joan acted as Paddock Steward and Starter for many years at Chasewater and Droylsden.
The funeral will be held at Dukinfield Crematorium on Monday 23rd January 2017 at 10.30am.
Family flowers only please, donations are requested for Willow Wood Hospice.
BREEDERS CROWN NEW ONLINE FOAL/RACE REGISTRATION
16Jan
To make things easier for those involved, we have now made it so that yearling and race registrations can now be done online.
To register a horse all you need do is click one of the links at the top right hand of our website, fill in the relevant form and pay via PayPal or card. You can register as many horses at once if required by just adding them to your cart before paying.
16Jan
Applications to renew Public Trainer licences must be received at BHRC prior to 31st January 2017:
W40. [b] Licence Renewal Applications in reference to a Public Trainer Licence must be made prior to 31st January of the year for which the licence will be valid. Only licences for persons never having previously been registered as a Public Trainer will be considered after this date, except in the cases of extenuating circumstances and at the discretion of the BHRC.
FFOS LAS RACEDAY – Organised by Tregaron Trotting Club
13Jan
Fancy a day at the races, join us for a trip to Ffoslas in February. Something different before the start of the harness racing season.
SUNDAY 19th FEBRUARY 2017
Bus + Admission £20pp (min 40 people)
Bus to leave Bont at 11am (pick-ups enroute)
Lunch package available
Payment MUST be received by 11th February 2017
Contact David Edwards 07833 564941 or Huw Evans 07985 558653
13Jan
The Sire Stakes races in 2017 will be staged at Tir Prince Raceway
Trialing a new format, the divisions will be split to be raced on separate fixture dates to better incorporate them into the juvenile racing calendar:
2YO races will be staged on TUESDAY 1st AUGUST
3YO races will be staged on FRIDAY 1st SEPTEMBER
4YO races will be staged on SATURDAY 15th JULY
Stallion Nominations, Yearling Sustaining and 2YO, 3YO & 4YO 1st Sustaining Fees are all due by 1st March 2017.
Full details: ...
HARNESS HORSEMAN’S ASSOCIATION MEETING
10Jan
The meeting scheduled for 12th January has been rescheduled due to the bad weather forecast for the area.
The Harness Horseman's Association meeting will now be held on THURSDAY 19th JANUARY, at Hellifield House, Hellifield @ 8pm.
YORK MAJOR 3YO 2017 – Saturday 24th June
6Jan
Racing is back at York in 2017 and is set to bring forward some prominent races with impressive purses on offer - starting with the Major 3YO.
To be held on Saturday 24th June - Colts & Fillies to run separately
Nomination Fee of £100 due by 15th February 2017
6Jan
Applications to renew Public Trainer licences must be received at BHRC prior to 31st January 2017:
W40. [b] Licence Renewal Applications in reference to a Public Trainer Licence must be made prior to 31st January of the year for which the licence will be valid. Only licences for persons never having previously been registered as a Public Trainer will be considered after this date, except in the cases of extenuating circumstances and at the discretion of the BHRC.
LICENCE RENEWALS 2017
6Jan
Please Note that a fully completed Licence Renewal Form must be submitted to the BHRC by email, fax or MMS prior to payment being accepted and the renewal or application processed.
Any persons applying to renew a trainer licence will be required to give the full postal address of their stables/training premises.
Please be aware that licence fees increase on 1st March and 1st May in every licensing year.
There are THREE primary flu vaccinations before annual boosters:
1st PRIMARY vaccination must be given
2nd PRIMARY vaccination between 21 and 92 days after 1st primary vaccination
3rd PRIMARY vaccination between 150 and 215 days after 2nd primary vaccination
Further booster vaccinations at intervals of not more than a year apart (or such lesser time as the Authority may, in an emergency, decide)
REMEMB...
5Jan
** IMPORTANT NOTICE **
From 2017 applicants for a Provisional Licence will be required to complete the Provisional Licence Application Form (page 1) and return to the BHRC Office with the current Insurance Premium payments (£30). This application form will then be forwarded by the BHRC to the relevant Track Officials where the applicant intends to take part in the required demonstration of driving skills and ability. If deemed suitable by...
Blodbanken - Uliana Orange
She is in foal to Quaro, 12-3-2017
Already bred: 2014 Eloge du Tresorier (Quaro), 2015 Frere du Tresorier (So Lovely Girl), 2016 Gwen du Tresorier (Vramdao) half brother of TIMOKO € 4.300.000
French foal money will be €3300 - Mare: €1250
For further information: [email protected] ...
BHRC & STAGBI ANNUAL AWARDS EVENT RAFFLE
5Jan
Grab yourself a chance to win a family weekend accommodation at your favourite Harness Racing fixture in 2017 - Appleby (Spring), Aberystwyth (Ceredigion), Tregaron or Musselburgh
ALL PROCEEDS DONATED TO 'YOUR LOCAL AIR AMBULANCE CHARITY'
1st PRIZE - 2 Night Family B&B Stay (2 Adults & 2 Children)
2nd PRIZE - 1 Night B&B Stay for 2 (2 Adults)
To be drawn on Saturday 25th February 2017
Ticke...
30Dec
It is with sadness that the BHRC has heard of the passing of Mr Daniel Trefor Morgans.
A true trotting gentleman, racing most recently Meadowbranch Josh, he supported the sport of Harness Racing in all ways possible. He will be sadly missed.
Sincere condolences to his family and friends.
A Public Funeral will be held on Wednesday 4th January 2017 at 1pm at Gosen Chapel, Rhydyfelin, Aberystwyth, SY23 4PY. The wake afterwards will be held at Park Lodge Hotel, Aberystwyth.
16Dec
Public Trainer- George Carson
Pacers or Trotters taken for training 2017 season or 2017 prep training, last few stables available.
Reasonable rates and owners can choose who they wish to drive their horses with William Drysdale, William Greenhorn and Grant Cullen being the stables first choice drivers.
We race locally at Corbiewood, Haugh Field, Bells Field and Musselburgh and also willing to travel anywhere with the right horse for the right race.
2017 will see racing in Scotland f...
RULE CHANGES 2016
16Dec
The following rule changes have been approved at the AGM and adopted to the BHRC Rule Book. Please ensure that you read these changes and are fully informed of all updates:
M31:
If a horse is declared to have fallen during a race, it shall not be permitted to run in any rerun or race at that meeting. Such declaration shall be made if the horses quarters and/or shoulder touch the ground, or the driver has lost contact and/or control of the horse.
S22:
OBITUARY – Mr Geoffrey Meachin
7Dec
It is with great regret and sadness that I have to inform you all of the loss of Geoff Meachin, who passed away very suddenly yesterday. A long time supporter of harness racing who achieved much success with his many horses throughout the years both in racing and breeding. A true character who will be sadly missed by daughter Catherine, son Joe and family, along with all of those who knew him as a great friend.
Bret Strickland
Thanks to all those that attended and contributed to the 2016 BHRC AGM.
Mr Roy Sheedy was returned as Chairman
Mr Jim McInally was returned as Vice Chairman
Messrs Bret Strickland and Barry Delaney were returned as Stewards
Mr Roland Pugh was confirmed as Regional Steward (Wales & West)
The Council have conducted interviews with Craig Stevenson & Sarah Thomas in regard to their application for Regional Steward for Scotland. Mr Robert Thompson has also been interviewed by the Council ...
2Dec
BHRC Committee Owners Club and Association Meetings will be held as follows:
HHA & WWHRA meetings were held on 17th November, EVHRA on 24th November & H&B HRC on 27th November, NWSA & SHRC on 29th November and MHRC on 2nd December
OBITUARY – Mr Joe Wilson
25Nov
The BHRC recently learned the sad news of the death of Mr Joe Wilson. Joe was a bookmaker at Corbiewood since it's opening in 1966 and a regular at Highland games and point to point meeting's as well as the North of England trotting circuit. A great supporter of the sport unfortunately a stroke two years ago led to ongoing health problems but Joe will always be remembered for his "LONG ODDS" pitch at Musselburgh racecourse.
Funeral will be held on Tuesday 29th November at Falkirk Crematori...
BHRC ANNUAL AWARD NOMINATIONS 2016
16Nov
HORSE OF THE YEAR will be voted on by the BHRC Committee from the winners of the below categories in 2016. The winners of the below categories will be voted on at the AGM in December, with a further vote at a later date to finalise the Horse of the Year 2016.
Pacer of the Year
Evenwood Sonofagun
From 11 starts he has only been outside the top four twice. Most notably in August he won the Bells Field Heat and Final and within the w...
BHRC – Integrity
14Nov
The BHRC have received a positive integrity result from a sample obtained at Tir Prince on Saturday 15th October 2016.
Disciplinary procedures will be undertaken in accordance with the BHRC Rules and Regulations.
The BHRC AGM will be held at Days Inn, Wetherby on Sunday 4th December 2016.
Officials due for re-election at the 2016 AGM:
Chairman - Roy Sheedy
BHRC Stewards - Barry Delaney, Bret Strickland
BHRC Regional Steward - Roland Pugh
Please note that applications are open for ...
10Nov
Harrisburg Yearling Sale Up Sharply
The yearling sale concluded Wednesday with an average of $38,608 that was the highest in nine years and up 25.3 per cent over last year.
CHELMSFORD – the time has come…
9Nov
Thanks to everyone involved, and especially George Button, we should be able to provide two excellent races at Chelmsford tomorrow (Thursday) evening, in front of our French guests and the predominantly thoroughbred audience at the track and in the many betting shops taking the races
TROTBritain will be pleased to welcome old friends Emmanuelle Morvillers and Marie-Anh Schwartz of the International Department of Le Trot, and Damien Beau, senior Le Trot Commissaire (Steward. They will be j...
TROTBritain Le Trot 3yo Series 2017 – Deposit Day November 10
9Nov
The number expressing serious interest in acquiring a young Trotteur Francais for our 2017 series means we could be heading for a total purse of £55,000, with Finals approaching £35,000 (Gold £20,000, Silver £10,000, Bronze £5,000) and 20 Heats totaling approximately £20,000, Heats will be run where we can get sufficient entries, but most at Tir Prince and York.
We have decided that it will be possible to express a preference for gelding or mare. (All mares selected will be eligible to br...
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What sort of creatures may be described as 'Caprine'? | Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia - Respiratory System - Veterinary Manual
Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia
By Philip R. Scott, BVM&S, MPhil, DVM&S, DSHP, DECBHM, FHEA, FRCVS, University of Edinburgh
Respiratory Diseases of Sheep and Goats
Ovine Pulmonary Adenocarcinoma
Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia is a highly fatal disease that occurs in goats in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It was seen for the first time on European soil in Thrace, Turkey, in 2002, but does not appear to have spread to neighboring countries, Greece and Bulgaria. Outbreaks have recently been reported in sheep and captive wildlife, including gazelles and small ruminants.
Etiology:
Mycoplasma capricolum capripneumoniae (Mycoplasma biotype F38) is the causative agent. It appears to be transmitted by infective aerosol. Morbidity can be 100%, and mortality 60%–100%. The disease is introduced into a new region by healthy carriers. Gathering or housing animals together facilitates spread of the disease.
Pneumonia and pleuropneumonia can be caused by other mycoplasmas, including M mycoides capri. Taxonomic change means this subspecies also includes M mycoides mycoides large colony type. Morbidity and mortality rates are generally lower with M mycoides capri, and joint and udder infections may also be seen.
Clinical Findings:
Weakness, anorexia, cough, hyperpnea, and nasal discharge accompanied by fever (104.5°–106°F [40.5°–41.5°C]) are often found. Exercise intolerance progresses to respiratory distress, with open-mouth breathing and frothy salivation. A septicemic form of the disease without specific respiratory tract involvement has been described.
Lesions:
Typically, there is an excess of straw-colored pleural exudate and acute fibrinous pneumonia. Consolidation is sometimes confined to one lung. The distention of interlobular septa by serofibrinous fluid, commonly seen in infections caused by M mycoides capri, is rarely seen in contagious caprine pleuropneumonia. In antibiotic-treated or recovered animals, the predominant lesion is a sequestrum similar to that seen in contagious bovine pleuropneumonia.
Diagnosis:
The clinical signs, epidemiology, and necropsy findings are used to establish a diagnosis. The causative organism should be isolated and identified, but isolation may be difficult, and special media is required for culture. PCR, which can be performed directly on the pleural fluid or affected lung, has greatly facilitated the diagnosis of contagious caprine pleuropneumonia. Serologic tests are complement fixation, passive hemagglutination, and ELISA; the latex agglutination test can be done in the field directly on whole blood as well as on serum samples in the laboratory. Serologic cross-reactions may occur with other members of the Mycoplasma mycoides cluster.
Control:
Quarantine of affected flocks is desirable. Vaccines are available in some countries, and good to excellent protection has been reported. Treatment with tylosin at 10 mg/kg/day, IM, for 3 days, has been effective, as has oxytetracycline (15 mg/kg).
Resources In This Article
| Goat |
Henry John Temple was better known as which Prime Minister? | Goats - History of the Domestication of Capra hircus
By K. Kris Hirst
Updated October 14, 2016.
Goats (Capra hircus) were among the first domesticated animals, adapted from the wild bezoar ibex Capra aegargus in western Asia. Bezoar ibexes are native to the southern slopes of the Zagros and Taurus mountains, and evidence shows that the goat descendants spread globally, playing an important role in the advancement of Neolithic agricultural technology where they were taken.
Beginning between 10,000-11,000 years ago, Neolithic farmers in the Near East starting keeping small herds of ibexes for their milk and meat, and for their dung for fuel, as well as for materials for clothing and building: hair, bone, skin and sinew. Today over 300 breeds of goats exist on our planet, living on every continent except Antarctica and in a quite astonishing range of environments, from human tropical rain forests to dry hot desert regions and cold, hypoxic high altitude regions. Because of this variety, the domestication history was a bit obscure until the development of DNA research.
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10 Facts About the Titanic That You Don't Know
Where Did Goats Originate?
Domestication in goats has been recognized archaeologically by the presence and abundance of the animal into regions that were well beyond western Asia, by perceived changes in their body size and shape (called morphology ), by differences in demographic profiles in wild and domestic groups, and by stable isotope recognition of their dependence on year-round fodders.
Archaeological data suggested two distinct places of domestication: the Euphrates river valley at Nevali Çori, Turkey (11,000 years ago [bp], and the Zagros Mountains of Iran at Ganj Dareh (10,000 bp). Other possible sites of domestication posed by archaeologists included the Indus Basin in Pakistan at ( Mehrgarh , 9,000 bp), central Anatolia the southern Levant, and China.
But, mtDNA Says....
Studies on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences (Luikart et al) indicate there are four highly divergent goat lineages today. Luikart and colleagues suggested that means either there were four domestication events, or there is a broad level of diversity that was always there in the bezoar ibex. A study by Gerbault and colleagues supported Luikart's findings, suggesting the extraordinary variety of genes in modern goats arose from one or more domestication events from the Zagros and Taurus mountains and the southern Levant, followed by interbreeding and continued development in other places.
A study on the frequency of genetic haplotypes (basically gene variation packages) in goats by Nomura and colleagues suggests that it is possible there may have been a southeast Asian domestication event as well, but it's also possible that during the transport to southeast Asia via the s teppe region of central Asia , goat groups developed extreme bottlenecks, resulting in fewer variations.
Goat Domestication Processes
Makarewicz and Tuross looked at stable isotopes in goat and gazelle bones from two sites on either side of the Dead Sea in Israel: Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) site of Abu Ghosh and the Late PPNB site of Basta. They showed that gazelles (used as a control group) eaten by the occupants of the two sites maintained a consistently wild diet, but goats from the later Basta site had a significantly different diet than goats from the earlier site.
The main difference in the oxygen and nitrogen stable isotopes of the goats suggests that Basta goats had access to plants that were from a wetter environment than that near where they were eaten. That was likely the result of either the goats being herded to a wetter environment during some part of the year, or that they were provisioned by fodder from those locations. That indicates that people were managing goats in so far as moving them from pasture to pasture and/or providing fodder by as early as 8000 cal BC; and that was likely part of a process that began earlier still, perhaps during the early PPNB (8500-8100 cal BC), coinciding with reliance on plant cultivars.
Important Goat Sites
Important archaeological sites with evidence for the initial process of goat domestication include Cayönü , Turkey (8500-8000 BC), Tell Abu Hureyra , Syria (8000-7400 BC), Jericho , Israel (7500 BC), and Ain Ghazal , Jordan (7600-7500 BC).
Sources
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What type of plants are 'Scandents'? | Types of Begonias - The Begonia Society of W.A. (Inc.)
Coming Events
Types of Begonias
There are a number of types of Begonias and thousands of variations of these types. Some varieties are very difficult to grow and are usually grown only by specialist collectors. A large number do require extra TLC, but the largest number of Begonias are not difficult to grow when their simple requirements are understood and provided.
Click on any header below to display or hide the detail.
Cane Like:
Begonia 'Tom Ment'.
CANE LIKE: are so called because they have tall, sometimes thick stems with swollen nodes which are well spaced and often resemble a bamboo cane. The plants have distinctive large pendulous clusters of bloom which will hang on the plant for months. Typical canes are Sophie Cecile, Red Rubra, and diadema. Canes should be pruned in spring. Remove all old canes, reduce last year's growth by about half and leave new growths to develop. Most canes will need staking so that the branches can support the large clusters of flowers. Staking is best done when the plant is pruned and repotted, then the new growth can be trained to a good shape as it grows.
Shrub Like:
Begonia fuchsioides.
SHRUB LIKE: can cause some confusion because they are not always as distinctive as the other varieties. They are usually small to medium in height, 30 to 60 cm. If they are pruned back and pinched they will bush out and make full compact plants. Most of them produce some basal shoots but not as prolific as semps. Typical shrublike plants are fuschioides, incarnata and domingensis.
Tuberous:
Begonia tuberhybrida.
TUBEROUS: are a distinct class of Begonia where the tuber goes completely dormant after each seasons growth. Best in cooler climates they are easily recognisable by the huge double blooms for which they are grown although there are also pendulous and other varieties.
Rhizomatous:
Begonia bowerae.
RHIZOMATOUS: are plants which form a rhizome. A thickened stem which stores water and nourishment and produces roots from the lower surface and leaves from the upper surface. There are slender rhizomes less than one cm. thick, thick rhizomes 3 to 5 cm, creeping rhizomes and ascendi rhizomes. Typical ones are bowerae, Cleopatra and Erythrophylla. Rhizomes are pruned and repotted when they finish blooming usually about November to December. As these varieties are able to store large amounts of moisture in their thickened stems they require less moisture than most other Begonias, especially during the colder months.
Rex:
Begonia rex 'Mariposa'.
REX: There is only one Rex species but the plants we grow are generally hybrids. These are classed mainly by their colour and leaf texture. They are naturally rhizomatous but because of hybridising there are exceptions. Since most Rexes are rhizomatous they need the same care with watering. They enjoy a lighter, looser mix than most Begonias and also require more protection, lower light levels and higher humidity. Rex Begonias do not like our cold, wet winters in Western Australia, so do prefer to be kept in a warm day position. These plants will make Ideal terrarium specimens.
Begonia rex 'Putzey' - the original rex species.
Trailing Scandents:
Begonia mazae nigricans.
TRAILING/SCANDENTS: any Begonia which has slender stems, and (or) heavy foliage which causes it to trail downwards is classed as trailing. Typical plants are B. procumbens and B. fagifolia. Most of these plants will send up many basal shoots if pruned back and respond well to pinching, so that it is quite easy to produce a full bushy plant. Quite a few of the trailing species are winter bloomers and therefore add winter colour to a collection. As the name suggests these plants can be grown in a hanging container or up a trellis. Some bloom winter to spring and others in summer. The early bloomers should be pruned when they finish flowering November/December. The others are pruned in spring.
Semperflorens:
Begonia semperflorens - double pink flowered form.
SEMPERFLORENS: are well known and widely grown. The name means ever- flowering and they will if kept dry and warm over the winter months. They can have green, bronze or variegated (Calla type) foliage and either single or double flowers. Always a small bushy plant seldom ever growing more than 30 cm. If cut back to within 3 cm of soil level the plant will produce many basal shoots. Good for mass garden displays.
Thick Stemmed:
Begonia 'Anita'.
THICK STEMMED: are just that. They produce usually one (sometimes more) thick stem and are loathe to bush out into a compact plant. They usually need staking and most of them require a lot of attention to produce an attractive balanced plant. Typical plants are Pearle de Lorraine, olbia and fernando costae.
Semi Tuberous:
Begonia dregei 'Glasgow'.
SEMI TUBEROUS: are easily identified by the thickened base of the stem. Usually the stem forms a tuber at or just under the surface soil but are quite distinct from tuberous in that they do not go completely dormant. Nearly all of the semi tuberous have small leaves. Types are Weltonensis, dregei and partita. They are usually prolific bloomers and when they have been pruned in spring the new growth should be pinched to encourage side growths until the grower is happy with the size and the shape. They can then be left to bloom. After 2 to 3 months these Begonias can become a bit straggly and then should be pruned back. They will soon regrow and commence blooming again.
Copyright protection applies to all articles, graphics and photographs on this website.
The rights belong to the people acknowledged or the WA Begonia Society Incorporated. � 2013
| Vine |
Which member of the Royal Family has the title 'Earl of Inverness'? | Cathedral Bells, Cup and Saucer Vine Cobaea scandens
Neutral
On Feb 5, 2016, coriaceous from ROSLINDALE, MA wrote:
A fast growing annual over most of North America, it takes longer to bloom than most annual climbers and may not bloom before frost hits in the north.
It climbs by tendrils. It can grow as much as 40' tall in a single season, and grows as much as 10' wide if the tip is pinched back early. In frost free areas, it is evergreen.
In New Zealand, this is a noxious weed and considered invasive of the natural environment. [ [email protected] ] http://www.rnzih.org.nz/pages/cobaeascandens.htm
Positive
On Mar 16, 2015, rachelrapunzel from Rugby, ND wrote:
I grew this many years ago when I was a teenager in a pot in my bedroom in northern MN in a SE facing window but shaded by trees so just a few hours of sun. I cannot remember how long it took to bloom (this was about 20 years ago) but I will never forget how beautiful it was! It was loaded with blossoms it seemed for months and months. And it lived until it died of neglect (teenager) I finally ordered seeds again. I appreciate all the growing tips on here as I think I had such success with it by sheer luck when I was younger and hope to use all the advice to hopefully enjoy it as much as I did then.
Positive
On Dec 25, 2014, pmmGarak from G�ppingen,
Germany (Zone 7b) wrote:
after years of no no flowers until end of October on a south balcony, I placed this years plant in a container on a perfect east wall, so full sun until 12 pm, and none after. This time it started flowering in July and did not stop till late November. I kept it rather dry, that's why the foliage turned dark red starting in August - rather beautiful!
I'm trying to get through winter at about 12 degrees C in a bright room - looks quite alive up to now.
Positive
On Aug 31, 2013, gypsiekaye from ALLYN, WA wrote:
I bought this little vine in a 4 inch pot. It was planted in a 14" pot and is climbing on a post at the end of my patio. It was planted in late June and has 6 blooms and was half eaten by a little deer. I love it and am going to try and winter over
Neutral
On Nov 2, 2012, imagrndma from MARCOLA, OR wrote:
"Neutral" experience.......so far! This looked like such an awesome flower & a vine as well. I thought it couldn't get much better! The plant seems to like a little bit of neglect, but not TOO much!
I put it in 2 different spots - one with lots of sun & the other with sun only from 10 - 12 am. The one in the sun grew a spindly vine about 1 foot high (at the most!), with tiny little leaves & then just stopped growing. The one in mostly shade, although it was in bright light, grew quite well.
I planted them sometime in late June, the shade one next to a pole and poles beside the ramp to my porch. Once it got past the 2 ft. mark, it grew soooo fast! I wound it back & forth through the poles & then when I reached the end of the ramp, turned it back the other way. I've got v ... read more ines along that ramp that must be 15+ feet long!
The disappointment came when I started looking for the blossoms.Like everyone else - I couldn't find any. I have grown (& even sold) plants since I was a young girl, so have quite a green thumb. I couldn't figure out why this wasn't getting any flowers! No buds....NOTHING! That is - until the end of October!!
Now it's November & it has buds all over it! They look like my Passion Flower buds - really cute! And all the little tendrils, like gourds or pumpkin curly-cues. Would be great if they could be dried!
I'm in Oregon, so have mostly mild winters. I'm hoping that if I cover this plant, it won't die & will pick up where it leaves off this year.
If anyone else has had this type of experience with this plant - any luck keeping it through the winter w/out it dying back? If so, what did you do to protect it?
Let's put our heads together and figure out the best way to get blooms from this plant in my type of conditions (Oregon). It's so beautiful it will be well worth the effort!
Positive
On Jun 28, 2012, MTVineman from Helena, MT (Zone 5a) wrote:
I have about four of these growing like mad on my back veranda. I started them all from seed and every one of them came up, although I at first thought I had failed since they took a while to come up! I did plant them on their sides, too. Now they are covering the trellis I made on the veranda and they are flowering beautifully. Here in Helena, Montana, no one knows of or has seen one of these vines. People are constantly stopping and asking what they are and where to get one or eight! My Hummers and my bee's love them. Other birds seem to be interested too although I don't know why. I will definitely try to overwinter these inside somewhere and will be growing them again! Excellent and fabulously beautiful vine. One of them is growing up into my Sassafras tree too. Looks really nice.
Neutral
On Oct 25, 2011, GrannyAnnie from Trail, OR wrote:
I am attempting to learn how to pollinate cobaea by hand. So far I am finding nothing at all. Can any one tell me how or tell me where to find the info? Please & thank you.
Neutral
On Apr 22, 2011, SilkKnoll from Tuskegee, AL (Zone 8a) wrote:
Too late flowering for a vine that takes up so much space for the whole growing season. Even when it blooms, the bloom-to-foliage ratio is much too low for me, though individual blooms have an interesting and attractive form.
Positive
On Mar 13, 2011, jrtinker from Palmer, AK (Zone 3b) wrote:
We grow this as an annual in Alaska. It needs to be started indoors in February in order to get blooms in June and July, and performance depends on weather. It likes hot sunny days, and does best when planted againt the foundation of a building or support it can climb. A single plant can grow 20 to 40 feet high and 6 to 10 feet wide if it is happy. It rarely produces seed here, but if grown in a container it can be brought inside in the fall to let the pods ripen. It will go dormant, and can sometimes be wintered over in a cool garage. I know one school teacher who grows it in her elementary classroom all winter long.
Neutral
On Sep 27, 2010, Mkoertje from Tracy, CA wrote:
Early last spring started seeds for about the 5th time in the last 10 years. Ended up with about 6 plants in peat pots. Transplanted 2 into large pots, the other two in very poorly cultivated clay soil. The two in the soil have grown by leaps and bounds next to a stone wall and covering the metal fencing above. Have one left in pot, it is not flowering but vining well. My problem is leaf damage in places all of the leaves turn papery white..i do get new shoots from the vines. Almost afraid to spray with anything that might harm the plant.
Positive
On Sep 17, 2010, Chthonica from Redwood City, CA wrote:
I was given a gift of two tiny peat pots about a year ago. I planted them and forgot them. Suddenly about six months ago, I noticed a two inch vine on the trellis. Now, our upper deck is consumed, the vines have raced up the walls! and are headed for the defunct 80s style satellite dish on our roof. We're talking about 50 plus feet. The flowers are a beautiful deep violet. We can sit outside and watch green- and red-throated hummingbirds, and fat bumblebees "working" the blossoms for hours. Just today I noticed the pods. Can't wait to harvest seeds! The best no-fuss plant I've ever cultivated.
Positive
On May 12, 2010, bucky181 from Moose Jaw,
Canada wrote:
I planted one last summer and it grew faster than any vine I have ever had. It was beautiful and very interesting. I have 12 plants ready to go outside today and am hoping they completely cover my fence by fall! I wish they were perennials! We are in area 3.
Positive
On Nov 14, 2009, Treehugger178 from Hendersonville, NC wrote:
My sister gave me two seeds last spring and I planted them in a pot on my deck which is the only place where I get some sun...The plant had a few flowers in the spring and nothing in the summer, then to my great surprise this plant sprung lots and lots of flowers in the fall, it is now November here in the mountains of NC..I have been trying to get some pods to dry on the vine so I can collect seeds but the flower part drops off...I have several pods that have not opened and was wondering if these would have seeds in them IF I took them off the vine..Any help would be greatly appreciated...
Positive
On Oct 26, 2009, AnnaMontana from Helena, MT wrote:
I started the seeds in February and planted the seedlings outside in May. They grew great vines, but no flowers. Since it gets cold here rather early, and the vines were so healthy, I brought them inside and placed them on some very large ficus bushes I have inside. They are growing fabulously and have had a few flowers. I am hoping they will grow all winter and flower now and then. So lovely.
Positive
On May 29, 2009, manchild from Portland, OR wrote:
Hasn't bloomed yet, but these things are growing VERY fast. Began with starts in 4" pots from a local nursery, kept them in a window in the kitchen for a few weeks until I had trellis setup outside for them. now that they're in full sun, you can practically watch them grow tendrils before your eyes. They're already almost 2' tall.
Positive
On Oct 19, 2008, Katye from Kirkland, WA (Zone 7b) wrote:
Started indoors the beginning of March under grow lights.
Germination rate: 2 sprouted out of 12, all planted on their sides.
Both went outside at the end of April - only 1 thrived.
Because it's a vine, I did not expect much the first couple months as the roots need to get established. It wasn't until late July that I saw any measurable increase in growth: it just took off. We had a very cool summer, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But I am so glad I grew it: it gave a lot for so little.
In September (we finally had our "summer"), it started to flower & has been going strong ever since. I'm bummed because it will not survive the winter here, but I will start from seed again in 2009.
All stages of growth are exceptional: colour of stems & foliage, the sta ... read more ges of the flower from bud to well, I'm waiting for the seed pods to turn. I didn't realize the flowers change colour as they're progressing through opening. No fragrance detected. Definitely one of those stand-alone vines: don't plant it near anything you don't want swallowed up!
When the winds were blowing hard here a couple weeks back, the Cobaea kept the metal trellis from keeling over. Very strong...
Positive
On Aug 15, 2007, Joy from Kalama, WA (Zone 8b) wrote:
I started this from seed in the spring of 2006. I grew it in a large container. It didn't grow that much that summer and didn't flower at all. So at the end of the growing season I moved it to an unheated shed where I winter over my tender plants.
This year (2007) it has really taken off and is covered in flower buds. I'm anxiously awaiting my first flowers on this beautiful vine.
Positive
On Feb 13, 2007, HgNi2006 from Vallejo, CA wrote:
I first got this in a small pot from the Luther Burbank Gardens in Santa Rosa. Because I rented my house then, I kept two of them in pots, so they never got very big. When I bought a house the first plant I planted was cup and saucer, and it took off like wildfire. It's now all over my trellis and arbor--about 25' and still hauling butt. We had two weeks of freezing weather in January and I was so worried it'd die, but only the leaves on top of the arbor died--it's still flowering like mad now, in February. I love this! I'm not going to cut it back...as far as I'm concerned it can keep going! One little caveat is that you need to remove it from anything you don't permanently want it adhered to--like our gas grill.
Positive
On Jan 23, 2006, berkeleygarden from Berkeley, CA (Zone 10a) wrote:
I am growing this on a driveway gate. The Vine is so tough that it does not break when the gate opens and closes. It is still blooming for me in Jan. (Berkeley, CA) I think it is fantastic.
Positive
On Oct 8, 2005, alrac from wolverhampton,
United Kingdom (Zone 9a) wrote:
My cobaea survived the winter outside so it started producing new shoots in the spring, it has grown and flowered like crazy and is still flowering now Oct 8 2005. I have found several seed pods so hoping they will ripen. I have also been hand pollinating to help to get more pods.
It is facing north so only gets the sun late afternoon but it seems very happy here, the ones I have in my back garden have more sun but do not do so well.
Positive
On May 30, 2005, Shellybake from Houston, TX wrote:
I planted seeds in January, left some in the seed packet next to the peat pots. Only two of the pots sprouted, but the seeds left in the packet ALL sprouted!! After planting them they covered a trellised wall and have grown like weeds. I still haven't gotten a bloom by June 1 but have been feeding with high phosporus fertilizer and will hope for the best. Thanks for all the info...just what I was looking for.
Neutral
On Mar 24, 2005, lmelling from Ithaca, NY (Zone 5b) wrote:
I wanted to grow these so badly that I started the seeds each February for 3 years running. I had no problems with germination or the plants growing - they took off like weeds once planted outside in May and covered the side trellis in no time. But I was unable to have success getting them to flower in our particular climate. Ithaca tends (like Seattle) to have more overcast days than sunny, and I believe this is why no flowers. I've gone back to putting Passion flowers out instead, I have no problems getting them to flower!
Positive
On Mar 23, 2005, goteeman34 from San Diego, CA wrote:
I bought these seeds from ebay and did everything i was supposed to do. Nothing happened. I put them outside in a small pot then my dog knocked it over. I gave up. About a month later I saw this new plant with tendrils coming out of the dirt. low and behold it was the cup and saucer vine. I will keep you posted on its growth.
Neutral
On Dec 21, 2004, eje from San Francisco, CA (Zone 10a) wrote:
I bought this in a 4" pot about a year ago. It is a tender (alledgedly) short lived perennial in my zone. It is a very rapid grower, and is now enormous, threatening to take over my neighbor's 30' tall incense cedar. It is doing well in sandy clay crowded in with several other plants and vines. I haven't had it set seed. Both hummingbirds and bees like its flowers. A little too enthusiastic a grower for small yards. However, the flowers never fail to provoke comment.
For those you, like myself, for whom this is perennial, unless you want to swing from branch to branch on its dangling ropes, cut it down to about 2 feet in early spring.
Positive
On Jul 6, 2004, Goochola from Athens,
Greece (Zone 9a) wrote:
Cups and Saucers love to grow in Athens, Greece! I started them from seed, planting them directly into pots in mid-March. They haven't bloomed yet but have scaled the wall and one is reaching for a nearby tree (5 meters at this time- I beg to differ with the height posted at 6 feet!). I made the mistake of not pinching them back and some are growing as a single "jack and the bean stalk "stem while others that happened to break in their infancy (thank you, cats) have grown bushy, with many stems. I can't wait for the flowers. I use compost and fertilised once when they were about 6 inches.
Positive
On Jun 4, 2004, OhioBreezy from Dundee, OH (Zone 5b) wrote:
I had tried last year to grow this with no luck, not sure if it was the seed, or human error, but I did hear to stand the seed up, so tried that this year and got wonderful germination!
Neutral
On Jan 19, 2003, poppysue from Westbrook, ME (Zone 5a) wrote:
As Deanne stated... a useful tip for germinating the seeds is to plant them in the soil on their sides. By laying flat they'll collect too much moisture and rot. These vines take a long time before blooming so give them a head start indoors, 4-6 weeks early. Transplant them out after you're last frost date. Once established they grow by leaps & bounds!
Positive
On Aug 2, 2001, Evert from Helsinki,
Finland (Zone 4b) wrote:
This plant is from Mexico, and there's also a white form of this plant, Cobaea scandens 'Alba'. When it has warm and sunny place and you water it enough it grows very fast. Don't fertilize, because then it just grows leaves and won't bloom. Flowers smell ugly but have pretty dark purple colour. The flowers are greenish when they open.
Neutral
On Aug 2, 2001, Deanne from Franktown, CO (Zone 5a) wrote:
A vine growing to 20 ft. Needs support. Plant in Spring with seeds on edge so they don't rot. Germinate in 14 days. Thin to 12 inches apart. Keep roots cool by mulching around bottom of plants. Minimum temp is 41 degrees F/5 degrees C.May survive short periods of 32 degrees.
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Who was the Prime Minister of Great Britain at the start of the first Boer War? | BBC - History - British History in depth: Prime Ministers and Politics Timeline
On This Day
Prime Ministers and Politics Timeline
Do you know which prime minister brought 'fallen women' to 10 Downing Street? Or which one fought a duel? Or who was known as 'the Goat'?
Take a political journey through nearly 300 years of high ideals and low cunning, from Gordon Brown to the first man to hold prime ministerial powers, Robert Walpole.
Margaret Thatcher
Conservative, 1979 - 1990
Britain's first female prime minister came to power with the country descending into industrial and economic chaos. A relatively inexperienced politician, she nonetheless adopted a personal style of indomitable self-confidence and brooked no weakness in herself or her colleagues. Derisively dubbed the 'Iron Lady' by the Soviet press, she wore the moniker with pride. Her government's free-market policies included trade liberalisation, deregulation, sweeping privatisation, breaking the power of the unions, focus on the individual and the creation of an 'enterprise culture'. 'Thatcherism' has had a profound and lasting economic and social impact on Britain, and still sharply divides opinion to this day. The first PM to serve three consecutive terms (including two 'landslide' victories) she was eventually toppled by her own party following the disastrous imposition of a 'poll tax'. Nonetheless, she is generally considered to be one of the best peace time prime ministers of the 20th Century.
James Callaghan
Labour, 1976 - 1979
Callaghan inherited the office of prime minister following the surprise resignation of Harold Wilson. With only a tiny parliamentary majority to support him, he faced an increasingly one-sided confrontation with organised labour in the form of rampant strike action. Things came to a head in the so-called 'Winter of Discontent', a phrase from Shakespeare borrowed by Callaghan himself to describe the events leading up to February 1979. Britain was 'strikebound', with public servants staging mass walk outs, leaving food and fuel supplies undelivered, rubbish uncollected and - most notoriously - bodies unburied. Things became so bad in Hull it was dubbed 'the second Stalingrad'. The tabloid press has since been accused of overstating the severity of the situation (and wrongly quoting him as saying 'Crisis? What Crisis?') but it was enough at the time to sound the death knell for Callaghan's government later in the same year.
Harold Wilson
Labour, 1974 - 1976
In March 1974, Wilson became prime minister for the third time at the head of a minority government, following the first hung parliament (one where no party holds a majority) for 45 years. Often described as a wily fixer and negotiator, it took all of his skills to hold on to power in the face of economic and industrial turmoil. His party was also sharply divided, with many Labour members of parliament (MPs) bitter about Wilson's manoeuvring against his colleagues. He called another general election in October 1974, thereby ending the shortest parliament since 1681, and was returned to office with a majority of just three seats. He presided over a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Economic Community (EEC), and a collapse in the value of the pound which prompted a humiliating 'rescue operation' by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Exhausted, Wilson resigned saying 'politicians should not go on and on'.
Edward Heath
Conservative, 1970 - 1974
Heath succeeded in taking Britain into the European Economic Community (EEC), the precursor to the European Union, despite two previous failed attempts by Britain to gain entry, in 1961 and 1967. But his government was dogged by torrid industrial relations and recurrent economic crises. Things came to a head in January 1974, when industry was put on a 'three-day week' to conserve fuel. Fuel was in dangerously short supply following a combination of domestic industrial action (coal miners on 'work-to-rule') and a quadrupling of prices by Middle Eastern oil exporting nations in the wake of Israel's victory in the Yom Kippur War. In March 1974, Heath called a general election on the question of 'who governs Britain?' - the unions, or the elected representatives of the people. To his surprise the result was a hung parliament (one where no party holds a majority) and he was ousted.
Harold Wilson
Labour, 1964 - 1970
In 1964, 'Good old Mr Wilson' - an avuncular, pipe-smoking figure - came to power amid much excitement and optimism. He had promised a 'new Britain' forged in 'the white heat of a second industrial revolution'. In reality, his administration never escaped from a cycle of economic crises, vainly battling against further devaluations of the pound. Wilson won a second general election in 1966 (the year England lifted the football World Cup) making him the first Labour PM to serve consecutive terms. In 1967, the government failed in its application for membership of the European Economic Community (EEC) and was also finally forced to devalue sterling. The electorate became disillusioned with Wilson, who lost narrowly to the Conservatives in the 1970 election.
Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Conservative, 1963 - 1964
In 1963, a change in the law allowed hereditary peers to disclaim (or 'drop') their titles, which in turn meant they were able to become members of parliament (MPs). The only peer ever to do so and become prime minister was Douglas-Home, formerly the 14th Earl of Home, who assumed the office when Harold Macmillan retired due to ill health. He was the first prime minister in the post-war period not to win his own mandate (be elected or re-elected by popular vote).
Harold Macmillan, Conservative, 1957 - 1963
Macmillan came to power at a time when Britain was confronting its loss of world-power status and facing mounting economic troubles. Nonetheless, he successfully associated the Conservatives with a new age of affluence and the burgeoning consumer revolution. But his oft-quoted assurance 'You've never had it so good' actually finishes 'What is beginning to worry some of us is, is it too good to be true?'. His government is principally remembered for the so-called 'Profumo Affair', a sex scandal that erupted in 1963 and contributed to the Conservatives' defeat at the general election the following year. Secretary of State for War John Profumo had been having an affair with a showgirl who was also seeing the Soviet naval attaché to London - a serious transgression at the height of the Cold War. After lying to the House of Commons, Profumo admitted the truth in June 1963 and resigned in disgrace. Macmillan resigned due to ill health in October the same year.
Sir Anthony Eden, Conservative, 1955 - 1957
When Sir Winston Churchill retired due to ill health, Eden took over as prime minister. Many years before, Churchill had anointed Eden as his successor, but later acknowledged he had made 'a great mistake'. His opinion was born out as the new PM blundered into the Suez Crisis. Following Egypt's decision to nationalise the Suez canal, Britain (the principal shareholder), France and Israel invaded in October 1956 to near-universal condemnation and the threat of nuclear strikes by the Soviet Union. Within a week, Britain was forced into an embarrassing climb-down. Humiliated and in ill-health, Eden left the country for a holiday at the Jamaican home of James Bond author, Ian Fleming. He returned in mid-December to the sarcastic newspaper headline: 'Prime Minister Visits Britain'. He resigned on 9 January 1957.
Sir Winston Churchill, Conservative, 1951 - 1955
Churchill's desire to return to power, despite his assured place in history, had much to do with his belligerent refusal to accept that the British public had rejected him in 1945. Now the electorate was seeking to put behind it the hardships and privations of the post-war years under Clement Atlee and return to a more traditional idea of society - so-called 'housing and red meat' issues. Churchill tried - and failed - to recreate the dynamism of his wartime administration, and he struggled to adjust to the political realities of the Cold War, preferring direct action and personal diplomacy to proxy wars and cabinet consensus. His refusal to retire, despite suffering a stroke, caused mounting frustrations among his colleagues. At the age of 80, he finally conceded to his failing health and stepped down, although he continued to serve as an MP.
Clement Attlee, Labour, 1945 - 1951
World War Two had sharply exposed the imbalances in Britain's social, economic and political structures. For a population that had sacrificed so much, a return to the pre-war status quo was simply not an option. In 1942, a report by Sir William Beveridge, chairman of a Ministry of Health committee, had advocated a system of national insurance, comprehensive welfare for all and strategies to maintain full employment. The 'Beveridge Report' formed the basis of Labour pledges in the 1945 election and resulted in a landslide victory. Attlee's government successfully harnessed the wartime sense of unity to create the National Health Service, a national insurance scheme, a huge programme of nationalisation (including the Bank of England and most heavy industries) and a massive building programme. He also made Britain a nuclear-armed power. These sweeping reforms resulted in a parliamentary consensus on key social and economic policies that would last until 1979. But by 1951, a row over plans to charge for spectacles and false teeth had split the cabinet. Party disunity and a struggling economy contributed to Attlee - cruelly dubbed by Churchill 'a modest man with much to be modest about' - losing the next election.
Winston Churchill, Conservative, 1940 - 1945
By the time Churchill was asked to lead the coalition government in 1940, he had already enjoyed colourful and controversial careers as a journalist, soldier and politician. He had twice 'crossed the floor' of the House of Commons, the first time defecting from Conservative to Liberal and serving as First Lord of the Admiralty during the early years of World War One. Demoted in the wake of the slaughter at Gallipoli, he preferred to resign and take up a commission fighting on the Western Front. Despite standing against the Conservatives in a 1924 by-election, Churchill was welcomed back into the party that same year and served as Chancellor of the Exchequer for five years under Stanley Baldwin. But personal disagreements and his vehement anti-Fascism would lead to nearly a decade in the political wilderness. Following Neville Chamberlain's resignation in 1940, Churchill finally realised his 'destiny' and accepted the office of prime minister. Promising nothing more than 'blood, toil, tears and sweat', he almost single-handedly restored Britain's desire to fight on in adversity. Despite Churchill's enormous personal popularity, by 1945 the electorate no longer wanted a war leader and the Conservatives lost by a landslide.
Neville Chamberlain, Conservative, 1937 - 1940
Rarely has the hyperbole of politicians been as resoundingly exposed as when Neville Chamberlain returned from his 1938 negotiations with Adolf Hitler, brandishing his famous 'piece of paper' and declaring the agreement it represented to be 'peace for our time'. Within a year, Germany had invaded Poland and Britain was plunged into World War Two. With his policy of 'appeasement' towards Hitler utterly bankrupted, Chamberlain resigned in 1940. He was replaced by Winston Churchill. When the issue of honours was discussed, he stated that he wanted to die 'plain Mr Chamberlain, like my father'. His father, Joseph Chamberlain, was the politician who split the Conservatives in 1903 by pushing for tariffs on imported goods. It was this very issue that convinced Churchill to defect to the Liberals, with whom he first achieved high office. Chamberlain died six months after resigning.
Stanley Baldwin, Conservative, 1935 - 1937
When Baldwin returned to power in 1935, the financial crisis sparked by the Wall Street Crash six years before appeared to be over. It was to be swiftly replaced by a constitutional crisis brought about by Edward VIII's desire to marry a twice-divorced American, Wallis Simpson. Baldwin advised Edward that Mrs Simpson would not be accepted as Queen by the public, and that the king could not condone divorce as head of the Church of England. The king proposed a 'morganatic' marriage, whereby Mrs Simpson would become his consort, but not Queen. The government rejected the idea and threatened to resign if the king forced the issue. The story then broke in the press, to general disapproval by the public. Rather than break the engagement, Edward abdicated on 11 December 1936. Credited with saving the monarchy, Baldwin is also condemned for failing to begin re-arming when it became clear that Nazi Germany was building up its armed forces.
Ramsay MacDonald, Labour, 1929 - 1935
MacDonald began his second term at the head of a minority government (one that does not have an outright majority) and with the economy in deep crisis. Britain was still in the grip of the Great Depression and unemployment soon soared to two million. With fewer people able to pay tax, revenues had fallen as demand for unemployment benefits had soared. Unable to meet the deficit, by 1931 it was being proposed that benefits and salaries should be cut. Labour ministers rejected the plan as running counter to their core beliefs. MacDonald went to the king, George V, to proffer his resignation. George suggested MacDonald to try and form a 'national government' or coalition of all the parties. (This is the last recorded direct political intervention by a British monarch.) The National Government was formed, with MacDonald as prime minister, but Stanley Baldwin, leader of the Conservative Party, the de facto 'power behind the throne'. MacDonald is still considered by many in the Labour Party as their worst political traitor.
Stanley Baldwin, Conservative, 1924 - 1929
In May 1926, the Trades Union Congress called for a general walkout in support of a coal miners' protest against threatened wage cuts. It was the first and, to date, only general strike in British history. The strike affected key industries, such as gas, electricity and the railways, but ended after just nine days due to lack of public backing and well-organised emergency measures by Baldwin's government. Far from succeeding in its aims, the General Strike actually led to a decline in trade union membership and the miners ended up accepting longer hours and less pay. It also gave impetus to the 1927 Trade Disputes Act, which curtailed workers' ability to take industrial action. Baldwin's government also extended the vote to women over 21 and passed the Pensions Act, but eventually fell as a result of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, and the Depression that followed.
Ramsay MacDonald, Labour, 1924
In 1924, MacDonald briefly became the first Labour prime minister, ending two centuries of Conservative - Liberal domination of British politics. It was the first party to gain power with the express purpose of representing the voice of the 'working class'. An MP since 1906, MacDonald was respected as a thinker, but criticised by many within his own party as insufficiently radical (despite appointing the first female cabinet minister, Margaret Bondfield, in 1929). His opposition to World War One had made him deeply unpopular and he continually suffered a torrid time at the hands of the press. The publication by two newspapers of the 'Zinoviev letter' did much to damage his chances in the run up to the 1924 election. The letter (which he had seen but decided to keep secret) purported to be from Soviet intelligence and urged British communists to commit acts of sedition. He lost by a wide margin. The letter is now widely accepted to be a fraud.
Stanley Baldwin, Conservative, 1923
During his very brief first term as prime minister, Stanley Baldwin bumped into an old school friend on a train. Asked what he was doing these days, Baldwin replied: 'I am the prime minister.' Having come to power following Andrew Bonar Law's resignation, he called an election in the hope of gaining his own mandate (election by popular vote), but lost.
Andrew Bonar Law, Conservative, 1922 - 1923
Branded the 'unknown prime minister' by his bitter political rival HH Asquith, Canadian-born Bonar Law is principally remembered for a single speech he made in 1922. The Conservatives had been part of a coalition under the Liberal prime minister, David Lloyd George, since 1916. Many were considering joining Lloyd George permanently, but Bonar Law's speech changed their minds. Instead, the Conservatives withdrew from the coalition and Lloyd George was forced to resign. The king, George V, asked Bonar Law to form a new government. Reluctantly he accepted, despite still grieving two sons killed in World War One and - as it turned out - dying of throat cancer. He held office for 209 days before resigning due to ill health. He died six months later and was buried at Westminster Abbey, upon which Asquith commented: 'It is fitting that we should have buried the Unknown Prime Minister by the side of the Unknown Warrior.'
David Lloyd George, Liberal, 1916 - 1922
Lloyd George guided Britain to victory in World War One and presided over the legislation that gave women the vote in 1918, but he is remembered as much for his private life as his public achievements. Nicknamed the 'Welsh Wizard', he was also less kindly known as 'The Goat' - a reference to his countless affairs. (Scandalously, he lived with his mistress and illegitimate daughter in London while his wife and other children lived in Wales.) The first 'working class' prime minister, Lloyd George had risen to prominence by solving the shortage of munitions on the Western Front. It was his desire to get to grips with the requirements of 'total war' that led to his split with then Liberal Prime Minister HH Asquith. It also brought him closer to the Conservatives, with whom he formed a new coalition government when Asquith resigned. That coalition would disintegrate six years later in the midst of a scandal. Serious allegations were made that peerages had been sold for as much as £40,000. (One list even included John Drughorn, who had been convicted for trading with the enemy in 1915.) Lloyd George resigned in October 1922.
HH Asquith, Liberal, 1908 - 1916
Asquith's government had shown great longevity, but disintegrated in the face of the unequalled disasters of the Somme and Gallipoli. With World War One going badly, fellow Liberal David Lloyd George had seized his chance and ousted Asquith. But in the preceding eight years, the two politicians had together overseen one of the greatest constitutional upheavals of the 20th Century and ushered in some of the predecessors of the Welfare State. Old Age Pensions were introduced and Unemployment Exchanges (job centres) were set up by then Liberal minister Winston Churchill. But when Lloyd George attempted to introduce a budget with land and income taxes disadvantageous to the 'propertied' classes, it was thrown out by the House of Lords. Lloyd George branded the Lords 'Mr Balfour's poodle' (a reference to Conservative leader AJ Balfour's supposed control over the peers). The stand-off resulted in two general elections during 1910, the second of which the Liberals won with a 'peers against the people' campaign slogan. The budget was passed and, in 1911, the Parliament Act became law. The Act stated that the Lords could only veto a Commons bill twice, and instituted five-yearly general elections.
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Liberal, 1905 - 1908
Arthur James Balfour, Conservative, 1902 - 1905
The nephew of the Marquess of Salisbury, Balfour had none of his uncle's political skills despite a long period of mentoring. He was instead something of a philosopher, publishing several weighty books, including 'A Defence of Philosophic Doubt', 'The Foundations of Belief', and 'Theism and Humanism'. Following a cabinet split Balfour resigned, gambling that the Liberals would be unable to form a government and that he would be returned to power. He was wrong.
Marquess of Salisbury, 1895 - 1902, Conservative
Salisbury came to power for the third and final time when the weak Liberal government of the Earl of Rosebery fell. The political climate was one of rising resentment among the lower and middle classes, who demanded better conditions, social reforms and proper political representation. Bitterly divided, the Liberals would nonetheless experience a revival as they sought reforms of the squalid, disease-ridden British 'concentration camps' used in the Boer War. But it was the founding of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC) on 27 February 1900 that signalled a quiet, yet highly significant sea-change in British politics. This coalition of socialist groups would win two seats in the 1900 general election and 29 seats in 1906. Later that same year, the LRC changed its name to the Labour Party. Despite failing health, Salisbury agreed to stay on to help Edward VII manage the transition following the death of his mother, Queen Victoria. He resigned in favour of his nephew, AJ Balfour, in the first months of the new King's reign. (Notably, he was the last serving prime minister to sit in the Lords.)
Earl of Rosebery, Liberal, 1894 - 1895
Rosebury reluctantly became prime minister on the insistence of Queen Victoria, despite still mourning the loss of his wife. Desperate to have a minister she actually liked, Victoria had taken the unusual step of not consulting the outgoing PM, William Gladstone, about his successor. Rosebery, who always loved horseracing more than the 'evil smelling bog' of politics, was gratefully allowed to resign a year later. Notably, he is the only prime minister to have produced not one, but three Derby winners, in 1894, 1895 and 1905. (Despite his aversion to politics, Rosebery was no stranger to scandal. The Prince of Wales had reputedly once intervened to prevent him from being horsewhipped by the Marquess of Queensbury, with whose son Rosebery was believed to be having an affair. Queensbury's other son was Lord Alfred Douglas, Oscar Wilde's lover.)
William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal, 1892 - 1894
Gladstone's fourth term as prime minister was completely overshadowed by his insistence on introducing a third bill on the subject of 'Home Rule' for Ireland. The Conservative-dominated House of Lords threw the bill out and generally obstructed Liberal attempts to pass legislation. With his cabinet split and his health failing, the 'Grand Old Man' stepped down for the last time. The public was, in any case, exhausted with Home Rule and instead wanted reforms to working conditions and electoral practices. (Meanwhile, out on the political fringe, the Independent Labour Party had been set up under Keir Hardie to represent the working class and 'secure the collective ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange'. Leading figures in the party included George Bernard Shaw and Ramsay MacDonald.)
Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative, 1886 - 1892
William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal, 1886
Gladstone came to power for the third time with 'Home Rule' (devolution) for Ireland still the dominant issue. A bitter election battle had seen the Conservative government fall after Irish Nationalist members of parliament sided with the Liberals to defeat them. Instead, the Liberals formed a government in coalition with the Irish Nationalists and Gladstone tried to push through his second attempt at a Home Rule bill. The bill split the Liberals and Gladstone resigned. He lost the general election when the 'Liberal Unionists' - those who wanted Ireland to be ruled from Westminster - broke away from Gladstone's Liberals to fight the next election as a separate party. Most Liberal Unionists were of the 'Whig' or propertied faction of the party, which meant that when they went, they took most of the money with them.
Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative, 1885 - 1886
William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal, 1880 - 1885
Having failed to force Gladstone to serve under Lord Hartington, Queen Victoria reluctantly accepted 'that half-mad firebrand' as prime minister for the second time. He had only lately returned to politics from retirement after his so-called 'Midlothian Campaign', in which he spoke to large crowds - a practice considered by polite Victorian society to be 'undignified'. His campaign did much to discredit Disraeli's government and had clearly struck a chord with a public eager for social and electoral reform. The Ballot Act in 1872 had instituted secret ballots for local and general elections. Now came the Corrupt Practices Act, which set maximum election expenses, and the Reform and Redistribution Act, which effectively extended voting qualifications to another six million men. There were other burning issues. The United States had just overtaken Britain as the world's largest industrialised economy, and 'Home Rule' (devolution) for Ireland continued to dominate. In seeking support for Home Rule, James Parnell's Irish Nationalists sided with the Conservatives to defeat a Liberal budget measure. Gladstone resigned and was replaced by the 'caretaker government' of the Marquess of Salisbury.
Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative, 1874 - 1880
After a brief taste of power in 1868, it had taken Disraeli six years to become prime minister again. He wasted no time in bringing about the social reforms he had envisaged in the 1840s as a member of the radical Young England group. His Acts included measures to provide suitable housing and sewerage, to protect the quality of food, to improve workers rights (including the Climbing Boys Act which banned the use of juveniles as chimney sweeps) and to implement basic standards of education. In 1876, Disraeli was made the Earl of Beaconsfield, but continued to run the government from the Lords. He persuaded Queen Victoria to take the title 'Empress of India' in 1877 and scored a diplomatic success in limiting Russian influence in the Balkans at the Congress of Berlin in 1878. He retired in 1880, hoping to spend his remaining years adding more novels to his already impressive bibliography, but died just one year later.
William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal, 1868 - 1874
Upon taking office for the first time Gladstone declared it his 'mission' to 'pacify Ireland' - a prize that was always to elude him. Nonetheless, Gladstone was to become the dominant Liberal politician of the late 19th Century, serving as prime minister four times despite earning Queen Victoria's antipathy early in his career. (She famously complained that 'he always addresses me as if I were a public meeting'.) He had started his career as an ultra-conservative Tory, but would end it as a dedicated political reformer who did much to establish the Liberal Party's association with issues of freedom and justice. But Gladstone also had his idiosyncrasies. He made a regular habit of going to brothels and often brought prostitutes back to 10 Downing Street. In an era when politicians' private lives were very private, his embarrassed colleagues nonetheless felt it necessary to explain his behaviour as 'rescue work' to save 'fallen women'.
Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative, 1868
On being asked to become prime minister following the resignation of the Earl of Derby, Disraeli announced: 'I have reached the top of the greasy pole'. He immediately struck up an excellent rapport with Queen Victoria, who approved of his imperialist ambitions and his belief that Britain should be the most powerful nation in the world. Unhappily for the Queen, Disraeli's first term ended almost immediately with an election victory for the Liberals. Despite serving as an MP since 1837 and twice being Chancellor of the Exchequer, Disraeli's journey to the top was not without scandal. In 1835, he was forced to apologise in court after being accused of bribing voters in Maidstone. He also accrued enormous debts in his twenties through speculation on the stock exchange. Disraeli suffered a nervous breakdown as a result, but eventually paid off his creditors by marrying a rich widow, Mary Anne Wyndam Lewis, in 1839.
Earl of Derby, Conservative, 1866 - 1868
The introduction of the 1867 Reform Act made Derby's third term as prime minister a major step in the true democratisation of Britain. The Act extended the vote to all adult male householders (and lodgers paying £10 rental or more, resident for a year or more) living in a borough constituency. Simply put, it created more than 1.5 million new voters. Versions of the Reform Act had been under serious discussion since 1860, but had always foundered on Conservative fears. Many considered it a 'revolutionary' move that would create a majority of 'working class' voters for the first time. In proposing the Reform Act, Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative Leader of the House of Commons, had warned his colleagues that they would be labelled the 'anti-reform' party if they continued to resist. The legislation was passed, and also received the backing of the Liberals under their new leader, William Gladstone.
Earl Russell, Whig, 1865 - 1866
Viscount Palmerston, Liberal, 1859 - 1865
Earl of Derby, Conservative, 1858 - 1859
The property qualification - the requirement that a man must own property in order to stand as a member of parliament - was finally abolished during Derby's second term as prime minister. It meant that members of parliament (MPs) were no longer drawn exclusively from the 'propertied' classes and could realistically be 'working class'. This fulfilled one of the six conditions set out by the Chartists - supporters of the Third Chartist Petition, written in 1838. It demanded universal male suffrage (votes for all adult men), secret ballots (rather than traditional open ballots), annual parliamentary elections, equal electoral districts (some had less than 500 voters, while others had many thousands), the abolition of a property qualification for MPs, and payment for MPs (which would allow non-independently wealthy men to sit in parliament).
