1.
Unilever
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Unilever is a Dutch-British transnational consumer goods company co-headquartered in Rotterdam, Netherlands and London, United Kingdom. Its products include food, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products and it is the worlds largest consumer goods company measured by 2012 revenue. Unilever is the worlds largest producer of food spreads, such as margarine, Unilever is one of the oldest multinational companies, its products are available in around 190 countries. It is a company consisting of Unilever N. V. based in Rotterdam. The two companies operate as a business, with a common board of directors. Unilever is organised into four main divisions – Foods, Refreshment, Home Care and it has research and development facilities in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, China, India and the United States. Unilever was founded in 1930 by the merger of the Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie, during the second half of the 20th century the company increasingly diversified from being a maker of products made of oils and fats, and expanded its operations worldwide. It has made numerous acquisitions, including Lipton, Brooke Bond, Chesebrough-Ponds, Best Foods, Ben & Jerrys, Alberto-Culver. Unilever divested its speciality chemicals businesses to ICI in 1997, in 2015, under leadership of Paul Polman, the company gradually shifted its focus towards health and beauty brands and away from food brands showing slow growth. Unilever N. V. has a listing on Euronext Amsterdam and is a constituent of the AEX index. Unilever plc has a listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE100 Index. The company is also a lux of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index, in 1872, Anton Jurgens, founded the first margarine factory in the world in Oss, Netherlands. Then, in 1888, Samuel van den Bergh, also from Oss and these two companies merged in 1927 to form Margarine Unie. The initial harvesting of palm oil was from British West Africa, in 1911, the company received a concession for 750,000 hectares of forest in Belgian Congo, mostly south of Bandundu, where a system of forced labour operated. In 1922 Lever Brothers acquired Mac Fisheries, owner of T, the merger made sound commercial sense, as palm oil was a major raw material for both margarines and soaps, and could be imported more efficiently in larger quantities. In the 1930s business grew and new ventures were launched in Africa, the Nazi occupation of Europe during the Second World War meant that Unilever was unable to reinvest its capital into Europe, so it instead acquired new businesses in the UK and the US. In 1943 it acquired T. J. Lipton, a majority stake in Frosted Foods and Batchelors Peas, after 1945 Unilevers once successful US businesses began to decline. As a result, Unilever began to operate a hands off policy towards the subsidiaries, sunsilk was first launched in the UK in 1954
2.
London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
3.
Robert Waley Cohen
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Sir Robert Waley Cohen, KBE was a British industrialist and prominent leader of Anglo-Jewry. He came from a prominent Jewish family, being the grandson of Jacob Waley and he was educated at Clifton College and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He joined the Shell Company,1901 and negotiated its merger with the Royal Dutch Oil Company,1906 and he was a director of the merged company and chief assistant to its managing director. He was the adviser to the Army Council during World War I. He retired from Shell in 1928 but became chairman of the African & Eastern Trade Corporation in 1929 and he negotiated a merger with the Niger Company into the United Africa Company,1929, resigned 1931. Although he was opposed to Zionism, he was the main creator of the Palestine Corporation. He was Vice-Chairman of University College, London and President of the United Synagogue and he was listed in The Black Book of prominent subjects to be arrested in the case of a successful Nazi invasion of Britain. In 1904 Waley Cohen married Alice Violet Beddington, and the couple had two sons and a daughter. Lady Waley Cohen died in 1935, but Sir Robert continued to live at Caen Wood Towers until about 1942 when it was taken over by the RAF and used as the Intelligence Training School. In 1924 Waley Cohen rented from Earl Fortescue the Somerset estate of Honeymead, Simonsbath, Honeymead was one of the earliest farmsteads built by John Knight soon after his purchase from the crown of the former largely uncultivated royal forest of Exmoor in 1818. In 1961 Roberts son Bernard Waley-Cohen was created a baronet of Honeymead in the county of Somerset, the estate is still owned in 2012 by his descendants. Dictionary of National Biography Who was Who Royal Dutch/Shell Group and Sir Robert Waley Cohen, Chemistry in Israel, Bull
4.
Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard
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Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO was a British officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force. He has been described as the Father of the Royal Air Force, during his formative years Trenchard struggled academically, failing many examinations and only just succeeding in meeting the minimum standard for commissioned service in the British Army. As a young officer, Trenchard served in India and with the outbreak of the Boer War. While fighting the Boers, Trenchard was critically wounded and as a result of his injury, on medical advice Trenchard travelled to Switzerland to recuperate and boredom saw him taking up bobsleighing. After a heavy crash, Trenchard found that his paralysis was gone, following further recuperation, Trenchard returned to active service in South Africa. After the end of the Boer War, Trenchard saw service in Nigeria where he was involved in efforts to bring the interior under settled British rule, during his time in West Africa, Trenchard commanded the Southern Nigeria Regiment for several years. In Summer 1912, Trenchard learned to fly and gained his aviators certificate on 31 July flying a Henry Farman biplane of the Sopwith School of Flying at Brooklands and he was subsequently appointed as second in command of the Central Flying School. He held several positions in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I. In 1918, he served as the first Chief of the Air Staff before taking up command of the Independent Air Force in France. Returning as Chief of the Air Staff under Winston Churchill in 1919 and he was Metropolitan Police Commissioner in the 1930s and a defender of the RAF in his later years. Trenchard is recognized today as one of the advocates of strategic bombing. Hugh Montague Trenchard was born at Windsor Lodge on Haines Hill in Taunton and he was the third child and second son of Henry Montague Trenchard and his wife Georgina Louisa Catherine Tower. Trenchards father was a captain in the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, although in the 1870s the Trenchards were living in an unremarkable fashion, their forebears had played notable roles in English history. Notable ancestors were Sir Thomas Trenchard, a High Sheriff of Dorset in the 16th century and Sir John Trenchard, when Hugh Trenchard was two, the family moved to Courtlands, a farm-cum-manor house less than three miles from the centre of Taunton. The country setting meant that the young Trenchard could enjoy a life, including spending time hunting rabbits. It was during his years that Trenchard and his siblings were educated at home by a resident tutor. Unfortunately for Trenchards education, the tutor was neither strict enough nor skillful enough to overcome the childrens mischievous attempts to avoid receiving instruction, as a consequence, Trenchard did not excel academically, however, his enthusiasm for games and riding was evident. At the age of 10, Trenchard was sent to board at Allens Preparatory School near Botley in Hampshire, although he did well at arithmetic, he struggled with the rest of the curriculum
5.
West Africa
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West Africa, also called Western Africa and the West of Africa, is the westernmost subregion of Africa. Early human settlers from northern Holocene societies arrived in West Africa around 12,000 B. C, sedentary farming began in, or around the fifth millennium B. C, as well as the domestication of cattle. By 1500 B. C, ironworking technology allowed an expansion of productivity. Northern tribes developed walled settlements and non-walled settlements that numbered at 400, in the forest region, Iron Age cultures began to flourish, and an inter-region trade began to appear. The desertification of the Sahara and the change of the coast cause trade with upper Mediterranean peoples to be seen. Local leather, cloth, and gold also contributed to the abundance of prosperity for many of the following empires. Also, based on the archaeology of city of Kumbi Saleh in modern-day Mauritania, three great kingdoms were identified in Bilad al-Sudan by the ninth century. They included Ghana, Gao and Kanem, the Sosso Empire sought to fill the void, but was defeated by the Mandinka forces of Sundiata Keita, founder of the new Mali Empire. In the 15th century, the Songhai would form a new dominant state based on Gao, in the Songhai Empire, under the leadership of Sonni Ali, further east, Oyo arose as the dominant Yoruba state and the Aro Confederacy as a dominant Igbo state in modern-day Nigeria. The Kingdom of Nri was a West African medieval state in the present-day southeastern Nigeria, the Kingdom of Nri was unusual in the history of world government in that its leader exercised no military power over his subjects. The kingdom existed as a sphere of religious and political influence over a third of Igboland, the Eze Nri managed trade and diplomacy on behalf of the Nri people, and possessed divine authority in religious matters. The Oyo Empire was a Yoruba empire of what is today Western, established in the 15th century, the Oyo Empire grew to become one of the largest West African states. It rose through the organizational skills of the Yoruba, wealth gained from trade. The Benin Empire was an empire located in what is now southern Nigeria. Its capital was Edo, now known as Benin City, Edo and it should not be confused with the modern-day country called Benin, formerly called Dahomey. The Benin Empire was one of the oldest and most highly developed states in the hinterland of West Africa. Olfert Dapper, a Dutch writer, describing Benin in his book Description of Africa and its craft was the most adored and treasured bronze casting in the history of Africa. It was annexed by the British Empire in 1897 during the invasion, in the early 19th century, a series of Fulani reformist jihads swept across Western Africa
6.
