On this day in history : 2nd November 1954 – BBC radio comedy ‘Hancock’s Half Hour’ makes its debut….
Tony Hancock – Fair use
The very first episode ‘The First Night Party’ – with special guest appearances from Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Moria Lister and Bill Kerr – sees Hancock throw a party to celebrate his new radio show….having hired a venue from Sid…. Of course, things don’t go according to plan….
Approximately 100 episodes of Hancock’s Half Hour were made for radio broadcast….following Hancock’s adventures as an actor and comedian finding it hard to make his way in his chosen career…. In 1956 it made its first appearance on television, paving the way for the traditional sitcom….
Tony Hancock (right) and Sid James – Fair use
Writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson had met in 1948 whilst both in a sanatorium recovering from TB…. Later Hancock, Galton and Simpson went on to create Steptoe and Son for the BBC….
On this day in history : 31st October 1955 – Princess Margaret announces that she will not be marrying Group Captain Peter Townsend….
A brief statement from the Princess was broadcast on the radio during the evening – read by the BBC’s John Snagge – it came as an interruption to the normal programme schedule….
Princess Margaret in 1965 – Eric Koch / Anefo CCO
Princess Margaret and Group Captain Townsend had first met when she was just 14-years-old…. He was Equerry to her father, King George VI – and twice her age, married, with two children….
Townsend filed for divorce in November 1952 after his wife had an affair…. It was also around this time that Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend fell in love…. The relationship became known to the public after Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation in June 1953; a newspaper reporter noticed Princess Margaret flick a piece of fluff from Townsend’s uniform jacket – an intimate gesture between two people who are obviously close to one another…. The story broke in newspapers all around the world….
In an effort to dampen the Press interest, in what was viewed as a scandal, Group Captain Townsend was sent to Brussels on a two year posting as an air attaché at the British Embassy…. Princess Margaret, being under the age of 25, had to have the consent of the Queen to marry a divorced man…. The Queen, being the Head of the Church of England, was in a difficult position – the Church was firmly against a union between the pair…. If Princess Margaret had been over the age of 25, she would need the approval of the Government…. Prime Minister Winston Churchill advised this would be highly unlikely…. Amongst the general public there was much support for the couple….
Flight Lieutenant Townsend in 1940 – daventry B J (Mr) Royal Air Force Official Photographer – Public domain
Even with Townsend away in Brussels speculation surrounding their relationship continued…. The couple reunited in 1955, at the end of his posting…. Princess Margaret was now over the age of 25…. Anthony Eden was now Prime Minister – and under his direction it was decided that if she were to insist on marrying Group Captain Townsend she would be stripped of all her royal privileges; this included her home and her income….
It had always been assumed Princess Margaret, torn between royal duty and the man she loved, had bowed to pressure from the Church, Parliament and her sister, the Queen…. However, in 2009 a handwritten letter from Princess Margaret to Prime Minister Anthony Eden was discovered….which shed a somewhat different light…. The letter, dated 15th August 1955, suggests that she was uncertain of her love for Townsend – and that she needed time to decide what to do…. She told the Prime Minister she hoped to be in a position to inform him and other Commonwealth Prime Ministers of her intentions at the end of October or early November….
“Mindful of the Church’s teachings that Christian marriage is indissoluble, and conscious of my duty to the Commonwealth, I have resolved to put the considerations before others”….
But actually, regardless of the wording of her statement, it seems the decision was hers – and hers alone….
In May 1960 Princess Margaret married photographer Anthony Armstrong-Jones (to become Lord Snowdon) – but they divorced in 1978….(the first royal divorce since King Henry VIII)….
Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon, Amsterdam, May 1965 – Jack de Nijs / Anefo CCO
Princess Margaret died in February 2002 – she was 71…. Group Captain Townsend had died seven years earlier, aged 80….
Margaret seated in the music room of Buckingham Palace, August 21, 1951 – Kristine via Flickr
On this day in history : 30th October 1981 – Secretary to the pro-euthanasia group ‘EXIT’, Nicholas Reed, is jailed for two and a half years on three counts of aiding and abetting suicide….