Viscount Palmerston, Liberal , 1855 - 1858
Earl of Aberdeen, Tory, 1852 - 1855
It was something of a cruel irony that Aberdeen came to be blamed for blundering into the dreadful Crimean War. As plain George Hamilton Gordon he had made a successful career as a diplomat and had done much to normalise Britain's relationships with its powerful neighbours. Vivid reports from the front by WH Russel of the Times have since led to the Crimean being styled the first 'media war'. His reports publicised the squalor and disease that were claiming more soldiers' lives than the fighting, and inspired Florence Nightingale to volunteer and take the first 38 nurses out to treat the wounded. In 1855, Aberdeen conceded to his critics and resigned.
Earl of Derby, Conservative, 1852
Earl Russell, Whig, 1846 - 1851
Confronted by the Irish Potato Famine, declining trade and rising unemployment, Russell still managed to push through trade liberalisation measures and limits on women's working hours. A dedicated reformer, he nonetheless presided over the rejection of the Third Chartist Petition. Set out 1838, it demanded universal male suffrage (votes for all adult men), secret ballots (rather than traditional open ballots), annual parliamentary elections, equal electoral districts (some had less than 500 voters, while others had many thousands), the abolition of a property qualification for members of parliament (MPs), and payment for MPs (which would allow non-independently wealthy men to sit in parliament). Already rejected once by parliament in 1839, the petition had gathered 5 million signatures by 1848. Presented to parliament a second time, it was again rejected. The Chartist movement slowly petered out, even as revolutions blazed across Europe, but many of its aims were eventually realised.
Sir Robert Peel, Tory, 1841 - 1846
Peel's second term as prime minister was nothing short of tumultuous. Economic depression, rising deficits, Chartist agitation, famine in Ireland and Anti-Corn League protests crowded in. A raft of legislation was created to stabilise the economy and improve working conditions. The Factory Act regulated work hours (and banned children under eight from the workplace), the Railway Act provided for cheap, regular train services, the Bank Charter Act capped the number of notes the Bank of England could issue and the Mines Act prevented women and children from working underground. But a failed harvest in 1845 provided Peel with his greatest challenge. There was an increasing clamour for repeal of the Corn Laws, which forbade the import of cheap grain from overseas. Powerful vested interests in the Tory Party opposed such a move, but in the end Peel confronted them and called for repeal. After nearly six months of debate, and with the Tories split in two, the Corn Laws were finally repealed. Defeated on a separate issue, Peel resigned the same day, but was cheered by crowds as he left the Commons. (The 'Peelite' faction of the Tories is widely recognised as the foundation of the modern Conservative.)
Viscount Melbourne, Whig, 1835 - 1841
Sir Robert Peel, Tory, 1834 - 1835
Invited by William IV to form a new government, Peel immediately called a general election to strengthen his party. Campaigning on his so-called 'Tamworth Manifesto', Peel promised a respectful approach to traditional politics, combined with measured, controlled reform. He thereby signalled a significant shift from staunch, reactionary 'Tory' to progressive 'Conservative' politics. Crucially, he pledged to accept the 1832 Reform Act, which had recently increased the number of people eligible to vote. Peel won the election, but only narrowly. He resigned the following year after several parliamentary defeats. (Peel is probably best remembered for creating the Metropolitan Police in 1829 while Home Secretary in the Duke of Wellington's first government. The nickname 'bobbies' for policemen is derived from his first name.)
Duke of Wellington, Tory, 1834
Viscount Melbourne, Whig, 1834
In a bid to repress trade unions, Melbourne's government introduced legislation against 'illegal oaths'. As a result, the Grand National Consolidated Trades' Union failed. In March of the same year, six labourers were transported to Australia for seven years for attempting to provide a fund for workers in need. They became known as the 'Tolpuddle Martyrs'. Melbourne himself was notoriously laid back. When first asked to become prime minister he declared it 'a damned bore'. Having accepted, he would often refuse to allow his cabinet colleagues to leave the room, insisting 'I'm damned if I know what we agreed on. We must all say the same thing.'
Earl Grey, Whig, 1830 - 1834
In June 1832, the Reform Act finally passed into law after 15 torrid months of debate. It extended the vote to just 7% of the adult male population, based on a series of lowered property qualifications. Introduced in March 1831, the bill scraped through the Commons by a single vote, but was thrown out at the committee stage (when the bill is debated in detail - sometimes called the 'second reading'). Parliament was dissolved and the general election was fought on the single issue of the Reform Act - an unprecedented event in British political history. The Whigs won the election and passed the bill, but the House of Lords (with a majority of Tories) threw it out, sparking riots and civil disobedience across the country. With the spectre of France's bloody revolution clearly in mind, William IV eventually agreed to create 50 Whig peers to redress the balance in the Lords if the bill was rejected again. The Lords conceded and the Act was finally passed into law. After all his efforts, Earl Grey is principally remembered for giving his name to a fragrant blend of tea.
Duke of Wellington, Tory, 1828 - 1830
Wellington's first term in office was dominated by the thorny subject of Catholic emancipation. Catholics were permitted to vote, but were not allowed to sit as members of parliament (MPs) and had restrictions on the property they could own. Initially, the 'Iron Duke' was staunchly in favour of the status quo, but soon came to realise that emancipation might be the only way to end conflict arising from the Act of Union between Britain and Ireland in 1801. He became such an advocate that he even fought a duel with the 10th Earl of Winchilsea over the issue. The Earl had accused him of plotting the downfall of the 'Protestant constitution', but then backed down and apologised. They still had to go through the ritual of the duel at Battersea Fields, with both men deliberately firing high and wide. Wellington eventually drove the legislation through, opening the way for Catholic MPs.
Viscount Goderich, Tory, 1827 - 1828
George Canning, Tory, 1827
Canning finally became prime minister after a long career in politics, only to die of pneumonia 119 days later. He had famously fought a duel in 1809 with his bitterest political rival, Lord Castlereagh, and was shot in the thigh. Castlereagh committed suicide with a penknife in 1822, after becoming depressed about his falling popularity.
Earl of Liverpool, Tory, 1812 - 1827
Liverpool is the second longest serving prime minister in British history (after Robert Walpole), winning four general elections and clinging on to power despite a massive stroke that incapacitated him for his last two years in office. Liverpool became PM at a time when Britain was emerging from the Napoleonic Wars and the first rumblings of 'working class' unrest were just beginning to be felt. Staunchly undemocratic in his outlook, Liverpool suppressed efforts to give the wider populace a voice. He was unrepentant when, in 1819, troops fired on a pro-reform mass meeting at St Peter's Fields in Manchester, killing eleven - the so-called 'Peterloo Massacre'. Trade unions were legalised by the 1825 Combination Act, but were so narrowly defined that members were forced to bargain over wages and conditions amid a minefield of heavy penalties for transgressions. (Liverpool's one concession to popular sentiment was in the trial of Queen Caroline on trumped up adultery charges. The legal victimisation of George IV's estranged wife, who was tried in parliament in 1820, brought her mass sympathy. Mindful not to provoke the mob in the wake of Peterloo, the charges were eventually dropped.)
Spencer Perceval, Tory, 1809 - 1812
Perceval bears a dubious distinction as the only British prime minister to be assassinated. As chancellor of the exchequer he moved in to 10 Downing Street in 1807, before rising to the office of prime minister two years later. His 12 young children - some born while he was in office - also lived in the PM's crowded residence. Against expectations, he had skilfully kept his government afloat for three years despite a severe economic downturn and continuing war with Napoleon. He was shot dead in the lobby of the House of Commons on 11 May 1812 by a merchant called John Bellingham who was seeking government compensation for his business debts. Perceval's body lay in 10 Downing Street for five days before burial. Bellingham gave himself up immediately. Tried for murder, he was found guilty and hanged a week later.
Duke of Portland, Tory, 1807 - 1809
Lord Grenville, Whig, 1806 - 1807
William Pitt 'the Younger', Tory, 1804 - 1806
Faced by a fresh invasion threat from Napoleon, George III once again turned to Pitt. A shadow of his former self due to failing health and suspected alcoholism, Pitt nonetheless accepted. He made alliances with Napoleon's continental rivals - Russia, Austria and Sweden - then, in 1805, Admiral Lord Nelson shattered French invasion hopes at the Battle of Trafalgar. Pitt did not have long to savour victory before Napoleon defeated both Russia and Austria to stand astride the whole of Europe. Heartsick, utterly exhausted, penniless and unmarried, Pitt died on 23 January 1806 at the age of 46.
Henry Addington, Tory, 1801 - 1804
Addington secured the Peace of Amiens with France in 1802, but would see Britain plunge into war with Napoleon again just two years later. He also passed the first Factory Act into law. The Act was the earliest attempt to reform working conditions in factories. It set a maximum 12 hour working day for children and addressed issues like proper ventilation, basic education and sleeping conditions. (Notably, his government also awarded Edward Jenner £10,000 to continue his pioneering work on a vaccine for smallpox.) But he was generally poorly regarded, prompting the satirical rhyme 'Pitt is to Addington, as London is to Paddington' - a reference to his distinguished predecessor as prime minister, William Pitt.
William Pitt 'the Younger', Tory, 1783-1801
Pitt 'the Younger' was the youngest prime minister in British history, taking office at the tender age of just 24. But his youth did not seem to disadvantage him as he threw himself into the manifold problems of government, holding on to the top office for 17 years - fifteen years longer than his father, Pitt 'the Elder'. His first priority was to reduce the National Debt, which had doubled with the loss of the American colonies in 1783. George III's mental illness then threw up the spectre of a constitutional crisis, with the transfer of sovereignty to the erratic Prince of Wales only narrowly averted by the king's recovery. Further threats to the monarchy emanated from across the Channel, with the bloody French Revolution of 1789 and subsequent war with France in 1793. War increased taxes and caused food shortages, damaging Pitt's popularity to the extent that he employed bodyguards out of fear for his safety. In a bid to resolve at least one intractable conflict, he pushed through the Act of Union with Ireland in 1800, but the related Emancipation of Catholics Bill was rejected by the king a year later. Having lost George III's confidence, Pitt was left with no option but to resign.
Duke of Portland, Tory, 1783
Earl Shelburne, Whig, 1782 - 1783
Marquess of Rockingham, Whig, 1782
Lord North, Tory, 1770 - 1782
North is chiefly somewhat unfairly remembered as the prime minister who lost the American colonies. Groomed by George III to lead his parliamentary supporters, North was fiercely loyal to his king, whose policy it had been to 'punish' the American colonials. The American War of Independence, reluctantly entered into by both sides, had been prosecuted at the king's behest in retaliation for their refusal to pay more towards their own defence. As hostilities progressed, North's blundering and indecision worsened an already difficult situation, and by 1782 it was clear that the outcome was likely to be a disaster. He begged George III to be allowed to resign, but the king refused to release him until the war was over. North has since become the yardstick for prime ministerial mediocrity, with later PMs being criticised as 'the worst since Lord North'.
Duke of Grafton, Whig, 1768 - 1770
An unremarkable prime minister, Grafton had a quite remarkable appetite for extra-marital affairs and openly kept several mistresses. He scandalised polite society in 1764 by leaving his wife and going to live with his mistress, Anne Parsons, also known as 'Mrs Houghton'. (Horace Walpole referred to her derisively as 'everybody's Mrs Houghton'.) Popular opinion had disapproved of Grafton's behaviour, until his wife did something even more shocking. She eloped with the Earl of Upper Ossory and had a child by him. Grafton divorced her in 1769, then abandoned Mrs Houghton and married Elizabeth Wrottesley, with whom he had 13 children. The Mrs Houghton ended up marrying the king's brother. This unsuitable union gave impetus to the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, which decreed that the monarch had to give permission for all royal weddings.
Earl of Chatham, Pitt 'The Elder', Whig, 1766 - 1768
Pitt 'the Elder' is widely credited as the man who built the British Empire, although much of this was done in the role of secretary of state under the governments of the Duke of Newcastle. He chose his fights carefully, conducting military campaigns where conditions were best suited to British merchants. Pitt added India, West Africa, the West Indies and the American colonies to Britain's overseas possessions, and was persistently belligerent towards colonial rivals like France and Spain. His relentless imperialism kept the merchants happy but infuriated men like Newcastle who counted the financial cost of his wars. Pitt was a superb public speaker and a master of the devastating put-down, but his career was dogged with recurrent mental illness and gout. Ironically, it was during his term as prime minister that he was at his least effective, often struggling to build support. He collapsed in the House of Lords in October 1768 and died four days later. (Pitt was the MP for a 'burgage borough' - an empty piece of land with no-one living on it. His constituency, Old Sarum, was a mound in Wiltshire. On polling day, seven voters met in a tent to cast their votes.)
Marquess of Rockingham, Whig, 1765 - 1766
George Grenville, Whig, 1763 - 1765
Grenville is one of the few prime ministers to have been sacked by the monarch. He was fired after a row with George III over who should rule in his place if his mental health continued to deteriorate.
Earl of Bute, Tory, 1762 - 1763
Bute was one of Britain's more unpopular prime ministers. Things came to a head when he failed to lower the taxes he had raised to fight France in the American colonies. Rioting erupted, his effigies were burnt and the windows in his house were smashed. Bute was generally disliked by colleagues and public, and was lampooned for his 'fine pair of legs', of which he was reputed to be extremely proud. His close relationship with the Prince of Wales's widow, the Dowager Princess Augusta, was also the subject of much scurrilous gossip. The nickname 'Sir Pertinax MacSycophant' was a contemptuous reference to the Roman Emperor Publius Helvius Pertinax, who was murdered three months after his meteoric assent by his own bodyguard. Unable to muster support in parliament, Bute resigned in 1763.
Duke of Newcastle, Whig, 1757 - 1762
Newcastle healed his rift with Pitt 'the Elder' by inviting him to serve in his government as secretary of state. Effectively a power-sharing coalition of two powerful men, the relationship gave birth to the British Empire. Their government eventually fell as a result of the new king, George III's hostility to Pitt, who had sought to restrict the influence of the monarch in political matters.
Duke of Devonshire, Whig, 1756-1757
Duke of Newcastle, Whig, 1754 - 1756
Newcastle became PM after his brother, Henry Pelham, died in office. It is the only instance of two brothers serving as prime minister. Newcastle enraged Pitt 'the Elder' by refusing to promote him in the new government, then compounded the insult by sacking him.
Henry Pelham, Whig, 1743 - 1754
Earl of Wilmington, Whig, 1742 - 1743
Sir Robert Walpole, Whig, 1721 - 1742
Walpole is widely acknowledged as the first prime minister, although he never actually held the title. He was also the longest serving, lasting 21 years. But Walpole's first stint in government, as secretary of war, had ended inauspiciously with a six month spell in the Tower of London for receiving an illegal payment. Undeterred, he rose to power again on the back of a collapsed financial scheme in which many prominent individuals had invested. Walpole had the foresight (or luck) to get out early, and as a result was credited with great financial acumen. George I invited him to become chancellor and gave him the powers that came to be associated with the office of prime minister. His owed his longevity in office (and the incredible wealth he accumulated) to a combination of great personal charm, enduring popularity, sharp practice and startling sycophancy. The accession of George II saw him temporarily eclipsed, but he worked hard to win over the new monarch. He was rewarded with both the new King's trust and 10 Downing Street, which remains the official residence of the prime minister to this day. Walpole was eventually brought down by an election loss at Chippenham and died just three years later.
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On This Day
Prime Ministers and Politics Timeline
Do you know which prime minister brought 'fallen women' to 10 Downing Street? Or which one fought a duel? Or who was known as 'the Goat'?
Take a political journey through nearly 300 years of high ideals and low cunning, from Gordon Brown to the first man to hold prime ministerial powers, Robert Walpole.
Margaret Thatcher
Conservative, 1979 - 1990
Britain's first female prime minister came to power with the country descending into industrial and economic chaos. A relatively inexperienced politician, she nonetheless adopted a personal style of indomitable self-confidence and brooked no weakness in herself or her colleagues. Derisively dubbed the 'Iron Lady' by the Soviet press, she wore the moniker with pride. Her government's free-market policies included trade liberalisation, deregulation, sweeping privatisation, breaking the power of the unions, focus on the individual and the creation of an 'enterprise culture'. 'Thatcherism' has had a profound and lasting economic and social impact on Britain, and still sharply divides opinion to this day. The first PM to serve three consecutive terms (including two 'landslide' victories) she was eventually toppled by her own party following the disastrous imposition of a 'poll tax'. Nonetheless, she is generally considered to be one of the best peace time prime ministers of the 20th Century.
James Callaghan
Labour, 1976 - 1979
Callaghan inherited the office of prime minister following the surprise resignation of Harold Wilson. With only a tiny parliamentary majority to support him, he faced an increasingly one-sided confrontation with organised labour in the form of rampant strike action. Things came to a head in the so-called 'Winter of Discontent', a phrase from Shakespeare borrowed by Callaghan himself to describe the events leading up to February 1979. Britain was 'strikebound', with public servants staging mass walk outs, leaving food and fuel supplies undelivered, rubbish uncollected and - most notoriously - bodies unburied. Things became so bad in Hull it was dubbed 'the second Stalingrad'. The tabloid press has since been accused of overstating the severity of the situation (and wrongly quoting him as saying 'Crisis? What Crisis?') but it was enough at the time to sound the death knell for Callaghan's government later in the same year.
Harold Wilson
Labour, 1974 - 1976
In March 1974, Wilson became prime minister for the third time at the head of a minority government, following the first hung parliament (one where no party holds a majority) for 45 years. Often described as a wily fixer and negotiator, it took all of his skills to hold on to power in the face of economic and industrial turmoil. His party was also sharply divided, with many Labour members of parliament (MPs) bitter about Wilson's manoeuvring against his colleagues. He called another general election in October 1974, thereby ending the shortest parliament since 1681, and was returned to office with a majority of just three seats. He presided over a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Economic Community (EEC), and a collapse in the value of the pound which prompted a humiliating 'rescue operation' by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Exhausted, Wilson resigned saying 'politicians should not go on and on'.
Edward Heath
Conservative, 1970 - 1974
Heath succeeded in taking Britain into the European Economic Community (EEC), the precursor to the European Union, despite two previous failed attempts by Britain to gain entry, in 1961 and 1967. But his government was dogged by torrid industrial relations and recurrent economic crises. Things came to a head in January 1974, when industry was put on a 'three-day week' to conserve fuel. Fuel was in dangerously short supply following a combination of domestic industrial action (coal miners on 'work-to-rule') and a quadrupling of prices by Middle Eastern oil exporting nations in the wake of Israel's victory in the Yom Kippur War. In March 1974, Heath called a general election on the question of 'who governs Britain?' - the unions, or the elected representatives of the people. To his surprise the result was a hung parliament (one where no party holds a majority) and he was ousted.
Harold Wilson
Labour, 1964 - 1970
In 1964, 'Good old Mr Wilson' - an avuncular, pipe-smoking figure - came to power amid much excitement and optimism. He had promised a 'new Britain' forged in 'the white heat of a second industrial revolution'. In reality, his administration never escaped from a cycle of economic crises, vainly battling against further devaluations of the pound. Wilson won a second general election in 1966 (the year England lifted the football World Cup) making him the first Labour PM to serve consecutive terms. In 1967, the government failed in its application for membership of the European Economic Community (EEC) and was also finally forced to devalue sterling. The electorate became disillusioned with Wilson, who lost narrowly to the Conservatives in the 1970 election.
Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Conservative, 1963 - 1964
In 1963, a change in the law allowed hereditary peers to disclaim (or 'drop') their titles, which in turn meant they were able to become members of parliament (MPs). The only peer ever to do so and become prime minister was Douglas-Home, formerly the 14th Earl of Home, who assumed the office when Harold Macmillan retired due to ill health. He was the first prime minister in the post-war period not to win his own mandate (be elected or re-elected by popular vote).
Harold Macmillan, Conservative, 1957 - 1963
Macmillan came to power at a time when Britain was confronting its loss of world-power status and facing mounting economic troubles. Nonetheless, he successfully associated the Conservatives with a new age of affluence and the burgeoning consumer revolution. But his oft-quoted assurance 'You've never had it so good' actually finishes 'What is beginning to worry some of us is, is it too good to be true?'. His government is principally remembered for the so-called 'Profumo Affair', a sex scandal that erupted in 1963 and contributed to the Conservatives' defeat at the general election the following year. Secretary of State for War John Profumo had been having an affair with a showgirl who was also seeing the Soviet naval attaché to London - a serious transgression at the height of the Cold War. After lying to the House of Commons, Profumo admitted the truth in June 1963 and resigned in disgrace. Macmillan resigned due to ill health in October the same year.
Sir Anthony Eden, Conservative, 1955 - 1957
When Sir Winston Churchill retired due to ill health, Eden took over as prime minister. Many years before, Churchill had anointed Eden as his successor, but later acknowledged he had made 'a great mistake'. His opinion was born out as the new PM blundered into the Suez Crisis. Following Egypt's decision to nationalise the Suez canal, Britain (the principal shareholder), France and Israel invaded in October 1956 to near-universal condemnation and the threat of nuclear strikes by the Soviet Union. Within a week, Britain was forced into an embarrassing climb-down. Humiliated and in ill-health, Eden left the country for a holiday at the Jamaican home of James Bond author, Ian Fleming. He returned in mid-December to the sarcastic newspaper headline: 'Prime Minister Visits Britain'. He resigned on 9 January 1957.
Sir Winston Churchill, Conservative, 1951 - 1955
Churchill's desire to return to power, despite his assured place in history, had much to do with his belligerent refusal to accept that the British public had rejected him in 1945. Now the electorate was seeking to put behind it the hardships and privations of the post-war years under Clement Atlee and return to a more traditional idea of society - so-called 'housing and red meat' issues. Churchill tried - and failed - to recreate the dynamism of his wartime administration, and he struggled to adjust to the political realities of the Cold War, preferring direct action and personal diplomacy to proxy wars and cabinet consensus. His refusal to retire, despite suffering a stroke, caused mounting frustrations among his colleagues. At the age of 80, he finally conceded to his failing health and stepped down, although he continued to serve as an MP.
Clement Attlee, Labour, 1945 - 1951
World War Two had sharply exposed the imbalances in Britain's social, economic and political structures. For a population that had sacrificed so much, a return to the pre-war status quo was simply not an option. In 1942, a report by Sir William Beveridge, chairman of a Ministry of Health committee, had advocated a system of national insurance, comprehensive welfare for all and strategies to maintain full employment. The 'Beveridge Report' formed the basis of Labour pledges in the 1945 election and resulted in a landslide victory. Attlee's government successfully harnessed the wartime sense of unity to create the National Health Service, a national insurance scheme, a huge programme of nationalisation (including the Bank of England and most heavy industries) and a massive building programme. He also made Britain a nuclear-armed power. These sweeping reforms resulted in a parliamentary consensus on key social and economic policies that would last until 1979. But by 1951, a row over plans to charge for spectacles and false teeth had split the cabinet. Party disunity and a struggling economy contributed to Attlee - cruelly dubbed by Churchill 'a modest man with much to be modest about' - losing the next election.
Winston Churchill, Conservative, 1940 - 1945
By the time Churchill was asked to lead the coalition government in 1940, he had already enjoyed colourful and controversial careers as a journalist, soldier and politician. He had twice 'crossed the floor' of the House of Commons, the first time defecting from Conservative to Liberal and serving as First Lord of the Admiralty during the early years of World War One. Demoted in the wake of the slaughter at Gallipoli, he preferred to resign and take up a commission fighting on the Western Front. Despite standing against the Conservatives in a 1924 by-election, Churchill was welcomed back into the party that same year and served as Chancellor of the Exchequer for five years under Stanley Baldwin. But personal disagreements and his vehement anti-Fascism would lead to nearly a decade in the political wilderness. Following Neville Chamberlain's resignation in 1940, Churchill finally realised his 'destiny' and accepted the office of prime minister. Promising nothing more than 'blood, toil, tears and sweat', he almost single-handedly restored Britain's desire to fight on in adversity. Despite Churchill's enormous personal popularity, by 1945 the electorate no longer wanted a war leader and the Conservatives lost by a landslide.
Neville Chamberlain, Conservative, 1937 - 1940
Rarely has the hyperbole of politicians been as resoundingly exposed as when Neville Chamberlain returned from his 1938 negotiations with Adolf Hitler, brandishing his famous 'piece of paper' and declaring the agreement it represented to be 'peace for our time'. Within a year, Germany had invaded Poland and Britain was plunged into World War Two. With his policy of 'appeasement' towards Hitler utterly bankrupted, Chamberlain resigned in 1940. He was replaced by Winston Churchill. When the issue of honours was discussed, he stated that he wanted to die 'plain Mr Chamberlain, like my father'. His father, Joseph Chamberlain, was the politician who split the Conservatives in 1903 by pushing for tariffs on imported goods. It was this very issue that convinced Churchill to defect to the Liberals, with whom he first achieved high office. Chamberlain died six months after resigning.
Stanley Baldwin, Conservative, 1935 - 1937
When Baldwin returned to power in 1935, the financial crisis sparked by the Wall Street Crash six years before appeared to be over. It was to be swiftly replaced by a constitutional crisis brought about by Edward VIII's desire to marry a twice-divorced American, Wallis Simpson. Baldwin advised Edward that Mrs Simpson would not be accepted as Queen by the public, and that the king could not condone divorce as head of the Church of England. The king proposed a 'morganatic' marriage, whereby Mrs Simpson would become his consort, but not Queen. The government rejected the idea and threatened to resign if the king forced the issue. The story then broke in the press, to general disapproval by the public. Rather than break the engagement, Edward abdicated on 11 December 1936. Credited with saving the monarchy, Baldwin is also condemned for failing to begin re-arming when it became clear that Nazi Germany was building up its armed forces.
Ramsay MacDonald, Labour, 1929 - 1935
MacDonald began his second term at the head of a minority government (one that does not have an outright majority) and with the economy in deep crisis. Britain was still in the grip of the Great Depression and unemployment soon soared to two million. With fewer people able to pay tax, revenues had fallen as demand for unemployment benefits had soared. Unable to meet the deficit, by 1931 it was being proposed that benefits and salaries should be cut. Labour ministers rejected the plan as running counter to their core beliefs. MacDonald went to the king, George V, to proffer his resignation. George suggested MacDonald to try and form a 'national government' or coalition of all the parties. (This is the last recorded direct political intervention by a British monarch.) The National Government was formed, with MacDonald as prime minister, but Stanley Baldwin, leader of the Conservative Party, the de facto 'power behind the throne'. MacDonald is still considered by many in the Labour Party as their worst political traitor.
Stanley Baldwin, Conservative, 1924 - 1929
In May 1926, the Trades Union Congress called for a general walkout in support of a coal miners' protest against threatened wage cuts. It was the first and, to date, only general strike in British history. The strike affected key industries, such as gas, electricity and the railways, but ended after just nine days due to lack of public backing and well-organised emergency measures by Baldwin's government. Far from succeeding in its aims, the General Strike actually led to a decline in trade union membership and the miners ended up accepting longer hours and less pay. It also gave impetus to the 1927 Trade Disputes Act, which curtailed workers' ability to take industrial action. Baldwin's government also extended the vote to women over 21 and passed the Pensions Act, but eventually fell as a result of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, and the Depression that followed.
Ramsay MacDonald, Labour, 1924
In 1924, MacDonald briefly became the first Labour prime minister, ending two centuries of Conservative - Liberal domination of British politics. It was the first party to gain power with the express purpose of representing the voice of the 'working class'. An MP since 1906, MacDonald was respected as a thinker, but criticised by many within his own party as insufficiently radical (despite appointing the first female cabinet minister, Margaret Bondfield, in 1929). His opposition to World War One had made him deeply unpopular and he continually suffered a torrid time at the hands of the press. The publication by two newspapers of the 'Zinoviev letter' did much to damage his chances in the run up to the 1924 election. The letter (which he had seen but decided to keep secret) purported to be from Soviet intelligence and urged British communists to commit acts of sedition. He lost by a wide margin. The letter is now widely accepted to be a fraud.
Stanley Baldwin, Conservative, 1923
During his very brief first term as prime minister, Stanley Baldwin bumped into an old school friend on a train. Asked what he was doing these days, Baldwin replied: 'I am the prime minister.' Having come to power following Andrew Bonar Law's resignation, he called an election in the hope of gaining his own mandate (election by popular vote), but lost.
Andrew Bonar Law, Conservative, 1922 - 1923
Branded the 'unknown prime minister' by his bitter political rival HH Asquith, Canadian-born Bonar Law is principally remembered for a single speech he made in 1922. The Conservatives had been part of a coalition under the Liberal prime minister, David Lloyd George, since 1916. Many were considering joining Lloyd George permanently, but Bonar Law's speech changed their minds. Instead, the Conservatives withdrew from the coalition and Lloyd George was forced to resign. The king, George V, asked Bonar Law to form a new government. Reluctantly he accepted, despite still grieving two sons killed in World War One and - as it turned out - dying of throat cancer. He held office for 209 days before resigning due to ill health. He died six months later and was buried at Westminster Abbey, upon which Asquith commented: 'It is fitting that we should have buried the Unknown Prime Minister by the side of the Unknown Warrior.'
David Lloyd George, Liberal, 1916 - 1922
Lloyd George guided Britain to victory in World War One and presided over the legislation that gave women the vote in 1918, but he is remembered as much for his private life as his public achievements. Nicknamed the 'Welsh Wizard', he was also less kindly known as 'The Goat' - a reference to his countless affairs. (Scandalously, he lived with his mistress and illegitimate daughter in London while his wife and other children lived in Wales.) The first 'working class' prime minister, Lloyd George had risen to prominence by solving the shortage of munitions on the Western Front. It was his desire to get to grips with the requirements of 'total war' that led to his split with then Liberal Prime Minister HH Asquith. It also brought him closer to the Conservatives, with whom he formed a new coalition government when Asquith resigned. That coalition would disintegrate six years later in the midst of a scandal. Serious allegations were made that peerages had been sold for as much as £40,000. (One list even included John Drughorn, who had been convicted for trading with the enemy in 1915.) Lloyd George resigned in October 1922.
HH Asquith, Liberal, 1908 - 1916
Asquith's government had shown great longevity, but disintegrated in the face of the unequalled disasters of the Somme and Gallipoli. With World War One going badly, fellow Liberal David Lloyd George had seized his chance and ousted Asquith. But in the preceding eight years, the two politicians had together overseen one of the greatest constitutional upheavals of the 20th Century and ushered in some of the predecessors of the Welfare State. Old Age Pensions were introduced and Unemployment Exchanges (job centres) were set up by then Liberal minister Winston Churchill. But when Lloyd George attempted to introduce a budget with land and income taxes disadvantageous to the 'propertied' classes, it was thrown out by the House of Lords. Lloyd George branded the Lords 'Mr Balfour's poodle' (a reference to Conservative leader AJ Balfour's supposed control over the peers). The stand-off resulted in two general elections during 1910, the second of which the Liberals won with a 'peers against the people' campaign slogan. The budget was passed and, in 1911, the Parliament Act became law. The Act stated that the Lords could only veto a Commons bill twice, and instituted five-yearly general elections.
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Liberal, 1905 - 1908
Arthur James Balfour, Conservative, 1902 - 1905
The nephew of the Marquess of Salisbury, Balfour had none of his uncle's political skills despite a long period of mentoring. He was instead something of a philosopher, publishing several weighty books, including 'A Defence of Philosophic Doubt', 'The Foundations of Belief', and 'Theism and Humanism'. Following a cabinet split Balfour resigned, gambling that the Liberals would be unable to form a government and that he would be returned to power. He was wrong.
Marquess of Salisbury, 1895 - 1902, Conservative
Salisbury came to power for the third and final time when the weak Liberal government of the Earl of Rosebery fell. The political climate was one of rising resentment among the lower and middle classes, who demanded better conditions, social reforms and proper political representation. Bitterly divided, the Liberals would nonetheless experience a revival as they sought reforms of the squalid, disease-ridden British 'concentration camps' used in the Boer War. But it was the founding of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC) on 27 February 1900 that signalled a quiet, yet highly significant sea-change in British politics. This coalition of socialist groups would win two seats in the 1900 general election and 29 seats in 1906. Later that same year, the LRC changed its name to the Labour Party. Despite failing health, Salisbury agreed to stay on to help Edward VII manage the transition following the death of his mother, Queen Victoria. He resigned in favour of his nephew, AJ Balfour, in the first months of the new King's reign. (Notably, he was the last serving prime minister to sit in the Lords.)
Earl of Rosebery, Liberal, 1894 - 1895
Rosebury reluctantly became prime minister on the insistence of Queen Victoria, despite still mourning the loss of his wife. Desperate to have a minister she actually liked, Victoria had taken the unusual step of not consulting the outgoing PM, William Gladstone, about his successor. Rosebery, who always loved horseracing more than the 'evil smelling bog' of politics, was gratefully allowed to resign a year later. Notably, he is the only prime minister to have produced not one, but three Derby winners, in 1894, 1895 and 1905. (Despite his aversion to politics, Rosebery was no stranger to scandal. The Prince of Wales had reputedly once intervened to prevent him from being horsewhipped by the Marquess of Queensbury, with whose son Rosebery was believed to be having an affair. Queensbury's other son was Lord Alfred Douglas, Oscar Wilde's lover.)
William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal, 1892 - 1894
Gladstone's fourth term as prime minister was completely overshadowed by his insistence on introducing a third bill on the subject of 'Home Rule' for Ireland. The Conservative-dominated House of Lords threw the bill out and generally obstructed Liberal attempts to pass legislation. With his cabinet split and his health failing, the 'Grand Old Man' stepped down for the last time. The public was, in any case, exhausted with Home Rule and instead wanted reforms to working conditions and electoral practices. (Meanwhile, out on the political fringe, the Independent Labour Party had been set up under Keir Hardie to represent the working class and 'secure the collective ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange'. Leading figures in the party included George Bernard Shaw and Ramsay MacDonald.)
Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative, 1886 - 1892
William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal, 1886
Gladstone came to power for the third time with 'Home Rule' (devolution) for Ireland still the dominant issue. A bitter election battle had seen the Conservative government fall after Irish Nationalist members of parliament sided with the Liberals to defeat them. Instead, the Liberals formed a government in coalition with the Irish Nationalists and Gladstone tried to push through his second attempt at a Home Rule bill. The bill split the Liberals and Gladstone resigned. He lost the general election when the 'Liberal Unionists' - those who wanted Ireland to be ruled from Westminster - broke away from Gladstone's Liberals to fight the next election as a separate party. Most Liberal Unionists were of the 'Whig' or propertied faction of the party, which meant that when they went, they took most of the money with them.
Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative, 1885 - 1886
William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal, 1880 - 1885
Having failed to force Gladstone to serve under Lord Hartington, Queen Victoria reluctantly accepted 'that half-mad firebrand' as prime minister for the second time. He had only lately returned to politics from retirement after his so-called 'Midlothian Campaign', in which he spoke to large crowds - a practice considered by polite Victorian society to be 'undignified'. His campaign did much to discredit Disraeli's government and had clearly struck a chord with a public eager for social and electoral reform. The Ballot Act in 1872 had instituted secret ballots for local and general elections. Now came the Corrupt Practices Act, which set maximum election expenses, and the Reform and Redistribution Act, which effectively extended voting qualifications to another six million men. There were other burning issues. The United States had just overtaken Britain as the world's largest industrialised economy, and 'Home Rule' (devolution) for Ireland continued to dominate. In seeking support for Home Rule, James Parnell's Irish Nationalists sided with the Conservatives to defeat a Liberal budget measure. Gladstone resigned and was replaced by the 'caretaker government' of the Marquess of Salisbury.
Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative, 1874 - 1880
After a brief taste of power in 1868, it had taken Disraeli six years to become prime minister again. He wasted no time in bringing about the social reforms he had envisaged in the 1840s as a member of the radical Young England group. His Acts included measures to provide suitable housing and sewerage, to protect the quality of food, to improve workers rights (including the Climbing Boys Act which banned the use of juveniles as chimney sweeps) and to implement basic standards of education. In 1876, Disraeli was made the Earl of Beaconsfield, but continued to run the government from the Lords. He persuaded Queen Victoria to take the title 'Empress of India' in 1877 and scored a diplomatic success in limiting Russian influence in the Balkans at the Congress of Berlin in 1878. He retired in 1880, hoping to spend his remaining years adding more novels to his already impressive bibliography, but died just one year later.
William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal, 1868 - 1874
Upon taking office for the first time Gladstone declared it his 'mission' to 'pacify Ireland' - a prize that was always to elude him. Nonetheless, Gladstone was to become the dominant Liberal politician of the late 19th Century, serving as prime minister four times despite earning Queen Victoria's antipathy early in his career. (She famously complained that 'he always addresses me as if I were a public meeting'.) He had started his career as an ultra-conservative Tory, but would end it as a dedicated political reformer who did much to establish the Liberal Party's association with issues of freedom and justice. But Gladstone also had his idiosyncrasies. He made a regular habit of going to brothels and often brought prostitutes back to 10 Downing Street. In an era when politicians' private lives were very private, his embarrassed colleagues nonetheless felt it necessary to explain his behaviour as 'rescue work' to save 'fallen women'.
Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative, 1868
On being asked to become prime minister following the resignation of the Earl of Derby, Disraeli announced: 'I have reached the top of the greasy pole'. He immediately struck up an excellent rapport with Queen Victoria, who approved of his imperialist ambitions and his belief that Britain should be the most powerful nation in the world. Unhappily for the Queen, Disraeli's first term ended almost immediately with an election victory for the Liberals. Despite serving as an MP since 1837 and twice being Chancellor of the Exchequer, Disraeli's journey to the top was not without scandal. In 1835, he was forced to apologise in court after being accused of bribing voters in Maidstone. He also accrued enormous debts in his twenties through speculation on the stock exchange. Disraeli suffered a nervous breakdown as a result, but eventually paid off his creditors by marrying a rich widow, Mary Anne Wyndam Lewis, in 1839.
Earl of Derby, Conservative, 1866 - 1868
The introduction of the 1867 Reform Act made Derby's third term as prime minister a major step in the true democratisation of Britain. The Act extended the vote to all adult male householders (and lodgers paying £10 rental or more, resident for a year or more) living in a borough constituency. Simply put, it created more than 1.5 million new voters. Versions of the Reform Act had been under serious discussion since 1860, but had always foundered on Conservative fears. Many considered it a 'revolutionary' move that would create a majority of 'working class' voters for the first time. In proposing the Reform Act, Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative Leader of the House of Commons, had warned his colleagues that they would be labelled the 'anti-reform' party if they continued to resist. The legislation was passed, and also received the backing of the Liberals under their new leader, William Gladstone.
Earl Russell, Whig, 1865 - 1866
Viscount Palmerston, Liberal, 1859 - 1865
Earl of Derby, Conservative, 1858 - 1859
The property qualification - the requirement that a man must own property in order to stand as a member of parliament - was finally abolished during Derby's second term as prime minister. It meant that members of parliament (MPs) were no longer drawn exclusively from the 'propertied' classes and could realistically be 'working class'. This fulfilled one of the six conditions set out by the Chartists - supporters of the Third Chartist Petition, written in 1838. It demanded universal male suffrage (votes for all adult men), secret ballots (rather than traditional open ballots), annual parliamentary elections, equal electoral districts (some had less than 500 voters, while others had many thousands), the abolition of a property qualification for MPs, and payment for MPs (which would allow non-independently wealthy men to sit in parliament).
Viscount Palmerston, Liberal , 1855 - 1858
Earl of Aberdeen, Tory, 1852 - 1855
It was something of a cruel irony that Aberdeen came to be blamed for blundering into the dreadful Crimean War. As plain George Hamilton Gordon he had made a successful career as a diplomat and had done much to normalise Britain's relationships with its powerful neighbours. Vivid reports from the front by WH Russel of the Times have since led to the Crimean being styled the first 'media war'. His reports publicised the squalor and disease that were claiming more soldiers' lives than the fighting, and inspired Florence Nightingale to volunteer and take the first 38 nurses out to treat the wounded. In 1855, Aberdeen conceded to his critics and resigned.
Earl of Derby, Conservative, 1852
Earl Russell, Whig, 1846 - 1851
Confronted by the Irish Potato Famine, declining trade and rising unemployment, Russell still managed to push through trade liberalisation measures and limits on women's working hours. A dedicated reformer, he nonetheless presided over the rejection of the Third Chartist Petition. Set out 1838, it demanded universal male suffrage (votes for all adult men), secret ballots (rather than traditional open ballots), annual parliamentary elections, equal electoral districts (some had less than 500 voters, while others had many thousands), the abolition of a property qualification for members of parliament (MPs), and payment for MPs (which would allow non-independently wealthy men to sit in parliament). Already rejected once by parliament in 1839, the petition had gathered 5 million signatures by 1848. Presented to parliament a second time, it was again rejected. The Chartist movement slowly petered out, even as revolutions blazed across Europe, but many of its aims were eventually realised.
Sir Robert Peel, Tory, 1841 - 1846
Peel's second term as prime minister was nothing short of tumultuous. Economic depression, rising deficits, Chartist agitation, famine in Ireland and Anti-Corn League protests crowded in. A raft of legislation was created to stabilise the economy and improve working conditions. The Factory Act regulated work hours (and banned children under eight from the workplace), the Railway Act provided for cheap, regular train services, the Bank Charter Act capped the number of notes the Bank of England could issue and the Mines Act prevented women and children from working underground. But a failed harvest in 1845 provided Peel with his greatest challenge. There was an increasing clamour for repeal of the Corn Laws, which forbade the import of cheap grain from overseas. Powerful vested interests in the Tory Party opposed such a move, but in the end Peel confronted them and called for repeal. After nearly six months of debate, and with the Tories split in two, the Corn Laws were finally repealed. Defeated on a separate issue, Peel resigned the same day, but was cheered by crowds as he left the Commons. (The 'Peelite' faction of the Tories is widely recognised as the foundation of the modern Conservative.)
Viscount Melbourne, Whig, 1835 - 1841
Sir Robert Peel, Tory, 1834 - 1835
Invited by William IV to form a new government, Peel immediately called a general election to strengthen his party. Campaigning on his so-called 'Tamworth Manifesto', Peel promised a respectful approach to traditional politics, combined with measured, controlled reform. He thereby signalled a significant shift from staunch, reactionary 'Tory' to progressive 'Conservative' politics. Crucially, he pledged to accept the 1832 Reform Act, which had recently increased the number of people eligible to vote. Peel won the election, but only narrowly. He resigned the following year after several parliamentary defeats. (Peel is probably best remembered for creating the Metropolitan Police in 1829 while Home Secretary in the Duke of Wellington's first government. The nickname 'bobbies' for policemen is derived from his first name.)
Duke of Wellington, Tory, 1834
Viscount Melbourne, Whig, 1834
In a bid to repress trade unions, Melbourne's government introduced legislation against 'illegal oaths'. As a result, the Grand National Consolidated Trades' Union failed. In March of the same year, six labourers were transported to Australia for seven years for attempting to provide a fund for workers in need. They became known as the 'Tolpuddle Martyrs'. Melbourne himself was notoriously laid back. When first asked to become prime minister he declared it 'a damned bore'. Having accepted, he would often refuse to allow his cabinet colleagues to leave the room, insisting 'I'm damned if I know what we agreed on. We must all say the same thing.'
Earl Grey, Whig, 1830 - 1834
In June 1832, the Reform Act finally passed into law after 15 torrid months of debate. It extended the vote to just 7% of the adult male population, based on a series of lowered property qualifications. Introduced in March 1831, the bill scraped through the Commons by a single vote, but was thrown out at the committee stage (when the bill is debated in detail - sometimes called the 'second reading'). Parliament was dissolved and the general election was fought on the single issue of the Reform Act - an unprecedented event in British political history. The Whigs won the election and passed the bill, but the House of Lords (with a majority of Tories) threw it out, sparking riots and civil disobedience across the country. With the spectre of France's bloody revolution clearly in mind, William IV eventually agreed to create 50 Whig peers to redress the balance in the Lords if the bill was rejected again. The Lords conceded and the Act was finally passed into law. After all his efforts, Earl Grey is principally remembered for giving his name to a fragrant blend of tea.
Duke of Wellington, Tory, 1828 - 1830
Wellington's first term in office was dominated by the thorny subject of Catholic emancipation. Catholics were permitted to vote, but were not allowed to sit as members of parliament (MPs) and had restrictions on the property they could own. Initially, the 'Iron Duke' was staunchly in favour of the status quo, but soon came to realise that emancipation might be the only way to end conflict arising from the Act of Union between Britain and Ireland in 1801. He became such an advocate that he even fought a duel with the 10th Earl of Winchilsea over the issue. The Earl had accused him of plotting the downfall of the 'Protestant constitution', but then backed down and apologised. They still had to go through the ritual of the duel at Battersea Fields, with both men deliberately firing high and wide. Wellington eventually drove the legislation through, opening the way for Catholic MPs.
Viscount Goderich, Tory, 1827 - 1828
George Canning, Tory, 1827
Canning finally became prime minister after a long career in politics, only to die of pneumonia 119 days later. He had famously fought a duel in 1809 with his bitterest political rival, Lord Castlereagh, and was shot in the thigh. Castlereagh committed suicide with a penknife in 1822, after becoming depressed about his falling popularity.
Earl of Liverpool, Tory, 1812 - 1827
Liverpool is the second longest serving prime minister in British history (after Robert Walpole), winning four general elections and clinging on to power despite a massive stroke that incapacitated him for his last two years in office. Liverpool became PM at a time when Britain was emerging from the Napoleonic Wars and the first rumblings of 'working class' unrest were just beginning to be felt. Staunchly undemocratic in his outlook, Liverpool suppressed efforts to give the wider populace a voice. He was unrepentant when, in 1819, troops fired on a pro-reform mass meeting at St Peter's Fields in Manchester, killing eleven - the so-called 'Peterloo Massacre'. Trade unions were legalised by the 1825 Combination Act, but were so narrowly defined that members were forced to bargain over wages and conditions amid a minefield of heavy penalties for transgressions. (Liverpool's one concession to popular sentiment was in the trial of Queen Caroline on trumped up adultery charges. The legal victimisation of George IV's estranged wife, who was tried in parliament in 1820, brought her mass sympathy. Mindful not to provoke the mob in the wake of Peterloo, the charges were eventually dropped.)
Spencer Perceval, Tory, 1809 - 1812
Perceval bears a dubious distinction as the only British prime minister to be assassinated. As chancellor of the exchequer he moved in to 10 Downing Street in 1807, before rising to the office of prime minister two years later. His 12 young children - some born while he was in office - also lived in the PM's crowded residence. Against expectations, he had skilfully kept his government afloat for three years despite a severe economic downturn and continuing war with Napoleon. He was shot dead in the lobby of the House of Commons on 11 May 1812 by a merchant called John Bellingham who was seeking government compensation for his business debts. Perceval's body lay in 10 Downing Street for five days before burial. Bellingham gave himself up immediately. Tried for murder, he was found guilty and hanged a week later.
Duke of Portland, Tory, 1807 - 1809
Lord Grenville, Whig, 1806 - 1807
William Pitt 'the Younger', Tory, 1804 - 1806
Faced by a fresh invasion threat from Napoleon, George III once again turned to Pitt. A shadow of his former self due to failing health and suspected alcoholism, Pitt nonetheless accepted. He made alliances with Napoleon's continental rivals - Russia, Austria and Sweden - then, in 1805, Admiral Lord Nelson shattered French invasion hopes at the Battle of Trafalgar. Pitt did not have long to savour victory before Napoleon defeated both Russia and Austria to stand astride the whole of Europe. Heartsick, utterly exhausted, penniless and unmarried, Pitt died on 23 January 1806 at the age of 46.
Henry Addington, Tory, 1801 - 1804
Addington secured the Peace of Amiens with France in 1802, but would see Britain plunge into war with Napoleon again just two years later. He also passed the first Factory Act into law. The Act was the earliest attempt to reform working conditions in factories. It set a maximum 12 hour working day for children and addressed issues like proper ventilation, basic education and sleeping conditions. (Notably, his government also awarded Edward Jenner £10,000 to continue his pioneering work on a vaccine for smallpox.) But he was generally poorly regarded, prompting the satirical rhyme 'Pitt is to Addington, as London is to Paddington' - a reference to his distinguished predecessor as prime minister, William Pitt.
William Pitt 'the Younger', Tory, 1783-1801
Pitt 'the Younger' was the youngest prime minister in British history, taking office at the tender age of just 24. But his youth did not seem to disadvantage him as he threw himself into the manifold problems of government, holding on to the top office for 17 years - fifteen years longer than his father, Pitt 'the Elder'. His first priority was to reduce the National Debt, which had doubled with the loss of the American colonies in 1783. George III's mental illness then threw up the spectre of a constitutional crisis, with the transfer of sovereignty to the erratic Prince of Wales only narrowly averted by the king's recovery. Further threats to the monarchy emanated from across the Channel, with the bloody French Revolution of 1789 and subsequent war with France in 1793. War increased taxes and caused food shortages, damaging Pitt's popularity to the extent that he employed bodyguards out of fear for his safety. In a bid to resolve at least one intractable conflict, he pushed through the Act of Union with Ireland in 1800, but the related Emancipation of Catholics Bill was rejected by the king a year later. Having lost George III's confidence, Pitt was left with no option but to resign.
Duke of Portland, Tory, 1783
Earl Shelburne, Whig, 1782 - 1783
Marquess of Rockingham, Whig, 1782
Lord North, Tory, 1770 - 1782
North is chiefly somewhat unfairly remembered as the prime minister who lost the American colonies. Groomed by George III to lead his parliamentary supporters, North was fiercely loyal to his king, whose policy it had been to 'punish' the American colonials. The American War of Independence, reluctantly entered into by both sides, had been prosecuted at the king's behest in retaliation for their refusal to pay more towards their own defence. As hostilities progressed, North's blundering and indecision worsened an already difficult situation, and by 1782 it was clear that the outcome was likely to be a disaster. He begged George III to be allowed to resign, but the king refused to release him until the war was over. North has since become the yardstick for prime ministerial mediocrity, with later PMs being criticised as 'the worst since Lord North'.
Duke of Grafton, Whig, 1768 - 1770
An unremarkable prime minister, Grafton had a quite remarkable appetite for extra-marital affairs and openly kept several mistresses. He scandalised polite society in 1764 by leaving his wife and going to live with his mistress, Anne Parsons, also known as 'Mrs Houghton'. (Horace Walpole referred to her derisively as 'everybody's Mrs Houghton'.) Popular opinion had disapproved of Grafton's behaviour, until his wife did something even more shocking. She eloped with the Earl of Upper Ossory and had a child by him. Grafton divorced her in 1769, then abandoned Mrs Houghton and married Elizabeth Wrottesley, with whom he had 13 children. The Mrs Houghton ended up marrying the king's brother. This unsuitable union gave impetus to the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, which decreed that the monarch had to give permission for all royal weddings.
Earl of Chatham, Pitt 'The Elder', Whig, 1766 - 1768
Pitt 'the Elder' is widely credited as the man who built the British Empire, although much of this was done in the role of secretary of state under the governments of the Duke of Newcastle. He chose his fights carefully, conducting military campaigns where conditions were best suited to British merchants. Pitt added India, West Africa, the West Indies and the American colonies to Britain's overseas possessions, and was persistently belligerent towards colonial rivals like France and Spain. His relentless imperialism kept the merchants happy but infuriated men like Newcastle who counted the financial cost of his wars. Pitt was a superb public speaker and a master of the devastating put-down, but his career was dogged with recurrent mental illness and gout. Ironically, it was during his term as prime minister that he was at his least effective, often struggling to build support. He collapsed in the House of Lords in October 1768 and died four days later. (Pitt was the MP for a 'burgage borough' - an empty piece of land with no-one living on it. His constituency, Old Sarum, was a mound in Wiltshire. On polling day, seven voters met in a tent to cast their votes.)
Marquess of Rockingham, Whig, 1765 - 1766
George Grenville, Whig, 1763 - 1765
Grenville is one of the few prime ministers to have been sacked by the monarch. He was fired after a row with George III over who should rule in his place if his mental health continued to deteriorate.
Earl of Bute, Tory, 1762 - 1763
Bute was one of Britain's more unpopular prime ministers. Things came to a head when he failed to lower the taxes he had raised to fight France in the American colonies. Rioting erupted, his effigies were burnt and the windows in his house were smashed. Bute was generally disliked by colleagues and public, and was lampooned for his 'fine pair of legs', of which he was reputed to be extremely proud. His close relationship with the Prince of Wales's widow, the Dowager Princess Augusta, was also the subject of much scurrilous gossip. The nickname 'Sir Pertinax MacSycophant' was a contemptuous reference to the Roman Emperor Publius Helvius Pertinax, who was murdered three months after his meteoric assent by his own bodyguard. Unable to muster support in parliament, Bute resigned in 1763.
Duke of Newcastle, Whig, 1757 - 1762
Newcastle healed his rift with Pitt 'the Elder' by inviting him to serve in his government as secretary of state. Effectively a power-sharing coalition of two powerful men, the relationship gave birth to the British Empire. Their government eventually fell as a result of the new king, George III's hostility to Pitt, who had sought to restrict the influence of the monarch in political matters.
Duke of Devonshire, Whig, 1756-1757
Duke of Newcastle, Whig, 1754 - 1756
Newcastle became PM after his brother, Henry Pelham, died in office. It is the only instance of two brothers serving as prime minister. Newcastle enraged Pitt 'the Elder' by refusing to promote him in the new government, then compounded the insult by sacking him.
Henry Pelham, Whig, 1743 - 1754
Earl of Wilmington, Whig, 1742 - 1743
Sir Robert Walpole, Whig, 1721 - 1742
Walpole is widely acknowledged as the first prime minister, although he never actually held the title. He was also the longest serving, lasting 21 years. But Walpole's first stint in government, as secretary of war, had ended inauspiciously with a six month spell in the Tower of London for receiving an illegal payment. Undeterred, he rose to power again on the back of a collapsed financial scheme in which many prominent individuals had invested. Walpole had the foresight (or luck) to get out early, and as a result was credited with great financial acumen. George I invited him to become chancellor and gave him the powers that came to be associated with the office of prime minister. His owed his longevity in office (and the incredible wealth he accumulated) to a combination of great personal charm, enduring popularity, sharp practice and startling sycophancy. The accession of George II saw him temporarily eclipsed, but he worked hard to win over the new monarch. He was rewarded with both the new King's trust and 10 Downing Street, which remains the official residence of the prime minister to this day. Walpole was eventually brought down by an election loss at Chippenham and died just three years later.
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Alphabetically, which is the last book of the New Testament? | New Testament Books | CARM Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry
The New Testament has 27 books total, which consist of . . .
Historical Books--Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts
Pauline Epistles--Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon
Non-Pauline Epistles--Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation
A list of books with brief descriptions of contents.
Historical Books
Matthew--Presents Jesus as the Messiah. Genealogy of Jesus through Joseph. Fulfillment of O.T. prophecy.
Mark--Presents Jesus as the Servant. 1/3 of the gospel deals with the last week of His life.
Luke--Presents Jesus as the Son of Man to seek and save the lost. Genealogy of Jesus through Mary. Largest of the gospels.
John--Presents Jesus as God in flesh, the Christ, so that you might believe.
Acts--Historical account from Jesus’ ascension to travels of Paul in his missionary journeys.
Pauline Epistles
Romans--A systematic examination of justification, sanctification, and glorification. Examines God’s plan for the Jews and the Gentiles.
1 Corinthians--This letter deals with factions and corrections due to immorality, lawsuits, and abuse of the Lord’s Supper. Also mentions idols, marriage, and the resurrection.
2 Corinthians--Paul’s defense of his apostolic position.
Galatians--Paul refutes the errors of legalism and examines the proper place of grace in the Christian’s life.
Ephesians--The believer’s position in Christ and information on Spiritual warfare.
Philippians--Paul speaks of his imprisonment and his love for the Philippians. He exhorts them to godliness and warns them of legalism.
Colossians--Paul focuses on the preeminence of Jesus in creation, redemption, and godliness.
1 Thessalonians--Paul’s ministry to the Thessalonians. Teachings on purity and mention of the return of Christ.
2 Thessalonians--Corrections on the Day of the Lord.
1 Timothy--Instructions to Timothy on proper leadership and dealings with false teachers, the role of women, prayer, and requirements of elders and deacons.
2 Timothy--A letter of encouragement to Timothy to be strong.
Titus--Paul left Titus in Crete to care for the churches there. Requirements for elders.
Philemon--a letter to the owner of a runaway slave. Paul appeals to Philemon to forgive Onesimus.
Non Pauline Epistles
Hebrews--A letter to the Hebrew Christians in danger of returning to Judaism. It demonstrates the superiority of Jesus over the O.T. system. Mentions the Melchizedek priesthood. (Hebrews may be of Pauline origin. There is much debate on its authorship).
James--a practical exhortation of believers to live a Christian life evidencing regeneration. It urges self-examination of the evidence of the changed life.
1 Peter--Peter wrote this letter to encourage its recipients in the light of their suffering and be humble in it. Mentions baptism.
2 Peter--Deals with the person on an inward level, warnings against false teachers, and mentions the Day of the Lord.
1 John--John describes true fellowship of the believers with other believers and with God. God as light and love. Encourages a holy Christian walk before the Lord. Much mention of Christian love.
2 John--Praise for walking in Christ and a reminder to walk in God’s love.
3 John--John thanks Gaius for his kindness to God’s people and rebukes Diotrephes.
Jude--Exposing false teachers and uses O.T. allusions to demonstrate the judgment upon them. Contends for the faith.
Revelation--A highly symbolic vision of the future rebellion, judgment, and consummation of all things.
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Who had a number one hit 2001 with 'Queen Of My Heart'? | The Books in the New Testament
The Books in the New Testament
The Books in the New Testament
Flash is required to run the interactive player; however, iOS devices will still be able to play the audio recording. In general, devices that don't support Flash will still be able to view the lyrics and other important data related to the song from this interactive player page.
Lyrics
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, the Acts and Romans,
First and Second Corinthians,
Timothy, Timothy, Titus, Philemon (fie-lee-mawn),
Then to the Hebrews, Epistle of James,
Peter, Peter, John, John, John, Jude, Revelation-
These are the books of the New Testament.
Words: Anon.
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How many feet are there in a 'Furlong'? | Feet to Furlong Conversion (ft to furlong)
Feet to Furlong Conversion (ft to furlong)
Please enter feet (ft) value of length unit to convert feet to furlong.
Feet (ft)
How Many Furlong in a Foot?
There are 0.0015151515151515 furlong in a foot.
1 Foot is equal to 0.0015151515151515 Furlong.
1 ft = 0.0015151515151515 furlong
Feet Definition
A foot (pl. feet) is a common length unit used in Imperial system and the current US customary unit system. A foot is equal to 0.3048 meter. This unit of length has been used in Europe since the times of the Roman Empire and ancient Greece. A foot has 12 inches, and 3 foot make a yard. The abbreviation for foot is ft.
Convert Feet
Furlong Definition
A furlong is a unit of length or distance, commonly used in the US, the UK, Australia, and some other countries of the world. The origin of this unit name goes back in time to the epochs of Alngo-Saxon farming communities. A furlong is equal to 1/8th of a mile, as well as 220 yards or 660 feet.
About ft to furlong Converter
This is a very easy to use
feet to furlong converter
. First of all just type the feet (ft) value in the text field of the conversion form to start converting ft to furlong, then select the decimals value and finally hit convert button if auto calculation didn't work. Furlong value will be converted automatically as you type.