Royal Niger Company
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The Royal Niger Company was a mercantile company chartered by the British government in the nineteenth century. It was formed in 1879 as the United African Company and renamed to National African Company in 1881, richard Lander first explored the area of Nigeria as the servant of Hugh Clapperton. In 1830, he returned to the river with his brother John, in 1832, he returned again to establish a trading post for the African Steamship Company at the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers. The expedition failed, with 40 of the 49 members dying of fever or wounds from native attacks, one of the survivors, Macgregor Laird, subsequently remained in Britain but directed and funded expeditions to the country until his death in 1861. He opposed the failed Niger expedition of 1841 but the success of the Pleiad’s first mission in 1854 led to annual trips under Baikie and the 1857 foundation of Lokoja at the Niger–Benue confluence. There were no voyages for the three years following Lairds death, but the establishment of the West African Company was soon followed by other firms. The competition reduced prices to the point that profits were minimal, Goldie first began addressing the administrations concerns by increasing the companys capitalization to £100 000. He then managed to corral £1 000 000 in investments in a new concern—the National African Company—which bought up the UAC, the death of Léon Gambetta the same year deprived the French companies of their support within the French government and the strong subsidies it had been providing them. This monopoly permitted Britain to resist French and German calls to internationalize trade on the Niger river during the negotiations at the 1884–1885 Berlin Conference on African colonization, Goldie himself attended the meetings and successfully argued for including the region of the NACs operations within a British sphere of interest. Large tariffs and license fees eliminated competing firms from the area, the terms of these private contracts were made into general treaties by the British consuls, whose own treaties expressly incorporated them. The ceded territory together with the small Niger Coast Protectorate, already under control, was formed into the two protectorates of northern and southern Nigeria. The company changed its name to The Niger Company Ltd and in 1929 became part of the United Africa Company. The United Africa Company came under the control of Unilever in the 1930s and continued to exist as a subsidiary of Unilever until 1987, alhassan Dantata Postage stamps and postal history of the Niger Territories Sokoto Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Nigeria. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Goldie, Sir George Dashwood Taubman, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Lugard, Sir Frederick John Dealtry. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
7.
Lever Brothers
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Lever Brothers was a British manufacturing company founded in 1885 by brothers William Hesketh Lever and James Darcy Lever. They invested in and successfully promoted a new soap-making process invented by chemist William Hough Watson, in 1930, Lever Brothers merged with Margarine Unie to form Unilever. Starting with a grocery business begun by his father, William Lever. The brothers teamed up with a Bolton chemist, William Hough Watson, Watson invented the process which resulted in a new soap, using glycerin and vegetable oils such as palm oil, rather than tallow. The resulting soap was a good, free-lathering soap, at first named Honey Soap then later named Sunlight Soap, production reached 450 tons per week by 1888. Larger premises were built on marshes at Bromborough Pool on the Wirral Peninsula at what became Port Sunlight, though the company was named Lever Brothers, William Levers brother and co-director James never took a major part in running the business. He fell ill in 1895, probably as a result of diabetes, Lever Brothers was one of several British companies that took an interest in the welfare of its employees. By 1900 Lifebuoy, Lux and Vim brands had been added and subsidiaries had set up in the United States, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Germany. By 1911 the company had its own oil palm plantations in Belgian Congo, Lever Brothers Ltd also acquired other soap companies including A&F Pears, Gossages of Widnes, Watsons of Leeds, Crosfields of Warrington, Hazlehurst & Sons of Runcorn and Hudsons of Liverpool. The town Leverville was founded in the Bandundu district, named after William Lever, Lever Brothers rode the cresting late-Victorian consumer revolution to build a vast worldwide industrial empire. Four years after William Levers death in 1925, his enterprises were amalgamated as Unilever, by 1930, it employed 250,000 people and in terms of market value, was the largest company in Britain. The company grew and operated until 1930, when it merged with a Dutch margarine company, Margarine Unie, to form Unilever, as part of the agreement, Lever Brothers changed its name to Unilever plc, and forms the British half of the dual-listed company. Although the two companies have separate shareholders and stock exchange listings, they have a board of directors. The Lever Brothers name was kept for a time as an imprint, as well as the name of the US subsidiary, Lever Brothers Company, Lever Brothers was sold to a US capital firm Pensler Capital Corporation and renamed Korex in 2008. Korex Don Valley assumed operations of the Lever Brothers Toronto plant and it has since closed and gone bankrupt. The Toronto plant is now being redeveloped into an office and industrial district by First Gulf Corporation, among its presidents was Charles Luckman who in the 1950s championed the construction of the Lever House in New York City. Breeze detergent Lever & Kitchen Lever Brothers Factory originally located in Balmain, New South Wales, Australia Port Sunlight
8.
Bankruptcy
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Bankruptcy is a legal status of a person or other entity that cannot repay the debts it owes to creditors. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, Bankruptcy is not the only legal status that an insolvent person may have, and the term bankruptcy is therefore not a synonym for insolvency. In some countries, including the United Kingdom, bankruptcy is limited to individuals, in the United States, bankruptcy is applied more broadly to formal insolvency proceedings. In France, the cognate French word banqueroute is used solely for cases of fraudulent bankruptcy, in Ancient Greece, bankruptcy did not exist. If a man owed and he could not pay, he and his wife, children or servants were forced into debt slavery, until the creditor recouped losses through their physical labour. Many city-states in ancient Greece limited debt slavery to a period of five years, debt slaves had protection of life and limb, which regular slaves did not enjoy. However, servants of the debtor could be retained beyond that deadline by the creditor and were forced to serve their new lord for a lifetime. An exception to rule was Athens, which by the laws of Solon forbade enslavement for debt, as a consequence. The Statute of Bankrupts of 1542 was the first statute under English law dealing with bankruptcy or insolvency, Bankruptcy is also documented in East Asia. According to al-Maqrizi, the Yassa of Genghis Khan contained a provision that mandated the death penalty for anyone who became bankrupt three times, a failure of a nation to meet bond repayments has been seen on many occasions. Philip II of Spain had to declare four state bankruptcies in 1557,1560,1575 and 1596, at the edge of Europe, Egypt, Russia, and Turkey have histories of chronic default as well. For private households, it is argued to be insufficient to merely dismiss debts after a certain period and it is important to assess the underlying problems and to minimize the risk of financial distress to re-occur. In most EU Member States, debt discharge is conditioned by a partial payment obligation, in the United States, discharge is conditioned to a lesser extent. The spectrum is broad in the EU, with the UK coming closest to the US system, the Other Member States do not provide the option of a debt discharge. It is almost impossible to discharge student loan debt by filing bankruptcy, unlike most other debtors, the individual with student debt must give a series of reasons and tests to prove that the debtor could not pay the debt. If the person were to file bankruptcy, he or she is encouraged to do so under Chapter 13. In order to avoid bankruptcy, one could negotiate with the lender to lower monthly payments, student loan bankruptcy is considered a last resort. However, some find themselves being forced to file bankruptcy, as the lender refused to lower payments
9.
William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme
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William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme was an English industrialist, philanthropist, and politician. In politics, Lever briefly sat as a Liberal MP for Wirral and later, as Lord Leverhulme and he was an advocate for expansion of the British Empire, particularly in Africa and Asia, which supplied palm oil, a key ingredient in Levers product line. An aspiring patron of the arts, Lever began collecting artworks in 1893 when he bought a painting by Edmund Leighton. Levers rival in the industry, A & F Pears, had taken the lead in using art for marketing by buying paintings such as Bubbles by John Everett Millais to promote its products. Levers response was to acquire similarly illustrative works, and he later bought The New Frock by William Powell Frith to promote the Sunlight soap brand, in 1922 he founded the Lady Lever Art Gallery at Port Sunlight in Cheshire which he dedicated to his late wife Elizabeth. In 1902, when he became the first initiate of a lodge bearing his name Lever involved himself in Freemasonry, in 1907 he became Worshipful Master, going on to found many Lodges and hold various offices at national level. In 1907, while sitting as an MP, he was a founder of the Phoenix Lodge 3236 and he then became Past Pro-Grand Warden and Immediate Past Master. In 1919, he was appointed Senior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of England and he was Provincial Senior Grand Warden of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Cheshire, and founded many other Lodges. William Lever was born on 19 September 1851 at 16 Wood Street, Bolton, Lancashire and he was the eldest son and the seventh child born to James Lever, a grocer, and Eliza Hesketh, daughter of a cotton mill manager. From age six to age nine William attended a private school run by the Misses Aspinwall in a house on Wood Street. At the age of nine he was sent to another of Boltons private schools before finishing his education at Bolton Church Institute from 1864 to 1867. Not a particularly bright scholar, he was keen to acquire academic learning. His mother wanted him to enter the professions, ostensibly medicine. His father, however, had other, somewhat less erudite plans for his eldest son and thus, not long after his fifteenth birthday, by then, the Lever family had moved from Wood Street to a larger house adjacent to the grocery business. In the celebrated Victorian manner, the son was, initially at least, shown no preferential treatment, being required to sweep the floor. Other tasks included more practical assignments more to do with the fundamentals of the grocery trade. His remuneration was “a shilling a week all found” which meant that his board and lodgings were provided, at some stage, William was moved to the administration department where he learned about and subsequently reorganized the firm’s accounting and bookkeeping systems. The Lever family were Congregationalists and James Lever, a teetotaller, in accordance with nonconformist tenets, the Lever family held frequent bible readings at home, and were regular worshipers at the local chapel
10.
Palm oil
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Palm oil is naturally reddish in color because of a high beta-carotene content. It is not to be confused with palm oil derived from the kernel of the same fruit. The differences are in color, and in saturated fat content, palm oil is 49% saturated, while palm kernel oil and coconut oil are 81% and 86% saturated fats. Along with coconut oil, palm oil is one of the few highly saturated vegetable fats and is semisolid at room temperature, Palm oil is a common cooking ingredient in the tropical belt of Africa, Southeast Asia and parts of Brazil. Its use in the food industry in other parts of the world is widespread because of its lower cost. In 2004, a group called the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil was formed to work with the palm oil industry to address these concerns. It is believed that traders brought the oil palm to Egypt, Palm oil from E. guineensiss has long been recognized in West and Central African countries, and is widely used as a cooking oil. European merchants trading with West Africa occasionally purchased palm oil for use as an oil in Europe. Palm oil became a highly sought-after commodity by British traders, for use as a lubricant for machinery during Britains Industrial Revolution. Palm oil formed the basis of soap products, such as Lever Brothers Sunlight soap, by around 1870, palm oil constituted the primary export of some West African countries, such as Ghana and Nigeria, although this was overtaken by cocoa in the 1880s. Palm oil, like all fats, is composed of fatty acids, Palm oil has an especially high concentration of saturated fat, specifically, of the 16-carbon saturated fatty acid palmitic acid, to which it gives its name. Monounsaturated oleic acid is also a constituent of palm oil. Unrefined palm oil is a significant source of tocotrienol, part of the vitamin E family. The approximate concentration of fatty acids in palm oil is, Red palm oil is rich in carotenes, such as alpha-carotene, beta-carotene and lycopene, many processed foods either contain palm oil or various ingredients derived from it. After milling, various oil products are made using refining processes. First is fractionation, with crystallization and separation processes to obtain solid, then melting and degumming removes impurities. Then the oil is filtered and bleached, RBDPO is the basic palm oil product sold on the worlds commodity markets. Many companies fractionate it further to produce palm olein for cooking oil, since the mid-1990s, red palm oil has been cold-pressed and bottled for use as cooking oil, and blended into mayonnaise and salad oil
11.
