#South London Harriers

[insidecroydon]

Muddy marvels! Surrey's best racing for gold in Lloyd Park

Up the hill: Lloyd Park tomorrow stages the 2025 Surrey Cross-country Championships, with more than 900 entries from around the county Croydon tomorrow stages what promises to be one of the highest quality sports events in south London in all 2025, as the Surrey County Cross-country Championships are staged over Lloyd Park’s rolling hills and boggy valleys. More than 900 runners have entered,…

[brad6387jenkins]

The Emirates FA Cup - Competitions | The Football Association

Fa cup fixtures results and table - Soccer: FA Cup / live - results, fixtures, standings -

Guiseley - Matlock Town. Southport - South Shields. Wimborne Town - Maidstone. Sholing - Walton Casuals. Hartley Wintney - Barking. Burnham - Whyteleafe. Havant and Waterlooville - Horsham. Concord Rangers - Potters Bar Town. Christchurch - Gloucester City. Tiverton - Taunton Town. Gosport Borough - Hereford.

Bath City - Winchester City. Wimborne Town - Melksham Town. Kidlington - Bristol Manor Farm. Frome Town - Larkhall Athletic. Saltash United - Sholing. Truro Fa cup fixtures results and table - Hungerford Town. Weston Super Mare - Swindon Resullts. Bracknell Town - Resluts. Hanwell Town - Hartley Wintney. Moneyfields FC - Cray Wanderers.

Ebbsfleet United - Hastings. Sheppey United - Welling United. Bedfont Sports Club - Carshalton Anf. Dorking Wanderers - Eastbourne Borough.

Chipstead - East Grinstead Town. Corinthian Casuals - Dulwich Hamlet. Haringey Borough - Chertsey Town. Folkestone Invicta - Chatham Town.

The Emirates FA Cup

Hendon - Maidstone. Farnborough - Tonbridge Angels. Dartford - Slough Town. Bury Town - Waltham Abbey. Peterborough Sports - Stansted. Kettering Town FC - Chelmsford. Brantham Athletic - Aveley. Cheshunt - Cambridge City. Barking - Kings Langley FC. Hashtag United - Braintree Town.

St Albans - Hitchin Town. Walthamstow - Hornchurch. Leighton Town - Leiston. Grantham Town - Matlock Town. Leamington - Banbury United. Worksop - Chester FC. Ilkeston FC - Hanley Town. Brackley Town - Billericay. Canvey - Biggleswade FC.

Tamworth - Evesham United. Chasetown - Telford. Alvechurch - Kidderminster Harriers. Nantwich Town - Barwell FC. Mickleover Sports - Newark. Buxton - Stafford Rangers. Coalville Town - Alfreton Town. Hednesford - Halesowen. Warrington Rylands - York City. Skelmersdale United - Lancaster City.

Southport - Morpeth Town FC. Stalybridge - Longridge Town. Runcorn Linnets - Marine. Fa cup fixtures results and table United - South Shields. Curzon - FC United of Manchester. Darlington - Prescot Cables. Chorley - Gateshead FC. Guiseley - Atherton Collieries. Cray Wanderers - Fisher. Highworth Fa cup fixtures results and table - Melksham Town.

Tiverton - Bideford AFC. Kidlington - Salisbury. Grays Athletic - Potton United. Worcester - Stafford Rangers. Skelmersdale United - Bootle. Lowestoft Town - Aveley. Corinthian - Sevenoaks Town. Christchurch - Dorchester Town. Tadley Calleva - Truro City. Cambridge City - Stowmarket Town. Frimley Green - Marlow. Cobham - Risborough Rangers. Steyning Town - Sheppey United. Chichester City FC - Cribbs.

Fairford Town - Sholing. Chatham Town - Southall. Longridge Town - Charnock Richard. Tadcaster Albion - Litherland Remyca. West Bridgford - Halesowen. Coventry Sphinx - Ilkeston FC. Shifnal Town - Alvechurch. Hanley Town - Redditch United. Ely City - Biggleswade FC.

Whitby - Warrington Rylands. West Auckland Town - Runcorn Fa cup fixtures results and table. Saltash United - Cirencester Town. Swindon Supermarine - Shepton Mallet. Yate Town - Bristol Manor Farm. Barnstaple Town - Wimborne Town. Winchester City - Clevedon. Taunton Town - Wantage Town. Aylesbury United - Moneyfields FC. South Park - Bognor Regis Town. Merstham - AFC Dunstable. Chertsey Town - Leatherhead. Chalfont St Peter - Farnborough.

Hastings - Chesham United. Bedfont Sports Club - Lewes. Ashford United - Bracknell Town. Haywards Heath Town - Hanwell Town. Haringey Borough - Tunbridge Wells. Little Common - Corinthian Casuals. Leighton Town - Mildenhall Town. Barking - Dunstable Town FC. Brantham Athletic - St. Ives Town FC. Burnham - Northwood.

Horsham - Kingstonian. Whyteleafe - Binfield. Chipstead - Deal Town. Staines Town - Walton Casuals. Long Melford - Cheshunt. Leiston - Biggleswade Town. Peterborough Sports - Enfield Town. Harlow Town - Waltham Abbey. Royston Town - Wroxham. Dereham Town - Canvey. Tividale - Nantwich Town. Barwell FC - Bedworth United. AFC Mansfield - Gainsborough.

Coalville Town - Sheffield FC. Buxton - Belper Town. Daventry Town - Evesham United. Bromsgrove Sporting - Stratford Town. Walthamstow - St. Bury Town - Brightlingsea Regent. Chasetown - Basford United. Banbury United - Carlton Town. Westfield FC - Worksop. Grantham Town - Rushall Olympic. Fa cup fixtures results and table Town - Mickleover Sports.

Quorn - Matlock Town. Stalybridge - Bishop Auckland. Hednesford - Long Eaton United. Tamworth - Stourbridge. Marske United - Trafford. West Allotment Celtic - Hyde United. Coggeshall Town - Stansted. Radcliffe - Workington. Scarborough Athletic - Ashton United. Frickley Athletic - Marine. Southampton's clash with Shrewsbury Town was postponed after a number of positive Covid tests among the League One outfit's players and staff. The first round proper of FA Cup kicked off on November 6, with games also being played on November 7, 8 and 9.

A total of 48 clubs from League One fa cup fixtures results and table League Two enter at this phase of the competition as they join the 31 winners of the previous round along with the bye recipients - on this occasion, Chorley Town. Fa cup fixtures results and table clubs joined the 32 winners from the qualifying stages of the competition, which got underway at the end of August and concluded on November 4.

It will be held at the traditional venue of Wembley in London. Both networks air the final and share the rest of the competition, taking turns to select the games they wish to broadcast. All matches shown by the BBC and BT Sport will be available to stream on their respective websites and apps, while a number will be exclusively online.

That means the games are not strictly being shown live on television in the US. FA Cup. Arsenal 2. Newcastle United 0. Bournemouth 4. Oldham 1. Blackburn 0. Doncaster 1. Blackpool 2. West Bromwich Albion 2. Sheffield United 3. Burnley 1. Exeter 0. Sheffield Wednesday 2. Queens Park Rangers over at this website. Fulham 2.

Stoke 0. Get more information 4. Wycombe 4. Preston 1. Stevenage 0. Swansea 2. Derby 0. Boreham Wood 0. Millwall 2. Nottingham Forest 1. Cardiff 0. Norwich fa cup fixtures results and table. Coventry 0. Everton 2. Rotherham 1. Luton 1. Reading 0. Aston Villa 1. Liverpool 4. Wolverhampton Wanderers 1. Crystal Fa cup fixtures results and table 0. Bournemouth 2. Crawley 1.

Wycombe 1. Tottenham 4. Everton 3. Sheffield Wednesday 0. Manchester United 3. Liverpool 2. Brentford 1. Leicester 3. Fulham 0. Burnley 3. Chelsea 3. Cheltenham 1.

