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Elsie Knocker
Elsie Knocker, later Baroness de T'Serclaes, (29 July 1884 – 26 April 1978) was a British nurse and ambulance driver in World War I who, together with her friend Mairi Chisholm, won numerous medals for bravery and for saving the lives of thousands of soldiers on the Western Front in Belgium. Dubbed "The Madonnas of Pervyse" by the press, the two were among the most photographed women of the war. Biography Early life She was born Elizabeth Blackall Shapter in Exeter, Devon on 29 June 1884, the youngest of five children to Dr. Thomas Lewis and Charlotte Shapter (née Bayly). During her childhood she picked up the nickname, "Elsie".Knocker, Elsie aroness de T'Serclaes(1964). ''Flanders and Other Fields''. Harrap, London She was orphaned at an early age. Her mother died when she was four years old and her father died from tuberculosis two years later. She was subsequently adopted by Lewis Edward Upcott, a teacher at Marlborough College, and his wife Emily who sent her to be ed ...
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Exeter, Devon
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal command of Vespasian. Exeter became a religious centre in the Middle Ages. Exeter Cathedral, founded in the mid 11th century, became Anglicanism, Anglican in the 16th-century English Reformation. Exeter became an affluent centre for the wool trade, although by the First World War the city was in decline. After the Second World War, much of the city centre was rebuilt and is now a centre for education, business and tourism in Devon and Cornwall. It is home to two of the constituent campuses of the University of Exeter: Streatham Campus, Streatham and St Luke's Campus, St Luke's. The administrative area of Exeter has the status of a non-metropolitan district under the administration of the County Council. It is the county town of Devon and home ...
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Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is a coastal county with cliffs and sandy beaches. Home to the largest open space in southern England, Dartmoor (), the county is predominately rural and has a relatively low population density for an English county. The county is bordered by Somerset to the north east, Dorset to the east, and Cornwall to the west. The county is split into the non-metropolitan districts of East Devon, Mid Devon, North Devon, South Hams, Teignbridge, Torridge, West Devon, Exeter, and the unitary authority areas of Plymouth, and Torbay. Combined as a ceremonial county, Devon's area is and its population is about 1.2 million. Devon derives its name from Dumnonia (the shift from ''m'' to ''v'' is a typical Celtic consonant shift). During the Briti ...
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Chauffeur
A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine. Originally, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to specialist chauffeur service companies or individual drivers that provide both driver and vehicle for hire. Some service companies merely provide the driver. History The term ''chauffeur'' comes from the French term for stoker because the earliest automobiles, like their railroad and sea vessel counterparts, were steam-powered and required the driver to stoke the engine. Early petrol/gasoline-powered motor cars, before the advent of electric ignition, were ignited by 'hot tubes' in the cylinder head which had to be pre-heated before the engine would start. Hence the term ''chauffeur'' which, in this context, means something like "heater-upper". The chauffeur would prime the hot tubes at the start of a journey, after which the natural compression ...
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Mechanic
A mechanic is an artisan, skilled tradesperson, or technician who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially cars. Duties Most mechanics specialize in a particular field, such as auto body mechanics, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics, auto mechanics, bicycle mechanics, boiler mechanics, and other areas. A mechanic is typically certified by a trade association or regional government power. Mechanics may be separated into two classes based on the type of machines they work on, heavyweight and lightweight. Heavyweight work is on larger machines or heavy equipment, such as tractors and trailers, while lightweight work is on smaller items, such as automotive engines. Automotive mechanics/automotive technicians Automotive technicians (the modern term of reference) have many trades within. Some may specialize in the electrical diagnosis, while others may specialize in the mechanical aspects. Other mechanical areas include: brakes and steering, sus ...
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Women's Emergency Corps
The Women's Emergency Corps was a service organisation founded in 1914 by Evelina Haverfield, Decima Moore, and the Women's Social and Political Union to contribute to the war effort of the United Kingdom in World War I. The corps was intended to train woman doctors, nurses and motorcycle messengers. Mona Chalmers Watson became its honorary secretary. The Corps later evolved into the Women's Volunteer Reserve. See also * Women's Reserve Ambulance Corps * Canary girls *Victory garden *Women's Land Army (World War I) *Women's Royal Air Force (World War I) The Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) was the women's branch of the Royal Air Force, existing from 1 April 1918 until 1 April 1920, when it was disbanded. Its original intent was to provide female mechanics in order to free up men for front line servi ... References Further reading * Organizations established in 1914 Social history of the United Kingdom United Kingdom in World War I Women's organisations based in the Unite ...
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Chater-Lea
Chater-Lea was a British bicycle, car and motorcycle maker with a purpose-built five-storey factory in Banner Street, EC1, in the City of London (now converted into flats) and, from 1928, premises at Letchworth, Hertfordshire. It was founded by William Chater-Lea in 1890 to make bicycle frames and components. It made cars between 1907 and 1922 and motorcycles from 1903 to 1935. William died in 1927 and the business was taken over by his sons John and Bernard. After vehicle production finished, the company remained trading as a bicycle component maker and contract manufacturer until 1987. The company relaunched in 2017 as a maker of high-end British manufactured bicycle components and launched its first new products in the summer of 2019. History Bicycle and component production Founded by William Chater Lea in 1890 (the hyphenated name was adopted by the company in the 1920s for aesthetic reasons) the company produced Bicycles and components from their establishment in 1890 u ...