Cheshire
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Cheshire is a county in North West England, bordering Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south and Wales to the west. Cheshires county town is Chester, the largest town is Warrington, other major towns include Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Macclesfield, Northwich, Runcorn, Widnes, Wilmslow, and Winsford. The county covers 905 square miles and has a population of around 1 million and it is mostly rural, with a number of small towns and villages supporting the agricultural and other industries which produce Cheshire cheese, salt, chemicals and silk. Cheshires name was derived from an early name for Chester. Although the name first appears in 980, it is thought that the county was created by Edward the Elder around 920, in the Domesday Book, Chester was recorded as having the name Cestrescir, derived from the name for Chester at the time. A series of changes occurred as English itself changed, together with some simplifications and elision, resulted in the name Cheshire. Because of the close links with the land bordering Cheshire to the west. The Domesday Book records Cheshire as having two complete Hundreds that later became the part of Flintshire. Additionally, another portion of the Duddestan Hundred later became known as Maelor Saesneg when it was transferred to North Wales. For this and other reasons, the Welsh name for Cheshire is sometimes used within Wales, after the Norman conquest of 1066 by William I, dissent and resistance continued for many years after the invasion. In 1069 local resistance in Cheshire was finally put down using draconian measures as part of the Harrying of the North, the ferocity of the campaign against the English populace was enough to end all future resistance. Examples were made of major landowners such as Earl Edwin of Mercia, William I made Cheshire a county palatine and gave Gerbod the Fleming the new title of Earl of Chester. When Gerbod returned to Normandy in about 1070, the king used his absence to declare the earldom forfeit, due to Cheshires strategic location on Welsh Marches, the Earl had complete autonomous powers to rule on behalf of the king in the county palatine. Cheshire in the Domesday Book is recorded as a larger county than it is today. It included two hundreds, Atiscross and Exestan, that became part of North Wales. At the time of the Domesday Book, it included as part of Duddestan Hundred the area of land later known as English Maelor in Wales. The area between the Mersey and Ribble formed part of the returns for Cheshire, an example is the barony of Halton. One of Hugh dAvranches barons has been identified as Robert Nicholls, Baron of Halton, in 1182 the land north of the Mersey became administered as part of the new county of Lancashire, thus resolving any uncertainty about the county in which the land Inter Ripam et Mersam was
12.
Shropshire
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Shropshire Council was created in 2009, a unitary authority taking over from the previous county council and five district councils. The borough of Telford and Wrekin has been a unitary authority since 1998. The county has many towns, including Whitchurch in the north, Newport north-east of Telford. The Ironbridge Gorge area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, covering Ironbridge, Coalbrookdale, there are other historic industrial sites in the county, such as at Shrewsbury, Broseley, Snailbeach and Highley, as well as the Shropshire Union Canal. The Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covers about a quarter of the county, Shropshire is one of Englands most rural and sparsely populated counties, with a population density of 136/km2. The Wrekin is one of the most famous landmarks in the county, though the highest hills are the Clee Hills, Stiperstones. Wenlock Edge is another significant geographical and geological landmark, the River Severn, Great Britains longest river, runs through the county, exiting into Worcestershire via the Severn Valley. Shropshire is landlocked and with an area of 3,487 square kilometres is Englands largest inland county, the county flower is the round-leaved sundew. The area was part of the lands of the Cornovii. This was a tribal Celtic iron age kingdom and their capital in pre-Roman times was probably a hill fort on the Wrekin. Ptolemys 2nd century Geography names one of their towns as being Viroconium Cornoviorum, after the Roman occupation of Britain ended in the 5th century, the Shropshire area was in the eastern part of the Welsh Kingdom of Powys, known in Welsh poetry as the Paradise of Powys. It was annexed to the Angle kingdom of Mercia by King Offa in the 8th century, in subsequent centuries, the area suffered repeated Danish invasion, and fortresses were built at Bridgnorth and Chirbury. Many defensive castles were built at this time across the county to defend against the Welsh and enable effective control of the region, including Ludlow Castle, the western frontier with Wales was not finally determined until the 14th century. Also in this period, a number of foundations were formed, the county largely falling at this time under the Diocese of Hereford. The county contains a number of historically significant towns, including Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth, additionally, the area around Coalbrookdale in the county is seen as highly significant, as it is regarded as one of the birthplaces of the Industrial Revolution. The village of Edgmond, near Newport, is the location of the lowest recorded temperature in England, the origin of the name Shropshire is the Old English Scrobbesbyrigscīr, which means Shrewsburyshire. The name may, therefore, be derived indirectly from a name such as Scrope. Salop is an old name for Shropshire, historically used as a form for post or telegrams
13.
Bromborough
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Bromborough is a large village within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the Wirral Peninsula, to the south of Bebington, in the 2001 Census, the population of the township was 12,630, although the total number of people within the larger Bromborough Ward was 13,963. By the time of the 2011 Census the population of the township was no longer collected although that of the Ward was shown as having increased to 14,850. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part of the district of Bebington. Bromborough is a contender for the site of a battle in the year 937, the Battle of Brunanburh. Reconstructed from fragments, an Anglo Saxon cross is in the churchyard of local parish church St Barnabas, a charter for a market to be held each Monday was granted by Edward I in 1278 to the monks of St. Werburghs Abbey. It was hoped that in establishing the market in the vicinity of Bromborough Cross would promote honest dealing, the market cross was the traditional centre of the village and also an assembly point for local farm labourers available for hire. The steps of the cross are from the original 13th-century monument, the cross itself is a more recent reproduction, presented to the town by the Bromborough Society. With a watermill having been recorded at Bromborough at the time of the Domesday Survey, located on the River Dibbin at what is known as Spital Dam, it was worked until 1940 and demolished in 1949. The site is now a childrens nursery, a windmill, built in 1787, existed on higher ground also at the same location. Having fallen into disuse and much deteriorated, it was destroyed by gunpowder in about 1878, an increase in traffic passing through the area resulted in Bromborough undergoing extensive redevelopment in the 1930s. Bromborough Hall, built in 1617, was demolished in 1932 to make way for a by-pass, Bromborough is situated on the eastern side of the Wirral Peninsula, at the western side of the River Mersey. The area is approximately 12.5 km south-south-east of the Irish Sea at New Brighton, Bromborough Cross is at an elevation of about 32 m above sea level. East of the A41 road, towards the River Mersey, is industrial development and includes Bromborough Pool, cereal Partners employs 340 people and produces Cheerios and Corn Flakes, among other breakfast cereals, in a factory formerly owned by Viota. Rank Hovis McDougall briefly owned the business in the 1990s, another major business is Sun Valley, which processes peanuts. The Croft Retail & Leisure Park, which opened in March 1990, is located off the A41 and contains a seven-screen Odeon cinema and a Gala Bingo, a 24-hour Asda superstore. Other major retailers in the area include Mothercare, Smyths, Dunelm, Outfit, Argos, Boots, a combined Currys PC World, Halfords, M&S Simply Food, Bromborough also contains the Fitness First and a DW fitness club. Nandos, Harvester and KFC are new additions to the retail park, the boundary between the council wards of Bromborough and Eastham is Plymyard Avenue, Moreland Avenue, Bridle Road and Eastham Rake
14.
Wirral Peninsula
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Wirral or the Wirral is a peninsula in northwest England. It is bounded to the west by the River Dee, forming a boundary with Wales, to the east by the River Mersey, the roughly rectangular peninsula is about 15 miles long and 7 miles wide. Historically, the Wirral was wholly within Cheshire, in the Domesday Book, however, since the passing of the Local Government Act 1972, only the southern third has been in Cheshire, with the rest in metropolitan borough in the county of Merseyside. The name Wirral literally means myrtle corner, from the Old English wir, a tree, and heal. It is supposed that the land was overgrown with bog myrtle, a plant no longer found in the area. The name was given to the Hundred of Wirral around the 8th century, whether the name should be preceded by the definite article is the subject of debate, as is whether something should be described as being in the Wirral or on the Wirral. In 2014, a poll of Liverpool Echo readers indicated that 73% of respondents would use the phrase on the Wirral in everyday conversation. The earliest evidence of occupation of the Wirral dates from the Mesolithic period. Later Neolithic stone axes and pottery have found in Oxton, Neston. At Meols and New Brighton there is evidence of continuing occupation through to the Bronze Age, around 1000 BC, before the time of the Romans, the Wirral was inhabited by a Celtic tribe, the Cornovii. Artefacts discovered in Meols suggest it was an important port from at least 500 BC, traders came from Gaul and the Mediterranean seeking minerals from North Wales and Cheshire. There are also remains of a small Iron Age fort at Burton, around 70 AD, the Romans founded Chester. Evidence of their occupation in the Wirral has been found, including the remains of a road near Mollington, Ledsham and this road may have continued to the port at Meols, which may have been used as a base for attacking the north Wales coast. Storeton Quarry may also have used by Romans for sculpture. By the end of the Roman period, pirates were a menace to traders in the Irish Sea, and soldiers may have been garrisoned at Meols to combat this threat. Although Roman rule ended with the departure of the last Roman troops in 410, later coins, the Celtic names of Liscard and Landican both suggest an ancient British origin. The name of Wallasey, meaning Welsh island, is evidence of British settlement, the Welsh name, both ancient and modern, for the Wirral is Cilgwri. In Welsh mythology, the ouzel of Cilgwri was one of the most ancient creatures in the world, the Anglo-Saxons under Æthelfrith, king of Northumbria, laid waste to Chester around 616
15.
