1.
First Battle of El Alamein
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The British prevented a second advance by the Axis forces into Egypt. Since General Ritchie had virtually no armoured units left fit to fight, to defend the Matruh line, Ritchie placed 10th Indian Infantry Division and 50th Infantry Division under X Corps HQ, newly arrived from Syria. The 1st Armoured Division had taken over 4th and 22nd Armoured Brigades from 7th Armoured Division which by this time had three tank regiments between them. On 25 June, General Claude Auchinleck—Commander-in-Chief Middle East Command—relieved Ritchie and he decided not to seek a decisive confrontation at the Mersa Matruh position. He decided instead to employ delaying tactics while withdrawing a further 100 miles or more east to a defensible position near El Alamein on the Mediterranean coast. While preparing the Alamein positions, Auchinleck fought strong delaying actions, first at Mersa Matruh on 26–27 June, the result was poor co-ordination between the two forward Corps and units within them. Late on 26 June, the 90th Light and 21st Panzer Divisions managed to find their way through the minefields in the centre of the front, early on 27 June, resuming its advance, the 90th Light was checked by British 50th Divisions artillery. Meanwhile, the 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions advanced east above, the 15th Panzer were blocked by 4th Armoured and 7th Motor Brigades, but the 21st Panzer were ordered on to attack Minqar Qaim. Rommel ordered 90th Light to resume its advance, requiring it to cut the coast road behind 50th Division by the evening, as the 21st Panzer moved on Minqar Qaim, the 2nd New Zealand Division found itself surrounded. It succeeded in breaking out on the night of 27 June without serious losses, Auchinleck had planned a second delaying position at Fuka, some 30 mi east of Matruh, and at 21,20 he issued the orders for a withdrawal to Fuka. Confusion in communication led the division withdrawing immediately to the El Alamein position, X Corps, having made an unsuccessful attempt to secure a position on the escarpment, were out of touch with Eighth Army from 19,30 until 04,30 the next morning. Only then did they discover that the order had been given. The withdrawal of XIII Corps had left the flank of X Corps on the coast at Matruh exposed. They were ordered to break out southwards into the desert and then make their way east, Auchinleck ordered XIII Corps to provide support but they were in no position to do so. At 21,00 on 28 June, X Corps—organised into brigade groups—headed south, in the darkness, there was considerable confusion as they came across enemy units laagered for the night. In the process, 5th Indian Division in particular sustained heavy casualties, Axis forces captured more than 6,000 prisoners, in addition to 40 tanks and an enormous quantity of supplies. Alamein itself was a railway station on the coast. Some 10 mi to the lay the Ruweisat Ridge, a low stony ridge that nonetheless gave excellent observation for many miles over the surrounding desert
2.
Second Battle of El Alamein
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The Second Battle of El Alamein was a decisive battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. With the Allies victorious, it marked the watershed of the Western Desert Campaign, the First Battle of El Alamein had prevented the Axis from advancing further into Egypt. The British victory turned the tide in the North African Campaign and ended the Axis threat to Egypt, the Suez Canal, the Second Battle of El Alamein revived the morale of the Allies, being the first big success against the Axis since Operation Crusader in late 1941. The battle coincided with the Allied invasion of French North Africa in Operation Torch, which started on 8 November, as well as the Battle of Stalingrad and this threatened the British Empires control of the Suez Canal and Mandatory Palestine. General Claude Auchinleck withdrew the Eighth Army to within 80 kilometres of Alexandria to a point where the Qattara Depression came to within 64 kilometres of El Alamein on the coast. This gave the defenders a short front to defend and provided secure flanks because tanks could not traverse the Depression, the Axis advance was halted here in early July in the First Battle of El Alamein. The Eighth Army counter-offensives during July failed, as Rommel had dug in to allow his troops to regroup. Auchinleck called off all offensive action at the end of July to allow rebuilding the Eighth Armys strength. The attack failed in this battle at the Alamein line, better known as the Battle of Alam el Halfa, expecting a counter-attack by Montgomerys Eighth Army. The factors that had favoured the Eighth Armys defensive plan in the First Battle of El Alamein, the front line. Rommel, furthermore, had plenty of time to prepare his defensive positions and lay extensive minefields, Alexander and Montgomery were determined to establish a superiority of forces sufficient not only to achieve a breakthrough but also to exploit it and destroy Panzer Army Africa. The British had an advantage, signals intelligence from Ultra and local sources, exposed the Axis order of battle, its supply position, force disposition. A reorganisation of the function in Africa in July had also improved the integration of intelligence received from all sources. With rare exceptions, intelligence identified the ships destined for North Africa, their location or routing and in most cases their cargoes. By 25 October, Panzer Army fuel stocks were down to three days supply, of only two days worth were east of Tobruk. Did not possess the operational freedom of movement that was essential in consideration of the fact that the British offensive can be expected to start any day. Submarine and air transport somewhat eased the shortage of ammunition and by late October, after six more weeks, the Eighth Army was ready,195,000 men and 1,029 tanks began the offensive against the 116,000 men and 547 tanks of Panzer Army Africa. Montgomerys plan was for an attack to the north of the line
3.
El Alamein
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El Alamein is a town in the northern Matrouh Governorate of Egypt. Located on the Mediterranean Sea, it lies 106 kilometres west of Alexandria and 240 kilometres northwest of Cairo, as of 2007, it had a local population of 7,397 inhabitants. El Alamein has a hot climate, in common with most of the Middle East. However, like the rest of the northern coast of Egypt, its climate is less hot, compared to the rest of Egypt. El Alamein has a war museum with collectibles from the civil war, visitors can also go to the Italian and German military cemeteries on Tel el-Eisa Hill outside the town. The German cemetery is an ossuary, built in the style of a medieval fortress, the Italian cemetery is a mausoleum containing 5.200 tombs. Many tombs bear the name, many are simply marked IGNOTO. There is a separate Greek cemetery at El Alamein, there is also a Commonwealth war cemetery, built and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, with graves of soldiers from various countries who fought on the Allied side. Buried here are 6,425 identified Commonwealth service personnel and 815 unidentified ones, besides 102 of other nationalities, the names of 213 Canadian airmen appear on the Alamein Memorial in Egypt. The cemetery was designed by Sir J. Hubert Worthington, at the Second Battle of El Alamein Allied forces broke the Axis line and forced them all the way back to Tunisia. Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister at the time, said of this victory, Now this is not the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. After the war, he wrote, Before Alamein we never had a victory, after Alamein, we never had a defeat. El Alamein International Airport Marina El Alamein Enham Alamein El Alamein Fountain Falling Rain Genomics, geographical information on Al Alamayn, Egypt. El Alamein photos, Commonwealth war cemetery, Italian and German memorial, El Alamein war museum, Egypt
4.
Governorates of Egypt
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Governorates are the first-level of the subdivisions. Egypt is divided, for administrative purposes, into twenty-seven governorates, egyptian governorates are the top tier of the countrys jurisdiction hierarchy. A governorate is administered by a governor, who is appointed by the President of Egypt, most governorates have a population density of more than one thousand per km², while the three largest have a population density of less than two per km². Governorates are either fully urban or else a mixture of urban, the official distinction between urban and rural is reflected in the lower tiers, i. e. fully urban governorates have no regions, as the markaz is, natively, a conglomeration of villages. Moreover, governorates may comprise just one city, as in the case of Cairo Governorate or Alexandria Governorate, hence, these one-city governorates are only divided into districts. Cairo Governorate consists of 41 districts, Alexandria Governorate consists of 7, two new governorates were created in April 2008, Helwan and 6th of October. In April 2011, however, the 6th of October and Helwan governorates were again incorporated into the Cairo and Giza Governorates, respectively. Luxor was created in December 2009, to be the 29th governorate of Egypt, but with the abolition of the 6th of October and Helwan governorates, before 1979, local government traditionally enjoyed limited power in Egypts highly centralized state. Under the central government, there were twenty-six governorates and these were subdivided into regions, each of which was further subdivided into towns or villages. At each level, there was a structure that combined representative councils and government-appointed executive organs headed by governors, district officers. Governors were appointed by the president, and they, in turn, the coercive backbone of the state apparatus ran downward from the Ministry of Interior through the governors executive organs to the district police station and the village headman. Before the 1952 revolution, state penetration of the areas was limited by the power of local notables. However, under Nasser, land reform reduced their socioeconomic dominance, the extension of officials into the countryside permitted the regime to bring development and services to the village. State penetration did not retreat under Sadat and Mubarak, the earlier effort to mobilize peasants and deliver services disappeared as the local party and cooperative withered, but administrative controls over the peasants remained intact. The local power of the old families and the headmen revived, the district police station balanced the notables, and the system of local government integrated them into the regime. Sadat took several measures to decentralize power to the provinces and towns, governors acquired more authority under Law Number 43 of 1979, which reduced the administrative and budgetary controls of the central government over the provinces. The elected councils acquired, at least formally, the right to approve or disapprove the local budget, in an effort to reduce local demands on the central treasury, local government was given wider powers to raise local taxes. Local representative councils became vehicles of pressure for government spending, under Mubarak decentralization and local autonomy became more of a reality, and local policies often reflected special local conditions
5.
Matrouh Governorate
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Matrouh Governorate is one of the governorates of Egypt. Located in the part of the country, it borders Libya. The interior of the Matrouh Governorate is part of Egypts Western Desert, including the Siwa Oasis, in the center of the Governorate is the Qattara Depression, descending to 133 metres below sea level. Marsa Matrouh is the ancient Paraetonium and it was the westernmost city of Aegyptus as defined in the Hellenistic period. The city of Apis, some 18 km to the west of Paraetonium, marked the boundary to Libycus Nomus, Matrouh Governorate contains many historical sites related to World War II. The latter include El Alamein, which comprises cemeteries of fallen soldiers from Axis, an estimated 16 million mines, planted by the Europeans during the world wars, still hinder development of most of the governorate, and are constantly being removed. The province has been described as religiously conservative, according to population estimates from 2015 the majority of residents in the governorate live in urban areas, with an urbanization rate of 70. 6%. Out of an estimated 447,846 people residing in the governorate,316,005 people live in areas as opposed to only 131,841 in rural areas
6.
