Cottage Capers

On this day in history….18th December 1985

On this day in history : 18th December 1985 – British born Kevin Barlow and Australian Brian Chambers face the death penalty in Malaysia after their appeal against conviction for drug smuggling is rejected….

Kevin Barlow - Fair use — Kevin Barlow – Fair use

Brian Chambers - Fair use — Kevin Barlow – Fair use

The pair, who were both 28 years old and residents of Australia, were arrested in the November of 1983 at Penang International Airport with 180 grams of heroin in their possession…. Each blamed the other and pleaded innocence – however, at their trial in the following July both were found guilty….

The two men appealed the decision…. Barlow’s aunt, back in Britain, appealed directly to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and to the Foreign Office to intervene and seek clemency on their behalf…. But it was the Australian authorities who took the lead – headed by Bill Hayden, the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs and who was firmly against the death penalty…. However, the Supreme Court of Malaysia refused any leniency and upheld the ruling that they should be executed….

The Honourable Bill Hayden – Image credit : Ali Kazak 9 – CC BY-SA 3.0

Despite a last minute plea for a stay of execution from Australian Prime Minster Robert Hawke both men were hanged in Pudu Prison on the 7th of July 1986…. A law had been introduced in Malaysia in 1983 that if anyone was caught with more than 15g of heroin it carried a mandatory death penalty…. Barlow, a welder from Perth and Chambers, a building contractor from Sydney, were the first non-Malaysians to be hanged under the country’s strict drug laws…. In Australia a similar offence would have received a sentence of three years imprisonment…. After the executions relations between Australia and Malaysia soured….

On this day in history….17th December 1849

On this day in history : 17th December 1849 – Thomas and William Bowler, makers of felt hats, sell their first Bowler hat to Edward Coke – after being commissioned by James Lock & Co of London….

Coke had approached hat shop James Lock & Co looking for a hat that could protect the gamekeepers of his family’s estate, Holkham Hall, in Norfolk, whilst they were on horseback…. Up until that point they had always worn top hats – but these kept getting knocked off by low hanging branches…. A hat was needed that was low crowned, close fitting and hard…. When Coke arrived to collect his new hat he reputedly placed it on the floor and twice stamped on it to check its suitability before handing over his 12 shillings….

The Wright brothers, pioneers of aviation wearing Bowler hats in 1910 – Public domain

During the 19th century the Bowler hat became popular among the working classes – and its popularity soon spread to other parts of the world…. In the American West, where it was known as the Derby, it was favoured by cowboys, as it did not blow off in the wind…. Even the outlaws, such as Billy the Kid and Butch Cassidy wore one….

From the early 20th century the Bowler became associated with businessmen, especially City Gents…. It also became the trademark of certain famous personalities, such as Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, PatrickMacnee’s John Steed in The Avengers – and John Cleese….

Laurel and Hardy – Image credit : Insomnia Cured Here via Flickr

British History

On this day in history….16th December 1914

On this day in history : 16th December 1914 – German warships attack the seaside resort of Scarborough; Hartlepool and Whitby are also targeted…. 137 people, mostly civilians, are killed….

Damage to the Grand Hotel, Scarborough – Public domain

The bombardment of Scarborough began at 8am and lasted for half an hour…. Two German battleships, Von den Tann and Derfflinger, fired 500 shells – hitting the town and castle…. The townsfolk thought it must herald the start of the German invasion….

The medieval castle was seriously damaged, as were the 18th century barracks, which were shelled repeatedly…. It seems the Germans had mistaken Scarborough for a major military port – whereas in fact the barracks had not been occupied by troops for many years…. In all 17 people were killed in the attack, hundreds were injured and many had their homes destroyed….

At 8.30am the two ships left, headed north and shelled Whitby…. At the same time another German naval force attacked Hartlepool…. These attacks caused even more death and destruction than what had already occurred in Scarborough…. Hartlepool with its extensive civilian dockyards and factories received some 1,150 shells – hitting steelworks, gasworks, railways, 7 churches and over 300 homes…. In total 86 civilians were killed and 424 more wounded…. In addition 14 soldiers were injured and 7 lost their lives…. It also saw the first death in 200 years of a British soldier from enemy action on British soil when 29-year-old Private Theophilus Jones of the Durham Light Infantry was killed….

