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Boatwomen's Training Scheme
The boatwomen's training scheme was an initiative in the United Kingdom during the Second world war to attract women to work on Britain's canal network. Initiated by the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company (GUCCC) in 1942 the scheme was taken over by the Ministry of War Transport in 1944. The scheme closed after the end of hostilities in 1945. Nicknamed the ''Idle Women'' due to the Inland Waterways badge they wore in lieu of a uniform, it is estimated that approximately 100 women joined the scheme but only about 45 completed the training and only six are recorded as having participated throughout the length of the scheme. Background In the early part of the Second world war Britain's canals suffered from a labour shortage, caused mostly by military service (although until 1942 being a waterways boatmen was a reserved occupation) and the higher wages available in other employment. A recruiting drive in 1941 did attract some men to the waterways but the GUCCC noted that they also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leeds And Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branches, and in the early 21st century a new link was constructed into the Liverpool docks system. History Background In the mid-18th century the growing towns of Yorkshire, including Leeds, Wakefield and Bradford, were trading increasingly. While the Aire and Calder Navigation improved links to the east for Leeds, links to the west were limited. Bradford merchants wanted to increase the supply of limestone to make lime for mortar and agriculture using coal from Bradford's collieries and to transport textiles to the Port of Liverpool. On the west coast, traders in the busy port of Liverpool wanted a cheap supply of coal for their shipping and manufacturing businesses and to tap the output from the industrial regions of Lancashire. Inspired by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Women In World War II
Women took on many different roles during World War II, including as combatants and workers on the home front. The war involved global conflict on an unprecedented scale; the absolute urgency of mobilizing the entire population made the expansion of the role of women inevitable, although the particular roles varied from country to country. Millions of women of various ages were injured or died as a result of the war. World patterns Several hundred thousand women served in combat roles, especially in anti-aircraft units. The Soviet Union, for example, integrated women directly into their army units. The United States, by comparison, elected not to use women in combat because public opinion would not tolerate it. Instead, like in other nations, approximately 350,000 women served as uniformed auxiliaries in non-combat roles in the U.S. armed forces. These roles included: administration, nurses, truck drivers, mechanics, electricians, and auxiliary pilots. Women also took part outsi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Women's Organisations Based In The United Kingdom
A woman is an adult female human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, .... Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardless of age. Typically, women inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and are capable of pregnancy and giving childbirth, birth from puberty until menopause. More generally, sex differentiation of the female fetus is governed by the lack of a present, or functioning, SRY-gene on either one of the respective sex chromosomes. Female anatomy is distinguished from male anatomy by the female reproductive system, which includes the ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, vagina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1945 Disestablishments In The United Kingdom
1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: ** Germany begins Operation Bodenplatte, an attempt by the ''Luftwaffe'' to cripple Allied air forces in the Low Countries. ** Chenogne massacre: German prisoners are allegedly killed by American forces near the village of Chenogne, Belgium. * January 6 – WWII: A German offensive recaptures Esztergom, Hungary from the Russians. * January 12 – WWII: The Soviet Union begins the Vistula–Oder Offensive in Eastern Europe, against the German Army. * January 13 – WWII: The Soviet Union begins the East Prussian Offensive, to eliminate German forces in East Prussia. * January 16 – WWII: Adolf Hitler takes residence in the ''Führerbunker'' in Berlin. * January 17 ** WWII: The Soviet Union occupies Warsaw, Pola ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1942 Establishments In The United Kingdom
Year 194 ( CXCIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Septimius and Septimius (or, less frequently, year 947 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 194 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * Emperor Septimius Severus and Decimus Clodius Septimius Albinus Caesar become Roman Consuls. * Battle of Issus: Septimius Severus marches with his army (12 legions) to Cilicia, and defeats Pescennius Niger, Roman governor of Syria. Pescennius retreats to Antioch, and is executed by Severus' troops. * Septimius Severus besieges Byzantium (194–196); the city walls suffer extensive damage. Asia * Battle of Yan Province: Warlords Cao Cao and Lü Bu fight for control over Yan Province; the battle lasts for over 100 day ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emma Smith (author)
