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The Princess Mary Hospital, RAF Akrotiri
The Princess Mary's Hospital, RAF Akrotiri, (often abbreviated to TPMH), was a military hospital located on the Royal Air Force base at Akrotiri on the island of Cyprus. The hospital was the last British military hospital to remain in operation after all other hospitals had closed down in the 1990s and 2000s. Originally the site was a dedicated RAF Hospital, but since 1996 it had been a Defence Medical Services asset. The hospital provided care for service personnel, their dependants and the local Cypriot population. It also treated many others from non-British and non-Cypriot countries. The setting of the hospital gave rise to the nickname ''Alcatraz'', and it was staffed by personnel from the Royal Air Force and the British Army. It treated its last case, and stopped affording treatment, in October 2012, but formal closure of the building came in 2013. The hospital and associated structures were demolished between 2015 and 2016. Medical care for military personnel on the isla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Akrotiri
RAF Akrotiri ( el, Βασιλική Πολεμική Αεροπορία Ακρωτηρίου) is a large Royal Air Force base on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. It is located in the Western Sovereign Base Area, one of two areas which comprise Akrotiri and Dhekelia, a British Overseas Territory, administered as a Sovereign Base Area. The station commander has a dual role and is also the officer commanding the Akrotiri or Western Sovereign Base Area, reporting to the commander of British Forces Cyprus who is also the Administrator. History RAF Akrotiri was first constructed in the mid-1950s to relieve pressure on the main RAF station on the island, RAF Nicosia. Suez Crisis In late 1956, relations between the United Kingdom and Egypt had reached a crisis. The Suez Crisis saw a further increase in the strength of RAF forces in Cyprus. Akrotiri was mainly an airfield for fighter, photo reconnaissance and ground attack aircraft. Its regular squadrons of Gloster Meteor nig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Wroughton
RAF Wroughton is a former Royal Air Force airfield near Wroughton, in Wiltshire, England, about south of Swindon. Ministry of Defence aviation activity ceased in 1972. The airfield now belongs to the Science Museum Group and is home to the National Collections Centre, which houses the group's large-object storage and library. Early history The airfield opened on 1 April 1940. It was used for the assembly and storage of aircraft during the World War II, Second World War. The following units were here at some point: * No. 15 Maintenance Unit RAF * No. 41 Group Test Pilots Pool * No. 76 Maintenance Unit RAF * No. 88 Gliding School RAF * Maintenance Command Jet Training Flight Control of RAF Wroughton was handed over to the Royal Navy and it became the Royal Naval Aircraft Yard Wroughton in 1972. RAF Princess Alexandra Hospital RAF Hospital Wroughton was part of the station and stood near the eastern boundary of the site, about west of Chiseldon. The RAF General Hospital ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the northeast and Berkshire to the east. The county town was originally Wilton, after which the county is named, but Wiltshire Council is now based in the county town of Trowbridge. Within the county's boundary are two unitary authority areas, Wiltshire and Swindon, governed respectively by Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council. Wiltshire is characterised by its high downland and wide valleys. Salisbury Plain is noted for being the location of the Stonehenge and Avebury stone circles (which together are a UNESCO Cultural and World Heritage site) and other ancient landmarks, and as a training area for the British Army. The city of Salisbury is notable for its medieval cathedral. Swindon is the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Lyneham
Royal Air Force Lyneham otherwise known as RAF Lyneham was a Royal Air Force station located northeast of Chippenham, Wiltshire, and southwest of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The station was the home of all the Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport aircraft of the Royal Air Force (RAF) before they were relocated to RAF Brize Norton. RAF Lyneham was the Royal Air Force's principal transport hub, operating the modern Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules, and the ageing, but very adaptable, Lockheed C-130K Hercules. The airfield was designated as a Master Diversion Airfield: it was one of the primary airfields to which aircraft could divert in the eventuality of their home bases being closed due to weather, or other unforeseen events such as aircraft crashes. The airfield became renowned for being the "gateway" between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan; the station was also where repatriation of British personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan took place. The bodies were transported thr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John McCarthy (journalist)
John Patrick McCarthy (born 27 November 1956) is a British journalist, writer and broadcaster, and one of the hostages in the Lebanon hostage crisis. McCarthy was the United Kingdom's longest-held hostage in Lebanon, where he was a prisoner for more than five years. Career He attended Lochinver House School, then Haileybury and Imperial Service College, Hertfordshire, and read American Studies at the University of Hull. McCarthy was a journalist working for United Press International Television News at the time of his kidnap by Islamic Jihad Organization, Islamic Jihad terrorists in Lebanon. He had only recently arrived in Beirut when on 17 April 1986, two days after United States Airforce, US airstrikes on 1986 United States bombing of Libya, Libya, WTN ordered him to leave. He was being escorted to the airport when a group of gunmen intercepted his car. He was held in captivity until his release on 8 August 1991. He shared a cell with the Irish hostage Brian Keenan (writer) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terry Waite