Eastern European Time
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Eastern European Time is one of the names of UTC+02,00 time zone,2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. The zone uses daylight saving time, so that it uses UTC+03,00 during the summer, a number of African countries use UTC+02,00 all year long, where it is called Central Africa Time, although Egypt and Libya also use the term Eastern European Time. The following countries, parts of countries, and territories use Eastern European Time all year round, Egypt, since 21 April 2015, used EEST from 1988–2010, Kaliningrad Oblast, since 26 October 2014, also used EET in years 1945 and 1991–2011. Libya, since 27 October 2013, switched from Central European Time, used year-round EET from 1980–1981, 1990–1996 and 1998–2012. Belarus, in years 1922–30 and 1990–2011 In Poland this time was used in years 1918–22, in time of World War II, Germany implemented MET in east occupied territories. Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol used EET as part of Ukraine in years 1991-94 and 1996-2014 Turkey, used EET in years 1910-1978, now uses year round DST timezone called Further-eastern European Time or Turkey Time. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus also uses FET, sometimes, due to its use on Microsoft Windows, FLE Standard Time or GTB Standard Time are used to refer to Eastern European Time. Since political, in addition to geographical, criteria are used in the drawing of time zones. The EET time zone, were it drawn by purely geographical terms, the easternmost part of the Republic of Macedonia, including the city of Strumica. The absolutely easternmost part of Serbia, in the Pirot District, the easternmost town in Norway, Vardø, lies at 30°51 E, which is located east of even of the central meridian of UTC+2, i. e. east of Istanbul and Alexandria. The Norwegian-Russian border is the place where CET borders Moscow time. There is a point at the Norway-Finland-Russia tripoint, near the town of Rayakoski. Belarus is located between 23°11′E and 32°47′E and is fully located with the physical UTC+2 area, but it uses UTC+3 year around. This also includes the city of Anapa, at the westernmost tip of the Krasnodar Krai near the entrance to the Sea of Azov, the Norway–Russia–Finland tri-zone point at Muotkavaara is surrounded by three different times in winter, two in summer. It had three time zones year-around before 2014, two of the four tripoints of Belarus and the tripoint of the Kaliningrad Region are surrounded by three different times in winter
7.
Arabic
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Arabic is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. Arabic is also the language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six languages of the United Nations. The modern written language is derived from the language of the Quran and it is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic, which is the language of 26 states. Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the standards of Quranic Arabic. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-Quranic era, Arabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history. During the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics. As a result, many European languages have borrowed many words from it. Many words of Arabic origin are found in ancient languages like Latin. Balkan languages, including Greek, have acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish. Arabic has also borrowed words from languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times. Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages, the Ancient South Arabian languages, the Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include, The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation into a past tense, the conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation into a present tense. The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms, the development of an internal passive. These features are evidence of descent from a hypothetical ancestor. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family were spoken and it is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages, in Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested
8.
Mediterranean Sea
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The sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a separate body of water. The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin mediterraneus, meaning inland or in the middle of land and it covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km2, but its connection to the Atlantic is only 14 km wide. The Strait of Gibraltar is a strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar. In oceanography, it is called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the European Mediterranean Sea to distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere. The Mediterranean Sea has a depth of 1,500 m. The sea is bordered on the north by Europe, the east by Asia and it is located between latitudes 30° and 46° N and longitudes 6° W and 36° E. Its west-east length, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Gulf of Iskenderun, the seas average north-south length, from Croatia’s southern shore to Libya, is approximately 800 km. The Mediterranean Sea, including the Sea of Marmara, has an area of approximately 2,510,000 square km. The sea was an important route for merchants and travelers of ancient times that allowed for trade, the history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies. In addition, the Gaza Strip and the British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar and Akrotiri, the term Mediterranean derives from the Latin word mediterraneus, meaning amid the earth or between land, as it is between the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe. The Ancient Greek name Mesogeios, is similarly from μέσο, between + γη, land, earth) and it can be compared with the Ancient Greek name Mesopotamia, meaning between rivers. The Mediterranean Sea has historically had several names, for example, the Carthaginians called it the Syrian Sea and latter Romans commonly called it Mare Nostrum, and occasionally Mare Internum. Another name was the Sea of the Philistines, from the people inhabiting a large portion of its shores near the Israelites, the sea is also called the Great Sea in the General Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer. In Ottoman Turkish, it has also been called Bahr-i Sefid, in Modern Hebrew, it has been called HaYam HaTikhon, the Middle Sea, reflecting the Seas name in ancient Greek, Latin, and modern languages in both Europe and the Middle East. Similarly, in Modern Arabic, it is known as al-Baḥr al-Mutawassiṭ, in Turkish, it is known as Akdeniz, the White Sea since among Turks the white colour represents the west. Several ancient civilisations were located around the Mediterranean shores, and were influenced by their proximity to the sea. It provided routes for trade, colonisation, and war, as well as food for numerous communities throughout the ages, due to the shared climate, geology, and access to the sea, cultures centered on the Mediterranean tended to have some extent of intertwined culture and history. Two of the most notable Mediterranean civilisations in classical antiquity were the Greek city states, later, when Augustus founded the Roman Empire, the Romans referred to the Mediterranean as Mare Nostrum
9.
Alexandria
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Alexandria is the second largest city and a major economic centre in Egypt, extending about 32 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country. Its low elevation on the Nile delta makes it vulnerable to rising sea levels. Alexandria is Egypts largest seaport, serving approximately 80% of Egypts imports and exports and it is an important industrial center because of its natural gas and oil pipelines from Suez. Alexandria is also an important tourist destination, Alexandria was founded around a small Ancient Egyptian town c.331 BC by Alexander the Great. Alexandria was the second most powerful city of the ancient world after Rome, Alexandria is believed to have been founded by Alexander the Great in April 331 BC as Ἀλεξάνδρεια. Alexanders chief architect for the project was Dinocrates, Alexandria was intended to supersede Naucratis as a Hellenistic center in Egypt, and to be the link between Greece and the rich Nile valley. The city and its museum attracted many of the greatest scholars, including Greeks, Jews, the city was later plundered and lost its significance. Just east of Alexandria, there was in ancient times marshland, as early as the 7th century BC, there existed important port cities of Canopus and Heracleion. The latter was rediscovered under water. An Egyptian city, Rhakotis, already existed on the shore also and it continued to exist as the Egyptian quarter of the city. A few months after the foundation, Alexander left Egypt and never returned to his city, after Alexanders departure, his viceroy, Cleomenes, continued the expansion. Although Cleomenes was mainly in charge of overseeing Alexandrias continuous development, the Heptastadion, inheriting the trade of ruined Tyre and becoming the center of the new commerce between Europe and the Arabian and Indian East, the city grew in less than a generation to be larger than Carthage. In a century, Alexandria had become the largest city in the world and and it became Egypts main Greek city, with Greek people from diverse backgrounds. Alexandria was not only a center of Hellenism, but was home to the largest urban Jewish community in the world. The Septuagint, a Greek version of the Tanakh, was produced there, in AD115, large parts of Alexandria were destroyed during the Kitos War, which gave Hadrian and his architect, Decriannus, an opportunity to rebuild it. On 21 July 365, Alexandria was devastated by a tsunami, the Islamic prophet, Muhammads first interaction with the people of Egypt occurred in 628, during the Expedition of Zaid ibn Haritha. He sent Hatib bin Abi Baltaeh with a letter to the king of Egypt and Alexandria called Muqawqis In the letter Muhammad said, I invite you to accept Islam, Allah the sublime, shall reward you doubly. But if you refuse to do so, you bear the burden of the transgression of all the Copts
10.
Cairo
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Cairo is the capital and largest city of Egypt. Cairo has long been a center of the political and cultural life. Cairo has the oldest and largest film and music industries in the Arab world, as well as the worlds second-oldest institution of higher learning, Al-Azhar University. Many international media, businesses, and organizations have regional headquarters in the city, with a population of 6.76 million spread over 453 square kilometers, Cairo is by far the largest city in Egypt. An additional 9.5 million inhabitants live in proximity to the city. Cairo, like many other mega-cities, suffers from high levels of pollution, Cairos metro, one of only two in Africa, ranks among the fifteen busiest in the world, with over 1 billion annual passenger rides. The economy of Cairo was ranked first in the Middle East in 2005, Egyptians often refer to Cairo as Maṣr, the Egyptian Arabic name for Egypt itself, emphasizing the citys importance for the country. In Coptic the city is known as Kahire, meaning Place of the Sun, possibly referring to the ancient city of Heliopolis, the location of the ancient city is the suburb of Ain Shams. The ancient Egyptian name for the area is thought to be Khere-Ohe, The Place of Combat, sometimes the city is informally referred to as Kayro. The area around present-day Cairo, especially Memphis, had long been a point of Ancient Egypt due to its strategic location just upstream from the Nile Delta. However, the origins of the city are generally traced back to a series of settlements in the first millennium. Around the turn of the 4th century, as Memphis was continuing to decline in importance and this fortress, known as Babylon, remained the nucleus of the Roman, and, later, the Byzantine, city and is the oldest structure in the city today. It is also situated at the nucleus of the Coptic Orthodox community, many of Cairos oldest Coptic churches, including the Hanging Church, are located along the fortress walls in a section of the city known as Coptic Cairo. Following the Muslim conquest in 640 AD the conqueror Amr ibn As settled to the north of the Babylon in an area became known as al-Fustat. Originally a tented camp Fustat became a permanent settlement and the first capital of Islamic Egypt, in 750, following the overthrow of the Ummayad caliphate by the Abbasids, the new rulers created their own settlement to the northeast of Fustat which became their capital. This was known as al-Askar as it was laid out like a military camp, a rebellion in 869 by Ahmad ibn Tulun led to the abandonment of Al Askar and the building of another settlement, which became the seat of government. This was al-Qattai, to the north of Fustat and closer to the river, Al Qattai was centred around a palace and ceremonial mosque, now known as the Mosque of ibn Tulun. In 905 the Abbasids re-asserted control of the country and their returned to Fustat
11.
