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Gerard Broadmead Roope
Lieutenant-Commander Gerard Broadmead Roope (13 March 1905 – 8 April 1940) was a posthumous British recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. A 35-year-old Royal Navy officer, his action was the earliest awarded a Victoria Cross in the Second World War (although the award was not gazetted until after hostilities ended) and is one of very few to have the award justified, in part, from a recommendation and supporting evidence provided by the enemy. Early life, education, and early naval career Roope was born at Hillbrook, Trull, near Taunton in Somerset, son of Gerard Roope, described as a "gentleman of independent means", and Florence, daughter of Thomas Palfrey Broadmead, JP, of Enmore Castle, Somerset. The Broadmead family had owned Enmore Castle since the 1830s, becoming part of the landed gentry. He was educated at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth from th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the Bishops of Winchester. Parts of the inner ward house were turned into the Museum of Somerset and Somerset Military Museum. For the Second Cornish uprising of 1497, Perkin Warbeck brought an army of 6,000; most surrendered to Henry VII on 4 October 1497. On 20 June 1685 the Duke of Monmouth crowned himself King of England here in a rebellion, defeated at the Battle of Sedgemoor. Judge Jeffreys led the Bloody Assizes in the Castle's Great Hall. The Grand Western Canal reached Taunton in 1839 and the Bristol and Exeter Railway in 1842. Today it hosts Musgrove Park Hospital, Somerset County Cricket Club, is the base of 40 Commando, Royal Marines, and is home to the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office on Admiralty Way. The popular Taunton flow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enmore Castle
Enmore Castle is a historic building in the village of Enmore, Somerset, England. It is a Grade II listed building. Construction Enmore was the seat of the family of William Malet who built a great house, although the original date of construction is uncertain. The house passed to Elizabeth Malet who married John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester. In 1664 it included a hall, chapel and 20 hearths. The building was still standing in 1727. It was bought at some time before 1751 by John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont who over the next five years erected the first version of the present castle. The building consisted of a square surround an inner court which was by . The surrounding walls had square towers at the corners and semicircular turrets on each of the sides including around the doors, all were topped with battlements. Much of the building, including the offices and stables, was underground and accessed via the dry wide moat which was entered by a tunnel from the park. There ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warwickshire to the south-west, Staffordshire to the west, and Derbyshire to the north-west. The border with most of Warwickshire is Watling Street, the modern A5 road (Great Britain), A5 road. Leicestershire takes its name from the city of Leicester located at its centre and unitary authority, administered separately from the rest of the county. The ceremonial county – the non-metropolitan county plus the city of Leicester – has a total population of just over 1 million (2016 estimate), more than half of which lives in the Leicester Urban Area. History Leicestershire was recorded in the Domesday Book in four wapentakes: Guthlaxton, Framland, Goscote, and Gartree (hundred), Gartree. These later became hundred ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashby Parva
Ashby Parva is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. The parish had a population of 211 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 233 at the 2011 census. The village is in the west of the district, west of the M1 motorway, and nearby Ullesthorpe, Leire and Bitteswell. It is about 3 miles away from Lutterworth. The village was recorded in the Domesday Book. Ashby Parva is the home of the newly built Midlands Roller Arena, which used to host Major League Roller Hockey Europe competitions in the UK. It is the only purpose built inline hockey arena in the UK that is solely for the use of this one sport and it is used by thousands of athletes every year. The village's name means 'farm/settlement by the ash trees'. 'Parva' is the Latin word for small. The Civil War During the English Civil War parliamentary troops from Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county tow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clevedon
Clevedon (, ) is an English seaside town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, part of the ceremonial county of Somerset. It recorded a parish population of 21,281 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, estimated at 21,442 in 2019. It lies along the Severn Estuary, among small hills that include Church Hill, Wain's Hill (topped by the remains of an Iron Age hill fort), Dial Hill, Strawberry Hill, Castle Hill, Hangstone Hill and Court Hill, a Site of Special Scientific Interest with overlaid Pleistocene deposits. It features in the ''Domesday Book'' of 1086. Clevedon grew in the Victorian period as a seaside resort and in the 20th century as a dormitory town for Bristol. Facilities and functions The seafront has ornamental gardens, a Victorian bandstand and other attractions. Salthouse Field has a light railway running round the perimeter and is used for donkey rides in the summer. The shore consists of pebbled beaches and low rocky cliffs, with an old harbour ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London Gazette