Terence Hardy Waite (born 31 May 1939) is an English humanitarian and author. Waite was the Assistant for Anglican Communion Affairs for the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, in the 1980s. As an envoy for the Church of England, he travelled to Lebanon to try to secure the release of four hostages, including the journalist John McCarthy. He was himself kidnapped and held captive from 1987 to 1991. After his release he wrote ''Taken on Trust'', a book about his experiences, and became involved in humanitarian causes and charitable work. Early life and career The son of a village policeman in Styal, Cheshire, Waite was educated at Stockton Heath County Secondary School where he became head boy. Although his parents were only nominally religious, he showed a commitment to Christianity from an early age and later became a Quaker and an Anglican. Waite joined the Grenadier Guards at Caterham Barracks, but an allergy to a dye in the uniform obliged him to depart after ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jackie Mann
Jackie Mann, (11 June 1914 – 12 November 1995) was a Royal Air Force fighter pilot in the Battle of Britain, who in later life was kidnapped by Islamists in Lebanon in May 1989 and held hostage for more than two years. RAF career Born in Northampton on 11 June 1914, Mann joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in Reading in 1938. As a sergeant pilot (Service No. 127025), he was posted in July 1940 to No. 64 Squadron RAF, flying Spitfires. He was shot down by Royal Navy anti-aircraft fire on 16 August. He was then posted to No. 92 Squadron in late August, and was wounded in action on 14 September. He was subsequently posted to No. 91 Squadron, but on 4 April 1941 was again shot down and wounded, being badly burned. His opponent was either ''Oberst'' Adolf Galland or ''Leut.'' Robert Menge of JG 26. He underwent plastic surgery at Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, where he was a founder member of the Guinea Pig Club. He was also awarded a Distinguished Flying Medal. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Peters (RAF Officer)
Squadron Leader John Peters (born 1961) is a former pilot of the Royal Air Force (RAF). Early life He attended the independent Churcher's College in east Hampshire, leaving in 1980. By the age of 17, he had his pilot's licence. He attended the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (commonly known as UMIST, now part of the University of Manchester since 2004), gaining a BSc in Building Technology in 1983. He was an RAF university cadet, joining the RAF in 1979, training at RAF Woodvale with the Manchester and Salford Universities Air Squadron. He later graduated with an MBA from the University of Leicester. Career After his RAF training, he was based at RAF Chivenor, RAF Lossiemouth and RAF Laarbruch. He became a staff pilot in 1987 at the Air Navigation School (ANS) of No. 6 Flying Training School at RAF Finningley. In 1988, he moved to XV Squadron at RAF Laarbruch after converting to the Tornado GR1 as a Flight Lieutenant. Gulf War On his first missi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Nicol
John Nicol (1755-1825) was a Scottish sailor who in 1789 sailed on '' Lady Juliana'', a ship that transported convict women to Port Jackson in New South Wales, Australia.Bayham 2004 His autobiography, published in 1822, offers a rare first-hand account of the life of an ordinary Georgian sailor. Life Nicol was born at Currie, near Edinburgh, in Scotland. His father was a cooper, and his mother died in childbirth while Nicol was young. He was apprenticed to a cooper, and in 1776 joined the Royal Navy, serving first on HMS ''Proteus'' in the North Atlantic. He then served on HMS ''Surprise'', before being discharged at the conclusion of the American War of Independence in 1783. In the next few years Nicol sailed in a whaling ship in the waters off Greenland, and sailed to the West Indies and China. He also circumnavigated the globe during this period, doing so twice during his lifetime. In 1789 he left England on ''Lady Juliana'', which was transporting over 200 female conv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (European part of Turkey), Egypt, Iran, the Levant (including Syria (region), Ash-Shām and Cyprus), Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), and the Socotra Governorate, Socotra Archipelago (a part of Yemen). The term came into widespread usage as a replacement of the term Near East (as opposed to the Far East) beginning in the early 20th century. The term "Middle East" has led to some confusion over its changing definitions, and has been viewed by some to be discriminatory or too Eurocentrism, Eurocentric. The region includes the vast majority of the territories included in the closely associated definition of Western Asia (including Iran), but without the South Caucasus, and additionally includes all of Egypt (not just the Sina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Granby
Operation Granby, commonly abbreviated Op Granby, was the code name given to the British military operations during the 1991 Gulf War. 53,462 members of the British Armed Forces were deployed during the conflict. The total cost of operations was £2.434 billion (1992), of which at least £2.049 billion was paid for by other nations such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia; £200 million of equipment was lost or written off. The Joint Commander Gulf Forces, based in the United Kingdom at RAF High Wycombe, was Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Sir Patrick Hine 1 October 1990 – 31 March 1991, and Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Graydon from 31 March 1991. His political adviser was Andrew Palmer. The Commander British Forces Middle East, the in-theatre commander, based in Riyadh, was initially Air Marshal (AM) Andrew Wilson (September–October 1990), then Lieutenant-General Sir Peter de la Billière 6 October 1990 – March 1991, and Air Vice-Marshal Ian Macfadyen from March 1991. The Air Comma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turkish People
The Turkish people, or simply the Turks ( tr, Türkler), are the world's largest Turkic ethnic group; they speak various dialects of the Turkish language and form a majority in Turkey and Northern Cyprus. In addition, centuries-old ethnic Turkish communities still live across other former territories of the Ottoman Empire. Article 66 of the Turkish Constitution defines a "Turk" as: "Anyone who is bound to the Turkish state through the bond of citizenship." While the legal use of the term "Turkish" as it pertains to a citizen of Turkey is different from the term's ethnic definition, the majority of the Turkish population (an estimated 70 to 75 percent) are of Turkish ethnicity. The vast majority of Turks are Muslims and follow the Sunni and Alevi faith. The ethnic Turks can therefore be distinguished by a number of cultural and regional variants, but do not function as separate ethnic groups. In particular, the culture of the Anatolian Turks in Asia Minor has underlied and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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