Author: cottagecapers

Hi, I'm Hazel.... I write purely for pleasure; I love to delve in history, customs, traditions and nature....or whatever else grabs my attention at the time.... I am in no way an expert on what I choose to write about - I simply love to find out about things.... Whilst I always endeavour to get the facts right - occasionally I may get things wrong.... I guess you could call this my disclaimer.... I hope you enjoy reading my blog posts.... If so please give me a follow on Twitter or sign up via email for future posts.... If you are on Facebook Cottage Capers has a page with lots of ‘mini blogs’ and snippets.... It’s where we ‘like-minded’ folk can interact.... Hope to meet you again soon....

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….26th May 1950

On this day in history : 26th May 1950 – Petrol rationing finally comes to an end in Britain after its introduction at the beginning of World War 2…. Motorists tear their ration books into confetti on the forecourts….

Motorists’ petrol coupons 1949-50 – Image credit: Paul Townsend via Flickr

When war broke out in September 1939 petrol was the first commodity to be rationed…. Coupons could be collected from the Post Office on the 15th of September – but couldn’t be used until the 16th, when rationing came into force…. Two coupons were issued, 1 per month and the vehicle’s registration book had to be produced – as the coupons were issued according to the rating stated in the book…. Each coupon represented a unit and was only valid for the stated period – meaning they could not be rolled-over or hoarded – it was a case of use them or lose them….

By 1942 petrol for private use had been withdrawn altogether….it was only available for work that was deemed essential – and a special permit was needed…. Red dye was added to the fuel for those approved users in an effort to combat the black market….

On the 1st of June 1948 petrol was able to be bought again – but it was rationed once more…. By the end of the 1940s it had become a controversial matter as to whether rationing was still needed and featured heavily as a hot topic of debate in the 1950 general election campaign…. The Conservatives argued that it was no longer necessary to ration whereas the Labour Government insisted Britain could not afford supplies from the United States….

A garage attendant waits for customers at a garage somewhere in London on Sept. 24, 1939, after petrol rationing was enforced. Image credit – Billy Black via Flickr

Labour lost their majority….and it became all too obvious the public were no longer willing to tolerate rationing…. Minister of Fuel and Power, Philip Noel-Barker, announced to Parliament that a deal had been done with two American oil companies…. The Standard Oil Company, New Jersey and the California Texas Oil Company had agreed to supply oil, accept payment in Sterling and re-invest the money in British goods, such as equipment, oil tankers and services….

When the news broke on the 26th of May 1950 that rationing was to be lifted long queues formed at the garage forecourts – some petrol stations ran dry…. Motorists ripped up their ration books in jubilation whilst they waited….

Petrol rationing was reintroduced again in 1957 for a five month period during the Suez Crisis, when Egypt and Syria blocked supplies from getting through….

There was one bright side to petrol rationing though – cars being a rarity on the roads meant kids got to play safely in the streets….

Image : Pinterest

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….25th May 1962

On this day in history : 25th May 1962 – Coventry’s Cathedral Church of St. Michael is consecrated…. The new Cathedral replaces the original St. Michael’s which was destroyed in World War II….

Coventry Cathedral 1962 | The Service of Consecration – Herry Lawford via flickr

The Coventry Blitz began during the evening of November the 14th, 1940; it was the most severe bombing raid to hit Coventry during WW2, involving 515 German bombers and was given the name Operation Mondscheinsonate (Moonlight Sonata)…. The intention of the Germans had been to destroy Coventry’s factories and industrial infrastructure….

At around 8pm Coventry’s Cathedral was set on fire by incendiaries; volunteer firefighters managed to put the flames out…. However, more hits followed and new fires started….soon the blaze was out of control….

Coventry Cathedral in 1891 – public domain

The Cathedral could not be saved; all that remained was the spire, tower and outer wall…. It had been constructed in the late 14th and early 15th centuries and was one of the largest Parish churches in England…. In 1918 it had been given the status of Cathedral…. It now stood a ruin….

