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George Thompson (shipowner)
George Thompson of Pitmedden (1804–1895) was a Scottish Liberal politician who was The Lord Provost of Aberdeen and MP for city. He was also the founder of the Aberdeen Line shipping company. Background He was born at Woolwich on 23 June 1804. His father, Andrew Thomson (sic), served in the Royal Regiment of Artillery before joining the East India Company in 1805. George Thompson, always known as George Thompson Junior to distinguish himself from his grandfather, was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School. He then joined the Aberdeen office of the London Shipping Company. In 1825, aged 21, he set up his own business as a ship and insurance broker, with offices in Aberdeen. In the same year his name first appeared as a subscribing owner of a small Aberdeen ship, and his shipowning interests rapidly developed. He also traded the imports which his vessels brought back to Aberdeen. Political career George Thompson served as Provost of Aberdeen from 1847 to 1850. The highlight ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thermopylae (clipper)
''Thermopylae'' was an extreme Composite ship, composite clipper ship built in 1868 by Walter Hood & Co of Aberdeen, to the design of Bernard Waymouth of London. Construction ''Thermopylae'' was built for the Aberdeen Line, which was founded in 1825 by George Thompson (shipowner), George Thompson. She measured 212' × 36' × 20.9', with tonnage 991 GRT, 948 NRT and 927 tons under deck. The hull planking was American rock elm from the garboard to the light water line, and then teak from there to the rail. Being of composite construction, the planking was fastened over an iron frame. She had exceptionally fine lines. The coefficient of under deck tonnage was 0.58. This compares with, for instance, Cutty Sark at 0.55 (i.e. slightly sharper than ''Thermopylae'') and Ariel (clipper), Ariel at 0.60. Iron was used for the fore and main lower masts and, when built, the yards for these masts. Performance ''Thermopylae'' was designed for the China tea trade. Her outbound passage was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alison Leggatt
Alison Joy Leggatt (7 February 1904 – 15 July 1990) was an English character actress. Career Born in the Kensington district of London, Leggatt trained under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Drama, then based in the Royal Albert Hall, London. Leggatt spent the early part of her career primarily on the stage. Her performance in Miles Malleson's ''The Fanatics'' in 1927 launched her, according to ''The New York Times'', as "one of the most promising theatrical newcomers of her generation". Other stage work included the original 1931 Drury Lane production of ''Cavalcade'' by Noël Coward. Her first major film credit was as Aunt Sylvia in ''This Happy Breed'' (1944), Noël Coward's homage to the British working class. She was known for playing a variety of disapproving in-laws, motherly landladies, nosy neighbours and helpful housekeepers. She played opposite Petula Clark three times, in ''Here Come the Huggetts'' (1948), ''The Card'' (1952) and ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lord Devlin
Patrick Arthur Devlin, Baron Devlin, PC, FBA (25 November 1905 – 9 August 1992) was a British judge and legal philosopher. The second-youngest English High Court judge in the 20th century, he served as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary from 1960 to 1964. In 1959, Devlin headed the Devlin Commission, which reported on the State of Emergency declared by the colonial governor of Nyasaland. In 1985 he became the first British judge to write a book about a case he had presided over, the 1957 trial of suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams.Devlin, Patrick; "Easing the Passing", London, The Bodley Head, 1985 Devlin was involved in the debate about homosexuality in British law; in response to the Wolfenden report, he argued, contrary to H. L. A. Hart, that a common public morality should be upheld. Devlin's daughter Clare, then aged 81, said in 2021 that her father had sexually abused her from the age of 7 until her teens. Early life and education Patrick Devlin was born in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Médaille Militaire
The ''Médaille militaire'' ( en, Military Medal) is a military decoration of the French Republic for other ranks for meritorious service and acts of bravery in action against an enemy force. It is the third highest award of the French Republic, after the Légion d'honneur, a civil and military order, and the ordre de la Libération, a Second World War-only order. The ''Médaille militaire'' is therefore the most senior entirely military active French decoration. During World War I, 230,000 ''médailles'' were awarded, when 1,400,000 French Army soldiers were killed and 3,000,000 wounded. For comparison, the UK |