He was also found guilty of a further count of conspiracy to aid and abet…. His co-accused, Mark Lyons, who provided the pills and alcohol to those wishing to end their lives, received a two year suspended sentence…. Judge, Mr. Justice Lawson, stated that on account of his age (70) a suspended sentence be appropriate as Lyons had already served 325 days in prison whilst awaiting trial….
Voluntary Euthanasia Society poster – Image credit : The Wellcome Collection Cc BY-SA 4.0
‘EXIT’ : ‘The Society for the Right to Die with Dignity’ started in 1935 as the ‘Voluntary Euthanasia Society’…. It had been a relatively quiet, low-key organisation, conscious of staying on the right side of the law…. The name change to ‘EXIT’ was made to give more of an impact…. When Nicholas Reed, a dynamic young man in his early thirties, became Secretary of the group he transformed it….enabling it to give a loud, aggressive and controversial voice for the incurably ill and disabled…. He courted the media, held seminars, gave talks and interviews on radio and television…. He increased the membership of the London based group five fold; by the early 1980s it had more than 10,000 members…. The group’s activities spawned similar groups in many other countries, including the United States….
In 1979 EXIT had decided to publish a booklet entitled ‘Guide to Self-Deliverance’ – in which various methods of suicide were described…. The booklet was outlawed and so distribution was suspended in 1983…. Reed had already come to the attention of the police in 1980 when a raid on EXIT’s offices resulted in documents being seized and Reed being questioned…. However, it was after the death of a female multiple sclerosis sufferer that a case was finally brought…. A routine post mortem had revealed that she had taken barbiturates with alcohol…. Two women who had been at her house the day before she died told the inquest Mark Lyons had visited whilst they were there…. Police searched the flat where Lyons lived and found thousands of pills and tablets…. They also discovered diaries, full of appointments with people who wanted to end their lives…. Nicholas Reed denied he knew what Lyons was up to….saying he thought the appointments were for ‘comfort’ visits to those in need….
According to the prosecution, in one particular case Lyons had drugged a woman into an unconscious state and then tried to speed up the process of death by placing a polythene bag over her head…. The attempt was unsuccessful…. The prosecution also accused Lyons of gaining pleasure from his actions….
Reed for his part, refused to talk to the Press…. After an appeal his sentence was reduced to 18 months…. The Society changed its name to ‘VES’ – ‘Voluntary Euthanasia Society’….and later, in 2006, it became ‘Dignity in Dying’…. Holland was the first country to legalise euthanasia in 2002…. Of course, it continues to be a controversial subject here in the UK….
Dignity in Dying via FlickrDignity in Dying logo CC BY SA 3.0
On this day in history : 29th October 1863 – Eighteen official delegates from national governments, including Britain, meet in Geneva and agree to the formation of the International Red Cross….
The resolution was to establish national relief services for wounded soldiers, the neutrality and protection of wounded soldiers and a protection symbol for medicinal personnel in the field…. The symbol was to be a white armband bearing a red cross emblem (an inversion of the Swiss flag)….
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement were inspired by Swiss businessman Jean-Henry Dunant, a devout Reformed Christian…. Dunant had been present at the Battle of Solferino in Italy, between the armies of Imperial Austria and the Franco-Sardinian alliance in 1859…. Some 40,000 men were left dead or dying on the battlefield; there was a critical lack of medical attention for the wounded men…. Dunant did everything in his capability to organise local people to help bind the wounds and feed the wounded men…. The situation left an acute sense of despair upon him….
Jean-Henri Dunant – Time Life Pictures – Public domain
On his return to Switzerland Dunant set about his aim to create a national relief service – he proposed it to be run by volunteers, trained during peace time to provide neutral help to all those wounded during times of war….
To help his cause he wrote a book, ‘A Memory of Solferino’ – which he published using his own money in 1862…. Copies were sent to leading political and military leaders and influential people throughout Europe…. When Gustavo Moynier, President of the Geneva Society for Public Welfare, received his copy he decided to set up a committee to test the feasibility of Dunant’s proposals…. The committee became known as ‘The Committee of Five’ and consisted of Jean-Henry Dunant, Gustave Moynier, Louis Appia (a renowned field surgeon), Theodore Maunoir (Appia’s colleague) and Guillaume-Henri Dufour (a Swiss Army general)…. Eight days later the five men renamed the committee ‘International Committee for Relief to the Wounded’…. An international conference was set up, which took place in Geneva between the 26th and 29th October 1863….at which the foundations of The International Red Cross were laid….