Commonwealth of Nations
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The Commonwealth of Nations, also known as simply the Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of 52 member states that are mostly former territories of the British Empire. The Commonwealth dates back to the century with the decolonisation of the British Empire through increased self-governance of its territories. It was formally constituted by the London Declaration in 1949, which established the states as free. The symbol of free association is Queen Elizabeth II who is the Head of the Commonwealth. The Queen is also the monarch of 16 members of the Commonwealth, the other Commonwealth members have different heads of state,31 members are republics and five are monarchies with a different monarch. Member states have no obligation to one another. Instead, they are united by language, history, culture and their values of democracy, free speech, human rights. These values are enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter and promoted by the quadrennial Commonwealth Games, the Commonwealth covers more than 29,958,050 km2, 20% of the worlds land area, and spans all six inhabited continents. She declared, So, it marks the beginning of that free association of independent states which is now known as the Commonwealth of Nations. As long ago as 1884, however, Lord Rosebery, while visiting Australia, had described the changing British Empire—as some of its colonies became more independent—as a Commonwealth of Nations. Conferences of British and colonial prime ministers occurred periodically from the first one in 1887, the Commonwealth developed from the imperial conferences. Newfoundland never did, as on 16 February 1934, with the consent of its parliament, Newfoundland later joined Canada as its 10th province in 1949. Australia and New Zealand ratified the Statute in 1942 and 1947 respectively, after World War II ended, the British Empire was gradually dismantled. Most of its components have become independent countries, whether Commonwealth realms or republics, there remain the 14 British overseas territories still held by the United Kingdom. In April 1949, following the London Declaration, the word British was dropped from the title of the Commonwealth to reflect its changing nature, burma and Aden are the only states that were British colonies at the time of the war not to have joined the Commonwealth upon independence. Hoped for success was reinforced by such achievements as climbing Mount Everest in 1953, breaking the four minute mile in 1954, however, the humiliation of the Suez Crisis of 1956 badly hurt morale of Britain and the Commonwealth as a whole. More broadly, there was the loss of a role of the British Empire. That role was no longer militarily or financially feasible, as Britains withdrawal from Greece in 1947 painfully demonstrated, Britain itself was now just one part of the NATO military alliance in which the Commonwealth had no role apart from Canada
12.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
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The Commission is also responsible for commemorating Commonwealth civilians who died as a result of enemy action during World War II. The Commission was founded by Fabian Ware and constituted through Royal Charter in 1917 named the Imperial War Graves Commission, the change to the present name took place in 1960. The Commission, as part of its mandate, is responsible for commemorating all Commonwealth war dead individually and equally, to this end, the war dead are commemorated by name on a headstone, at an identified site of a burial, or on a memorial. War dead are commemorated uniformly and equally, irrespective of military or civil rank, the Commission is currently responsible for the continued commemoration of 1.7 million deceased Commonwealth military service members in 153 countries. Since its inception, the Commission has constructed approximately 2,500 war cemeteries, the Commission is currently responsible for the care of war dead at over 23,000 separate burial sites and the maintenance of more than 200 memorials worldwide. The Commission operates through the financial support of the member states, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India. The current President of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is Prince Edward, at the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Fabian Ware, a director of the Rio Tinto Company, found that he was too old, at age 45, to join the British Army. He used the influence of Rio Tinto chairman, Viscount Milner, the new Graves Registration Commission had over 31,000 graves of British and Imperial soldiers registered by October 1915 and 50,000 registered by May 1916. When municipal graveyards began to overfill Ware began negotiations with local authorities to acquire land for further cemeteries. Ware began with an agreement with France to build joint British, similar negotiations began with the Belgian government. As reports of the grave registration work became public, the Commission began to receive letters of enquiry, by 1917,17,000 photographs had been dispatched to relatives. In March 1915, the Commission, with the support of the Red Cross, began to dispatch photographic prints, the directorates work was also extended beyond the Western Front and into other theatres of war, with units deployed in Greece, Egypt and Mesopotamia. As the war continued, Ware and others concerned about the fate of the graves in the post-war period. The National Committee for the Care of Soldiers Graves was created with the intention of taking over the work of the Directorate of Graves Registration, the government felt that it was more appropriate to entrust the work to a specially appointed body rather than to any existing government department. By early 1917, a number of members of the committee believed a formal imperial organisation would be needed to care for the graves. With the help of Edward, Prince of Wales, Ware submitted a memorandum to the Imperial War Conference in 1917 suggesting that an imperial organisation be constituted, the Commissions undertakings began in earnest at the end of the First World War. Once land for cemeteries and memorials had been guaranteed, the task of recording the details of the dead could begin. By 1918, some 587,000 graves had been identified, the scale, and associated high number of casualties, of the war produced an entirely new attitude towards the commemoration of war dead
13.
Victoria Cross
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The Victoria Cross is the highest award of the United Kingdom honours system. It is awarded for gallantry in the face of the enemy to members of the British armed forces and it was previously awarded to Commonwealth countries, most of which have established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857 and these investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace. The VC was introduced on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to honour acts of valour during the Crimean War, since then, the medal has been awarded 1,358 times to 1,355 individual recipients. Only 15 medals,11 to members of the British Army, the traditional explanation of the source of the metal from which the medals are struck is that it derives from Russian cannon captured at the Siege of Sevastopol. Some research has suggested a variety of origins for the material, research has established that the metal for most of the medals made since December 1914 came from two Chinese cannons that were captured from the Russians in 1855. Owing to its rarity, the VC is highly prized and the medal has fetched over £400,000 at auction, a number of public and private collections are devoted to the Victoria Cross. The private collection of Lord Ashcroft, amassed since 1986, contains over one-tenth of all VCs awarded, following a 2008 donation to the Imperial War Museum, the Ashcroft collection went on public display alongside the museums Victoria and George Cross collection in November 2010. These are unique awards of honours system, recommended, assessed, gazetted and presented by each country. In 1854, after 39 years of peace, Britain found itself fighting a war against Russia. The Crimean War was one of the first wars with modern reporting, before the Crimean War, there was no official standardised system for recognition of gallantry within the British armed forces. This structure was limited, in practice awards of the Order of the Bath were confined to officers of field rank. Brevet promotions or Mentions in Despatches were largely confined to those who were under the notice of the commanders in the field. Other European countries had awards that did not discriminate against class or rank, France awarded the Légion dhonneur and The Netherlands gave the Order of William. There was a feeling among the public and in the Royal Court that a new award was needed to recognise incidents of gallantry that were unconnected with a mans lengthy or meritorious service. Queen Victoria issued a Warrant under the Royal sign-manual on 29 January 1856 that officially constituted the VC, the order was backdated to 1854 to recognise acts of valour during the Crimean War. Queen Victoria had instructed the War Office to strike a new medal that would not recognise birth or class, the medal was meant to be a simple decoration that would be highly prized and eagerly sought after by those in the military services
14.
Percy Gratwick
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Percival Eric Percy Gratwick, VC was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Gratwick was born in Katanning, Western Australia on 19 October 1902, leaving school at the age of 16, he took up various jobs which included a period as a messenger at Parliament House. Later he worked as a blacksmith, a drover and a prospector, upon the outbreak of the Second World War, Gratwick attempted to join the Second Australian Imperial Force. However, issues with his nose, which had broken years earlier. In late 1940, after medical treatment on his nose, he attempted to enlist again. Following completion of his training in July 1941, Gratwick embarked for Libya, the battalion was among the defenders of Tobruk but was transferred to Palestine in October 1941. By June 1942, the battalion was in Egypt, on the night of 25/26 October 1942 during the attack at Miteiriya Ridge, Egypt, the platoon to which Gratwick belonged suffered considerable casualties, including the platoon commander and sergeant. Gratwick, realising the seriousness of the situation, charged a German machine-gun position by himself and he also killed a mortar crew. Under heavy machine-gun fire Gratwick then charged a second post, using his rifle, Gratwick is buried in El Alamein Commonwealth cemetery, and his Victoria Cross is displayed at the Army Museum of Western Australia in Fremantle, Western Australia. In Port Hedland, Western Australia, Gratwick Street, the Gratwick Aquatic Centre and the town theatre and community hall are all named in his honour
15.
Second Australian Imperial Force
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The Second Australian Imperial Force was the name given to the volunteer personnel of the Australian Army in World War II. Under the Defence Act, neither the part-time Militia nor the full-time Permanent Military Force could serve outside Australia or its territories unless they volunteered to do so, the Second AIF fought against Nazi Germany, the Kingdom of Italy, Vichy France and the Empire of Japan. Prime Minister Robert Menzies decided to do both, although the experience of the Great War indicated that Australia did not have the resources to do either, on 15 November 1939, Menzies announced the reintroduction of conscription for home defence service effective 1 January 1940. Unmarried men turning 21 in the year ending 30 June 1940 would be drafted into the Militia, because of this, the AIF could not accept personnel who were in reserved occupations. Although the AIF had priority for scarce personnel and equipment over the Militia, although the government had hoped that half of the new force would be drawn from the Militia, it was soon clear that this would not be achieved. The public was similarly torn between the dangers presented by Germany and Japan, after an initial rush, enlistments quickly tapered off. For these reasons, the Second AIF possessed only one division, the fall of France shocked both the government and the people into action. Lieutenant General Thomas Blamey was given command of the Second AIF on 13 October 1939, as such, he was answerable directly to the Minister of Defence, rather than to the Military Board. He was given a charter based on given to Major General William Throsby Bridges in 1914. This resulted in conflicts with British commanders, particularly the Commander-in-Chief Middle East, General Sir Claude Auchinleck, the 6th and 7th Divisions departed for the Far East in January 1942, followed by the 9th Division in February 1943. The last AIF units, three companies, returned via the United States in late 1943. C. A controversial decision of the Menzies government was that commands in Blameys 6th Division would be restricted to Militia officers. This greatly upset many PMF officers, however, when the 7th Division was formed in May 1940, a regular officer, Lieutenant General John Lavarack was appointed to command it. The commands then went to two CMF soldiers, Major Generals Gordon Bennett and Leslie Morshead, in addition, the 10th through 12th and the 2nd and 3rd Armoured Divisions were also Militia formations. There were three brigades in each division, Brigades were numbered from 16 onwards so as not to be confused with extant Militia brigades. There were initially four infantry battalions per brigade but this was reduced to three. Units of the Second AIF prefixed their numbers with a 2/ to distinguish themselves from Militia units. Where such a unit did not exist in the First AIF or the Militia, the 2/ was not initially used, after the war with Japan began, large numbers of experienced AIF officers were posted to Militia units
16.
Stan Gurney
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Arthur Stanley Stan Gurney, VC was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was 33 years old, and a private in the 2/48th Battalion, Private Gurney, realizing the seriousness of the situation, charged the nearest machine-gun post, silencing the guns and bayoneting three of the crew. He bayoneted two more at a second post before a grenade knocked him down, picking himself up, he charged a third post and disappeared from view. Later, his comrades, whose advance he had made possible and his VC citation appears in the London Gazette of Tuesday 8 September 1942. No. WX.9858 Private Arthur Stanley Gurney, Australian Military Forces, for gallant and unselfish bravery in silencing enemy machine-gun posts by bayonet assault at Tell El Eisa on 22 July 1942, thus allowing his Company to continue the advance. Grasping the seriousness of the situation and without hesitation, Private Gurney charged the nearest enemy machine-gun post and he then continued on to a second post, bayoneted two men and sent out a third as a prisoner. At his stage a stick grenade was thrown at Private Gurney which knocked him to the ground and he rose again, picked up his rifle and charged a third post using the bayonet with great vigour. He then disappeared from view, and later his body was found in an enemy post, by this single-handed act of gallantry in the face of a determined enemy, Private Gurney enabled his Company to press forward to its objective, inflicting heavy losses upon the enemy. The successful outcome of this engagement was almost entirely due to Private Gurneys heroism at the moment when it was needed, the Stan Gurney ward at the former Repatriation General Hospital, Hollywood, and the Stan Gurney V. C. Memorial Bike Race, held annually in Western Australia, are named in his honour, Gurneys medal group, including his Victoria Cross, came into the National Collection in 1994, and is on permanent display at the Australian War Memorial. Peter Brune, Gurney, Arthur Stanley, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 14, Melbourne University Press,1996, Gurney in The Art of War exhibition at the UK National Archives
17.