Barnsley 1. Norwich 0. Brighton 2. Blackpool 1. Millwall 0. Bristol City 3. West Ham 4. Doncaster 0. Swansea 5. Sheffield United 2.

English FA Cup Qualification table live

Southampton 1. Arsenal 0. Chorley 0. Barnsley 0. Chelsea 1. Wolverhampton Wanderers fa cup fixtures results and table. Everton 5.

Leicester 1. Brighton 0. Sheffield United 1. Bristol City 0. Swansea 1. West Ham 0. Burnley 0. Leicester. Southampton. Chelsea. Manchester City. View full playoff Hide full playoff. Tiverton 2. Gosport Borough 2. Metropolitan Police FC 3. Worcester 2. Stafford Rangers 3. Lowestoft Town 2. Barwell FC 3. Biggleswade Town 1. Stalybridge 3. Bishop's Stortford 1. Ives Town FC 0. Yate Town 1. Cambridge City 1. Farnborough 3. Hastings 0.

Chesham United 0. Daventry Town 0. Dorchester Town 1. Dunstable Town FC 1. East Thurrock United 0. FC United of Manchester 6. Frome Town 4. Gainsborough 0. Margate 1. Hednesford 3. Kings Langley FC 1. Nuneaton 2. Fa cup fixtures results and table Town 0. Poole Town FC 0. Redditch United 2. Royston Town 2. Staines Town 1. Tamworth 3. Stourbridge 3. Truro City 1. Warrington Town 0. Hendon 2. Weston Super Mare 5. Hitchin Town 3. Hemel Hempstead 2. AFC Fylde 4.

Guiseley 4. Barwell FC 0. Bath City 3. Brackley Town 2. Boston United 4. Bradford PA 1. Braintree Town 1. Stafford Rangers 0. Cambridge City 2. Telford 1. Kettering Town FC 2. Chelmsford 0. Chester 2. Poole Town FC 2. Gateshead 1. See page 1. FC United of Manchester 2. Dartford 0. Slough Town 1. Eastbourne Borough 3. Ebbsfleet United 2. Hastings 2. Farnborough 0. Frome Town 1. Gloucester City 1. Gosport Borough 1. Hereford 3. Hednesford 0.

Hendon fa cup fixtures results and table. Maidstone 1. Albans 5. Hitchin Town 0. Truro City 4. Hungerford Town 0. Kings Langley FC 2. Metropolitan Police FC 1. Southport 2. Stalybridge 2. Weston Super Mare 2. Tiverton 3. Welling 0. Royston Town 0. AFC Fylde 3. FC United of Manchester 0. Slough Town 0. Bath City 1. Boston United 0. Hemel Hempstead 0. Kettering Town FC 0. Nuneaton 0. Chester 3. Ebbsfleet United 1. Chorley 1. Darlington 6.

[airmanisr]

Hawker P.1127 ‘XP831’ by Alan Wilson Via Flickr: Built 1960. This is the first prototype P1127 and the first to achieve a vertical take-off, on 21st October 1960. The P 1127 developed into the Kestrel and then the Harrier, the world's first operational vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) jet fighter. The second generation of Harrier remains in service with various international air arms, including the US Marines. Initially on display at the RAF Museum at Hendon, XP831 is now on display in the ‘Flight’ Hall of the Science Museum, South Kensington, London. 16-6-2015

[petermorwood]

Plot, plotter, plotting...

There were a couple of story seeds based on current events (not my usual field) mentioned here.

I’ve got a nasty cold right now, so I’ve just emerged from a so-hot-it-stings (but eases aching joints) shower, and once again hot water on the head has done things to the creative connections. I don’t have a plot, just a notion, and the notion is this:

During the current demonstration of British governmental stupidity, indecision and general faffing around up at this end of the world, where the Irish no longer know their place, I wonder is anyone in London’s Ministry of Defence keeping a closer than usual eye further south.

Not on Dublin or even Cork, but on Argentina and the Falklands / Malvinas / Flaklands / Marinas, a bone of contention way, way away from anywhere Britain can currently project power with anything more restrained than a nuclear submarine.

Carrier HMS Illustrious has been decommissioned; the Sea Harrier has been retired; the Vulcan has been grounded; Carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth’s complement of F-35s hasn’t yet been delivered; and anyway she won’t be fully operational until 2020.

It sounds rather like the background for a Tom Clancy or Frederick Forsyth thriller, but one’s dead and AFAIK the other’s retired. However, it’s worth taking a look at the end of Clancy’s “Debt of Honor” before rolling out the phrase “a bit far-fetched...”

Like that dot on the horizon which turns out not to be a flyspeck on the cockpit canopy after all, “far” can become "up close and personal” before you know it.

ETA: @lockheed-martini added a comment that the four RAF Typhoons currently stationed on the Falklands - the one on the right, not the one on the left...

... could tidy up the current Argentinian air force all by themselves.

Looking at what they’ve got (no jets any more, and the Pucará looks like a modernised Henschel Hs 129)...

...the Typhoon on the left could probably do it as well.

Of course in this sort of fiction there’s always the Special Forces Can Do Anything card (Forsyth reached for the SAS like they were his personal set of loaded dice) so since the Typhoon jets are an obstruction to the plot getting under way, cue “Pebble Island Raid, Round 2″.

If Special Forces aren’t available, then private contractors or personally-loyal troops led by a rogue senior officer is another method. RSOs were once so common in thrillers - “Die Hard 2″, “The Rock” etc. - that testing colonels and above for potentially dodgy behaviour started to look like sound policy.

It’s been said that unlike real life, fiction has to make sense, but there’s a codicil - it just has to make its OWN sense, and inside that world, all bets are off... :-D

[fylauraharrier]

What’s most striking about Laura Harrier when she stands to shake my hand in Soho House, on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, is her delicacy. She’s slender as a tulip, in high-waisted baggy jeans and a black silk camisole. Her make-up and jewellery are barely-there — gossamer golden threads around her neck and fingers. What makes her gentle vibe all the more remarkable is that, just the night before, I was sitting in a dark screening room spellbound by her fierce, gripping performance in BlacKkKlansman. Directed by Spike Lee and co-starring Adam Driver and John David Washington (Denzel’s son), it’s based on the true story of two cops infiltrating the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s. Harrier, 28, plays Patrice, a student leader in the Black Power movement and a force for political awakening for the other characters. Patrice’s look is anything but demure, with her halo-like afro and leather jackets. In particular, Harrier says of the afro wig she wears throughout, it made her hold herself differently: “I felt royal.” She pauses a beat and laughs: “It hit doorways. Sometimes it got skewed.”

She was on holiday in Greece with friends last year, lying on a beach on a “random Tuesday”, glass of rosé in hand, when an unfamiliar number popped up on her phone. She answered. “‘Laura, this is Spike Lee. Vacation’s over. See you in New York on Thursday,’” she says, doing a not completely terrible impersonation of the director. She scrambled off the island and met Lee for an unorthodox audition that included sitting in on his film-making class at New York University, participating in the class discussion, and making a nearly hour-long video. “At one point I got really mad at him and I walked out of the room and slammed the door. I came back expecting him to be, like, ‘And, scene.’ But no. He was still going. I was, like, ‘We’re still acting. OK, cool. When will this end?’ ” She was offered the role the next day and, without reading a script or even knowing much about her character, Harrier jumped at the opportunity, thinking, “I’ll do whatever, it’s Spike!”

The film won the Grand Prix award at Cannes in May, and Harrier and her castmates were given a six-minute standing ovation after the screening. As if a meaty role in the latest Spike Lee film wasn’t a cool enough credential, Harrier has also scooped up contracts with Bulgari and Louis Vuitton, for which she is a brand ambassador. She met Vuitton’s creative director, Nicolas Ghesquière, after a catwalk show a year and a half ago and they “hit it off and clicked”. He featured her in his SS18 campaign, wearing a futuristic take on an 18th-century-style brocade jacket. For Cannes, Ghesquière made her a peach dream of a gown. “It was so beautiful,” she swoons. “I cried when I tried it on for the first time, like it was my wedding dress.”