Croix De Guerre
The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts; the '' croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures'' ("cross of war for external theatres of operations") was established in 1921 for these. The Croix de Guerre was also commonly bestowed on foreign military forces allied to France. The Croix de Guerre may be awarded either as an individual award or as a unit award to those soldiers who distinguish themselves by acts of heroism involving combat with the enemy. The medal is awarded to those who have been "mentioned in dispatches", meaning a heroic deed or deeds were performed meriting a citation from an individual's headquarters unit. The unit award of the Croix de Guerre with palm was issued to military ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Order Of Leopold II
The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgium, incorporated into the Belgian awards system. The order is awarded for meritorious service to the sovereign of Belgium, and as a token of his personal goodwill. It can be awarded to both Belgians and foreigners, and is seen as diplomatic gift of merit. The order has become a long service order for people in the civil service and is awarded alternatively with the Order of the Crown, as the Order of Leopold is awarded under rarer circumstances. The order currently stands third after the Order of Leopold (1st) and the Order of the Crown (2nd) in the Belgian honors hierarchy. The Order of Leopold II is awarded by royal decree. Classes The Order of Leopold II is issued in five classes and three medals: * ', who wears the badge on a sash o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
(FANY)
The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Princess Royal's Volunteer Corps) (FANY (PRVC)) is a British independent all-female registered charity formed in 1907 and active in both nursing and intelligence work during the World Wars. Its members wear a military-style uniform, but it is not part of the Regular Army or Army Reserve; members do not train at Sandhurst, nor do they hold a commission. Formation It was formed as the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry in 1907 as a first aid link between the field hospitals and the front lines, and was given the ' yeomanry' name as its members were originally mounted on horseback. Unlike nursing organisations, the FANY saw themselves rescuing the wounded and giving first aid, similar to a modern combat medic. Their founder, Sergeant Major, later Captain, Edward Baker, a veteran of the Sudan Campaign and the Second Boer War, felt that a single rider could get to a wounded soldier faster than a horse-drawn ambulance. Each woman was trained not only in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
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] |
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, which also became Britain's largest aircraft manufacturing centre by 1918, producing military aircraft such as the Wellington and civil airliners like the Viscount and VC-10. The circuit hosted its last race in August 1939 and today part of it forms the Brooklands Museum, a major aviation and motoring museum, as well as a venue for vintage car, motorcycle and other transport-related events. History Brooklands motor circuit The Brooklands motor circuit was the brainchild of Hugh Fortescue Locke-King, and was the first purpose-built banked motor race circuit in the world. Following the Motor Car Act 1903, Britain was subject to a blanket speed limit on public roads: at a time when nearly 50% of the world's new cars were produced in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muriel Thompson
Muriel Thompson (10 June 1875 – 3 March 1939) was a decorated Scottish World War I ambulance driver, racing driver and suffragist. Early life and family Thompson was born on 10 June 1875 in Aberdeen, Scotland to Agnes Marion Williamson (1846–1926), the second wife of Cornelius Thompson, a shipowner and marine architect. She was the fifth of eight children. Her grandfather George Thompson had been Lord Provost of Aberdeen and an MP (1852) for the city. Racing driver and chauffeur for the WSPU Thompson was an avid motorist, and from an early age she drove the family car. She and her brothers helped found the Brooklands Automobile Racing Club. On 4 July 1908 she won the first ladies’ motor race held at Brooklands, the Ladies' Bracelet Handicap. She won in her brother's Austin racing car, with a speed of . She also won the Scratch Motor Car Race. Thompson was hired as a chauffeur for the Women's Social and Political Union, and drove Emmeline Pankhurst on her national t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
