James Somerville
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James Somerville
Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Fownes Somerville, (17 July 1882 – 19 March 1949) was a Royal Navy officer. He served in the First World War as fleet wireless officer for the Mediterranean Fleet where he was involved in providing naval support for the Gallipoli Campaign. He also served in the Second World War as commander of the newly formed Force H: after the French armistice with Germany, Winston Churchill gave Somerville and Force H the task of neutralizing the main element of the French battle fleet, then at Mers El Kébir in Algeria. After he had destroyed the French Battle fleet, Somerville played an important role in the pursuit and sinking of the . Somerville later became Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Fleet. In April 1942 Admiral Chūichi Nagumo's powerful Indian Ocean raid inflicted heavy losses on his fleet. However, in spring 1944, with reinforcements, Somerville was able to go on the offensive in a series of aggressive air strikes in the Japanese-occupied Dutc ...
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Weybridge
Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the River Wey, which flows into the River Thames to the north of the town centre. The earliest evidence of human activity is from the Bronze Age. During the Anglo-Saxon and medieval periods, Weybridge was held by Chertsey Abbey. In the 1530s, Henry VIII constructed Oatlands Palace to the north of the town centre, which he intended to be the residence of his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. He married Catherine Howard there in July 1540 and the palace remained a royal residence until the Civil War. The buildings were demolished in the early 1650s and a new mansion, Oatlands House, was constructed to the east of Weybridge later the same century. Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany owned the mansion in the 18th century. The town began to ex ...
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Knight Grand Cross Of The Order Of The British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established on 4 June 1917 by King George V and comprises five classes across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two of which make the recipient either a knight if male or dame if female. There is also the related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are affiliated with, but not members of, the order. Recommendations for appointments to the Order of the British Empire were originally made on the nomination of the United Kingdom, the self-governing Dominions of the Empire (later Commonwealth) and the Viceroy of India. Nominations continue today from Commonwealth countries that participate in recommending British honours. Most Commonwealth countries ceased recommendations for appointments to the Order of the British Empire when they ...
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Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich, to train clergymen in canon law following their decimation during the Black Death. Historically, Trinity Hall taught law; today, it teaches the sciences, arts, and humanities. Trinity Hall has two sister colleges at the University of Oxford, All Souls and University College. Notable alumni include theoretical physicists Stephen Hawking and Nobel Prize winner David Thouless, Australian Prime Minister Stanley Bruce, Canadian Governor General David Johnston, philosopher Marshall McLuhan, Conservative cabinet minister Geoffrey Howe, Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham, writer J. B. Priestley, and Academy Award-winning actress Rachel Weisz. History The devastation caused by the Black Death plague of ...
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New Norfolk, Tasmania
New Norfolk is a town on the River Derwent, in the south-east of Tasmania, Australia. At the 2011 census, New Norfolk had a population of 5,543. Situated north-west of Hobart on the Lyell Highway, New Norfolk is a modern Australian regional centre which retains evidence of its pioneer heritage. Two examples of this heritage are Tasmania's oldest Anglican church, St. Matthews (built in 1823) and one of Australia's oldest hotels, The Bush Inn (Tasmania), trading continuously in the same building (built in 1815) since issue of the first licence on 29 September 1825. Many private homes from the 1800s to the early 1820s have also survived, such as Glen Derwent, Stanton, Valleyfield, and Woodbridge. History Resettlement of Norfolk Islanders Approximately 163 of the pioneers who settled around the town were from the 554 folk resettled when the first Norfolk Island settlement was closed, most arriving during the period between 29 November 1807 and 2 October 1808. These Norfolk Isl ...
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Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Dutch government in 1800. During the 19th century, the Dutch possessions and hegemony expanded, reaching the greatest territorial extent in the early 20th century. The Dutch East Indies was one of the most valuable colonies under European rule, and contributed to Dutch global prominence in spice and cash crop trade in the 19th to early 20th centuries. The colonial social order was based on rigid racial and social structures with a Dutch elite living separate from but linked to their native subjects. The term ''Indonesia'' came into use for the geographical location after 1880. In the early 20th century, local intellectuals began developing the concept of Indonesia as a nation state, and set the stage ...
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Chūichi Nagumo
Chūichi Nagumo (, ''Nagumo Chūichi''; 25 March 1887 – 6 July 1944) was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Nagumo led Japan's main carrier battle group, the ''Kido Butai'', in the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Indian Ocean raid and the Battle of Midway. He committed suicide during the Battle of Saipan. Early life Nagumo was born in the city of Yonezawa, Yamagata Prefecture in northern Japan in 1887. He graduated from the 36th class of the IJN Academy in 1908, with a ranking of 8 out of a class of 191 cadets. As a midshipman, he served in the protected cruisers and and the armored cruiser . After his promotion to ensign in 1910, he was assigned to cruiser . After attending torpedo and naval artillery schools, he was promoted to sub-lieutenant and served in the battleship , followed by the destroyer . In 1914, he was promoted to lieutenant and was assigned to the battlecruiser , followed by the destroyer . He was assigned his first command, ...
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Algeria
) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religion = , official_languages = , languages_type = Other languages , languages = Algerian Arabic (Darja) French , ethnic_groups = , demonym = Algerian , government_type = Unitary semi-presidential republic , leader_title1 = President , leader_name1 = Abdelmadjid Tebboune , leader_title2 = Prime Minister , leader_name2 = Aymen Benabderrahmane , leader_title3 = Council President , leader_name3 = Salah Goudjil , leader_title4 = Assembly President , leader_name4 = Ibrahim Boughali , legislature = Parliament , upper_house = Council of the Nation , lower_house ...
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Mers El Kébir
Mers El Kébir ( ar, المرسى الكبير, translit=al-Marsā al-Kabīr, lit=The Great Harbor ) is a port on the Mediterranean Sea, near Oran in Oran Province, northwest Algeria. It is famous for the attack on the French fleet in 1940, in the Second World War. History Originally a Roman port called ''Portus Divinus'', Mers-el-Kébir became an Almohad naval arsenal in the 12th century, fell under the rulers of the Kingdom of Tlemcen in the 13th century, and eventually became a center of pirate activity around 1492. It was fought over by the Ottoman Turks, Portuguese (defeated in the 1501 Battle of Mers El Kebir by Abu Abdallah IV) and Spanish (defeated in the 1507 Battle of Mers-el-Kébir by Abu Abd Allah V), with the Spanish (who named it ''Mazalquivir'') capturing it in 1505 under Cardinal Cisneros. Mazalquivir was the base used to capture neighbouring Oran in 1509. The Spanish held both cities until 1708, when they were driven out by Bey Mustapha Ben Youssef (also ...
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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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Mediterranean Fleet
The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between the United Kingdom and the majority of the British Empire in the Eastern Hemisphere. The first Commander-in-Chief for the Mediterranean Fleet was the appointment of General at Sea Robert Blake in September 1654 (styled as Commander of the Mediterranean Fleet). The Fleet was in existence until 1967. Pre-Second World War The Royal Navy gained a foothold in the Mediterranean Sea when Gibraltar was captured by the British in 1704 during the War of Spanish Succession, and formally allocated to Britain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Though the British had maintained a naval presence in the Mediterranean before, the capture of Gibraltar allowed the British to establish their first naval base there. The British also used Port Mahon, on the isla ...
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Commander Of The Legion Of Merit
The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight uniformed services of the United States
Note: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Amendments Act of 2012 amended the Legion of Merit to be awarded to any uniformed service.
as well as to military and political figures of foreign governments. The Legion of Merit (Commander degree) is one of only two United States military decorations to be issued as a (the other being the