Photo credit: Andrew Walker CC BY-SA 2.5

In 1950 a competition was launched to find an architect to design a replacement…. Out of over 200 entries submitted the design of Scottish architect Basil Spence was chosen…. Spence insisted that the old Cathedral, which stood on hallowed ground and with a Grade 1 listing, remain – as a garden of remembrance….

The foundation stone for the new Cathedral was laid by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the 23rd of March 1956…. It was built by John Laing and Hollington sandstone was used…. The modern design raised a few eyebrows – but upon opening the Cathedral won the hearts of the people…. For its consecration on the 25th of May 1962 Benjamin Britten composed his ‘War Requiem’….which was premiered in the Cathedral on the 30th of May….

Like its predecessor the modern Cathedral is Grade 1 listed…. The two stand side by side….the ruins a reminder to the pointless waste of war…. Behind the altar of the ruined Cathedral can be seen the words ‘Father Forgive’ – which Provost Richard Howard had inscribed upon the wall after the bombing….

Provost Richard Howard (left) with Winston Churchill in the ruins of Coventry Cathedral – Photograph: Horton (Capt) – War Office official photographer – Public domain

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….24th May 1809

On this day in history : 24th May 1809 – Dartmoor Prison is opened….after being purposely built to accommodate the thousands of French prisoners captured during the Napoleonic wars….

Britain and France were at war between 1803 and 1815…. At first prisoners of war were held in redundant warships that had been converted into floating prisons….they were known as ‘the hulks’…. Conditions onboard were beyond terrible; overcrowding, lack of sanitation, malnutrition, hardly any exercise, little fresh air and rife disease meant the death rate became unacceptably high…. It became obvious a permanent prison was needed on dry land….

Beached convict hulk ‘Discovery’ at Deptford – Public domain

Many of the hulks were located at Plymouth and it was decided a good place for the new prison would be at Princetown on Dartmoor – land which happened to belong to the Prince of Wales (the future King George IV)…. The foundation stone was laid on the 20th of March 1806 – and the intention had been that it would be built in 18 months…. However, due to disputes involving labour and the inclement Dartmoor weather the actual construction time was double that….

Drawing of Dartmoor Prison published 1879 – Public domain

The first prisoners arrived in May 1809….and by the end of the year the prison was full and had soon become over crowded…. In April 1813 American prisoners of war started to arrive – and the conditions became even worse…. At one point there were almost 6,000 men crammed into the prison; diseases such as typhoid, smallpox and pneumonia claimed many lives…. In all over 1,200 Frenchmen and 271 Americans died…. The dead were buried on the moor….

The wars ended and the prisoners returned to their homelands, the last leaving in early 1816…. The prison remained empty until reopening in 1850 to take convicts…. At first prisoners came from the prison ships on the Thames and at Gosport….the majority had some form of disability – and it was thought the fresh Dartmoor air would do them some good….

The ‘Warrior’ hulk – HMS Warrior as a prison ship

New iron cells were constructed, replacing the old stone ones – and gradually the old stone prison buildings were replaced by the Victorian ones which make up much of the prison today….

At some time around 1852 the graves of the war prisoners were exhumed – and the remains re-buried in two graveyards to the rear of the prison…. This was done on account of the new prison farm which was about to be established….

During the years of World War I the prison became a Home Office work centre….. Conscientious objectors could attend a tribunal to state their objections to serving the Country, on moral or religious grounds…. Sometimes they would be able to sign an agreement to work at a labour camp…. Dartmoor accommodated 1,000 such men….the locks were removed from the cell doors and they were able to move freely around…. Warders were merely supervisors, the ‘Conchies’ wore their own clothes and during their free time they were able to visit the village – although generally they were despised by society – being seen as cowards….

The prison re-opened as a penal detention establishment in 1920 and housed some of Britain’s most notorious criminals…. Nowadays the prison holds low category prisoners….

Dartmoor Prison from the air – andrewrabbott CC BY-SA 4.0

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….23rd May 1797

On this day in history : 23rd May 1797 – The Bank of England acquires the nickname ‘The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street’ – when a cartoon by caricaturist James Gillray is published….

