On this day in history : 9th September 1949 – The birth of English figure skating champion John Curry – the Olympic, European and World Champion of 1976….
1976 Press photograph – Public domain
John Anthony Curry was born in Birmingham…. As a child he wanted to be a dancer – but his parents did not see this as a fitting career for a boy…. So at the age of seven he took up figure skating instead, at the Summerhill Road Ice Rink, where he was taught by Ken Vickers….
Curry’s father died of TB when he was 16…. It was soon after that he moved to London where he was coached by Swiss figure skating coach Arnold Gerschwiler and gained his first British national title in 1971…. Then in 1972 he found an American sponsor, which enabled him to commit full time to figure skating – he relocated to the States to train with coaches Gus Lussi and Carlo Fassi…. Curry was to become British National Champion again in 1973 and held the title until 1977….
Under Fassi he was to achieve the European, World and Olympic Champion titles in 1976…. He was the first to win all three titles in one season – and the first British figure skater to win an Olympic Gold…. Curry brought men’s figure skating to a new level – with his elegant, ballet-inspired style…. He was awarded with an OBE….
After 1976 Curry turned professional, forming a touring dance orientated skating company – and establishing a skating school in New York in 1978…. He would both choreograph and direct productions and his Broadway credits included Icedancing in 1978, in which he both directed and performed – and as an actor in Brigadoon in 1980 and Privates on Parade in 1989….
In 1987 Curry was diagnosed with HIV which was then to develop into AIDS…. He returned to live with his mother for the last years of his life…. He passed away from an AIDS related heart attack on the 15th of April 1994 in Binton, Warwickshire….
On this day in history : 8th September 1727 – A puppet show being held in a barn in the village of Burwell, Cambridgeshire ends in tragedy when fire breaks out…. The doors had been nailed shut to prevent people from entering….
Burwell barn fire memorial – Image credit : Senra, John McCullough – own work CC BY 3.0
The fire broke out around 9pm, the cause believed to be a lantern that had carelessly been left unattended…. The barn, which was located close to the village centre, was packed with people watching Robert Shepheard’s travelling puppet show…. Many more had wanted to watch but the barn could not accommodate them – to stop people forcing their way in the doors had been nailed shut….
New straw had recently been laid on the floor and the fire spread rapidly, soon reaching the thatched roof…. There was some difficulty in getting the nailed doors reopened and once they were those inside rushed to try and get out, climbing over those already dead inside…. 78 out of the 140 or so inside perished, 51 of those were children…. Included were Robert Shepheard, his wife and his daughter….
The dead were buried in the churchyard of St Mary’s Parish Church, Burwell…. On the 8th of September 2005 a memorial plaque was unveiled at the site of the fire….
Back of memorial stone – Image credit : Senra, John McCullough – own work CC BY 3.0
Nearly 50 years after the fire an unidentified old man, on his deathbed, apparently made a confession – stating that it was he who had set the barn ablaze deliberately, as he had a grudge against Shepheard…. Whether this is true or not – we will never know….
On this day in history : 7th September 1665 – Bubonic Plague claims its first victim in the Derbyshire village of Eyam – after the arrival of a bale of cloth that had been sent from London….
The cloth had been ordered by tailor Alexander Hadfield…. It was his assistant, George Viccars, who had the task of unpacking it…. On doing so he noticed it was a little damp – and so he spread it in front of the fire to dry out…. In doing so he released the hoards of plague-carrying fleas that had infested it…. George was to become the first of the many who were to die in the village – between September and December 1665 at least 42 had died – and by Spring the villagers were thinking of leaving their homes and livelihoods in order to escape the disease….
It was newly appointed rector William Mompesson who took it upon himself to prevent this from happening…. He knew that if the parishioners left then the disease would soon spread to the nearby towns of Bakewell and Sheffield – and many more thousands would likely fall victim…. He realised the only way to stop this was if the whole village were to quarantine – even if it meant staring into the face of death….
Eyam Church
Mompesson had come to the village at a difficult time…. He was a replacement for the previous rector, Thomas Stanley – who had been removed from his post as he, like most of the villagers, had been a supporter of Oliver Cromwell…. Puritan Stanley refused to use the Book of Common Prayer which had now been made mandatory by King Charles II…. Stanley had been much respected in the village, whereas Mompesson was not liked…. He knew to get people to listen to him he needed the assistance of Stanley – who was fortunately still living on the outskirts of the village…. He reached out and asked for his help….and together they came up with an admirable plan….
On the 24th of June 1666 Mompesson explained to his parishioners that they had to impose a quarantine – nobody must be allowed to leave or enter the village…. The Earl of Devonshire, who was living nearby at Chatsworth, had arranged to send food and supplies…. With Stanley at his side Mompesson promised that he would stay with the villagers and do all he could to alleviate their suffering…. He recognised he was asking them to agree to stay and quite likely die…. They would have to bury their own dead and church services would be held outside to allow distance to be maintained between people…. Reluctantly the villagers accepted the plan….
The plague lasted for 14 months…. Out of the population of around 350 some reports say only 83 survived – the church in Eyam has records of 273 individuals dying from plague…. There is no doubt that the actions of the people of Eyam saved the lives of so many more people…. Plague Sunday has been celebrated every year in the village since the bicentenary in 1866….