Harrier spent her formative years in what is perhaps America’s quintessential picket-fence suburb: Evanston, Illinois, the area where John Hughes set Sixteen Candles and his other romcoms about middle-class (and mostly white) teenage angst. Harrier’s father works in insurance and her mother is a speech therapist. Her mother is white — a fact that she says people often find “weird” now, but was a non-issue growing up. “My parents never talked about it,” she says, as she tucks into a veggie burger and fries. “There were no big heart-to-hearts.”

To prepare for her role in BlacKkKlansman, Harrier met Kathleen Cleaver, one of the most famous female leaders of the Black Panther Party, and spent time talking to her own father, whose ancestors were slaves, about the racism he faced growing up on Chicago’s South Side and then going to a boarding school in Michigan where he was the only black student. The movement, he told her, taught him to celebrate and embrace his blackness — a message Harrier finds as relevant to her now as it was to her father back then.

“I’m not surprised that racism still exists in our country,” she sighs. “I think people were comfortable during the Obama years and these things were kind of suppressed, and now everyone who has hateful views has the encouragement to make them known. But also it’s [about] trying to be hopeful and not feel like we’re all in despair.”

Harrier is vocal about activism on her Instagram feed, regularly posting in support of trans rights, anti-gun rallies and gender equality. We are meeting during Donald Trump’s visit to London. “The blimp was hilarious,” she says of the inflatable balloon depicting the president in a nappy.

There is, also, the glamorous stream of fancy coiffures and modelling shots across her social media that she admits is part of her job. “My Instagram isn’t me, it’s a very curated version of things,” she says. “I don’t post myself with zits and cramps and rolling out of bed.” She applauds friends who are more open, but is wary herself. “I think people use it to stalk people,” she says. And she’s tired of the sexual harassment that all women face “across the board” online: “It makes me mad. It’s so gross. I’m, like, ‘I don’t want to see your dick pic.’ ” Though the It girls she poses with — Zendaya, Bella Hadid, Sophie Turner — are her real friends, social media can never convey her real life, she says, which mostly involves being “really f****** busy, honestly”.

She recently moved from New York to Los Angeles, “for work and to escape the winter and some life stuff”, but says she has barely been home. Life stuff? “Just personal bullshit,” she says, waving her hand. A boy? “Yeah,” she admits, with a rueful laugh. “I don’t want to talk about that. Sorry.”

Harrier had been living in Manhattan since leaving home to study art history at NYU. She dropped out to model and eventually enrolled in a two-year acting programme. Success came swiftly: before she had even graduated, she was cast by the 12 Years a Slave director, Steve McQueen, in a pilot for HBO (sadly, the show was never picked up). The career-making role of Peter Parker’s high-school sweetheart in Spider-man Homecoming quickly followed.

The fantasy aspect of fashion has always interested Harrier, even before she began, as she puts it, professionally “playing make-believe”. In fact, she was voted best dressed in high school — although she’s not willing to vouch for her teenage sense of style. “I remember wearing a lot of boots — like, high boots,” she says, pointing to a spot above her knee, “which is such a weird, awful trend.” Her style icons at the time were the women of 1990s black sitcoms: Hilary in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Denise, played by Lisa Bonet, on The Cosby Show. “Those were the people on TV that looked like me, so it was what I identified with. Also they were beautiful and looked really cool,” she says.

Back to BlacKkKlansman. She has no fear about what the reaction to the film might be among white supremacists and fans of Trump, for whom the movie has a pointed message in its coda. “I hope [there’s blowback],” she says, “because that means they saw it and are paying attention. It starts a dialogue. Spike is really taking on Trump.”

However, BlacKkKlansman isn’t just an American story, she says. She’s spent the past few years travelling around Europe and Asia and sees the issues of racism and xenophobia as universal. “How do people treat Muslims? How do people treat immigrants? It’s not just about black and white. We’re seeing the rise of right-wing movements around the world,” she says. “So I think and I hope that people all over the world will see it and identify with it. This is everywhere.”

BlacKkKlansman is out on August 24

[med-man77-blog]