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Roman Empire, Romans as ''Londinium'' and retains its medieval boundaries.See also: Independent city#National capitals, Independent city § National capitals The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national Government of the United Kingdom, government and Parliament of the United Kingdom, parliament. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the Counties of England, counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which largely comprises Greater London ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering. Within it there are three distinct organisations that are legally independent from each other, but are united within the movement through common basic principles, objectives, symbols, statutes and governing organisations. History Foundation Until the middle of the nineteenth century, there were no organized or well-established army nursing systems for casualties, nor safe or protected institutions, to accommodate and treat those who were wounded on the battlefield. A devout Calvinism, Calvinist, the Swiss businessman Jean-Henri Dunant traveled to Italy to meet then-French emperor Napoleon III in June 1859 with the intention of discussing difficulties in conducting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hellmuth Heye
Hellmuth Guido Alexander Heye (9 August 1895 – 10 November 1970) was a German admiral in World War II and politician in post-war Germany. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Naval career Heye graduated from high school in Berlin in early 1914 and immediately joined the Kaiserliche Marine, Imperial Navy. From April 1939 to September 1940 he commanded the Heavy Cruiser German cruiser Admiral Hipper, ''Admiral Hipper''. While taking his ship to Trondheim in April 1940 to land invasion troops there (Operation Weserübung), he encountered the British destroyer and sank it. Heye sent a message to the British Admiralty through the Red Cross praising the gallantry of ''Glowworms commander and crew, and this contributed to LtCdr Gerard Broadmead Roope, Gerard Roope receiving the earliest Victoria Cross of World War II, although the award was not made until 1945. Heye received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 18 January 1941. In 1942 he wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Home Fleet
The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First World War, it consisted of the four Port Guard ships. In 1905 it was disestablished, and from 1905 to 1907 remaining ships at a lesser state of readiness were split into the reserve divisions (Devonport Division, Nore Division, and Portsmouth Division). During the First World War, it comprised some of the older ships of the Royal Navy. During the Second World War, it was the Royal Navy's main battle force in European waters. Pre-First World War In the first years of the 20th century, the Royal Navy had four 'Port Guard' ships, stationed in the major naval bases, partially to act as flagships for the admirals commanding at those ports. These vessels appear to have been stationed at the Nore, Portsmouth, and Plymouth, as well as one other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Cruiser Admiral Hipper
''Admiral Hipper'' was the lead ship of the of heavy cruisers which served with Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. The ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1935 and launched February 1937; ''Admiral Hipper'' entered service shortly before the outbreak of war, in April 1939. The ship was named after Admiral Franz von Hipper, commander of the German battlecruiser squadron during the Battle of Jutland in 1916 and later commander-in-chief of the German High Seas Fleet. She was armed with a main battery of eight guns and, although nominally under the limit set by the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, actually displaced over . ''Admiral Hipper'' saw a significant amount of action during the war, notably present during the Battle of the Atlantic. She led the assault on Trondheim during Operation Weserübung; while en route to her objective, she sank the British destroyer . In December 1940, she broke out into the Atlantic Ocean to operat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vestfjorden (Norway)
Vestfjorden is a long fjord or oceanic sea in Nordland county, Norway. The name literally means "the west fjord", although it is called a fjord, it could best be described as a firth or an open bight (geography), bight of sea. The "fjord" lies between the Lofoten archipelago and the Salten district of mainland Norway. The term fjord (from the old Norse ''fjördr'' meaning firth or inlet) is used more generally for bodies of water in the western North Germanic languages, Scandinavian languages than the more narrow usage assigned in English. The Vestfjord flows from the area near the Narvik (town), town of Narvik to the west and southwest. The mouth of the Vestfjord is about wide, roughly running from the mainland Bodø (town), town of Bodø to the islands of Røstlandet and Værøya to the northwest of Bodø. The Vestfjord is famous for its cod fishery, which was exploited back to the early medieval period. More recently, the winter invasion of Orcas in the inner parts of Ve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