Bill Kibby
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Kibby was born at Winlaton, County Durham, England on 15 April 1903. In early 1914, the family emigrated to Adelaide, South Australia, after leaving school he was employed at a plasterworks in Edwardstown, where he designed and fixed plaster decorations. In 1926, he married Mabel Sarah Bidmead Morgan, they had two daughters, although he was diminutive, Kibby was a strong man and loved outdoor activities. In 1936, he joined the Militia, and was assigned to the 48 Field Battery, Kibby joined the Second Australian Imperial Force during the Second World War. In 1942, he was a sergeant in the 2/48th Infantry Battalion, on 23 October, he charged a machine gun position, firing at it with his Thompson submachinegun, Kibby killed three enemy soldiers, captured 12 others and took the position. His company commander intended to recommend him for the Distinguished Conduct Medal after this action, during the following days, Kibby moved among his men directing fire and cheering them on. He mended his platoons telephone line several times under intense fire, on 30–31 October, the platoon came under intense machine gun and mortar fire. Most of them were killed or wounded, in order to achieve his companys objective, Kibby moved forward alone, to within a few metres of the enemy, throwing grenades to destroy them. Just as his success in this endeavour appeared certain, he was killed and his Victoria Cross was awarded posthumously and is displayed at the Australian War Memorial. He is buried at the Commonwealth War Grave at El Alamein, while in Palestine Kibby, who had some talent as an artist, struck up a friendship with painter Esmond George and accompanied him on the occasional sketching trip. George was invalided back to Adelaide early in 1943, and was able to pass on to Mrs. Kibby some of her husbands works. Kibby Memorial Trust was set up and raised ₤1001, which was used to purchase a house on Third Avenue Helmsdale for Mrs. Kibby, Bill Gammage, Kibby, William Henry, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 15, Melbourne University Press,2000, pp 15–16. Sergeant W. H. Kibby in The Art of War exhibition at the UK National Archives
18.
Adam Wakenshaw
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On the 27th June,1942, south of Mersa Matruh, Private Wakenshaw was a member of the crew of a 2-pounder anti-tank gun. An enemy tracked vehicle towing a light gun came within short range, the gun crew opened fire and succeeded in immobilising the enemy vehicle. Another mobile gun came into action, killed or seriously wounded the crew manning the 2-pounder, including Private Wakenshaw, under intense fire, Private Wakenshaw crawled back to his gun. Although his left arm was blown off, he loaded the gun with one arm and fired five rounds, setting the tractor on fire. A direct hit on the ammunition finally killed him and destroyed the gun and this act of conspicuous gallantry prevented the enemy from using their light gun on the infantry Company which was only 200 yards away. It was through the sacrifice and courageous devotion to duty of this infantry anti-tank gunner that the Company was enabled to withdraw. His Victoria Cross medal is displayed at the Durham Light Infantry Museum & Durham Art Gallery, Durham City, England
19.
Durham Light Infantry
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The Durham Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th Regiment of Foot, the regiment served notably in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II, the Korean War and the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. During times of peace it had duty in India, China, West Germany, both already had their depots at Sunderland Barracks in Sunderland, as was the Brigade Depot. The militia battalions – the 1st Durham Fusiliers and 2nd North Durham Militia – became the 3rd and 4th battalions of the new regiment, with their depots in Barnard Castle and Durham City. A new regimental badge was to be worn, a Tudor rose, this was never worn on any article of clothing, instead the light infantry bugle horn was modified with a crown and the regiments abbreviation. The system was designed to permit one regular battalion of a regiment to be stationed at home, on formation of the regiment the 1st Battalion was in India at Meerut and the 2nd Battalion was in Ireland at Dublin. In August 1882 the 2nd Battalion was sent to the garrison the Mediterranean, the move was not popular as it took the Depot out of the County, it was not to return until 1939, when it was transferred to Brancepeth Castle. After the battle, while securing one of the Arabs nuggers, brought back and baptised as James Francis Durham he would enlist with the regiment and become a corporal of buglers before dying in August 1910. In January 1887, the 2nd Battalion sailed from Suez to India, while in India, the 2nd Battalion came to dominate the Indian polo scene, winning 17 tournaments against rich mens regiments and cavalry regiments. In 1897 and 1898, it assisted in combating outbreaks of the plague in Poona, the battalion was in a supporting role for the Relief of Ladysmith and took little part in the offensive that ended with the annexation of the Transvaal in September 1900. The war now became one of guerilla raids by the Boers against the British forces, the battalion was deployed guarding a section of railway line in the Transvaal, while sending two platoon sized units to the mounted infantry. During this time the battalion was joined or reinforced by units from the regiment. One company from the 2nd battalion came from India in January 1900 and formed part of the Burmah Mounted Infantry, the 4th arrived in February 1902 and was split into detachments serving in many places, and a mounted infantry company, which escorted convoys. The 4th returned to Britain in September, the volunteer battalions supplied contingents to form three special service companies, reinforcing the 1st battalion, which served individually between from March 1900 to April 1902. In 1908, as part of the Territorial Forces Act, the 3rd and 4th battalions exchanged numbers and were recast as the 3rd, the 1st to 5th Volunteer battalions were renumbered as the 5th to 9th battalions Durham Light Infantry of the Territorial Force. The 5th formed part of the York and Durham Brigade and the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th battalions forming the Durham Light Infantry Brigade of the Northumbrian Division, in 1911, the 1st battalion took part in the Delhi Durbar, receiving new colours from the King. During the First World War, the D. L. I, some battalions were part of the Army of occupation in Germany after the War. In addition, ten battalions of County Volunteers were raised under the terms of the 1859 Volunteer act, the regiment earned 59 battle honours and won six Victoria Crosses, but at the cost of 12,006 dead NCOs and other ranks
20.
Royal Air Force
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The Royal Air Force is the United Kingdoms aerial warfare force. Formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, following victory over the Central Powers in 1918 the RAF emerged as, at the time, the largest air force in the world. The RAF describe its mission statement as, an agile, adaptable and capable Air Force that, person for person, is second to none, and that makes a decisive air power contribution in support of the UK Defence Mission. The mission statement is supported by the RAFs definition of air power, Air power is defined as the ability to project power from the air and space to influence the behaviour of people or the course of events. Today the Royal Air Force maintains a fleet of various types of aircraft. The majority of the RAFs rotary-wing aircraft form part of the tri-service Joint Helicopter Command in support of ground forces, most of the RAFs aircraft and personnel are based in the UK, with many others serving on operations or at long-established overseas bases. It was founded on 1 April 1918, with headquarters located in the former Hotel Cecil, during the First World War, by the amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps, at that time it was the largest air force in the world. The RAFs naval aviation branch, the Fleet Air Arm, was founded in 1924, the RAF developed the doctrine of strategic bombing which led to the construction of long-range bombers and became its main bombing strategy in the Second World War. The RAF underwent rapid expansion prior to and during the Second World War, under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan of December 1939, the air forces of British Commonwealth countries trained and formed Article XV squadrons for service with RAF formations. Many individual personnel from countries, and exiles from occupied Europe. By the end of the war the Royal Canadian Air Force had contributed more than 30 squadrons to serve in RAF formations, additionally, the Royal Australian Air Force represented around nine percent of all RAF personnel who served in the European and Mediterranean theatres. In the Battle of Britain in 1940, the RAF defended the skies over Britain against the numerically superior German Luftwaffe, the largest RAF effort during the war was the strategic bombing campaign against Germany by Bomber Command. Following victory in the Second World War, the RAF underwent significant re-organisation, during the early stages of the Cold War, one of the first major operations undertaken by the Royal Air Force was in 1948 and the Berlin Airlift, codenamed Operation Plainfire. Before Britain developed its own nuclear weapons the RAF was provided with American nuclear weapons under Project E and these were initially armed with nuclear gravity bombs, later being equipped with the Blue Steel missile. Following the development of the Royal Navys Polaris submarines, the nuclear deterrent passed to the navys submarines on 30 June 1969. With the introduction of Polaris, the RAFs strategic nuclear role was reduced to a tactical one and this tactical role was continued by the V bombers into the 1980s and until 1998 by Tornado GR1s. For much of the Cold War the primary role of the RAF was the defence of Western Europe against potential attack by the Soviet Union, with many squadrons based in West Germany. With the decline of the British Empire, global operations were scaled back, despite this, the RAF fought in many battles in the Cold War period
21.
Battle of Britain
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The Battle of Britain was a military campaign of the Second World War, when the Royal Air Force defended the United Kingdom against the German Air Force attacks from the end of June 1940. It is described as the first major campaign fought entirely by air forces, the primary objective of the Nazi German forces was to compel Britain to agree to a negotiated peace settlement. In July 1940, the air and sea blockade began with the Luftwaffe mainly targeting coastal shipping convoys, ports and shipping centres, such as Portsmouth. On 16 July Hitler ordered the preparation of Operation Sea Lion as an amphibious and airborne assault on Britain. Nazi Germany was unable to sustain daylight raids, but their continued night bombing operations on Britain became known as the Blitz. Its first Chief of the Air Staff Hugh Trenchard was among the military strategists in the 1920s like Giulio Douhet who saw air warfare as a new way to overcome the stalemate of trench warfare, interception was near impossible with fighter planes no faster than bombers. Their view was that the bomber will always get through, Germany was forbidden military air forces by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, but developed aircrew training in civilian and sport flying. In 1926 the secret Lipetsk fighter-pilot school began operating, a winter 1933–34 war game indicated a need for fighters and anti-aircraft protection as well as bombers. On 1 March 1935 the Luftwaffe was formally announced, with Walther Wever as Chief of Staff, the list excluded bombing civilians to destroy homes or undermine morale, as that was considered a waste of strategic effort, but the doctrine allowed revenge attacks if German civilians were bombed. A revised edition was issued in 1940, and the central principle of Luftwaffe doctrine was that destruction of enemy armed forces was of primary importance. In the Spanish Civil War, the Luftwaffe in the Condor Legion tried out air fighting tactics, wolfram von Richthofen become an exponent of air power providing ground support to other services. The difficulty of hitting targets prompted Ernst Udet to require that all new bombers had to be dive bombers. Priority was given to producing large numbers of aeroplanes. The speed with which German forces defeated most of the armies in Norway in early 1940 created a significant political crisis in Britain. In early May 1940, the Norway Debate questioned the fitness for office of the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, on 10 May, the same day Winston Churchill became British Prime Minister, the Germans initiated the Battle of France with an aggressive invasion of French territory. The Germans were so convinced of an imminent armistice that they began constructing street decorations for the parades of victorious troops. Instead, Churchill used his skilful rhetoric to harden public opinion against capitulation, the Battle of Britain has the unusual distinction that it gained its name before being fought. In secret conference on 23 May 1939 Hitler set out his rather contradictory strategy that an attack on Poland was essential, if this is impossible, then it will be better to attack in the West and to settle Poland at the same time with a surprise attack
22.
