Red Admiral (Vanessa Atlantica) on flood plain of the R.Trent

For the 5 kilometre race results and photos...here are the local (Ottawa & area) participants -- sorted by cities and first name -- in the September 19, 2010, Canada Army Run held in Ottawa, Ontario.

 

Click here and enter the bib numbers for the full individual race results. Race photos here. (6,760 runners in the 5 km race)

 

Thank-you to Sportstats.

 

Part A. Ottawa (Click here.)

Part B. Other Communities (Alexandria to Navan) (Click here.)

Part C. Other Communities (Nepean to Woodlawn) (see below)

 

Part C:

 

10733…Adele Pontone….. Nepean

11845…Al Ruppel….. Nepean

9843…Alana Henry-Fontelio….. Nepean

11513…Alex E. Smith….. Nepean

7265…Alexander Maxwell….. Nepean

14160…Alexandra Reimer….. Nepean

10495…Alison Gotceitas….. Nepean

7963…Alison Vrckovnik….. Nepean

8610…Amy Yee….. Nepean

10100…Andrea Cook….. Nepean

8784…Andrea Copperthwaite….. Nepean

12268…Andrew Ma….. Nepean

10002…Andrew Makus….. Nepean

12672…Anezka Zlamal….. Nepean

7881…Angie Rucchetto….. Nepean

8379…Anna Passmore….. Nepean

9255…Anne Senior….. Nepean

8431…Anya Rampal….. Nepean

14195…April Van Den Beek….. Nepean

11251…Athena Williams….. Nepean

11252…Aurora Williams….. Nepean

12931…Becky Bodnar….. Nepean

11429…Ben Cook….. Nepean

7260…Benjamin Cheng….. Nepean

12058…Bihac Mazigh….. Nepean

7023…Bob Cordukes….. Nepean

8474…Bonnie Badour….. Nepean

9476…Bonnie Gregoire….. Nepean

3991…Brent Eyre….. Nepean

12133…Brian Green….. Nepean

10848…Bronwynn Guymer….. Nepean

8660…Cathie Adeney….. Nepean

8666…Cathy Anderson….. Nepean

9909…Cecily Pantin….. Nepean

12293…Chris Brace….. Nepean

13076…Chris Cull….. Nepean

13081…Chris Daley….. Nepean

13148…Cindy Elmy….. Nepean

7972…Cindy Wendler….. Nepean

10685…Clare Beckton….. Nepean

7906…Claudio Sicoli….. Nepean

11092…Colby Wilson….. Nepean

8741…Colleen Burns….. Nepean

11446…Corinne Finlayson….. Nepean

12094…Craig Heath….. Nepean

10420…Cynthia Field -Rose….. Nepean

12722…Cynthia Sleigh-O'rourke….. Nepean

7756…D.R. Macgregor….. Nepean

11166…Daniel Cormier….. Nepean

12147…Danielle Miner….. Nepean

7262…Daphne Snelgrove….. Nepean

8042…Dave Regimbald….. Nepean

13053…David Contini….. Nepean

10170…David Daze….. Nepean

10656…Debbie Mclellan-Lepine….. Nepean

11133…Deborah Park….. Nepean

12588…Dorothy Gordon….. Nepean

10934…Drew Robertson….. Nepean

8481…Edward Drummond….. Nepean

12174…Eileen Melnick Mccarthy….. Nepean

10768…Elaine Yee….. Nepean

13368…Elana Lamesse….. Nepean

11689…Emily Devitt….. Nepean

7351…Emma Victoria Smith….. Nepean

14477…Eric Mullen….. Nepean

13827…Eric Traclet….. Nepean

9164…Erika Penno….. Nepean

9607…Erin Brennan….. Nepean

14157…Erin Purdy….. Nepean

9844…Ermin Fontelio….. Nepean

14223…Eugenio Rino….. Nepean

9486…Fannie Simard-Castonguay….. Nepean

8381…Franca Mirella….. Nepean

10328…Francine Lapointe….. Nepean

8685…Gallisedo Bae….. Nepean

7264…Gary Maxwell….. Nepean

10793…Gerry Blathwayt….. Nepean

1502…Glenn Kavanagh….. Nepean

10171…Gracie Daze….. Nepean

13529…Hana Moidu….. Nepean

9840…Heather Sutcliffe….. Nepean

9334…Heather Webb….. Nepean

12235…Hilary Allen….. Nepean

11787…Holly Karout….. Nepean

10028…Howard Godby….. Nepean

12126…Irene Yaraskavitch….. Nepean

9898…J.P. Trottier….. Nepean

9487…Jade Simard-Castonguay….. Nepean

13530…Jaleel Moidu….. Nepean

11450…James Boutin….. Nepean

12439…James Passmore….. Nepean

7170…James R. Edge….. Nepean

13061…Jan Coulis….. Nepean

11822…Janet Myers….. Nepean

10847…Jason Green….. Nepean

8032…Jean Marie Manson….. Nepean

8480…Jeff Drummond….. Nepean

12518…Jeff Harvey….. Nepean

13858…Jen Walsh….. Nepean

12391…Jennifer Bordeleau….. Nepean

8941…Jennifer Hopkinson….. Nepean

11405…Jennifer Maroun….. Nepean

9155…Jennifer Passmore….. Nepean

13883…Jennifer Williams….. Nepean

7630…Jessica Gage….. Nepean

14494…Jill Castiglione….. Nepean

11806…Jill Marchand….. Nepean

11018…Jo Ann Uline….. Nepean

8815…Joanne Denomme….. Nepean

14030…Joanne Doucet….. Nepean

8482…Jocelyn Drummond….. Nepean

11410…Joe Harvey….. Nepean

9404…Johanne Harris….. Nepean

14548…John Smith….. Nepean

12893…Jordan Beauvais….. Nepean

7519…Josh Brennan….. Nepean

11658…Judy Smith….. Nepean

7240…Julian Yang….. Nepean

12916…Julie Bennett….. Nepean

13080…Julie Dalbec….. Nepean

9081…Kaitlin Mclellan….. Nepean

1867…Karen Mullen….. Nepean

8141…Kathleen Cole….. Nepean

13051…Kathy Conlon….. Nepean

11226…Katie Squires….. Nepean

12519…Keirsten Harvey….. Nepean

7557…Keith Clark….. Nepean

7558…Kelsey Clark….. Nepean

11132…Ken Park….. Nepean

11774…Kenneth Hennessey….. Nepean

7755…Kenton Lynds….. Nepean

12626…Kevan Mackay….. Nepean

8786…Kim Corlett….. Nepean

12130…Kimberley Brigden….. Nepean

8012…Kirk Lynds….. Nepean

12040…Kirsten Miller….. Nepean

11560…Kristen Grewal….. Nepean

12754…Kristina Ellement….. Nepean

7296…Kyle Gordon….. Nepean

10767…Kyle Tennant….. Nepean

7559…Laura Clark….. Nepean

7819…Laura Nichols….. Nepean

12821…Laura Peckett….. Nepean

8374…Leisa Villeneuve….. Nepean

8802…Leslie Da Silva….. Nepean

9642…Lien Ha….. Nepean

10023…Linda Billyard….. Nepean

8986…Linda Koenders….. Nepean

11946…Linda Mckay….. Nepean

9283…Linda Swaffield….. Nepean

8162…Lisa Marie Bambrick….. Nepean

10295…Lisa Piers….. Nepean

9592…Louise Desjardins….. Nepean

13609…Lucas Perkins….. Nepean

7208…Luke Harvey….. Nepean

10106…Lydia Walker….. Nepean

9228…Lynda Rozon….. Nepean

12213…Lynn Hannah….. Nepean

13758…Lynn Smith….. Nepean

12236…Mackenzie Allen….. Nepean

8812…Mamta Deecker….. Nepean

8792…Marcy Craig….. Nepean

9854…Margaret O'brien….. Nepean

8972…Margaret-Ann Kellett….. Nepean

9803…Marianna Burch….. Nepean

14323…Marie Bulmer….. Nepean

12328…Marie Noreau….. Nepean

9350…Marie Yelle-Whitwam….. Nepean

11096…Marilyn Booth….. Nepean

14251…Marion Dare….. Nepean

8910…Mark Hache….. Nepean

10764…Martine Proulx….. Nepean

11687…Mary Devitt….. Nepean

14120…Mary-Kaye Mcgreevy….. Nepean

13819…Matthew Threader….. Nepean

7207…Megan Harvey….. Nepean

11549…Melanie Boudreau….. Nepean

14029…Melanie Dompierre….. Nepean

14261…Melanie Gibbons….. Nepean

8864…Melissa Fisher….. Nepean

7140…Michael Burch….. Nepean

7261…Michael Cheng….. Nepean

11896…Michael Teeple….. Nepean

7973…Michael Wendler….. Nepean

12958…Michelle Bray….. Nepean

11416…Mike Trottier….. Nepean

11911…Mimi Hadi-Kho….. Nepean

10062…Mina Rampal….. Nepean

8740…Miriam Burke….. Nepean

10935…Mishele Robertson….. Nepean

6509…Momodou Loum….. Nepean

7014…Monique Cordukes….. Nepean

13559…Natalie Sharp….. Nepean

12773…Natasha Yee….. Nepean

7947…Nathan Toft….. Nepean

7689…Ning Huang….. Nepean

8901…Paige Graham….. Nepean

11076…Parto Navidi….. Nepean

7356…Patrick Nicholas Smith….. Nepean

10151…Patrick Walsh….. Nepean

13197…Paul Gauthier….. Nepean

7292…Paul Romano….. Nepean

7038…Paula Noyes….. Nepean

9655…Peggy Bradford….. Nepean

13790…Pierre St-Pierre….. Nepean

10448…Ralph Mahar….. Nepean

10154…Ram Bickram….. Nepean

10496…Ray Gotceitas….. Nepean

14317…Raymond Tsang….. Nepean

10183…Reid Zandbelt….. Nepean

12078…Rena Itan….. Nepean

12892…Rhonda Beauregard….. Nepean

13085…Richard Dare….. Nepean

7578…Richard Dault….. Nepean

13198…Rob Gauthier….. Nepean

9402…Rob Harris….. Nepean

7729…Robert Langlois….. Nepean

14516…Robert Lee….. Nepean

294…Roberto Palmero….. Nepean

9122…Rod Myers….. Nepean

7908…Roger Skidmore….. Nepean

7928…Rowan Stringer….. Nepean

12381…Roy Thomas….. Nepean

12842…Sabeena Abdulmajeed….. Nepean

10105…Sadie Walker….. Nepean

13809…Sajan Thankachan….. Nepean

10099…Sam Cook….. Nepean

11541…Samara Peters….. Nepean

7022…Samer Forzley….. Nepean

8708…Sandra Binkley….. Nepean

11393…Sandy Andrews….. Nepean

10755…Sarah Gardam….. Nepean

7206…Sarah Harvey….. Nepean

9077…Sarah Mcisaac….. Nepean

9856…Scott Kennedy….. Nepean

10104…Scott Walker….. Nepean

9604…Shane Brennan….. Nepean

13369…Shane Lamesse….. Nepean

12438…Shannon Passmore….. Nepean

10598…Sharon Leonard….. Nepean

8974…Shawna Kelly….. Nepean

13810…Sheryl Theal….. Nepean

7414…Simon Kou….. Nepean

13901…Simon Xie….. Nepean

14324…Siobhan Bulmer….. Nepean

11358…Sokoeun Sreng….. Nepean

11333…Sonya Driscoll….. Nepean

11835…Sophia Ramirez-Hennessey….. Nepean

11374…Stefanie Burch….. Nepean

14567…Stephanie Dunne….. Nepean

13760…Stephen Smith….. Nepean

12526…Steve Camilucci….. Nepean

8281…Steven Leonard….. Nepean

7306…Susan Bickram….. Nepean

11723…Susan Carter….. Nepean

8139…Susan White….. Nepean

12300…Suzanne Judd….. Nepean

12565…Taemin Ha….. Nepean

12006…Tammy Delaney….. Nepean

9606…Tammy Harris….. Nepean

9358…Tanya Churchill….. Nepean

7912…Tanya Snook….. Nepean

12287…Teresa Scrivens….. Nepean

9839…Theo Tsang….. Nepean

8386…Thomas Lepine….. Nepean

10595…Thomas Williams….. Nepean

8886…Tina Garbas-Tyrrell….. Nepean

9232…Tina Ryan….. Nepean

13835…Tom Trueman….. Nepean

11430…Tony Cook….. Nepean

11091…Tracey Wilson….. Nepean

7964…Trevor Vrckovnik….. Nepean

14136…Trish Munro….. Nepean

9137…Trishia Ogilvie….. Nepean

9449…Tyler Young….. Nepean

11799…Vivianne Leguerrier….. Nepean

12772…Wayne Yee….. Nepean

9156…Wendy Patenaude….. Nepean

13820…Wendy Threader….. Nepean

9930…Yanika Gauthier….. Nepean

13767…Yupin Spatling….. Nepean

11164…Yvonne Dumont….. Nepean

13370…Zac Lamesse….. Nepean

9261…Zoe Sjolund….. Nepean

7922…Angie Stevenson….. North Gower

8503…Ashley Robinson….. North Gower

10715…Georgia Robinson….. North Gower

12567…Janet Johnston-Vineyard….. North Gower

11683…Julie Poirier….. North Gower

7291…Kim Paley….. North Gower

10827…Marie Dowden….. North Gower

7169…Mark Parry….. North Gower

12566…Mitch Vineyard….. North Gower

10878…Nicole Komendat….. North Gower

8924…Pam Harrison….. North Gower

11684…Rick Poirier….. North Gower

10932…Ronnie Richardson….. North Gower

8909…Susan Gutwin….. North Gower

13785…Tim Stevenson….. North Gower

12092…Vicki Brown….. North Gower

14326…Aaron Derouin….. Orleans

14596…Adam Menzies….. Orleans

11001…Adina Turner….. Orleans

8214…Adrian Fyfe….. Orleans

10279…Aguilar Julio….. Orleans

11131…Ainsley Howard….. Orleans

11387…Alain Beaulieu….. Orleans

11129…Alan Howard….. Orleans

9262…Alan Smith….. Orleans

10930…Alex Renwick….. Orleans

14578…Alexander Overton….. Orleans

9139…Alexis O'bryan….. Orleans

14276…Algis Danaitis….. Orleans

12913…Alison Bennett….. Orleans

11625…Allison Gordon….. Orleans

9771…Alvin Szeto….. Orleans

12743…Amanda Bower….. Orleans

12571…Amanda Daluz….. Orleans

8103…Amanda Hope….. Orleans

13763…Amanda Soule….. Orleans

7623…Amelie Flanagan….. Orleans

8537…Amy Cameron….. Orleans

7091…Andrew Cormack….. Orleans

9249…Andrew Scarlett….. Orleans

13863…Andrew Warden….. Orleans

8544…Angela Maxwell….. Orleans

9292…Anick Taverna….. Orleans

12655…Anik Corbeil….. Orleans

9293…Anita Taylor….. Orleans

13133…Annabelle Dube….. Orleans

10887…Anne Lemay….. Orleans

8534…Anneliese Myers….. Orleans

11811…Annemarie Mccormick….. Orleans

9684…Anne-Marie Ranger….. Orleans

9223…Annik Rouse….. Orleans

13624…Anthony Pickett….. Orleans

11187…Anthony Williamson….. Orleans

11639…Arthur Mckenzie….. Orleans

11637…Arthur Mckenzie….. Orleans

13964…Ashley Arbour….. Orleans

12223…Ashley Beaton….. Orleans

11709…Barbara Bourke….. Orleans

7825…Barbara Oattes….. Orleans

7285…Ben Richard….. Orleans

8632…Bennett Dave….. Orleans

7035…Benoit Cadieux….. Orleans

10854…Bernie Hasselman….. Orleans

8926…Beverley Hatt….. Orleans

7680…Beverley Holden….. Orleans

7786…Bill Meek….. Orleans

13965…Blake Arbour….. Orleans

7767…Bonita Martin….. Orleans

8148…Brenda Cavanagh….. Orleans

7644…Brenda Gosselin….. Orleans

11800…Brenda Leury….. Orleans

13569…Brian Newlove….. Orleans

9857…Brigitte Benay….. Orleans

8718…Brigitte Bourre….. Orleans

10459…Bruce Brunelle….. Orleans

14281…Camelia Touzany….. Orleans

12544…Carl Kletke….. Orleans

11742…Carla De Koning….. Orleans

11765…Carly Gordon….. Orleans

10855…Carly Hasselman….. Orleans

9247…Carmela Savoia….. Orleans

11504…Carmen Foglietta….. Orleans

8048…Carol Daigle….. Orleans

12383…Carol Huot….. Orleans

9665…Carol Moule….. Orleans

11188…Carol Williamson….. Orleans

7634…Carole Gaudes….. Orleans

9756…Caroline Tessier….. Orleans

11983…Chelsea Hughes….. Orleans

13864…Chelsea Warden….. Orleans

12719…Chris Michael….. Orleans

13570…Chris Newlove….. Orleans

11097…Christa Faehndrich….. Orleans

9554…Christina Jahraus….. Orleans

10720…Christina Walker….. Orleans

8751…Christine Casey….. Orleans

9250…Christine Scarlett….. Orleans

9196…Cindy Reid….. Orleans

13040…Clairette Clement….. Orleans

11934…Corey Bursey….. Orleans

14471…Dakota Chamberlain….. Orleans

7184…Danie Michaud….. Orleans

9926…Daniel Bradley….. Orleans

9577…Daniel Quimper….. Orleans

12560…Danielle Richardson….. Orleans

7971…Darlene Welch….. Orleans

9879…Dave Byrne….. Orleans

11894…Dave King….. Orleans

9471…David Ball….. Orleans

9680…David Gee….. Orleans

13386…David Lawrence….. Orleans

13764…David Soule….. Orleans

7982…David Young….. Orleans

8626…Deanna Masur….. Orleans

10835…Deanne Farley….. Orleans

14230…Deanne Mclintock….. Orleans

14252…Debbie Landry….. Orleans

10929…Denis Raymond….. Orleans

10317…Dennis Lloyd….. Orleans

9021…Diane Levesque….. Orleans

7573…Dominique Cusson….. Orleans

11382…Donald Darrell….. Orleans

8975…Donald Kennedy….. Orleans

12226…Doreen Murray….. Orleans

13305…Earl Jared….. Orleans

8763…Edith Chartrand….. Orleans

9509…Edith Gibeault….. Orleans

8550…Elan Graves….. Orleans

10786…Elizabeth Bachand….. Orleans

13765…Emma Soule….. Orleans

7157…Eric Bourbonnais….. Orleans

8360…Eric Christensen….. Orleans

10266…Eric Drouin….. Orleans

12091…Eric Gay….. Orleans

9567…Erica Dixon….. Orleans

7853…Erik Poapst….. Orleans

11443…Ethel Best….. Orleans

11834…Farhana Rahman….. Orleans

9049…Faye Magne….. Orleans

11000…Feyah Turner….. Orleans

12633…France Gagnon….. Orleans

13880…Frederick Whichelo….. Orleans

8213…Fyfe Will….. Orleans

12704…Gabriel Rousseau….. Orleans

14012…Gail Cote….. Orleans

10528…Garrett Fiander….. Orleans

9797…Genevieve Beliveau….. Orleans

12175…George Cormack….. Orleans

12325…Georges Rousseau….. Orleans

14000…Gerry Champagne….. Orleans

9663…Gilles Berger….. Orleans

13647…Gilles Pouliot….. Orleans

10916…Gisele Montgomery….. Orleans

13687…Gisele Rivest….. Orleans

9571…Gorden Cavanagh….. Orleans

9798…Greg Beliveau….. Orleans

13360…Greg Lacroix….. Orleans

8568…Gregory Burt….. Orleans

12061…Gregory Villeneuve….. Orleans

12869…Guy Armstrong….. Orleans

10246…Harold O'connell….. Orleans

7483…Heather Barr….. Orleans

12415…Heather Lloyd….. Orleans

9535…Heather Mcintosh….. Orleans

13766…Heather Soule….. Orleans

14470…Helene Boyer….. Orleans

11796…Henri Lanctot….. Orleans

7981…Ian Yokota….. Orleans

8049…Irvin Daigle….. Orleans

8357…Isabelle Lapierre….. Orleans

9397…Jacinthe Laliberte….. Orleans

8671…Jackie Anton….. Orleans

11807…Jacob Matthews….. Orleans

10084…Jacques Gagne….. Orleans

11594…James Gan….. Orleans

8768…Janice Christensen….. Orleans

11120…Janice Mcintyre….. Orleans

12194…Jannine Moreau….. Orleans

7191…Jason Sinkus….. Orleans

11891…Jean-Pierre Dufour….. Orleans

12332…Jennifer Brisson….. Orleans

8448…Jennifer Buffam….. Orleans

7667…Jennifer Hausman….. Orleans

8981…Jennifer King….. Orleans

7924…Jennifer Stewart….. Orleans

14001…Jessica Champagne….. Orleans

10694…Jessica Danforth….. Orleans

9193…Joan Rajotte….. Orleans

14351…Joanna Streppa….. Orleans

12103…Jo-Anne Matheson….. Orleans

9116…Joanne Mulligan….. Orleans

13911…Joel Bergeron….. Orleans

9516…Johanne Stuart….. Orleans

12422…John Kernick….. Orleans

14089…John Learned….. Orleans

13491…John Mcgregor….. Orleans

14597…John Menzies….. Orleans

9140…John O'bryan….. Orleans

9251…John Scarlett….. Orleans

7939…John Tennant….. Orleans

7959…John Vice….. Orleans

7299…Jonathan Favre….. Orleans

14283…Jonathan Montreuil….. Orleans

9517…Jordi Stuart….. Orleans

11638…Josee Cote….. Orleans

11476…Josee Deleseleuc….. Orleans

11152…Josee Sarazin….. Orleans

12871…Josie Armstrong….. Orleans

12368…Julie Arsenault….. Orleans

11137…Julie Johnson….. Orleans

9248…Julie Savoie….. Orleans

9141…Justin O'bryan….. Orleans

11167…Karianne Lefebvre….. Orleans

8982…Karyl King….. Orleans

8127…Katharina Menduni….. Orleans

10469…Katherine Kurtossy….. Orleans

12716…Kathleen Michael….. Orleans

8692…Kathryn Barr….. Orleans

12308…Katie Williams….. Orleans

7744…Kayla Licari….. Orleans

11772…Kelly Haynes….. Orleans

12718…Kelly Michael….. Orleans

9519…Kelsey Teague….. Orleans

10814…Kenneth Crane….. Orleans

11066…Kenneth Gray….. Orleans

12756…Kevin O'keefe….. Orleans

12564…Kevin Riendeau….. Orleans

10758…Kim Carrier….. Orleans

9075…Kim Mcgowan….. Orleans

14010…Krista Cooper….. Orleans

7317…Kristen Ward….. Orleans

14238…Kyle Thebault….. Orleans

9618…Kylie Rozon….. Orleans

8449…Laura Buffam….. Orleans

8167…Laura St-Pierre….. Orleans

9351…Laura Yokota-Savoia….. Orleans

7051…Lauren Devereux….. Orleans

10556…Laurie Mack….. Orleans

12090…Lesley Gay….. Orleans

8952…Leslie Hurry….. Orleans

14074…Leslie Katz….. Orleans

8747…Lili Caron….. Orleans

14370…Linda Brunet….. Orleans

12072…Linda Dupuis….. Orleans

9300…Lindsay Toll….. Orleans

13860…Lindsay Walthert….. Orleans

13999…Lisa Carozza….. Orleans

9083…Lisa Meek….. Orleans

12198…Lisa St-Amour….. Orleans

12102…Lise Dixon….. Orleans

9213…Lloyd Rockburn….. Orleans

7018…Lorne Schmidt….. Orleans

9214…Louise Rockburn….. Orleans

13761…Louise Soloski….. Orleans

8215…Luc Nadon….. Orleans

9163…Luc Pedneault….. Orleans

10761…Lucie Houle….. Orleans

7222…Lucien Bedard….. Orleans

7804…Lynda Muirhead….. Orleans

13196…M Gauthier….. Orleans

11121…Malcolm Mcintyre….. Orleans

7960…Manon Virag….. Orleans

8523…Marc Desforges….. Orleans

7501…Marc-Andre Blanke….. Orleans

11695…Marg Zens….. Orleans

7686…Maria Hotston….. Orleans

13468…Maria Perron….. Orleans

9620…Mark Deschamps….. Orleans

12717…Mark Michael….. Orleans

11400…Mark Price….. Orleans

7653…Marquis Hainse….. Orleans

9527…Martine Gagnon….. Orleans

8105…Mary Anne Gillespie….. Orleans

12568…Mary Jane Daluz….. Orleans

8823…Mathieu Dion….. Orleans

14048…Mathieu Gill….. Orleans

14278…Matt Boivin….. Orleans

8211…Matt Fyfe….. Orleans

12872…Matthew Armstrong….. Orleans

11014…Matthew Mckay….. Orleans

14579…Matthew Overton….. Orleans

9252…Matthew Scarlett….. Orleans

9635…Matthew Walthert….. Orleans

12326…Maureen Brennan-Rousseau….. Orleans

8478…Maureen Lamothe….. Orleans

8907…Max Guenette….. Orleans

7474…Megan Apostoleris….. Orleans

9294…Megan Taylor….. Orleans

7524…Michael Brown….. Orleans

13306…Michael Jared….. Orleans

9636…Michael Kampman….. Orleans

13705…Michael Roome….. Orleans

8824…Michel Dion….. Orleans

10957…Michel St Denis….. Orleans

10702…Michelle Best….. Orleans

12206…Michelle Maheux….. Orleans

11136…Mike Johnson….. Orleans

10742…Ming Tung….. Orleans

9088…Mireille Mikhael….. Orleans

10859…Monica Henderson….. Orleans

9772…Monique Goyette….. Orleans

7687…Morgan Hotston….. Orleans

7666…Murray Hatt….. Orleans

8816…Natalie Deschamps….. Orleans

13361…Natascha Lacroix….. Orleans

7736…Natasshia Lee….. Orleans

11065…Nathalie Laroche….. Orleans

9212…Nathalie Rochon….. Orleans

9415…Nerehis Tzivanopolous….. Orleans

9957…Nicolas Ducharme….. Orleans

8674…Nicole Arbic….. Orleans

11214…Nicole Lalonde….. Orleans

10757…Norman May….. Orleans

11672…Olivier Lavictoire….. Orleans

9723…Pamela Lavallee….. Orleans

11673…Patrice Lavictoire….. Orleans

11294…Patrick Grenier….. Orleans

9019…Patrick Levasseur….. Orleans

11572…Patrick Mcvarnock….. Orleans

12765…Patrick Sarda….. Orleans

14591…Paul Mcdonough….. Orleans

10760…Paul Walker….. Orleans

12508…Pauline Giese….. Orleans

13913…Peter Blier….. Orleans

10433…Peter Devlin….. Orleans

14130…Philippe Milot….. Orleans

8761…Pierre Charron….. Orleans

12738…Pierre Huet….. Orleans

11293…Pierrette Grenier….. Orleans

8450…Rachel Buffam….. Orleans

9722…Rachel Lessard….. Orleans

10893…Rachel Mac Duff….. Orleans

8583…Rafael Huet….. Orleans

12528…Randy Buffam….. Orleans

11151…Randy Lahaise….. Orleans

8348…Raymond Mcinnis….. Orleans

12623…Raymond Ouimet….. Orleans

10143…Rebeca Shaw….. Orleans

9518…Rebecca Teague….. Orleans

11272…Remika Gautam….. Orleans

10810…Renelle Cloutier….. Orleans

11653…Richard Purves….. Orleans

12113…Richard Tremblay….. Orleans

10924…Rita Paul….. Orleans

9320…Rob Vice….. Orleans

10815…Robbie Crane….. Orleans

9782…Robert Blasutti….. Orleans

9647…Robert Downey….. Orleans

11168…Robert Jr Lefebvre….. Orleans

11820…Robert Morin….. Orleans

11982…Robert Patchett….. Orleans

7907…Robert Simard….. Orleans

11881…Robin Whitford….. Orleans

7054…Robyn Macdonald….. Orleans

13998…Roger Butt….. Orleans

13586…Ron Orien….. Orleans

9454…Roy Maclellan….. Orleans

14449…Sandy Clark….. Orleans

12414…Sandy Jones….. Orleans

9352…Sara Yokota-Savoia….. Orleans

7712…Scott King….. Orleans

9439…Sean Patchett….. Orleans

14158…Sesha Rabideau….. Orleans

10999…Shaily Turner….. Orleans

12947…Shanna Boutilier….. Orleans

10364…Shannon Snider….. Orleans

7287…Shawn Hohenkirk….. Orleans

8533…Shawn Myers….. Orleans

14469…Shayne Chamberlain….. Orleans

9218…Shirley Rogers….. Orleans

8730…Stacey Brisebois….. Orleans

10766…Stacy Taylor….. Orleans

7182…Stephan Lemaire….. Orleans

11228…Stephanie Ettinger….. Orleans

12141…Stephen James….. Orleans

11900…Steve Greenwood….. Orleans

7336…Steve Pelletier….. Orleans

10875…Susan Kes….. Orleans

12437…Susan Lepine….. Orleans

8117…Susan Villeneuve….. Orleans

9579…Suzanne Giguere….. Orleans

9089…Suzanne Mikkelsen….. Orleans

11130…Sydney Howard….. Orleans

14616…Sylvain Levesque….. Orleans

9972…Sylvie Daoust….. Orleans

12431…Sylvie Godbout….. Orleans

9596…Sylvie Morin….. Orleans

8536…Talia Cameron….. Orleans

13387…Talia Lawrence….. Orleans

8047…Tamiko Von Eicken….. Orleans

12024…Tammy Edwards….. Orleans

7236…Tammy Gardner….. Orleans

5841…Tanja Scharf….. Orleans

7621…Tanya Finlay….. Orleans

9166…Taylor Perron….. Orleans

9970…Tom Kannemann….. Orleans

7962…Tommy Vranas….. Orleans

10149…Tonie Lavictoire….. Orleans

10340…Tori Maclean….. Orleans

8286…Tracey Fitzpatrick….. Orleans

11349…Tracey Gibbons….. Orleans

7654…Traci Hainse….. Orleans

8619…Tracy Rizok….. Orleans

10527…Travis Fiander….. Orleans

13808…Tristan Tessier….. Orleans

8672…Val Anton….. Orleans

9639…Valerie Beauchesne….. Orleans

13362…Valerie Ladouceur….. Orleans

9661…Valerie Marcil….. Orleans

12682…Valerie O'connell….. Orleans

12320…Vanessa Sanger….. Orleans

11877…Venise Volodarsky….. Orleans

13400…Veronik Leblanc….. Orleans

7583…Veronique Daviault….. Orleans

10568…Vicki Aubin….. Orleans

10132…Vince Daluz….. Orleans

11778…Wendy Hickson….. Orleans

11847…Wendy Ruthven….. Orleans

8873…Wyn Fournier….. Orleans

9237…Xavier Saindon….. Orleans

13595…Yvonne Parsons….. Orleans

12155…Zachary St-Pierre….. Orleans

14285…Zack Hazledine….. Orleans

11808…Zoe Matthews….. Orleans

7779…Didi Mclean….. Oxford Mills

8868…Jana Ford….. Oxford Mills

12796…Julie Shephard….. Oxford Mills

8933…Kim Hennessy….. Oxford Mills

12783…Leia Richards….. Oxford Mills

13324…Marvin Kealey….. Oxford Mills

10641…Nadia Diakun-Thibault….. Oxford Mills

10347…Robert Lachance….. Oxford Mills

14619…Aida Izquierdo….. Pembroke

9041…Alanna Macgregor….. Pembroke

14622…Amanda Sykes….. Pembroke

10393…Amelia Gallant….. Pembroke

10499…Bernadette Demong….. Pembroke

13176…Brian Fraser….. Pembroke

10389…Chantal Gallant….. Pembroke

10778…Cheryl Gallant….. Pembroke

12346…Chichi Mgbemena….. Pembroke

8435…Chuck Mathe….. Pembroke

10884…Deanna Lang….. Pembroke

13263…Derek Hebner….. Pembroke

10342…Donald Sheppard….. Pembroke

10000…Elisabelle St-Hilaire….. Pembroke

10392…Ellyse Gallant….. Pembroke

10500…Erik Fleurant….. Pembroke

10794…Ginger Boucher….. Pembroke

12592…Hilary Reiche….. Pembroke

10390…James Gallant….. Pembroke

12724…Jessica Bucci….. Pembroke

14624…John Blair….. Pembroke

14623…Jordan Blair….. Pembroke

8436…Kerry Nolan….. Pembroke

10391…Lauren Gallant….. Pembroke

10343…Lorie Sheppard….. Pembroke

12539…Lynn Carre….. Pembroke

9999…Marie-Philippe St-Hilaire….. Pembroke

12154…Melissa Jarvis….. Pembroke

10606…Michael Murphy….. Pembroke

14368…Michelle Rousselle….. Pembroke

12889…Mike Baxter….. Pembroke

13862…P Ward….. Pembroke

10209…Peter Harrington….. Pembroke

11042…Renee Fleurant….. Pembroke

10001…Ryan Bergin….. Pembroke

12775…Sherri Forward….. Pembroke

12214…Stanley Gauthier….. Pembroke

9996…Andrea Kennedy….. Perth

7433…Angela Gilbertson….. Perth

8227…Anne Marie Gallant….. Perth

12019…Ashley Murphy….. Perth

11265…Bobbi-Jo Jarvis….. Perth

11002…Charles Kirkwood….. Perth

12397…Connor Stewart….. Perth

8983…Dawn Kirkham….. Perth

12984…Derick Buffam….. Perth

11566…Georgine Elderkin….. Perth

12985…Jacob Buffam….. Perth

12398…Jim Stewart….. Perth

14219…Kayla Millar….. Perth

8617…Kelly Ireton….. Perth

8243…Kim Hazen….. Perth

9243…Lexi Saunders….. Perth

9244…Lisa Saunders….. Perth

8508…Lise Harris….. Perth

9245…Logan Saunders….. Perth

1048…Lynn Marsh….. Perth

9246…Nolan Saunders….. Perth

12866…Quattrocchi Annette….. Perth

9345…Rhonda Wright….. Perth

12939…Sharon Bothwell….. Perth

8230…Steve Gallant….. Perth

9109…Tammy Morrison….. Perth

13634…Tracy Plourde….. Perth

10478…Adele Burry….. Petawawa

12488…Amanda Prud'homme….. Petawawa

8382…Amy Christensen….. Petawawa

12832…Andrew Chan….. Petawawa

11299…Andrew Wilson….. Petawawa

13224…Angela Grandy….. Petawawa

8562…Annette Baisley….. Petawawa

10615…Bethany Hackworth….. Petawawa

11686…Bonnie Farrel….. Petawawa

10979…Brenda Willsie….. Petawawa

11069…Brian Mckay….. Petawawa

10505…Bryanna Novack….. Petawawa

7898…Caroline Seessle….. Petawawa

9372…Chico Traclet….. Petawawa

13195…Chris Gauthier….. Petawawa

12545…Chris Stewart….. Petawawa

12799…Claire Luesink….. Petawawa

12654…Clinton Vardy….. Petawawa

8228…Colleen Williams….. Petawawa

8082…Connor Chalmers-Wein….. Petawawa

13670…Cora Rennie….. Petawawa

10564…Corey Rice….. Petawawa

10014…Daniel Brissette….. Petawawa

13499…Daniel Mclaren….. Petawawa

10907…Daniel Milburn….. Petawawa

7961…Dave Vooght….. Petawawa

13219…David Gottfried….. Petawawa

13227…David Grebstad….. Petawawa

13442…Donna Macera….. Petawawa

10498…Doug Bowers….. Petawawa

8095…Emma Bowers….. Petawawa

12184…Eric Brisebois….. Petawawa

9656…Eric Jutras….. Petawawa

9770…Eric Pilon….. Petawawa

3822…Eric Roy….. Petawawa

10408…Eve Boyce….. Petawawa

9413…Fedora Lombardo….. Petawawa

13002…Gillian Campbell….. Petawawa

12991…Glen Butcher….. Petawawa

13444…Grant Macintosh….. Petawawa

13253…Greg Hatcher….. Petawawa

7043…Haley Moreau….. Petawawa

11688…Harrison Lane….. Petawawa

10094…Heather Skaling….. Petawawa

10617…Heidi Tingley….. Petawawa

10993…Heike Traclet….. Petawawa

9326…Ian Walcott….. Petawawa

10620…James Conway….. Petawawa

13225…Janessa Grandy….. Petawawa

13205…Jennifer German….. Petawawa

9453…Jeris Chalmers-Wein….. Petawawa

10684…Joann Tyrie….. Petawawa

11298…Jody Weymouth….. Petawawa

11372…Johanne Guimond….. Petawawa

8495…John Stevenson….. Petawawa

10565…Johnny Rice….. Petawawa

8592…Joseph Firlotte….. Petawawa

10670…Julianne Godard….. Petawawa

8496…Julie Stevenson….. Petawawa

12388…Kelly Brissette….. Petawawa

11081…Kelly Dove….. Petawawa

8034…Kelsey Macintosh….. Petawawa

14366…Kenneth Highsted….. Petawawa

10371…Kevin Cameron….. Petawawa

11082…Kirstyn Dove….. Petawawa

11632…Kristin De Jong….. Petawawa

12127…Lana Gillard….. Petawawa

12038…Laura Moreau….. Petawawa

10464…Leona Vance….. Petawawa

11662…Lisa Bourque….. Petawawa

12110…Lisa Fedak….. Petawawa

11049…Lucinda Vienneau….. Petawawa

10326…Marc Parent….. Petawawa

11068…Margaret Mckay….. Petawawa

8561…Mark Baisley….. Petawawa

8116…Marla Lesage….. Petawawa

8341…Marsha Robertson….. Petawawa

8600…Matthew Devine….. Petawawa

8953…Melissa Huston….. Petawawa

10410…Michael Companion….. Petawawa

12182…Michelle Brisebois….. Petawawa

8601…Molly Mcinnes Learning….. Petawawa

8229…Nick Williams….. Petawawa

12723…Nicole Laidlaw….. Petawawa

9479…Nina Di Sabatino….. Petawawa

12075…Pascale Paradis….. Petawawa

12037…Paul Moreau….. Petawawa

14605…Rich Gallant….. Petawawa

10063…Robert Mallory….. Petawawa

9090…Rodney Milburn….. Petawawa

7809…Ron Needham….. Petawawa

10497…Sam Bowers….. Petawawa

12685…Samantha Dacey….. Petawawa

9051…Sandra Majczyna….. Petawawa

13277…Scott Horodecky….. Petawawa

10683…Scott Tyrie….. Petawawa

9456…Selina Hatcher….. Petawawa

12766…Shane Learning….. Petawawa

10566…Sheldon Rice….. Petawawa

7401…Steve Buckett….. Petawawa

11984…Susan Chalmers….. Petawawa

12684…Suzanne Dacey….. Petawawa

11327…Tania Thompson….. Petawawa

13716…Tanner Rutz….. Petawawa

10332…Tiffeny Holdom….. Petawawa

13052…Todd Constantine….. Petawawa

10623…Valerie Plant….. Petawawa

12995…Vanessa Butler….. Petawawa

12524…Virginia Rich….. Petawawa

7355…Wayne Eyre….. Petawawa

13226…William Grandy….. Petawawa

12819…William Hawley….. Petawawa

10406…Angela Gauthier-Demers….. Plantagenet

8509…Annie Gauthier….. Plantagenet

8174…Carole Lapointe….. Plantagenet

13145…Debbie Elie….. Plantagenet

13101…Leo Demers….. Plantagenet

9229…Malika Rozon Sibera….. Plantagenet

13632…Christian Plante….. Pontiac

9285…Glen Swan….. Pontiac

9286…Heather Swan….. Pontiac

9287…Jane Swan….. Pontiac

9288…Janice Swan….. Pontiac

9289…Martin Swan….. Pontiac

7645…Renee Gosselin….. Pontiac

13633…Samuel Plante….. Pontiac

9290…Seamus Swan….. Pontiac

14139…Andrew Noonan….. Prescott

9845…Angela Powell….. Prescott

14140…Betty Noonan….. Prescott

12896…Chris Bedor….. Prescott

13193…Colleen Gander….. Prescott

11510…Darlene Daub….. Prescott

12897…Kim Bedor….. Prescott

11995…Leanne Crain….. Prescott

9128…Sandy Noonan….. Prescott

14141…Wayne Noonan….. Prescott

13846…Amanda Vance….. Renfrew

12915…Connor Bennett….. Renfrew

10021…Daryl Fiebig….. Renfrew

10020…Debbie Fiebig….. Renfrew

8035…Kelley Whitman….. Renfrew

14125…Lindsay Mcnulty….. Renfrew

10844…Lisa Gauthier….. Renfrew

7624…Rachel Folkema….. Renfrew

8136…Sonya Lepine….. Renfrew

14198…Adrianna Van Zeeland….. Richmond

10889…Al Lewis….. Richmond

10948…Andre Seiffert….. Richmond

8670…Barbara Annas….. Richmond

8620…Brent Macintyre….. Richmond

10318…Carl Turenne….. Richmond

12135…Carla Zylstra….. Richmond

10796…Charlene Burnside….. Richmond

14149…Christine Pepin….. Richmond

12829…Connie Bresee….. Richmond

8188…Dawn Jordon….. Richmond

10825…Deena Desson….. Richmond

11809…Diane Mayer….. Richmond

13281…Dominique Huet….. Richmond

7066…Heather Hunter….. Richmond

8306…Jamie Jordon….. Richmond

10737…Janet Moul….. Richmond

11810…Jerry Mayer….. Richmond

8256…Joe Barthelette….. Richmond

10944…Kristin Ryan….. Richmond

13240…Laura Habgood….. Richmond

12895…Lionel Bedard….. Richmond

13241…Michael Habgood….. Richmond

7598…Pierre Doiron….. Richmond

7242…Roger Crispin….. Richmond

9907…Scott Cooper….. Richmond

10890…Sean Lewis….. Richmond

7814…Sherry Newman….. Richmond

12989…Stephen Burwash….. Richmond

10891…Suzanne Lewis….. Richmond

10919…Theresa Murray….. Richmond

13550…Tom Moul….. Richmond

10381…Tony Steele….. Richmond

9175…Tracey Pick….. Richmond

10380…Wendy Steele….. Richmond

9162…Whitney Peasley….. Richmond

7358…Amanda Hebert….. Rockland

11875…Andre Vezina….. Rockland

12217…Belanna Mclean….. Rockland

10378…Braeden Roy….. Rockland

13165…Brenda Flood….. Rockland

8452…Carrie Mccoombs….. Rockland

10516…Catherine Watson….. Rockland

8314…Colene O'brien….. Rockland

8614…Connie Hadley….. Rockland

11773…Darlene Hebert….. Rockland

14418…Debbie Simms….. Rockland

14272…Emilie Deschamps….. Rockland

12993…Erika Butler….. Rockland

13854…Fran Vollhoffer….. Rockland

12379…Ghislain Veilleux….. Rockland

11755…Gisele Forest….. Rockland

10273…Guylain Ouellette….. Rockland

8313…Irene Lemaire….. Rockland

9836…Isabelle Tremblay….. Rockland

14263…Jolene Marinier….. Rockland

7980…Josanne Yelle….. Rockland

8451…Josef Mccoombs….. Rockland

12994…Karl Butler….. Rockland

11635…Michael Crabbe….. Rockland

7570…Michael Croteau….. Rockland

14419…Mitchell Simms….. Rockland

11551…Nancy Crabbe….. Rockland

14461…Nelson Lizotte….. Rockland

9386…Patricia Wright….. Rockland

12195…Pierre Archambault….. Rockland

10621…Robin Zito….. Rockland

12728…Roylana Larochelle….. Rockland

12219…Sam Mclean….. Rockland

8207…Serina K. Archambault….. ROckland

11162…Sharlene L. Archambault….. Rockland

13262…Simon Hebert….. Rockland

14421…Stephanie Simms….. Rockland

11161…Sylvie Archambault….. Rockland

12458…Tom Whelan….. Rockland

12071…Vickie Sheppard….. Rockland

12035…Donna Courchesne….. Shawville

7571…Debi Cunningham….. Smiths Falls

11452…Fabian Boone….. Smiths Falls

13512…Garry Mellan….. Smiths Falls

11717…Grace Buffam….. Smiths Falls

8690…Heather Bannon….. Smiths Falls

7532…Jen Cahill….. Smiths Falls

13517…Kat Merrells….. Smiths Falls

8707…Kim Berry….. Smiths Falls

13626…Matthew Pilon….. Smiths Falls

13317…Norma Jones-Myers….. Smiths Falls

8950…Pat Hunter Muldoon….. Smiths Falls

13067…Russell Cowan….. Smiths Falls

10638…Sheena Shilton….. Smiths Falls

8178…Stephen Wintle….. Smiths Falls

9793…Tammy Mulrooney….. Smiths Falls

13627…Tammy Pilon….. Smiths Falls

13358…Tanya Labelle….. Smiths Falls

8928…Theresa Heaslip….. Smiths Falls

8205…Alan Burgess….. South Mountain

8204…Carolyn Burgess….. South Mountain

14352…Julie Streska….. Spencerville

7220…Brian Roos….. St. Albert

12101…Kevin Rocchi….. St. Albert

8191…Lisa Bambrick….. St. Albert

13734…Patricia Sauve….. St. Albert

9354…|Jo Young….. Stittsville

8930…Aidan Heffernan….. Stittsville

11103…Alain Brazeau….. Stittsville

8352…Alyssa Endicott….. Stittsville

13896…Amanda Woodward….. Stittsville

13450…Amy Macleod….. Stittsville

8996…Annick Lafleche….. Stittsville

8289…Anthea Odai-Abaloo….. Stittsville

7884…April Sabourin….. Stittsville

10216…Bethany Roy….. Stittsville

8639…Blake Van Den Heuvel….. Stittsville

8931…Brendan Heffernan….. Stittsville

8831…Briana Downey….. Stittsville

7101…Brigitte Garvock….. Stittsville

8832…Brittney Downey….. Stittsville

13124…Bruce Donnelly….. Stittsville

9235…Caitlin Sabourin….. Stittsville

9748…Cameron Ellis….. Stittsville

12156…Carrie Brown….. Stittsville

9747…Carrie Gudgeon….. Stittsville

7510…Catherine Boucher….. Stittsville

10803…Cathy Chalmers….. Stittsville

11905…Cathy Chorniawy….. Stittsville

7834…Cathy O'neil….. Stittsville

10936…Cathy Robinson….. Stittsville

13155…Charles Falardeau….. Stittsville

14437…Chris Kurlicki….. Stittsville

13402…Chris Leger….. Stittsville

4481…Chris Stacey….. Stittsville

11275…Christiane Mendes….. Stittsville

10707…Christine Lusk….. Stittsville

11729…Claire Collis….. Stittsville

11866…Clarice Tattersall….. Stittsville

7885…Dakota Sabourin….. Stittsville

9337…Daphne Whiting….. Stittsville

9423…David Butler….. Stittsville

13488…Deb Mcgeachy….. Stittsville

12018…Denise Morrison….. Stittsville

7595…Dennis Desjardins….. Stittsville

13704…Don Rooke….. Stittsville

7886…Doug Sabourin….. Stittsville

8264…E. Roselyn Murphy….. Stittsville

9013…Elise Lavigne….. Stittsville

10708…Elizabeth Goddard….. Stittsville

14068…Eric Irons….. Stittsville

8332…Eric Kahler….. Stittsville

9482…Eric Morrison….. Stittsville

13910…Felix Belzile….. Stittsville

7548…Gerald Chamberlain….. Stittsville

12140…Grace Lachance….. Stittsville

10091…Greg Vanclief….. Stittsville

7759…Guy Macleod….. Stittsville

11274…Harold Mendes….. Stittsville

8749…Heather Carty….. Stittsville

7976…Hope Wilson….. Stittsville

14279…J.R. (Bob) Auchterlonie….. Stittsville

7061…Jason O'donnell….. Stittsville

11867…Jenna Tattersall….. Stittsville

7465…Jennifer Ailey….. Stittsville

11186…Jennifer Reid-Hudson….. Stittsville

12503…Jennifer Tschanz….. Stittsville

11109…Jerry Shelest….. Stittsville

7231…Jessica Pomeroy….. Stittsville

9555…Jody Fraser….. Stittsville

8966…Joel Kam….. Stittsville

14132…Joelle Morin….. Stittsville

8458…John Green….. Stittsville

11868…John Tattersall….. Stittsville

13884…John Williams….. Stittsville

14457…Jon Andrews….. Stittsville

9236…Judy Sabourin….. Stittsville

8044…Julia Gervais….. Stittsville

13477…Kaitlyn Mccaughan….. Stittsville

11104…Karen Dokken….. Stittsville

7366…Karen Kurlicki….. Stittsville

12262…Karin Wiens….. Stittsville

12591…Katherine Williton….. Stittsville

10101…Kelby Hamilton….. Stittsville

8833…Kevin Downey….. Stittsville

8173…Kristen Cameron….. Stittsville

4441…Kyle Mackay….. Stittsville

8560…Laura Coxworth….. Stittsville

9462…Laura Miller….. Stittsville

5825…Laurel Rosene….. Stittsville

7252…Laurie Laird….. Stittsville

13257…Liisa Hayman….. Stittsville

7258…Lisa Steele….. Stittsville

4442…Louise Mackay….. Stittsville

11185…Lucas Hudson….. Stittsville

10561…Lucas Hudson….. Stittsville

4067…Lynn Messager….. Stittsville

7877…Marc Roy….. Stittsville

13717…Marc Rydzik….. Stittsville

9045…Martha Macleod….. Stittsville

8935…Mary Herbert….. Stittsville

10682…Maryam Tangaki….. Stittsville

7479…Matt Bafia….. Stittsville

13989…Megan Ashlee Bowes….. Stittsville

8750…Meghan Carty….. Stittsville

8897…Melanie Goodfellow….. Stittsville

12261…Melissa Bouchard….. Stittsville

14270…Michaela Carella….. Stittsville

12260…Michel Bouchard….. Stittsville

9105…Michel Morin….. Stittsville

7511…Michelle Boucher….. Stittsville

11340…Michelle Endicott….. Stittsville

7668…Michelle Hay….. Stittsville

452…Moira Mcdonald….. Stittsville

7419…Nathalie Daigle….. Stittsville

7466…Nicholas Alexander….. Stittsville

10164…Peter Ennis….. Stittsville

11819…Pierre Monette….. Stittsville

10163…Rachel Ennis….. Stittsville

12108…Randal Walsh….. Stittsville

7609…Randy Dudding….. Stittsville

13166…Rene Flores….. Stittsville

10562…Renee Mcfarlane….. Stittsville

7669…Robert Hay….. Stittsville

12768…Robert Kinsman….. Stittsville

12139…Robert Lachance….. Stittsville

9510…Ruth Ann Sullivan….. Stittsville

10663…Sally Rideout….. Stittsville

13083…Sarah D'angelo….. Stittsville

8354…Savanna Endicott….. Stittsville

7790…Scott Miller….. Stittsville

13955…Shannelle Adam….. Stittsville

11395…Sheila Smith….. Stittsville

7902…Stephen Shaw….. Stittsville

13478…Steve Mccaughan….. Stittsville

9082…Steve Mcstravick….. Stittsville

4443…Stuart Mackay….. Stittsville

10607…Tania Lelievre….. Stittsville

13159…Taylor Ferris….. Stittsville

8967…Tenely Kam….. Stittsville

7480…Tim Bafia….. Stittsville

11184…Wayne Hudson….. Stittsville

12088…Wendy Fraser….. Stittsville

12899…Angelo Belanger….. Val-Des-Monts

12609…Anne Morin….. Val-Des-Monts

9924…Audrey Soucy….. Val-Des-Monts

12608…Dominik Roberge….. Val-Des-Monts

9444…Dominique Emond….. Val-Des-Monts

13539…Marc Moo Sang….. Val-Des-Monts

10305…Stefanie Moo Sang….. Val-Des-Monts

9443…Stephane Gravel….. Val-Des-Monts

7069…Yvan Dolan….. Val-Des-Monts

13380…Alison Laturnus….. Vanier

12319…Marthe Belanger….. Vanier

10418…Nicolas Fortin….. Vanier

12706…Thomas Bastien….. Vanier

10772…Michel Surprenant….. Vars

12628…Mike Kennedy….. Vars

13062…Sharon Courneyea….. Vars

12885…Sonia Barrette….. Vars

13276…Ali Hopper….. Wakefield

12699…Joanne Khouryati….. Wakefield

10310…Kerry Antonello….. White Lake

8729…Michelle Brennan….. White Lake

13252…Andrea Harrison….. Williamstown

13013…Bill Chambre….. Williamstown

13014…Cody Chambre….. Williamstown

13015…Sam Chambre….. Williamstown

8142…Christina Enright….. Winchester

10159…James Shelaga….. Winchester

9233…Marnie Rylaarsdam….. Winchester

11981…Nicole Robinson….. Winchester

9586…Ronald Harrison….. Winchester

12100…Carolyn Sandor-Weston….. Woodlawn

13458…Helen Malacrida….. Woodlawn

9853…Joanne Kumpf….. Woodlawn

12708…Michele Davey….. Woodlawn

7060…Mick Weston….. Woodlawn

 

Shot in a flooded Alexandria street.

Cavendish Mews is a smart set of flats in Mayfair where flapper and modern woman, the Honourable Lettice Chetwynd has set up home after coming of age and gaining her allowance. To supplement her already generous allowance, and to break away from dependence upon her family, Lettice has established herself as a society interior designer, so her flat is decorated with a mixture of elegant antique Georgian pieces and modern Art Deco furnishings, using it as a showroom for what she can offer to her well heeled clients.

 

Today however we have headed a short distance north-east across London, away from Cavendish Mews and Mayfair, over Paddington and past Lisson Grove to the comfortably affluent suburb of Little Venice with its cream painted Regency terraces and railing surrounded public parks. Here in Clifton Gardens Lettice’s maiden Aunt Eglantine, affectionately known as Aunt Egg by her nieces and nephews, lives in a beautiful four storey house that is part of a terrace of twelve. Eglantine Chetwynd is Viscount Wrexham’s younger sister, and as well as being unmarried, is an artist and ceramicist of some acclaim. Originally a member of the Pre-Raphaelites* in England, these days she flits through artistic and bohemian circles and when not at home in her spacious and light filled studio at the rear of her garden, can be found mixing with mostly younger artistic friends in Chelsea. Her unmarried status, outlandish choice of friends and rather reformist and unusual dress sense shocks Lettice’s mother, Lady Sadie, and attracts her derision. In addition, she draws Sadie’s ire, as Aunt Egg has always received far more affection and preferential treatment from her children. Viscount Wrexham on the other hand adores his artistic little sister, and has always made sure that she can live the lifestyle she chooses and create art.

 

As Lettice pulls the well worn brass hand that triggers the doorbell next to the brightly painted red front door, she stands beneath the columned portico of her aunt’s house and admires the terracotta pots of brightly coloured tulips that flank the front doorstep, which make her terrace stand out from all the others in the row. A faint female voice with a Germanic accent calls from within before the door is answered by Augusta, Eglantine’s Swiss head parlour maid, dressed in her formal black uniform with a white lace trimmed apron and with a large black bow in her hair.

 

“Good morning, Augusta,” Lettice greets her brightly. “Is my Aunt home?”

 

“Good morning, Fräulein Chetwynd.” Augusta answers politely. “Please do come in. Ya, your Tante is in ze studio.”

 

Lettice steps across the threshold of her aunt’s terrace and is immediately enveloped in the rich mixture of exotic scents that she has always associated with the artist: a blend of heavy floral perfumes, cigarette smoke and oil paint. She sighs as she inhales the welcome smell and shirks off her dark blue coat with a mink collar into Augusta’s waiting hands. “Don’t bother to introduce me, Augusta. I’ll just show myself through to the studio.” she says.

 

“Ya! Ya!” the parlour maid enthuses as she watches Lettice disappear down the hall, which like the rest of the house, is filled with ornate, yet artistic, furnishings, paintings and a general jumble of clutter which keep her and the three maids under her very busy cleaning and dusting all year round.

 

“Aunt Egg! Yoo-hoo, Aunt Egg!” Lettice calls as she approaches the ivy covered studio at the rear of the rambling cottage garden filled with a hotchpotch of brightly coloured spring blooms.

 

She pushes down on the latch and opens the door to the studio, the familiar earthy smell of potter’s clay, oil paint and linseed oil greeting her as she does. The studio is flooded with light thanks to a large, almost full length window of plate glass that fills the northern wall. The space is filled with benches and shelves cluttered with everything from pieces of ceramics in different stages of completion to canvases to books on art. A sink stands at the rear of the studio with a row of fine Royal Doulton Art Nouveau tiles of white irises above it. An easel leans, unused against a bench next to it. And sitting at the large wooden table covered in a panoply of paints, brushes and ceramics that dominates the middle of the studio, is her beloved Aunt Egg.

 

“Well,” the older woman beams as she looks up from the pottery jug she is painting. “If it isn’t my favourite niece.”

 

“I’m sure you say that to Lally and all our female cousins.” Lettice replies as she walks over to her aunt’s seated figure and kisses her first on one proffered cheek and then the other.

 

“Well, you’ll never know, will you my dear,” the older woman answers with a cheeky smile and alert green eyes. “I like to keep you all guessing who will inherit my jewels when I die.”

 

“Oh Aunt Egg!” Lettice scoffs. “You mustn’t talk like that.”

 

“We all of us are going to die one day, Lettice. Anyway, you are probably the most like me out of all of you girls, with your artistic attributes, so why shouldn’t you be my favourite?”

 

Lettice pulls up a small stool and sits opposite her aunt. When she was young, Eglantine had Titian red hair that fell in wavy tresses about her pale face, making her a popular muse amongst the Pre-Raphaelites she mixed with. With the passing years, her red hair has retreated almost entirely behind silver grey, save for the occasional streak of washed out reddish orange, yet she still wears it as she did when it was at its fiery best, sweeping softly about her almond shaped face, tied in a loose chignon at the back of her neck. Large emerald coloured glass droplets hang from her ears that match the green glass necklace about her neck that cascades over the top of her white paint splattered dust coat. Lettice doesn’t need to see beneath it to know that her aunt is wearing her usual uniform of a lose Delphos dress** that does not require her to wear a corset of any kind, and a silk fringed cardigan of some description, both in beautiful colours.

 

“I hope Augusta brings us some tea soon,” Eglantine remarks as she focuses her attention once again on the task at hand a she paints a long green frond onto the jug with her adept hands, heavily bejewelled with an array of sparkling stones and gold.

 

“Shall I go and ask her, Aunt Egg?”

 

“No, no.” Eglantine says with a settling wave, her paint brush held in place by her interwoven fingers. “She’s been serving me for nigh on thirty years now. She knows when to serve tea.”

 

“What are you doing, Aunt Egg?” Lettice asks as she stares at her aunt’s delicate hands as they move up and down the bulbous body of the jug.

 

“I’m painting the ceiling, my dear,” she replies sarcastically without so much as a blink in her lowered eyelids. “Must you ask such obvious questions?”

 

“I’m sorry, Aunt Egg,” Lettice apologises, remembering that however much her aunt loves her, she cannot abide dull conversation and obvious questions, owing to the amount of time she spends with interesting and witty people. “I meant, what is the purpose of the jug you are painting? Where is it going?”

 

“Then that is what you should ask, Lettice.” Eglantine chides mildly, still not lifting her eyes from her task. “You will never succeed in business if you whitter away like most women do. Be clear, polite, and direct. Ask what you want to know without fear.”

 

“Yes, Aunt Egg.” Lettice replies, suitably chastened.

 

“Its not for anyone, yet. I’ve been inspired by the painted pottery of Capula*** in Mexico, and I also saw some of Carrington’s**** pottery recently. When I was visiting the Slade*****. I’m exploring the naïve style of folk art. What do you think?”

 

“I think it looks very beautiful Aunt Egg.”

 

“And how go your artistic pursuits, Lettice my dear?” Eglantine adeptly mixes a little more white paint into a pool of the gleaming dark green she shas been using and applies a thin line up the leaf’s middle to highlight a stem.

 

“My artistic pursuits?”

 

“Yes! How is the interior design business going?”

 

“I’d hardly call my business an ‘artistic pursuit’ Aunt Egg.” Lettice laughs.

 

“Nonsense my dear! Your interiors are just as artistic as my ceramics. It’s just your canvas is much bigger than mine, and involves many different facets.”

 

“Well, if you ask Mater, she’d say dreadfully.”

 

“Ahh,” the older woman sighs as she paints faint spiderweb thin veins coming off the stem of her leaf. “But I’m not asking Sadie, thank goodness. I’m asking you, Lettice. However, if Sadie says it’s not going well, that must mean business is flourishing. Is it?”

 

“It’s going swimmingly, Aunt Egg!” Lettice gushes. “I don’t need Mater to introduce me to people like the Duchess of Whitby anymore. I’m finally starting to develop a name for myself.”

 

“Good! Good!” replies Eglantine. “I’m pleased to hear it.” She dips her brush in the lighter coloured green again. “I’m not surprised of course. You’re very talented. However, I’m glad to hear it from your own lips. Too many people with talent are neglected, whilst ones with no talent get the recognition they don’t deserve.”

 

“I’m sure they wouldn’t agree, Aunt Egg. After all, weren’t you the one to teach me that art appreciation is a subjective thing?”

 

“Very good Lettice.” She looks up from her work and smiles broadly at her niece, her eyes gleaming with pride. “I’m glad to see all those afternoons at the Slade and Omega Workshops****** weren’t wasted, or smothered by your mother’s lack of imagination.” She looks back down and begins to work again, the concentration etched in the furrows that line her forehead. “So, it’s going well then?”

 

“Oh yes! I’m actually in the process of designing a few rooms for Margot Channon.”

 

“Ahh yes!” Eglantine gasps. “Little Margot de Virre finally grew up and got married, to the Marquess of Taunton’s son.”

 

“Yes, Dickie Channon.”

 

“Poor dear. No doubt a match made by her own meddling mother.”

 

“You have a very poor opinion of marriage, Aunt Egg.” Lettice opines.

 

“Well, as you can see, my dear, I’ve never needed the institution of matrimony myself to feel fulfilled.”

 

“Oh, but Margot and Dickie are in love, Aunt Egg. They met, well through me really, at the Embassy Club. Mrs. de Virre had no hand in their matrimony.”

 

“Oh well. I suppose that’s alright then. I read about their wedding in The Times. St. Mark’s******* wasn’t it?” She waits for Lettice to affirm with a nod. “And I saw that Gerald Bruton designed her gown. I’m pleased to see that he developed some independence like you, and that he’s making something of himself too.” She pauses before continuing. “I don’t object to people marrying for love: another point, one of many, about which Sadie and I will never agree. Which is why I refused to come to the Hunt Ball this year, knowing it was intended as a marriage market for you, my dear.” She pauses and puts down her brush onto her palette, thickly coated in layers of dried oils and reaches out to her niece, clasping her smaller hand in her larger gnarled one, giving Lettice’s a friendly squeeze. “I don’t mind if you marry for love. However, the amalgamation of two great families through the marriage bed, simply for the sake of ‘good breeding’, whatever that is, I find quite repugnant.”

 

“Well, “ Lettice blushes as she casts her eyes down onto her aunt’s hands, where she gazes at her winking jewels in their gold and platinum settings. “I did meet someone, actually. I wouldn’t say that we’re in love, but we’ve agreed to see one another when his next visit to London coincides with me being available. I told Pater and Mater that I wanted to do this my own way, and not have any interference.”

 

“No doubt Sadie was furious about that, and probably blames me for putting such independent ideas into your head”

 

“Were you a fly on the wall of the morning room, Aunt Egg?” chuckles Lettice.

 

The older woman withdraws her hand, picks up her brush and sets to work highlighting the leaf again. “I don’t need to. I know what cloth your mother is cut from. So, who is it, then?”

 

“Selwyn Spencely.”

 

The older woman pauses again and stares off into the distance, out the window, lots in her own thoughts. “Selwyn Spencely. Selwyn Spencely. I vaguely know that name.”

 

“He is the son of the Duke of Walmsford. He used to come to Glynes******** when we were children. He’s only a few years older than me.”

 

“Well, whoever he is, just don’t let him come between you and your design business, will you? As you say, you’ve worked hard to build yourself a name, Lettice. Don’t throw it all away for a marriage not of your making, or a marriage for the wrong reasons.”

 

“I promise, I won’t Aunt Egg.” Lettice assures her aunt.

 

“You’re a lucky girl, Lettice. You have choices in life”

 

“Try telling Mater that.” Lettice replies disparagingly.

 

“Oh pooh Sadie and her blinkered ideas that she infects you and your father with!” Eglantine spits hotly. “You’re an independent woman now you’re of age Lettice. You have a sizable allowance, thanks to your forward-thinking grandfather, which no-one can take from you, and now you have your own money from your business. That’s more than a lot of women have. Don’t waste the advantages you have and whatever you do, be it in love, work or marriage, be true to yourself.”

 

A quiet tapping on the glass panes of the door interrupts the two women. Looking to the entrance, they see Clotilde, the second parlour maid looking hopefully through the glass.

 

“I’ll go.” Lettice says as she leaps up from the stool and hurries over to open the door.

 

“Danke schön, Fräulein Chetwynd.” Clotilde says gratefully as Lettice opens the door, to reveal the girl in her morning print dress and cotton apron carrying what looks like a heavy tray laden with tea things.

 

True to her independent form, when the Great War came and there was much resentment towards people of Germanic heritage in Britain, Eglantine refused to dismiss her three Swiss parlour maids, even though they all spoke German fluently and preferred to speak it in the household. She simply packed herself and her servants off to her brother’s estate of Glynes in Wiltshire, where they could live a sheltered life of safety with her in the disused Glynes Dower House, seeing very few people and not being subjected to bigotry. In spite of her immense dislike of her sister-in-law, whom she inevitably crossed paths with when she went up to the estate’s Big House, she had a pleasant enough war growing vegetables in the garden to help supplement their diet and assist with the war effort, without having to actually involve herself in the war, being a pacifist. It was also during this time that she had her greatest influence on Lettice, preparing her niece for the more independent life of a women after the war ended.

 

“Bitte schön,” Eglantine replies to Clotilde, standing herself and clearing a space on the crowded work space for the tea tray, a cloud of glowing dust motes filling the air around them as they tumbled through the spring sunbeams pouring through the window of the studio.

 

After Clotilde closes the door behind her and retreats to the house, Lettice and her aunt resume their conversation.

 

“So, you said you were decorating the new Mrs. Channon’s house then, Lettice?” Eglantine picks up the conversation.

 

“Well yes. Lord de Virre and I came up with a plan. Since Margot is used to new things, but their country house in Cornwall is quite old, and poor Dickie hasn’t enough money to pay for refurbishment, Lord de Virre is footing the bill for electrification, new plumbing and for a connection to the telephone exchange. He also suggested that I might redecorate a few of the principal rooms of the house.”

 

“Which rooms?” Eglantine asks, setting out the tea things.

 

“The drawing room, the dining room, their bedroom and what must have been a sunroom, which they want to use for cocktail parties and dancing. Which is why I’ve come to see you, Aunt Egg. I need your advice.”

 

“Advice on what, my dear?” Eglantine pours tea into their cups, to which they both add milk and sugar.

 

“Well, Margot wants all new furnishings, which as you know isn’t my style. I prefer a mixture of old and new. Gerald came up with the perfect solution, which is to paint some of the old pieces and present them in a new style.”

 

“Very clever, Gerald. So how can I be of assistance, Lettice?”

 

“I need to know what sort of paint I should use on wooden furniture. I thought that if anyone would know, you would.”

 

“Ahh, well.” Eglantine starts to stir her tea. “There I can indeed be of assistance. Tell me, do you have any house paint lying around at Cavendish Mews?”

 

Aunt and nice sit together over the tea at the bench and discuss priming wood, coats of paint and varnish, all the while bathed in beautiful sunlight as the disturbed dust motes continue to play around them, dancing and swirling in the sunbeams that pour through the window of the studio.

 

*The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James Collinson, Frederic George Stephens and Thomas Woolner who formed a seven-member "Brotherhood" modelled in part on the Nazarene movement. The Brotherhood was only ever a loose association and their principles were shared by other artists of the time, including Ford Madox Brown, Arthur Hughes and Marie Spartali Stillman. Later followers of the principles of the Brotherhood included Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris and John William Waterhouse. The group sought a return to the abundant detail, intense colours and complex compositions of Quattrocento Italian art. They rejected what they regarded as the mechanistic approach first adopted by Mannerist artists who succeeded Raphael and Michelangelo. The Brotherhood believed the classical poses and elegant compositions of Raphael in particular had been a corrupting influence on the academic teaching of art, hence the name "Pre-Raphaelite".

  

**The Delphos gown is a finely pleated silk dress first created in about 1907 by French designer Henriette Negrin and her husband, Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo. They produced the gowns until about 1950. It was inspired by, and named after, a classical Greek statue, the Charioteer of Delphi. It was championed by more artistic women who did not wish to conform to society’s constraints and wear a tightly fitting corset.

 

***Capula is a small village in Mexico in Michoacan state with a pre-Hispanic pottery tradition. Clay tableware delicately decorated with flowers and fishes, kitchen plates painted with the town's unique dotting style.