Port Sunlight
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Port Sunlight is a model village and suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, it is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. 2001 Census, its population was 1,450, Port Sunlight was built by Lever Brothers to accommodate workers in its soap factory, work commenced in 1888. The name is derived from Lever Brothers most popular brand of cleaning agent, Port Sunlight contains 900 Grade II listed buildings, and was declared a Conservation Area in 1978. In 1887, Lever Brothers began looking for a new site on which to expand its soap-making business, the company bought 56 acres of flat unused marshy land in Cheshire, south of the River Mersey. It was large enough to allow space for expansion, and had a location between the river and a railway line. The site became Port Sunlight, where William Lever built his works, William Lever personally supervised planning the village, and employed nearly thirty different architects. Between 1899 and 1914,800 houses were built to house a population of 3,500. The garden village had allotments and public including the Lady Lever Art Gallery, a cottage hospital, schools, a concert hall, open air swimming pool, church. Lever introduced welfare schemes, and provided for the education and entertainment of his workforce, encouraging recreation and organisations which promoted art, literature, science or music. Levers aims were to socialise and Christianise business relations and get back to close family brotherhood that existed in the good old days of hand labour. He claimed that Port Sunlight was an exercise in profit sharing and he said, It would not do you much good if you send it down your throats in the form of bottles of whisky, bags of sweets, or fat geese at Christmas. On the other hand, if you leave the money with me, I shall use it to provide for you everything that makes life pleasant – nice houses, comfortable homes, each block of houses was designed by a different architect. The backs of any of the houses cannot be seen, in terms of architectural features, there is half-timbering, carved woodwork and masonry, pargetting moulded and twisted chimneys and leaded glazed patterns. Some houses were built in Flemish style, with bricks imported from Belgium, Port Sunlight is situated on the eastern side of the Wirral Peninsula, at the western side of the River Mersey. The area is approximately 10.5 km south-south-east of the Irish Sea at New Brighton, Port Sunlight is at an elevation of between 10–23 m above sea level. One of the buildings in Port Sunlight is the Lady Lever Art Gallery. A keen art collector, Lever travelled all over the world, opened in 1922 by Princess Beatrice, the art gallery shows Levers collection and modern-day artwork. The collection includes a range of furniture, paintings, sculptures, other notable buildings include the Lyceum, the Gladstone Theatre, Hesketh Hall and the Bridge Inn public house
16.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
17.
SS Woodville
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The 2, 500-ton steamship Woodville was built in 1892 for Woodville SS Co Ltd of North Shields, England. She was then sold during World War I to the Southern Whaling & Sealing Company and she was one of three ships bought by the African and Eastern Trade Corporation in 1924. She was sold to Greek owners BJ Andreadakis & A Stavridis, in 1927, shortly before African, in March 1922, Leonard Hussey accompanied the body of Ernest Shackleton from Montevideo, Uruguay, to South Georgia for burial at Grytviken, aboard Woodville. Whilst under her latest name of SS Volgas and with a Greek flag and she came ashore near the lighthouse on Paximadia, southwest of Milos, during a voyage from Mersin, Turkey, to Hamburg, Germany, with a cargo of grain. Salvage was abandoned on 16 January and she was declared a total loss
18.
Southern Whaling and Sealing Company
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Latterly they were sold to Lever Bros. in 1919 and re-sold to Christian Salvesen Ltd in 1941. Richard Irvin was born in North Shields in 1853, entering the trade in 1864 at age 11. He quickly saw the growth of trawl fishing. Richard Irvin & Sons had already established the Shields Engineering Co and, latterly they then became involved in the herring drifting fishery around the same time as steam powered drifters began to be used in NE England and Scotland. The East Coast Herring Drifter Co. was set up in 1900 followed soon after by the Shields Ice & Cold Storage Co. Ltd and this merger subsequently lead to the establishment of the firm, Irvin & Johnson in Dec 1910. George Driver Irvin was made Managing Director, during 1911 they bought the Sound of Jura, to be used as a cargo transporter, and also purchased a second hand ship, the Restitution. The shipbuilding firm of Smiths Dock Co, middlesbrough were commissioned to construct two steel 92 ft. diesel-powered whale catchers as well as fit a diesel auxiliary in the Sound of Jura. However, the engine proved to be unreliable and felt to be too noisy in scaring off the whales. As well as having a whaling lease at Prince Olaf Harbour, South Georgia and they also undertook some sealing expeditions to Marion & Prince Edward Islands from Cape Town, but these proved unsustainable. The 1916-17 season failed to produce any whale oil and saw the commencement of the construction of the station at Prince Olaf Harbour. SWSC worked in co-operation with Salvesens at Leith Harbour in 1915-17 to produce as much oil as possible for the war effort in Europe. In 1919 SWSC was sold to Lever Bros, Lever Bros. developed and modernized the Prince Olaf Harbour and operated it until it was closed in 1931. Lever Bros. who had latterly become Unilever, sold the company to Christian Salvesen Ltd in 1941 when they moved out of the whaling business and this increased Salvesens fleet by two factory ships and 15 catchers. The first whaling enterprise on Grytviken, South Georgia on 16 November 1904 by a Norwegian, Larsen was manager of Compañía Argentina de Pesca and became a naturalised British citizen. His company was successful in its early years of operation. The British Government then imposed restrictions on their issue and conditions to ensure that the whale was to be processed rather than just the blubber. By 1912, seven whaling stations had been established and South Georgia became known as the capital of whaling. Two other whaling leases were granted, to Rosita Harbour and Jason Harbour but they were never used as whaling sites, the shore-based whaling industry on South Georgia declined due the scarcity of whales around the island and with the rise in pelagic whaling using factory ships
19.
Valencia
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Its urban area extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of around 1. 5–1.6 million people. Valencia is Spains third largest metropolitan area, with a population ranging from 1.7 to 2.5 million, the Port of Valencia is the 5th busiest container port in Europe and the busiest container port on the Mediterranean Sea. The city is ranked at Gamma in the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, Valencia was founded as a Roman colony by the consul Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus in 138 BC, and called Valentia Edetanorum. In 1238 the Christian king James I of Aragon reconquered the city and divided the land among the nobles who helped him conquer it and he also created a new law for the city, the Furs of Valencia, which were extended to the rest of the Kingdom of Valencia. In the 18th century Philip V of Spain abolished the privileges as punishment to the kingdom of Valencia for aligning with the Habsburg side in the War of the Spanish Succession, Valencia was the capital of Spain when Joseph Bonaparte moved the Court there in the summer of 1812. It also served as capital between 1936 and 1937, during the Second Spanish Republic, the city is situated on the banks of the Turia, on the east coast of the Iberian Peninsula, fronting the Gulf of Valencia on the Mediterranean Sea. Valencia is integrated into an area on the Costa del Azahar. Valencias main festival is the Falles, the traditional Spanish dish, paella, originated in Valencia. The original Latin name of the city was Valentia, meaning strength, or valour, the Roman historian Livy explains that the founding of Valentia in the 2nd century BC was due to the settling of the Roman soldiers who fought against an Iberian rebel, Viriatus. It is not clear if the term Balansiyya was reserved for the entire Taifa of Valencia or also designated the city, by gradual sound changes, Valentia /waˈlentia/ has become Valencia or in Castilian and València in Valencian. In Valencian, the grave accent <è> /ɛ/ contrasts with the acute accent <é> /e/—but the word València is an exception to this rule and it is spelled according to Catalan etymology, though its pronunciation is closer to Vulgar Latin. Valencia stands on the banks of the Turia River, located on the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, at its founding by the Romans, it stood on a river island in the Turia,6.4 km from the sea. The Albufera, a lagoon and estuary about 11 km south of the city, is one of the largest lakes in Spain. The City Council bought the lake from the Crown of Spain for 1,072,980 pesetas in 1911, in 1986, because of its cultural, historical, and ecological value, the Generalitat Valenciana declared it a natural park. Valencia has a Mediterranean climate with short, very mild winters and long, hot and its average annual temperature is 18.4 °C.23.0 °C during the day and 13.8 °C at night. In the coldest month – January, the temperature typically during the day ranges from 14 to 21 °C. In the warmest month – August, the temperature during the day typically ranges from 28–34 °C. Generally, similar temperatures to those experienced in the part of Europe in summer last about 8 months
20.