Royal Tank Regiment
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The Royal Tank Regiment is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the Great War. Today, it is the regiment of the British Armys 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade. Formerly known as the Tank Corps and the Royal Tank Corps, the formation of the Royal Tank Regiment followed the invention of the tank. Tanks were first used at the Battle of Flers–Courcelette in September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme in the First World War, at that time the six tank companies were grouped as the Heavy Section of the Machine Gun Corps. On 28 July 1917, the Heavy Branch was separated from the rest of the Corps by Royal Warrant and given official status as the Tank Corps. The formation of new battalions continued and, by December 1918,26 had been created though only 25 battalions were equipped with tanks, the first commander of the Tank Corps was Hugh Elles. The Corps saw much action at the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917, after the war, the Tank Corps was trimmed down to a central depot and four battalions, the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th battalions. On 18 October 1923, it was given the title Royal making it the Royal Tank Corps by Colonel-in-Chief King George V. It was at time that the motto, Fear Naught, the black beret. In 1933, the 6th Battalion, RTC was formed in Egypt by combining the personnel of the 3rd, in 1934, the 1st Battalion, RTC was formed in England with personnel drawn from the 2nd, 3rd & 5th Battalions. With the preparations for war in the late 1930s, two more Regular Army Battalions were formed, the 7th in 1937 and the 8th in 1938. In the latter half of 1938, six TA Infantry Battalions were converted to Tank Battalions, eight of the Regular Army Companies were later converted into independent Light Tank Companies, all twelve Companies had been disbanded by the outbreak of the Second World War. On 4 April 1939, the Royal Tank Corps was renamed the Royal Tank Regiment, the eight Yeomanry Armoured Car Companies of the RTR were activated and transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps. Before the Second World War, Royal Tank Corps recruits were required to be at least 5 feet 4 inches tall and they initially enlisted for six years with the colours and a further six years with the reserve. They trained at the Royal Tank Corps Depot at Bovington Camp, at the outbreak of war, the regiment consisted of 20 battalions,8 regular and 12 territorial. 11 RTR formed part of 79th Armoured Division, initially equipped with Canal Defence Light tanks, it converted to Buffalo not long after D-Day, prime Minister Winston Churchill was ferried across the Rhine in a Buffalo from C Squadron, 11RTR. The Regiments numerous units took part in battles in the Second World War, including the Battle of Dunkirk, El Alamein, Italian Campaign, Burma Campaign. On 2 August 2014, 1RTR and 2RTR amalgamated at Bulford, the new regiment is titled the Royal Tank Regiment
23.
Rugby football
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Rugby is a type of football developed at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, one of many versions of football played at English public schools in the 19th century. The two main types of rugby are rugby league and rugby union, although rugby league initially used rugby union rules, they are now wholly separate sports. Following the 1895 split in rugby football, the two rugby league and rugby union differed in administration only. Soon the rules of rugby league were modified, resulting in two different forms of rugby. After 100 years, in 1995 rugby union joined rugby league, the Greeks and Romans are known to have played many ball games, some of which involved the use of the feet. These games appear to have resembled rugby football, the Roman politician Cicero describes the case of a man who was killed whilst having a shave when a ball was kicked into a barbers shop. Roman ball games already knew the air-filled ball, the follis, episkyros is recognised as an early form of football by FIFA. In 1871, English clubs met to form the Rugby Football Union, in 1892, after charges of professionalism were made against some clubs for paying players for missing work, the Northern Rugby Football Union, usually called the Northern Union, was formed. The existing rugby union authorities responded by issuing sanctions against the clubs, players, after the schism, the separate clubs were named rugby league and rugby union. Rugby union is both a professional and amateur game, and is dominated by the first tier unions, Argentina, Australia, England, France, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa and Wales. Rugby Union is administered by World Rugby, whose headquarters are located in Dublin and it is the national sport in New Zealand, Wales, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Madagascar, and is the most popular form of rugby globally. The Olympic Games have admitted the seven-a-side version of the game, known as Rugby sevens, there was a possibility sevens would be a demonstration sport at the 2012 London Olympics but many sports including sevens were dropped. In Canada and the United States, rugby union evolved into gridiron football, during the late 1800s, the two forms of the game were very similar, but numerous rule changes have differentiated the gridiron-based game from its rugby counterpart. Rugby league is also both a professional and amateur game, administered on a level by the Rugby League International Federation. International Rugby League is dominated by Australia, England and New Zealand, in Papua New Guinea it is the national sport. Other nations from the South Pacific and Europe also play in the Pacific Cup, distinctive features common to both rugby codes include the oval ball and throwing the ball forward is not allowed, so that players can gain ground only by running with the ball or by kicking it. As the sport of rugby league moved further away from its counterpart, rule changes were implemented with the aim of making a faster-paced. League players may not contest possession after making a tackle, play is continued with a play-the-ball, in league, if the team in possession fails to score before a set of six tackles, it surrenders possession
24.
India in World War II
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The British Raj, as part of the Allied Nations, sent over two and a half million soldiers to fight under British command against the Axis powers. The British government borrowed billions of pounds to finance the war. India also provided the base for American operations in support of China in the China Burma India Theater, indians also aided in liberating British colonies such as Singapore and Hong Kong after the Japanese surrender in August 1945. Over 87,000 Indian soldiers died in World War II, Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck, Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from 1942 asserted the British couldnt have come through both wars if they hadnt had the Indian Army. London refused, and when Congress announced a Quit India campaign in August 1942, meanwhile, under the leadership of Indian leader Subhas Chandra Bose, Japan set up an army of Indian POWs known as the Indian National Army, which fought against the British. A major famine in Bengal in 1943 led to millions of deaths by starvation, Indian participation in the Allied campaign remained strong. The financial, industrial and military assistance of India formed a component of the British campaign against Nazi Germany. The Indian Army during World War II was one of the largest Allied forces contingents which took part in the North and East African Campaign, at the height of the World War, more than 2.5 million Indian troops were fighting Axis forces around the globe. The Indian National Congress, led by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Maulana Azad, denounced Nazi Germany, Congress launched the Quit India Movement in August 1942, refusing to co-operate in any way with the government until independence was granted. The government was ready for this move and it immediately arrested over 60,000 national and local Congress leaders, and then moved to suppress the violent reaction of Congress supporters. Key leaders were kept in prison until June 1945, although Gandhi was released in May 1944 because of his health, Congress, with its leaders incommunicado, played little role on the home front. The Muslim League rejected the Quit India movement and worked closely with the Raj authorities, supporters of the British Raj argued that decolonisation was impossible in the middle of a great war. So, in 1939, the British Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow declared Indias entry into the War without consulting prominent Indian Congress leaders who were just elected in previous elections, Subhas Chandra Bose had been a top Congress leader. He broke with Congress and tried to form an alliance with Germany or Japan to gain independence. Japan helped him set up the Indian National Army which fought under Japanese direction, Bose also headed the Provisional Government of Free India, a government-in-exile based in Singapore. It controlled no Indian territory and was used only to troops for Japan. In 1939 the British Indian Army numbered 205,000 men and it took in volunteers and by 1945 was the largest all-volunteer force in history, rising to over 2.5 million men. These forces included tank, artillery and airborne forces, British Indian Army earned 17 Victoria Crosses during World War II
25.
Military history of Canada during World War II
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The military history of Canada during the Second World War begins with the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939. While the Canadian Armed Forces were eventually active in every theatre of war, most combat was centred in Italy, Northwestern Europe. Over the course of the war, more than 1.1 million Canadians served in the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force, more than 44,000 lost their lives and 54,000 were wounded. The financial cost was $21.8 billion between 1939 and 1950, by the end of the war Canada had the worlds fourth largest air force, and fifth largest navy. The Canadian Merchant Navy completed over 25,000 voyages across the Atlantic,130,000 Allied pilots were trained in Canada in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. On D-Day,6 June 1944 the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division landed on Juno beach in Normandy, the Second World War had significant cultural, political and economic effects on Canada, including the conscription crisis in 1944 which affected unity between francophones and anglophones. The war effort strengthened the Canadian economy and furthered Canadas global position, however, the 1931 Statute of Westminster transformed Canada into a fully sovereign state, theoretically co-equal with Britain and the other Dominions of the British Commonwealth. As late as 1936 King had told Parliament Our country is being drawn into situations to a degree that I myself think is alarming. Both the government and the public remained reluctant to participate in a European war, in part because of the memories of the Conscription Crisis of 1917 that divided French, both King and opposition leader Robert James Manion stated their opposition to conscripting troops for overseas service in March 1939. Nonetheless, King had not changed his view of 1923 that Canada would participate in a war by the Empire whether or not the United States did and it had been clear that Canada would elect to participate in the war before the invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939. Unlike 1914 when war came as a surprise, the government had prepared various measures for price controls, rationing, and censorship, and the War Measures Act of 1914 was re-invoked. After two days of debate, the House of Commons approved an Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne on 9 September 1939 giving authority to declare war to Kings government. A small group of Quebec legislators attempted to amend the bill, Woodsworth was the only Member of Parliament to vote against the bill and it thus passed by near-acclamation. The Senate also passed the bill that day, the Cabinet drafted a proclamation of war that night, which Governor-General Lord Tweedsmuir signed on 10 September. King George VI approved Canadas declaration of war with Germany on Sept.10, Canada later also declared war on Italy, Japan, and other Axis powers, enshrining the principle that the Statute of Westminster conferred these sovereign powers to Canada. Though Canada was the oldest Dominion in the British Commonwealth, it was, for the most part, Canada, with a population somewhere between 11 and 12 million, eventually raised very substantial armed forces. Around 10% of the population of Canada joined the army. After the long struggle of the Great Depression of the 1930s, Canada informally followed the British Ten Year Rule that reduced defence spending even after Britain abandoned it in 1932
26.