Dunant also proposed countries unite in an international agreement to recognise the status of medicinal services of the wounded on the battlefield…. This was to be the original Geneva Convention and was adopted in 1864….
Original document of the first Geneva Convention, 1864 – Kevin Quinn, Ohio, US – CC BY 2.0
When war broke out in July 1870, between France and Prussia, Colonel Lloyd-Lindsay (later to become Lord Wantage) called for a National Society to be formed in Britain…. At a meeting held in London on the 4th of August 1870 the resolution was passed…. The ‘British National Society for Aid to the Sick and Wounded in War’ was formed – and under the emblem of the Red Cross gave aid to the wounded on both sides in the Franco-Prussian War…. It also gave aid in all other wars for the remainder of the 19th Century….
Sorting and packing linen bandages at the London office of the Society, September 1870 – Illustrated London News, September 10, 1870 – Public domain
In 1905 the society was renamed the ‘British Red Cross’…. It was granted a Royal Charter in 1908 by King Edward VII – its President was Queen Alexandra….
On this day in history : 27th October – The birth of Dylan Thomas, perhaps the most legendary of 20th century poets – but also known for his hard drinking and boisterous behaviour….
Dylan Thomas in New York, 1952 – Fair use
Born Dylan Marlais Thomas, in Swansea, Wales, his father an English teacher and his mother a seamstress, the young Dylan developed an interest in language at an early age…. His father would read Shakespeare to him at bedtime – Dylan loved the sound of the words, even if he was too young to understand them….
5, Cwmdonkin Drive, Swansea – birthplace of Dylan Thomas – Photo credit : Hywel Williams CC BY-SA 2.0
On leaving school at 16 Dylan became a journalist for a while – but had his first poems published whilst still in his teens…. Dylan wrote hundreds of poems, short stories, a novel and a play during his lifetime…. He was a disciplined writer, often re-drafting his work to the point of obsession – his poetry having a musical, nostalgic tone, frequently focusing on childhood and death…. Some of his greatest work was produced in the 1940s, particularly his 1946 collection which was heavily influenced by war….
In 1936 Dylan met Caitlin Macnamara and they married the following year at Penzance Registry Office…. They moved to Laugharne, a Welsh fishing village, in 1938 – where they settled and raised their three children…. It was a stormy marriage, fuelled by alcohol, infidelity and money problems – but they remained together until Dylan’s death….
The Boat House, Laugharne – where Dylan and Caitlin raised their family – Photo credit : GerritR CC BY-SA 4.0
In 1950 Dylan fulfilled an ambition to tour the United States, giving readings of his work – which attracted large audiences…. The very nature of the trip meant much socialising was done and Dylan returned home with very little money – he had effectively drank his profits…. Another two trips to the States ended the same way – not surprisingly this caused a rift between himself and Caitlin….
Dylan’s writing shed at Laugharne – Photo credit : wardyboy400 CC BY 2.0
Dylan’s father died on the 16th of December 1952; as an English teacher at a grammar school he had been disappointed with his position in life – he had longed to be a poet; how proud he must have been of his son…. Dylan had great respect for his father and watching him succumb to the ravages of cancer would have torn him apart…. Indeed whilst his father lay on his deathbed, Dylan wrote one of his most emotive poems ~ “Do not go gentle into that good night”…. Little did Dylan know at that time that in less than a year he would face his own untimely death – at the age of just 39…. On a last fateful trip to New York in October 1953 and after several bouts of heavy drinking Dylan was taken ill at the Chelsea Hotel on the 4th of November…. He was admitted to St. Vincent’s Hospital where he died five days later – the cause of his death pneumonia and pressure on the brain – due to excessive alcohol…
"Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forced no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night. Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night. Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray Do not go gentle into that good night, Rage, rage against the dying of the light." ~ Dylan Thomas