Spanish Civil War
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Ultimately, the Nationalists won, and Franco then ruled Spain for the next 36 years, from April 1939 until his death in November 1975. Sanjurjo was killed in an accident while attempting to return from exile in Portugal. The coup was supported by units in the Spanish protectorate in Morocco, Pamplona, Burgos, Zaragoza, Valladolid, Cádiz, Córdoba. However, rebelling units in some important cities—such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao, and Málaga—did not gain control, Spain was thus left militarily and politically divided. The Nationalists and the Republican government fought for control of the country, the Nationalist forces received munitions and soldiers from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, while the Republican side received support from the Communist Soviet Union and leftist populist Mexico. Other countries, such as the United Kingdom and France, operated a policy of non-intervention. The Nationalists advanced from their strongholds in the south and west and they also besieged Madrid and the area to its south and west for much of the war. Those associated with the losing Republicans were persecuted by the victorious Nationalists, with the establishment of a dictatorship led by General Franco in the aftermath of the war, all right-wing parties were fused into the structure of the Franco regime. The war became notable for the passion and political division it inspired, organized purges occurred in territory captured by Francos forces to consolidate the future regime. A significant number of killings took place in areas controlled by the Republicans, the extent to which Republican authorities took part in killings in Republican territory varied. The 19th century was a turbulent time for Spain and those in favour of reforming Spains government vied for political power with conservatives, who tried to prevent reforms from taking place. Some liberals, in a tradition that had started with the Spanish Constitution of 1812, sought to limit the power of the monarchy of Spain, the reforms of 1812 did not last after King Ferdinand VII dissolved the Constitution and ended the Trienio Liberal government. Twelve successful coups were carried out between 1814 and 1874, until the 1850s, the economy of Spain was primarily based on agriculture. There was little development of an industrial or commercial class. The land-based oligarchy remained powerful, a number of people held large estates called latifundia as well as all the important government positions. In 1868 popular uprisings led to the overthrow of Queen Isabella II of the House of Bourbon, two distinct factors led to the uprisings, a series of urban riots and a liberal movement within the middle classes and the military concerned with the ultra-conservatism of the monarchy. In 1873 Isabellas replacement, King Amadeo I of the House of Savoy, abdicated owing to increasing pressure. After the restoration of the Bourbons in December 1874, Carlists and Anarchists emerged in opposition to the monarchy, alejandro Lerroux, Spanish politician and leader of the Radical Republican Party, helped bring republicanism to the fore in Catalonia, where poverty was particularly acute
21.
John Holt plc
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John Holt plc is a Nigerian conglomerate. It has been an important participant in many areas of the economy, the Nigerian company is a subsidiary of John Holt & Co. A minority of the shares are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, five years later, he bought out his employer, and he was joined by his brother Jonathan. In 1868 Johnathan bought a schooner, which enabled the brothers to open more trading posts in West Africa, in 1874 the brothers opened an office in Liverpool. In 1881, John entered the oil trade. In 1884 the brothers formed a partnership, John Holt and Company, subsequently John entered into new partnerships, including a venture in Lagos in Nigeria in 1887. In 1897 the partnerships were absorbed into a new limited company, the company built up an extensive produce trade, in which palm oil, palm kernels, rubber and cocoa were exported from Nigeria to England. Imports included textiles from Lancashire and bicycles from Birmingham, a fleet of ships operated a fortnightly service from Liverpool to West Africa and the Company also had its own fleet of river craft. Apart from produce and merchandise, these craft also carried cash. Where banks did not exist, John Holt had strong rooms, even after banks were established, many Nigerians preferred to deposit their cash with John Holt. In 1970 the company was taken over by Lonrho, in 2001, Lonrho sold the company to a management-led group of investors. In 1961 the Liverpool company formed an incorporated subsidiary in Nigeria, John Holt Limited. It became a company and was quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in May 1974. The parent company in Liverpool is involved in the procurement and finance of exports, John Holt & Co Ltd. as a Contemporary Free-standing Company, 1945-2006 in The Empire in one city. Liverpools inconvenient imperial past Manchester University Press ISBN9780719078873 John Holt corporate website Google Finance listing for John Holt
22.
Operation Ariel
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It followed Operation Dynamo, the evacuation from Dunkirk and Operation Cycle, an evacuation from Le Havre, which finished on 13 June. The Luftwaffe attacked the ships and on 17 June, evaded RAF fighter patrols and sank the Cunard liner. The ship sank quickly and vessels in the area were still under attack during rescue operations, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk left a surplus of men on the lines-of-communication, base depots and other establishments among the 140,000 troops still in France. Sufficient lines-of-communication personnel for a division and four infantry divisions and an Advanced Air Striking Force were to be retained. Losses inflicted on the ships of the Kriegsmarine made it impossible for the Germans to challenge British naval supremacy in the English Channel. Seven German submarines patrolling off the west coast of France made no attempt to interfere, Operation Ariel was commanded by Admiral William Milbourne James, the commander-in-chief, Portsmouth. Demolition parties sailed in the ships but it was hoped that supplies, after Dunkirk, the AASF squadrons in France had been moved to the area between Orléans and Le Mans during the lull before Fall Rot, the German offensive over the Somme and Aisne rivers. The British squadrons were moved west to bases around Angers, Saumur, Rennes and Nantes, barratt sent the light bomber squadrons back to England on 15 June and kept the five fighter squadrons to cover the evacuation of RAF ground staff and the three British divisions commanded by Brooke. Nantes and St. Nazaire, the most important ports, were covered by 1 Squadron,73 Squadron and 242 Squadron, with a small detachment covering Brest. St. Malo and Cherbourg were protected by 17 Squadron and 501 Squadron from the aerodrome at Dinard across the bay from St. Malo, Fighter Command squadrons from RAF Tangmere were also available for Cherbourg and Coastal Command prepared to escort returning ships. Once the arrangements were made, Barrett left for England and the Senior Air Staff Officer, Operation Dynamo at Dunkirk had evacuated much of the fighting element of the BEF. Some combat units from the 1st Armoured Division, the Beauman Division and more than 150,000 support, by the end of May, medical stores had been removed from Dieppe and a demolition party landed, ready to blow up the port infrastructure. A big depot at Le Havre had been run down by using it to feed troops in the area and removing the military stores not immediately needed. On 9 June, the French commander at Le Havre sent word to the 10th Army and the 51st Division, ihler, the IX Corps commander and Fortune, decided that the only hope of escape was through Le Havre and abandoned the plan to retire through Rouen. Karslake had also urged several times that the retirement be accelerated but had no authority to issue orders. Only after receiving a message during the night from Fortune, that the 51st Division was participating in a retreat by IX Corps towards Le Havre, a brigade forced its way out but lost the wireless truck intended to keep contact with the 51st Division. The possibility of holding a line from Fécamp to Lillebonne was discounted, a Royal Navy demolition party had been in Le Havre since late May and the port was severely bombed by the Luftwaffe on 7 June and two days later, the Admiralty sent orders for an evacuation. A hasty plan was made to block Dieppe harbour and on 10 June, two were sunk in the approach channel but the third ship hit a mine just outside, which prevented it being sunk at the entrance to the inner harbour
23.
Saint-Nazaire
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Saint-Nazaire is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a harbour, on the right bank of the Loire River estuary. The town is at the south of the second-largest swamp in France, given its location, Saint-Nazaire has a long tradition of fishing and shipbuilding. What was a village until the industrial area became a large town in the second half of the 19th century, thanks to the construction of railways. Saint-Nazaire progressively replaced Nantes as the haven on the Loire estuary. The town was one of the most damaged ones in France during World War Two, being a major marine base for the Nazis, it was subject to a British raid in 1942 and it was heavily bombed by the Allies until 1945. Being part of one of the Atlantic pockets, Saint-Nazaire was one of the last territories in Europe to be liberated from the Nazis, on 11 May 1945. Archaeologists believe that Saint-Nazaire is built upon the remnants of Corbilo, an Armorican Gaulish city populated by the Namnetes tribe, which was the second-largest Gaulish city, after Massilia. According to the 15th-century chronicler Alain Bouchart, Brutus of Troy, historical accounts note that at the end of the Roman Empire, some Britons colonized the Loire estuary, and later, the peninsula containing Guérande. The furthest extent of the ancient Breton language in the Loire region is Donges, according to the late-6th-century writer Gregory of Tours, the Roman Church sheltered the remains of the martyr Nazarius in a local basilica. According to legend, the Breton chief Waroch II sent an emissary to seize the relics, the plot was foiled when the emissary fractured his skull upon the lintel of the church door. Waroch, interpreting this as a miracle, was deterred, after this point, the history of Saint-Nazaire, like much of Europe during the Dark Ages, is not well understood. Battles occurred, such as in 1380 when Jehan dUst defended the city in the name of John V, after this time, Saint-Nazaire became the seat of a parish extending from Penhoët to Pornichet, part of the Viscountcy of Saint-Nazaire. Like the whole of Brittany, Saint-Nazaire formed part of the Duchy of Brittany until 1532, in 1624, the city was threatened by the Calvinists. In 1756, a fort was built on the order of the governor of Brittany to protect the town, until the French revolution, Saint-Nazaire belonged to the province of Brittany. At the beginning of the 19th century, the port consisted of one simple harbor. In 1800, the parish of Saint-Nazaire had around 3216 inhabitants, the modern Saint-Nazaire was created by the administration of Napoleon III, and came about from the various national and regional truces which had prevented its development up to that point. The population of 3216 in 1800 shows that history, with a mainly local, of Low-Brittany
24.
German submarine U-26 (1936)
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German submarine U-26 was one of the two Type IA ocean-going U-boats produced by Nazi Germanys Kriegsmarine. Constructed in Bremen, U-26 was commissioned in May 1936 and she experienced a short, but successful combat career, sinking eleven ships. Until 1940, U-26 was primarily used as training vessel and for propaganda purposes by the German government, during her trials it was found that the Type IA submarine was difficult to handle due to her poor stability and slow dive rate. In early 1940, the boat was called into duty due to the shortage of available submarines. U-26 participated in six war patrols, sinking ships and badly damaging one other. On her first patrol laying mines, U-26 sank three merchant ships and damaged one British warship, on her second war patrol it became the first U-boat during World War II to enter the Mediterranean Sea. U-26 participated in three successful patrols, sinking four additional merchant ships. Laid down by DeSchiMAG AG Weser in Bremen as yard number 904 on 1 August 1935 and she was commissioned on 6 May with Kapitänleutnant Werner Hartmann in command. U-26 carried out six patrols between August 1939 and July 1940, during which she sank or damaged 12 ships, the U-boat in the film Raiders of the Lost Ark has the number U-26. German U-boats of WWII - uboat. net
25.