 

****Dora de Houghton Carrington, known generally as Carrington, was an English painter and decorative artist, remembered in part for her association with members of the Bloomsbury Group, especially the writer Lytton Strachey. From her time as an art student, she was known simply by her surname as she considered Dora to be "vulgar and sentimental". She was not well known as a painter during her lifetime, as she rarely exhibited and did not sign her work. An accomplished painter of portraits and landscape, she also worked in applied and decorative arts, painting on any type of surface she had at hand including inn signs, tiles and furniture. Her naïve pottery, like all her art is now described as progressive, because it did not fit into the mainstream of art in England at the time.

 

*****Established by lawyers and philanthropist Felix Slade in 1868, Slade School of Fine Art is the art school of University College London and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the United Kingdom’s top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as a department of University College London's Faculty of Arts and Humanities. Two of its most important periods were immediately before, and immediately after, the turn of the twentieth century. It had such students as Dora Carrington, Mark Gertler, Paul Nash, C.R.W. Nevinson and Stanley Spencer.

 

******The Omega Workshops Ltd. was a design enterprise founded by members of the Bloomsbury Group and established in July 1913. It was located at 33 Fitzroy Square in London, and was founded with the intention of providing graphic expression to the essence of the Bloomsbury ethos. The Workshops were also closely associated with the Hogarth Press and the artist and critic Roger Fry, who was the principal figure behind the project, believed that artists could design, produce and sell their own works, and that writers could also be their own printers and publishers. The Directors of the firm were Roger Fry, Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell.

 

*******St. Mark’s Church Mayfair, is a Grade I listed building, in the heart of London's Mayfair district, on North Audley Street. St Mark's was built between 1825 and 1828 as a response to the shortage of churches in the area. The population in Mayfair had grown with the demand for town houses by the aristocracy and the wealthy, as they moved in from the country. The building was constructed in the Greek revival style to the designs of John Peter Gandy. In 1878 the architect Arthur Blomfield made significant changes to the church, adding a timber roof, and introducing Gothic style features. The thirty-four feet (ten metre) façade, together with the elegant porch, is known as one of the finest in London. Being in Mayfair, it was a popular place for the weddings of aristocratic families. It was deconsecrated in 1974, and today it is used as a mixed use venue.

 

********Glynes is the grand Georgian family seat of the Chetwynds in Wiltshire, and the home of Lettice’s parents, the presiding Viscount and Countess of Wrexham and the heir, their eldest son Leslie.

 

This rather delightfully chaotic artist’s studio scene may look very real to you, yet it is in fact made up of pieces from my 1:12 miniatures collection, including some very special pieces that are very close to my heart.

 

Fun things to look for in this tableau include:

 

The painted and glazed jug in the centre of the image, the brown one in the foreground, the jug standing on the edge of the trough, and the green and the white jugs on the bench all come from Mick and Marie’s Miniatures in the United Kingdom. The white jug is Parianware and is mid Victorian. The brown glazed jugs and pots are individually made and are impressed with Art Nouveau images, which is very apt considering that they were made as children’s toys in the early 1900s.

 

The unglazed pots on the table and the bench in the background were made by a Polish miniature potter and were given to me some twenty five years ago by one of my closest girlfriends as a gift for helping arrange her kitchen for her when she moved house. They are such beautiful pieces, and hold great sentimental value for me.

 

The trough on brick legs with its silvered taps and the easel leaning against the bench in the background come from Kathleen Knight’s Doll House Shop in the United Kingdom.

 

The paints, paint brushes and paint palette on the table were all acquired from Melody Jane Doll House Suppliers in the United Kingdom.

 

The ladderback chair to the left of the photo is a recent 1:12 miniature which has a hand-woven rattan seat. It was acquired from an estate of a miniature collector in Sydney and dates from around the 1970s.

 

The tile frieze that appears along the back wall above the sink is an Art Nouveau design from the Lambeth works of Royal Doulton and features white Irises.

Red Admiral, Hillman Marsh, Ontario, Canada, July 8, 2019.

 

Road trip to Point Pelee National Park to see the nesting black terns.

Boardwalk was closed due to flooding.

Saw a group of Red Admirals just around the corner at at Hillman Marsh.

 

Vanessa atalanta

For the half-marathon (21.1 km) results and photos...here are the local (Ottawa & area) participants -- sorted by cities and first name -- in the September 19, 2010, Canada Army Run held in Ottawa, Ontario. There were 5,452 runners in the 21.1 km race. Thank-you to Sportstats.

 

Click here and enter the bib numbers for the full individual race results.

Enter the bib numbers for race photos here.

 

Lists of local half-marathon race participants:

 

Part A. Ottawa (Click here.)

Part B. Other Communities (Alexandria to Navan) (see below)

Part C. Other Communities (Nepean to Woodlawn) (Click here.)

 

Part B:

 

2262…Cathy Maclean…..Alexandria

6383…John Zawada…..Alexandria

5960…Sue Duval…..Alexandria

1898…Marc Pominville…..Alfred

1330…Adam Hamilton…..Almonte

4284…Al Jones…..Almonte

6326…Alyssa Flaherty-Spence…..Almonte

4331…Bob Mosher…..Almonte

4272…Bob Thomson…..Almonte

5135…Brenda Swrjeski…..Almonte

3318…Christina Kealey…..Almonte

4509…Daphne Lainson…..Almonte

4201…Elaine Azulay…..Almonte

1145…Jenny Sheffield…..Almonte

4483…Judi Sutherland…..Almonte

918…Kathleen Everett…..Almonte

3826…Linda Melbrew…..Almonte

1423…Mark Blaskie…..Almonte

5011…Sherry Burke…..Almonte

5956…Tanya Yuill…..Almonte

3173…Bette-Anne Dodge…..Arnprior

2116…Cody Wise…..Arnprior

1093…Constance Palubiskie…..Arnprior

339…Emily Sheffield…..Arnprior

2067…Jaclyn Patry…..Arnprior

1317…Jane Dowd…..Arnprior

3849…Keri-Lyn Young…..Arnprior

2229…Kevin Smallshaw…..Arnprior

4945…Laura Stellato…..Arnprior

5325…Lynda Jamieson…..Arnprior

4990…Stephen West…..Arnprior

3809…Tara Beselaere…..Arnprior

447…Tracey Harrod…..Arnprior

2255…Mark Peterkins…..Ashton

5359…Paul Burke…..Ashton

3637…Shelley Rossetti…..Ashton

5603…Angela Hartley…..Athens

1188…Christina Ward…..Athens

2703…Desirae Heine…..Athens

981…Heather Johnston…..Athens

3268…Kevin Hartley…..Athens

2379…Annie Delisle…..Aylmer

4017…Chelsea Honeyman…..Aylmer

212…David Michaud…..Aylmer

4216…Francois Camire…..Aylmer

3773…Gerald Lewis…..Aylmer

3871…Julie Reska…..Aylmer

4218…Philippe Camire…..Aylmer

2419…Steve Faulkner…..Aylmer

2740…Alison Seely…..Beachburg

6424…Jacquelyn Macgregor…..Beachburg

1320…Lara Mylly…..Beachburg

364…Michelle Ward…..Beachburg

4416…Natalie Frodsham…..Beachburg

1695…Scott Blain…..Beachburg

2292…Wanda Gagnon…..Beachburg

1004…Luc Lalonde…..Bourget

2875…Pierre Lacasse…..Bourget

5307…Stephen Barry Plotz…..Brockviile

4940…Brenda Young…..Brockville

5346…Brian Kendel…..Brockville

4240…David Cavanagh…..Brockville

4939…Katelyn Cormier…..Brockville

4970…Monica Griffin…..Brockville

5186…Ruth McFarlane…..Brockville

5137…Sheila Appleton…..Brockville

6195…Tina Melbourne…..Brockville

3723…Lynda Cavanagh…..Brockvillle

3087…Clayton Cameron…..Brooklin

5146…Benoit Gosselin…..Cantley

6294…Camille Flipot…..Cantley

4937…Charles Francoeur…..Cantley

6335…Daryl Hargitt…..Cantley

4371…Helene Legault - Cote…..Cantley

6295…Jacky Lepeintre…..Cantley

663…Luc Rodier…..Cantley

1769…Mark Avon…..Cantley

4221…Patricia Robertson…..Cantley

2277…Rene Morin…..Cantley

5401…Richard Bisson…..Cantley

6237…Sylvie Rioux…..Cantley

5212…Danny Gagne…..Cardinal

2575…Stephen Bygott…..Cardinal

1656…Bill Bowers…..Carleton Place

449…Boyd Lemna…..Carleton Place

2520…Cheryl Smith…..Carleton Place

450…Christine Lemna…..Carleton Place

6103…Eric Gervais…..Carleton Place

156…Ivan Straznicky…..Carleton Place

2525…Jennifer Andress…..Carleton Place

5403…Jennifer Blackburn…..Carleton Place

280…Jennifer Derksen…..Carleton Place

541…Jodi Beyer…..Carleton Place

3246…John Graham…..Carleton Place

1722…Kerry Powell…..Carleton Place

991…Leanna Knox…..Carleton Place

148…Lee Warywoda…..Carleton Place

1448…Lois Ann Graham…..Carleton Place

5322…M Smith…..Carleton Place

1449…Mac Graham…..Carleton Place

440…Mary Anne Melvin…..Carleton Place

2595…Murray Dawes…..Carleton Place

3325…Roger Kinsman…..Carleton Place

5822…Ron Romain…..Carleton Place

73…Steve Pentz…..Carleton Place

2287…Timothy Day…..Carleton Place

2868…Tom Kemp…..Carleton Place

4931…Tracy Pentz…..Carleton Place

1655…Trent Bowers…..Carleton Place

4922…Kathleen Mongeon…..Carlsbad Springs

5133…Alain Drainville…..Carp

5067…Alison Green…..Carp

4047…Anna Li…..Carp

1235…Carol O'malley…..Carp

4619…Dayle Mulligan…..Carp

6303…Elizabeth Anvari…..Carp

3201…Elysa Esposito…..Carp

1536…Eric Janveaux…..Carp

3483…Gerard Rumleskie…..Carp

5427…Hans Buser…..Carp

2969…Ileana Tierney…..Carp

682…Jed Byrtus…..Carp

81…Marc Brisebois…..Carp

4544…Olivia Nixon…..Carp

4014…Raina Ho…..Carp

1429…Raymond Moffatt…..Carp

4803…Stephanie Cowan…..Carp

1510…Tracy Shouldice…..Carp

5216…Paul Jarmul…..Cary

1165…Bob Sweetlove…..Casselman

2720…Caroline Ranger…..Casselman

2152…Gillian Castonguay…..Casselman

5880…Mary Sweetlove…..Casselman

2374…Maurice Bonneville…..Casselman

4754…Michelle Phillips…..Casselman

2226…Richard Kosnaskie…..Casselman

2766…Andy Best…..Chalk River

2725…Brian Jozefowicz…..Chalk River

471…Janine Forcier…..Chalk River

6201…Jayson Murray…..Chalk River

1584…Michelle Cameron…..Chalk River

6252…Willard Smith…..Chalk River

2787…Ariane Brunet…..Chelsea

1974…Barbara Falardeau…..Chelsea

2230…Brad Smith…..Chelsea

1583…Catherine Verreault…..Chelsea

360…Christine Tardiff…..Chelsea

108…Daniel Olson…..Chelsea

2553…David Hearnden…..Chelsea

1930…David Hetherington…..Chelsea

529…Dodie Payne…..Chelsea

3294…Ian Hunter…..Chelsea

6099…James Galipeau…..Chelsea

2758…Jeff Bardsley…..Chelsea

2584…John Fahey…..Chelsea

1581…Lisa Kinloch…..Chelsea

1430…Lise Marshall…..Chelsea

256…Marie Ethier-Roy…..Chelsea

5316…Michelle Caesar Findlater…..Chelsea

5411…Murielle Brazeau…..Chelsea

6468…Phil Wright…..Chelsea

3070…Raymond Brunet…..Chelsea

8…Richard Gilker…..Chelsea

6467…Sarah Hebert…..Chelsea

5143…Serge Couture…..Chelsea

5420…Sophie Brunet…..Chelsea

189…Yvan Dion…..Chelsea

1622…Matthew Campbell…..Chesterville

1672…Sarah Derks…..Chesterville

1778…James Thibault…..Clarence Rockland

1458…Donelda Pleau…..Constance Bay

2441…Lee Saunders…..Constance Bay

3215…Abigail Fontaine…..Cornwall

2634…Andre Brunet…..Cornwall

6479…Carolyn McIntosh…..Cornwall

4097…Cathy Richer…..Cornwall

4276…Christine Marceau…..Cornwall

5328…Elizabeth Wattie…..Cornwall

4228…Gilles Gagnier…..Cornwall

4965…Jennifer Deschamps…..Cornwall

6079…Jessica Eamer…..Cornwall

2455…Jill Grant…..Cornwall

4412…Joanne Filliol…..Cornwall

2953…John St. Marseille…..Cornwall

4011…Kathleen Hay…..Cornwall

4930…Lise Irwin…..Cornwall

834…Marc Besner…..Cornwall

2683…Marc Poirier…..Cornwall

266…Marilyn Rand…..Cornwall

3795…Mike Cowden…..Cornwall

3118…Patrick Clarke…..Cornwall

2506…Sandra Contant…..Cornwall

200…Scott Heath…..Cornwall

6435…Sharron Miller…..Cornwall

756…Shawn Crockett…..Cornwall

5662…Stacie King…..Cornwall

5318…Tanya Deeks…..Cornwall

3454…Terry Quenneville…..Cornwall

1335…Thomas Leroux…..Cornwall

4929…Yvonne Commodore…..Cornwall

5952…Melissa Wren…..Cumberland

2138…Rich Boughen…..Cumberland

517…Shelley Slocombe…..Cumberland

159…Ted Lowther…..Cumberland

1961…Greg Mark…..Deep River

5863…John Speirs…..Deep River

1311…Murray Wright…..Deep River

810…Norman Spinks…..Deep River

5371…Christine Andrus…..Dunrobin

4232…Debra Gassewitz…..Dunrobin

5458…Gordon Colquhoun…..Dunrobin

5484…James Dalziel…..Dunrobin

3088…Janet Campbell…..Dunrobin

1511…Jennifer Damiano…..Dunrobin

811…Joanne Montgomery…..Dunrobin

4838…Laurie Spratt…..Dunrobin

5009…Linda Dillon…..Dunrobin

692…Lois Jacobs…..Dunrobin

2078…Marnie Armstrong…..Dunrobin

1625…Matt Gassewitz…..Dunrobin

2515…Neil Wright…..Dunrobin

5459…Pamela Colquhoun…..Dunrobin

2355…Paul Lefebvre…..Dunrobin

2079…Robert Armstrong…..Dunrobin

1802…Wayne Carroll…..Dunrobin

3786…Ben Prince…..Edwards

381…Erin Searson Clouthier…..Eganville

1565…Mike Searson…..Eganville

6073…Garrett Doreleyers…..Elgin

4372…Marianne Lowry…..Elgin

4363…Shannon Clair…..Elgin

2612…Andy Dalcourt…..Embrun

1214…Bertran Labonte…..Embrun

1742…Camilien Lamadeleine…..Embrun

5155…Caroline Poulin…..Embrun

453…Cheryl Desroches…..Embrun

1471…David Ryan…..Embrun

188…Eric Deschamps…..Embrun

639…Guy Gingras…..Embrun

742…Helene Desormeau…..Embrun

2735…Helose Sirois-Leclerc…..Embrun

4510…James Thompson-Slaven…..Embrun

672…Katherine Krenn…..Embrun

1455…Marc Courneyea…..Embrun

4367…Martine Quinn…..Embrun

65…Pierre Boulay…..Embrun

3900…Rachelle Quinn…..Embrun

4290…Richard Quinn…..Embrun

1286…Robert Butler…..Embrun

5692…Robert Lindsay…..Embrun

1976…Roxane Belanger…..Embrun

4204…Stephane Gregoire…..Embrun

5388…Sylvie Beauchamp…..Embrun

775…Yolande Dalcourt…..Embrun

5422…Jay Buhr…..Finch

569…Jean-Luc Leonard…..Finch

4082…Glenda O'rourke…..Fitzroy Harbour

5828…Denise Roy…..Fournier

433…Gregory Long…..Gananoque

5147…Jason Lapierre…..Gananoque

434…Kiera Long…..Gananoque

671…Laura Cunningham…..Gananoque

3985…Pierre Doucette…..Gananoque

985…Steacy Kavaner…..Gananoque

1732…Walter Gamblin…..Gananoque

2400…Adeline Germain…..Gatineau

4806…Agathe Binette…..Gatineau

5302…Alain Bergeron…..Gatineau

2530…Alain Gilbert…..Gatineau

2109…Alex Gagne…..Gatineau

5156…Alex Wright…..Gatineau

3867…Alexander Schwab…..Gatineau

6434…Alexandra Miglietta…..Gatineau

2774…Alexandre Boudreault…..Gatineau

2443…Alexandre Larocque…..Gatineau

3581…Alexandria Wilson…..Gatineau

5947…Allan Wilson…..Gatineau

3907…Andree Laflamme…..Gatineau

1859…Andree Soucy…..Gatineau

550…Andrew Roach…..Gatineau

1993…Anelise Alarcon-Moreno…..Gatineau

4600…Anik Lalonde…..Gatineau

4700…Ankica Djurcic-Jovan…..Gatineau

3764…Anne Pilote…..Gatineau

2800…Anne-Marie Chapman…..Gatineau

5982…Anne-Michele Alain-Noel…..Gatineau

1808…Annie Cloutier…..Gatineau

4773…Annie Guillette…..Gatineau

1763…Annie Lambert…..Gatineau

113…Anthony Chartier…..Gatineau

803…Antoine Langlois…..Gatineau

4631…Antoine Parker…..Gatineau

367…Audrey Vezina Manzo…..Gatineau

5562…Augusto Gamero…..Gatineau

555…Barnabe Ndarishikanye…..Gatineau

4592…Barry Wood…..Gatineau

2150…Benoit Carbonneau…..Gatineau

2842…Benoit Gagnon…..Gatineau

5570…Benoit Genest…..Gatineau

1576…Benoit Guerette…..Gatineau

3018…Bernard Audy…..Gatineau

4844…Bernard Labine…..Gatineau

2708…Blair Mehan…..Gatineau

3977…Brenda Cox…..Gatineau

5327…Brian Piche…..Gatineau

3636…Brigitte Hubert…..Gatineau

1639…Bruno Castonguay…..Gatineau

1631…Carlos Pinera…..Gatineau

1522…Carole Varin…..Gatineau

3724…Caroline Dulude…..Gatineau

5297…Caroline Sauve…..Gatineau

3522…Caroline St-Pierre…..Gatineau

3182…Carolyne Dube…..Gatineau

6470…Catherine Belair-Noel…..Gatineau

668…Catherine Pelletier…..Gatineau

654…Caty Lebreux…..Gatineau

2811…Celine Couture…..Gatineau

1023…Chad Levac…..Gatineau

4845…Chantal Henri…..Gatineau

2743…Chris Duplain…..Gatineau

2777…Christian Bourgeois…..Gatineau

1220…Christian F. Courtemanche…..Gatineau

2113…Christian Jacques…..Gatineau

6415…Christian Renaud…..Gatineau

623…Christian Robert…..Gatineau

5261…Christian Rousseau…..Gatineau

6034…Christina Chirip…..Gatineau

6037…Christine Chouinard…..Gatineau

3901…Christine Hearn…..Gatineau

2136…Christine Vasseur…..Gatineau

5126…Christopher Daniel…..Gatineau

2352…Cinthia Lepine…..Gatineau

2300…Claude Laramee…..Gatineau

1336…Claude Wauthier…..Gatineau

2613…Craig Beckett…..Gatineau

5815…Cristiano Rezende…..Gatineau

3673…Cynthia Savard…..Gatineau

1629…Cyr Lavoie…..Gatineau

946…Dani Grandmaitre…..Gatineau

1815…Daniel Grenier…..Gatineau

6133…Danny Jeannot…..Gatineau

61…Dany Beliveau…..Gatineau

4111…Darya Shapka…..Gatineau

1426…David Blais…..Gatineau

1813…David Currie…..Gatineau

6327…Denis Fugere…..Gatineau

2053…Denis Ladouceur…..Gatineau

4755…Dominique Babin…..Gatineau

1933…Dominique Bernier…..Gatineau

6043…Dominique Cornut…..Gatineau

137…Doug Welsby…..Gatineau

4758…Elaine Laroche…..Gatineau

4598…Elizabeth Sousa…..Gatineau

5627…Emmanuelle Hupe…..Gatineau

6074…Eric Doyon…..Gatineau

2015…Eric Guay…..Gatineau

557…Eric Patry…..Gatineau

1147…Eric Silins…..Gatineau

1237…Estelle Marcoux…..Gatineau

245…Felix Noel…..Gatineau

3856…France Gelinas…..Gatineau

1301…Francois Dionne…..Gatineau

2476…Francois Gagnon…..Gatineau

5673…Francois Laferriere…..Gatineau

6407…Francois Roy…..Gatineau

6374…Francois Toulouse…..Gatineau

3537…Frederic Thibault-Chabot…..Gatineau

6398…Frederick Lafreniere…..Gatineau

1892…Gaetan Lafrance…..Gatineau

585…Genevieve Bolduc…..Gatineau

255…Genevieve Fontaine…..Gatineau

2166…Gerald Turmel…..Gatineau

722…Ghislain St-Laurent…..Gatineau

2160…Gilles Brazeau…..Gatineau

1514…Gilles-Philippe Pronovost…..Gatineau

5596…Gilly Griffin…..Gatineau

2484…Grant Collier…..Gatineau

151…Greg Soucy…..Gatineau

5870…Greg Stainton…..Gatineau

5466…Guy Corneau…..Gatineau

2820…Guy Desjardins…..Gatineau

669…Guylaine Brunet…..Gatineau

334…Heather Escalante…..Gatineau

2343…Helene Le Scelleur…..Gatineau

4725…Helene Tremblay-Allen…..Gatineau

1209…Herve Morissette…..Gatineau

2580…Hugo Trudel…..Gatineau

6025…Isabelle Caron…..Gatineau

3414…Isabelle Moses…..Gatineau

768…Isabelle Phaneuf…..Gatineau

2964…Isabelle Teolis…..Gatineau

2032…Isabelle Veilleux…..Gatineau

4761…J.-F. Gagne…..Gatineau

2350…Jacques De Guille…..Gatineau

1258…James Buell…..Gatineau

2933…Jean-Francois Pouliotte…..Gatineau

2439…Jean-Pascal Paris…..Gatineau

191…Jean-Philippe Dumont…..Gatineau

4824…Jean-Pierre Plouffe…..Gatineau

4326…Jennifer Scarizzi…..Gatineau

1893…Jerome Belanger-Cote…..Gatineau

3580…Jinny Williamson…..Gatineau

1541…Joanne Leblond…..Gatineau

1253…Johanne Audet…..Gatineau

6090…Johanne Finn…..Gatineau

92…Johnny Lemieux…..Gatineau

939…Jonathan Gilbert…..Gatineau

3915…Josee Charette…..Gatineau

5670…Josee Labonte…..Gatineau

1303…Josee Patry…..Gatineau

3739…Judith Parisien…..Gatineau

3619…Julie Breton…..Gatineau

3689…Julie Damboise…..Gatineau

767…Julie Defoy…..Gatineau

897…Julie Demers…..Gatineau

5797…Julie Piche…..Gatineau

5026…Julie-Anne Labonte…..Gatineau

5016…Julien Dufort-Lemay…..Gatineau

5683…Karine Leblond…..Gatineau

1409…Karine Pellerin…..Gatineau

414…Katia Audet…..Gatineau

4139…Katie Webster…..Gatineau

3817…Krista Benoit…..Gatineau

6211…Langis Parise…..Gatineau

4813…Lee Petrin…..Gatineau

882…Lissa Comtois-Silins…..Gatineau

2601…Livain Michaud…..Gatineau

778…Lori Mousseau…..Gatineau

4041…Louis Christophe Laurence…..Gatineau

26…Louis Duchesne…..Gatineau

718…Louis Dupont…..Gatineau

6120…Louis Hebert…..Gatineau

3510…Louis Simon…..Gatineau

2775…Louise Boudreault…..Gatineau

924…Louise Fortier…..Gatineau

3654…Louise Rousseau…..Gatineau

2081…Luc Beaudoin…..Gatineau

1798…Luc Perrier…..Gatineau

11…Luc Santerre…..Gatineau

5694…Lucie Lalonde…..Gatineau

502…Lynda Beaudoin…..Gatineau

2500…Lyne Cholette…..Gatineau

234…Lynn Melancon…..Gatineau

3869…Maja Muharemagic…..Gatineau

5485…Manon Damboise…..Gatineau

1003…Manon Laliberte…..Gatineau

3421…Marc Andre Nault…..Gatineau

4862…Marc Belanger…..Gatineau

5171…Marc Champagne…..Gatineau

4370…Marc Dureau…..Gatineau

5043…Marc Lacerte…..Gatineau

776…Marc Mousseau…..Gatineau

6471…Marc Noel…..Gatineau

1302…Marc Parisien…..Gatineau

1319…Marc Tremblay…..Gatineau

5687…Marc-Etienne Lesieur…..Gatineau

1997…Marcia Jones…..Gatineau

4085…Maria Petropoulos…..Gatineau

4534…Marie Rodrigue…..Gatineau

6117…Marie-France Harvey…..Gatineau

3779…Marie-France Rault…..Gatineau

1421…Marie-Josee Desroches…..Gatineau

437…Marie-Michele Clement…..Gatineau

1860…Mario Dupuis…..Gatineau

3857…Mario Ouellet…..Gatineau

6428…Mark Ellison…..Gatineau

1644…Mark Laviolette…..Gatineau

7…Mark Schindel…..Gatineau

1573…Mark Stocksley…..Gatineau

1254…Martin Corriveau…..Gatineau

2052…Martin Dompierre…..Gatineau

2995…Martin Freniere…..Gatineau

999…Martin Labelle…..Gatineau

4907…Martin Labine…..Gatineau

406…Martin Laforest…..Gatineau

1692…Martin Leduc…..Gatineau

308…Martine Pellerin…..Gatineau

5262…Maryse Mercier…..Gatineau

398…Maryse Robert…..Gatineau

6087…Mateo Farfan…..Gatineau

6236…Mathieu Rioux…..Gatineau

1736…Mathieu Sayeur…..Gatineau

5119…Mathieu Tremblay…..Gatineau

590…Mathilde Cote…..Gatineau

562…Maude Lavoie…..Gatineau

1887…Maurice Tremblay…..Gatineau

3908…Maxim Bellemare…..Gatineau

2724…Maxime Brinck-Croteau…..Gatineau

1558…Melanie Desmarais…..Gatineau

5042…Melanie Gauthier…..Gatineau

5121…Melanie Mercier…..Gatineau

4864…Mia Overduin…..Gatineau

2428…Michel Biage…..Gatineau

1767…Michel Brown…..Gatineau

28…Michel Emond…..Gatineau

1363…Michel Lessard…..Gatineau

3395…Michel Mercier…..Gatineau

162…Michel Ouellet…..Gatineau

5852…Michele Simpson…..Gatineau

685…Michelle Hartery…..Gatineau

1852…Miguel Gagnon…..Gatineau

1120…Mika Raja…..Gatineau

2843…Mikaly Gagnon…..Gatineau

5319…Mike Hotte…..Gatineau

4865…Miriam Lopez-Arbour…..Gatineau

2014…Myriam Godin…..Gatineau

405…Nadia Lavallee…..Gatineau

3301…Nancy Jean…..Gatineau

857…Natalie Brun Del Re…..Gatineau

5419…Nathalie Brunet…..Gatineau

2157…Nicolas Chalifoux…..Gatineau

1480…Nicolas Gagnon…..Gatineau

4680…Nicole Boudreau…..Gatineau

494…Nizar Ayoub…..Gatineau

219…Noel Paine…..Gatineau

777…Olivier Beauchamp…..Gatineau

93…Olivier Lebeau…..Gatineau

125…Pascal Laforest…..Gatineau

3548…Pascal Tremblay…..Gatineau

1547…Pascale Therriault…..Gatineau

6031…Pat Charron…..Gatineau

310…Patrice Forget…..Gatineau

6323…Patrick Duplain…..Gatineau

1640…Patrick Gauthier…..Gatineau

4479…Patty Soles…..Gatineau

1902…Paul Beland…..Gatineau

1946…Paul Eagan…..Gatineau

3244…Paul Gould…..Gatineau

2039…Paul Shea…..Gatineau

6240…Paul-Emile Roy…..Gatineau

5232…Peggy Duarte…..Gatineau

464…Philippe Boutin…..Gatineau

1785…Philippe Lajeunesse…..Gatineau

1488…Pierre Francois Blais…..Gatineau

4134…Pierre Villeneuve…..Gatineau

2789…Ray Burke…..Gatineau

4401…Raymond Desjardins…..Gatineau

594…Raymonde D'amour…..Gatineau

5672…Rejean Lacroix…..Gatineau

1949…Renaud Dunn…..Gatineau

2147…Rene Chabot…..Gatineau

1900…Rene Hatem…..Gatineau

3642…Renee Leblanc…..Gatineau

5991…Richard Audet…..Gatineau

5…Rick Whitford…..Gatineau

3107…Robert Chasse…..Gatineau

6492…Said Irene…..Gatineau

4099…Sandra Roberts…..Gatineau

3556…Sanjay Vachali…..Gatineau

2593…Sean Boushel…..Gatineau

4239…Selena Grinham…..Gatineau

3635…Serge Boucher…..Gatineau

4863…Serge Dussault…..Gatineau

4716…Serge Guindon…..Gatineau

1952…Shawn Robertson…..Gatineau

5743…Shelley Milton…..Gatineau

4336…Shelley Moody…..Gatineau

4480…Somphane Souksanh…..Gatineau

3001…Sonja Adcock…..Gatineau

1467…Sophie Gauvreau…..Gatineau

1524…Sophie Martel…..Gatineau

5407…Stephane Boudrias…..Gatineau

1146…Stephane Siegrist…..Gatineau

561…Stephane Sirard…..Gatineau

500…Stephanie McMullen…..Gatineau

4262…Stephanie Racine…..Gatineau

4108…Stephanie Seguin…..Gatineau

1638…Steve Roussin…..Gatineau

2971…Steves Tousignant…..Gatineau

1148…Susie Simard…..Gatineau

1333…Susi-Paula Gaudencio…..Gatineau

3456…Suzanne Ramsay…..Gatineau

2718…Sylvain Michaud…..Gatineau

1373…Sylvain Sirois…..Gatineau

6371…Tamara Thibeault…..Gatineau

4604…Tammy Rose…..Gatineau

461…Tanya Tobin…..Gatineau

2915…Tayeb Mesbah…..Gatineau

1428…Tena Gallichon…..Gatineau

2943…Terry Sancartier…..Gatineau

4169…Thanh Loan Nguyen…..Gatineau

3930…Tudor Banea…..Gatineau

383…Valerie Morin…..Gatineau

3848…Veronique Simoneau…..Gatineau

4889…Vincent Bolduc…..Gatineau

6227…Vincent Proulx…..Gatineau

5838…Wayne Saunders…..Gatineau

419…Wendy Larose…..Gatineau

4807…Yvan Laforest…..Gatineau

6400…Yves Lafreniere…..Gatineau

1777…Yves Saint-Germain…..Gatineau

1726…Yves Theriault…..Gatineau

5607…Zachary Healy…..Gatineau

1685…Zahida Assari…..Gatineau

4830…Zoe Couture…..Gatineau

3921…Alex Miles…..Gloucester

5476…Allan Crisford…..Gloucester

1364…Amy O'reilly…..Gloucester

5453…Belinda Coballe…..Gloucester

3582…Cam Wilson…..Gloucester

879…Catherine Clifford…..Gloucester

942…Cathy Gould…..Gloucester

3658…Chanel Huard…..Gloucester

4650…Daniel McGarry…..Gloucester

4128…Danielle Thibeault…..Gloucester

1676…Darren White…..Gloucester

5481…Dave Currie…..Gloucester

6265…David Tinsley…..Gloucester

540…Don Day…..Gloucester

4919…Gilles Philion…..Gloucester

5900…Gillian Todd-Messinger…..Gloucester

1074…Jackie Millette…..Gloucester

6163…Jeannie Leblanc…..Gloucester

317…Joel Willison…..Gloucester

4001…John Girard…..Gloucester

1944…John Ledo…..Gloucester

2192…Jonathan Gardam…..Gloucester

3471…Joseph Rios…..Gloucester

4303…Karine Moreau…..Gloucester

2824…Lee Dixon…..Gloucester

636…Linda Simard…..Gloucester

4439…Lisa Macgillivray…..Gloucester

3560…Lucie Villeneuve…..Gloucester

3774…Mariette Ledo…..Gloucester

6068…Matthew Dewtie…..Gloucester

6006…Michael Bergeron…..Gloucester

2620…Michael G. Lepage…..Gloucester

5361…Michael Hook…..Gloucester

2673…Mona Tessier…..Gloucester

5669…Nicole Labelle…..Gloucester

4538…Patricia Suys…..Gloucester

2221…Richard F. Proulx…..Gloucester

63…Savvas Farassoglou…..Gloucester

4096…Sonja Renz…..Gloucester

5390…Tiffany Belair…..Gloucester

4967…Tim Morin…..Gloucester

2838…Tom Fottinger…..Gloucester

1611…Trevor Duff…..Gloucester

3878…Una Beaudry…..Gloucester

5745…Virginia Mofford…..Gloucester

2431…Andrew Downes…..Greely

3710…Angele Vanderlaan…..Greely

3572…Ann Westell…..Greely

356…Brett Reynolds…..Greely

843…Carol Boucher…..Greely

1841…Casey Goheen…..Greely

4023…Claire Johnstone…..Greely

1052…Claire Maxwell…..Greely

1374…Dave Erling…..Greely

5394…David Benyon…..Greely

154…David Harding…..Greely

1384…Jeff Oliver…..Greely

2839…Jennifer Frechette…..Greely

2395…John Baranyi…..Greely

1713…John Sterling…..Greely

359…Jon Hamilton…..Greely

844…Joseph Boucher…..Greely

707…Joseph Clarmo…..Greely

1415…Karin Johnson…..Greely

2734…Keith Decoste…..Greely

1839…Kevin Goheen…..Greely

5213…Michael J. Patrick Anderson…..Greely

4313…Michel Gaudreault…..Greely

252…Patricia Brander…..Greely

2858…Randall Holmes…..Greely

571…Rob Johnston…..Greely

3202…Scott Evans…..Greely

6193…Scott Mcleod…..Greely

5471…Stephanie Courcelles…..Greely

1563…Travis Maxwell…..Greely

1669…Zachary Routhier…..Greely

2430…Annie Jean…..Hull

5008…Jasmine Lefebvre…..Hull

5996…Julie Ballard…..Hull

4236…Debra Marr…..Iroquois

2108…Erika Clow-Hawkins…..Jasper

2224…Tara Lamb…..Jasper

5986…Adam Ashbourne…..Kanata

5410…Adam Boyle…..Kanata

3441…Adam Pelham…..Kanata

3489…Adrian Salt…..Kanata

5887…Afshan Thakkar…..Kanata

5233…Al Daggett…..Kanata

3879…Alicia Gerwing…..Kanata

3196…Alistair Edwards…..Kanata

3447…Allen Piddington…..Kanata

350…Alyson Ferguson…..Kanata

4120…Anand Srinivasan…..Kanata

3091…Andrea Carisse…..Kanata

6207…Andrea Nicholls…..Kanata

1354…Anita Cadieux…..Kanata

881…Anne Collis…..Kanata

1964…Barbara Wiens…..Kanata

337…Barbara Williams…..Kanata

176…Bernie Armour…..Kanata

1379…Bianca Liebner…..Kanata

5007…Bianca Santerre…..Kanata

5574…Bill Gilchrist…..Kanata

1856…Bobbie Nevin…..Kanata

723…Brandon Greening…..Kanata

1544…Brandon Shirley…..Kanata

5788…Brittney Pavlovic…..Kanata

5490…Carmen Davidson…..Kanata

4608…Caron Fitzpatrick…..Kanata

253…Cathi Yabsley…..Kanata

984…Cecilia Jorgenson…..Kanata

3931…Chandan Banerjee…..Kanata

994…Cherie Koshman…..Kanata

2889…Cheryl Levi…..Kanata

2236…Chris Brown…..Kanata

3138…Chris Cowie…..Kanata

2011…Christine Fraser…..Kanata

1114…Christine Pollex…..Kanata

2918…Cindy Molaski…..Kanata

1690…Cindy Southgate…..Kanata

940…Colleen Gilchrist…..Kanata

4428…Colleen Kilty…..Kanata

4775…Conrad Bellehumeur…..Kanata

6338…Copperfield Jean-Louis…..Kanata

3321…Dan Kelly…..Kanata

3495…Danny Schwager…..Kanata

2489…Daryle Smith…..Kanata

2010…David Muldoon…..Kanata

1589…David Ogden…..Kanata

5915…Deanne Van Rooyen…..Kanata

1088…Debbie Olive…..Kanata

5888…Dhanya Thakkar…..Kanata

4385…Diane Boyle…..Kanata

4339…Donna Atkinson…..Kanata

302…Donna Brennen…..Kanata

6315…Donna Clark…..Kanata

528…Donna Gow…..Kanata

4705…Doug Glasgow…..Kanata

802…Douglas Miller…..Kanata

2511…Drew Bursey…..Kanata

3833…Elana Graham…..Kanata

5048…Eva Klassen…..Kanata

3558…Fiona Valliere…..Kanata

5572…Francine Giannotti…..Kanata

315…Gary Woodworth…..Kanata

4590…Genevieve Le Jeune…..Kanata

6381…Gi Wu…..Kanata

5548…Ginette Ford…..Kanata

3179…Greg Dow…..Kanata

3341…Greg Layhew…..Kanata

2911…Greg McNeill…..Kanata

3612…Guy Campeau…..Kanata

6271…Guy Turgeon…..Kanata

1768…Harvey Chatterton…..Kanata

4768…Heather Chanter…..Kanata

2008…Hugh Wright…..Kanata

2013…Ian Govan…..Kanata

1402…J.P. Tremblay…..Kanata

5241…Jaclyn Shepherd…..Kanata

2376…James Derosenroll…..Kanata

2738…James Muldoon…..Kanata

583…James Vieveen…..Kanata

6385…James Wildgen…..Kanata

3176…Jan Donak…..Kanata

6306…Janet Atkins…..Kanata

5442…Janet Chadwick…..Kanata

4486…Janice Tughan…..Kanata

1494…Jared Semenchuk…..Kanata

4897…Jason Hillier…..Kanata

2846…Jeff Goold…..Kanata

5775…Jeffrey O'connor…..Kanata

3721…Jennifer Burn…..Kanata

4975…Jennifer Campbell…..Kanata

3142…Jennifer Croisier…..Kanata

5497…Jennifer Delorme…..Kanata

904…Jennifer Donohue…..Kanata

3419…Jennifer Nason…..Kanata

1117…Jennifer Prieur…..Kanata

472…Jennifer Wilson…..Kanata

246…Jessica Dean…..Kanata

5912…Jody Vallati…..Kanata

887…John Cooper…..Kanata

2962…John Sullivan…..Kanata

5158…Jonathan Letendre…..Kanata

5974…Joshua Childs…..Kanata

5798…Karen Piddington…..Kanata

174…Kathleen Westbury…..Kanata

894…Kelly Ann Davis…..Kanata

3350…Kelly Livingstone…..Kanata

3477…Kelly Ross…..Kanata

5665…Kenneth Klassen…..Kanata

3274…Keri Hillier…..Kanata

1735…Kerry Kennedy…..Kanata

3055…Kevin Boyd…..Kanata

85…Kevin Donak…..Kanata

3458…Kevin Rankin…..Kanata

2510…Kim Duval…..Kanata

1954…Kim Robertson…..Kanata

2771…Kimberley Bohn…..Kanata

5540…Krista Ferguson…..Kanata

1466…Krista Levesque…..Kanata

4948…Kristin Bennett…..Kanata

1443…Lanny Underhill…..Kanata

5491…Laurie Davis…..Kanata

5500…Lesley Dewsnap…..Kanata

382…Lianna Macdonald…..Kanata

993…Lida Koronewskij…..Kanata

4079…Lillian Ng…..Kanata

2397…Lisa Mayhew…..Kanata

4419…Lise Gray…..Kanata

1932…Logan Daley…..Kanata

4429…Lois Kirkup…..Kanata

5661…Louise King…..Kanata

895…Luisa De Amicis…..Kanata

4391…Lynda Ciavaglia…..Kanata

3159…Lyne Denis…..Kanata

2719…M Gabriele Castelnuovo…..Kanata

6206…Man Nguyen…..Kanata

4476…Maneesh Sharma…..Kanata

4406…Manorie Edirisinghe…..Kanata

1399…Marcel Butz…..Kanata

4386…Mark Brownhill…..Kanata

5162…Mark Fagnan…..Kanata

5642…Mark Jorgenson…..Kanata

3482…Mark Ruddock…..Kanata

5367…Marlene Alt…..Kanata

4424…Mary Anne Jackson-Hughes…..Kanata

2424…Mary Campbell…..Kanata

4837…Mary-Anne Sauve…..Kanata

4006…Melissa Hall…..Kanata

1989…Michael Best…..Kanata

2782…Michael Brennan…..Kanata

5879…Michael Sutherland…..Kanata

1803…Michel Gosselin…..Kanata

1017…Michele Lemay…..Kanata

6173…Michelle Lyster…..Kanata

1691…Mike Southgate…..Kanata

2238…Mike Watford…..Kanata

5667…Mikkyal Koshman…..Kanata

330…Miriam Mustapha…..Kanata

1787…Monica Van Dam…..Kanata

1064…Nancy McGuire…..Kanata

5298…Natalie Damiano…..Kanata

4976…Neil Campbell…..Kanata

1218…Neil Marshall…..Kanata

3372…Neil Maxwell…..Kanata

5894…Neil Thomson…..Kanata

466…Nicole Myslivecek…..Kanata

4413…Pamela Ford…..Kanata

855…Patricia Brown…..Kanata

1248…Paul Maskell…..Kanata

4189…Pauline Joly…..Kanata

3116…Peter Clark…..Kanata

4607…Peter Fraser…..Kanata

4200…Peter Johnston…..Kanata

5958…Peter Zimmerman…..Kanata

6310…Philip Boyer…..Kanata

1827…Philip Rushworth…..Kanata

5909…Philip Tughan…..Kanata

1800…Philippe Sauve…..Kanata

5037…Prabhu Vaithilingam…..Kanata

4835…Renata Hogan-Sullivan…..Kanata

4327…Renee Johnston…..Kanata

3375…Rob McAulay…..Kanata

4767…Robert Chanter…..Kanata

1658…Robert Charbonneau…..Kanata

199…Robyn Hardage…..Kanata

5801…Sandra Plourde…..Kanata

2783…Sandy Brennan…..Kanata

2739…Sarah Muldoon…..Kanata

3305…Scott Jewer…..Kanata

1953…Shelley McDonald…..Kanata

4076…Shelly Nesbitt…..Kanata

3101…Sheri Cayouette…..Kanata

190…Sindy Dobson…..Kanata

2831…Sridhar Erukulla…..Kanata

2568…Stephane Bedard…..Kanata

1353…Stephen Cadieux…..Kanata

3139…Steven Cowie…..Kanata

2047…Sue Ackerman…..Kanata

4582…Sue Peck…..Kanata

4584…Susan Harvey…..Kanata

455…Susan Pagnutti…..Kanata

4215…Sylvie Olsen…..Kanata

1637…Taylor Sicard…..Kanata

995…Terry Koss…..Kanata

1702…Terry Mesdag…..Kanata

1219…Theresa Marshall…..Kanata

2772…Tiffany Boire…..Kanata

5752…Tim Moses…..Kanata

3019…Tom Auger…..Kanata

5950…Tom Winter…..Kanata

160…Tommy Des Brisay…..Kanata

4202…Tracey Dunfield…..Kanata

293…Valerie Desjarlais…..Kanata

6250…Vanessa Sloan…..Kanata

5159…Veronique Breton…..Kanata

3884…Victoria Gebert…..Kanata

5161…Vince Fagnan…..Kanata

2836…Vincent_Andy Fong…..Kanata

3600…Wei Zhou…..Kanata

1103…Wendy Patton…..Kanata

2433…Wendy Rostek…..Kanata

4258…Wilf Sullivan…..Kanata

2163…William Matthews…..Kanata

393…William Potts…..Kanata

3712…Celeste St. John…..Kars

4586…Ginny Flood…..Kars

5674…Guy Laliberte…..Kars

5980…Kevin Adamsons…..Kars

6041…Matthew Cook…..Kars

3354…Paula Lund…..Kars

5789…Carole Perkins…..Kemptville

3058…Cheryl Brennan…..Kemptville

5510…Connie Duclos…..Kemptville

2486…Dale Richardson…..Kemptville

3521…Dave Springer…..Kemptville

2781…David Brennan…..Kemptville

2143…Dawn Murray…..Kemptville

4789…Emily Conway…..Kemptville

1111…Gerald Piette…..Kemptville

4833…Glenna Bigras…..Kemptville

4962…Grant Lowe…..Kemptville

5105…Jacob Banks…..Kemptville

2195…Jeff Swrjeski…..Kemptville

4831…Joyce Cavanagh…..Kemptville

5242…Luke Foster…..Kemptville

3888…Mary Mejia…..Kemptville

4666…Michael Munroe…..Kemptville

3034…Paul Bedard…..Kemptville

4986…Rory Blaisdell…..Kemptville

3266…Roxanne Harrington…..Kemptville

1619…Russ Beaton…..Kemptville

3734…Sheri Steeves…..Kemptville

35…Simon Sukstorf…..Kemptville

3405…Stephanie Mombourquette…..Kemptville

1921…Steven De Ville…..Kemptville

3148…Teena Dacey…..Kemptville

421…Valerie Sayah…..Kemptville

1545…Mike Walsh…..Kenmore

563…Angela Stewart…..Kinburn

4230…Debbie Turcotte…..Kinburn

5869…Jackie Stadnyk…..Kinburn

1179…Kathy Twardek…..Kinburn

3524…Ronald Stadnyk…..Kinburn

6500…Aaron Clow…..Kingston

2259…Aaron Dries…..Kingston

5197…Alain Gosselin…..Kingston

678…Alan Cohoon…..Kingston

2600…Alfred Barr…..Kingston

3254…Allan Gudlaugson…..Kingston

121…Allison Mowat…..Kingston

717…Alyson Mahar…..Kingston

6244…Andreas Schabetsberger…..Kingston

6171…Andrew Lloyd…..Kingston

1870…Andrew Wallace…..Kingston

4952…Angela Allen…..Kingston

5165…Arthur Hesford…..Kingston

1819…Audethy Tallack…..Kingston

2426…Barb Parker…..Kingston

1714…Ben Doherty…..Kingston

2959…Benoit Stockless…..Kingston

5907…Bill Truelove…..Kingston

5294…Brenda Flaherty…..Kingston

5795…Brian Phillips…..Kingston

698…Bruno Chagnon…..Kingston

86…Cam Miller…..Kingston

6365…Carsten Sorensen…..Kingston

4868…Chelsey Hutson…..Kingston

4753…Chris Carter…..Kingston

3765…Chris Plaza…..Kingston

6257…Chris Stevenson…..Kingston

4850…Christine Powers-Tomsons…..Kingston

6069…Christopher Doan…..Kingston

150…Christopher Horeczy…..Kingston

1836…Chuck Douglas…..Kingston

6190…Colin McCue…..Kingston

3570…Colleen Webber…..Kingston

2339…Cory Vale…..Kingston

3894…Crystal Parker…..Kingston

3439…Dan Peebles…..Kingston

5494…Dani Delaloye…..Kingston

4827…Daniel Gosselin…..Kingston

5127…Daniel Rondeau…..Kingston

5929…Daryl Watters…..Kingston

3262…Dave Hammond…..Kingston

1620…Dave Johnston…..Kingston

4373…David Mailey…..Kingston

1215…David Robinson…..Kingston

5873…David Steeves…..Kingston

2256…Debbie Hawes…..Kingston

4550…Deborah Hynes…..Kingston

3346…Denis Levesque…..Kingston

5741…Derek Milner…..Kingston

5978…Duart Townsend…..Kingston

3853…Ed Tardif…..Kingston

5349…Elizabeth McQuillan…..Kingston

5916…Elizabeth Vezina…..Kingston

3328…Emily Koolen…..Kingston

3840…Emily Quinn-Black…..Kingston

6480…Etienne Marcoux…..Kingston

813…Frederic Drolet…..Kingston

2258…Frederic Jean…..Kingston

149…Frederick Lavoie…..Kingston

3312…George Jones…..Kingston

695…George Lackonick…..Kingston

3185…Glen Duckett…..Kingston

2367…Greg Phillips…..Kingston

664…Guillaume Proulx…..Kingston

5066…Helga Grodzinski…..Kingston

5995…Hugo Babin…..Kingston

5358…Hugo Boilard…..Kingston

2360…Jacklyn Power…..Kingston

33…James Brown…..Kingston

4741…James Krahn…..Kingston

5949…Jan Wilson…..Kingston

3877…Jason Chor…..Kingston

5611…Jason Hiltz…..Kingston

968…Jason Howe…..Kingston

3252…Jean-Marc Grimard…..Kingston

2313…Jeff Barr…..Kingston

2201…Jeff Teeple…..Kingston

627…Jeffrey Reid…..Kingston

510…Jillian Brenner…..Kingston

5267…Jim Terfry…..Kingston

1065…Jody Mcinnis…..Kingston

124…Joey Steacy…..Kingston

3839…John Black…..Kingston

3952…John Brooks…..Kingston

3850…John Brown…..Kingston

6007…Jon Berrey…..Kingston

6030…Jordan Charboneau…..Kingston

5848…Jordan Shoniker…..Kingston

3165…Joseph Dilworth…..Kingston

6378…Juli Wheeler…..Kingston

3010…Julie Anghelescu…..Kingston

3036…Julie Belanger…..Kingston

5742…Katrin Milner…..Kingston

3855…Kelly Campbell…..Kingston

2496…Kelly Morrice…..Kingston

6267…Kelly Tobias…..Kingston

4185…Kerri Tadeu…..Kingston

3854…Kit Orme…..Kingston

5309…Krzysztof Butkiewicz…..Kingston

616…Lance Marshall…..Kingston

6070…Leslie Doering…..Kingston

6348…Linda McMillan…..Kingston

3741…Line Gosselin…..Kingston

4699…Liza Tzotzos…..Kingston

3295…Louise Hunter…..Kingston

793…Lyne Lefrancois…..Kingston

2921…Marcel Neron…..Kingston

42…Margarita Sviajina…..Kingston

681…Marielle Houle…..Kingston

2799…Mark Chabot…..Kingston

2362…Mary-Anne Macdonald…..Kingston

690…Mary-Elizabeth Irwin…..Kingston

485…Matthew Charlesworth…..Kingston

1901…Matthew Sprague…..Kingston

3385…Melissa McIlroy…..Kingston

2322…Michael Avery…..Kingston

4698…Michael Clarke…..Kingston

5256…Michael Divittorio…..Kingston

2274…Michael Muise…..Kingston

628…Michel Pearson…..Kingston

3628…Michelle Kerr…..Kingston

702…Michelle Simiana…..Kingston

2149…Mike Lapensee…..Kingston

3844…Monica Pereira…..Kingston

6194…Murray McTavish…..Kingston

5176…Nadine Kopp…..Kingston

4738…Noelani Shore…..Kingston

4400…Pamela Decker…..Kingston

849…Pascal Brisson…..Kingston

818…Patricia Ambrose…..Kingston

5111…Paul Daley…..Kingston

5277…Paul Thompson…..Kingston

1738…Peter Vrooman…..Kingston

2363…Ralph Feisthauer…..Kingston

6142…Ray Konigs…..Kingston

5172…Rhonda Murphy…..Kingston

1975…Robert Allen…..Kingston

2031…Robert Bard…..Kingston

2346…Robert Meade…..Kingston

790…Robert Thomas…..Kingston

3650…Robyn Broeders…..Kingston

5372…Roman Antoniewicz…..Kingston

2232…Rosario Messana…..Kingston

6402…Sergio Grice…..Kingston

79…Shane Bourgeois…..Kingston

5249…Shannon Brown…..Kingston

791…Shawn Kadlec…..Kingston

5943…Shelley Williams…..Kingston

1121…Shoba Ranganathan…..Kingston

3852…Sonja Chisholm…..Kingston

2268…Sony Chris Marchal…..Kingston

703…Stefanie Arthurs…..Kingston

792…Stephane Brisson…..Kingston

1075…Stephanie Milner…..Kingston

2851…Stephen Hall…..Kingston

3081…Steve Bycok…..Kingston

2761…Steven Beattie…..Kingston

2179…Steven Doherty…..Kingston

4382…Susan Blake…..Kingston

467…Susan Stark…..Kingston

5110…Sylvie Bouchard…..Kingston

2248…Terri Heffernan…..Kingston

102…Tim Keith…..Kingston

615…Tim Macdonald…..Kingston

2746…Timothy Holmes-Mitra…..Kingston

2697…Tommy Villeneuve…..Kingston

1820…Tony Phillips…..Kingston

6503…Toure Alfa-Toga…..Kingston

2676…Travis Loughery…..Kingston

1357…Trevor Martin…..Kingston

691…Troy Irwin…..Kingston

4871…Victor Lopes…..Kingston

4505…Lucie Dufour…..La Peche

3805…Amy Vanderspank…..Lanark

1433…Scott Shaver…..Lanark

6033…Derek Cheff…..L'ange Gardien

13…Adam Robinson…..L'ange-Gardien

1506…Samuel Chenevert…..L'ange-Gardien

1537…Stephane Gosselin…..L'ange-Gardien

4275…Melissa Lanigan…..Lansdowne

3864…Adelle Brazeau…..Limoges

3791…Alain Giroux…..Limoges

4739…Ann Duguay…..Limoges

2029…Chantel Oshowy-Carvallo…..Limoges

1323…Denis Benoit…..Limoges

614…Joanne Froment…..Limoges

3033…Joey Beaudin…..Limoges

3997…Judy Gagne…..Limoges

4552…Marc Benoit…..Limoges

5097…Serge Froment…..Limoges

4808…Karen McDonald…..L'orignal

6212…Manon Parisien…..L'orignal

152…Patrick Lalonde…..L'orignal

3986…Susan Draper…..Low

2098…Chris Crain…..Maberly

4173…Frederick Barrett…..Maberly

1734…Nancy Villemure…..Maberly

3758…Susan Marble…..Maberly

910…Jennifer Duffy…..Maitland

911…Penny Duffy…..Maitland

3319…Jennifer Kellar…..Mallorytown

5174…Joyce Mills…..Mallorytown

3067…Robert Browne…..Mallorytown

1922…Amy Moustgaard…..Manotick

6291…Brad Ysseldyk…..Manotick

6016…Charles Bruce…..Manotick

1376…Christian Vaillancourt…..Manotick

6071…Emily Donaldson…..Manotick

2370…Gerald Leahy…..Manotick

2764…Guy Beaudoin…..Manotick

6341…Hollee Kew…..Manotick

409…Jocelynn Cook…..Manotick

6072…Karen Donaldson…..Manotick

1597…Laura Wilson…..Manotick

2117…Malcolm Todd…..Manotick

6255…Paul Steers…..Manotick

5531…Robert Fabes…..Manotick

3338…Robert Lange…..Manotick

5059…Sara Wilson…..Manotick

3474…Theresa Roberts…..Manotick

848…Yvonne Brandreth…..Manotick

3526…Michele Steeves…..Maxville

4685…Angus Macdonald…..Merrickville

1238…Barbara Bacon…..Merrickville

4682…Isabelle Paris…..Merrickville

3059…Jodi Brennan…..Merrickville

4740…Krista Jensen…..Merrickville

5383…Michael Barkhouse…..Merrickville

1296…Penny Foxwell…..Merrickville

804…Rick Bowes…..Merrickville

4533…Will Starr…..Merrickville

2881…Andre Lasalle…..Metcalfe

4861…Barb Beiersdorfer…..Metcalfe

307…Brittney Potvin…..Metcalfe

5352…Bruce Bourgeault…..Metcalfe

5149…Erika Morris…..Metcalfe

997…Kazimierz Krzyzanowski…..Metcalfe

3933…Keith Beardsley…..Metcalfe

2009…Luc Aubrey…..Metcalfe

2218…Rob Howell…..Metcalfe

4435…Sylvie J Lapointe…..Metcalfe

6304…Krista Atchison…..Moose Creek

1918…Cindy Waldner…..Morewood

5641…Isabella Jordan…..Morrisburg

4653…Kelly Ryan…..Mountain

59…Raymond Sherrer…..Mountain

5856…Allan Smith…..Munster

418…Colleen O'Connell-Campbell…..Munster

554…Jamie Dumont…..Munster

1154…Nancy Ann Smith…..Munster

514…Norman Watt…..Munster

1960…Shelley Hindle…..Munster

1534…Steve Lachaine…..Munster

153…Alain Gonthier…..Navan

534…Brian Barber…..Navan

5446…Carole Charlebois…..Navan

3359…Marcella Macdonald…..Navan

5058…Marie Labrie…..Navan

5688…Marie-France Levesque…..Navan

4686…Matthew Valiquette…..Navan

5002…Melanie Vetter…..Navan

1412…Mike Rozon…..Navan

4445…Mychele Malette…..Navan

896…Paul De Grandpre…..Navan

826…Rosemary Barber…..Navan

3939…Veronique Bergeron…..Navan

1413…Vicki Rozon…..Navan

 

Interior of St. Michael and All Angels, Berwick, Sussex.

The church is famous for its unique 20th Century murals painted during the Second World War by the Bloomsbury Group artists, Duncan Grant, Vanessa Bell and Quentin Bell.

The screen shows four medallions by Duncan Grant (1885-1975) which along with two panels on the central doors (unseen) illustrate a text from Genesis 8 v.22 "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease" (God's promise to Noah after the flood".

LC Verse Spider-Girl

Issue #17 "Bloodline"

 

I walk past the army of security guards outside the mansion, Willson Fisk's security wasn't even as elaborate. It wasn't until he screamed after I cut his throat was the moment they all flooded in, even then they couldn't find me, let alone see me. Invisibility is one of many abilities this suit has. It was something I always dreamed of having as a child, that was until my father taught me the ways of The Hand, the clan I soon grew to lead and later flee from. I sneak through the window of the mansion and feel the scar of my chest nip slightly with the sudden movement. The sword which pierced my chest would have killed me thankfully I had a remainder of the Parasite sample I gave to my daughter, Anya. I used the tiniest droplet of the leftover sample which covered me in its power, it was then I realised Anya would be safe. Although I did not expect her to become a hero or get the blame for the death of Willson Fisk, even in death that scumbag is causing my family hell. I walk by the guards outside her office unnoticed and emerge through the doors seeing Vanessa Fisk sitting at her desk, I clench my fists becoming visible once more. She immediately looks up at me as I slam her door shut webbing it closed. Her guards quickly holler and bang on the door. "Hello Vanessa, we have some matters to discuss."

__________________________________________________________________________________________

 

"Who the hell are you?!" She exclaims springing to her feet alarmed, part of me likes the fear in her eyes. "I am, Fabian Corazon, the one who killed your father." I say reaching behind my back feeling my suit morph my katana blade, I pull my hand away drawing the sword from between my shoulder blades. "Why did you kill him?" She asks gazing at my blade in shock, I snort gripping onto the hilt of it. "His own daughter doesn't even know. Well Vanessa, to cut a long story short I fell in love with an undercover S.H.I.E.L.D agent, we had a child together. Your father discovered who she was and murdered her to prevent his greatest allies being compromised and infiltrated by S.H.I.E.L.D." She grimaces looking at the webbed door, her guards will be preparing to cut there way through. "In theory your father killed himself, I purchased this suit from him and used it to kill him. I even gave some to my daughter to save her life." She gasps, "Spider-Girl?" I chuckle looking down at my blade nodding my head. "Why kill me? Just because I put a bounty on your daughter? I didn't know it was you that killed my father." I walk towards her as she retreats back slowly. "No. I am here to end the bloodline of the Fisks, the ending to the Corazon's suffering won't end until the Fisks are dead." With those words I strike her down with my blade. Her body hits the ground and I wipe the blood from my sword taking a deep breath hearing the door break open but I don't flinch, my daughter is now safe from harm. I expect the guards to attempt to kill me but I sense somethings not right, I turn around slowly as a distorted sinister voice speaks, "You shouldn't have done that."

The Postcard

 

A postcard that was published by Gordon Fraser with photography by Eric de Maré. The image is a glossy real photograph.

 

On the back of the card the publishers provide the following information:

 

'London Westminster - The

Royal Albert Hall.

Captain Francis Fowke, R.E. designed the

Royal Albert Hall which was built in 1867-

1881. The interior comprises one vast, oval

amphitheatre in which 8,000 people can

be seated.

Mecca for concerts, choral events and

festivals, it is nevertheless notorious for its

poor acoustic properties.

The frieze, encircling the building below

the dome, by Armitage, Pickersgill. Marks

and Poynter, is in terracotta and represents

the Triumph of Arts and Letters'.

 

The card was posted in Kensington, London W8 on Tuesday the 20th. July 1965 to:

 

Martin,

Dalnaglar Castle,

Glenshee,

Perthshire,

Scotland.

 

The message on the divided back was as follows:

 

"More of the wonders of

London.

We are in the middle of a

tropical storm here.

Have bought Queen so am

expecting some 'In' love

tokens!

Love,

Sarah".

 

The Royal Albert Hall

 

The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the United Kingdom's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no government funding. It can seat 5,272 people.

 

The Royal Albert Hall has been affectionately named "The Nation's Village Hall".

 

Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres have appeared on its stage. It is the venue for the Proms concerts, which have been held there every summer since 1941.

 

It is host to more than 390 shows in the main auditorium annually, including classical, rock and pop concerts, ballet, opera, film screenings with live orchestral accompaniment, sports, awards ceremonies, school and community events, and charity performances and banquets. A further 400 events are held each year in the non-auditorium areas.

 

The hall was originally supposed to have been called the Central Hall of Arts and Sciences, but the name was changed to the Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences by Queen Victoria upon laying the Hall's foundation stone in 1867, in memory of her husband, Prince Albert, who had died six years earlier.

 

History of The Royal Albert Hall

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 1800's

 

In 1851 the Great Exhibition, organised by Prince Albert, was held in Hyde Park, London. The Exhibition was a success, and this led Prince Albert to propose the creation of a group of permanent facilities for the public benefit, which came to be known as Albertopolis.

 

The Exhibition's Royal Commission bought Gore House, but it was slow to act, and in 1861 Prince Albert died without having seen his ideas come to fruition. However, a memorial was proposed for Hyde Park, with a Great Hall opposite.

 

The proposal was approved, and the site was purchased with some of the profits from the Exhibition. The Hall was designed by civil engineers Captain Francis Fowke and Major-General Henry Y. D. Scott of the Royal Engineers, and built by Lucas Brothers.

 

The designers were heavily influenced by ancient amphitheatres, but had also been exposed to the ideas of Gottfried Semper while he was working at the South Kensington Museum.

 

The recently opened Cirque d'Hiver in Paris was seen in the contemporary press as the design to outdo.

 

The Hall was constructed mainly of Fareham Red Brick, with terra cotta block decoration made by Gibbs and Canning Ltd. of Tamworth.

 

The dome (designed by Rowland Mason Ordish) was made of wrought iron and glazed. There was a trial assembly of the dome's iron framework in Manchester; then it was taken apart and transported to London by horse and cart.

 

When the time came for the supporting structure to be removed from the dome after reassembly in situ, only volunteers remained on-site in case the structure collapsed. It did drop – but only by five-sixteenths of an inch (8 mm).

 

The Hall was scheduled to be completed by Christmas Day 1870, and Queen Victoria visited a few weeks beforehand to inspect.

 

The official opening ceremony of the Royal Albert Hall was on the 29th. March 1871. A welcoming speech was given by Edward, the Prince of Wales because Queen Victoria was too overcome to speak;

 

"Her only recorded comment on the

Hall was that it reminded her of the

British constitution".

 

In the concert that followed, the Hall's acoustic problems immediately became apparent. Engineers first tried to remove the strong echo by suspending a canvas awning below the dome. This helped, and also sheltered concert-goers from the sun, but the problem was not solved - it used to be jokingly said:

 

"The Hall is the only place where

a British composer could be sure

of hearing his work twice".

 

In July 1871, French organist Camille Saint-Saëns performed Church Scene from Faust by Charles Gounod; The Orchestra described him as:

 

"An exceptional and distinguished

performer ... the effect was most

marvellous."

 

Initially lit by gas, the Hall contained a special system by which thousands of gas jets were lit within ten seconds. Though it was demonstrated as early as 1873 in the Hall, full electric lighting was not installed until 1888. During an early trial when a partial installation was made, one disgruntled patron wrote to The Times, declaring it to be:

 

"A very ghastly and unpleasant

innovation".

 

In May 1877, Richard Wagner conducted the first half of each of the eight concerts which made up the Grand Wagner Festival. After his turn with the baton, he handed it over to conductor Hans Richter and sat in a large armchair on the corner of the stage for the rest of each concert. Wagner's wife Cosima, the daughter of Hungarian virtuoso pianist and composer Franz Liszt, was among the audience.

 

The Wine Society was founded at the Hall on the 4th. August 1874, after large quantities of cask wine were found in the cellars. A series of lunches were held to publicise the wines, and General Henry Scott proposed a co-operative company to buy and sell wines.

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 1900's

 

In 1906 Elsie Fogerty founded the Central School of Speech and Drama at the Hall, using its West Theatre, now the Elgar Room. The school moved to Swiss Cottage in north London in 1957. Whilst the school was based at the Royal Albert Hall, students who graduated from its classes included Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Lynn Redgrave, Harold Pinter, Laurence Olivier and Peggy Ashcroft.

 

In 1911 Russian pianist and composer Sergei Rachmaninoff performed at the Hall. The recital included his 'Prelude in C-sharp minor' and 'Elegie in E-flat minor'.

 

In 1933 German physicist Albert Einstein led the 'Einstein Meeting' at the hall for the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics, a British charity.

 

In 1936, the Hall was the scene of a giant rally celebrating the British Empire on the occasion of the centenary of Joseph Chamberlain's birth.

 

In October 1942, the Hall suffered minor damage during World War II bombing, but in general was left mostly untouched as German pilots used the distinctive structure as a landmark.

 

In 1949 the canvas awning was removed and replaced with fluted aluminium panels below the glass roof, in a new attempt to cure the echo. However the acoustics were not properly tackled until 1969 when large fibreglass acoustic diffusing discs (commonly referred to as "mushrooms" or "flying saucers") were installed below the ceiling.

 

In 1968, the Hall hosted the Eurovision Song Contest, and from 1969–1988 the Miss World contest was staged at the venue.

 

In 1995, Greek keyboardist Yanni performed a concert there for his World Tour; the concert was recorded under the name of Live at Royal Albert Hall.

 

From 1996 until 2004, the Hall underwent a programme of renovation and development supported by a £20 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £20m from Arts Council England to enable it to meet the demands of the next century of events and performances.

 

Thirty "discreet projects" were designed and supervised by the architecture and engineering firm BDP without disrupting events. These projects included improved ventilation to the auditorium, more bars and restaurants, improved seating, better technical facilities, and improved backstage areas. Internally, the Circle seating was rebuilt during June 1996 to provide more legroom, better access, and improved sightlines.

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 2000's

 

The largest project of the ongoing renovation and development was the building of a new south porch – door 12, accommodating a first-floor restaurant, a new ground floor box office and a below-ground loading bay.

 

Although the exterior of the building was largely unchanged, the south steps leading down to Prince Consort Road were demolished to allow the construction of underground vehicle access and a loading bay with accommodation for three HGVs carrying all the equipment brought by shows.

 

The steps were then reconstructed around a new south porch, named The Meitar Foyer after a significant donation from Mr & Mrs Meitar. The porch was built on a similar scale and style to the three pre-existing porches at Doors 3, 6 and 9: these works were undertaken by Taylor Woodrow.

 

The original steps featured in the early scenes of the 1965 film The Ipcress File. On the 4th. June 2004, the project received the Europa Nostra Award for remarkable achievement.

 

The East (Door 3) and West (Door 9) porches were glazed, and new bars opened along with ramps to improve disabled access. The Stalls were rebuilt in a four-week period in 2000 using steel supports, thereby allowing more space underneath for two new bars.

 

1,534 unique pivoting seats were installed, with an addition of 180 prime seats. The Choirs were rebuilt at the same time.

 

The whole building was redecorated in a style that reinforces its Victorian identity. 43,000 sq. ft (4,000 m2) of new carpets were laid in the rooms, stairs, and corridors – specially woven with a border that follows the oval curve of the building.

 

Between 2002 and 2004, there was a major rebuilding of the great organ (known as the Voice of Jupiter), built by "Father" Henry Willis in 1871 and rebuilt by Harrison & Harrison in 1924 and 1933.

 

The rebuilding was performed by Mander Organs, and it is now the second-largest pipe organ in the British Isles with 9,997 pipes in 147 stops. The largest is the Grand Organ in Liverpool Cathedral which has 10,268 pipes.

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 2010's

 

During the first half of 2011, changes were made to the backstage areas in order to relocate and increase the size of crew catering areas under the South Steps away from the stage and to create additional dressing rooms nearer to the stage.