#FalklandsWar 1982 Operation Mikado... By Neil Tweedie and Thomas Harding Five in the morning, May 21 1982, seven weeks into the Falklands conflict. The Argentine radar operator at Rio Grande airbase, on the island of Tierra del Fuego, is looking forward to his bed. Outside, rain is blowing across the deserted airfield. The blip appears out of nowhere, 25 miles out to sea, coming in fast and low. Suddenly alert, the operator calls over his duty officer, but the blip has already faded. Out over the South Atlantic, two C130 Hercules transports of 47 Squadron Royal Air Force battle through the night. Buffeted by strong headwinds, they skim the waves at 50 feet to evade detection. The co-pilots peer through night‑vision goggles, guiding the pilots towards the coast, one lapse enough to cause disaster. Night vision is in its infancy, the devices a secret gift from the Americans. Tension mounts as landfall over Argentina approaches, the conclusion of a 13‑hour flight from Ascension Island involving two mid-air rendezvous with Victor tankers. Behind the crews, in the cavernous holds of the Hercules, some 60 men of B Squadron, 22nd SAS Regiment, ready their weapons and vehicles, Land Rovers bristling with machine guns. This is a one‑way mission, the best outcomes being escape to neutral Chile, or capture. The worst outcome is all too obvious. Minutes later, the C130s slam down on the runway at Rio Grande. The rear doors are already open, the lowered ramps scraping the ground. In an instant, the Land Rovers are charging straight for the apron where four French-built Super Etendard fighters of the Argentine navy stand. Some of the SAS fling charges into the engine intakes while others search for the Etendard pilots, who are to be shot on sight. Another group search for the weapon that above all others threatens Britain with defeat in the South Atlantic: the Exocet. Moments later, the first charges explode. Gunfire erupts. The world dissolves into chaos. Had it happened, Operation Mikado would have been the most dramatic raid staged by Britain since the Second World War, a desperate coup de main intended to remove the Exocet threat to the Royal Navy task force seeking to retake the Falklands. With the approach of the 30th anniversary of the war, some of those involved have cast fresh light on an operation that can be seen either as an audacious assault in the finest traditions of the SAS, or a hubristic suicide mission. “In my own mind I saw it as a one-way ticket,” says Tom Rounds, navigator in one of two Hercules crews trained for Mikado. “In my final letter to my wife I said as much. We all had our bags packed. If we didn’t come back, they just had to put them on the next plane back to the UK and hand my stuff to the missus.” The SAS, known as “hooligans” to the RAF crews, began planning assaults on Argentine airfields within days of the invasion of the Falklands on April 2, and a month before Exocet, a French-built sea‑skimming anti-ship missile, burst on to the world stage. “The planners had decided that fighter bases were acceptable targets,” says Rounds. “We reckoned it would take 20 to 30 minutes. The vehicles would rush out full of hooligans to reap mayhem. We would seal the aircraft up and take off in a minute – real Second World War stuff.” Training was intense, involving simulated nocturnal attacks on RAF airfields from Kinloss in Scotland to Binbrook in Lincolnshire. The rule book was torn up as the Hercules roared low over Britain, trying to get into airfields without being spotted by ground radar. “The station commanders were told that we might arrive at any time and would not call the control tower,” says Rounds. “We came in as low as 50 to 100 feet.” Rounds’ pilot was Jim Norfolk. “It was huge fun,” he says. “So exciting, so bloody dangerous as well. There was no night vision, there were no runway lights. One time, the rear aeroplane ended up in front. We passed each other in the descent and never knew a thing about it.” On April 19, Argentina deployed four of its five Super Etendards to Rio Grande. Only five air-launched Exocets were available. On May 4, two of the fighters, each carrying one Exocet, went in search of prey. They found it in the shape of HMS Sheffield, alone on radar picket duty. She had three minutes to react before one missile scythed through her hull, killing 20 men. Shock at the loss of a modern destroyer to a single guided weapon was profound, but solutions to the threat posed by the remaining missiles were few. Argentina’s Patagonian airfields were 4,000 miles from Ascension, Britain’s nearest airfield, making a sustained RAF bombing campaign impossible. A Sea Harrier strike would involve exposing the task force’s two irreplaceable aircraft carriers, Hermes and Invincible, to attack. Enter Brigadier Peter de la Billière, director of the SAS and a favourite of Margaret Thatcher since the Iranian embassy siege in London in 1980. He now championed the Mikado assault to the War Cabinet. There was a problem, however. Some RAF ground controllers claimed to have spotted the Hercules approaching their airfields. Surprise was the essence of Mikado, and early detection would be fatal. “There was a degree of professional pride,” says Rounds. “Air traffic control was saying, 'We spotted you way out.’ I thought, 'No, you didn’t.’ Also, they were forewarned about our coming – the Argentines wouldn’t be. Nevertheless, it created negativity that was picked up by some of the SAS.” Major John Moss, commander of the SAS’s B Squadron, became steadily less convinced about the operation’s viability, matters coming to a head as his unit prepared to leave Hereford for Ascension. The Argentines were believed to be taking steps to thwart such an attack, garrisoning airbases and dispersing aircraft. A major setback occurred on May 17, when a covert mission to insert an SAS team to observe Rio Grande was aborted. The helicopter involved flew on to Chile, where the crew and SAS team gave themselves up. Chile was a secret ally of Britain throughout the war, allowing an RAF Hercules to be based first on Easter Island in the Pacific and later on the mainland. The aircraft markings were painted out and the crew disguised with American-style flying suits. Moss’s objections earned him summary dismissal. In his autobiography, de la Billière states: “I was dismayed to find that the attitude of this unit [B Squadron] remained lukewarm. The trouble, I found, lay in the squadron commander, who himself did not believe in the proposed operation.” A more gung-ho CO was appointed and B Squadron shipped out for Ascension. Despite the failure of the covert reconnaissance mission, Mikado proceeded. It came nearest to taking place between May 19 and 23 when one, not two, Hercules was prepared for the attack. “I had a hearty all-day breakfast,” says Rounds. “Jim [Norfolk] was pacing around smoking, going, 'Rounds, how can you eat at a time like this?’ “It’s not bravery, it’s just backing yourself. If you’re worried about death, you’re in the wrong business. Get out and become a bloody accountant. It’s war. You are trained to fight and die, if need be. It didn’t matter if we couldn’t get out, but we had to get in. There was always a good chance of that. If the aircraft got shot up on the runway it didn’t matter, as long as the hooligans destroyed the fighters. Coming home was a bonus.” “You knew you weren’t coming back because there was no tanker plan for the return leg,” says Norfolk. “The plan was for us to sit on the runway waiting for the hooligans to do their stuff and come back, but they had no intention of doing that. They were going to bog off on foot to Chile, and I was going to take the aircraft and do the same.” Would it have worked? “The SAS were bloody good. If they could get off the aircraft they would have destroyed everything in sight. There would have been a lot of revenge, though, which probably would have been directed at the Hercules. “The Mikado raid? I thought it was bloody stupid, actually. Too bloody far. We didn’t go because it wasn’t authorised. Hereford had run wild with this idea. Luckily, our flight commander was down on Ascension, keeping us on the sensible side of hooliganism. With half an hour to go, he told us no order had been received. It came down to Margaret Thatcher, I suppose. It would have been too much of an escalation.” “We were geared up to go,” says Rounds, “a hair’s breadth away from the trigger being pulled. It was a huge anticlimax. The intensity of the training was immense.” John Moss has remained silent on Mikado for 30 years, but now allows himself a modicum of self-defence. In a pointed reference to de la Billière, he says: “Only four people knew what was happening, I was one of them. One person, who has written a book, didn’t actually know everything as he wasn’t at the training. Afterwards we all shook hands and decided we would never say anything about it, but one person decided to do otherwise. “I put my point of view across at the time, which I felt was the right one. After leaving the Army I went down to Argentina to look at things in a bit more detail. I’m happy with the decision I made. It was the correct one and I couldn’t care less what other people have done.” Argentina’s remaining air-launched Exocets were to claim one more victim, the container ship Atlantic Conveyor, sunk by a single hit on May 25, Argentina’s national day. With her went Chinook and Wessex helicopters intended for the British assault on Port Stanley. “Moss articulated what a lot of his men felt, and took the flak,” says Rounds. “Personally, I regret we didn’t do it. I really wanted to be tested. But we would have been lucky to get out.”

[kimstanley]

on the subject of.....ultras

I played with a bit of ultra running over the years, and probably competed in a total of between 15 and 20 ultra distance races, but at no point did I ever consider myself an ultra runner. To earn that title you have to be tougher than I am.

In 1982 I took a gentle dip into the world of ultra running by entering the South London Harriers 30. Although at the very shortest end of the ultra distance spectrum, the SLH 30 was regarded as something of a classic, won in previous years by some great athletes. Still very much a minority sport back then, it had that really old school low key feel to it and became a favourite of mine for several years. As “classic” ultra’s go though, the London to Brighton is among the real greats, and I ran that twice – in 1985 it became my longest race to date – 54 miles in 7hr 01, and again in 1990 in 6hr 34 which probably stands as my best ultra performance. In 1986 I ran the long distance cross country footpath – The Wealdway – 80 miles end to end through Kent and Sussex from Gravesend to Eastbourne as a solo run for my own enjoyment in about 15 hours. I believe I was the first person to do that. A few other 40 milers met with some reasonably good results, but I did really very few ultras over the years until eventually in 2003 I felt in need of a real challenge and entered the Grand Union Canal Race. Along the canal from Birmingham to London, at 145 miles, this was in a different league from anything I’d tried before. It ended in painful failure at 85 miles. At the time I gave myself excuses to justify why I couldn’t keep going. And if I subsequently ever looked back on that run, I’d continued to believe those excuses. Until three months ago, when I read three books in quick succession which made me re-evaluate everything I thought I knew about ultra running, and helped me understand the real reason for my GUCR failure 17 years ago. I’m going to continue the ultra theme in my next post, and explain what it took me 17 years to realise.

next up: on the subject of ultras – part two

[2wheelchickrunsparis]

Running with others is always fun. And that’s what I did with my running club, South London Harriers when we ran at the cross country match in Reigate Priory, Surrey. It wasn’t too muddy, and it was only 4 miles, but it was pretty hilly. This is what I need, though to give my legs the strength for next Spring.

[souleymanbah-blog]

Welcome!

My name is Souleyman and I would like to welcome you to my brand new website. For my first Blog post, I would like to introduce myself and tell my story up to where I currently am. Hopefully, through regular monthly Blog posts, you may also come along on my journey to complete world domination! I hope you enjoy this first one. Also feel free to contact me via the contact page if you have any enquires or questions about this post or if you have any suggestions for future posts.

Who am I?

Souleyman Bah is an, 18 year old, up and coming athlete for the Great Britain Paralympic Team. He specialises in sprinting and his main events include the 100 and 200 meters. He Suffers from a rare eye condition called RP, which renders him visually impaired and therefor qualifies for the T13 bracket of the Paralympic categories.

What are my achievements and Plans?  

Souleymans biggest achievement in the sport so far, was winning a gold medal in the 100 meters at the Paralympic School Games, which were held in Natal, Brazil in November 2015. Souleyman has high ambitions to represent his country at a senior international competition such as the European and/or World championships but his ultimate dream, goal and aspiration is to gain selection for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and also to hopefully win a medal. “I am on track to make it! I’ve recently been selected for the British Athletics Talent Development Squad as I show great promise for the future”.