Desert climate
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An area that features this climate usually experiences from 25 to 200 mm per year of precipitation and in some years may experience no precipitation at all. Averages may be even less such as in Arica, Chile, there are usually two or three variations of a desert climate, a hot desert climate, a cold desert climate and, sometimes, a mild desert climate. To determine whether a location has a climate, the precipitation threshold is determined. If the areas precipitation is less than half the threshold. Hot desert climates are found under the subtropical ridge where there is largely unbroken sunshine for the whole year due to the stable descending air. These areas are located between 30 degrees south and 30 degrees north latitude, under the subtropical latitudes called the horse latitudes, hot desert climates are generally hot, sunny and dry year-round. Hot desert climates also reach similar latitudes in the Middle East, North Africa, hot desert climates usually feature hot, sometimes exceptionally hot, periods of the year. In many locations featuring a hot climate, maximum temperatures of over 40 °C are not uncommon in summer. The world absolute heat records, over 50 °C, are generally in the hot deserts, some desert locations consistently experience very high temperatures all year long, even during wintertime. These locations feature some of the highest annual average temperatures recorded on Earth and this last feature is seen in some parts of deserts of Africa and Arabia. During colder periods of the year, night-time temperatures can drop to freezing or below due to the radiation loss under the clear skies. However, very rarely do temperatures drop far below freezing, only one region in Europe has a hot desert climate, Province of Almeria, Province of Alicante and Province of Murcia in South Eastern Spain. Cold desert climates usually feature warm and dry summers, though summers typically are not quite as hot as summers in hot desert climates, unlike hot desert climates, cold desert climates tend to feature cold winters with rare snow. Cold desert climates are found at higher altitudes than hot desert climates. A cold desert climate is found in temperate zones, usually in the rain shadow of high mountains. A classic example of this is the Patagonian Desert in Argentina bounded by the Andes to its west, in the case of Central Asia, mountains restrict precipitation from the monsoon. The Gobi desert in Mongolia is an example of this. Though hot in summer, it shares the cold winters of the rest of Central Asia
27.
Northern coast of Egypt
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The Northern Coast of Egypt extends for about 1,050 km from Rafah, the easternmost city in the North Sinai Governorate to Sallum in the west on the Egyptian-Libyan border. It is one of the longest Mediterranean shores in North Africa, the city of Alexandria lies at the center of the Mediterranean Egyptian coastline, as chosen by Alexander the Great. It has been the hub of sea travel between the Mediterranean Sea and the Nile Delta for over 2,300 years and it is also characterised by the occurrence of Egypts five northernmost lakes. The region has typical Mediterranean flora and fauna on land and in life with the weather being between pleasant and hot during summer and mild in winter. The region receives the most rain in Egypt, hail and sleet fall rarely in winter, snowfalls occur in some inland towns and locations. Temperatures range between a monthly average of 9.5 °C in winter and 23 °C in summer. Egypts Mediterranean coast can be differentiated into 4 subregions, Western North Coast, higher altitude witnesses higher snowfalls and it is colder than the other 3 portions. It also has more shrubed and forested terrain, Yet with no lakes and this subregion faces Greece and Crete. It has cities, towns and villages like, Sallum a border town at Libyan borders, sidi Barrani a snowy town, and Egypts closest inhabited settlement towards Europe and Greece. Zawyet Umm El Rakham a village with archeological sites, marsa Matruh the main seaport on Egypts Western Mediterranean coast. Fuka a village famous for excellent Mediterranean fruits and touristic beaches, sidi Abdel Rahman a new touristic seaport town. Central North Coast, The southernmost Mediterranean shoreline in Egypt, forming a big gulf and this subregion faces the West of Turkey. Sidi Kreir a major town and municipality Borg El Arab a major city Alexandria the main Mediterranean city, at the center of the entire Medi coastline and the second largest city in Egypt. Deltas North Coast, Which is settled by larger populations and hosts larger cities -With exception of Alexandria- and it has Nile Delta which features hail and sleet in winters. Sometime frost and frozen ground during winter nights destroy the crops,3 of Egypts Northern Lakes are located there, Lake Mariout, Edko Lake and Lake Burullus. Its cities, towns and villages are like, Rosetta a historic western Nile delta city where Rashids Nile branch and it is colder on its eastern part than its other part. 2 Northern lakes of Egypt are found in this subregion as well, Lake Manzala and this subregion faces Cyprus and Turkey. Red Sea Riviera Turkish Riviera Italian Riviera French Riviera New Homes in Egypt North Coast Compounds in Egypt
28.
Precipitation
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In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, graupel, Precipitation occurs when a portion of the atmosphere becomes saturated with water vapor, so that the water condenses and precipitates. Thus, fog and mist are not precipitation but suspensions, because the vapor does not condense sufficiently to precipitate. Two processes, possibly acting together, can lead to air becoming saturated, Precipitation forms as smaller droplets coalesce via collision with other rain drops or ice crystals within a cloud. Short, intense periods of rain in scattered locations are called showers, moisture that is lifted or otherwise forced to rise over a layer of sub-freezing air at the surface may be condensed into clouds and rain. This process is active when freezing rain is occurring. A stationary front is often present near the area of freezing rain, provided necessary and sufficient atmospheric moisture content, the moisture within the rising air will condense into clouds, namely stratus and cumulonimbus. Eventually, the droplets will grow large enough to form raindrops. Lake-effect snowfall can be locally heavy, thundersnow is possible within a cyclones comma head and within lake effect precipitation bands. In mountainous areas, heavy precipitation is possible where upslope flow is maximized within windward sides of the terrain at elevation, on the leeward side of mountains, desert climates can exist due to the dry air caused by compressional heating. The movement of the trough, or intertropical convergence zone. Precipitation is a component of the water cycle, and is responsible for depositing the fresh water on the planet. Approximately 505,000 cubic kilometres of water falls as precipitation each year,398,000 cubic kilometres of it over the oceans and 107,000 cubic kilometres over land. Given the Earths surface area, that means the globally averaged annual precipitation is 990 millimetres, Climate classification systems such as the Köppen climate classification system use average annual rainfall to help differentiate between differing climate regimes. Precipitation may occur on celestial bodies, e. g. when it gets cold, Mars has precipitation which most likely takes the form of frost. Precipitation is a component of the water cycle, and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the planet. Approximately 505,000 km3 of water falls as precipitation each year,398,000 km3 of it over the oceans, given the Earths surface area, that means the globally averaged annual precipitation is 990 millimetres. Mechanisms of producing precipitation include convective, stratiform, and orographic rainfall, Precipitation can be divided into three categories, based on whether it falls as liquid water, liquid water that freezes on contact with the surface, or ice
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World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
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Axis powers
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The Axis powers, also known as the Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, were the nations that fought in World War II against the Allied Powers. The Axis agreed on their opposition to the Allies, but did not completely coordinate their activity, the Axis grew out of the diplomatic efforts of Germany, Italy, and Japan to secure their own specific expansionist interests in the mid-1930s. The first step was the treaty signed by Germany and Italy in October 1936, Mussolini declared on 1 November that all other European countries would from then on rotate on the Rome–Berlin axis, thus creating the term Axis. The almost simultaneous second step was the signing in November 1936 of the Anti-Comintern Pact, Italy joined the Pact in 1937. At its zenith during World War II, the Axis presided over territories that occupied parts of Europe, North Africa. There were no three-way summit meetings and cooperation and coordination was minimal, the war ended in 1945 with the defeat of the Axis powers and the dissolution of their alliance. As in the case of the Allies, membership of the Axis was fluid, at the time he was seeking an alliance with the Weimar Republic against Yugoslavia and France in the dispute over the Free State of Fiume. The term was used by Hungarys prime minister Gyula Gömbös when advocating an alliance of Hungary with Germany, when Mussolini publicly announced the signing on 1 November, he proclaimed the creation of a Rome–Berlin axis. Italy under Duce Benito Mussolini had pursued an alliance of Italy with Germany against France since the early 1920s. He believed that Italy could expand its influence in Europe by allying with Germany against France, in early 1923, as a goodwill gesture to Germany, Italy secretly delivered weapons for the German Army, which had faced major disarmament under the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. General Hans von Seeckt supported an alliance between Germany and the Soviet Union to invade and partition Poland between them and restore the German-Russian border of 1914. The discussions concluded that Germans still wanted a war of revenge against France but were short on weapons, however at this time Mussolini stressed one important condition that Italy must pursue in an alliance with Germany, that Italy must. Tow them, not be towed by them, the French government warned Italy that it had to choose whether to be on the side of the pro-Versailles powers or that of the anti-Versailles revanchists. Grandi responded that Italy would be willing to offer France support against Germany if France gave Italy its mandate over Cameroon, France refused Italys proposed exchange for support, as it believed Italys demands were unacceptable and the threat from Germany was not yet immediate. In 1932, Gyula Gömbös and the Party of National Unity rose to power in Hungary, Gömbös sought to alter Hungarys post–Treaty of Trianon borders by forming an alliance with Austria and Italy, knowing that Hungary alone was not capable of challenging the Little Entente powers. At the meeting between Gömbös and Mussolini in Rome on 10 November 1932, the question came up of the sovereignty of Austria in relation to the rise to power in Germany of the Nazi Party. Mussolini was worried about Nazi ambitions towards Austria, and indicated that at least in the term he was committed to maintaining Austria as a sovereign state. Italy had concerns over a Germany which included Austria laying land claims to German-populated territories of the South Tyrol within Italy, Mussolini said he hoped the Anschluss could be postponed as long as possible until the breakout of a European war that he estimated would begin in 1938
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Allies of World War II