The decimals value is the number of digits to be calculated or rounded of the result of feet to furlong conversion.
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Following the Battle of the River Plate, HMS Ajax and HMNZS Achilles blockaded the estuary of the river. Which Royal Navy warship subsequently joined them? | Miles to Feet - How many feet in a mile?
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Miles to Feet Conversion
Mile and foot (for both imperial and nautical) conversion factors are listed below. To find out how many feet in miles or vice versa, please either use these conversion factors by multplying them to get the result or simply use the converters below.
1 Mile = 5280 Feet
1 Mile [Nautical] = 6076.12 Feet
Why are there 5280 feet in a mile? Mile is an ancient length unit, commonly used by Romans (equals to 5000 Roman feet). When British started using it as a length unit, it was necessary to relate it to furlong which was a very common length unit used in agriculture. 1 furlong is 660 feet. It was decided that one mile to have eight furlongs, that's why there are 5280 feet in a mile (8 * 660 = 5280).
For other length unit conversions, please go to Length Conversion
Enter a mile value that you want to convert into feet and click on the "convert" button.
Enter a foot value that you want to convert into miles and click on the "convert" button.
Mile is a historical unit of length and commonly used in many measurement systems to measure the distance between two geographical locations. After metric system is accepted in many countries, it's replaced with kilometer but still used as an official measurement unit in united states, britain, canada and a few other countries world wide.
The "mile" used in this conversion page is the land (statute) mile. After the definition is changed in 1959, united states still wanted to use the old definition in some measurements and called it "US survey mile" which is only "0.0002%" longer (5280.01 feet) than the land mile. The other common unit "nautical mile" is used mostly in aviation and shipping and it's 1852 meters or 6076.12 feet. The abbreviation is "mi" (nautical mile is "nm" or "nmi").
Foot is another historical length unit (simply used as a body part) in several measurement systems. With the metric system, it's replaced with "meter" (british spelling is "metre") but still used as a very common length unit in united states, britain, canada and a few other countries. Similar to the usage of mile, foot has a few versions as well (international, survey etc). It's defined to be 0.3048 meters (12 inches). The abbreviation is "ft".
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"Stanley Baldwin made the statement ""There are three groups that no British Prime Minister should pardon, The Vatican, The Treasury, and.."" which other?" | A Simple Sociologist | These are the views on every day actions that effect our Society today. I am a Sociologist who is using this to express his own opinios and make you see Society in a different light and question your own opinions on these issues!
A Simple Sociologist
These are the views on every day actions that effect our Society today. I am a Sociologist who is using this to express his own opinios and make you see Society in a different light and question your own opinions on these issues!
by moveslikemartin
A VOTE FOR THE LABOUR PARTY IS MAKING BRITAIN GREAT AGAIN!
“The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. It grew out of the trade union movement and socialist political parties of the nineteenth century and has been described as a broad church; the party contains a diversity of ideological trends from strongly socialist, to more moderately social democratic”
2015. To the majority of the Western World it is just another year. But for the people that inhabit the island known as the United Kingdom; it is a very important year for us. It is the General Election, a time where I’m pushed with flyers and policies on how that party will change the face of the area that I live in and the country itself.
PROMISES PROMISES…
A flashback to 2010: Now let it be noted, that I myself am a firm believe for the liberal and socialist movement, and I did back the liberals in the last election after all the promises they made ticked all my boxes. However, they sold themselves out to appease Mr Cameron and Co. It was a chance for history a true and just socialist government could have been formed to really shake up the political system and put our great nation back on track; a step in the right direction for us all. But Clegg for some reason didn’t see this. He thought that history could be made by joining the Tories and the Liberals together (and from the start it was a crash course) these parties do not mix. They are too far apart from one another it wouldn’t and shouldn’t have happened but alas it did. Now we all now what happened with our last General Election, it was a hung parliament.
Now this basically meant that the country couldn’t decided on one sole party to take the realms of Prime Minster. The campaigns where quite solid from all parties, but the Liberals won a lot of people over by promising policies that the country needed; leading to such the hung parliament. Nick Clegg (the liberal leader was in huge demand) because he held the power in the structure of such a new government. After many discussions and a lengthy constitutional period (which was done really behind closed doors) the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats formed a Government together. However, 5 years down the line and I feel that this country is in tatters; yes many of you will argue that we came out of a “double-dip” recession and that certain aspects to our economy is now booming etc etc. However, the rich are richer and the poor are poorer… now how is this right? Our public sectors have been cut to shreds, and the Tory Government keep implementing policies that only seem beneficial to the rich. Both parties promised us so much, a new era, a new United Kingdom, a historic chance. But you have to feel once the Tories managed to sway the Liberals under the arm; they had no chance. Both parties are to dissimilar; it was never going to work!! To be rather honest with you I am surprised that it lasted the whole 5 years.
So fellow citizens of this great nation do the right thing, VOTE LABOUR!
“It is time to change Britain so it works for you, not just a powerful few.
That’s my goal.
That’s what Labour is about”.
Labour Leader Ed Miliband
Labour will build a Britain that rewards hard work, not just privilege, and ensures the next generation does better than the last.
Labour on tackling the costs of living crisis:
1: End rip-off prices on energy bills. Labour will make life more affordable for millions of people. They’ll freeze gas and electricity bills until 2017 and reform the broken energy market to stop the cost of energy bills soaring.
2: Help people get on the housing ladder. Labour will build the homes Britain needs by getting 200,000 homes built a year by 2020. Labour will get a fair deal for renters with longer, more predictable tenancies and a ban on rip-off letting fees.
3: Support working parents with the cost of childcare.Parents shouldn’t face the prospect of taking a job that ends up costing them more than they’ll earn. Labour will give working parents 25 hours of free childcare for three and four-year-olds per week.
Labour on the NHS:
“We will save our NHS”
Tackle NHS waiting times and put patients first.The Tories have created a crisis in A&E, and thousands of people can’t get a GP appointment when they need one. Labour will guarantee that you will be able to see a GP within 48 hours, which will help to tackle A&E waiting times.
Provide fairer access to mental health services. Labour will make mental health the priority it deserves to be. Labour will ensure that people have access to the treatment and services they need. The Labour government will make sure all professional NHS staff receive mental health training.
Create a 21st Century NHS for complex needs.The Labour Government will make patient services fit for the future by bringing together physical health, mental health and social care into a single system of whole-person care. A single service built around patients.
Labour on the Economy:
Make sure everyone who works can afford to live. Labour will raise the minimum wage and give tax breaks to companies that sign up to pay a living wage. Labour will cut income tax for 24 million people by bringing back the 10p income tax rate. Making sure all work pays a decent wage will make our economy stronger.
Back our entrepreneurs and small businesses.We will make it easier to start and grow businesses. Labour will create a British investment banks that will lend money to new and growing businesses. Labour will support small businesses by cutting business rates for 1.5 million small firms and freezing their energy bills.
Balance the books, doing it in a fairer way. Labour will reverse David Cameron’s tax cut for millionaires and cut spending where it is sensible to do so. Labour will scap welfare spending, tackling the root causes of social security spending, including by getting more people into work, making work pay and getting more homes built.
Labour on “Young People”
“We will create opportunities for all young people”
Raise school standards across Britain.Every child deserves a great education. The Tories have allowed unqualified teachers into our classrooms. Labour will make sure every permanent teacher is fully qualified.
Transform vocational education.The 50% of young people who don’t go to university will get the training they need for skilled jobs, via apprenticeships, technical qualifications at age 18, and new technical degrees.
Get young people back to work.Young people should be in work, not on benefits. We will guarantee a job for every young person who has been out of work for more than a year and access to training to develop the skills they need.
Labour on the damaged done by this Tory Government:
“We will undo the damage the Tories have done”
Protect the most vulnerable.David Cameron’s hated Bedroom Tax is hitting more than 400,000 disabled people. It’s cruel, it’s unfair, and it doesn’t work. Labour will scrap it and pay for it by closing tax-dodging loopholes.
Stop the creeping privatization of the NHS. Labour will scrap the Health and Social Care Act and make sure the NHS is driven by patients’ needs, not profit. Hospitals shouldn’t be spending money on competition lawyers instead of nurses.
Ensure fairness in our tax system.Under the Conservatives, people at the top haven’t made the same sacrifices as everyone else. We will reverse David Cameron’s tax cut for millionaires and cut taxes for millions instead.
From growing up through the heightened change and cuts that the Tory government brought about; I cannot see no other
option really. It feels like a country where the poor are always going to stay that way, and that the rich individuals back pockets will continued to be lined. And this is saddening, I hate seeing my country in this way, where the truly hard working are continuously taxed and taxed again to ensure that the well off individuals in our society gain there rewards. When did it get this bad? Why do I live in a society where some individuals can’t even afford to house and provide for themselves whilst in the other scale, the Tories sell of our institutions and give the profits away than rather investing them into these infrastructures. The Labour Party seemed to have struck the right balance here this time and I truly feel that with there leadership that this country can be a great again and a real superpower and that the divide between the rich and the poor can finally been shortened too. To the skeptics out there, yes I know Labour in the past haven’t run all that smoothly, but consider what they are saying this time around and how they are going to achieve it and it is hard to push this party away, because we all know that this and they make sense this time around.
These are the views of a simple sociologist.
by moveslikemartin
“There are three groups that no British Prime Minister should provoke: the Vatican, the Treasury and the miners” – Stanley Baldwin
2015; the year which has rolled around so quickly in the Political compass. It’s the year in which we have the General Election, in which we are bombarded with constant policies and pamphlets at our doorstep pleading us in desperation for our precious vote. 2010 seems just like a distant memory in which the United Kingdom formed a collision government as the rise of liberals oh so nearly dethroned the tight grip of the conservative powers that this country has become ever to cosy with. David Cameron and Nick Clegg promised many many things to us as the individual but, from my point of view not much has changed. Yes we may have slightly avoided such disarray but with the wide range cuts that are really of no benefit to the working individual and the rich just seem to be getting richer questions are being asked as his time in office is rapidly coming to and end. We are still struggling as country, we have a tattered public service sector that is so under strain from all the cuts the Cameron and Clegg seem to make on us as the “working man” in this society. For me living through this age of prosperity over these last 4/5 years has made me see that not much of what has been implemented has helped to benefit me as the individual and I am quite frankly glad that I can vote to hopefully dethrone the Conservative empire (I follow the Labour party).
So this brings me nicely onto UKIP. For those of you who do not know what UKIP is;
UKIP stands for the United Kingdom Independence Party. There leader is one Nigel Farage (see picture) and they are having quite the revolution in British Politics. A seemingly dead party is rising like never before in recent polls that have been conducted surrounding the election and it also is likely that they might win a few seats in parliament. Now why is this? Well when you look at our country that was struck oh so hard with the financial crisis that struck Europe, cuts have occurred left right and centre and quite frankly, people are sick of it!! UKIP to many of these individuals are there voice in which was seemingly quietened in recent years through many prime ministers.
So what does UKIP stand for (in a nutshell of course):
EUROPE: Nigel Farage says he wants an “amicable divorce” from the European Union. Britain would retain trading links with its European neighbours but would withdraw from treaties and end subscription payments, adopting a similar relationship with the EU to Norway or Switzerland.
IMMIGRATION: An end to the age of “mass uncontrolled immigration”. It wants a five year freeze on immigration for permanent settlement – and any future migration must be strictly limited to those who can “clearly be shown to benefit the British people as a whole and our economy”. Immigrants would not be able to apply for public housing or benefits until they had paid tax for five years. In order to achieve these goals Britain would have to leave the EU because there are no restrictions on other EU citizens moving to the UK while it remains a member.
EDUCATION: UKIP backs selection by ability and would encourage the creation of new grammar schools. It would give parents vouchers to spend in the state or private education sector. It also advocates the return of the student grant system to replace loans.
LAW AND ORDER: UKIP would double prison places and protect “frontline” policing to enforce “zero tolerance” of crime.
THE ECONOMY: UKIP is proposing “tens of billions” of tax cuts and had set out £77bn of cuts to public expenditure to deal with the deficit.
DEMOCRACY: The party wants binding local and national referendums on major issues.
These points where sourced from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22396690 you can follow that link if you want a further in depth analysis of what UKIP are standing for.
David Cameron once dismissed UKIP as “fruitcakes, closet racists and loonies”, but something is obviously working as they are seemingly on the rise. It’s plain, then, that UKIP is mining a rich vein of unhappy voters who feel out of sorts in today’s Britain and/or have become worried Conservatives. I
t’s not just about Europe. This becomes clear when we ask people to pinpoint the three biggest issues facing Britain. Almost two-thirds of UKIP voters don’t mention Europe. They are far more concerned about immigration and the economy. Therefore I feel a huge proportion of the swing is to with the Its the economy. It’s always the economy. When people experience “hard times” voters will put the body behind these kinds of parties and this leads to the rise of extremist parties – look at the gains made by extremists all across Europe. When times are hard, people want someone to blame. The intuitive reaction is for people to blame someone else; someone they identify as “other”. UKIP provides a home for people who want to blame immigrants. Its nonsense of course, but that’s the politics of hate.
It seems that UKIP will gain some ground in this years upcoming election; I feel they wont get enough to make a huge rift in our Political system, but they will sure make some real noise. But you have to ask yourself, if politicians keep coming away from what parties like UKIP stand for then in the future will we see UKIP or a similar party in control od number 10? It is a thought we ALL should consider, when you see what is happening across Europe with the rise of extremism.
Once again, these are the views of a simple sociologist.
by moveslikemartin
Firstly, before I go straight into this I like to say that all views and opinions are my own.
Opinion. Everyone has one, whether people state if it is right or wrong at some point in our lives we have made/formulated opinions. In the United Kingdom the news industry is rife with a huge proportion of the population reading newspapers or some form of news daily. But the question is do you know the true ownership of these forces? This is a question I ask myself.
In today society media is so grounded in everything that we do and the news is a source of information that we all can understand and take in no matter what your back or who you are. It then for me is sad that the people who own these institutions of news in this country are more focused on the selling of there paper than the real news that often gets pushed to the back of the pile or even in some cases just a page filler. In a society where individuals in which celebrity has done what when there are such tragedies in the world that barely get touched upon.
Throughout history there have been cases of newspapers influencing public opinions; as an example when the Sun backing certain political parties to ensure that when it comes to voting that there is a huge swing in that parties favor. Now you’re thinking what relevance does this have, well it benefits the ownership by the increase of profit and it profits the person in charge of that party as the get control of the party it is a two way circle of profit and institutional control.
For a paper to have any success, they need advertisement. Advertisement creates profit that which keeps the cost of the papers down. However if these papers do not get such advertisements then the costs of the papers go up and in some cases causing that paper to shut down. This leads to the end of the age of the free newspapers- which means newspapers that where more centered for the people cannot compete with the big boys in the newspaper world.
Therefore, I feel that the British Print Media is more leaning to a source of EVIL! For me, it feels like I am being force fed “entertainment news” just so that paper can get the advertisement it needs to keep the owners obtain high profit margins and selling themselves out for cheap and unnecessary news. I think a certain degree of power and control is needed but surely we need more free newspapers in which they just report “news” that we need to see and still obtain the advertisements they need to keep themselves a float. As a closing gambit then I can only see things getting worse, as our society becomes more technological advanced I feel that the ownership by big corporations will increase to such a degree that what we now see and hear in our news is under the hands of a few high end certain individuals who want to see high cash profits for cheap entertainment style of news.
These are the views of a simple sociologist.
by moveslikemartin
“If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter”- George Washington
Society. A simplistic but yet confusing form that engulfs us all. As a Sociologist you get to come to know society pretty well and form your own opinions on this dark and deadly world that we inhabit. It concerns me then when I look at society today… it is just one big convoluted mess. We are that generation that are living is this modernistic age where everything we do is centered round technology. For me this is rather saddening. Don’t get me wrong I myself rely heavily on certain technologies and many would agree and argue that technology has improved the sheer basic functions in our society. But what about free speech? Do we still have the ability to express what we truly think and feel?
So the case I am thinking of here is the awful events that struck France in the early part of this year. It was 11:30 and the small murmurings of what was about the unfold in France was just becoming apparent. Paris an iconic city struck by such tragedy. Then the world was moved countless shows of support flooded social media and the tabloid press. So freedom of speech I remember reading within the coming days and article on the bus to University written by the BBC and this centered around the whole debate of our expression and the issues it causes and I came across this “Pope Francis has defended freedom of expression following last week’s attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo – but also stressed its limits”. And I know many people why flying the flag for the views that our freedom of speech should be taken into account; but I have to agree with that statement. Yes okay, history tells us of the major struggles that have presented themselves for us to have the divine right of speech however there are limits to what can and cant be said. And I feel that buttons where being pushed and this was the final straw; if you look into this further you’ll find many other examples as to when similar attacks have happened throughout Europe.
That being said it was a tragic and saddening event that had happened and you have to feel that we have come to a point in society in which we cannot express ourselves fully without having a mass backlash with the advancements of technology.I do too believe that our freedom of speech is lost because of the whole controls of the tabloid print media. Views cannot be expressed in a fair and just way; because of the concentration of ownership of the British Print Media. It is a shame that we are force fed opinions and beliefs as a way of selling newspapers rather than the true justification of news. It is sad that our society is more focused on hot celebrity gossip rather than the true crippling issues that still grip our world as I sit here and write this now. I feel that for society to work as an equilibrium, we need loser controls over our print media, for years and years it has been seen that certain papers have fed us to make certain choices that only profit the wealthy in this country that I call my home. And for many many years to come now I do not see this trend changing which is sad and even sickening.
I am a passionate believer in freedom of speech. I would not support anything which would impinge on aggressive robust freedom of the British press, but when things go wrong and there has been outright illegality, there should be proper accountability. Nick Clegg Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Liberal Democrats
These are just the thoughts of a simple sociologist.
| Miner |
In total, how many toes do most cats have? | Index Ge-Gj
Rulers
Index Ge-Gj
Geay, Lucien Eug�ne (b. Jan. 4, 1900 - d. Aug. 26, 1976), acting governor of Dahomey (1928-29), acting lieutenant governor of Mauritania (1947), and governor of Senegal (1952-54) and French Sudan (1954-56).
Gedvilas
Gedvilas, Mecislovas, Russian Mechislovas (Aleksandrovich) Gedvilas (b. Dec. 2 [Nov. 19, O.S.], 1901, Bubiai, Russia [now in Lithuania] - d. Feb. 15, 1981), chairman of the Council of People's Commissars (1940-46) and of the Council of Ministers (1946-56) of the Lithuanian S.S.R. He was also minister of interior (1940) and education (1957-73).
Geens, Gaston (C.S.A.) (b. June 10, 1931, Kersbeek-Miskom [now in Flemish Brabant province], Belgium - d. June 5, 2002, Winksele, Flemish Brabant), finance minister of Belgium (1977-80) and minister-president of Flanders (1981-92).
Geertsema, Carel Coenraad (b. June 9, 1843, Groningen, Netherlands - d. Oct. 19, 1928, Wiesbaden, Germany), queen's commissioner of Groningen (1892-1917); son of Johan Herman Geertsema Carelszoon.
Geertsema, Molly, byname of Willem Jacob Geertsema (b. Oct. 18, 1918, Utrecht, Netherlands - d. June 27, 1991, Wassenaar, Netherlands), Dutch deputy prime minister and interior minister (1971-73), minister for Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles (1973), and queen's commissioner of Gelderland (1973-83); grandnephew of Carel Coenraad Geertsema. He was also mayor of Wassenaar (1961-71).
Geertsema Carelszoon, Johan Herman (b. July 30, 1816, Groningen, Netherlands - d. April 14, 1908, Utrecht, Netherlands), interior minister of the Netherlands (1866, 1872-74) and king's/queen's commissioner of Overijssel (1878-93).
Geffrard, Fabre (Nicolas Guillaume), ci-devant duc de Tabara (or duc de la Table), name before adoption (by stepfather Fabre) Nicolas Guillaume Geffrard (b. Sept. 19, 1806, Anse-�-Veau, Haiti - d. Feb. 11, 1879, Kingston, Jamaica), president of Haiti (1859-67).
Geghamyan
Geghamyan, Artashes (Mamikoni) (b. Dec. 2, 1949, Yerevan, Armenian S.S.R.), Armenian politician. During 1979-86, he held various posts at the Council of the Communist Party of Armenia. During 1987-89, he was the first secretary of the Mashtotz District Council of the Communist Party. In 1989-90, he was mayor of Yerevan. In 1990, he quit the Communist Party. In 1995, he was elected to the National Assembly (parliament) of Armenia. In April 1997, he founded the National Unity party, which in February 1998 at its extraordinary session proposed Geghamyan as a candidate for that year's presidential elections. He won only 0.4% of the vote in that election. He was again presidential candidate in 2003 (16.9% of the vote) and 2008 (0.5%).
Gehlhoff, Walter (b. May 6, 1922, Berlin, Germany - d. Aug. 15, 2004, K�nigswinter, Germany), West German diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (1971-74) and ambassador to the Vatican (1977-84).
Gehlot
Geingob
Gehlot, Ashok (b. May 3, 1951, Mahamandir, Rajasthan, India), chief minister of Rajasthan (1998-2003, 2008-13).
Geiler, Karl (Hermann Friedrich) (b. Aug. 10, 1878, Sch�nau [now in Baden-W�rttemberg], Germany - d. Sept. 14, 1953), minister-president of Hessen (1945-47).
Geingob, Hage (Gottfried) (b. Aug. 31, 1941, Otjiwarongo, South West Africa [now Namibia]), prime minister (1990-2002, 2012-15) and president (2015- ) of Namibia. In 2008-12 he was trade and industry minister.
Geisel
Geisel, Ernesto (Beckmann) (b. Aug. 3, 1907
1
, Bento Gon�alves, Brazil - d. Sept. 12, 1996, Rio de Janeiro), president of Brazil (1974-79). A career army officer, he joined the military coup led by Get�lio Vargas that overthrew the elected government and installed a dictatorship in 1930. Geisel supported Vargas for 15 years, serving in a variety of military and civil administrative posts, but in 1945 he played an important part in overthrowing Vargas. During the next 15 years he held several important offices, including deputy chief of the military staff of the presidency and military representative to the National Petroleum Council, gaining a reputation for incisive leadership. He participated in the 1964 military coup that toppled Pres. Jo�o Goulart, became chief of Pres. Humberto Castelo Branco's military staff, and was promoted to general in 1966. In 1969 he took charge of Petrobr�s, the national oil corporation. Placed in the president's seat by the military oligarchy (March 15, 1974), he risked their opposition by beginning a gradual liberalization and demilitarization of the government, permitting open legislative elections in 1974, meeting with opposition leaders, and relaxing censorship. He outlined a new economic policy, "pragmatic nationalism," which called for shifting emphasis from exports to the development of domestic industry. Although there had been some indication that he might be succeeded by an elected civilian president, he and his conservative supporters saw that they would be defeated in open elections. Accordingly, he took no further steps toward democratization, and official repression of the political opposition increased in 1977. He did not run for reelection in 1979 but supported Gen. Jo�o Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo, his successor as president.
1 Year of birth was altered to 1908 to meet age limit for admission to military academy; this falsification was only publicly disclosed on the occasion of his 80th birthday.
Gelder
Gelling
Gelder, Wim van, byname of Willem Teunis van Gelder (b. Jan. 21, 1942, Amsterdam, Netherlands), queen's commissioner of Zeeland (1992-2007).
Gelling, Donald (James) (b. July 5, 1938, Santon, Isle of Man), chief minister of the Isle of Man (1996-2001, 2004-06).
A. Gemayel
Gemayel, Amin (Pierre), Arabic Amin Butrus al-Jumayyil (b. Jan. 22, 1942, Bikfaya, Lebanon), president of Lebanon (1982-88); son of Pierre Gemayel. He oversaw the Phalangist Party's vast business interests while his brother Bashir led the party's militia. He was co-founder of the rightist French-language daily newspaper Le R�veil. In contrast to his warlike brother, Amin showed himself to be conciliatory toward the other religious groups in Lebanon. He was first elected to parliament on the death of his uncle in 1970. When the civil war broke out, he fought and was injured when the jeep he was driving came under attack. During the Israeli siege of Beirut in 1982 he crossed the front line for meetings with Palestinian leaders at a time of great tension between the two sides of the divided city, an act that would have been unthinkable for Bashir. Amin was elected president of Lebanon a week after Bashir died. As president, the ineffective Amin proved no more successful than his predecessors in securing an agreement between Lebanon's warring groups that would end the country's civil war. From 1990 to July 2000, he resided in Paris as a self-exiled leader of the opposition.
B. Gemayel
Gemayel, Bashir (Pierre), Arabic Bashir Butrus al-Jumayyil (b. Nov. 10, 1947, Bikfaya, Lebanon - d. Sept. 14, 1982, Beirut, Lebanon), Lebanese politician; son of Pierre Gemayel. He emerged during the fighting of the late 1970s as the able and ruthless leader of the Phalangist militia. He was believed to be responsible for the 1978 killing of Tony Franjieh, son of former president Suleiman Franjieh. He unified the military forces of the Maronite community in 1980 after launching several murderous surprise attacks on rival Christian militias. He formally took over control of the Phalangist Party from his father in 1980. He was elected president of Lebanon by the parliament on Aug. 23, 1982, in the face of opposition by many of the country's Muslims, who disliked his close association with sectarian violence. He was assassinated in a bomb explosion 10 days before he was due to take office.
P. Gemayel
(1905-84)
Gemayel, (Sheikh) Pierre (Amin), Arabic Butrus Amin al-Jumayyil (b. Nov. 6, 1905, Bikfaya, Lebanon - d. Aug. 29, 1984, Bikfaya), Lebanese politician. He was born into a Christian family already powerful in the region immediately north of Beirut. He went to the Berlin Olympic Games in 1936 as captain of the Lebanese football (soccer) team. He was so impressed by the spirit and discipline of Nazi youth groups that on his return to Lebanon he helped found the right-wing authoritarian youth movement called the Phalange. He became the leader of the Phalange Party in 1937, retaining that position until 1980. This party became the political arm of the largest Christian community in Lebanon, the Maronites. He joined the forces of Fouad Chehab against those of Camille Chamoun when a rebellion broke out in 1958, led by former prime minister Saeb Salam. Gemayel was first elected to the Lebanese parliament in 1960. He was minister of public health (1958-60, 1961, 1968-69, 1984), public works, education, and agriculture (1958-60), finance (1960-61, 1968, 1969), interior (1966, 1968-69), tourism (1968-69), and posts and communications (1968-69, 1984). He ran unsuccessfully for the presidency (which was traditionally held by a Christian) in 1964 and 1970. It was the Phalangist militia that started the 1975 civil war with a massacre of Palestinians. He was instrumental in creating a large, militarily secure Christian enclave north of Beirut and became Lebanon's preeminent Christian political chieftain.
P. Gemayel
(1972-2006)
Gemayel, Pierre (Amin), Arabic Butrus Amin al-Jumayyil (b. Sept. 24, 1972, Bikfaya, Lebanon - d. [assassinated] Nov. 21, 2006, Beirut, Lebanon), industry minister of Lebanon (2005-06); son of Amin Gemayel.
Genadiev, Nikola (Ivanov) (b. Nov. 19, 1868, Bitola, Ottoman Empire [now in Macedonia] - d. Oct. 30, 1923, Sofia, Bulgaria), foreign minister of Bulgaria (1913-14). He was also minister of justice (1903-04), trade and agriculture (1904-08), interior (1907), and agriculture (acting, 1913).
Genba
Genba, Koichiro, Genba also spelled Gemba (b. May 20, 1964, Tamura, Fukushima prefecture, Japan), foreign minister of Japan (2011-12). In 1993 he was first elected to the House of Representatives as an independent, then joined the New Party Sakigake. In 1996 he took part in the foundation of the Democratic Party of Japan.
Genda, Ambrose Patrick (b. April 20, 1927, Gerihun, Sierra Leone), chairman of the National Reformation Council of Sierra Leone (1967). He was also ambassador to Liberia (1967-68) and the Soviet Union (1969-70) and high commissioner to the United Kingdom (1968-69).
Gendebien, Alexandre (Joseph C�lestin) (b. May 4, 1789, Mons, Austrian Netherlands [now in Belgium] - d. Dec. 6, 1869, Brussels, Belgium), member of the Provisional Government of Belgium (1830-31).
Gendotti
Gendotti, Gabriele (b. Oct. 10, 1954, Faido, Ticino, Switzerland), president of the Council of State of Ticino (2004-05, 2009-10).
Genebrier, Roger (Pierre) (b. May 16, 1901, Rethel, Ardennes, France - d. July 3, 1988, Paris, France), prefect of police of Paris (1955-57). He was also prefect of Seine-et-Oise d�partement (1950-55).
Genechten, Robert van (b. Oct. 25, 1895, Antwerp, Belgium - d. Dec. 12, 1945, The Hague), provincial commissioner of Zuid-Holland (1943).
Generali, Luigi (b. May 7, 1920, Faido, Ticino, Switzerland - d. June 27, 2005, Lugano, Ticino), president of the National Council of Switzerland (1978-79).
Geng Biao (b. August 1909, Liulin county, Hunan province, China - d. June 23, 2000, Beijing), defense minister of China (1981-82). He was also ambassador to Sweden (1950-56), Pakistan (1956-59), Burma (1963-67), and Albania (1969-71) and minister to Denmark (1950-55) and Finland (1951-54).
Genia, Kilroy (Koiro) (b. Oct. 24, 1961), foreign minister (1996-97, 1997) and defense minister (2000-02) of Papua New Guinea. He was also minister of public service (1995-96), justice (1999-2000), and local government (2002).
Geniatullin, Ravil (Faritovich) (b. Dec. 20, 1955), head of the administration of Chita oblast (1996-2008) and governor of Zabaikalsky kray (2008-13).
Genouille, Jules (Eug�ne) (b. June 27, 1839, Paris, France - d. Nov. 6, 1923, Paris), governor of Senegal (1886-88).
Genscher
Genscher, Hans-Dietrich (b. March 21, 1927, Reideburg [now part of Halle, Sachsen-Anhalt], Germany - d. March 31, 2016, Wachtberg, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany), German politician. During World War II he was drafted into the German armed services and was a prisoner of war at war's end. After his release he settled in what became East Germany, but in 1952 he fled to the West and soon joined the Free Democratic Party (FDP), rising quickly in its official ranks in Bremen. In 1965 he was elected to the Bundestag as a deputy for North Rhine-Westphalia. Beginning in 1969, the Free Democrats gave their support to the dominant Social Democrats in a coalition government, and Genscher became minister of the interior. Five years later he won the chairmanship of his party and the foreign ministry in the government. In 1982 the Free Democrats left the coalition with the Social Democrats and switched their allegiance to the Christian Democrats, who took over the government; Genscher then continued as foreign minister. He resigned as FDP chairman in 1985. Genscher strongly favoured better relations with the Soviet Union and the old eastern bloc and, after Mikhail Gorbachev came to power, insisted that the West should take advantage of the historic opportunities for d�tente. In 1989-90 he worked vigorously for German reunification and became the first foreign minister of the unified Germany until resigning in 1992.
Gentil, �mile (b. April 4, 1866, Volmunster, Moselle, France - d. March 30, 1914, Bordeaux, France), French colonial administrator. A naval officer, he led an expedition from the French Congo down the Shari (Chari) River to Lake Chad in 1895-97, establishing a French protectorate over the sultanate of Baguirmi. On Jan. 23, 1899, he was named commissioner of the Shari region and he was one of the leaders of the campaign against the Muslim leader Rabih az-Zubayr (killed April 22, 1900). Gentil was then installed at Fort-Lamy on May 29, 1900, and left there on August 25 and quit Fort-de-Possel (in the present Central African Republic, which was part of the Chad territory organized on Sept. 5, 1900) on Jan. 2, 1901, remaining titular commissioner until July 2, 1902. Thereafter he was chief administrator of Middle Congo (1902-06) and commissioner-general of French Congo (1904-08).
Gentiloni
Gentiloni (Silveri), Paolo (b. Nov. 22, 1954, Rome, Italy), foreign minister (2014-16) and prime minister (2016- ) of Italy. He was also communications minister (2006-08).
Gentvilas
Geoana
Gentvilas, Eugenijus (b. March 14, 1960, Telsiai, Lithuanian S.S.R.), acting prime minister of Lithuania (2001). He was also economy minister (2001).
Geoana, Mircea (Dan Ioan) (b. July 14, 1958, Bucharest, Romania), foreign minister of Romania (2000-04). He was also ambassador to the U.S. (1996-2000). In 2005 he became leader of the Social Democratic Party and in 2008 president of the Senate. He was a presidential candidate in 2009. In 2010 he lost his position as party leader to Victor Ponta. In 2011 he was ousted from the party and removed as Senate president.
Georgakis, Ioannis (b. 1916 - d. Nov. 1, 1993), interior minister of Greece (1993).
George I
George II
George I, in full George Louis, German Georg Ludwig (b. June 7 [May 28, Old Style], 1660, Osnabr�ck, Hanover [Germany] - d. June 22 [June 11, O.S.], 1727, Osnabr�ck), elector of Hanover (1698-1727) and king of Great Britain and Ireland (1714-27).
George II, in full George Augustus, German Georg August (b. Nov. 9 [Oct. 30, Old Style], 1683, Herrenhausen Palace, Hanover [Germany] - d. Oct. 25, 1760, London), king of Great Britain and Ireland and elector of Hanover (1727-60); son of George I.
George III
George III, in full George William Frederick, German Georg Wilhelm Friedrich (b. June 4 [May 24, Old Style], 1738, London - d. Jan. 29, 1820, Windsor Castle, near London), king of Great Britain and Ireland (1760-1801) and of the United Kingdom (1801-20) and elector (1760-1814) and king (1814-20) of Hanover. He was the son of Frederick Louis, prince of Wales, and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. On his accession he sought to rule without regard to party, to banish corruption from political practice, and to abandon the Hanoverian preoccupations of his predecessors. However, the chief minister chosen to implement his new system of politics, John Stuart, Earl of Bute, was an unpracticed politician who merely succeeded in disrupting the established politics of the day without creating a viable alternative. The result was 10 years of ministerial instability and public controversy, which ended only in 1770 with the appointment of Lord North, an able and congenial minister. George was a strong supporter of the war against America, and he viewed the concession of independence in 1783 with such detestation that he considered abdicating his throne. At the same time he fought a bitter personal feud with the Whig leader Charles James Fox, and his personal intervention brought the fall of the Fox-North ministry in 1783. He then found another minister, William Pitt the Younger, who suited him. Even as late as 1801 he preferred, however, to force Pitt to resign rather than permit Catholic emancipation, a measure that he interpreted as contrary to his coronation oath to uphold the Church of England. After 1801 his recurring bouts of insanity became a political problem and ultimately compelled him to submit to the establishment of a formal regency in 1811. The regent was his oldest son, the future George IV.
George IV
George IV, in full George Augustus Frederick, German Georg August Friedrich (b. Aug. 12, 1762, London, England - d. June 26, 1830, Windsor, Berkshire), king of the United Kingdom and of Hanover (1820-30). He was the eldest son of George III and Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. In November 1810 George III became permanently insane, and shortly afterward the prince became regent under the terms of the Regency Act (1811). In February 1812, when the restrictions of that statute expired, George decided to retain his father's ministers rather than appoint survivors from among his old Whig friends. His decision benefited the nation, because leading Whigs were prepared to abandon the war with France and leave Napoleon the master of the European continent. As it was, Great Britain and its allies finally triumphed over Napoleon in 1815. George IV's accession on the death of his father did not add to the powers that he had possessed as regent. He insulted and intrigued against the 2nd Earl of Liverpool, prime minister from 1820 to 1827. George Canning, who became foreign secretary in 1822 and prime minister in 1827, won George's approval, partly by cultivating the friendship of Sir William Knighton, the king's physician and keeper of the privy purse, on whose advice George relied excessively. But after 1827 he ceased to have any personal weight with either of the two great parties.
George V
George V, in full George Frederick Ernest Albert (b. June 3, 1865, London, England - d. Jan. 20, 1936, Sandringham, Norfolk, England), king of the United Kingdom (1910-36). He was the second son of Prince Albert Edward, later King Edward VII. He became Duke of Cornwall and was created Prince of Wales after his father's accession in 1901, succeeded his father on May 6, 1910, and was crowned on June 22, 1911. Formidable difficulties faced the new king early in his reign. The constitutional struggle to curb the power of the House of Lords was unresolved, and the Liberal government secured an undertaking from the king that, should the lords not yield, he would create sufficient new peers to overcome the opposition. After the Liberal success in the election of December 1910, the House of Lords relented and passed the Parliament Act (1911), and the king did not have to fulfill his pledge. Respect for George greatly increased during World War I, and he visited the front in France several times. In 1917, George changed the name of his house from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor. After World War I the king was confronted by an outbreak of serious industrial unrest. He was also faced with a difficult decision on the resignation of Bonar Law in 1923, when he had to find a new prime minister. Both Lord Curzon and Stanley Baldwin had supporters among the elder statesmen whom George consulted, but, believing Baldwin had more support in the Conservative Party and that the prime minister should be in the House of Commons, the king selected him. When the Labour administration split in 1931, he persuaded Ramsay MacDonald and a part of his cabinet to remain in office and join with Conservative and Liberal ministers in the formation of a national coalition government.
George VI
George VI, also called (1920-36) Prince Albert, Duke of York, in full Albert Frederick Arthur George (b. Dec. 14, 1895, York cottage, Sandringham, Norfolk, England - d. Feb. 6, 1952, Sandringham), king of the United Kingdom (1936-52). He was the second son of the future king George V. On April 26, 1923, he was married to Lady Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (1900-2002), youngest daughter of the 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. They had two children: Princess Elizabeth (afterward Queen Elizabeth II) and Princess Margaret (afterward Countess of Snowdon). He was officially proclaimed king on Dec. 12, 1936, following the abdication of his brother Edward VIII. He was crowned on May 12, 1937. Before the outbreak of World War II, he affirmed Anglo-French solidarity and formed a close friendship with U.S. Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt, but he supported Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's "appeasement" policy toward Germany and Italy. In May 1940, when the House of Commons forced Chamberlain to resign, the king wished to appoint Edward Halifax (later 1st Earl of Halifax) to the premiership but was induced to select Winston Churchill, whose wartime leadership he then supported unreservedly. During the war he visited his armies on several battle fronts. Although he had ceased to be emperor of India when India and Pakistan became separate independent countries, he was formally recognized, on April 27, 1949, as head of the Commonwealth of Nations by the governments of its member states. Although he was an important symbolic leader of the British people during World War II, his reign was perhaps most important for the accelerating evolution of the British Empire into the Commonwealth of Nations and the postwar transformation of Britain into a welfare state.
Ambrose George
Andrew George
George, Ambrose, finance minister of Dominica (2000-01). He was sent on leave in December 2001, pending the results of a government investigation into his alleged involvement with a local businessman who faced money laundering charges in the United States. As a result it was announced that there was no credible evidence linking George with money laundering. However, Prime Minister Pierre Charles assumed responsibility for finance and switched George to head the Ministry of Industry, Physical Planning and Enterprise Development. In 2004 he became minister of agriculture and environment, in 2005 minister of public works and public utilities, and in 2007 minister of public works and infrastructural development. In 2008 he was dropped from the cabinet following allegations of his involvement in various Internet scams. In 2010, however, he was reappointed as minister for information, telecommunication, and constituency empowerment.
George, Andrew (Neil) (b. Oct. 9, 1952), governor of Anguilla (2006-09).
H. George
George, Henry (b. Sept. 2, 1839, Philadelphia, Pa. - d. Oct. 29, 1897, New York City), U.S. political figure. He took part in Democratic Party politics in California until 1880. There he was struck by the large tracts of land which had been freely and even recklessly granted to railway companies and other corporations. Meditating on the evils produced by those monopolies, he came to believe that the root of the social maladies of his time was the individual ownership of land. The result of his reflections was his book Progress and Poverty (1879), which had an enormous sale and was translated into many languages. Its vogue was enhanced by his pamphlets, his frequent contributions to magazines, and his lecture tours in both the United States and the British Isles. His central proposal was the "single tax" on land: "What man has produced belongs to the individual producer; what God has created belongs equally to all men ... therefore abolish all taxation save on the value of land." In 1886 he ran for mayor of New York City for the United Labour Party; he was defeated, although he ran ahead of Theodore Roosevelt. He also wrote much on free trade, stating that cause with much clearness and eloquence in his book Protection or Free Trade. In 1897 on the creation of Greater New York he became again the candidate of the labour organizations to oppose Tammany Hall. But the incessant exertions of writing, travelling, and speaking had greatly enfeebled him. He died four days before the election. The Georgist movement then declined, although it still has its adherents today. Internationally it had the most success in Denmark, where a Georgist party (Retsforbund) was long represented in parliament (1926-60, 1973-75, 1977-81) and once participated in a coalition government (1957-60).
George, Hywel (b. May 10, 1924), governor of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (1969-70).
George, Norman (b. July 2, 1946, Atiu, Cook Islands), foreign minister (1984-89) and deputy prime minister (1999-2001) of the Cook Islands. He was also speaker of parliament (2004-06), being elected as such on Dec. 14, 2004, though he had lost his seat on Atiu in the 2004 general elections. He was returned to parliament in a by-election held on June 8, 2006.
George, Yosiwo P(alikkun) (b. July 24, 1941, Malem, Kusaie [now Kosrae], Micronesia [now in Federated States of Micronesia]), governor of Kosrae (1983-91) and vice president of the Federated States of Micronesia (2015- ). He was also permanent representative to the United Nations (1992-95) and ambassador to the United States (2008-12) and Israel (2010-14).
George-Brown, George Alfred George-Brown, Baron, original name George Alfred Brown (b. Sept. 2, 1914, London, England - d. June 2, 1985, Cornwall, England), British politician. He became full-time organizer in North London for the Transport and General Workers' Union and, as its nominee, won (1945) the parliamentary seat of Belper, Derbyshire. After serving as parliamentary secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (1947-51), he became minister of works (1951). He served as deputy leader of the Labour Party (1960-70), but despite having defeated Harold Wilson in the 1961 and 1962 elections for the party's deputy leadership, he lost to Wilson when a new leader was chosen after Hugh Gaitskell's death (1963). Heading the newly created (and short-lived) Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), he faced balance of payments problems and hostility from the Treasury, on whose ground the DEA impinged. Brown's position became untenable when in a 1966 crisis Wilson took Treasury rather than DEA advice. As foreign secretary (1966-68) Brown made a strenuous but unsuccessful effort (1967) to achieve for Britain membership in the European Communities. He resigned on an impulse when he was not consulted on an urgent decision. He lost his House of Commons seat in 1970 and was created a life peer, changing his surname from Brown to George-Brown by deed poll. He resigned from the Labour Party in 1976 and was a founder-member (1981) of the Social Democratic Party.
George Tupou II
George Tupou II (b. June 18, 1874, Neiafu, Vava'u, Tonga - d. April 5, 1918, Nuku'alofa, Tonga), king of Tonga (1893-1918).
George Tupou V
George Tupou V, Tongan Siaosi Tupou V (b. May 4, 1948, Nuku'alofa, Tonga - d. March 18, 2012, Hong Kong, China), king of Tonga (2006-12); son of Taufa'ahau Tupou IV. He was an Oxford University graduate and completed three years' study at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. He spent 28 years working for the government after joining the civil service in 1970, and was appointed the first head of the foreign affairs ministry in 1979. The unmarried crown prince, then known as Tupouto'a, resigned from his position as minister of foreign affairs and defense in 1998. He also retired from the chair of Tonga's electric power board, its water board, and its tourism board. Tupouto'a's business interests ranged from a fishing company to brewing. Succeeding his late father as king in 2006, his coronation was postponed after rioting over political reform left eight people dead and the centre of the capital, Nuku'alofa, virtually burned to the ground. Days before his coronation in 2008, he announced that he was "voluntarily surrendering his powers to meet the democratic aspirations of many of his people," leaving day-to-day affairs in charge of the prime minister.
George-Wout
George-Wout, Lucille (Andrea) (b. Feb. 26, 1950, Cura�ao), governor of Cura�ao (2013- ).
Georges, Elton (b. May 1, 1943, Tortola island, British Virgin Islands), deputy governor of the British Virgin Islands (1983-2003). He served as acting governor on several occasions, including in October 2002.
Georges-Picot, Guillaume, byname Willie Georges-Picot (b. Aug. 10, 1898, �tretat, Seine-Inf�rieure [now Seine-Maritime], France - d. Sept. 26, 1985), French diplomat. He was minister to Albania (1946), ambassador to Venezuela (1946-48), Argentina (1948-51), and Mexico (1955-56), and permanent representative to the United Nations (1956-59).
Georgiev (Stoyanov), Kimon (b. Aug. 23, 1882, Tatar Pazardzhik, Eastern Rumelia, Ottoman Empire [now Pazardzhik, Bulgaria] - d. Sept. 28, 1968, Sofia, Bulgaria), prime minister (1934-35, 1944-46) and foreign minister (1934, 1946-47) of Bulgaria. He was also minister of railways, posts, and telegraphs (1926-28), justice (1934-35), and electrification (1947-59), chairman of the committee for construction and architecture (1959), and a deputy premier (1947-49, 1959-62).
Georgiev (Ivanov), Nikolay (b. 1906 - d. June 18, 1987), deputy chairman of the Presidium of the National Assembly of Bulgaria (1958-66).
Georgievski
Georgios
Georgievski, Ljubco (b. Jan. 17, 1966, Stip, central Macedonia), prime minister of Macedonia (1998-2002). He was elected vice president of Macedonia on Feb. 1, 1991, but resigned on October 22. He changed the spelling of his first name from Ljupco to the "more Macedonian" Ljubco in 1996.
Georgios, Prince (b. June 24, 1869, Corfu, Greece - d. Nov. 25, 1957, Saint-Cloud, Seine-et-Oise [now in Hauts-de-Seine], France), Supreme Plenipotentiary Commissioner of the Powers in Crete (1898-1906); son of Georgios I.
Georgios I
Georgios I, original name Prince (Christian) Vilhelm (Ferdinand Adolf Georg) of Denmark (b. Dec. 24, 1845, Copenhagen, Denmark - d. March 18, 1913, Salonika, Greece), king of Greece (1863-1913). The second son of King Christian IX of Denmark and the brother of Queen Alexandra, wife of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, he was nominated to the Greek throne by Britain, France, and Russia after the first Greek king, Othon, was deposed in 1862. The National Assembly accepted Vilhelm as king of the Hellenes in March 1863, and he ascended the throne as Georgios I on October 31. In 1867 he married the Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia. Although the early years of his reign were dominated by his harsh and unpopular adviser Count Sponneck, who was obliged to return to Denmark in 1877, he refrained from transgressing the prerogatives of the National Assembly and became one of the most successful constitutional monarchs in Europe. While taking a walk he was shot and killed by a man named Alexandros Skinas, who apparently had no political motives.
Georgios II
Georgios II (b. July 20, 1890, Tatoi, near Athens, Greece - d. April 1, 1947, Athens), king of Greece (1922-24, 1935-47). The eldest son of King Konstantinos I, he was excluded from the succession during World War I for his allegedly pro-German sympathies, but he came to the throne when his father was deposed by Gen. Nikolaos Plastiras in September 1922. Feeling ran high against the royal family, however, and, after a royalist coup d'�tat had been suppressed in October 1923, Georgios felt compelled to leave Greece on December 19 with his queen, Elizabeth. In March 1924 the Greek National Assembly voted the end of the monarchy and proclaimed Greece a republic. The king remained in exile until the conservative Populist Party, with the support of the army, gained control of the Assembly and declared the restoration of the monarchy in October 1935; a plebiscite, which was most probably manipulated by the prime minister, Gen. Georgios Kondylis, was held in November in an effort to demonstrate that the great majority of the people favoured his return. In 1936 Gen. Ioannis Metaxas seized power after asserting that the nation was on the verge of being taken over by the communists. The king's support of Metaxas put the throne in a controversial position, particularly after Metaxas banned political parties, dissolved Parliament, suspended constitutional rights, and even decreed the censorship of Pericles' great funeral oration to the Athenians as recorded by Thucydides. The king was forced into exile after the German invasion of Greece in April 1941, going first to Crete, then to Alexandria, and finally to London. After the war republican sentiments again threatened his throne, but he was restored by a plebiscite supervised by the Allies and returned to Greece in 1946.
Georgy, Guy (No�l) (b. Nov. 17, 1918, Paris, France - d. July 9, 2003, Paris), high commissioner of Middle Congo (1959-60). He was also ambassador to Bolivia (1961-64), Dahomey (1964-69), Libya (1969-75), Iran (1980-82), and Algeria (1982-84).
Gephardt
Gephardt, Richard (Andrew), byname Dick Gephardt (b. Jan. 31, 1941, St. Louis, Mo.), U.S. politician. He served on the St. Louis Board of Aldermen (1971-77), and in 1976 ran successfully for Congress, portraying himself as a new kind of moderate Democrat. In 2002 he won the seat for the 14th time. In 1985 he helped form the Democratic Leadership Council, the group of moderates that was a spawning ground for such national leaders as Bill Clinton. Gephardt shot to national prominence in 1988 when he won the Iowa caucus and finished second in the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary. But he withdrew from the race after Super Tuesday, when he captured only one of 21 events - the primary in his home state. House Democrats picked Gephardt as the majority leader, the No. 2 position in the House, in 1989, ushering in what they hoped would be a better image for the party after controversy that led to the resignation of Speaker Jim Wright. Gephardt was the next Democrat in line to succeed Tom Foley of Washington as speaker, and Foley was defeated in the 1994 election. But so were a lot of Democrats, and Gephardt had the unhappy chore of handing the gavel to Newt Gingrich, head of the new majority Republicans, who became speaker, officially ending 40 years of Democratic control over the House. As Democratic leader Gephardt worked closely with the White House to promote its failed attempt to establish a national health care system, and he has been a stalwart supporter of campaign finance reform, increases in the minimum wage, and efforts to save Social Security. But he was at odds with the White House in 1993 in opposing the North American Free Trade Agreement. He has voted to ban a kind of late-term abortion; President Clinton vetoed the ban. In 2004 he again ran for the Democratic presidential nomination, but dropped out after coming fourth in the Iowa caucuses.
G�rard, Bernard (Marcel Paul) (b. July 12, 1932, Niort, Deux-S�vres, France - d. Nov. 24, 2011, Draguignan, Var, France), high commissioner of French Polynesia (1985-86). He was also prefect of the d�partements of Jura (1983-84), Ain (1984-85), H�rault (1990-93), and Loiret (1993-97).
G�rard, �tienne Maurice, comte (b. April 4, 1773, Damvilliers [now in Meuse d�partement], France - d. April 17, 1852, Paris, France), war minister (1830, 1834) and prime minister (1834) of France.
G�rard, Max L�o (b. April 24, 1879, Li�ge [now Li�ge], Belgium - d. Nov. 26, 1955, Uccle, Belgium), finance minister of Belgium (1935-36, 1938).
Gerasimov, Valentin (Pavlovich) (b. May 28, 1940), chairman of the Executive Committee (1988-91) and head of the administration (1991-95) of Kurgan oblast.
Geraud, (Baptiste) L�on, acting governor of the French Settlements in Oceania (1912-13).
Gerbel, Serhiy (Mykolayovych), Russian Sergey (Nikolayevich) Gerbel (b. 1858, Saint Petersburg province, Russia - d. 1936), chairman of the Council of Ministers of the non-Communist Ukraine (1918). He was also governor of Kharkov (1903-04) and minister of food (1918).
Gerbinis, Louis (Martial Innocent) (b. July 1, 1871, Toulon, France - d. July 24, 1954, Meillon, Basses-Pyr�n�es [now Pyr�n�es-Atlantiques], France), governor of French India (1919-26), Guadeloupe (1926-27), and Martinique (1928-33).
Gerbrandy
Geremek
Gerbrandy, Pieter Sjoerds (b. April 13, 1885, Sneek, Friesland, Netherlands - d. Sept. 7, 1961, The Hague, Netherlands), prime minister of the Netherlands (1940-45). He was also minister of justice (1939-42) and colonies (1941-42).
Gerdener, Theo(dor Johannes Adolph) (b. March 19, 1916, Cape Town, South Africa - d. Nov. 21, 2013), administrator of Natal (1961-70) and interior minister of South Africa (1970-72).
Geremek, Bronislaw (b. March 6, 1932, Warsaw, Poland - d. [car crash] July 13, 2008, Nowy Tomysl, Poland), foreign minister of Poland (1997-2000).
Gerengbo (Yazalo), Marie-Th�r�se (b. Aug. 27, 1951, Fataki, Belgian Congo [now Congo (Kinshasa)]), special commissioner (2015-16) and governor (2016- ) of Nord-Ubangi.
Gerhardsen
Gerhardsen, Einar Henry (b. May 10, 1897, Asker, Norway - d. Sept. 19, 1987, Lilleborg, Oslo, Norway), prime minister of Norway (1945-51, 1955-63, 1963-65). He was active in trade union affairs before he was elected to the Oslo town council in 1932. He became secretary of the Labour Party in 1934 and mayor of Oslo in 1940 but was dismissed later that year by the German occupying forces. Arrested by the Gestapo in 1941 because of his resistance to the occupation, he spent three and a half years in prisons and concentration camps. On his liberation in 1945 he returned to his post as mayor of Oslo. He became leader of the Labour Party and was asked to form a coalition government, which launched a campaign to repair the damage and divisions of the war years. Labour won a majority in the 1945 general elections and could then govern alone. Despite the Marxist and antimilitarist leanings of his youth, Gerhardsen brought Norway into NATO in 1949 and resisted Soviet attempts in 1964 to weaken Norway's commitment. Throughout his career he endeavoured to further East-West d�tente, and he established Norway's opposition to foreign bases and nuclear weapons. His policies, sometimes controversial abroad, gained support at home. In 1965 the Labour Party was defeated at the polls and he stepped down as party chairman, but he remained a prominent figure in Norwegian politics and served as a member of parliament until he retired in 1969.
Gericke van Herwijnen, Johan Eberhard Paul Ernst (b. Feb. 23, 1785, Kleve, Prussia [now in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany] - d. Nov. 19, 1845, Maastricht, Netherlands), commissioner/governor of Limburg (1831-45).
Gericke van Herwijnen, (Joseph) Louis (Heinrich Alfred) baron (b. Feb. 18, 1814, Dillenburg, Nassau [now in Hessen, Germany] - d. May 26, 1899, Brussels, Belgium), foreign minister of the Netherlands (1871-74); son of Johan Eberhard Paul Ernst Gericke van Herwijnen. He was also minister to Belgium (1851-70, 1875-95).
Geringer
Geringer, Jim, byname of James Edward Geringer (b. April 24, 1944, Wheatland, Wyo.), governor of Wyoming (1995-2003). The Republican was elected to the state legislature in 1982. Gov. Mike Sullivan could probably have won a third term in 1994, but he ran for the Senate instead. Secretary of State Kathy Karpan was the obvious Democratic nominee, and in another year might well have won. Instead, the key contest was the Republican primary, won by Geringer. In the anti-Clinton atmosphere of November 1994, he easily prevailed over Karpan, carrying all but one county. Geringer complained of "the increasing imbalance of power between federal and state governments" and wanted to give life to the 10th Amendment which reserves to the states powers not delegated to the federal government. He called for Wyoming to use its mineral resources and low taxes to build a more diversified, higher-tech economy.
Gerlach, Manfred (b. May 8, 1928, Leipzig, Germany - d. Oct. 17, 2011, Berlin, Germany), acting chairman of the Council of State of East Germany (1989-90). He was chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany from 1967 to 1990.
Gerland, Karl (b. July 14, 1905, Gottsb�ren, Hessen - d. [killed in action] April 22, 1945, Oderbogen area), Oberpr�sident of Kurhessen (1944-45).
Germain, Ga�tan Lo�c Elie Ernest (b. Dec. 23, 1904 - d. Nov. 15, 1956), governor of French Somaliland (1940).
J. Germain
P. Germain
Germain, Jean (b. Sept. 11, 1947, Tours, Indre-et-Loire, France - d. [suicide] April 7, 2015, Tours), mayor of Tours (1995-2014) and first vice president (1998-2011) and acting president (2000, 2007) of the Regional Council of Centre.
Germain, Philippe (b. 1968, Noum�a, New Caledonia), president of the government of New Caledonia (2015- ).
German, civil name Hranislav Djoric (b. Aug. 7, 1899, Josanicka Banja, Serbia - d. Aug. 27, 1991, Belgrade, Serbia), patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Serbia (1958-90).
German, Paul (b. March 30, 1915, Tours, France - d. Sept. 23, 1993, Caen, France), president of the Regional Council of Basse-Normandie (1978-82).
Ger�
Ger�, Ern�, original name Ern� Singer (b. July 8, 1898, Terbegec, Hungary [now Trebusovce, Slovakia] - d. March 12, 1980, Budapest), Hungarian politician. In 1944 he became a member of the Politburo, and he served as minister in many Communist governments. He was the driving force behind rapid industrialization, demanding in 1950 that Hungary be made a "country of iron and steel." He was named (July 18, 1956) first secretary of the Hungarian Workers' (Communist) Party and served as the country's last Stalinist leader before the 1956 rebellion. After his pro-Soviet broadcast on Oct. 23, 1956, large crowds gathered to protest the oppression of the Hungarian people by the Hungarian and Soviet regimes. Ger�, who was unable to crush the rebellion, called in Soviet troops who fired on the demonstrators. He was replaced (October 25) as first secretary by J�nos K�d�r, who was then installed as premier (November 4) by the Soviets. Although Ger� was initially believed to have been killed by rebels in Budapest, he escaped into exile.
Gerry, Elbridge (b. July 17, 1744, Marblehead, Mass. - d. Nov. 23, 1814, Washington, D.C.), governor of Massachusetts (1810-12) and U.S. vice president (1813-14).
Gerter
Gerter, Ivan (Konstantinovich) (b. 1963, Druzhba, Severo-Kazakhstan oblast, Kazakh S.S.R.), prime minister of Kabardino-Balkariya (2011-12).
Gertze, Neville (Melvin) (b. Aug. 5, 1966), Namibian diplomat. He has been high commissioner to Malaysia (2003-08), ambassador to Germany, the Vatican, Poland, and Turkey (2009-15), and permanent representative to the United Nations (2017- ).
Gervais, Jacques Fran�ois (b. 1795? - d. June 3, 1869, Brest, France), commandant of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (1850-55, 1856-59).
J.-M. K. Gervais
Gervais, Jean-Marie Kacou (b. Oct. 7, 1938, Sassandra, Ivory Coast [now C�te d'Ivoire]), foreign minister of C�te d'Ivoire (2010-11). He was also ambassador to Angola (1982-92) and France (1996-2000) and permanent representative to the United Nations (1992-96).
Gervais, Pierre (b. Oct. 31, 1723 - d. ...), presiding syndic of the Administrative Council of Gen�ve (1795-96, 1797).
Gervil-Yambala, Jean-Louis (b. 1946 - d. Nov. 18, 2001, Paris, France), foreign minister of the Central African Republic (1981-83). He was also ambassador to Belgium (1991-98).
Gerville-R�ache, Anne L�odor Philot�e Metellus (b. July 26, 1849, Pointe-�-Pitre, Guadeloupe - d. ...), commandant of Mayotte (1885-87) and governor of French Guiana (1888-91).