Emma Smith (21 August 1923 – 24 April 2018) was an English novelist, who also wrote for children and published two volumes of autobiography. She gave encouragement to Laurie Lee while he was writing his bestselling memoir of his childhood, '' Cider with Rosie''. Early life and fame Smith was born as Elspeth Hallsmith in Cornwall, daughter of a bank clerk, Guthrie Hallsmith, D.S.O. and his wife Janet, a nurse. Her father suffered a nervous breakdown and left the family, after which Smith only saw him three more times in his life. She received a "negligible" private education up to the age of 16, when she decided to take up a job at the War Office. During the Second World War, she volunteered to work on the canals as a boatswoman. Later on, her experiences as a trainee boatswoman on the Grand Union Canal would become the basis for her debut novel, '' Maidens' Trip''. In September 1946, Smith, still only 23, went off to India with a team of documentary film-makers that included ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sonia Rolt
Sonia Rolt OBE (15 April 1919 – 22 October 2014) was a campaigner for the Inland Waterways Association (IWA) of Great Britain and was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2010 for her services to industrial archaeology and heritage. At the beginning of World War II she volunteered to work on the canals. After the war she became active on the council of the new Inland Waterways Association campaigning for the retention of the canals. Subsequently she married one of the founders, Tom Rolt, and after his death became a vice-president of the Association. Early life Born Sonia South in New York to British parents, she trained as an actress at the London Theatre Studio. During the Second World War, she volunteered to work on the canals and joined the tough life of the boatmen, mainly carrying coal and steel between Midlands factories and coal pits. Because of the "IW" badge the women who worked on the canals wore, they were named the '' Idle Women'' by the canal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olga Kevelos
Olga Kevelos (6 November 1923 – 28 October 2009) was an English Motorcycle trials and enduro rider who won a Gold Medal at the International Six-Day Trial.Obituary for Olga Kevelos '''', 26 November 2009. Early life Olga Kevelos was born on 6 November 1923 in , to a Greek Father and English mother. Her father worked in the Birmingham Stock Exchange. She was educated at |
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is known as "The Rose of the Shires". Covering an area of 2,364 square kilometres (913 sq mi), Northamptonshire is landlocked between eight other counties: Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east, Buckinghamshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the south-west and Lincolnshire to the north-east – England's shortest administrative county boundary at 20 yards (19 metres). Northamptonshire is the southernmost county in the East Midlands. Apart from the county town of Northampton, other major population centres include Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough, Rushden and Daventry. Northamptonshire's county flower is the cowslip. The Soke of Peterborough fal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stoke Bruerne
Stoke Bruerne is a small village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England about north of Milton Keynes and south of Northampton. The civil parish population at the 2011 Census was 373. History Stoke Bruerne is mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086 as "Stoche" meaning "an outlying farmstead or hamlet". The form "Stokbruer" is used in 1254 being a suffix by the "Briwere" family of the Manor House. The village is fairly typical for this area of south Northamptonshire containing many traditional stone and thatched cottages. The village's main claim to fame is its situation on the Grand Union Canal making it a favourite destination for tourists. The population is split 196 male and 199 female in 169 households ( 2001 census). The parish is currently governed as part of West Northamptonshire. Before local government changes in 2021 it was part of Tove Ward, named after the River Tove, of the district council of South Northamptonshire. The nearby country estate of Stok ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Canal Museum
The Canal Museum, formerly known as the "National Waterways Museum Stoke Bruerne" and "The Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne", is a canal museum located next to the Grand Union Canal just south of the Blisworth Tunnel, near the village of Stoke Bruerne in Northamptonshire. It is about north of Milton Keynes and south of Northampton near junction 15 of the M1 motorway. History The museum was formerly known as the "National Waterways Museum Stoke Bruerne", one of three museums operated by The Waterways Trust that focused on the history of canals in Britain. After the creation of the Canal & River Trust in 2010, the Stoke Bruerne museum was rebranded as "The Canal Museum", its original name. Museum The museum is housed in a restored Grade II listed corn mill at the top of a flight of canal locks, and is one of several museums and attractions operated by the Canal & River Trust, the successor to The Waterways Trust. The museum tells the story of Britain's inland waterways and th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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