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The Allies of World War II, called the United Nations from the 1 January 1942 declaration, were the countries that together opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War. The Allies promoted the alliance as seeking to stop German, Japanese, at the start of the war on 1 September 1939, the Allies consisted of France, Poland and the United Kingdom, and dependent states, such as the British India. Within days they were joined by the independent Dominions of the British Commonwealth, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Poland was a minor factor after its defeat in 1939, France was a minor factor after its defeat in 1940. China had already been into a war with Japan since the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of 1937. The alliance was formalised by the Declaration by United Nations, from 1 January 1942, however, the name United Nations was rarely used to describe the Allies during the war. The leaders of the Big Three – the UK, the Soviet Union, in 1945, the Allied nations became the basis of the United Nations. The origins of the Allied powers stem from the Allies of World War I, Germany resented signing Treaty of Versailles. The new Weimar republics legitimacy became shaken, by the early 1930s, the Nazi Party led by Adolf Hitler became the dominant revanchist movement in Germany and Hitler and the Nazis gained power in 1933. The Nazi regime demanded the cancellation of the Treaty of Versailles and made claims to German-populated Austria. The likelihood of war was high, and the question was whether it could be avoided through strategies such as appeasement, in Asia, when Japan seized Manchuria in 1931, the League of Nations condemned it for aggression against China. Japan responded by leaving the League of Nations in March 1933, after four quiet years, the Sino-Japanese War erupted in 1937 with Japanese forces invading China. The League of Nations condemned Japans actions and initiated sanctions on Japan, the United States, in particular, was angered at Japan and sought to support China. In March 1939, Germany took over Czechoslovakia, violating the Munich Agreement signed six months before, Britain and France decided that Hitler had no intention to uphold diplomatic agreements and responded by preparing for war. On 31 March 1939, Britain formed the Anglo-Polish military alliance in an effort to avert a German attack on the country, also, the French had a long-standing alliance with Poland since 1921. The Soviet Union sought an alliance with the powers. The agreement secretly divided the independent nations of eastern Europe between the two powers and assured adequate oil supplies for the German war machine, on 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland, two days later Britain and France declared war on Germany. Then, on 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, a Polish government-in-exile was set up and it continued to be one of the Allies, a model followed by other occupied countries. After a quiet winter, Germany in April 1940 invaded and quickly defeated Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Britain and its Empire stood alone against Hitler and Mussolini
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Panzer
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Panzer /ˈpænzər/ is a German word that means armour. It is also used by the Germans as an abbreviation meaning armoured fighting vehicle or tank, the full German word for armoured combat vehicle is Panzerkampfwagen. The word Panzer is occasionally used in English and some languages as a loanword in the contexts of German military. It is mostly used in the names of military formations. The dated but official German term is Panzerkampfwagen, ‘tank’ or literally ‘armoured combat vehicle’, the first German tank, the A7V of 1918, was referred to as Sturmpanzerwagen. The German word Panzer refers to any kind of armour, as in Plattenpanzer, ‘plate armour’, Kettenpanzer, ‘mail’, or generally gepanzert, the word also refers to an animals protective shell or thick hide, as in Schildkrötenpanzer, ‘turtle shell. Steel electrical conduit is called Stahlpanzerrohr, literally steel armour pipe, bulletproof glass is called Panzerglas, literally armoured glass. It derives through the French word pancier, ‘breastplate’, from Latin pantex, ‘belly, paunch’, German tanks in World War II Panzerschreck Panzerschiff
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Tunisia
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Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa, covering 165,000 square kilometres. Its northernmost point, Cape Angela, is the northernmost point on the African continent and it is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisias population was estimated to be just under 11 million in 2014, Tunisias name is derived from its capital city, Tunis, which is located on Tunisias northeast coast. Geographically, Tunisia contains the end of the Atlas Mountains. Much of the rest of the land is fertile soil. Tunisia is a unitary semi-presidential representative democratic republic and it is considered to be the only full democracy in the Arab World. It has a human development index. In addition, Tunisia is also a state of the United Nations. Close relations with Europe – in particular with France and with Italy – have been forged through economic cooperation, privatisation, in ancient times, Tunisia was primarily inhabited by Berbers. Phoenician immigration began in the 12th century BC, these immigrants founded Carthage, a major mercantile power and a military rival of the Roman Republic, Carthage was defeated by the Romans in 146 BC. The Romans, who would occupy Tunisia for most of the eight hundred years, introduced Christianity. After several attempts starting in 647, the Arabs conquered the whole of Tunisia by 697, the Ottomans held sway for over three hundred years. The French colonization of Tunisia occurred in 1881, Tunisia gained independence with Habib Bourguiba and declared the Tunisian Republic in 1957. In 2011, the Tunisian Revolution resulted in the overthrow of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the country voted for parliament again on 26 October 2014, and for President on 23 November 2014. The word Tunisia is derived from Tunis, an urban hub. The present form of the name, with its Latinate suffix -ia, the French derivative Tunisie was adopted in some European languages with slight modifications, introducing a distinctive name to designate the country. Other languages remained untouched, such as the Russian Туни́с and Spanish Túnez, in this case, the same name is used for both country and city, as with the Arabic تونس, and only by context can one tell the difference. The name Tunis can be attributed to different origins and it is generally associated with the Berber root ⵜⵏⵙ, transcribed tns, which means to lay down or encampment
34.
Winston Churchill
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Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill KG OM CH TD PC DL FRS RA was a British statesman who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 for his overall, in 1963, he was the first of only eight people to be made an honorary citizen of the United States. Churchill was born into the family of the Dukes of Marlborough and his father, Lord Randolph Churchill, was a charismatic politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer, his mother, Jennie Jerome, was an American socialite. As a young officer, he saw action in British India, the Anglo–Sudan War. He gained fame as a war correspondent and wrote books about his campaigns, at the forefront of politics for fifty years, he held many political and cabinet positions. Before the First World War, he served as President of the Board of Trade, Home Secretary, during the war, he continued as First Lord of the Admiralty until the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign caused his departure from government. He then briefly resumed active service on the Western Front as commander of the 6th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. He returned to government under Lloyd George as Minister of Munitions, Secretary of State for War, Secretary of State for Air, at the outbreak of the Second World War, he was again appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. Following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain on 10 May 1940, Churchill became Prime Minister and he led Britain as Prime Minister until victory over Nazi Germany had been secured. After the Conservative Party suffered a defeat in the 1945 general election. He publicly warned of an Iron Curtain of Soviet influence in Europe, after winning the 1951 election, Churchill again became Prime Minister. His second term was preoccupied by foreign affairs, including the Malayan Emergency, Mau Mau Uprising, Korean War, domestically his government laid great emphasis on house-building. Churchill suffered a stroke in 1953 and retired as Prime Minister in 1955. Upon his death aged ninety in 1965, Elizabeth II granted him the honour of a state funeral and his highly complex legacy continues to stimulate intense debate amongst writers and historians. Born into the family of the Dukes of Marlborough, a branch of the noble Spencer family, Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, like his father. His ancestor George Spencer had changed his surname to Spencer-Churchill in 1817 when he became Duke of Marlborough, to highlight his descent from John Churchill, Churchill was born on 30 November 1874, two months prematurely, in a bedroom in Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire. From age two to six, he lived in Dublin, where his grandfather had been appointed Viceroy, Churchills brother, John Strange Spencer-Churchill, was born during this time in Ireland
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Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
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The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of Her Majestys Government in the United Kingdom. The prime minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Monarch, to Parliament, to their political party, the office is one of the Great Offices of State. The current prime minister, Theresa May, leader of the Conservative Party, was appointed by the Queen on 13 July 2016. The position of Prime Minister was not created, it evolved slowly and erratically over three hundred years due to acts of Parliament, political developments, and accidents of history. The office is therefore best understood from a historical perspective, the origins of the position are found in constitutional changes that occurred during the Revolutionary Settlement and the resulting shift of political power from the Sovereign to Parliament. The political position of Prime Minister was enhanced by the development of political parties, the introduction of mass communication. By the start of the 20th century the modern premiership had emerged, prior to 1902, the prime minister sometimes came from the House of Lords, provided that his government could form a majority in the Commons. However as the power of the aristocracy waned during the 19th century the convention developed that the Prime Minister should always sit in the lower house. As leader of the House of Commons, the Prime Ministers authority was further enhanced by the Parliament Act of 1911 which marginalised the influence of the House of Lords in the law-making process. The Prime Minister is ex officio also First Lord of the Treasury, certain privileges, such as residency of 10 Downing Street, are accorded to Prime Ministers by virtue of their position as First Lord of the Treasury. As the Head of Her Majestys Government the modern Prime Minister leads the Cabinet, in addition the Prime Minister leads a major political party and generally commands a majority in the House of Commons. As such the incumbent wields both legislative and executive powers, under the British system there is a unity of powers rather than separation. In the House of Commons, the Prime Minister guides the process with the goal of enacting the legislative agenda of their political party. The Prime Minister also acts as the face and voice of Her Majestys Government. The British system of government is based on an uncodified constitution, in 1928, Prime Minister H. H. Asquith described this characteristic of the British constitution in his memoirs, In this country we live. Our constitutional practices do not derive their validity and sanction from any Bill which has received the assent of the King, Lords. They rest on usage, custom, convention, often of slow growth in their early stages, not always uniform, the relationships between the Prime Minister and the Sovereign, Parliament and Cabinet are defined largely by these unwritten conventions of the constitution. Many of the Prime Ministers executive and legislative powers are actually royal prerogatives which are still vested in the Sovereign
36.