Geshov
Geshov, Ivan Evstratiev (b. Feb. 20, 1849, Plovdiv, Ottoman Empire [now in Bulgaria] - d. March 11, 1924, Sofia, Bulgaria), prime minister and foreign minister of Bulgaria (1911-13). He took an active part in the Bulgarian struggle for national liberation from the Ottoman Empire. For writing a series of letters condemning Turkish atrocities he was sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted afterwards to one of exile to Aleppo, and after the signature of the Treaty of San Stefano in March 1878 he was pardoned and returned to Bulgaria. He was the first president of the provincial assembly of Eastern Rumelia (1878-81) and afterwards provincial minister of finance. In 1883 he was appointed governor of the Bank of Bulgaria. He signed the treaty of peace with Serbia in February 1886, and in the same year was appointed Bulgarian minister of finance in the cabinet of Vasil Radoslavov after the abdication of Prince Aleksandur. But, disapproving of the pro-Austrian policy of Stefan Stambolov, who was then one of the regents, he resigned in August 1887 and did not take part in political life again until Dec. 21, 1894, when he was appointed finance minister under Konstantin Stoilov. He resigned three years later, but after Stoilov's death in March 1901 he was elected leader of the Populist Party and in 1911-13 he presided over a coalition government that promoted the policy of the Balkan Alliance and waged the Balkan War against Turkey, which began on Oct. 17, 1912. He resigned on May 30, 1913, the day on which the treaty between Turkey and the Balkan states was signed, as he was not in agreement with King Ferdinand's policy in favour of war with Bulgaria's allies. In 1923 he joined the Democratic Party after the fall of Aleksandur Stamboliyski. Other posts he held were minister of commerce and agriculture (1894-96, 1896-97) and public buildings, roads, and public works (1912) and president of the National Assembly (1901, 1913) and of the Academy of Sciences (1911-24).
Gessler
Gessler, Otto (Karl) (b. Feb. 6, 1875, Ludwigsburg, W�rttemberg [now in Baden-W�rttemberg], Germany - d. March 24, 1955, Lindenberg, Bayern, West Germany), minister of reconstruction (1919-20), defense minister (1920-28), acting interior minister (1925-26), and acting chancellor (1926) of Germany. Earlier he was mayor of Regensburg (1910-14) and N�rnberg (1914-19).
Gestido (Pose), �scar Diego (b. Nov. 28, 1901, Montevideo, Uruguay - d. Dec. 6, 1967, Montevideo), president of Uruguay (1967). He was also inspector-general of the army (1951-55).
Gettelfinger, Ron(ald Anthony) (b. Aug. 1, 1944, near DePauw, Ind.), president of the United Automobile Workers (2002-10).
Getty, Donald (Ross) (b. Aug. 30, 1933, Westmount, Que. - d. Feb. 26, 2016, Edmonton, Alta.), premier of Alberta (1985-92).
Ghafoor, Abdul (b. 1918, Sareya Akhtiyar village, Gopalganj district, Bihar, India - d. July 10, 2004, Patna, Bihar), chief minister of Bihar (1973-75).
Ghafoorzai
Ghalawanji
Ghafoorzai, Abdul Rahim (b. 1946? - d. Aug. 21, 1997, Bamyan province, Afghanistan), foreign minister of Afghanistan (1996). After the Taliban took Kabul in 1996, he remained foreign minister in the anti-Taliban government and in 1997 became its prime minister, but shortly afterwards was killed in a plane crash.
Ghalawanji, Omar (Ibrahim) (b. 1954, Tartous, Syria), acting prime minister of Syria (2012). He has been minister of housing and construction (2008-11) and local administration (2011- ).
Ghaleb, (Mohamed) Murad, Arabic (Muhammad) Murad Ghalib (b. April 1, 1922, Cairo, Egypt - d. December 2007), foreign minister of Egypt (1972). He was also ambassador to Congo (L�opoldville) (1960), the Soviet Union (1961-71), and Yugoslavia (1974-77) and information minister (1973-74).
Ghali, Ibrahim (b. Aug. 19, 1949, Smara, Spanish West Africa [now Western Sahara]), defense minister (1976-89, 1993-98) and president (2016- ) of the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic. He was also minister of the occupied territories (1998-99) and ambassador to Algeria (2008-16).
Ghalib
Ghandour
Ghalib, Umar Arteh, Somali Cumar Carte Qaalib (b. 1930, Hargeysa, British Somaliland), foreign minister (1969-76), speaker of the People's Assembly (1982-91), and prime minister (1991-93) of Somalia. He was also ambassador to Ethiopia (1965-68) and minister of higher education and culture (1976-78). As Somalia descended into civil war in 1991, his position as prime minister became increasingly nominal and he spent much time abroad. In 1993 he returned to Somaliland, recognizing that region's secession from Somalia.
Ghandour, Ibrahim (Ahmed Abdelaziz) (b. 1952, El Dueim, Sudan), foreign minister of The Sudan (2015- ).
Ghanem
A. Ghani
Ghanem, Shukri (Muhammad), Arabic Shukri (Muhammad) Ghanim (b. Oct. 9, 1942, Tripoli, Libya - d. April 29, 2012, Vienna, Austria), secretary of the General People's Committee of Libya (2003-06). He tried to move the socialist economy towards a free market model, but his policies were roundly criticized by the local People's Committees, which implement government policy. In 2006 he was named to head the National Oil Corporation. He defected from the Muammar al-Qaddafi regime in May 2011.
Ghani (Ahmadzai), (Mohammad) Ashraf (b. May 19, 1949, Logar province, Afghanistan), finance minister (2002-04) and president (2014- ) of Afghanistan. He was an unsuccessful presidential candidate in 2009, winning less than 3% of the vote.
Ghani, Owais Ahmed (b. Feb. 5, 1951, Peshawar, Pakistan), governor of Balochistan (2003-08) and North-West Frontier Province/Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (2008-11).
Ghannouchi
Ghannouchi, Mohamed, Arabic Muhammad al-Ghanushi (b. Aug. 18, 1941, Sousse, Tunisia), prime minister (1999-2011) and interim president (2011) of Tunisia. Earlier he was minister of planning (1987), finance (1989-92), and international cooperation and foreign investment (1992-99).
Gharekhan, Chinmaya (Rajaninath) (b. 1934), Indian diplomat. He was ambassador to Vietnam (1975-76), permanent representative to the United Nations (1986-92), and UN special representative to Middle East peace talks (1993-99).
Gharsalli, (Mohamed) Najem (b. Dec. 30, 1962, Kasserine, Tunisia), interior minister of Tunisia (2015-16). He has also been governor of Mahdia (2011-15) and ambassador to Morocco (2016- ).
Ghawail
Ghawail, Khalifa al-, also spelled al-Ghweil (b. 1964, Misratah, Libya), prime minister of Libya (2015-16; Tripoli government).
Ghazi
Ghazi I, in full Ghazi ibn Faysal ibn al-Husayn al-Hashimi (b. March 21, 1912, Mecca [now in Saudi Arabia] - d. April 4, 1939, Baghdad, Iraq), king of Iraq (1933-39); son of Faysal I. Like all the scions of the Sharifian family, he had to spend some of his early years among the nomad tribes of the desert. While not yet in his teens he was taken, in 1921, to Baghdad, where his father had been chosen to rule. Four years later he was sent by Faysal to England to pursue his studies at Harrow. In 1928 he was recalled to Baghdad to study at the Military Academy. He showed little disposition to meddle in internal politics; his friends were not among the politicians, and except on the most important occasions, particularly those which inaugurated the material advancement of his country, such as the opening of oil pipelines or of barrages, he did not trouble to conceal his lack of interest in public affairs. Only once did he immerse himself in a major way in the manoeuvres of politicians in Baghdad. This was on the occasion of the famous coup of Gen. Bakir Sidki, who sent planes over the capital and actually dropped a few bombs in order to show the cabinet of Yasin al-Hashimi that he was in earnest. To this coup the young king was unquestionably privy, and of his approval of it there is no doubt. In the end opposition to Ghazi grew among all sections of the community in Iraq. The townspeople did not share in his delight in fast motor cars and planes, and of the tribesmen he took little notice. This conduct was in great contrast to his father, who assiduously cultivated the friendship and the respect of both townsmen and tribesmen. Ghazi died from injuries received in an accident when the car he was driving struck an electric-light standard.
Ghazzi, Said al-, Arabic Sa`id al-Ghazzi (b. 1893, Damascus, Syria - d. Sept. 18, 1967), prime minister (1954, 1955-56) and foreign minister (1955-56) of Syria. He was also minister of justice (1936, 1945, 1948), finance (1946-47), economy (1947-48), and defense (1954) and speaker of parliament (1962-63).
Ghedi, Ali Muhammad, Somali Cali Maxamed Geedi, Arabic `Ali Muhammad Jidi (b. 1952, Mogadishu, Somalia), prime minister of Somalia (2004-07).
Gheorghiu-Dej
Gheorghiu-Dej, Gheorghe, original full name Gheorghe Tanase Gheorghiu ("Dej" was a revolutionary pseudonym) (b. Nov. 8, 1901, Barlad, Romania - d. March 19, 1965, Bucharest), Romanian politician. Having become a revolutionary after World War I, he joined the then-outlawed Romanian Communist Party in 1930 and was sentenced to 12 years' hard labour for his role in the Grivita railwaymen's strike of 1933. He escaped prison in August 1944, the same month an anti-Fascist coup brought Romania into the war against Germany. He became minister of communications in the first liberation cabinets (1944-46) and played an instrumental role in forcing Prime Minister Nicolae Radescu out of office and establishing a Communist-dominated government (early 1945). He was elected secretary-general of the Communist Party in October 1945. In 1946-52 he held several key posts in government economic planning. In 1952, after purging the party of his rivals, who had been closely identified with Soviet leaders and policies, he became prime minister. He gradually adopted economic and foreign policies that served Romania's national interests rather than those of international socialism as defined by the Soviet leaders. He resigned as prime minister in 1955 but assumed the position of president of the State Council in 1961. Following an even more determined independent course, he overcame the objections of the other Soviet-bloc countries, which wanted Romania's economy to remain primarily agricultural, and pursued a far-reaching program of industrialization in 1964. In the mid-1960s he also demonstrated Romania's independence from Soviet domination by forming cordial relations with non-Communist nations and with China, which had become increasingly alienated from the Soviet Union.
N. Gherman
Gherman, Natalia (b. March 20, 1969, Kishinev, Moldavian S.S.R. [now Chisinau, Moldova]), foreign minister (2013-16) and acting prime minister (2015) of Moldova; daughter of Mircea Snegur. She was also ambassador to Austria (2002-06) and Sweden (2006-09; also accredited to Norway and Finland).
Gherman, Oliviu (b. April 26, 1930, Mihai Viteazu, Romania), Romanian politician. He was president of the Senate (1992-96) and ambassador to France (2001-04).
Ghezal, Ahmed (b. Sept. 8, 1930, M'Saken, Tunisia), Tunisian diplomat. He was ambassador to Austria and Hungary (1977-85) and permanent representative to the United Nations (1987-91).
Ghica, Prince Dimitrie, byname Beizadea Mitica (b. May 31, 1816 - d. Feb. 15, 1897, Bucharest, Romania), prime minister of Walachia (1861-62) and foreign minister (1868-69) and prime minister (1868-70) of Romania. He was also minister of education (1860), finance (1861), and interior (1861-62) of Walachia and minister of interior (1866, 1870) and agriculture, commerce, and public works (1868-70) and president of the Senate (1879-88, 1895-97) of Romania.
Ghimire
Ghimpu
Ghimire, Madhav Prasad (b. Feb. 7, 1961, Tansen municipality-12, Palpa district, Nepal), foreign and home affairs minister of Nepal (2013-14).
Ghimpu, Mihai (Toader) (b. Nov. 19, 1951, Colonita village, Moldavian S.S.R.), chairman of parliament (2009-10) and acting president (2009-10) of Moldova. He was a minor presidential candidate in 2016.
Ghiotti, Renzo (b. May 21, 1951), captain-regent of San Marino (1994-95).
J. Ghiz
Ghiz, Joseph A(tallah) (b. Jan. 27, 1945, Charlottetown, P.E.I. - d. Nov. 9, 1996, Charlottetown), premier of Prince Edward Island (1986-93). Ghiz was best known by Canadians for the role he played in promoting two failed attempts at trying to persuade largely French-speaking Quebec to sign the Canadian constitution - the Meech Lake and Charlottetown accords. Ghiz was also instrumental in pushing for the construction of a bridge linking Prince Edward Island to mainland Canada. The bridge was built in 1996. After his premiership he was appointed to the province's Supreme Court.
Ghiz, Robert (Watson Joseph) (b. Jan. 21, 1974, Charlottetown, P.E.I.), premier of Prince Edward Island (2007-15); son of Joseph A. Ghiz.
Ghonda (Mangalibi), Antoine (b. Feb. 19, 1965, Leuven, Belgium), foreign minister of Congo (Kinshasa) (2003-04).
Ghotbzadeh
Ghotbzadeh, Sadegh, also spelled Sadeq Qotbzadeh (b. 1936 [other sources say 1937 or 1938] - d. Sept. 15, 1982, Tehran), foreign minister of Iran (1979-80). He was a leader of opposition to the shah and a supporter of the National Front of Mohammad Mossadegh. He joined Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during the latter's exile and became one of Khomeini's closest associates. After the revolution he was appointed head of the National Iranian Radio and Television (Feb. 11, 1979). In that capacity he quickly earned the dislike of many who had supported the revolution, particularly those on the left, by his authoritarian use of censorship to impose an "Islamic" line on the programmes and to suppress reports of views differing from Khomeini's - for instance, those favouring women's rights. During the crisis caused by the detention of U.S. hostages following the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Ghotbzadeh was appointed foreign minister (November 1979). Though his efforts to resolve the situation were viewed as sincere, he finally resigned (August 1980) over the deadlock in negotiations. Less than three months later, on Nov. 7, 1980, he was arrested after criticizing the Islamic Republican Party; he was released on November 10 but after that played no further part in public life. He was arrested again in April 1982 and accused of plotting against the regime. He apparently admitted complicity with Ayatollah Kazem Shariat-Madari in a plot against the government, but denied any conspiracy to take Khomeini's life. He was executed by a firing squad.
Ghozali
Ghozali, Sid Ahmed, Arabic Sid Ahmad Ghuzali (b. March 31, 1937, Marnia, Algeria), finance minister (1988-89), foreign minister (1989-91), and prime minister and economy minister (1991-92) of Algeria. He was also minister of energy and petrochemicals (1977-79) and irrigation (1979) and ambassador to Belgium (1984-88) and France (1992-93).
Ghulabzoi, Sayed Mohammad (b. 1951), interior minister of Afghanistan (1979-88). He was also minister of communications (1978-79) and ambassador to the Soviet Union (1988-90).
Giacobbi, Antoine F�lix (b. July 22, 1891, Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rh�ne, France - d. July 31, 1957, Cervione, Corse [now in Haute-Corse], France), governor of French Guinea (1940-42).
Giacobbi, Fran�ois (b. July 19, 1919, Venaco, Corse [now in Haute-Corse], France - d. March 7, 1997, Paris, France), president of the Regional Council of Corse (1974-79).
G. Giacomini
Giacomini, Gino (b. Dec. 27, 1878, Borgo Maggiore, San Marino - d. Feb. 19, 1962), secretary of state for foreign and political affairs of San Marino (1945-57).
Giacomini, Pietro (b. Oct. 14, 1944, San Marino), Sammarinese diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (1996-97).
Giagu De Martini, Antonio (b. March 17, 1925, Thiesi, Sardegna, Italy - d. Nov. 4, 2006, Sassari, Sardegna, Italy), president of Sardegna (1970-72, 1972-73).
Giannattasio (Finocchietti), Luis (b. 1894 - d. Feb. 7, 1965, Punta del Este, Uruguay), president of the National Council of Government of Uruguay (1964-65). He was also minister of public works (1959-63).
Giannettasio, Graciela (Mar�a) (b. Oct. 20, 1950, Remedios de Escalada, Lan�s, Buenos Aires province), education minister of Argentina (2002-03).
Giannitsis
Giannoni
Giannitsis, Tassos, byname of Anastasios Giannitsis (b. 1944, Athens, Greece), foreign minister (2004) and interior minister (2011-12) of Greece. He was also minister of labour and social security (2000-01).
Giannoni, Giovanni (b. Dec. 31, 1948, Serravalle, San Marino), captain-regent of San Marino (2003).
Gibbons, Sir (John) David (b. June 15, 1927 - d. March 30, 2014), premier of Bermuda (1977-82); knighted 1985. He was health minister in 1974-75 and finance minister in 1975-84.
Y. Gibbons
Gibbons, Yutaka (Miller) (b. Jan. 17, 1944), Ibedul, i.e. paramount chief of Koror, one of two traditional high chiefs of Palau (1972- ); nephew of Ibedul Ngoriakl. He was a presidential candidate in 1984, 1988, and 1996. In August 2003 he was sentenced to three years in prison, with two years suspended, for the assault of an attorney. The attorney, Matthew Johnson, said he was assaulted by Gibbons with a baseball bat on January 7 at the Koror State Building. Gibbons said that Johnson, as an American, was new in Palau and unaware of the importance of the title of paramount chief. Gibbons said he tried his best to settle their differences, but Johnson "didn't want to talk to him." Pres. Tommy Remengesau first granted Gibbons a conditional pardon, suspending his one year imprisonment, and in June 2004 he granted a full pardon.
Gibbs, Daniel (b. Jan. 8, 1968), acting president of the Territorial Council of Saint-Martin (2009).
Gibbs, Thomas F(ortson) (b. Jan. 25, 1797, Watkinsville, Ga. - d. Dec. 9, 1859, Memphis, Tenn.), mayor of Atlanta (1852).
Gibson, Garretson Wilmot (b. May 20, 1832, Maryland, U.S. - d. April 26, 1910), secretary of state (1892-1900) and president (1900-04) of Liberia.
Giddings
Giddings, Lara, byname of Larissa Tahireh Giddings (b. Nov. 14, 1972, Goroka, Papua New Guinea), premier of Tasmania (2011-14). She was the first female premier of the state.
Gierek
Gierek, Edward (b. Jan. 6, 1913, Porabka, Austria [now in Poland] - d. July 29, 2001, Cieszyn, Poland), Polish politician. After emigrating with his mother to France, he joined the French Communist Party in 1931. In 1937 he joined the Belgian Communist Party and there during World War II he reputedly was a leader of a group of Poles in the anti-Nazi underground. Gierek returned to Poland in 1948 and organized the party in Upper Silesia, Poland's most industrialized region. In 1954 he was named director of Poland's heavy industry department and two years later was elevated into the 11-man Politburo. Differing from the "Moscow" faction of the party, Gierek favoured a certain amount of "national reconciliation," or adaptation of the Soviet party line to national and cultural circumstances. When angered industrial workers began rioting to protest a substantial rise in food prices announced by party leader Wladyslaw Gomulka just before the Christmas holidays in 1970, Gierek took over (December 20) as the first secretary of the party's Central Committee with a promise to improve the "material situation" of families and reevaluate the government's economic policies. He introduced a new, more relaxed style of rule that included cultural amenities and more freedom to travel to the West than permitted by other Soviet-bloc countries. His departures from orthodox communist rule included licenses for the Fiat mini car that helped put Poland on wheels, buses from France, tractors from Britain, and American Coca-Cola and Marlboro cigarettes. In September 1980 Gierek, faced with another outburst of demonstrations by workers, lost his place as first secretary to Stanislaw Kania; in 1981 Gierek was expelled from the party.
Gifuza, G�rard (Godefroid Ginday), governor of Bandundu (2006).
Gigaba, (Knowledge) Malusi (Nkanyezi) (b. Aug. 30, 1971, Eshowe, Zululand [now in KwaZulu-Natal], South Africa), home affairs minister of South Africa (2014- ).
Gigea, Petre (b. March 31, 1930, Goicea, Romania), finance minister of Romania (1981-86).
Gigli, Rodolfo (b. June 24, 1935, Viterbo, Lazio, Italy), president of Lazio (1990-92).
Gigot, (Edme) Albert (b. Jan. 1, 1835, Ch�teauroux, Indre, France - d. Jan. 16, 1913), prefect of police of Paris (1877-79). He was also prefect of the d�partements of Vaucluse (1871), Loiret (1871-73), Doubs (1873-76), and Meurthe-et-Moselle (1876-77).
Gigov, Strahil (b. Sept. 16, 1909, Veles, Ottoman Empire [now in Macedonia] - d. May 19, 1999, Skopje, Macedonia), president of the Presidium of the People's Assembly of Macedonia (1951-53).
Gikalo, Nikolay (Fyodorovich) (b. March 20 [March 8, O.S.], 1897, Odessa, Russia [now in Ukraine] - d. [executed] April 25, 1938), first secretary of the Communist Party of the Uzbek S.S.R. (1929), Azerbaijan S.S.R. (1929-30), and Belorussian S.S.R. (1932-37). He was also first secretary of the party committee of Kharkov oblast (1937).
Gil Borges, Esteban (b. 1879, Caracas, Venezuela - d. Aug. 3, 1942, Caracas), foreign minister of Venezuela (1919-21, 1936-41). He was also charg� d'affaires in Spain (1910-18).
Gil Preciado, Juan (b. June 26, 1909, Juchitl�n, Jalisco, Mexico - d. Jan. 19, 1999, Guadalajara, Jalisco), governor of Jalisco (1959-64). He was also mayor of Guadalajara (1956-58) and Mexican minister of agriculture (1964-70).
Gil-Robles (Gil-Delgado), Jos� Mar�a (b. June 17, 1935, Madrid, Spain), president of the European Parliament (1997-99).
Gilani
Gilauri
Gilani, Yousaf Raza, also spelled Gillani (b. June 9, 1952, Karachi, Pakistan), prime minister of Pakistan (2008-12). He was speaker of the National Assembly in 1993-97. In April 2012 the Supreme Court found him guilty of contempt of court for refusing to reopen corruption cases against Pres. Asif Ali Zardari and gave him a symbolic sentence of a few minutes' detention in the courtroom. In June the court ruled that the April decision meant that he ceased to be prime minister.
Gilashvili, Pavel (Georgiyevich) (b. May 2, 1918, Tbilisi, Transcaucasia [now in Georgia] - d. Oct. 1, 1994), chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Georgian S.S.R. (1976-89). He was also chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Abkhaz A.S.S.R. (1967-72) and first secretary of the party committee of Tbilisi city (1972-76).
Gilauri, Nika, byname of Nikoloz (Zurabis dze) Gilauri (b. Feb. 14, 1975, Tbilisi, Georgian S.S.R.), finance minister (2007-09) and prime minister (2009-12) of Georgia.
Gilbert-Pierre, Octave Bernard (b. June 8, 1817, Fort-de-France, Martinique - d. ...), acting governor of Martinique (1871) and commandant of the French Settlements in Oceania (1873-76).
Giles
Giles, Adam (Graham) (b. 1973, Blue Mountains region, N.S.W.), chief minister of the Northern Territory (2013-16). He was Australia's first indigenous head of government.
Gill, Frank, byname of Thomas Francis Gill (b. Jan. 31, 1917, Wellington, New Zealand - d. March 1, 1982, Auckland, New Zealand), defence minister of New Zealand (1978-80). He was also minister of health and immigration (1975-78) and police (1978-80) and ambassador to the United States (1980-82).
Gillard
Gillard, Julia (Eileen) (b. Sept. 29, 1961, Barry, Wales), prime minister of Australia (2010-13). She emigrated to Australia with her family as a child and became president of the National Union of Students. She was chief of staff to John Brumby, the opposition leader (later premier) of Victoria, in 1995-98, then entered the federal parliament as the Australian Labor Party member for the seat of Lalor (Victoria) in 1998. After holding a series of opposition frontbench positions, she was elected deputy party leader in December 2006. When Kevin Rudd led Labor to victory in November 2007, Gillard became Australia's first female deputy prime minister, holding the portfolios of minister for education, minister for employment and workplace relations, and minister for social inclusion. She dismantled the previous government's industrial relations system, which was seen as hostile to trade unions and unfair to workers. As education minister she has presided over a massive national schools rebuilding program. Although originally from the left of the Labor Party, she adopted a moderate image and was seen as Rudd's likely successor. In 2010 she challenged Rudd for the leadership after his popularity plunged, and as she apparently had the necessary votes, Rudd stood aside and she took over as leader without a vote and accordingly also became prime minister. But as her own popularity plummeted, Rudd in 2012 tried a comeback; although he was clearly favoured in opinion polls, Gillard prevailed in the Labor caucus (71-31). In 2013, however, with an election disaster looming, Rudd defeated her in another leadership spill, 57-45. She then left politics.
Gillerman, Dan (b. 1944, Palestine), Israeli diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (2003-08).
Gilligan, John J(oyce) (b. March 22, 1921, Cincinnati, Ohio - d. Aug. 26, 2013, Cincinnati), governor of Ohio (1971-75).
Gilmer, Thomas W(alker) (b. April 6, 1802, Albemarle county, Va. - d. [killed in explosion of experimental cannon on the warship Princeton] Feb. 28, 1844, Potomac River, near Washington, D.C.), governor of Virginia (1840-41) and U.S. secretary of the navy (1844).
E. Gilmore
Gilmore, Eamon, Irish �amon Mac Giollam�ir (b. April 24, 1955, Caltra, County Galway, Ireland), deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Ireland (2011-14).
J. Gilmore
Gilmore, Jim, byname of James Stuart Gilmore III (b. Oct. 6, 1949, Richmond, Va.), governor of Virginia (1998-2002). The Republican was elected in 1987 as commonwealth's attorney for Henrico County. He was reelected in 1991. In 1993, he was elected Virginia's attorney general. In 1997, he was elected governor, defeating Democrat Don Beyer 56%-43%. His pledge to slash Virginia's much hated car tax caught fire late in the campaign, propelling him to victory. In 2001-02 he was chairman of the Republican National Committee. He unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 2008. In August 2015 he joined the race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, but he was the longest long-shot in a crowded field and dropped out in February 2016.
Gilowska, Zyta (Janina), n�e Napolska (b. July 7, 1949, Nowe Miasto Lubawskie, Poland - d. April 4/5, 2016), deputy prime minister and finance minister of Poland (2006, 2006-07). She was forced to quit office in June 2006 over allegations that she had failed to reveal her ties with Communist-era secret police, but she was reinstated in September following a court ruling that she had told the truth when she said she did not knowingly spy for the secret services.
Gilson, Arthur (Robert Aline Ghislain) (b. Feb. 27, 1915, Antwerp, Belgium - d. Feb. 3, 2004), defense minister (1958-61) and interior minister (1961-65) of Belgium.
Gimeno, Amalio Gimeno y Caba�as, conde de (b. May 31, 1852, Cartagena, Spain - d. Sept. 13, 1936, Madrid, Spain), foreign minister of Spain (1916-17). He was also minister of education and fine arts (1906, 1906-07, 1911-12), navy (1912-13, 1917-18), interior (1918-19), and development (1919-20). He was created count in 1920.
Gingrich
Gingrich, Newt(on Leroy), original name (before adoption) Newton Leroy McPherson (b. June 17, 1943, Harrisburg, Pa.), U.S. politician. After unsuccessful runs for Congress in 1974 and 1976, Gingrich in 1978 won a seat from Georgia's 6th District (outside Atlanta). From the beginning he was confrontational. In the 1980s he led a group of conservatives who used the "special orders" period following House sessions to read highly charged material into the Congressional Record, all televised on C-SPAN. In 1987 he began an assault on Speaker of the House Jim Wright for questionable financial dealings. The charges forced Wright to resign in 1989. That same year, Gingrich was elected House minority whip by a vote of 87-85. In 1994 he helped draft the "Contract with America," a document outlining legislation to be enacted by the House within the first 100 days of the 104th Congress. In December 1994 he was chosen by the majority Republicans as House speaker. On Jan. 4, 1995, he became the first Republican in 40 years to hold the powerful position. He tried to reduce the size and influence of the federal government and to redirect the U.S. away from what he called a "welfare state" to an "opportunity society." With one exception, all parts of the "Contract with America" were passed by the House within 100 days. During the course of his career, Gingrich had at times come under attack for his own behaviour. Perhaps the most publicized controversy involved a $4.5 million advance from the publisher HarperCollins, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., Ltd., for two books. Because Murdoch, who had met with Gingrich, was under investigation by the Federal Communications Commission, the deal appeared to many to be a clear conflict of interest, and Gingrich was forced to give up the advance. He remained speaker until 1999, when he also left Congress. In 2011 he entered the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination; he withdrew in May 2012.
Gioja, Jos� Luis (b. Dec. 4, 1949, San Juan province, Argentina), governor of San Juan (2003-15). He was also provisional president of the Senate (2002-03). On Oct. 11, 2013, he was injured in a helicopter accident.
Giolitti
Giolitti, Giovanni (b. Oct. 27, 1842, Mondov�, Piedmont, Kingdom of Sardinia [now in Italy] - d. July 17, 1928, Cavour, Italy), Italian politician. He became a deputy in the Italian parliament in 1882, a position he held until his death. He first came to public attention by criticizing Finance Minister Agostino Magliani (February 1886), after whose downfall Giolitti became the minister of the treasury (March 1889). Many were surprised when Giolitti, the bureaucrat, was chosen prime minister in 1892. His moderate reaction to strikes in Sicily proved unpopular and forced him to resign in 1893. After the downfall of Francesco Crispi in 1896, he took an influential behind-the-scenes role in forming governments. He was minister of the interior (1901-03) and prime minister again (1903-05). He resigned his second ministry but saw to it that one of his supporters filled his place. His third ministry was formed in 1906 and he resigned while still powerful (1909). He began a fourth ministry in 1911 which he resigned in March 1914. He actively opposed intervention in World War I because he knew that Italy, which had declared neutrality in August 1914, was unprepared. Italy entered the war on the side of the Allies in May 1915. As prime minister for the last time, Giolitti in June 1920 undertook the reconstruction of Italy. Shunning a repressive policy, he tolerated the Fascist squadristi ("armed squads") when he could have crushed them, and, as the Fascists gained strength, he welcomed their support. He resigned in 1921. While he was waiting for the right moment to take power again, the Fascists marched on Rome (October 1922) and took over Italy. Giolitti seemed to back the new regime, but in November 1924 he formally withdrew his support.
Giorgetti
Giorgetti, Roberto (b. Nov. 4, 1962, Borgo Maggiore, San Marino), captain-regent of San Marino (2006-07).
Gioura, Derog (b. Sept. 1, 1932 - d. Sept. 25, 2008), president of Nauru (2003). He was also justice minister (1986) and speaker of parliament (1987-92).
Giovagnoli
Giovagnoli, Gino (b. April 18, 1951, Faetano, San Marino), captain-regent of San Marino (2001-02).
Gipoulon, Henri Victor (b. Nov. 17, 1913 - d. May 16, 1989), high commissioner of French Sudan (1956-58).
Giral Pereira, Jos� (b. Oct. 22, 1879, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba - d. Dec. 23, 1962, Mexico City, Mexico), prime minister (1936 and in exile 1945-47) and foreign minister (1937-38) of Spain. He was also navy minister (1931-33, 1936) and minister without portfolio (1936-37, 1938-39).
Gir�o, Eduardo Henrique (b. April 12, 1882, Morada Nova, Cear�, Brazil - d. Dec. 25, 1961, Fortaleza, Cear�), acting president of Cear� (1928).
Girard, Hippolyte Auguste (b. Nov. 11, 1822, Cherbourg, Manche, France - d. ...), commandant of the French Settlements in Oceania (1871-73).
Girardin, Brigitte (b. Jan. 12, 1953, Verdun, France), administrator-superior of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (1998-2000) and overseas minister of France (2002-05).
Giraud, Andr� (Louis Yves) (b. April 3, 1925, Bordeaux, France - d. July 27, 1997, Levallois-Perret, near Paris, France), defense minister of France (1986-88). He was also industry minister (1978-81).
H. Giraud
T. Giri
Giraud, Henri (Honor�) (b. Jan. 18, 1879, Paris, France - d. March 11, 1949, Dijon, France), co-chairman of the National Committee of the Free French (1943).
Giraud, Michel (b. July 14, 1929, Pontoise, France - d. Oct. 26/27, 2011), president of the Regional Council of �le-de-France (1976-88, 1992-98) and labour minister of France (1993-95).
Giray, (Ismail) Safa (b. March 5, 1931, Izmir, Turkey - d. June 20, 2011, Ankara, Turkey), defense minister (1989-90) and foreign minister (1991) of Turkey. He was also minister of public works and housing (1983-89).
Gireyev, Sultan (Alaudinovich) (b. 1947), acting prime minister of Ingushetia (2002).
Girginov, Aleksandur (Angelov) (b. April 29, 1879, Turnovo, Ottoman Empire [now Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria] - d. Nov. 1, 1953, Belene, Bulgaria), finance minister (1931, 1944) and interior minister (1931-34) of Bulgaria. He was also minister of trade, industry, and labour (1944).
Giri, Tulsi (b. Oct. 8, 1926, Bastipur, Siraha district, southern Nepal), first minister (1960-63), prime minister (1963, 1964-65, 1975-77), and foreign minister (1961-62, 1962-63) of Nepal. He was a vice-chairman of the royal Council of Ministers in 2005-06.
V.V. Giri
Giri, Varahagiri Venkata (b. Aug. 10, 1894, Berhampur, Orissa [now Odisha], India - d. June 24, 1980, Madras [now Chennai], India), president of India (1969-74). While studying in Ireland, he became involved in the nationalist Sinn F�in movement before being expelled in 1916. When Giri returned to India, he joined the independence movement of Mohandas Gandhi and was imprisoned in 1922. After his release he helped organize the railwaymen's trade union, which he built up into a major political force. Giri was elected to the Legislative Assembly in Madras in 1937 and was India's high commissioner in Ceylon from 1947 to 1951 before joining Jawaharlal Nehru's government as labour minister in 1952, resigning in 1954 over a controversial pay award to bank employees. He was successively governor of the states of Uttar Pradesh (1957-60), Kerala (1960-65), and Mysore (1965-67). In 1967 he was elected vice-president as a member of the Congress Party. He campaigned for the presidency two years later as an independent, and the Congress Party split over Indira Gandhi's support for him. During his presidency Giri worked closely with Gandhi on such measures as restrictions on private wealth and the nationalization of banks. As head of state he travelled widely, visiting the U.S.S.R., Switzerland, Finland, Afghanistan, several African countries, and the Far East.
Girma
Girma Wolde-Giorgis (Lucha) (b. December 1924, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia), president of Ethiopia (2001-13). A member of the Oromo ethnic group, which constitutes over 30% of Ethiopia's population, he served as parliamentary speaker under Emperor Haile Selassie, prior to which he had been an air force officer. At the time of the emperor's overthrow in 1974, he was president of the Red Cross in Eritrea. He remained in government service under the military government. After the ousting of Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991 by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, he established a political organization called Sodojeda, which, however, was no longer active by 2000, when he was elected to parliament as an independent member. He was a surprise choice as president in 2001 when he was elected by a unanimous acclamation of parliament. In 2007 he was elected for another six-year term to the largely ceremonial post. He has been a prominent figure in ecological initiatives.
Girod de l'Ain, Louis Gaspard Am�d�e, baron (b. Oct. 18, 1781, Gex, Ain, France - d. Dec. 27, 1847, Paris, France), prefect of police of Paris (1830). He was also president of the Chamber of Deputies (1831-32) and minister of public instruction (1832), justice (1839), and worship (1832, 1839) of France.
Girot de Langlade, Paul (b. Aug. 11, 1946, Meilhaud, Puy-de-D�me, France), prefect of Guadeloupe (2004-06). He was also prefect of the d�partements of Corr�ze (1996-99), Savoie (1999-2002), Vaucluse (2002-04), and Indre-et-Loire (2006-07).
Girs, Aleksandr (Aleksandrovich) (b. May 4 [April 22, O.S.], 1850 - d. Nov. 5, 1923, Maribor, Yugoslavia [now in Slovenia]), Russian diplomat; nephew of Nikolay (Karlovich) Girs. He was minister to Montenegro (1912-15).
Girs, Aleksandr (Nikolayevich) (b. 1861 - d. af. 1917), Russian official; son of Nikolay (Karlovich) Girs. He was governor of Yeniseysk (1906-09).
Girs, Aleksey (Fyodorovich) (b. March 30, 1871 - d. Feb. 11, 1958, Paris, France), Russian official. He was governor of Kiev (1909-12), Minsk (1912-15), and Nizhny Novgorod (1915-17).
Girs, Mikhail (Nikolayevich) (b. July 22, 1856, Odessa, Russia [now in Ukraine] - d. Nov. 27, 1932, Paris, France), Russian diplomat; son of Nikolay (Karlovich) Girs. He was minister to Brazil and Argentina (1895-98), China (1898-1901), Bavaria (1901-02), and Romania (1902-12) and ambassador to the Ottoman Empire (1913-14) and Italy (1915-17).
Girs, Nikolay (Karlovich) (b. May 21 [May 9, O.S.], 1820, Radzivilov, Volhynia region, Russia - d. Jan. 26 [Jan. 14, O.S.], 1895, St. Petersburg, Russia), foreign minister of Russia (1882-95). He was also consul general to Egypt (1856-58) and Moldavia and Walachia (1858-63), minister to Persia (1863-69), Switzerland (1869-72), and Sweden (1872-75), and deputy foreign minister (1875-82).
Girs, Nikolay (Nikolayevich) (b. March 4, 1853, Iasi, Moldavia [now in Romania] - d. Sept. 20, 1924, Nice, France), Russian diplomat; son of Nikolay (Karlovich) Girs. He was minister to Belgium (1897-1910) and ambassador to Austria-Hungary (1910-13).
Giscard
Giscard d'Estaing, Val�ry (Ren� Marie Georges) (b. Feb. 2, 1926, Koblenz, Germany), president of France (1974-81); great-grandson of Ag�nor Bardoux. In the early 1950s he worked in the Finance Ministry. He was elected to the French National Assembly from Puy-de-D�me in 1956 and was a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly (1956-58). He served as the secretary of state for finance (1959-62) and was appointed finance minister (1962-66) by Pres. Charles de Gaulle. During his first term of office as finance minister, France attained a balanced budget for the first time in 30 years. His international economic policies - among them his attempt to limit American economic influence in France - and his other conservative financial measures helped cause a recession and brought him discredit in the business and labour sectors; he was dismissed. Giscard founded and served as first president (1966-74) of the National Federation of Republicans and Independents, a conservative party that worked in coalition with the Gaullists. From 1969 to 1974 he was again finance minister under Pres. Georges Pompidou. Giscard was elected to the presidency in a runoff election against the leftist candidate Fran�ois Mitterrand on May 19, 1974. One of the notable achievements of his presidency was France's role in the strengthening of the European Economic Community. He was defeated in another runoff with Mitterrand on May 10, 1981. Giscard returned to politics in 1982, serving as conseiller g�n�ral of Puy-de-D�me d�partement until 1988. In 1988-96 he was leader of the Union for French Democracy, a coalition of right-centrist parties. He was also president of the Regional Council of Auvergne in 1986-2004. He was chairman of the European Convention of 2002-03, which drafted a European constitution.
Gisi
G�slad�ttir
Gisi(-Willisegger), Ruth (b. 1951, Hochwald, Solothurn), Landammann of Solothurn (2000, 2004).
G�slad�ttir, Ingibj�rg S�lr�n (b. Dec. 31, 1954, Reykjav�k, Iceland), foreign minister of Iceland (2007-09). She was mayor of Reykjav�k in 1994-2003.
G�slason, Gylfi Th(orsteinsson) (b. Feb. 7, 1917, Reykjav�k, Iceland - d. Aug. 18, 2004, Reykjav�k), Icelandic politician; president of the Althing (1974).
Gittens, Hyden C.I. (b. 1961, Sint Eustatius, Netherlands Antilles), administrator of Sint Eustatius (2004-10).
Giuliani
Giuliani, Rudolph (William Louis, III), byname Rudy Giuliani (b. May 28, 1944, Brooklyn, New York City), mayor of New York City (1994-2002). In 1983 he became U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York and launched a campaign to rid New York City of drug dealers and mob bosses. In 1986 he used the 1970 Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) to obtain a single conviction of eight top Mafia leaders. His pioneering use of RICO to prosecute entire organizations rather than individuals set the stage for an expanded definition of racketeering. In May 1986 he used long-neglected securities laws from the 1930s against investment banker Dennis Levine and arbitrageur Ivan Boesky in an insider-trading scandal that rocked Wall Street. In 1988 he unveiled the largest-ever insider-trading case against the investment firm Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. and its star "junk bond" dealer, Michael Milken. In December Drexel pleaded guilty to several other criminal charges in order to avoid a racketeering indictment. Perhaps Giuliani's most controversial use of RICO was in October 1988 when he filed charges against former Philippine Pres. Ferdinand Marcos and his wife, Imelda. In 1989 he first ran for mayor, but lost to Democrat David Dinkins. He defeated Dinkins in 1993 and was reelected in 1997. He dramatically reduced crime in the city, but at the same time complaints of police brutality rose, especially when in 1999 an unarmed Guinean immigrant, Amadou Diallo, was killed by four white policemen firing 41 bullets at him. The officers said they thought he was reaching for a gun, which turned out to be a wallet. Giuliani's popularity soared when he organized tireless recovery efforts after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center. He was a candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.
Giuriati, Giovanni (Battista di Domenico) (b. Aug. 4, 1876, Venice - d. May 6, 1970, Rome), provisional president of Fiume (1922).
Giustiniani (Banca), Brizio, byname of Fabrizio Giustiniani (b. 1713 - d. 1778), doge of Genoa (1775-77).
Giustiniani (Campi), Giovanni Antonio (b. 1660 - d. 1735), doge of Genoa (1713-15).
Gizenga
Gizenga (Fundji), Antoine (b. Oct. 5, 1925, near Gungu, Kwilu district, L�opoldville province, Belgian Congo [now in Bandundu province, Congo (Kinshasa)]), deputy prime minister (1960, 1961-62); prime minister (1960-61) and head of state (1961) in rebellion; and prime minister (2007-08) of Congo (L�opoldville/Kinshasa). His government at Stanleyville was recognized by 21 Afro-Asian and Eastern European countries in February 1961. He was arrested in January 1962-July 1964 and October 1964-November 1965 and in exile from February 1966 to February 1992 in the Soviet Union, France, Angola, and eventually Congo (Brazzaville). In August 1964 he had founded the Unified Lumumbist Party (PALU), which kept alive the political legacy of Patrice Lumumba, the country's first prime minister, who was murdered in 1961. Gizenga was a presidential candidate in 2006, coming third in the first round. He then signed an agreement with Joseph Kabila's political coalition ahead of the runoff, promising his support in exchange for a guarantee that the post of prime minister would go to a member of his party. Kabila won and appointed Gizenga as prime minister. Until the 2006 elections, PALU had never held a parliamentary seat, having refused to take part in a series of undemocratic elections in Mobutu Sese Seko's dictatorship.
Gjinushi
Gjinushi, Sk�nder (Et'hem) (b. Dec. 24, 1949, Vlor�, southwestern Albania), acting president of Albania (1997). He was education minister (1987-91), chairman of the People's Assembly (1997-2001), and deputy prime minister and minister of labour and social affairs (2001-02).
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Brezhnev and Kosygin take over from Kruschev, Southern Rhodesia becomes Zambia, Roger Emerson wins the Men's Singles at Wimbledon. Which year? | Orders of the Day — Royal Navy: 21 Mar 1973: House of Commons debates - TheyWorkForYou
TheyWorkForYou
Orders of the Day — Royal Navy
– in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 21st March 1973 .
, Colchester
It gives me great pleasure to have the opportunity of opening this debate on the Royal Navy. The last four months, during which period I have had the privilege of being Minister for the Navy, have been utterly fascinating. I should like to think that they have been worth while, too. I hope that the House will forgive me if I first give it some account of my general approach to the job with which I have been entrusted, and then I should like to tell right hon. and hon. Members something of the way in which I have been seeking to tackle the challenging and historic task of being charged with particular responsibility for the affairs of the Royal Navy.
First, as to my general approach to my job, I assure the House that it will be my aim to take right hon. and hon. Members as much into my confidence as, to coin a phrase, the exigencies of the Service premit. I confess, however, that my antecedents relative to my capacity to undertake this exercise in "open government" are not very promising. I say that because I have the privilege, at one and the same time, of representing in the House the "Oyster constituency " and of being Minister for what is sometimes known as the "silent Service". But in spite of these built-in deterrents to success, I shall do my best as time goes on to keep the House as fully informed about the Navy's affairs as is consistent with security and with my desire not to reveal matters which could be of benefit to those who are hostile to our nation's wellbeing.
Having said that, I shall now say something of the way in which I have sought so far to learn about and perform my job. It seemed to me, with a non- maritime background, that it was very important that I should get to sea as soon after my appointment as was reasonably possible. It also seemed right to go to sea in a relatively small craft in order to enable me to get to know a whole ship's company. Thus, my first time afloat was in HMS "Brinton", a 500-ton coastal minesweeper. I am told that all admirals take seasickness pills, and I am afraid that I took some of those pills, too.
I spent two days with that ship on one of her fishery protection patrols off the north-east coast in mid-January. Preceding my time afloat I visited Chatham, and I am bound to admit to the House that I was utterly staggered by the technical, managerial and human complexities involved in the refit of naval ships, and particularly those involved in the refit of nuclear submarines; but more of the dockyards later. From thence I have been carrying out what can be called a "rolling" programme of visits, which is by no means yet complete. It culminated last week in a visit which I paid to HMS " Ark Royal ". I flew on to this splendid ship in a Buccaneer of 809 Squadron whilst she was in the eastern approaches. This, together with a flight which I had in a Harrier the week before last, ranks, with lunching in that wonderful ship HMS "Victory" and dining in the superb Painted Hall at Greenwich, as one of the most remarkable experiences I have had since undertaking my present task.
The message which I bring back from these and the many other visits I have tried to pack into recent weeks is that the nation is entitled to be very proud of its Navy—first, because of the spirit which exists in all branches of the fleet and, secondly, because of the technical efficiency and expertise which there is.
It is, I think, an all too prevalent national characteristic to "knock" our own achievements and to underrate that which we have accomplished and are accomplishing. I hope the House will forgive me for having put these propositions firmly before it, because they tie in with my belief that perhaps the "silent Service" is a little too silent about what it is doing for us as a nation.
Some may ask why we need to have what is probably the third most powerful Navy in the world. I would like to get it firmly on record that it is my belief that it is as vital today as ever it was that we should have a powerful maritime arm —first, because of the basic facts of our economic and geographical position, with 60 ocean-going ships arriving every day in our country's ports bringing key supplies of every description and, secondly, because the key to our defence is NATO and, as I see it, the alliance relies on Britain, after the United States, to continue to lead in maritime capability and expertise.
In addition to its traditional rôle as a means of communication, the sea and the seabed have in recent years taken on a growing importance in terms of its potential as a source of food, oil and other resources. We are, therefore, right to be concerned internationally about the responsible development and regulation of the maritime environment. It is undeniable that potential causes of instability at sea abound at every level of capability, and one does not have to look far back into history to see how countries like the Soviet Union, as well as our NATO allies, have learned the lesson that the high seas are a ready platform for the exercise of political pressure.
It seems to me to be clear that the Soviet Union has indeed learned this lesson and has learned it through its experiences in modern times. The result of the Cuban missile crisis showed how one country, namely Russia, could be prevented from achieving a desired aim through its failure to be able to deploy a credible naval force in distant waters.
Ten years ago the Russians had a fleet with modern weapons, but it was largely a defensive force. Since Cuba, the Russians appear to have decided that they would build up—and build up with great rapidity—an ocean-going fleet capable of deployment in distant waters. Among their new equipment they have the new Kresta II cruiser, with a surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missile fit in addition to guns, torpedoes and a helicopter. Then there are the "Moskva" and "Leningrad"—18,000-ton ships, reportedly capable of operating up to 30 helicopters. There is further, the Krivak class of guided missile destroyer.
The Russians have more than 100 ships of destroyer size and above and in the last 10 years they have, of course, also built up to a formidable extent their submarine fleet. Nuclear submarines are now being launched at the average rate of about one a month. Their total submarine fleet is around 400, and the proportion of nuclears has reached almost a quarter and is steadily rising. They also have landing ships such as the "Alligator" which have the capacity to provide the "lift" for about 15,000 naval infantry. The average number of surface ships deployed away from home waters has risen from about 70 to about 140 over the past four years.
, Colchester
One of the difficulties I experience in my office is to know exactly what I can say about these matters. Can I leave it by saying that I will check on what I can say about that? There is deployment in that area. I will write to the hon. Gentleman or deal with the matter further in the debate, if I can. I am obliged to the hon. Gentleman for the way he put his question.
It is against this background that we have to consider our fleet.
As is reflected in the Defence White Paper , this coming year will be a year of test and opportunity for NATO , with increasing Soviet involvement in maritime affairs and with a growing interest in areas of the world with which she has not traditionally concerned herself. In order to safeguard our position in this changing international climate our policy must be, with the limited resources available to us, to assess with care the tasks which we will need to undertake at sea, attempt to forecast their likely level in the years to come, and then arrange operational and equipment priorities accordingly.
To the best of our ability, we have been concerned to maintain sufficient expertise in relevant fields such as tactics, training and equipment generally, so that, together with our allies, we will be able to match the likely ebb and flow of threats and commitments. Of course, because the object of Britain's defence posture is to deter, we need the ability to react to a wide variety of situations.
The specific capabilities to be provided must always be a matter of judgment, and I would like to emphasise that our current spread of naval capabilities accords with NATO plans. Any major switch of emphasis would be likely to unbalance this great alliance, on which so many speakers from both sides of the House have rightly placed reliance during the course of our defence debates. As hon. Members will appreciate, NATO strategy is based on the principle that provided the alliance as a whole shows an evident ability and will to counter any level of aggression any potential enemy will be deterred from taking action which could lead to major hostilities. The potential aggressor must not be left in any doubt that NATO has the intention and the means both to counter any local action at the appropriate level and to provide suitable response at a higher level, should this be necessary.
It is relatively easy to decide on the extremes of capability—at the one end, Polaris submarines and, at the other, patrol craft. The key issue seems to me to be to identify the optimum mix of numbers and capability in between. Our present mix is one which we consider will, in all the circumstances, enable us most successfully to fulfil our varying levels of commitment around the globe.
Our most numerous and widely deployed ships are frigates—the smallest single ocean-going units with an effective fighting capability. The core of this force is the Leander class general purpose frigate, of which 26 are now in service. They are supplemented by older ships, which are planned to be replaced progressively by a continuing programme of new construction. There are eight Amazon class Type 21s currently building, and we hope to invite a tender for the first Type 22 frigate in the very near future. The first should be completed early in 1978.
Whilst frigates can and often do operate independently, more powerful ships are also required. At present these consist of the guided missile destroyers of the County class and the cruisers "Tiger" and "Blake". These are being supplemented by HMS "Bristol" and ships of the Type 42 class, of which six are now under construction and should be accepted into service in the middle years of the decade. Then, of course, there is the command or through-deck cruiser, the order for the first of which should be placed very shortly. The House knows that they will not only provide facilities as command ships in a NATO or national setting but will have aboard Sea King helicopters and, it is hoped, the maritime version of the Harrier. As I mentioned earlier, in passing, I have flown in this remarkable aircraft and I am hopeful that the project definition which is now being concluded will show that the Harrier will be able to undertake the multi-rôle of being an attack, reconnaissance and all-weather air defence maritime aircraft. As the House knows we hope to be able to announce our decision before Parliament rises for the Summer Recess. A higher level of capability is also provided by " Ark Royal " and by the six nuclear-powered fleet submarines now in service.
A further valuable capability is provided by our amphibious force, namely the two commando ships "Hermes" and "Bulwark" and the two assault ships "Fearless" and "Intrepid", the Wessex 5 helicopter squadrons and the four commando groups of the Royal Marines . I look forward to seeing something of the Royal Marines who are playing a key rôle in support of the flanks of NATO for I am proposing to visit them during a major exercise in the late spring. It must also be remembered that the Royal Marines are rightly taking their share of the burden imposed in military terms, most particularly on the Army in Northern Ireland . Tributes have rightly come from all sides of the House relative to what the Army is achieving and enduring in Northern Ireland. Having a garrison constituency and having paid five visits to Northern Ireland since the recent troubles started I can echo those tributes which it would be impossible to utter in too fulsome a way.
Before long I am hoping to pay another visit to the Province, not only to visit troops from my constituency but also, particularly, to see something of the burdens which 42 Royal Marine Commando is bearing in Belfast. Whilst I am dealing with Northern Ireland perhaps I should remind the House of the valuable work being done by the Navy by providing anti-gun-running patrols off the Irish coasts. These patrols are of the utmost importance. I do not imagine I shall be pressed for details of them by hon. Members.
Perhaps the most commonly-heard criticism of our present balance of forces is that we should put more resources than we do into our nuclear-powered fleet submarine programme. It is easy to understand the thinking behind this; the power and potential of the nuclear submarine for certain naval operations is clear. However, there are many tasks from fishery protection off Iceland to the Beira Patrol which cannot be undertaken by our submarines.
However, let the House not think for one moment that we do not appreciate the vital importance not only of our Polaris submarines but also of our force of nuclear powered fleet submarines. We have five building at the moment, and the first of these, HMS "Swiftsure", which is due to enter service later in the spring, is the lead ship of a new class and, as was revealed in the White Paper, work is continuing on the design of improved classes to follow on from "Swiftsure".
Hand in hand with this important building programme is our effort to see such boats—and I am told by authorities that it is right to refer to submarines as boats—are properly equipped. The House will remember that last year project definition studies were initiated relative to the devising of a really effective under-surface guided weapon system. I fear that all I can say at this stage is that these studies are going ahead and that it seems to me that they are going well.
As to torpedoes, the final acceptance trials of the Mark 24 are now nearing completion and the torpedo is due to enter service shortly. It will replace the Mark 23 torpedo as the anti-submarine armament of our own conventional, fleet and Polaris submarines. Frankly, I rind it disappointing that the development of the Mark 24 has taken longer than was originally planned. However it is a sophisticated weapon, faster with longer range and a less degree of susceptibility to counter-measures than its predecessor, and its introduction will make a very valuable contribution to the effectiveness of our submarines.
Good progress has been made with Seadart, the new medium-range ship- launched surface-to-air guided weapon system, and the system is at sea in HMS "Bristol", as is the Ikara quick reaction anti-submarine system. These weapons will be fitted in the Type 42 class and in some Leanders respectively. The development of Seawolf is going according to plan, and we propose to fit this system in the new Type 22 frigate and in certain Leanders and Type 21s. A wide range of ships will also be fitted during the 1970s with Exocet and first deliveries of ship equipment have now been made.
The whole of our balanced fleet would, of course, be useless if we had not got high quality well-trained sailors to man our ships and highly professional officers to lead them. Gone are the days when all one needed to arm a good Scotsman or, indeed, a sailor was "gunpowder and oatmeal". In this context I should like to pay a particular tribute to my predecessor, who, I know, regrets not being able to be here, his duties in Europe preventing that, for the improvements in service conditions and studies for future improvements which he instituted. As will be known to the House, Lord Seebohm is now examining what may be described as our social support organisation for our men and for their families. I am most grateful for the work that Lord Seebohm is doing and I look forward to having the opportunity of considering the conclusions which he arrives at and the recommendations which he will no doubt make as to further improvements.
, Colchester
I would have hoped that the hon. Member would be satisfied by the admirable response he drew from my hon. Friend the Under- Secretary of State for Defence for the Army after the debate on BUTEC , which happened to coincide with a visit I was making to Scotland, because of which I was not able to be here. I would have thought that my hon. Friend's reply would have satisfied the hon. Member. If not, I look forward to hearing what he has to say on this score later, and after that I will repeat some of the cogent arguments put forward by my hon. Friend. It seems to me that BUTEC going there creating job opportunities and the infusion of money into that part of Scotland will be a valuable asset in a place where job opportunities and additional money appear to be needed.
Passing from Raasay and oatmeal and gunpowder, I turn to recruiting. We are satisfied with recruitment of officers, and the combined Royal Navy and Royal Marines recruiting target of over 9,000 ratings and other ranks entering in 1972–73 is expected to be met fully. A particularly encouraging feature has been the large number of juniors joining the Royal Navy at 16 years of age.
Not only do we need to keep our fleet well equipped and well manned; it must be supported by efficient and effective dockyards, and during our last session the Public Accounts Committee had certain comments to make on these. Many of the problems we face are not, of course, peculiar to the Royal dockyards but are common to the ship-repairing industry as a whole. Moreover, warship repair is acknowledged to be quite the most difficult of all types of repair operations to estimate and control, because of the enormous and increasing complexity of modern warships and the high performance standard required of them in the Service.
In addition, planning and execution of the work are sometimes interrupted by urgent operational requirements of the fleet. Our experience is that visitors to the Royal Dockyards never fail to be impressed, and are frequently daunted, by the magnitude and intricacy of the work involved in refitting Her Majesty's ships, especially a nuclear submarine. That is a remarkable experience. In our constant endeavours to improve the working of our dockyards we have been, and are being, greatly assisted by Sir Henry Benson and Mr. Richard O'Brien, whose membership of the Royal Dockyard Policy Board has been of real value to us.
In particular, the introduction of nuclear submarines into the fleet is requiring radical changes in dockyard organisation. There is the provision of extensive and expensive new facilities, the learning and application of new techniques and skills by dockyard workers to provide the necessary docking, repair and support capability. I am sure that the dockyards will react appropriately to the challenge with which they will be faced in future in refitting and repairing the new classes of surface ship to which I have referred, the Type 22 and Type 42 , and the associated new weapons systems shortly to be introduced.
The whole dockyard service is geared to the need to keep abreast of the very latest advances in technology, and to meet the increasing complexity of their task. I am confident that they will not prove lacking here and that, with the assistance of the improved facilities, new workshops, covered docks and the like, for which provision has already been made in the dockyard development programme, they will continue to provide the fleet with the service it requires.
I apologise for having spoken at such length. No doubt many matters will be raised during the debate, and I will try if I am permitted, to deal with them in my reply or by correspondence if that turns out to be more appropriate. I look forward to hearing the speech of the hon. Member for Portsmouth, West (Mr. Judd). I suspect that he is enjoying being Shadow Minister for the Navy as much as I am enjoying being its Minister. I hope that he will not take it amiss if I say that I trust he will long continue in that shadow rôle. I will do all I can to increase his considerable knowledge of the Navy by visits and so forth.
I freely acknowledge that we on this side of the House do not have a monopoly of patriotism or concern for the Armed Forces . While I acknowledge this I am bound to say that I sometimes wish hon. Members opposite would acknowledge that they do not have a monopoly of social conscience. I am sometimes alarmed by the utterances of some hon. Members opposite who would apparently wish virtually to scrap all our defences. I hope that in the course of the speech the hon. Gentleman will make his attitude towards such of his colleagues very clear.
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7.53 p.m.
, Portsmouth West
I begin in the mood in which the Minister concluded and congratulate him on his fine first performance from the Government Front Bench as the Undersecretary of State for Defence for the Royal Navy. If I may reciprocate the good wishes which he has extended, I hope that he will continue to enjoy what will inevitably be a limited stay at the Ministry. I trust that when he resumes his rightful place as Opposition spokesman he will be given the same friendly help and courtesy as that extended to me over the past year by him and his predecessor and numerous civilian and naval staff. I would like all concerned to know how grateful I am.
On behalf of the Opposition I begin by expressing in absolutely confident terms our unlimited tribute to the men and women of the Royal Navy. I particularly want to speak for a moment about the women of the Royal Navy because sometimes they are overlooked on these annual occasions. We sometimes find that the WRNS are considered as being indispensable when recruiting is going badly, but when it is going well they are sometimes pushed into the background. On behalf of the Opposition I place on record our continuing admiration for the services supplied by the WRNS.