 

During the summer of 2012, the staff canteen and some changing areas were expanded and refurbished. From January to May the Box Office area at Door 12 underwent further modernisation to include a new Café Bar on the ground floor, a new Box Office with shop counters, and additional toilets.

 

Upon opening it was renamed 'The Zvi and Ofra Meitar Porch and Foyer.' owing to a large donation from the couple.

 

In Autumn 2013, work began on replacing the Victorian steam heating system over three years and improving and cooling across the building. This work followed the summer Proms season during which temperatures were unusually high.

 

From January the Cafe Consort on the Grand Tier was closed permanently in preparation for a new restaurant at a cost of £1 million. Verdi – Italian Kitchen was officially opened on the 15th. April with a lunch or dinner menu of stone baked pizzas, pasta, and classic desserts.

 

Design of The Royal Albert Hall

 

The Hall, a Grade I listed building, is an ellipse in plan, with its external major and minor axis of 272 and 236 feet (83 and 72 meters. The great glass and wrought-iron dome roofing the Hall is 135 ft (41 m) high.

 

Below the Arena floor there is room for two 4000 gallon water tanks, which are used for shows that flood the arena like Madame Butterfly.

 

The Hall was originally designed with a capacity for 8,000 people, and has accommodated as many as 12,000 (although present-day safety restrictions mean the maximum permitted capacity is now 5,272, including standing in the Gallery.

 

Around the outside of the building is an 800–foot–long terracotta mosaic frieze, depicting "The Triumph of Arts and Sciences", in reference to the Hall's dedication. Above the frieze is an inscription in 12-inch-high (30 cm) terracotta letters that combine historical fact and Biblical quotations:

 

"This hall was erected for the advancement

of the arts and sciences and works of industry

of all nations in fulfilment of the intention of

Albert Prince Consort.

The site was purchased with the proceeds of

the Great Exhibition of the year MDCCCLI.

The first stone of the Hall was laid by Her

Majesty Queen Victoria on the twentieth day

of May MDCCCLXVII and it was opened by Her

Majesty the Twenty Ninth of March in the year

MDCCCLXXI.

Thine O Lord is the greatness and the power

and the glory and the victory and the majesty.

For all that is in the heaven and in the earth is

Thine. The wise and their works are in the hand

of God. Glory be to God on high and on earth

peace".

 

Events at The Royal Albert Hall

 

The first concert at the Hall was Arthur Sullivan's cantata On Shore and Sea, performed on the 1st. May 1871.

 

Many events are promoted by the Hall, and since the early 1970's promoter Raymond Gubbay has brought a range of events to the Hall including opera, ballet and classical music.

 

Events also include rock concerts, conferences, banquets, ballroom dancing, poetry recitals, educational talks, motor shows, ballet, opera, film screenings and circus shows.

 

The Royal Albert Hall has hosted many sporting events, including boxing, squash, table tennis, basketball, wrestling (including the first Sumo wrestling tournament to be held in London) as well as UFC 38 (the first UFC event to be held in the UK), tennis, and even a marathon.

 

The Hall first hosted boxing in 1918, when it hosted a tournament between British and American servicemen. There was a colour bar in place at the Hall, preventing black boxers from fighting there, between 1923 and 1932.

 

Greats of British boxing such as Frank Bruno, Prince Naseem Hamed, Henry Cooper and Lennox Lewis have all appeared at the venue. The Hall's boxing history was halted in 1999 when a court ordered that boxing and wrestling matches could no longer be held at the venue. In 2011 that decision was overturned. In 2019 Nicola Adams won the WBO Flyweight title which was the first fight for a world title at the venue since Marco Antonio Barrera took on Paul Lloyd in 1999.

 

On the 6th. April 1968, the Hall hosted the Eurovision Song Contest which was broadcast in colour for the first time. The first Miss World contest broadcast in colour was also staged at the venue in 1969, and remained at the Hall every year until 1989.

 

One notable event was a Pink Floyd concert held on the 26th. June 1969. On that night they were banned from ever playing at the Hall again after shooting cannons, nailing things to the stage, and having a man in a gorilla suit roam the audience.

 

At one point, Rick Wright went to the pipe organ and began to play "The End of the Beginning", the final part of "Saucerful of Secrets", joined by the brass section of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (led by the conductor, Norman Smith) and the ladies of the Ealing Central Amateur Choir. A portion of the pipe organ recording is included on Pink Floyd's album The Endless River.

 

On the 18th. June 1985, British Gothic rock band The Sisters of Mercy recorded their live video album Wake at the Hall.

 

Between 1996 and 2008, the Hall hosted the annual National Television Awards, all of which were hosted by Sir Trevor McDonald.

 

Benefit concerts include the 1997 Music for Montserrat concert, arranged and produced by George Martin. The event featured artists such as Phil Collins, Mark Knopfler, Sting, Elton John, Eric Clapton, and Paul McCartney.

 

In 2006, Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour performed at the Hall for the first time since Pink Floyd's 1969 ban. He performed as part of his On an Island Tour. The shows were filmed and used for the live video release, Remember That Night (2007).

 

Rock band The Killers recorded their first live album, Live from the Royal Albert Hall in July 2009.

 

On the 5th. April 2010, Swedish progressive metal band Opeth recorded In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, as they became the first Death metal band ever to perform at the Hall. The concert was part of the band's Evolution XX: An Opeth Anthology tour, made in celebration of their 20th. anniversary.

 

In July 2011, Janet Jackson performed three sold-out shows as part of her Number Ones, Up Close and Personal World Tour.

 

On the 2nd. October 2011, the Hall staged the 25th.-anniversary performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, which was broadcast live to cinemas across the world and filmed for DVD.

 

Lloyd Webber, the original London cast including Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford, and four previous actors of the titular character, among others, were in attendance – Brightman and the previous Phantoms (aside from Crawford) performed an encore.

 

On the 22nd. September 2011, Adele performed a one-night-only concert as part of her tour. The concert was filmed for DVD, and screened at cinemas in 26 cities around the world.

 

Her performance debuted at number one in the United States with 96,000 copies sold, the highest one-week tally for a music DVD in four years. After one week, it became the best-selling music DVD of 2011. As of the 28th. November 2012, it had surpassed sales of one million copies in the United States and sales of three million copies worldwide.

 

It was the first music DVD to surpass sales of one million in the USA since the Eagles' Farewell 1 Tour-Live from Melbourne in 2005.

 

The 2012 Sunflower Jam charity concert featured Queen guitarist Brian May performing alongside bassist John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, drummer Ian Paice of Deep Purple, and vocalists Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, and Alice Cooper.

 

On the 24th. September 2012, Classic FM celebrated the 20th. anniversary of their launch with a concert at the Hall. The program featured live performances of works by Handel, Puccini, Rachmaninoff, Parry, Vaughan Williams, Tchaikovsky and Karl Jenkins who conducted his piece The Benedictus from The Armed Man.

 

On the 19th. November 2012, the Hall hosted the 100th.-anniversary performance of the Royal Variety Performance, attended by the HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Duke of Edinburgh, with boy-band One Direction among the performers.

 

During his Rattle That Lock Tour, David Gilmour performed at the Royal Albert Hall eleven times between September 2015 and September 2016, once in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

 

On the 13th. November 2015, Canadian musician Devin Townsend recorded his second live album Ziltoid Live at the Royal Albert Hall.

 

Kylie Minogue performed at the Royal Albert Hall on the 11th. December 2015 and the 9th. - 10th. December 2016 as part of her "A Kylie Christmas" concert series.

 

On the 3rd. May 2016, singer-songwriter and Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell played at the Hall in what would become the last UK show of his life as part of his "Higher Truth" European tour.

 

Cornell performed stripped-back acoustic renditions from his back-catalogue to rave reviews, including songs from the likes of Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave and his solo work. Cornell died on the 18th. May 2017.

 

On the 22nd. April 2016, British rock band Bring Me the Horizon performed and recorded their Live at the Royal Albert Hall album, with accompaniment from the Parallax Orchestra conducted by Simon Dobson.

 

At a press conference held at the Hall in October 2016, Phil Collins announced his return to live performing with his Not Dead Yet Tour, which began in June 2017. The tour included five nights at the Hall which sold out in fifteen seconds.

 

In October 2017, American rock band Alter Bridge also recorded a live album accompanied by the Parallax Orchestra with Simon Dobson.

 

Also in 2017, the Hall hosted the 70th. British Academy Film Awards, often referred to as the BAFTAs, for the first time in 20 years, replacing the Royal Opera House at which the event had been held since 2008.

 

In 2018, WWE held its second United Kingdom Championship Tournament on the 18th. and 19th. June.

 

Also in 2018, the world premiere of PlayStation in Concert was organised at the Hall. It featured PlayStation game music from the 1990's up until then. It was arranged by Jim Fowler and performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

 

In May 2019, Mariah Carey performed 3 shows as part of her Caution World Tour. Comedian Bill Burr filmed his 2019 special Paper Tiger at the Hall. In November 2020, One Direction member Niall Horan performed a one off live-streamed show in an empty Hall (during the COVID-19 pandemic) to raise money for charity.

 

Regular Events at the Royal Albert Hall

 

The Royal Choral Society

 

The Royal Choral Society is the longest-running regular performer at the Hall, having given its first performance as the Royal Albert Hall Choral Society on the 8th. May 1872. From 1876, it established the annual Good Friday performance of Handel's Messiah.

 

BBC Proms

 

The BBC Sir Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, known as "The Proms", is a popular annual eight-week summer season of daily classical music concerts and other events at the Hall.

 

In 1942, following the destruction of the Queen's Hall in an air raid, the Hall was chosen as the new venue for the proms. In 1944 with increased danger to the Hall, part of the proms were held in the Bedford Corn Exchange.

 

Following the end of World War II the proms continued in the Hall, and have done so annually every summer since. The event was founded in 1895, and now each season consists of over 70 concerts, in addition to a series of events at other venues across the United Kingdom on the last night.

 

In 2009, the total number of concerts reached 100 for the first time. Jiří Bělohlávek described The Proms as:

 

"The world's largest and most

democratic musical festival".

 

Proms is a term which arose from the original practice of the audience promenading, or strolling, in some areas during the concert. Proms concert-goers, particularly those who stand, are sometimes described as "Promenaders", but are most commonly referred to as "Prommers".

 

Tennis

 

Tennis was first played at the Hall in March 1970, and the ATP Champions Tour Masters has been played annually every December since 1997.

 

Classical Spectacular

 

Classical Spectacular, a Raymond Gubbay production, has been coming to the Hall since 1988. It combines popular classical music, lights and special effects.

 

Cirque du Soleil

 

Cirque du Soleil has performed annually, with a show being staged every January, since 2003. Cirque has had to adapt many of their touring shows to perform at the venue, modifying the set, usually built for arenas or big top tents instead.

 

Classic Brit Awards

 

Since 2000, the Classic Brit Awards has been hosted annually in May at the Hall. It is organised by the British Phonographic Industry.

 

Festival of Remembrance

 

The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance is held annually the day before Remembrance Sunday.

 

Institute of Directors

 

For 60 years the Institute of Directors' Annual Convention has been synonymous with the Hall, although in 2011 and 2012 it was held at indigO2.

 

The English National Ballet

 

Since 1998 the English National Ballet has had several specially staged arena summer seasons in partnership with the Hall and Raymond Gubbay. These include Strictly Gershwin, June 2008 and 2011, Swan Lake, June 2002, 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2013, Romeo & Juliet, June 2001 and 2005, and The Sleeping Beauty, April - June 2000.

 

Teenage Cancer Trust

 

Starting in the year 2000 the Teenage Cancer Trust has held annual charity concerts (with the exception of 2001). They started as a one-off event, but have expanded over the years to a week or more of evening events. Roger Daltrey of the Who has been intimately involved with the planning of the events.

 

Graduation Ceremonies

 

The Hall is used annually by the neighbouring Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art for graduation ceremonies. For several years the University of London and Kingston University also held their graduation ceremonies at the Hall.

 

Films, Premières and Live Orchestra Screenings

 

The venue has screened several films since the early silent days. It was the only London venue to show William Fox's The Queen of Sheba in the 1920's.

 

The Hall has hosted many premières, including the UK première of Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen, 101 Dalmatians on the 4th. December 1996, the European première of Spandau Ballet's Soul Boys of the Western World, and three James Bond royal world premières - Die Another Day on the 18th. November 2002 (attended by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip), Skyfall on the 23rd. October 2012 (attended by Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall), and Spectre on the 26th. October 2015 (attended by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge).

 

The Hall held the first 3D world première of Titanic 3D, on the 27th. March 2012, with James Cameron and Kate Winslet in attendance.

 

Since 2009, the Hall has also curated regular seasons of English-language film-and-live-orchestra screenings, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gladiator, Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, Interstellar, The Matrix, West Side Story, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Back to the Future, Jaws, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and the world première of Titanic Live in Concert.

 

The only non-English-language movie to have been screened at the Hall is Baahubali: The Beginning (an Indian movie in Telugu and Tamil, but premiered with the Hindi dubbed version).

 

National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain

 

The National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, one of the most prestigious prizes in the annual brass band contesting calendar, holds the Final of the Championship section at the Royal Albert Hall each October.

 

Beyond the Main Stage

 

The Hall hosts hundreds of events and activities beyond its main auditorium. There are regular free art exhibitions in the ground floor Amphi corridor, which can be viewed when attending events or on dedicated viewing dates.

 

Visitors can take a guided tour of the Hall on most days. The most common is the one-hour Grand Tour which includes most front-of-house areas, the auditorium, the Gallery and the Royal Retiring Room.

 

Other tours include Story of the Proms, Behind the Scenes, Inside Out and School tours.

 

Children's events include Storytelling and Music Sessions for ages four and under. These take place in the Door 9 Porch and Albert's Band sessions in the Elgar Room during school holidays.

 

"Live Music in Verdi" takes place in the Italian restaurant on a Friday night featuring different artists each week.

 

"Late Night Jazz" events in the Elgar Room, generally on a Thursday night, feature cabaret-style seating and a relaxed atmosphere with drinks available.

 

"Classical Coffee Mornings" are held on Sundays in the Elgar Room with musicians from the Royal College of Music accompanied with drinks and pastries.

 

Sunday brunch events take place in Verdi Italian restaurant and feature different genres of music.

 

Regular Performers at the Royal Albert Hall

 

Eric Clapton is a regular performer at the Hall. Since 1964, Clapton has performed at the Hall over 200 times, and has stated that performing at the venue is: "Like playing in my front room".

 

In December 1964, Clapton made his first appearance at the Hall with the Yardbirds. It was also the venue for his band Cream's farewell concerts in 1968 and reunion shows in 2005. He also instigated the Concert for George, which was held at the Hall on the 29th. November 2002 to pay tribute to Clapton's lifelong friend, former Beatle George Harrison. Clapton passed 200 shows at the Hall in 2015.

 

David Gilmour played at the Hall in support of two solo albums, while also releasing a live concert on September 2006 entitled Remember That Night which was recorded during his three nights playing at the Hall for his 2006 On an Island tour.

 

Notable guests were Robert Wyatt and David Bowie (who sang lead for "Arnold Layne" and "Comfortably Numb"). The live concert was televised by BBC One on the 9th. September 2007.

 

Gilmour returned to the Hall for four nights in September 2016 (where he was joined on stage by Benedict Cumberbatch for "Comfortably Numb"), having previously played five nights in 2015, to end his 34-day Rattle That Lock Tour. He also made an appearance on the 24th. April 2016 as part of the Teenage Cancer Trust event.

 

Shirley Bassey is one of the Hall's most prolific female headline performers, having appeared many times at the Hall since the 1970's. In 2001, she sang "Happy Birthday" for the Duke of Edinburgh's 80th. birthday concert. In 2007, she sang at Fashion Rocks in aid of the Prince's Trust.

 

On the 30th. March 2011, she sang at a gala celebrating the 80th. birthday of Mikhail Gorbachev. In May 2011, she performed at the Classic Brit Awards, singing "Goldfinger" in tribute to the recently deceased composer John Barry. On the 20th. June 2011, she returned and sang "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Goldfinger", accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, as the climax to the memorial concert for Barry.

 

James Last appeared 90 times at the Hall between 1973 and 2015, making him the most frequent non–British performer to have played the venue.

 

Education and Outreach Programme

 

The Hall's education and outreach programme engages with more than 200,000 people a year. It includes workshops for local teenagers led by musicians such as Foals, Jake Bugg, Emeli Sandé, Nicola Benedetti, Alison Balsom and First Aid Kit, innovative science and maths lessons, visits to local residential homes from the venue's in-house group, Albert's Band, under the 'Songbook' banner, and the Friendship Matinee: an orchestral concert for community groups, with £5 admission.

 

Mis-labellings

 

A famous and widely bootlegged concert by Bob Dylan at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester on the 17th. May 1966 was mistakenly labelled the "Royal Albert Hall Concert".

 

In 1998, Columbia Records released an official recording, The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert. It maintains the erroneous title but does include details of the actual location.

 

Recordings from the Royal Albert Hall concerts on the 26th. and 27th. May 1966 were finally released by the artist in 2016 as The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert.

 

Another concert mislabelled as being at the Hall was by Creedence Clearwater Revival. An album by them entitled The Royal Albert Hall Concert was released in 1980. When Fantasy Records discovered the show on the album actually took place at the Oakland Coliseum, it retitled the album The Concert.

 

Pop Culture References

 

A large mural by Peter Blake, entitled Appearing at the Royal Albert Hall, is displayed in the Hall's Café Bar. Unveiled in April 2014, it shows more than 400 famous figures who have appeared on the stage.

 

In 1955, English film director Alfred Hitchcock filmed the climax of The Man Who Knew Too Much at the Hall. The 15-minute sequence featured James Stewart, Doris Day and composer Bernard Herrmann, and was filmed partly in the Queen's Box.

 

Hitchcock was a long-time patron of the Hall and had already set the finale of his 1927 film, The Ring at the Hall, as well as his initial version of The Man Who Knew Too Much, starring Leslie Banks, Edna Best and Peter Lorre.

 

Other notable films shot at the Hall include Major Barbara, Love Story, The Seventh Veil, The Ipcress File, A Touch of Class, Shine, and Spice World.

 

In the song "A Day in the Life" by the Beatles, the Albert Hall is mentioned. The verse goes as follows:

 

"I read the news today, oh boy

four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire

and though the holes were rather small

they had to count them all

now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall

I'd love to turn you on".

 

The song "Session Man" by The Kinks references the Hall:

 

"He never will forget at all

The day he played at Albert Hall".

 

In the song "Shame" by Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow, Barlow mentions the Hall in his verse:

 

"I read your mind and tried to call,

my tears could fill the Albert Hall".

 

'Like a Rolling Stone'

 

So what else happened on the day that Sarah posted the card?

 

Well, the 20th. July 1965 marked the release of 'Like a Rolling Stone'.

 

'Like a Rolling Stone' is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released by Columbia Records. Its confrontational lyrics originated in an extended piece of verse Dylan wrote in June 1965, when he returned exhausted from a gruelling tour of England.

 

Dylan distilled this draft into four verses and a chorus. 'Like a Rolling Stone' was recorded a few weeks later as part of the sessions for the forthcoming album Highway 61 Revisited.

 

During a difficult two-day pre-production, Dylan struggled to find the essence of the song, which was demoed without success in 3/4 time. A breakthrough was made when it was tried in a rock music format, and rookie session musician Al Kooper improvised the organ riff for which the track is known.

 

Columbia Records were unhappy with both the song's length at over six minutes and its heavy electric sound, and were hesitant to release it.

 

It was only when, a month later, a copy was leaked to a new popular music club and heard by influential DJs that the song was put out as a single. Although radio stations were reluctant to play such a long track, 'Like a Rolling Stone' reached No. 2 in the US Billboard charts and became a worldwide hit.

 

Critics have described the track as revolutionary in its combination of different musical elements, the youthful, cynical sound of Dylan's voice, and the directness of the question "How does it feel?"

 

"Like a Rolling Stone" completed the transformation of Dylan's image from folk singer to rock star, and is considered one of the most influential compositions in postwar popular music.

 

According to review aggregator Acclaimed Music, 'Like a Rolling Stone' is the statistically most acclaimed song of all time.

 

Rolling Stone magazine listed the song at No. 1 in their "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list. The song has been covered by many artists, from the Jimi Hendrix Experience and the Rolling Stones to the Wailers and Green Day.

 

At an auction in 2014, Dylan's handwritten lyrics to the song fetched $2 million, a world record for a popular music manuscript.

Good morning. I thought I would stay with photos taken at "the pond across the street" for one more day with these images of Painted Lady butterflies (Vanessa cardui) feeding on Heath Aster (Aster pilosus). These were all taken on the same warm afternoon in mid-October of last season. And the last photo in the comment section of two Painted Ladies feeding nose to tail I added at the last second this morning as it reminded me of the large number of butterflies (of all kinds) I found at the pond on this day. It was unusual as the pond didn't prove to be a good source for butterflies last year as in past seasons. I think it had something to do with the heavy rains and flooding last May - June that negatively impacted the local population the first two thirds of the season. Hopefully there won't be a repeat of it this coming spring - summer.

 

I hope you enjoy these images of one of my favorite butterflies....and I hope you have a most wonderful day.

 

Lacey

 

ISO100, aperture f/8, exposure .003 seconds (1/350) focal length 300mm

 

The Postcard

 

A postally unused postcard bearing no publisher's name. The publishers have printed on the divided back of the card:

 

"London Royal Albert Hall.

The largest concert hall on

London, seating 10,000.

Also used for political and

other meetings".

 

The Royal Albert Hall

 

The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the United Kingdom's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no government funding. It can seat 5,272 people.

 

The Royal Albert Hall has been affectionately named "The Nation's Village Hall".

 

Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres have appeared on its stage. It is the venue for the Proms concerts, which have been held there every summer since 1941.

 

It is host to more than 390 shows in the main auditorium annually, including classical, rock and pop concerts, ballet, opera, film screenings with live orchestral accompaniment, sports, awards ceremonies, school and community events, and charity performances and banquets. A further 400 events are held each year in the non-auditorium areas.

 

The hall was originally supposed to have been called the Central Hall of Arts and Sciences, but the name was changed to the Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences by Queen Victoria upon laying the Hall's foundation stone in 1867, in memory of her husband, Prince Albert, who had died six years earlier.

 

History of The Royal Albert Hall

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 1800's

 

In 1851 the Great Exhibition, organised by Prince Albert, was held in Hyde Park, London. The Exhibition was a success, and this led Prince Albert to propose the creation of a group of permanent facilities for the public benefit, which came to be known as Albertopolis.

 

The Exhibition's Royal Commission bought Gore House, but it was slow to act, and in 1861 Prince Albert died without having seen his ideas come to fruition. However, a memorial was proposed for Hyde Park, with a Great Hall opposite.

 

The proposal was approved, and the site was purchased with some of the profits from the Exhibition. The Hall was designed by civil engineers Captain Francis Fowke and Major-General Henry Y. D. Scott of the Royal Engineers, and built by Lucas Brothers.

 

The designers were heavily influenced by ancient amphitheatres, but had also been exposed to the ideas of Gottfried Semper while he was working at the South Kensington Museum.

 

The recently opened Cirque d'Hiver in Paris was seen in the contemporary press as the design to outdo.

 

The Hall was constructed mainly of Fareham Red Brick, with terra cotta block decoration made by Gibbs and Canning Ltd. of Tamworth.

 

The dome (designed by Rowland Mason Ordish) was made of wrought iron and glazed. There was a trial assembly of the dome's iron framework in Manchester; then it was taken apart and transported to London by horse and cart.

 

When the time came for the supporting structure to be removed from the dome after reassembly in situ, only volunteers remained on-site in case the structure collapsed. It did drop – but only by five-sixteenths of an inch (8 mm).

 

The Hall was scheduled to be completed by Christmas Day 1870, and Queen Victoria visited a few weeks beforehand to inspect.

 

The official opening ceremony of the Royal Albert Hall was on the 29th. March 1871. A welcoming speech was given by Edward, the Prince of Wales because Queen Victoria was too overcome to speak;

 

"Her only recorded comment on the

Hall was that it reminded her of the

British constitution".

 

In the concert that followed, the Hall's acoustic problems immediately became apparent. Engineers first tried to remove the strong echo by suspending a canvas awning below the dome. This helped, and also sheltered concert-goers from the sun, but the problem was not solved - it used to be jokingly said:

 

"The Hall is the only place where

a British composer could be sure

of hearing his work twice".

 

In July 1871, French organist Camille Saint-Saëns performed Church Scene from Faust by Charles Gounod; The Orchestra described him as:

 

"An exceptional and distinguished

performer ... the effect was most

marvellous."

 

Initially lit by gas, the Hall contained a special system by which thousands of gas jets were lit within ten seconds. Though it was demonstrated as early as 1873 in the Hall, full electric lighting was not installed until 1888. During an early trial when a partial installation was made, one disgruntled patron wrote to The Times, declaring it to be:

 

"A very ghastly and unpleasant

innovation".

 

In May 1877, Richard Wagner conducted the first half of each of the eight concerts which made up the Grand Wagner Festival. After his turn with the baton, he handed it over to conductor Hans Richter and sat in a large armchair on the corner of the stage for the rest of each concert. Wagner's wife Cosima, the daughter of Hungarian virtuoso pianist and composer Franz Liszt, was among the audience.

 

The Wine Society was founded at the Hall on the 4th. August 1874, after large quantities of cask wine were found in the cellars. A series of lunches were held to publicise the wines, and General Henry Scott proposed a co-operative company to buy and sell wines.

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 1900's

 

In 1906 Elsie Fogerty founded the Central School of Speech and Drama at the Hall, using its West Theatre, now the Elgar Room. The school moved to Swiss Cottage in north London in 1957. Whilst the school was based at the Royal Albert Hall, students who graduated from its classes included Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Lynn Redgrave, Harold Pinter, Laurence Olivier and Peggy Ashcroft.

 

In 1911 Russian pianist and composer Sergei Rachmaninoff performed at the Hall. The recital included his 'Prelude in C-sharp minor' and 'Elegie in E-flat minor'.

 

In 1933 German physicist Albert Einstein led the 'Einstein Meeting' at the hall for the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics, a British charity.

 

In 1936, the Hall was the scene of a giant rally celebrating the British Empire on the occasion of the centenary of Joseph Chamberlain's birth.

 

In October 1942, the Hall suffered minor damage during World War II bombing, but in general was left mostly untouched as German pilots used the distinctive structure as a landmark.

 

In 1949 the canvas awning was removed and replaced with fluted aluminium panels below the glass roof, in a new attempt to cure the echo. However the acoustics were not properly tackled until 1969 when large fibreglass acoustic diffusing discs (commonly referred to as "mushrooms" or "flying saucers") were installed below the ceiling.

 

In 1968, the Hall hosted the Eurovision Song Contest, and from 1969–1988 the Miss World contest was staged at the venue.

 

In 1995, Greek keyboardist Yanni performed a concert there for his World Tour; the concert was recorded under the name of Live at Royal Albert Hall.

 

From 1996 until 2004, the Hall underwent a programme of renovation and development supported by a £20 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £20m from Arts Council England to enable it to meet the demands of the next century of events and performances.

 

Thirty "discreet projects" were designed and supervised by the architecture and engineering firm BDP without disrupting events. These projects included improved ventilation to the auditorium, more bars and restaurants, improved seating, better technical facilities, and improved backstage areas. Internally, the Circle seating was rebuilt during June 1996 to provide more legroom, better access, and improved sightlines.

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 2000's

 

The largest project of the ongoing renovation and development was the building of a new south porch – door 12, accommodating a first-floor restaurant, a new ground floor box office and a below-ground loading bay.

 

Although the exterior of the building was largely unchanged, the south steps leading down to Prince Consort Road were demolished to allow the construction of underground vehicle access and a loading bay with accommodation for three HGVs carrying all the equipment brought by shows.

 

The steps were then reconstructed around a new south porch, named The Meitar Foyer after a significant donation from Mr & Mrs Meitar. The porch was built on a similar scale and style to the three pre-existing porches at Doors 3, 6 and 9: these works were undertaken by Taylor Woodrow.

 

The original steps featured in the early scenes of the 1965 film The Ipcress File. On the 4th. June 2004, the project received the Europa Nostra Award for remarkable achievement.

 

The East (Door 3) and West (Door 9) porches were glazed, and new bars opened along with ramps to improve disabled access. The Stalls were rebuilt in a four-week period in 2000 using steel supports, thereby allowing more space underneath for two new bars.

 

1,534 unique pivoting seats were installed, with an addition of 180 prime seats. The Choirs were rebuilt at the same time.

 

The whole building was redecorated in a style that reinforces its Victorian identity. 43,000 sq. ft (4,000 m2) of new carpets were laid in the rooms, stairs, and corridors – specially woven with a border that follows the oval curve of the building.

 

Between 2002 and 2004, there was a major rebuilding of the great organ (known as the Voice of Jupiter), built by "Father" Henry Willis in 1871 and rebuilt by Harrison & Harrison in 1924 and 1933.

 

The rebuilding was performed by Mander Organs, and it is now the second-largest pipe organ in the British Isles with 9,997 pipes in 147 stops. The largest is the Grand Organ in Liverpool Cathedral which has 10,268 pipes.

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 2010's

 

During the first half of 2011, changes were made to the backstage areas in order to relocate and increase the size of crew catering areas under the South Steps away from the stage and to create additional dressing rooms nearer to the stage.

 

During the summer of 2012, the staff canteen and some changing areas were expanded and refurbished. From January to May the Box Office area at Door 12 underwent further modernisation to include a new Café Bar on the ground floor, a new Box Office with shop counters, and additional toilets.

 

Upon opening it was renamed 'The Zvi and Ofra Meitar Porch and Foyer.' owing to a large donation from the couple.

 

In Autumn 2013, work began on replacing the Victorian steam heating system over three years and improving and cooling across the building. This work followed the summer Proms season during which temperatures were unusually high.

 

From January the Cafe Consort on the Grand Tier was closed permanently in preparation for a new restaurant at a cost of £1 million. Verdi – Italian Kitchen was officially opened on the 15th. April with a lunch or dinner menu of stone baked pizzas, pasta, and classic desserts.

 

Design of The Royal Albert Hall

 

The Hall, a Grade I listed building, is an ellipse in plan, with its external major and minor axis of 272 and 236 feet (83 and 72 meters. The great glass and wrought-iron dome roofing the Hall is 135 ft (41 m) high.

 

Below the Arena floor there is room for two 4000 gallon water tanks, which are used for shows that flood the arena like Madame Butterfly.

 

The Hall was originally designed with a capacity for 8,000 people, and has accommodated as many as 12,000 (although present-day safety restrictions mean the maximum permitted capacity is now 5,272, including standing in the Gallery.

 

Around the outside of the building is an 800–foot–long terracotta mosaic frieze, depicting "The Triumph of Arts and Sciences", in reference to the Hall's dedication. Above the frieze is an inscription in 12-inch-high (30 cm) terracotta letters that combine historical fact and Biblical quotations:

 

"This hall was erected for the advancement

of the arts and sciences and works of industry

of all nations in fulfilment of the intention of

Albert Prince Consort.

The site was purchased with the proceeds of

the Great Exhibition of the year MDCCCLI.

The first stone of the Hall was laid by Her

Majesty Queen Victoria on the twentieth day

of May MDCCCLXVII and it was opened by Her

Majesty the Twenty Ninth of March in the year

MDCCCLXXI.

Thine O Lord is the greatness and the power

and the glory and the victory and the majesty.

For all that is in the heaven and in the earth is

Thine. The wise and their works are in the hand

of God. Glory be to God on high and on earth

peace".

 

Events at The Royal Albert Hall

 

The first concert at the Hall was Arthur Sullivan's cantata On Shore and Sea, performed on the 1st. May 1871.

 

Many events are promoted by the Hall, and since the early 1970's promoter Raymond Gubbay has brought a range of events to the Hall including opera, ballet and classical music.

 

Events also include rock concerts, conferences, banquets, ballroom dancing, poetry recitals, educational talks, motor shows, ballet, opera, film screenings and circus shows.

 

The Royal Albert Hall has hosted many sporting events, including boxing, squash, table tennis, basketball, wrestling (including the first Sumo wrestling tournament to be held in London) as well as UFC 38 (the first UFC event to be held in the UK), tennis, and even a marathon.

 

The Hall first hosted boxing in 1918, when it hosted a tournament between British and American servicemen. There was a colour bar in place at the Hall, preventing black boxers from fighting there, between 1923 and 1932.

 

Greats of British boxing such as Frank Bruno, Prince Naseem Hamed, Henry Cooper and Lennox Lewis have all appeared at the venue. The Hall's boxing history was halted in 1999 when a court ordered that boxing and wrestling matches could no longer be held at the venue. In 2011 that decision was overturned. In 2019 Nicola Adams won the WBO Flyweight title which was the first fight for a world title at the venue since Marco Antonio Barrera took on Paul Lloyd in 1999.

 

On the 6th. April 1968, the Hall hosted the Eurovision Song Contest which was broadcast in colour for the first time. The first Miss World contest broadcast in colour was also staged at the venue in 1969, and remained at the Hall every year until 1989.

 

One notable event was a Pink Floyd concert held on the 26th. June 1969. On that night they were banned from ever playing at the Hall again after shooting cannons, nailing things to the stage, and having a man in a gorilla suit roam the audience.

 

At one point, Rick Wright went to the pipe organ and began to play "The End of the Beginning", the final part of "Saucerful of Secrets", joined by the brass section of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (led by the conductor, Norman Smith) and the ladies of the Ealing Central Amateur Choir. A portion of the pipe organ recording is included on Pink Floyd's album The Endless River.

 

On the 18th. June 1985, British Gothic rock band The Sisters of Mercy recorded their live video album Wake at the Hall.

 

Between 1996 and 2008, the Hall hosted the annual National Television Awards, all of which were hosted by Sir Trevor McDonald.

 

Benefit concerts include the 1997 Music for Montserrat concert, arranged and produced by George Martin. The event featured artists such as Phil Collins, Mark Knopfler, Sting, Elton John, Eric Clapton, and Paul McCartney.

 

In 2006, Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour performed at the Hall for the first time since Pink Floyd's 1969 ban. He performed as part of his On an Island Tour. The shows were filmed and used for the live video release, Remember That Night (2007).

 

Rock band The Killers recorded their first live album, Live from the Royal Albert Hall in July 2009.

 

On the 5th. April 2010, Swedish progressive metal band Opeth recorded In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, as they became the first Death metal band ever to perform at the Hall. The concert was part of the band's Evolution XX: An Opeth Anthology tour, made in celebration of their 20th. anniversary.

 

In July 2011, Janet Jackson performed three sold-out shows as part of her Number Ones, Up Close and Personal World Tour.

 

On the 2nd. October 2011, the Hall staged the 25th.-anniversary performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, which was broadcast live to cinemas across the world and filmed for DVD.

 

Lloyd Webber, the original London cast including Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford, and four previous actors of the titular character, among others, were in attendance – Brightman and the previous Phantoms (aside from Crawford) performed an encore.

 

On the 22nd. September 2011, Adele performed a one-night-only concert as part of her tour. The concert was filmed for DVD, and screened at cinemas in 26 cities around the world.

 

Her performance debuted at number one in the United States with 96,000 copies sold, the highest one-week tally for a music DVD in four years. After one week, it became the best-selling music DVD of 2011. As of the 28th. November 2012, it had surpassed sales of one million copies in the United States and sales of three million copies worldwide.

 

It was the first music DVD to surpass sales of one million in the USA since the Eagles' Farewell 1 Tour-Live from Melbourne in 2005.

 

The 2012 Sunflower Jam charity concert featured Queen guitarist Brian May performing alongside bassist John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, drummer Ian Paice of Deep Purple, and vocalists Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, and Alice Cooper.

 

On the 24th. September 2012, Classic FM celebrated the 20th. anniversary of their launch with a concert at the Hall. The program featured live performances of works by Handel, Puccini, Rachmaninoff, Parry, Vaughan Williams, Tchaikovsky and Karl Jenkins who conducted his piece The Benedictus from The Armed Man.

 

On the 19th. November 2012, the Hall hosted the 100th.-anniversary performance of the Royal Variety Performance, attended by the HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Duke of Edinburgh, with boy-band One Direction among the performers.

 

During his Rattle That Lock Tour, David Gilmour performed at the Royal Albert Hall eleven times between September 2015 and September 2016, once in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

 

On the 13th. November 2015, Canadian musician Devin Townsend recorded his second live album Ziltoid Live at the Royal Albert Hall.

 

Kylie Minogue performed at the Royal Albert Hall on the 11th. December 2015 and the 9th. - 10th. December 2016 as part of her "A Kylie Christmas" concert series.

 

On the 3rd. May 2016, singer-songwriter and Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell played at the Hall in what would become the last UK show of his life as part of his "Higher Truth" European tour.

 

Cornell performed stripped-back acoustic renditions from his back-catalogue to rave reviews, including songs from the likes of Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave and his solo work. Cornell died on the 18th. May 2017.

 

On the 22nd. April 2016, British rock band Bring Me the Horizon performed and recorded their Live at the Royal Albert Hall album, with accompaniment from the Parallax Orchestra conducted by Simon Dobson.

 

At a press conference held at the Hall in October 2016, Phil Collins announced his return to live performing with his Not Dead Yet Tour, which began in June 2017. The tour included five nights at the Hall which sold out in fifteen seconds.

 

In October 2017, American rock band Alter Bridge also recorded a live album accompanied by the Parallax Orchestra with Simon Dobson.

 

Also in 2017, the Hall hosted the 70th. British Academy Film Awards, often referred to as the BAFTAs, for the first time in 20 years, replacing the Royal Opera House at which the event had been held since 2008.

 

In 2018, WWE held its second United Kingdom Championship Tournament on the 18th. and 19th. June.

 

Also in 2018, the world premiere of PlayStation in Concert was organised at the Hall. It featured PlayStation game music from the 1990's up until then. It was arranged by Jim Fowler and performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

 

In May 2019, Mariah Carey performed 3 shows as part of her Caution World Tour. Comedian Bill Burr filmed his 2019 special Paper Tiger at the Hall. In November 2020, One Direction member Niall Horan performed a one off live-streamed show in an empty Hall (during the COVID-19 pandemic) to raise money for charity.

 

Regular Events at the Royal Albert Hall

 

The Royal Choral Society

 

The Royal Choral Society is the longest-running regular performer at the Hall, having given its first performance as the Royal Albert Hall Choral Society on the 8th. May 1872. From 1876, it established the annual Good Friday performance of Handel's Messiah.

 

BBC Proms

 

The BBC Sir Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, known as "The Proms", is a popular annual eight-week summer season of daily classical music concerts and other events at the Hall.

 

In 1942, following the destruction of the Queen's Hall in an air raid, the Hall was chosen as the new venue for the proms. In 1944 with increased danger to the Hall, part of the proms were held in the Bedford Corn Exchange.

 

Following the end of World War II the proms continued in the Hall, and have done so annually every summer since. The event was founded in 1895, and now each season consists of over 70 concerts, in addition to a series of events at other venues across the United Kingdom on the last night.

 

In 2009, the total number of concerts reached 100 for the first time. Jiří Bělohlávek described The Proms as:

 

"The world's largest and most

democratic musical festival".

 

Proms is a term which arose from the original practice of the audience promenading, or strolling, in some areas during the concert. Proms concert-goers, particularly those who stand, are sometimes described as "Promenaders", but are most commonly referred to as "Prommers".

 

Tennis

 

Tennis was first played at the Hall in March 1970, and the ATP Champions Tour Masters has been played annually every December since 1997.

 

Classical Spectacular

 

Classical Spectacular, a Raymond Gubbay production, has been coming to the Hall since 1988. It combines popular classical music, lights and special effects.

 

Cirque du Soleil

 

Cirque du Soleil has performed annually, with a show being staged every January, since 2003. Cirque has had to adapt many of their touring shows to perform at the venue, modifying the set, usually built for arenas or big top tents instead.

 

Classic Brit Awards

 

Since 2000, the Classic Brit Awards has been hosted annually in May at the Hall. It is organised by the British Phonographic Industry.

 

Festival of Remembrance

 

The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance is held annually the day before Remembrance Sunday.

 

Institute of Directors

 

For 60 years the Institute of Directors' Annual Convention has been synonymous with the Hall, although in 2011 and 2012 it was held at indigO2.

 

The English National Ballet

 

Since 1998 the English National Ballet has had several specially staged arena summer seasons in partnership with the Hall and Raymond Gubbay. These include Strictly Gershwin, June 2008 and 2011, Swan Lake, June 2002, 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2013, Romeo & Juliet, June 2001 and 2005, and The Sleeping Beauty, April - June 2000.

 

Teenage Cancer Trust

 

Starting in the year 2000 the Teenage Cancer Trust has held annual charity concerts (with the exception of 2001). They started as a one-off event, but have expanded over the years to a week or more of evening events. Roger Daltrey of the Who has been intimately involved with the planning of the events.

 

Graduation Ceremonies

 

The Hall is used annually by the neighbouring Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art for graduation ceremonies. For several years the University of London and Kingston University also held their graduation ceremonies at the Hall.

 

Films, Premières and Live Orchestra Screenings

 

The venue has screened several films since the early silent days. It was the only London venue to show William Fox's The Queen of Sheba in the 1920's.

 

The Hall has hosted many premières, including the UK première of Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen, 101 Dalmatians on the 4th. December 1996, the European première of Spandau Ballet's Soul Boys of the Western World, and three James Bond royal world premières - Die Another Day on the 18th. November 2002 (attended by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip), Skyfall on the 23rd. October 2012 (attended by Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall), and Spectre on the 26th. October 2015 (attended by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge).

 

The Hall held the first 3D world première of Titanic 3D, on the 27th. March 2012, with James Cameron and Kate Winslet in attendance.

 

Since 2009, the Hall has also curated regular seasons of English-language film-and-live-orchestra screenings, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gladiator, Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, Interstellar, The Matrix, West Side Story, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Back to the Future, Jaws, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and the world première of Titanic Live in Concert.

 

The only non-English-language movie to have been screened at the Hall is Baahubali: The Beginning (an Indian movie in Telugu and Tamil, but premiered with the Hindi dubbed version).

 

National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain

 

The National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, one of the most prestigious prizes in the annual brass band contesting calendar, holds the Final of the Championship section at the Royal Albert Hall each October.

 

Beyond the Main Stage

 

The Hall hosts hundreds of events and activities beyond its main auditorium. There are regular free art exhibitions in the ground floor Amphi corridor, which can be viewed when attending events or on dedicated viewing dates.

 

Visitors can take a guided tour of the Hall on most days. The most common is the one-hour Grand Tour which includes most front-of-house areas, the auditorium, the Gallery and the Royal Retiring Room.

 

Other tours include Story of the Proms, Behind the Scenes, Inside Out and School tours.

 

Children's events include Storytelling and Music Sessions for ages four and under. These take place in the Door 9 Porch and Albert's Band sessions in the Elgar Room during school holidays.

 

"Live Music in Verdi" takes place in the Italian restaurant on a Friday night featuring different artists each week.

 

"Late Night Jazz" events in the Elgar Room, generally on a Thursday night, feature cabaret-style seating and a relaxed atmosphere with drinks available.

 

"Classical Coffee Mornings" are held on Sundays in the Elgar Room with musicians from the Royal College of Music accompanied with drinks and pastries.

 

Sunday brunch events take place in Verdi Italian restaurant and feature different genres of music.

 

Regular Performers at the Royal Albert Hall

 

Eric Clapton is a regular performer at the Hall. Since 1964, Clapton has performed at the Hall over 200 times, and has stated that performing at the venue is: "Like playing in my front room".

 

In December 1964, Clapton made his first appearance at the Hall with the Yardbirds. It was also the venue for his band Cream's farewell concerts in 1968 and reunion shows in 2005. He also instigated the Concert for George, which was held at the Hall on the 29th. November 2002 to pay tribute to Clapton's lifelong friend, former Beatle George Harrison. Clapton passed 200 shows at the Hall in 2015.

 

David Gilmour played at the Hall in support of two solo albums, while also releasing a live concert on September 2006 entitled Remember That Night which was recorded during his three nights playing at the Hall for his 2006 On an Island tour.

 

Notable guests were Robert Wyatt and David Bowie (who sang lead for "Arnold Layne" and "Comfortably Numb"). The live concert was televised by BBC One on the 9th. September 2007.

 

Gilmour returned to the Hall for four nights in September 2016 (where he was joined on stage by Benedict Cumberbatch for "Comfortably Numb"), having previously played five nights in 2015, to end his 34-day Rattle That Lock Tour. He also made an appearance on the 24th. April 2016 as part of the Teenage Cancer Trust event.

 

Shirley Bassey is one of the Hall's most prolific female headline performers, having appeared many times at the Hall since the 1970's. In 2001, she sang "Happy Birthday" for the Duke of Edinburgh's 80th. birthday concert. In 2007, she sang at Fashion Rocks in aid of the Prince's Trust.

 

On the 30th. March 2011, she sang at a gala celebrating the 80th. birthday of Mikhail Gorbachev. In May 2011, she performed at the Classic Brit Awards, singing "Goldfinger" in tribute to the recently deceased composer John Barry. On the 20th. June 2011, she returned and sang "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Goldfinger", accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, as the climax to the memorial concert for Barry.

 

James Last appeared 90 times at the Hall between 1973 and 2015, making him the most frequent non–British performer to have played the venue.

 

Education and Outreach Programme

 

The Hall's education and outreach programme engages with more than 200,000 people a year. It includes workshops for local teenagers led by musicians such as Foals, Jake Bugg, Emeli Sandé, Nicola Benedetti, Alison Balsom and First Aid Kit, innovative science and maths lessons, visits to local residential homes from the venue's in-house group, Albert's Band, under the 'Songbook' banner, and the Friendship Matinee: an orchestral concert for community groups, with £5 admission.

 

Mis-labellings

 

A famous and widely bootlegged concert by Bob Dylan at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester on the 17th. May 1966 was mistakenly labelled the "Royal Albert Hall Concert".

 

In 1998, Columbia Records released an official recording, The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert. It maintains the erroneous title but does include details of the actual location.

 

Recordings from the Royal Albert Hall concerts on the 26th. and 27th. May 1966 were finally released by the artist in 2016 as The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert.

 

Another concert mislabelled as being at the Hall was by Creedence Clearwater Revival. An album by them entitled The Royal Albert Hall Concert was released in 1980. When Fantasy Records discovered the show on the album actually took place at the Oakland Coliseum, it retitled the album The Concert.

 

Pop Culture References

 

A large mural by Peter Blake, entitled Appearing at the Royal Albert Hall, is displayed in the Hall's Café Bar. Unveiled in April 2014, it shows more than 400 famous figures who have appeared on the stage.

 

In 1955, English film director Alfred Hitchcock filmed the climax of The Man Who Knew Too Much at the Hall. The 15-minute sequence featured James Stewart, Doris Day and composer Bernard Herrmann, and was filmed partly in the Queen's Box.

 

Hitchcock was a long-time patron of the Hall and had already set the finale of his 1927 film, The Ring at the Hall, as well as his initial version of The Man Who Knew Too Much, starring Leslie Banks, Edna Best and Peter Lorre.

 

Other notable films shot at the Hall include Major Barbara, Love Story, The Seventh Veil, The Ipcress File, A Touch of Class, Shine, and Spice World.

 

In the song "A Day in the Life" by the Beatles, the Albert Hall is mentioned. The verse goes as follows:

 

"I read the news today, oh boy

four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire

and though the holes were rather small

they had to count them all

now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall

I'd love to turn you on".

 

The song "Session Man" by The Kinks references the Hall:

 

"He never will forget at all

The day he played at Albert Hall".

 

In the song "Shame" by Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow, Barlow mentions the Hall in his verse:

 

"I read your mind and tried to call,

my tears could fill the Albert Hall".

The Who, What, and How of Aspen Ideas Festival 2023

JUNE 23, 2023 • INSTITUTE STAFF

 

It’s time once again for the Aspen Ideas Festival, the Institute’s signature summer event. In back-to back sessions June 24-27 and June 27-30, the festival brings more than 320 speakers and thousands of attendees to share facts, ideas, and inspiration high in the Rocky Mountains. It’s a big event with a full programming schedule and an impressive speaker list.

 

Big names will be taking center stage, but there are big ideas around every corner at the festival. The schedule is designed to give attendees continuous opportunities to engage with speakers—and each other—through workshops, roundtables, field trips, and seminars, as well as evening programming taking place throughout the city of Aspen.

 

Passes to attend are still available, and tickets for in-town evening events are available for those who aren’t attending the on-campus festival. If you haven’t made plans to attend this year, be sure to follow online at the festival site and Twitter.

 

What’s new?

 

In 2023, each morning will begin with the “Wicked Problem” series, where attendees gather to explore a complex current issue in depth. Topics to be discussed include the debate over educational content, living with AI, affirmative action, guns in America, immigration, and the way forward on China. It’s a way to get the brain working early.

 

Who’s covering it?

 

NBCUniversal News Group is the exclusive media partner of the Festival, collaborating on programming and extending the reach of the across NBCU News Group’s broadcast, cable, digital, audio and streaming platforms. Participating in the festival this year are NBC Nightly News anchor and managing editor Lester Holt, co-host of TODAY with Hoda & Jenna Jenna Bush Hager, NBC News chief Washington correspondent and chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell, NBC News NOW anchor Tom Llamas, NBC News NOW anchor and co-host of Stay Tuned Savannah Sellers, co-anchor of CNBC’s Squawk Box Andrew Ross Sorkin, anchor of CNBC’s TechCheck Deirdre Bosa, Noticias Telemundo anchors Vanessa Hauc and Johana Suárez, as well as host of MSNBC Films and NBC News Studio’s Leguizamo Does America, John Leguizamo.

 

The highlights:

 

Following is a list of what’s happening on the big stages—but there are plenty of big ideas in smaller venues, and great conversations to be had over meals and along hiking paths.

 

Saturday, June 24

 

What have we learned since the Manhattan Project? NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell leads a conversation with documentary film director Chris Cassel and author Kai Bird in advance of the release of the NBC News Studios documentary, To End All War: Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb.

 

The opening session features Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan in conversation with NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell, and science journalist Catherine Price dives into the “Power of Fun.”

 

Around the world, a free and independent press stands as one of the last lines of defense against rising autocracy. Nobel laureate Maria Ressa, who faces persecution at the hands of the Philippines government, addresses the stakes in conversation with Aspen Digital Executive Director Vivian Schiller.

 

Sunday, June 25

 

As U.S. cities adjust to a new post-pandemic normal of empty office buildings and decreased foot traffic, how are city and federal leaders working with small businesses to reimagine downtowns? Hear from Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman in conversation with Charter Co-Founder and CEO Kevin Delaney.

 

NASA astrophysicist and Nobel laureate John Mather presents images from the James Webb Space Telescope, showing how it works and what has been found.

 

BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink sits down with David Rubenstein, Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of The Carlyle Group.

 

As Patagonia celebrates its 50th anniversary, CEO Ryan Gellert reflects on the company’s legacy in the wake of a decision to legally restructure and commit all profits to environmental causes, and speaks to Baratunde Thurston, host of the “How to Citizen” podcast.

 

Monday, June 26

 

How can we regulate AI and manage the potentially catastrophic societal risks while maximizing its positive influence? Schmidt Futures Co-Founder Eric Schmidt, Tulane University history professor Walter Isaacson, and MIT Schwarzman College of Computing dean Daniel Huttenlocher grapple with the question.

 

In “Read with Jenna: Migration and the Meaning of Home,” NBC’s TODAY’s Jenna Bush Hager speaks with authors Javier Zamora and Jamie Ford on the ways in which migration has shaped them, unpacking what it means to be American and exploring the meaning of home.

 

Reportedly, when Ron Klain left his job as White House Chief of Staff in February, his most prized possession from his tenure was a rock. Atlantic journalist Frank Foer asks him about that rock and lessons learned in the West Wing.

 

General Motors Chair and CEO Mary Barra challenged the auto industry as leader of the first major US automaker to pledge all electric cars and SUVs by 2035. With new partnerships between Tesla and Ford to drive accessibility for EV chargers, NBC News President of Editorial Rebecca Blumenstein speaks to her about her bet, recent moves to improve accessibility with Tesla and Ford, and her leadership as one of the longest serving CEOs.

 

What does the future hold for oil and gas? Chevron CEO Mike Wirth shares his perspective on the clean energy transition with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin.

 

If Americans are to remain a nation, we must ultimately find a way to reckon with race, history, and chart a path forward. Two renowned scholars, Princeton University professors Eddie Glaude, Jr. and Imani Perry, lead a conversation on how we might do just that.

 

From a role on The Office to a role as cheerleader for spirituality, the comedic actor, writer, and producer Rainn Wilson is on a mission to show the world how embracing spirituality can help us navigate challenging times. Jenna Bush Hager sits down with Wilson to discuss his new book and travel show.

 

Tuesday, June 27

 

Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, Executive Vice President of Race Forward Eric Ward, and White House Homeland Security Advisor Dr. Liz Sherwood-Randall speak to Katie Couric about the first ever U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, released by the White House in May.

 

At the midway point of the festival, the “Afternoon of Conversation” will be opened by NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde and Aspen Institute President and CEO Dan Porterfield. Speakers will include former United States Representative Liz Cheney on the future of democracy in conversation with NBC News’ Lester Holt. Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer Jon Meacham and Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Lyle Lovett speak with Walter Isaacson on the music that made a nation. Hear from theoretical physicist Brian Greene on quantum entanglement. Dow Jones CEO and Wall Street Journal publisher Almar Latour speaks with Katie Couric on the fight to free detained journalist Evan Gershkovich. Celebrated actor Brian Cox appears in conversation with Katie Couric.

 

As AI-generated images and deepfake videos flood our feeds, what tools do news organizations have to vet their validity? Journalists discuss a new frontier in artificial intelligence, with 1A host Jenn White, NBCUniversal News Group Executive Vice President of Digital Chris Berend, Wall Street Senior Personal Technologist Joanna Stern, and The Verge Editor-in-Chief Nilay Patel.

 

From King Lear to Succession: Brian Cox, renowned Shakespearean actor and star of “Succession,” and Simon Godwin, Shakespeare Theatre Company artistic director and Aspen Institute Harman/Eisner Artist in Residence, join former CEO of The Walt Disney Company Michael Eisner to discuss how they bring the Bard to life.

 

Wednesday, June 28

 

Why purpose is still powerful: hear from the CEOs of SYPartners, Ralph Lauren, and Danone, Jessica Orkin, Patrice Louvet, and Shane Grant, and Prudential Financial Vice Chair Rob Falzon.

 

In 2023, the NBCUniversal News Group launched its third annual multi-platform franchise event, Inspiring America: The Inspiration List, highlighting ten honorees, including Susan Burton, Eva Longoria, LeBron James, and Reba McEntire. Tom Llamas brings this conversation to Aspen with “Leaders Inspiring America.” The panel will include Catherine Flowers, an environmental and climate justice activist, Susan Burton, creator of non-profit “A New Way of Life,” and actor John Leguizamo, on his series Leguizamo Does America highlighting thriving Latino communities across America.

 

The Inflation Reduction Act has helped give legs to a clean energy manufacturing boom in America, but myriad regulatory, political, and practical challenges remain to meet our climate goals. White House clean energy advisor John Podesta shares how the administration is implementing the IRA and working to overcome these challenges with Noticias Telemundo’s Vanessa Hauc.

 

Columbia University linguistics professor John McWhorter and New York Times columnist David Brooks discuss the “word wars,” touching on the concept of wokeism and the battle over language.

 

How can governments bring their citizens home while also preventing further captures? The United States’ top hostage negotiator Roger Carstens, Dartmouth Foreign Policy and International Security Fellow Dani Gilbert, and a former hostage—the Washington Post’s Jason Rezaian—speaks to NBC News’ Tom Llamas.

 

Thursday, June 29

 

U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona appears in conversation with Noticias Telemundo’s Vanessa Hauc, describing a new era of education in the United States as we emerge from the unprecedented disruption of the pandemic.

 

Even at a time of intense partisan polarization, it is still possible to get things done in Washington. Hear from Representative Jason Crow (D-CO) and Representative Tony Gonzales (R-TX), co-chairs of the House for Country Caucus, in conversation with Katie Couric.

 

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi discusses changes coming to the ridesharing service, such as sustainability features for riders and drivers, a more efficient food delivery system, and a plan to make the company emissions-free, in a conversation with NBC News’ Savannah Sellers.

 

A cutting-edge nuclear power plant is coming to Wyoming. Rich Powell, the CEO of ClearPath, speaks with two of the driving forces behind the project: TerraPower President & CEO Chris Levesque and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon.

 

Does America need a new party? Some research suggests that’s what 60 percent of American voters want. Forward Party Co-Chair Andrew Yang shares his perspective with NBC News’ Savannah Sellers.

 

Friday, June 30

 

NBC News President of Editorial Rebecca Blumenstein, along with Jorge Guajardo, Jessica Chen Weiss, Elbridge Colby and Stephen Roach will discuss “The Way Forward on China.”

 

Stanford professors Rob Reich and Mehran Sahami argue that big tech’s obsession with optimization and efficiency has sacrificed fundamental human values. In conversation with the Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern, they outline steps to change course and renew democracy.

 

Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and National Review Editor-in-Chief Rich Lowry speak to Katie Couric.

 

In his book The Myth of American Inequality, former U.S. Senator Phil Gramm argues that the facts reveal a very different and better America than the one currently described by many policy advocates. He speaks with Robert Doar, president of the American Enterprise Institute.

 

The closing session features New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, architect David Adjaye, “How to Citizen” podcast host Baratunde Thurston, and “The Slowdown” podcast co-founder Spencer Bailey.

 

For more information, visit the Aspen Ideas Festival website.

Aaand the second twin arrived some time ago, I am trying to catch up with my arrivals before the Convention and the flood of dolls we are getting next week...

 

Makeup & Hairstyle - So, she and her sister share the famous Wild at Hearts screening. What I like more about her compared to Eden is darker eyeshadow and nude lips. I think this makeup color combo suits her hair color pretty well. Her eyes are like light hazel - gold honey, very pretty! She has silver eyeliner below her eyes, which is kind of unusual as she has gold jewelry, but IRL it looks nice. My doll has shorter hair than her sister, and her hair color is like grey-lavender. It looks more natural than Eden's. I wouldn't change anything about her. 10/10

 

Outfit & Accessories - Ebay offerings of this dress suggest that it was not received quite well with collectors. But, I find it quite nice! I love beige clothes and we rarely get dolls with lighter outfits. Plus, small sequins look nice in person. Now, the attachable bow is kind of strange, not sure why they didn't use it to make attachable sleeve or something like that. The size of the bow is out of scale and looks strange on her. Now, accessories, I LOVE her necklace and shoes!!! Totally iconic pieces of accessories! The bag, ring and earrings are nice too. The shoes are a color variation of the ones Vanessa had at the convention last year, they have zippers and fit great (still not sure why they didn't use zipper on Eden's shoes...). 9/10

 

Overall: I had to get her, as we do not get twins with this screening too often. I like her more than Eden, so if you still didn't get either, I would suggest to go for this one and get outfit from Eden. She is very close to Public Adoration and her price is not that close to PA, so I would definitely suggest adding her to your collection. 9.5/10

The Postcard

 

A postcard bearing no publisher's name that was posted on Monday the 15th. February 1909 to:

 

Miss E. Huxtable,

11, Upper Fleet Street,

Swansea,

South Wales.

 

The pencilled message on the divided back was as follows:

 

"Forest Gate,

London E.

Having a very pleasant

time, a whirl of excitement

in London.

Don't know when I shall

return. I will write again.

Hoping you are all well

at home.

Kind regards,

G. Hill."

 

The Royal Albert Hall

 

The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the United Kingdom's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no government funding. It can seat 5,272 people.

 

The Royal Albert Hall has been affectionately named "The Nation's Village Hall".

 

Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres have appeared on its stage. It is the venue for the Proms concerts, which have been held there every summer since 1941.

 

It is host to more than 390 shows in the main auditorium annually, including classical, rock and pop concerts, ballet, opera, film screenings with live orchestral accompaniment, sports, awards ceremonies, school and community events, and charity performances and banquets. A further 400 events are held each year in the non-auditorium areas.

 

The hall was originally supposed to have been called the Central Hall of Arts and Sciences, but the name was changed to the Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences by Queen Victoria upon laying the Hall's foundation stone in 1867, in memory of her husband, Prince Albert, who had died six years earlier.

 

History of The Royal Albert Hall

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 1800's

 

In 1851 the Great Exhibition, organised by Prince Albert, was held in Hyde Park, London. The Exhibition was a success, and this led Prince Albert to propose the creation of a group of permanent facilities for the public benefit, which came to be known as Albertopolis.

 

The Exhibition's Royal Commission bought Gore House, but it was slow to act, and in 1861 Prince Albert died without having seen his ideas come to fruition. However, a memorial was proposed for Hyde Park, with a Great Hall opposite.

 

The proposal was approved, and the site was purchased with some of the profits from the Exhibition. The Hall was designed by civil engineers Captain Francis Fowke and Major-General Henry Y. D. Scott of the Royal Engineers, and built by Lucas Brothers.

 

The designers were heavily influenced by ancient amphitheatres, but had also been exposed to the ideas of Gottfried Semper while he was working at the South Kensington Museum.

 

The recently opened Cirque d'Hiver in Paris was seen in the contemporary press as the design to outdo.

 

The Hall was constructed mainly of Fareham Red Brick, with terra cotta block decoration made by Gibbs and Canning Ltd. of Tamworth.

 

The dome (designed by Rowland Mason Ordish) was made of wrought iron and glazed. There was a trial assembly of the dome's iron framework in Manchester; then it was taken apart and transported to London by horse and cart.

 

When the time came for the supporting structure to be removed from the dome after reassembly in situ, only volunteers remained on-site in case the structure collapsed. It did drop – but only by five-sixteenths of an inch (8 mm).

 

The Hall was scheduled to be completed by Christmas Day 1870, and Queen Victoria visited a few weeks beforehand to inspect.

 

The official opening ceremony of the Royal Albert Hall was on the 29th. March 1871. A welcoming speech was given by Edward, the Prince of Wales because Queen Victoria was too overcome to speak;

 

"Her only recorded comment on the

Hall was that it reminded her of the

British constitution".

 

In the concert that followed, the Hall's acoustic problems immediately became apparent. Engineers first tried to remove the strong echo by suspending a canvas awning below the dome. This helped, and also sheltered concert-goers from the sun, but the problem was not solved - it used to be jokingly said:

 

"The Hall is the only place where

a British composer could be sure

of hearing his work twice".

 

In July 1871, French organist Camille Saint-Saëns performed Church Scene from Faust by Charles Gounod; The Orchestra described him as:

 

"An exceptional and distinguished

performer ... the effect was most

marvellous."

 

Initially lit by gas, the Hall contained a special system by which thousands of gas jets were lit within ten seconds. Though it was demonstrated as early as 1873 in the Hall, full electric lighting was not installed until 1888. During an early trial when a partial installation was made, one disgruntled patron wrote to The Times, declaring it to be:

 

"A very ghastly and unpleasant

innovation".

 

In May 1877, Richard Wagner conducted the first half of each of the eight concerts which made up the Grand Wagner Festival. After his turn with the baton, he handed it over to conductor Hans Richter and sat in a large armchair on the corner of the stage for the rest of each concert. Wagner's wife Cosima, the daughter of Hungarian virtuoso pianist and composer Franz Liszt, was among the audience.

 

The Wine Society was founded at the Hall on the 4th. August 1874, after large quantities of cask wine were found in the cellars. A series of lunches were held to publicise the wines, and General Henry Scott proposed a co-operative company to buy and sell wines.

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 1900's

 

In 1906 Elsie Fogerty founded the Central School of Speech and Drama at the Hall, using its West Theatre, now the Elgar Room. The school moved to Swiss Cottage in north London in 1957. Whilst the school was based at the Royal Albert Hall, students who graduated from its classes included Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Lynn Redgrave, Harold Pinter, Laurence Olivier and Peggy Ashcroft.

 

In 1911 Russian pianist and composer Sergei Rachmaninoff performed at the Hall. The recital included his 'Prelude in C-sharp minor' and 'Elegie in E-flat minor'.

 

In 1933 German physicist Albert Einstein led the 'Einstein Meeting' at the hall for the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics, a British charity.

 

In 1936, the Hall was the scene of a giant rally celebrating the British Empire on the occasion of the centenary of Joseph Chamberlain's birth.

 

In October 1942, the Hall suffered minor damage during World War II bombing, but in general was left mostly untouched as German pilots used the distinctive structure as a landmark.

 

In 1949 the canvas awning was removed and replaced with fluted aluminium panels below the glass roof, in a new attempt to cure the echo. However the acoustics were not properly tackled until 1969 when large fibreglass acoustic diffusing discs (commonly referred to as "mushrooms" or "flying saucers") were installed below the ceiling.

 

In 1968, the Hall hosted the Eurovision Song Contest, and from 1969–1988 the Miss World contest was staged at the venue.

 

In 1995, Greek keyboardist Yanni performed a concert there for his World Tour; the concert was recorded under the name of Live at Royal Albert Hall.

 

From 1996 until 2004, the Hall underwent a programme of renovation and development supported by a £20 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £20m from Arts Council England to enable it to meet the demands of the next century of events and performances.

 

Thirty "discreet projects" were designed and supervised by the architecture and engineering firm BDP without disrupting events. These projects included improved ventilation to the auditorium, more bars and restaurants, improved seating, better technical facilities, and improved backstage areas. Internally, the Circle seating was rebuilt during June 1996 to provide more legroom, better access, and improved sightlines.

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 2000's

 

The largest project of the ongoing renovation and development was the building of a new south porch – door 12, accommodating a first-floor restaurant, a new ground floor box office and a below-ground loading bay.

 

Although the exterior of the building was largely unchanged, the south steps leading down to Prince Consort Road were demolished to allow the construction of underground vehicle access and a loading bay with accommodation for three HGVs carrying all the equipment brought by shows.

 

The steps were then reconstructed around a new south porch, named The Meitar Foyer after a significant donation from Mr & Mrs Meitar. The porch was built on a similar scale and style to the three pre-existing porches at Doors 3, 6 and 9: these works were undertaken by Taylor Woodrow.

 

The original steps featured in the early scenes of the 1965 film The Ipcress File. On the 4th. June 2004, the project received the Europa Nostra Award for remarkable achievement.

 

The East (Door 3) and West (Door 9) porches were glazed, and new bars opened along with ramps to improve disabled access. The Stalls were rebuilt in a four-week period in 2000 using steel supports, thereby allowing more space underneath for two new bars.

 

1,534 unique pivoting seats were installed, with an addition of 180 prime seats. The Choirs were rebuilt at the same time.

 

The whole building was redecorated in a style that reinforces its Victorian identity. 43,000 sq. ft (4,000 m2) of new carpets were laid in the rooms, stairs, and corridors – specially woven with a border that follows the oval curve of the building.

 

Between 2002 and 2004, there was a major rebuilding of the great organ (known as the Voice of Jupiter), built by "Father" Henry Willis in 1871 and rebuilt by Harrison & Harrison in 1924 and 1933.

 

The rebuilding was performed by Mander Organs, and it is now the second-largest pipe organ in the British Isles with 9,997 pipes in 147 stops. The largest is the Grand Organ in Liverpool Cathedral which has 10,268 pipes.

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 2010's

 

During the first half of 2011, changes were made to the backstage areas in order to relocate and increase the size of crew catering areas under the South Steps away from the stage and to create additional dressing rooms nearer to the stage.

 

During the summer of 2012, the staff canteen and some changing areas were expanded and refurbished. From January to May the Box Office area at Door 12 underwent further modernisation to include a new Café Bar on the ground floor, a new Box Office with shop counters, and additional toilets.

 

Upon opening it was renamed 'The Zvi and Ofra Meitar Porch and Foyer.' owing to a large donation from the couple.

 

In Autumn 2013, work began on replacing the Victorian steam heating system over three years and improving and cooling across the building. This work followed the summer Proms season during which temperatures were unusually high.

 

From January the Cafe Consort on the Grand Tier was closed permanently in preparation for a new restaurant at a cost of £1 million. Verdi – Italian Kitchen was officially opened on the 15th. April with a lunch or dinner menu of stone baked pizzas, pasta, and classic desserts.

 

Design of The Royal Albert Hall

 

The Hall, a Grade I listed building, is an ellipse in plan, with its external major and minor axis of 272 and 236 feet (83 and 72 meters. The great glass and wrought-iron dome roofing the Hall is 135 ft (41 m) high.

 

Below the Arena floor there is room for two 4000 gallon water tanks, which are used for shows that flood the arena like Madame Butterfly.

 

The Hall was originally designed with a capacity for 8,000 people, and has accommodated as many as 12,000 (although present-day safety restrictions mean the maximum permitted capacity is now 5,272, including standing in the Gallery.

 

Around the outside of the building is an 800–foot–long terracotta mosaic frieze, depicting "The Triumph of Arts and Sciences", in reference to the Hall's dedication. Above the frieze is an inscription in 12-inch-high (30 cm) terracotta letters that combine historical fact and Biblical quotations:

 

"This hall was erected for the advancement

of the arts and sciences and works of industry

of all nations in fulfilment of the intention of

Albert Prince Consort.

The site was purchased with the proceeds of

the Great Exhibition of the year MDCCCLI.

