Tommy Brown (NAAFI Assistant)
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Tommy Brown (NAAFI Assistant)
Thomas William Brown GM ( 1926 – 13 February 1945) was an English recipient of the George Medal, one of the youngest persons to have ever received that award. In October 1942, as a NAAFI canteen assistant, he was involved in the action between ''Petard'' and , being one of three men to board the sinking submarine in an effort to retrieve vital documents, and was the only one of the three to survive. These documents greatly assisted Bletchley Park codebreakers in cracking the German Enigma code. After this heroic deed, it was revealed that he was underage to be at sea. He returned home to North Shields. In 1945 he died from injuries sustained while rescuing his sister Maureen from a house fire in North Shields Ridges Estate whilst on leave from HMS ''Belfast''. His family were presented with his medal by King George VI in 1945, and later presented it to the NAAFI in 1985. NAAFI career At the age of 15, Brown joined the NAAFI and was assigned as a Canteen Assistant onboa ...
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North Shields
North Shields () is a town in the Borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. Since 1974, it has been in the North Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wear: it's historic administration was as part of the Castle ward in county of Northumberland. It was part of the Tynemouth County Borough, when abolished in 1974 the borough became an unparished area. It is on the northern bank of the River Tyne, opposite to South Shields on the other bank. The name derives from Middle English ''schele'' meaning "temporary sheds or huts used by fishermen". History Earliest records North Shields is first recorded in 1225, when the Prior of Tynemouth, Germanus, decided to create a fishing port to provide fish for the Priory which was situated on the headland at the mouth of the River Tyne. He also supplied ships anchored near the priory. A number of rudimentary houses or 'shiels' were erected at the mo ...
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Port Said
Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of 603,787 (2010), it is the List of cities and towns in Egypt, fifth-largest city in Egypt. The city was established in 1859 during the building of the Suez Canal. There are numerous old houses with grand balconies on all floors, giving the city a distinctive look. Port Said's twin city is Port Fuad, which lies on the eastern bank of the Suez Canal. The two cities coexist, to the extent that there is hardly any town centre in Port Fuad. The cities are connected by free Ferry, ferries running all through the day, and together they form a metropolitan area with over a million residents that extends both on the African and the Asian sides of the Suez Canal. The only other metropolitan area in the world that also spans two continents is Istanbul. ...
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1920s 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), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music * 19 (band), a Japanese pop music duo Albums * ''19'' (Adele album), 2008 * ''19'', a 2003 album by Alsou * ''19'', a 2006 album by Evan Yo * ''19'', a 2018 album by 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), a 2019 EP by 1the9 Songs * "19" (song), a 1985 song by British musician Paul Hardcastle. * "Nineteen", a song by Bad4Good from the 1992 album ''Refugee'' * "Nineteen", a song by Karma to Burn from the 2001 album ''Almost Heathen''. * "Nineteen" (song), a 2007 song by American singer Billy Ray Cyrus. * "Nineteen", a song by Tegan and Sara from the 2007 album '' The Con''. * "XIX" (song), a 2014 song by Slipkno ...
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John Leake (DSM)
John Steven Leake (26 October 1949 – 13 February 2000) was an English recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal whilst working for the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI), one of only twelve to be issued to the British forces during the Falklands War. Prior to working for the NAAFI, he worked in private security and was a soldier in the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment of the British Army. Early life Born in Erdington, a suburb of Birmingham, England, Leake attended Albert Road School in Aston. Leake joined the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, serving with the 1st Battalion of the Regiment in Northern Ireland. As one of his roles, he was an instructor in the use of the General-purpose machine gun. At the age of 24, he left the British Army to work for private security companies, including for Securicor at Birmingham Airport. He was working for locally based IMI plc, when he decided to join the West Midlands Police, but after arriving early for his interview he read ...
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Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwent substantial industrial development, spurred by the establishment there of the world's first permanent steam-locomotive-powered passenger railway: the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Much of the vision (and financing) behind the railway's creation was provided by local Quaker families in the Georgian and Victorian eras. In the 2011 Census, the town had a population of 92,363 (the county's largest settlement by population) which had increased by the 2020 estimate population to 93,417. The borough's population was 105,564 in the census, It is a unitary authority and is a constituent member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority therefore part of the Tees Valley mayoralty. History Darnton Darlington started as an Anglo-Saxon settlement. ...
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Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. Apart from two years between 1922 and 1924, he was a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) from 1900 to 1964 and represented a total of five UK Parliament constituency, constituencies. Ideologically an Economic liberalism, economic liberal and British Empire, imperialist, he was for most of his career a member of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party, which he led from 1940 to 1955. He was a member of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party from 1904 to 1924. Of mixed English and American parentage, Churchill was born in Oxfordshire to Spencer family, a wealthy, aristocratic family. He joined the British Army in 1895 and saw action in British Raj, Br ...