Cross of Sacrifice
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The Cross of Sacrifice is a Commonwealth war memorial designed in 1918 by Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Imperial War Graves Commission. It is present in Commonwealth war cemeteries containing 40 or more graves and its shape is an elongated Latin cross with proportions more typical of the Celtic cross, with the shaft and crossarm octagonal in section. It ranges in height from 18 to 24 feet, a bronze longsword, blade down, is affixed to the front of the cross. It is usually mounted on an octagonal base and it may be freestanding or incorporated into other cemetery features. The Cross of Sacrifice is widely praised, widely imitated, and it is the most imitated of Commonwealth war memorials, and duplicates and imitations have been used around the world. The First World War introduced killing on such a scale that few nations were prepared to cope with it. Millions of bodies were never recovered, or were recovered long after any identification could be made, hundreds of thousands of bodies were buried on the battlefield where they lay. It was often impossible to dig trenches without unearthing remains, and artillery barrages often uncovered bodies, many bodies were buried in French municipal cemeteries, but these rapidly filled to capacity. Due to the costs and sheer number of remains involved, Australia, Canada, India, Newfoundland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom barred repatriation of remains. Fabian Ware, a director of the Rio Tinto mining company, Ware petititoned the British government to establish an official agency to oversee the locating, recording, and marking of British war dead, and to acquire land for cemeteries. The Imperial War Office agreed, and created the Graves Registration Commission in March 1915, during its short existence, the Graves Registration Commission consolidated many British war dead cemeteries. Over the next few months, the Graves Registration Commission closed British war dead cemeteries with fewer than 50 bodies, disinterred the bodies, the Graves Registration Commission became the Directorate of Graves Registration and Enquiries in February 1916. As the war continued, there was an awareness in the British Army that a more permanent body needed be organized to care for British war graves after the war. In January 1916, the prime minister H. H. Asquith appointed a National Committee for the Care of Soldiers Graves to take over this task, Edward, Prince of Wales agreed to serve as the committees president. The committees membership reflected all members of the British Commonwealth, the idea was broached at the first Imperial War Conference in March 1917, and on 21 May 1917 the Imperial War Graves Commission was chartered. Lord Derby was named its chair, and the Prince of Wales its president, prior to the First World War, the British tradition was to bury officers who died on the battlefield in individual graves and common soldiers in mass graves. Subsequently, as the war continued, there was an expectation among the people of the United Kingdom that foot soldiers as well as officers should not only be buried singly. Many British families had already tried to visit the graves of loved ones, numerous letters appeared in newspapers decrying the problem, and Ware realized the British war effort was heading toward a public relations disaster
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Crusader tank
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The Tank, Cruiser, Mk VI or A15 Crusader was one of the primary British cruiser tanks during the early part of the Second World War. Over 5,000 tanks were manufactured and they made important contributions to the British victories during the North African Campaign, the first variation Crusader I tank entered service in 1941, and, though manoeuvrable, it was relatively lightly armoured and under-armed. Improved armour thickness to 49mm marked out the Crusader II variant, the main armament for the Crusader Mark I and IIs was an Ordnance QF2 pounder main gun, but the Crusader III was fitted with an Ordnance QF6 pounder main gun. This variant was more than a match for the mid-generation German Panzer III, as part of the 1st Armoured Brigade, the Crusader was to prove vital during the Battle of El Alamein, at Tobruk and in Tunisia. In 1938, Nuffield Mechanizations and Aero Limited produced their A16 design for a cruiser tank based on Christie suspension. Looking for a lighter and cheaper tank to build, the General Staff requested alternatives, to this end, the A13 Mk III cruiser tank, which would enter service as the Tank, Cruiser Mk V, was designed. Nuffield was, in 1939, offered the opportunity to part in the production of the Covenanter. Nuffield, however, preferred to work on its own version of the A13—though it still provided design work for the Covenanters turret and this new tank was adopted as Tank, Cruiser, Mk VI Crusader, under General Staff specification A15. Although Crusader is often referred to as a version of the Covenanter. Both tanks were ordered off the board without building prototypes first. Despite a later start, the model of the Crusader was ready six weeks before the first Covenanter. The 32 in -diameter wheels were of pressed steel with solid rubber tyres, the hull sides were built up of two separated plates, with the suspension arms between them. It had a different engine from the Covenanter, different steering system, Covenanter used a brand new engine design, whereas Crusader adapted the proven Liberty engine to fit into a lower profile engine compartment. At the left side of the front hull—a place occupied by the radiator in the Covenanter—was mounted a small hand-traversed auxiliary turret armed with a Besa machine gun. The auxiliary turret was awkward to use and was removed in the field or remained unoccupied. Both the A13 Mk III Covenanter and the A15 Crusader designs used the main turret. The turret was polygonal—with sides that sloped out then in again—to give maximum space on the turret ring diameter. There was no cupola for the commander who instead had a hatch with the periscope mounted through it
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Marina, Egypt
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Marina, also Marina El Alamein, ancient Leukaspis or Antiphrae, is an up-scale resort town catering mainly to Egyptian elites. It is located on the northern coast of Egypt, with an 11 km long beach, about 300 km away from Cairo, Leukaspis was a large port town, with a population around 15,000. The center of the featured a basilica and a town hall that was converted into a Christian church. It was probably an important trading center between Egypt and Libya, and appears to have been a center for Cretian imports. The settlement was destroyed in 365, when an earthquake off the coast of Crete created a tsunami, the town was not rebuilt, partially due to the crumbling state of the Roman Empire. Leukaspis was lost until 1986, when a group of engineers who were building roads in Marina revealed ancient houses,200 acres of surrounding land was designated an archeological area, and excavations began in the 1990s. Prior to the discovery, the port area of the settlement was destroyed to make a man-made lagoon for a resort. The Egyptian government plans to open Leukaspis as a museum in mid-September 2010. It is expected to bolster the economy of Marina, attracting tourists year-round, officials also hope that it will increase tourism to the battlefield in nearby El-Alamein, the site of the First and Second Battles of El Alamein. The Egyptian government is working to convert nearby Taposiris Magna. The resort is a community only accessible to those who live inside. Spanning almost 15 miles, this resort is split into seven different sections named Marina 1-7. Limestone villas and chalets with landscaped greenery characterize this part of the Middle East. The resort was the site of a bustling Greco-Roman port two thousand years ago, the area was ruined during that period by a tsunami that resulted from an earthquake that hit Crete to the northwest. El Alamein La Femme Northern coast of Egypt
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Enham Alamein
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Enham Alamein is a village and civil parish about 2½ miles north of Andover in the north of Hampshire, England. It was named Enham until 1945 and previously Lower Kings Enham, there are three population areas, in order from north to south, now named Upper Enham, Enham Alamein and Knights Enham. At the 2011 Census the population of the parish was 804. Knights Enham is now part of the edge of suburban spread of Andover. This is a hamlet of 3 or 4 houses and a church with a first recorded date of 1241, the village of Enham was one of the original Village Centres chosen for the rehabilitation of injured and war-disabled soldiers returning from the front line of World War I. This formed the basis of the charity still exists today and owns the majority of Enham Alamein village, Enham Trust. The spelling Anglo-Saxon Eanham is recorded from the year 1008, pointing to ēan-hām = lamb homestead or ēan-hamm = enclosure, of particular interest is the meeting of the Witan including Bishop Wulfstan and King Aethelred II at Upper Enham on 16 May 1008. Other deep earthworks can be remembered in living memory before they were filled in to make way for farm machinery. Early records are,1008, Eanham, i. e.1316, by the end of 1919,150 men were residing in and about Enham Place and Littlecote House. 1921, The trust bought 8 more acres in 4 parcels at Knights Enham, the trust received from the Board of Trade a licence to hold not more than 10,000 acres of land to carry out the trusts purpose. Much of its land had to be sold to pay expenses during the 1920s and 1930s, some of its patients remained there and set up in jobs such as carters, hauliers, market gardeners and dairy farmers. In World War II many of the injured from the Battle of El Alamein were brought back to the UK and this close association of servicemen and the village continued during and after the war. In November 1945, two public subscriptions in Egypt raised £250,000, to thank Britain for ridding their country of the Axis forces. A small part went to build a new UN Forces Sports Club in Gezira in Cairo and this greatly improved the charity Enhams finances, and let them build their disabled ex-servicemens centre as it is. In thankfulness for this the component Alamein was appended to the villages name, there is a Heritage Trail around the village where people can read about the history of the Enham Trust and also about the Jane Austen connection. There is also a Childrens Treasure Hunt that the family can take part in, arabic Al Alamain اَلْعَلَمَيْن means the two flags
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El Alamein Fountain
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The El Alamein Memorial Fountain is a fountain and war memorial in the city of Sydney, Australia. It is located in the Kings Cross area, at the entrance to the Fitzroy Gardens on the corner of Darlingurst Road, the Australian 9th Division fought in both the first and second battles of El Alamein during World War II. Both were important for the course of the war and they halted the advance of Axis forces into Egypt and routed them, and are considered a turning point in the Western Desert Campaign. The El Alamein Fountain in Sydney commemorates the Australian armys roles in the North Africa campaign in general, New Zealand born Robert Woodward together with Phill Taranto was commissioned to build the fountain in 1959. Woodward, himself an Army veteran, was 36 at the time and had studied architecture at Sydney University, the structure was completed in 1961 and officially opened by Harry Jensen, Lord Mayor of Sydney. The fountain made such a name for Woodward and the firm that he went on to many others. Woodwards Modernist design has been described as looking like a blown thistle. The sculpture is made of bronze with brass pipes, the small-nozzled spray heads make the sphere-shaped spray very fine, and sensitive to air movement. The fountain sits on a base, where the water cascades down three levels. The fountain won Woodward the New South Wales Institute of Architects Civic Design Award in 1964, over the years, its iconic shape has made it a well-known landmark that has been imitated by other builders. As the focal point of the Kings Cross area, the fountain often serves as a meeting place, a similar fountain can be found in Szczytna, in south-western Poland. List of public art in the City of Sydney Modernism El Alamein Fountain at the State heritage Register
41.
Find a Grave
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Find a Grave is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry. com, the worlds largest for-profit genealogy company, the site was created in 1995 by Salt Lake City resident Jim Tipton to support his hobby of visiting the burial sites of celebrities. He later added an online forum, Find a Grave was launched as a commercial entity in 1998, first as a trade name and then incorporated in 2000. The site later expanded to include graves of non-celebrities, in order to allow visitors to pay respect to their deceased relatives or friends. In 2013, Tipton sold Find a Grave to Ancestry. com, burial information is a wonderful source for people researching their family history. In a September 30,2013, press release, Ancestry, as of March 2017, Find a Grave contained over 159 million burial records and 75 million photos. The website contains listings of cemeteries and graves from around the world, american cemeteries are organized by state and county, and many cemetery records contain Google Maps and photographs of the cemeteries and gravesites. Individual grave records may contain dates and places of birth and death, biographical information, cemetery and plot information, photographs, Interment listings are added by individuals, genealogical societies, and other institutions such as the International Wargraves Photography Project. Contributors must register as members to submit listings, called memorials, the submitter becomes the manager of the listing but may transfer management. Only the current manager of a listing may edit it, although any member may use the features to send correction requests to the listings manager. Managers may add links to other listings of deceased spouses, parents, members may post requests for photos of a specific grave, these requests will be automatically sent to other members who have registered their location as being near that grave. Find a Grave also maintains lists of memorials of famous persons by their claim to fame, such as Medal of Honor recipients, religious figures, Find a Grave exercises editorial control over these listings. Canadian Headstones Interment. net National Cemetery Administrations Nationwide Gravesite Locator Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness Tombstone tourist Colker, web site answers grave concerns about stars. Web site attracts millions of grave-seekers, Find VIPs who R. I. P. through online cemetery. Genealogy, Find a Grave tremendous on many different levels, terre Haute, Indiana, Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. Archived from the original on May 14,2011, tip, Find a Grave has info youre dying to know. Tracking Down Relatives, Visiting Graves Virtually, media related to Images from Find A Grave at Wikimedia Commons Official website
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The Canadian Encyclopedia
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The Canadian Encyclopedia is a source of information on Canada published in English and French. It is available online, at no cost, in addition to articles, The Canadian Encyclopedia has interactive timelines, education guides and over 15,000 multimedia items. The resource is continually updated and has over 5000 accredited authors, the website also provides access to the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada, The Canadian Encyclopedia Junior Edition, Macleans articles and Timelines of Canadian history. Canada had been without a national encyclopedia since the 1957 Encyclopedia Canadiana, when looking through the Canadian entries in existing encyclopedias such as Random House, Canadian nationalist Mel Hurtig found blatant errors and omissions. In response, in the 1980s he launched a project to create a wholly new Canadian encyclopedia with support from Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed, the Editor-in-Chief James Harley Marsh recruited more than 3,000 authors to write for it. They made index cards for every fact in the encyclopedia, signed off by the researcher and they had to have every article read by three outside readers. Then the whole thing was proofread by an independent source, there were over 3,000 people who contributed to the content and accuracy of the encyclopedias entries. The first edition of The Canadian Encyclopedia was published in three volumes in 1985 for $125/set and sold out within days of publication - a Canadian bestseller, a revised and expanded edition was released in 1988 and sold out as well. It was the first encyclopedia in the world to use a computer to help compile, typeset, design and it was encoded in a markup language precursor of HTML. In September 1990, Hurtig published the five-volume Junior Encyclopedia of Canada, Hurtig sold his publishing company to McClelland & Stewart in May 1991 and with it the encyclopedia. In 1995, McClelland & Stewart published the first digital CD-ROM edition, today, Historica Canada, a not-for-profit foundation, publishes the encyclopedia for free online. To date, the Encyclopedia’s growing collection contains more than 19,600 bilingual, list of online encyclopedias The Canadian Encyclopedia
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