|
John Lowther Du Plat Taylor
Colonel John Lowther du Plat Taylor Order of the Bath, CB Volunteer Decoration, VD (1829 – 5 March 1904) was the founder of the BFPO, Army Post Office Corps and the Post Office Rifles. Du Plat Taylor trained at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, but left in 1844 before he was commissioned. He then joined the Consular Service and was posted to China but was invalided back home after just two years. He joined the General Post Office in 1852 and worked as a Private Secretary to the Secretary of the Post Office, Sir Rowland Hill (postal reformer), Rowland Hill and then to United Kingdom Postmaster General, Postmaster General. Volunteer Movement and Formation of the Post Office Rifles and Army Post Office Corps His lifelong association with the Volunteer Force (Great Britain), Volunteer Movement began in 1860 when he joined the Civil Service Rifle Volunteers as an ensign. He was promoted to Captain (British Army and Royal Marines), Captain and by 1865 he held the rank of Major. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of a regiment in an army. Modern usage varies greatly, and in some cases, the term is used as an honorific title that may have no direct relationship to military service. The rank of colonel is typically above the rank of lieutenant colonel. The rank above colonel is typically called brigadier, brigade general or brigadier general. In some smaller military forces, such as those of Monaco or the Vatican, colonel is the highest rank. Equivalent naval ranks may be called captain or ship-of-the-line captain. In the Commonwealth's air force ranking system, the equivalent rank is group captain. History and origins By the end of the late medieval period, a group of "companies" was referred to as a "column" of an army. According to Raymond Ol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
49th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers
The Post Office Rifles was a unit of the British Army, first formed in 1868 from volunteers as part of the Volunteer Force, which later became the Territorial Force (and later the Territorial Army). The unit evolved several times until 1921, after which the name was lost during one of many reorganisations. History Beginnings – 49th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers Corps (Post Office Rifles) When the Volunteer Force was formed in 1859/60 Viscount Bury raised the 21st Middlesex Rifles Volunteer Corps (Civil Service Rifles) drawing its recruits from civil servants based in London. There were sufficient recruits from the GPO staff to form a Post Office company, which was placed under Captain John Lowther du Plat Taylor's command. On 13 December 1867 a bomb exploded outside Middlesex House of Detention, Clerkenwell. It was an attempt to rescue two members of Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) detained there awaiting trial. The Government's response was to raise special constables to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London Dock Strike (1889)
The 1889 London dock strike was an industrial dispute involving dock workers in the Port of London. It broke out on 14 August 1889, and resulted in victory for the 100,000 strikers when they won their pay claim of sixpence per hour, the so-called "dockers' tanner". The industrial action also established strong trade unions amongst London dockers, one of which became the nationally important Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Labourers' Union. The strike is widely considered a milestone in the development of the British labour movement, symbolising the growth of the New Unions of casual, unskilled and poorly paid workers, in contrast to the craft unions already in existence. The strike helped to draw attention to the problem of poverty in Victorian Britain and the dockers' cause attracted considerable public sympathy. Background Colonel G. R. Birt, the general manager at the Millwall Docks, gave evidence to a Parliamentary committee, on the physical condition of the workers: ''T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tilbury Docks
The Port of Tilbury is a port on the River Thames at Tilbury in Essex, England. It is the principal port for London, as well as being the main United Kingdom port for handling the importation of paper. There are extensive facilities for containers, grain, and other bulk cargoes. There are also facilities for the importation of cars. It forms part of the wider Port of London. Geography The Port of Tilbury lies on the north shore of the River Thames, downstream of London Bridge, at a point where the river makes a loop southwards, and where its width narrows to . The loop is part of the Thames lower reaches: within the meander was a huge area of marshland. Gravesend on the opposite shore had long been a port of entry for shipping, all of which had used the river itself for loading and unloading of cargo and passengers. There was also a naval dockyard at Northfleet at the mouth of the Ebbsfleet River. The new deepwater docks were an extension of all that maritime activity. The o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
East India Docks
The East India Docks were a group of docks in Blackwall, east London, north-east of the Isle of Dogs. Today only the entrance basin and listed perimeter wall remain visible. History Early history Following the successful creation of the West India Docks which opened in 1802, an Act of Parliament in 1803 set up the East India Dock Company, promoted by the Honourable East India Company. Joseph Cotton was chairman of the Dock Company from 1803. The foundation stone was laid on 11 March 1805 and the sluices of its floating gate opened on 26 July 1806, being ready to receive ships five days later. The docks, designed by engineer Ralph Walker,Skempton, A.W. (2002) ''A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland'', pp. 757-758 were located to the north-east of the West India Docks. They were based on the existing Brunswick Dock, which had been used for fitting out and repairing ships as part of Blackwall Yard. The Brunswick Dock, which had originally b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is headed by the Chief Royal Engineer. The Regimental Headquarters and the Royal School of Military Engineering are in Chatham in Kent, England. The corps is divided into several regiments, barracked at various places in the United Kingdom and around the world. History The Royal Engineers trace their origins back to