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George Cross
The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has been equal in stature to the Victoria Cross, the highest military gallantry award. It is awarded "for acts of the greatest heroism or for most conspicuous courage in circumstance of extreme danger", not in the presence of the enemy, to members of the British armed forces and to British civilians. Posthumous awards have been allowed since it was instituted. It was previously awarded to residents of Commonwealth countries (and in one case to Malta, a colony that subsequently became a Commonwealth country), most of which have since established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any military rank in any service and to civilians including police, emergency services and merchant seamen ...
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Montagu Whaler
The Montagu whaler was the standard seaboat of the Royal Navy between 1910–1970, it was a clinker built open boat, which could be pulled by oars or powered by saila shorter version of was also built. It was double-ended; having a pointed stem and stern. Retired Rear Admiral The Honourable Victor Montagu (Royal Navy officer), Victor Montagu proposed the design. The Royal Navy - and associated Commonwealth navies such as the Royal Australian Navy, Royal New Zealand Navy - used the whalers until the 1960s. They were used for service, training and recreation. Whaler races were organised between ships and ports; minor royalty often handed out the trophies. After service, some were passed on to other groups, including the Sea Cadets. The whaler was later fitted with outboard motors; a less successful derivative had an on-board petrol motor. When rowed, it had had five oarsmen and a coxwain; in all it could carry 27 men. History The Naval whaler was derived from commercial whaleb ...
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Seacock
A seacock is a valve on the hull of a boat or a ship, permitting water to flow into the vessel, such as for cooling an engine or for a salt water faucet; or out of the boat, such as for a sink drain or a toilet. Seacocks are often a Kingston valve. Seacocks are left open or are closed depending on the situation. Seacocks feeding into or out of a closed system, like the engine cooling system, are almost always left open. Seacocks connected to something open, such as a sink drain, might be opened up in port but closed when at sea. The reason for this is that when the boat is level, the drain or other opening will always be above the waterline, and so water will only flow out. At sea, when the boat rolls in the waves, the opening may sometimes be below the waterline. If the seacock is open, water may flood the boat, causing it to sink. Along the same lines, some seacocks on warships are designed to flood the ship when opened. Typically, this is done to magazines to prevent deton ...
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Colin Grazier
Colin Grazier, GC (7 May 1920 – 30 October 1942) was a sailor in the Royal Navy who was posthumously awarded the George Cross for the "outstanding bravery and steadfast devotion to duty in the face of danger" which he displayed on 30 October 1942 in action in the eastern Mediterranean when capturing codebooks vital for the breaking of the German naval "Shark" Enigma cipher from the sinking . Early life Grazier was born at Two Gates in Tamworth, the son of Colin Grazier and his wife, Margaret Twynham. He was educated locally and joined the Royal Navy as soon as the Second World War began. He served on HMS ''Petard''. Grazier married Olive M. Grazier just before going to war. They lived at 211 Tamworth Road in Kingsbury, Warwickshire. 30 October 1942 On the night of 30 October 1942 an enemy submarine was reported north of Port Said. The destroyers , , , , and were ordered to proceed from Alexandria to relieve who had been searching for the submarine (which was German U-bo ...
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Francis Anthony Blair Fasson
Lieutenant Francis Anthony Blair Fasson, (17 July 1913 – 30 October 1942), known as Tony Fasson, was a Royal Navy officer. He was posthumously awarded the George Cross "for outstanding bravery and steadfast devotion to duty in the face of danger" when on 30 October 1942 in action in the Mediterranean Sea he captured codebooks vital for the breaking of the German naval "Shark" Enigma machine, Enigma cipher from the sinking . Biography Fasson was born in the village of Lanton, Scottish Borders, Lanton, Roxburghshire, the son of Frank Fasson, Francis Hamilton Fasson, a captain of the Scottish Horse, and Lilias Clara Fasson (née Bruce). His uncle Robert Robertson Fasson RN was a commander in the Royal Navy. Fasson was educated at Jedburgh Grammar School, and entered the Royal Navy on 6 September 1930, serving aboard the battleship as a midshipman until June 1933. Promoted to Acting (rank), acting-sub-lieutenant on 1 September 1933, he attended the Royal Naval College, Greenwic ...
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Conning Tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer in charge can conn the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for the ship's engine, rudder, lines, and ground tackle. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility of the entirety of the ship, ocean conditions, and other vessels. The naval term "conn" may derive from the Middle English ''conne'' (study, become acquainted with) or French ''conduire'' from Latin ''conducere'' (conduct). Surface ships On surface ships, the conning tower was a feature of all battleships and armored cruisers from about 1860 to the early years of World War II. Located at the front end of the superstructure, the conning tower was a heavily armored cylinder, with tiny slit windows on three sides providing a reasonable field of view. Designed to shield just enough personnel and devices for navigation during battle ...
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