The first stone of the Hall was laid by Her

Majesty Queen Victoria on the twentieth day

of May MDCCCLXVII and it was opened by Her

Majesty the Twenty Ninth of March in the year

MDCCCLXXI.

Thine O Lord is the greatness and the power

and the glory and the victory and the majesty.

For all that is in the heaven and in the earth is

Thine. The wise and their works are in the hand

of God. Glory be to God on high and on earth

peace".

 

Events at The Royal Albert Hall

 

The first concert at the Hall was Arthur Sullivan's cantata On Shore and Sea, performed on the 1st. May 1871.

 

Many events are promoted by the Hall, and since the early 1970's promoter Raymond Gubbay has brought a range of events to the Hall including opera, ballet and classical music.

 

Events also include rock concerts, conferences, banquets, ballroom dancing, poetry recitals, educational talks, motor shows, ballet, opera, film screenings and circus shows.

 

The Royal Albert Hall has hosted many sporting events, including boxing, squash, table tennis, basketball, wrestling (including the first Sumo wrestling tournament to be held in London) as well as UFC 38 (the first UFC event to be held in the UK), tennis, and even a marathon.

 

The Hall first hosted boxing in 1918, when it hosted a tournament between British and American servicemen. There was a colour bar in place at the Hall, preventing black boxers from fighting there, between 1923 and 1932.

 

Greats of British boxing such as Frank Bruno, Prince Naseem Hamed, Henry Cooper and Lennox Lewis have all appeared at the venue. The Hall's boxing history was halted in 1999 when a court ordered that boxing and wrestling matches could no longer be held at the venue. In 2011 that decision was overturned. In 2019 Nicola Adams won the WBO Flyweight title which was the first fight for a world title at the venue since Marco Antonio Barrera took on Paul Lloyd in 1999.

 

On the 6th. April 1968, the Hall hosted the Eurovision Song Contest which was broadcast in colour for the first time. The first Miss World contest broadcast in colour was also staged at the venue in 1969, and remained at the Hall every year until 1989.

 

One notable event was a Pink Floyd concert held on the 26th. June 1969. On that night they were banned from ever playing at the Hall again after shooting cannons, nailing things to the stage, and having a man in a gorilla suit roam the audience.

 

At one point, Rick Wright went to the pipe organ and began to play "The End of the Beginning", the final part of "Saucerful of Secrets", joined by the brass section of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (led by the conductor, Norman Smith) and the ladies of the Ealing Central Amateur Choir. A portion of the pipe organ recording is included on Pink Floyd's album The Endless River.

 

On the 18th. June 1985, British Gothic rock band The Sisters of Mercy recorded their live video album Wake at the Hall.

 

Between 1996 and 2008, the Hall hosted the annual National Television Awards, all of which were hosted by Sir Trevor McDonald.

 

Benefit concerts include the 1997 Music for Montserrat concert, arranged and produced by George Martin. The event featured artists such as Phil Collins, Mark Knopfler, Sting, Elton John, Eric Clapton, and Paul McCartney.

 

In 2006, Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour performed at the Hall for the first time since Pink Floyd's 1969 ban. He performed as part of his On an Island Tour. The shows were filmed and used for the live video release, Remember That Night (2007).

 

Rock band The Killers recorded their first live album, Live from the Royal Albert Hall in July 2009.

 

On the 5th. April 2010, Swedish progressive metal band Opeth recorded In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, as they became the first Death metal band ever to perform at the Hall. The concert was part of the band's Evolution XX: An Opeth Anthology tour, made in celebration of their 20th. anniversary.

 

In July 2011, Janet Jackson performed three sold-out shows as part of her Number Ones, Up Close and Personal World Tour.

 

On the 2nd. October 2011, the Hall staged the 25th.-anniversary performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, which was broadcast live to cinemas across the world and filmed for DVD.

 

Lloyd Webber, the original London cast including Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford, and four previous actors of the titular character, among others, were in attendance – Brightman and the previous Phantoms (aside from Crawford) performed an encore.

 

On the 22nd. September 2011, Adele performed a one-night-only concert as part of her tour. The concert was filmed for DVD, and screened at cinemas in 26 cities around the world.

 

Her performance debuted at number one in the United States with 96,000 copies sold, the highest one-week tally for a music DVD in four years. After one week, it became the best-selling music DVD of 2011. As of the 28th. November 2012, it had surpassed sales of one million copies in the United States and sales of three million copies worldwide.

 

It was the first music DVD to surpass sales of one million in the USA since the Eagles' Farewell 1 Tour-Live from Melbourne in 2005.

 

The 2012 Sunflower Jam charity concert featured Queen guitarist Brian May performing alongside bassist John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, drummer Ian Paice of Deep Purple, and vocalists Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, and Alice Cooper.

 

On the 24th. September 2012, Classic FM celebrated the 20th. anniversary of their launch with a concert at the Hall. The program featured live performances of works by Handel, Puccini, Rachmaninoff, Parry, Vaughan Williams, Tchaikovsky and Karl Jenkins who conducted his piece The Benedictus from The Armed Man.

 

On the 19th. November 2012, the Hall hosted the 100th.-anniversary performance of the Royal Variety Performance, attended by the HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Duke of Edinburgh, with boy-band One Direction among the performers.

 

During his Rattle That Lock Tour, David Gilmour performed at the Royal Albert Hall eleven times between September 2015 and September 2016, once in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

 

On the 13th. November 2015, Canadian musician Devin Townsend recorded his second live album Ziltoid Live at the Royal Albert Hall.

 

Kylie Minogue performed at the Royal Albert Hall on the 11th. December 2015 and the 9th. - 10th. December 2016 as part of her "A Kylie Christmas" concert series.

 

On the 3rd. May 2016, singer-songwriter and Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell played at the Hall in what would become the last UK show of his life as part of his "Higher Truth" European tour.

 

Cornell performed stripped-back acoustic renditions from his back-catalogue to rave reviews, including songs from the likes of Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave and his solo work. Cornell died on the 18th. May 2017.

 

On the 22nd. April 2016, British rock band Bring Me the Horizon performed and recorded their Live at the Royal Albert Hall album, with accompaniment from the Parallax Orchestra conducted by Simon Dobson.

 

At a press conference held at the Hall in October 2016, Phil Collins announced his return to live performing with his Not Dead Yet Tour, which began in June 2017. The tour included five nights at the Hall which sold out in fifteen seconds.

 

In October 2017, American rock band Alter Bridge also recorded a live album accompanied by the Parallax Orchestra with Simon Dobson.

 

Also in 2017, the Hall hosted the 70th. British Academy Film Awards, often referred to as the BAFTAs, for the first time in 20 years, replacing the Royal Opera House at which the event had been held since 2008.

 

In 2018, WWE held its second United Kingdom Championship Tournament on the 18th. and 19th. June.

 

Also in 2018, the world premiere of PlayStation in Concert was organised at the Hall. It featured PlayStation game music from the 1990's up until then. It was arranged by Jim Fowler and performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

 

In May 2019, Mariah Carey performed 3 shows as part of her Caution World Tour. Comedian Bill Burr filmed his 2019 special Paper Tiger at the Hall. In November 2020, One Direction member Niall Horan performed a one off live-streamed show in an empty Hall (during the COVID-19 pandemic) to raise money for charity.

 

Regular Events at the Royal Albert Hall

 

The Royal Choral Society

 

The Royal Choral Society is the longest-running regular performer at the Hall, having given its first performance as the Royal Albert Hall Choral Society on the 8th. May 1872. From 1876, it established the annual Good Friday performance of Handel's Messiah.

 

BBC Proms

 

The BBC Sir Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, known as "The Proms", is a popular annual eight-week summer season of daily classical music concerts and other events at the Hall.

 

In 1942, following the destruction of the Queen's Hall in an air raid, the Hall was chosen as the new venue for the proms. In 1944 with increased danger to the Hall, part of the proms were held in the Bedford Corn Exchange.

 

Following the end of World War II the proms continued in the Hall, and have done so annually every summer since. The event was founded in 1895, and now each season consists of over 70 concerts, in addition to a series of events at other venues across the United Kingdom on the last night.

 

In 2009, the total number of concerts reached 100 for the first time. Jiří Bělohlávek described The Proms as:

 

"The world's largest and most

democratic musical festival".

 

Proms is a term which arose from the original practice of the audience promenading, or strolling, in some areas during the concert. Proms concert-goers, particularly those who stand, are sometimes described as "Promenaders", but are most commonly referred to as "Prommers".

 

Tennis

 

Tennis was first played at the Hall in March 1970, and the ATP Champions Tour Masters has been played annually every December since 1997.

 

Classical Spectacular

 

Classical Spectacular, a Raymond Gubbay production, has been coming to the Hall since 1988. It combines popular classical music, lights and special effects.

 

Cirque du Soleil

 

Cirque du Soleil has performed annually, with a show being staged every January, since 2003. Cirque has had to adapt many of their touring shows to perform at the venue, modifying the set, usually built for arenas or big top tents instead.

 

Classic Brit Awards

 

Since 2000, the Classic Brit Awards has been hosted annually in May at the Hall. It is organised by the British Phonographic Industry.

 

Festival of Remembrance

 

The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance is held annually the day before Remembrance Sunday.

 

Institute of Directors

 

For 60 years the Institute of Directors' Annual Convention has been synonymous with the Hall, although in 2011 and 2012 it was held at indigO2.

 

The English National Ballet

 

Since 1998 the English National Ballet has had several specially staged arena summer seasons in partnership with the Hall and Raymond Gubbay. These include Strictly Gershwin, June 2008 and 2011, Swan Lake, June 2002, 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2013, Romeo & Juliet, June 2001 and 2005, and The Sleeping Beauty, April - June 2000.

 

Teenage Cancer Trust

 

Starting in the year 2000 the Teenage Cancer Trust has held annual charity concerts (with the exception of 2001). They started as a one-off event, but have expanded over the years to a week or more of evening events. Roger Daltrey of the Who has been intimately involved with the planning of the events.

 

Graduation Ceremonies

 

The Hall is used annually by the neighbouring Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art for graduation ceremonies. For several years the University of London and Kingston University also held their graduation ceremonies at the Hall.

 

Films, Premières and Live Orchestra Screenings

 

The venue has screened several films since the early silent days. It was the only London venue to show William Fox's The Queen of Sheba in the 1920's.

 

The Hall has hosted many premières, including the UK première of Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen, 101 Dalmatians on the 4th. December 1996, the European première of Spandau Ballet's Soul Boys of the Western World, and three James Bond royal world premières - Die Another Day on the 18th. November 2002 (attended by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip), Skyfall on the 23rd. October 2012 (attended by Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall), and Spectre on the 26th. October 2015 (attended by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge).

 

The Hall held the first 3D world première of Titanic 3D, on the 27th. March 2012, with James Cameron and Kate Winslet in attendance.

 

Since 2009, the Hall has also curated regular seasons of English-language film-and-live-orchestra screenings, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gladiator, Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, Interstellar, The Matrix, West Side Story, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Back to the Future, Jaws, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and the world première of Titanic Live in Concert.

 

The only non-English-language movie to have been screened at the Hall is Baahubali: The Beginning (an Indian movie in Telugu and Tamil, but premiered with the Hindi dubbed version).

 

National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain

 

The National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, one of the most prestigious prizes in the annual brass band contesting calendar, holds the Final of the Championship section at the Royal Albert Hall each October.

 

Beyond the Main Stage

 

The Hall hosts hundreds of events and activities beyond its main auditorium. There are regular free art exhibitions in the ground floor Amphi corridor, which can be viewed when attending events or on dedicated viewing dates.

 

Visitors can take a guided tour of the Hall on most days. The most common is the one-hour Grand Tour which includes most front-of-house areas, the auditorium, the Gallery and the Royal Retiring Room.

 

Other tours include Story of the Proms, Behind the Scenes, Inside Out and School tours.

 

Children's events include Storytelling and Music Sessions for ages four and under. These take place in the Door 9 Porch and Albert's Band sessions in the Elgar Room during school holidays.

 

"Live Music in Verdi" takes place in the Italian restaurant on a Friday night featuring different artists each week.

 

"Late Night Jazz" events in the Elgar Room, generally on a Thursday night, feature cabaret-style seating and a relaxed atmosphere with drinks available.

 

"Classical Coffee Mornings" are held on Sundays in the Elgar Room with musicians from the Royal College of Music accompanied with drinks and pastries.

 

Sunday brunch events take place in Verdi Italian restaurant and feature different genres of music.

 

Regular Performers at the Royal Albert Hall

 

Eric Clapton is a regular performer at the Hall. Since 1964, Clapton has performed at the Hall over 200 times, and has stated that performing at the venue is: "Like playing in my front room".

 

In December 1964, Clapton made his first appearance at the Hall with the Yardbirds. It was also the venue for his band Cream's farewell concerts in 1968 and reunion shows in 2005. He also instigated the Concert for George, which was held at the Hall on the 29th. November 2002 to pay tribute to Clapton's lifelong friend, former Beatle George Harrison. Clapton passed 200 shows at the Hall in 2015.

 

David Gilmour played at the Hall in support of two solo albums, while also releasing a live concert on September 2006 entitled Remember That Night which was recorded during his three nights playing at the Hall for his 2006 On an Island tour.

 

Notable guests were Robert Wyatt and David Bowie (who sang lead for "Arnold Layne" and "Comfortably Numb"). The live concert was televised by BBC One on the 9th. September 2007.

 

Gilmour returned to the Hall for four nights in September 2016 (where he was joined on stage by Benedict Cumberbatch for "Comfortably Numb"), having previously played five nights in 2015, to end his 34-day Rattle That Lock Tour. He also made an appearance on the 24th. April 2016 as part of the Teenage Cancer Trust event.

 

Shirley Bassey is one of the Hall's most prolific female headline performers, having appeared many times at the Hall since the 1970's. In 2001, she sang "Happy Birthday" for the Duke of Edinburgh's 80th. birthday concert. In 2007, she sang at Fashion Rocks in aid of the Prince's Trust.

 

On the 30th. March 2011, she sang at a gala celebrating the 80th. birthday of Mikhail Gorbachev. In May 2011, she performed at the Classic Brit Awards, singing "Goldfinger" in tribute to the recently deceased composer John Barry. On the 20th. June 2011, she returned and sang "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Goldfinger", accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, as the climax to the memorial concert for Barry.

 

James Last appeared 90 times at the Hall between 1973 and 2015, making him the most frequent non–British performer to have played the venue.

 

Education and Outreach Programme

 

The Hall's education and outreach programme engages with more than 200,000 people a year. It includes workshops for local teenagers led by musicians such as Foals, Jake Bugg, Emeli Sandé, Nicola Benedetti, Alison Balsom and First Aid Kit, innovative science and maths lessons, visits to local residential homes from the venue's in-house group, Albert's Band, under the 'Songbook' banner, and the Friendship Matinee: an orchestral concert for community groups, with £5 admission.

 

Mis-labellings

 

A famous and widely bootlegged concert by Bob Dylan at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester on the 17th. May 1966 was mistakenly labelled the "Royal Albert Hall Concert".

 

In 1998, Columbia Records released an official recording, The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert. It maintains the erroneous title but does include details of the actual location.

 

Recordings from the Royal Albert Hall concerts on the 26th. and 27th. May 1966 were finally released by the artist in 2016 as The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert.

 

Another concert mislabelled as being at the Hall was by Creedence Clearwater Revival. An album by them entitled The Royal Albert Hall Concert was released in 1980. When Fantasy Records discovered the show on the album actually took place at the Oakland Coliseum, it retitled the album The Concert.

 

Pop Culture References

 

A large mural by Peter Blake, entitled Appearing at the Royal Albert Hall, is displayed in the Hall's Café Bar. Unveiled in April 2014, it shows more than 400 famous figures who have appeared on the stage.

 

In 1955, English film director Alfred Hitchcock filmed the climax of The Man Who Knew Too Much at the Hall. The 15-minute sequence featured James Stewart, Doris Day and composer Bernard Herrmann, and was filmed partly in the Queen's Box.

 

Hitchcock was a long-time patron of the Hall and had already set the finale of his 1927 film, The Ring at the Hall, as well as his initial version of The Man Who Knew Too Much, starring Leslie Banks, Edna Best and Peter Lorre.

 

Other notable films shot at the Hall include Major Barbara, Love Story, The Seventh Veil, The Ipcress File, A Touch of Class, Shine, and Spice World.

 

In the song "A Day in the Life" by the Beatles, the Albert Hall is mentioned. The verse goes as follows:

 

"I read the news today, oh boy

four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire

and though the holes were rather small

they had to count them all

now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall

I'd love to turn you on".

 

The song "Session Man" by The Kinks references the Hall:

 

"He never will forget at all

The day he played at Albert Hall".

 

In the song "Shame" by Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow, Barlow mentions the Hall in his verse:

 

"I read your mind and tried to call,

my tears could fill the Albert Hall".

 

Arizona and New Mexico

 

So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?

 

Well, on the 15th. February 1909, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill for statehood for the territories of Arizona and New Mexico.

 

The Senate Territories Committee tabled the bill on the 27th. February 1909 after Minnesota's Senator Knute Nelson charged that New Mexican officials were corrupt. The two states were admitted in 1912.

 

The Arizona Rangers

 

Also on that day, the Arizona Territorial Legislature voted to abolish the eight-year old Arizona Rangers, a law enforcement body modeled after the Texas Rangers.

 

Since the creation of the Arizona Rangers on the 13th. March 1901, 107 men had served as Rangers.

 

Miep Gies

 

The 15th. February 1909 also marked the birth in Vienna of Miep Gies.

 

Miep was an Austrian-born Dutch humanitarian who helped hide Anne Frank and preserved her diary. Miep died in 2010.

The Postcard

 

A postally unused postcard that was published by C. W. Faulkner & Co. of London E.C. The card was printed in Germany.

 

Although the card was not posted, someone has written the following on the divided back:

 

"Dear Mary,

Thank you very much.

From M. Arnold.

22-8-05."

 

The Royal Albert Hall

 

The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the United Kingdom's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no government funding. It can seat 5,272 people.

 

The Royal Albert Hall has been affectionately named "The Nation's Village Hall".

 

Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres have appeared on its stage. It is the venue for the Proms concerts, which have been held there every summer since 1941.

 

It is host to more than 390 shows in the main auditorium annually, including classical, rock and pop concerts, ballet, opera, film screenings with live orchestral accompaniment, sports, awards ceremonies, school and community events, and charity performances and banquets. A further 400 events are held each year in the non-auditorium areas.

 

The hall was originally supposed to have been called the Central Hall of Arts and Sciences, but the name was changed to the Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences by Queen Victoria upon laying the Hall's foundation stone in 1867, in memory of her husband, Prince Albert, who had died six years earlier.

 

History of The Royal Albert Hall

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 1800's

 

In 1851 the Great Exhibition, organised by Prince Albert, was held in Hyde Park, London. The Exhibition was a success, and this led Prince Albert to propose the creation of a group of permanent facilities for the public benefit, which came to be known as Albertopolis.

 

The Exhibition's Royal Commission bought Gore House, but it was slow to act, and in 1861 Prince Albert died without having seen his ideas come to fruition. However, a memorial was proposed for Hyde Park, with a Great Hall opposite.

 

The proposal was approved, and the site was purchased with some of the profits from the Exhibition. The Hall was designed by civil engineers Captain Francis Fowke and Major-General Henry Y. D. Scott of the Royal Engineers, and built by Lucas Brothers.

 

The designers were heavily influenced by ancient amphitheatres, but had also been exposed to the ideas of Gottfried Semper while he was working at the South Kensington Museum.

 

The recently opened Cirque d'Hiver in Paris was seen in the contemporary press as the design to outdo.

 

The Hall was constructed mainly of Fareham Red Brick, with terra cotta block decoration made by Gibbs and Canning Ltd. of Tamworth.

 

The dome (designed by Rowland Mason Ordish) was made of wrought iron and glazed. There was a trial assembly of the dome's iron framework in Manchester; then it was taken apart and transported to London by horse and cart.

 

When the time came for the supporting structure to be removed from the dome after reassembly in situ, only volunteers remained on-site in case the structure collapsed. It did drop – but only by five-sixteenths of an inch (8 mm).

 

The Hall was scheduled to be completed by Christmas Day 1870, and Queen Victoria visited a few weeks beforehand to inspect.

 

The official opening ceremony of the Royal Albert Hall was on the 29th. March 1871. A welcoming speech was given by Edward, the Prince of Wales because Queen Victoria was too overcome to speak;

 

"Her only recorded comment on the

Hall was that it reminded her of the

British constitution".

 

In the concert that followed, the Hall's acoustic problems immediately became apparent. Engineers first tried to remove the strong echo by suspending a canvas awning below the dome. This helped, and also sheltered concert-goers from the sun, but the problem was not solved - it used to be jokingly said:

 

"The Hall is the only place where

a British composer could be sure

of hearing his work twice".

 

In July 1871, French organist Camille Saint-Saëns performed Church Scene from Faust by Charles Gounod; The Orchestra described him as:

 

"An exceptional and distinguished

performer ... the effect was most

marvellous."

 

Initially lit by gas, the Hall contained a special system by which thousands of gas jets were lit within ten seconds. Though it was demonstrated as early as 1873 in the Hall, full electric lighting was not installed until 1888. During an early trial when a partial installation was made, one disgruntled patron wrote to The Times, declaring it to be:

 

"A very ghastly and unpleasant

innovation".

 

In May 1877, Richard Wagner conducted the first half of each of the eight concerts which made up the Grand Wagner Festival. After his turn with the baton, he handed it over to conductor Hans Richter and sat in a large armchair on the corner of the stage for the rest of each concert. Wagner's wife Cosima, the daughter of Hungarian virtuoso pianist and composer Franz Liszt, was among the audience.

 

The Wine Society was founded at the Hall on the 4th. August 1874, after large quantities of cask wine were found in the cellars. A series of lunches were held to publicise the wines, and General Henry Scott proposed a co-operative company to buy and sell wines.

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 1900's

 

In 1906 Elsie Fogerty founded the Central School of Speech and Drama at the Hall, using its West Theatre, now the Elgar Room. The school moved to Swiss Cottage in north London in 1957. Whilst the school was based at the Royal Albert Hall, students who graduated from its classes included Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Lynn Redgrave, Harold Pinter, Laurence Olivier and Peggy Ashcroft.

 

In 1911 Russian pianist and composer Sergei Rachmaninoff performed at the Hall. The recital included his 'Prelude in C-sharp minor' and 'Elegie in E-flat minor'.

 

In 1933 German physicist Albert Einstein led the 'Einstein Meeting' at the hall for the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics, a British charity.

 

In 1936, the Hall was the scene of a giant rally celebrating the British Empire on the occasion of the centenary of Joseph Chamberlain's birth.

 

In October 1942, the Hall suffered minor damage during World War II bombing, but in general was left mostly untouched as German pilots used the distinctive structure as a landmark.

 

In 1949 the canvas awning was removed and replaced with fluted aluminium panels below the glass roof, in a new attempt to cure the echo. However the acoustics were not properly tackled until 1969 when large fibreglass acoustic diffusing discs (commonly referred to as "mushrooms" or "flying saucers") were installed below the ceiling.

 

In 1968, the Hall hosted the Eurovision Song Contest, and from 1969–1988 the Miss World contest was staged at the venue.

 

In 1995, Greek keyboardist Yanni performed a concert there for his World Tour; the concert was recorded under the name of Live at Royal Albert Hall.

 

From 1996 until 2004, the Hall underwent a programme of renovation and development supported by a £20 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £20m from Arts Council England to enable it to meet the demands of the next century of events and performances.

 

Thirty "discreet projects" were designed and supervised by the architecture and engineering firm BDP without disrupting events. These projects included improved ventilation to the auditorium, more bars and restaurants, improved seating, better technical facilities, and improved backstage areas. Internally, the Circle seating was rebuilt during June 1996 to provide more legroom, better access, and improved sightlines.

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 2000's

 

The largest project of the ongoing renovation and development was the building of a new south porch – door 12, accommodating a first-floor restaurant, a new ground floor box office and a below-ground loading bay.

 

Although the exterior of the building was largely unchanged, the south steps leading down to Prince Consort Road were demolished to allow the construction of underground vehicle access and a loading bay with accommodation for three HGVs carrying all the equipment brought by shows.

 

The steps were then reconstructed around a new south porch, named The Meitar Foyer after a significant donation from Mr & Mrs Meitar. The porch was built on a similar scale and style to the three pre-existing porches at Doors 3, 6 and 9: these works were undertaken by Taylor Woodrow.

 

The original steps featured in the early scenes of the 1965 film The Ipcress File. On the 4th. June 2004, the project received the Europa Nostra Award for remarkable achievement.

 

The East (Door 3) and West (Door 9) porches were glazed, and new bars opened along with ramps to improve disabled access. The Stalls were rebuilt in a four-week period in 2000 using steel supports, thereby allowing more space underneath for two new bars.

 

1,534 unique pivoting seats were installed, with an addition of 180 prime seats. The Choirs were rebuilt at the same time.

 

The whole building was redecorated in a style that reinforces its Victorian identity. 43,000 sq. ft (4,000 m2) of new carpets were laid in the rooms, stairs, and corridors – specially woven with a border that follows the oval curve of the building.

 

Between 2002 and 2004, there was a major rebuilding of the great organ (known as the Voice of Jupiter), built by "Father" Henry Willis in 1871 and rebuilt by Harrison & Harrison in 1924 and 1933.

 

The rebuilding was performed by Mander Organs, and it is now the second-largest pipe organ in the British Isles with 9,997 pipes in 147 stops. The largest is the Grand Organ in Liverpool Cathedral which has 10,268 pipes.

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 2010's

 

During the first half of 2011, changes were made to the backstage areas in order to relocate and increase the size of crew catering areas under the South Steps away from the stage and to create additional dressing rooms nearer to the stage.

 

During the summer of 2012, the staff canteen and some changing areas were expanded and refurbished. From January to May the Box Office area at Door 12 underwent further modernisation to include a new Café Bar on the ground floor, a new Box Office with shop counters, and additional toilets.

 

Upon opening it was renamed 'The Zvi and Ofra Meitar Porch and Foyer.' owing to a large donation from the couple.

 

In Autumn 2013, work began on replacing the Victorian steam heating system over three years and improving and cooling across the building. This work followed the summer Proms season during which temperatures were unusually high.

 

From January the Cafe Consort on the Grand Tier was closed permanently in preparation for a new restaurant at a cost of £1 million. Verdi – Italian Kitchen was officially opened on the 15th. April with a lunch or dinner menu of stone baked pizzas, pasta, and classic desserts.

 

Design of The Royal Albert Hall

 

The Hall, a Grade I listed building, is an ellipse in plan, with its external major and minor axis of 272 and 236 feet (83 and 72 meters. The great glass and wrought-iron dome roofing the Hall is 135 ft (41 m) high.

 

Below the Arena floor there is room for two 4000 gallon water tanks, which are used for shows that flood the arena like Madame Butterfly.

 

The Hall was originally designed with a capacity for 8,000 people, and has accommodated as many as 12,000 (although present-day safety restrictions mean the maximum permitted capacity is now 5,272, including standing in the Gallery.

 

Around the outside of the building is an 800–foot–long terracotta mosaic frieze, depicting "The Triumph of Arts and Sciences", in reference to the Hall's dedication. Above the frieze is an inscription in 12-inch-high (30 cm) terracotta letters that combine historical fact and Biblical quotations:

 

"This hall was erected for the advancement

of the arts and sciences and works of industry

of all nations in fulfilment of the intention of

Albert Prince Consort.

The site was purchased with the proceeds of

the Great Exhibition of the year MDCCCLI.

The first stone of the Hall was laid by Her

Majesty Queen Victoria on the twentieth day

of May MDCCCLXVII and it was opened by Her

Majesty the Twenty Ninth of March in the year

MDCCCLXXI.

Thine O Lord is the greatness and the power

and the glory and the victory and the majesty.

For all that is in the heaven and in the earth is

Thine. The wise and their works are in the hand

of God. Glory be to God on high and on earth

peace".

 

Events at The Royal Albert Hall

 

The first concert at the Hall was Arthur Sullivan's cantata On Shore and Sea, performed on the 1st. May 1871.

 

Many events are promoted by the Hall, and since the early 1970's promoter Raymond Gubbay has brought a range of events to the Hall including opera, ballet and classical music.

 

Events also include rock concerts, conferences, banquets, ballroom dancing, poetry recitals, educational talks, motor shows, ballet, opera, film screenings and circus shows.

 

The Royal Albert Hall has hosted many sporting events, including boxing, squash, table tennis, basketball, wrestling (including the first Sumo wrestling tournament to be held in London) as well as UFC 38 (the first UFC event to be held in the UK), tennis, and even a marathon.

 

The Hall first hosted boxing in 1918, when it hosted a tournament between British and American servicemen. There was a colour bar in place at the Hall, preventing black boxers from fighting there, between 1923 and 1932.

 

Greats of British boxing such as Frank Bruno, Prince Naseem Hamed, Henry Cooper and Lennox Lewis have all appeared at the venue. The Hall's boxing history was halted in 1999 when a court ordered that boxing and wrestling matches could no longer be held at the venue. In 2011 that decision was overturned. In 2019 Nicola Adams won the WBO Flyweight title which was the first fight for a world title at the venue since Marco Antonio Barrera took on Paul Lloyd in 1999.

 

On the 6th. April 1968, the Hall hosted the Eurovision Song Contest which was broadcast in colour for the first time. The first Miss World contest broadcast in colour was also staged at the venue in 1969, and remained at the Hall every year until 1989.

 

One notable event was a Pink Floyd concert held on the 26th. June 1969. On that night they were banned from ever playing at the Hall again after shooting cannons, nailing things to the stage, and having a man in a gorilla suit roam the audience.

 

At one point, Rick Wright went to the pipe organ and began to play "The End of the Beginning", the final part of "Saucerful of Secrets", joined by the brass section of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (led by the conductor, Norman Smith) and the ladies of the Ealing Central Amateur Choir. A portion of the pipe organ recording is included on Pink Floyd's album The Endless River.

 

On the 18th. June 1985, British Gothic rock band The Sisters of Mercy recorded their live video album Wake at the Hall.

 

Between 1996 and 2008, the Hall hosted the annual National Television Awards, all of which were hosted by Sir Trevor McDonald.

 

Benefit concerts include the 1997 Music for Montserrat concert, arranged and produced by George Martin. The event featured artists such as Phil Collins, Mark Knopfler, Sting, Elton John, Eric Clapton, and Paul McCartney.

 

In 2006, Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour performed at the Hall for the first time since Pink Floyd's 1969 ban. He performed as part of his On an Island Tour. The shows were filmed and used for the live video release, Remember That Night (2007).

 

Rock band The Killers recorded their first live album, Live from the Royal Albert Hall in July 2009.

 

On the 5th. April 2010, Swedish progressive metal band Opeth recorded In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, as they became the first Death metal band ever to perform at the Hall. The concert was part of the band's Evolution XX: An Opeth Anthology tour, made in celebration of their 20th. anniversary.

 

In July 2011, Janet Jackson performed three sold-out shows as part of her Number Ones, Up Close and Personal World Tour.

 

On the 2nd. October 2011, the Hall staged the 25th.-anniversary performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, which was broadcast live to cinemas across the world and filmed for DVD.

 

Lloyd Webber, the original London cast including Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford, and four previous actors of the titular character, among others, were in attendance – Brightman and the previous Phantoms (aside from Crawford) performed an encore.

 

On the 22nd. September 2011, Adele performed a one-night-only concert as part of her tour. The concert was filmed for DVD, and screened at cinemas in 26 cities around the world.

 

Her performance debuted at number one in the United States with 96,000 copies sold, the highest one-week tally for a music DVD in four years. After one week, it became the best-selling music DVD of 2011. As of the 28th. November 2012, it had surpassed sales of one million copies in the United States and sales of three million copies worldwide.

 

It was the first music DVD to surpass sales of one million in the USA since the Eagles' Farewell 1 Tour-Live from Melbourne in 2005.

 

The 2012 Sunflower Jam charity concert featured Queen guitarist Brian May performing alongside bassist John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, drummer Ian Paice of Deep Purple, and vocalists Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, and Alice Cooper.

 

On the 24th. September 2012, Classic FM celebrated the 20th. anniversary of their launch with a concert at the Hall. The program featured live performances of works by Handel, Puccini, Rachmaninoff, Parry, Vaughan Williams, Tchaikovsky and Karl Jenkins who conducted his piece The Benedictus from The Armed Man.

 

On the 19th. November 2012, the Hall hosted the 100th.-anniversary performance of the Royal Variety Performance, attended by the HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Duke of Edinburgh, with boy-band One Direction among the performers.

 

During his Rattle That Lock Tour, David Gilmour performed at the Royal Albert Hall eleven times between September 2015 and September 2016, once in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

 

On the 13th. November 2015, Canadian musician Devin Townsend recorded his second live album Ziltoid Live at the Royal Albert Hall.

 

Kylie Minogue performed at the Royal Albert Hall on the 11th. December 2015 and the 9th. - 10th. December 2016 as part of her "A Kylie Christmas" concert series.

 

On the 3rd. May 2016, singer-songwriter and Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell played at the Hall in what would become the last UK show of his life as part of his "Higher Truth" European tour.

 

Cornell performed stripped-back acoustic renditions from his back-catalogue to rave reviews, including songs from the likes of Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave and his solo work. Cornell died on the 18th. May 2017.

 

On the 22nd. April 2016, British rock band Bring Me the Horizon performed and recorded their Live at the Royal Albert Hall album, with accompaniment from the Parallax Orchestra conducted by Simon Dobson.

 

At a press conference held at the Hall in October 2016, Phil Collins announced his return to live performing with his Not Dead Yet Tour, which began in June 2017. The tour included five nights at the Hall which sold out in fifteen seconds.

 

In October 2017, American rock band Alter Bridge also recorded a live album accompanied by the Parallax Orchestra with Simon Dobson.

 

Also in 2017, the Hall hosted the 70th. British Academy Film Awards, often referred to as the BAFTAs, for the first time in 20 years, replacing the Royal Opera House at which the event had been held since 2008.

 

In 2018, WWE held its second United Kingdom Championship Tournament on the 18th. and 19th. June.

 

Also in 2018, the world premiere of PlayStation in Concert was organised at the Hall. It featured PlayStation game music from the 1990's up until then. It was arranged by Jim Fowler and performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

 

In May 2019, Mariah Carey performed 3 shows as part of her Caution World Tour. Comedian Bill Burr filmed his 2019 special Paper Tiger at the Hall. In November 2020, One Direction member Niall Horan performed a one off live-streamed show in an empty Hall (during the COVID-19 pandemic) to raise money for charity.

 

Regular Events at the Royal Albert Hall

 

The Royal Choral Society

 

The Royal Choral Society is the longest-running regular performer at the Hall, having given its first performance as the Royal Albert Hall Choral Society on the 8th. May 1872. From 1876, it established the annual Good Friday performance of Handel's Messiah.

 

BBC Proms

 

The BBC Sir Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, known as "The Proms", is a popular annual eight-week summer season of daily classical music concerts and other events at the Hall.

 

In 1942, following the destruction of the Queen's Hall in an air raid, the Hall was chosen as the new venue for the proms. In 1944 with increased danger to the Hall, part of the proms were held in the Bedford Corn Exchange.

 

Following the end of World War II the proms continued in the Hall, and have done so annually every summer since. The event was founded in 1895, and now each season consists of over 70 concerts, in addition to a series of events at other venues across the United Kingdom on the last night.

 

In 2009, the total number of concerts reached 100 for the first time. Jiří Bělohlávek described The Proms as:

 

"The world's largest and most

democratic musical festival".

 

Proms is a term which arose from the original practice of the audience promenading, or strolling, in some areas during the concert. Proms concert-goers, particularly those who stand, are sometimes described as "Promenaders", but are most commonly referred to as "Prommers".

 

Tennis

 

Tennis was first played at the Hall in March 1970, and the ATP Champions Tour Masters has been played annually every December since 1997.

 

Classical Spectacular

 

Classical Spectacular, a Raymond Gubbay production, has been coming to the Hall since 1988. It combines popular classical music, lights and special effects.

 

Cirque du Soleil

 

Cirque du Soleil has performed annually, with a show being staged every January, since 2003. Cirque has had to adapt many of their touring shows to perform at the venue, modifying the set, usually built for arenas or big top tents instead.

 

Classic Brit Awards

 

Since 2000, the Classic Brit Awards has been hosted annually in May at the Hall. It is organised by the British Phonographic Industry.

 

Festival of Remembrance

 

The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance is held annually the day before Remembrance Sunday.

 

Institute of Directors

 

For 60 years the Institute of Directors' Annual Convention has been synonymous with the Hall, although in 2011 and 2012 it was held at indigO2.

 

The English National Ballet

 

Since 1998 the English National Ballet has had several specially staged arena summer seasons in partnership with the Hall and Raymond Gubbay. These include Strictly Gershwin, June 2008 and 2011, Swan Lake, June 2002, 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2013, Romeo & Juliet, June 2001 and 2005, and The Sleeping Beauty, April - June 2000.

 

Teenage Cancer Trust

 

Starting in the year 2000 the Teenage Cancer Trust has held annual charity concerts (with the exception of 2001). They started as a one-off event, but have expanded over the years to a week or more of evening events. Roger Daltrey of the Who has been intimately involved with the planning of the events.

 

Graduation Ceremonies

 

The Hall is used annually by the neighbouring Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art for graduation ceremonies. For several years the University of London and Kingston University also held their graduation ceremonies at the Hall.

 

Films, Premières and Live Orchestra Screenings

 

The venue has screened several films since the early silent days. It was the only London venue to show William Fox's The Queen of Sheba in the 1920's.

 

The Hall has hosted many premières, including the UK première of Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen, 101 Dalmatians on the 4th. December 1996, the European première of Spandau Ballet's Soul Boys of the Western World, and three James Bond royal world premières - Die Another Day on the 18th. November 2002 (attended by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip), Skyfall on the 23rd. October 2012 (attended by Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall), and Spectre on the 26th. October 2015 (attended by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge).

 

The Hall held the first 3D world première of Titanic 3D, on the 27th. March 2012, with James Cameron and Kate Winslet in attendance.

 

Since 2009, the Hall has also curated regular seasons of English-language film-and-live-orchestra screenings, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gladiator, Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, Interstellar, The Matrix, West Side Story, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Back to the Future, Jaws, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and the world première of Titanic Live in Concert.

 

The only non-English-language movie to have been screened at the Hall is Baahubali: The Beginning (an Indian movie in Telugu and Tamil, but premiered with the Hindi dubbed version).

 

National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain

 

The National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, one of the most prestigious prizes in the annual brass band contesting calendar, holds the Final of the Championship section at the Royal Albert Hall each October.

 

Beyond the Main Stage

 

The Hall hosts hundreds of events and activities beyond its main auditorium. There are regular free art exhibitions in the ground floor Amphi corridor, which can be viewed when attending events or on dedicated viewing dates.

 

Visitors can take a guided tour of the Hall on most days. The most common is the one-hour Grand Tour which includes most front-of-house areas, the auditorium, the Gallery and the Royal Retiring Room.

 

Other tours include Story of the Proms, Behind the Scenes, Inside Out and School tours.

 

Children's events include Storytelling and Music Sessions for ages four and under. These take place in the Door 9 Porch and Albert's Band sessions in the Elgar Room during school holidays.

 

"Live Music in Verdi" takes place in the Italian restaurant on a Friday night featuring different artists each week.

 

"Late Night Jazz" events in the Elgar Room, generally on a Thursday night, feature cabaret-style seating and a relaxed atmosphere with drinks available.

 

"Classical Coffee Mornings" are held on Sundays in the Elgar Room with musicians from the Royal College of Music accompanied with drinks and pastries.

 

Sunday brunch events take place in Verdi Italian restaurant and feature different genres of music.

 

Regular Performers at the Royal Albert Hall

 

Eric Clapton is a regular performer at the Hall. Since 1964, Clapton has performed at the Hall over 200 times, and has stated that performing at the venue is: "Like playing in my front room".

 

In December 1964, Clapton made his first appearance at the Hall with the Yardbirds. It was also the venue for his band Cream's farewell concerts in 1968 and reunion shows in 2005. He also instigated the Concert for George, which was held at the Hall on the 29th. November 2002 to pay tribute to Clapton's lifelong friend, former Beatle George Harrison. Clapton passed 200 shows at the Hall in 2015.

 

David Gilmour played at the Hall in support of two solo albums, while also releasing a live concert on September 2006 entitled Remember That Night which was recorded during his three nights playing at the Hall for his 2006 On an Island tour.

 

Notable guests were Robert Wyatt and David Bowie (who sang lead for "Arnold Layne" and "Comfortably Numb"). The live concert was televised by BBC One on the 9th. September 2007.

 

Gilmour returned to the Hall for four nights in September 2016 (where he was joined on stage by Benedict Cumberbatch for "Comfortably Numb"), having previously played five nights in 2015, to end his 34-day Rattle That Lock Tour. He also made an appearance on the 24th. April 2016 as part of the Teenage Cancer Trust event.

 

Shirley Bassey is one of the Hall's most prolific female headline performers, having appeared many times at the Hall since the 1970's. In 2001, she sang "Happy Birthday" for the Duke of Edinburgh's 80th. birthday concert. In 2007, she sang at Fashion Rocks in aid of the Prince's Trust.

 

On the 30th. March 2011, she sang at a gala celebrating the 80th. birthday of Mikhail Gorbachev. In May 2011, she performed at the Classic Brit Awards, singing "Goldfinger" in tribute to the recently deceased composer John Barry. On the 20th. June 2011, she returned and sang "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Goldfinger", accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, as the climax to the memorial concert for Barry.

 

James Last appeared 90 times at the Hall between 1973 and 2015, making him the most frequent non–British performer to have played the venue.

 

Education and Outreach Programme

 

The Hall's education and outreach programme engages with more than 200,000 people a year. It includes workshops for local teenagers led by musicians such as Foals, Jake Bugg, Emeli Sandé, Nicola Benedetti, Alison Balsom and First Aid Kit, innovative science and maths lessons, visits to local residential homes from the venue's in-house group, Albert's Band, under the 'Songbook' banner, and the Friendship Matinee: an orchestral concert for community groups, with £5 admission.

 

Mis-labellings

 

A famous and widely bootlegged concert by Bob Dylan at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester on the 17th. May 1966 was mistakenly labelled the "Royal Albert Hall Concert".

 

In 1998, Columbia Records released an official recording, The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert. It maintains the erroneous title but does include details of the actual location.

 

Recordings from the Royal Albert Hall concerts on the 26th. and 27th. May 1966 were finally released by the artist in 2016 as The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert.

 

Another concert mislabelled as being at the Hall was by Creedence Clearwater Revival. An album by them entitled The Royal Albert Hall Concert was released in 1980. When Fantasy Records discovered the show on the album actually took place at the Oakland Coliseum, it retitled the album The Concert.

 

Pop Culture References

 

A large mural by Peter Blake, entitled Appearing at the Royal Albert Hall, is displayed in the Hall's Café Bar. Unveiled in April 2014, it shows more than 400 famous figures who have appeared on the stage.

 

In 1955, English film director Alfred Hitchcock filmed the climax of The Man Who Knew Too Much at the Hall. The 15-minute sequence featured James Stewart, Doris Day and composer Bernard Herrmann, and was filmed partly in the Queen's Box.

 

Hitchcock was a long-time patron of the Hall and had already set the finale of his 1927 film, The Ring at the Hall, as well as his initial version of The Man Who Knew Too Much, starring Leslie Banks, Edna Best and Peter Lorre.

 

Other notable films shot at the Hall include Major Barbara, Love Story, The Seventh Veil, The Ipcress File, A Touch of Class, Shine, and Spice World.

 

In the song "A Day in the Life" by the Beatles, the Albert Hall is mentioned. The verse goes as follows:

 

"I read the news today, oh boy

four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire

and though the holes were rather small

they had to count them all

now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall

I'd love to turn you on".

 

The song "Session Man" by The Kinks references the Hall:

 

"He never will forget at all

The day he played at Albert Hall".

 

In the song "Shame" by Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow, Barlow mentions the Hall in his verse:

 

"I read your mind and tried to call,

my tears could fill the Albert Hall".

 

The Minox Subminiature Camera

 

So what else happened on Tuesday the 22nd. August 1905?

 

Well, the day marked the birth in Riga, Russian Empire (now Latvia), of Walter Zapp.

 

Walter was an inventor whose greatest creation was the Minox subminiature camera.

 

In 1932, while living in Estonia, Walter began developing the subminiature camera by first creating wooden models, which led to the first prototype in 1936. It was introduced to the market in 1938.

 

Minox cameras were made by VEF (Valsts Elektrotehniskā Fabrika) in Latvia. VEF ultimately made 17,000 Minox cameras.

 

During the Spring 1941 Resettlement of Baltic Germans, Walter Zapp moved to Germany. From 1941 to 1945, he worked on the development of electron microscopy for AEG in Berlin.

 

After World War II, in 1945, he founded the Minox GmbH in Wetzlar, Germany. The company still exists.

 

The innovative design and technical solutions of Zapp's camera were patented around the world. VEF received 66 patents in 18 countries for Zapp's inventions.

 

Later in the 1960's, Zapp was named as the inventor in several patents granted to Minox GmbH for improvements and modifications to a subminiature camera. In the beginning of the 1990's, Zapp patented his last invention, the Minox T8 pocket telescope.

 

Eesti Post issued a Europa postage stamp in 1994 to commemorate Walter Zapp and his patented invention (Estonian patent No. 2628), the Minox subminiature camera.

 

In 2001, Walter Zapp received an honorary doctorate of the Latvian Academy of Sciences and was decorated with the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana for his special services to the Republic of Estonia.

 

The Death of Walter Zapp

 

Walter died at the age of 97 in Binningen near Basel, Switzerland on the 17th. July 2003.

The Postcard

 

A postally unused Valentine's Series postcard. Having modestly stated on the back of the card that they are 'Famous Throughout the World' and that the image is a real photograph, they go on to say:

 

'The Albert Hall, Kensington,

capable of holding 8,000

persons, is the scene of many

great concerts and gatherings'.

 

Although the card was not posted, someone has written "April 1942" on the back, which is presumably the month in which they visited the Albert Hall.

 

Note the poster for Hiawatha. This was a dramatised version of Scenes from the Song of Hiawatha (1898-1900) by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912). The text was by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and it was produced by T.C. Fairbairn.

 

For fourteen years between 1924 and 1939, this spectacular production of Hiawatha was an essential attraction of the London summer season.

 

First mounted as a fund-raising exercise for the Royal National Institute for the Blind, the run of eight performances in May 1924 was so successful that Fairbairn re-booked the Royal Albert Hall and the Royal Choral Society for a fortnight the following year - and then, after a two-year gap, every year until 1939.

 

From 1925 the cast ran to 1,000 performers, including 200 dancers, and Fairbairn's skill in handling these vast forces and imaginative use of the hall's huge arena have passed into history.

 

There is also a poster featuring an Empire Ball. Empire Balls were held at the Albert Hall in 1920, 1924 and 1930, and saw guests dress as nations from around the British Empire.

 

The photograph was therefore taken in either 1924 or 1930. Further research into the other posters would probably narrow it down to a specific year.

 

The Royal Albert Hall

 

The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the United Kingdom's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no government funding. It can seat 5,272 people.

 

The Royal Albert Hall has been affectionately named "The Nation's Village Hall".

 

Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres have appeared on its stage. It is the venue for the Proms concerts, which have been held there every summer since 1941.

 

It is host to more than 390 shows in the main auditorium annually, including classical, rock and pop concerts, ballet, opera, film screenings with live orchestral accompaniment, sports, awards ceremonies, school and community events, and charity performances and banquets. A further 400 events are held each year in the non-auditorium areas.

 

The hall was originally supposed to have been called the Central Hall of Arts and Sciences, but the name was changed to the Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences by Queen Victoria upon laying the Hall's foundation stone in 1867, in memory of her husband, Prince Albert, who had died six years earlier.

 

History of The Royal Albert Hall

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 1800's

 

In 1851 the Great Exhibition, organised by Prince Albert, was held in Hyde Park, London. The Exhibition was a success, and this led Prince Albert to propose the creation of a group of permanent facilities for the public benefit, which came to be known as Albertopolis.

 

The Exhibition's Royal Commission bought Gore House, but it was slow to act, and in 1861 Prince Albert died without having seen his ideas come to fruition. However, a memorial was proposed for Hyde Park, with a Great Hall opposite.

 

The proposal was approved, and the site was purchased with some of the profits from the Exhibition. The Hall was designed by civil engineers Captain Francis Fowke and Major-General Henry Y. D. Scott of the Royal Engineers, and built by Lucas Brothers.

 

The designers were heavily influenced by ancient amphitheatres, but had also been exposed to the ideas of Gottfried Semper while he was working at the South Kensington Museum.

 

The recently opened Cirque d'Hiver in Paris was seen in the contemporary press as the design to outdo.

 

The Hall was constructed mainly of Fareham Red Brick, with terra cotta block decoration made by Gibbs and Canning Ltd. of Tamworth.

 

The dome (designed by Rowland Mason Ordish) was made of wrought iron and glazed. There was a trial assembly of the dome's iron framework in Manchester; then it was taken apart and transported to London by horse and cart.

 

When the time came for the supporting structure to be removed from the dome after reassembly in situ, only volunteers remained on-site in case the structure collapsed. It did drop – but only by five-sixteenths of an inch (8 mm).

 

The Hall was scheduled to be completed by Christmas Day 1870, and Queen Victoria visited a few weeks beforehand to inspect.

 

The official opening ceremony of the Royal Albert Hall was on the 29th. March 1871. A welcoming speech was given by Edward, the Prince of Wales because Queen Victoria was too overcome to speak;

 

"Her only recorded comment on the

Hall was that it reminded her of the

British constitution".

 

In the concert that followed, the Hall's acoustic problems immediately became apparent. Engineers first tried to remove the strong echo by suspending a canvas awning below the dome. This helped, and also sheltered concert-goers from the sun, but the problem was not solved - it used to be jokingly said:

 

"The Hall is the only place where

a British composer could be sure

of hearing his work twice".

 

In July 1871, French organist Camille Saint-Saëns performed Church Scene from Faust by Charles Gounod; The Orchestra described him as:

 

"An exceptional and distinguished

performer ... the effect was most

marvellous."

 

Initially lit by gas, the Hall contained a special system by which thousands of gas jets were lit within ten seconds. Though it was demonstrated as early as 1873 in the Hall, full electric lighting was not installed until 1888. During an early trial when a partial installation was made, one disgruntled patron wrote to The Times, declaring it to be:

 

"A very ghastly and unpleasant

innovation".

 

In May 1877, Richard Wagner conducted the first half of each of the eight concerts which made up the Grand Wagner Festival. After his turn with the baton, he handed it over to conductor Hans Richter and sat in a large armchair on the corner of the stage for the rest of each concert. Wagner's wife Cosima, the daughter of Hungarian virtuoso pianist and composer Franz Liszt, was among the audience.

 

The Wine Society was founded at the Hall on the 4th. August 1874, after large quantities of cask wine were found in the cellars. A series of lunches were held to publicise the wines, and General Henry Scott proposed a co-operative company to buy and sell wines.

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 1900's

 

In 1906 Elsie Fogerty founded the Central School of Speech and Drama at the Hall, using its West Theatre, now the Elgar Room. The school moved to Swiss Cottage in north London in 1957. Whilst the school was based at the Royal Albert Hall, students who graduated from its classes included Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Lynn Redgrave, Harold Pinter, Laurence Olivier and Peggy Ashcroft.

 

In 1911 Russian pianist and composer Sergei Rachmaninoff performed at the Hall. The recital included his 'Prelude in C-sharp minor' and 'Elegie in E-flat minor'.

 

In 1933 German physicist Albert Einstein led the 'Einstein Meeting' at the hall for the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics, a British charity.

 

In 1936, the Hall was the scene of a giant rally celebrating the British Empire on the occasion of the centenary of Joseph Chamberlain's birth.

 

In October 1942, the Hall suffered minor damage during World War II bombing, but in general was left mostly untouched as German pilots used the distinctive structure as a landmark.

 

In 1949 the canvas awning was removed and replaced with fluted aluminium panels below the glass roof, in a new attempt to cure the echo. However the acoustics were not properly tackled until 1969 when large fibreglass acoustic diffusing discs (commonly referred to as "mushrooms" or "flying saucers") were installed below the ceiling.

 

In 1968, the Hall hosted the Eurovision Song Contest, and from 1969–1988 the Miss World contest was staged at the venue.

 

In 1995, Greek keyboardist Yanni performed a concert there for his World Tour; the concert was recorded under the name of Live at Royal Albert Hall.

 

From 1996 until 2004, the Hall underwent a programme of renovation and development supported by a £20 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £20m from Arts Council England to enable it to meet the demands of the next century of events and performances.

 

Thirty "discreet projects" were designed and supervised by the architecture and engineering firm BDP without disrupting events. These projects included improved ventilation to the auditorium, more bars and restaurants, improved seating, better technical facilities, and improved backstage areas. Internally, the Circle seating was rebuilt during June 1996 to provide more legroom, better access, and improved sightlines.

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 2000's

 

The largest project of the ongoing renovation and development was the building of a new south porch – door 12, accommodating a first-floor restaurant, a new ground floor box office and a below-ground loading bay.

 

Although the exterior of the building was largely unchanged, the south steps leading down to Prince Consort Road were demolished to allow the construction of underground vehicle access and a loading bay with accommodation for three HGVs carrying all the equipment brought by shows.

 

The steps were then reconstructed around a new south porch, named The Meitar Foyer after a significant donation from Mr & Mrs Meitar. The porch was built on a similar scale and style to the three pre-existing porches at Doors 3, 6 and 9: these works were undertaken by Taylor Woodrow.

 

The original steps featured in the early scenes of the 1965 film The Ipcress File. On the 4th. June 2004, the project received the Europa Nostra Award for remarkable achievement.

 

The East (Door 3) and West (Door 9) porches were glazed, and new bars opened along with ramps to improve disabled access. The Stalls were rebuilt in a four-week period in 2000 using steel supports, thereby allowing more space underneath for two new bars.

 

1,534 unique pivoting seats were installed, with an addition of 180 prime seats. The Choirs were rebuilt at the same time.

 

The whole building was redecorated in a style that reinforces its Victorian identity. 43,000 sq. ft (4,000 m2) of new carpets were laid in the rooms, stairs, and corridors – specially woven with a border that follows the oval curve of the building.

 

Between 2002 and 2004, there was a major rebuilding of the great organ (known as the Voice of Jupiter), built by "Father" Henry Willis in 1871 and rebuilt by Harrison & Harrison in 1924 and 1933.

 

The rebuilding was performed by Mander Organs, and it is now the second-largest pipe organ in the British Isles with 9,997 pipes in 147 stops. The largest is the Grand Organ in Liverpool Cathedral which has 10,268 pipes.

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 2010's

 

During the first half of 2011, changes were made to the backstage areas in order to relocate and increase the size of crew catering areas under the South Steps away from the stage and to create additional dressing rooms nearer to the stage.

 

During the summer of 2012, the staff canteen and some changing areas were expanded and refurbished. From January to May the Box Office area at Door 12 underwent further modernisation to include a new Café Bar on the ground floor, a new Box Office with shop counters, and additional toilets.

 

Upon opening it was renamed 'The Zvi and Ofra Meitar Porch and Foyer.' owing to a large donation from the couple.

 

In Autumn 2013, work began on replacing the Victorian steam heating system over three years and improving and cooling across the building. This work followed the summer Proms season during which temperatures were unusually high.

 

From January the Cafe Consort on the Grand Tier was closed permanently in preparation for a new restaurant at a cost of £1 million. Verdi – Italian Kitchen was officially opened on the 15th. April with a lunch or dinner menu of stone baked pizzas, pasta, and classic desserts.

 

Design of The Royal Albert Hall

 

The Hall, a Grade I listed building, is an ellipse in plan, with its external major and minor axis of 272 and 236 feet (83 and 72 meters. The great glass and wrought-iron dome roofing the Hall is 135 ft (41 m) high.

 

Below the Arena floor there is room for two 4000 gallon water tanks, which are used for shows that flood the arena like Madame Butterfly.

 

The Hall was originally designed with a capacity for 8,000 people, and has accommodated as many as 12,000 (although present-day safety restrictions mean the maximum permitted capacity is now 5,272, including standing in the Gallery.

 

Around the outside of the building is an 800–foot–long terracotta mosaic frieze, depicting "The Triumph of Arts and Sciences", in reference to the Hall's dedication. Above the frieze is an inscription in 12-inch-high (30 cm) terracotta letters that combine historical fact and Biblical quotations:

 

"This hall was erected for the advancement

of the arts and sciences and works of industry

of all nations in fulfilment of the intention of

Albert Prince Consort.

The site was purchased with the proceeds of

the Great Exhibition of the year MDCCCLI.

The first stone of the Hall was laid by Her

Majesty Queen Victoria on the twentieth day

of May MDCCCLXVII and it was opened by Her

Majesty the Twenty Ninth of March in the year

MDCCCLXXI.

Thine O Lord is the greatness and the power

and the glory and the victory and the majesty.

For all that is in the heaven and in the earth is

Thine. The wise and their works are in the hand

of God. Glory be to God on high and on earth

peace".

 

Events at The Royal Albert Hall

 

The first concert at the Hall was Arthur Sullivan's cantata On Shore and Sea, performed on the 1st. May 1871.

 

Many events are promoted by the Hall, and since the early 1970's promoter Raymond Gubbay has brought a range of events to the Hall including opera, ballet and classical music.

 

Events also include rock concerts, conferences, banquets, ballroom dancing, poetry recitals, educational talks, motor shows, ballet, opera, film screenings and circus shows.

 

The Royal Albert Hall has hosted many sporting events, including boxing, squash, table tennis, basketball, wrestling (including the first Sumo wrestling tournament to be held in London) as well as UFC 38 (the first UFC event to be held in the UK), tennis, and even a marathon.

 

The Hall first hosted boxing in 1918, when it hosted a tournament between British and American servicemen. There was a colour bar in place at the Hall, preventing black boxers from fighting there, between 1923 and 1932.

 

Greats of British boxing such as Frank Bruno, Prince Naseem Hamed, Henry Cooper and Lennox Lewis have all appeared at the venue. The Hall's boxing history was halted in 1999 when a court ordered that boxing and wrestling matches could no longer be held at the venue. In 2011 that decision was overturned. In 2019 Nicola Adams won the WBO Flyweight title which was the first fight for a world title at the venue since Marco Antonio Barrera took on Paul Lloyd in 1999.

 

On the 6th. April 1968, the Hall hosted the Eurovision Song Contest which was broadcast in colour for the first time. The first Miss World contest broadcast in colour was also staged at the venue in 1969, and remained at the Hall every year until 1989.

 

One notable event was a Pink Floyd concert held on the 26th. June 1969. On that night they were banned from ever playing at the Hall again after shooting cannons, nailing things to the stage, and having a man in a gorilla suit roam the audience.

 

At one point, Rick Wright went to the pipe organ and began to play "The End of the Beginning", the final part of "Saucerful of Secrets", joined by the brass section of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (led by the conductor, Norman Smith) and the ladies of the Ealing Central Amateur Choir. A portion of the pipe organ recording is included on Pink Floyd's album The Endless River.

 

On the 18th. June 1985, British Gothic rock band The Sisters of Mercy recorded their live video album Wake at the Hall.

 

Between 1996 and 2008, the Hall hosted the annual National Television Awards, all of which were hosted by Sir Trevor McDonald.

 

Benefit concerts include the 1997 Music for Montserrat concert, arranged and produced by George Martin. The event featured artists such as Phil Collins, Mark Knopfler, Sting, Elton John, Eric Clapton, and Paul McCartney.

 

In 2006, Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour performed at the Hall for the first time since Pink Floyd's 1969 ban. He performed as part of his On an Island Tour. The shows were filmed and used for the live video release, Remember That Night (2007).

 

Rock band The Killers recorded their first live album, Live from the Royal Albert Hall in July 2009.

 

On the 5th. April 2010, Swedish progressive metal band Opeth recorded In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, as they became the first Death metal band ever to perform at the Hall. The concert was part of the band's Evolution XX: An Opeth Anthology tour, made in celebration of their 20th. anniversary.

 

In July 2011, Janet Jackson performed three sold-out shows as part of her Number Ones, Up Close and Personal World Tour.

 

On the 2nd. October 2011, the Hall staged the 25th.-anniversary performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, which was broadcast live to cinemas across the world and filmed for DVD.

 

Lloyd Webber, the original London cast including Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford, and four previous actors of the titular character, among others, were in attendance – Brightman and the previous Phantoms (aside from Crawford) performed an encore.

 

On the 22nd. September 2011, Adele performed a one-night-only concert as part of her tour. The concert was filmed for DVD, and screened at cinemas in 26 cities around the world.

 

Her performance debuted at number one in the United States with 96,000 copies sold, the highest one-week tally for a music DVD in four years. After one week, it became the best-selling music DVD of 2011. As of the 28th. November 2012, it had surpassed sales of one million copies in the United States and sales of three million copies worldwide.

 

It was the first music DVD to surpass sales of one million in the USA since the Eagles' Farewell 1 Tour-Live from Melbourne in 2005.

 

The 2012 Sunflower Jam charity concert featured Queen guitarist Brian May performing alongside bassist John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, drummer Ian Paice of Deep Purple, and vocalists Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, and Alice Cooper.

 

On the 24th. September 2012, Classic FM celebrated the 20th. anniversary of their launch with a concert at the Hall. The program featured live performances of works by Handel, Puccini, Rachmaninoff, Parry, Vaughan Williams, Tchaikovsky and Karl Jenkins who conducted his piece The Benedictus from The Armed Man.

 

On the 19th. November 2012, the Hall hosted the 100th.-anniversary performance of the Royal Variety Performance, attended by the HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Duke of Edinburgh, with boy-band One Direction among the performers.

 

During his Rattle That Lock Tour, David Gilmour performed at the Royal Albert Hall eleven times between September 2015 and September 2016, once in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

 

On the 13th. November 2015, Canadian musician Devin Townsend recorded his second live album Ziltoid Live at the Royal Albert Hall.

 

Kylie Minogue performed at the Royal Albert Hall on the 11th. December 2015 and the 9th. - 10th. December 2016 as part of her "A Kylie Christmas" concert series.

 

On the 3rd. May 2016, singer-songwriter and Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell played at the Hall in what would become the last UK show of his life as part of his "Higher Truth" European tour.

 

Cornell performed stripped-back acoustic renditions from his back-catalogue to rave reviews, including songs from the likes of Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave and his solo work. Cornell died on the 18th. May 2017.

 

On the 22nd. April 2016, British rock band Bring Me the Horizon performed and recorded their Live at the Royal Albert Hall album, with accompaniment from the Parallax Orchestra conducted by Simon Dobson.

 

At a press conference held at the Hall in October 2016, Phil Collins announced his return to live performing with his Not Dead Yet Tour, which began in June 2017. The tour included five nights at the Hall which sold out in fifteen seconds.

 

In October 2017, American rock band Alter Bridge also recorded a live album accompanied by the Parallax Orchestra with Simon Dobson.

 

Also in 2017, the Hall hosted the 70th. British Academy Film Awards, often referred to as the BAFTAs, for the first time in 20 years, replacing the Royal Opera House at which the event had been held since 2008.

 

In 2018, WWE held its second United Kingdom Championship Tournament on the 18th. and 19th. June.

 

Also in 2018, the world premiere of PlayStation in Concert was organised at the Hall. It featured PlayStation game music from the 1990's up until then. It was arranged by Jim Fowler and performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

 

In May 2019, Mariah Carey performed 3 shows as part of her Caution World Tour. Comedian Bill Burr filmed his 2019 special Paper Tiger at the Hall. In November 2020, One Direction member Niall Horan performed a one off live-streamed show in an empty Hall (during the COVID-19 pandemic) to raise money for charity.

 

Regular Events at the Royal Albert Hall

 

The Royal Choral Society

 

The Royal Choral Society is the longest-running regular performer at the Hall, having given its first performance as the Royal Albert Hall Choral Society on the 8th. May 1872. From 1876, it established the annual Good Friday performance of Handel's Messiah.

 

BBC Proms

 

The BBC Sir Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, known as "The Proms", is a popular annual eight-week summer season of daily classical music concerts and other events at the Hall.

 

In 1942, following the destruction of the Queen's Hall in an air raid, the Hall was chosen as the new venue for the proms. In 1944 with increased danger to the Hall, part of the proms were held in the Bedford Corn Exchange.

 

Following the end of World War II the proms continued in the Hall, and have done so annually every summer since. The event was founded in 1895, and now each season consists of over 70 concerts, in addition to a series of events at other venues across the United Kingdom on the last night.

 

In 2009, the total number of concerts reached 100 for the first time. Jiří Bělohlávek described The Proms as:

 

"The world's largest and most

democratic musical festival".

 

Proms is a term which arose from the original practice of the audience promenading, or strolling, in some areas during the concert. Proms concert-goers, particularly those who stand, are sometimes described as "Promenaders", but are most commonly referred to as "Prommers".

 

Tennis

 

Tennis was first played at the Hall in March 1970, and the ATP Champions Tour Masters has been played annually every December since 1997.

 

Classical Spectacular

 

Classical Spectacular, a Raymond Gubbay production, has been coming to the Hall since 1988. It combines popular classical music, lights and special effects.

 

Cirque du Soleil

 

Cirque du Soleil has performed annually, with a show being staged every January, since 2003. Cirque has had to adapt many of their touring shows to perform at the venue, modifying the set, usually built for arenas or big top tents instead.

 

Classic Brit Awards

 

Since 2000, the Classic Brit Awards has been hosted annually in May at the Hall. It is organised by the British Phonographic Industry.

 

Festival of Remembrance

 

The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance is held annually the day before Remembrance Sunday.

 

Institute of Directors

 

For 60 years the Institute of Directors' Annual Convention has been synonymous with the Hall, although in 2011 and 2012 it was held at indigO2.

 

The English National Ballet

 

Since 1998 the English National Ballet has had several specially staged arena summer seasons in partnership with the Hall and Raymond Gubbay. These include Strictly Gershwin, June 2008 and 2011, Swan Lake, June 2002, 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2013, Romeo & Juliet, June 2001 and 2005, and The Sleeping Beauty, April - June 2000.

 

Teenage Cancer Trust

 

Starting in the year 2000 the Teenage Cancer Trust has held annual charity concerts (with the exception of 2001). They started as a one-off event, but have expanded over the years to a week or more of evening events. Roger Daltrey of the Who has been intimately involved with the planning of the events.

 

Graduation Ceremonies

 

The Hall is used annually by the neighbouring Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art for graduation ceremonies. For several years the University of London and Kingston University also held their graduation ceremonies at the Hall.

 

Films, Premières and Live Orchestra Screenings

 

The venue has screened several films since the early silent days. It was the only London venue to show William Fox's The Queen of Sheba in the 1920's.

 

The Hall has hosted many premières, including the UK première of Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen, 101 Dalmatians on the 4th. December 1996, the European première of Spandau Ballet's Soul Boys of the Western World, and three James Bond royal world premières - Die Another Day on the 18th. November 2002 (attended by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip), Skyfall on the 23rd. October 2012 (attended by Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall), and Spectre on the 26th. October 2015 (attended by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge).

 

The Hall held the first 3D world première of Titanic 3D, on the 27th. March 2012, with James Cameron and Kate Winslet in attendance.

 

Since 2009, the Hall has also curated regular seasons of English-language film-and-live-orchestra screenings, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gladiator, Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, Interstellar, The Matrix, West Side Story, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Back to the Future, Jaws, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and the world première of Titanic Live in Concert.

 

The only non-English-language movie to have been screened at the Hall is Baahubali: The Beginning (an Indian movie in Telugu and Tamil, but premiered with the Hindi dubbed version).

 

National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain

 

The National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, one of the most prestigious prizes in the annual brass band contesting calendar, holds the Final of the Championship section at the Royal Albert Hall each October.

 

Beyond the Main Stage

 

The Hall hosts hundreds of events and activities beyond its main auditorium. There are regular free art exhibitions in the ground floor Amphi corridor, which can be viewed when attending events or on dedicated viewing dates.

 

Visitors can take a guided tour of the Hall on most days. The most common is the one-hour Grand Tour which includes most front-of-house areas, the auditorium, the Gallery and the Royal Retiring Room.

 

Other tours include Story of the Proms, Behind the Scenes, Inside Out and School tours.

 

Children's events include Storytelling and Music Sessions for ages four and under. These take place in the Door 9 Porch and Albert's Band sessions in the Elgar Room during school holidays.

 

"Live Music in Verdi" takes place in the Italian restaurant on a Friday night featuring different artists each week.

 

"Late Night Jazz" events in the Elgar Room, generally on a Thursday night, feature cabaret-style seating and a relaxed atmosphere with drinks available.

 

"Classical Coffee Mornings" are held on Sundays in the Elgar Room with musicians from the Royal College of Music accompanied with drinks and pastries.

 

Sunday brunch events take place in Verdi Italian restaurant and feature different genres of music.

 

Regular Performers at the Royal Albert Hall

 

Eric Clapton is a regular performer at the Hall. Since 1964, Clapton has performed at the Hall over 200 times, and has stated that performing at the venue is: "Like playing in my front room".

 

In December 1964, Clapton made his first appearance at the Hall with the Yardbirds. It was also the venue for his band Cream's farewell concerts in 1968 and reunion shows in 2005. He also instigated the Concert for George, which was held at the Hall on the 29th. November 2002 to pay tribute to Clapton's lifelong friend, former Beatle George Harrison. Clapton passed 200 shows at the Hall in 2015.