I want to emphasise what the Minister said about the Royal Marines . They have served with distinction in Northern Ireland , and in many ways they are demonstrating themselves as being well suited to the sort of limited engagements we have come to expect in modern times.
Having referred to the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines and the WRNS, I also refer to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary , the Port Auxiliary Services, and the countless civilian employees of the Ministry of Defence working for the Navy and without whom the Navy's operations would be impossible.
The Minister dwelt on the importance of this annual debate. I emphasise that. We have first to consider the nature of the country in which we live. We remain a sea-locked trading nation. Entry to the EEC will not change that basic reality. If after our entry to the EEC we look at ourselves in a European context, apart from our vital exports essential to the economic viability of Britain, we see that more than 120 oceangoing ships arrive daily in the ports of Western Europe and discharge more than 1 million tons of cargo. More than half of this gigantic operation takes place in the ports of the United Kingdom.
The sea is certainly as vital as it has ever been. This historical involvement with the sea is not the only justification for this debate. There is the whole issue of the mineral and other resources in and beneath the sea. These are likely to become a major preoccupation of policymakers in future, and not only the policymakers of nations adjacent to the sea such as ourselves but also the policymakers of land-locked nations who want their share of the sea's resources.
Our current discussions about Iceland are an example of the maritime conflict that can arise. They are but an indication of things to come. Tactical policies for meeting this serious situation must be considered against the long-term strategy for the law of the sea. The forthcoming United Nations international Law of the Sea Conference at Santiago will be of major significance for the future of humanity and not least for us in Britain. In success or failure the implications of the conference will be considerable for future naval policy. It is time that we heard a good deal more about the Government's thinking in this highly significant area.
The White Paper referred in its introduction to what it called in rather brutal terms "Developments in the Threat". That is fair enough, I suppose. The Russians, I believe—this lies behind what the White Paper says—have clearly recognised the sort of arguments I have been advancing. They see the potential future wealth to be found in the oceans. They are also keeping their options open in traditional ways for extending their sphere of influence, perhaps, as I argued the other night, even in terms, if the opportunity presented itself, of the Finlandisation of Western Europe.
In this context, I endorse the Minister's remarks by quoting from no less an authority than the First Sea Lord , who, writing in The Financial Times , said:
As for naval forces"—
this is referring to Russia—
she has some 200 surface ships, ranging from the powerful KRESTA ASW and guided-missile carrying cruiser and the Moskva helicopter ship with 20 helicopters, and surface-to-air missiles, through a range of destroyers and frigates, most of them modern, and many of them missile-firing, down to a force of some 600 fast patrol boats for coastal work, many of which are also equipped with missiles. She has the largest submarine force in the world, some 400 strong and including both cruise-missile and ballistic missile systems, as well as attack submarines for use against surface forces and merchant shipping and to counter allied submarines. At present a quarter are nuclear-powered: virtually all submarine building is now nuclear and these submarines"—
as the Minister said—
are being launched at about one a month, replacing older submarines. She has a large shore-based long-range maritime air force of some 850 aircraft to support her Fleet. In addition of course the line between a naval and a merchant ship in the Soviet Fleets is very blurred; so the fishing and merchant fleets add a considerable naval potential, if only as 'eyes and ears'.
In considering submarine developments, as hon. Members—not least the hon. Member for Haltemprice (Mr. Wall)—have explained, in the Second World War the ratio of German submarines to allied anti-submarine vessels was 1:5·9. Now the ratio of Russian submarines to NATO anti-submarine vessels is 1:1·6. Where do we stand?
I was interested to read in the newspapers yesterday that there is soon to be a big naval display in the Firth of Forth , to be preceded by a magnificent banquet for all attending dignitaries. I only hope that the menu for the banquet will prove more satisfying than the overall picture of cohesive naval priorities of the Government. I foresee too many question-mark-shaped clouds overhanging the assembled fleet in the Firth later this year.
For example, there is the issue of convoys. I still sometimes hear hon. Members opposite urging the Government Front Bench to recognise in naval policy the traditional rôle of shepherding convoys round the world. How realistic is this in the context of the modern technological age, in the context of nuclear potentiality? The Government Front Bench, whatever the pressures on it, should come clean sooner or later about where it stands vis-à-vis this concept.
Then there is the issue of " Ark Royal "—one aircraft carrier in spend id isolation. What does this meaningfully add up to in the overall context of our naval policy?
Then there is the issue of the through-deck cruisers. We on this side of the House are disturbed by the rumours and stories of escalating costs. Some have suggested that these vessels may be as much as £75 million apiece. But I worry much more that the Government may make the same mistake with the through-deck cruisers as they have found themselves trapped in with the one remaining aircraft carrier. If the through-deck cruisers are to add up to a viable contribution to the Navy, it will be essential to have at least three of them operational. I wonder whether the Government have thought this through, or whether they have vaguely in mind the possibility of leaving construction at the initial through-deck cruiser.
I come to the issue of the Harriers. The Minister tried to be helpful tonight, but, although he came tantalisingly close to making a definite statement, there is still an element of doubt overhanging their future. He will realise that I say this in no spirit of animosity, but there is considerable anxiety in the Fleet Air Arm , which is affecting morale, about what the future is to be in terms of flying capability with the Navy.
In one of the visits which I have been able to make, kindly facilitated by the Minister's predecessor, I was struck by the difference in morale between the rotary-wing flyers and the fixed-wing flyers. We need to take this matter on board very seriously.
, Winchester
It is music to my ears that, I gather, the Opposition 's policy is to urge the Government to construct three of these new cruisers and encourage flying and seaborne air power. It is not many years since the Opposition, when in Government, cancelled the CVAO1. If they had not done so, we could by now have had a splendid new aircraft carrier.
, Portsmouth West
We owe the men of the Fleet Air Arm reassurance about their future. We can no longer allow uncertainty about the policy. It would be helpful if the Government clarified the situation one way or the other.
There is the issue of the commando ships, essential to the work of the Royal Marines . Most people would agree that at least two of them are vital if they are to provide amphibious reinforcements on the northern and southern flanks of NATO . Only the Americans, apart from ourselves, have such amphibious ships. HMS "Bulwark" is known to be on her last legs, although her devoted crew have produced remarkable results in manoeuvres over the past year, and we pay tribute to them. It is an open secret that she is known in the Navy as HMS "Rusty Bucket".
What is to replace her? Are the Government thinking that perhaps one of the through-deck cruisers might replace her? If so, I find that unconvincing because, even supposing the Government were to decide to go ahead with the three through-deck cruisers, they would all be needed to provide maritime support for the Navy. I do not see how one could occasionally be allocated for this rôle. I commend to the Minister the suggestion which is being canvassed in some quarters that it would perhaps be possible to design a new ship on mercantile lines— something like a container ship hull fitted with a flight deck which could be built fairly cheaply.
There is also the issue of the future of minesweeping operations. We need clarification from the Government for this particularly affects the Royal Naval Reserve and the question of its morale. It has been noted that minesweeping experiments are being done by hovercraft and helicopters. The men of the Royal Naval Reserve need to be reassured about what the Government have in mind, particularly in the light of what is going on in Haiphong harbour under American supervision in connection with mine-clearing by helicopters.
I come to the question of the seaborne nuclear deterrent. Not many of us on this side of the House were altogether reassured in the defence debate earlier this week. Apart from the critical issue of safety in handling our Polaris missiles raised by my hon. Friend the Member for West Lothian (Mr. Dalyell) on which no satisfactory reply has been forthcoming, the Opposition cannot emphasise too strongly their concern at the apparent drift towards irrevocable commitment to a second generation nuclear deterrent, be it Poseidon, Trident or the under-sea long-range missile system, without evidence of clearly thought out major policy direction and decisions.
In the debate the other night I mentioned the implications of the first round of the strategic arms limitation talks in this respect: on the one hand, the argument that the ceiling on anti-ballistic missiles has given Polaris a new lease of life, but, on the other hand, firm pronouncements by the Russians that any extension of our nuclear capability will be regarded as an extension of the American capability. If the Government are committed to disarmament, are they contemplating embarrassing the United States' nogotiators for a questionable future development in our own deterrent? What are our intentions in a West European context? My right hon. Friend the Member for Aberavon (Mr. John Morris ) mentioned this matter in the debate earlier this week, but no reply has been forthcoming.
When the Secretary of State talks at the Conservative Party conference about the possibility of an Anglo-French deterrent he attracts attention. It is no good Ministers prevaricating in their responses. We need a clear answer. The Opposition are firmly against the development of an Anglo-French deterrent in any form. But in the issue of nuclear strategy we must, above all, have clear-cut decisions because they are essential not only to naval strategy but to our whole defence strategy within the context of NATO.
Before I leave this critical subject I want to put one other question to the Minister about a statement made on 30th July last year by the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy . He is reported to have said that Soviet submarine, surface and air anti-submarine forces can detect and utterly destroy any submarine in all weather conditions. A categorical comment from the Minister about that claim from the Russian C-in-C would be helpful.
, Portsmouth West
We note that, and I am sure that the Russians will have noted it. It is a pity that we did not have a stronger comment earlier.
Last year we had an interesting debate in our analysis of defence programmes in which, speaking from this Dispatch Box , my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Sutton (Dr. David Owen ) dwelt on the importance of submarines. May I interject a word of gratitude to my hon. Friend? Whatever profound differences we may have had on certain aspects of policy while he was the Minister responsible for the Navy, I as a Member of Parliament with a dockyard constituency , found that he always treated my problems with the utmost courtesy, attention and speed. In opposition we found him a thoughtful and stimulating spokesman. Since he has returned temporarily to the back benches, in his book and in his work on the Select Committee he is still making a profoundly important contribution to defence discussion.
In the debate last year my hon. Friend referred to submarines. This year the Government have announced their intention to move forward with the submarine building programme, but I am not sure that it is on a scale to convince my hon. Friend that the basic policy decisions have been made as he would like them to be made.
In that debate we also spoke of torpedoes, and the Minister has mentioned them tonight. They have had a chequered history in recent years in the Royal Navy. We are glad to know that at last the Mark 24 submarine-launched anti-submarine torpedo is in production, and that delivery of the American Mark 26 lightweight torpedo will soon start. We must reserve judgment on their success until we have seen them in operation for a while.
Last year the Opposition dwelt on the possibility that there was too much reliance in Government strategy on large ships, which we sometimes think have the attributes in a modern context of sitting ducks. What we have heard this year has not been altogether reassuring. A modern Navy serving the interests of Britain and NATO needs maximum flexibility and maximum versatility. We are worried that the Navy may be becoming technologically muscle-bound or over-computer-orientated. I have heard it said by someone who shall be nameless that in the immediate future when a submarine surfaces and the skipper looks out through his binoculars and understands from computerised information that he is on the Equator but sees an iceberg and a polar bear on the horizon he will say "That damned computer ". But the question we have to ask ourselves is whether in 15 years' time he might say "What was I drinking last night?" We have to question a little the impact of modern technology on the self-reliance of seamanship, which is tremendously important in the final analysis.
One sometimes wonders how a ship can have any buoyancy after all the boffins have added their pet refinements. To quote again from the Financial Times in an article last November the Controller of the Navy, Admiral Sir Anthony Griffin said: —
This means that we have to be careful to produce ships which are not over-specialised for a particular operational task which may change or even disappear during the lifetime of the ship.
On equipment, we notice that the Exocet equipment has been delivered and that its first missiles are due soon. We also note that the Anglo-French Martel air-to-surface anti-ship guided weapon is being introduced into the Bucanneer squadron on HMS " Ark Royal ". We shall have to watch this carefully in operation. It is a nice point of balance between buying, on economic and engineering criteria, abroad and the need to maintain our own technological industry to back the defence services.
On recruiting, we are glad that the Navy has done well in the past year. The only question we ask is: what will be the effects of keeping pay in the Services in line with the Pay Code on recruiting. Are the Government confident that there will be no adverse effects?
I have had the good fortune to see a certain amount of naval training in the past year, and I have been very impressed. We should all express our appreciation for the staff who handle the training, but there is the issue of the considerable changes in curriculum which have been taking place in Dartmouth in recent years. Is it yet possible to make an evaluation of their impact on leadership and officer effectiveness within the Service?
I should like to say a word or two on discipline. I understand the White Paper 's discreet silence on the naval catering fraud case. I do not want to turn over that sad story, which is all the more sad because of our almost unlimited respect for the Navy, but a number of serious issues are at stake. One is: how could fraud have happened on that scale throughout the length and breadth of the country for so long? Another is: why had senior officers not spotted earlier that there was something wrong? Can we be confident that the weaknesses that the case revealed in financial relations with private contractors are limited to catering? I know that an inquiry is going on. We are looking forward to the results of that inquiry and shall want to discuss them fully.
On welfare, we are glad that we can soon expect the report of the Seebohm Committee. Some of us feel that more attention should be paid to the welfare of officers' families. As soon as the Seebohm Report comes out it will be appropriate for the House to have a full discussion on it.
There is also the issue of Service land. Speaking as a Member for a dockyard constituency, I know that in some dockyard towns there is an acute shortage of land for housing, recreational facilities and other social amenities. It is aggravating when the view gains ground that the Navy has at its disposal more land than is absolutely essential. I hope that this will be watched carefully.
I should like to add a brief word on the yards about which the Minister spoke. The Labour Government's concern for the wellbeing of the yards was demonstrated by their introduction of the new pay structure. The advances made through that pay structure must not be allowed to fall behind again.
There are problems within the yards. There is a need for an opportunity for construction in the yards so that the repair work can be kept in harmony with the new style of shipbuilding. We also have to look at industrial accidents within the yards, on which there are some warning indicators. We must keep the incentive bonus scheme under scrutiny. While it is all right for some of the men employed in the yards, it is not always convincing as an appropriate system for yards which handle repairs as distinct from production work. There are also sometimes resentments among men who are employed on work where the bonus scheme cannot be applied. We must also recognise that there are doubts amongst labour forces about work being put out to contract and the criteria used when decisions to do so are made.
As for the morale of the workers in the yards, there are doubts and anxieties about the degree of emphasis on preplanning in yard work and work measurement. At times the men in the yards express to me the feeling that front-line workers are being expected to carry increasingly top-heavy administration.
Part of the problem is concerned with communication and with explaining new systems to workers, but I suspect that there is a good deal of justification for criticism. Difficulties in communications can result from the fact that yards are impersonal in scale, and when the men come to negotiate about their problems they often feel that at local yard level they are not talking to the people who have the real responsibility. Behind the individual yard lies Bath, behind Bath lies the Ministry of Defence , Whitehall , behind the Ministry of Defence, Whitehall, lies the Treasury, and behind the Treasury lies No. 10 Downing Street . It will be helpful if the Minister can give us his comments about firm recommendations on the yards contained in the Ninth Report from the Expenditure Committee and can assure us that the Government are seeking ways of decentralisation. The more responsibility local management has the more the workers will be able to realise that he is talking to those who have the power of decision.
I now turn to the subject of civilian employees in other naval establishments. In the past year there has been a deep sense of grievance, since civilian workers undertaking similar work to that which is done in the yards are denied, by as much as several pounds, the same level of pay as their dockyard colleagues because in certain establishments bonus schemes do not operate as they do in the yards. There is a jungle of confused pay rates in defence establishments, and the Government could do a good deal to rationalise the system.
In conclusion, I want to draw attention to the urgent need for a more coherent maritime strategy for NATO as a whole, especially in the light of possible mutually balanced force reductions, which might later be extended to cover balanced naval withdrawals in the Mediterranean. This is all the more important when we recognise that a political approach to such balanced naval withdrawal was made in June 1971 by Mr. Brezhnev, who proposed mutual naval cuts in the Mediterranean. This poses the possibility of the withdrawal of American carriers of the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean or their run-down, which could leave NATO's southern flank even more open. Clearly NATO must be concerned about its vulnerability in the south. Its limited air defence is mainly deployed north-east, towards Moscow, in support of allied ground forces. There is little facing south, towards Syria or Egypt or elsewhere on the North African coast, should Soviet influence extend there.
We on this side of the House desperately want disarmament through mutually balanced force reductions to succeed, but to achieve this we need to be clear on our present strategy overall, including the Mediterranean. The issue is complicated by the totally undemocratic and, in the final analysis, unreliable régime in Greece and the disturbing political developments in Turkey.
Naval matters have been badly neglected in overall strategy, but they are no less vital than those issues raised in the context of possible nuclear escalation discussed by the nuclear planning group in NATO. The lack of comprehensive policy could almost call into question the seriousness with which the Government approach mutually balanced force reductions. How can we make meaningful progress if we are not clear where we stand at the start? How do the Government reconcile their decision to become a continental Power with their decision to maintain their independent thin grey line around the world? How much influence do a few British ships, scattered about the oceans, have? Do the Government fail to see that their military and naval involvement with Portugal—and their, at best, ambiguous military and naval relationship with South Africa—serve to provoke the spread of Communist influence by driving those struggling for their freedom into a heavy dependence on Communist support?
Conservative Members urge extension of NATO activity into the South Atlantic . Nothing could be more disastrous and counter-productive than to do this on the basis of co-operation with repressive reactionary régimes both in Latin America and in Southern Africa .
By contrast, what steps are being taken to secure greater NATO—and indeed Commonwealth—support for a more effective and extended Beira patrol? It is interesting to contrast the dedicated service by men on this patrol with preparations here at home for a jamboree to celebrate 600 years of alliance with dictatorial Portugal, the principal subverter of the Government's policy towards Rhodesia—a situation which would be ludicrous if it were not so grave. I fear that it is all too characteristic of contradictions in Government thinking.
I started with a tribute to the men and women of the Navy and the civilian employees who support them. They are people who take pride in their effectiveness. In these debates we must see to it that the political framework within which these men and women are asked to serve is worthy of that unrivalled loyalty which they so steadfastly display.
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8.25 p.m.
, Plymouth, Devonport
I am glad to be called to speak after the hon. Member for Portsmouth, West (Mr. Judd), since we both represent dockyard towns, but I dissociate myself from his final remarks. He had made an excellent speech until the last few minutes.
Since this is a short debate I shall concentrate on two points. The first concerns HMS "Albion". Is it to be scrapped or not? When it is converted into a Commando carrier it was considered that she was a more comfortable ship and better equipped than HMS "Bulwark". However, I understand that HMS "Bulwark" will remain operational until 1978 when the proposed through-deck cruiser should be available. Cannot both these ships be retained? They are both invaluable to the Royal Navy.
I turn to the subject of the Royal Naval dockyards. A great deal is said about them in the two important documents with which we are dealing in this debate. On page 32 of the Statement on the Defence Estimates, Cmnd. 5231, the Government say:
The Royal Dockyards will be heavily loaded during 1973–74 …".
There is then reference to the backlog of work outstanding from 1972–73. I should like seriously to consider the situation thrown up by this backlog of work because, regrettably, we have undergone a major strike for the first time in 300 years. It was not just a question of increased pay; there were other questions which worried the men. I attended a strike meeting and I should like to explain my impressions.
I consider that the time has come when the Admiralty must realise that it is dealing with thousands of educated men and women—and I emphasise that we now have girl apprentices in the dockyards. The workers who operate in the dockyards in these days are very different from those who worked in the dockyards in previous years. Therefore, I agree with the hon. Member for Portsmouth, West that there should be further cooperation between management and staff.
One important matter which must be borne in mind is the monotony of work in the dockyards. This is a serious problem, which applies not only to work in motor car factories, for example. It is very much a human problem. People need to be noticed, and to be appreciated; they need to feel that they are not just cogs in one great impersonal machine. This aspect presents obvious difficulties in a large organisation such as a dockyard. Today, too many industrial organisations relegate the individual to a position of total insignificance during working hours. We have to overcome this problem in the future.
When the Mallabar Report—Command Paper 4713—was published, I hoped that many changes would be made, and I regret that very few have been undertaken to date. For that reason I was extremely interested to read the Recommendations in Command Paper 5245, and I should like to refer to some of them.
Recommendation 9 I support entirely. However, in my view paragraph b. is not very satisfactory. It says that the length of time for which a ship is required is agreed between the dockyard department and the Naval Staff one to two years before the start of a refit, after taking into account the size of the work package. That is a long time ahead, and situations change. I should like to know whether we could not have more accurate forecasting, which would mean that we should get fewer Supplementary Estimates in respect of various ships.
Recommendation 10 says:
The date for the establishment of a trading fund for the Royal Dockyards should be brought forward.
Observation a. contains another stalling reply. It says:
Thirdly, the staff concerned will need a training/trial period of managing under the new system of budgeting and financial control before the Parliamentary system of vote control can be changed in favour of a trading fund system.
This was recommended three years ago. We should have got further than this. In paragraph b. the observation says:
A pilot system of operating accounts will be in operation during 1973–74 …".
It is unfortunate that it has been impossible to do what is suggested sooner. If private enterprise yards were run as the Royal dockyards are run they would be broke, or would become another "lame duck" in no time. I hope that my hon. Friend will look into this matter.
The observation on Recommendation 11 is unfortunate. It says that no current construction is going on in the Royal dockyards. I suggest that there should be some construction. It is essential for morale, and to encourage initiative—and Devonport especially has facilities for shipbuilding. Some ships should be built in the yards. I realise that the Admiralty puts a number of new constructions outside because it wishes to help the unemployment situation in other areas, but times have changed, and I feel that the Royal dockyards should have their share and should not just be repairing yards.
In my view Recommendation 12 should be put into action as soon as possible. In many debates I have advocated the abolition of the distinction between industrial and non-industrial civil servants in the Royal dockyards and the ROFs. They should all be civil servants. I hope, too, that the Government will maintain their intention of giving equal pay to women by 1975.
I should like to know how much progress has been made with regard to paragraph c. of the observation, which says:
In addition, it has been agreed with the trade unions that there should be early joint consideration of differences on sick pay, deductions of pay for lateness, on-call and re-call payments, and payments of travelling and subsistence allowances.
When will action be taken? The paragraph simply says that "it has been agreed".
The Mallabar Committee was not very complimentary about the Royal Dockyards. It did not seem to take into account the fact that, unlike the ROFs, the dockyards' obligations compare with those of a fire service. A ship may need immediate repairs. What is more, there is not the satisfaction that there is in the ROFs, of engaging in new manufacturing work. That is why I again plead that Devonport and other Royal dockyards should build ships. The "Scylla", an outstanding success, was built at Devonport.
Are the unions kept fully informed both with regard to the future work programme and any organisational changes? I suspect that they are not kept as fully informed as they should be, and that is unfortunate.
The top structure should also be looked at. The Mallabar Committee recommended more civilian management. Why have not more men in the Royal dockyards been given the opportunity to train for managerial jobs? Without meaning any disrespect to the general managers, I must say that it is unfortunate that many of them are naval officers in mufti, and because they come from a disciplined force they have had little or no chance to deal with trade unions and industrial relations.
I am sure that my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary has come to his job with no preconceived ideas. I hope that he will make it his task to see that men who have worked in the Royal dockyards for a number of years have the opportunity to take managerial jobs rather than having others superimposed upon them. I am not suggesting that it is the fault of either section; it is the present system.
Flag officers have quite enough other work to do, and the general managers who now take the place of the admiral superintendents should be allowed to stay more than two or three years. How can anyone be expected to run a big concern when in the first year he has to learn, in the second he may do some constructive work, and is then likely to go? No business can be run on those lines.
I advocate more promotions from the ranks and more continuous service in the top jobs. It appears to me that that is the only way to make progress, given some stabilisation of the work force.
To sum up, in my view there are far too many separate bosses with insufficient local powers. The general manager has no direct authority for the recruitment, promotion or dismissal of non-industrial staff. The naval authorities may specify the department to which a naval officer is posted. That is rather difficult for all concerned. A general manager has limited purchasing authority—namely, under £1,000, except locally for contracts up to £2,000. It was proposed by Mallabar that a general manager be given power to order up to £5,000, but that has not been implemented.
Having studied the Mallabar Report, all I can do is to congratulate all those concerned in the dockyards for the first-class jobs which they have produced despite many difficulties. However, is not it time that some of the work force should be able to rise from the ranks and that these jobs should not always be held by people, however able they may be, brought in from outside?
I am not knocking Navy personnel. They act in their several capacities and we need them for liaison activities between the yards and naval requirements. Of course, specialists such as engineering electrical engineering officers are still needed, and they do their jobs splendidly, but they should do what they are required to do and should not become involved in administrative work. Flag officers need to be relieved of their dual duties. General managers should be given more power, and should stay for at least five years.
During the 18 years in which I have been in this House I have tried to get changes. The Mallabar Report of July 1971 does not appear to have led to any radical changes to the dockyards. I welcome the extra money which is being spent on material changes such as new buildings, and I hope that some of the Mallabar Report's wise proposals, and the suggestions put forward by the Defence and External Affairs Sub-Committee will be enacted in the near future.
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8.37 p.m.
, Kingston upon Hull West
I followed the hon. Member for Plymouth, Devonport ( Dame Joan Vickers ) in the defence debate last week and, by a happy coincidence, I follow her again tonight. I thought that she made a good speech last week, but she has made a better one this week.
We are a maritime nation. Therefore, the Navy is a national institution. Any man who becomes a Minister for the Navy is a fortunate man. The Undersecretary of State's first task in office was to go in a minesweeper off the North-East coast of England—in fact, off the coast of Yorkshire. That is where the hon. Member for Haltemprice (Mr. Wall) and myself—we happen to be chairmen of our respective fisheries committees— had a joint excursion in the minesweeper "Letterston" a year or two ago. On that occasion the sea was like a mill-pond and there was no need to take pills of any kind.
The Under- Secretary of State listened last week with assiduous attention to my speech. Unfortunately, he did not speak and hence could not answer the points I made. I do not intend to inflict upon him the identical speech this week. However, I shall embark upon the same theme, as I happen to represent not a naval dockyard, like many hon. Members present, but a distinguished fishing port. If tributes are being paid tonight to sailors, I pay tribute to the deep-sea fishermen, who are amongst the kindest people in the world, and the most intrepid, as they work in the depths of the Arctic in temperatures of 10, 20 and 30 degrees below zero.
My speech is really an addendum to what I said last week. I speak for fishermen and not naval personnel. I suggest that, although there would be a Navy, it would not be such a good Navy if we had no fishermen. Our minesweepers would be a jolly sight worse in times of war if we did not have fishermen to man them, as we have had in so many of our difficult times.
Page 16 of the White Paper deals with the NATO area, and paragraph 21 refers to the Icelandic fishing dispute. It is an important exercise in the North Atlantic . Paragraph 21 says:
In addition to normal patrols to distant water fishing grounds, frigates of the Fleet have been available since September 1972 in case they are needed to protect and assist British trawlermen in the disputed fishing grounds off Iceland.
These grounds are indeed disputed; there has been a dispute for some years. Many of us take sides. I hasten to add that we in the Opposition have supported the Government so far in what they have done. The Opposition are with the Government in this. I say that to forestall any misapprehension about what I shall say later. I would point out, incidentally, that I am speaking tonight only because I got no answer to my speech in the defence debate.
Today the Foreign Secretary gave us the best news since September. He said that the British ambassador at Reykjavik, accompanied by two senior officials from Whitehall , will have discussions with the Icelandic Government in Reykjavik tomorrow. The right hon. Gentleman said that these discussions would not be negotiations but were designed to pave the way for ministerial negotiations, which he hoped would be renewed very soon.
I am cautiously optimistic, as I pointed out to the right hon. Gentleman somewhat lightheartedly, but I have some cautionary words. I hope with all my heart that talks begin again, but we need an assurance that harassment will cease and that our men will not be subjected to the cutting of warps. Altogether 19 warps have been cut in the last fortnight off Iceland. There is terrific tension in a warp being towed at four miles an hour, and if a warp is cut it flies back like a lash. A German seaman a few weeks ago lost a leg. Indeed, a cut warp could easily decapitate a man.
It is, therefore, very important, if talks begin, that such incidents finish, if only to convince our men that we mean business. I hope that a new spirit has entered into the discussions. But—to change the metaphor—one eider duck does not make a summer and Mr. Josefsson, the Icelandic Minister, is no eider duck. He is not soft anywhere. He is a very hard and tough Fishing Minister for Iceland. He does not wish to give away too much. We have met him and we know him. All I am saying now is: let us hope that the talks do not collapse. But if, sadly, the talks do collapse we shall be back where we were last week. Iceland has committed itself to a 50-mile limit. All the parties did so at the last General Election in 1972. Indeed, one party advocated going beyond that limit.
My hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth, West (Mr. Judd) mentioned the Santiago talks next year on the law of the sea. I accept the need for proper preparation for these United Nations discussions. We in the fishing ports look upon this issue as being far beyond one of catching fish. This is an international dispute about international limits, and the findings of the International Court at The Hague . It does not just concern developing nations. In this case, Iceland is not even our biggest opponent, because two large, dominant North American Nations—the United States and Canada —want to increase limits not to 20 or 50 miles but to 100 miles. I know that the Minister understands me.
The Government are therefore in a dilemma to know what formula must be put up which will satisfy our fishermen and also lead to a settlement with Iceland. There are such technical questions as the settling of areas for fishing and size of vessels, but any settlement must also combine Iceland's sovereignty with the fact that we still have our fishing rights. With all my heart I hope that we shall get an interim agreement which will carry us through to 1974 and the Santiago conference. Nevertheless it must be remembered that a settlement will take a long time. It will take at least two years from the beginning of the Santiago talks next year, so whatever we settle with Iceland must be for such length of time.
My cautionary word is that if we do not get a settlement tempers will shorten on both sides, provocation—I say this deliberately—will be on both sides, because all the angels are not on the one side; these are very tough deep sea fishermen, and skippers are chafing at the present incidents and harassment. I assume that for the moment the firing of live ammunition will cease.
The Government are willing to negotiate and will begin negotiating, but the industry does not wish the Navy to go in at the moment. There has been some slight lack of agreement within the Action Committee between skippers, deckhands and owners, but they do not want the Navy in at present because that means uneconomic fishing. One vessel shields another, and for their fishing they have to keep to confined areas where they have the protection of a frigate. But the fishing fleet must be assured that if protection is at any time needed the fishermen will get it.
Last week when I asked for a definition of what had been said by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs the hon. Member for Blackpool, South (Mr. Blaker), the Minister, said " The Secretary of State means what he says." I then had to ask "If he says what he means, what does he mean?" The hon. Member replied "He means what he says."
The Under-Secretary of State for Defence for the Navy knows which boats are where. He knows which frigates he has. He spoke earlier of 26 frigates of the "Leander" class and of 22 others in different stations. What the fishermen and the owners wish to know is what naval vessels we have in the North Atlantic to come to their aid in the event of danger or difficulty, or in the unhappy event of the negotiations not being held. Where are these frigates, and what are they doing? Can the Minister guarantee that in the unhappy event that I have mentioned naval vessels will go to the area in sufficient force to look after our people?
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8.50 p.m.
, Banffshire
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Undersecretary of State for Defence for the Royal Navy on his first major speech at the Dispatch Box . I agree with a great deal of what he said. One or two i's need dotting and some t's need crossing, but I hope to raise those matters.
It is always a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, West (Mr. James Johnson ). I endorse pretty well absolutely everything he said about the Icelandic dispute. I hope that the Government will keep in as close touch with skippers, owners and crew members as they have with all other interests to ensure that we get the right answer as speedily as possible.
I also endorse what the hon. Gentleman said about the fishermen. I have had a great deal to do with them in the course of my career in this House. I have the highest possible admiration for them in all the dangers they face in a most hazardous occupation. It is odd that when they come up against a hazard, instead of knuckling down and going ashore they and their families continue with them.
I wish to mention two points to which the White Paper on Defence pays scant attention. The first concerns the numbers and capability of our escort vessels, and the second relates to the air support that is available to the fleet.
In Volume 1 , Chapter I , of " The War at Sea ", the Official Histories Series, Captain S. W. Roskill defines maritime control and, among other things, on page 3 says:
if either control of the air over the sea or control of the water beneath the surface of the sea is inadequate, then we should not possess sufficient control of the communications which pass on its surface.
That may sound a truism. Nevertheless, it is an absolutely essential part of what I consider should be our strategic thinking in the form of naval defence.
If that is true of the Second World War , it is equally true today. We are a maritime nation. We need control of the air, of the sea, and of the water beneath the surface of the sea at least round our own shores and in the sea lanes leading to our ports literally from all over the world.
In my estimation, the Royal Navy is still our first line of defence. According to the White Paper the total strength of our escort and ASW vessels is 62. That should be compared with the operational strength of the USSR submarine fleet. They have 34 attack nuclear submarines and 210 attack diesel submarines, besides which they have 26 nuclear-powered and 26 diesel-powered missile launching submarines. That gives an adverse ratio of escort vessels to submarines of 4:1. If we take into account the European NATO escort vessels the ratio, in adverse terms, is roughly 3:1 against.
It is useful to compare what was happening at the beginning and at a crucial stage of the Second World War. At the outbreak of war in 1939 Germany had 36 operational U-boats. We had 110 escorts of all types which gave us a favourable ratio of escorts to submarines of 3:1. By the quarter ending January 1943 Germany had a total of 393 submarines, of which 212 were operational. At that time we had 413 escort vessels of all types which gave us a favourable ratio of 2:1.
It is of interest to note that just after that date—in fact, in March 1943 —the allied shipping losses were the highest of the entire war, with 108 vessels sunk, representing 627,377 gross tons. Without labouring the point, it meant a fantastic loss and, indeed, a waste of life. Even if we were to regard one escort vessel today as being equal in effectiveness to two in 1943, we would still be woefully short on a ratio basis of 3:2 against. There is no room for complacency about the production and introduction of more escort vessels. Indeed, their provision must be stepped up.
What frightens me is the probability that successive Ministers of Defence have adopted that near-fatal doctrine of the between-the-war period when each spring the decision was taken that there was no likelihood of a general war within the next 10 years. This is alarming, to say the least, and I hope that we may be reassured when my hon. Friend replies to the debate.
The danger to our fleet and, indeed, to all our ships does not end with submarines. According to the International Institute of Strategic Studies dealing with the military balance 1972–73, the USSR has 450 maritime bombers based on its North-West and Black Sea Coasts, and 140 ASW aircraft similarly disposed. A nation with that number of aircraft and 295 submarines operational cannot be regarded as acting defensively in its strategy. If I may coin a phrase, the Russian bear has mutated itself into being an aquatic animal. On the contrary, bombers and submarines are almost by definition offensive armaments, so we are faced with a threat of enormous magnitude.
What about air support not only for the fleet but for merchant vessels in time of war? The White Paper , in Chapter 2 on page 17, talking about exercises, refers to "Strong Express"
in which all three Services demonstrated their ability to give support to the northern flank of NATO.
If one thing alone was demonstrated by exercise " Strong Express" it was our inability to provide sufficient air support to the fleet or to the troops when they had gone ashore. All reports which I have seen of that exercise have stressed that very point.
In an admirable article headed
Defence rôle of seaborne planes
in last Thursday's Daily Telegraph Mr. Desmond Wettern said:
Moscow has, perhaps, become aware that, as our own Fleet Air Arm has long known one squadron of aircraft afloat is comparable to at least four squadrons ashore … if the shore based fighter's tanker becomes unavailable … the whole or part of the operation may well have to be cancelled.
Thus we are laying ourselves open to all sorts of hazards by giving up the use of fixed-wing aircraft by the Royal Navy and handing them back to the Royal Air Force , which in some ways is repeating the mistake that was made between the two wars.
But is there possibly a change taking place in the Minister 's thinking? When my hon. Friend replies perhaps he will comment on the statement in Chapter 5 on page 31 of the White Paper where it says:
under a new scheme, selected Royal Navy helicopter aircrew are transferred on temporary loan to the Royal Air Force for training and experience in fixed-wing flying operations.
I hope that means that there has been a change of heart.
When the decision to scrap " Eagle " was announced, I—in common, I am sure, with many other hon. Members on both sides—wrote to my hon. Friend, the then Under- Secretary of State for Defence for the Royal Navy, protesting at the decision. He replied to me on 22nd March:
I can assure you that the decision to scrap EAGLE does not reflect any lack of determination to keep the Royal Navy in the forefront of the Western European Navies, with the ability to maintain a presence in, or deploy quickly to, any area in which our national or N.A.T.O. interests are involved. Our current plans are directed to this end, and in the coming years we will, for example, be bringing into service the surface-launched anti-ship guided-missile system EXOCET and new types of cruisers, destroyers and frigates. This will ensure that we continue to possess a modern and effective fleet of which the Navy, and the nation as a whole, can be proud.
Certainly we are very proud of the Royal Navy, but if we do not give it its tools it certainly cannot do the job.
I have the feeling that the attitude of my hon. Friend's predecessor was a little too complacent, and I hoped that my hon. Friend will not allow me to say that this time next year when we debate the Navy Vote again. A large number of my constituents serve in the Merchant Navy , and I consider that I would be doing less than my duty to them, and indeed to the fishermen of my constituency , if I did not highlight the dangers of the present situation as I see them.
I am glad that my hon. Friend has given us—as does the White Paper—some hope for the through-deck cruiser. If I may, with great humility, I should like to endorse the remarks of the hon. Member for Portsmouth, West (Mr. Judd) when he said that we must have more than one. We must have three at least.
, Banffshire
I hope that the aircraft for it and its successors will be manned by Royal Navy officers and not by RAF officers.
I should like to refer back to the article in last Thursday's Telegraph which I quoted, because it sums up to a nicety what I have to say. Mr. Wettern says:
In 1945, Germany still had a large U-boat fleet—but long before that the High Command in Berlin had realised that the success of our defences made the cost too great. It is the Navy's task today to make Moscow realise that an attack on our shipping could not be made with total impunity.
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9.3 p.m.
, Plymouth, Sutton
This debate, I think, should look both at particular aspects and also at the wider strategy. The Under-Secretary, whose maiden speech in his job we all appreciated, asked the question—and then proceeded to answer it—what was the rôle of the Royal Navy? I was very surprised that he chose as his first priority for the Navy the keeping open of the maritime trade links.
Inadvertently, the Under-Secretary may have given support to those of his hon. Friends who are, I believe mistakenly, constantly pressing a rôle for the Royal Navy which is not its primary function— a convoy rôle. The hon. Member for Banff (Mr. W. H. K. Baker) emphasised the need for more escort vessels and kept calling in aid experience in the Second World War .
I am convinced that there is a need, now more than at any time in our maritime history perhaps, for us to re-think the rôle of the Royal Navy. None of us has an easy answer to it, but I am certain that any major war in which Britain is likely ever to be involved which has a maritime content will be a type of maritime war very different from anything we have experienced hitherto.
I believe that the Royal Navy's primary rôle is to maintain and sustain the strategic deterrent. I have no doubt that this is an onerous task. It is exacting on the men who serve in the Polaris submarines and on those who service, repair and refit them. They work to a very tight schedule and for long hours. They deserve our thanks for a job quietly done, a job of deterrence.
It is also an important part of the Navy's rôle to preserve that deterrent as invulnerable, to give it anti-submarine cover to be able to ensure that Polaris submarines can leave from naval bases undetected and untracked by enemy submarines. That is a very important function, which is easy to forget.
The second major rôle is to pose the threat that if in a period of tension a maritime incident were to occur, this country, particularly as a member of NATO , is able to match any such maritime incident with a credible response and to match it in a maritime environment; in effect, to be able to retain conventional weapons at sea and to be able to choose the occasion and the way in which we match any maritime response to our own advantage.
It cannot be emphasised too much, particularly to hon. Members on the Government benches, that a credible response does not always have to occur in the same area. If, for instance, in a period of hostilities, the Soviet Union was rash enough to interfere with tankers either sailing round the South African cape or coming around Singapore we would choose to match such an escalation at a time and a place of our choosing, at a place where we reckoned that we were the strongest. It is a foolish maritime strategy which feels that it has to stretch its resources to match any escalation exactly at the point of escalation. That was a necessary attitude in the days of gunboats, of no communications, and before the technology of satellite reconnaissance, which has brought a totally new environment for modern warfare.
I say no more about that, but those two rôles, both within NATO, are the primary function. The maritime world-wide trade convoys and escorts are outdated concepts.
In looking at how one is to match any escalation, one has to look very critically at that question. I do not intend to go into the arguments which I have often raised, both inside and outside the Ministry of Defence , about the balance of the Fleet. It is profoundly wrong. Many naval officers believe that to be so. The Navy should not be entirely an underwater navy. That would be most foolhardy. There will always be a need for frigates, the work force of the Royal Navy. That will always be an important function. The balance, however needs to be shifted. It has not been shifted. The Government have been criticised in many areas by many different people on this issue. I only hope that the Admiralty Board will not remain as intransigent as it is currently.
The Expenditure Committee has been given access to forward expenditure figures. I cannot reveal figures, but I hope that we shall be able to publish them in a report. But looking at the forward expenditure figures, one sees that there has been no shift in priorities, no change, no significant increase, no dramatic decision to spend on an underwater submarine-launched guided weapon. We are in the process of feasibility studies, but to my certain knowledge we have been looking at this matter since 1967. We must totally change our research and development priorities to give this project the highest priority. Sacrifices may have to be made elsewhere in the defence budget. I would be prepared also to make sacrifices in the Navy budget to do this.
There is a slight increase in overall submarine costs, but we anyway are now building rather more expensive submarines—hunter-killer submarines. There is no evidence that the build rate has been increasing.
I have said enough on this subject. I believe that the admirals are living in an outdated world. They are living behind many of the younger officers in the Navy who are themselves not even experienced in submarines. The surprising thing recently has been to find how many officers who have been trained in gunnery and surface ships recognise that the nuclear powered submarine is a completely new dimension in naval warfare and is also the best anti-submarine weapon. They are becoming increasingly worried about the vulnerability of larger ships
The decision as regards the cruiser is the hardest decision the Government must make. It was first to be ordered in February 1972 . Those hon. Members opposite who pressed the case of the " Ark Royal " should know that one of the consequences of that decision has been a year's delay in the ordering of the cruiser. The cost of the cruiser seems to have risen by about 50 per cent. since we were in government. This is a large amount.
It may still be necessary for the Navy to have it. It will depend, however, on having a flexible function—primarily ASW , with the ability to deploy the Sea King helicopters, marginally command and control, marginally VSTOL , one important additional rôle being the ability to combat marines and to give amphibious lift. When the time comes to replace the existing commando carriers we shall not be able to afford the cost of building anew. It must have the ability to lift a commando in emergency and overcrowded conditions. This will be an important function which the cruiser can undertake.
If the cruiser had VSTOL aircraft aboard, perhaps more if it was conduct- ing an amphibious operation, at the expense of Sea King helicopters, they would be able to provide very useful back-up support for any amphibious operation.
I do not believe that an amphibious operation will take place on the northern flank, nor in the southern area of the Mediterranean. A strongly held but, I believe, mistaken NATO belief is that it will have an important rôle to play. An amphibious lift capability is more a function in the rôle of peacekeeping world wide.
I have always believed that the Marines should diversify from being totally dependent on amphibious lift and their links with the Royal Navy and seagoing. They should, as they have done, specialise in cold weather warfare—an important new Marine function. They should remain highly trained and flexible troops. They have an excellent recruiting record. They have a wonderful record in Northern Ireland . It is a corps that we cannot do without. The Marines would be unwise, however, to stick too rigidly to their old rôle. Their role, too, will have to change; and they should change with it.
The Ninth Report of the Expenditure Committee made very serious criticisms of the Royal Dockyards. I do not think that the Government's reply was anywhere near satisfactory. The last year has been a sad one for the Royal Dockyards. We had the first major strike, as the hon. Lady the Member for Plymouth, Devonport ( Dame Joan Vickers ) said, in almost 300 years of the dockyards' history. Many people whom I deeply respect did not believe that the strike was justified, and many harsh things were said during the strike.
However, one fact which must be faced is that when the strike went to arbitration the arbitrators found essentially in favour of the men. We now have another strike action taking place, this time in the non-industrial work force. These people are in the Civil Service and are deeply upset about the way they are particularly affected by phase 2 of the prices and incomes policy. I have always supported a prices and incomes policy, both in government and out of it, but I believe that the Government's rigidity and inflexibility in dealing with the problem of Civil Service pay—and many civil servants work in Navy establishments in my constituency —is little short of scandalous. There is a need to recognise that they are a special case, and that their pay claim is essentially a catching-up exercise. Quite rightly they were prepared to accept, as most people in the country have been, a six-month freeze, but they expected and they have every right to expect a far greater degree of flexibility in the way that the Government deal in the next six months with what is essentially a pay claim that takes account of the way that other wages have risen in the last two years.
The other major objection that was raised in the Expenditure Committee report on the dockyards concerned the reversal of the previous Government's policies of civilianising the management of the dockyards. The Government have not replied to the Committee's report but I hope that they will. Not only was the Chief Executive of the dockyards replaced by a former naval officer—and I make no criticism of the man—but the appointments of general managers of major dockyards are going to former naval officers. I have no "beef" against them as naval officers, but these are highly industrialised establishments, where one of the key problems is dealing with industrial relations, getting greater productivity and better management, and if we want naval officers to do these jobs we should recognise that they should go into the dockyards early enough in their career, that they should be trained, that they should go into outside industry and have the knowledge of what is one of the Government's largest single industries— the four naval dockyards.
The second point made by the Expenditure Committee was the urgent need—to use the Committee's own words—of abolishing the distinction between industrials and non-industrials. I cannot urge this strongly enough upon the Minister . It has been recommended by successive reports—the Prices and Incomes Board report and the Mallabar Report—and strongly endorsed by an all-party Committee in this House. The reply that negotiations are going on is not good enough. It is an anomaly in this day and age that there should be this distinction when one man is separated from other members of his family merely because he is classified as industrial and they are classified as non-industrial. This situation calls for an urgent and necessary change.
Another aspect I wish to deal with is the need for construction in the Royal dockyards. This is important for training of apprentices and for morale. Everybody expects that major new construction building will go on in private yards, and this is necessary. We understand the unemployment problems in areas other than our own constituencies, but if the Navy is to retain sufficient expertise in its yards, as the Expenditure Committee report indicates, it should have the yardstick of new construction and be able to compare its performance with that of outside yards.
The other aspect of the dockyards which needs to be looked at is the overall pay structure. We must never allow the situation to occur again, which was largely redressed in two significant pay rises in 1969 and 1970, where dockyard workers and Government industrial workers generally are paid less than people in comparable industry outside. We need to restore the position and maintain it so that people believe that to work in Government industry is to have a fine and well-paid job. Only then will the Navy and the Services get the speed, efficiency and extra productivity urgently needed in the dockyards. We also need to see the productivity deal greatly expanded.
Another major criticism in the Expenditure Committee Report was of the interference in the fixing of a productivity index for the Civil Service. It is an intolerable situation when management of the dockyards is not able to determine its own productivity agreements. This is a major issue and they should be given that degree of managerial freedom, particularly if we are to insist on managerial accountability.
The Navy has made a mistake not to go for the mini- Sea Dart in frigates and smaller ships and to have the logistic back-up and support of the Sea Dart system throughout. It has made the decision to go for the Sea Wolf . The escalation cost for this has again been sharply criticised in the Expenditure Committee Report. Ministers are in possession of the facts. They should not be afraid to cut this project off if the escalation cost continues. I am concerned that they do not have sufficient confidence in it and why they do not think it an absolute necessity to put Sea Wolf into the new cruisers.
If the cruisers are built let us not have the situation which we had with the Type 82 when it was a "one-off" job. Let us make no mistake about it—if the country decides to build cruisers we need a minimum of three. This is heavy expenditure. Within the expenditure limitations of the Navy there has been a quite disgraceful case of single-Service lobbying on the part of the Navy in raising the issue of going for Poseidon at this stage. I will not go into this in great detail now. Yes, single-Service lobbying! The Minister should not look shocked or aghast. The situation whereby the Navy approached a NATO ally navy in the way that has been done is very damaging to relations between the two countries and to relations between the two Ministries of Defence . This issue is being looked at by the Select Committee of which I am a member, and I do not intend to pursue it further.
The Minister should recognise that the ABM limitation agreement in SALT is of major significance, and there is in my view now no urgency. Even so, the House ought to recognise that to ask for Poseidon is to ask for extra spending on the Navy of the value of around £400 million over the next five or six years. That will greatly stretch the Navy budget and demand great sacrifices elsewhere. I wish that we had all day to debate this major subject, as is normal. However, we understand the reasons for the debate being shortened today.
I cannot end without thanking my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth, West (Mr. Judd) for the kind words he said. All I can say is that knowing his great interest in the Navy in his own constituency I could not have wished for anyone better to take over my former position. I thought he performed the task most admirably.
, Bradford West
This debate has been most uncontentious and constructive, in spite of the stark facts facing us. In the foreword of Jane's Fighting Ships it was said:
The stark truth is that the strength of the Royal Navy has fallen below the safety level required to protect the home islands, to guard the ocean trade routes for the world-deployed British mercantile marine (still the largest in the world) and to protect the vast commercial and financial interests overseas".
These sentiments were echoed by my hon. Friend the Member for Banff (Mr. W. H. K. Baker). He was right to do this. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary upon his new appointment. He has shown, in spite of the difficulties we are facing, that he will be positive in his approach. That is absolutely right. My main regret about the Navy is that certain major strategic decisions have been postponed.
The first is obviously on the strategic delivery system to follow Polaris A3 and, secondly, the importance of deciding now to deploy VSTOL on the through-deck cruisers. The project definition stage has taken an inordinately long time. Everyone knew the capabilities of the aeroplane perfectly well, and the fact that the Royal Navy had not yet got it has made it much harder for Hawkers to sell the Harrier as a naval aircraft. I urge my hon. Friend to do something about this as soon as possible, because it should be embarked on "Hermes" in the close support role, until we get a proper naval version, with radar, in the late 1970s.
It is important to realise that the Navy, like the other Services, is suffering very much from the inhibitions which a growing manpower expenditure places upon its equipment programme. Seventy per cent. of the defence budget goes on pay, welfare and allowances, and it is worth recalling that £354 million goes to BAOR —that "tethered goat", as the hon. and learned Member for Northampton (Mr. Paget) calls it—whereas the single largest element of the Navy Vote, on escorts, destroyers and frigates, is only half that sum—£177 million. I have always been a strong believer in a maritime strategy. It is interesting to note that £71 million are devoted to the Reserves of all three Services, but only £4 million go to the Reserves of the Royal Navy. That must seriously diminish the capability of the Royal Navy to wage protracted war.
In 1961 there were no fewer than 338 vessels in the Reserve Fleet . The figure has dwindled to 37. I can understand the manpower and financial reasons which have led to this situation, but it is grave that in an era of nuclear parity we should be deciding that the next war will not necessarily be protracted at the conventional level. In the same period, from 1961 to 1972, the total number of ships available to the fleet has dropped from 565 to 195, whereas the labour force in Her Majesty's dockyards has stayed virtually the same—in fact, it has dropped by only 400.
Some people would say that with mutual balanced force reductions in the offing the prospects for d·tente are such that we need not be alarmed about the threat at sea. That is not the view of the Economist in its recent review of sea power. It is well worth remembering that sea power does not enter into the computations in MBFR . Whatever the outcome of MBFR the Soviet Union will remain very much a European Power. It has three fleets in the European area—the Baltic, the Black Sea and the Northern, which is the largest fleet, the nearest to us and the most threatening, at Murmansk. We can assume that the Soviet Navy will continue to be very active in western European waters. In the words of the Secretary of State in the other place ,
We cannot ignore the fact that as we move into a period of negotiations in Europe, they "—
that is, the Soviet leaders—
continue to build up their military forces to a degree which seems to go beyond any reasonable requirements of self-defence."—[OFFICIAL REPORT, House of Lords , 1st March 1973 ; Vol 339, c. 760.]
Apart from postponing these basic strategic decisions, it is a great pity that we have not made a much larger commitment to our overseas responsibilities, which particularly exercise the Royal Navy. As my hon. Friend the Member for Saffron Walden (Mr. Kirk) said, in an article in Jane's Fighting Ships:
Historically Britain has been concerned to maintain the freedom of the seas. All trading nations have relied on the freedom we have won and kept… The strategic protection of Western maritime interests is thus left largely to the USA and Britain. The emergence of Soviet naval power and its commitment to the spread of Communist influence poses—for the first time in decades—a potential threat against Britain's overseas interests and the stability of the areas in which they exist.
We should not just consider the overt threat of sea power at a military level; we should also consider the political applications to which the Soviet Union can put it. That is specially relevant to the Indian Ocean, which was described in the 1971 Statement on the Defence Estimates as
an area in which the growing Russian naval presence in this area of strategic importance should be regarded as a matter of concern for all neighbouring countries as well as for those countries like Britain who depend for their livelihood upon the trade routes which pass through the Indian Ocean or who have responsibilities or interests there.
We know that the attempt at a Commonwealth approach to this failed. The Indo-Soviet treaty of friendship and the Indo-Pakistan war scuppered that venture, but now we must face the fact that the Brezhnev South Asia security system is well on the way to being achieved and the Russian sphere of influence extends right across to the Bay of Bengal . As I said in last year's debate, these are
transformations of the security situation in the Indian Ocean. From having been a power vacuum, the Indian Ocean could in reality become a Russian lake."—[OFFICIAL REPORT, 24th February, 1972; Vol. 831, c. 1554.]
On 4th July the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs at Jakarta said that the Soviet Union has, on average, between 22 and 25 ships at any one time in the Indian Ocean. It was the arrival of the United States ship " Enterprise " in the Bay of Bengal which had a stabilising effect on the Indo-Pakistan conflict of 1970. We should also remember that, in numerical terms, for the first time the Soviet Union had parity in that area.
The Foreign Minister of Singapore put the situation extremely well when he said that Asia is entering into a new era of ocean politics not in the sense of oceanic wars but in contests for spheres of influence. There is a great danger that the Indian Ocean basin could become a cockpit of great Power competition unless the Western Powers make a real effort to involve themselves.
It is unpalatable, but it must be recognised that the weakness of the British and other Europeans has made it necessary for the United States to try to redress the balance in this area at the exact time when the United States is trying to diminish its world-wide commitments.
Some would say that the origin of Soviet involvement in the Indian Ocean stems from the time when A3 Polaris missiles were deployed there from 1964 onwards, but the key is the Soviet Union's relations with India. Its relationship with India and its determination to get a position of strategic dominance on the exit to the Arabian Gulf is the key to the whole situation. Russia is now an importer of oil from her treaty partner, Iraq. By 1980, 75 per cent. of the world's oil will be derived from the Gulf. Russia is by no means unmindful of this and she is able to use her sea power extremely effectively.
In the Financial Times yesterday there was a report from Beirut of how Soviet ships assist the gun-running and other subversive activities being undertaken in Oman. The Soviet Union is aware of the potential of Oman as it is of the potential of Baluchistan as an area for subversion and of strategic interest to the West which gets its oil supplies from the Gulf.
The noble Lord, Lord Caccia in the other place tried to bring home the importance of oil supplies to the West. Unless Great Britain , as the major European sea power, is prepared to involve itself not just in the South Indian Ocean but also in the Northern Indian Ocean with its CENTO partners in a practical way, there is grave danger that the Soviet Union will be able to turn off the oil supplies at source by political influence in the producing countries. That is a development which can be at least helped along by Soviet sea power.
It is all very well to have a frigate on station in Hong Kong . It is fine to contribute to the ANZUK force. In spite of what the hon. Member for Portsmouth, West (Mr. Judd) says, it is all very well to have a Beira patrol, but it is alarming to see from the White Paper that our presence in the Indian Ocean often amounts only to one frigate on passage. We need a major warship in the area: —I would say an aircraft carrier, with an intervention capability; probably a through-deck cruiser task force. In other words, the hon. Member for Woolwich, East (Mr. Mayhew) was right in saying that the best place to deploy aircraft carriers is where there is a paucity of land bases and not a sufficiency—and that is in the Indian Ocean.
I urge my hon. Friends to bear in mind these aspects in planning for the future and to do all they can to increase our good will for and close relationship with our CENTO allies—particularly Iran and Pakistan —and also to do our best to build up their naval capability and the capability of other friendly nations, such as the Arab nations, in this important strategic area.
, Windsor
I am glad to have the opportunity to take part in this important debate. Last Thursday the hon. Member for Hammersmith, North (Mr. Tomney) made a most important contribution to our defence debates when he said that because of the confrontation between China and Russia we could drop our guard. I feel very strongly about this matter because the fact that a large number of troops are deployed by Russia and China on the frontier gives us no cause either now or in the future to drop our defence guard. There could be many combinations of association between Russia and China. I shall not go into detail. In war there are some very strange bedfellows, Therefore, because of rivalry between two super-Powers there is no reason to drop our guard.
This debate has underlined the fact that the present system means that NATO and the whole of the Western allies are becoming entirely dependent on our nuclear deterrent. I refer to the four Polaris submarines that we now possess. We cannot help being worried when we look at the tremendous build-up of Soviet naval forces. Indeed, we hear that one naval ship is launched by the Soviet Union every month. One wonders why. Is it for defence or attack, or is it to intimidate the West?
I am worried when I look at the defence White Paper and see the following passage in paragraph 11:
Virtually the whole of the Royal Navy, most of the combat units of the Army and the majority of the combat aircraft of the Royal Air Force are committed to NATO.
This leads me to ask the question: what is left to confront the vast Soviet fleet in the Far East ? The answer, so far as we are concerned, would appear to be "Nothing". I appreciate that our forces and naval armaments are limited, but that statement in the White Paper gives cause for considerable worry to Conservative Members, and, I am sure, to many Labour Members.
I turn to the question of Polaris replacement. The decision that must be taken is whether, if we go on with Polaris, we should rely on the United States to supply the necessary equipment to keep the force in operation for its estimated total life of 20 or 25 years, or whether we should replace it with Poseidon or turn direct to Trident. This is the dilemma which the Government face. It seems extraordinary that we should be vying with France as the only other Western Power which possesses a credible nuclear deterrent. I appreciate that there are considerable difficulties involved in any alliance with France, but two friendly Powers united in Europe should be able to reach some agreement on how the two nuclear forces should be used. It may be that France could use her nuclear deterrent as a tactical deterrent whereas we could use ours strategically. It is vital that we decide whether the United States is willing to continue to supply us with Polaris spares at an uneconomic cost, or whether we ourselves should take on the replacements and repairs. I wish to know how France and Great Britain intend to co-operate in this sphere. I feel that there is tremendous scope for sharing defence costs with our European partners, and I am sure that Her Majesty's Government have not overlooked it.
The negotiations will be difficult. There are problems of all kinds, including the existence of the special relationship between America and ourselves, with France wanting to remain essentially a national nuclear Power. Overall we have to arrive at an agreement, since we and France' are the only two Powers in Western Europe who possess the deterrent. Now that conventional forces are no longer capable of holding back any form of attack from the Warsaw Pact Powers in Europe, we have to rely more and more on the nuclear deterrent.
We have to look very much more closely at the integration of our treaties with NATO, SEATO and the various alliances. Of course we have different allies in them. But the ultimate objective is peace, and somehow or other we ought to get an alliance between our various treaty relationships.
I hope finally that the Government will make sure that our presence is felt in the Five-Power Pact . It is the only force in the Far East which is capable of resisting what could be a very serious threat from the Soviet Union to peace and to our trade and oil supplies.
, Glasgow Scotstoun
Normally I am a firm believer in being economical in the use of words. Today is no exception. I shall not detain the House very long.