Freetown
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Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leones major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and political centre, the city proper had a population of 1,050,301 at the 2015 census. The citys economy revolves largely around its harbor, which occupies a part of the estuary of the Sierra Leone River in one of the worlds largest natural deep water harbors, the population of Freetown is ethnically, culturally, and religiously diverse. The city is home to a significant population of all of Sierra Leones ethnic groups. As in virtually all parts of Sierra Leone, the Krio language is Freetowns primary language of communication and is by far the most widely spoken language in the city. The city of Freetown was founded as a land for freed African American and West Indian slaves, Freetown is the oldest capital to be founded by African Americans, having been founded thirty years before Monrovia, Liberia. The city of Freetown is locally governed by an elected city council municipality, known as the Freetown City Council. Members of the Freetown City Council and the Mayor are elected every four years, the current mayor of Freetown is Franklyn Bode Gibson, of the APC, who was elected mayor with 68. 25% of the votes, in the 2012 Freetown municipal mayoral election. The City of Freetown is divided into three regions, the East End, Central, and the West End. The East End is both the most populous, and the most densely populous of the three regions within Freetown, the East End is home to the countrys harbor. Central Freetown is home to the State House, the House of Parliament, the Supreme Court, the National Stadium, the Bank of Sierra Leone, the West of Freetown is the least populous of the three regions within Freetown. The West End is home to the countrys Lumley Beach, Fourah Bay College, and these blacks were African Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, Africans, Southeast Asians, and blacks born in Britain. They established the Province of Freedom and the settlement of Granville Town on land purchased from local Koya Temne subchief King Tom, the British understood the purchase was to mean that their new settlers had the land for ever. King Toms successor, King Jimmy, burnt the settlement to the ground in 1789 and these 1787 settlers did not formally establish Freetown, even though the bicentennial of Freetown was celebrated in 1987. But formally, Freetown was founded in 1792, in 1791, Thomas Peters, an African American who had served in the Black Pioneers, went to England to report the grievances of the black population in Nova Scotia. Some of these African Americans were ex-slaves who had escaped to the British forces who had given their freedom. Land grants and assistance in starting the settlements had been intermittent, during his visit, Peters met with the directors of the Sierra Leone Company and learned of proposals for a new settlement at Sierra Leone
26.
Dakar
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Dakar is the capital and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city in the Old World as well as on the African mainland. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, the area around Dakar was settled in the 15th century. The Portuguese established a presence on the island of Gorée off the coast of Cap-Vert, France took over the island in 1677. Following the abolition of the trade and French annexation of the mainland area in the 19th century, Dakar grew into a major regional port. In 1902, Dakar replaced Saint-Louis as the capital of French West Africa, from 1959 to 1960, Dakar was the capital of the short-lived Mali Federation. In 1960, it became the capital of the independent Republic of Senegal, Dakar is home to multiple national and regional banks as well as numerous international organizations. From 1978 to 2007, it was also the finishing point of the Dakar Rally. The Cap-Vert peninsula was settled no later than the 15th century, by the Lebou people, the original villages, Ouakam, Ngor, Yoff and Hann, still constitute distinctively Lebou neighborhoods of the city today. In 1444, the Portuguese reached the Bay of Dakar, initially as slave-raiders, peaceful contact was finally opened in 1456 by Diogo Gomes, and the bay was subsequently referred to as the Angra de Bezeguiche. The Portuguese eventually founded a settlement on the island of Gorée, the mainland of Cap-Vert, however, was under control of the Jolof Empire, as part of the western province of Cayor which seceded from Jolof in its own right in 1549. A new Lebou village, called Ndakaaru, was established directly across from Gorée in the 17th century to service the European trading factory with food, Gorée was captured by the United Netherlands in 1588, which gave it its present name. The island was to switch hands between the Portuguese and Dutch several more times before falling to the English under Admiral Robert Holmes on January 23,1664, and finally to the French in 1677. Though under continuous French administration since, métis families, descended from Dutch and French traders and African wives, the infamous House of Slaves was built at Gorée in 1776. In 1795 the Lebou of Cape Verde revolted against Cayor rule, a new theocratic state, subsequently called the Lebou Republic by the French, was established under the leadership of the Diop, a Muslim clerical family originally from Koki in Cayor. The capital of the republic was established at Ndakaaru, in 1857 the French established a military post at Ndakaaru and annexed the Lebou Republic, though its institutions continued to function nominally. The Serigne of Ndakaaru is still recognized as the political authority of the Lebou by the Senegalese State today. The slave trade was abolished by France in February 1794, however, Napoleon reinstated it in May 1802, then finally abolished it permanently in March 1815
27.
Azores
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Its main industries are agriculture, dairy farming, livestock, fishing, and tourism, which is becoming the major service activity in the region. In addition, the government of the Azores employs a large percentage of the population directly or indirectly in the service, the main settlement of the Azores is Ponta Delgada. There are nine major Azorean islands and a cluster, in three main groups. These are Flores and Corvo, to the west, Graciosa, Terceira, São Jorge, Pico, and Faial in the centre, and São Miguel, Santa Maria, and they extend for more than 600 km and lie in a northwest-southeast direction. All the islands have volcanic origins, although some, such as Santa Maria, have had no recorded activity since the islands were settled, mount Pico, on the island of Pico, is the highest point in Portugal, at 2,351 m. The Azores are actually some of the tallest mountains on the planet, measured from their base at the bottom of the ocean to their peaks, which thrust high above the surface of the Atlantic. The climate of the Azores is very mild for such a location, being influenced by its distance to continents. Due to the influence, temperatures remain mild year-round. Daytime temperatures normally fluctuate between 16 °C and 25 °C depending on season, temperatures above 30 °C or below 3 °C are unknown in the major population centres. It is also generally wet and cloudy, the culture, dialect, cuisine, and traditions of the Azorean islands vary considerably, because these once-uninhabited and remote islands were settled sporadically over a span of two centuries. However, these kinds of structures have always used in the Azores to store cereals. Detailed examination and dating to authenticate the validity of these speculations is lacking and it is unclear whether these structures are natural or man-made and whether they predate the 15th-century Portuguese colonization of the Azores. Solid confirmation of a human presence in the archipelago has not yet been published. The islands were known in the century and parts of them appear in the Atlas Catalan. In 1427, a captain sailing for Henry the Navigator, possibly Gonçalo Velho, rediscovered the Azores, but this is not certain. In Thomas Ashes 1813 work, A History of the Azores, the author identified a Fleming, Joshua Vander Berg of Bruges and he stated that the Portuguese explored the area and claimed it for Portugal. Other stories note the discovery of the first islands by sailors in the service of Henry the Navigator, although there are few documents to support the claims. Although it is said that the archipelago received its name from the goshawk
28.
Elder Dempster Lines
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Elder Dempster Lines was a UK shipping company that traded from 1932 to 2000, but had its origins in the mid-19th century. Alexander Elder was born in Glasgow in 1834 and he was the son of David Elder, who for many years was manager of Robert Napier and Sons, the engine and shipbuilders and the brother of John Elder. Alexander Elder served as engineer of Columbian, an iron barque of 2189 tons fitted with a 400 horse-power auxiliary engine. This vessel, built for the Australian run, was chartered by the French in 1855, in 1856 Alexander Elder joined W. and H. Laird to act as superintendent engineer for the African Steamship Company. John Dempster was born in 1837 in Penport, Thornhill, Dumfriesshire where his father, the Dempster family moved to Birkenhead in the 1840s and John joined W. and H. Laird as a clerk in 1851 when he was aged fourteen. Elder Dempster Shipping Limited was formed in 1899, in 1900 they established a direct steamship service between the United Kingdom and the West Indies. In 1932 Elder Dempster Shipping Ltd, together with the African Steamship Company, the company operated from British ports, mainly Liverpool, where it was based, to West African destinations. It ran numerous cargo ships and a number of passenger liners. Before the Second World War its passengers liners were Accra and Apapa, built in 1926 and 1927, in the Second World War the company lost a number of ships to enemy action, including Apapa in 1940 and Abosso in 1942. However during the war its passenger services continued to run between Liverpool and West Africa, escorted by British submarines. K, owusu, on his way to study English literature at Queens College, Cambridge in 1944. After the war a new Accra and Apapa were launched in 1947 and 1948, followed by a new flagship, Aureol in 1951, for the services to Ghana. The company expanded, taking over a number of shipping companies between 1951 and 1965. One of which was British & Burmese Steam Navigation Co Ltd which was purchased in 1952, the chartered ships were retained on the West Africa routes while P. Henderson & Co. continued to manage the Burma traders. In 1967 the six day war closed the Suez Canal causing Hendersons service to Burma ceased, when the Nigerian National Shipping Line was formed in 1957, Elder Dempster took a 33% stake, selling in 1961 to the Nigerian government. In 1965 the company came under the ownership of the Ocean Steamship Company, by 1970 all stock in the former Shaw, Savill & Albion Line had been transferred to Elder Dempster. The end for the Elder Dempster Lines name came in 1989 when it was bought by the French firm Delmas-Vieljeux, at the end of the 19th century the company had been instrumental in forming the Bank of British West Africa. From 1935 to 1940 the company jointly operated Elders Colonial Airways based in Nigeria, together with Imperial Airways, the onset of WWII saw the end of this joint venture. At the height of its power it controlled the lands from Ijora-Olopa to Apapa in Nigerias Lagos port area, British Railways Merchant Navy Class steam locomotive 35030 was named Elder-Dempster Line after the company
29.