 

David Gilmour played at the Hall in support of two solo albums, while also releasing a live concert on September 2006 entitled Remember That Night which was recorded during his three nights playing at the Hall for his 2006 On an Island tour.

 

Notable guests were Robert Wyatt and David Bowie (who sang lead for "Arnold Layne" and "Comfortably Numb"). The live concert was televised by BBC One on the 9th. September 2007.

 

Gilmour returned to the Hall for four nights in September 2016 (where he was joined on stage by Benedict Cumberbatch for "Comfortably Numb"), having previously played five nights in 2015, to end his 34-day Rattle That Lock Tour. He also made an appearance on the 24th. April 2016 as part of the Teenage Cancer Trust event.

 

Shirley Bassey is one of the Hall's most prolific female headline performers, having appeared many times at the Hall since the 1970's. In 2001, she sang "Happy Birthday" for the Duke of Edinburgh's 80th. birthday concert. In 2007, she sang at Fashion Rocks in aid of the Prince's Trust.

 

On the 30th. March 2011, she sang at a gala celebrating the 80th. birthday of Mikhail Gorbachev. In May 2011, she performed at the Classic Brit Awards, singing "Goldfinger" in tribute to the recently deceased composer John Barry. On the 20th. June 2011, she returned and sang "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Goldfinger", accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, as the climax to the memorial concert for Barry.

 

James Last appeared 90 times at the Hall between 1973 and 2015, making him the most frequent non–British performer to have played the venue.

 

Education and Outreach Programme

 

The Hall's education and outreach programme engages with more than 200,000 people a year. It includes workshops for local teenagers led by musicians such as Foals, Jake Bugg, Emeli Sandé, Nicola Benedetti, Alison Balsom and First Aid Kit, innovative science and maths lessons, visits to local residential homes from the venue's in-house group, Albert's Band, under the 'Songbook' banner, and the Friendship Matinee: an orchestral concert for community groups, with £5 admission.

 

Mis-labellings

 

A famous and widely bootlegged concert by Bob Dylan at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester on the 17th. May 1966 was mistakenly labelled the "Royal Albert Hall Concert".

 

In 1998, Columbia Records released an official recording, The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert. It maintains the erroneous title but does include details of the actual location.

 

Recordings from the Royal Albert Hall concerts on the 26th. and 27th. May 1966 were finally released by the artist in 2016 as The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert.

 

Another concert mislabelled as being at the Hall was by Creedence Clearwater Revival. An album by them entitled The Royal Albert Hall Concert was released in 1980. When Fantasy Records discovered the show on the album actually took place at the Oakland Coliseum, it retitled the album The Concert.

 

Pop Culture References

 

A large mural by Peter Blake, entitled Appearing at the Royal Albert Hall, is displayed in the Hall's Café Bar. Unveiled in April 2014, it shows more than 400 famous figures who have appeared on the stage.

 

In 1955, English film director Alfred Hitchcock filmed the climax of The Man Who Knew Too Much at the Hall. The 15-minute sequence featured James Stewart, Doris Day and composer Bernard Herrmann, and was filmed partly in the Queen's Box.

 

Hitchcock was a long-time patron of the Hall and had already set the finale of his 1927 film, The Ring at the Hall, as well as his initial version of The Man Who Knew Too Much, starring Leslie Banks, Edna Best and Peter Lorre.

 

Other notable films shot at the Hall include Major Barbara, Love Story, The Seventh Veil, The Ipcress File, A Touch of Class, Shine, and Spice World.

 

In the song "A Day in the Life" by the Beatles, the Albert Hall is mentioned. The verse goes as follows:

 

"I read the news today, oh boy

four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire

and though the holes were rather small

they had to count them all

now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall

I'd love to turn you on".

 

The song "Session Man" by The Kinks references the Hall:

 

"He never will forget at all

The day he played at Albert Hall".

 

In the song "Shame" by Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow, Barlow mentions the Hall in his verse:

 

"I read your mind and tried to call,

my tears could fill the Albert Hall".

The Postcard

 

A postcard bearing no publisher's name which was posted in London on Thursday the 23rd. August 1906 to:

 

Miss Humm,

Evelyn House,

Witham,

Essex.

 

The message on the back of the card was as follows:

 

"Dear N,

You will be surprised to know

I came home tonight (Thursday)

by the 5 o'clock train as mother

is very ill.

I shall return to Witham tomorrow

(Friday) by the 7.45.

Hope to see you at the station

if you are disengaged.

Tell you all when I see you.

Love from Gert".

 

The Royal Albert Hall

 

The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the United Kingdom's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no government funding. It can seat 5,272 people.

 

The Royal Albert Hall has been affectionately named "The Nation's Village Hall".

 

Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres have appeared on its stage. It is the venue for the Proms concerts, which have been held there every summer since 1941.

 

It is host to more than 390 shows in the main auditorium annually, including classical, rock and pop concerts, ballet, opera, film screenings with live orchestral accompaniment, sports, awards ceremonies, school and community events, and charity performances and banquets. A further 400 events are held each year in the non-auditorium areas.

 

The hall was originally supposed to have been called the Central Hall of Arts and Sciences, but the name was changed to the Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences by Queen Victoria upon laying the Hall's foundation stone in 1867, in memory of her husband, Prince Albert, who had died six years earlier.

 

History of The Royal Albert Hall

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 1800's

 

In 1851 the Great Exhibition, organised by Prince Albert, was held in Hyde Park, London. The Exhibition was a success, and this led Prince Albert to propose the creation of a group of permanent facilities for the public benefit, which came to be known as Albertopolis.

 

The Exhibition's Royal Commission bought Gore House, but it was slow to act, and in 1861 Prince Albert died without having seen his ideas come to fruition. However, a memorial was proposed for Hyde Park, with a Great Hall opposite.

 

The proposal was approved, and the site was purchased with some of the profits from the Exhibition. The Hall was designed by civil engineers Captain Francis Fowke and Major-General Henry Y. D. Scott of the Royal Engineers, and built by Lucas Brothers.

 

The designers were heavily influenced by ancient amphitheatres, but had also been exposed to the ideas of Gottfried Semper while he was working at the South Kensington Museum.

 

The recently opened Cirque d'Hiver in Paris was seen in the contemporary press as the design to outdo.

 

The Hall was constructed mainly of Fareham Red Brick, with terra cotta block decoration made by Gibbs and Canning Ltd. of Tamworth.

 

The dome (designed by Rowland Mason Ordish) was made of wrought iron and glazed. There was a trial assembly of the dome's iron framework in Manchester; then it was taken apart and transported to London by horse and cart.

 

When the time came for the supporting structure to be removed from the dome after reassembly in situ, only volunteers remained on-site in case the structure collapsed. It did drop – but only by five-sixteenths of an inch (8 mm).

 

The Hall was scheduled to be completed by Christmas Day 1870, and Queen Victoria visited a few weeks beforehand to inspect.

 

The official opening ceremony of the Royal Albert Hall was on the 29th. March 1871. A welcoming speech was given by Edward, the Prince of Wales because Queen Victoria was too overcome to speak;

 

"Her only recorded comment on the

Hall was that it reminded her of the

British constitution".

 

In the concert that followed, the Hall's acoustic problems immediately became apparent. Engineers first tried to remove the strong echo by suspending a canvas awning below the dome. This helped, and also sheltered concert-goers from the sun, but the problem was not solved - it used to be jokingly said:

 

"The Hall is the only place where

a British composer could be sure

of hearing his work twice".

 

In July 1871, French organist Camille Saint-Saëns performed Church Scene from Faust by Charles Gounod; The Orchestra described him as:

 

"An exceptional and distinguished

performer ... the effect was most

marvellous."

 

Initially lit by gas, the Hall contained a special system by which thousands of gas jets were lit within ten seconds. Though it was demonstrated as early as 1873 in the Hall, full electric lighting was not installed until 1888. During an early trial when a partial installation was made, one disgruntled patron wrote to The Times, declaring it to be:

 

"A very ghastly and unpleasant

innovation".

 

In May 1877, Richard Wagner conducted the first half of each of the eight concerts which made up the Grand Wagner Festival. After his turn with the baton, he handed it over to conductor Hans Richter and sat in a large armchair on the corner of the stage for the rest of each concert. Wagner's wife Cosima, the daughter of Hungarian virtuoso pianist and composer Franz Liszt, was among the audience.

 

The Wine Society was founded at the Hall on the 4th. August 1874, after large quantities of cask wine were found in the cellars. A series of lunches were held to publicise the wines, and General Henry Scott proposed a co-operative company to buy and sell wines.

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 1900's

 

In 1906 Elsie Fogerty founded the Central School of Speech and Drama at the Hall, using its West Theatre, now the Elgar Room. The school moved to Swiss Cottage in north London in 1957. Whilst the school was based at the Royal Albert Hall, students who graduated from its classes included Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Lynn Redgrave, Harold Pinter, Laurence Olivier and Peggy Ashcroft.

 

In 1911 Russian pianist and composer Sergei Rachmaninoff performed at the Hall. The recital included his 'Prelude in C-sharp minor' and 'Elegie in E-flat minor'.

 

In 1933 German physicist Albert Einstein led the 'Einstein Meeting' at the hall for the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics, a British charity.

 

In 1936, the Hall was the scene of a giant rally celebrating the British Empire on the occasion of the centenary of Joseph Chamberlain's birth.

 

In October 1942, the Hall suffered minor damage during World War II bombing, but in general was left mostly untouched as German pilots used the distinctive structure as a landmark.

 

In 1949 the canvas awning was removed and replaced with fluted aluminium panels below the glass roof, in a new attempt to cure the echo. However the acoustics were not properly tackled until 1969 when large fibreglass acoustic diffusing discs (commonly referred to as "mushrooms" or "flying saucers") were installed below the ceiling.

 

In 1968, the Hall hosted the Eurovision Song Contest, and from 1969–1988 the Miss World contest was staged at the venue.

 

In 1995, Greek keyboardist Yanni performed a concert there for his World Tour; the concert was recorded under the name of Live at Royal Albert Hall.

 

From 1996 until 2004, the Hall underwent a programme of renovation and development supported by a £20 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £20m from Arts Council England to enable it to meet the demands of the next century of events and performances.

 

Thirty "discreet projects" were designed and supervised by the architecture and engineering firm BDP without disrupting events. These projects included improved ventilation to the auditorium, more bars and restaurants, improved seating, better technical facilities, and improved backstage areas. Internally, the Circle seating was rebuilt during June 1996 to provide more legroom, better access, and improved sightlines.

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 2000's

 

The largest project of the ongoing renovation and development was the building of a new south porch – door 12, accommodating a first-floor restaurant, a new ground floor box office and a below-ground loading bay.

 

Although the exterior of the building was largely unchanged, the south steps leading down to Prince Consort Road were demolished to allow the construction of underground vehicle access and a loading bay with accommodation for three HGVs carrying all the equipment brought by shows.

 

The steps were then reconstructed around a new south porch, named The Meitar Foyer after a significant donation from Mr & Mrs Meitar. The porch was built on a similar scale and style to the three pre-existing porches at Doors 3, 6 and 9: these works were undertaken by Taylor Woodrow.

 

The original steps featured in the early scenes of the 1965 film The Ipcress File. On the 4th. June 2004, the project received the Europa Nostra Award for remarkable achievement.

 

The East (Door 3) and West (Door 9) porches were glazed, and new bars opened along with ramps to improve disabled access. The Stalls were rebuilt in a four-week period in 2000 using steel supports, thereby allowing more space underneath for two new bars.

 

1,534 unique pivoting seats were installed, with an addition of 180 prime seats. The Choirs were rebuilt at the same time.

 

The whole building was redecorated in a style that reinforces its Victorian identity. 43,000 sq. ft (4,000 m2) of new carpets were laid in the rooms, stairs, and corridors – specially woven with a border that follows the oval curve of the building.

 

Between 2002 and 2004, there was a major rebuilding of the great organ (known as the Voice of Jupiter), built by "Father" Henry Willis in 1871 and rebuilt by Harrison & Harrison in 1924 and 1933.

 

The rebuilding was performed by Mander Organs, and it is now the second-largest pipe organ in the British Isles with 9,997 pipes in 147 stops. The largest is the Grand Organ in Liverpool Cathedral which has 10,268 pipes.

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 2010's

 

During the first half of 2011, changes were made to the backstage areas in order to relocate and increase the size of crew catering areas under the South Steps away from the stage and to create additional dressing rooms nearer to the stage.

 

During the summer of 2012, the staff canteen and some changing areas were expanded and refurbished. From January to May the Box Office area at Door 12 underwent further modernisation to include a new Café Bar on the ground floor, a new Box Office with shop counters, and additional toilets.

 

Upon opening it was renamed 'The Zvi and Ofra Meitar Porch and Foyer.' owing to a large donation from the couple.

 

In Autumn 2013, work began on replacing the Victorian steam heating system over three years and improving and cooling across the building. This work followed the summer Proms season during which temperatures were unusually high.

 

From January the Cafe Consort on the Grand Tier was closed permanently in preparation for a new restaurant at a cost of £1 million. Verdi – Italian Kitchen was officially opened on the 15th. April with a lunch or dinner menu of stone baked pizzas, pasta, and classic desserts.

 

Design of The Royal Albert Hall

 

The Hall, a Grade I listed building, is an ellipse in plan, with its external major and minor axis of 272 and 236 feet (83 and 72 meters. The great glass and wrought-iron dome roofing the Hall is 135 ft (41 m) high.

 

Below the Arena floor there is room for two 4000 gallon water tanks, which are used for shows that flood the arena like Madame Butterfly.

 

The Hall was originally designed with a capacity for 8,000 people, and has accommodated as many as 12,000 (although present-day safety restrictions mean the maximum permitted capacity is now 5,272, including standing in the Gallery.

 

Around the outside of the building is an 800–foot–long terracotta mosaic frieze, depicting "The Triumph of Arts and Sciences", in reference to the Hall's dedication. Above the frieze is an inscription in 12-inch-high (30 cm) terracotta letters that combine historical fact and Biblical quotations:

 

"This hall was erected for the advancement

of the arts and sciences and works of industry

of all nations in fulfilment of the intention of

Albert Prince Consort.

The site was purchased with the proceeds of

the Great Exhibition of the year MDCCCLI.

The first stone of the Hall was laid by Her

Majesty Queen Victoria on the twentieth day

of May MDCCCLXVII and it was opened by Her

Majesty the Twenty Ninth of March in the year

MDCCCLXXI.

Thine O Lord is the greatness and the power

and the glory and the victory and the majesty.

For all that is in the heaven and in the earth is

Thine. The wise and their works are in the hand

of God. Glory be to God on high and on earth

peace".

 

Events at The Royal Albert Hall

 

The first concert at the Hall was Arthur Sullivan's cantata On Shore and Sea, performed on the 1st. May 1871.

 

Many events are promoted by the Hall, and since the early 1970's promoter Raymond Gubbay has brought a range of events to the Hall including opera, ballet and classical music.

 

Events also include rock concerts, conferences, banquets, ballroom dancing, poetry recitals, educational talks, motor shows, ballet, opera, film screenings and circus shows.

 

The Royal Albert Hall has hosted many sporting events, including boxing, squash, table tennis, basketball, wrestling (including the first Sumo wrestling tournament to be held in London) as well as UFC 38 (the first UFC event to be held in the UK), tennis, and even a marathon.

 

The Hall first hosted boxing in 1918, when it hosted a tournament between British and American servicemen. There was a colour bar in place at the Hall, preventing black boxers from fighting there, between 1923 and 1932.

 

Greats of British boxing such as Frank Bruno, Prince Naseem Hamed, Henry Cooper and Lennox Lewis have all appeared at the venue. The Hall's boxing history was halted in 1999 when a court ordered that boxing and wrestling matches could no longer be held at the venue. In 2011 that decision was overturned. In 2019 Nicola Adams won the WBO Flyweight title which was the first fight for a world title at the venue since Marco Antonio Barrera took on Paul Lloyd in 1999.

 

On the 6th. April 1968, the Hall hosted the Eurovision Song Contest which was broadcast in colour for the first time. The first Miss World contest broadcast in colour was also staged at the venue in 1969, and remained at the Hall every year until 1989.

 

One notable event was a Pink Floyd concert held on the 26th. June 1969. On that night they were banned from ever playing at the Hall again after shooting cannons, nailing things to the stage, and having a man in a gorilla suit roam the audience.

 

At one point, Rick Wright went to the pipe organ and began to play "The End of the Beginning", the final part of "Saucerful of Secrets", joined by the brass section of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (led by the conductor, Norman Smith) and the ladies of the Ealing Central Amateur Choir. A portion of the pipe organ recording is included on Pink Floyd's album The Endless River.

 

On the 18th. June 1985, British Gothic rock band The Sisters of Mercy recorded their live video album Wake at the Hall.

 

Between 1996 and 2008, the Hall hosted the annual National Television Awards, all of which were hosted by Sir Trevor McDonald.

 

Benefit concerts include the 1997 Music for Montserrat concert, arranged and produced by George Martin. The event featured artists such as Phil Collins, Mark Knopfler, Sting, Elton John, Eric Clapton, and Paul McCartney.

 

In 2006, Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour performed at the Hall for the first time since Pink Floyd's 1969 ban. He performed as part of his On an Island Tour. The shows were filmed and used for the live video release, Remember That Night (2007).

 

Rock band The Killers recorded their first live album, Live from the Royal Albert Hall in July 2009.

 

On the 5th. April 2010, Swedish progressive metal band Opeth recorded In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, as they became the first Death metal band ever to perform at the Hall. The concert was part of the band's Evolution XX: An Opeth Anthology tour, made in celebration of their 20th. anniversary.

 

In July 2011, Janet Jackson performed three sold-out shows as part of her Number Ones, Up Close and Personal World Tour.

 

On the 2nd. October 2011, the Hall staged the 25th.-anniversary performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, which was broadcast live to cinemas across the world and filmed for DVD.

 

Lloyd Webber, the original London cast including Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford, and four previous actors of the titular character, among others, were in attendance – Brightman and the previous Phantoms (aside from Crawford) performed an encore.

 

On the 22nd. September 2011, Adele performed a one-night-only concert as part of her tour. The concert was filmed for DVD, and screened at cinemas in 26 cities around the world.

 

Her performance debuted at number one in the United States with 96,000 copies sold, the highest one-week tally for a music DVD in four years. After one week, it became the best-selling music DVD of 2011. As of the 28th. November 2012, it had surpassed sales of one million copies in the United States and sales of three million copies worldwide.

 

It was the first music DVD to surpass sales of one million in the USA since the Eagles' Farewell 1 Tour-Live from Melbourne in 2005.

 

The 2012 Sunflower Jam charity concert featured Queen guitarist Brian May performing alongside bassist John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, drummer Ian Paice of Deep Purple, and vocalists Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, and Alice Cooper.

 

On the 24th. September 2012, Classic FM celebrated the 20th. anniversary of their launch with a concert at the Hall. The program featured live performances of works by Handel, Puccini, Rachmaninoff, Parry, Vaughan Williams, Tchaikovsky and Karl Jenkins who conducted his piece The Benedictus from The Armed Man.

 

On the 19th. November 2012, the Hall hosted the 100th.-anniversary performance of the Royal Variety Performance, attended by the HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Duke of Edinburgh, with boy-band One Direction among the performers.

 

During his Rattle That Lock Tour, David Gilmour performed at the Royal Albert Hall eleven times between September 2015 and September 2016, once in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

 

On the 13th. November 2015, Canadian musician Devin Townsend recorded his second live album Ziltoid Live at the Royal Albert Hall.

 

Kylie Minogue performed at the Royal Albert Hall on the 11th. December 2015 and the 9th. - 10th. December 2016 as part of her "A Kylie Christmas" concert series.

 

On the 3rd. May 2016, singer-songwriter and Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell played at the Hall in what would become the last UK show of his life as part of his "Higher Truth" European tour.

 

Cornell performed stripped-back acoustic renditions from his back-catalogue to rave reviews, including songs from the likes of Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave and his solo work. Cornell died on the 18th. May 2017.

 

On the 22nd. April 2016, British rock band Bring Me the Horizon performed and recorded their Live at the Royal Albert Hall album, with accompaniment from the Parallax Orchestra conducted by Simon Dobson.

 

At a press conference held at the Hall in October 2016, Phil Collins announced his return to live performing with his Not Dead Yet Tour, which began in June 2017. The tour included five nights at the Hall which sold out in fifteen seconds.

 

In October 2017, American rock band Alter Bridge also recorded a live album accompanied by the Parallax Orchestra with Simon Dobson.

 

Also in 2017, the Hall hosted the 70th. British Academy Film Awards, often referred to as the BAFTAs, for the first time in 20 years, replacing the Royal Opera House at which the event had been held since 2008.

 

In 2018, WWE held its second United Kingdom Championship Tournament on the 18th. and 19th. June.

 

Also in 2018, the world premiere of PlayStation in Concert was organised at the Hall. It featured PlayStation game music from the 1990's up until then. It was arranged by Jim Fowler and performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

 

In May 2019, Mariah Carey performed 3 shows as part of her Caution World Tour. Comedian Bill Burr filmed his 2019 special Paper Tiger at the Hall. In November 2020, One Direction member Niall Horan performed a one off live-streamed show in an empty Hall (during the COVID-19 pandemic) to raise money for charity.

 

Regular Events at the Royal Albert Hall

 

The Royal Choral Society

 

The Royal Choral Society is the longest-running regular performer at the Hall, having given its first performance as the Royal Albert Hall Choral Society on the 8th. May 1872. From 1876, it established the annual Good Friday performance of Handel's Messiah.

 

BBC Proms

 

The BBC Sir Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, known as "The Proms", is a popular annual eight-week summer season of daily classical music concerts and other events at the Hall.

 

In 1942, following the destruction of the Queen's Hall in an air raid, the Hall was chosen as the new venue for the proms. In 1944 with increased danger to the Hall, part of the proms were held in the Bedford Corn Exchange.

 

Following the end of World War II the proms continued in the Hall, and have done so annually every summer since. The event was founded in 1895, and now each season consists of over 70 concerts, in addition to a series of events at other venues across the United Kingdom on the last night.

 

In 2009, the total number of concerts reached 100 for the first time. Jiří Bělohlávek described The Proms as:

 

"The world's largest and most

democratic musical festival".

 

Proms is a term which arose from the original practice of the audience promenading, or strolling, in some areas during the concert. Proms concert-goers, particularly those who stand, are sometimes described as "Promenaders", but are most commonly referred to as "Prommers".

 

Tennis

 

Tennis was first played at the Hall in March 1970, and the ATP Champions Tour Masters has been played annually every December since 1997.

 

Classical Spectacular

 

Classical Spectacular, a Raymond Gubbay production, has been coming to the Hall since 1988. It combines popular classical music, lights and special effects.

 

Cirque du Soleil

 

Cirque du Soleil has performed annually, with a show being staged every January, since 2003. Cirque has had to adapt many of their touring shows to perform at the venue, modifying the set, usually built for arenas or big top tents instead.

 

Classic Brit Awards

 

Since 2000, the Classic Brit Awards has been hosted annually in May at the Hall. It is organised by the British Phonographic Industry.

 

Festival of Remembrance

 

The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance is held annually the day before Remembrance Sunday.

 

Institute of Directors

 

For 60 years the Institute of Directors' Annual Convention has been synonymous with the Hall, although in 2011 and 2012 it was held at indigO2.

 

The English National Ballet

 

Since 1998 the English National Ballet has had several specially staged arena summer seasons in partnership with the Hall and Raymond Gubbay. These include Strictly Gershwin, June 2008 and 2011, Swan Lake, June 2002, 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2013, Romeo & Juliet, June 2001 and 2005, and The Sleeping Beauty, April - June 2000.

 

Teenage Cancer Trust

 

Starting in the year 2000 the Teenage Cancer Trust has held annual charity concerts (with the exception of 2001). They started as a one-off event, but have expanded over the years to a week or more of evening events. Roger Daltrey of the Who has been intimately involved with the planning of the events.

 

Graduation Ceremonies

 

The Hall is used annually by the neighbouring Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art for graduation ceremonies. For several years the University of London and Kingston University also held their graduation ceremonies at the Hall.

 

Films, Premières and Live Orchestra Screenings

 

The venue has screened several films since the early silent days. It was the only London venue to show William Fox's The Queen of Sheba in the 1920's.

 

The Hall has hosted many premières, including the UK première of Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen, 101 Dalmatians on the 4th. December 1996, the European première of Spandau Ballet's Soul Boys of the Western World, and three James Bond royal world premières - Die Another Day on the 18th. November 2002 (attended by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip), Skyfall on the 23rd. October 2012 (attended by Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall), and Spectre on the 26th. October 2015 (attended by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge).

 

The Hall held the first 3D world première of Titanic 3D, on the 27th. March 2012, with James Cameron and Kate Winslet in attendance.

 

Since 2009, the Hall has also curated regular seasons of English-language film-and-live-orchestra screenings, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gladiator, Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, Interstellar, The Matrix, West Side Story, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Back to the Future, Jaws, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and the world première of Titanic Live in Concert.

 

The only non-English-language movie to have been screened at the Hall is Baahubali: The Beginning (an Indian movie in Telugu and Tamil, but premiered with the Hindi dubbed version).

 

National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain

 

The National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, one of the most prestigious prizes in the annual brass band contesting calendar, holds the Final of the Championship section at the Royal Albert Hall each October.

 

Beyond the Main Stage

 

The Hall hosts hundreds of events and activities beyond its main auditorium. There are regular free art exhibitions in the ground floor Amphi corridor, which can be viewed when attending events or on dedicated viewing dates.

 

Visitors can take a guided tour of the Hall on most days. The most common is the one-hour Grand Tour which includes most front-of-house areas, the auditorium, the Gallery and the Royal Retiring Room.

 

Other tours include Story of the Proms, Behind the Scenes, Inside Out and School tours.

 

Children's events include Storytelling and Music Sessions for ages four and under. These take place in the Door 9 Porch and Albert's Band sessions in the Elgar Room during school holidays.

 

"Live Music in Verdi" takes place in the Italian restaurant on a Friday night featuring different artists each week.

 

"Late Night Jazz" events in the Elgar Room, generally on a Thursday night, feature cabaret-style seating and a relaxed atmosphere with drinks available.

 

"Classical Coffee Mornings" are held on Sundays in the Elgar Room with musicians from the Royal College of Music accompanied with drinks and pastries.

 

Sunday brunch events take place in Verdi Italian restaurant and feature different genres of music.

 

Regular Performers at the Royal Albert Hall

 

Eric Clapton is a regular performer at the Hall. Since 1964, Clapton has performed at the Hall over 200 times, and has stated that performing at the venue is: "Like playing in my front room".

 

In December 1964, Clapton made his first appearance at the Hall with the Yardbirds. It was also the venue for his band Cream's farewell concerts in 1968 and reunion shows in 2005. He also instigated the Concert for George, which was held at the Hall on the 29th. November 2002 to pay tribute to Clapton's lifelong friend, former Beatle George Harrison. Clapton passed 200 shows at the Hall in 2015.

 

David Gilmour played at the Hall in support of two solo albums, while also releasing a live concert on September 2006 entitled Remember That Night which was recorded during his three nights playing at the Hall for his 2006 On an Island tour.

 

Notable guests were Robert Wyatt and David Bowie (who sang lead for "Arnold Layne" and "Comfortably Numb"). The live concert was televised by BBC One on the 9th. September 2007.

 

Gilmour returned to the Hall for four nights in September 2016 (where he was joined on stage by Benedict Cumberbatch for "Comfortably Numb"), having previously played five nights in 2015, to end his 34-day Rattle That Lock Tour. He also made an appearance on the 24th. April 2016 as part of the Teenage Cancer Trust event.

 

Shirley Bassey is one of the Hall's most prolific female headline performers, having appeared many times at the Hall since the 1970's. In 2001, she sang "Happy Birthday" for the Duke of Edinburgh's 80th. birthday concert. In 2007, she sang at Fashion Rocks in aid of the Prince's Trust.

 

On the 30th. March 2011, she sang at a gala celebrating the 80th. birthday of Mikhail Gorbachev. In May 2011, she performed at the Classic Brit Awards, singing "Goldfinger" in tribute to the recently deceased composer John Barry. On the 20th. June 2011, she returned and sang "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Goldfinger", accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, as the climax to the memorial concert for Barry.

 

James Last appeared 90 times at the Hall between 1973 and 2015, making him the most frequent non–British performer to have played the venue.

 

Education and Outreach Programme

 

The Hall's education and outreach programme engages with more than 200,000 people a year. It includes workshops for local teenagers led by musicians such as Foals, Jake Bugg, Emeli Sandé, Nicola Benedetti, Alison Balsom and First Aid Kit, innovative science and maths lessons, visits to local residential homes from the venue's in-house group, Albert's Band, under the 'Songbook' banner, and the Friendship Matinee: an orchestral concert for community groups, with £5 admission.

 

Mis-labellings

 

A famous and widely bootlegged concert by Bob Dylan at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester on the 17th. May 1966 was mistakenly labelled the "Royal Albert Hall Concert".

 

In 1998, Columbia Records released an official recording, The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert. It maintains the erroneous title but does include details of the actual location.

 

Recordings from the Royal Albert Hall concerts on the 26th. and 27th. May 1966 were finally released by the artist in 2016 as The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert.

 

Another concert mislabelled as being at the Hall was by Creedence Clearwater Revival. An album by them entitled The Royal Albert Hall Concert was released in 1980. When Fantasy Records discovered the show on the album actually took place at the Oakland Coliseum, it retitled the album The Concert.

 

Pop Culture References

 

A large mural by Peter Blake, entitled Appearing at the Royal Albert Hall, is displayed in the Hall's Café Bar. Unveiled in April 2014, it shows more than 400 famous figures who have appeared on the stage.

 

In 1955, English film director Alfred Hitchcock filmed the climax of The Man Who Knew Too Much at the Hall. The 15-minute sequence featured James Stewart, Doris Day and composer Bernard Herrmann, and was filmed partly in the Queen's Box.

 

Hitchcock was a long-time patron of the Hall and had already set the finale of his 1927 film, The Ring at the Hall, as well as his initial version of The Man Who Knew Too Much, starring Leslie Banks, Edna Best and Peter Lorre.

 

Other notable films shot at the Hall include Major Barbara, Love Story, The Seventh Veil, The Ipcress File, A Touch of Class, Shine, and Spice World.

 

In the song "A Day in the Life" by the Beatles, the Albert Hall is mentioned. The verse goes as follows:

 

"I read the news today, oh boy

four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire

and though the holes were rather small

they had to count them all

now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall

I'd love to turn you on".

 

The song "Session Man" by The Kinks references the Hall:

 

"He never will forget at all

The day he played at Albert Hall".

 

In the song "Shame" by Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow, Barlow mentions the Hall in his verse:

 

"I read your mind and tried to call,

my tears could fill the Albert Hall".

 

René Pineton de Chambrun

 

So what else happened on the day that Gert posted the card?

 

Well, the 23rd. August 1906 marked the birth in Paris of René Aldebert Pineton de Chambrun. He was a French-American aristocrat, lawyer, businessman and author.

 

He practised law at the Court of Appeals of Paris and the New York State Bar Association.

 

He was the author of several books about World War II. He served as legal counsel to his father-in-law, Vichy France Prime Minister Pierre Laval.

 

He defended Coco Chanel in her lawsuit against Pierre Wertheimer over her marketing rights to Chanel No. 5.

 

He was the chairman of Baccarat, the crystal manufacturer, from 1960 to 1992.

 

Death

 

René died in Paris on the 19th. May 2002,

The runs of Ta Prohm is one of the many sites that make up the Angkor Archeological area in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

 

Ta Prohm has not been restored to the same extent as many of the other temples, and has been affected by the surrounding jungle.

 

On this particular day, about 5 minutes after this photo was taken, a massive downpour happened and the entire place was flooded with about a foot of water cover in the grounds.

The Postcard

 

A postally unused postcard bearing no publisher's name which bears a pre-1918 image of the Royal Albert Hall.

 

The Royal Albert Hall

 

The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the United Kingdom's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no government funding. It can seat 5,272 people.

 

The Royal Albert Hall has been affectionately named "The Nation's Village Hall".

 

Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres have appeared on its stage. It is the venue for the Proms concerts, which have been held there every summer since 1941.

 

It is host to more than 390 shows in the main auditorium annually, including classical, rock and pop concerts, ballet, opera, film screenings with live orchestral accompaniment, sports, awards ceremonies, school and community events, and charity performances and banquets. A further 400 events are held each year in the non-auditorium areas.

 

The hall was originally supposed to have been called the Central Hall of Arts and Sciences, but the name was changed to the Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences by Queen Victoria upon laying the Hall's foundation stone in 1867, in memory of her husband, Prince Albert, who had died six years earlier.

 

History of The Royal Albert Hall

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 1800's

 

In 1851 the Great Exhibition, organised by Prince Albert, was held in Hyde Park, London. The Exhibition was a success, and this led Prince Albert to propose the creation of a group of permanent facilities for the public benefit, which came to be known as Albertopolis.

 

The Exhibition's Royal Commission bought Gore House, but it was slow to act, and in 1861 Prince Albert died without having seen his ideas come to fruition. However, a memorial was proposed for Hyde Park, with a Great Hall opposite.

 

The proposal was approved, and the site was purchased with some of the profits from the Exhibition. The Hall was designed by civil engineers Captain Francis Fowke and Major-General Henry Y. D. Scott of the Royal Engineers, and built by Lucas Brothers.

 

The designers were heavily influenced by ancient amphitheatres, but had also been exposed to the ideas of Gottfried Semper while he was working at the South Kensington Museum.

 

The recently opened Cirque d'Hiver in Paris was seen in the contemporary press as the design to outdo.

 

The Hall was constructed mainly of Fareham Red Brick, with terra cotta block decoration made by Gibbs and Canning Ltd. of Tamworth.

 

The dome (designed by Rowland Mason Ordish) was made of wrought iron and glazed. There was a trial assembly of the dome's iron framework in Manchester; then it was taken apart and transported to London by horse and cart.

 

When the time came for the supporting structure to be removed from the dome after reassembly in situ, only volunteers remained on-site in case the structure collapsed. It did drop – but only by five-sixteenths of an inch (8 mm).

 

The Hall was scheduled to be completed by Christmas Day 1870, and Queen Victoria visited a few weeks beforehand to inspect.

 

The official opening ceremony of the Royal Albert Hall was on the 29th. March 1871. A welcoming speech was given by Edward, the Prince of Wales because Queen Victoria was too overcome to speak;

 

"Her only recorded comment on the

Hall was that it reminded her of the

British constitution".

 

In the concert that followed, the Hall's acoustic problems immediately became apparent. Engineers first tried to remove the strong echo by suspending a canvas awning below the dome. This helped, and also sheltered concert-goers from the sun, but the problem was not solved - it used to be jokingly said:

 

"The Hall is the only place where

a British composer could be sure

of hearing his work twice".

 

In July 1871, French organist Camille Saint-Saëns performed Church Scene from Faust by Charles Gounod; The Orchestra described him as:

 

"An exceptional and distinguished

performer ... the effect was most

marvellous."

 

Initially lit by gas, the Hall contained a special system by which thousands of gas jets were lit within ten seconds. Though it was demonstrated as early as 1873 in the Hall, full electric lighting was not installed until 1888. During an early trial when a partial installation was made, one disgruntled patron wrote to The Times, declaring it to be:

 

"A very ghastly and unpleasant

innovation".

 

In May 1877, Richard Wagner conducted the first half of each of the eight concerts which made up the Grand Wagner Festival. After his turn with the baton, he handed it over to conductor Hans Richter and sat in a large armchair on the corner of the stage for the rest of each concert. Wagner's wife Cosima, the daughter of Hungarian virtuoso pianist and composer Franz Liszt, was among the audience.

 

The Wine Society was founded at the Hall on the 4th. August 1874, after large quantities of cask wine were found in the cellars. A series of lunches were held to publicise the wines, and General Henry Scott proposed a co-operative company to buy and sell wines.

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 1900's

 

In 1906 Elsie Fogerty founded the Central School of Speech and Drama at the Hall, using its West Theatre, now the Elgar Room. The school moved to Swiss Cottage in north London in 1957. Whilst the school was based at the Royal Albert Hall, students who graduated from its classes included Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Lynn Redgrave, Harold Pinter, Laurence Olivier and Peggy Ashcroft.

 

In 1911 Russian pianist and composer Sergei Rachmaninoff performed at the Hall. The recital included his 'Prelude in C-sharp minor' and 'Elegie in E-flat minor'.

 

In 1933 German physicist Albert Einstein led the 'Einstein Meeting' at the hall for the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics, a British charity.

 

In 1936, the Hall was the scene of a giant rally celebrating the British Empire on the occasion of the centenary of Joseph Chamberlain's birth.

 

In October 1942, the Hall suffered minor damage during World War II bombing, but in general was left mostly untouched as German pilots used the distinctive structure as a landmark.

 

In 1949 the canvas awning was removed and replaced with fluted aluminium panels below the glass roof, in a new attempt to cure the echo. However the acoustics were not properly tackled until 1969 when large fibreglass acoustic diffusing discs (commonly referred to as "mushrooms" or "flying saucers") were installed below the ceiling.

 

In 1968, the Hall hosted the Eurovision Song Contest, and from 1969–1988 the Miss World contest was staged at the venue.

 

In 1995, Greek keyboardist Yanni performed a concert there for his World Tour; the concert was recorded under the name of Live at Royal Albert Hall.

 

From 1996 until 2004, the Hall underwent a programme of renovation and development supported by a £20 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £20m from Arts Council England to enable it to meet the demands of the next century of events and performances.

 

Thirty "discreet projects" were designed and supervised by the architecture and engineering firm BDP without disrupting events. These projects included improved ventilation to the auditorium, more bars and restaurants, improved seating, better technical facilities, and improved backstage areas. Internally, the Circle seating was rebuilt during June 1996 to provide more legroom, better access, and improved sightlines.

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 2000's

 

The largest project of the ongoing renovation and development was the building of a new south porch – door 12, accommodating a first-floor restaurant, a new ground floor box office and a below-ground loading bay.

 

Although the exterior of the building was largely unchanged, the south steps leading down to Prince Consort Road were demolished to allow the construction of underground vehicle access and a loading bay with accommodation for three HGVs carrying all the equipment brought by shows.

 

The steps were then reconstructed around a new south porch, named The Meitar Foyer after a significant donation from Mr & Mrs Meitar. The porch was built on a similar scale and style to the three pre-existing porches at Doors 3, 6 and 9: these works were undertaken by Taylor Woodrow.

 

The original steps featured in the early scenes of the 1965 film The Ipcress File. On the 4th. June 2004, the project received the Europa Nostra Award for remarkable achievement.

 

The East (Door 3) and West (Door 9) porches were glazed, and new bars opened along with ramps to improve disabled access. The Stalls were rebuilt in a four-week period in 2000 using steel supports, thereby allowing more space underneath for two new bars.

 

1,534 unique pivoting seats were installed, with an addition of 180 prime seats. The Choirs were rebuilt at the same time.

 

The whole building was redecorated in a style that reinforces its Victorian identity. 43,000 sq. ft (4,000 m2) of new carpets were laid in the rooms, stairs, and corridors – specially woven with a border that follows the oval curve of the building.

 

Between 2002 and 2004, there was a major rebuilding of the great organ (known as the Voice of Jupiter), built by "Father" Henry Willis in 1871 and rebuilt by Harrison & Harrison in 1924 and 1933.

 

The rebuilding was performed by Mander Organs, and it is now the second-largest pipe organ in the British Isles with 9,997 pipes in 147 stops. The largest is the Grand Organ in Liverpool Cathedral which has 10,268 pipes.

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 2010's

 

During the first half of 2011, changes were made to the backstage areas in order to relocate and increase the size of crew catering areas under the South Steps away from the stage and to create additional dressing rooms nearer to the stage.

 

During the summer of 2012, the staff canteen and some changing areas were expanded and refurbished. From January to May the Box Office area at Door 12 underwent further modernisation to include a new Café Bar on the ground floor, a new Box Office with shop counters, and additional toilets.

 

Upon opening it was renamed 'The Zvi and Ofra Meitar Porch and Foyer.' owing to a large donation from the couple.

 

In Autumn 2013, work began on replacing the Victorian steam heating system over three years and improving and cooling across the building. This work followed the summer Proms season during which temperatures were unusually high.

 

From January the Cafe Consort on the Grand Tier was closed permanently in preparation for a new restaurant at a cost of £1 million. Verdi – Italian Kitchen was officially opened on the 15th. April with a lunch or dinner menu of stone baked pizzas, pasta, and classic desserts.

 

Design of The Royal Albert Hall

 

The Hall, a Grade I listed building, is an ellipse in plan, with its external major and minor axis of 272 and 236 feet (83 and 72 meters. The great glass and wrought-iron dome roofing the Hall is 135 ft (41 m) high.

 

Below the Arena floor there is room for two 4000 gallon water tanks, which are used for shows that flood the arena like Madame Butterfly.

 

The Hall was originally designed with a capacity for 8,000 people, and has accommodated as many as 12,000 (although present-day safety restrictions mean the maximum permitted capacity is now 5,272, including standing in the Gallery.

 

Around the outside of the building is an 800–foot–long terracotta mosaic frieze, depicting "The Triumph of Arts and Sciences", in reference to the Hall's dedication. Above the frieze is an inscription in 12-inch-high (30 cm) terracotta letters that combine historical fact and Biblical quotations:

 

"This hall was erected for the advancement

of the arts and sciences and works of industry

of all nations in fulfilment of the intention of

Albert Prince Consort.

The site was purchased with the proceeds of

the Great Exhibition of the year MDCCCLI.

The first stone of the Hall was laid by Her

Majesty Queen Victoria on the twentieth day

of May MDCCCLXVII and it was opened by Her

Majesty the Twenty Ninth of March in the year

MDCCCLXXI.

Thine O Lord is the greatness and the power

and the glory and the victory and the majesty.

For all that is in the heaven and in the earth is

Thine. The wise and their works are in the hand

of God. Glory be to God on high and on earth

peace".

 

Events at The Royal Albert Hall

 

The first concert at the Hall was Arthur Sullivan's cantata On Shore and Sea, performed on the 1st. May 1871.

 

Many events are promoted by the Hall, and since the early 1970's promoter Raymond Gubbay has brought a range of events to the Hall including opera, ballet and classical music.

 

Events also include rock concerts, conferences, banquets, ballroom dancing, poetry recitals, educational talks, motor shows, ballet, opera, film screenings and circus shows.

 

The Royal Albert Hall has hosted many sporting events, including boxing, squash, table tennis, basketball, wrestling (including the first Sumo wrestling tournament to be held in London) as well as UFC 38 (the first UFC event to be held in the UK), tennis, and even a marathon.

 

The Hall first hosted boxing in 1918, when it hosted a tournament between British and American servicemen. There was a colour bar in place at the Hall, preventing black boxers from fighting there, between 1923 and 1932.

 

Greats of British boxing such as Frank Bruno, Prince Naseem Hamed, Henry Cooper and Lennox Lewis have all appeared at the venue. The Hall's boxing history was halted in 1999 when a court ordered that boxing and wrestling matches could no longer be held at the venue. In 2011 that decision was overturned. In 2019 Nicola Adams won the WBO Flyweight title which was the first fight for a world title at the venue since Marco Antonio Barrera took on Paul Lloyd in 1999.

 

On the 6th. April 1968, the Hall hosted the Eurovision Song Contest which was broadcast in colour for the first time. The first Miss World contest broadcast in colour was also staged at the venue in 1969, and remained at the Hall every year until 1989.

 

One notable event was a Pink Floyd concert held on the 26th. June 1969. On that night they were banned from ever playing at the Hall again after shooting cannons, nailing things to the stage, and having a man in a gorilla suit roam the audience.

 

At one point, Rick Wright went to the pipe organ and began to play "The End of the Beginning", the final part of "Saucerful of Secrets", joined by the brass section of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (led by the conductor, Norman Smith) and the ladies of the Ealing Central Amateur Choir. A portion of the pipe organ recording is included on Pink Floyd's album The Endless River.

 

On the 18th. June 1985, British Gothic rock band The Sisters of Mercy recorded their live video album Wake at the Hall.

 

Between 1996 and 2008, the Hall hosted the annual National Television Awards, all of which were hosted by Sir Trevor McDonald.

 

Benefit concerts include the 1997 Music for Montserrat concert, arranged and produced by George Martin. The event featured artists such as Phil Collins, Mark Knopfler, Sting, Elton John, Eric Clapton, and Paul McCartney.

 

In 2006, Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour performed at the Hall for the first time since Pink Floyd's 1969 ban. He performed as part of his On an Island Tour. The shows were filmed and used for the live video release, Remember That Night (2007).

 

Rock band The Killers recorded their first live album, Live from the Royal Albert Hall in July 2009.

 

On the 5th. April 2010, Swedish progressive metal band Opeth recorded In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, as they became the first Death metal band ever to perform at the Hall. The concert was part of the band's Evolution XX: An Opeth Anthology tour, made in celebration of their 20th. anniversary.

 

In July 2011, Janet Jackson performed three sold-out shows as part of her Number Ones, Up Close and Personal World Tour.

 

On the 2nd. October 2011, the Hall staged the 25th.-anniversary performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, which was broadcast live to cinemas across the world and filmed for DVD.

 

Lloyd Webber, the original London cast including Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford, and four previous actors of the titular character, among others, were in attendance – Brightman and the previous Phantoms (aside from Crawford) performed an encore.

 

On the 22nd. September 2011, Adele performed a one-night-only concert as part of her tour. The concert was filmed for DVD, and screened at cinemas in 26 cities around the world.

 

Her performance debuted at number one in the United States with 96,000 copies sold, the highest one-week tally for a music DVD in four years. After one week, it became the best-selling music DVD of 2011. As of the 28th. November 2012, it had surpassed sales of one million copies in the United States and sales of three million copies worldwide.

 

It was the first music DVD to surpass sales of one million in the USA since the Eagles' Farewell 1 Tour-Live from Melbourne in 2005.

 

The 2012 Sunflower Jam charity concert featured Queen guitarist Brian May performing alongside bassist John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, drummer Ian Paice of Deep Purple, and vocalists Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, and Alice Cooper.

 

On the 24th. September 2012, Classic FM celebrated the 20th. anniversary of their launch with a concert at the Hall. The program featured live performances of works by Handel, Puccini, Rachmaninoff, Parry, Vaughan Williams, Tchaikovsky and Karl Jenkins who conducted his piece The Benedictus from The Armed Man.

 

On the 19th. November 2012, the Hall hosted the 100th.-anniversary performance of the Royal Variety Performance, attended by the HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Duke of Edinburgh, with boy-band One Direction among the performers.

 

During his Rattle That Lock Tour, David Gilmour performed at the Royal Albert Hall eleven times between September 2015 and September 2016, once in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

 

On the 13th. November 2015, Canadian musician Devin Townsend recorded his second live album Ziltoid Live at the Royal Albert Hall.

 

Kylie Minogue performed at the Royal Albert Hall on the 11th. December 2015 and the 9th. - 10th. December 2016 as part of her "A Kylie Christmas" concert series.

 

On the 3rd. May 2016, singer-songwriter and Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell played at the Hall in what would become the last UK show of his life as part of his "Higher Truth" European tour.

 

Cornell performed stripped-back acoustic renditions from his back-catalogue to rave reviews, including songs from the likes of Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave and his solo work. Cornell died on the 18th. May 2017.

 

On the 22nd. April 2016, British rock band Bring Me the Horizon performed and recorded their Live at the Royal Albert Hall album, with accompaniment from the Parallax Orchestra conducted by Simon Dobson.

 

At a press conference held at the Hall in October 2016, Phil Collins announced his return to live performing with his Not Dead Yet Tour, which began in June 2017. The tour included five nights at the Hall which sold out in fifteen seconds.

 

In October 2017, American rock band Alter Bridge also recorded a live album accompanied by the Parallax Orchestra with Simon Dobson.

 

Also in 2017, the Hall hosted the 70th. British Academy Film Awards, often referred to as the BAFTAs, for the first time in 20 years, replacing the Royal Opera House at which the event had been held since 2008.

 

In 2018, WWE held its second United Kingdom Championship Tournament on the 18th. and 19th. June.

 

Also in 2018, the world premiere of PlayStation in Concert was organised at the Hall. It featured PlayStation game music from the 1990's up until then. It was arranged by Jim Fowler and performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

 

In May 2019, Mariah Carey performed 3 shows as part of her Caution World Tour. Comedian Bill Burr filmed his 2019 special Paper Tiger at the Hall. In November 2020, One Direction member Niall Horan performed a one off live-streamed show in an empty Hall (during the COVID-19 pandemic) to raise money for charity.

 

Regular Events at the Royal Albert Hall

 

The Royal Choral Society

 

The Royal Choral Society is the longest-running regular performer at the Hall, having given its first performance as the Royal Albert Hall Choral Society on the 8th. May 1872. From 1876, it established the annual Good Friday performance of Handel's Messiah.

 

BBC Proms

 

The BBC Sir Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, known as "The Proms", is a popular annual eight-week summer season of daily classical music concerts and other events at the Hall.

 

In 1942, following the destruction of the Queen's Hall in an air raid, the Hall was chosen as the new venue for the proms. In 1944 with increased danger to the Hall, part of the proms were held in the Bedford Corn Exchange.

 

Following the end of World War II the proms continued in the Hall, and have done so annually every summer since. The event was founded in 1895, and now each season consists of over 70 concerts, in addition to a series of events at other venues across the United Kingdom on the last night.

 

In 2009, the total number of concerts reached 100 for the first time. Jiří Bělohlávek described The Proms as:

 

"The world's largest and most

democratic musical festival".

 

Proms is a term which arose from the original practice of the audience promenading, or strolling, in some areas during the concert. Proms concert-goers, particularly those who stand, are sometimes described as "Promenaders", but are most commonly referred to as "Prommers".

 

Tennis

 

Tennis was first played at the Hall in March 1970, and the ATP Champions Tour Masters has been played annually every December since 1997.

 

Classical Spectacular

 

Classical Spectacular, a Raymond Gubbay production, has been coming to the Hall since 1988. It combines popular classical music, lights and special effects.

 

Cirque du Soleil

 

Cirque du Soleil has performed annually, with a show being staged every January, since 2003. Cirque has had to adapt many of their touring shows to perform at the venue, modifying the set, usually built for arenas or big top tents instead.

 

Classic Brit Awards

 

Since 2000, the Classic Brit Awards has been hosted annually in May at the Hall. It is organised by the British Phonographic Industry.

 

Festival of Remembrance

 

The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance is held annually the day before Remembrance Sunday.

 

Institute of Directors

 

For 60 years the Institute of Directors' Annual Convention has been synonymous with the Hall, although in 2011 and 2012 it was held at indigO2.

 

The English National Ballet

 

Since 1998 the English National Ballet has had several specially staged arena summer seasons in partnership with the Hall and Raymond Gubbay. These include Strictly Gershwin, June 2008 and 2011, Swan Lake, June 2002, 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2013, Romeo & Juliet, June 2001 and 2005, and The Sleeping Beauty, April - June 2000.

 

Teenage Cancer Trust

 

Starting in the year 2000 the Teenage Cancer Trust has held annual charity concerts (with the exception of 2001). They started as a one-off event, but have expanded over the years to a week or more of evening events. Roger Daltrey of the Who has been intimately involved with the planning of the events.

 

Graduation Ceremonies

 

The Hall is used annually by the neighbouring Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art for graduation ceremonies. For several years the University of London and Kingston University also held their graduation ceremonies at the Hall.

 

Films, Premières and Live Orchestra Screenings

 

The venue has screened several films since the early silent days. It was the only London venue to show William Fox's The Queen of Sheba in the 1920's.

 

The Hall has hosted many premières, including the UK première of Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen, 101 Dalmatians on the 4th. December 1996, the European première of Spandau Ballet's Soul Boys of the Western World, and three James Bond royal world premières - Die Another Day on the 18th. November 2002 (attended by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip), Skyfall on the 23rd. October 2012 (attended by Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall), and Spectre on the 26th. October 2015 (attended by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge).

 

The Hall held the first 3D world première of Titanic 3D, on the 27th. March 2012, with James Cameron and Kate Winslet in attendance.

 

Since 2009, the Hall has also curated regular seasons of English-language film-and-live-orchestra screenings, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gladiator, Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, Interstellar, The Matrix, West Side Story, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Back to the Future, Jaws, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and the world première of Titanic Live in Concert.

 

The only non-English-language movie to have been screened at the Hall is Baahubali: The Beginning (an Indian movie in Telugu and Tamil, but premiered with the Hindi dubbed version).

 

National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain

 

The National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, one of the most prestigious prizes in the annual brass band contesting calendar, holds the Final of the Championship section at the Royal Albert Hall each October.

 

Beyond the Main Stage

 

The Hall hosts hundreds of events and activities beyond its main auditorium. There are regular free art exhibitions in the ground floor Amphi corridor, which can be viewed when attending events or on dedicated viewing dates.

 

Visitors can take a guided tour of the Hall on most days. The most common is the one-hour Grand Tour which includes most front-of-house areas, the auditorium, the Gallery and the Royal Retiring Room.

 

Other tours include Story of the Proms, Behind the Scenes, Inside Out and School tours.

 

Children's events include Storytelling and Music Sessions for ages four and under. These take place in the Door 9 Porch and Albert's Band sessions in the Elgar Room during school holidays.

 

"Live Music in Verdi" takes place in the Italian restaurant on a Friday night featuring different artists each week.

 

"Late Night Jazz" events in the Elgar Room, generally on a Thursday night, feature cabaret-style seating and a relaxed atmosphere with drinks available.

 

"Classical Coffee Mornings" are held on Sundays in the Elgar Room with musicians from the Royal College of Music accompanied with drinks and pastries.

 

Sunday brunch events take place in Verdi Italian restaurant and feature different genres of music.

 

Regular Performers at the Royal Albert Hall

 

Eric Clapton is a regular performer at the Hall. Since 1964, Clapton has performed at the Hall over 200 times, and has stated that performing at the venue is: "Like playing in my front room".

 

In December 1964, Clapton made his first appearance at the Hall with the Yardbirds. It was also the venue for his band Cream's farewell concerts in 1968 and reunion shows in 2005. He also instigated the Concert for George, which was held at the Hall on the 29th. November 2002 to pay tribute to Clapton's lifelong friend, former Beatle George Harrison. Clapton passed 200 shows at the Hall in 2015.

 

David Gilmour played at the Hall in support of two solo albums, while also releasing a live concert on September 2006 entitled Remember That Night which was recorded during his three nights playing at the Hall for his 2006 On an Island tour.

 

Notable guests were Robert Wyatt and David Bowie (who sang lead for "Arnold Layne" and "Comfortably Numb"). The live concert was televised by BBC One on the 9th. September 2007.

 

Gilmour returned to the Hall for four nights in September 2016 (where he was joined on stage by Benedict Cumberbatch for "Comfortably Numb"), having previously played five nights in 2015, to end his 34-day Rattle That Lock Tour. He also made an appearance on the 24th. April 2016 as part of the Teenage Cancer Trust event.

 

Shirley Bassey is one of the Hall's most prolific female headline performers, having appeared many times at the Hall since the 1970's. In 2001, she sang "Happy Birthday" for the Duke of Edinburgh's 80th. birthday concert. In 2007, she sang at Fashion Rocks in aid of the Prince's Trust.

 

On the 30th. March 2011, she sang at a gala celebrating the 80th. birthday of Mikhail Gorbachev. In May 2011, she performed at the Classic Brit Awards, singing "Goldfinger" in tribute to the recently deceased composer John Barry. On the 20th. June 2011, she returned and sang "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Goldfinger", accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, as the climax to the memorial concert for Barry.

 

James Last appeared 90 times at the Hall between 1973 and 2015, making him the most frequent non–British performer to have played the venue.

 

Education and Outreach Programme

 

The Hall's education and outreach programme engages with more than 200,000 people a year. It includes workshops for local teenagers led by musicians such as Foals, Jake Bugg, Emeli Sandé, Nicola Benedetti, Alison Balsom and First Aid Kit, innovative science and maths lessons, visits to local residential homes from the venue's in-house group, Albert's Band, under the 'Songbook' banner, and the Friendship Matinee: an orchestral concert for community groups, with £5 admission.

 

Mis-labellings

 

A famous and widely bootlegged concert by Bob Dylan at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester on the 17th. May 1966 was mistakenly labelled the "Royal Albert Hall Concert".

 

In 1998, Columbia Records released an official recording, The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert. It maintains the erroneous title but does include details of the actual location.

 

Recordings from the Royal Albert Hall concerts on the 26th. and 27th. May 1966 were finally released by the artist in 2016 as The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert.

 

Another concert mislabelled as being at the Hall was by Creedence Clearwater Revival. An album by them entitled The Royal Albert Hall Concert was released in 1980. When Fantasy Records discovered the show on the album actually took place at the Oakland Coliseum, it retitled the album The Concert.

 

Pop Culture References

 

A large mural by Peter Blake, entitled Appearing at the Royal Albert Hall, is displayed in the Hall's Café Bar. Unveiled in April 2014, it shows more than 400 famous figures who have appeared on the stage.

 

In 1955, English film director Alfred Hitchcock filmed the climax of The Man Who Knew Too Much at the Hall. The 15-minute sequence featured James Stewart, Doris Day and composer Bernard Herrmann, and was filmed partly in the Queen's Box.

 

Hitchcock was a long-time patron of the Hall and had already set the finale of his 1927 film, The Ring at the Hall, as well as his initial version of The Man Who Knew Too Much, starring Leslie Banks, Edna Best and Peter Lorre.

 

Other notable films shot at the Hall include Major Barbara, Love Story, The Seventh Veil, The Ipcress File, A Touch of Class, Shine, and Spice World.

 

In the song "A Day in the Life" by the Beatles, the Albert Hall is mentioned. The verse goes as follows:

 

"I read the news today, oh boy

four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire

and though the holes were rather small

they had to count them all

now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall

I'd love to turn you on".

 

The song "Session Man" by The Kinks references the Hall:

 

"He never will forget at all

The day he played at Albert Hall".

 

In the song "Shame" by Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow, Barlow mentions the Hall in his verse:

 

"I read your mind and tried to call,

my tears could fill the Albert Hall".

The Postcard

 

A postally unused Finsbury Series postcard. On the back of the card they state that it was 'Printed Abroad'.

 

Dame Clara Butt

 

Note the poster in front of the Albert Hall which refers to Clara Butt Rumford. Dame Clara Ellen Butt, who was born on the 1st. February 1872, was an English contralto.

 

On the 26th. June 1900 she married the baritone Kennerley Rumford, and thereafter would often appear with him in concerts. After they married, Rumford would not allow his wife to take part in love scenes with other men.

 

Clara gave a major concert at the Royal Albert Hall on the 13th. May 1915 in aid of the British Red Cross Society and Order of St. John. It is almost certainly this concert to which the poster refers.

 

Clara was clouded by tragedy in her later years, with both her sons predeceasing her. During the 1920's, she became seriously ill with spinal cancer. Nevertheless, she continued to give concerts and make records. A devout Christian Scientist, she took part in revivalist meetings, singing, and giving sermons.

 

Clara died in North Stoke, Oxfordshire at the age of 63 on the 23rd. January 1936.

 

Clara Butt performed 110 times at the Royal Albert Hall during her career, organising many important fund-raising concerts for charities during the Great War.

 

The Royal Albert Hall

 

The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the United Kingdom's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no government funding. It can seat 5,272 people.

 

The Royal Albert Hall has been affectionately named "The Nation's Village Hall".

 

Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres have appeared on its stage. It is the venue for the Proms concerts, which have been held there every summer since 1941.

 

It is host to more than 390 shows in the main auditorium annually, including classical, rock and pop concerts, ballet, opera, film screenings with live orchestral accompaniment, sports, awards ceremonies, school and community events, and charity performances and banquets. A further 400 events are held each year in the non-auditorium areas.

 

The hall was originally supposed to have been called the Central Hall of Arts and Sciences, but the name was changed to the Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences by Queen Victoria upon laying the Hall's foundation stone in 1867, in memory of her husband, Prince Albert, who had died six years earlier.

 

History of The Royal Albert Hall

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 1800's

 

In 1851 the Great Exhibition, organised by Prince Albert, was held in Hyde Park, London. The Exhibition was a success, and this led Prince Albert to propose the creation of a group of permanent facilities for the public benefit, which came to be known as Albertopolis.

 

The Exhibition's Royal Commission bought Gore House, but it was slow to act, and in 1861 Prince Albert died without having seen his ideas come to fruition. However, a memorial was proposed for Hyde Park, with a Great Hall opposite.

 

The proposal was approved, and the site was purchased with some of the profits from the Exhibition. The Hall was designed by civil engineers Captain Francis Fowke and Major-General Henry Y. D. Scott of the Royal Engineers, and built by Lucas Brothers.

 

The designers were heavily influenced by ancient amphitheatres, but had also been exposed to the ideas of Gottfried Semper while he was working at the South Kensington Museum.

 

The recently opened Cirque d'Hiver in Paris was seen in the contemporary press as the design to outdo.

 

The Hall was constructed mainly of Fareham Red Brick, with terra cotta block decoration made by Gibbs and Canning Ltd. of Tamworth.

 

The dome (designed by Rowland Mason Ordish) was made of wrought iron and glazed. There was a trial assembly of the dome's iron framework in Manchester; then it was taken apart and transported to London by horse and cart.

 

When the time came for the supporting structure to be removed from the dome after reassembly in situ, only volunteers remained on-site in case the structure collapsed. It did drop – but only by five-sixteenths of an inch (8 mm).

 

The Hall was scheduled to be completed by Christmas Day 1870, and Queen Victoria visited a few weeks beforehand to inspect.

 

The official opening ceremony of the Royal Albert Hall was on the 29th. March 1871. A welcoming speech was given by Edward, the Prince of Wales because Queen Victoria was too overcome to speak;

 

"Her only recorded comment on the

Hall was that it reminded her of the

British constitution".

 

In the concert that followed, the Hall's acoustic problems immediately became apparent. Engineers first tried to remove the strong echo by suspending a canvas awning below the dome. This helped, and also sheltered concert-goers from the sun, but the problem was not solved - it used to be jokingly said:

 

"The Hall is the only place where

a British composer could be sure

of hearing his work twice".

 

In July 1871, French organist Camille Saint-Saëns performed Church Scene from Faust by Charles Gounod; The Orchestra described him as:

 

"An exceptional and distinguished

performer ... the effect was most

marvellous."

 

Initially lit by gas, the Hall contained a special system by which thousands of gas jets were lit within ten seconds. Though it was demonstrated as early as 1873 in the Hall, full electric lighting was not installed until 1888. During an early trial when a partial installation was made, one disgruntled patron wrote to The Times, declaring it to be:

 

"A very ghastly and unpleasant

innovation".

 

In May 1877, Richard Wagner conducted the first half of each of the eight concerts which made up the Grand Wagner Festival. After his turn with the baton, he handed it over to conductor Hans Richter and sat in a large armchair on the corner of the stage for the rest of each concert. Wagner's wife Cosima, the daughter of Hungarian virtuoso pianist and composer Franz Liszt, was among the audience.

 

The Wine Society was founded at the Hall on the 4th. August 1874, after large quantities of cask wine were found in the cellars. A series of lunches were held to publicise the wines, and General Henry Scott proposed a co-operative company to buy and sell wines.

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 1900's

 

In 1906 Elsie Fogerty founded the Central School of Speech and Drama at the Hall, using its West Theatre, now the Elgar Room. The school moved to Swiss Cottage in north London in 1957. Whilst the school was based at the Royal Albert Hall, students who graduated from its classes included Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Lynn Redgrave, Harold Pinter, Laurence Olivier and Peggy Ashcroft.

 

In 1911 Russian pianist and composer Sergei Rachmaninoff performed at the Hall. The recital included his 'Prelude in C-sharp minor' and 'Elegie in E-flat minor'.

 

In 1933 German physicist Albert Einstein led the 'Einstein Meeting' at the hall for the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics, a British charity.

 

In 1936, the Hall was the scene of a giant rally celebrating the British Empire on the occasion of the centenary of Joseph Chamberlain's birth.

 

In October 1942, the Hall suffered minor damage during World War II bombing, but in general was left mostly untouched as German pilots used the distinctive structure as a landmark.

 

In 1949 the canvas awning was removed and replaced with fluted aluminium panels below the glass roof, in a new attempt to cure the echo. However the acoustics were not properly tackled until 1969 when large fibreglass acoustic diffusing discs (commonly referred to as "mushrooms" or "flying saucers") were installed below the ceiling.

 

In 1968, the Hall hosted the Eurovision Song Contest, and from 1969–1988 the Miss World contest was staged at the venue.

 

In 1995, Greek keyboardist Yanni performed a concert there for his World Tour; the concert was recorded under the name of Live at Royal Albert Hall.

 

From 1996 until 2004, the Hall underwent a programme of renovation and development supported by a £20 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £20m from Arts Council England to enable it to meet the demands of the next century of events and performances.

 

Thirty "discreet projects" were designed and supervised by the architecture and engineering firm BDP without disrupting events. These projects included improved ventilation to the auditorium, more bars and restaurants, improved seating, better technical facilities, and improved backstage areas. Internally, the Circle seating was rebuilt during June 1996 to provide more legroom, better access, and improved sightlines.

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 2000's

 

The largest project of the ongoing renovation and development was the building of a new south porch – door 12, accommodating a first-floor restaurant, a new ground floor box office and a below-ground loading bay.

 

Although the exterior of the building was largely unchanged, the south steps leading down to Prince Consort Road were demolished to allow the construction of underground vehicle access and a loading bay with accommodation for three HGVs carrying all the equipment brought by shows.

 

The steps were then reconstructed around a new south porch, named The Meitar Foyer after a significant donation from Mr & Mrs Meitar. The porch was built on a similar scale and style to the three pre-existing porches at Doors 3, 6 and 9: these works were undertaken by Taylor Woodrow.

 

The original steps featured in the early scenes of the 1965 film The Ipcress File. On the 4th. June 2004, the project received the Europa Nostra Award for remarkable achievement.

 

The East (Door 3) and West (Door 9) porches were glazed, and new bars opened along with ramps to improve disabled access. The Stalls were rebuilt in a four-week period in 2000 using steel supports, thereby allowing more space underneath for two new bars.

 

1,534 unique pivoting seats were installed, with an addition of 180 prime seats. The Choirs were rebuilt at the same time.

 

The whole building was redecorated in a style that reinforces its Victorian identity. 43,000 sq. ft (4,000 m2) of new carpets were laid in the rooms, stairs, and corridors – specially woven with a border that follows the oval curve of the building.

 

Between 2002 and 2004, there was a major rebuilding of the great organ (known as the Voice of Jupiter), built by "Father" Henry Willis in 1871 and rebuilt by Harrison & Harrison in 1924 and 1933.

 

The rebuilding was performed by Mander Organs, and it is now the second-largest pipe organ in the British Isles with 9,997 pipes in 147 stops. The largest is the Grand Organ in Liverpool Cathedral which has 10,268 pipes.

 

The Royal Albert Hall in the 2010's

 

During the first half of 2011, changes were made to the backstage areas in order to relocate and increase the size of crew catering areas under the South Steps away from the stage and to create additional dressing rooms nearer to the stage.

 

During the summer of 2012, the staff canteen and some changing areas were expanded and refurbished. From January to May the Box Office area at Door 12 underwent further modernisation to include a new Café Bar on the ground floor, a new Box Office with shop counters, and additional toilets.

 

Upon opening it was renamed 'The Zvi and Ofra Meitar Porch and Foyer.' owing to a large donation from the couple.

 

In Autumn 2013, work began on replacing the Victorian steam heating system over three years and improving and cooling across the building. This work followed the summer Proms season during which temperatures were unusually high.

 

From January the Cafe Consort on the Grand Tier was closed permanently in preparation for a new restaurant at a cost of £1 million. Verdi – Italian Kitchen was officially opened on the 15th. April with a lunch or dinner menu of stone baked pizzas, pasta, and classic desserts.

 

Design of The Royal Albert Hall

 

The Hall, a Grade I listed building, is an ellipse in plan, with its external major and minor axis of 272 and 236 feet (83 and 72 meters. The great glass and wrought-iron dome roofing the Hall is 135 ft (41 m) high.

 

Below the Arena floor there is room for two 4000 gallon water tanks, which are used for shows that flood the arena like Madame Butterfly.

 

The Hall was originally designed with a capacity for 8,000 people, and has accommodated as many as 12,000 (although present-day safety restrictions mean the maximum permitted capacity is now 5,272, including standing in the Gallery.

 

Around the outside of the building is an 800–foot–long terracotta mosaic frieze, depicting "The Triumph of Arts and Sciences", in reference to the Hall's dedication. Above the frieze is an inscription in 12-inch-high (30 cm) terracotta letters that combine historical fact and Biblical quotations:

 

"This hall was erected for the advancement

of the arts and sciences and works of industry

of all nations in fulfilment of the intention of

Albert Prince Consort.

The site was purchased with the proceeds of

the Great Exhibition of the year MDCCCLI.

The first stone of the Hall was laid by Her

Majesty Queen Victoria on the twentieth day

of May MDCCCLXVII and it was opened by Her

Majesty the Twenty Ninth of March in the year

MDCCCLXXI.