What am I currently up to?

Souleyman is based in South West London and is currently in progress with his A Levels in which he is studying Philosophy, Politics and P.E. He says “I find it hard to balance time between my school work and a training schedule but it’s great practice for organisation and multi-tasking skills”. He is also a very active member of the community and does many speeches and presentations to local schools and organisations on the physical, mental and social benefits of sport and talks about how he believes that “Sport can cure two of the biggest problems we face in our society. Obesity and depression.”

Early Life:

It wasn’t an easy start in life for Souleyman. He was born on January 5th 1999 in the small West African country of Guinea (Conakry), due to political violence, overwhelming poverty and a lack of sufficient adjustments to suit his special educational needs, his mother made the decision to move in search of a better life and eventually claimed asylum in the UK. Being a 6 year old child in a new and strange environment, Souleyman initially found it very difficult to adjust to the sudden change in culture and language however he eventually settle in and made many great friends who he still maintains contact with to this day (including his first school teacher in the UK, Sue Hanning). His family always knew he had issues with his eyesight but weren’t able to diagnose it in Guinea due to a lack of medical resources. However, as soon as he settled into the UK he was quickly diagnosed with RP. Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of genetic disorders that affect the retina’s ability to respond to light. This inherited disease causes a slow loss of vision, beginning with decreased night vision and loss of peripheral (side) vision. Eventually, resulting in total blindness. Unfortunately, there is no cure for RP at this moment in time. Learn More About RP (https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/what-is-retinitis-pigmentosa)

Finding His Passion

The realisation of Souleymans passion for running didn’t manifest in the most positive of ways as he describes it. “I always got into trouble for running round and I also ran away from trouble. I ran everywhere, to the shops, in the shops and even in the most forbidden place on earth; the school corridor.” He always had a natural gift for running fast and earned the nickname ‘Sonic Soul’. His passion flourished over his primary school years and always won the sports day sprint race despite being visually impaired. However it wasn’t until his year 7 sports day where he not only won the 100-meter race, but also broke the longstanding school record in 12.6 seconds, and his P.E teacher really urged him to pursued his passion and talent. Watch The Race Video Here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEDdSOFlUKc)

Progression Period

During this time, there was a scheme called Playground To Podium which was a Government backed programme in the run up to the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games to help young and talented individuals find a sport and help them build a support structure to move forward. For Souleyman, he knew which sport he wanted to do, so they helped him find a club and coach to train with, and to also represent in competition. His first coach was Richard Holt who Souleyman got along very well with and they also found ways to adapt the training to suit Souleymans visual impairment so that he did not feel left out.

In his time at Kingston & Polytechnique Harriers, Souleyman and his coach worked on improving his speed, strength, skills and technique in his sport and in a short period of time, he was already representing his club in major national championships and racing against able-bodied athletes. His first big sporting achievement was in 2013 were he won the standing long jump and relay event at Sports-hall 2013 regional championships and gained selection to represent Surrey at the UK finals in Birmingham. After an amazing day of fierce competition against the best athletes in the UK, the Surrey team came 3rd. He says “i found it hard to see the step board during the sprint race and the 4x2 relay event, so i had to rely a lot on my hearing and memory of the course.” Sports-hall 2013 Finals Result (http://www.sportshall.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/UK_Final_Under_15_Boys.pdf)

Souleyman also won 2 gold medals at the 2015 London Youth Games Disabled competition in the 100 and 200 meters and was interviewd for his amazing achievement. Watch The Interview (https://www.facebook.com/londonyouthgames/videos/10153351290266382/) Later that year, he had some more amazing successes such as running under 12 seconds for the first time. With a PB (personal best) of 11.9 seconds, he was invited to compete at the Bedford International Games where he raced against Paralympic legends including Jonny Peacock. He also raced his long time hero Jason Smyth, the fastest Paralympian on the planet, and also got a chance to interview him and ask him some questions. Watch The Interview (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_VsrXvAUG8)

Visiting Guinea

After living in the UK for 11 years and finally completing his GCSE exams with 3 proud A*s, Souleyman and his family decided to visit their home country of Guinea to see how it has changed and most importantly visit their extended family who they had only maintained contact with via telephone. Souleyman says “I found it very surreal and emotional to be back in a place I vividly remember having so much joy and fun as a child to come back and see it all changed, removed and rebuilt. My three favourite moments of the trip was seeing my family and friends, visiting the hospital I was born in, visiting the room I was raised in and also traveling around the beautiful landscapes, mountains and beaches of Guinea.

However I also witnessed a lot of poverty, disease and hunger. I became emotionally overwhelmed when I encountered a blind man begging for money on the side of a busy and dangerous road. It suddenly hit me how lucky I am to have been blessed with the opportunity to live a normal life, with reasonable adjustments, to function like a normal member of society in the UK. It also hit me how powerful decisions can be in life and that if my mother hadn’t decided to move to the UK, the blind man I saw could have easily become my fate. From that moment I vowed, in the future, I will make a huge change in this country when I become successful enough to make an impact. That change could be political, industrial or simply social. One definite thing I would like to do is to build da boarding school for the blind where they can live, learn and grow in a safe and secure environment, as this is an opportunity I never had.

His Big Break

Upon returning to the UK and starting his A Level courses, Souleyman realised that both his education and his training commitments required full time attention and dedication and could not successfully get the results he would like in either when pursuing both at once. He was very close to quitting the sport and to finally knuckle down with his studies when he received a phone call from a British Athletics talent scout who said, “we would like you to represent Team GB at the Paralympic School Games in Brazil”.

Souleyman, very excitedly, accepted this opportunity and was also nominated and successfully became the team captain for the squad. Souleyman had a lot of media coverage before, during and after the weeklong event with Interviews on BBC News, BBC Radio London and various local and national newspapers like the Evening Standard. As he puts it, “We went, we saw and we conquered.” The entire squad, including Souleyman, won a gold medal in their event, some even winning 2 or 3 as multi-event athletes. Souleyman says, “when I crossed the line, winning the race in 11.87 seconds, I could not believe it. It only became real to me when I was awarded my gold medal on the podium.” Read Moe About The Paralympic School Games (http://www.britishathletics.org.uk/media/news/2015-news-page/november-2015/26-11-15-para-school-games/)

It was at this point that I realised i had found my purpose, passion and calling. To run. To win. But most importantly, to inspire other people in similar circumstances like me through my sporting achievements. I used to see my disability as a problem, now i see it as a solution. A way to give other people hope that they too can achieve their dreams, goals and ambitions despite their struggles. “When you see less and less of the faces of the people you love, you worry about one day going blind. But when your vision for the future is bigger and clearer than what you see around you, sight becomes a distraction. Because what you see is what you see, and what you don’t see is where the magic begins.”