German submarine U-107 (1940)
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German submarine U-107 was a Type IXB U-boat of Nazi Germanys Kriegsmarine that operated during World War II. Between January 1941 and August 1944, she sailed on 16 active patrols at a time when a U-boat averaged a lifespan of seven to ten patrols, during that time, U-107 sank 39 Allied ships, in addition to damaging another four ships. The U-boat was launched on 2 July 1940, based at the U-boat port of Lorient and she was later commanded, in order, by Harald Gelhaus, Valker Simmermacher and her final commander, Karl Heinz Fritz. German Type IXB submarines were larger than the original German Type IX submarines. U-107 had a displacement of 1,051 tonnes when at the surface and 1,178 tonnes while submerged. The U-boat had a length of 76.50 m, a pressure hull length of 58.75 m, a beam of 6.76 m, a height of 9.60 m. She had two shafts and two 1.92 m propellers, the boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres. The submarine had a surface speed of 18.2 knots. When submerged, the boat could operate for 64 nautical miles at 4 knots, when surfaced, she could travel 12,000 nautical miles at 10 knots. U-107 was fitted with six 53.3 cm torpedo tubes,22 torpedoes, one 10.5 cm SK C/32 naval gun,180 rounds, the boat had a complement of forty-eight. 4 March 1943, came under attack from an unidentified Allied aircraft,22 March 1943 at 14,35 it came under attack from another unidentified Allied aircraft Undamaged On 16 August 1944, U-107 departed Lorient on a transport run to La Pallice. U-107 took part in 15 wolfpacks, namely, störtebecker Seeräuber Blücher Iltis Hartherz Delphin Robbe Amsel 2 Elbe Elbe 2 Weddigen Coronel Coronel 2 Coronel 3 Borkum Helgason, Guðmundur. German U-boats of WWII - uboat. net
30.
Silver Line (shipping company)
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The Silver Line was a shipping company formed in 1908, part of the British Merchant Navy. By the 1930s they were offering round the world passenger/cargo services, entirely on foreign service, the ships did not include UK ports of call. Managing owners were the S & J Thompson family, most of their merchant ships bore the name Silver followed by the name of a tree. The Second World War claimed 11 of their ships, one of them, the Silverfir, was sunk by the German battleship Scharnhorst on a voyage from Manchester to New York in 1941. Silver Line switched to tramping around the world in the 1950s, then went through several ownership changes, and by 1985, with the sale of their last ship, was no more. The Silverplane, a twin funnel vessel of 7,226 gross tons built in 1948, was sold to the Cunard Line in 1951 and renamed Alsatia II. They were sold to the Republic of China and renamed Union Freedom, the latter ship was demolished in a fiery collision with an oil barge outside New Orleans in 1969, with considerable loss of life. An associated company, Joseph L. Thompson & Sons of Sunderland, was involved in the design of the first Liberty ships that saw service in World War II and beyond. During the 1970s, Silver Line had a fleet of tankers carrying many types of cargoes. These ships often traded in the Baltic region and they were usually called Silver- plus the name of a bird of prey. Promotion on these ships could be very rapid for those prepared to serve regularly on them. Captains of 25 years of age were not uncommon, the company also had bulk carriers, tankers, OBOs and general cargo ships. The Silvermain and Silverfjord were on a run between Japan and the USA, carrying grain one way and Toyota cars the other. Barges British Merchant Navy Cargo ship J. L. Thompson and Sons Liberty Ship Richardsons Westgarth & Company Ship transport Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Ltd
31.
German Type IX submarine
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The Type IX U-boat was designed by Nazi Germanys Kriegsmarine in 1935 and 1936 as a large ocean-going submarine for sustained operations far from the home support facilities. Type IX boats were used for patrols off the eastern United States in an attempt to disrupt the stream of troops. It was derived from the Type IA, and appeared in various sub-types, Type IXs had six torpedo tubes, four at the bow and two at the stern. They carried six reloads internally and had five external torpedo containers which stored ten additional torpedoes, the total of 22 torpedoes allowed U-boat commanders to follow a convoy and strike night after night. Some of the IXC boats were fitted for operations, as mine-layers they could carry 44 TMA or 66 TMB mines. Secondary armament was provided by one 10.5 cm deck gun with 180 rounds, anti-aircraft armament differed throughout the war. They had two periscopes in the tower, types IXA and IXB had an additional periscope in the control room, which was removed in Type IXC and afterward. DeSchiMAG AG Weser of Bremen built eight Type IXA U-boats, Type IXB was an improved model with an increased range. It was the most successful version overall with each boat averaging a total of over 100,000 GRT sunk, DeSchiMAG AG Weser of Bremen built 14 Type IXB U-boats. Type IXC was a refinement of the class with storage for an additional 43 tonnes of fuel. This series omitted the control room periscope leaving the boats with two tower scopes, as mine-layers they could carry 44 TMA or 66 TMB mines, though U-162 through U-170 and U-505 through U-550, were not fitted for mine operations. The only U-boat sunk in the Gulf of Mexico, U-166, was a Type IXC, U-505 survives at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, and as of 2005 has been completely renovated. DeSchiMAG AG Weser and Seebeckwerft of Bremen, and Deutsche Werft of Hamburg built 54 Type IXC submarines, Type IXC/40 was an improved Type IXC with slightly increased range and surfaced speed. The remains of U-534 are on display at Woodside Ferry Terminal, DeSchiMAG AG Weser and Seebeckwerft of Bremen, and Deutsche Werft of Hamburg, built 87 of this type. Type IXD was significantly longer and heavier than the IXC/40 and it was faster than the IXC but at the cost of slightly reduced range. They had three pairs of Daimler Benz diesels, two pairs for cruise and one for speed or battery recharge. There were three variants, the IXD1, IXD2 and IXD/42, the IXD1 had unreliable engines and they were later converted for use in surface transport vessels. The IXD2 comprised most of the class and had a range of 12,750 nautical miles, the IXD/42, was almost identical but with more engine power
32.
German submarine U-67 (1940)
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German submarine U-67 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germanys Kriegsmarine that operated in World War II. She was laid down in the AG Weser yard in Bremen as yard number 986 on 5 April 1940 and she was launched on 30 October and was commissioned on 22 January 1941 under Korvettenkapitän Heinrich Bleichrodt. Her service life began with training with the 2nd U-boat Flotilla on her commissioning date, german Type IXC submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXBs. U-67 had a displacement of 1,120 tonnes when at the surface and 1,232 tonnes while submerged. The U-boat had a length of 76.76 m, a pressure hull length of 58.75 m, a beam of 6.76 m, a height of 9.60 m. She had two shafts and two 1.92 m propellers, the boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres. The submarine had a surface speed of 18.3 knots. When submerged, the boat could operate for 63 nautical miles at 4 knots, when surfaced, she could travel 13,450 nautical miles at 10 knots. U-67 was fitted with six 53.3 cm torpedo tubes,22 torpedoes, one 10.5 cm SK C/32 naval gun,180 rounds, the boat had a complement of forty-eight. The boat carried out seven patrols in which she sank 13 ships and she was a member of three wolfpacks. She was sunk on 16 July 1943 by an Avenger bomber from the US aircraft carrier USS Core,48 men died, there were three survivors. Her operational service commenced with a trip from Bergen in Norway to Lorient in France, the submarine was to spend the rest of her career being based in the French port. She sank St. Clair II west northwest of the Canary Islands on 24 September 1941 on her first foray, on her second patrol she was attacked by the British corvette Bluebell on 11 December 1941 west of Gibraltar, slight damage was incurred. U-208 was originally though to have been sunk and her third effort, which began with the U-boats departure from Lorient on 19 January 1942, took her to the Caribbean, where she sank Penelope, about 150 nmi west of Dominica on 14 March. Her fourth patrol, as part of Operation Drumbeat, saw the submarine enter the Gulf of Mexico, there she sank eight ships, most of them just off the mouth of the Mississippi River. Her fifth sortie turned out to be her longest -97 days, moving to the area off the north coast of South America, she sank a further six ships, but her success was marred by an explosion while handling torpedoes. Patrol number six included being part of Seeräuber wolfpack which was unfortunate as the boat was damaged in an attack on the convoy RS3. Three U-boats were hit in the battle took place south of the Canary Islands
33.