Let me first comment on the last two speeches which have come from the Government benches. I was interested to hear the degree of pessimism in the speech of the hon. Member for Bradford, West (Mr. Wilkinson), who seemed to imply that we were still in a cold war situation. In fact, there has been a tremendous psychological change since Kruschev went to America, liked what he saw, and came back. At present capitalist America is feeding the whole of the Soviet Union and is likely to do so again next year. On space, the Nixon-Brezhnev-Kosygin agreement says that there will be no competition in terms of the military use of space. We now see the opportunity for some practical and humanitarian agreement on the Berlin situation. In my view, the outlook for the future is extremely optimistic.
I happen to believe in defence and that external vigilance is required to defend freedom. In political terms the hon. Member for Windsor (Dr. Glyn) appeared to be in more of a bother than any right hon. or hon. Member who has spoken so far. Either we are European or we are not. In civil terms we are attempting to find an accommodation by means of modern technology, data processing and going supersonic. So we come to Debr· and the role of nuclear France alone.
Debré does not believe in going to the aid of any other nation which is in trouble as we did in 1939 and found ourselves standing alone. That is not the Debré attitude. So we have to look at whether the French are targeting upon anything and, if so, what.
In this respect the thinking of the other nations of Europe in terms of France can be put roughly this way: the submarines of both countries would be far more effective if they became one force in terms of co-ordination, targeting, patrol missions, joint communications and intelligence, as well as in terms of utilisation and co-operation in maintenance facilities. That is impeccable logic in a modern world and in rational terms.
Someone who may be far cleverer than I am pointed out to me that the national agreement comes up for renegotiation in 1974. That would appear to be the appropriate time to indulge in some cross-fertilisation of requirements.
As this House is all about pressure groups, I turn now to the Minister . He is due to visit Yarrows in my constituency in the very near future. According to a letter which I received today, he is coming on 29th March. He will find that the development of Yarrows is the basic element in warship building on the Clyde. Having represented a Clyde constituency for a number of years, I know how perilously near we have been to heavy unemployment time and time again, and I do not need to remind the House of the Upper Clyde shipbuilding saga. We do not want a repeat of that.
Yarrows is the main supplier of trained labour. I remember when the right hon. Member for Knutsford (Mr. John Davies ), who is now our man in Europe, opened the covered shipbuilding berth. When he did that he was presented with an umbrella, and the song went up on the Clyde " It ain't gonna rain no more." When the Minister visits my constituency I shall tell him that we are looking for another frigate to be built on the Upper Clyde. He will be entitled to a welcome if he delivers the goods.
, Chippenham
An issue which is causing great anxiety in my constituency is the future of the Royal Navy depot at Copenacre. The depot is virtually the warehouse for the whole of the Navy's requirements of electronic stores. It was moved to Copenacre in 1959. Prior to that it had been decided to centralise the Navy Stores at Risley in Lancashire. However, that depot proved unsatisfactory for this kind of storage because of the moist atmosphere in that area.
Copenacre was an attractive site because the disused stone quarries at Corsham were ideal for this kind of storage. Office accommodation for clerical staff was built on the surface. Council houses were made available by the local authorities, and ever since 1959 Copenacre has grown.
In 1963 a computer was installed. As recently as 1969 the headquarters of the administrative side were transferred from London to Copenacre, and more office accommodation was built.
It is fair to say that the depot at Copenacre is a model one. Throughout its history there has never been an industrial dispute. Therefore, it was a tremendous shock when an announcement was made on 14th January 1972 that the Government had decided to close both the depot at Copenacre and the depot at Eaglescliffe, in Durham, so that the two depots could be amalgamated at Hartlebury, in Worcestershire.
The Government claimed at the time that these moves would save about £4 million in capital costs. It was also claimed that there would be a substantial saving in running costs due to the concentration of the two depots. However, the Government changed their mind on 10th May 1972 when they decided not to close the depot at Eaglescliffe. That change of mind was due to pressure from local hon. Members, who were able to point out that there was little alternative employment at Eaglescliffe and that the closure would have a serious effect on the economy of the area.
Precisely the same considerations apply to my constituency. The original reasons for joining Copenacre and Eaglescliffe at Hartlebury are now no longer valid. I have repeatedly asked the Minister to look again at the history of this proposal, and I ask him again tonight. I realise that there is the problem of a fire hazard. That has been recognised by everybody who works at Copenacre. That hazard has existed since the depot was started 30 years ago, but no serious fire has ever occurred. My constituents are not prepared to accept that the recognition of a fire hazard implies the total evacuation of stores and equipment from the quarries.
The Minister will know that the staff side at Copenacre has submitted a detailed case against the closure and has put forward constructive proposals. It has suggested that the stores should be divided into two categories, so that the critical category can be stored above ground and the non-critical underground, in compartmental fireproof areas. It has further suggested that the storage for the critical equipment should be in a new large warehouse. It has even suggested a suitable type of warehouse, with a capacity of 500,000 sq. ft., which can be built for a total sum of £3 million. That would include all necessary services.
I shall not weary the House by recounting the history of correspondence and meetings which have taken place between myself and the previous Minister, but the present Under- Secretary of State will be well aware of all that has taken place. In particular, he will know about the public meeting which was held on 11th January of this year, at which views were expressed by representatives of all political parties, by representatives of the local authorities, and a number of local organisations.
There was a unanimous view deploring the decision of the Minister to close Copenacre, because of its serious and detrimental effect upon the economy of the area and the hardship caused to the people concerned. It seems clear that 800 jobs will be lost in my constituency, and that no compensating work on this scale is available. At present, my constituency has a very good rate of employment, and it would be tragic to change all that.
Why should the loyalty of the staff, built up over 30 years, be cast aside for some unknown cost benefit? Families will be broken up and schooling disrupted—and to what purpose? My constituents are far from convinced that Hartlebury will be a suitable alternative. The facilities there are not as good as those which existed even at Risley, and immense problems of housing and schooling will be created.
Those who work at Copenacre are convinced that they can demolish all the arguments advanced in favour of the closure. I welcome the decision of my hon. Friend to come to Copenacre on 1st February. I realise that this was a formal visit, in the course of his tour on taking up his new appointment, but I am glad that he took the opportunity to meet the people who live and work at Copenacre. I ask him for an assurance that he is prepared to meet the staff at Copenacre to discuss all the issues involved with a completely open mind.
I am confident that when my hon. Friend has heard all the arguments he will realise that justice can be done only when the decision to close Copenacre is finally revoked. I ask him not to underestimate the profound and genuine depth of feeling that exists throughout my constituency on this issue. This is not just an issue about money and equipment; above all, it is an issue about people and people's lives.
, Edinburgh Leith
I associate myself with the tribute paid by my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth, West (Mr. Judd) to the personnel of the Royal Navy and the civilian staff and work force who back them up. If I seek out for special mention those who work in naval dockyards, it is not because I have a naval dockyard in my constituency but because many of my constituents work in the nearby dockyards in Rosyth.
I wish to make only two points—the first about the Icelandic fishing dispute, and the second about the policing of waters nearer home.
First, I endorse what my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston-upon-Hull, West (Mr. James Johnson ) said, with great wisdom and commonsense, about the Icelandic fishing dispute. Our fishermen do not want intervention in Icelandic waters except as a last resort, but there must be a credible last resort to strengthen our negotiating position in the talks with Iceland, which I hope will come soon.
The Icelanders often put their case in emotive terms, talking of the percentage of their people dependent on fishing. But percentages are not by any means the best way of measuring human values. One Briton dependent on fishing can hardly be given less value than an Icelander dependent on fishing. Indeed, our people in Leith, Grimsby, Hull and elsewhere who are dependent on fishing can hardly be less than the total population of Iceland—indeed, are probably greater in number. These communities have at least as great a stake in fishing for their livelihood off Iceland as the Icelanders have themselves.
Secondly, I come to the policing of waters nearer these islands. I ask the Under- Secretary of State to reassure the House about the policing of the waters near our oil rigs, which are growing in number with great rapidity in the Continental Shelf waters adjacent to these islands. For obvious reasons, I do not want to go into detail on the problems of policing which could arise in that area, but there will be problems, and they will increase as the number of oil rigs increases.
Are the Government seeing to it that the necessary forward planning is under way and that suitable vessels are available or will be constructed for the task? If specialised vessels are needed, I am sure that Leith can provide them.
, Winchester
I start as so many speakers have done by congratulating my hon. Friend on his first appearance in a Royal Navy debate as First Lord of the Admiralty . I also congratulate the hon. Member for Portsmouth, West (Mr. Judd), who unfortunately is not at present with us, on some of his comments on the importance to the country of overseas trade, and the importance of defending it adequately. Labour Members seem to have come a long way since their decision to withdraw from east of Suez and the Gulf; and I hope that what we have heard this evening is a genuine repentance and not just the result of the mouthpiece having been moved from Leeds, East to Portsmouth, West.
In Service and defence debates the House ought to try to help the Services with the answer to the questions they so often put to us: "What sort of war do you want us to be ready to fight?" An answer to that question is more important than half-informed and querulous talks about this or that mark of torpedo.
Had there been more time this evening I had wanted to address the Minister on two fundamental issues. The first is this question of the defence of trade and our oil supplies; but this point has been made previously, so I will only say that I agree with the many voices which say that if our dedication to NATO is to make any sense at all we must somehow persuade our NATO partners that the threat to the trade of Western Europe does not stop at the Tropic of Cancer .
It is this argument about the need to protect overseas trade which creates my concern about shipborne aircraft and the problem of the Harrier. This question also has been raised by several hon. Members, so I merely emphasise that my preference is for manned aircraft rather than for missiles. Manned aircraft can positively identify a target, while missiles can lead us perhaps into a very dangerous confrontation with a potential enemy. If we depend on missiles alone, some young commander may have to take a vital decision when no information of positive identification is available to him. In a word, missiles can start or continue a war but are not so useful in preventing it.
We have had many statements during recent years about the Harrier, and even in last year's White Paper we read:
The trials carried out from HMS " Ark Royal " during the past year have shown that VSTOL aircraft can be operated effectively from a ship's deck and that there are no technical or logistic reasons why VSTOL aircraft should not be suitable for deployment at sea.
That statement was written a year ago, and we are still being told that "project definition studies" are afoot. That means to me that the Economist of 3rd March was correct when it said:
In short, the Royal Air Force sees in the maritime Harrier and its possible successor another competitor for scarce funds.
We must not blame or point a finger at the Services for quarrelling amongst themselves about allocation of funds, but rather blame ourselves for not allocating enough funds overall to defence.
I turn from these strategic matters to the domestic matter of recruiting and, in particular, the recruiting of 15-year-olds. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister answered a parliamentary Question on this subject as recently as 20th March. The position is that my right hon. and noble Friend Lord Carrington has lost on points to my right hon. and fair Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science; but I want the Minister, with this in mind, to explain to her that for young men to join the forces is not a fate worse than death. The statistics are that in 1971–72 35·9 per cent. of recruits to the Navy joined at the age of 15. Many more 15-year-olds apply even now than 16-year-olds.
The Donaldson Report on pages 68 to 70 said that education in the Services which is carried on—
| one thousand nine hundred and sixty four |
What was the name of the second 'Harry Potter' film? | 11/22/63: A Kennedy Lives Collaborative Timeline | Page 7 | Alternate History Discussion
11/22/63: A Kennedy Lives Collaborative Timeline
Mr.E The Man in the High Castle
Joined:
The Mountainous Democratic Republic of Colorado
May 10th, 1978: During a speech in Tehran, the Shah is assassinated by a follower of Ayatollah Khomeini. The resulting crackdown on him and his followers ultimately led to a civil war.
May 16th, 1978: Secretary of Defense Henry Jackson states that the US is looking into all avenues as to how to deal with the Iranian situation.
June 4th, 1981: President Richard Nixon is shot outside the Waldorf Hotel in New York City. The culprit is quickly apprehended and identified as 26 year old Mark David Chapman, who believed Nixon was the "Anti-Christ". While sustaining some injuries, Nixon manages to recover fairly quickly.
Mr.E The Man in the High Castle
Joined:
The Mountainous Democratic Republic of Colorado
March 6th, 1969:Rabbi Meir Kahane, while rallying for his organization the "Jewish Defense League" in Los Angeles, is assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan, Palestinian Christian, who opposed Israel, and had seen the a JDL flier supporting the state.
March 1st, 1974: Former President Kennedy debuts a new miniseries on PBS, called "The World We Live In," interviewing scientists and policitians, dealing with issues that affect the environment, and possible solutions to the crisis. The first show revolves around solutions from space. Guests on the program include physicist Gerard K. O'Neill, astrophysicist Carl Sagan, and Senator John Glenn.
March 8th, 1978: Jimi Hendrix releases his 5th studio album "Boogie Wonderland." While retaining Hendrix signature experimentation with the rock guitar, it proves controversial, due to Hendrix collaboration with several Disco artists, including Gloria Gaynor and KC & the Junkanoo Band.
:
:
June 4th, 1981: President Richard Nixon is shot outside the Marriott in New York City. The culprit is quickly apprehended and identified as 26 year old Mark David Chapman, who believed Nixon was the "Anti-Christ". While sustaining some injuries, he manages to recover fairly quickly.
Click to expand...
Nixon was shot but not killed , right? .
Nixon was shot but not killed , right? .
Click to expand...
he recovers, and goes on to serve without any scandal until his terms end
Mr.E The Man in the High Castle
Joined:
Nixon was shot but not killed , right? .
Click to expand...
Yes, that's correct. Probably should have put "Nixon," instead of "he"
September 1975: Former President John F. Kennedy reluctantly begins to use a wheelchair as the pain in his back had grown to great to walk great distances any longer. He had previously been using a cane or crutches since 1969
Joined:
May 7, 2015
Here is the fourth draft of the TL. Remember that these aren't set in stone, so if you want to change one just come to an agreement with the OP.
----
February, 1961: (Point of Divergence) Lee Harvey Oswald proposes to his Russian girlfriend Ella German. Adversely to OTL, she says yes. This makes Oswald change his thoughts on going back to the United States.
April, 1961: Oswald marries his fiancée Ella German. Of the attendees of the wedding is Stanislau Shuskevich, the man who taught him Russian. (OTL, First Head of State of Belarus)
November ??, 1961: Human Torch #1 (Marvel Comics) re-imagines the Human Torch as a teenage superhero, Johnny Storm.
February, 1962: The Oswald's first child, a girl named June is born. When Lee confronts Ella about moving to America, she is staunchly opposed to the idea and Lee decides that at least for the short term he should stay.
August 14, 1962: "Melvin, Brother of the Joker" is introduced in Batman #(insert number), quickly becoming a fan favorite for his outrageous antics.
August 16, 1962: Danger #4 (I.W./Super Comics) revives the 1940s character "Spider-Woman" with a new origin, after re-prints of her stories prove to be unexpectedly popular.
September 14, 1963: Fantastic Adventures #9 (I.W./Super Comics) "A for Avenger" storyline revives the popular 1950s character Roger Wright as head of a new team of superheroes.
October, 1963: The Oswald's have another child, another girl named Marina. By this point Lee has grown closer to his wife Ella and his new friend Stanislau Shushkevich.
November 22, 1963: President John Fitzgerald Kennedy visits Dallas. His trip is uneventful and later in the day he heads to a fundraising event in Austin.
November 22nd, 1963: The first episode of the British series Doctor Who debuts on the BBC, starring William Hartnell as the titular Doctor.
December 11, 1963 President Kennedy, pressed on Vietnam by a reporter at a press conference, states that "In the end, it is the South Vietnamese who have to win the war. We can and will provide training and arms, but it is they who must do the fighting. It is my intention at this time to have all US troops out of South Vietnam by the end of 1965 with a substantial reduction -- perhaps half -- next year."
January 20th, 1964: Dr. Strangelove, or How to Start World War III without Trying, debuts in theaters, directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Peter Sellers and George C. Scott. President Kennedy is so impressed by the final product, he invites Kubrick and Sellers to the White House.
February 7th, 1964: Sergei Korolev, The Chief Designer as Soviet Intelligence calls him, is hospitalized for heart problems. Korolev has ignored his doctors' opinions before, they go around him and tell the KGB.
February 9th, 1964: Popular British rock band, The Beatles, make their American debut on the Ed Sullivan Show, starting off what will be known as "The British Invasion."
February 17th, 1964: Leaving the hospital Sergei Korolev is met by KGB chairman Vladimir Semichastny. The KGB chairman tells Korolev that he is to take a break or to delegate his work more to his deputies. Korolev reluctantly agrees.
March 19th, 1964: KGB chairman Vladimir Yefimovich Semichastny pulls out of a plot to overthrow Nikita Khrushchev. Leonid Brezhnev has lost one of his most powerful allies.
April 18th, 1964: in a private meeting KGB chairman Vladimir Yefimovich Semichastny, meets with Soviet Priemer Nikita Khruschev. He discusses a move by his ally Leonid Brezhnev to remove Khruschev from power. The Soviet leader decides to wait before acting.
June 12, 1964 Despite a full-court press by the Kennedy Administration, the 1964 Civil Rights Act fails, the result of intense opposition by Southern Democrats and conservative Republicans. It is only after the deaths at Selma nearly a year later that the 1965 Civil and Voting Rights Act is passed. While Kennedy picks up much of the South later in 1964, the political price of the 1964 battle is apparent as cracks appear in the Solid South with Goldwater picking up several Southern states -- Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and Virginia with Democrats seeing noticeably reduced margins in the Southern states they do carry. One benefit of the 1964 battle pays dividends in the next Congress: a much-improved working relationship with liberal and moderate Republicans who supported the 1964 bill.
June 23rd, 1964: Sergei Korolev as Chief Designer oft he Soviet Rocket program orders Valentin Glushko to modify the NK-15 rocket engines after several test engines fail.
August 4th, 1964: Former Vice-President Richard Nixon announces he will challenge Pierre Salinger in the California Senate Race.
August 8, 1964: Former Astronaut John Glenn does not injure himself on a bathtub, this enables him to continue to campaign for Ohio Senator, with the backing of the Kennedy Family.
October 10th, 1964:Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., the debut album for the folk duo Simon and Garfunkel, is released. A commercial failure, it destroys the burgeoning career of the group. They split up shortly after the release, with Paul Simon later attaining some success as a solo artist.
October 15, 1964: Israel Waldman begins talking to Charlton comics about a possible merger.
November 3rd, 1964: President John F. Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon Johnson defeat Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona and Congressman William E. Miller of New York:
President John F. Kennedy (D-MA)/ Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson (D-Tx) 397 EV 55 % PV
Senator Barry M. Goldwater (R-AZ)/ Congressman William E. Miller (R-NY) 141 EV 43.5% PV
February 8th, 1965: In a widely televised event, the Beatles play at the White House before President and Mrs. Kennedy. This is believed to be Kennedy appealing to the youth of America.
February 8th, 1965: Hugh Hefner holds a screening of the Captain America serials from the Second World War at the Playboy Mansion. In attendance is ABC executive Yale Udoff, who considers the idea of a Captain America television series. He contacts Marvel's Stan Lee and Captain America co-creator Jack Kirby with the idea.
September 23rd, 1965: The Indo-Pakistani War is halted by a UN mandated ceasefire. President Kennedy invites the sides to the White House to discuss the terms.
January 10th, 1966: The Camp David Declaration is made, formally ending the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
January 12th, 1966: Captain America, starring Mike Henry as the titular character, debuts on ABC. It will become known for its very campy tone, but retaining some seriousness, particularly Cap's growing insecurity in 60's American culture.
May 12th, 1966: Journalist Hunter S. Thompson is beaten to death by members of Hell's Angel. Thompson had been covering the activities of the group over the past few months. The Angels were angered at Thompson supposed exploitation, as he had just gotten a deal to publish his accounts. His chronicles of traveling with them, Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, is published posthumously.
July 29th, 1966: Folk singer Bob Dylan is killed in a motorcycle accident in Greenwich, New York.
February 21st, 1967: Apollo 1 launches from Cape Canaveral, the first of the Apollo missions, with Gus Grissom as Mission Commander.
October 9th, 1967: Bolivian special forces capture an camp in the jungle, where well known Marxist Che Guevara was hiding. Despite the ensuing battle, Guevara manages to escape into the jungle. He later seeks asylum in Chile.
April 3rd, 1968: Planet of the Apes, starring Marlon Brando and Ingrid Bergman, is released.
May 6th, 1968: Astronaut Neil Armstrong is killed while testing the "Lunar Lander Training Vehicle." The controls had degraded, and the vehicle began banking. Armstrong was unable to deploy his parachute. His funeral is attended by President Kennedy, Vice-President (and presidential nominee) Lyndon Johnson, and many representatives from NASA, including his fellow astronauts.
October, 1968: The New Yardbirds, consisting of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham, and Chris Deja, release their titular first album.
October 5th, 1968: Author Yukio Mishima after a brief stint in the Japanese Self Defense force forms the Tatenokai (Shield Society). His first members are students and fans of his works.
January 3, 1969: Robert Kennedy, takes his seat in the House of Representatives.
March 2, 1969: Fighting erupts along the Zhenbao/Damansky Front, after PLA forces and Soviet forces firing weapons at, with both Communist states rapidly marching towards.
March 6th, 1969:Rabbi Meir Kahane, while rallying for his organization the "Jewish Defense League" in Los Angeles, is assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan, Palestinian Christian, who opposed Israel, and had seen the a JDL flier supporting the state.
March 15, 1969: Soviet troops are deployed along the border with China after reporting the deaths of 54 soldiers by Chinese PLA forces at Zhenbao/Damansky Island;...,
April 5th, 1969: While relaxing at his Massachusetts home, Former President Kennedy reads a recently released book, "The Population Bomb" by Paul R. Ehrlich. Intrigued, he uses his government contacts to inquire about the scenario described in the book.
June 3, 1969: Chairman Mao Tse-tung warns of "national consciousness of the Soviet danger..." during a speech televised in Beijing, fueling tensions with the Soviet Union,....
August 5, 1969: U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara meets secretly with Zhou En Lai in Karachi, Pakistan, wherein the Chinese delegation warns of their willingness to use nuclear weapons to "defend territorial integrity..."
August 5th 1969: Jim Lovell becomes the first man to walk on the moon, "To step forwards toward a new frontier for all mankind"
August 16, 1969: President Lyndon B. Johnson is briefed by the National Security Council as to the possible consequences of a nuclear war between the Soviet Union and China,...
September 11, 1969: Amidst escalating violence between the Soviets and Chinese, President Lyndon B. Johnson proposes to mediate between China and the Soviet Union.
October 15, 1969: Leonid Brezhnev warns of its intent to use nuclear weapons to "wipe out the Chinese threat, and eliminate this modern adventurer..." fueling fears of a Third World War,....
October 16, 1969: Soviet ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin assures Soviet Premier that there will be no reciprocation from the United States if the Soviets attack China,...,
October 19, 1969: President Lyndon B. Johnson calls Leonid Brezhnev on the nuclear hotline, angrily pointing out that nuclear attacks would impact allies including Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan and that such actions would be construed as an attack against the United States. Johnson hints that he would side with China under negotiations.
October 21,1969: The New York Times and Washington Post proclaim Johnson as the "Man Who Saved China", helping to foster relations with the People's Republic of China.
December 15th, 1969: Tokyo Metropolitan Police intelligence report that they are concerned about the growth of two politically polar groups. A gaggle of groups that will become Japanese Red Army (on the left) and the Tatenokai (on the right)
February 1st, 1970: Former President Kennedy makes a speech at Columbia University, which will come to be as well known as his famous "We Choose to Go to the Moon" speech. Often called "Stewards of the Earth," he describes the deteriorating state of the environment, and the increase in greenhouse gases and pollution, and implores the young audience to heed this warning, and protect the environment, both for its sake, and for humanity itself.
February 3rd, 1970: Prime Minister Eisuke Sato of Japan is warned that new militia groups are on the rise in Japan. The Commissioner-General of the National Police Agency warns the Prime Minister that radical groups will cause violence.
March 15th, 1970: Expo 70 opens in Osaka, Japan.
June 15th, 1970: Asahi Shimbun reports that the Tatenokai has hundreds of members and most of them are university educated. It attacks Yukio Mishima into leading the nation into a path of violence.
August 6th, 1970: In the suburbs of Tokyo the owner of Asahi Shimbun is attack by a man wielding a tanto (short sword). He barely survives. The assailant is killed by police later in the day.
August 5th, 1970: In the midst of the final Apollo missions, President Lyndon Johnson announces that NASA will begin focusing on the "Apollo Applications Program," using Apollo technology to continue to explore the moon and create an orbital space station.
January 18th, 1971: In secret discussion with President Johnson, Chilean President Salvador Allende refuses to turn over Che Guevara to the United States. However, after Allende's return, Guevara, fearing for his safety, heads to Cuba.
March 13, 1971: Senator Charles Percy announces he will run for president of the United States.
June 4th, 1971: Tokyo Electric company and Japanese Government inspectors decide to improve the security features in reactor unit 1 and 2 of the new Fukushima Nuclear plant.
September 11, 1971: Chairman Mao Tse-tung dies after a mysterious railroad accident outside of Shanghai, at Su Chou, fueling nuclear tensions across the region; Red Guard Commander Lin Biao is named immediate successor,...,
January 6th, 1972: President Lyndon B. Johnson, in a televised address to the nation says that "I will not seek, and I will not accept. The nomination of my Party or any other for another term as your President."
February 21, 1972: With the upcoming, United States presidential election, 1972, Robert Kennedy, received Endorsements from both brother, former President, John F. Kennedy and Senate Majority Whip, Edward "Ted" Kennedy, as well as from fellow New York Representative, Shirley Chisholm and New York City Mayor, John Lindsay.
March 1st, 1972: Robert Kennedy is shot at a campaign appearance in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The shooter is identified as 22 year old Arthur Bremer.
March 20th, 1972: Robert Kennedy is released from the hospital, having sustained non-fatal injuries during Bremer's assassination attempts. He states that he will stay in the Democratic primaries. Indeed, his approval ratings jump up after the assassination attempt.
March 21st 1972: Ethel Kennedy suffers a miscarriage, losing what would have been her 12th child with Robert Kennedy. Doctors cite stress from Kennedy's assassination attempt as a possible factor.
July 10th, 1972: Representative Robert Kennedy is formally announced as the Democratic nominee. His running mate is Wisconsin Senator William Proxmire, chosen for his liberalism and his mid-Western origin.
July 26th, 1972: Parallax,inc. is founded by Ted Dabney and Nolan Bushnell, to produce electronic arcade games. Their first game, Pong is due for release in August.
July 30th, 1972: A LK spacecraft, holding Alexei Leonov and Gherman Titov heads towards the moon on an N-1 craft. Despite the US victory in the Space Race, the continued pushing by Korolev (who lived to see the mission, before his 1974 death) allowed for the completion of the N-1, and the preparation of a Soviet moon mission. With this Soviet accomplishment (despite only being the second to the Moon), President Johnson immediately invites major Air Force and NASA administrators to create an appropriate response.
August 23rd, 1972: California Governor Ronald Reagan wins the Republican nomination. He chooses Colonel Alexander Haig as his Vice-President.
November 7th 1972: California Governor Ronald Reagan narrowly defeats the Democratic Candidate Robert F. Kennedy in the 1972 election.
January 22, 1973: Former President Lyndon B. Johnson collapses from a heart attack in Washington D.C., fueling concerns about the future of the Democratic Party,....
January 25th 1973: Former President Lyndon Johnson goes into cardiac arrest for the second time following his heart attack on the 22nd. He passes away a day later.
May 14th, 1973: Skylab is launched, part of the Apollo Application Program. It serves as a "Wet Workshop" for scientific experiments.
September 8th, 1973: Marvel Superheroes, produced by Hanna-Barbera, debuts on ABC.
October 26th 1973: President Reagan announces a national war on drugs, with the government especially targeting substances such as Cocaine and Marijuana.
March 1st, 1974: Former President Kennedy debuts a new miniseries on PBS, called "The World We Live In," interviewing scientists and policitians, dealing with issues that affect the environment, and possible solutions to the crisis. The first show revolves around solutions from space. Guests on the program include physicist Gerard K. O'Neill, astrophysicist Carl Sagan, and Senator John Glenn.
April 12th 1974: A scandal begins to come out when a deal comes to light that would have called for the sell of arms to Cambodia (to battle the Khmer Rouge.) With the profits from such sale being used to fund mercenaries in Columbia and other South American nations to attack drug manufacturers. Such a deal was illegal under law passed by Congress during the Johnson Administration.
May 2nd 1974: President Reagan amidst increasing pressure from those demanding a statement regarding the illegal deal are not appeased when Reagan denies any and all involvement.
June 15th 1974: 10 members of the Reagan West Wing resign during the course of one afternoon, it becomes known as Bloody Monday.
July 3rd 1974: It comes to light that President Reagan may have recordings of conversations that occurred in the Oval Office.
July 15th 1974: Although the President refused to turn over any of the tapes, sighting national security concerns, the Supreme Court orders the President to turn over the tapes.
July 15th, 1974: Florida TV reporter Christine Chubbuck commits suicide on live television.
July 29th 1974: Congressional investigation comes to the conclusion that no conversation concerning the illegal deal occurred, but unspecific mentions of a coverup, deal, and South America lead investigators to assume that such a deal must have existed.
August 9th 1974: President Reagan addresses the nation; although he distances himself entirely from the scandal by insisting he had no knowledge of the deal, he does cite several upper level staff members of his administration in being behind the deal. Most indicated was Donald Rumsfeld, Reagan's chief of staff.
August 17th 1974: First Lady Nancy Reagan implores her husband to resign as she fears for his health. The President had appeared to have aged 20 years in the span of one during the scandal and resulting pressure. Reagan, coming to terms that whether or not he is innocent faith in his administration is gone and he holds no political power. He announces his plans to resign the next day.
August 18th 1974: President Reagan resigns the office of President effective noon on August 19th, following imminent impeachment proceedings. Vice President Alexander Haig assumes office.
August 18th-21st 1976: Former President Ronald Reagan appears in a series of interviews detailing the scandal, how he learned of it, and how it was done without his knowledge. Reagan would also detail his marriage with Nancy, and apologize to the American people for "All the ruckus this caused." The public reaction was positive as to the candidness of the interview. His post-presidency approval ratings go up with each year after he's left office.
September 20th 1974: Vice President Alexander Haig pardons President Reagan. No evidence in the resulting investigation is ever found implicating Reagan. However, Rumsfeld is sent to prison along with staffer Dick Cheney.
October 30th, 1974: Alexander Haig announces that House Minority Leader Gerald Ford will become the Vice-President. To replace him as Minority Leader is John Jim Rhodes of Arizona.
September, 1975: Former President John F. Kennedy reluctantly begins to use a wheelchair as the pain in his back had grown to great to walk great distances any longer. He had previously been using a cane or crutches since 1969
February 15th, 1976: Disgusted over the Colombia-Cambodia Scandal and Vice-President Haig's policies, Illinois Senator Charles Percy once again announces his run for the Republican nomination.
June 8th, 1976: Alexander Haig wins the Republican primaries, though just barely, holding 26 to Charles Percy's 24 states. Robert Kennedy wins the Democratic primaries against former California governor and current senator Jerry Brown and Washington senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson.
October 6, 1976: Jiang Qing comes to power in a political coup in Beijing, backed by Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, and Wang Hongwen, blaming a "Soviet-Zionist conspiracy" behind the death of Mao Tse-tung, and the country's economic collapse...
November 2nd, 1976: In part due to Haig's increasing militaristic tone and the relative unpopularity of the administration, former Presidential nominee and Representative Robert Kennedy and running mate, Idaho Senator Frank Church win the Presidential election.
May 29, 1977 Former President Kennedy quietly celebrates his 60th birthday at a small family gathering in Hyannisport.
August 16, 1977: Elvis Presley, following a near-death experience with prescription drug abuse, goes into rehab. He emerges in good health after 2 years, and would live on until 2010.
August 20th, 1977: Mariner 12 is launched, a craft meant to take advantage of a very rare planetary alignment, to make a flyby of Jupiter and Saturn. On board is a record with various songs from across the world, and messages from President Kennedy and the UN General Secretary. Its counterpart, Mariner 11, is launched a month later.
March 8th, 1978: Jimi Hendrix releases his 5th studio album "Boogie Wonderland." While retaining Hendrix signature experimentation with the rock guitar, it proves controversial, due to Hendrix collaboration with several Disco artists, including Gloria Gaynor and KC & the Junkanoo Band.
May 10th, 1978: During a speech in Tehran, the Shah is assassinated by a follower of Ayatollah Khomeini. The resulting crackdown on him and his followers ultimately led to a civil war.
May 16th, 1978: Secretary of Defense Henry Jackson states that the US is looking into all avenues as to how to deal with the Iranian situation.
January 20th 1981: Former Vice President, Senator, and Secretary of State Richard Nixon is sworn in as President.
March 11, 1981: John Hinckley, Jr is named as new head of the Secret Service.
June 4th, 1981: President Richard Nixon is shot outside the Waldorf Hotel in New York City. The culprit is quickly apprehended and identified as 26 year old Mark David Chapman, who believed Nixon was the "Anti-Christ". While sustaining some injuries, Nixon manages to recover fairly quickly.
November 2nd, 1982: Elvis Presley is elected Governor of Tennessee, narrowly defeating Republican incumbent Lamar Alexander. Presley, years later, stated that it was a meeting in the Oval Office with President Robert F. Kennedy in 1979 that inspired him to go into politics.
November 22, 1983: President Richard Nixon and Vice President Jack Kemp, lead tributes, to former President, John F. Kennedy, who died today at the age of 66, surrounded by his family and loved ones.
December 18th 1987: Former President Reagan raises concerns when he appears confused at a public speaking appearance in California. He stops mid-way through a speech unable to recall the rest. Initial counts perceive it as a possible stroke.
March 1st 1988: Reagan is diagnosed with an early case of Alzheimer's disease. Doctors propose he may have 3-5 years of relatively normal function left.
January 11th 1989: President Richard Nixon Delivers his Farewell Address from the White House. The next days being the last of his second term, and a Presidency filled with success for the Elder Statesman.
November 3rd, 1992: Democratic Tennessee Governor and former Rock and Roll Singer Elvis Presley is elected the 42nd President of the United States, defeating incumbent Republican President Jack F. Kemp due to a weak economy.
February 12th 1997: Rock and Blues musician Jimmy Hendrix is inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He does not appear at the ceremony.
The Mountainous Democratic Republic of Colorado
March 25th, 1971: Following heavy tensions between East and West Pakistan, East Pakistan formally declares independence as the state of Bangladesh. India backs Bangladesh, starting off the Bangladeshi Liberation War. President Johnson, fearing that Pakistan, an ally of the PRC, might lose, begins to send arms to Pakistan, and debates deploying a battleship to the Bay of Bengal.
May 29th, 1979: Several Iranian anti-government Islamic groups attack several Soviet outposts on the Iran-USSR border. As a result, the USSR invades Iran. Not to prop up the Shah or the forces of the Ayatollah, but to establish a "stable state", largely seen as an attempt to establish a Soviet puppet state. President Kennedy's approval ratings go down as a result of continued US inaction.
The fine state of Alabama
January 2nd 1973: President Reagan formally announces that Senator Richard Nixon will be appointed as Secretary of State upon inauguration day. He will remain throughout Reagan's tenure as well as Haig's. By the end of the Haig presidency, he is one of the only members of the administration viewed favorably by the public.
May 30th 1979: Former Secretary of State Richard Nixon condemns President Kennedy's inaction over the situation in Iran.
September 20th 1979: Richard Nixon announces that he is officially running for President. In his opening speech he pledges to take action against the Soviet Union's incursion into Iran.
October 12th 1980: Polls show Nixon winning by wide margins in 1980.
Enschede, the Netherlands
May 7th 1974: Chancellor Willy Brandt gives an address to the West-German people in which he declares that his personal aid Günter Guilliaume was a STASI Spy. He announces that he will seek the vote of confidence to be taken May 9th 1974.
May 8th 1974: The CDU/CSU announces that they will vote against Brandt and they will nominate Rainer Barzel as Chancellor.
May 9th 1974: Brandt wins his vote of confidence. Quite a few members of the CDU have voted in favour of Brandt. Years later it was revealed that the STASI and the KGB bribed CDU members of parliament.
September 11th 1974: Walter Ulbricht, leader of the GDR dies. Erich Honecker succeeds him promising reforms and more wealth for the East Germans.
Enschede, the Netherlands
August 29th 1969: The Little Berlin Crisis - When the German government announces to elect the German president in the old Reichstag building in Berlin the East Germans react with blockading West-Berlin and flying with warplanes over the Reichstag.
September 10th 1969: Reluctantly West-Germany moves the presidential election to Bonn. The same night the GDR television maker Karl Eduard von Schnitzler presents a film called "Der Schlag hat gesessen" (That was a suckerpunch) After 3 rounds Gustav Heinemann (SPD) is elected president by the Bundesversammlung.
October 4th 1969: Konrad Hermann Josef Adenauer dies in Rhöndorf (West-Germany) at the age of 93.
October 15th 1969: Adenauer is buried after a lengthy procession through Cologne and Bonn. At the funeral mass in Cologne are heads of state from all over the free world. The eulogy is read by Charles de Gaulle and former president John F. Kennedy
April 7th 1974: President Charles de Gaulle dies
DFW area, Texas (no, Tibecuador)
February 8, 1980: Pierre Trudeau, Liberal Party leader, returns to power, defeating Joe Clark easily.
May 21, 1985: Incumbent Prime Minister John Turner narrowly wins another majority for the Liberal party, defeating former PM Joe Clark (who had narrowly won the PC leadership in 1983 over Mulroney).
July 20, 1987: John Turner steps down as PM unexpectedly. Paul Martin wins the leadership, defeating John Chretien.
October 3, 1988: Paul Martin's government falls, precipitating a general election.
December 2, 1988: Jean Cherest easily wins a majority for the Progressive Conservatives, defeating the Liberals. Martin subsequently loses the leadership to John Chretien, as the Liberals plot their way back to power.
Joined:
Mar 31, 2010
March 9th, 1962: Following the success of the Human Torch's return, Captain America returns in his own monthly title with Joe Simon plotting and Wally Wood scripting and drawing. In the story Captain America is Bucky Barnes, Captain America's former sidekick, and now an adult agent of THUNDER (The Higher United Nations Defense Enforcement Reserves). He battles against the insidious forces of MIRAGE and their leader, the resurgent Red Skull. Wood will continue to draw and write Captain America for the majority of the next three years.
August 14th, 1965: After over three years of scripting and drawing Captain America, Wally Wood departs the book and turns over artistic duties to new hire Jim Steranko. After three more months, Wood will turn over writing duties as well. As time passes, Steranko's run is known for its highly stylized, sometimes psychedelic art. During his run, he introduces characters like MIRAGE agent Madame Viper, the enigmatic Scorpio, Captain America's new love interest Contessa Allegra de Fontaine, as well as bringing back the Golden age villain Yellow Claw and his heroic nemesis, FBI agent James Woo.
July 8th 1972: In Lisbon, representatives from South Africa, Portugal, and Rhodesia sign a mutual assistance pact promising economic and military aid to one-another. Fully endorsed by Pieter Botha, Marcelo Caetano, and Ian Smith, the pact marks a turning point in Portugal's oversea ventures as well as in Rhodesia's own fight for legitimacy. The Organization of African Unity responds with outrage, while the UN General Assembly calls the pact the foundation of “an Unholy Alliance.”
April 19th, 1974: While on The Tonight Show, Jimi Hendrix goes on record saying that he reads and believes the Urantia Book, calling it the ‘new bible’; the book, an enormous volume detailing the history of the earth and the life of Jesus Christ, launches from obscurity and becomes a bestseller, leading to the founding of the New Bible Movement later that year. The Movement, a pseudo-religious group that treats the Urantia Book as inspired scripture, is comprised primarily of hippies and other counter-culture subgroups and remains a small yet important part of US culture throughout the remainder of the 20th century.
May 17th, 1980: Jim Morrison stars in Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining, a role which earns him critical acclaim. This also leads to a fertile creative relationship and friendship between Morrison and King, who will later recommend Morrison to play villain Randall Flagg in director David Lynch’s adaptation of King novel The Stand in 1982.
January 12th, 1981: After penciling 10 issues of the Captain America series for Marvel, Frank Miller takes over as full-time writer with Klaus Janson as inker. Miller's run will generally be credited as removing the campy stigma which had become associated with the character since the 1966 television series. Miller's Captain America is portrayed as a man loyal to the American ideal and who is deeply concerned with the state of the country. Over the course of Miller's run he will introduce characters such as the corrupt senator and presidential candidate Kenneth Wind, the psychotic super-soldier Nuke, and the beautiful assassin Elektra. Miller's run will culminate in the debut of the Winter Soldier, an unstoppable Russian agent who is revealed to be a brainwashed Steve Rogers returned from the dead.
April 3rd, 1984: Ten years after his initial appearance on The Tonight Show, Jimi Hendrix tells Johnny Carson that “I never really believed in that s***” when asked about the Urantia Book, and expresses surprise that the New Bible Movement has nearly 200,000 adherents throughout the United States.
June 14th, 1987: Senator Bill Clinton’s career is buried in scandal after his affair with model Sarah Heath is made public. The scrutiny of the public eye and the fallout from his subsequent divorce from his wife Hillary dash his political career.
Mar 31, 2010
RepMR said: ↑
November 6th 1990: Hillary Rodham is elected to the US House as the Congresswoman from Illinois' 16th district. In tandem, her former husband, Arkansas Senator Bill Clinton retires from the Senate at this election following the 1987 exposure of his affair with model Sarah Heath.
January 3rd 1991: Congresswoman Hillary Rodham assumes her post in the US House of Representatives
Click to expand...
Nice. I wonder how her presidential aspirations will play out. Here's some more:
December 13th, 1969: Uneasy over Brezhnev's handling of the dispute with China, Alexei Kosygin and Nikolai Podgorny form an alliance to oust Brezhnev from leadership and take control of the party. Brezhnev, never able to form a strong power base since his own hard-fought coup against Kruschev, is caught off guard and deposed.
January 20th, 1972: Che Guevara convinces the Castros to let him personally lead a squad of Cuban volunteers to aid the MPLA in their revolution in Angola. Although initially hesitant to support what he suspects is a failed cause, Fidel eventually decides that a better opportunity to remove Guevara, who has expended most of his political capital in Cuba, will likely not arise, and so gives his once-friend and fellow revolutionary his blessing.
March 3rd, 1973: Che Guevara and his squad of handpicked Cuban advisors are ambushed by Rhodesian SAS in Angola. The firefight is bitter, but ultimately ends in the death of Guevara and his men. Guevara's death is a propaganda coup for Portugal and her allies. When informed of the news, Fidel Castro briefly expresses disappointment over the failed cause of the MPLA before making a promise to properly honor his fallen comrade.
October 1st, 1974: In Lisbon, Marcelo Caetano announces victory in the Colonial War. Thanks to South African and Rhodesian support, Portuguese actions in Africa have been widely successful, particularly in Angola. Troop deployment in the colonies are at an all time low, allowing Caetano to focus on economic development back home and to quell discontent against the regime.
| i don't know |
What colour of flowers does the 'Fennel' plant have? | Growing fennel for its flowers, seeds and potent pollen - latimes
Growing fennel for its flowers, seeds and potent pollen
August 13, 2013 |By Jeff Spurrier
Unlike many plants considered invasive, fennel does everything it can to ingratiate itself into the garden. Its leaves are attractive -- feathery and delicate -- and the umbrella-shaped blooms of bright yellow flowers that come in summer serve as miniature landing pads for pollinators. Every part of fennel, root to leaf to pollen to fruit, is infused with the varying levels of its iconic licorice flavor.
Unlike other aromatic crops -- dill, cumin, anise, caraway -- only fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) has become a transplanted Californian with such casual abandon. The South Mediterranean native was probably brought here by Italian immigrants and thrives throughout the state in the wild, on neglected land, anywhere there’s reliable moisture. Or not.
Jamie Jamison used to collect fennel flowers for their yellow hue, one of the natural dyes she makes. The flowers came from a healthy plant growing in a Smart & Final parking lot. She brought home another plant that spouted there randomly and now has a towering stand in her backyard.
A perennial if you let it, fennel spreads wildly, unabashedly earning its reputation as invasive.
“It’s a noxious weed, but it’s all usable,” says Gary Woolley, the general manager of Pollen Ranch , suppliers of fennel pollen, a gourmet flavoring with a powerful taste. A decade ago, a half-ounce of imported fennel pollen could run $40, four times what homegrown now sells for.
Based near Visalia, Pollen Ranch harvests the flower tops from wild fennel in Northern California in June and July, going back for the mature black seeds in October. Not only are they a different color than store-bought fennel seed, which mostly comes from Egypt, but the taste is far more intense.
A tiny amount of fennel pollen adds surprisingly sweet bright flashes of licorice to stews, sauces, soups and meat rubs. The rest of the plant is equally tasty. The bulbs can be eaten raw, broiled or pickled. The seeds are commonly used as an after-dinner digestive aid in Indian cuisine. The dead stalks are harvested for smoking, soaked like wood chips and added to a fire to impart an distinct anise-like note to fish or meat.
Fennel ranks high in Italian myth and history, as food and as medicine. When Prometheus stole fire from the gods to give to man, he held the coal in fennel. Roman soldiers chewed it for courage and to suppress appetites. In the Middle Ages, people hung it in homes for good luck and protection from the evil eye.
Now is the time to harvest pollen from a flowering plant, ideally in the afternoon. Leave cut flowers in the sun for a day, then put them in a paper bag until fully dry. Shake or rub off the pollen and collect it along with the dried flowers. Discard any stems.
You can find fennel at most nurseries in either seed or seedling form. The Florence varieties (Foeniculum vulgare var. azoricum) are grown in cool season for the fat bulbs. Because of its long taproot, the plant does not do well in containers, and don’t plant fennel near bush beans, peppers or tomatoes.
ALSO:
| Hong Jin-ho |
The pheasant shooting season finishes on the first of which month? | Foeniculum vulgare Bronze Fennel
FAQs
Spanish explorers of the 1600's knew they would need to bring herb seeds with them to plant in the new world if they wanted to feel truly at home. This is how Sweet Fennel became distributed along El Camino Real or The Kings Highway which connects the 21 missions that span from San Diego to San Francisco, California. Today, tall wispy spires of green Sweet Fennel can still be seen along Interstate 101 which traces that legendary route. In fact, the plant has became so abundant that today many consider it a native Californian plant; some consider it a weed.
With the same sweet licorice flavor as Sweet Fennel, Bronze Fennel (pictured at top) can be used in place of Green Fennel in any recipe, and the soft wispy leaves with their unique bronze color add a lot of visual interest in the flower or herb garden. With a height of four feet and a breadth almost as great, its wide spreading grace also makes it the perfect back of the border plant for cottage gardens . By the end of the summer it will put up tall spikes that will be endowed with little yellow button flowers. If left on the plant, these will turn brown and make fennel seeds. If these spikes are cut back to the ground the plant will stay looking better longer.
The leaves are great with fish and can be used to stuff the cavity of a whole fish or to wrap fillets. Jim Long, herbal chef and cookbook author, makes this tasty fennel stuffing for trout. Start by cutting up 1 cup of fennel leaves. Saute some celery and onion in butter or olive oil until tender, then mix in 2 cups of bread crumbs, 1 cup of chicken broth and the fennel and stuff it into the trout. Then lay slices of lemons over the trout and broil for about 20 minutes. He also makes a tasty quick salad dressing by adding a couple fennel leave into a blender with some oil, vinegar, parsley, and garlic chives. Please visit this page for more information on Jim's herbal cookbooks. Elizabeth Lambert Ortiz in her book The Encyclopedia of Herbs, Spices and Flavorings not only stuffs and bakes her fish with Fennel leaves but also flambe's the fish with an anise flavored liqueur.
Also, try combining the leaves of Bronze Fennel with French Tarragon for an extra kick. French Tarragon has a spicy bite that the Fennel does not, and yet both have the anise or licorice flavor. Very tasty Fennel tea can be made from the leaves of both fennels and the seeds of Bronze Fennel. Bronze Fennel is one of the six plants chosen to be in our Zone 5 Tea Herb Garden . Milk steeped with Bronze Fennel can be used to make ice cream or added into baked goods.
If you want to collect the seeds (a prize ingredient in Italian sausage), just leave that flowering stalk. You can still harvest the outer leaves, just don't cut the center stalk, which will bear the flowers. Watch as the seeds start to turn from green to brown, and then cut the whole head and allow it to finish the ripening process in a brown paper bag. When the seeds are ripe, they will easily shake loose from the main head. Store in a dry airtight jar out of light.
Bronze Fennel is hardy from Zone 5 and is easily grown as an annual in lower zones. Plant as soon as the danger of frost has passed. Full sun and well drained soil are better for producing rich oils and seeds. Cut back to the ground at the end of the season after seeds have formed. Fennel has a long tap root which should not be disturbed after planting.
A very important host plant for the Anise Swallowtail and the Eastern Black Swallowtail (pictured at left), Bronze Fennel makes a great addition to our Wildlife Herb Garden Six Pack and is sometimes included in our Butterfly Attractor 36 Pack Assortment .
A host plant is one that the butterfly lays eggs on and the baby caterpillars (the larvae) munch on until they get ready to pupate (or spin a cocoon to become a butterfly in). Butterflies also need nectar plants (like Butterfly bushes ) that they derive food and water from.
FLORENCE FENNEL
Sometimes the herb Fennel is confused with the vegetable Fennel (pictured below). The vegetable Fennel is sometimes called Finocchio or Florence Fennel. Unfortunately, it has the same genus and specie name as the herb Fennel with only a varietal name to separate it botanically (Foeniculm vulgare azoricum). There are two main differences. The herb Fennel is a perennial while the veggie Fennel is an annual. The herb makes no root to eat and the veggie fennel is most famous for its bulbous root. Or, put another way, the herb Fennel doesn't make an edible root and the vegetable Fennel doesn't make seeds, well at least not the kind of seeds the herb Fennel does, which are the ones we want to use! Whew...
Florence Fennel starts should be planted as soon as the last frost date has passed. Their roots are fragile so be gentle when transplanting. But, make sure to firm plants in well so that they make good contact with the earth. Plant in full sun in well drained soil and fertilize with an organic fertilizer throughout the summer. Bulbs can be harvested as soon as they are the size you want by cutting the base of the plant at ground level. Occasionally roots will produce smaller size side heads after the main bulb is cut away. Fennel can take a light frost but should be harvested before it gets too cold. If you happen to leave the plants in too long and they start flowering that means they are past their prime for your use, but leave them and the beneficial insects will thank you.
To use the Fennel bulb, slice the white part down the middle and remove the core and any really tough outer leaves. Wash carefully because sometimes dirt sifts down between the layers. The Fennel leaves, though not as powerful tasting as the herb Fennel, make a welcome addition to vegetable or chicken stock.
The delicate flavor of the Fennel bulb works well with all kinds of veggies. Try it in a potato gratin or in the soup recipe below.
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What courtesy title is given to the sons and daughters of the peerage? | Courtesy titles: a primer - Vita Brevis
Vita Brevis
Family Stories A Genealogist's Diary , Spotlight Scott C. Steward
The coronation of King George IV in Westminster Hall, 1821.
Given that the British peerage system developed over time, its labyrinthine rules and unfamiliar nomenclature are not all that surprising. As feudal peerages – a somewhat amorphous class bound by land tenure and military service – gave way to peerages granted by the monarch, the rules governing titles and their inheritance evolved into what we have today.
Several readers of my previous post on the subject were perplexed by courtesy titles. The peerage system in the United Kingdom affords peerage holders and their immediate relatives a variety of titles signifying rank, some hereditary and bound to one holder at a time, others “by courtesy” and held by some or all members of a particular generation.
The Dukes of Devonshire can provide examples. The peerage holder is the present Duke; his wife is the Duchess. The Duke’s mother, who died in September, was the Dowager Duchess, as the widow of the previous holder of the title.
Now things get trickier. The Duke of Devonshire’s forebears amassed a number of hereditary titles. The Duke’s other titles include Marquess of Hartington, Earl of Burlington, and Lord Cavendish. “By courtesy,” his son and heir is called the Marquess of (or Lord) Hartington, as the marquessate is the second highest-ranking of the Duke’s titles. Lord Hartington’s son is the Earl of Burlington, as an earl is junior to a marquess. If Lord Burlington has a son – the great-grandson of the present Duke – that son is Lord Cavendish, as a baron is junior to an earl.
The Duke has the title; those family members with courtesy titles connected to the peerage do not. His heirs for three generations have courtesy titles, but so, too, do the brothers and sisters of the Duke’s son, grandson, and great-grandson. The younger sons and the daughters of a duke or marquess are, by courtesy, termed Lord X or Lady Y Smith. The wife of Lord X Smith is called Lady X Smith, as in the case of Lady Andrew Cavendish .
The younger sons of an earl are The Honourable (Hon.); the earl’s daughters are Ladies. The Hon. as a courtesy title does not correspond to the more familiar usage (to Americans) of The Hon. in front of the name of a member of Congress, an Ambassador, or some other dignitary. In the United Kingdom, social use of The Hon. denotes that that person is
the younger son of an earl,
a son or a daughter of a viscount – the peerage level between earl and baron – or a baron, or
a woman married to the younger son of an earl or any son of a viscount or baron.
The husbands of the daughters of dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts, and barons do not take any rank from their wives; the wives of the younger sons of dukes and marquesses are styled as above (e.g., Lady Andrew Cavendish); and the wives of the younger sons of earls and the sons of viscounts and barons are The Hon. Mrs. X Smith, as they do take their rank from their husbands.
In effect, courtesy titles signal membership in the clan gathered around the peerage holder as well as the larger British aristocracy. To review, a duke > a marquess > an earl > a viscount > a baron, and the siblings and descendants of the title holder rank in the same way: the son of a duke outranks, and takes precedence of, the son of a baron.
N.B. To further confuse matters in this example, the present Lord Hartington is known professionally as William Burlington ; he uses the earldom while his son is known as Lord Cavendish!
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What sort of creature is a 'Gadwall'? | Courtesy Titles
Courtesy Titles
Heirs in the Direct Line
Courtesy titles fall, broadly speaking, into two classes - those in the style of peerages, which are borne only by heirs in the direct line; and those, consisting of the prefixes "Lord", "Lady" or "the Honourable" to the Christian name, which are borne by other sons and daughters.
We will deal with the former first. In courtesy the eldest son of a duke is born with the precedence of a marquess, the eldest son of a marquess with that of an earl, the eldest son of an earl with that of a viscount. (Eldest sons of viscounts and barons will be considered later.) This in each case is their actual precedence, even though there may not be equivalent titles available for their use.
We may take as an example of the fullest use of this system of courtesy titles under the case of the Dukedom of Devonshire. The son and heir is known as Marquess of Hartington, and his elder son as Earl of Burlington - both minor titles held by the Duke. Four generations alive in the direct line must be exceedinly rare, but if it ever did occur in the Devonshire family presumably the great-grandson would be known as Lord Cavendish, one of the Duke's baronies, for there is no viscounty.
But not all dukes hold marquessates also, and in those cases the eldest son takes as his courtesy title whatever is his father's secondary title. In all these cases except one (that of Somerset) this is an earldom. Thus the eldest son of a Duke of Grafton is known as Earl of Euston and his son as Viscount Ipswich.
The Dukedom of Somerset is alone in having only a barony attached to it. There have been earldoms and baronies a-plenty to go with this dukedom, but in the vicissitudes of descent all have been extinguished, forfeited or become separated from the dukedom, until now only the Barony of Seymour survives - in striking contrast to, for instance, the Dukedom of Atholl, the holder of which has altogether nineteen peerages.
But there is one exception even to these cases where the secondary ducal title is an earldom, and that is the Dukedom of Manchester. The only earldom held by the Duke is also of Manchester. To have a Dukedom of Manchester and an Earldom of Manchester in use simultaneously is asking for confusion. In this case, therefore, the heir forgoes his father's earldom and is known as Viscount Mandeville, which is the Duke's third title.
In the case of a real viscount, i.e. a peer of that rank, it has never been the custom for a son to use the courtesy title of "Lord", however many baronies his father possessed in addition to his viscountcy, but as Lord Mandeville's use of that style is merely a matter of convenience, and his precedence is that of a marquess, his son is allowed as a courtesy title the use of his grandfather's barony, and is known as Lord Kimbolton. In this case the son's daughters are also accorded the courtesy style of a marquess's children and bear the "Lady" prefixed to their Christian names. But this practice is not general.
Heirs to Marquessates
The same general rules apply to the direct line of heirs to a marquessate. Where the title is available the eldest son is known by the style of his father's earldom, and his eldest son by that of the grandfather's barony. Thus the heir to the Marquess of Bute is Earl of Dumfries, while his son is Lord Cardiff.
But here again there are exceptions due to the absence of an earldom in the family honours. Thus the elder son of the Marquess of Bath is known as Viscount Weymouth. In this and other cases it is not the custom for the grandson to be known by the style of one of the family baronies. They are styled "the Honourable" as a prefix to Christian and surnames as is the case with the eldest son of a viscount who is a peer.
Among the marquesses there are exceptions on the same ground as that instanced in the Manchester Dukedom. The Marquesses of Exeter, Salisbury, Queensberry, Reading and Willingdon all hold earldoms of the same name, so that in each case the heir uses the courtesy title of viscount.
Another exception is the Marquess of Londonderry, for though he is also Earl Vane the heir is always known by the style - a historic one - of Viscount Castlereagh.
The late Lord Londonderry told me that the reason for this is twofold. One is the desire to preserve the use of the Castlereagh title. The other was because it is by virtue of his Earldom of Vane, a United Kingdom one, that Lord Londonderry sat in the House of Lords, and that as he himself thus used the earldom for official purposes - he was summoned to the House in it, he appeared in the division lists in it, and signed himself by it in the House when occasion arose - there was a doubt about it being available as a courtesy style for the heir. On this latter point Lord Londonderry tried to get a definite ruling some thirty years ago, but without success.
Lord Londonderry's story of an ancestor's plans for establishing a second noble line in England while the original line remained domiciled in Ireland is interesting. The third Marquess, head of the family of Stewart of Mount Stewart in Co. Down, was Marquess and Earl of Londonderry, Viscount Castlereagh and Baron Londonderry, all in the peerage of Ireland, but with a United Kingdom barony of Stewart, of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn, which gave him a seat in the House of Lords. By his first marriage he had a son who, he hoped, would provide heirs to carry on this Irish line.
By his second marriage to Lady Frances Vane-Tempest, heiress to the great Vane-Tempest estates in Durham, he had other children, and when subsequently he secured the United Kingdom Earldom of Vane and the Viscountcy of Seaham it was with special remainder to the heirs male of this second marriage, his hope being that they would carry on the Vane-Tempest line and tradition separately from the Stewart line.
Unfortunately for this design the eldest son did not marry until rather late in life and had no children, so all the titles eventually came to his half-brother, who succeeded as fifth Marquess.
The half-brother himself seems to have resented this interference of Providence with his sire's plans, for thereafter, Lord Londonderry told me, he always signed himself "Vane-Londonderry", for which variation from the normal there was not, of course, the slightest justification.
"So you see", added Lord Londonderry, "it was never intended that I should be Marquess of Londonderry at all. I was to be Earl Vane, with a more or less distant cousin in Ireland as Lord Londonderry."
Nevertheless, despite this unintentional accretion of an earldom, the style of Viscount Castlereagh has always been retained for the heir, and, since this is a matter of choice and his precedence remains that of an earl, the eldest grandson is accorded the courtesy style which would be his were his father known as an earl, and is styled Lord Stewart. (See earlier reference to Manchester Dukedom.)
But, oddly enough - and this is typical of a number of inconsistencies to be found in courtesy title practice - although the family custom is to give the second heir the style of an earl's son, his sisters have never used the style of "Lady", which on this reasoning should be theirs, but are always called "the Honourable".