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Douglas (motorcycles)
Douglas was a British motorcycle manufacturer from 1907–1957 based in Kingswood, Bristol, owned by the Douglas family, and especially known for its horizontally opposed twin cylinder engined bikes and as manufacturers of speedway machines. The company also built a range of cars between 1913 and 1922. History The brothers William and Edwin Douglas founded the Douglas Engineering Company in Bristol in 1882. Initially doing blacksmith work, they progressed to foundry work. Joseph F. Barter's Light Motors Ltd. was one of Douglas's customers. Barter built a single-cylinder bicycle engine between 1902 and 1904; he then developed the Fée bicycle engine system. The Fée's 200 cc flat-twin engine was mounted in-line with the frame, using chain drive to a countershaft beneath (with clutch); this then used a drive belt to power the bicycle's rear wheel. Barter founded Light Motors Ltd. to build the Fée system. Production began in 1905; the Fée's name was anglicized to Fairy sh ...
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The Scott Motorcycle Company
The Scott Motorcycle Company was owned by Scott Motors (Saltaire) Limited, Shipley, West Yorkshire, England and was a well-known producer of motorcycles and light engines for industry. Founded by Alfred Angas Scott in 1908 as the ''Scott Engineering Company'' in Bradford, Yorkshire, Scott motorcycles were produced until 1978. Development Scott's inspiration In an article in ''Motor Cycle'' magazine in 1914, Alfred Scott wrote that he was drawn to the two-stroke engine because he was trained on high speed steam and marine engines, and when turning his attention to gas and petrol engines the regular power strokes of the two-stroke (or Day cycle as he sometimes called it), seemed preferable to the one power stroke in four of the Otto cycle. He said this attraction to the two stroke was further enhanced by the reliable and excellent service from a two stroke engine designed by his brother (A. F. Scott M.I.M.E) and used to drive machinery in his experimental workshop. Experimen ...
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Gypsy (term)
The Romani people are also known by a variety of other names; in English as ''gypsies'' or ''gipsies'', and ''Roma''; in Greek as (''gíftoi'') or (''tsiggánoi''), in Central and Eastern Europe as ''Tsingani'' (and variants); in France as ''gitans'' besides the dated terms ''bohémiens'' and ''manouches''; in Italy as ''rom'' and ''sinti'' besides the dated terms ''zingari'', ''zigani'', and ''gitani''; in Spain as ''gitanos''; and in Portugal as ''ciganos''. Self-designation also varies: In Central and Eastern Europe, ''Roma'' is common. The Romani of England call themselves (in Angloromani) ''Romanichal'', those of Scandinavia (in Scandinavian romanidialect)'' Romanisæl''. In German-speaking Europe, the self-designation is ''Sinti'', in France '' Manush'', while the groups of Spain, Wales, and Finland use ''Kalo/Kale'' (from ''kalo'' meaning "black" in Romani language). There are numerous subgroups and clans with their own self-designations, such as the Kalderash, Machvaya ...
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Alfred Dunhill
Alfred Dunhill (30 September 1872 – 2 January 1959) was an English tobacconist, entrepreneur and inventor. He is the progenitor of Alfred Dunhill, Ltd. a London-based luxury goods company owned by Swiss company Richemont and the Dunhill tobacco products company owned by British American Tobacco (now two independently owned entities). From 1893 Dunhill ran a company selling motoring accessories, and in 1902 opened a shop in Mayfair. He developed a pipe designed for motorists in 1904. He opened a tobacconist's shop in St James's in 1907, offering tailored tobacco blends. Shops were opened in New York and Paris in the 1920s. With his international ambitions, Dunhill helped to create the modern luxury goods market. He retired from business in 1929, and married his mistress in 1945, following the death of his wife. Early life Dunhill was born on 30 September 1872 at 2 Church Path, Hornsey, Middlesex. He was the second son of five children of Henry Dunhill (1842–1901), a ma ...
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Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List of islands by population, most populous island, home to approximately 56% of the Demographics of Indonesia, Indonesian population. Indonesia's capital city, Jakarta, is on Java's northwestern coast. Many of the best known events in Indonesian history took place on Java. It was the centre of powerful Hindu-Buddhist empires, the Islamic sultanates, and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies. Java was also the center of the History of Indonesia, Indonesian struggle for independence during the 1930s and 1940s. Java dominates Indonesia politically, economically and culturally. Four of Indonesia's eight UNESCO world heritage sites are located in Java: Ujung Kulon National Park, Borobudur Temple, Prambanan Temple, and Sangiran Early Man Site. ...
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Edwardian England
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victorian era. Her son and successor, Edward VII, was already the leader of a fashionable elite that set a style influenced by the art and fashions of continental Europe. Samuel Hynes described the Edwardian era as a "leisurely time when women wore picture hats and did not vote, when the rich were not ashamed to live conspicuously, and the sun really never set on the British flag." The Liberals returned to power in 1906 and made significant reforms. Below the upper class, the era was marked by significant shifts in politics among sections of society that had largely been excluded from power, such as labourers, servants, and the industrial working class. Women started to play more of a role in politics. Roy Hattersley, ''The Edwardians'' (2004 ...
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