Defensively equipped merchant ship
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Defensively equipped merchant ship was an Admiralty Trade Division program established in June 1939, to arm 5,500 British merchant ships with an adequate defence against enemy submarines and aircraft. The acronym DEMS was used to describe the ships carrying the guns, the guns aboard the ships, the personnel manning the guns. The most heavily armed were ships carrying valuable cargo back from the Far East, for example, the East Indiamen class of ships were constructed from the ground up with defence in mind, with their heavy armament making them equivalent to naval ships of the line. Once the threat passed after the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, from the turn of the 20th century, growing tensions between Europes Great Powers included an Anglo-German naval arms race that threatened the security of merchant shipping. The Admiralty created a Committee on the Arming of British Merchant Vessels under Captain Alexander Duff, the ships being armed by the Kaiserliche Marine were passenger liners that were fast enough to serve as auxiliary cruisers. The Admiralty chose to do likewise, starting with the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company passenger liner RMS Aragon and she was due to carry naval guns from December 1912, but within the British Government and Admiralty there was uncertainty as to how foreign countries and ports would react. Many merchant ships had been armed in the 18th century and it had never made illegal. In January 1913 Rear Admiral Henry Campbell recommended that the Admiralty should send a merchant ship to sea with naval guns, a meeting chaired by Sir Francis Hopwood, Civil Lord of the Admiralty agreed to put guns without ammunition on a number of merchant ships and see what happens. Sir Eyre Crowe was at the meeting and recorded If nothing happens, it may be possible and easy, after a time, in March the policy was made public, and in April it was implemented. On 25 April 1913 Aragon left Southampton carrying two QF4. 7-inch naval guns on her stern, the Admiralty planned to arm Houlder Brothers La Correntina similarly if the reaction were favourable. Governments, newspapers and the public in South American countries that Aragon visited took little notice, domvile predicted that arming merchant ships would be ineffective, and would lead only to a second maritime arms race alongside the naval one. Gerard Noel, a former Admiral of the Fleet, told Churchill that were a merchant ship ever to fire its guns it could be accused of piracy, Churchill replied by drawing a distinction between merchant ships armed as auxiliary cruisers and those armed only for self-defence. Privately Churchill was more concerned, and in June 1913 he directed Admiralty staff to do everything in our power to reconcile this new departure with the principles of international law. Aragons sister ship RMS Amazon was made the next DAMS, and they included the newly built Alcantara, which in the First World War did indeed serve as an armed merchant cruiser. During the First World War, the UK blockaded Germany and armed its merchant ships to defend them against U-boats. A single stern gun, equivalent to what a submarine might carry, was mounted,766 civilian ships had been armed by December 1915. Arming of merchant ships pushed Germany away from prize rules towards unrestricted submarine warfare, the first merchant ship lost to U-boats was an 866-ton British steamer outbound from Grangemouth to Stavanger with a cargo of coal, iron plate, and oil. The procedure followed customs originated by surface ships, international maritime law required the naval vessel to make adequate provisions for the safety of the merchant crew and passengers before sinking their ship
34.
USCGC Itasca (1929)
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The USCGC Itasca was a Lake-class cutter of the United States Coast Guard launched on 16 November 1929 and commissioned 12 July 1930. It acted as picket ship supporting Amelia Earharts 1937 world flight attempt, Itasca, stationed at Howland Island, tried to keep in radio contact with her. However, due to a series of misunderstandings or mishaps, two-way radio contact was never established, Itasca was decommissioned on lend lease to the United Kingdom where she received a name change, becoming HMS Gorleston after the East Anglian port of Gorleston on 30 May 1941. Gorlestone then resumed escorting eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean convoys until refit in Wales in December 1943, after refit, Gorleston escorted eastern Mediterranean convoys from March 1944 until assigned to the Kilindini Escort Force in August 1944. Gorleston escorted Arabian Sea convoys until transferred to Colombo in June 1945, Gorleston spent the remainder of the war escorting Bay of Bengal convoys in support of Operation Zipper. Gorleston was returned to the United States on 23 April 1946, air navigation Fred Noonan List of United States Coast Guard cutters Radio navigation S meter / Signal strength Citations Bibliography U. S. Coast Guard Historians Office
35.
Trinidad
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Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies 11 km off the northeastern coast of Venezuela, though geographically part of the South American continent, from a socio-economic standpoint it is often referred to as the southernmost island in the Caribbean. With an area of 4,768 km2, it is also the sixth largest in the West Indies, many believe the original name for the island in the Arawaks language was Iëre which meant Land of the Hummingbird. Some believe that Iere was actually a mispronunciation or corruption by early colonists of the Arawak word Kairi which simply means Island, Christopher Columbus renamed it La Isla de la Trinidad, fulfilling a vow he had made before setting out on his third voyage of exploration. Caribs and Arawaks lived in Trinidad long before Christopher Columbus encountered the islands on his voyage in 1498. Tobago changed hands between the British, French, Dutch and Courlanders, but eventually ended up in British hands, Trinidad remained Spanish until 1797, but it was largely settled by French colonists from the French Caribbean, especially Martinique. In 1889 the two became a single British Crown colony. Trinidad and Tobago obtained self-governance in 1958 and independence from the United Kingdom in 1962, major landforms include the hills of the Northern, Central and Southern Ranges, the Caroni, Nariva and Oropouche Swamps, and the Caroni and Naparima Plains. Major river systems include the Caroni, North and South Oropouche, there are many other natural landforms such as beaches and waterfalls. Trinidad has two seasons per year, the rainy season and the dry season. El Cerro del Aripo, at 940 metres, is the highest point in Trinidad and it is part of the Aripo Massif and is located in the Northern Range on the island, northeast of the town of Arima. Diversity is the status quo in Trinidad and it is sometimes known as a rainbow island or more fondly a callaloo. There is a range of ethnicity, religion, and culture. As of the 2011 Trinidad and Tobago Census, the population was 34. 22% East Indian,35. 43% African,7. 66% Mixed - African and East Indian, and 15. 16% Mixed - Other. Venezuela has also had a impact on Trinidads culture, such as introducing the music style parang to the island. Many of these groups overlap heavily due to admixture, for example Dougla is a term used to describe a person who is of African and East Indian descent. Trinidad religion primarily centers round Roman Catholic, Anglican, other Christian denominations, Hindu, catholicism constitutes the largest religious denomination of the country. There are also multiple festivals featuring the music of the Caribbean and the steelpan and these festivals include the world-famous Carnival, Jouvert, and Panorama, the national steel pan competition
36.
Convoy ON 154
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Convoy ON-154 was the 154th of the numbered series of World War II merchant ship convoys Outbound from the British Isles to North America. It lost 13 of its 50 freighters, ON-154 included the convoy rescue ship Toward, the oiler Scottish Heather and the French-crewed 2456-ton Special Service Vessel HMS Fidelity. Fidelity was armed with four 4-inch guns, four torpedo tubes and she carried two landing craft, two OS2U Kingfisher float planes and Motor Torpedo Boat 105. The convoy sailed in 12 columns of three or four ships each, the convoy formation was five miles wide and 1.5 miles long. However, only 20 percent of the 180 trans-Atlantic convoys sailing from the end of July 1942 until the end of April 1943 lost ships to U-boat attack. ON-154 was routed south to avoid storms and remained distant from escort support groups, u-662 reported the convoy on 26 December. That night U-356 torpedoed the leading ships from two of the starboard columns, Empire Union was hit at 0140, Melrose Abbey was hit ten minutes later. Both British freighters sank at about 0230, toward rescued 63 survivors from the first ship and 47 from the second. In a second attack, U-356 torpedoed the Dutch freighter Soekaboemi at 0410, King Edward sank within three minutes. U-356 was detected by the escorts and was sunk with no survivors following depth charge attacks by St. Laurent, Chilliwack, Battleford, at dawn, Toward rescued 25 men from the King Edward and assisted Napanee, recovering all but one of Soekaboemis crew. Soekaboemi remained afloat when abandoned at 0730, U-225 began stalking Scottish Heather as she refuelled some of the escorts fifteen miles astern of the convoy on the afternoon of 27 December. U-225 was twice driven off by Chilliwack before hitting the oiler with a torpedo in a third approach at 2040. The ship was abandoned, but the second mate re-boarded her with ten men. At dawn he returned and pattern-searched for lifeboats, the oiler returned to England independently after recovering all of her crew. U-260 began shadowing the convoy on the morning of 28 December, Fidelity attempted to launch a Kingfisher, but the plane capsized and sank at 1915. While St. Laurent rescued the Kingfisher crew, a night attack began with U-boats entering the starboard side of the convoy at 1958. U-591 torpedoed the Norwegian freighter Norse King at 2000, U-225 torpedoed the British freighters Melmore Head at 2003 and Ville de Rouen at 2005. U-260 torpedoed the British freighter Empire Wagtail at 2045, as Empire Wagtail disintegrated in an explosion that claimed all of her crew, Fidelity reported a main engine failure, Shediac was sent to assist her two miles astern of the convoy
37.
HMS Milne (G14)
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HMS Milne was a M-class destroyer of the Royal Navy which served during World War II. She was equipped as a flotilla leader, the M-class destroyers were repeats of the preceding L class. Milne, being the leader, was slightly larger than her sister ships. She displaced 1,935 long tons at load and 2,750 long tons at deep load. The ships had a length of 362 feet 3 inches, a beam of 37 feet. They were powered by Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, the turbines developed a total of 48,000 shaft horsepower and gave a maximum speed of 36 knots. The ships carried a maximum of 567 long tons of oil that gave them a range of 5,500 nautical miles at 15 knots. The ships complement was 224 officers and ratings, the ships mounted six 4. 7-inch Mark XI guns in twin-gun mounts, two superfiring in front of the bridge and one aft of the superstructure. The aft torpedo tubes were replaced by a single QF 4-inch Mk V anti-aircraft gun, later in the war, single Oerlikons replaced the. 50-calibre machineguns and, still later, twin Oerlikon mounts replaced four of the singles. The M-class ships completed only one above-water quadruple mount for 21-inch torpedoes, but the aft mount was later replaced. The ships were equipped with two depth charge throwers, two racks and 42 depth charges, Milne was laid down on 24 January 1940 by Scotts at their Greenock shipyard and launched 30 December 1941. Because of bomb damage to the shipyard, she had to be towed to John Brown & Company to be completed on 6 August 1942, during the war she saw service in the Mediterranean and Arctic theatres. Following the Second World War Milne, along three other ships of the same class, was transferred to the Turkish Navy as part of an agreement signed at Ankara on 16 August 1957. They underwent a refit which involved the removal of the set of torpedo tubes. They received a new deckhouse and Squid anti-submarine weapons system, on 29 June 1959 they were handed over at Portsmouth. Chesneau, Roger, ed. Conways All the Worlds Fighting Ships 1922–1946, Ships of the Royal Navy, The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy. Afridi to Nizam, British Fleet Destroyers 1937–43, British Destroyers & Frigates, The Second World War and After. British & Empire Warships of the Second World War, British Destroyers, A History of Development, 1892-1953, Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships Covers & Building Plans