Thine O Lord is the greatness and the power

and the glory and the victory and the majesty.

For all that is in the heaven and in the earth is

Thine. The wise and their works are in the hand

of God. Glory be to God on high and on earth

peace".

 

Events at The Royal Albert Hall

 

The first concert at the Hall was Arthur Sullivan's cantata On Shore and Sea, performed on the 1st. May 1871.

 

Many events are promoted by the Hall, and since the early 1970's promoter Raymond Gubbay has brought a range of events to the Hall including opera, ballet and classical music.

 

Events also include rock concerts, conferences, banquets, ballroom dancing, poetry recitals, educational talks, motor shows, ballet, opera, film screenings and circus shows.

 

The Royal Albert Hall has hosted many sporting events, including boxing, squash, table tennis, basketball, wrestling (including the first Sumo wrestling tournament to be held in London) as well as UFC 38 (the first UFC event to be held in the UK), tennis, and even a marathon.

 

The Hall first hosted boxing in 1918, when it hosted a tournament between British and American servicemen. There was a colour bar in place at the Hall, preventing black boxers from fighting there, between 1923 and 1932.

 

Greats of British boxing such as Frank Bruno, Prince Naseem Hamed, Henry Cooper and Lennox Lewis have all appeared at the venue. The Hall's boxing history was halted in 1999 when a court ordered that boxing and wrestling matches could no longer be held at the venue. In 2011 that decision was overturned. In 2019 Nicola Adams won the WBO Flyweight title which was the first fight for a world title at the venue since Marco Antonio Barrera took on Paul Lloyd in 1999.

 

On the 6th. April 1968, the Hall hosted the Eurovision Song Contest which was broadcast in colour for the first time. The first Miss World contest broadcast in colour was also staged at the venue in 1969, and remained at the Hall every year until 1989.

 

One notable event was a Pink Floyd concert held on the 26th. June 1969. On that night they were banned from ever playing at the Hall again after shooting cannons, nailing things to the stage, and having a man in a gorilla suit roam the audience.

 

At one point, Rick Wright went to the pipe organ and began to play "The End of the Beginning", the final part of "Saucerful of Secrets", joined by the brass section of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (led by the conductor, Norman Smith) and the ladies of the Ealing Central Amateur Choir. A portion of the pipe organ recording is included on Pink Floyd's album The Endless River.

 

On the 18th. June 1985, British Gothic rock band The Sisters of Mercy recorded their live video album Wake at the Hall.

 

Between 1996 and 2008, the Hall hosted the annual National Television Awards, all of which were hosted by Sir Trevor McDonald.

 

Benefit concerts include the 1997 Music for Montserrat concert, arranged and produced by George Martin. The event featured artists such as Phil Collins, Mark Knopfler, Sting, Elton John, Eric Clapton, and Paul McCartney.

 

In 2006, Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour performed at the Hall for the first time since Pink Floyd's 1969 ban. He performed as part of his On an Island Tour. The shows were filmed and used for the live video release, Remember That Night (2007).

 

Rock band The Killers recorded their first live album, Live from the Royal Albert Hall in July 2009.

 

On the 5th. April 2010, Swedish progressive metal band Opeth recorded In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, as they became the first Death metal band ever to perform at the Hall. The concert was part of the band's Evolution XX: An Opeth Anthology tour, made in celebration of their 20th. anniversary.

 

In July 2011, Janet Jackson performed three sold-out shows as part of her Number Ones, Up Close and Personal World Tour.

 

On the 2nd. October 2011, the Hall staged the 25th.-anniversary performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, which was broadcast live to cinemas across the world and filmed for DVD.

 

Lloyd Webber, the original London cast including Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford, and four previous actors of the titular character, among others, were in attendance – Brightman and the previous Phantoms (aside from Crawford) performed an encore.

 

On the 22nd. September 2011, Adele performed a one-night-only concert as part of her tour. The concert was filmed for DVD, and screened at cinemas in 26 cities around the world.

 

Her performance debuted at number one in the United States with 96,000 copies sold, the highest one-week tally for a music DVD in four years. After one week, it became the best-selling music DVD of 2011. As of the 28th. November 2012, it had surpassed sales of one million copies in the United States and sales of three million copies worldwide.

 

It was the first music DVD to surpass sales of one million in the USA since the Eagles' Farewell 1 Tour-Live from Melbourne in 2005.

 

The 2012 Sunflower Jam charity concert featured Queen guitarist Brian May performing alongside bassist John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, drummer Ian Paice of Deep Purple, and vocalists Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, and Alice Cooper.

 

On the 24th. September 2012, Classic FM celebrated the 20th. anniversary of their launch with a concert at the Hall. The program featured live performances of works by Handel, Puccini, Rachmaninoff, Parry, Vaughan Williams, Tchaikovsky and Karl Jenkins who conducted his piece The Benedictus from The Armed Man.

 

On the 19th. November 2012, the Hall hosted the 100th.-anniversary performance of the Royal Variety Performance, attended by the HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Duke of Edinburgh, with boy-band One Direction among the performers.

 

During his Rattle That Lock Tour, David Gilmour performed at the Royal Albert Hall eleven times between September 2015 and September 2016, once in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

 

On the 13th. November 2015, Canadian musician Devin Townsend recorded his second live album Ziltoid Live at the Royal Albert Hall.

 

Kylie Minogue performed at the Royal Albert Hall on the 11th. December 2015 and the 9th. - 10th. December 2016 as part of her "A Kylie Christmas" concert series.

 

On the 3rd. May 2016, singer-songwriter and Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell played at the Hall in what would become the last UK show of his life as part of his "Higher Truth" European tour.

 

Cornell performed stripped-back acoustic renditions from his back-catalogue to rave reviews, including songs from the likes of Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave and his solo work. Cornell died on the 18th. May 2017.

 

On the 22nd. April 2016, British rock band Bring Me the Horizon performed and recorded their Live at the Royal Albert Hall album, with accompaniment from the Parallax Orchestra conducted by Simon Dobson.

 

At a press conference held at the Hall in October 2016, Phil Collins announced his return to live performing with his Not Dead Yet Tour, which began in June 2017. The tour included five nights at the Hall which sold out in fifteen seconds.

 

In October 2017, American rock band Alter Bridge also recorded a live album accompanied by the Parallax Orchestra with Simon Dobson.

 

Also in 2017, the Hall hosted the 70th. British Academy Film Awards, often referred to as the BAFTAs, for the first time in 20 years, replacing the Royal Opera House at which the event had been held since 2008.

 

In 2018, WWE held its second United Kingdom Championship Tournament on the 18th. and 19th. June.

 

Also in 2018, the world premiere of PlayStation in Concert was organised at the Hall. It featured PlayStation game music from the 1990's up until then. It was arranged by Jim Fowler and performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

 

In May 2019, Mariah Carey performed 3 shows as part of her Caution World Tour. Comedian Bill Burr filmed his 2019 special Paper Tiger at the Hall. In November 2020, One Direction member Niall Horan performed a one off live-streamed show in an empty Hall (during the COVID-19 pandemic) to raise money for charity.

 

Regular Events at the Royal Albert Hall

 

The Royal Choral Society

 

The Royal Choral Society is the longest-running regular performer at the Hall, having given its first performance as the Royal Albert Hall Choral Society on the 8th. May 1872. From 1876, it established the annual Good Friday performance of Handel's Messiah.

 

BBC Proms

 

The BBC Sir Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, known as "The Proms", is a popular annual eight-week summer season of daily classical music concerts and other events at the Hall.

 

In 1942, following the destruction of the Queen's Hall in an air raid, the Hall was chosen as the new venue for the proms. In 1944 with increased danger to the Hall, part of the proms were held in the Bedford Corn Exchange.

 

Following the end of World War II the proms continued in the Hall, and have done so annually every summer since. The event was founded in 1895, and now each season consists of over 70 concerts, in addition to a series of events at other venues across the United Kingdom on the last night.

 

In 2009, the total number of concerts reached 100 for the first time. Jiří Bělohlávek described The Proms as:

 

"The world's largest and most

democratic musical festival".

 

Proms is a term which arose from the original practice of the audience promenading, or strolling, in some areas during the concert. Proms concert-goers, particularly those who stand, are sometimes described as "Promenaders", but are most commonly referred to as "Prommers".

 

Tennis

 

Tennis was first played at the Hall in March 1970, and the ATP Champions Tour Masters has been played annually every December since 1997.

 

Classical Spectacular

 

Classical Spectacular, a Raymond Gubbay production, has been coming to the Hall since 1988. It combines popular classical music, lights and special effects.

 

Cirque du Soleil

 

Cirque du Soleil has performed annually, with a show being staged every January, since 2003. Cirque has had to adapt many of their touring shows to perform at the venue, modifying the set, usually built for arenas or big top tents instead.

 

Classic Brit Awards

 

Since 2000, the Classic Brit Awards has been hosted annually in May at the Hall. It is organised by the British Phonographic Industry.

 

Festival of Remembrance

 

The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance is held annually the day before Remembrance Sunday.

 

Institute of Directors

 

For 60 years the Institute of Directors' Annual Convention has been synonymous with the Hall, although in 2011 and 2012 it was held at indigO2.

 

The English National Ballet

 

Since 1998 the English National Ballet has had several specially staged arena summer seasons in partnership with the Hall and Raymond Gubbay. These include Strictly Gershwin, June 2008 and 2011, Swan Lake, June 2002, 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2013, Romeo & Juliet, June 2001 and 2005, and The Sleeping Beauty, April - June 2000.

 

Teenage Cancer Trust

 

Starting in the year 2000 the Teenage Cancer Trust has held annual charity concerts (with the exception of 2001). They started as a one-off event, but have expanded over the years to a week or more of evening events. Roger Daltrey of the Who has been intimately involved with the planning of the events.

 

Graduation Ceremonies

 

The Hall is used annually by the neighbouring Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art for graduation ceremonies. For several years the University of London and Kingston University also held their graduation ceremonies at the Hall.

 

Films, Premières and Live Orchestra Screenings

 

The venue has screened several films since the early silent days. It was the only London venue to show William Fox's The Queen of Sheba in the 1920's.

 

The Hall has hosted many premières, including the UK première of Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen, 101 Dalmatians on the 4th. December 1996, the European première of Spandau Ballet's Soul Boys of the Western World, and three James Bond royal world premières - Die Another Day on the 18th. November 2002 (attended by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip), Skyfall on the 23rd. October 2012 (attended by Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall), and Spectre on the 26th. October 2015 (attended by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge).

 

The Hall held the first 3D world première of Titanic 3D, on the 27th. March 2012, with James Cameron and Kate Winslet in attendance.

 

Since 2009, the Hall has also curated regular seasons of English-language film-and-live-orchestra screenings, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gladiator, Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, Interstellar, The Matrix, West Side Story, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Back to the Future, Jaws, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and the world première of Titanic Live in Concert.

 

The only non-English-language movie to have been screened at the Hall is Baahubali: The Beginning (an Indian movie in Telugu and Tamil, but premiered with the Hindi dubbed version).

 

National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain

 

The National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, one of the most prestigious prizes in the annual brass band contesting calendar, holds the Final of the Championship section at the Royal Albert Hall each October.

 

Beyond the Main Stage

 

The Hall hosts hundreds of events and activities beyond its main auditorium. There are regular free art exhibitions in the ground floor Amphi corridor, which can be viewed when attending events or on dedicated viewing dates.

 

Visitors can take a guided tour of the Hall on most days. The most common is the one-hour Grand Tour which includes most front-of-house areas, the auditorium, the Gallery and the Royal Retiring Room.

 

Other tours include Story of the Proms, Behind the Scenes, Inside Out and School tours.

 

Children's events include Storytelling and Music Sessions for ages four and under. These take place in the Door 9 Porch and Albert's Band sessions in the Elgar Room during school holidays.

 

"Live Music in Verdi" takes place in the Italian restaurant on a Friday night featuring different artists each week.

 

"Late Night Jazz" events in the Elgar Room, generally on a Thursday night, feature cabaret-style seating and a relaxed atmosphere with drinks available.

 

"Classical Coffee Mornings" are held on Sundays in the Elgar Room with musicians from the Royal College of Music accompanied with drinks and pastries.

 

Sunday brunch events take place in Verdi Italian restaurant and feature different genres of music.

 

Regular Performers at the Royal Albert Hall

 

Eric Clapton is a regular performer at the Hall. Since 1964, Clapton has performed at the Hall over 200 times, and has stated that performing at the venue is: "Like playing in my front room".

 

In December 1964, Clapton made his first appearance at the Hall with the Yardbirds. It was also the venue for his band Cream's farewell concerts in 1968 and reunion shows in 2005. He also instigated the Concert for George, which was held at the Hall on the 29th. November 2002 to pay tribute to Clapton's lifelong friend, former Beatle George Harrison. Clapton passed 200 shows at the Hall in 2015.

 

David Gilmour played at the Hall in support of two solo albums, while also releasing a live concert on September 2006 entitled Remember That Night which was recorded during his three nights playing at the Hall for his 2006 On an Island tour.

 

Notable guests were Robert Wyatt and David Bowie (who sang lead for "Arnold Layne" and "Comfortably Numb"). The live concert was televised by BBC One on the 9th. September 2007.

 

Gilmour returned to the Hall for four nights in September 2016 (where he was joined on stage by Benedict Cumberbatch for "Comfortably Numb"), having previously played five nights in 2015, to end his 34-day Rattle That Lock Tour. He also made an appearance on the 24th. April 2016 as part of the Teenage Cancer Trust event.

 

Shirley Bassey is one of the Hall's most prolific female headline performers, having appeared many times at the Hall since the 1970's. In 2001, she sang "Happy Birthday" for the Duke of Edinburgh's 80th. birthday concert. In 2007, she sang at Fashion Rocks in aid of the Prince's Trust.

 

On the 30th. March 2011, she sang at a gala celebrating the 80th. birthday of Mikhail Gorbachev. In May 2011, she performed at the Classic Brit Awards, singing "Goldfinger" in tribute to the recently deceased composer John Barry. On the 20th. June 2011, she returned and sang "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Goldfinger", accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, as the climax to the memorial concert for Barry.

 

James Last appeared 90 times at the Hall between 1973 and 2015, making him the most frequent non–British performer to have played the venue.

 

Education and Outreach Programme

 

The Hall's education and outreach programme engages with more than 200,000 people a year. It includes workshops for local teenagers led by musicians such as Foals, Jake Bugg, Emeli Sandé, Nicola Benedetti, Alison Balsom and First Aid Kit, innovative science and maths lessons, visits to local residential homes from the venue's in-house group, Albert's Band, under the 'Songbook' banner, and the Friendship Matinee: an orchestral concert for community groups, with £5 admission.

 

Mis-labellings

 

A famous and widely bootlegged concert by Bob Dylan at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester on the 17th. May 1966 was mistakenly labelled the "Royal Albert Hall Concert".

 

In 1998, Columbia Records released an official recording, The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert. It maintains the erroneous title but does include details of the actual location.

 

Recordings from the Royal Albert Hall concerts on the 26th. and 27th. May 1966 were finally released by the artist in 2016 as The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert.

 

Another concert mislabelled as being at the Hall was by Creedence Clearwater Revival. An album by them entitled The Royal Albert Hall Concert was released in 1980. When Fantasy Records discovered the show on the album actually took place at the Oakland Coliseum, it retitled the album The Concert.

 

Pop Culture References

 

A large mural by Peter Blake, entitled Appearing at the Royal Albert Hall, is displayed in the Hall's Café Bar. Unveiled in April 2014, it shows more than 400 famous figures who have appeared on the stage.

 

In 1955, English film director Alfred Hitchcock filmed the climax of The Man Who Knew Too Much at the Hall. The 15-minute sequence featured James Stewart, Doris Day and composer Bernard Herrmann, and was filmed partly in the Queen's Box.

 

Hitchcock was a long-time patron of the Hall and had already set the finale of his 1927 film, The Ring at the Hall, as well as his initial version of The Man Who Knew Too Much, starring Leslie Banks, Edna Best and Peter Lorre.

 

Other notable films shot at the Hall include Major Barbara, Love Story, The Seventh Veil, The Ipcress File, A Touch of Class, Shine, and Spice World.

 

In the song "A Day in the Life" by the Beatles, the Albert Hall is mentioned. The verse goes as follows:

 

"I read the news today, oh boy

four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire

and though the holes were rather small

they had to count them all

now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall

I'd love to turn you on".

 

The song "Session Man" by The Kinks references the Hall:

 

"He never will forget at all

The day he played at Albert Hall".

 

In the song "Shame" by Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow, Barlow mentions the Hall in his verse:

 

"I read your mind and tried to call,

my tears could fill the Albert Hall".

Alfred Richard Barton………………Aged 34

 

Possibly

Name: BARTON, ALFRED RICHARD

Rank: Second Lieutenant Regiment/Service: South African Infantry Unit Text: 3rd Regt. Date of Death: 18/07/1916

Grave/Memorial Reference: Pier and Face 4 C. Memorial: THIEPVAL MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=770024

 

This was confirmed by Norlink, where there is a picture of 2nd Lt Barton

norlink.norfolk.gov.uk/02_Catalogue/02_013_PictureTitleIn...

(and for his brother Hugh - see below for Hugh and the Strumpshaw link)

 

The most likely link on the 1901 Census is a 18 year old Alfred Richard who is staying with his uncle, Thomas Allday Barton, aged 55 and a farmer, resident at Threxton House, Threxton, Swaffham.

 

The 9th Division was not involved in the disasters of the first day of the Somme battle, but on 14 July the two Scottish brigades attacked the village of Longueval, and on the following day the South African Brigade was launched at Delville Wood. The wood abutted on the village, and together they formed an important wedge of high ground. Hence the order to the South Africans to take and hold the Wood 'at all costs', and the desperate efforts of the Germans to regain it.

The story of Delville Wood has often been told, for it has an epic quality. The South Africans took virtually all the wood without too much difficulty, but holding it proved another matter. German counter-attacks and shelling were ferocious and incessant. On 18 July, the shelling reached heights of extraordinary fury: often 400 shells a minute would fall on an area roughly 1 000 yards by 1 200. The South Africans repulsed with rifle and bayonet the heavy German attacks that followed. Finally, on the evening of 20 July, six days and five nights after their first advance, the last of the South Africans, 2 officers (both wounded) and 140 men, came Out of the wood. When all the scattered remnants were gathered together, it was found that the Brigade had lost three quarters of its strength, while of those who had actually entered the wood, 90 per cent became casualties.

samilitaryhistory.org/vol082rb.html

 

Hugh Fabian Barton……………….Aged 19

 

Name: BARTON, HUGH FABIAN

Rank: Second Lieutenant Regiment/Service: Norfolk Regiment Unit Text: 9th Bn.

Age: 19 Date of Death: 12/02/1916

Additional information: Son of the Rev. A. J. and Alice E. Barton, of "Wanstrow", Rosebery Rd., Felixstowe, Suffolk. Born at Strumpshaw Rectory, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: I. C. 3. Cemetery: WHITE HOUSE CEMETERY, ST. JEAN-LES-YPRES

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=454342

 

The 9th Battalion were certainly in the trenches near St Jean during the last two months of 1915.

1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t...

 

The 1901 Census has the 4 year old Hugh Fabian living at The Rectory, Strumpshaw

with his father, the Reverend Alfred John Barton, age 50 and born Threxton. Hugh was born at Guestwick. Also resident is Hugh’s 16 year old sister, Ethel Gertrude and two live in servants - a Cook and a Housemaid.

 

Update 26/12/2024.................................

 

From the edition of the Eastern Daily Press dated Tuesday, February 22nd, 1916.

 

THE LATE LIEUT. H.F. BARTON.

SON OF THE LATE RECTOR OF STRUMPSHAW.

Great regret is felt in the village of Strumpshaw at the death of Sec.-Lieut Hugh F. Barton, of the 9th Norfolks, who fell in action in Flanders on February 12th. He was the youngest son of the Rev. A.J. Barton, the late rector of the parish, and the deepest sympathy is felt for him and his family in their sad bereavement. He was only nineteen years of age last month, and at the beginning enlisted in the Public Schools Battalion, having been a member of Felsted School. Soon after he was commissioned in the 9th Norfolks, and had done good work, and his loss is deeply deplored by officers and men. The present rector of Strumpshaw, (Rev. J.C. Spurgin) made allusion to the loss at the churches of Strumpshaw and Braydeston on Sunday, and it was announced that a memorial service will be held in Strumpshaw Church next Sunday afternoon.

 

Parents Alfred John, (60), and Alice Ethel, (52) were still recorded living at Strumpshaw Rectory on the 1911 Census of England & Wales. The couple state they have been married 29 years and the union has produced 6 children – all then still alive. Only two were at home on the night of the census – daughters Sibyl Margaret, (22) and Audrey Cecilia, (9). There were also two live in servants.

 

There is no obvious match for Hugh on this Census.

 

On the day…………………………

 

12th February 1916 – Battalion War Diary.

St. JEAN R. Section.

Fine. Very heavy bombardment of St. JEAN Road. Smoke attack on our lines, no infantry attack by the Germans opposite us. Relieved by 9th Suffolks night of 12 / 13. Relief completed by 11.30 P.M. Delayed by possibility of German attack.

Casualities.

2Lt H.F. BARTON killed by shell

2Lt. E. CUMBERLAND wounded by shell.

 

John Edward Blake……………..Aged 21

 

Probably

Name: BLAKE, JOHN EDWARD

Rank: Lance Corporal Regiment/Service: Norfolk Regiment Unit Text: 9th Bn.

Age: 24 Date of Death: 15/04/1918 Service No: 9350

Additional information: Son of Walter and Hannah Thompson, of Lingwood Rd., Blofield, Norwich; husband of Marjorie Blake, of Postwick, Norwich, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 34 to 35 and 162A. Memorial: TYNE COT MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=845159

 

No match on Norlink

 

No obvious matches on the 1901 Census for either a John Blake or a John Thompson.

 

The 9th were moved to the Ypres salient on April 1st 1918 and moved to Dranoute on the 14th.

 

" Next day D and A companies were in front line, C in support and B in reserve. Arrangements had been made for C to counter attack if necessary but it's losses owing to the continuous heavy bombardment commencing at noon on the 15th necessitated B taking it's place as the counter attack force. At 2.30pm on the 15th the enemy advanced and by 3pm had gained a foothold in the front trenches. From these he was once again driven out by B company. Although B held the line and formed a defensive flank they were eventually themselves driven out due to their exposed position.

Line was then formed along the railway with the Ist Leicesters on their left at Clapham Junction. At 10.30pm they were moved back behind Mt Kemmel before being pulled out of line on the 18th.

This was after the 9th had been badly cut up a month before holding the masive German onslaught of the 21st March. Here they had fought a strong rearguard action before being moved out of line to for a refit in Sixte near Proven on the 26th.

 

1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t...

 

John Debbage………………….Aged 21

 

Probably

Name: DEBBAGE, JOHN PRINDLE

Rank: Private Regiment/Service: Essex Regiment Unit Text: 1st Bn.

Date of Death: 13/08/1915 Service No: 20655

Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 144 to 150 or 229 to 233. Memorial: HELLES MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=682649

 

Norlink has a picture of John Pringle Debbage, but links him elsewhere in Norfolk.

norlink.norfolk.gov.uk/02_Catalogue/02_013_PictureTitleIn...

 

The Norlink notes read:-

Private Debbage of Bramerton, was born at Paxworth, 7th January 1893. He waseducated at Cantley School. He enlisted on 4th January 1915 and was drowned on H.M.S. Royal Edward, 13th August 1915

 

The John Debbage on the CWGC database and Norlink was 8 years old and living at Marsh Road, Cantley on the 1901 Census. This was the household of his parents, Henry, (aged 42 and a Teamster on Farm, originally from Panxworth), and Jane, (aged 42 and from London). There other children are Walter, (aged 12 and from Ranworth), and Frederick, (aged 3, born Cantley).

 

The 1901 Census does have a John Debbage age 53, born Ranworth, but now living at Buckenham Road, Strumpshaw. While John is a family man, none of his children have the first name John or Prindle.

 

A passage from the History of Norfolk Regiment tells the story: Colonel Tonge refers to the loss of 300 men, the best draft that ever left Felixstowe. These men volunteered to join the Essex Regiment and appear to have constituted the drafts of June 23 and July 24 1915. They were part of the reinforcements carried by the transport "Royal Edward" which was torpedoed and sunk in the Aegean Sea on August 14th 1915. She sank two and a half minutes after the torpedo struck her.Of the 1,400 men she carried only 600 were saved,and the drowned included all but 18 of the 300 Norfolk men. The men who had had a route march just before leaving Alexandria, were waiting on deck for foot inspection at about 9.20 am. Their lifebelts were down below, and when the ship was unexpectedly struck most of them ran below to fetch the belts. Owing to the ship's sudden heeling over and sinking, these never got up again. Those who escaped were picked up by a hospital ship which responded to the s.o.s. signal. To partly replace this sad loss, another draft of 150 men to the Essex Regiment was dispatched on September 29, 1915. Addenda 1994 From: "Men of Gallipoli"(David & Charles,1988) by kind permission of the publishers. One of the features of the Cape Helles monument is the rows of names of men drowned in the torpedoing of the Royal Edward,which sank in the Eastern Mediterranean on 13th August with a loss of over 850 lives.A.T.Fraser in the Border Regiment,was in a deckchair on the afterdeck starboard side when suddenly dozens of men ran past him from port to starboard. The explosion came before he had time to ask what was the matter.

 

"The ship had no escort and we had not been ordered to have our life-belts with us.The hundreds on deck ran below to get their life-belts and hundreds below would have met them on their way up.I shared a cabin accessible from the deck I was on and I raced there to get my life-belt and ran to my life-boat station which was on the star- board side.As the men arrived they fell in two ranks. Already the ship was listing and this prevented our boats from being lowered,so we were ordered to jump for it.I saw no panic,but of course one could imagine what was happening on the inside stairs. I swam away from the ship and turned to see the funnels leaning towards me.When they reached the sea,all the soot was belched out,there was a loud whoosh and the ship sank. No explosion,no surge.So I was alone.The little waves were such that in the trough you saw nothing,on the crest you saw a few yards.The water was warm.I wondered if there were sharks". Fraser found some wood to rest on and he was joined by a seaman,an older man who had twice previously been torpedoed.This brought the young Scot confidence.An up turned Royal Edward lifeboat was to provide 17 of the survivors with a little more security though in what Fraser calls half-hourly recurring turbulence,the boat turned over,offering them conventional but completely waterlogged accommodation every alternate half hour but at least providing them with something to do.There was no singing and little conversation. The first ship that passed hailed the scattered men and promised to signal for help.It could not stop as it had high explosives for Lemnos.Some of the men became depressed and showed unwillingness to clamber back in the life boat when it overturned,but on each occasion all were persuaded.Finally the hospital ship SOUDAIN arrived to pick them up in her life-boats,and at 2 o'clock Fraser was safely aboard her after just under five hours in the sea. He remembers that"a large number of men lost their false teeth as we were constantly sick in the sea- and these men were sent back to England.We the younger ones,were clothed and kitted and on another ship three days later for Gallipoli”

 

www.geocities.com/heartland/acres/5564/royaledward.html

1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=54871

 

Sidney John Green…………………Aged 20

 

Name: GREEN, SYDNEY JOHN

Rank: Private Regiment/Service: Hertfordshire Regiment Unit Text: 1st/1st Bn.

Age: 20 Date of Death: 23/08/1918 Service No: 204000

Additional information: Son of John and Alice Green, of Strumpshaw, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: X. G. 16. Cemetery: SERRE ROAD CEMETERY No.2

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=608785

 

No match on Norlink

 

Sydney Green was 2 years old and living at The Old Hall Strumpshaw, at the time of the 1901 Census. This was the household of his parents, John, (a 40 year old Domestic Gardener, from Necton), and Alice, (aged 39 and from Old Catton). Their other children are Dorothy, (aged 4) and Hilda, (aged 11), both born Strumpshaw. Also living with them are Alice’s mother Rachel Harrowven, aged 74 and from Easton.

 

Extract from the Battalion War Diary.

 

22-8-18. Battn resting in BRADFORD-LEEDS-HALIFAX trenches. Moved up to assembly positions S. of LOGEAST WOOD at 11pm.

23-8-18. Battn attacked at 11am. Attack successful. Railway cutting in front of ACHIET-LE-GRAND taken. Casualties – Captain S.W. [Saxon Weston] MOORE & 2/Lt F. SMITH [Frederick John SMITH, 5th Bedfordshire regiment attached to the 1st Hertfordshire] killed 7 Officers wounded. O. Ranks 26 killed 140 wounded.

24-8-18. Battn moved to position SE of BIHUCOURT.

25-8-18 to 31-8-18. Battn in Divisional Reserve in shelters SE of BIHUCOURT.

[Comment; Officers also killed – Lt George ABBOTT and Ronald Henry Pruess ARNHOLTZ on the 23rd August and 2/Lt Laurence REEVES died from his wounds on the 25th]

www.bedfordregiment.org.uk/hertsrgt/1stherts1918diary.html

 

William John Harrison……………..Aged 20

 

Up to 18 potential matches on the CWGC database

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Census has a 5 year old William John living at The Post Office, Strumpshaw. This was the household of his parents, William, (aged 34 and Sub Postmaster, Grocer and Pork Butcher) and Mina, (aged 31 and from Blofield). Their other children are Alfred James, (aged 4), Eleanor Maria, (aged 11), Gladys May, (aged 9), Grace Maud, (aged 8), Mary Elizabeth, (aged 1), and Stella Louise, (aged 2).

 

Arthur Robert Howes………………..Aged 19

 

Name: HOWES, ARTHUR ROBERT

Rank: Private Regiment Royal Warwickshire Regiment Unit Text: "B" Coy. 1st/7th Bn.

Age: 19 Date of Death: 08/10/1917 Service No: 29255

Additional information: Son of Robert William and Clara Howes, of Strumpshaw, Norwich.

Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 23 to 28 and 163A. Memorial: TYNE COT MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=837457

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Census has the 2 year old Arthur Howes living at Blofied Road, Lingwood. This is the household of his widowed grandfather Samuel Hinds, (aged 55 and a farmer). Living with them are Arthur parents, Roberts Howes, (age 32 and a Traction Engine Driver from Beighton) and Clara, (aged 28 and from Lingwood). Arthur’s siblings are Esther, (aged 1, born Moulton), and Samuel, (aged 5 and born Moulton).

 

Sunday 7th October 1917 - Day 63 Third Ypres (Passchendaele)

 

Rainfall 10.4mm

 

Poelcappelle

 

49th Div

 

Patrols raided in Celtic Wood

 

48th Div

 

143 Bde

 

An attack on Burns House and Vacher Farm failed.

forum.irishmilitaryonline.com/showthread.php?t=11535&...

 

(7th Royal Warwicks were part of the 143rd Brigade)

 

Robert George Hylton………………..Aged 33

 

Name: HYLTON, ROBERT GEORGE Initials: R G Nationality: United Kingdom Rank: Private Regiment/Service: Norfolk Regiment Unit Text: 2nd Bn. Date of Death: 31/03/1916 Service No: 19095 Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 10. Memorial: BASRA MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=866274

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Cenus has the 18 year old Robert, born Strumpshaw but now living at Postwick Lane, Brundall and employed as an Agricultural Labourer. This is the household of his parents, George, (aged 58, also from Strumpshaw and an Agricultural Labourer) and Sophia, (aged 60 and from Strumpshaw).

 

The Brigade (Including the 2nd Norfolks) arrives at Kut

On 5 December 1915, The Brigade arrives at Kut. The Turks are reinforced in great numbers and surround the town. They positions on the other side of the river and cut the garrison off from help from outside.

 

The Siege of Kut

During the siege of Kut which lasted for 5 months aircraft were first used to try and drop supplies to the garrison. The aircraft could not carry enough supplies some were shot down and the attempt ended in failure. The Turks used aircraft more successfully in bombing the town, many troops having been wounded were then killed in hospital by an air raid. Several attempts were made to break out across the river on floating bridges, but as the river was in flood at this time of the year the attempts failed. Radio contact with the outside world was kept up until the end.

Towards the end of the siege the daily ration for British troops was reduced to ten ounces of bread and one pound of horse or mule flesh. Indian troops who refused to eat flesh were dying of scurvy at the rate of 10 to 20 a day. In all 1746 people died during the siege from wounds or disease.

 

www.stephen-stratford.co.uk/pte_wilby.htm

 

Robert Killington……………………..Aged 35

 

Name: KILLINGTON, ROBERT ALBERT

Rank: Serjeant Regiment/Service: Army Service Corps Secondary Unit Text: attd. 7th Mounted Bde.H.Q.

Age: 36 Date of Death: 24/06/1917 Service No: MT/16956

Additional information: Son of Rosa Killington, of Lingwood, Norwich; husband of Gertrude Louisa Killington, of 61, Queensmill Rd., Fulham Palace Rd., London.

Grave/Memorial Reference: III. B. 4. Cemetery: LAHANA MILITARY CEMETE

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=333926

 

No match on Norlink

 

Lahana Military Cemetery lies 1 kilometre west of the village of Lachanas on the old Thessaloniki-Seres road, about 56 kilometres north-east of Thessaloniki, Greece.The cemetery was begun in July 1916 for burials from the 27th Casualty Clearing Station, to which sick and wounded men were brought from the Struma front. The cemetery was also used from June to August 1917 by the 18th Stationary Hospital.

 

After the Armistice, 41 of the graves in Plots II and III were brought in from the two front line cemeteries at Paprat (about 12 km north-west of Lahana) and from other small burial grounds.

www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=35001&...

 

The 1901 Census has a Robert Killington who is a Driver in the Army Service Corps. Robert is aged 18 and from St Helens, Lancashire. Presumably his unit were on manoeuvres, as they are prosaically listed as being “South of the Canal”

 

Ernest Rose…………………………Aged 19

 

No obvious match on the CWGC database

 

There is a 3 year old Ernest Rose on the 1901 census, born Strumpshaw but now living at Church Street, Blofield. This is the household of his parents, William I, (aged 26 and a General Farm Labourer from Hassingham), and Jessie, (aged 24 and from Strumpshaw). Living with them are daughter Eleanor E, (aged 2 and born Brundall) and Williams widowed mother, Eleanor, (aged 66 and from Poringland, now living on Parish Poor Relief).

 

William Thompson…………………..Aged 32

 

Name: THOMPSON, WILLIAM

Rank: Private Regiment/Service: Essex Regiment Unit Text: 1st Bn.

Age: 32 Date of Death: 14/04/1917 Service No: 41590

Additional information: Son of George and Elizabeth Thompson, of The Loake, Strumpshaw, Norwich.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Bay 7. Memorial: ARRAS MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=777358

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Census has the 15 year old William living two doors down from The Rectory at Strumpshaw, and four doors from the “Shoulder of Mutton” Public House. Strumpshaw is his birth village, and he is employed as a General Agricultural Labourer. This is the household of his parents, George, (aged 49 and a General Agricultural Labourer), and Elizabeth, (aged 52). Their other children are:

 

Ernest………………..aged under 1

George Robert…..aged 18 and a General Agricultural Labourer

Henry…………………aged 22 and a General Agricultural Labourer

Louisa………………..aged 10

Mary…………………..aged 13

Robert………………..aged under 1

Ruth Leah…………..aged 5

 

Thu., Apr 12, 1917

The Bn. marched from billets at FOSSEUX to ARRAS (abt 10 miles) and on arrival was at once ordered to proceed with the remainder of the 88th Bde to relieve the 37th Bde near MONCHY-LE-PREUX. The Bn arrived at ARRAS at 3pm and left to carry out the relief 4 miles off at 6.30pm. Owing to intense congestion on the road and other delays the relief was not completed until 3am on 13th.

Prior to leaving ARRAS orders had been issued for an attack on the German line in company with the 1st NFLD to be made on the 13th at an hour to be notified later.

The attack was to be made from an Assembly trench which was to be dug on the night of the 12/13 by 2nd Hants, 4th Worcs were in support to the attack.

Owing to the late hour at which the Brigade relief was completed & consequent impossibility of making adequate preparation for the attack the operation was postponed.

At daylight therefore on the 13th the Brigade was situated as shown in the attached map.

At 11am orders were received to make the attack at 2pm. These orders also were cancelled a few minutes before Zero.

During the night 13/14 the 2nd Hants dug the required assembly trench and operation orders were issued to the Bn. by Lt. Col. Halaham. App. B.

At 5.30am on 14th the barrage fell and the battalion left the trench & carried out the assault.

In spite of a certain weakness of the barrage the objective was gained and by 6.30am all companies had reported that they were busy digging in.

In the mean time "X" Coy detailed to form a flank guard to the thence attacking Coys had at once come in contact with the enemy.

Therefore acting under Capt. Foster's orders No. 5 Platoon got into shell holes at about 0 1b 8.1 and opened fire. No. 8 Platoon being checked by machine gun fire from ARROW COPSE No 7 was directed to outflank this copse with the result that No 8 could again get forward , capturing the 2 machine guns & driving the enemy out of the copse. The small wood at O 2a 7.5 was also in hostile occupation but was cleared by Lewis Guns & Rifle Grenades. The Company then moved forward to the N. end of the copses where all platoons came under fire from a line of hidden machine guns. The company now began to form the chain of strong points as detailed in operation orders.

From this point no further definitive news could be gathered as to the fate of this company. A few men eventually rejoined the battalion & from their statements it is certain that all Platoons their proper positions where they were at once attacked by very superior German forces & were finally overwhelmed in these positions at a time between 6.30 and 7.30 am.

The main attack by the remaining 3 Coys having reached their objective by 6.30 am started to dig in and reports were sent back to Bn. Hqrs that large forces of the enemy could be seen in the BOIS du SART & the BOIS des AUBE PINES and that all covering parties were sent forward were at once coming under heavy machine gun & rifle fire.

It became apparent rapidly to the Coy commanders that an immediate counter attack was being prepared and this also was reported to Bn. Hqrs. These reports were confirmed by two Coy commanders in person returning wounded from the main attack. [Capt Tomlinson Capt Caroline]

Steps had already been taken to get the Artillery on to the points where the enemy was reported to be massing but owing to the destruction of the wires by shell fire it was an hour before the guns opened fire.

By 7.30am the counter attack had fully developed in all its strength of at least 9 battalions. The weight of the attack seams to have come from the N. East & thus fell on "X" Coy. This Coy in spite of a stout resistance was gradually overwhelmed. Vide app. C.

From 7.30 onwards no reports, messages or wounded men arrived at Bn Hqrs or the Aid Post it is therefore apparent that "X" Coy having been overrun the hostile forces got between MONCHY & the attacking Companies of the Essex & NLFD. No men have returned from these Companies.

As soon as it became clear that MONCHY itself was being attacked patrols were put out from Hqr party to hold street barricades in MONCHY. No German succeeded in entering MONCHY. It must be remembered that during all this time the town was under an intense enemy barrage thus rendering it almost impossible to reinforce or support the two Battalions & making the work of the respective Hqrs parties extremely arduous.

Except for a certain amount of support from the 4th Worcester & 2dn Hants they fought on alone & these two battalions broke up a German attack designed not to drive them back but to retake MONCHY itself.

Appendix C. contains a copy of the Special Order issued by the G.O.C. 88th Bde.

Of the Officers who went into action the following is killed : 2/Lt. L. Cousins.

The following are wounded :- Capts R.E.G. Caroline, J. Tomlinson, Lieuts ?.W.J. Taylor

R. Eastwood. 2/Lt's H. Ockendon, S. ?. Andrew, F.W. Barker.

The following are missing :- Capt H.J.B. Foster, Lt C.R. Brown, 2/Lts A.L. Piper, S.N.R. Eyre, C.H. Feline H.R. Newth, P.W. Coombs, L.F. Portway; G.W. Turk.

Total casualties 17 officers & 644 OR. out of a strength of 31 officers & 892 O.R.

 

Sun., Apr 15, 1917

The remnants of the Battalion were now withdrawn & went to billets in ARRAS.

 

1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=594...

 

This horrendous battle cost the 1st Battalion a vast number of casualties, 17 officers and 644 other ranks were either killed, wounded or went missing. Later it was established that 203 soldiers were made prisoners of war, most of them were wounded and 16 of them died in captivity in Germany.

1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/i...8&hl=monchy

 

Stephen Frederick Tunmore………………Aged 23

 

Name: TUNMORE, STEPHEN FREDERICK

Rank: Private Regiment/Service: East Surrey Regiment Unit Text: 8th Bn.

Age: 23 Date of Death: 03/05/1917 Service No: 5120

Additional information: Son of Stephen and Sarah A. Tunmore, of Strumpshaw, Norfolk. Grave/Memorial Reference: Bay 6. Memorial: ARRAS MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=778025

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Census lists a 7 year old “Frederick” Tunmore, living at Workhouse Road, Lingwood. This is the household of his parents Stephen, (aged 39 and a Engine Driver Stationary, from Norwich), and Sarah, (aged 31 and from Strumpshaw) Their other children are Laura, (aged 10) and William (aged 4).

 

William would also lose his life in the war - see next entry.

 

Stephen was born the 22nd February 1894

familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/w/a/l/Vanessa-J-Walle...

 

The Division of which the 8th Surreys were part was engaged in the very costly Third Battle of the Scarpe on this day.

www.1914-1918.net/bat18.htm

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Arras_(1917)

 

William Tunmore……………………Aged 20

 

Name: TUNMORE, WILLIAM

Rank: Private Regiment/Service: East Surrey Regiment Unit Text: 8th Bn.

Age: 20 Date of Death: 10/08/1917 Service No: 5100

Additional information: Son of Stephen and Sarah A. Tunmore, of Strumpshaw, Norwich.

Grave/Memorial Reference: VIII. E. 6. Cemetery: HOOGE CRATER CEMETERY

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=459516

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Census lists a 4 year old William Tunmore, living at Workhouse Road, Lingwood. This is the household of his parents Stephen, (aged 39 and a Engine Driver Stationary, from Norwich), and Sarah, (aged 31 and from Strumpshaw) Their other children are Laura, (aged 10) and Frederick (aged 7).

 

Frederick would also lose his life in the war - see previous entry.

 

William was born 30th September 1896

familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/w/a/l/Vanessa-J-Walle...

 

"On 1st August the 8th Battalion East Surreys assembled in the New Dickbusch area. The afternoon of the previous day had seen the start of four days incessant rain which rendereed impossible any further offensive until a period of fine weather might allow the waterlogged soil to recover. Under these conditions the men were crowded into a few tents and shelters at New Dickbusch and had a very uncomfortable time. At midnight on the 3rd August their relief by the 7th Battalion was started but, because of the flooding, this entailed a long and tiring march by road and it was 10am before it was completed. Two companies were placed in Jam Trench, the old German front line and the remaining two companies in Crab Crawl Tunnel which was in a very bad state with six inches of water in it. The Germans maintained a very heavy barrage over the next few days. The 7th Bn Queens launched an attack on Inverness Copse, which had been postponed owing to heavy rain, at 4.35am on 10th August supported by 8th East Surreys. Casualties were heavy from very heavy shell fire and one officer and thirty eight other ranks were killed. One of those was 5100 Private William TUNMORE, aged 20 years."

 

He and his colleagues are buried at Hooge Cemetery.

 

1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?s=95fc527f42d...

 

John Lambert Ward……………….Aged 25

 

No obvious match on the CWGC database for J.L. J or L Ward

 

No match on Norlink

 

The most likely match on the 1901 Census is a 10 year old John L Ward living at Blofield Road, Lingwood, the village of his birth. This is the household of his parents, Lambert W, (age 48 and an Ordinary Farm Labourer from Lingwood), and Frances, (aged 47 and from the same village). Their other children are Arthur W, (aged 12), Edith L. (aged 8), George R, (aged 17 and also a Farm Labourer), and Russell J, (aged 5).

 

Robert Wilson……………………Aged 41

 

Most Likely match

Name: WILSON, ROBERT

Rank: Private Regiment/Service: Norfolk Regiment Unit Text: 1st Bn.

Age: 40 Date of Death: 29/10/1914 Service No: 5173

Additional information: Son of the late John and Hannah Wilson.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 8. Memorial: LE TOURET MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1564179

 

No match on Norlink

 

No obvious match on the 1901 Census, but given his age and date of death, it is likely that Robert was a professional soldier in Britains Pre-War army, and could well have been serving overseas in 1901.

 

On the 1891 Census there is a 17 year old Robert living at 6, The Alley, Blofield and employed as a Bricklayers Labourer. This was the household of his widowed Grandmother, Sarah Ann Wilson, a 66 year old Washerwoman and Domestic Servant. Sarah has another one of her grandchildren, a 21 year old George Carter who is also a Bricklayers Labourer, living with her. All were born at Blofield.

 

Battle of La Basse 10th October 1914 - 2nd November 1914.(Part of the Race to the Sea)

 

The German attack was renewed on 24 October along the entire Sixth Army front. A daylight attack failed to make any headway. It was followed by an attack at dusk, which did break into the British trenches at two places, but local counterattacks restored the situation.

A second night attack, on 26/27 October, caused more problems. Part of the British line was broken, and the village of Neuve Chapelle captured. This created a shallow salient in the British line. At this early period in the war the buildings of Neuve Chapelle still survived, making the village a dangerous strong point that threatened the British lines. A major counter attack was launched on 28 October, but failed to retake the village. On 29 October the village was reported to have been evacuated, but later in the day German troops used the ruins as cover for their last major attack of the battle.

After the failure of the attack on 29 October, the Germans moved much of their heavy artillery north towards Ypres, where it took part in the battle of Gheluvelt.

www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_la_bassee.html

www.roll-of-honour.com/Regiments/NorfolkRegimentLeTouret....

 

Athur Conan Doyle, in his “The British Campaign in France and Flanders 1914” tells us that starting from the 25th, the 1st Norfolks and 1st Devons were tasked with holding the salient of the village of Givenchy, and they defied all efforts to dislodge them.

 

books.google.co.uk/books?id=a2PKHfRXFBYC&pg=PA219&amp...

 

WW2

 

George Arthur Ashley…………………….Aged 24

 

Name: ASHLEY, GEORGE ARTHUR

Rank: Driver Regiment/Service: Royal Engineers Unit Text: 251 Field Park Coy.

Age: 24 Date of Death: 02/09/1943 Service No: 2078641

Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: 5. F. 9. Cemetery: CHUNGKAI WAR CEMETERY

 

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2352436

 

The notorious Burma-Siam railway, built by Commonwealth, Dutch and American prisoners of war, was a Japanese project driven by the need for improved communications to support the large Japanese army in Burma. During its construction, approximately 13,000 prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway. An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 civilians also died in the course of the project, chiefly forced labour brought from Malaya and the Dutch East Indies or conscripted in Siam (Thailand) and Burma (Myanmar). Two labour forces, one based in Siam and the other in Burma, worked from opposite ends of the line towards the centre. The Japanese aimed at completing the railway in 14 months and work began in October 1942. The line, 424 kilometres long, was completed by December 1943. The graves of those who died during the construction and maintenance of the Burma-Siam railway (except for the Americans, whose remains were repatriated) were transferred from camp burial grounds and isolated sites along the railway into three cemeteries at Chungkai and Kanchanaburi in Thailand and Thanbyuzayat in Myanmar. Chungkai was one of the base camps on the railway and contained a hospital and church built by Allied prisoners of war. The war cemetery is the original burial ground started by the prisoners themselves, and the burials are mostly of men who died at the hospital.

www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=203500...

 

Horace George Forder………………Aged 38

 

Name: FORDER, HORACE GEORGE

Rank: Gunner

Regiment: Royal Artillery Unit Text: 65 (The Norfolk Yeomanry) Anti-Tank Regt

Age: 38 Date of Death: 22/02/1943 Service No: 1122622

Additional information: Son of Horace George and Sarah Harriet Forder; husband of Olive Annie Forder, of Strumpshaw, Norfolk.

Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: III. C. 22. Cemetery: SFAX WAR CEMETERY

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2182766

 

In May 1943, the war in North Africa came to an end in Tunisia with the defeat of the Axis powers by a combined Allied force. In the south, the Axis forces defeated in Egypt at El Alamein withdrew into Tunisia along the coast through Libya, pursued by the Allied Eighth Army. Most of those buried in Sfax War Cemetery died in attacks on successive Axis positions at Medenine, the Marith Line and Wadi Akarit, in March and April 1943.

www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=47312&...

 

Harold William High……………………Aged 27

 

Name: HIGH, HAROLD WILLIAM STRUTHERS

Rank: Private Regiment: Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment Unit Text: 5th Bn. Age: 27 Date of Death: 21/09/1944 Service No: 5951830

Additional information: Son of Beatrice Minnie High, of Strumpshaw, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Column 63. Memorial: SINGAPORE MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2133641

 

The 5th Bedfords and Herts were another unit from the ill-fated 18th Division, arriving piecemeal late in the Malayan campaign and finally being surrendered on mass with the Fall of Singapore. See the note under George Ashley for their subsequent treatment.

 

Alfred Waterton………………………….Aged 29

 

Name: WATERTON, ALFRED

Rank: Private Regiment/Service: Royal Norfolk Regiment Unit Text: 2nd Bn.

Age: 29 Date of Death: 24/05/1940 Service No: 5770748

Additional information: Son of Albert and Ada Waterton, of Strumpshaw, Norfolk. Grave/Memorial Reference: Column 44. Memorial: DUNKIRK MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2767796

 

The retreat to Dunkirk

 

The period in which Alfred Waterton died (24th May 1940) was one in which the 2nd battalion, along with a number of other units, was sacrificed in order the for the British Expeditionary Force to retreat to the channel. Shortly afterwards, on the 27th came the surrender of the 2nd Battalion and the subsequent massacre at Le Paradis.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Paradis_massacre

www.norfolkbc.fsnet.co.uk/archive_collection/strips_farro...

 

On the 24th the 2nd Battalion, along with what was left of 4th Brigade, took over the defense of a 21 mile stretch of the canal line running from the railway bridge south of Aire to La Basee. They arrived at Locon, but scouting patrols looking for accomodation and defensive positions came under fire from Germans wh had already crossed the canal. Units advanced as night fell aiming to push the Germans back over the canal. Sleep deprived from days in combat, and with only one map between the entire HQ staff, troops became lost and dis-orientated.

 

(see page 281, Dunkirk by Hugh Sebag-Montefiore)

books.google.co.uk/books?id=ZM71HK2ysoAC&pg=PA297&amp...

  

Alfred Richard Barton………………Aged 34

 

Possibly

Name: BARTON, ALFRED RICHARD

Rank: Second Lieutenant Regiment/Service: South African Infantry Unit Text: 3rd Regt. Date of Death: 18/07/1916

Grave/Memorial Reference: Pier and Face 4 C. Memorial: THIEPVAL MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=770024

 

This was confirmed by Norlink, where there is a picture of 2nd Lt Barton

norlink.norfolk.gov.uk/02_Catalogue/02_013_PictureTitleIn...

(and for his brother Hugh - see below for Hugh and the Strumpshaw link)

 

The most likely link on the 1901 Census is a 18 year old Alfred Richard who is staying with his uncle, Thomas Allday Barton, aged 55 and a farmer, resident at Threxton House, Threxton, Swaffham.

 

The 9th Division was not involved in the disasters of the first day of the Somme battle, but on 14 July the two Scottish brigades attacked the village of Longueval, and on the following day the South African Brigade was launched at Delville Wood. The wood abutted on the village, and together they formed an important wedge of high ground. Hence the order to the South Africans to take and hold the Wood 'at all costs', and the desperate efforts of the Germans to regain it.

The story of Delville Wood has often been told, for it has an epic quality. The South Africans took virtually all the wood without too much difficulty, but holding it proved another matter. German counter-attacks and shelling were ferocious and incessant. On 18 July, the shelling reached heights of extraordinary fury: often 400 shells a minute would fall on an area roughly 1 000 yards by 1 200. The South Africans repulsed with rifle and bayonet the heavy German attacks that followed. Finally, on the evening of 20 July, six days and five nights after their first advance, the last of the South Africans, 2 officers (both wounded) and 140 men, came Out of the wood. When all the scattered remnants were gathered together, it was found that the Brigade had lost three quarters of its strength, while of those who had actually entered the wood, 90 per cent became casualties.

samilitaryhistory.org/vol082rb.html

  

Hugh Fabian Barton……………….Aged 19

 

Name: BARTON, HUGH FABIAN

Rank: Second Lieutenant Regiment/Service: Norfolk Regiment Unit Text: 9th Bn.

Age: 19 Date of Death: 12/02/1916

Additional information: Son of the Rev. A. J. and Alice E. Barton, of "Wanstrow", Rosebery Rd., Felixstowe, Suffolk. Born at Strumpshaw Rectory, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: I. C. 3. Cemetery: WHITE HOUSE CEMETERY, ST. JEAN-LES-YPRES

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=454342

 

The 9th Battalion were certainly in the trenches near St Jean during the last two months of 1915.

1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t...

 

Norlink picture of 2nd Lt Barton

norlink.norfolk.gov.uk/02_Catalogue/02_013_PictureTitleIn...

 

The 1901 Census has the 4 year old Hugh Fabian living at The Rectory, Strumpshaw

with his father, the Reverend Alfred John Barton, age 50 and born Threxton. Hugh was born at Guestwick. Also resident is Hugh’s 16 year old sister, Ethel Gertrude and two live in servants - a Cook and a Housemaid.

 

John Edward Blake……………..Aged 21

 

Probably

Name: BLAKE, JOHN EDWARD

Rank: Lance Corporal Regiment/Service: Norfolk Regiment Unit Text: 9th Bn.

Age: 24 Date of Death: 15/04/1918 Service No: 9350

Additional information: Son of Walter and Hannah Thompson, of Lingwood Rd., Blofield, Norwich; husband of Marjorie Blake, of Postwick, Norwich, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 34 to 35 and 162A. Memorial: TYNE COT MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=845159

 

No match on Norlink

 

No obvious matches on the 1901 Census for either a John Blake or a John Thompson.

 

The 9th were moved to the Ypres salient on April 1st 1918 and moved to Dranoute on the 14th.

 

" Next day D and A companies were in front line, C in support and B in reserve. Arrangements had been made for C to counter attack if necessary but it's losses owing to the continuous heavy bombardment commencing at noon on the 15th necessitated B taking it's place as the counter attack force. At 2.30pm on the 15th the enemy advanced and by 3pm had gained a foothold in the front trenches. From these he was once again driven out by B company. Although B held the line and formed a defensive flank they were eventually themselves driven out due to their exposed position.

Line was then formed along the railway with the Ist Leicesters on their left at Clapham Junction. At 10.30pm they were moved back behind Mt Kemmel before being pulled out of line on the 18th.

This was after the 9th had been badly cut up a month before holding the masive German onslaught of the 21st March. Here they had fought a strong rearguard action before being moved out of line to for a refit in Sixte near Proven on the 26th.

 

1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t...

 

John Debbage………………….Aged 21

 

Probably

Name: DEBBAGE, JOHN PRINDLE Initials: J P Nationality: United Kingdom Rank: Private Regiment/Service: Essex Regiment Unit Text: 1st Bn. Date of Death: 13/08/1915 Service No: 20655 Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 144 to 150 or 229 to 233. Memorial: HELLES MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=682649

 

Norlink has a picture of John Pringle Debbage, but links him elsewhere in Norfolk.

norlink.norfolk.gov.uk/02_Catalogue/02_013_PictureTitleIn...

 

The Norlink notes read:-

Private Debbage of Bramerton, was born at Paxworth, 7th January 1893. He waseducated at Cantley School. He enlisted on 4th January 1915 and was drowned on H.M.S. Royal Edward, 13th August 1915

 

The John Debbage on the CWGC database and Norlink was 8 years old and living at Marsh Road, Cantley on the 1901 Census. This was the household of his parents, Henry, (aged 42 and a Teamster on Farm, originally from Panxworth), and Jane, (aged 42 and from London). There other children are Walter, (aged 12 and from Ranworth), and Frederick, (aged 3, born Cantley).

 

The 1901 Census does have a John Debbage age 53, born Ranworth, but now living at Buckenham Road, Strumpshaw. While John is a family man, none of his children have the first name John or Pringle.

 

A passage from the History of Norfolk Regiment tells the rest of Teddie's story: Colonel Tonge refers to the loss of 300 men, the best draft that ever left Felixstowe. These men volunteered to join the Essex Regiment and appear to have constituted the drafts of June 23 and July 24 1915. They were part of the reinforcements carried by the transport "Royal Edward" which was torpedoed and sunk in the Aegean Sea on August 14th 1915. She sank two and a half minutes after the torpedo struck her.Of the 1,400 men she carried only 600 were saved,and the drowned included all but 18 of the 300 Norfolk men. The men who had had a route march just before leaving Alexandria, were waiting on deck for foot inspection at about 9.20 am. Their lifebelts were down below, and when the ship was unexpectedly struck most of them ran below to fetch the belts. Owing to the ship's sudden heeling over and sinking, these never got up again. Those who escaped were picked up by a hospital ship which responded to the s.o.s. signal. To partly replace this sad loss, another draft of 150 men to the Essex Regiment was dispatched on September 29, 1915. Addenda 1994 From: "Men of Gallipoli"(David & Charles,1988) by kind permission of the publishers. One of the features of the Cape Helles monument is the rows of names of men drowned in the torpedoing of the Royal Edward,which sank in the Eastern Mediterranean on 13th August with a loss of over 850 lives.A.T.Fraser in the Border Regiment,was in a deckchair on the afterdeck starboard side when suddenly dozens of men ran past him from port to starboard. The explosion came before he had time to ask what was the matter.

 

"The ship had no escort and we had not been ordered to have our life-belts with us.The hundreds on deck ran below to get their life-belts and hundreds below would have met them on their way up.I shared a cabin accessible from the deck I was on and I raced there to get my life-belt and ran to my life-boat station which was on the star- board side.As the men arrived they fell in two ranks. Already the ship was listing and this prevented our boats from being lowered,so we were ordered to jump for it.I saw no panic,but of course one could imagine what was happening on the inside stairs. I swam away from the ship and turned to see the funnels leaning towards me.When they reached the sea,all the soot was belched out,there was a loud whoosh and the ship sank. No explosion,no surge.So I was alone.The little waves were such that in the trough you saw nothing,on the crest you saw a few yards.The water was warm.I wondered if there were sharks". Fraser found some wood to rest on and he was joined by a seaman,an older man who had twice previously been torpedoed.This brought the young Scot confidence.An up turned Royal Edward lifeboat was to provide 17 of the survivors with a little more security though in what Fraser calls half-hourly recurring turbulence,the boat turned over,offering them conventional but completely waterlogged accommodation every alternate half hour but at least providing them with something to do.There was no singing and little conversation. The first ship that passed hailed the scattered men and promised to signal for help.It could not stop as it had high explosives for Lemnos.Some of the men became depressed and showed unwillingness to clamber back in the life boat when it overturned,but on each occasion all were persuaded.Finally the hospital ship SOUDAIN arrived to pick them up in her life-boats,and at 2 o'clock Fraser was safely aboard her after just under five hours in the sea. He remembers that"a large number of men lost their false teeth as we were constantly sick in the sea- and these men were sent back to England.We the younger ones,were clothed and kitted and on another ship three days later for Gallipoli”

 

www.geocities.com/heartland/acres/5564/royaledward.html

1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=54871

 

Sidney John Green…………………Aged 20

 

Name: GREEN, SYDNEY JOHN

Rank: Private Regiment/Service: Hertfordshire Regiment Unit Text: 1st/1st Bn.

Age: 20 Date of Death: 23/08/1918 Service No: 204000

Additional information: Son of John and Alice Green, of Strumpshaw, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: X. G. 16. Cemetery: SERRE ROAD CEMETERY No.2

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=608785

 

No match on Norlink

 

Sydney Green was 2 years old and living at The Old Hall Strumpshaw, at the time of the 1901 Census. This was the household of his parents, John, (a 40 year old Domestic Gardener, from Necton), and Alice, (aged 39 and from Old Catton). Their other children are Dorothy, (aged 4) and Hilda, (aged 11), both born Strumpshaw. Also living with them are Alice’s mother Rachel Harrowven, aged 74 and from Easton.

 

Extract from the Battalion War Diary.

 

22-8-18. Battn resting in BRADFORD-LEEDS-HALIFAX trenches. Moved up to assembly positions S. of LOGEAST WOOD at 11pm.

23-8-18. Battn attacked at 11am. Attack successful. Railway cutting in front of ACHIET-LE-GRAND taken. Casualties – Captain S.W. [Saxon Weston] MOORE & 2/Lt F. SMITH [Frederick John SMITH, 5th Bedfordshire regiment attached to the 1st Hertfordshire] killed 7 Officers wounded. O. Ranks 26 killed 140 wounded.

24-8-18. Battn moved to position SE of BIHUCOURT.

25-8-18 to 31-8-18. Battn in Divisional Reserve in shelters SE of BIHUCOURT.

[Comment; Officers also killed – Lt George ABBOTT and Ronald Henry Pruess ARNHOLTZ on the 23rd August and 2/Lt Laurence REEVES died from his wounds on the 25th]

www.bedfordregiment.org.uk/hertsrgt/1stherts1918diary.html

 

William John Harrison……………..Aged 20

 

Up to 18 potential matches on the CWGC database

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Census has a 5 year old William John living at The Post Office, Strumpshaw. This was the household of his parents, William, (aged 34 and Sub Postmaster, Grocer and Pork Butcher) and Mina, (aged 31 and from Blofield). Their other children are Alfred James, (aged 4), Eleanor Maria, (aged 11), Gladys May, (aged 9), Grace Maud, (aged 8), Mary Elizabeth, (aged 1), and Stella Louise, (aged 2).

 

Arthur Robert Howes………………..Aged 19

 

Name: HOWES, ARTHUR ROBERT

Rank: Private Regiment Royal Warwickshire Regiment Unit Text: "B" Coy. 1st/7th Bn. Age: 19 Date of Death: 08/10/1917 Service No: 29255

Additional information: Son of Robert William and Clara Howes, of Strumpshaw, Norwich.

Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 23 to 28 and 163A. Memorial: TYNE COT MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=837457

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Census has the 2 year old Arthur Howes living at Blofied Road, Lingwood. This is the household of his widowed grandfather Samuel Hinds, (aged 55 and a farmer). Living with them are Arthur parents, Roberts Howes, (age 32 and a Traction Engine Driver from Beighton) and Clara, (aged 28 and from Lingwood). Arthur’s siblings are Esther, (aged 1, born Moulton), and Samuel, (aged 5 and born Moulton).

 

Sunday 7th October 1917 - Day 63 Third Ypres (Passchendaele)

 

Rainfall 10.4mm

 

Poelcappelle

 

49th Div

 

Patrols raided in Celtic Wood

 

48th Div

 

143 Bde

 

An attack on Burns House and Vacher Farm failed.

forum.irishmilitaryonline.com/showthread.php?t=11535&...

 

(7th Royal Warwicks were part of the 143rd Brigade)

 

Robert George Hylton………………..Aged 33

 

Name: HYLTON, ROBERT GEORGE

Rank: Private Regiment/Service: Norfolk Regiment Unit Text: 2nd Bn.

Date of Death: 31/03/1916 Service No: 19095

Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 10. Memorial: BASRA MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=866274

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Cenus has the 18 year old Robert, born Strumpshaw but now living at Postwick Lane, Brundall and employed as an Agricultural Labourer. This is the household of his parents, George, (aged 58, also from Strumpshaw and an Agricultural Labourer) and Sophia, (aged 60 and from Strumpshaw).

 

The Brigade arrives at Kut

On 5 December 1915, The Brigade arrives at Kut. The Turks are reinforced in great numbers and surround the town. They take positions on the other side of the river and cut the garrison off from help from outside.

 

The Siege of Kut

During the siege of Kut which lasted for 5 months aircraft were first used to try and drop supplies to the garrison. The aircraft could not carry enough supplies some were shot down and the attempt ended in failure. The Turks used aircraft more successfully in bombing the town, many troops having been wounded were then killed in hospital by an air raid. Several attempts were made to break out across the river on floating bridges, but as the river was in flood at this time of the year the attempts failed. Radio contact with the outside world was kept up until the end.

Towards the end of the siege the daily ration for British troops was reduced to ten ounces of bread and one pound of horse or mule flesh. Indian troops who refused to eat flesh were dying of scurvy at the rate of 10 to 20 a day. In all 1746 people died during the siege from wounds or disease.

 

www.stephen-stratford.co.uk/pte_wilby.htm

 

Robert Killington……………………..Aged 35

 

Name: KILLINGTON, ROBERT ALBERT

Rank: Serjeant Regiment/Service: Army Service Corps Secondary Unit Text: attd. 7th Mounted Bde.H.Q.

Age: 36 Date of Death: 24/06/1917 Service No: MT/16956

Additional information: Son of Rosa Killington, of Lingwood, Norwich; husband of Gertrude Louisa Killington, of 61, Queensmill Rd., Fulham Palace Rd., London.

Grave/Memorial Reference: III. B. 4. Cemetery: LAHANA MILITARY CEMETE

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=333926

 

No match on Norlink

 

Lahana Military Cemetery lies 1 kilometre west of the village of Lachanas on the old Thessaloniki-Seres road, about 56 kilometres north-east of Thessaloniki, Greece.The cemetery was begun in July 1916 for burials from the 27th Casualty Clearing Station, to which sick and wounded men were brought from the Struma front. The cemetery was also used from June to August 1917 by the 18th Stationary Hospital.

 

After the Armistice, 41 of the graves in Plots II and III were brought in from the two front line cemeteries at Paprat (about 12 km north-west of Lahana) and from other small burial grounds.

www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=35001&...

 

The 1901 Census has a Robert Killington who is a Driver in the Army Service Corps. Robert is aged 18 and from St Helens, Lancashire. Presumably his unit were on manoeuvres, as they are prosaically listed as being “South of the Canal”

 

Ernest Rose…………………………Aged 19

 

No obvious match on the CWGC database

 

There is a 3 year old Ernest Rose on the 1901 census, born Strumpshaw but now living at Church Street, Blofield. This is the household of his parents, William I, (aged 26 and a General Farm Labourer from Hassingham), and Jessie, (aged 24 and from Strumpshaw). Living with them are daughter Eleanor E, (aged 2 and born Brundall) and Williams widowed mother, Eleanor, (aged 66 and from Poringland, now living on Parish Poor Relief).

  

William Thompson…………………..Aged 32

 

Name: THOMPSON, WILLIAM

Rank: Private Regiment/Service: Essex Regiment Unit Text: 1st Bn.

Age: 32 Date of Death: 14/04/1917 Service No: 41590

Additional information: Son of George and Elizabeth Thompson, of The Loake, Strumpshaw, Norwich.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Bay 7. Memorial: ARRAS MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=777358

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Census has the 15 year old William living two doors down from The Rectory at Strumpshaw, and four doors from the “Shoulder of Mutton” Public House. Strumpshaw is his birth village, and he is employed as a General Agricultural Labourer. This is the household of his parents, George, (aged 49 and a General Agricultural Labourer), and Elizabeth, (aged 52). Their other children are:

 

Ernest………………..aged under 1

George Robert…..aged 18 and a General Agricultural Labourer

Henry…………………aged 22 and a General Agricultural Labourer

Louisa………………..aged 10

Mary…………………..aged 13

Robert………………..aged under 1

Ruth Leah…………..aged 5

 

Thu., Apr 12, 1917

The Bn. marched from billets at FOSSEUX to ARRAS (abt 10 miles) and on arrival was at once ordered to proceed with the remainder of the 88th Bde to relieve the 37th Bde near MONCHY-LE-PREUX. The Bn arrived at ARRAS at 3pm and left to carry out the relief 4 miles off at 6.30pm. Owing to intense congestion on the road and other delays the relief was not completed until 3am on 13th.

Prior to leaving ARRAS orders had been issued for an attack on the German line in company with the 1st NFLD to be made on the 13th at an hour to be notified later.

The attack was to be made from an Assembly trench which was to be dug on the night of the 12/13 by 2nd Hants, 4th Worcs were in support to the attack.

Owing to the late hour at which the Brigade relief was completed & consequent impossibility of making adequate preparation for the attack the operation was postponed.

At daylight therefore on the 13th the Brigade was situated as shown in the attached map.

At 11am orders were received to make the attack at 2pm. These orders also were cancelled a few minutes before Zero.

During the night 13/14 the 2nd Hants dug the required assembly trench and operation orders were issued to the Bn. by Lt. Col. Halaham. App. B.

At 5.30am on 14th the barrage fell and the battalion left the trench & carried out the assault.

In spite of a certain weakness of the barrage the objective was gained and by 6.30am all companies had reported that they were busy digging in.

In the mean time "X" Coy detailed to form a flank guard to the thence attacking Coys had at once come in contact with the enemy.

Therefore acting under Capt. Foster's orders No. 5 Platoon got into shell holes at about 0 1b 8.1 and opened fire. No. 8 Platoon being checked by machine gun fire from ARROW COPSE No 7 was directed to outflank this copse with the result that No 8 could again get forward , capturing the 2 machine guns & driving the enemy out of the copse. The small wood at O 2a 7.5 was also in hostile occupation but was cleared by Lewis Guns & Rifle Grenades. The Company then moved forward to the N. end of the copses where all platoons came under fire from a line of hidden machine guns. The company now began to form the chain of strong points as detailed in operation orders.

From this point no further definitive news could be gathered as to the fate of this company. A few men eventually rejoined the battalion & from their statements it is certain that all Platoons their proper positions where they were at once attacked by very superior German forces & were finally overwhelmed in these positions at a time between 6.30 and 7.30 am.