On this day in history : 6th September 1952 – A de Havilland jet fighter disintegrates at the Farnborough Air Show – 31 people, including the pilot and the onboard flight test observer, are killed….
The prototype De Havilland DH.110 – Image : USN – US Navy Naval Aviation News July 1952 – Public domain
Pilot John Derry and flight observer Anthony Richards had collected the DH.110 prototype aircraft from de Havilland’s factory at Hatfield, Hertfordshire and had flown it to Farnborough, arriving just in time for their slot in the airshow’s schedule…. The plan had been to fly another prototype which had been used for the airshow the previous day – but it had developed technical faults…. The September 6th de Havilland display had nearly been cancelled….
Derry had been the first pilot in Britain to exceed the speed of sound, when flying a DH108 research aircraft in 1948…. During the performance at Farnborough he flew the DH110 in a supersonic dive, creating a sonic ‘boom’ and continued on a fly past at 40,000 feet…. He then completed a left bank, travelling at around 520mph and flew towards the 120,000 spectators at the airshow…. Next he pulled the jet into a climb – but within a second the aircraft had disintegrated – the outer wing sections, both engines and the cockpit separating from the airframe…. The cockpit landed, with both men still inside, in front of the crowd near to the runway – several spectators were injured….
Pilot John Douglas Derry – National Library of Australia – Public domain
One engine crashed harmlessly…. The other carried on and ploughed into the crowd that had gathered on ‘Observation Hill’ – a vantage point outside of the airfield used by many locals to watch the display…. It was here that most of the fatalities occurred….
The emergency services were on the scene within minutes and after only a short break the air display continued! In total 31 people lost their lives, with many more injured….
On this day in history : 5th September 1969 – The death of Scottish naturalist and writer Gavin Maxwell, author of Ring of Bright Water….the story of the otter he brought back from Iraq and raised in Scotland….
Gavin Maxwell c.1950 – Fair use
Maxwell was born into Scottish aristocracy – at The House of Elrig, near Port William, South Western Scotland…. He was the son of Lieutenant-Colonel Aymer Maxwell and Lady Mary Percy…. His maternal grandfather was the 7th Duke of Northumberland and his paternal grandfather was Sir Herbert Maxwell, 7th Baronet and a natural historian, archaeologist and politician….
The ‘House of Elrig’ – Photo credit : Les Dunford CC BY-SA 2.0
Maxwell had a public school education and from an early age had an interest in natural history…. Giving in to pressure from his family he attended Hertford College, Oxford, where he obtained a degree in estate management….
During World War 2 Maxwell was an instructor with the secret organisation ‘Special Operations Executive’ – he was invalided out in 1944 having reached the rank of Major…. After the War be bought the Isle of Soay, off of Skye and began to pursue his real passion in life, natural history….
In 1956 Maxwell travelled to Iraq, where he was to explore the reed marshes of Southern Iraq with explorer Wilfred Thesiger…. Maxwell had always had a desire to have an otter as a pet and whilst in Iraq he managed to obtain one…. However, sadly it was to die shortly after; Maxwell was devastated…. It was as he was preparing to return to England that Thesiger managed to find another one for him – a smooth coated otter, very dark in colour and about 6 weeks old…. Maxwell named him Mijbil and returned home to Scotland with him….
Maxwell and Mij settled into a new home, ‘Sandaig’, in the Glenreig Community, a remote part of mainland Scotland…. The property had originally been a small holding for the lighthouse keeper of the Sandraig Lighthouse…. It was here at Sandraig that Maxwell raised Mij – although in his books he calls his home ‘Camusfearna’ – ‘the bay of alders’….
Mij seemed different to other otters and when Maxwell presented him to the London Zoological Society they confirmed that he was a previously unknown sub-species…. And so he was named Lutrogale perspicillatra maxwell – ‘Maxwell’s otter’…. Although Maxwell was to keep several other otters Mij became the focus of his life…. The title for his book ‘Ring of Bright Water’, which was first published in 1960, came from a poem by Kathleen Raine…. In 1969 a film of the same name, based loosely on Maxwell’s book, was released starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers….
Cover of first edition – Fair use
The relationship between Maxwell and Raine was complicated…. She was infatuated with him – and was to describe him as ‘the love of her life’…. Only she was to be left frustrated by his homosexuality…. They had a close friendship – but this was to deteriorate through her indirectly causing the death of Mij…. I wont spoil the story if you have not read the book – but it was a sad state of affairs…. The best-seller is both heart warming and a tear jerker…. It is described as a literacy masterpiece but at the same time it has a dark side…. Nowadays we have a different view about keeping wild animals and raising them as pets….
In February 1962 Maxwell married Lavinia Renton but not surprisingly this marriage ended within less than a year – they divorced in 1964…. The house at Sandraig was destroyed by fire in 1968 and Maxwell moved into the lighthouse keepers’ cottages situated on an island between Skye and the mainland…. He was to die of lung cancer the following year….
Statue of Maxwell’s otter at Montreith by Penny Wheatley – Photo credit : Roger Nunn CC BY-SA 2.0
Cottage Capers 