Souleyman Bah     

[vincosport]

Tweeted

10,000m D Race: Joel Wiles of South London Harriers smashes his lifetime best on the track, clocking 34:12.03 and some 300m clear of the rest of the field 🙌🙌 STREAM: https://t.co/wZI0XgSmA4#FASTFRIDAY #RunJumpThrow #25laplove #Athletics

— runjumpthrow.com by Vinco (@VincoSport) June 7, 2019

[airmanisr]

Hawker P.1127 ‘XP831’ by Alan Wilson Via Flickr: Built 1960. This is the first prototype P1127 and the first to achieve a vertical take-off, on 21st October 1960. The P 1127 developed into the Kestrel and then the Harrier, the world's first operational vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) jet fighter. The second generation of Harrier remains in service with various international air arms, including the US Marines. Initially on display at the RAF Museum at Hendon, XP831 is now on display in the ‘Flight’ Hall of the Science Museum, South Kensington, London. 16-6-2015

[tomshufflepuff]

i’m josie:)

hi y’all, I’ve seen a lot of writers having info pages, introducing themselves and I’m getting back into writing again so why not have one too right? :)

personal info

name: Josie

animal lover especially dogs

what I wanna do: acting, directing, producing, screen writing

interests: subjects listed above, science (earth, chemistry and astronomy), history and video editing

places I wanna visit: london, paris, belgium, italy, bahamas, japan, anywhere in africa without poachers because they’re assholes

colors: purple, blue, green, yellow and red

pets: one dog and a hedgehog

black lives matter supporter

lgbtq+ supporter

sexuality: straight

nationality: white

country of origin: United States (sadly)

religion: don’t have one, atheist

fandoms:

tom holland

brooklyn nine-nine

marvel

dc

cory michael smith

david mazouz

chris evans

zendaya

laura harrier

jacob batalon

tony revolori

people:

tom holland

brooklyn nine-nine cast

jacob batalon

harry holland

sam holland

zendaya

laura harrier

tony revelori

david mazouz

cory michael smith

robin lord taylor

shane dawson

john oliver

grant gustin

shows:

brooklyn nine-nine

the office

parks and rec

supergirl

the flash

gotham

South Park (just the satire, not the offensive commentary)

cloak and dagger

marvel’s runaways

castle rock

American horror story

the fosters

movies:

spider man: homecoming

amazing spider-man 1 and 2

harry potter series

fantastic beasts series

21

jack the giant slayer

warm bodies

that’s my boy

moana

wonder woman (don’t like gal gadot though)

game over man

supheroheroes i love (I’m separating characters from the people who have played them because I don’t like some actors who have played heroes I admire)

peter parker/spider-man

captain america

iron man

scarlet witch

wonder woman

the flash

likes:

open mindedness

dorky and nerdy people

video editing

nature

humor that is commonly known to be okay and not offensive

real people (met too many fake people)

helping others

stupid but interesting facts (and interesting facts in general)

memes and vines

biking/going on walks

learning about different cultures

I honestly find joy in the littlest things

writing and reading

dislikes:

racism

homophobia

someone who offends another’s religion

individuals who look at a person’s sexuality, race, religion or gender and determine if they like them or not because of those reasons (People who pay attention to shit like that rather than a person’s character and how they act can go fuck themselves)

trump

nra

second amendment (people don’t go by the actual wording. “Under a well regulated militia, the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” people think that means anyone can own a fucking rifle and no one can take it away. look up the definition of “well regulated” and “militia”, the second amarndment DOES NOT protect every u.s citizen and their “gun rights”)

over dramatics

a lot of the u.s government

[kartiavelino]

Milla Jovovich Goes From Hunting Monsters to Slaying Cannes and More Best Dressed

Mike Marsland/WireImage Cannes cease, will not cease. Excessive-fashion glamour went from the steep steps of the Met Gala straight to the South of France for the annual Cannes Movie Pageant. As an alternative of the over-the-top ensembles that grace the Metropolitan Museum of Artwork, subtle, basic couture embodies Cannes style. Take motion star Milla Jovovich for instance. Usually, the Monster Hunter actress is seen in sturdy leathers, distressed materials and outfitted with an arsenal of weapons. On the pink carpet, nevertheless, she swapped the knives and weapons for a floor-sweeping robe and satin clutch. And the transition was eye-catching.  Milla wasn’t the one starlet to tackle Cannes. Kristen Stewart, a panelist on the movie competition, has gone deep into Chanel’s choices to deliver us textured, embellished items a loads.  Preserve scrolling to see the perfect dressed stars of the week. Then vote in your favourite look under! Michael Simon/startraksphoto.com Victoria Justice Espresso break? Let the previous Nickelodeon star placed on her informal pink leather-based pants and black crop prime.  Gisela Schober/Getty Photos Cindy Bruna The supermodel simply elevated the all-white ensemble in essentially the most avant-garde approach. We love the transition from the exaggerated shoulders to the bow on the waist down to the thin pants.  Tristan Fewings/Getty Photos Laura Harrier The actress struck a pose in a black Louis Vuitton mini on the BlacKkKlansman photocall in Cannes.  Article continues under Taylor Hill/FilmMagic Dakota Fanning The actress was a imaginative and prescient in white on the 2018 Turner Upfront.  Bennett Raglin/WireImage Morena Baccarin The Deadpool 2 actress donned a structural Cube Kayek Couture mini to a movie screening in NYC.  Mike Marsland/WireImage Milla Jovovich The motion star traded in her weapons and fight boots for a sublime pale-pink robe and a fire-engine-red clutch.  Article continues under Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage Thandie Newton The colours. The prints. The silhouette. The whole lot about this strapless costume is image good.  Dave Benett/amfAR/Dave Benett/WireImage Kristen Stewart The face of Chanel wore, you’ve got guessed it, Chanel to the amfAR Gala in Cannes.  Karwai Tang/WireImage Hayley Atwell The Captain America actress rocked a white halter costume to the Virgin TV British Academy Tv Awards in London.  Article continues under RELATED ARTICLE: The Best Royal Marriage ceremony Clothes of All-Time http://www.eonline.com/news/936359/milla-jovovich-goes-from-hunting-monsters-to-slaying-cannes-and-more-best-dressed?cmpid=rss-000000-rssfeed-365-lifestyle&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_lifestyle The post Milla Jovovich Goes From Hunting Monsters to Slaying Cannes and More Best Dressed appeared first on My style by Kartia. http://www.kartiavelino.com/2018/05/milla-jovovich-goes-from-hunting-monsters-to-slaying-cannes-and-more-best-dressed.html

[hooxfishing]

Here come the hipster anglers

Think of fly fishing and what springs to mind? The gentle burble of a chalk stream, perhaps. Or some rosy-cheeked laird in waders, teasing a salmon through a stretch of rushing river. 

Probably not a reservoir in Walthamstow, east London, a short stroll through rush hour traffic from Tottenham Hale underground station. But on a blustery Tuesday morning that is just where my dad, John, and I stand, casting our lines across the rippling water as trains clatter behind us.

Urban fly fishing is now very much in vogue. A major 21-year study of more than 2,300 inner-city rivers and tributaries, published in 2014, found our city waterways were the cleanest they have been in decades. After years of having the life strangled out of them during the industrial booms of the 19th and 20th centuries, rivers such as the Calder in West Yorkshire, the Goyt in Stockport and the Wandle in South London are now teeming with fish – and the aquatic insects that sustain them.  

As these waters become more accessible, a different breed of fly fisherman has emerged; one more likely to wear skinny jeans and beanie hats than splash-proof trousers that unzip at the knee. The sport is now gaining traction among a younger generation, with far more women also taking it up.

Many of the new fisher folk are also garnering a growing social media following; posting sun-blushed photos of their morning catch.

“As soon as I moved down to London after university in Manchester I started looking for places to fish,” says Lancashire-born Damon Valentine, 32, who goes by the Instagram moniker @Londonflyfisherand works for the computer giant Apple.

“The Wandle is my favourite. Sometimes people will come and watch and I’ve taught youngsters how to fish from the riverbank. I’ve found there is a really healthy balance of people doing it nowadays. I want to help change that view of fly fishing being an elite sport.”

Marina Gibson, 26, is another young enthusiast helping to alter perceptions of the pastime. She began urban fly fishing at Syon Park, near Brentford, six years ago after moving to London to work in finance.

“It was a 25-minute drive from where I lived in Fulham,” she says. “Every free moment I had I would go and fish. It is an amazing way to meet people.”

Gibson was taught to fish by her parents and says she has encountered some gentle sexism on the riverbank. One morning fishing alone near Burford, Gloucestershire, she recalls hooking a giant rainbow trout. “There was a man on the other side of the lake who shouted over to me, asking whether I needed any help landing the fish. I just smiled.”