Heirs to Earldoms
The eldest son of an earl takes his father's secondary title, whether that be a viscountcy or a barony. Thus the Earl of Harewood's elder son is Viscount Lascelles, while the Earl of Derby's is known as Lord Stanley, for Lord Derby holds no viscountcy.
Heirs to Viscountcies and Baronies
In the case of viscounts and barons (except for Scots peers of these ranks, which will be dealt with later) there is no distinction between elder and younger sons. All have "the Honourable" prefixed to their Christian and surnames.
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Give any year in the life of architect Inigo Jones? | Inigo Jones | Exploring London
Exploring London
10 sites commemorating the Great Fire of London – 5. Paternoster Square Column…
September 7, 2016
Located just to the north of St Paul’s Cathedral can be found Paternoster Square in the centre of which stands a column.
The 75 foot (23.3 metre) tall Corinthian column of Portland stone, which was designed by Whitfield Architects and erected in 2003, is topped by a gold leaf covered flaming copper urn which is lit up at night.
While it has been said that the column is “purely decorative”, the developers of Paternoster Square claim on their website that it actually serves several purposes in this case including both commemorative and practical.
Not only is it part of the ventilation system for the carpark underneath, they say its design is apparently a recreation of columns designed by Inigo Jones for the west portico of Old St Paul’s Cathedral.
And then there’s the three metre high urn on top which, not unlike that found on The Monument, they say commemorates the fact the site of the square has twice been destroyed by fire – the first time in the Great Fire of 1666 and the second in the Blitz during World War II.
The area around Paternoster Square was once home to booksellers and publishers’ warehouses.
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10 sites commemorating the Great Fire of London – 4. St Paul’s ‘Resurgam’…
August 31, 2016
Old St Paul’s Cathedral was certainly the largest and most famous casualty of the Great Fire of London of 1666. And its passing – and rebirth – is recorded on several memorials, one of which can be found on the building itself.
Set on the pediment which, carved by Caius Gabriel Cibber, sits above south portico off Cannon Street, the memorial depicts a phoenix rising from clouds of smoke (ashes), a symbol of Sir Christopher Wren’s new cathedral which rose on the site of the old Cathedral in the wake of the fire. Below the phoenix is the Latin word, ‘Resurgam’, meaning “I Shall Rise Again”.
The story goes that Wren had this carved after, having called for a stone to mark the exact position over which St Paul’s mighty dome would rise, the architect was shown a fragment of one of the church’s tombstones which had been inscribed with the word.
The foundation stone for the new cathedral, largely built of Portland stone, was laid without any fanfare on 21st June, 1675, and it only took some 35 years before it was largely completed. Some of the stonework from the old cathedral was used in the construction of the new.
We should note that the old cathedral was in a state of some disrepair when the fire swept through it – the spire had collapsed in 1561 and despite the addition of a new portico by Inigo Jones, it was generally in poor condition.
Stonework from the Old St Paul’s – everything from a Viking grave marker to 16th century effigies – are now stored in the Triforium, rarely open to the public (tours of the Triforium are being run as part of the programme of events being held at the cathedral to mark the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire – see www.stpauls.co.uk/fire for more).
PICTURE: [email protected] /CC BY-NC 2.0 (image cropped)
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Lost London – Inigo Jones’ Grand Portico on Old St Paul’s Cathedral…
July 31, 2015
A short-lived addition to Old St Paul’s Cathedral before it burned down in the Great Fire of 1666, the classical-style portico was designed by Inigo Jones as part of makeover King James I ordered him to give the cathedral in the first half of the 17th century.
St Paul’s, which was completed in the early 14th century in the Early English Gothic style (see our post here for more on its earlier history), had fallen into a state of disrepair by the 1620s, thanks in part to a fire caused by lightning which had brought the spire – 489 feet (149 metres) high when built – crashing down through the nave roof in 1561.
The spire wasn’t rebuilt and repair works undertaken to the cathedral roof were apparently shoddy, meaning that by the early 1600s, things were in a parlous state.
Jones started work in the 1620s, cleaning and repairing the massive structure and adding a layer of limestone masonry over the exterior to give the building a more classical look inspired by the temples of ancient Rome he had seen in that city and in Naples and the work of Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio.
This was complemented by the grand portico he added to the west front in the 1630s (and which was paid for by King James’ son, King Charles I). Featuring 10 columns across its breadth and four deep (these, it has been suggested, stood about 45 feet tall), it was topped by a frieze of lions’ heads and foliage with plans for a series of statues which some say were to be saints and others kings to be placed along the top (in the end only statues of King Charles I and King James I were ever placed there). The facade also featured turrets at either side.
Work on the repairs came to a halt in 1642 thanks to the Civil War, during which Parliamentarian forces famously used the cathedral’s great nave for stables.
Following the Restoration in 1660, with Jones now dead (he died in 1652), Sir Christopher Wren was invited by King Charles II to restore the grand old building but Sir Christopher proposed it be demolished instead, a decision which lead to an outcry among London’s citizens.
Wren then changed his plans to instead restore the existing build but replace the spire with a dome. His scaffolding was in place around the cathedral when the Great Fire broke out in 1666 and badly damaged the building (although the portico apparently remained standing until 1687-88 when Sir Christopher had it demolished to make way for his new western front).
Interestingly, it is said Wren used blocks from the portico to create the foundations for the building which now stands on the site.
PICTURE: Wenceslaus Hollar’s rendering of Inigo Jones’ West Portico/Wikipedia
For more on the history of St Paul’s Cathedral see Ann Saunders’ St Paul’s Cathedral: 1,400 Years at the Heart of London
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What’s in a name?…Drury Lane…
July 20, 2015
Famous for its associations with London’s theatreland, Drury Lane takes its name from the Drury family who once owned a mansion here.
Previously known as the Via de Aldwych (apparently for a stone monument the Aldwych Cross which stood at the street’s northern end), Drury Lane – which runs between High Holborn and Aldwych – was renamed after Drury House which was built at the southern end of the street.
Some accounts suggest it was Sir Robert Drury (1456-1535), an MP and lawyer, who built the property around 1500; others say it was his son, Sir William Drury, also an MP and a Privy Councillor, who did so in around 1600 – which may mean there were two versions of the one property.
The street, meanwhile, is said to have been briefly renamed Prince’s Street during the reign of King James I (1603-1625) but, following the Restoration in 1660, the name Drury once more gained supremacy.
The origins of the street’s famous theatre (London’s oldest), the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, dates from the same year (see our earlier post here ). Other theatres in the street included the Cockpit Theatre which had been designed at one stage by Inigo Jones.
The street is also famous for being the site of the worst outbreak of the plague in London – the Great Plague of 1665, burned away the following year by the Great Fire – and by the 18th century was a slum noted for its seediness, in particular for prostitution (it features in William Hogarth’s work The Harlot’s Progress).
This didn’t change until the second half of the 19th century – author Charles Dickens had been among others who had commented on the poverty he had seen there – when gentrification took hold. Among the shops opened there during this time was the first Sainsbury’s, founded at number 173 in 1869.
Alongside the Theatre Royal Drury Lane (although the main entrance is in Catherine Street), other theatres in the street today include the New London Theatre and the London Theatre.
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10 sites from London at the time of the Magna Carta – 9. Old St Paul’s Cathedral…
July 8, 2015
The first great stone cathedral on the site where Sir Christopher Wren’s St Paul’s now stands was a relative – and as yet incomplete – newcomer in 1215. Construction on it had started more than 120 years before in 1087 but it eventually took more than 200 years to finish.
It was Bishop Maurice, chaplain to William the Conqueror (he donated some Caen stone for its construction), who began the project after the previous wooden Saxon church on the site – the latest in a succession of them dating back to the 7th century – had been destroyed by fire (although it was under successor Bishop Richard de Beaumis that work began to really take shape).
The first part of the building to be completed was the quire in 1148 – its opening was delayed by another fire in 1135 caused during civil unrest following the death of King Henry I – but it wasn’t until after the Magna Carta’s advent – in 1240 – that the church was eventually consecrated by Bishop Roger Niger.
Originally designed in the Norman Romanesque-style, the architectural style changed during the building process into the Early English Gothic style.
Enlarged and renovated several times since construction began, it wasn’t fully completed until the 14th century – when it was the largest church in England and the third largest in Europe featuring the tallest steeple, built in 1221, and spire, built in 1315, ever built (that is, until 1561 when it was knocked down by lightning).
It later contained a number of important relics including the arms of Mellitus, the first bishop of London (see our earlier post on him here ), St Mary Magdalene’s hair, the head of King Ethelbert and, importantly for the time, some pieces from the skull of St Thomas á Becket. Among the tombs inside the emerging church in 1215 were those of Sebba, King of the East Saxons, who had been buried in the north aisle in 695, and that of King Ethelred “The Unready”.
While the exterior was remodelled in the early 17th century – including the addition of a monumental new porch by architect Inigo Jones – the medieval building remained standing until the Great Fire of 1666.
LondonLife – The Queen’s House set to be given a makeover ahead of 400th anniversary…
April 28, 2015
Greenwich icon, the Queen’s House, is set to close on 27th July this year to allow for refurbishment and upgrade ahead of the 400th anniversary of its commissioning and design in 2016. The landmark will be closed until 4th July, 2016, after which those visiting the house will be able to see Orazio Gentileschi’s Biblically-themed painting, Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife, displayed in the building for the first time since 1650. Part of the Royal Collection, the painting was one of a series commissioned for the building by King Charles I and his wife Queen Henrietta Maria. The Queen’s House was designed by Inigo Jones in 1616 for King James I’s wife, Anne of Denmark, and, acknowledged as a masterpiece of 17th century architecture, was the first classically-designed building in country. The makeover will see galleries refurbished, the introduction of new displays and the restoration of components including the ceiling in the King’s Presence Chamber (the Queen’s Presence Chamber was restored in 2013). For more, see www.rmg.co.uk .
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8 structures from the London that never was – 4. Whitehall Palace (remodelled)…
November 26, 2014
Still on designs for royal palaces and today we’re looking at two designs for the same palace. Both Inigo Jones (1573-1652) and Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723) drew up designs for the remodelling and expansion of Whitehall Palace.
First up was the neo-classical architect Jones who drew up plans for a vast complex of buildings (pictured left) which would replace the Tudor palace King Henry VIII had created when he transformed the grand house formerly known as York Place into a residence suitable for a king (York Place had previously been a residence of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey and prior to that, the London residence of the Archbishops of York).
Jones’ complex – which apparently featured seven internal courts – covered much of what is now known as Whitehall as well as neighbouring St James’s Park with a magnificent River Thames frontage.
The first part of Jones’ grand scheme – the Banqueting House (see our earlier post here ) – opened in 1622. It still survives today – pictured above – and gives a taste of the grandeur of his overall scheme.
Yet, despite the eagerness of King James I for the project, it failed to materialise. English Heritage chief executive Simon Thurley told the BBC in 2012 that the hall represented only five per cent of what Jones had planned.
King James I died in 1625 and his son King Charles I was apparently keen to continue the project – so much so that Jones submitted new plans in 1638 – but he didn’t find the funds the project needed (and, of course, as we know, then became consumed by the events of the Civil War before being beheaded outside the Banqueting House in 1649).
Following the Restoration, in the 1660s King Charles II apparently had Sir Christopher Wren quietly draw up plans to redevelop the palace but these weren’t follow through on although during the reign of King James II he did work on several projects at the palace including a new range of royal riverside apartments, terrace (remains of which can still be seen) and a chapel.
In 1698, much of the bloated Whitehall Palace – then the largest palace in Europe with more than 1,500 rooms – burnt down although the Banqueting House, though damaged, survived basically intact (in fact there’s an interesting anecdote, its veracity questionable, which has it that on hearing of the fire Wren rushed to the site and had an adjacent building blown up to create a firebreak and ensure the Banqueting House was saved).
The then king, King William III, approached Wren and he again submitted plans for its rebuilding (prior to the fire, he had already worked on several aspects of the palace including a new range of royal apartments and a chapel for King James II).
But Wren’s plans – images show a grand domed building – were largely never realised (although he did convert the Banqueting House into a chapel) and the destroyed palace never rebuilt (no doubt in large part due to the fact that King William III preferred a more rural and less damp location – such as that of Kensington Palace – thanks to his asthma).
For more on the history of the Palace of Whitehall, see Simon Thurley’s Whitehall Palace: The Official Illustrated History
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What’s in a name?…Chancery Lane
October 6, 2014
This central London street, which runs between Fleet Street and High Holborn, has long been associated with the law and government, and still is so today with the Royal Courts of Justice standing close to its southern end and Lincoln’s Inn – one of the four Inns of Court – located on the lane’s western side.
Its name is a corruption of the original Chancellor Lane – a moniker which apparently dates back to at least the 14th century – and which referred to the buildings where the official documents of the Lord Chancellor’s Office, known as the Rolls of the Court of Chancellory (Chancery), were stored.
The street was apparently first known as New Street and later as Converts Lane; the latter in reference to the House of Converts (Domus Conversorum) King Henry III founded here in the 1272 for the conversion of Jews to Christianity.
When King Edward I expelled all the Jews from the kingdom in 1290, the ‘house’ continued in use as such for foreign-born Jews, albeit with very small numbers of residents until the early 17th century.
In the meantime, in 1377 King Edward III gave orders that the complex of buildings used by the Domus Conversorum also be given over to the Master of the Rolls for the storage of chancellory documents and it was this move which led to the lane gaining its new name.
The buildings – which included a chapel which had become known as the Chapel of the Master of the Rolls or the simply the Rolls Chapel which had been rebuilt several times including to the designs of 17th century architect Inigo Jones – were finally demolished around the turn of the 20th century and subsumed into the Public Records Office complex on Chancery Lane (this was formerly housed in what is now the Maughan Library of King’s College London).
The lane these days is also home to such august institutions as The Law Society and the London Silver Vaults. It also lends its name to an Underground Station located to the east of the lane entrance in High Holborn.
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10 sites from Shakespearean London – 6. Shakespearean connections in the Elizabethan world: The George Inn and Middle Temple Hall…
July 9, 2014
Today we’re taking a look at a couple of still extant London buildings which have strong associations with playwright William Shakespeare…
• The George Inn, Southwark. Located at 75-77 Borough High Street, the George Inn is London’s last remaining galleried inn. The current building has its origins in the late 17th century after the original inn, which can be traced back to at least the mid-1500s – was destroyed in a fire in 1676. Now owned by the National Trust , it is leased out and remains open as a public house – part of the Greene King chain. While its known for its connections with 19th century writer Charles Dickens – he was a patron of this establishment and mentions it in Little Dorrit (a fact we mentioned in our series on Dickens back in 2012), the inn (or at least the previous version of it) also has Shakespearean connections with its prime Southwark location meaning it’s quite possible Shakespeare himself may have visited. Whether that’s the case or not, it is known that the premises served at time as a theatre of sorts in his day with acting troops performing in the courtyard while audience members could stand in the courtyard and watch or pay extra for a seat in the gallery. For more on the inn, see www.gkpubs.co.uk/pubs-in-london/the-george-inn-pub/ .
• Middle Temple Hall. Built between 1562 and 1573 by Edmund Plowden (memorialised with monuments in both the hall and nearby Temple Church), this magnificent Tudor hall has survived both the Great Fire of London and the Blitz and continues to serve the legal profession today. It too was used as a theatre/concert hall in Elizabethan times and later as a site for Inigo Jones’ masques but in terms of the Shakespearean connection, it is known for being where the first recorded performance of Twelfth Night took place – on the night of Candlemas (2nd February) 1602. The Lord Chamberlain’s Men performed the play and it is thought that Shakespeare himself was among the players. For more on the hall, which is only rarely opened to the public, you can visit our earlier posts here and (on ‘Drake’s Cupboard) here or the official website at www.middletemple.org.uk/home/ .
For more on the George Inn, check out Pete Brown’s social history Shakespeare’s Local: Six Centuries of History Seen Through One Extraordinary Pub
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10 significant sites from Georgian London – 8. Marble Hill House…
April 16, 2014
A Palladian villa located on the bank of the Thames between Richmond and Twickenham, Marble Hill House was built in the mid to late 172os for Henrietta Howard, mistress of King George II and later Countess of Suffolk.
The symmetrical property – seen as a model for later Georgian-era villas in both England and overseas – was constructed by Roger Morris. He, along with Henry Herbert – a friend of the countess and later the 9th Earl of Pembroke – was also involved in its design as was Colen Campbell, architect to the Prince of Wales and future King George II, who is believed to have drawn up the first sketch designs for the house.
As well as being familiar with the work of neo-Palladian Inigo Jones, Lord Herbert had travelled in Italy and there is it believed had directly encountered the works of sixteenth century Italian architect Andrea Palladio whose architecture the property emulated (see our earlier post on Chiswick House here ).
Key rooms include the ‘great room’ – a perfect cube, this is the central room of the house and boasts a wealth of gilded carvings; the dining parlour which had hand-painted Chinese wallpaper; and, Lady Suffolk’s rather sparsely furnished but nonetheless impressive, bedchamber.
Howard, who as well as being a mistress of King George II both before and after his accession to the throne in 1727, was a Woman of the Bedchamber to his wife, Queen Caroline of Ansbach, and, as a result, initially spent little time at the property (which coincidentally was built using money the King had given her while he was still Prince of Wales).
But after she become the Countess of Suffolk in 1731 when her estranged husband Charles Howard became 9th Earl of Suffolk after his brothers’ deaths, Lady Suffolk was appointed Mistress of the Robes, and following the death of her husband in 1733, retired from court.
In 1735 following the end of her intimate relationship with the King, she married a second time, this time happily, to George Berkeley, younger brother of the 3rd Earl of Berkeley and an MP. Together the new couple split their time between a house in Savile Row and Marble Hill. Her husband died in 1746 and Lady Suffolk, who had come to be considered a very “model of decorum”, died at Marble Hill in 1767.
Among the visitors who had spent time at the property were poet and neighbour Alexander Pope (responsible for the design of the grounds along with royal landscape gardener Charles Bridgeman), writer and satirist Jonathan Swift, and, in Lady Suffolk’s later years, Horace Walpole – son of PM Sir Robert Walpole and builder of the Gothic masterpiece Strawberry Hill.
Following Lady Suffolk’s death, later residents of the property included another Royal Mistress – Mrs Fitzherbert, mistress to the future King George IV, Swedenborgian Charles Augustus Tulk and Jonathan Peel, brother of Sir Robert Peel (you can read more about Sir Robert Peel here ).
Following the latter’s death, the house stood empty for many years before publication of plans for a redevelopment by then owner William Cunard caused a public outcry which saw the property pass into the hands of the London County Council around the year 1900.
The house opened to the public as a tea room in 1903 and remained as such until the mid-1960s when, now in the hands of the Greater London Council, it underwent a major restoration project and was reopened as a museum. In 1996, the house – which now stands on 66 acres and can be seen in a much lauded view from Richmond Hill – came into the care of English Heritage.
The grounds – Marble Hill Park – are open to the public for free and include a cafe located in the former coach house. Other features in the grounds include Lady Suffolk’s Grotto – pictured above – based on one at Pope’s residence nearby. It was restored after being rediscovered in the 1980s.
WHERE: Marble Hill House, Richmond Road, Twickenham (nearest Tub-e station is Richmond (1 miles) or train stations at St Margaret’s or Twickenham); WHEN: Various times Saturday and Sunday – entry to the house by guided tour only; COST: £5.90 adults/£3.50 children (5-15 years)/£5.30 concession/£15.30 family; WEBSITE: www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/marble-hill-house/ .
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Famous Londoners – Ben Jonson…
November 25, 2013
Often noted as the second greatest English dramatist of his generation (after that Shakespeare guy), the playwright Ben Jonson stands tall in his own right as one of the leading literary figures of the late 16th and early 17th century.
Born in 1572, Jonson was educated at Westminster School in London and possibly went on to Cambridge before he started work as a bricklayer with his stepfather and later served as a soldier, fighting with English troops in The Netherlands.
It was on his return to London that he ventured into acting – among his early roles was Hieronimo in Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedie – and by 1597 he was employed as a playwright.
While one of his early play-writing efforts (The Isle of Dogs, co-written with Thomas Nashe) led to a term of imprisonment in Marshalsea Prison in 1597 (he was also briefly imprison about this time for killing another actor in a duel, escaping a death sentence by pleading “benefit of the clergy”), the following year – 1598 – the production of his play Every Man In His Humour established his reputation as a dramatist. Shakespeare, whom some suggest was a key rival of Jonson’s during his career – is said to have been among the actors who performed in it.
Further plays followed including Every Man Out Of His Humour (1599), his only tragedy Sejanus (1603), the popular Volpone (1606) and The Alchemist (1610), and Bartholomew Fair (1614) and it was during these years, particularly following the accession of King James I in 1603, that he became an important figure at the royal court).
His political views continued to cause trouble at times – he was again imprisoned in the early 1600s for his writings and was questioned over the Gunpowder Plot after apparently attending an event attended by most of those later found to be co-conspirators – but his move into writing masques for the royal court – saw his star continue to rise.
All up he wrote more than 20 masques for King James and Queen Anne of Denmark including Oberon, The Faery Prince which featured the young Prince Henry, eldest son of King James, in the title role. Many of these masques saw him working with architect Inigo Jones, who designed extravagant sets for the masques, but their relationship was tense at times.
In 1616 – his reputation well established – Jonson was given a sizeable yearly pension (some have concluded that as a result he was informally the country’s first Poet Laureate) and published his first collection of works the following year. Noted for his wit, he was also known to have presided over a gathering of his friends and admirers at The Mermaid Tavern and later at the Devil’s Tavern at 2 Fleet Street (Shakespeare was among those he verbally jousted with).
Jonson spent more than a year in his ancestral home of Scotland around 1618 but on his return to London, while still famous, he no longer saw the same level of success as he had earlier – particularly following the death of King James and accession of his son, King Charles I, in 1625.
Jonson married Anne Lewis – there is a record of such a couple marrying at St Magnus-the-Martyr church near London Bridge in 1594 – but their relationship certainly wasn’t always smooth sailing for they spent at least five years of their marriage living separately. It’s believed he had several children, two of whom died while yet young.
Jonson, meanwhile, continued to write up until his death on 6th August, 1637, and is buried in Westminster Abbey (he’s the only person buried upright in the abbey – apparently due to his poverty at the time of his death).
For an indepth look at the life of Ben Jonson, check out Ian Donaldson’s Ben Jonson: A Life
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Around London: Masques of the Stuart Court; saving London’s heritage; IEDs at the NAM; and, Eighties fashion at the V&A…
July 18, 2013
• The sights and sounds of the elaborate masques of the early Stuart Court – described as a cross between a ball, an amateur theatrical, and a fancy dress party – are being recreated at the Banqueting House in Whitehall. Historic Royal Palaces have joined with JB3 Creative to create an “immersive theatrical experience” for visitors to the building – one of the last surviving parts of the Palace of Whitehall – with the chance to try on costumes, learn a masque dance and witness performance rehearsals for Tempe Restored, last performed in the building in 1632. Inigo Jones will be ‘present’ as masque designer to talk about his vision for the performance. Weekends will also see musicians performing period music and on 27th July there will be a one-off evening event at the Banqueting House based on Tempe Restored. Admission charge applies. Performing for the King opens tomorrow and runs until 1st September. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/BanquetingHouse/ . PICTURE: HPR/newsteam.
• A new exhibition looking at how some of London’s great Georgian and Victorian buildings were lost to bombs and developers before, after and during World War II – and how people such as poet John Betjeman campaigned to save them – opened in the Quadriga Gallery at Wellington Arch near Hyde Park Corner yesterday. Pride and Prejudice: The Battle for Betjeman’s Britain features surviving fragments and rare photographs of some of the “worst heritage losses” of the mid-20th century. They include Robert Adam’s Adelphi Terrace (1768-72) near the Strand, the Pantheon entertainment rooms (1772) on Oxford Street, and Euston Arch (1837). The English Heritage exhibition runs until 15th September. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/wellington-arch/ .
• IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) will be ‘uncovered’ in a new exhibition opening tomorrow at the National Army Museum. Unseen Enemy will tell the stories of the men and women in Afghanistan who search for, make safe and deal with the impact of the IEDs through personal interviews, images and mementoes. The exhibition has been developed with “unprecedented access” from the British Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy and will include a range of equipment used in detecting and disarming the devices, such as bombsuits and robots as well as medical equipment used to help those injured in explosions. The exhibition is free. For more, see www.nam.ac.uk .
• On Now: Club to Catwalk – London Fashion in the 1980s. This exhibition at the V&A explores the “creative explosion” of London fashion during the decade and features more than 85 outfits by designers including John Galliano, Vivienne Westwood and Katherine Hamnett as well as accessories by designers such as Stephen Jones and Patrick Cox. While the ground floor gallery focuses on young fashion designers who found themselves on the world stage, the upper floor focuses on club wear, grouping garments worn by ‘tribes’ such as Fetish, Goth, High Camp and the New Romantics and featuring clothes such as those worn by the likes of Boy George, Adam Ant and Leigh Bowery. The exhibition also includes a display of magazines of the time. Entry charge applies. Runs until 16th February, 2014. For more, see www.vam.ac.uk . Meanwhile, tomorrow (Friday) night the V&A will celebrate the 25th anniversary of designer Jenny Packham with a series of four free catwalk shows in its Raphael Gallery. Booking is essential. Head to the V&A website for details.
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Lost London – The Cockpit at Whitehall…
March 8, 2013
Once part of the Palace of Whitehall, the Cockpit (also referred to as Cockpit-in-Court or the Royal Cockpit) was initially built as a pit in which to watch cockfighting as part of renovations carried out by King Henry VIII after he “acquired” Cardinal Wolsey’s former property of York Place and before transforming it into a royal palace.
It was one of a number of entertainment related buildings constructed by the king in the new palace precinct – others included a real tennis court, bowling alley and a tiltyard.
By Jacobean times, the use of the octagonal-shaped cockpit – located between today’s Downing Street and Horse Guards Parade – had changed into that of a private royal theatre and in 1629 Inigo Jones was given the task of redesigning it to accommodate King Charles I’s elaborate court masques (Jones had previously redesigned the Cockpit Theatre in Drury Lane).
Following the Restoration in 1660, the Cockpit again returned to its use as a theatre and King Charles II had new dressing rooms added and the decor given an overhaul (the ever-present diarist Samuel Pepys was among those who attended theatrical presentations during this period and Ben Jonson among those whose work was presented here).
The theatre building is believed to have been demolished around 1675 and the site subsequently used to house government officials including those of the Foreign Office (see our earlier post here) and Privy Council.
In the 1730s, William Kent designed the building (which although since expanded and modified) now stands on the site and is currently the home of the Cabinet Office.
While the Cockpit is long gone, its name lives on in ‘Cockpit Passage’ – a gallery inside the Cabinet Office from where one could once watch tennis being played.
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Around London – Henry Stuart at the NPG; the Lord Mayor’s Show; prehistoric Japanese pots; and, photography at the National Gallery…
November 1, 2012
• The first ever exhibition focusing on Henry Stuart, older brother of King Charles I, has opened at the National Portrait Gallery. The Lost Prince: The Life and Death of Henry Stuart features more than 80 exhibits including paintings, miniatures, manuscripts, books and armour gathered from museums and personal collections around the UK and abroad – with some of the objects being displayed in public for the first time. Opened on 18th October – the 400th anniversary of the Prince’s death, among the paintings displayed in the exhibition are works by Holbein, Nicholas Hilliard and Isaac Oliver as well as Robert Peake as well as masque designs by Inigo Jones and poetry by Ben Jonson. Henry, Prince of Wales, was the eldest son of King James I and Queen Anne of Denmark, and died at the age of 18 of typhoid fever. As well as looking at his short life, the exhibition covers the extraordinary reaction to his premature death (and the end of hope that King Henry IX would sit next upon the throne). The exhibition runs until 13th January. An admission fee applies. For more, see www.npg.org.uk . PICTURE: Henry, Prince of Wales by Isaac Oliver, c. 1610-12; Copyright: The Royal Collection Photo: Supplied by Royal Collection Trust / © HM Queen Elizabeth II 2012
• The Lord Mayor’s Show – the largest unrehearsed procession in the world – will be held on 10th November. This year’s procession – celebrating the election of the 685th Lord Mayor of London, Alderman Roger Gifford – will feature more than 6,500 people winding their way through the City of London in a three-and-a-half mile-long display including 22 marching bands, 125 horses, 18 vintage cars, 21 carriages, an original American stagecoach, a Sherman tank, a steamroller and a Japanese Taiko drum band. While there will be no fireworks after this year’s parade, following the success of last year’s trial there will be an early morning flotilla with the Lord Mayor conveyed in the barge QRB Gloriana from Vauxhall up the Thames to HMS President, just below St Katharine Docks, from where he will make his way to the Mansion House to join the procession as it heads first to St Paul’s and then on to the Royal Courts of Justice before returning (via a different route). There are no grand stand seats left but plenty of places you can watch it for free (for a chance to win free Grandstand tickets, head to the Lord Mayor’s Show Facebook page and ‘like’ it). We’ll be talking about this more next week, but in the meantime, for maps and details of a new smart phone app, head to www.lordmayorsshow.org .
• Two prehistoric Japanese pots have gone on display at the British Museum. Loaned from the Nagaoka Municipal Science Museum, the pots date from the Middle Jomon period (3,500-2,500 BCE) and consist of a ‘flame’ and a ‘crown’ pot which were excavated in Nagaoka city. The pots form part of the Asahi Shimbun Displays in room 3 and will be there until 20th January. Meanwhile, continuing the Asian theme, an exhibition of more than 100 contemporary carved Chinese seals by artist Li Lanqing is on display in room 33 until 15th January. Admission to both is free. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org .
• On Now: Seduced by Art: Photography Past and Present. The National Gallery’s first major exhibition of photography, the display looks at the relationship between historical paintings and photography, both its early days in the mid-19th century and the work of contemporary photographers – in particular how photographers have used the traditions of fine art to “explore and justify” their own works. Almost 90 photographs are displayed alongside a select group of paintings for the show. Admission is free. Runs until 20th January in the Sainsbury Wing. For more, see www.nationalgallery.org.uk .
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10 Historic London Markets – 5. Covent Garden Market…
October 31, 2012
We’ve had a quick look at the origins of Covent Garden before (as part of our What’s in a name? series ) but it’s worth a recap.
Now a favorite of tourists visiting London, Covent Garden is these days largely known as a specialty shopping and entertainment precinct in the West End. But its beginnings as a market go back at least to the 1600s when a licence was formally granted to hold a market in the piazza.
The land had been formerly owned by the Abbey (or Convent) of St Peter in Westminster which had established 40 acre kitchen garden here (hence ‘Convent Garden’) and had passed into the hands of the Crown at the Dissolution. Later owned by the Earls of Bedford, it was the 4th earl, Francis Russell, who commissioned Inigo Jones to design a great residential square- including St Paul’s Church, known as the Actor’s Church – on the site.
By 1650, fruit and vegetable markets were regularly been held on the site and, interestingly, around this time the market adopted the pineapple, a symbol of wealth, as its emblem (it was also around this time that Punch and Judy shows were introduced to the area (see our earlier post on Mr Punch here )). Covent Garden’s rise to prominence as a market came when the Great Fire of London destroyed many of London’s other markets leaving it as the foremost fruit, vegetable and flower market. In May 1670, the 5th Earl of Bedford, William Russell (later 1st Duke of Bedford), obtained the formal right to hold a market on the site from King Charles II.
The growth of the market and the development of fashionable residential developments further west in Soho and Mayfair saw many of the affluent people who had lived around the market move out and the character of the square changed (in an indication of this, a list of Covent Garden prostitutes was published in 1740).
In 1813, the 6th Duke of Bedford, John Russell, secured an Act of Parliament regulating the market and in the late 1820s began to redevelop the site, commissioning architect Charles Fowler to design new buildings (up until then the market was housed in makeshift stalls and sheds). These include the grand main market building which still stands on the site today.
The market continued to grow – there is said to have been 1,000 porters employed at the market’s peak – and in 1860 a new flower market was built on the south piazza (where the London Transport Museum now stands), while in the 1870s, a glass roof was added to the market building. A “foreign” flower market opened in what is now Jubilee Hall in 1904.
In 1918, the Bedford family sold the market to the Covent Garden Estate Company. The next major installment in the market’s life came in 1974 when the market, which had outgrown the West End site, moved out to a new site in Nine Elms at Vauxhall in London’s inner south.
The Covent Garden site was left to fall into disrepair but, saved from demolition and redevelopment largely through the efforts of Geoffrey Rippon, then Secretary of State for the Environment, it subsequently underwent restoration, reopening as a speciality shopping centre in 1980 with areas including the Apple Market (pictured above), the East Colonnade Market and the Jubilee Market. Now owned by Capital & Counties who purchased it in 2006, the market – along with the larger 97 acre Covent Garden area – remain under the care of the Covent Garden Area Trust.
Meanwhile, the New Covent Garden Market at Nine Elms is these days the largest fruit, vegetable and flower market in the UK and boasts more than 200 businesses. There are currently plans to redevelop the 57 acre market site which will include providing more space for market tenants as well as new homes, shops and community facilities like parks.
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Covent Garden
WHERE: King Street, Covent Garden (nearest Tube stations are Covent Garden, Leicester Square and Embankment); WHEN: Public areas are open 24 hours; check with individual shops for opening times; COST: Free; WEBSITE: www.coventgardenlondonuk.com
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New Covent Garden Market
WHERE: New Covent Garden Market, Nine Elms, Vauxhall (nearest Tube station is Vauxhall); WHEN: The fruit and vegetable market’s core trading hours are between midnight and 6am, Monday to Saturday, while the flower market’s core trading hours are between 2am and 8am, Monday to Saturday (times may vary for individual businesses); COST: Free (charge for cars); WEBSITE: www.newcoventgardenmarket.com .
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Celebrating the Diamond Jubilee with 10 royal London locations – 9. Royal chapels…
June 13, 2012
Palaces aside, the Queen also owns a series of chapels – the Chapels Royal – in London which, although not as grand as Westminster Abbey, have each played an important role in the history of the monarchy.
The term Chapel Royal originally referred to a group of priests and singers dedicated to serving the Sovereign’s personal spiritual needs and as such would follow the monarch around the country. It was in Stuart times that they became more settled establishments with the two main Chapels Royal – the Chapel Royal and the Queen’s Chapel – located in St James’s Palace.
• The Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace. Constructed by King Henry VIII, the chapel was decorated by Hans Holbein the Younger in honor of the king’s (short) marriage to Anne of Cleves. Queen Mary I’s heart is said to be buried beneath the choir stalls and it was here that Queen Elizabeth I apparently prayed waiting for news of the progress of the Spanish Armada. King Charles I took the Sacrament of Holy Communion here before his execution in 1649 and the chapel was where Queen Victoria married Prince Albert (her marriage certificate still hangs on the wall). In more recent times, the coffin of Diana, Princess of Wales, was placed before the altar so family and friends could pay their respects before her 1997 funeral. Among the composers and organists associated with the chapel are Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, Henry Purcell and George Frideric Handel. The chapel is not open to the public except for services.
• The Queen’s Chapel, St James’ Palace (pictured right). Now located outside the palace walls, this chapel was built by King James I for the Catholic Henrietta Maria, the bride of his son, then Prince Charles (later King Charles I). Designed by Inigo Jones, Grinling Gibbons and Sir Christopher Wren were also involved in its creation. The chapel was used by Henrietta Maria until the Civil War and later became the home of the Danish Church in London. The chapel is not open to the public except for services.For more on this chapel or the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace, follow this link .
• The Queen’s Chapel of the Savoy. Built in the Middle Ages to serve the now long gone Savoy Palace, London home of Count Peter of Savoy (uncle to King Henry III’s wife, Eleanor of Provence, the original building was destroyed in the Peasant’s Revolt of 1381. The current building, located in Savoy Hill, off the Strand, was built on the orders of King Henry VII in the late 15th and early 16th century to serve the hospital he founded on the site of the palace. The chapel since served many other congregations – including a German Lutheran congregation – but remains royal property via the Duchy of Lancaster, which is held in trust for the Sovereign and used to provide an income for the British monarch. It is officially the Chapel of the Royal Victorian Order. For more, see www.duchyoflancaster.co.uk/duties-of-the-duchy/the-queens-chapel-of-the-savoy/ .
• Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace (pictured right). There has been a chapel here since the Knights Hospitallers occupied the site in the 13th century but it was Cardinal Wolsey who built the chapel to its present dimensions after acquiring the property in 1518. The current building, however, dates from the later ownership of King Henry VIII – Wolsey surrendered the property to him when he fell from favour – and further works in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Many subsequent monarchs have worshipped here. The chapel, with its stunning ceiling, is open to the public when visiting Hampton Court Palace. For more, see www.chapelroyal.org . PICTURE: Historic Royal Palaces/newsteam.co.uk
• The Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula, Tower of London. Originally a parish church, this was incorporated into the walls of the Tower in the reign of King Henry III. It was subsequently rebuilt at least twice – in the reign of King Edward I and King Henry VIII – and is home to the graves of important personages executed at the Tower including Henry VIII’s one-time wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard as well as Jane Grey, the nine day queen, and Sir Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher. The chapel can be accessed during a Yeoman Warder’s tour of the Tower of London. For more, including details of an appeal for its restoration, see www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/stories/thechapelproject .
• Chapel Royal of St John the Evangelist, Tower of London. Located within the White Tower, this beautiful chapel – arguably the oldest church in London – dates back to the construction of the tower by King William the Conqueror the late 11th century and remains one of the best preserved examples of Anglo-Norman architecture in England. King Henry III added stained glass windows but for much of its later history the chapel was used for records storage. Tradition records that King Henry VII’s wife, Elizabeth of York, was laid in state here following her death in childbirth and that it was here Queen Mary was betrothed by proxy to Philip of Spain. This can be visited as part of a visit to the Tower of London. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/Sightsandstories/Prisoners/Towers/ChapelofStJohns
For more on churches in London, check out Stephen Millar’s London’s City Churches
Treasures of London – The Banqueting House…
March 23, 2012
While we’ve looked at some of the history of the Banqueting House during last year’s special on King James I’s London , we thought we’d take a more in-depth look as part of our Treasures of London series…
A perfect double cube with a sumptuous painted ceiling, this early 17th century building is the only remaining complete structure from the Palace of Whitehall which was destroyed by fire in 1698.
The building replaced an earlier banqueting hall built on the orders of Queen Elizabeth I and another, shorter-lived hall, built by King James I, which was destroyed by fire in 1619.
Following its destruction, King James had Inigo Jones design a new hall to provide, as the previous hall had, a location for state occasions, plays and masques – something of a cross between an organised dance, an amateur theatrical performance and just a chance to dress up.
Jones, who partnered with Ben Jonson to produce masques, designed the hall – which has a length double the width – with these performances specifically in mind. The first one – Jones and Jonson’s Masque of Augurs – was performed on Twelfth Night, 1622, even before the building was completed (the last masque was performed here, incidentally, in 1635, after which, thanks they were moved to a purpose built structure nearby, ostensibly to save the newly installed paintings from being damaged by the smoke of torches – see below).
The incredible paintings on the ceilings, which celebrate the reign of King James I and will be the subject of their own Treasures of London article at a later date, were installed by March 1636. Produced by Flemish artist Sir Peter Paul Rubens, they had been commissioned by King Charles I, King James’ son, in commemoration of his father. Ironically, it was outside the building where the monarchy was so celebrated that King Charles I was beheaded in 1649 (this is marked in a ceremony held at the Banqueting House on 30th January each year).
Following the king’s execution, Whitehall Palace wasn’t used for several years until Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell took up residence there in 1654, using the Banqueting House as a hall if audience. It stood empty after Cromwell’s death in 1658 until the Restoration in 1660 when King Charles II again used it as a grand ceremonial hall for receiving foreign embassies and conducting court ceremonies (these including the ancient custom of what is known as ‘Touching for the King’s Evil’ to cure those afflicted with the disease of scrofula as well as the washing of the feet of the poor by the sovereign on Maundy Thursday.)
King James II was the last king to live at Whitehall Palace and during his reign, from 1685-88, it was used as a royal storehouse. But it was revived for formal use following his reign – it was here that King William III and Queen Mary II were officially offered the crown on 13th February, 1689.
During their reign, the court’s focus shifted to Kensington but the Banqueting House was used for Queen Mary to lay in state after her death in 1694.
Following the destruction of the remainder of Whitehall Palace in 1698 – the origins of this fire are apparently owed to a maid who had put some linen by a charcoal fire to dry – the Banqueting Hall was used briefly as a Chapel Royal and, following a renovation in the late 1700s, it was used for concerts and, from 1808, as a place of worship for the Horse Guards.
Further renovation works followed and in 1837, it was re-opened as a Chapel Royal and used as such until 1890 when this practice was formally discontinued. In 1893, Queen Victoria gave the Royal United Services Institute the use of the building as a museum – among the things displayed there were the skeleton of Napoleon’s horse, Marengo. In 1962, the exhibits were dispersed and the Banqueting House today is used for a range of royal, corporate and social events.
There is an undercroft underneath, designed as a place where King James I could enjoy drinking with his friends. It was later used for storage.
WHERE: Corner of Whitehall and Horse Guards Avenue (nearest Tube stations are Westminster and Embankment); WHEN: Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm; COST: £5 adults/£4 concessions/children under 16 free (Historic Royal Palaces members free); WEBSITE: www.hrp.org.uk/BanquetingHouse/ .
PICTURE: Courtesy of Historic Royal Palaces/newsteam.co.uk
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The Royal Parks – 6. Greenwich Park
November 2, 2011
The oldest of the royal parks, the 74 hectare (183 acre) Greenwich Park has been associated with royalty since at least the 15th century.
The area covered by the park had been occupied by the Romans (there are some remains of a building, possibly a temple, near Maze Hill Gate) and later the Danes, who raised protective earthworks here in the 11th century. After the Norman Conquest, it became a manor.
Its enclosure only happened in 1433 after the land came into the possession of Humphrey of Lancaster, Duke of Gloucester and brother of King Henry V. At the time regent to the young King Henry VI, Duke Humphrey also built a tower on the heights above the park – where the Royal Observatory now stands.
Following the duke’s death in 1447, the land was seized by Margaret of Anjou – wife of King Henry VI – and subsequently became known as the Manor of Placentia. King Henry VII later rebuilt the manor house, creating what was known as Greenwich Palace or the Palace of Placentia.
Not surprisingly, it was King Henry VIII, who, having been born at Greenwich Palace, introduced deer to the park. Indeed the park was to have strong associations with others in his family – the king married Catherine of Aragorn and Anne of Cleeves at Greenwich Palace, and his daughters, later Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I, were born there while his son, King Edward VI, died there in 1553 at the age of only 15. (There’s a tree in the park known as Queen Elizabeth’s Oak, which is said to be where she played as a child).
In 1613, King James I gave the palace and accompanying park – which he had enclosed with a high wall – to his wife, Queen Anne of Denmark, apparently as an apology after swearing at her in public when she accidentally shot one of his favorite dogs. Queen Anne subsequently commissioned Inigo Jones to design what is now known as the Queen’s House – for more on that, see our earlier post .
Following the Restoration, King Charles II ordered the palace rebuilt and while this work remained unfinished, the king did succeed in having the park remodelled – it is believed that Andre Le Notre, gardener to King Louis XIV of France, had a role in this.
The works included cutting a series of terraces into the slope – these were known as the Great Steps and lined with hawthorn hedges – as well as creating a formal avenue of chestnut trees (now known as Blackheath Avenue), and some woodlands. Work is currently taking place on restoring an orchard which dates from 1666 at the park.
King Charles II also commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to build the Royal Observatory that still stands on the hill overlooking the park – it stands on the site once occupied by the Duke Humphrey Tower (the Royal Observatory is home of the Prime Meridian – see our earlier post on the Royal Observatory for more).
King James II was the last monarch to use the palace and park – his daughter Queen Mary II donated the palace for use as a hospital for veteran sailors and the park was opened to the pensioners in the early 1700s. The hospital later become the Royal Naval College and the National Maritime Museum later moved onto the site (for more on this, see our earlier post ).
As an aside, Royal Parks say the truncated shape of some of the trees in the park is apparently due to the fact that when anti-aircraft guns were positioned in the flower garden during World War II, the trees had to be trimmed to ensure a clear field of fire.
Facilities in the park today include a tea house, a children’s playground, sporting facilities such as tennis courts and, of course, the Wilderness Deer Park where you can see wildlife at large. Statues include that of Greenwich resident General James Wolfe, an instrumental figure in establishing British rule in Canada – it sits on the crest of the hill opposite the Royal Observatory looking down towards the Thames.
The park, which is part of the Greenwich World Heritage Site, is slated as a venue for next year’s Olympics – it will host equestrian events and the shooting and running events of the pentathlon.
WHERE: Greenwich Park (nearest DLR station is Cutty Sark – other nearby stations include Greenwich, Maze Hill and Blackheath); WHEN: 6am to at least 6pm (closing times vary depending on the month); COST: Free entry; WEBSITE: www.royalparks.gov.uk/Greenwich-Park.aspx
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King James I’s London – 6. The Queen’s House, Greenwich
May 18, 2011
Long an admired landmark of Greenwich, the origins of the Queen’s House go back to the reign of King James I.
It was the Queen, Anne of Denmark, who commissioned the building of The Queen’s House in 1616 and gave it the name by which it is still known. Sadly, however, she died before it was completed.
King James I was said to have been a frequent visitor to the Tudor Palace of Greenwich (the building had earlier been known as the Palace of Placentia and was the birthplace of King Henry VIII in 1491).
King James is traditionally said to have awarded the Manor of Greenwich to Queen Anne as an apology after he had publicly sworn at her when she had accidentally shot one of his favorite hunting dogs.
In 1616, Queen Anne decided to build a new property on the site as both a private retreat and a place where she could entertain and it was to the rising star Inigo Jones that she turned to for the design (in recognition of his growing status, he was appointed Surveyor of the King’s Works the following year).
The house was Jones’ most important job to date and the design he came up – based on a H with the two sides joined by a bridge over the Greenwich to Woolwich road – with is said to be the first Classical building in England.
Among the original features which survive to this day are the striking black and white geometrically patterned marble floor of the Great Hall (the room having been designed as a perfect cube), the painted ceiling of the Queen’s Presence Chamber and the iron balustrade the Tulip Stairs – said to be the first “geometric self-supporting spiral stair in Britain”.
Queen Anne became ill in 1618 and died the following year without seeing the end result of her commission. The work subsequently was shelved and only restarted (and completed in 1638) after King Charles I gave it to his wife, Queen Henrietta Maria.
She only had possession for a short time before Parliamentary forces seized it during the Civil War. After the Restoration, the Queen’s House was returned briefly to her by her son King Charles II (it was at this time that the original H-shape of the house was altered to a square) before part of it as later used as studio for painters and then as grace and favor apartments.
With the Old Royal Naval College now occupying the surrounding site, in 1805, King George III gave the property to the Royal Naval Asylum – a charity caring for the orphan children of seamen – and it later became part of the Royal Hospital School.
The National Maritime Museum took possession in 1934 and the building now houses the National Martime Museum’s collection of fine art. As an interesting aside, there have been several reported sightings of ghosts in the house, the latest as recently as 2002.
WHERE: The Queen’s House, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich (nearest DLR station is Cutty Sark); WHEN: 10am to 5pm daily (check website for closures); COST: Free; WEBSITE: www.nmm.ac.uk/places/queens-house
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King James I’s London – The Banqueting House
March 23, 2011
This year marks 400 years since the creation of the King James Bible (it was completed in 1611). So, in a new special Wednesday series, we’re taking a look at London during the reign of King James I (he’s the one who commissioned the Bible). First up in our list of some of the key sites from his reign in 1603 to 1625, is the Banqueting House in Whitehall.
All that’s left of the Palace of Whitehall after a fire destroyed the rest in 1698, the Banqueting House was completed towards the end of King James I’s reign in 1622. In a sharp break from the fiddly Elizabethan architecture found in the remainder of the palace, the Banqueting House was the first building in central London which paid homage to the plainer Palladian style, brought back from Italy by ‘starchitect’ Inigo Jones.
The three floor Banqueting House replaced an earlier banqueting house which, funnily enough, had been destroyed by fire only a few years earlier. The new building was built to host royal ceremonies such as the reception of ambassadors and, most importantly, performances of court masques, which at the time were growing in sophistication and were being designed to communicate to audiences messages about the Stuart concept of kingship.
The building is centred on a “double cube” room – a hall built so that its length is exactly double its width and height. The great chamber also features a balcony believed to have been created not for ministrels but as a space for an audience to watch the proceedings going on below.
It should be noted that the massive ceiling paintings were added after King James I’s death – it was his ill-fated son, King Charles I, who commissioned Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens to paint them around 1630 (they were in place by March, 1636). It was, incidentally, from one of the windows in the Banqueting House that King Charles I stepped out onto a scaffold and had his head cut off – although that was in 1649, long after the era we’re focusing on here.
Inigo Jones and Ben Jonson’s Masque of Augurs was the first masque performed here in 1622, even before the building was complete. The last was Sir William Davenant’s The Temple of Love in 1635 after which the masques were stopped, apparently because the torches typically used to illuminate them would cause smoke damage to the paintings now on the ceiling.
WHERE: The Banqueting House, Whitehall (nearest tube station is Westminster); WHEN: 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday (check website for closing dates as the hall is used for functions) ; COST: £5 an adult/£4 concessions/children under 16 free; WEBSITE: www.hrp.org.uk/BanquetingHouse/
PICTURE: Wikipedia
| 1573 1652 |
What was founded by Mary Baker Eddy in 1879? | Inigo Jones | Exploring London
Exploring London
10 sites commemorating the Great Fire of London – 5. Paternoster Square Column…
September 7, 2016
Located just to the north of St Paul’s Cathedral can be found Paternoster Square in the centre of which stands a column.
The 75 foot (23.3 metre) tall Corinthian column of Portland stone, which was designed by Whitfield Architects and erected in 2003, is topped by a gold leaf covered flaming copper urn which is lit up at night.
While it has been said that the column is “purely decorative”, the developers of Paternoster Square claim on their website that it actually serves several purposes in this case including both commemorative and practical.
Not only is it part of the ventilation system for the carpark underneath, they say its design is apparently a recreation of columns designed by Inigo Jones for the west portico of Old St Paul’s Cathedral.
And then there’s the three metre high urn on top which, not unlike that found on The Monument, they say commemorates the fact the site of the square has twice been destroyed by fire – the first time in the Great Fire of 1666 and the second in the Blitz during World War II.
The area around Paternoster Square was once home to booksellers and publishers’ warehouses.
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10 sites commemorating the Great Fire of London – 4. St Paul’s ‘Resurgam’…
August 31, 2016
Old St Paul’s Cathedral was certainly the largest and most famous casualty of the Great Fire of London of 1666. And its passing – and rebirth – is recorded on several memorials, one of which can be found on the building itself.
Set on the pediment which, carved by Caius Gabriel Cibber, sits above south portico off Cannon Street, the memorial depicts a phoenix rising from clouds of smoke (ashes), a symbol of Sir Christopher Wren’s new cathedral which rose on the site of the old Cathedral in the wake of the fire. Below the phoenix is the Latin word, ‘Resurgam’, meaning “I Shall Rise Again”.
The story goes that Wren had this carved after, having called for a stone to mark the exact position over which St Paul’s mighty dome would rise, the architect was shown a fragment of one of the church’s tombstones which had been inscribed with the word.
The foundation stone for the new cathedral, largely built of Portland stone, was laid without any fanfare on 21st June, 1675, and it only took some 35 years before it was largely completed. Some of the stonework from the old cathedral was used in the construction of the new.
We should note that the old cathedral was in a state of some disrepair when the fire swept through it – the spire had collapsed in 1561 and despite the addition of a new portico by Inigo Jones, it was generally in poor condition.
Stonework from the Old St Paul’s – everything from a Viking grave marker to 16th century effigies – are now stored in the Triforium, rarely open to the public (tours of the Triforium are being run as part of the programme of events being held at the cathedral to mark the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire – see www.stpauls.co.uk/fire for more).
PICTURE: [email protected] /CC BY-NC 2.0 (image cropped)
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Lost London – Inigo Jones’ Grand Portico on Old St Paul’s Cathedral…
July 31, 2015
A short-lived addition to Old St Paul’s Cathedral before it burned down in the Great Fire of 1666, the classical-style portico was designed by Inigo Jones as part of makeover King James I ordered him to give the cathedral in the first half of the 17th century.
St Paul’s, which was completed in the early 14th century in the Early English Gothic style (see our post here for more on its earlier history), had fallen into a state of disrepair by the 1620s, thanks in part to a fire caused by lightning which had brought the spire – 489 feet (149 metres) high when built – crashing down through the nave roof in 1561.
The spire wasn’t rebuilt and repair works undertaken to the cathedral roof were apparently shoddy, meaning that by the early 1600s, things were in a parlous state.
Jones started work in the 1620s, cleaning and repairing the massive structure and adding a layer of limestone masonry over the exterior to give the building a more classical look inspired by the temples of ancient Rome he had seen in that city and in Naples and the work of Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio.
This was complemented by the grand portico he added to the west front in the 1630s (and which was paid for by King James’ son, King Charles I). Featuring 10 columns across its breadth and four deep (these, it has been suggested, stood about 45 feet tall), it was topped by a frieze of lions’ heads and foliage with plans for a series of statues which some say were to be saints and others kings to be placed along the top (in the end only statues of King Charles I and King James I were ever placed there). The facade also featured turrets at either side.
Work on the repairs came to a halt in 1642 thanks to the Civil War, during which Parliamentarian forces famously used the cathedral’s great nave for stables.
Following the Restoration in 1660, with Jones now dead (he died in 1652), Sir Christopher Wren was invited by King Charles II to restore the grand old building but Sir Christopher proposed it be demolished instead, a decision which lead to an outcry among London’s citizens.
Wren then changed his plans to instead restore the existing build but replace the spire with a dome. His scaffolding was in place around the cathedral when the Great Fire broke out in 1666 and badly damaged the building (although the portico apparently remained standing until 1687-88 when Sir Christopher had it demolished to make way for his new western front).
Interestingly, it is said Wren used blocks from the portico to create the foundations for the building which now stands on the site.
PICTURE: Wenceslaus Hollar’s rendering of Inigo Jones’ West Portico/Wikipedia
For more on the history of St Paul’s Cathedral see Ann Saunders’ St Paul’s Cathedral: 1,400 Years at the Heart of London
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What’s in a name?…Drury Lane…
July 20, 2015
Famous for its associations with London’s theatreland, Drury Lane takes its name from the Drury family who once owned a mansion here.
Previously known as the Via de Aldwych (apparently for a stone monument the Aldwych Cross which stood at the street’s northern end), Drury Lane – which runs between High Holborn and Aldwych – was renamed after Drury House which was built at the southern end of the street.
Some accounts suggest it was Sir Robert Drury (1456-1535), an MP and lawyer, who built the property around 1500; others say it was his son, Sir William Drury, also an MP and a Privy Councillor, who did so in around 1600 – which may mean there were two versions of the one property.
The street, meanwhile, is said to have been briefly renamed Prince’s Street during the reign of King James I (1603-1625) but, following the Restoration in 1660, the name Drury once more gained supremacy.
The origins of the street’s famous theatre (London’s oldest), the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, dates from the same year (see our earlier post here ). Other theatres in the street included the Cockpit Theatre which had been designed at one stage by Inigo Jones.
The street is also famous for being the site of the worst outbreak of the plague in London – the Great Plague of 1665, burned away the following year by the Great Fire – and by the 18th century was a slum noted for its seediness, in particular for prostitution (it features in William Hogarth’s work The Harlot’s Progress).
This didn’t change until the second half of the 19th century – author Charles Dickens had been among others who had commented on the poverty he had seen there – when gentrification took hold. Among the shops opened there during this time was the first Sainsbury’s, founded at number 173 in 1869.
Alongside the Theatre Royal Drury Lane (although the main entrance is in Catherine Street), other theatres in the street today include the New London Theatre and the London Theatre.
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10 sites from London at the time of the Magna Carta – 9. Old St Paul’s Cathedral…
July 8, 2015
The first great stone cathedral on the site where Sir Christopher Wren’s St Paul’s now stands was a relative – and as yet incomplete – newcomer in 1215. Construction on it had started more than 120 years before in 1087 but it eventually took more than 200 years to finish.
It was Bishop Maurice, chaplain to William the Conqueror (he donated some Caen stone for its construction), who began the project after the previous wooden Saxon church on the site – the latest in a succession of them dating back to the 7th century – had been destroyed by fire (although it was under successor Bishop Richard de Beaumis that work began to really take shape).
The first part of the building to be completed was the quire in 1148 – its opening was delayed by another fire in 1135 caused during civil unrest following the death of King Henry I – but it wasn’t until after the Magna Carta’s advent – in 1240 – that the church was eventually consecrated by Bishop Roger Niger.
Originally designed in the Norman Romanesque-style, the architectural style changed during the building process into the Early English Gothic style.
Enlarged and renovated several times since construction began, it wasn’t fully completed until the 14th century – when it was the largest church in England and the third largest in Europe featuring the tallest steeple, built in 1221, and spire, built in 1315, ever built (that is, until 1561 when it was knocked down by lightning).
It later contained a number of important relics including the arms of Mellitus, the first bishop of London (see our earlier post on him here ), St Mary Magdalene’s hair, the head of King Ethelbert and, importantly for the time, some pieces from the skull of St Thomas á Becket. Among the tombs inside the emerging church in 1215 were those of Sebba, King of the East Saxons, who had been buried in the north aisle in 695, and that of King Ethelred “The Unready”.
While the exterior was remodelled in the early 17th century – including the addition of a monumental new porch by architect Inigo Jones – the medieval building remained standing until the Great Fire of 1666.
LondonLife – The Queen’s House set to be given a makeover ahead of 400th anniversary…
April 28, 2015
Greenwich icon, the Queen’s House, is set to close on 27th July this year to allow for refurbishment and upgrade ahead of the 400th anniversary of its commissioning and design in 2016. The landmark will be closed until 4th July, 2016, after which those visiting the house will be able to see Orazio Gentileschi’s Biblically-themed painting, Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife, displayed in the building for the first time since 1650. Part of the Royal Collection, the painting was one of a series commissioned for the building by King Charles I and his wife Queen Henrietta Maria. The Queen’s House was designed by Inigo Jones in 1616 for King James I’s wife, Anne of Denmark, and, acknowledged as a masterpiece of 17th century architecture, was the first classically-designed building in country. The makeover will see galleries refurbished, the introduction of new displays and the restoration of components including the ceiling in the King’s Presence Chamber (the Queen’s Presence Chamber was restored in 2013). For more, see www.rmg.co.uk .
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8 structures from the London that never was – 4. Whitehall Palace (remodelled)…
November 26, 2014
Still on designs for royal palaces and today we’re looking at two designs for the same palace. Both Inigo Jones (1573-1652) and Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723) drew up designs for the remodelling and expansion of Whitehall Palace.
First up was the neo-classical architect Jones who drew up plans for a vast complex of buildings (pictured left) which would replace the Tudor palace King Henry VIII had created when he transformed the grand house formerly known as York Place into a residence suitable for a king (York Place had previously been a residence of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey and prior to that, the London residence of the Archbishops of York).
Jones’ complex – which apparently featured seven internal courts – covered much of what is now known as Whitehall as well as neighbouring St James’s Park with a magnificent River Thames frontage.
The first part of Jones’ grand scheme – the Banqueting House (see our earlier post here ) – opened in 1622. It still survives today – pictured above – and gives a taste of the grandeur of his overall scheme.