The main attack by the remaining 3 Coys having reached their objective by 6.30 am started to dig in and reports were sent back to Bn. Hqrs that large forces of the enemy could be seen in the BOIS du SART & the BOIS des AUBE PINES and that all covering parties were sent forward were at once coming under heavy machine gun & rifle fire.

It became apparent rapidly to the Coy commanders that an immediate counter attack was being prepared and this also was reported to Bn. Hqrs. These reports were confirmed by two Coy commanders in person returning wounded from the main attack. [Capt Tomlinson Capt Caroline]

Steps had already been taken to get the Artillery on to the points where the enemy was reported to be massing but owing to the destruction of the wires by shell fire it was an hour before the guns opened fire.

By 7.30am the counter attack had fully developed in all its strength of at least 9 battalions. The weight of the attack seams to have come from the N. East & thus fell on "X" Coy. This Coy in spite of a stout resistance was gradually overwhelmed. Vide app. C.

From 7.30 onwards no reports, messages or wounded men arrived at Bn Hqrs or the Aid Post it is therefore apparent that "X" Coy having been overrun the hostile forces got between MONCHY & the attacking Companies of the Essex & NLFD. No men have returned from these Companies.

As soon as it became clear that MONCHY itself was being attacked patrols were put out from Hqr party to hold street barricades in MONCHY. No German succeeded in entering MONCHY. It must be remembered that during all this time the town was under an intense enemy barrage thus rendering it almost impossible to reinforce or support the two Battalions & making the work of the respective Hqrs parties extremely arduous.

Except for a certain amount of support from the 4th Worcester & 2dn Hants they fought on alone & these two battalions broke up a German attack designed not to drive them back but to retake MONCHY itself.

Appendix C. contains a copy of the Special Order issued by the G.O.C. 88th Bde.

Of the Officers who went into action the following is killed : 2/Lt. L. Cousins.

The following are wounded :- Capts R.E.G. Caroline, J. Tomlinson, Lieuts ?.W.J. Taylor

R. Eastwood. 2/Lt's H. Ockendon, S. ?. Andrew, F.W. Barker.

The following are missing :- Capt H.J.B. Foster, Lt C.R. Brown, 2/Lts A.L. Piper, S.N.R. Eyre, C.H. Feline H.R. Newth, P.W. Coombs, L.F. Portway; G.W. Turk.

Total casualties 17 officers & 644 OR. out of a strength of 31 officers & 892 O.R.

 

Sun., Apr 15, 1917

The remnants of the Battalion were now withdrawn & went to billets in ARRAS.

 

1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=594...

 

This horrendous battle cost the 1st Battalion a vast number of casualties, 17 officers and 644 other ranks were either killed, wounded or went missing. Later it was established that 203 soldiers were made prisoners of war, most of them were wounded and 16 of them died in captivity in Germany.

1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/i...8&hl=monchy

 

Stephen Frederick Tunmore………………Aged 23

 

Name: TUNMORE, STEPHEN FREDERICK

Rank: Private Regiment/Service: East Surrey Regiment Unit Text: 8th Bn.

Age: 23 Date of Death: 03/05/1917 Service No: 5120

Additional information: Son of Stephen and Sarah A. Tunmore, of Strumpshaw, Norfolk. Grave/Memorial Reference: Bay 6. Memorial: ARRAS MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=778025

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Census lists a 7 year old “Frederick” Tunmore, living at Workhouse Road, Lingwood. This is the household of his parents Stephen, (aged 39 and a Engine Driver Stationary, from Norwich), and Sarah, (aged 31 and from Strumpshaw) Their other children are Laura, (aged 10) and William (aged 4).

 

William would also lose his life in the war - see next entry.

 

Stephen was born the 22nd February 1894

familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/w/a/l/Vanessa-J-Walle...

 

The Division of which the 8th Surreys were part was engaged in the very costly Third Battle of the Scarpe on this day.

www.1914-1918.net/bat18.htm

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Arras_(1917)

 

William Tunmore……………………Aged 20

 

Name: TUNMORE, WILLIAM

Rank: Private Regiment/Service: East Surrey Regiment Unit Text: 8th Bn.

Age: 20 Date of Death: 10/08/1917 Service No: 5100

Additional information: Son of Stephen and Sarah A. Tunmore, of Strumpshaw, Norwich.

Grave/Memorial Reference: VIII. E. 6. Cemetery: HOOGE CRATER CEMETERY

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=459516

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Census lists a 4 year old William Tunmore, living at Workhouse Road, Lingwood. This is the household of his parents Stephen, (aged 39 and a Engine Driver Stationary, from Norwich), and Sarah, (aged 31 and from Strumpshaw) Their other children are Laura, (aged 10) and Frederick (aged 7).

 

Frederick would also lose his life in the war - see previous entry.

 

William was born 30th September 1896

familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/w/a/l/Vanessa-J-Walle...

 

"On 1st August the 8th Battalion East Surreys assembled in the New Dickbusch area. The afternoon of the previous day had seen the start of four days incessant rain which rendereed impossible any further offensive until a period of fine weather might allow the waterlooged soil to recover. Under these conditions the men were crowded into a few tents and shelters at New Dickbusch and had a very uncomfortable time. At midnight on the 3rd August their relief by the 7th Battalion was started but, because of the flooding, this entailed a long and tiring march by road and it was 10am before it was completed. Two companies were placed in Jam Trench, the old German front line and the remaining two companies in Crab Crawl Tunnel which was in a very bad state with six inches of water in it. The Germans maintained a very heavy barrage over the next few days. The 7th Bn Queens launched an attack on Inverness Copse, which had been postponed owing to heavy rain, at 4.35am on 10th August supported by 8th East Surreys. Casualties were heavy from very heavy shell fire and one officer and thirty eight other ranks were killed. One of those was 5100 Private William TUNMORE, aged 20 years."

 

He and his colleagues are buried at Hooge Cemetery.

 

1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?s=95fc527f42d...

 

John Lambert Ward……………….Aged 25

 

No obvious match on the CWGC database for J.L. J or L Ward

 

No match on Norlink

 

The most likely match on the 1901 Census is a 10 year old John L Ward living at Blofield Road, Lingwood, the village of his birth. This is the household of his parents, Lambert W, (age 48 and an Ordinary Farm Labourer from Lingwood), and Frances, (aged 47 and from the same village). Their other children are Arthur W, (aged 12), Edith L. (aged 8), George R, (aged 17 and also a Farm Labourer), and Russell J, (aged 5).

 

Robert Wilson……………………Aged 41

 

Most Likely match

Name: WILSON, ROBERT

Rank: Private Regiment/Service: Norfolk Regiment Unit Text: 1st Bn.

Age: 40 Date of Death: 29/10/1914 Service No: 5173

Additional information: Son of the late John and Hannah Wilson.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 8. Memorial: LE TOURET MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1564179

 

No match on Norlink

 

No obvious match on the 1901 Census, but given his age and date of death, it is likely that Robert was a professional soldier in Britains Pre-War army, and could well have been serving overseas in 1901.

 

On the 1891 Census there is a 17 year old Robert living at 6, The Alley, Blofield and employed as a Bricklayers Labourer. This was the household of his widowed Grandmother, Sarah Ann Wilson, a 66 year old Washerwoman and Domestic Servant. Sarah has another one of her grandchildren, a 21 year old George Carter who is also a Bricklayers Labourer, living with her. All were born at Blofield.

 

Battle of La Basse 10th October 1914 - 2nd November 1914.(Part of the Race to the Sea)

 

The German attack was renewed on 24 October along the entire Sixth Army front. A daylight attack failed to make any headway. It was followed by an attack at dusk, which did break into the British trenches at two places, but local counterattacks restored the situation.

A second night attack, on 26/27 October, caused more problems. Part of the British line was broken, and the village of Neuve Chapelle captured. This created a shallow salient in the British line. At this early period in the war the buildings of Neuve Chapelle still survived, making the village a dangerous strong point that threatened the British lines. A major counter attack was launched on 28 October, but failed to retake the village. On 29 October the village was reported to have been evacuated, but later in the day German troops used the ruins as cover for their last major attack of the battle.

After the failure of the attack on 29 October, the Germans moved much of their heavy artillery north towards Ypres, where it took part in the battle of Gheluvelt.

www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_la_bassee.html

www.roll-of-honour.com/Regiments/NorfolkRegimentLeTouret....

 

Athur Conan Doyle, in his “The British Campaign in France and Flanders 1914” tells us that starting from the 25th, the 1st Norfolks and 1st Devons were tasked with holding the salient of the village of Givenchy, and they defied all efforts to dislodge them.

 

books.google.co.uk/books?id=a2PKHfRXFBYC&pg=PA219&amp...

 

WW2

 

George Arthur Ashley…………………….Aged 24

 

Name: ASHLEY, GEORGE ARTHUR

Rank: Driver Regiment/Service: Royal Engineers Unit Text: 251 Field Park Coy.

Age: 24 Date of Death: 02/09/1943 Service No: 2078641

Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: 5. F. 9. Cemetery: CHUNGKAI WAR CEMETERY

 

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2352436

 

The notorious Burma-Siam railway, built by Commonwealth, Dutch and American prisoners of war, was a Japanese project driven by the need for improved communications to support the large Japanese army in Burma. During its construction, approximately 13,000 prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway. An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 civilians also died in the course of the project, chiefly forced labour brought from Malaya and the Dutch East Indies or conscripted in Siam (Thailand) and Burma (Myanmar). Two labour forces, one based in Siam and the other in Burma, worked from opposite ends of the line towards the centre. The Japanese aimed at completing the railway in 14 months and work began in October 1942. The line, 424 kilometres long, was completed by December 1943. The graves of those who died during the construction and maintenance of the Burma-Siam railway (except for the Americans, whose remains were repatriated) were transferred from camp burial grounds and isolated sites along the railway into three cemeteries at Chungkai and Kanchanaburi in Thailand and Thanbyuzayat in Myanmar. Chungkai was one of the base camps on the railway and contained a hospital and church built by Allied prisoners of war. The war cemetery is the original burial ground started by the prisoners themselves, and the burials are mostly of men who died at the hospital.

www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=203500...

 

Horace George Forder………………Aged 38

 

Name: FORDER, HORACE GEORGE

Rank: Gunner

Regiment: Royal Artillery Unit Text: 65 (The Norfolk Yeomanry) Anti-Tank Regt

Age: 38 Date of Death: 22/02/1943 Service No: 1122622

Additional information: Son of Horace George and Sarah Harriet Forder; husband of Olive Annie Forder, of Strumpshaw, Norfolk.

Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: III. C. 22. Cemetery: SFAX WAR CEMETERY

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2182766

 

In May 1943, the war in North Africa came to an end in Tunisia with the defeat of the Axis powers by a combined Allied force. In the south, the Axis forces defeated in Egypt at El Alamein withdrew into Tunisia along the coast through Libya, pursued by the Allied Eighth Army. Most of those buried in Sfax War Cemetery died in attacks on successive Axis positions at Medenine, the Marith Line and Wadi Akarit, in March and April 1943.

www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=47312&...

 

Harold William High……………………Aged 27

 

Name: HIGH, HAROLD WILLIAM STRUTHERS

Rank: Private Regiment: Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment Unit Text: 5th Bn. Age: 27 Date of Death: 21/09/1944 Service No: 5951830

Additional information: Son of Beatrice Minnie High, of Strumpshaw, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Column 63. Memorial: SINGAPORE MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2133641

 

The 5th Bedfords and Herts were another unit from the ill-fated 18th Division, arriving piecemeal late in the Malayan campaign and finally being surrendered on mass with the Fall of Singapore. See the note under George Ashley for their subsequent treatment.

 

Alfred Waterton………………………….Aged 29

 

Name: WATERTON, ALFRED

Rank: Private Regiment/Service: Royal Norfolk Regiment Unit Text: 2nd Bn.

Age: 29 Date of Death: 24/05/1940 Service No: 5770748

Additional information: Son of Albert and Ada Waterton, of Strumpshaw, Norfolk. Grave/Memorial Reference: Column 44. Memorial: DUNKIRK MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2767796

 

The retreat to Dunkirk

 

The period in which Alfred Waterton died (24th May 1940) was one in which the 2nd battalion, along with a number of other units, was sacrificed in order the for the British Expeditionary Force to retreat to the channel. Shortly afterwards, on the 27th came the surrender of the 2nd Battalion and the subsequent massacre at Le Paradis.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Paradis_massacre

www.norfolkbc.fsnet.co.uk/archive_collection/strips_farro...

 

On the 24th the 2nd Battalion, along with what was left of 4th Brigade, took over the defense of a 21 mile stretch of the canal line running from the railway bridge south of Aire to La Basee. They arrived at Locon, but scouting patrols looking for accomodation and defensive positions came under fire from Germans who had already crossed the canal. Units advanced as night fell aiming to push the Germans back over the canal. Sleep deprived from days in combat, and with only one map between the entire HQ staff, troops became lost and dis-orientated.

 

(see page 281, Dunkirk by Hugh Sebag-Montefiore)

books.google.co.uk/books?id=ZM71HK2ysoAC&pg=PA297&amp...

  

This video was taken on January 18th 2020 in Galveston, Texas around midday when I went to visit for my cousin's wedding. This type of butterfly is a Red Admiral also known as Vanessa atalanta. This species is found all over the world and is attracted to moist woodlands making the humid weather of Southern Texas perfect for it. It drinks from plants and gets its nutrients from overripe fruits. Something like climate change can hurt this species because with increased temperatures and flooding, the plants it uses for nutrients can be harmed. For example, its a freshwater plant and Galveston is a town near the Gulf of Mexico, a body of salt water. Salt water intrusion is dangerous for many freshwater plants so if these plants die out, the butterflies in this area, specifically this species, will not do well as a result.

Alfred Richard Barton………………Aged 34

 

Possibly

Name: BARTON, ALFRED RICHARD

Rank: Second Lieutenant Regiment/Service: South African Infantry Unit Text: 3rd Regt. Date of Death: 18/07/1916

Grave/Memorial Reference: Pier and Face 4 C. Memorial: THIEPVAL MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=770024

 

This was confirmed by Norlink, where there is a picture of 2nd Lt Barton

norlink.norfolk.gov.uk/02_Catalogue/02_013_PictureTitleIn...

(and for his brother Hugh - see below for Hugh and the Strumpshaw link)

 

The most likely link on the 1901 Census is a 18 year old Alfred Richard who is staying with his uncle, Thomas Allday Barton, aged 55 and a farmer, resident at Threxton House, Threxton, Swaffham.

 

The 9th Division was not involved in the disasters of the first day of the Somme battle, but on 14 July the two Scottish brigades attacked the village of Longueval, and on the following day the South African Brigade was launched at Delville Wood. The wood abutted on the village, and together they formed an important wedge of high ground. Hence the order to the South Africans to take and hold the Wood 'at all costs', and the desperate efforts of the Germans to regain it.

The story of Delville Wood has often been told, for it has an epic quality. The South Africans took virtually all the wood without too much difficulty, but holding it proved another matter. German counter-attacks and shelling were ferocious and incessant. On 18 July, the shelling reached heights of extraordinary fury: often 400 shells a minute would fall on an area roughly 1 000 yards by 1 200. The South Africans repulsed with rifle and bayonet the heavy German attacks that followed. Finally, on the evening of 20 July, six days and five nights after their first advance, the last of the South Africans, 2 officers (both wounded) and 140 men, came Out of the wood. When all the scattered remnants were gathered together, it was found that the Brigade had lost three quarters of its strength, while of those who had actually entered the wood, 90 per cent became casualties.

samilitaryhistory.org/vol082rb.html

  

Hugh Fabian Barton……………….Aged 19

 

Name: BARTON, HUGH FABIAN

Rank: Second Lieutenant Regiment/Service: Norfolk Regiment Unit Text: 9th Bn.

Age: 19 Date of Death: 12/02/1916

Additional information: Son of the Rev. A. J. and Alice E. Barton, of "Wanstrow", Rosebery Rd., Felixstowe, Suffolk. Born at Strumpshaw Rectory, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: I. C. 3. Cemetery: WHITE HOUSE CEMETERY, ST. JEAN-LES-YPRES

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=454342

 

The 9th Battalion were certainly in the trenches near St Jean during the last two months of 1915.

1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t...

 

Norlink picture of 2nd Lt Barton

norlink.norfolk.gov.uk/02_Catalogue/02_013_PictureTitleIn...

 

The 1901 Census has the 4 year old Hugh Fabian living at The Rectory, Strumpshaw

with his father, the Reverend Alfred John Barton, age 50 and born Threxton. Hugh was born at Guestwick. Also resident is Hugh’s 16 year old sister, Ethel Gertrude and two live in servants - a Cook and a Housemaid.

  

John Edward Blake……………..Aged 21

 

Probably

Name: BLAKE, JOHN EDWARD

Rank: Lance Corporal Regiment/Service: Norfolk Regiment Unit Text: 9th Bn.

Age: 24 Date of Death: 15/04/1918 Service No: 9350

Additional information: Son of Walter and Hannah Thompson, of Lingwood Rd., Blofield, Norwich; husband of Marjorie Blake, of Postwick, Norwich, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 34 to 35 and 162A. Memorial: TYNE COT MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=845159

 

No match on Norlink

 

No obvious matches on the 1901 Census for either a John Blake or a John Thompson.

 

The 9th were moved to the Ypres salient on April 1st 1918 and moved to Dranoute on the 14th.

 

" Next day D and A companies were in front line, C in support and B in reserve. Arrangements had been made for C to counter attack if necessary but it's losses owing to the continuous heavy bombardment commencing at noon on the 15th necessitated B taking it's place as the counter attack force. At 2.30pm on the 15th the enemy advanced and by 3pm had gained a foothold in the front trenches. From these he was once again driven out by B company. Although B held the line and formed a defensive flank they were eventually themselves driven out due to their exposed position.

Line was then formed along the railway with the Ist Leicesters on their left at Clapham Junction. At 10.30pm they were moved back behind Mt Kemmel before being pulled out of line on the 18th.

This was after the 9th had been badly cut up a month before holding the masive German onslaught of the 21st March. Here they had fought a strong rearguard action before being moved out of line to for a refit in Sixte near Proven on the 26th.

 

1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t...

  

John Debbage………………….Aged 21

 

Probably

Name: DEBBAGE, JOHN PRINDLE Initials: J P Nationality: United Kingdom Rank: Private Regiment/Service: Essex Regiment Unit Text: 1st Bn. Date of Death: 13/08/1915 Service No: 20655 Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 144 to 150 or 229 to 233. Memorial: HELLES MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=682649

 

Norlink has a picture of John Pringle Debbage, but links him elsewhere in Norfolk.

norlink.norfolk.gov.uk/02_Catalogue/02_013_PictureTitleIn...

 

The Norlink notes read:-

Private Debbage of Bramerton, was born at Paxworth, 7th January 1893. He waseducated at Cantley School. He enlisted on 4th January 1915 and was drowned on H.M.S. Royal Edward, 13th August 1915

 

The John Debbage on the CWGC database and Norlink was 8 years old and living at Marsh Road, Cantley on the 1901 Census. This was the household of his parents, Henry, (aged 42 and a Teamster on Farm, originally from Panxworth), and Jane, (aged 42 and from London). There other children are Walter, (aged 12 and from Ranworth), and Frederick, (aged 3, born Cantley).

 

The 1901 Census does have a John Debbage age 53, born Ranworth, but now living at Buckenham Road, Strumpshaw. While John is a family man, none of his children have the first name John or Pringle.

 

A passage from the History of Norfolk Regiment tells the rest of Teddie's story: Colonel Tonge refers to the loss of 300 men, the best draft that ever left Felixstowe. These men volunteered to join the Essex Regiment and appear to have constituted the drafts of June 23 and July 24 1915. They were part of the reinforcements carried by the transport "Royal Edward" which was torpedoed and sunk in the Aegean Sea on August 14th 1915. She sank two and a half minutes after the torpedo struck her.Of the 1,400 men she carried only 600 were saved,and the drowned included all but 18 of the 300 Norfolk men. The men who had had a route march just before leaving Alexandria, were waiting on deck for foot inspection at about 9.20 am. Their lifebelts were down below, and when the ship was unexpectedly struck most of them ran below to fetch the belts. Owing to the ship's sudden heeling over and sinking, these never got up again. Those who escaped were picked up by a hospital ship which responded to the s.o.s. signal. To partly replace this sad loss, another draft of 150 men to the Essex Regiment was dispatched on September 29, 1915. Addenda 1994 From: "Men of Gallipoli"(David & Charles,1988) by kind permission of the publishers. One of the features of the Cape Helles monument is the rows of names of men drowned in the torpedoing of the Royal Edward,which sank in the Eastern Mediterranean on 13th August with a loss of over 850 lives.A.T.Fraser in the Border Regiment,was in a deckchair on the afterdeck starboard side when suddenly dozens of men ran past him from port to starboard. The explosion came before he had time to ask what was the matter.

 

"The ship had no escort and we had not been ordered to have our life-belts with us.The hundreds on deck ran below to get their life-belts and hundreds below would have met them on their way up.I shared a cabin accessible from the deck I was on and I raced there to get my life-belt and ran to my life-boat station which was on the star- board side.As the men arrived they fell in two ranks. Already the ship was listing and this prevented our boats from being lowered,so we were ordered to jump for it.I saw no panic,but of course one could imagine what was happening on the inside stairs. I swam away from the ship and turned to see the funnels leaning towards me.When they reached the sea,all the soot was belched out,there was a loud whoosh and the ship sank. No explosion,no surge.So I was alone.The little waves were such that in the trough you saw nothing,on the crest you saw a few yards.The water was warm.I wondered if there were sharks". Fraser found some wood to rest on and he was joined by a seaman,an older man who had twice previously been torpedoed.This brought the young Scot confidence.An up turned Royal Edward lifeboat was to provide 17 of the survivors with a little more security though in what Fraser calls half-hourly recurring turbulence,the boat turned over,offering them conventional but completely waterlogged accommodation every alternate half hour but at least providing them with something to do.There was no singing and little conversation. The first ship that passed hailed the scattered men and promised to signal for help.It could not stop as it had high explosives for Lemnos.Some of the men became depressed and showed unwillingness to clamber back in the life boat when it overturned,but on each occasion all were persuaded.Finally the hospital ship SOUDAIN arrived to pick them up in her life-boats,and at 2 o'clock Fraser was safely aboard her after just under five hours in the sea. He remembers that"a large number of men lost their false teeth as we were constantly sick in the sea- and these men were sent back to England.We the younger ones,were clothed and kitted and on another ship three days later for Gallipoli”

 

www.geocities.com/heartland/acres/5564/royaledward.html

1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=54871

  

Sidney John Green…………………Aged 20

 

Name: GREEN, SYDNEY JOHN

Rank: Private Regiment/Service: Hertfordshire Regiment Unit Text: 1st/1st Bn.

Age: 20 Date of Death: 23/08/1918 Service No: 204000

Additional information: Son of John and Alice Green, of Strumpshaw, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: X. G. 16. Cemetery: SERRE ROAD CEMETERY No.2

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=608785

 

No match on Norlink

 

Sydney Green was 2 years old and living at The Old Hall Strumpshaw, at the time of the 1901 Census. This was the household of his parents, John, (a 40 year old Domestic Gardener, from Necton), and Alice, (aged 39 and from Old Catton). Their other children are Dorothy, (aged 4) and Hilda, (aged 11), both born Strumpshaw. Also living with them are Alice’s mother Rachel Harrowven, aged 74 and from Easton.

 

Extract from the Battalion War Diary.

 

22-8-18. Battn resting in BRADFORD-LEEDS-HALIFAX trenches. Moved up to assembly positions S. of LOGEAST WOOD at 11pm.

23-8-18. Battn attacked at 11am. Attack successful. Railway cutting in front of ACHIET-LE-GRAND taken. Casualties – Captain S.W. [Saxon Weston] MOORE & 2/Lt F. SMITH [Frederick John SMITH, 5th Bedfordshire regiment attached to the 1st Hertfordshire] killed 7 Officers wounded. O. Ranks 26 killed 140 wounded.

24-8-18. Battn moved to position SE of BIHUCOURT.

25-8-18 to 31-8-18. Battn in Divisional Reserve in shelters SE of BIHUCOURT.

[Comment; Officers also killed – Lt George ABBOTT and Ronald Henry Pruess ARNHOLTZ on the 23rd August and 2/Lt Laurence REEVES died from his wounds on the 25th]

www.bedfordregiment.org.uk/hertsrgt/1stherts1918diary.html

  

William John Harrison……………..Aged 20

 

Up to 18 potential matches on the CWGC database

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Census has a 5 year old William John living at The Post Office, Strumpshaw. This was the household of his parents, William, (aged 34 and Sub Postmaster, Grocer and Pork Butcher) and Mina, (aged 31 and from Blofield). Their other children are Alfred James, (aged 4), Eleanor Maria, (aged 11), Gladys May, (aged 9), Grace Maud, (aged 8), Mary Elizabeth, (aged 1), and Stella Louise, (aged 2).

 

Arthur Robert Howes………………..Aged 19

 

Name: HOWES, ARTHUR ROBERT

Rank: Private Regiment Royal Warwickshire Regiment Unit Text: "B" Coy. 1st/7th Bn. Age: 19 Date of Death: 08/10/1917 Service No: 29255

Additional information: Son of Robert William and Clara Howes, of Strumpshaw, Norwich.

Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 23 to 28 and 163A. Memorial: TYNE COT MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=837457

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Census has the 2 year old Arthur Howes living at Blofied Road, Lingwood. This is the household of his widowed grandfather Samuel Hinds, (aged 55 and a farmer). Living with them are Arthur parents, Roberts Howes, (age 32 and a Traction Engine Driver from Beighton) and Clara, (aged 28 and from Lingwood). Arthur’s siblings are Esther, (aged 1, born Moulton), and Samuel, (aged 5 and born Moulton).

 

Sunday 7th October 1917 - Day 63 Third Ypres (Passchendaele)

 

Rainfall 10.4mm

 

Poelcappelle

 

49th Div

 

Patrols raided in Celtic Wood

 

48th Div

 

143 Bde

 

An attack on Burns House and Vacher Farm failed.

forum.irishmilitaryonline.com/showthread.php?t=11535&...

 

(7th Royal Warwicks were part of the 143rd Brigade)

 

Robert George Hylton………………..Aged 33

 

Name: HYLTON, ROBERT GEORGE Initials: R G Nationality: United Kingdom Rank: Private Regiment/Service: Norfolk Regiment Unit Text: 2nd Bn. Date of Death: 31/03/1916 Service No: 19095 Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 10. Memorial: BASRA MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=866274

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Cenus has the 18 year old Robert, born Strumpshaw but now living at Postwick Lane, Brundall and employed as an Agricultural Labourer. This is the household of his parents, George, (aged 58, also from Strumpshaw and an Agricultural Labourer) and Sophia, (aged 60 and from Strumpshaw).

 

The Brigade arrives at Kut

On 5 December 1915, The Brigade arrives at Kut. The Turks are reinforced in great numbers and surround the town. They positions on the other side of the river and cut the garrison off from help from outside.

 

The Siege of Kut

During the siege of Kut which lasted for 5 months aircraft were first used to try and drop supplies to the garrison. The aircraft could not carry enough supplies some were shot down and the attempt ended in failure. The Turks used aircraft more successfully in bombing the town, many troops having been wounded were then killed in hospital by an air raid. Several attempts were made to break out across the river on floating bridges, but as the river was in flood at this time of the year the attempts failed. Radio contact with the outside world was kept up until the end.

Towards the end of the siege the daily ration for British troops was reduced to ten ounces of bread and one pound of horse or mule flesh. Indian troops who refused to eat flesh were dying of scurvy at the rate of 10 to 20 a day. In all 1746 people died during the siege from wounds or disease.

 

www.stephen-stratford.co.uk/pte_wilby.htm

  

Robert Killington……………………..Aged 35

 

Name: KILLINGTON, ROBERT ALBERT

Rank: Serjeant Regiment/Service: Army Service Corps Secondary Unit Text: attd. 7th Mounted Bde.H.Q.

Age: 36 Date of Death: 24/06/1917 Service No: MT/16956

Additional information: Son of Rosa Killington, of Lingwood, Norwich; husband of Gertrude Louisa Killington, of 61, Queensmill Rd., Fulham Palace Rd., London.

Grave/Memorial Reference: III. B. 4. Cemetery: LAHANA MILITARY CEMETE

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=333926

 

No match on Norlink

 

Lahana Military Cemetery lies 1 kilometre west of the village of Lachanas on the old Thessaloniki-Seres road, about 56 kilometres north-east of Thessaloniki, Greece.The cemetery was begun in July 1916 for burials from the 27th Casualty Clearing Station, to which sick and wounded men were brought from the Struma front. The cemetery was also used from June to August 1917 by the 18th Stationary Hospital.

 

After the Armistice, 41 of the graves in Plots II and III were brought in from the two front line cemeteries at Paprat (about 12 km north-west of Lahana) and from other small burial grounds.

www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=35001&...

 

The 1901 Census has a Robert Killington who is a Driver in the Army Service Corps. Robert is aged 18 and from St Helens, Lancashire. Presumably his unit were on manoeuvres, as they are prosaically listed as being “South of the Canal”

 

Ernest Rose…………………………Aged 19

 

No obvious match on the CWGC database

 

There is a 3 year old Ernest Rose on the 1901 census, born Strumpshaw but now living at Church Street, Blofield. This is the household of his parents, William I, (aged 26 and a General Farm Labourer from Hassingham), and Jessie, (aged 24 and from Strumpshaw). Living with them are daughter Eleanor E, (aged 2 and born Brundall) and Williams widowed mother, Eleanor, (aged 66 and from Poringland, now living on Parish Poor Relief).

  

William Thompson…………………..Aged 32

 

Name: THOMPSON, WILLIAM

Rank: Private Regiment/Service: Essex Regiment Unit Text: 1st Bn.

Age: 32 Date of Death: 14/04/1917 Service No: 41590

Additional information: Son of George and Elizabeth Thompson, of The Loake, Strumpshaw, Norwich.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Bay 7. Memorial: ARRAS MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=777358

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Census has the 15 year old William living two doors down from The Rectory at Strumpshaw, and four doors from the “Shoulder of Mutton” Public House. Strumpshaw is his birth village, and he is employed as a General Agricultural Labourer. This is the household of his parents, George, (aged 49 and a General Agricultural Labourer), and Elizabeth, (aged 52). Their other children are:

 

Ernest………………..aged under 1

George Robert…..aged 18 and a General Agricultural Labourer

Henry…………………aged 22 and a General Agricultural Labourer

Louisa………………..aged 10

Mary…………………..aged 13

Robert………………..aged under 1

Ruth Leah…………..aged 5

 

Thu., Apr 12, 1917

The Bn. marched from billets at FOSSEUX to ARRAS (abt 10 miles) and on arrival was at once ordered to proceed with the remainder of the 88th Bde to relieve the 37th Bde near MONCHY-LE-PREUX. The Bn arrived at ARRAS at 3pm and left to carry out the relief 4 miles off at 6.30pm. Owing to intense congestion on the road and other delays the relief was not completed until 3am on 13th.

Prior to leaving ARRAS orders had been issued for an attack on the German line in company with the 1st NFLD to be made on the 13th at an hour to be notified later.

The attack was to be made from an Assembly trench which was to be dug on the night of the 12/13 by 2nd Hants, 4th Worcs were in support to the attack.

Owing to the late hour at which the Brigade relief was completed & consequent impossibility of making adequate preparation for the attack the operation was postponed.

At daylight therefore on the 13th the Brigade was situated as shown in the attached map.

At 11am orders were received to make the attack at 2pm. These orders also were cancelled a few minutes before Zero.

During the night 13/14 the 2nd Hants dug the required assembly trench and operation orders were issued to the Bn. by Lt. Col. Halaham. App. B.

At 5.30am on 14th the barrage fell and the battalion left the trench & carried out the assault.

In spite of a certain weakness of the barrage the objective was gained and by 6.30am all companies had reported that they were busy digging in.

In the mean time "X" Coy detailed to form a flank guard to the thence attacking Coys had at once come in contact with the enemy.

Therefore acting under Capt. Foster's orders No. 5 Platoon got into shell holes at about 0 1b 8.1 and opened fire. No. 8 Platoon being checked by machine gun fire from ARROW COPSE No 7 was directed to outflank this copse with the result that No 8 could again get forward , capturing the 2 machine guns & driving the enemy out of the copse. The small wood at O 2a 7.5 was also in hostile occupation but was cleared by Lewis Guns & Rifle Grenades. The Company then moved forward to the N. end of the copses where all platoons came under fire from a line of hidden machine guns. The company now began to form the chain of strong points as detailed in operation orders.

From this point no further definitive news could be gathered as to the fate of this company. A few men eventually rejoined the battalion & from their statements it is certain that all Platoons their proper positions where they were at once attacked by very superior German forces & were finally overwhelmed in these positions at a time between 6.30 and 7.30 am.

The main attack by the remaining 3 Coys having reached their objective by 6.30 am started to dig in and reports were sent back to Bn. Hqrs that large forces of the enemy could be seen in the BOIS du SART & the BOIS des AUBE PINES and that all covering parties were sent forward were at once coming under heavy machine gun & rifle fire.

It became apparent rapidly to the Coy commanders that an immediate counter attack was being prepared and this also was reported to Bn. Hqrs. These reports were confirmed by two Coy commanders in person returning wounded from the main attack. [Capt Tomlinson Capt Caroline]

Steps had already been taken to get the Artillery on to the points where the enemy was reported to be massing but owing to the destruction of the wires by shell fire it was an hour before the guns opened fire.

By 7.30am the counter attack had fully developed in all its strength of at least 9 battalions. The weight of the attack seams to have come from the N. East & thus fell on "X" Coy. This Coy in spite of a stout resistance was gradually overwhelmed. Vide app. C.

From 7.30 onwards no reports, messages or wounded men arrived at Bn Hqrs or the Aid Post it is therefore apparent that "X" Coy having been overrun the hostile forces got between MONCHY & the attacking Companies of the Essex & NLFD. No men have returned from these Companies.

As soon as it became clear that MONCHY itself was being attacked patrols were put out from Hqr party to hold street barricades in MONCHY. No German succeeded in entering MONCHY. It must be remembered that during all this time the town was under an intense enemy barrage thus rendering it almost impossible to reinforce or support the two Battalions & making the work of the respective Hqrs parties extremely arduous.

Except for a certain amount of support from the 4th Worcester & 2dn Hants they fought on alone & these two battalions broke up a German attack designed not to drive them back but to retake MONCHY itself.

Appendix C. contains a copy of the Special Order issued by the G.O.C. 88th Bde.

Of the Officers who went into action the following is killed : 2/Lt. L. Cousins.

The following are wounded :- Capts R.E.G. Caroline, J. Tomlinson, Lieuts ?.W.J. Taylor

R. Eastwood. 2/Lt's H. Ockendon, S. ?. Andrew, F.W. Barker.

The following are missing :- Capt H.J.B. Foster, Lt C.R. Brown, 2/Lts A.L. Piper, S.N.R. Eyre, C.H. Feline H.R. Newth, P.W. Coombs, L.F. Portway; G.W. Turk.

Total casualties 17 officers & 644 OR. out of a strength of 31 officers & 892 O.R.

 

Sun., Apr 15, 1917

The remnants of the Battalion were now withdrawn & went to billets in ARRAS.

 

1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=594...

 

This horrendous battle cost the 1st Battalion a vast number of casualties, 17 officers and 644 other ranks were either killed, wounded or went missing. Later it was established that 203 soldiers were made prisoners of war, most of them were wounded and 16 of them died in captivity in Germany.

1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/i...8&hl=monchy

  

Stephen Frederick Tunmore………………Aged 23

 

Name: TUNMORE, STEPHEN FREDERICK

Rank: Private Regiment/Service: East Surrey Regiment Unit Text: 8th Bn.

Age: 23 Date of Death: 03/05/1917 Service No: 5120

Additional information: Son of Stephen and Sarah A. Tunmore, of Strumpshaw, Norfolk. Grave/Memorial Reference: Bay 6. Memorial: ARRAS MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=778025

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Census lists a 7 year old “Frederick” Tunmore, living at Workhouse Road, Lingwood. This is the household of his parents Stephen, (aged 39 and a Engine Driver Stationary, from Norwich), and Sarah, (aged 31 and from Strumpshaw) Their other children are Laura, (aged 10) and William (aged 4).

 

William would also lose his life in the war - see next entry.

 

Stephen was born the 22nd February 1894

familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/w/a/l/Vanessa-J-Walle...

 

The Division of which the 8th Surreys were part was engaged in the very costly Third Battle of the Scarpe on this day.

www.1914-1918.net/bat18.htm

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Arras_(1917)

  

William Tunmore……………………Aged 20

 

Name: TUNMORE, WILLIAM

Rank: Private Regiment/Service: East Surrey Regiment Unit Text: 8th Bn.

Age: 20 Date of Death: 10/08/1917 Service No: 5100

Additional information: Son of Stephen and Sarah A. Tunmore, of Strumpshaw, Norwich.

Grave/Memorial Reference: VIII. E. 6. Cemetery: HOOGE CRATER CEMETERY

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=459516

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Census lists a 4 year old William Tunmore, living at Workhouse Road, Lingwood. This is the household of his parents Stephen, (aged 39 and a Engine Driver Stationary, from Norwich), and Sarah, (aged 31 and from Strumpshaw) Their other children are Laura, (aged 10) and Frederick (aged 7).

 

Frederick would also lose his life in the war - see previous entry.

 

William was born 30th September 1896

familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/w/a/l/Vanessa-J-Walle...

 

"On 1st August the 8th Battalion East Surreys assembled in the New Dickbusch area. The afternoon of the previous day had seen the start of four days incessant rain which rendereed impossible any further offensive until a period of fine weather might allow the waterlooged soil to recover. Under these conditions the men were crowded into a few tents and shelters at New Dickbusch and had a very uncomfortable time. At midnight on the 3rd August their relief by the 7th Battalion was started but, because of the flooding, this entailed a long and tiring march by road and it was 10am before it was completed. Two companies were placed in Jam Trench, the old German front line and the remaining two companies in Crab Crawl Tunnel which was in a very bad state with six inches of water in it. The Germans maintained a very heavy barrage over the next few days. The 7th Bn Queens launched an attack on Inverness Copse, which had been postponed owing to heavy rain, at 4.35am on 10th August supported by 8th East Surreys. Casualties were heavy from very heavy shell fire and one officer and thirty eight other ranks were killed. One of those was 5100 Private William TUNMORE, aged 20 years."

 

He and his colleagues are buried at Hooge Cemetery.

 

1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?s=95fc527f42d...

 

John Lambert Ward……………….Aged 25

 

No obvious match on the CWGC database for J.L. J or L Ward

 

No match on Norlink

  

The most likely match on the 1901 Census is a 10 year old John L Ward living at Blofield Road, Lingwood, the village of his birth. This is the household of his parents, Lambert W, (age 48 and an Ordinary Farm Labourer from Lingwood), and Frances, (aged 47 and from the same village). Their other children are Arthur W, (aged 12), Edith L. (aged 8), George R, (aged 17 and also a Farm Labourer), and Russell J, (aged 5).

 

Robert Wilson……………………Aged 41

 

Most Likely match

Name: WILSON, ROBERT

Rank: Private Regiment/Service: Norfolk Regiment Unit Text: 1st Bn.

Age: 40 Date of Death: 29/10/1914 Service No: 5173

Additional information: Son of the late John and Hannah Wilson.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 8. Memorial: LE TOURET MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1564179

 

No match on Norlink

 

No obvious match on the 1901 Census, but given his age and date of death, it is likely that Robert was a professional soldier in Britains Pre-War army, and could well have been serving overseas in 1901.

 

On the 1891 Census there is a 17 year old Robert living at 6, The Alley, Blofield and employed as a Bricklayers Labourer. This was the household of his widowed Grandmother, Sarah Ann Wilson, a 66 year old Washerwoman and Domestic Servant. Sarah has another one of her grandchildren, a 21 year old George Carter who is also a Bricklayers Labourer, living with her. All were born at Blofield.

 

Battle of La Basse 10th October 1914 - 2nd November 1914.(Part of the Race to the Sea)

 

The German attack was renewed on 24 October along the entire Sixth Army front. A daylight attack failed to make any headway. It was followed by an attack at dusk, which did break into the British trenches at two places, but local counterattacks restored the situation.

A second night attack, on 26/27 October, caused more problems. Part of the British line was broken, and the village of Neuve Chapelle captured. This created a shallow salient in the British line. At this early period in the war the buildings of Neuve Chapelle still survived, making the village a dangerous strong point that threatened the British lines. A major counter attack was launched on 28 October, but failed to retake the village. On 29 October the village was reported to have been evacuated, but later in the day German troops used the ruins as cover for their last major attack of the battle.

After the failure of the attack on 29 October, the Germans moved much of their heavy artillery north towards Ypres, where it took part in the battle of Gheluvelt.

www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_la_bassee.html

www.roll-of-honour.com/Regiments/NorfolkRegimentLeTouret....

 

Athur Conan Doyle, in his “The British Campaign in France and Flanders 1914” tells us that starting from the 25th, the 1st Norfolks and 1st Devons were tasked with holding the salient of the village of Givenchy, and they defied all efforts to dislodge them.

 

books.google.co.uk/books?id=a2PKHfRXFBYC&pg=PA219&amp...

 

WW2

 

George Arthur Ashley…………………….Aged 24

 

Name: ASHLEY, GEORGE ARTHUR

Rank: Driver Regiment/Service: Royal Engineers Unit Text: 251 Field Park Coy.

Age: 24 Date of Death: 02/09/1943 Service No: 2078641

Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: 5. F. 9. Cemetery: CHUNGKAI WAR CEMETERY

 

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2352436

 

The notorious Burma-Siam railway, built by Commonwealth, Dutch and American prisoners of war, was a Japanese project driven by the need for improved communications to support the large Japanese army in Burma. During its construction, approximately 13,000 prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway. An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 civilians also died in the course of the project, chiefly forced labour brought from Malaya and the Dutch East Indies or conscripted in Siam (Thailand) and Burma (Myanmar). Two labour forces, one based in Siam and the other in Burma, worked from opposite ends of the line towards the centre. The Japanese aimed at completing the railway in 14 months and work began in October 1942. The line, 424 kilometres long, was completed by December 1943. The graves of those who died during the construction and maintenance of the Burma-Siam railway (except for the Americans, whose remains were repatriated) were transferred from camp burial grounds and isolated sites along the railway into three cemeteries at Chungkai and Kanchanaburi in Thailand and Thanbyuzayat in Myanmar. Chungkai was one of the base camps on the railway and contained a hospital and church built by Allied prisoners of war. The war cemetery is the original burial ground started by the prisoners themselves, and the burials are mostly of men who died at the hospital.

www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=203500...

 

Horace George Forder………………Aged 38

 

Name: FORDER, HORACE GEORGE

Rank: Gunner

Regiment: Royal Artillery Unit Text: 65 (The Norfolk Yeomanry) Anti-Tank Regt

Age: 38 Date of Death: 22/02/1943 Service No: 1122622

Additional information: Son of Horace George and Sarah Harriet Forder; husband of Olive Annie Forder, of Strumpshaw, Norfolk.

Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: III. C. 22. Cemetery: SFAX WAR CEMETERY

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2182766

 

In May 1943, the war in North Africa came to an end in Tunisia with the defeat of the Axis powers by a combined Allied force. In the south, the Axis forces defeated in Egypt at El Alamein withdrew into Tunisia along the coast through Libya, pursued by the Allied Eighth Army. Most of those buried in Sfax War Cemetery died in attacks on successive Axis positions at Medenine, the Marith Line and Wadi Akarit, in March and April 1943.

www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=47312&...

  

Harold William High……………………Aged 27

 

Name: HIGH, HAROLD WILLIAM STRUTHERS

Rank: Private Regiment: Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment Unit Text: 5th Bn. Age: 27 Date of Death: 21/09/1944 Service No: 5951830

Additional information: Son of Beatrice Minnie High, of Strumpshaw, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Column 63. Memorial: SINGAPORE MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2133641

 

The 5th Bedfords and Herts were another unit from the ill-fated 18th Division, arriving piece arriving piecemeal late in the Malayan campaign and finally being surrendered on mass with the Fall of Singapore. See the note under George Ashley for their subsequent treatment.

 

Alfred Waterton………………………….Aged 29

 

Name: WATERTON, ALFRED

Rank: Private Regiment/Service: Royal Norfolk Regiment Unit Text: 2nd Bn.

Age: 29 Date of Death: 24/05/1940 Service No: 5770748

Additional information: Son of Albert and Ada Waterton, of Strumpshaw, Norfolk. Grave/Memorial Reference: Column 44. Memorial: DUNKIRK MEMORIAL

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2767796

 

The retreat to Dunkirk

 

The period in which Alfred Waterton died (24th May 1940) was one in which the 2nd battalion, along with a number of other units, was sacrificed in order the for the British Expeditionary Force to retreat to the channel. Shortly afterwards, on the 27th came the surrender of the 2nd Battalion and the subsequent massacre at Le Paradis.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Paradis_massacre

www.norfolkbc.fsnet.co.uk/archive_collection/strips_farro...

 

On the 24th the 2nd Battalion, along with what was left of 4th Brigade, took over the defense of a 21 mile stretch of the canal line running from the railway bridge south of Aire to La Basee. They arrived at Locon, but scouting patrols looking for accomodation and defensive positions came under fire from Germans who had already crossed the canal. Units advanced as night fell aiming to push the Germans back over the canal. Sleep deprived from days in combat, and with only one map between the entire HQ staff, troops became lost and dis-orientated.

 

(see page 281, Dunkirk by Hugh Sebag-Montefiore)

books.google.co.uk/books?id=ZM71HK2ysoAC&pg=PA297&amp...

  

May 3, 1988

Beaverbrook resident Neil McLeod died in his Beaverbrook Lane home following a lengthy struggle with cancer. It was announced that a trophy had been bought by the Kanata Beaverbrook Community Association in Neil's name. The trophy would be awarded annually to the winning team from the Mayfair Lobball Tournament. Neil was survived by his wife Wendy and children, Tara and Jason. Kanata Standard, May 11, 1988:1.

 

May 3, 1988

The Kanata Standard reported that the area's first major track meet was held at A.Y. Jackson Secondary School. The winner of the senior ladies’ 800m was Earl of March's Kate Revell. Kanata Standard, May 11, 1988:19.

 

May 4, 1988

The Kanata Standard announced that the City of Kanata had issued a stop-work order on construction of the $9 million recreational complex in Walter Baker Park. The Standard reported that a major financial backer of the project had withdrawn. Kanata Standard, May 4, 1988:1.

 

May 4, 1988

The Kanata Standard announced that ex-convict Roger Caron had visited the Earl of March Secondary School to share some stories about of his life in the Kingston Penitentiary. Kanata Standard, May 4, 1988:11.

 

May 4, 1988

It was announced that the Kanata Torpedoes Tyke B Major House hockey team had ended their season with an awards ceremony. Awards went to: Most Valuable Player--Matt Durkin, Most Improved Player--David Kilne, Most Sportsmanlike Player--Randy (Road Runner) Lachance. Kanata Standard, May 4, 1988:24.

 

May 4, 1988

The Kanata Standard announced that Douglas MacDonald Developments had started leasing retail space for a new strip mall at the corner of Hazeldean Road and Castlefrank Road. Kanata Standard, May 4, 1988:36.

 

May 11, 1988

It was announced that veteran Kanata rockers, Us, had released a debut LP record after eight years of writing. Kanata Standard, May 11, 1988:5.

 

May 11, 1988

It was announced that Vanessa Koersvelt of Kanata had been accepted for membership in the United States Collegiate Wind Band. Kanata Standard, May 11, 1988:7.

 

May 11, 1988

It was announced that Rev. Kenneth Rutter was retiring at the end of May from St. Paul's Church. Kanata Standard, May 11, 1988:32.

 

May 17, 1988

Kanata City Council decided not to provide funding for the relocation of Hodgins’ stone homestead to a new site in Walter Baker Park on Terry Fox Drive. Kanata Standard, May 25, 1988:1.

 

May 18, 1988

The Bayshore Barracudas Swim Club announced their new executive, including President--Ferrers Clark. Kanata Standard, May 25, 1988:23.

 

May 13, 1988

Close to 300 parents and children marched in front of the Bridlewood Community Elementary School to protest the school board's refusal to demand that hydro lines going up beside the school be re-routed. Kanata Standard, May 18, 1988:1.

 

May 18, 1988

David Krajaefski, director of the planning department, announced that the City was "planning carefully" the development of Hazeldean Road to prevent the chaos of Bells Corners from happening in Kanata. Kanata Standard, May 18, 1988:1.

 

May 18, 1988

Paul Dick, MP for Lanark-Renfrew-Carleton, announced that he was seeking the nomination for the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in the new federal constituency of Lanark-Carleton. Kanata Standard, May 18, 1988:4.

 

May 18, 1988

The Kanata Standard announced that the Goulbourn-Stittsville Sanitation Company, which collected Kanata's garbage, had acquired a new seven-tonne truck designed specifically for collecting recyclables. Kanata Standard, May 18, 1988:12.

 

May 18, 1988

The Glen Cairn Men's Hockey League announced that their Most Valuable Player of the year was Brad Jotham. Kanata Standard,, May 18, 1988:18.

 

May 21, 1988

The Dowlings, a Kanata family of four, was left homeless after their house on Trotting Way was a victim of a break and enter and arson. The fire department estimated the damage at $150,000. Kanata Standard, June 1, 1988:1.

 

May 24, 1988

Kanata City Council received a report written by Alderman Bill Berry that made a series of recommendations to change the city's design committee, including the option of allowing development to bypass design committee scrutiny. Kanata Standard, May 25, 1988:1.

 

May 25, 1988

The Kanata Standard reported the results of the National Capital Secondary School Athletic Association's track and field championships. Earl of March's Anna Gunasekera won the junior girls 800m, 1500m, and 3000m races. Chris Dodunski and Theo Sanchuck placed second and third in the javelin event. Kanata Standard, May 25, 1988:24.

 

May 27, 1988

The Patricia Sekeres Classical Ballet Academy held its recital in the Earl of March auditorium. Kanata Standard, June 1, 1988:9.

 

May 29, 1988

The official ground-breaking ceremony was held for the new Bridlewood Bible Chapel. Kanata Standard, June 15, 1988:47.

 

May 30, 1988

The Mayfair pet show was the largest one yet with 60 contestants in four categories. Winner's were: Adrienne Powell's cat George, Jennifer Free's small dog Boots, and Danny Chu's large dog “His Royal Nibs.” Kanata Standard, June 22, 1988:15.

 

May 31, 1988

Demolition began on the historic Hodgins house. Kanata Standard, June 1, 1988:1.

 

June 1, 1988

The Community Resource Centre elected a new board of directors. Among those elected were: Shari Edwards, Don Ciavaglia, Brian Cornelius, Barbara Farmer, and Barbara Kincaid. Kanata Standard, June 15, 1988:37.

 

June 1, 1988

It was announced that Assistant Minister of Education Yvonne O'Neil had presented Carleton Board of Education chairman Hal Hansen with $3.6 million for the construction of two new elementary schools. Kanata Standard, June 1, 1988:6.

 

June 1, 1988

It was announced that blue recycling boxes had come to Kanata. Kanata Standard, June 1, 1988:17.

 

June 5, 1988

The Kanata Lakes Golf Club held the 1988 Pro-Am for professional and amateur golfers. The winning pro was David Ahern (Royal Ottawa), followed by Guy Robineau (Rivermead) and Al Jensen (Highlands). Kanata Standard, June 8, 1988:26.

 

June 5, 1988

Prince Edward, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II and fifth in line to the British throne, had visited Pinhey Point estate. Kanata Standard, June 8, 1988:3.

 

June 8, 1988

It was reported that Jason, Tara, and Wendy McLeod had presented the Neil McLeod Memorial Trophy to Nancy and George Medyaski, winners of the 1988 Mayfair Mixed Lobball Tournament. Kanata Standard, June 8, 1988:10.

 

June 8, 1988

The Kanata-Beaverbrook Community Association announced that it had elected a new executive: President--Clayton Hemond, First Vice-President--Ian Cumming, Second Vice-President--Francoise Sinclair, Secretary--Sandy Hillary, Treasurer--Erm Boyd. Kanata Standard, June 8, 1988:29.

 

June 10-12, 1988

The Sixth Annual Vic Hossack Open Tennis Tournament was held at the Glen Cairn Tennis Club. Winners were: under 12--Nadia Belanger, Darin Davidson; Under 14--Michelle Sching, Adam Sherriff-Scott; Under 16--Evan Janusak, Michel Lipski; Under 18--Glen Harwood. Kanata Standard, June 15, 1988:36.

 

June 15, 1988

The Kanata Standard announced that nearly every trade organization involved in the construction of the Parkland Coliseum on Terry Fox Drive had registered a lien against the property. Kanata Standard, June 15, 1988:1.

 

June 15, 1988

A group of Glen Cairn residents announced they were appealing a decision by Kanata City Council which had cleared the way for commercial development along Hazeldean Road. Kanata Standard, June 15, 1988:3.

 

June 15, 1988

It was reported that the 18th Kanata Texaco Ladies Invitational had been held. The champion was Judy Collins of Rideau View, followed by Kanata residents Maureen Dunnigan and Dorothy McEvoy. Kanata Standard, June 15, 1988:30.

 

June 15, 1988

The winners were announced for the father-and-son section of the Remington Family Doubles Competition at the March Tennis Club: Kevin and Peter Guest defeated Gerry and Danny Venier. Kanata Standard, June 15, 1988:35.

 

June 21, 1988

It was announced that the grants review committee had given the Kanata Youth Drop-In Centre $700 to purchase equipment for recreational use and the Kanata Bicycle Club was given an $800 start-up grant. Kanata Standard, July 6, 1988:3.

 

June 22, 1988

The Kanata Standard announced that the 911 emergency telephone number had finally become available in the Ottawa-Carleton region. Kanata Standard, June 22, 1988:1.

 

June 29, 1988

The Kanata Standard reported that Russell Steacy, a spokesperson for the numbered company in charge of the Kanata Parkland Coliseum project's development, had said that the city had refused to honour a letter which he said offered investors help in the event of financial difficulties. Kanata Standard, June 29, 1988:1.

 

June 29, 1988

It was announced that Kanata City Council had decided to put a freeze on all commercial development along March Road until a study could be done that would map out the retail future on the regional road. Kanata Standard, June 29, 1988:4.

 

June 29, 1988

An article appeared in the Standard about Kanata resident Francis Balodis founding of the International Music for Young Children program. Kanata Standard, June 29, 1988:8.

 

July 5, 1988

Alderman Beverly Read introduced a motion to council to cut the salary for the position of regional alderman to that of a ward alderman. Kanata Standard, July 6, 1988:3.

 

July 6, 1988

The Kanata Standard said that the City of Kanata's new group homes policy, if adopted, would make it virtually impossible to establish halfway houses for ex-convicts and young offenders in Kanata. Kanata Standard, July 6, 1988:1.

 

July 6, 1988

It was announced that the National Capital Commission had agreed to allow a Bridlewood developer to install sewers on nearby Greenbelt land which had recently suffered flooding over an area of about 50 acres. Kanata Standard, July 6, 1988:1.

 

July 6, 1988

Kanata City Council announced that it had expanded its no-smoking policy to Kanata's two firehalls. Kanata Standard, July 6, 1988:13.

 

July 6, 1988

It was reported that Constable Ian Black was stepping down as the Kanata OPP's community services officer after three years in the position. Kanata Standard, July 6, 1988:16.

 

July 1, 1988

The second annual Motionware-Kanata 5/10 km road race was held. The winners were: 5 km--Paul Leroux, Cheryl Youldon; 10 km--Gary Hutchinson, Laura Konantz. Kanata Standard, July 6, 1988:24.

 

July 13, 1988

It was announced that Janre Construction Ltd., a Gatineau homebuilder, had agreed to finish construction on a stalled business condominium project in the Kanata South Business Park. Kanata Standard, July 13, 1988:1.

 

July 13, 1988

Regional Alderman Eva James said that she would continue to seek re-election despite a Kanata City Council decision that cut the position's $26,000 salary in half. Kanata Standard, July 13, 1988:3.

 

July 13, 1988

It was announced that Kanata City Council had approved its policy that would keep new group homes and halfway houses out of Kanata. Kanata Standard, July 13, 1988:6.

 

July 13, 1988

It was reported that members of the Kanata-March Horticultural Society brought home honours from the Ontario Horticultural Association’s Annual Convention held at Carleton University. Gail Brooker and Lenore Fentiman took first prizes for their specimen flowers and Chris Temple took a second with her decorative arrangement. Kanata Standard, July 13, 1988:12.

 

July 13, 1988

It was announced that Kelly Williams of Beaverbrook had been chosen as one of the new members of the Ontario Provincial Under-20 Women's Volleyball Team. Kanata Standard, July 13, 1988:19.

 

July 13, 1988

According to Carleton Board of Education chairman and Kanata trustee Hal Hansen, because of a new provincial government directive, all new elementary schools constructed in the province would have built-in child care facilities.Hal Hansen. Kanata Standard, July 13, 1988:26.

 

July 12, 1988

Five three-week-old peregrine falcons arrived in the region on an Air Canada flight from Wainright, Alberta. Kanata was to become their new refuge. Kanata Standard, July 20, 1988:1.

 

July 16, 1988

A Canadian Medical Association survey found that children as young as 12 years of age had no trouble purchasing tobacco products at Kanata stores and restaurants. Kanata Standard, July 27, 1988:2.

 

July 17, 1988

Kathleen Milne of Kanata, swimming with the Nepean Masters Swim Club, won the gold medal for her age group in the 50-metre butterfly event at the 1988 Ontario Masters Championships. Kanata Standard, Aug. 3, 1988:10.

 

July 19, 1988

Site plan approval was given by Kanata City Council to Douglas MacDonald Developments' new strip mall at Castlefrank Road and Lombardo Drive. Kanata Standard, July 27, 1988:4.

 

July 20, 1988

It was announced that Beaverbrook resident Harry Rowsell was presented the Order of Canada award by Governor General Jeanne Sauvé. Kanata Standard, July 20, 1988:1.

 

July 20, 1988

It was reported that Bill Cox of Carleton Place had decided to seek the NDP nomination for the new federal riding of Lanark-Carleton. Kanata Standard, July 20, 1988:2.

 

July 20, 1988

The Kanata Standard announced that the Kanata residents group, Bridlewood Residents Hydro Line Committee, had appointed a new law firm to help stop Ontario Hydro from stringing high-powered transmission lines through the middle of Bridlewood. Kanata Standard, July 20, 1988:4.

 

July 20, 1988

The Kanata Standard reported that radon, a radioactive gas proven to cause lung cancer with long-term exposure, was more prevalent in Kanata than most Canadian cities, according to a testing company located in Kanata. Kanata Standard, July 20, 1988:5.

 

July 20, 1988

It was announced that Kanata resident Dale Band, 19, had been awarded a full scholarship to play for Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. Kanata Standard, July 20, 1988:20.

 

July 27, 1988

The Kanata Standard reported that despite a recent investigation into drug activity at the Kanata Town Centre, hashish was continuing to be sold by dealers at the mall. Kanata Standard, July 27, 1988:1.

 

August 3, 1988

Reverend Don Anderson, the Kanata United Church minister, announced that he was appealing the restrictive bylaw passed by Kanata Council to keep halfway houses and group homes out of the city. Kanata Standard, Aug. 3, 1988:1.

 

August 10, 1988

Carleton Board of Education chairman and Kanata trustee Hal Hansen said that the overcrowding at Bridlewood Community Elementary School was a result of the outdated provincial government Capital Grant Plan. Kanata Standard, Aug. 10, 1988:1.

 

August 10, 1988

It was announced that Kanata City Council had granted approval for a senior citizens’ retirement residence slated for Katimavik on McGibbon Drive in the Kanata Town Centre’s southwest quadrant. Kanata Standard, Aug. 10, 1988:3.

 

August 10, 1988

It was announced that Philip David Reeve, 19, a junior golfer from Kanata, had had his Canadian Golf Foundation scholarship renewed. Kanata Standard, Aug. 10, 1988:19. Kanata Standard, Aug. 10, 1988:19.

 

August 13, 1988

Dan Dorans, 25, of Kanata, captured first place in the street bike division of the NRC Canadian Motorcycle Nationals held in Cayuga, Ontario. Kanata Standard, Aug. 24, 1988:26.

 

August 16, 1988

Kanata City Council approved the official plan for South March's Riddell Village, the first retirement community designed with help from seniors. Kanata Standard, Aug. 24, 1988:5.

 

August 17, 1988

The Kanata Standard reported that the Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.'s Radiochemical Company and their Medical Products Division, both located in Kanata, would be transferred to the Canadian Development Investment Corporation, a government holding company. Kanata Standard, Aug. 17, 1988:1.

 

August 17, 1988

It was announced that former Kanata Standard editor and Beaverbrook resident, George Shaw, hoped to begin a Kanata Sun newspaper, distributed every Sunday. Kanata Standard, Aug. 17, 1988:1.

 

August 17, 1988

The 1988 Ottawa Valley Selects Minor Atom "AAA" hockey club placed second at the Canada Day hockey series in Arnprior. Kanata Standard, Aug. 17, 1988:19.

 

August 24, 1988

It was reported that Regional Alderman Eva James was considering whether to run for mayor in the upcoming municipal election. Kanata Standard, Aug. 24, 1988:1.

 

August 24, 1988

It was announced that Kanata City Council had thrown its support behind a move by the Kanata Business Association to establish a Kanata Chamber of Commerce that would be independent from the Nepean-Kanata Chamber of Commerce. Kanata Standard, Aug. 24, 1988:3.

 

August 31, 1988

Judy Hunter announced that she would run for the position of alderman in the community of Bridlewood in the November 14 municipal election. Kanata Standard, Aug. 31, 1988:1.

 

August 31, 1988

Kanata Mayor Des Adam said that developers and homeowners would lose out if the Ontario Cabinet approved a new policy forcing municipalities to provide more affordable housing. Kanata Standard, Aug. 31, 1988:1.

 

August 31, 1988

It was announced that Kanata's Gail-Ettes baton corps won the prestigious World Show Production held at Indiana's Notre Dame University. Kanata Standard, Aug. 31, 1988:24.

 

August 31, 1988

It was announced that the Beige Cougars beat the Navy Nerds in the final soccer tournament in the Tyke Division of the Kanata Football Club's 1988 season. Kanata Standard, Aug. 31, 1988:25.

 

August 31, 1988

The Kanata Standard reported that Odyssey Books had closed its Town Centre mall location. Kanata Standard, Aug. 31, 1988:32.

 

Enough spiders! Here is another Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) butterfly working new flowers of non-native Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii, Scrophulariaceae or Buddlejaceae) in the garden. It's nice that this shrub is starting to flower again for the season - and we never did get around to dead-heading it. There are other insects in the woods, but it's just been too darn hot to go chasing them. And I'm afraid that the insects have taken a real hit from this week of triple-digit days. (San Marcos Pass, 3 September 2017)

 

Today started hot, about 95° in the morning, but then it cooled down to the 80s. We even got lots of thunder and a bit of rain - an honest 1/100 inch! I know, that's not much - but this is the middle of our dry season, so any rain is welcome. Temps in the 80s were pleasant today, but there was also 80% humidity - if the neighbor's weather station can be trusted. That's "80 and 80" conditions - it feels hotter than it is. We're actually under a NWS Flash Flood Watch tonight with a 60% chance of more rain. Bring it on!

"I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. Not just me, a lot of people put an incredible amount of their life into this thing, and it all fell apart. For all of us, in that sense, [Lost in La Mancha] is the only postcard we've got of what happened." --Terry Gilliam

 

This disaster actually happened.

When Johnny Depp signed on for The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, reteaming with director Terry Gilliam and costarring with his real-life partner Vanessa Paradis, I instantly couldn't wait to see it! Johnny was to play Toby Grosini, a modern-day advertising executive who travels back into the 17th century, where Don Quixote (Jean Rochefort) mistakes him for Sancho Panza. Vanessa Paradis was to play Johnny's love interest, Altisidora.

 

It's tragic that this project never got off the ground. (Tragic, I tell you!) But Lost in La Mancha is a worthy keepsake. This fascinating documentary chronicles Terry Gilliam's efforts to get The Man Who Killed Don Quixote made, starting from preproduction and ending after the sixth day of shooting, by which time they accomplished completing about 7 minutes of film. Everything possible went wrong, and they were all out of the director's control--illness, F16 drills, monumental storms, floods. This was an extreme case of fate.

 

The curse of Don Quixote lives!

In 1957, Orson Welles started working on his own version of Don Quixote, the story of a delusional old man wearing a homemade suit of armor who seeks adventure with his sidekick, Sancho Panza. The film was left unfinished when he died in 1982, and I hope the same doesn't happen to Terry Gilliam! Whenever I watch Lost in La Mancha, I'm reminded that I still want to see The Man Who Killed Don Quixote--Gilliam-style!

 

Because I love movies, I love this documentary, which offers a behind-the-scenes look at the tedium of moviemaking (basically lots of meetings and zillions of details). Fascinating, right? Well, what I find exhilarating is watching a team of people bring one person's vision to life--building sets and designing costumes, talking through the script and rehearsing scenes, etc.--especially when that person is as imaginative a director as Terry Gilliam is.

 

Terry Gilliam began working on The Man Who Killed Don Quixote in 1991. He had tried to film it in 1999, but funding for it fell through. This second attempt was to be the most expensive film made solely with European funds, and it's only half of the budget that the director needed. Terry Gilliam has a bad reputation when it comes to financing, which is why he went to Europe to make this movie. It stems from his experience making The Adventures of Baron Munchausen in 1988. During that shoot, problem after problem occurred and spending got out of control. The film was finished but didn't recoup its losses at the box office, and it got around town that Terry Gilliam was a wild director who didn't know how to manage. I'll never understand the taste of the general public, but The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is one of my all-time favorite movies, and it's because Terry Gilliam made it just right.

 

Lost in La Mancha hints at how The Man Who Killed Don Quixote might become Munchaussen Revisited for the director, but these new problems were unavoidable. While Terry Gilliam is an over-the-top showman who's entertaining to watch doing just about anything, the film combats his reputation by reflecting a serious, methodical director with a clear plan.

 

He asked filmmakers Luis Pepe and Keith Fulton to create a diary of the making of this film. "It may be the kind of narcissism that wants to see what the truth is--Because I don't know what reality is, let's assume that for a moment," Terry Gilliam says. "And here's a chance for someone to record what's really going on and then maybe learn something." Having worked with Terry Gilliam before on a documentary about the making of one of his other movies, 12 Monkeys, it's pretty amazing to see how much they capture in this one and how candid everyone is on film as things begin to go downhill. "It's not an exploitative kind of documentary," co-director Keith Fulton says, "It depicts a disaster, but it doesn't take it apart and look to see whose fault it was because, in fact, it wasn't really anyone's fault. It was a lot of ugly fate at work in what took this film down."

 

Here's a few of the problems during preproduction and on the set of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote that get Terry Gilliam and company Lost in La Mancha:

 

-- Star Jean Rochefort becomes ill the day before filming is to begin. Terry Gilliam decides to shoot scenes that don't involve him until he returns.

 

-- The first location to be shot is a NATO bombing training area. Officials say they'll only be training for an hour each day, which really meant all day long and ruined any chance of recording suitable audio. Johnny describes being near target practice of the F16s: "I remember being completely shocked by the sound of this plane screaming in--deafening! Between the set, where we were shooting, and the base camp, which is where our trailers were, you heard the plane scream and then a bomb exploding--and fire, a little blast of fire."

 

-- During lunch on the second day, the clear sunny sky is invaded by black clouds of death. Unlike everyone else who takes cover as rain and hail drench the desert, Terry Gilliam finds a rock to sit under and waits it out: "It was a great, biblical storm. It was God's vengeance! It was everything you ever hoped for! Everything howled, shattered, and crashed, and the rain was coming down, and this barren land was suddenly full of waterfalls! Then, it turned to hail the size of golf balls! And, I'm under this rock yelling, 'Yes! Yes! Gimmie all you got! You're not going to get me!'"

 

-- The rain stops, Terry Gilliam emerges from under his rock, and finds that everything is washed away--Everything. "There's nothing left. The tents are down. The sets are gone. The people are gone. There's nothing but mud as far as you can see," he describes. "I thought, 'I'm free at last. This burden of a film is off me, and I don't have to do it again!'"

 

-- On Day 4, the land is dry again, but the water from the storm has changed the landscape's hue and shape. It looks completely different and won't match the scenes that have already been shot on Day 1.

 

-- Finally, there's some good news: Jean Rochefort returns and shoots a scene! And, then there's bad news: It's clear that he's in serious pain. A few days later, doctors discover that the star has a double-herniated disc. His return is questionable.

 

After a while, the filmmakers felt awkward hanging around with cameras with everything falling apart around them. They called Terry Gilliam to voice their concerns, and he told them to keep going: "I've been working for 10 years to try and make this film. It's starting to look like I might not get to make the film, which means only one film is going to come out of it, and it's not going to be mine. So, it better be yours."

 

Don't worry, nothing happens to Johnny!

Because much of this documentary covers preproduction, Johnny isn't in Lost in La Mancha very much. He shows up, fresh from the set of Chocolat, about a week before shooting. If, like me, you love to see the man at work, there are some snippets of him discussing the script with Terry Gilliam and Jean Rochefort and--of course--some of him acting whatever scenes they could actually get in the can that first day. If, like me, you are also perfectly happy watching Johnny just sit around sipping coffee or whatever, there's some of that too. Among the DVD special features, he'll treat you to some interviews about the experience too.