the military engineers brought to England by William the Conqueror, specifically Bishop Gundulf of Rochester Cathedral, and claim over 900 years of unbroken service to the crown. Engineers have always served in the armies of the Crown; however, the origins of the modern corps, along with those of the Royal Artillery, lie in the Board of Ordnance established in the 15th century. In Woolwich in 1716, the Board formed the Royal Regime ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South African Republic and the Orange Free State) over the Empire's influence in Southern Africa from 1899 to 1902. Following the discovery of gold deposits in the Boer republics, there was a large influx of "foreigners", mostly British from the Cape Colony. They were not permitted to have a vote, and were regarded as "unwelcome visitors", invaders, and they protested to the British authorities in the Cape. Negotiations failed and, in the opening stages of the war, the Boers launched successful attacks against British outposts before being pushed back by imperial reinforcements. Though the British swiftly occupied the Boer republics, numerous Boers refused to accept defeat and engaged in guerrilla warfare. Eventually, British scorched eart ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suakin Expedition
The Suakin Expedition was either of two British military expeditions, led by Major-General Sir Gerald Graham V.C., to Suakin in Sudan, with the intention of destroying the power of the Sudanese military commander Osman Digna and his troops during the Mahdist War. The first expedition took place in February 1884 and the second in March 1885. First expedition The first expedition, in February 1884, led to several notable British victories, among them the Second Battle of El Teb and the Battle of Tamai. Second expedition Following the fall of Khartoum on 26 January 1885, Graham led a second expedition in March 1885. This expedition is sometimes referred to as the Suakin Field Force. Its purpose was to defeat Mahdist forces under Osman Digna in the region and to supervise and protect the construction of the Suakin-Berber Railway. A week after its arrival in Suakin, the expedition fought in two actions: the Battle of Hashin or Hasheen on 20 March, and the Battle of Tofrek on 22 M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Honour
A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military tradition, military units may be acknowledged for their achievements in specific wars or operations of a military campaign. In Great Britain and those countries of the Commonwealth which share a common military legacy with the British, battle honours are awarded to selected military units as official acknowledgement for their achievements in specific wars or operations of a military campaign. These honours usually take the form of a place and a date (e.g. "Cambrai 1917"). Theatre honours, a type of recognition in the British tradition closely allied to battle honours, were introduced to honour units which provided sterling service in a campaign but were not part of specific battles for which separate battle honours were awarded. Theatre h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1882 Anglo-Egyptian War
The British conquest of Egypt (1882), also known as Anglo-Egyptian War (), occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi and the United Kingdom. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha. It established firm British influence over Egypt at the expense of the Egyptians, the French, and the Ottoman Empire, whose already weak authority became nominal. Background In 1881, an Egyptian army officer, Ahmed ‘Urabi (then known in English as Arabi Pasha), mutinied and initiated a coup against Tewfik Pasha, the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan, because of grievances over disparities in pay between Egyptians and Europeans, as well as other concerns. In January 1882 the British and French governments sent a "Joint Note" to the Egyptian government, declaring their recognition of the Khedive's authority. On 20 May, British and French warships arrived off the coast of Alexandria. On 11 June, an anti-Christian riot occurred in Alexandria tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hugh Childers
Hugh Culling Eardley Childers (25 June 1827 – 29 January 1896) was a British Liberal statesman of the nineteenth century. He is perhaps best known for his reform efforts at the Admiralty and the War Office. Later in his career, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, his attempt to correct a budget shortfall led to the fall of the Liberal government led by William Gladstone. Early life Childers was born in London, the son of Reverend Eardley Childers and his wife Maria Charlotte (''née'' Smith), sister of Sir Culling Eardley, 3rd Baronet and granddaughter of Sampson Eardley, 1st Baron Eardley. He was educated at Cheam School under Pestalozzi and then both Wadham College, Oxford and Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating B.A. from the latter in 1850. Influential on his intellectual development were Adam Smith's theories of free trade, and capital returns. Childers then decided to seek a career in Australia and on 26 October 1850 arrived in Melbourne, Victoria along with his wife E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secretary Of State For War
The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and was assisted by a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for War, a Parliamentary Private Secretary who was also a Member of Parliament (MP), and a Military Secretary, who was a general. In the nineteenth century the post was twice held by future prime minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman. At the outset of the First World War, prime minister H. H. Asquith was filling the role, but he quickly appointed Lord Kitchener, who became famous while in this position for Lord Kitchener Wants You. He was replaced by David Lloyd George, who went on to become prime minister. Between the World Wars, the post was held by future prime minister Winston Churchill for two years. In the 1960s, John Profumo held this post at the time of the Profumo affair. Hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_p245_BOMBARDEMENT_OF_ALEXANDRIA_-_JULY_1882.jpg "Click for more on -> 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War")
_-_The_1st_Viscount_Melville_-_N03880_-_National_Gallery.jpg "Click for more on -> Secretary Of State For War")