Two years ago, she decided to give up her day job and move to North Yorkshire to make a career out of fishing. She is currently an ambassador for the upmarket outdoors clothes brand Orvis and has a dedicated social media following. “A girl contacted me the other day to say that she had become obsessed by fly fishing. I think people now are realising that they can just give it a go,” she says.

I too started fishing in my teens, and was taught by my father. We continue to fish together a few times a year at the River Loddon in Hampshire, which winds its way through the Duke of Wellington’s Stratfield Saye estate.

I am 32 and still rarely catch anything - not that I mind. On a fine summer’s day, one can spot kingfishers rocketing from the river reeds and making mad dashes downstream. On the past two occasions I have been, a marsh harrier has swooped in, hovering slowly on its harlequin wings, waiting for an incautious frog or vole to dart out from the bank.

Another Hampshire chalk stream – the Itchen – which flows a few miles away from the Loddon, was where Sir Edward Grey, Britain’s foreign secretary during the First World War, used to retreat to fly fish. “The peace and beauty of the spot made it a sacred place,” he once wrote.

Walthamstow makes a less obvious idyll, but urban reservoirs are proving increasingly popular. The cheapest evening ticket costs £15 and for £30 one can fish for an entire day. Other spots in London – such as stretches of the Wandle – are free, apart from your rod licence and packet of sarnies.

My dad and I are joined in east London by Fergus Kelley, 23, who with his own father is behind the first ever London Fly Fishing Fair, which takes place next week. Kelley is hoping to make a career out of fly fishing and already leads groups on guided tours to remote locations across the world, including Russia and Tierra del Fuego, an archipelago at the tip of South America. 

Increasingly, though, he too is falling for the charms of city fishing.

“It’s just phenomenal that you can come here in 20 minutes from the centre of London,” he says. “Friends are starting to do it together, instead of sitting in a pub. When you fly fish you don’t think about anything else other than what’s happening now - in the moment. It’s an escape and helps you start to live in the present. I really love that.”

As Kelley speaks, with a roll-up clenched between his teeth, he sends beautiful looping casts out over the water. My own attempts are rather less impressive. Fly fishing on a reservoir requires a far longer, heavier line than that used on a chalk stream and on more than one occasion I find myself snagging a bramble or tangling knots around myself, like a hapless mayfly caught in a spider’s web.

With the official season not beginning until April, my dad warned me that we are unlikely to catch anything. The three fly fishing reservoirs in Walthamstow are stocked throughout the season with some 11,000 rainbow and brown trout. According to the website, fish heftier than 5lb are often hauled out into landing nets. But as I thrash about on the embankment, I soon realise that I will not be troubling any giants of the deep.

Even so, it is a beautiful spot to while away a morning; made all the more so by the urban juxtaposition. Behind us, coal tits and chaffinches flit between a row of council house gardens. Widgeon and shoveler ducks bob out on the reservoir water. In the distance glitter the vast tower blocks of Canary Wharf, in which sit thousands of financial workers, tapping away on keyboards. 

Every ten minutes or so, the peace is interrupted by a train snaking past or plane descending. Soon, like the birdsong, these sounds fold into the peaceful city morning. 

After a few hours we pack up our rods and head back into the maelstrom of the capital. As ever, my landing net is empty. And all seems right in the world.

[insidecroydon]

SLH downland summer 10kms, Coulsdon, May 25, Jun 29, Jul 27

Continue reading Untitled

[southend-on-seacc]

Passchendaele Centenary - We Remember Them

Today we remember the fallen from one of the bloodiest conflicts in World War 1. Below we honour and remember servicemen connected to Southend-on-Sea

Sergeant Edward Pius Bendix (No. L/22938), “C” Battery, 162nd Battery, Royal Field Artillery 

Sgt. Edward Bendix was born in Southend (15th December 1891) and educated at Prittlewell Church School, Leigh Road School and the High School (1905-1909), and was a member of St. Erkenwald’s choir and chairman of the Prittlewell Cricket Club. He was also an active member of the Southend Harriers and Westborough Football Club. His parents, Gustav Pius (born in Germany) and Annie Bendix lived at 176, North Road, Southend-on-Sea, and had two younger children; Therese and Fred, who served in the Royal Fusiliers in German East Africa.

Edward attended an open air meeting following the 10th May 1915 air raid over Southend and attended a demonstration against “aliens”; most likely, given his father was a German national, as an act so as not to stand conspicuous amongst his contemporaries. In Southend his family lived opposite another German family (under Freidrich Holzaphel).

Edward joined 5th Company, Essex and Suffolk Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) at Shoeburyness in 1910, and re-enlisted with the Territorial Force with 3 Company, Essex and Suffolk RGA in 1914. Between January and June 1915 33rd Division’s artillery was formed, which is most likely when Sgt. Bendix was attached to the ammunition column of 33rd Division, and later volunteering to “C” Battery, 162nd Battery, Royal Field Artillery (RFA).

He served during the Somme Offensive and participated in the Battle of Bazentin Ridge and the Attacks on High Wood in 1917. He later fought during the Arras Offensive at the First and Second Battles of Scarpe, and later along the Hindenburg Line.

33rd division had been reserved for an amphibious assault at Nieuport, Belgium (Operation Hush), as an accompaniment to the 3rd Battle of Ypres, however the attack was cancelled and the division was brought to the front for the Battle of Menin Road Ridge (20th-26th September) and the Battle of Polygon Wood (26th-27th September).

Sgt. Bendix died of gas poisoning at Larch Wood Cutting on 13th October 1917 at the age of 26 years old and is buried at V.A.25 Larch Wood (Railway Cutting) Cemetery. His battery was covering an attack of made by 5th Division which had started on 4th October east of Zillebeke, south east of Ypres. On 14th October the brigade diary notes that it was sent away from the lines due to the heavy casualties it sustained (94 casualties), leaving it “not in a position to go back into position.” His commanding officer wrote, “He was a volunteer with the battery from the ammunition column. He was a brave man, he did his duty and met his death without fear. At the time he was bending over one of his men who had been hit to see if he could give assistance and was quite regardless of his own safety at a time when the position was being heavily shelled.”

He was son of Gustav Pius and Annie Bendix of 366, Camden Road, London.

Rifleman James Abrey (No. T4/21509), 12th battalion, Royal Irish Rifles

Rifleman James Abrey was born in 1880 in Rochford, and lived in Southchurch. He enlisted with the Army Service Corps at Chatham in August 1916, however, was transferred to the 12th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles, 108th Brigade, 36th (Ulster) Division. The division participated in the Third Battle of Ypres, specifically at Langemark (16th – 18th August 1917). The - inconclusive - Battle of Langemark cost a third of the divisions men between August 1st and 15th, and in a one-mile advance the 108th Brigade were stopped by trained German machine gun fire, behind new wire entanglements which were trained to target a filtered advance. Rifleman James Abrey died of wounds at the age of 38 years old on 18th August 1917 and was husband of Mrs M.H Aubrey of 4 Bourne’s Green, Southchurch, near Southend-on-Sea. He is buried at Brandhoek Military Cemetery (Belgium), No.3 Poperinghe.

2nd Lieutenant Percy Francis Allen, 59th Brigade, RFA

2nd Lieutenant Percy Allen was son of Thomas and Frances Allen of “Allanholm”, Duke of Manchester Drive, Leigh-on-Sea, and lived in Rye, Sussex. He enlisted with the 2/6th Battalion Essex Regiment, 161st Brigade, 54th (East Anglian) Division upon its formation in West Ham in November 1914.

The division landed at Sulva Bay, Gallipoli, on 12th August (during the Landings at Sulva Bay, 6th-15th August 1915), as part of the August Offensive (Battle of Sari Bair, 6th-21st August 1915), which was the final attempt to break the deadlock of the Battle of Gallipoli. The battle was unsuccessful, costing 8500 casualties at Sulva Bay, including Private Allen, who suffered frostbite on his feet.

