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Melbourne Johns
Melbourne Johns (9 March 1901 – 7 August 1955) was a Welsh-born munitions factory worker who became known for having taken part in a World War II mission in France aimed at retrieving several pieces of machinery of military strategic value ahead of the German invasion. Biography Johns was born just outside the village of Hundleton, near Pembroke, in 1901, later attending Fishguard County School (now Ysgol Bro Gwaun). As an adult he moved to work in munition factories in England, often in Grantham. He married Catherine Williams in 1930. Sometime soon after the start of the war, he was working at the BMARC munitions factory in Grantham. Johns volunteered to go with a team to recover very important Deep Hole Boring Machines at the Hispano-Suiza works in France, against his bosses' wishes, before the invading Germans could get hold of them. Johns and the soldiers found the factory deserted, loaded the equipment onto a lorry and drove it away. They took it back to England. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Welsh People
The Welsh ( cy, Cymry) are an ethnic group native to Wales. "Welsh people" applies to those who were born in Wales ( cy, Cymru) and to those who have Welsh ancestry, perceiving themselves or being perceived as sharing a cultural heritage and shared ancestral origins. Wales is the third-largest Countries of the United Kingdom, country of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In the Acts of Union 1707, the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland merged to become the Kingdom of Great Britain. The majority of people living in Wales are British nationality law, British citizens. In Wales, the Welsh language ( cy, Cymraeg) is protected by law. Welsh remains the predominant language in many parts of Wales, particularly in North Wales and parts of West Wales, though English is the predominant language in South Wales. The Welsh language is also taught in schools throughout Wales, and, even in regions of Wales in which Welsh people predominantly speak English ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Foreman Went To France
''The Foreman Went to France'' (released in the USA as ''Somewhere in France'' ) is a 1942 British Second World War war film starring Clifford Evans, Tommy Trinder, Constance Cummings and Gordon Jackson. It was based on the real-life wartime exploits of Welsh munitions worker Melbourne Johns, who rescued machinery used to make guns for Spitfires and Hurricanes. It was an Ealing Studios film made in 1941 with the support of the War Office and the Free French Forces. All of the 'heroes' are portrayed as ordinary people caught up in the war. Plot In 1940, Welsh armaments factory foreman Fred Carrick goes to France on his own initiative to retrieve three large pieces of machinery for making cannon for Spitfires before the German army arrives. In Bivary, he requests the aid of two soldiers and, more importantly, use of their army lorry. He also gets the help of the company secretary in France, an American woman who needs to go north to find her sister who is a nurse. While in Franc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1955 Deaths
Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijiangshan Islands: The Chinese Communist People's Liberation Army seizes the islands from the Republic of China (Taiwan). * January 22 – In the United States, The Pentagon announces a plan to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), armed with nuclear weapons. * January 23 – The Sutton Coldfield rail crash kills 17, near Birmingham, England. * January 25 – The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union announces the end of the war between the USSR and Germany, which began during World War II in 1941. * January 28 – The United States Congress authorizes President Dwight D. Eisenhower to use force to protect Formosa from the People's Republic of China. February * February 10 – The United States Seventh Flee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1901 Births
Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * 19 (film), ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * Nineteen (film), ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music * 19 (band), a Japanese pop music duo Albums * 19 (Adele album), ''19'' (Adele album), 2008 * ''19'', a 2003 album by Alsou * ''19'', a 2006 album by Evan Yo * ''19'', a 2018 album by MHD (rapper), MHD * ''19'', one half of the double album ''63/19'' by Kool A.D. * ''Number Nineteen'', a 1971 album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron * XIX (EP), ''XIX'' (EP), a 2019 EP by 1the9 Songs * 19 (song), "19" (song), a 1985 song by British musician Paul Hardcastle. * "Nineteen", a song by Bad4Good from the 1992 album ''Refugee (Bad4Good album), Refugee'' * "Nineteen", a song by Karma to Burn from the 2001 album ''Almost Heathen''. * Nineteen (song), "Nineteen" (song), a 2007 song by American singer Billy Ray Cyrus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clifford Evans (actor)
Clifford George Evans (17 February 1912 – 9 June 1985) was a Welsh actor. During the summer of 1934 Evans appeared in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' at the Open Air Theatre in London. He played many parts in British films of the 1930s, then during the Second World War was a conscientious objector, serving in the Non-Combatant Corps. He continued to act during the war and starred in the films ''The Foreman Went to France'' (1942) and ''The Flemish Farm'' (1943). After the war, Evans's best known film roles were for Hammer Studios: he played Don Alfredo Carledo in ''The Curse of the Werewolf'' (1961) and Professor Zimmer, an inebriated vampire-hunter, in ''The Kiss of the Vampire'' (1963). His last screen role was in Granada TV's ''A Land of Ice Cream'' in 1985. On television, Evans appeared with George Woodbridge and Tim Turner in the 15-episode series '' Stryker of the Yard'' (1957). Between 1965 and 1969, he played a major role in the TV boardroom drama ''The Power Game'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constance Cummings