 

Johnny was eager to work with Terry Gilliam again, having really enjoyed the experience of working with him on Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas in the '90s. "He is a lunatic, but I mean that as a great, great compliment because Terry, in a lot of ways, is really free. He's not bound by the realities that 'this is possible, this is not possible.' Terry's a great dreamer. He's able to put his visions into an arena and make them come true."

 

Despite everything, Johnny remained optimistic: "Against all odds, it felt like it was going to be a really great film." But Vanessa Paradis never even made it to the set. She arrived to do costume and makeup tests, seen to the right, but she wasn't scheduled to arrive on the set until Day 7--the day after everything shut down.

 

Vanessa Paradis is hugely popular in her native France as a model, singer, and actress. Johnny met her 1998 while filming The Ninth Gate in Paris, and they have two kids together. They've never worked on film together before, and I've barely heard Vanessa speak any English during their 14-year relationship, so I was keen to see her in this movie, where she would be in an English-speaking role. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. And, since she and Johnny decided to go their separate ways last June, I don't think it's going to happen. Sad, all around.

 

What now?

After everything that happened, Terry Gilliam remains defiant: "I'm going to make the film. I may have to recast the thing. There are a lot of things that may be different, but it's too good a script. I just know it's good. Everyone who reads it says this is magic. "As the years have gone by, he has fought to regain the rights to his script from investors, and Johnny's schedule has become increasing packed. The last I heard, our hero director had his script back and recast the film with Robert Duvall as Don Quixote and Ewan McGregor as Toby Grosini. (I'll take it!) He hopes they'll start shooting next spring. Keep your fingers crossed.

 

For a glimpse of what The Man Who Killed Don Quixote could be, you can see the trailer to Lost in La Mancha on YouTube: youtu.be/5dGJnttADJA

 

Fish fights? Giants? I don't know what it all means, but--come on--don't you want to see it?!

 

Do The Kitties need to know what's going on?

Rather than focus on all the disasters and unfortunate events, The Kitties celebrate what little film Terry Gilliam was able to shoot of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. Contemplating the untimely demise of his 10-year project, Terry Gilliam (Norman) watches with (I think) Casting Director Irene Lamb (Ashes) a bit of film he shot of Johnny leading his horse through the desert. I think the horse is carrying Don Quixote (B.J.), but no one can say for sure because none of us has seen this movie!

 

What's next?

Johnny signs on to play a pirate in a Disney movie based on one of their run-down theme park rides. I keep the faith but am slightly worried that he may have lost some marbles.

 

For more images from Lost in La Mancha or information about Johnny Kitties, visit my blog, Melissa's Kitties: melissaconnolly.blogspot.com/2012/10/johnny-kitties-celeb...

 

The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272.

 

Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres have appeared on its stage. It is the venue for the BBC Proms concerts, which have been held there every summer since 1941. It is host to more than 390 shows in the main auditorium annually, including classical, rock and pop concerts, ballet, opera, film screenings with live orchestral accompaniment, sports, awards ceremonies, school and community events, and charity performances and banquets. A further 400 events are held each year in the non-auditorium spaces. Over its 153-year history, the hall has hosted people from various fields, including meetings held by suffragettes, speeches from Winston Churchill and Albert Einstein, fights by Lennox Lewis, exhibition bouts by Muhammad Ali, and concerts from regular performers at the venue such as Eric Clapton and Shirley Bassey.

 

The hall was originally to have been called the Central Hall of Arts and Sciences, but the name was changed to the Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences by Queen Victoria upon laying the Hall's foundation stone in 1867, in memory of her husband, Prince Albert, who had died six years earlier. It forms the practical part of a memorial to the Prince Consort; the decorative part is the Albert Memorial directly to the north in Kensington Gardens, now separated from the Hall by Kensington Gore.

 

History

1800s

In 1851 the Great Exhibition, organised by Prince Albert, the Prince Consort, was held in Hyde Park, London. The Exhibition was a success and led Prince Albert to propose the creation of a group of permanent facilities for the public benefit, which came to be known as Albertopolis. The Exhibition's Royal Commission bought Gore House, but it was slow to act, and in 1861 Prince Albert died without having seen his ideas come to fruition. However, a memorial was proposed for Hyde Park, with a Great Hall opposite.

 

The proposal was approved, and the site was purchased with some of the profits from the Exhibition. The Hall was designed by civil engineers Captain Francis Fowke and Major-General Henry Y. D. Scott of the Royal Engineers and built by Lucas Brothers. The designers were heavily influenced by ancient amphitheatres but had also been exposed to the ideas of Gottfried Semper while he was working at the South Kensington Museum. The recently opened Cirque d'Hiver in Paris was seen in the contemporary press as the design to outdo.[citation needed] The Hall was constructed mainly of Fareham Red brick, with terra cotta block decoration made by Gibbs and Canning of Tamworth.

 

The dome (designed by Rowland Mason Ordish) was made of wrought iron and glazed. There was a trial assembly of the dome's iron framework in Manchester; then it was taken apart again and transported to London by horse and cart. When the time came for the supporting structure to be removed from the dome after reassembly in situ, only volunteers remained on site in case the structure collapsed. It did drop – but only by five-sixteenths of an inch (7.9 mm). The Hall was scheduled to be completed by Christmas Day 1870, and the Queen visited a few weeks beforehand to inspect.

 

The official opening ceremony of the Hall was on 29 March 1871. This had originally been scheduled for 1 May, the twentieth anniversary of the opening of the Great Exhibition, but was brought forward at the request of Queen Victoria. A welcoming speech was given by Edward, the Prince of Wales because the Queen was too overcome to speak; "her only recorded comment on the Hall was that it reminded her of the British constitution".

 

The composer, organist, and choir conductor William Carter founded and directed a choir specifically for the opening of Royal Albert Hall. In the concert that followed, the Hall's acoustic problems immediately became apparent. Engineers first tried to remove the strong echo by suspending a canvas awning below the dome. This helped and also sheltered concert-goers from the sun, but the problem was not solved: it used to be jokingly said the Hall was "the only place where a British composer could be sure of hearing his work twice".

 

In July 1871, French organist Camille Saint-Saëns performed Church Scene from Faust by Charles Gounod; The Orchestra described his performance as "an exceptional and distinguished performer ... the effect was most marvellous."

 

Initially lit by gas, the Hall contained a special system by which thousands of gas jets were lit within ten seconds. Though it was demonstrated as early as 1873 in the Hall, full electric lighting was not installed until 1888. During an early trial when a partial installation was made, one disgruntled patron wrote to The Times, declaring it to be "a very ghastly and unpleasant innovation".

 

In May 1877, Richard Wagner himself conducted the first half of each of the eight concerts which made up the Grand Wagner Festival. After his turn with the baton, he handed it over to conductor Hans Richter and sat in a large armchair on the corner of the stage for the rest of each concert. Wagner's wife Cosima, the daughter of Hungarian virtuoso pianist and composer Franz Liszt, was among the audience.

 

The Wine Society was founded at the Hall on 4 August 1874,[16] after large quantities of cask wine were found in the cellars. A series of lunches were held to publicise the wines, and General Henry Scott proposed a co-operative company to buy and sell wines.

 

1900s

In 1906, Elsie Fogerty founded the Central School of Speech and Drama at the Hall, using its West Theatre, now the Elgar Room, as the school's theatre. The school moved to Swiss Cottage in north London in 1957. Whilst the school was based at the Royal Albert Hall, students who graduated from its classes included Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Lynn Redgrave, Harold Pinter, Laurence Olivier and Peggy Ashcroft.

 

In 1911, Russian pianist and composer Sergei Rachmaninoff performed as a part of the London Ballad Concert. The recital included his 'Prelude in C-sharp minor' and 'Elegie in E-flat minor' (both from Morceaux de Fantaisie).

 

In 1933, German physicist Albert Einstein led the 'Einstein Meeting' at the hall for the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics, a British charity.

 

In 1936, the Hall was the scene of a giant rally celebrating the British Empire on the occasion of the centenary of Joseph Chamberlain's birth. In October 1942, the Hall suffered minor damage during World War II bombing, but in general was left mostly untouched as German pilots used the distinctive structure as a landmark.

 

In 1949, the canvas awning was removed and replaced with fluted aluminium panels below the glass roof, in a new attempt to cure the echo; but the acoustics were not properly tackled until 1969 when large fibreglass acoustic diffusing discs (commonly referred to as "mushrooms" or "flying saucers") were installed below the ceiling. In 1968, the Hall hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 which on television was broadcast live in colour for the first time, and from 1969 to 1988 the Miss World contest was staged in the venue.

 

From 1996 until 2004, the Hall underwent a programme of renovation and development supported by a £20 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £20m from Arts Council England to enable it to meet the demands of the next century of events and performances. Thirty "discreet projects" were designed and supervised by the architecture and engineering firm BDP without disrupting events. These projects included improved ventilation to the auditorium, more bars and restaurants, improved seating, better technical facilities, and improved backstage areas. Internally, the Circle seating was rebuilt during June 1996 to provide more legroom, better access, and improved sightlines.

 

2000s

The largest project of the ongoing renovation and development was the building of a new south porch – door 12, accommodating a first-floor restaurant, new ground floor box office and subterranean loading bay. Although the exterior of the building was largely unchanged, the south steps leading down to Prince Consort Road were demolished to allow construction of underground vehicle access and a loading bay with accommodation for three HGVs carrying all the equipment brought by shows. The steps were then reconstructed around a new south porch, named The Meitar Foyer after a significant donation from Mr & Mrs Meitar. The porch was built on a similar scale and style to the three pre-existing porches at Door 3, 6 and 9: these works were undertaken by Taylor Woodrow Construction. On 4 June 2004, the project received the Europa Nostra Award for remarkable achievement.

 

The East (Door 3) and West (Door 9) porches were glazed and new bars opened along with ramps to improve disabled access. The Stalls were rebuilt in a four-week period in 2000 using steel supports allowing more space underneath for two new bars; 1,534 unique pivoting seats were laid – with an addition of 180 prime seats. The Choirs were rebuilt at the same time. The whole building was redecorated in a style that reinforces its Victorian identity. 43,000 sq ft (4,000 m2) of new carpets were laid in the rooms, stairs, and corridors – specially woven with a border that follows the oval curve of the building.

 

Between 2002 and 2004, there was a major rebuilding of the great organ (known as the Voice of Jupiter), built by "Father" Henry Willis in 1871 and rebuilt by Harrison & Harrison in 1924 and 1933. The rebuilding was performed by Mander Organs, and it is now the second-largest pipe organ in the British Isles with 9,997 pipes in 147 stops. The largest is the Grand Organ in Liverpool Cathedral which has 10,268 pipes.

 

During the first half of 2011, changes were made to the backstage areas to relocate and increase the size of crew catering areas under the South Steps away from the stage and create additional dressing rooms nearer to the stage.

  

The Royal Albert Hall as seen from Prince Consort Road

From January to May 2013, the Box Office area at Door 12 underwent further modernisation to include a new Café Bar on the ground floor, a new Box Office with shop counters and additional toilets. The design and construction were carried out by contractor 8Build. Upon opening it was renamed 'The Zvi and Ofra Meitar Porch and Foyer.' owing to a large donation from the couple.

 

In Autumn 2013, work began on replacing the Victorian steam heating system over three years and improving cooling across the building. This work followed the summer Proms season during which temperatures were unusually high. Further heatwaves led to a rebuild of the Rausing Circle level in 2021 with air-cooling ventilation installed, significantly decreasing heat there during hot weather.

 

In 2017 work began on a two-story 11,000-square-foot (1,000 m2) basement extension for use as backstage and archival space to the south-west quadrant of the building. The project is nicknamed the "Great Excavation", in reference to the Great Exhibition of 1851, and was planned to be complete for the Hall's 150th anniversary in 2021. A new archive space opened in the extension on 12 October 2023.

 

In 2018 a Walk of Fame was unveiled at the Hall, with the first eleven recipients of a star including the Suffragettes (who held meetings at the Hall), Winston Churchill and Albert Einstein (both of whom delivered speeches here), Muhammad Ali (who had exhibition events at a venue he dubbed a 'helluva hall'), and Eric Clapton (who has played the venue over 200 times), among others, who were viewed as "key players" in the building's history.

 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions meant the Hall was closed in March 2020 for the first time since the Second World War. During winter 2020 it reopened for three socially distanced performances but was then closed for a second period, finally reopening to full capacity in July 2021.

 

On 11 November 2023, before the Festival of Remembrance, King Charles III and Queen Camilla unveiled two bronze statues of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, as part of the Hall's 150th anniversary.

 

Design

The Hall, a Grade I listed building, is an ellipse in plan, with its external major and minor axes of 272 and 236 feet (83 and 72 meters), and its internal minor and major axis of 185 and 219 feet (56 and 67 m). The great glass and wrought-iron dome roofing the Hall is 135 ft (41 m) high. The Hall was originally designed with a capacity for 8,000 people and has accommodated as many as 12,000 (although present-day safety restrictions mean the maximum permitted capacity is now 5,272 including standing in the Gallery).

 

Around the outside of the building is 800-foot–long terracotta mosaic frieze, depicting "The Triumph of Arts and Sciences", in reference to the Hall's dedication. Proceeding anti-clockwise from the north side the sixteen subjects of the frieze are:

 

Various Countries of the World bringing in their Offerings to the Exhibition of 1851

Music

Sculpture

Painting

Princes, Art Patrons and Artists

Workers in Stone

Workers in Wood and Brick

Architecture

The Infancy of the Arts and Sciences

Agriculture

Horticulture and Land Surveying

Astronomy and Navigation

A Group of Philosophers, Sages and Students

Engineering

The Mechanical Powers

Pottery and Glassmaking

Above the frieze is an inscription in 12-inch-high (30 cm) terracotta letters that combine historical fact and Biblical quotations:

This hall was erected for the advancement of the arts and sciences and works of industry of all nations in fulfilment of the intention of Albert Prince Consort. The site was purchased with the proceeds of the Great Exhibition of the year MDCCCLI. The first stone of the Hall was laid by Her Majesty Queen Victoria on the twentieth day of May MDCCCLXVII and it was opened by Her Majesty the Twenty Ninth of March in the year MDCCCLXXI. Thine O Lord is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty. For all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine. The wise and their works are in the hand of God. Glory be to God on high and on earth peace.

 

Below the Arena floor there is room for two 4,000 gallon water tanks, which are used for shows that flood the arena like Madame Butterfly.

 

The Hall has been affectionately titled "The Nation's Village Hall". The first concert was Arthur Sullivan's cantata On Shore and Sea, performed on 1 May 1871.

 

Many events are promoted by the Hall, whilst since the early 1970s promoter Raymond Gubbay has brought a range of events to the Hall including opera, ballet and classical music. Some events include classical and rock concerts, conferences, banquets, ballroom dancing, poetry recitals, educational talks, motor shows, ballet, opera, film screenings and circus shows. It has hosted many sporting events, including boxing, squash, table tennis, basketball, wrestling including the first sumo wrestling tournament to be held in London as well as UFC 38 (the first UFC event to be held in the UK), tennis, and even a marathon. Tennis was first played at the Hall in March 1970, and the ATP Champions Tour Masters was played annually from 1997 to 2021.

 

The hall first hosted boxing in 1918, when it hosted a tournament between British and American servicemen. There was a colour bar in place at the Hall, preventing black boxers from fighting there, between 1923 and 1932. Greats of British boxing such as Frank Bruno, Prince Naseem Hamed, Henry Cooper and Lennox Lewis have all appeared at the venue. The hall's storied boxing history was halted in 1999 when it lost its licence to hold boxing and wrestling matches after complaints from residents about noise levels. In 2011, after a legal battle, the licence to host boxing and wrestling events was restored and boxing events resumed in 2012, taking place regularly until 2021. In 2019 Nicola Adams won the WBO Flyweight title which was the first fight for a world title at the venue since Marco Antonio Barrera took on Paul Lloyd in 1999.

 

One notable event was a Pink Floyd concert held on 26 June 1969, the night they were banned from ever playing at the Hall again after shooting cannons, nailing things to the stage, and having a man in a gorilla suit roam the audience. At one point, Rick Wright went to the pipe organ and began to play "The End of the Beginning", the final part of "Saucerful of Secrets", joined by the brass section of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (led by the conductor, Norman Smith) and the ladies of the Ealing Central Amateur Choir.[49] A portion of the pipe organ recording is included on Pink Floyd's album The Endless River.

 

In 1983, Siouxsie and the Banshees performed two sold out concerts at the hall at the time their line up featured the Cure's guitarist Robert Smith. The shows were recorded and filmed for the live album and DVD Nocturne.

 

On 22 September 2011, Adele performed a one-night-only concert as part of her tour. The concert was filmed for DVD and screened at cinemas in 26 cities around the world. Her performance debuted at number one in the United States with 96,000 copies sold, the highest one-week tally for a music DVD in four years. After one week, it became the best-selling music DVD of 2011. As of 28 November 2012, it had surpassed sales of one million copies in the United States and sales of three million copies worldwide and makes the first music DVD to surpass sales of one million in the USA since Eagles' Farewell 1 Tour-Live from Melbourne in 2005 (Garth Brooks' The Ultimate Hits sold one million copies in 2007, but was a CD/DVD combination). The live version of "Set Fire to the Rain" taken from her performance won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards in 2013.

 

On 2 October 2011, the Hall staged the 25th-anniversary performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, which was broadcast live to cinemas across the world and filmed for DVD. Lloyd Webber, the original London cast including Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford, and four previous actors of the titular character, among others, were in attendance – Brightman and the previous Phantoms (aside from Crawford) performed an encore.

 

On 19 November 2012, the Hall hosted the 100th-anniversary performance of the Royal Variety Performance, attended by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with boy-band One Direction among the performers. The Royal Variety Performance has since returned to the Hall in 2015 and every year since 2021.

 

In 2017 the Hall hosted the 70th British Academy Film Awards, often referred to as the BAFTAs, for the first time in 20 years, replacing the Royal Opera House at which the event had been held since 2008. The BAFTAs were held regularly at the venue until moving to the Royal Festival Hall in 2023. The Olivier Awards also moved to the Albert Hall in 2017 and will return in 2024.

 

Former regular events include Classical Spectacular, a Raymond Gubbay production, which performed at the Hall from 1989 to 2022. It combined popular classical music, lights and special effects. Between 1996 and 2008, the Hall hosted the annual National Television Awards all of which were hosted by Sir Trevor McDonald, and the Classic Brit Awards were hosted annually at the Hall from 2000 to 2013, and again in 2018. The Institute of Directors' Annual Convention was synonymous with the Hall for over 50 years, taking place most years between 1961 and 2016.

 

Regular events

Royal Choral Society

The Royal Choral Society is the longest-running regular performance at the Hall, having given its first performance as the Royal Albert Hall Choral Society on 8 May 1872. From 1876, it established the annual Good Friday performance of Handel's Messiah.

 

BBC Proms

The BBC Sir Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, known as "The Proms", is a popular annual eight-week summer season of daily classical music concerts and other events at the Hall. In 1941, following the destruction of the Queen's Hall in an air raid, the Hall was chosen as the new venue for the Proms. In 1944 with increased danger to the Hall, part of the Proms season was held in the Bedford Corn Exchange. Following the end of World War II the Proms continued being held in the Hall and have done so annually every summer since. The event was founded in 1895, and now each season consists of over 70 concerts, in addition to a series of events at other venues across the United Kingdom. In 2009, the total number of concerts reached 100 for the first time. Jiří Bělohlávek described The Proms as "the world's largest and most democratic musical festival" of all such events in the world of classical music festivals.

 

Proms (short for promenade concerts) is a term which arose from the original practice of the audience promenading, or strolling, in some areas during the concert. Proms concert-goers, particularly those who stand, are sometimes described as "Promenaders", but are most commonly referred to as "Prommers".

 

Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil has performed annually, with a show being staged at the start of most years since 1996. Cirque has had to adapt many of their touring shows to perform at the venue, modifying the set, usually built for arenas or big top tents instead. The following shows have played the RAH: Saltimbanco (1996, 1997 and 2003), Alegría (1998, 1999, 2006, 2007 and 2024), Dralion (2004 and 2005), Varekai (2008 and 2010), Quidam (2009 and 2014), Totem (2011, 2012 and 2019), Koozå (2013 and 2015), Amaluna (2016 and 2017), OVO (2018), Luzia (2020 and 2022) and Kurios (2023). Alegria's 2024 return is a revamped and updated version of the original, titled Alegria: In a New Light.

 

Classic FM Live

Classic FM hold a popular concert twice a year with a regularly changing lineup. The concert in September 2013 had to be cancelled due to a fire alert in the Hall's basement leading to an evacuation of the building

 

Festival of Remembrance

The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance is held annually the day before Remembrance Sunday.

 

English National Ballet

Since 1998 the English National Ballet has had several specially staged arena summer seasons in partnership with the Hall. These include Strictly Gershwin, June 2008 and 2011, Swan Lake, June 2002, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2024, Romeo & Juliet (Deane), June 2001 and 2005, The Sleeping Beauty, April – June 2000, and Cinderella June 2019 and 2023.

 

The Salvation Army

The Hall has a long association with The Salvation Army, hosting over 400 events since 1895. It continues to host the Salvation Army's annual Christmas concert, featuring celebrity guests and Salvation Army musicians, including the International Staff Songsters and International Staff Band.

 

Teenage Cancer Trust

Starting in 2000 the Teenage Cancer Trust has held annual charity concerts in most years. They started as a one-off event but have expanded over the years to a week or more of evening events. Roger Daltrey of The Who was intimately involved with the planning of the events until 2024, his final year in charge includes performances from Young Fathers, Noel Gallagher and The Chemical Brothers.

 

Graduation ceremonies

The Hall is used annually by the neighbouring Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art for graduation ceremonies. For several years the University of London and Kingston University also held its graduation ceremonies at the Hall.

 

National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain

§ The National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, one of the most prestigious prizes in the annual brass band contesting calendar, holds the Final of the Championship section at the Royal Albert Hall each October

 

Films, premières and live orchestra screenings

The venue has screened several films since the early silent days. It was the only London venue to show William Fox's The Queen of Sheba in the 1920s.

 

The Hall has hosted many premières, including the UK première of Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen, 101 Dalmatians on 4 December 1996, the European première of Spandau Ballet's Soul Boys of the Western World and four James Bond royal world premières; Die Another Day on 18 November 2002 (attended by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip), Skyfall on 23 October 2012 (attended by Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall), Spectre on 26 October 2015 (attended by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge) and No Time to Die on 28 September 2021 (attended by Charles, Camilla, William, Catherine).

 

The Hall held its first 3D world première of Titanic 3D, on 27 March 2012, with James Cameron and Kate Winslet in attendance. Since 2009, the Hall has also curated regular seasons of English-language film-and-live-orchestra screenings, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gladiator, Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, Interstellar, The Matrix, West Side Story, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Back to the Future, Jaws, the Harry Potter series, Black Panther, and the world première of Titanic Live in Concert. The only non-English-language movie to have been screened at the Hall is Baahubali: The Beginning (an Indian movie in Telugu and Tamil, but premiered Hindi dubbed version).

 

Beyond the main stage

The Hall hosts hundreds of events and activities beyond its main auditorium. There are regular free art exhibitions in the ground floor Amphi corridor, which can be viewed when attending events or on dedicated viewing dates. Visitors can take a guided tour of the Hall on most days, which includes most front-of-house areas, the auditorium, the Gallery and the Royal Retiring Room. Other tours include Behind the Scenes, Inside Out and School tours. Children's events include Storytelling and Music Sessions for ages four and under. These take place in the Door 3 Porch and Albert's Band sessions in the Elgar Room during school holidays. "Late Night Jazz" events in the Elgar Room, generally on a Thursday night, feature cabaret-style seating and a relaxed atmosphere with drinks available. "Classical Coffee Mornings" are held on Sundays in the Elgar Room with musicians from the Royal College of Music accompanied with drinks and pastries.

 

Regular performers

Eric Clapton is a regular performer at the Hall. Since 1964, Clapton has performed at the Hall over 200 times, and has stated that performing at the venue is like "playing in my front room". In December 1964, Clapton made his first appearance at the Hall with the Yardbirds. It was also the venue for his band Cream's farewell concerts in 1968 and reunion shows in 2005. He also instigated the Concert for George, which was held at the Hall on 29 November 2002 to pay tribute to Clapton's lifelong friend, former Beatle George Harrison, as well as the Jeff Beck Tribute concerts held in May 2023. Clapton passed 200 shows at the Hall in 2015 and his next concerts are scheduled for May 2024.

 

Shirley Bassey is one of the Hall's most prolific female headline performers having appeared multiple times at the venue between 1971 and 2022. Her most recent appearance in October 2022 saw her headline a celebration of 60 years of the music of James Bond, performing "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Goldfinger".

 

James Last appeared 90 times at the Hall between 1973 and 2015, making him the most frequent non–British performer to have played the venue.

 

Education and outreach programme

The hall's education and outreach programme engages with more than 200,000 people a year. It includes workshops for local teenagers led by musicians such as Foals, Jake Bugg, Emeli Sandé, Nicola Benedetti, Alison Balsom First Aid Kit and John Legend, innovative science and maths lessons, visits to local residential homes from the venue's in-house group, Albert's Band, under the 'Songbook' banner, and the Friendship Matinee: an orchestral concert for community groups, with £5 admission. Each year, the hall runs the "Future Makers" competition to discover and support emerging talent from across London, where eight acts are chosen for the finals to perform in front of a live audience as well as a panel of industry professionals. One winning act is selected to receive a tailored package of support from the Royal Albert Hall and industry partners. Last year's winner was Amity Miller, a hotly tipped young singer songwriter.

 

Management

The Hall is managed day to day by the chief executive James Ainscough and six senior executives. They are accountable to the council of the corporation, which is the trustee body of the charity. The council is composed of the annually elected president, currently Ian McCulloch, 18 elected members (either corporate or individual seat owners) and five appointed members, one each from Imperial College London, Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, British Museum of Natural History and the Royal College of Music.

The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272.

 

Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres have appeared on its stage. It is the venue for the BBC Proms concerts, which have been held there every summer since 1941. It is host to more than 390 shows in the main auditorium annually, including classical, rock and pop concerts, ballet, opera, film screenings with live orchestral accompaniment, sports, awards ceremonies, school and community events, and charity performances and banquets. A further 400 events are held each year in the non-auditorium spaces. Over its 153-year history, the hall has hosted people from various fields, including meetings held by suffragettes, speeches from Winston Churchill and Albert Einstein, fights by Lennox Lewis, exhibition bouts by Muhammad Ali, and concerts from regular performers at the venue such as Eric Clapton and Shirley Bassey.

 

The hall was originally to have been called the Central Hall of Arts and Sciences, but the name was changed to the Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences by Queen Victoria upon laying the Hall's foundation stone in 1867, in memory of her husband, Prince Albert, who had died six years earlier. It forms the practical part of a memorial to the Prince Consort; the decorative part is the Albert Memorial directly to the north in Kensington Gardens, now separated from the Hall by Kensington Gore.

 

History

1800s

In 1851 the Great Exhibition, organised by Prince Albert, the Prince Consort, was held in Hyde Park, London. The Exhibition was a success and led Prince Albert to propose the creation of a group of permanent facilities for the public benefit, which came to be known as Albertopolis. The Exhibition's Royal Commission bought Gore House, but it was slow to act, and in 1861 Prince Albert died without having seen his ideas come to fruition. However, a memorial was proposed for Hyde Park, with a Great Hall opposite.

 

The proposal was approved, and the site was purchased with some of the profits from the Exhibition. The Hall was designed by civil engineers Captain Francis Fowke and Major-General Henry Y. D. Scott of the Royal Engineers and built by Lucas Brothers. The designers were heavily influenced by ancient amphitheatres but had also been exposed to the ideas of Gottfried Semper while he was working at the South Kensington Museum. The recently opened Cirque d'Hiver in Paris was seen in the contemporary press as the design to outdo.[citation needed] The Hall was constructed mainly of Fareham Red brick, with terra cotta block decoration made by Gibbs and Canning of Tamworth.

 

The dome (designed by Rowland Mason Ordish) was made of wrought iron and glazed. There was a trial assembly of the dome's iron framework in Manchester; then it was taken apart again and transported to London by horse and cart. When the time came for the supporting structure to be removed from the dome after reassembly in situ, only volunteers remained on site in case the structure collapsed. It did drop – but only by five-sixteenths of an inch (7.9 mm). The Hall was scheduled to be completed by Christmas Day 1870, and the Queen visited a few weeks beforehand to inspect.

 

The official opening ceremony of the Hall was on 29 March 1871. This had originally been scheduled for 1 May, the twentieth anniversary of the opening of the Great Exhibition, but was brought forward at the request of Queen Victoria. A welcoming speech was given by Edward, the Prince of Wales because the Queen was too overcome to speak; "her only recorded comment on the Hall was that it reminded her of the British constitution".

 

The composer, organist, and choir conductor William Carter founded and directed a choir specifically for the opening of Royal Albert Hall. In the concert that followed, the Hall's acoustic problems immediately became apparent. Engineers first tried to remove the strong echo by suspending a canvas awning below the dome. This helped and also sheltered concert-goers from the sun, but the problem was not solved: it used to be jokingly said the Hall was "the only place where a British composer could be sure of hearing his work twice".

 

In July 1871, French organist Camille Saint-Saëns performed Church Scene from Faust by Charles Gounod; The Orchestra described his performance as "an exceptional and distinguished performer ... the effect was most marvellous."

 

Initially lit by gas, the Hall contained a special system by which thousands of gas jets were lit within ten seconds. Though it was demonstrated as early as 1873 in the Hall, full electric lighting was not installed until 1888. During an early trial when a partial installation was made, one disgruntled patron wrote to The Times, declaring it to be "a very ghastly and unpleasant innovation".

 

In May 1877, Richard Wagner himself conducted the first half of each of the eight concerts which made up the Grand Wagner Festival. After his turn with the baton, he handed it over to conductor Hans Richter and sat in a large armchair on the corner of the stage for the rest of each concert. Wagner's wife Cosima, the daughter of Hungarian virtuoso pianist and composer Franz Liszt, was among the audience.

 

The Wine Society was founded at the Hall on 4 August 1874,[16] after large quantities of cask wine were found in the cellars. A series of lunches were held to publicise the wines, and General Henry Scott proposed a co-operative company to buy and sell wines.

 

1900s

In 1906, Elsie Fogerty founded the Central School of Speech and Drama at the Hall, using its West Theatre, now the Elgar Room, as the school's theatre. The school moved to Swiss Cottage in north London in 1957. Whilst the school was based at the Royal Albert Hall, students who graduated from its classes included Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Lynn Redgrave, Harold Pinter, Laurence Olivier and Peggy Ashcroft.

 

In 1911, Russian pianist and composer Sergei Rachmaninoff performed as a part of the London Ballad Concert. The recital included his 'Prelude in C-sharp minor' and 'Elegie in E-flat minor' (both from Morceaux de Fantaisie).

 

In 1933, German physicist Albert Einstein led the 'Einstein Meeting' at the hall for the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics, a British charity.

 

In 1936, the Hall was the scene of a giant rally celebrating the British Empire on the occasion of the centenary of Joseph Chamberlain's birth. In October 1942, the Hall suffered minor damage during World War II bombing, but in general was left mostly untouched as German pilots used the distinctive structure as a landmark.

 

In 1949, the canvas awning was removed and replaced with fluted aluminium panels below the glass roof, in a new attempt to cure the echo; but the acoustics were not properly tackled until 1969 when large fibreglass acoustic diffusing discs (commonly referred to as "mushrooms" or "flying saucers") were installed below the ceiling. In 1968, the Hall hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 which on television was broadcast live in colour for the first time, and from 1969 to 1988 the Miss World contest was staged in the venue.

 

From 1996 until 2004, the Hall underwent a programme of renovation and development supported by a £20 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £20m from Arts Council England to enable it to meet the demands of the next century of events and performances. Thirty "discreet projects" were designed and supervised by the architecture and engineering firm BDP without disrupting events. These projects included improved ventilation to the auditorium, more bars and restaurants, improved seating, better technical facilities, and improved backstage areas. Internally, the Circle seating was rebuilt during June 1996 to provide more legroom, better access, and improved sightlines.

 

2000s

The largest project of the ongoing renovation and development was the building of a new south porch – door 12, accommodating a first-floor restaurant, new ground floor box office and subterranean loading bay. Although the exterior of the building was largely unchanged, the south steps leading down to Prince Consort Road were demolished to allow construction of underground vehicle access and a loading bay with accommodation for three HGVs carrying all the equipment brought by shows. The steps were then reconstructed around a new south porch, named The Meitar Foyer after a significant donation from Mr & Mrs Meitar. The porch was built on a similar scale and style to the three pre-existing porches at Door 3, 6 and 9: these works were undertaken by Taylor Woodrow Construction. On 4 June 2004, the project received the Europa Nostra Award for remarkable achievement.

 

The East (Door 3) and West (Door 9) porches were glazed and new bars opened along with ramps to improve disabled access. The Stalls were rebuilt in a four-week period in 2000 using steel supports allowing more space underneath for two new bars; 1,534 unique pivoting seats were laid – with an addition of 180 prime seats. The Choirs were rebuilt at the same time. The whole building was redecorated in a style that reinforces its Victorian identity. 43,000 sq ft (4,000 m2) of new carpets were laid in the rooms, stairs, and corridors – specially woven with a border that follows the oval curve of the building.

 

Between 2002 and 2004, there was a major rebuilding of the great organ (known as the Voice of Jupiter), built by "Father" Henry Willis in 1871 and rebuilt by Harrison & Harrison in 1924 and 1933. The rebuilding was performed by Mander Organs, and it is now the second-largest pipe organ in the British Isles with 9,997 pipes in 147 stops. The largest is the Grand Organ in Liverpool Cathedral which has 10,268 pipes.

 

During the first half of 2011, changes were made to the backstage areas to relocate and increase the size of crew catering areas under the South Steps away from the stage and create additional dressing rooms nearer to the stage.

  

The Royal Albert Hall as seen from Prince Consort Road

From January to May 2013, the Box Office area at Door 12 underwent further modernisation to include a new Café Bar on the ground floor, a new Box Office with shop counters and additional toilets. The design and construction were carried out by contractor 8Build. Upon opening it was renamed 'The Zvi and Ofra Meitar Porch and Foyer.' owing to a large donation from the couple.

 

In Autumn 2013, work began on replacing the Victorian steam heating system over three years and improving cooling across the building. This work followed the summer Proms season during which temperatures were unusually high. Further heatwaves led to a rebuild of the Rausing Circle level in 2021 with air-cooling ventilation installed, significantly decreasing heat there during hot weather.

 

In 2017 work began on a two-story 11,000-square-foot (1,000 m2) basement extension for use as backstage and archival space to the south-west quadrant of the building. The project is nicknamed the "Great Excavation", in reference to the Great Exhibition of 1851, and was planned to be complete for the Hall's 150th anniversary in 2021. A new archive space opened in the extension on 12 October 2023.

 

In 2018 a Walk of Fame was unveiled at the Hall, with the first eleven recipients of a star including the Suffragettes (who held meetings at the Hall), Winston Churchill and Albert Einstein (both of whom delivered speeches here), Muhammad Ali (who had exhibition events at a venue he dubbed a 'helluva hall'), and Eric Clapton (who has played the venue over 200 times), among others, who were viewed as "key players" in the building's history.

 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions meant the Hall was closed in March 2020 for the first time since the Second World War. During winter 2020 it reopened for three socially distanced performances but was then closed for a second period, finally reopening to full capacity in July 2021.

 

On 11 November 2023, before the Festival of Remembrance, King Charles III and Queen Camilla unveiled two bronze statues of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, as part of the Hall's 150th anniversary.

 

Design

The Hall, a Grade I listed building, is an ellipse in plan, with its external major and minor axes of 272 and 236 feet (83 and 72 meters), and its internal minor and major axis of 185 and 219 feet (56 and 67 m). The great glass and wrought-iron dome roofing the Hall is 135 ft (41 m) high. The Hall was originally designed with a capacity for 8,000 people and has accommodated as many as 12,000 (although present-day safety restrictions mean the maximum permitted capacity is now 5,272 including standing in the Gallery).

 

Around the outside of the building is 800-foot–long terracotta mosaic frieze, depicting "The Triumph of Arts and Sciences", in reference to the Hall's dedication. Proceeding anti-clockwise from the north side the sixteen subjects of the frieze are:

 

Various Countries of the World bringing in their Offerings to the Exhibition of 1851

Music

Sculpture

Painting

Princes, Art Patrons and Artists

Workers in Stone

Workers in Wood and Brick

Architecture

The Infancy of the Arts and Sciences

Agriculture

Horticulture and Land Surveying

Astronomy and Navigation

A Group of Philosophers, Sages and Students

Engineering

The Mechanical Powers

Pottery and Glassmaking

Above the frieze is an inscription in 12-inch-high (30 cm) terracotta letters that combine historical fact and Biblical quotations:

This hall was erected for the advancement of the arts and sciences and works of industry of all nations in fulfilment of the intention of Albert Prince Consort. The site was purchased with the proceeds of the Great Exhibition of the year MDCCCLI. The first stone of the Hall was laid by Her Majesty Queen Victoria on the twentieth day of May MDCCCLXVII and it was opened by Her Majesty the Twenty Ninth of March in the year MDCCCLXXI. Thine O Lord is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty. For all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine. The wise and their works are in the hand of God. Glory be to God on high and on earth peace.

 

Below the Arena floor there is room for two 4,000 gallon water tanks, which are used for shows that flood the arena like Madame Butterfly.

 

The Hall has been affectionately titled "The Nation's Village Hall". The first concert was Arthur Sullivan's cantata On Shore and Sea, performed on 1 May 1871.

 

Many events are promoted by the Hall, whilst since the early 1970s promoter Raymond Gubbay has brought a range of events to the Hall including opera, ballet and classical music. Some events include classical and rock concerts, conferences, banquets, ballroom dancing, poetry recitals, educational talks, motor shows, ballet, opera, film screenings and circus shows. It has hosted many sporting events, including boxing, squash, table tennis, basketball, wrestling including the first sumo wrestling tournament to be held in London as well as UFC 38 (the first UFC event to be held in the UK), tennis, and even a marathon. Tennis was first played at the Hall in March 1970, and the ATP Champions Tour Masters was played annually from 1997 to 2021.

 

The hall first hosted boxing in 1918, when it hosted a tournament between British and American servicemen. There was a colour bar in place at the Hall, preventing black boxers from fighting there, between 1923 and 1932. Greats of British boxing such as Frank Bruno, Prince Naseem Hamed, Henry Cooper and Lennox Lewis have all appeared at the venue. The hall's storied boxing history was halted in 1999 when it lost its licence to hold boxing and wrestling matches after complaints from residents about noise levels. In 2011, after a legal battle, the licence to host boxing and wrestling events was restored and boxing events resumed in 2012, taking place regularly until 2021. In 2019 Nicola Adams won the WBO Flyweight title which was the first fight for a world title at the venue since Marco Antonio Barrera took on Paul Lloyd in 1999.

 

One notable event was a Pink Floyd concert held on 26 June 1969, the night they were banned from ever playing at the Hall again after shooting cannons, nailing things to the stage, and having a man in a gorilla suit roam the audience. At one point, Rick Wright went to the pipe organ and began to play "The End of the Beginning", the final part of "Saucerful of Secrets", joined by the brass section of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (led by the conductor, Norman Smith) and the ladies of the Ealing Central Amateur Choir.[49] A portion of the pipe organ recording is included on Pink Floyd's album The Endless River.

 

In 1983, Siouxsie and the Banshees performed two sold out concerts at the hall at the time their line up featured the Cure's guitarist Robert Smith. The shows were recorded and filmed for the live album and DVD Nocturne.

 

On 22 September 2011, Adele performed a one-night-only concert as part of her tour. The concert was filmed for DVD and screened at cinemas in 26 cities around the world. Her performance debuted at number one in the United States with 96,000 copies sold, the highest one-week tally for a music DVD in four years. After one week, it became the best-selling music DVD of 2011. As of 28 November 2012, it had surpassed sales of one million copies in the United States and sales of three million copies worldwide and makes the first music DVD to surpass sales of one million in the USA since Eagles' Farewell 1 Tour-Live from Melbourne in 2005 (Garth Brooks' The Ultimate Hits sold one million copies in 2007, but was a CD/DVD combination). The live version of "Set Fire to the Rain" taken from her performance won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards in 2013.

 

On 2 October 2011, the Hall staged the 25th-anniversary performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, which was broadcast live to cinemas across the world and filmed for DVD. Lloyd Webber, the original London cast including Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford, and four previous actors of the titular character, among others, were in attendance – Brightman and the previous Phantoms (aside from Crawford) performed an encore.

 

On 19 November 2012, the Hall hosted the 100th-anniversary performance of the Royal Variety Performance, attended by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with boy-band One Direction among the performers. The Royal Variety Performance has since returned to the Hall in 2015 and every year since 2021.

 

In 2017 the Hall hosted the 70th British Academy Film Awards, often referred to as the BAFTAs, for the first time in 20 years, replacing the Royal Opera House at which the event had been held since 2008. The BAFTAs were held regularly at the venue until moving to the Royal Festival Hall in 2023. The Olivier Awards also moved to the Albert Hall in 2017 and will return in 2024.

 

Former regular events include Classical Spectacular, a Raymond Gubbay production, which performed at the Hall from 1989 to 2022. It combined popular classical music, lights and special effects. Between 1996 and 2008, the Hall hosted the annual National Television Awards all of which were hosted by Sir Trevor McDonald, and the Classic Brit Awards were hosted annually at the Hall from 2000 to 2013, and again in 2018. The Institute of Directors' Annual Convention was synonymous with the Hall for over 50 years, taking place most years between 1961 and 2016.

 

Regular events

Royal Choral Society

The Royal Choral Society is the longest-running regular performance at the Hall, having given its first performance as the Royal Albert Hall Choral Society on 8 May 1872. From 1876, it established the annual Good Friday performance of Handel's Messiah.

 

BBC Proms

The BBC Sir Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, known as "The Proms", is a popular annual eight-week summer season of daily classical music concerts and other events at the Hall. In 1941, following the destruction of the Queen's Hall in an air raid, the Hall was chosen as the new venue for the Proms. In 1944 with increased danger to the Hall, part of the Proms season was held in the Bedford Corn Exchange. Following the end of World War II the Proms continued being held in the Hall and have done so annually every summer since. The event was founded in 1895, and now each season consists of over 70 concerts, in addition to a series of events at other venues across the United Kingdom. In 2009, the total number of concerts reached 100 for the first time. Jiří Bělohlávek described The Proms as "the world's largest and most democratic musical festival" of all such events in the world of classical music festivals.

 

Proms (short for promenade concerts) is a term which arose from the original practice of the audience promenading, or strolling, in some areas during the concert. Proms concert-goers, particularly those who stand, are sometimes described as "Promenaders", but are most commonly referred to as "Prommers".

 

Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil has performed annually, with a show being staged at the start of most years since 1996. Cirque has had to adapt many of their touring shows to perform at the venue, modifying the set, usually built for arenas or big top tents instead. The following shows have played the RAH: Saltimbanco (1996, 1997 and 2003), Alegría (1998, 1999, 2006, 2007 and 2024), Dralion (2004 and 2005), Varekai (2008 and 2010), Quidam (2009 and 2014), Totem (2011, 2012 and 2019), Koozå (2013 and 2015), Amaluna (2016 and 2017), OVO (2018), Luzia (2020 and 2022) and Kurios (2023). Alegria's 2024 return is a revamped and updated version of the original, titled Alegria: In a New Light.

 

Classic FM Live

Classic FM hold a popular concert twice a year with a regularly changing lineup. The concert in September 2013 had to be cancelled due to a fire alert in the Hall's basement leading to an evacuation of the building

 

Festival of Remembrance

The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance is held annually the day before Remembrance Sunday.

 

English National Ballet

Since 1998 the English National Ballet has had several specially staged arena summer seasons in partnership with the Hall. These include Strictly Gershwin, June 2008 and 2011, Swan Lake, June 2002, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2024, Romeo & Juliet (Deane), June 2001 and 2005, The Sleeping Beauty, April – June 2000, and Cinderella June 2019 and 2023.

 

The Salvation Army

The Hall has a long association with The Salvation Army, hosting over 400 events since 1895. It continues to host the Salvation Army's annual Christmas concert, featuring celebrity guests and Salvation Army musicians, including the International Staff Songsters and International Staff Band.

 

Teenage Cancer Trust

Starting in 2000 the Teenage Cancer Trust has held annual charity concerts in most years. They started as a one-off event but have expanded over the years to a week or more of evening events. Roger Daltrey of The Who was intimately involved with the planning of the events until 2024, his final year in charge includes performances from Young Fathers, Noel Gallagher and The Chemical Brothers.

 

Graduation ceremonies

The Hall is used annually by the neighbouring Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art for graduation ceremonies. For several years the University of London and Kingston University also held its graduation ceremonies at the Hall.

 

National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain

§ The National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, one of the most prestigious prizes in the annual brass band contesting calendar, holds the Final of the Championship section at the Royal Albert Hall each October

 

Films, premières and live orchestra screenings

The venue has screened several films since the early silent days. It was the only London venue to show William Fox's The Queen of Sheba in the 1920s.

 

The Hall has hosted many premières, including the UK première of Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen, 101 Dalmatians on 4 December 1996, the European première of Spandau Ballet's Soul Boys of the Western World and four James Bond royal world premières; Die Another Day on 18 November 2002 (attended by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip), Skyfall on 23 October 2012 (attended by Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall), Spectre on 26 October 2015 (attended by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge) and No Time to Die on 28 September 2021 (attended by Charles, Camilla, William, Catherine).

 

The Hall held its first 3D world première of Titanic 3D, on 27 March 2012, with James Cameron and Kate Winslet in attendance. Since 2009, the Hall has also curated regular seasons of English-language film-and-live-orchestra screenings, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gladiator, Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, Interstellar, The Matrix, West Side Story, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Back to the Future, Jaws, the Harry Potter series, Black Panther, and the world première of Titanic Live in Concert. The only non-English-language movie to have been screened at the Hall is Baahubali: The Beginning (an Indian movie in Telugu and Tamil, but premiered Hindi dubbed version).

 

Beyond the main stage

The Hall hosts hundreds of events and activities beyond its main auditorium. There are regular free art exhibitions in the ground floor Amphi corridor, which can be viewed when attending events or on dedicated viewing dates. Visitors can take a guided tour of the Hall on most days, which includes most front-of-house areas, the auditorium, the Gallery and the Royal Retiring Room. Other tours include Behind the Scenes, Inside Out and School tours. Children's events include Storytelling and Music Sessions for ages four and under. These take place in the Door 3 Porch and Albert's Band sessions in the Elgar Room during school holidays. "Late Night Jazz" events in the Elgar Room, generally on a Thursday night, feature cabaret-style seating and a relaxed atmosphere with drinks available. "Classical Coffee Mornings" are held on Sundays in the Elgar Room with musicians from the Royal College of Music accompanied with drinks and pastries.

 

Regular performers

Eric Clapton is a regular performer at the Hall. Since 1964, Clapton has performed at the Hall over 200 times, and has stated that performing at the venue is like "playing in my front room". In December 1964, Clapton made his first appearance at the Hall with the Yardbirds. It was also the venue for his band Cream's farewell concerts in 1968 and reunion shows in 2005. He also instigated the Concert for George, which was held at the Hall on 29 November 2002 to pay tribute to Clapton's lifelong friend, former Beatle George Harrison, as well as the Jeff Beck Tribute concerts held in May 2023. Clapton passed 200 shows at the Hall in 2015 and his next concerts are scheduled for May 2024.

 

Shirley Bassey is one of the Hall's most prolific female headline performers having appeared multiple times at the venue between 1971 and 2022. Her most recent appearance in October 2022 saw her headline a celebration of 60 years of the music of James Bond, performing "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Goldfinger".

 

James Last appeared 90 times at the Hall between 1973 and 2015, making him the most frequent non–British performer to have played the venue.

 

Education and outreach programme

The hall's education and outreach programme engages with more than 200,000 people a year. It includes workshops for local teenagers led by musicians such as Foals, Jake Bugg, Emeli Sandé, Nicola Benedetti, Alison Balsom First Aid Kit and John Legend, innovative science and maths lessons, visits to local residential homes from the venue's in-house group, Albert's Band, under the 'Songbook' banner, and the Friendship Matinee: an orchestral concert for community groups, with £5 admission. Each year, the hall runs the "Future Makers" competition to discover and support emerging talent from across London, where eight acts are chosen for the finals to perform in front of a live audience as well as a panel of industry professionals. One winning act is selected to receive a tailored package of support from the Royal Albert Hall and industry partners. Last year's winner was Amity Miller, a hotly tipped young singer songwriter.

 

Management

The Hall is managed day to day by the chief executive James Ainscough and six senior executives. They are accountable to the council of the corporation, which is the trustee body of the charity. The council is composed of the annually elected president, currently Ian McCulloch, 18 elected members (either corporate or individual seat owners) and five appointed members, one each from Imperial College London, Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, British Museum of Natural History and the Royal College of Music.

Once Upon a Time late 70s we all worked at Burlingtons ,,the six of us , and this was a reunion after almost 30 years or more ..because Zeena our colleague had come to Mumbai from Canada and wanted to meet all of us ..

 

We are from left Veera Dhaval , Jyoti Gandhi her husband Tanuj worked for Burlingtons too but could not make it, Gulshan Khambatta all of 82 years , Mehroo Holmes who has a florist outlet at the Trident ..Zeena and yours truly dressed decently the beggar poet.

 

Veera Dhaval picked us all up and we assembled at the Taj lobby , and were to lunch at Shamiana but it was buffet day being Saturday so we went up at the Sea Lounge ,,,and relived old memories , our work days remembering our friends who passed away Jose Urmila .. we remembered our boss Mr Andre Kapur , Mrs Munni Gupta .. her kids Anjali and Vanessa and her husband Paul.. we remembered Gaby and Sunita Kapur .. we remembered our old managers Mr Benjamin Caleb Indira Sikka Mrs Veena Virmani .. we remembered Manju Kapur ,,,and we were flooded with anecdotes of our young days .. in the 70s ..We remembered Subash Shahani Mike Kirpalani Anita Dubash..and so many others who had passed this great fashion institution Burlingtons of Taj Mahal ,, we certainly did not forget Fateh Singh and Ratan , legendary super salesman who were my sales guru.. I owe a lot to them.We worked at Taj Treasures .. but I had done a stint at Treasures of India under Lorraine Rhubootm and Gaby Kapur ... than I worked under Mr Benjamin Caleb at Burlingtons Taj..I worked at Sheraton Treasures under Veena Virmani and Mike.

 

Finally I was transferred to Taj Treasures with Subhash as my manager and left Burlingtons in 1080 for Muscat ,, I had worked year at Burlingtons ,, and my fashion guru those days was Mrs Jennifer Kendall Kapoor wife of Mr Shashi Kapoor ,,

FLOODING AT MY SCHOOL DUE TO LACK OF DRAINAGE SYSTEM

Kenroy Davis, Lincoln Samuels, Vanessa Panton

Cedric Titus High School

 

Winner, Second Place Triptych

 

When the clouds darken; when the thunder sounds; when the lightning flashes and the raindrops crash to the ground while school is in session, we fear the worst. Every time it rains at my school, thoughts of flooding flood our minds as we know that there is a Lack of Drainage System.

 

It is the norm that after approximately 40 minutes of consistent rainfall our school compound experiences serious flooding which brings with it serious complications to our school life. Oftentimes, many of us are forced to risk destroying our shoes in the high waters, as it covers the walking areas on the compound. It is not unusual to stay on one side of the school and see students trapped on the other side. This is a grave problem which affects the entire school body in more ways than one.

 

Going to classes is something most students take for granted. So do we; that is, until it rains. Then, it becomes a puzzle. Wading through dirty, unsanitary water is unpleasant, but a necessity in the pursuit of our education. After consistent rainfall, getting to our classrooms, the office, even the staffroom becomes extremely challenging, as we are forced to navigate through ankle-deep water.

 

Pitys Reconstructs the Word, 2011

Installation (encyclopedia pages, wood, thread, blankets, books, limited edition broadside)

Dimensions variable

 

Part of the Installations exhibition at the Palos Verdes Art Center, Rolling Hills Estates, CA; December 9, 2011 through February 5, 2012

 

Words Submitted:

Al-embick, amazing, antidisestablishmentarism, archaic, bitchin’, blush, calendula, chapopote, chocolate, congruent, contemplation, eerie, enigma, Etiwanda, fecund, fret, haberdashery, lexicon, luddite, mauve, melt, midden, obscurantism, occupy, Ohiowa, paraphernalia, petrichor, raconteur, ridiculous, sesquicentennial, sesquicentennial, slurve, soliloquy, St. Elmo’s Fire, swag, synchromysticism, tech-savvy, tether, unique, universal constant, warmth, yeah

 

By:

Charlene Abeyta, Chloe Abeyta, Christina Abeyta, Edith Abeyta, Danielle Ashton, Marshall Astor, Amy Caterina, Gabriel Cifarelli, El Chavo, YaYa Chou, Paul Evans, Marta Feinstein, Kathi Flood, Michele Hubacek, Amy Inouye, Lauren Kasmer, Denise Katsenberger, Carolyn Liesy, Apio Ludicrus, Heather McLarty, Elana Mann, Susanna Meiers, Cynde Miller, Karen Neubert, Merry-Beth Noble, Danial Nord, Laurel Paley, Julia Parton, Stuart Rapeport, Vanessa Renwick, Sue Ann Robinson, Arturo Romo-Santillano, Lucinda S. Rudolph, Camilla Stacey, Robert Tower, Carrie Ungerman, Jonathan Ward, Lyn Watanabe, Hague Williams, Luanne Withee, Nan Wollman, Julie Zemel

We're staying in Corwen, she said. A few miles the other side of Corwen I was wondering whether to trust the satnav or the cryptic directions in the handbook. In the end both were necessary, along with directions from the farmer who owned the caravan site... after we ended up in his front garden.

 

The site was compact and bijou - five pitches backing up against a church yard: an ancient grey chapel, disused and in need of repair, surrounded by a scattering of yew trees supplemented, rather incongruously, by decidedly alien leylandii. As we unfolded the crap box into the semblance of a caravan I could hear the calls of buzzards and ravens overhead, and then two peregrines passed by, swooping low - an adult chasing this year's offspring away. Oh, this was good! I liked it already.

 

The next morning we explored the graveyard, full of Roberts', Davies' but no Woods; so we drove off to Bala in search of Matthew Wood's grave, but with no more success. From Bala we crossed from Snowdonia into the Berwyns and down into Llyn Efernwy, my old stomping ground of 21 years past. It was hard to recognise these once familiar roads as they were dry and under a brilliant blue sky - unlike the dark, somber shades of wet and wetter I remembered. Quiet winding roads, precipitous climbs up onto moor tops swathed with purple flowered heather; testing descents down into yellow gorse-crowded valleys and twisting, cool wooded ways: bliss! We parked up above the lake and I decided to walk to get a view of the water take-off tower. Lake Vyrnwy was a Victorian reservoir built to supply pristine water to the growing urban sprawl of Liverpool. After the dam was built the water levels rose and flooded the old village of Llanwddyn - the birth place of one of Vanessa's multitudinous Wood ancestors.

 

The walk along the lake was intimately familiar to me. Some 21 years ago, after I'd just walked though knee-high heather for 12 miles during the course of two red grouse surveys, I received a message over the radio saying that the egg thieves we'd been monitoring were making a move on the red kite's nest we'd been protecting - so my lift home would not be collecting me, as that land rover was speeding over to the nest site instead. Eight miles later, I'd descended down from the moors, had walked the length of the lake, and had arrived home at the old rectory in the rebuilt and relocated Victorian Llanwddyn. Time for a quick bite to eat before a couple of us whizzed over to Llangynog, in a bright orange astra van, and the kite's nest to continue the 24hr surveillance.... it was a very, very long night. Further south in the Brecon Beacons, the heartland of red kites in Wales, the army frequently helped out in nest protection: they used it as an opportunity for training in night time surveillance techniques - infra-red night vision and all that hi-techery. We had the most northerly nest in the UK, at the time, and no military assistance, but we did have a bicycle light I'd brought along with me. Whoopee! Somehow Mike, the head warden, was impressed by its meagre output!

 

Over the next week, on top of our scheduled survey work, we used to get up extra early to drive over to Llangynog in that stupidly conspicuous orange van, to carry out covert surveillance of the would-be egg thieves. Yeah, that made sense: brilliantly bright orange in a landscape of dreary greens and greys - they'd never know we were there! We could have used my slightly less conspicuous white mini, but it was incapacitated after I burnt out the cylinder head, for the third time, outside Leicester on the way back from visiting Vanessa back in Norfolk. Climbing the M54 around Telford with only three cylinders, in a blizzard thunderstorm at night, wasn't my idea of fun, so it was time for a replacement engine. Yet somehow we managed to keep those thieves away from the kites and several other peregrine nests that year.

 

After reaching the take-off tower, taking a few photos, then returning to the car, we set off once more for Bala and beyond to the crap box, but this time by a different route - via Llangynog and the roads I once drove in decades past. Whilst the route was correct, the satnav complained over my choice of deep, hazel-lined rat-runs. Climbing out of Llangynog we entered, once more, a world of purple heather moors, endless blue skies, and swathes of yellow gorse - beautiful.

 

It had been a day where we had gladly borne witness to the overwhelming natural beauty of the Welsh uplands, and this was enriched by my memories of how I'd once been privieged enough to be able to assist in maintaining it.

Pauric (Beano) Hynes and Vanessa Flood, dance partners at St. Mary's Strictly Come Dancing fundraiser

This concept began with the butterfly image, taken in the forests of Colorado near Colorado Springs. After having made the Emily Dickinson bird poetry mashup, I got motivated to do it again, using the butterfly. The photo was combined with two computed fractals (both are icp fractals, icp = iteration in the complex plane). One looks like forest foliage. The other could be a string of beads or a floral garland or bejeweled butterflies. Together, the fractals seemed a worthy companion to the real butterfly. The background was added using a photo of a dry forest tree trunk. The textured border is a mashup of other photos, flowers, grasses, tree bark, and pine cones. The lyrical text elements are Emily Dickinson poems. She was America’s famous first lady of poetry (1830-1886). Her 1,775 poems are heavily imbued with natural themes, with several references to butterflies. (Her poems are numbered, so they can easily be found, such as in her collected poems at Project Gutenberg www.gutenberg.org/files/12242/12242-h/12242-h.htm ). The two used for the text overlay are presented below.

 

The original photograph shows a Painted Lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) on gray rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa). Lady butterflies are in the colorful Cynthia group of the Nymphalidae family. There are several species in the Vanessa genus. V. cardui, the painted lady, has a nearly worldwide distribution. Gray rabbitbrush, also known as rubber rabbitbrush and as Chamisa, is a shrub in the sunflower family which grows in arid regions of western North America.

 

The series images are (2a) the original composition of photo, fractals, and poems, (2b) the full original photo, (2c) a panel with the two individual source fractals, (2d) the two fractals combined, (2e) a panel showing the two backdrop sources, photo and mashup, (2f) the composite artwork without the text. The Emily Dickinson poems are the following:

 

§ § §

 

533

Two butterflies went out at Noon --

And waltzed upon a Farm --

Then stepped straight through the Firmament

And rested, on a Beam --

And then -- together bore away

Upon a shining Sea --

Though never yet, in any Port --

Their coming, mentioned -- be --

If spoken by the distant Bird --

If met in Ether Sea

By Frigate, or by Merchantman --

No notice -- was -- to me –

 

137

Flowers -- Well -- if anybody

Can the ecstasy define --

Half a transport -- half a trouble --

With which flowers humble men:

Anybody find the fountain

From which floods so contra flow --

I will give him all the Daisies

Which upon the hillside blow.

 

Too much pathos in their faces

For a simple breast like mine --

Butterflies from St. Domingo

Cruising round the purple line --

Have a system of aesthetics --

Far superior to mine.

 

§ § §

 

emily dickinson butterflies _ 2a _ orig _ (© 2014 megart)

 

Companion files:

emily dickinson butterflies _ 2a _ orig _ (© 2014 megart)

emily dickinson butterflies _ 2b _ photo source _ (© 2014 megart)

emily dickinson butterflies _ 2c _ fractal sources _ (© 2014 megart)

emily dickinson butterflies _ 2d _ fractal composite _ (© 2014 megart)

emily dickinson butterflies _ 2e _ photo sources _ (© 2014 megart)

emily dickinson butterflies _ 2f _ no text _ (© 2014 megart)

 

Photo, Words, & Poetry Series

In this series of images, photographs and art are combined with text and poetry. In some, the focus is the imagery, in others it is the poetry and text, and in others it is the lettering and fonts. In all, these elements combine to create the art and expression.

 

The City of Arts and Sciences. An eye shaped IMAX cinema and planetarium. The screen is 60' in diameter. Set in the old dried-up river bed of the Turia, midway between the old city of Valencia and the coastal district of Nazaret, the City of Arts and Sciences covers an area of 350,000 square meters.

 

Following a disastrous flood in 1957, the river was diverted along a canal to the south of the city, and the dried-out riverbed planted as a 7 kilometer long promenade through the center of the city. The promenade is crossed by two streamlined new bridges designed by Santiago Calatrava

Prince William meets Sarina and her team at a fundraiser which raised $145,000 for flood and cyclone victims

Konzept & Layout / Conceptualization & Design

Gesamtkonzept: Dr. Michael Waibel, Institut für

Geographie der Uni Hamburg

 

Layout: Dr. Michael Waibel

 

Kartographie: Martin Kaiser, Institut für Geographie der Uni Hamburg, Harald Krähe, Geographisches Institut der Uni Duisburg, Claus Carstens, Institut für Geographie der Uni Hamburg

 

Didaktisches Konzept:

Claas Dörnte, Max-Planck-Gymnasium, Göttingen;

Dr. Michael Waibel

 

Kontakt:

Dr. Michael Waibel

Institut für Geographie der Uni Hamburg

Bundesstraße 55, 20146 Hamburg,

Email: waibel_michael@yahoo.de

Homepage: www.michael-waibel.de

 

Fotographie / Photography

Ein besonderer Dank gilt unseren Fotografen/-innen, die durch ihre ausdrucksstarken Bilder dieser Austellung Farbe verliehen haben.

 

An F. Rubenecia, Anja Appel, Iris Belle, Ceyhan Cüce, Vanessa Densow, Wilfried Gebhardt, Henning Hilbert, Benjamin Jacobs, Geslin Kaiser, Martin Kaiser, Boris Michel, Adrian Mulja, Gerrit Peters, Jordan Tan, Tep Kuntheara, Michael Waibel, Werner Wallert, Hattaya Yensamer.

 

Unterstützung / Support

- Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA)

- Cambodian Institute of Urban Studies, Phnom Penh

- Build4People-Project (funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research)

- Café Deutsch, Ho Chi Minh City

- Asia House (Essen)

This concept began with the butterfly image, taken in the forests of Colorado near Colorado Springs. After having made the Emily Dickinson bird poetry mashup, I got motivated to do it again, using the butterfly. The photo was combined with two computed fractals (both are icp fractals, icp = iteration in the complex plane). One looks like forest foliage. The other could be a string of beads or a floral garland or bejeweled butterflies. Together, the fractals seemed a worthy companion to the real butterfly. The background was added using a photo of a dry forest tree trunk. The textured border is a mashup of other photos, flowers, grasses, tree bark, and pine cones. The lyrical text elements are Emily Dickinson poems. She was America’s famous first lady of poetry (1830-1886). Her 1,775 poems are heavily imbued with natural themes, with several references to butterflies. (Her poems are numbered, so they can easily be found, such as in her collected poems at Project Gutenberg www.gutenberg.org/files/12242/12242-h/12242-h.htm ). The two used for the text overlay are presented below.

 

The original photograph shows a Painted Lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) on gray rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa). Lady butterflies are in the colorful Cynthia group of the Nymphalidae family. There are several species in the Vanessa genus. V. cardui, the painted lady, has a nearly worldwide distribution. Gray rabbitbrush, also known as rubber rabbitbrush and as Chamisa, is a shrub in the sunflower family which grows in arid regions of western North America.

 

The series images are (2a) the original composition of photo, fractals, and poems, (2b) the full original photo, (2c) a panel with the two individual source fractals, (2d) the two fractals combined, (2e) a panel showing the two backdrop sources, photo and mashup, (2f) the composite artwork without the text. The Emily Dickinson poems are the following:

 

§ § §

 

533

Two butterflies went out at Noon --

And waltzed upon a Farm --

Then stepped straight through the Firmament

And rested, on a Beam --

And then -- together bore away

Upon a shining Sea --

Though never yet, in any Port --

Their coming, mentioned -- be --

If spoken by the distant Bird --

If met in Ether Sea

By Frigate, or by Merchantman --

No notice -- was -- to me –

 

137

Flowers -- Well -- if anybody

Can the ecstasy define --

Half a transport -- half a trouble --

With which flowers humble men:

Anybody find the fountain

From which floods so contra flow --

I will give him all the Daisies

Which upon the hillside blow.

 

Too much pathos in their faces

For a simple breast like mine --

Butterflies from St. Domingo

Cruising round the purple line --

Have a system of aesthetics --

Far superior to mine.

 

§ § §

 

emily dickinson butterflies _ 2f _ no text _ (© 2014 megart)

 

Companion files:

emily dickinson butterflies _ 2a _ orig _ (© 2014 megart)

emily dickinson butterflies _ 2b _ photo source _ (© 2014 megart)

emily dickinson butterflies _ 2c _ fractal sources _ (© 2014 megart)

emily dickinson butterflies _ 2d _ fractal composite _ (© 2014 megart)

emily dickinson butterflies _ 2e _ photo sources _ (© 2014 megart)

emily dickinson butterflies _ 2f _ no text _ (© 2014 megart)

 

Photo, Words, & Poetry Series

In this series of images, photographs and art are combined with text and poetry. In some, the focus is the imagery, in others it is the poetry and text, and in others it is the lettering and fonts. In all, these elements combine to create the art and expression.

Rep. Pete Visclosky speaks at a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the end of construction for a pipe lining project, East Chicago, Ind., June 4, 2014. Chicago District Commander Col. Christopher T. Drew is at left. The project involved relining 2,400 linear feet of pipe in the existing sanitary sewer system. These improvements will alleviate leakage during heavy rain events and basement flooding that affects the health and safety of this residential area. (U.S. Army Photo by Vanessa Villarreal/Released)

 

For more info: 1.usa.gov/1iX2uWO

Red Cross volunteers Vanessa and Paula are ready to check people into the new shelter at Camden Community Center on Jan. 11. Flooding, fallen trees and power outages couldn’t keep these dedicated volunteers away!

 

Photos and reporting by Alex Keilty/American Red Cross

Sandbag assembly line during a flood-preparation exercise with local officials and members of the public along the Little Calumet River, Aug. 14, 2010. (U.S. Army Photo by Vanessa Villarreal/Released)

 

Red Cross volunteers Vanessa and Paula are ready to check people into the new shelter at Camden Community Center on Jan. 11. Flooding, fallen trees and power outages couldn’t keep these dedicated volunteers away!

 

Photos and reporting by Alex Keilty/American Red Cross

Vanessa Gentzen, a student from Virginia Tech on spring vacation, helps gut the home of Rita Taylor in New Orleans six months after Hurricane Katrina flooded Taylor's first house. The Virginia Tech group was one of several working through the Louisiana United Methodist Storm Recovery Center. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.

Photo number 06-XXX, Accompanies UMNS #XXX, 3/XX/06

 

Warmun Resident Vanessa Thomas spoke to the ABC about the devastating floods which destroyed her home on Sunday

Setting out the bladder during a flood-preparation exercise with local officials and members of the public along the Little Calumet River, Aug. 14, 2010. (U.S. Army Photo by Vanessa Villarreal/Released)

Prairie Ironweed: Named for its tough stem, Ironweed has excellent upright form in the garden. The intense purple bloom color stands out in the late summer landscape, attracting many butterflies and other pollinators. While this tall stately plant occurs naturally in moist soils and tolerates brief flooding, it grows equally well in average garden soils. The plant height may be reduced by cutting-back the stems in late spring. Ironweed can be an aggressive spreader by seed when the site conditions are favorable. Self-seeding can be mitigated by removing some of the flower heads before they go to seed. However, the dark rigid stems topped with contrasting fluffy seed heads do offer beautiful late season interest. Effective in tall borders, cottage gardens, rain gardens and wildflower meadows.

 

Ironweed is one of several larval host plants for Vanessa virginiensis (American Lady). It is also host to the Ironweed Borer moth.

When I was two or three my father purchased an Aquavan - a cross between a caravan and a houseboat. If you wound the wheels down it was a caravan and could be moved about on land. If you wound the wheels up it was a houseboat.

 

This came in handy in the floods of 73/74 where Windang was flooded and we put the houseboat on land at Windang caravan park. All the other vans were damaged by flood but ours just floated. it was self-contained with toilet and shower, gas stove, etc.

 

file: aquavan-dad-mum-gmm

Sandbag assembly line during a flood-preparation exercise with local officials and members of the public along the Little Calumet River, Aug. 14, 2010. (U.S. Army Photo by Vanessa Villarreal/Released)