James Gillray (1756-1815) was a well-known caricaturist and satirist of the time…. His cartoon, entitled ‘Political Ravishment – The Old Lady of Threadneedle-Street in Danger!’ referred to the financial crisis of the time…. It protested against the introduction of paper money – which had been produced to replace gold coins….

The old lady represented the Bank of England, which of course is situated on Threadneedle Street, the City of London…. Her dress is made from banknotes and she is seated upon a locked money chest – which represents the Bank’s gold reserves…. Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger is seen to be making unwanted advances towards her…. She cries “Rape! Ravishment! Ruin! Ruin! Ruin!!!” He is trying to pick her pockets of any gold coins she may have secreted away – but his real intention is to get into that chest she is sitting upon….

Under his hat, which is lying on the floor, can be seen a loans notice…. The Bank had been making large loans to the government to fund the war with France….

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….22nd May 1915

On this day in history : 22nd May 1915 – The Quintinshill rail disaster takes place near to Gretna Green, Scotland…. To this day it remains Britain’s worse rail disaster – with 227 dead and 246 injured….

The signal box at Quintinshill controlled two passing loops, situated parallel to one another on the Calendonian mainline between Glasgow and Carlisle…. The signal box was the responsibility of the station master at Gretna Green and manned by one signalman at a time and was worked in shifts…. On the day of the accident the night shift had been manned by signalman George Meakin and he was due to be relieved at 6.30am by James Tinsley, for the morning shift….

Two regular express trains were due to pass through at this time of the morning – a long with a local train…. The normal procedure was – so as to make way for the faster trains – to shunt and hold the local train on one of the passing loops…. However, there was extra traffic on the line this particular morning – a special troop-train, carrying a Royal Scots battalion, was passing through on its way south to Liverpool…. They were on their way to join the troop-ship Aquitania bound for Gallipoli….

The two passing loops were already occupied when the local service train arrived at Quintinshill – a freight train with empty coal wagons and another goods train…. Both express trains were running late – so Meakin directed the local train to be held, facing north, on the south bound line…. James Tinsley was on the train, arriving to do his shift in the signal box…. He joined his colleague – who did not leave immediately – but remained to read the newspaper that Tinsley had brought with him…. They were joined by a couple of crew from the waiting trains and the group discussed the latest war news….

At 6.49am the south bound troop-train collided head-on with the waiting local train…. The train carrying the Royal Scots over-turned onto the north bound main line…. Shortly after one of the express trains ploughed into it….

The troop-train burst into flames – the ferocity of the fire made it impossible for rescuers to get near…. The old wooden carriages were lit by gas lamps….the gas being stored in cylinders beneath the floor….which of course added to the inferno….

Out of the 498 soldiers onboard 214 were killed….only 83 of these could be identified…. A total of 227 lost their lives in the disaster – and a further four children remained unaccounted for…. Another 246 people were injured…. Only 58 men and 7 officers from the Royal Scots escaped un-injured – and were sent on to Liverpool for departure to Gallipoli…. However, they were declared medically unfit and returned to Edinburgh….

At the following public enquiry all blame was placed on Meakin and Tinsley…. George Meakin had failed to put into motion two vital safety procedures…. He had forgotten to inform the signal box further north that no trains should be allowed onto the Quintinshill section – and he did not put the regulation safety lock collar on to the signal lever…. James Tinsley, on taking over, had forgotten the local train was being held on the south bound line – and as there was no safety collar on the lever it meant he was able to signal the express train through….

Meakin and Tinsley were charged with culpable homicide and found guilty at trial…. Tinsley received a sentence of 3 years imprisonment and Meakin 18 months…. Both men actually served just over a year – and returned to work on the Calendonian Railway – but not as signalmen….

It has to be questioned whether the men were entirely to blame….most of the lives lost were due to the fire…. It could be said the age and condition of the carriages made them not fit for purpose….and contributed to the disaster….