Constance Cummings CBE (May 15, 1910 – November 23, 2005) was an American-British actress with a career spanning over 50 years. Early life Cummings was born in Seattle, Washington, the only daughter and younger child of Kate Logan (née Cummings), a concert soprano, and Dallas Vernon Halverstadt, a lawyer. Her mother was sister to Helen Cummings Bruce, whose daughter, Helen Bruce Baldwin, was the wife of famed 20th century journalist Hanson W. Baldwin. Cummings' parents separated when she was 10 years old, and she never saw her father again. She attended St. Nicholas Girls' School in Seattle. Career The San Diego Stock Company gave Cummings her initial acting opportunity in a "walk-on part" playing a prostitute in a 1926 production of ''Seventh Heaven.'' She debuted on Broadway as a chorus girl, a member of the ensemble in ''Treasure Girl'' (1928) by the age of 18. While appearing on Broadway, she was discovered by Samuel Goldwyn, who brought her to Hollywood in 1931. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gordon Jackson (actor)
Gordon Cameron Jackson, (19 December 1923 – 15 January 1990) was a Scottish actor best remembered for his roles as the butler Angus Hudson in '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' and as George Cowley, the head of CI5, in '' The Professionals''. He also portrayed Capt Jimmy Cairns in ''Tunes of Glory'', and Flt. Lt. Andrew MacDonald, "Intelligence", in '' The Great Escape''. Early life Gordon Jackson was born in Glasgow in 1923, the youngest of five children. He attended Hillhead High School, and in his youth he took part in BBC radio shows including '' Children's Hour''. He left school aged 15 and became a draughtsman for Rolls-Royce. Early career His film career began in 1942, when producers from Ealing Studios were looking for a young Scot to act in ''The Foreman Went to France'' and he was suggested for the part. After this, he returned to his job at Rolls-Royce, but he was soon asked to do more films, and he decided to make acting his career. Jackson soon appeared in other films, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Morley
Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE (26 May 1908 – 3 June 1992) was an English actor who enjoyed a lengthy career in both Britain and the United States. He was frequently cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment, often in supporting roles. In 1939 he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of King Louis XVI in ''Marie Antoinette''. In ''Movie Encyclopedia'', film critic Leonard Maltin describes Morley as "recognisable by his ungainly bulk, bushy eyebrows, thick lips and double chin, ... particularly effective when cast as a pompous windbag." Ephraim Katz in his ''International Film Encyclopaedia'' describes Morley as "a rotund, triple-chinned, delightful character player of the British and American stage and screen." In his autobiography, ''Responsible Gentleman'', Morley said his stage career started with managements valuing his appearance for playing "substantial gentleman" roles – as a doctor, lawyer, ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Trinder
Thomas Edward Trinder CBE (24 March 1909 – 10 July 1989) was an English stage, screen and radio comedian whose catchphrase was "You lucky people!". Described by cultural historian Matthew Sweet as "a cocky, front-of-cloth variety turn", he was one of the United Kingdom's foremost entertainers during the Second World War. Known for his confident and direct style of comedy, Trinder first found recognition with his music hall revues in the late 1930s. During the war, he worked for ENSA and maintained a successful film career, starring in a string of Ealing Studios films including ''Sailors Three'' (1940), '' Champagne Charlie'' (1944) and '' Bitter Springs'' (1950). During the 1950s, Trinder became a television star, notably as the original host for ''Sunday Night at the London Palladium'' (1955-1958). In 1959, he was elected chairman of Fulham Football Club, a position he maintained until 1976. He continued to perform into the 1980s. Biography Early life (1909–1937) Tommy Tri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations. The United States is also in free association with three Pacific Island sovereign states: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. It is the world's third-largest country by both land and total area. It shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south and has maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other nations. With a population of over 333 million, it is the most populous country in the Americas and the third most populous in the world. The national capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. and its most populous city and principal financial center is New York City. Paleo-Americ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Somewhere In France
''Somewhere in France'' is a 1916 silent era war espionage drama motion picture starring Louise Glaum and Howard C. Hickman. Directed by Charles Giblyn and produced by Thomas H. Ince, the screenplay was adapted by J. G. Hawks based on the 1915 novel of the same title by Richard Harding Davis, which was also serialized in ''The Saturday Evening Post''. The production companies for ''Somewhere in France'' were the New York Motion Picture Company and Kay-Bee Pictures. It was distributed through the Triangle Film Corporation. Glaum brings her femme fatale persona of a vamp (woman) to this feature length war drama. Plot An evil French woman, Marie Chaumontel (played by Glaum), is a spy for the Germans during World War I. She vamps and seduces officers of the French high command, accumulating state secrets and then discarding her lovers. Chaumontel is the mistress of Captain Henry Ravignac (played by Storm). She steals some papers from him and gives them to the Germans, then ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by the Supermarine Spitfire during the Battle of Britain in 1940, but the Hurricane inflicted 60 percent of the losses sustained by the Luftwaffe in the campaign, and fought in all the major theatres of the Second World War. The Hurricane originated from discussions between RAF officials and aircraft designer Sir Sydney Camm about a proposed monoplane derivative of the Hawker Fury biplane in the early 1930s. Despite an institutional preference for biplanes and lack of interest by the Air Ministry, Hawker refined their monoplane proposal, incorporating several innovations which became critical to wartime fighter aircraft, including retractable landing gear and the more powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. The Air Ministry ordered Hawker's ''Int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