Ruins of a church in Whitby – Public domain

Damaged house, Hartlepool – Public domain

The raids had an enormous effect on the British public and prompted the propaganda campaign Remember Scarborough…. It also caused an outcry from other nations – neutral America cited – ‘This is not warfare, this is murder’….

British History

On this day in history….14th December 1650

On this day in history : 14th December 1650 – Domestic servant Anne Greene is hanged for infanticide after concealing a miscarriage…. The next day she is revived by physicians in the dissection room….

Woodcut from ‘Wonder of Wonders’ (1651) showing the hanging of Anne Greene – Public domain

Anne had been born around 1628 in Steeple Barton, Oxfordshire and as a young woman she worked as a scullery maid for Justice of the Peace Sir Thomas Read…. After being seduced by Read’s teenage grandson, Geoffrey, Anne became pregnant – although she was unaware of her ‘condition’…. Then, at around 17 weeks into her pregnancy, she was to suffer a miscarriage…. She made attempts to hide the remains of the foetus but was discovered…. Sir Thomas Read decided to prosecute her, under the Concealment of Birth of Bastards Act of 1624…. It was automatically assumed at the time that if a woman concealed the death of an illegitimate child then she had killed it herself….

Despite a midwife testifying that the foetus was too undeveloped to ever have survived Anne was found guilty at her trial…. She was hanged at Oxford Circus – and as was her wish, her friends pulled on her swinging body to speed up her death…. She was also struck several times by a sympathetic soldier, with the butt of his musket…. After half an hour she was pronounced dead, cut down and passed to physicians Thomas Willis and William Petty of Oxford University – ready for dissection….

William Petty - Public domain — William Petty – Public domain

Thomas Willis - Public domain — William Petty – Public domain

Only the following morning, on opening her coffin, they discovered Anne had a faint pulse and was breathing, albeit shallowly…. Willis and Petty quickly enlisted the help of two colleagues, Henry Clerkenwell and Ralph Bathurst – and between them they managed to fully revive her…. She recovered quickly – after 12 hours or so she was able to talk and after 4 days was able to eat…. She had no memory of her attempted execution….

From the book ‘Newes from the Dead’ – Image : Wellcome Collection CC BY 4.0

Anne was granted a pardon by the authorities – who believed the hand of God had intervened, proving her innocence…. Having died three days after her hanging Sir Thomas Read was not present to contest her pardon…. Anne went on to fully recover, moved to the country, eventually married and had three children…. She died in 1659….

British History

On this day in history….13th December 1795

On this day in history : 13th December 1795 – A meteorite crashes on to the land of Captain Edward Topham, in Yorkshire…. He manages to retrieve and exhibit it….

Edward Topham by John Russell c.1795 – Public domain

As well as his army career Topham – who was born in 1751 – was also an author, poet, journalist, playwright and critic…. He was known throughout fashionable London for his impeccable manners and his unique personal dress-style…. His plays, comedies, epilogues and prologues were performed by leading actors of the day at venues such as Drury Lane and Covent Garden….

Topham also started his own newspaper – The World…. He regularly made his own contribution to its content with his feature The Schools – in which he would reminisce about his days at Eton and those he had met there….

After his retirement he moved with his three daughters to Wold Cottage, near to Thwing in the East Riding of Yorkshire…. ‘Cottage’ is perhaps a rather modest description of the property – as it was in fact a farm with hundreds of acres…. It was his intention to spend his days farming and writing….

It was around 3pm on Sunday the 13th of December 1795 that a meteoric stone unexpectedly fell two fields away from Wold Cottage…. As soon as it was reasonably safe to do so Topham had it dug up – apparently it was still warm and smoking…. It had buried itself in 12 inches of soil and 6 inches of solid chalk rock…. The meteorite weighed 3 stone 13lbs and measured 36 inches in length and 28 inches in breadth…. Part of it was exhibited in the Museum of James Sowerby in London – and it can now be seen in the Natural History Museum….