Yet, despite the eagerness of King James I for the project, it failed to materialise. English Heritage chief executive Simon Thurley told the BBC in 2012 that the hall represented only five per cent of what Jones had planned.
King James I died in 1625 and his son King Charles I was apparently keen to continue the project – so much so that Jones submitted new plans in 1638 – but he didn’t find the funds the project needed (and, of course, as we know, then became consumed by the events of the Civil War before being beheaded outside the Banqueting House in 1649).
Following the Restoration, in the 1660s King Charles II apparently had Sir Christopher Wren quietly draw up plans to redevelop the palace but these weren’t follow through on although during the reign of King James II he did work on several projects at the palace including a new range of royal riverside apartments, terrace (remains of which can still be seen) and a chapel.
In 1698, much of the bloated Whitehall Palace – then the largest palace in Europe with more than 1,500 rooms – burnt down although the Banqueting House, though damaged, survived basically intact (in fact there’s an interesting anecdote, its veracity questionable, which has it that on hearing of the fire Wren rushed to the site and had an adjacent building blown up to create a firebreak and ensure the Banqueting House was saved).
The then king, King William III, approached Wren and he again submitted plans for its rebuilding (prior to the fire, he had already worked on several aspects of the palace including a new range of royal apartments and a chapel for King James II).
But Wren’s plans – images show a grand domed building – were largely never realised (although he did convert the Banqueting House into a chapel) and the destroyed palace never rebuilt (no doubt in large part due to the fact that King William III preferred a more rural and less damp location – such as that of Kensington Palace – thanks to his asthma).
For more on the history of the Palace of Whitehall, see Simon Thurley’s Whitehall Palace: The Official Illustrated History
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What’s in a name?…Chancery Lane
October 6, 2014
This central London street, which runs between Fleet Street and High Holborn, has long been associated with the law and government, and still is so today with the Royal Courts of Justice standing close to its southern end and Lincoln’s Inn – one of the four Inns of Court – located on the lane’s western side.
Its name is a corruption of the original Chancellor Lane – a moniker which apparently dates back to at least the 14th century – and which referred to the buildings where the official documents of the Lord Chancellor’s Office, known as the Rolls of the Court of Chancellory (Chancery), were stored.
The street was apparently first known as New Street and later as Converts Lane; the latter in reference to the House of Converts (Domus Conversorum) King Henry III founded here in the 1272 for the conversion of Jews to Christianity.
When King Edward I expelled all the Jews from the kingdom in 1290, the ‘house’ continued in use as such for foreign-born Jews, albeit with very small numbers of residents until the early 17th century.
In the meantime, in 1377 King Edward III gave orders that the complex of buildings used by the Domus Conversorum also be given over to the Master of the Rolls for the storage of chancellory documents and it was this move which led to the lane gaining its new name.
The buildings – which included a chapel which had become known as the Chapel of the Master of the Rolls or the simply the Rolls Chapel which had been rebuilt several times including to the designs of 17th century architect Inigo Jones – were finally demolished around the turn of the 20th century and subsumed into the Public Records Office complex on Chancery Lane (this was formerly housed in what is now the Maughan Library of King’s College London).
The lane these days is also home to such august institutions as The Law Society and the London Silver Vaults. It also lends its name to an Underground Station located to the east of the lane entrance in High Holborn.
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10 sites from Shakespearean London – 6. Shakespearean connections in the Elizabethan world: The George Inn and Middle Temple Hall…
July 9, 2014
Today we’re taking a look at a couple of still extant London buildings which have strong associations with playwright William Shakespeare…
• The George Inn, Southwark. Located at 75-77 Borough High Street, the George Inn is London’s last remaining galleried inn. The current building has its origins in the late 17th century after the original inn, which can be traced back to at least the mid-1500s – was destroyed in a fire in 1676. Now owned by the National Trust , it is leased out and remains open as a public house – part of the Greene King chain. While its known for its connections with 19th century writer Charles Dickens – he was a patron of this establishment and mentions it in Little Dorrit (a fact we mentioned in our series on Dickens back in 2012), the inn (or at least the previous version of it) also has Shakespearean connections with its prime Southwark location meaning it’s quite possible Shakespeare himself may have visited. Whether that’s the case or not, it is known that the premises served at time as a theatre of sorts in his day with acting troops performing in the courtyard while audience members could stand in the courtyard and watch or pay extra for a seat in the gallery. For more on the inn, see www.gkpubs.co.uk/pubs-in-london/the-george-inn-pub/ .
• Middle Temple Hall. Built between 1562 and 1573 by Edmund Plowden (memorialised with monuments in both the hall and nearby Temple Church), this magnificent Tudor hall has survived both the Great Fire of London and the Blitz and continues to serve the legal profession today. It too was used as a theatre/concert hall in Elizabethan times and later as a site for Inigo Jones’ masques but in terms of the Shakespearean connection, it is known for being where the first recorded performance of Twelfth Night took place – on the night of Candlemas (2nd February) 1602. The Lord Chamberlain’s Men performed the play and it is thought that Shakespeare himself was among the players. For more on the hall, which is only rarely opened to the public, you can visit our earlier posts here and (on ‘Drake’s Cupboard) here or the official website at www.middletemple.org.uk/home/ .
For more on the George Inn, check out Pete Brown’s social history Shakespeare’s Local: Six Centuries of History Seen Through One Extraordinary Pub
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10 significant sites from Georgian London – 8. Marble Hill House…
April 16, 2014
A Palladian villa located on the bank of the Thames between Richmond and Twickenham, Marble Hill House was built in the mid to late 172os for Henrietta Howard, mistress of King George II and later Countess of Suffolk.
The symmetrical property – seen as a model for later Georgian-era villas in both England and overseas – was constructed by Roger Morris. He, along with Henry Herbert – a friend of the countess and later the 9th Earl of Pembroke – was also involved in its design as was Colen Campbell, architect to the Prince of Wales and future King George II, who is believed to have drawn up the first sketch designs for the house.
As well as being familiar with the work of neo-Palladian Inigo Jones, Lord Herbert had travelled in Italy and there is it believed had directly encountered the works of sixteenth century Italian architect Andrea Palladio whose architecture the property emulated (see our earlier post on Chiswick House here ).
Key rooms include the ‘great room’ – a perfect cube, this is the central room of the house and boasts a wealth of gilded carvings; the dining parlour which had hand-painted Chinese wallpaper; and, Lady Suffolk’s rather sparsely furnished but nonetheless impressive, bedchamber.
Howard, who as well as being a mistress of King George II both before and after his accession to the throne in 1727, was a Woman of the Bedchamber to his wife, Queen Caroline of Ansbach, and, as a result, initially spent little time at the property (which coincidentally was built using money the King had given her while he was still Prince of Wales).
But after she become the Countess of Suffolk in 1731 when her estranged husband Charles Howard became 9th Earl of Suffolk after his brothers’ deaths, Lady Suffolk was appointed Mistress of the Robes, and following the death of her husband in 1733, retired from court.
In 1735 following the end of her intimate relationship with the King, she married a second time, this time happily, to George Berkeley, younger brother of the 3rd Earl of Berkeley and an MP. Together the new couple split their time between a house in Savile Row and Marble Hill. Her husband died in 1746 and Lady Suffolk, who had come to be considered a very “model of decorum”, died at Marble Hill in 1767.
Among the visitors who had spent time at the property were poet and neighbour Alexander Pope (responsible for the design of the grounds along with royal landscape gardener Charles Bridgeman), writer and satirist Jonathan Swift, and, in Lady Suffolk’s later years, Horace Walpole – son of PM Sir Robert Walpole and builder of the Gothic masterpiece Strawberry Hill.
Following Lady Suffolk’s death, later residents of the property included another Royal Mistress – Mrs Fitzherbert, mistress to the future King George IV, Swedenborgian Charles Augustus Tulk and Jonathan Peel, brother of Sir Robert Peel (you can read more about Sir Robert Peel here ).
Following the latter’s death, the house stood empty for many years before publication of plans for a redevelopment by then owner William Cunard caused a public outcry which saw the property pass into the hands of the London County Council around the year 1900.
The house opened to the public as a tea room in 1903 and remained as such until the mid-1960s when, now in the hands of the Greater London Council, it underwent a major restoration project and was reopened as a museum. In 1996, the house – which now stands on 66 acres and can be seen in a much lauded view from Richmond Hill – came into the care of English Heritage.
The grounds – Marble Hill Park – are open to the public for free and include a cafe located in the former coach house. Other features in the grounds include Lady Suffolk’s Grotto – pictured above – based on one at Pope’s residence nearby. It was restored after being rediscovered in the 1980s.
WHERE: Marble Hill House, Richmond Road, Twickenham (nearest Tub-e station is Richmond (1 miles) or train stations at St Margaret’s or Twickenham); WHEN: Various times Saturday and Sunday – entry to the house by guided tour only; COST: £5.90 adults/£3.50 children (5-15 years)/£5.30 concession/£15.30 family; WEBSITE: www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/marble-hill-house/ .
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Famous Londoners – Ben Jonson…
November 25, 2013
Often noted as the second greatest English dramatist of his generation (after that Shakespeare guy), the playwright Ben Jonson stands tall in his own right as one of the leading literary figures of the late 16th and early 17th century.
Born in 1572, Jonson was educated at Westminster School in London and possibly went on to Cambridge before he started work as a bricklayer with his stepfather and later served as a soldier, fighting with English troops in The Netherlands.
It was on his return to London that he ventured into acting – among his early roles was Hieronimo in Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedie – and by 1597 he was employed as a playwright.
While one of his early play-writing efforts (The Isle of Dogs, co-written with Thomas Nashe) led to a term of imprisonment in Marshalsea Prison in 1597 (he was also briefly imprison about this time for killing another actor in a duel, escaping a death sentence by pleading “benefit of the clergy”), the following year – 1598 – the production of his play Every Man In His Humour established his reputation as a dramatist. Shakespeare, whom some suggest was a key rival of Jonson’s during his career – is said to have been among the actors who performed in it.
Further plays followed including Every Man Out Of His Humour (1599), his only tragedy Sejanus (1603), the popular Volpone (1606) and The Alchemist (1610), and Bartholomew Fair (1614) and it was during these years, particularly following the accession of King James I in 1603, that he became an important figure at the royal court).
His political views continued to cause trouble at times – he was again imprisoned in the early 1600s for his writings and was questioned over the Gunpowder Plot after apparently attending an event attended by most of those later found to be co-conspirators – but his move into writing masques for the royal court – saw his star continue to rise.
All up he wrote more than 20 masques for King James and Queen Anne of Denmark including Oberon, The Faery Prince which featured the young Prince Henry, eldest son of King James, in the title role. Many of these masques saw him working with architect Inigo Jones, who designed extravagant sets for the masques, but their relationship was tense at times.
In 1616 – his reputation well established – Jonson was given a sizeable yearly pension (some have concluded that as a result he was informally the country’s first Poet Laureate) and published his first collection of works the following year. Noted for his wit, he was also known to have presided over a gathering of his friends and admirers at The Mermaid Tavern and later at the Devil’s Tavern at 2 Fleet Street (Shakespeare was among those he verbally jousted with).
Jonson spent more than a year in his ancestral home of Scotland around 1618 but on his return to London, while still famous, he no longer saw the same level of success as he had earlier – particularly following the death of King James and accession of his son, King Charles I, in 1625.
Jonson married Anne Lewis – there is a record of such a couple marrying at St Magnus-the-Martyr church near London Bridge in 1594 – but their relationship certainly wasn’t always smooth sailing for they spent at least five years of their marriage living separately. It’s believed he had several children, two of whom died while yet young.
Jonson, meanwhile, continued to write up until his death on 6th August, 1637, and is buried in Westminster Abbey (he’s the only person buried upright in the abbey – apparently due to his poverty at the time of his death).
For an indepth look at the life of Ben Jonson, check out Ian Donaldson’s Ben Jonson: A Life
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Around London: Masques of the Stuart Court; saving London’s heritage; IEDs at the NAM; and, Eighties fashion at the V&A…
July 18, 2013
• The sights and sounds of the elaborate masques of the early Stuart Court – described as a cross between a ball, an amateur theatrical, and a fancy dress party – are being recreated at the Banqueting House in Whitehall. Historic Royal Palaces have joined with JB3 Creative to create an “immersive theatrical experience” for visitors to the building – one of the last surviving parts of the Palace of Whitehall – with the chance to try on costumes, learn a masque dance and witness performance rehearsals for Tempe Restored, last performed in the building in 1632. Inigo Jones will be ‘present’ as masque designer to talk about his vision for the performance. Weekends will also see musicians performing period music and on 27th July there will be a one-off evening event at the Banqueting House based on Tempe Restored. Admission charge applies. Performing for the King opens tomorrow and runs until 1st September. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/BanquetingHouse/ . PICTURE: HPR/newsteam.
• A new exhibition looking at how some of London’s great Georgian and Victorian buildings were lost to bombs and developers before, after and during World War II – and how people such as poet John Betjeman campaigned to save them – opened in the Quadriga Gallery at Wellington Arch near Hyde Park Corner yesterday. Pride and Prejudice: The Battle for Betjeman’s Britain features surviving fragments and rare photographs of some of the “worst heritage losses” of the mid-20th century. They include Robert Adam’s Adelphi Terrace (1768-72) near the Strand, the Pantheon entertainment rooms (1772) on Oxford Street, and Euston Arch (1837). The English Heritage exhibition runs until 15th September. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/wellington-arch/ .
• IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) will be ‘uncovered’ in a new exhibition opening tomorrow at the National Army Museum. Unseen Enemy will tell the stories of the men and women in Afghanistan who search for, make safe and deal with the impact of the IEDs through personal interviews, images and mementoes. The exhibition has been developed with “unprecedented access” from the British Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy and will include a range of equipment used in detecting and disarming the devices, such as bombsuits and robots as well as medical equipment used to help those injured in explosions. The exhibition is free. For more, see www.nam.ac.uk .
• On Now: Club to Catwalk – London Fashion in the 1980s. This exhibition at the V&A explores the “creative explosion” of London fashion during the decade and features more than 85 outfits by designers including John Galliano, Vivienne Westwood and Katherine Hamnett as well as accessories by designers such as Stephen Jones and Patrick Cox. While the ground floor gallery focuses on young fashion designers who found themselves on the world stage, the upper floor focuses on club wear, grouping garments worn by ‘tribes’ such as Fetish, Goth, High Camp and the New Romantics and featuring clothes such as those worn by the likes of Boy George, Adam Ant and Leigh Bowery. The exhibition also includes a display of magazines of the time. Entry charge applies. Runs until 16th February, 2014. For more, see www.vam.ac.uk . Meanwhile, tomorrow (Friday) night the V&A will celebrate the 25th anniversary of designer Jenny Packham with a series of four free catwalk shows in its Raphael Gallery. Booking is essential. Head to the V&A website for details.
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Lost London – The Cockpit at Whitehall…
March 8, 2013
Once part of the Palace of Whitehall, the Cockpit (also referred to as Cockpit-in-Court or the Royal Cockpit) was initially built as a pit in which to watch cockfighting as part of renovations carried out by King Henry VIII after he “acquired” Cardinal Wolsey’s former property of York Place and before transforming it into a royal palace.
It was one of a number of entertainment related buildings constructed by the king in the new palace precinct – others included a real tennis court, bowling alley and a tiltyard.
By Jacobean times, the use of the octagonal-shaped cockpit – located between today’s Downing Street and Horse Guards Parade – had changed into that of a private royal theatre and in 1629 Inigo Jones was given the task of redesigning it to accommodate King Charles I’s elaborate court masques (Jones had previously redesigned the Cockpit Theatre in Drury Lane).
Following the Restoration in 1660, the Cockpit again returned to its use as a theatre and King Charles II had new dressing rooms added and the decor given an overhaul (the ever-present diarist Samuel Pepys was among those who attended theatrical presentations during this period and Ben Jonson among those whose work was presented here).
The theatre building is believed to have been demolished around 1675 and the site subsequently used to house government officials including those of the Foreign Office (see our earlier post here) and Privy Council.
In the 1730s, William Kent designed the building (which although since expanded and modified) now stands on the site and is currently the home of the Cabinet Office.
While the Cockpit is long gone, its name lives on in ‘Cockpit Passage’ – a gallery inside the Cabinet Office from where one could once watch tennis being played.
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Around London – Henry Stuart at the NPG; the Lord Mayor’s Show; prehistoric Japanese pots; and, photography at the National Gallery…
November 1, 2012
• The first ever exhibition focusing on Henry Stuart, older brother of King Charles I, has opened at the National Portrait Gallery. The Lost Prince: The Life and Death of Henry Stuart features more than 80 exhibits including paintings, miniatures, manuscripts, books and armour gathered from museums and personal collections around the UK and abroad – with some of the objects being displayed in public for the first time. Opened on 18th October – the 400th anniversary of the Prince’s death, among the paintings displayed in the exhibition are works by Holbein, Nicholas Hilliard and Isaac Oliver as well as Robert Peake as well as masque designs by Inigo Jones and poetry by Ben Jonson. Henry, Prince of Wales, was the eldest son of King James I and Queen Anne of Denmark, and died at the age of 18 of typhoid fever. As well as looking at his short life, the exhibition covers the extraordinary reaction to his premature death (and the end of hope that King Henry IX would sit next upon the throne). The exhibition runs until 13th January. An admission fee applies. For more, see www.npg.org.uk . PICTURE: Henry, Prince of Wales by Isaac Oliver, c. 1610-12; Copyright: The Royal Collection Photo: Supplied by Royal Collection Trust / © HM Queen Elizabeth II 2012
• The Lord Mayor’s Show – the largest unrehearsed procession in the world – will be held on 10th November. This year’s procession – celebrating the election of the 685th Lord Mayor of London, Alderman Roger Gifford – will feature more than 6,500 people winding their way through the City of London in a three-and-a-half mile-long display including 22 marching bands, 125 horses, 18 vintage cars, 21 carriages, an original American stagecoach, a Sherman tank, a steamroller and a Japanese Taiko drum band. While there will be no fireworks after this year’s parade, following the success of last year’s trial there will be an early morning flotilla with the Lord Mayor conveyed in the barge QRB Gloriana from Vauxhall up the Thames to HMS President, just below St Katharine Docks, from where he will make his way to the Mansion House to join the procession as it heads first to St Paul’s and then on to the Royal Courts of Justice before returning (via a different route). There are no grand stand seats left but plenty of places you can watch it for free (for a chance to win free Grandstand tickets, head to the Lord Mayor’s Show Facebook page and ‘like’ it). We’ll be talking about this more next week, but in the meantime, for maps and details of a new smart phone app, head to www.lordmayorsshow.org .
• Two prehistoric Japanese pots have gone on display at the British Museum. Loaned from the Nagaoka Municipal Science Museum, the pots date from the Middle Jomon period (3,500-2,500 BCE) and consist of a ‘flame’ and a ‘crown’ pot which were excavated in Nagaoka city. The pots form part of the Asahi Shimbun Displays in room 3 and will be there until 20th January. Meanwhile, continuing the Asian theme, an exhibition of more than 100 contemporary carved Chinese seals by artist Li Lanqing is on display in room 33 until 15th January. Admission to both is free. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org .
• On Now: Seduced by Art: Photography Past and Present. The National Gallery’s first major exhibition of photography, the display looks at the relationship between historical paintings and photography, both its early days in the mid-19th century and the work of contemporary photographers – in particular how photographers have used the traditions of fine art to “explore and justify” their own works. Almost 90 photographs are displayed alongside a select group of paintings for the show. Admission is free. Runs until 20th January in the Sainsbury Wing. For more, see www.nationalgallery.org.uk .
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10 Historic London Markets – 5. Covent Garden Market…
October 31, 2012
We’ve had a quick look at the origins of Covent Garden before (as part of our What’s in a name? series ) but it’s worth a recap.
Now a favorite of tourists visiting London, Covent Garden is these days largely known as a specialty shopping and entertainment precinct in the West End. But its beginnings as a market go back at least to the 1600s when a licence was formally granted to hold a market in the piazza.
The land had been formerly owned by the Abbey (or Convent) of St Peter in Westminster which had established 40 acre kitchen garden here (hence ‘Convent Garden’) and had passed into the hands of the Crown at the Dissolution. Later owned by the Earls of Bedford, it was the 4th earl, Francis Russell, who commissioned Inigo Jones to design a great residential square- including St Paul’s Church, known as the Actor’s Church – on the site.
By 1650, fruit and vegetable markets were regularly been held on the site and, interestingly, around this time the market adopted the pineapple, a symbol of wealth, as its emblem (it was also around this time that Punch and Judy shows were introduced to the area (see our earlier post on Mr Punch here )). Covent Garden’s rise to prominence as a market came when the Great Fire of London destroyed many of London’s other markets leaving it as the foremost fruit, vegetable and flower market. In May 1670, the 5th Earl of Bedford, William Russell (later 1st Duke of Bedford), obtained the formal right to hold a market on the site from King Charles II.
The growth of the market and the development of fashionable residential developments further west in Soho and Mayfair saw many of the affluent people who had lived around the market move out and the character of the square changed (in an indication of this, a list of Covent Garden prostitutes was published in 1740).
In 1813, the 6th Duke of Bedford, John Russell, secured an Act of Parliament regulating the market and in the late 1820s began to redevelop the site, commissioning architect Charles Fowler to design new buildings (up until then the market was housed in makeshift stalls and sheds). These include the grand main market building which still stands on the site today.
The market continued to grow – there is said to have been 1,000 porters employed at the market’s peak – and in 1860 a new flower market was built on the south piazza (where the London Transport Museum now stands), while in the 1870s, a glass roof was added to the market building. A “foreign” flower market opened in what is now Jubilee Hall in 1904.
In 1918, the Bedford family sold the market to the Covent Garden Estate Company. The next major installment in the market’s life came in 1974 when the market, which had outgrown the West End site, moved out to a new site in Nine Elms at Vauxhall in London’s inner south.
The Covent Garden site was left to fall into disrepair but, saved from demolition and redevelopment largely through the efforts of Geoffrey Rippon, then Secretary of State for the Environment, it subsequently underwent restoration, reopening as a speciality shopping centre in 1980 with areas including the Apple Market (pictured above), the East Colonnade Market and the Jubilee Market. Now owned by Capital & Counties who purchased it in 2006, the market – along with the larger 97 acre Covent Garden area – remain under the care of the Covent Garden Area Trust.
Meanwhile, the New Covent Garden Market at Nine Elms is these days the largest fruit, vegetable and flower market in the UK and boasts more than 200 businesses. There are currently plans to redevelop the 57 acre market site which will include providing more space for market tenants as well as new homes, shops and community facilities like parks.
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Covent Garden
WHERE: King Street, Covent Garden (nearest Tube stations are Covent Garden, Leicester Square and Embankment); WHEN: Public areas are open 24 hours; check with individual shops for opening times; COST: Free; WEBSITE: www.coventgardenlondonuk.com
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New Covent Garden Market
WHERE: New Covent Garden Market, Nine Elms, Vauxhall (nearest Tube station is Vauxhall); WHEN: The fruit and vegetable market’s core trading hours are between midnight and 6am, Monday to Saturday, while the flower market’s core trading hours are between 2am and 8am, Monday to Saturday (times may vary for individual businesses); COST: Free (charge for cars); WEBSITE: www.newcoventgardenmarket.com .
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Celebrating the Diamond Jubilee with 10 royal London locations – 9. Royal chapels…
June 13, 2012
Palaces aside, the Queen also owns a series of chapels – the Chapels Royal – in London which, although not as grand as Westminster Abbey, have each played an important role in the history of the monarchy.
The term Chapel Royal originally referred to a group of priests and singers dedicated to serving the Sovereign’s personal spiritual needs and as such would follow the monarch around the country. It was in Stuart times that they became more settled establishments with the two main Chapels Royal – the Chapel Royal and the Queen’s Chapel – located in St James’s Palace.
• The Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace. Constructed by King Henry VIII, the chapel was decorated by Hans Holbein the Younger in honor of the king’s (short) marriage to Anne of Cleves. Queen Mary I’s heart is said to be buried beneath the choir stalls and it was here that Queen Elizabeth I apparently prayed waiting for news of the progress of the Spanish Armada. King Charles I took the Sacrament of Holy Communion here before his execution in 1649 and the chapel was where Queen Victoria married Prince Albert (her marriage certificate still hangs on the wall). In more recent times, the coffin of Diana, Princess of Wales, was placed before the altar so family and friends could pay their respects before her 1997 funeral. Among the composers and organists associated with the chapel are Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, Henry Purcell and George Frideric Handel. The chapel is not open to the public except for services.
• The Queen’s Chapel, St James’ Palace (pictured right). Now located outside the palace walls, this chapel was built by King James I for the Catholic Henrietta Maria, the bride of his son, then Prince Charles (later King Charles I). Designed by Inigo Jones, Grinling Gibbons and Sir Christopher Wren were also involved in its creation. The chapel was used by Henrietta Maria until the Civil War and later became the home of the Danish Church in London. The chapel is not open to the public except for services.For more on this chapel or the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace, follow this link .
• The Queen’s Chapel of the Savoy. Built in the Middle Ages to serve the now long gone Savoy Palace, London home of Count Peter of Savoy (uncle to King Henry III’s wife, Eleanor of Provence, the original building was destroyed in the Peasant’s Revolt of 1381. The current building, located in Savoy Hill, off the Strand, was built on the orders of King Henry VII in the late 15th and early 16th century to serve the hospital he founded on the site of the palace. The chapel since served many other congregations – including a German Lutheran congregation – but remains royal property via the Duchy of Lancaster, which is held in trust for the Sovereign and used to provide an income for the British monarch. It is officially the Chapel of the Royal Victorian Order. For more, see www.duchyoflancaster.co.uk/duties-of-the-duchy/the-queens-chapel-of-the-savoy/ .
• Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace (pictured right). There has been a chapel here since the Knights Hospitallers occupied the site in the 13th century but it was Cardinal Wolsey who built the chapel to its present dimensions after acquiring the property in 1518. The current building, however, dates from the later ownership of King Henry VIII – Wolsey surrendered the property to him when he fell from favour – and further works in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Many subsequent monarchs have worshipped here. The chapel, with its stunning ceiling, is open to the public when visiting Hampton Court Palace. For more, see www.chapelroyal.org . PICTURE: Historic Royal Palaces/newsteam.co.uk
• The Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula, Tower of London. Originally a parish church, this was incorporated into the walls of the Tower in the reign of King Henry III. It was subsequently rebuilt at least twice – in the reign of King Edward I and King Henry VIII – and is home to the graves of important personages executed at the Tower including Henry VIII’s one-time wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard as well as Jane Grey, the nine day queen, and Sir Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher. The chapel can be accessed during a Yeoman Warder’s tour of the Tower of London. For more, including details of an appeal for its restoration, see www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/stories/thechapelproject .
• Chapel Royal of St John the Evangelist, Tower of London. Located within the White Tower, this beautiful chapel – arguably the oldest church in London – dates back to the construction of the tower by King William the Conqueror the late 11th century and remains one of the best preserved examples of Anglo-Norman architecture in England. King Henry III added stained glass windows but for much of its later history the chapel was used for records storage. Tradition records that King Henry VII’s wife, Elizabeth of York, was laid in state here following her death in childbirth and that it was here Queen Mary was betrothed by proxy to Philip of Spain. This can be visited as part of a visit to the Tower of London. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/Sightsandstories/Prisoners/Towers/ChapelofStJohns
For more on churches in London, check out Stephen Millar’s London’s City Churches
Treasures of London – The Banqueting House…
March 23, 2012
While we’ve looked at some of the history of the Banqueting House during last year’s special on King James I’s London , we thought we’d take a more in-depth look as part of our Treasures of London series…
A perfect double cube with a sumptuous painted ceiling, this early 17th century building is the only remaining complete structure from the Palace of Whitehall which was destroyed by fire in 1698.
The building replaced an earlier banqueting hall built on the orders of Queen Elizabeth I and another, shorter-lived hall, built by King James I, which was destroyed by fire in 1619.
Following its destruction, King James had Inigo Jones design a new hall to provide, as the previous hall had, a location for state occasions, plays and masques – something of a cross between an organised dance, an amateur theatrical performance and just a chance to dress up.
Jones, who partnered with Ben Jonson to produce masques, designed the hall – which has a length double the width – with these performances specifically in mind. The first one – Jones and Jonson’s Masque of Augurs – was performed on Twelfth Night, 1622, even before the building was completed (the last masque was performed here, incidentally, in 1635, after which, thanks they were moved to a purpose built structure nearby, ostensibly to save the newly installed paintings from being damaged by the smoke of torches – see below).
The incredible paintings on the ceilings, which celebrate the reign of King James I and will be the subject of their own Treasures of London article at a later date, were installed by March 1636. Produced by Flemish artist Sir Peter Paul Rubens, they had been commissioned by King Charles I, King James’ son, in commemoration of his father. Ironically, it was outside the building where the monarchy was so celebrated that King Charles I was beheaded in 1649 (this is marked in a ceremony held at the Banqueting House on 30th January each year).
Following the king’s execution, Whitehall Palace wasn’t used for several years until Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell took up residence there in 1654, using the Banqueting House as a hall if audience. It stood empty after Cromwell’s death in 1658 until the Restoration in 1660 when King Charles II again used it as a grand ceremonial hall for receiving foreign embassies and conducting court ceremonies (these including the ancient custom of what is known as ‘Touching for the King’s Evil’ to cure those afflicted with the disease of scrofula as well as the washing of the feet of the poor by the sovereign on Maundy Thursday.)
King James II was the last king to live at Whitehall Palace and during his reign, from 1685-88, it was used as a royal storehouse. But it was revived for formal use following his reign – it was here that King William III and Queen Mary II were officially offered the crown on 13th February, 1689.
During their reign, the court’s focus shifted to Kensington but the Banqueting House was used for Queen Mary to lay in state after her death in 1694.
Following the destruction of the remainder of Whitehall Palace in 1698 – the origins of this fire are apparently owed to a maid who had put some linen by a charcoal fire to dry – the Banqueting Hall was used briefly as a Chapel Royal and, following a renovation in the late 1700s, it was used for concerts and, from 1808, as a place of worship for the Horse Guards.
Further renovation works followed and in 1837, it was re-opened as a Chapel Royal and used as such until 1890 when this practice was formally discontinued. In 1893, Queen Victoria gave the Royal United Services Institute the use of the building as a museum – among the things displayed there were the skeleton of Napoleon’s horse, Marengo. In 1962, the exhibits were dispersed and the Banqueting House today is used for a range of royal, corporate and social events.
There is an undercroft underneath, designed as a place where King James I could enjoy drinking with his friends. It was later used for storage.
WHERE: Corner of Whitehall and Horse Guards Avenue (nearest Tube stations are Westminster and Embankment); WHEN: Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm; COST: £5 adults/£4 concessions/children under 16 free (Historic Royal Palaces members free); WEBSITE: www.hrp.org.uk/BanquetingHouse/ .
PICTURE: Courtesy of Historic Royal Palaces/newsteam.co.uk
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The Royal Parks – 6. Greenwich Park
November 2, 2011
The oldest of the royal parks, the 74 hectare (183 acre) Greenwich Park has been associated with royalty since at least the 15th century.
The area covered by the park had been occupied by the Romans (there are some remains of a building, possibly a temple, near Maze Hill Gate) and later the Danes, who raised protective earthworks here in the 11th century. After the Norman Conquest, it became a manor.
Its enclosure only happened in 1433 after the land came into the possession of Humphrey of Lancaster, Duke of Gloucester and brother of King Henry V. At the time regent to the young King Henry VI, Duke Humphrey also built a tower on the heights above the park – where the Royal Observatory now stands.
Following the duke’s death in 1447, the land was seized by Margaret of Anjou – wife of King Henry VI – and subsequently became known as the Manor of Placentia. King Henry VII later rebuilt the manor house, creating what was known as Greenwich Palace or the Palace of Placentia.
Not surprisingly, it was King Henry VIII, who, having been born at Greenwich Palace, introduced deer to the park. Indeed the park was to have strong associations with others in his family – the king married Catherine of Aragorn and Anne of Cleeves at Greenwich Palace, and his daughters, later Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I, were born there while his son, King Edward VI, died there in 1553 at the age of only 15. (There’s a tree in the park known as Queen Elizabeth’s Oak, which is said to be where she played as a child).
In 1613, King James I gave the palace and accompanying park – which he had enclosed with a high wall – to his wife, Queen Anne of Denmark, apparently as an apology after swearing at her in public when she accidentally shot one of his favorite dogs. Queen Anne subsequently commissioned Inigo Jones to design what is now known as the Queen’s House – for more on that, see our earlier post .
Following the Restoration, King Charles II ordered the palace rebuilt and while this work remained unfinished, the king did succeed in having the park remodelled – it is believed that Andre Le Notre, gardener to King Louis XIV of France, had a role in this.
The works included cutting a series of terraces into the slope – these were known as the Great Steps and lined with hawthorn hedges – as well as creating a formal avenue of chestnut trees (now known as Blackheath Avenue), and some woodlands. Work is currently taking place on restoring an orchard which dates from 1666 at the park.
King Charles II also commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to build the Royal Observatory that still stands on the hill overlooking the park – it stands on the site once occupied by the Duke Humphrey Tower (the Royal Observatory is home of the Prime Meridian – see our earlier post on the Royal Observatory for more).
King James II was the last monarch to use the palace and park – his daughter Queen Mary II donated the palace for use as a hospital for veteran sailors and the park was opened to the pensioners in the early 1700s. The hospital later become the Royal Naval College and the National Maritime Museum later moved onto the site (for more on this, see our earlier post ).
As an aside, Royal Parks say the truncated shape of some of the trees in the park is apparently due to the fact that when anti-aircraft guns were positioned in the flower garden during World War II, the trees had to be trimmed to ensure a clear field of fire.
Facilities in the park today include a tea house, a children’s playground, sporting facilities such as tennis courts and, of course, the Wilderness Deer Park where you can see wildlife at large. Statues include that of Greenwich resident General James Wolfe, an instrumental figure in establishing British rule in Canada – it sits on the crest of the hill opposite the Royal Observatory looking down towards the Thames.
The park, which is part of the Greenwich World Heritage Site, is slated as a venue for next year’s Olympics – it will host equestrian events and the shooting and running events of the pentathlon.
WHERE: Greenwich Park (nearest DLR station is Cutty Sark – other nearby stations include Greenwich, Maze Hill and Blackheath); WHEN: 6am to at least 6pm (closing times vary depending on the month); COST: Free entry; WEBSITE: www.royalparks.gov.uk/Greenwich-Park.aspx
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King James I’s London – 6. The Queen’s House, Greenwich
May 18, 2011
Long an admired landmark of Greenwich, the origins of the Queen’s House go back to the reign of King James I.
It was the Queen, Anne of Denmark, who commissioned the building of The Queen’s House in 1616 and gave it the name by which it is still known. Sadly, however, she died before it was completed.
King James I was said to have been a frequent visitor to the Tudor Palace of Greenwich (the building had earlier been known as the Palace of Placentia and was the birthplace of King Henry VIII in 1491).
King James is traditionally said to have awarded the Manor of Greenwich to Queen Anne as an apology after he had publicly sworn at her when she had accidentally shot one of his favorite hunting dogs.
In 1616, Queen Anne decided to build a new property on the site as both a private retreat and a place where she could entertain and it was to the rising star Inigo Jones that she turned to for the design (in recognition of his growing status, he was appointed Surveyor of the King’s Works the following year).
The house was Jones’ most important job to date and the design he came up – based on a H with the two sides joined by a bridge over the Greenwich to Woolwich road – with is said to be the first Classical building in England.
Among the original features which survive to this day are the striking black and white geometrically patterned marble floor of the Great Hall (the room having been designed as a perfect cube), the painted ceiling of the Queen’s Presence Chamber and the iron balustrade the Tulip Stairs – said to be the first “geometric self-supporting spiral stair in Britain”.
Queen Anne became ill in 1618 and died the following year without seeing the end result of her commission. The work subsequently was shelved and only restarted (and completed in 1638) after King Charles I gave it to his wife, Queen Henrietta Maria.
She only had possession for a short time before Parliamentary forces seized it during the Civil War. After the Restoration, the Queen’s House was returned briefly to her by her son King Charles II (it was at this time that the original H-shape of the house was altered to a square) before part of it as later used as studio for painters and then as grace and favor apartments.
With the Old Royal Naval College now occupying the surrounding site, in 1805, King George III gave the property to the Royal Naval Asylum – a charity caring for the orphan children of seamen – and it later became part of the Royal Hospital School.
The National Maritime Museum took possession in 1934 and the building now houses the National Martime Museum’s collection of fine art. As an interesting aside, there have been several reported sightings of ghosts in the house, the latest as recently as 2002.
WHERE: The Queen’s House, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich (nearest DLR station is Cutty Sark); WHEN: 10am to 5pm daily (check website for closures); COST: Free; WEBSITE: www.nmm.ac.uk/places/queens-house
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King James I’s London – The Banqueting House
March 23, 2011
This year marks 400 years since the creation of the King James Bible (it was completed in 1611). So, in a new special Wednesday series, we’re taking a look at London during the reign of King James I (he’s the one who commissioned the Bible). First up in our list of some of the key sites from his reign in 1603 to 1625, is the Banqueting House in Whitehall.
All that’s left of the Palace of Whitehall after a fire destroyed the rest in 1698, the Banqueting House was completed towards the end of King James I’s reign in 1622. In a sharp break from the fiddly Elizabethan architecture found in the remainder of the palace, the Banqueting House was the first building in central London which paid homage to the plainer Palladian style, brought back from Italy by ‘starchitect’ Inigo Jones.
The three floor Banqueting House replaced an earlier banqueting house which, funnily enough, had been destroyed by fire only a few years earlier. The new building was built to host royal ceremonies such as the reception of ambassadors and, most importantly, performances of court masques, which at the time were growing in sophistication and were being designed to communicate to audiences messages about the Stuart concept of kingship.
The building is centred on a “double cube” room – a hall built so that its length is exactly double its width and height. The great chamber also features a balcony believed to have been created not for ministrels but as a space for an audience to watch the proceedings going on below.
It should be noted that the massive ceiling paintings were added after King James I’s death – it was his ill-fated son, King Charles I, who commissioned Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens to paint them around 1630 (they were in place by March, 1636). It was, incidentally, from one of the windows in the Banqueting House that King Charles I stepped out onto a scaffold and had his head cut off – although that was in 1649, long after the era we’re focusing on here.
Inigo Jones and Ben Jonson’s Masque of Augurs was the first masque performed here in 1622, even before the building was complete. The last was Sir William Davenant’s The Temple of Love in 1635 after which the masques were stopped, apparently because the torches typically used to illuminate them would cause smoke damage to the paintings now on the ceiling.
WHERE: The Banqueting House, Whitehall (nearest tube station is Westminster); WHEN: 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday (check website for closing dates as the hall is used for functions) ; COST: £5 an adult/£4 concessions/children under 16 free; WEBSITE: www.hrp.org.uk/BanquetingHouse/
PICTURE: Wikipedia
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In which country is Tampere? | Where is Tampere, Finland? / Where is Tampere, Finland Located in The World? / Tampere Map - WorldAtlas.com
Where is Tampere, Finland?
Location of Tampere on a map.
Tampere is a city found in Pirkanmaa, Finland . It is located 61.50 latitude and 23.79 longitude and it is situated at elevation 114 meters above sea level.
Tampere has a population of 202,687 making it the biggest city in Pirkanmaa. It operates on the EEST time zone.
Quick facts
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Girton College is part of which University? | Finland: Maps, History, Geography, Government, Culture, Facts, Guide & Travel/Holidays/Cities
Opposition Wins 2015 Election, Ousts Prime Minister
Geography
Finland is three times the size of Ohio. It is heavily forested and contains thousands of lakes, numerous rivers, and extensive areas of marshland. Except for a small highland region in the extreme northwest, the country is a lowland less than 600 ft (180 m) above sea level. Off the southwest coast are the Swedish-populated Åland Islands (581 sq mi; 1,505 sq km), which have had an autonomous status since 1921.
Government
Republic.
History
The first inhabitants of Finland were the Sami (Lapp) people. When Finnish speakers migrated to Finland in the first millennium B.C. , the Sami were forced to move northward to the arctic regions, with which they are traditionally associated. The Finns' repeated raids on the Scandinavian coast impelled Eric IX, the Swedish king, to conquer the country in 1157. It was made a part of the Swedish kingdom and converted to Christianity.
By 1809 the whole of Finland was conquered by Alexander I of Russia, who set up Finland as a grand duchy. The period of Russification (1809–1914) sapped Finnish political power and made Russian the country's official language. When Russia became engulfed by the March Revolution of 1917, Finland seized the opportunity to declare independence on Dec. 6, 1917.
The USSR attacked Finland on Nov. 30, 1939, after Finland refused to give in to Soviet territorial demands. The Finns staged a strong defense for three months before being forced to cede to the Soviets 16,000 sq mi (41,440 sq km). Under German pressure, the Finns joined the Nazis against Russia in 1941, but they were defeated again and forced to cede the Petsamo area to the USSR. In 1948, a treaty of friendship and mutual assistance was signed by the two nations. Finland continued to pursue a foreign policy of nonalignment throughout the cold-war era.
Running on a platform to revitalize the economy, Martti Ahtisaari, a Social Democrat, won the country's first direct presidential election in a runoff in Feb. 1994. Previously, presidents had been chosen by electors. Finland became a member of the European Union in Jan. 1995. On Jan. 1, 1999, Finland, along with ten other European countries, adopted the euro as its currency. In 2000, Tarja Halonen, who had been Finland's foreign minister, became its first woman president.
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The Battle of Naseby took place in which English county? | Battlefield Britain - Routing The Royals: The Battle of Naseby | Culture24
Battlefield Britain - Routing The Royals: The Battle of Naseby
By Corinne Field | Updated: 27 February 2011
Tags:
Trail
Archived article
The BBC series Battlefield Britain spanned 2000 years and told the story of eight key battles fought on and over British soil. See the spoils of war and discover the story behind these violent clashes at a museum or historic site with Culture24's Battlefield Britain trails.
A 17th century painting of the Battle of Naseby by an anonymous artist. Photograph courtesy Leicestershire County Council. See below for full caption.
The Battle of Naseby
Nearly 350 years ago, on June 14, 1645, a battle was fought that would decide the outcome of the English Civil War and ultimately change the way England was ruled.
The Battle of Naseby was a victory for Parliament against the King. The Civil War had been raging for almost three years; ever since Charles I raised his standard at Nottingham in August 1642.
King Charles I by Daniel Mytens © National Portrait Gallery, London
In those three years many set piece battles had been fought. At Edgehill the Royalists were victorious and at Marston Moor, the Parliamentarians carried the day but there was still no decisive overall outcome in the wars.
At Naseby all that changed.
"It was the battle that decided the war. It destroyed Charles’ main field army and many of his infantry officers were captured - it took the royalist force to pieces," said Glenn Foard, project officer of the Battlefields Trust and author of Naseby, the Decisive Campaign.
The field of Naseby today. The site of King Charles' decisive defeat of the Civil War in 1645 © BBC
The battle took place in a hilly area between Naseby, Northamptonshire, today a small village of about 500 inhabitants, and Market Harborough.
The battlefield appears on English Heritage’s Register of Historic Battlefields and is best approached via Sibbertoft Road. Here you will find a monument, erected in 1936 by Mr C. H. Reich, an ardent Cromwellian and student of the period, at the spot which he thought marked the start of Oliver Cromwell’s cavalry charge.
According to Northamptonshire County Council, responsible for the Naseby Monument, it in fact stands at the right hand flank of the Parliamentary infantry.
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Baron Fairfax of Cameron. Unknown artist © National Portrait Gallery, London
There is another monument called the Naseby Obelisk built on an old windmill mound about a mile from the battlefield. This was erected as a memorial to the Battle of Naseby in 1823. Both monuments have an interpretation panel giving visitors information about the conflict and its consequences.
At Naseby the Parliamentarians were commanded by Sir Thomas Fairfax and, in charge of the cavalry, the newly appointed Lieutenant General of Horse, Oliver Cromwell. Charles I himself commanded the Royalist forces alongside his nephew and Lieutenant-General of his armies, Prince Rupert.
Parliamentarian pikemen and musketeers await the Royal charge at Naseby in a BBC reconstruction. © BBC
The National Portrait Gallery has portraits of all the main protagonists on show as part of their Civil War and Charles I display in Room 5.
The Battle of Naseby marks the first outing of Cromwell’s New Model Army (NMA), an attempt by Parliament to put under one command all their previous field armies. What was different about the New Model Army was that it put proven ability and commitment first - meaning that anyone could move up the ranks regardless of social status.
It was the first truly professional English army and today’s army traces its origins back to Cromwell’s NMA, according to Glenn Foard.
Prince Rupert, Count Palatine. Attributed to Gerrit van Honthorst © National Portrait Gallery, London
Charles, Rupert and the Royalist army arrived in Market Harborough in June 1645. Fairfax’s Roundheads were not far behind.
Harborough Museum has on show a late 17th century painting of the battle on loan from Daventry District Council alongside three swords reputed to be from the battle.
The painting is based on a famous engraving by Streeter and was probably painted within 30 to 40 years of the battle. According to Zara Matthews, curator at Harborough Musuem, it is believed to be quite an accurate description of the battle despite the white cliffs in the background.
Battle plan in Sprigge's Anglia Rediviva 1647, a near contemporary plan. Courtesy of the Cromwell Museum
On June 14 the two armies faced each other on opposite ridges. The royalists numbered some 10,000 infantry and cavalry but the New Model Army had the advantage with around 13,500 men. What followed was a close fought battle that, according to Andy Robertshaw, Head of Education at the National Army Museum, could have gone either way.
"[The Battle of Naseby] basically brought an end to the indecision of the fighting," he says. "It was a decisive victory for Parliament but could’ve gone the other way."
That day luck was on Parliament’s side. They killed or captured most of the King’s infantry and Charles I fled the battlefield.
Musketeers fire a volley in a Naseby reconstruction. Many inexperienced troops didn't grip their musket tightly enough and their shots missed the enemy completely © BBC
The National Army Museum is a good place to investigate the battle, it houses some of Britain’s finest military treasures including a series of prints of Naseby and an engraving of the battle by Joshua Sprigge, Fairfax’s chaplain.
The NAM also has a life-sized model of a royalist cavalryman as well as a selection of original arms and armour on show. Visitors can try on one of the highlights of the Museum collection - an English Civil War pot helmet, which would have been worn by both sides at Naseby.
Pikeman's pot helmet, c. 1640 © National Army Museum
The Royal Armouries, Leeds , boast weapons of the period having saved for the nation a cache belonging to Sir Alexander Popham, who armed the state militia and funded the Parliamentarian cavalry at his own expense. On show are swords, pistols and buff coats worn under armour in the mid-seventeenth century.
The Royal Amouries also hosts occasional themed study days, which give visitors a chance to handle objects and listen to a talk from an expert in the field. Contact the museum for more details.
Harquebusier's armour, English, about 1660 © The Board of Trustees of the Armouries
Not many relics from the battle itself remain, but at Northampton Museum there is an intriguing coin hoard on display. It was found at Naseby and, according to Glenn Foard, is believed to relate to the rout of the royalist army. Museum staff believe it was probably buried during the battle.
Naseby was not the final conflict of the civil war but, as Andy Robertshaw from the National Army Museum explains, it was the battle that effectively lost Charles the English Civil War. With the loss of his best soldiers the King could no longer meet the New Model Army in open battle.
He was never able to put together such a large army again or, as a result, pose a significant threat to Parliament. Naseby is therefore often referred to as the decisive campaign.
The Sibberfort coin hoard was scattered throughout the soil suggesting it had either been buried for safe keeping before the battle, or that it was trampled into the ground before the pillaging of the battle train after the fighting. Courtesy of Northampton Museum & Art Gallery
The Battlefields Trust is developing a major battlefield website , a fantastic resource covering 47 English battles including the Battle of Naseby.
"Victory at Naseby meant that Parliament was going to be victorious in the first civil war. It lead directly to the execution of the King and led to Britain becoming a republic," says Andy Robertshaw.
Charles I was beheaded on January 30, 1649 outside the Banqueting House at Whitehall, which still stands today. His death warrant is part of the Parliamentary Archives of the UK at the House of Lords Record Office , which has custody of the archives of both Houses of Parliament.
Death Warrant of Charles I, 29 January 1649, Parliamentary Archives, Main Papers, 1660
The archives include items that relate to the great constitutional struggles of the seventeenth century like the civil war. As well as the death warrant there are secret letters belonging to Charles I, which were captured at the battle of Naseby by the Parliamentary army.
The National Archives, Kew holds a document declaring England a republic from the same year. England was without a monarch for the following 11 years.
The archives are open to the public but if you want to view any of these documents it is best to make an appointment in advance. Alternatively you can visit Citizenship: a history of people, rights and power in Britain , a website set up jointly by the Parliamentary Archives and the National Archives which talks about the Civil War and has excerpts of all but the letters on show.
The document which made England a republic. Chancery: Petty Bag Office: Certiorari Bundles 1649, ref. C204/9. Courtesy The National Archives
If you are keen to find out more about the politics of the period the British Library Newspaper Library holds a fascinating collection of papers called the Thomason Tracts, described as one of the most important sources relating to the English Civil War.
The period saw a vast outpouring of tracts and pamphlets. Indeed the NMA was a hotbed of political and religious radicalism with groups such as the Levellers, the Diggers and the 5th Monarchists espousing a variety of militant doctrines.
The Thomason Tracts is a vast collection of pamphlets, books and newspapers, printed mainly in London between 1640 and 1661. Originally brought together by George Thomason, an important London bookseller, many of them have survived nowhere else. If you want to delve into the Thomason Tracts they are available to view in the New Reading Room.
Oliver Cromwell by Robert Walker © National Portrait Gallery, London
The English civil war years of 1642 to 1649 were some of the most turbulent in British history. Challenging ideas of the Divine Right of the King, they pitched brother against brother, Roundhead against Cavalier and their outcome not only left England without a monarch for 11 years but meant that no monarch would ever have absolute power again.
After the Civil War, Oliver Cromwell became the head of state with the title, Lord Protector. He ruled England up until his death in 1658 when his son, Richard, took over. They remain to this day the only commoners ever to rule England.
The Cromwell Museum in Huntingdon, the great man’s home town, is devoted to the life of Oliver Cromwell. There is information and objects that relate to the Civil War including a small amount of arms and armour and portraits of major figures like Fairfax and Charles I on show as well as a copy of Sprigge’s battle plan.
Cromwell Museum. Courtesy of the Cromwell Museum
But perhaps the most interesting relic of Naseby still lies beneath the ground. After the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660 Cromwell’s remains were removed from Westminster Abbey and desecrated.
The head and body were separated. The head was put on show for many years before finally being buried at Sidney Sussex College, Oxford, (Cromwell’s old college) on March 26, 1960.
Among the rumours as to what happened to the body are that it was buried deep beneath Naseby battlefield. To find out more about this gruesome story visit the Cromwell Museum’s online exhibition .
To find out more about the BBC television series visit the Battlefield Britain website .
Captions
Photo: a 17th century painting of the Battle of Naseby by an anonymous artist. This painting, purchased by Daventry District Council (DDC) with assistance from the National Arts Collection Fund and the Purchase Grant Scheme administered by the Victoria & Albert Museum. Lent by DDC to Harborough Museum. Photograph courtesy Leicestershire County Council.
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| Northamptonshire |
"What is the literal meaning of ""pot pourri""?" | Naseby - definition of Naseby by The Free Dictionary
Naseby - definition of Naseby by The Free Dictionary
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Naseby
Also found in: Thesaurus , Encyclopedia , Wikipedia .
Nase·by
(nāz′bē)
A village of central England near Northampton. Nearby on June 14, 1645, Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentarian forces decisively defeated Royalist troops led by Charles I and Prince Rupert.
Naseby
(ˈneɪzbɪ)
n
(Placename) a village in Northamptonshire: site of a major Parliamentarian victory (1645) in the Civil War, when Cromwell routed Prince Rupert's force
Nase•by
a village in W Northamptonshire, in central England: Royalist defeat 1645.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Naseby - a village in western Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire - a county is central England
2.
Naseby - a battle in 1645 that settled the outcome of the first English Civil War as the Parliamentarians won a major victory over the Royalists
English Civil War - civil war in England between the Parliamentarians and the Royalists under Charles I; 1644-1648
England - a division of the United Kingdom
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References in classic literature ?
WHEN Dick Naseby was in Paris he made some odd acquaintances; for he was one of those who have ears to hear, and can use their eyes no less than their intelligence.
Hence, too, it came about that Dick Naseby, a high-minded creature, and as scrupulous and brave a gentleman as you would want to meet, held in a sort of affection the various human creeping things whom he had met and studied.
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What is the capital of Zimbabwe? | Capital of Zimbabwe - definition of capital of Zimbabwe by The Free Dictionary
Capital of Zimbabwe - definition of capital of Zimbabwe by The Free Dictionary
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/capital+of+Zimbabwe
Also found in: Thesaurus , Wikipedia .
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Harare , Salisbury
Republic of Zimbabwe , Rhodesia , Southern Rhodesia , Zimbabwe - a landlocked republic in south central Africa formerly called Rhodesia; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1980
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References in periodicals archive ?
Ballance (left) may now be one of ours but his cricket education began in Harare, capital of Zimbabwe.
Signal firms await traffic green light
This is something that continues to be lost on those who seek to impose some specious new order on the Flat dreamed up by ignorant marketing gurus who know zero about racing and to whom Windsor is a knot in a tie and Salisbury the old capital of Zimbabwe.
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| Harare |
Who directed thee 1982 film 'Tootsie'? | Zimbabwe - definition of Zimbabwe by The Free Dictionary
Zimbabwe - definition of Zimbabwe by The Free Dictionary
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Zimbabwe
Zim·bab·we
(zĭm-bäb′wē, -wā)
1. A country of southern Africa. Various Bantu peoples migrated into the area during the first millennium, displacing the earlier San inhabitants. European colonization began in 1889 under the British South Africa Company founded by Cecil Rhodes, and in 1923 it became the self-governing British colony of Southern Rhodesia (often just Rhodesia), which formed part of the colonial federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland from 1953 to 1963. Rhodesia declared itself independent in 1965, although independence was not formally granted by Great Britain until 1980. Harare is the capital and the largest city.
2. also Great Zimbabwe A ruined city of southeast Zimbabwe south of Harare. First occupied by Iron Age peoples in the fourth century ad, it contains extensive remains of walls and towers dating from the 11th to 15th centuries.
Zim·bab′we·an adj. & n.
Zimbabwe
(zɪmˈbɑːbwɪ; -weɪ)
n
1. (Placename) a country in SE Africa, formerly a self-governing British colony founded in 1890 by the British South Africa Company, which administered the country until a self-governing colony was established in 1923; joined with Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) and Nyasaland (now Malawi) as the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland from 1953 to 1963; made a unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) under the leadership of Ian Smith in 1965 on the basis of White minority rule; proclaimed a republic in 1970; in 1976 the principle of Black majority rule was accepted and in 1978 a transitional government was set up; gained independence under Robert Mugabe in 1980; effectively a one-party state since 1987; a member of the Commonwealth until 2003, when it withdrew as a result of conflict with other members. Official language: English. Religion: Christian majority. Currency: Zimbabwe dollar. Capital: Harare. Pop: 13 182 908 (2013 est). Area: 390 624 sq km (150 820 sq miles). Former names: Southern Rhodesia (until 1964) or Rhodesia (1964–79)
2. (Archaeology) Also: Great Zimbabwe a ruined fortified settlement in Zimbabwe, which at its height, in the 15th century, was probably the capital of an empire covering SE Africa
3. (Placename) Also: Great Zimbabwe a ruined fortified settlement in Zimbabwe, which at its height, in the 15th century, was probably the capital of an empire covering SE Africa
Zim•bab•we
(zɪmˈbɑb weɪ, -wi)
n.
1. Formerly, (until 1964) Southern Rhodesia, (1964–80) Rhodesia. a republic in S Africa: a former British colony; unilaterally declared independence in 1965; gained independence in 1980. 11,423,175; 150,873 sq. mi. (390,759 sq. km).Cap.: Harare.
Zim•bab′we•an, adj., n.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
capital of Zimbabwe , Harare , Salisbury - the capital and largest city of Zimbabwe
Bulawayo - industrial city in southwestern Zimbabwe
Africa - the second largest continent; located to the south of Europe and bordered to the west by the South Atlantic and to the east by the Indian Ocean
Victoria Falls , Victoria - a waterfall in the Zambezi River on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia; diminishes seasonally
Zambezi , Zambezi River - an African river; flows into the Indian Ocean
Cewa , Chewa , Chichewa - a member of the Bantu-speaking people of Malawi and eastern Zambia and northern Zimbabwe
Zimbabwean - a native or inhabitant of Zimbabwe
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In which country are the Taurus Mountains? | Taurus Mountains | mountains, Turkey | Britannica.com
Taurus Mountains
Alternative Titles: Toros Dağlari, Toros Mountains
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Annapurna
Taurus Mountains, Turkish Toros Dağlari, mountain range in southern Turkey , a great chain running parallel to the Mediterranean coast. The system extends along a curve from Lake Egridir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates River in the east. Aladağ (10,935 feet [3,333 m]) in the Taurus proper and Mount Erciyes in the outlying offshoot of the Nur Mountains are the highest peaks; many other peaks reach between 10,000 and 12,000 feet (3,000 to 3,700 m).
Valley below the Taurus Mountains, Turkey.
© Wolfgang Kaehler/Corbis
Scattered forests of pine, cedar, oak, and juniper are found on the slopes up to 8,000 feet (2,500 m). White limestone ridges are common, and in the western Taurus are many enclosed basins with lakes at elevations averaging 3,200 feet (1,000 m). Except for the large areas of deep-soiled fertile lands in the Cicilian Plain below Adana , the coastal plains to the south are small, and the entire region is thinly populated and isolated from the interior by mountain barriers. Of the passageways crossing the mountains, the Cilician Gates (Külek Boğazı) is the most famous, having been used by caravans and armies since antiquity. Nearby is the only railway line that crosses the Taurus proper, joining Kayseri with Adana. Mineral deposits, partly exploited, include silver, copper, lignite, zinc, iron, and arsenic.
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In which Shakespeare play do the characters 'Beatrice' and 'Benedick' appear? | Taurus, mountain chain, Turkey
Encyclopedia > Places > Asia > Turkey Physical Geography
Taurus
Taurus (tôrˈəs) [ key ], Turkish Toros tôrōsˈ, mountain chain, S Turkey, extending c.350 mi (560 km) roughly parallel to the Mediterranean coast of S Asia Minor. It forms the southern border of the Anatolian plateau. Its northeastern extension across the Seyhan River is called the Anti-Taurus. The highest peak of the Taurus proper is Ala Dağ (12,251 ft/3,734 m), at its eastern end; Nemrut Dağ (Mt. Nemrut ) in the Anti-Taurus, is the site of colossal Hellenistic ruins. Erciyas Daği (anc. Mount Argaeus ), reaching 12,848 ft (3,916 m), is sometimes considered part of the Taurus although it rises in central Anatolia, in an outlier of the Taurus proper. The Amanos Mts., along the eastern shore of the Gulf of Iskenderun, are also considered an offshoot of the main Taurus. The Taurus is crossed by five major passes; the Cilician Gates , N of Tarsus, is the best known. The mountains have long been a barrier to movement between the Anatolian basin and the Levant. The range has important chromium deposits and other minerals (notably copper, silver, lignite, zinc, iron, and arsenic). The Anti-Taurus are well wooded.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
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