Private Allen enters Officer Training College (O.T.C), receiving his commission on 9th May 1917 as 2nd Lieutenant of the 59th Brigade, RFA. He fought during the Battle of Messines (7th-14th June1917), and later participated at the Third Battle of Ypres, which was preceded by a ten day artillery barrage; 3000 artillery pieces fired over 4,000,000 shells over German-held positions.

2nd Lieutenant Percy Allen was killed on October 2nd 1917 during an attack near Polecappelle while he was acting as a forward observation officer. Observation officers would mark target positions, relating them to their batteries to concentrate their fire.

His family were notified by the following telegram: “Deeply regret to inform you that Second-Lieutenant P. Allen R.F.A was killed in action, on October 4th”.

They subsequently received the following letter from their Commanding Officer: “I am most terribly grieved to tell you that your son was killed during the attack to-day on Poelcappelle. He was sent forward as forward observation officer to establish a visual signalling station near our front line and was working with another officer of this brigade. The latter went on with the infantry and was to send back messages to your son, who in turn was to transmit them to me. I have few details at the moment as I have only just received the news, but must send this off to catch the post. Please accept my most sincere sympathy in your loss. Your boy had not been with us very long, but we all liked him and I know he had the makings of an excellent officer. I saw him yesterday afternoon when giving him orders for to-day. He was so cheery and seemed so pleased with the work in front of him.”

2nd Lieutenant Percy Allen died at the age of 21 years old and is commemorated on Panel 4-6 and 162 Tyne Cot Memorial. He is also commemorated on Brede Parish Church War Memorial, Rye, Sussex.

Private William George Bacon (No.G/17319), 11th Battalion (1st South Downs), Royal Sussex Regiment

Private William Bacon enlisted with 11th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment, 116th Brigade, 39th Division.

The day prior to the beginning of the Somme Offensive, the 116th Brigade took part in “The Battle of the Boars Head”, at Richebourg L’Aouve (30th June 1916); a diversionary attack which led to severe casualties among the South Down battalions. In five hours the South Downs battalions lost 17 Officers, 349 other ranks killed, and 1,000 wounded. The Battle of the Boars Head is referred to in the Regimental History as the “The Day Sussex Died”.

They also fought during Somme Offensive; specifically at the Battle’s of Thiepval Ridge, Ancre Heights, as well as the Battle of the Ancre.

Following the winter of 1916-1917, the division participated in the Third Battle of Ypres; specifically at the Battles of Pilkem Ridge (31st July – 2nd August), Langemark (16th-18th August), and the Battle of Menin Road Ridge (20th-26th September), where Pte. Bacon was killed in action on 25th September 1917.

Lt. Edmund Blunden (11th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment) wrote of the Battle of Menin Road Ridge in Undertones of War (1919);

“At length out battalion was guided through the starlight into the sector, its business being to attack some buildings on the road to Gheluvelt, in conjunction with an attack on a wider front; but the orders were never clear, and during the next three days confusion reached its maximum. The companies held a site called Tower Hamlets, known to me in the early spring through a telescope as a pretty little nook among hazy trees, with the best part of a mill and a serviceable barn still standing. [...] Never (to our judgement) had such shelling fallen upon us. For what reason? The Germans clearly had no idea of letting the British advance any farther along the Menin Road. [...] The estimate of casualties was 400, and although the real number was 280 or so, the battalion had had enough.” - Lt. Edmund Blunden (11th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment), Undertones of War

Pte. George Bacon died at the age of 19 years old and is commemorated on Panel 86 to 88, Tyne Cot Memorial. He was son of Henry William and Elizabeth Martha Bacon, of 31, Avenue Terrace, Southend-on-Sea.

Gunner William Baxter (No. 75401), 9th Company, “C” Battalion, Tank Corps

Gunner William Baxter was born in Lincolnshire, and enlisted with the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment on the outbreak of the war. In 1915 he was stationed in Southend, where he married Elsie Baxter (daughter of Mr. and Mrs. S. Benbow of 140, Tintern Avenue, Westcliff-on-Sea). In 1916 he is attached to the Royal Sussex Regiment, landing in France on 4th July 1916. Following leave in July 1917, he was later attached to 9th Company, “C” Battalion, Tank Corps, and died of wounds on the Menin Road, during the Third Battle of Ypres on 6th September 1917 at the age of 21 years old. He is buried at II.D.12 Menin Road South Military Cemetery.

Lance Sergeant Herbert Martin Berry (No. R/11674), 10th Battalion, King’s Royal Rifle Corp

Lance Sergeant Herbert Berry was born in Sudbury, Suffolk, and was son of Mr. H. Berry of “Tudor Lodge”, North Road, Prittlewell. He enlisted with 10th Battalion, King’s Royal Rifle Corps when the regiment visited Southend in April 1915. The battalion, under 59th Brigade, 20th (Light) Division, landed at Boulogne on 21st July 1915, and soon participated in the Battle of Loos. In 1916 he fought at the Battle of Mount Sorrel (2nd-14th June 1916), and soon afterwards the division fought throughout the Somme Offensive, including the Battle of Deville Wood, the Battle of Guillemont, the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, the Battle of Morval and finally the Battle of Le Transloy Ridges.

In 1917, the division later fought at the Battle of Messines, and the successive Third Battle of Ypres: specifically at the Battle of Langemark (16th-18th August) and the Battle of Menin Road Ridge (20th-26th September), the latter of which being where Lance Sergeant Berry was killed in action at the age of 21 years old.

The King’s Royal Rifle Corps Chronicle of 1917 notes the following events between 19th and 21st September:

“There was continuous shelling during the following twenty-four hours, and about 5.30 p.m. on the 19th a direct hit destroyed the Headquarters dug-t, and both the Commanding Officer, Lieut.-Col T.M. Rixon, M.C., and the Adjutant, Captain G.S. Wilkinson, were killed, in addition to 8 other ranks killed and wounded. This was a terribly heavy blow to the Battalion on the eve of the attack. In the evening Major Cockburn came up and took over command and a fresh dug-out was made. On the 20th, Companies moved into their assembly places at 4 a.m. The left rested on the Ypres-Standen Railway, and we held a front of 400 yards, with the 11th K.R.R.C. on the right and the 3rd Grenadier Guards on our left, "D" Company of the 11th Rifle Brigade being attached for supporting purposes. At zero, 5.40 a.m., the Artillery and machine gun barrage opened. The men advanced well, and "A" Company reached the red line under heavy fire. "D" Company by held up by shell-fire and made less progress, and, having to pass round a pond and being much bothered by smoke, lost their direction slightly, but continued to push forward. Strong opposition made the subsequent position obscure. Some of the men of "A" and "D" Companies were forced back near Chinese House, but others held shell-holes, level with and in front of it. The situation was then: "A" Company, in touch with the 3rd Grenadier Guards, held a front of about 100 yards only, with the rest of the Battalion in support in slits and shell-holes, "B" Company being on the right of "C". The rest of the day was spent in consolidating and in keeping down hostile sniping, which was heavy. Battalion Headquarters now moved back to Reitres Farm. At 6.30 p.m. the 11th Rifle Brigade, on our right, with "D" Company, delivered an attack, which did not succeed. The night passed quietly, and patrols which were sent out to clear up the situation were not very successful. At dawn on the 21st hostile aircraft were active, and flew low over our positions, observing and directing shell-fire for three hours. We were shelled intermittently throughout the day.”

Lance Sergeant Berry’s commanding Officer wrote that he was “One of the best N.C.O’s in the battalion. Did splendid work.” His papers for a commission had just come through upon his death. His brother, Wilfred Berry (2nd Tunnelling Coy. Australian R.E.), was killed on 11th February 1918, and a third brother, Cyril Berry (2nd Tunnelling Coy. Australian R.E.), was a prisoner of war. He is commemorated on Panel 115 to 119 and 162A and 163A Tyne Cot Memorial.