The Postcard

 

A postcard bearing no publisher's name that was posted in Par, Cornwall using a 1d. stamp on Monday the 25th. August 1930. It was sent to:

 

C. F. Baker Esq.,

'Hedgerow',

Russell Grove,

Westbury Park,

Bristol.

 

The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:

 

"Sunday.

35, Par Green,

Par, Cornwall.

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Baker,

This is as quiet a place as

anyone could wish for - a

beautiful little bay & nice

sands.

We have the use of a hut

on the beach.

The Westermans wanted

me to preach, but I fear I

could not have stood in my

own pulpit today.

We have been thinking of

you all, and hope you are

having a good day.

Love to all from both,

S & B."

 

Kingswear

 

Kingswear is a village in the South Hams area of Devon. The village is located on the east bank of the tidal River Dart, close to the river's mouth, and opposite the small town of Dartmouth. It lies within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and has a population of 1,332.

 

Kingswear is noted for being the railhead for Dartmouth, a role continued to this day by the presence of the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway in the village. Two vehicle ferries and one pedestrian ferry provide links to Dartmouth.

 

The village itself contains several small tourist-oriented shops and public houses, and is home to the Royal Dart Yacht Club. Kingswear Castle, a privately owned 15th. century artillery tower, is situated on the outskirts.

 

Kingswear also contains the Church of St. Thomas, which is a member of the Anglican Diocese of Exeter and whose patron saint is Saint Thomas of Canterbury.

 

Sir Sean Connery

 

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

 

Well, the 25th. August 1930 marked the birth in Edinburgh of Sean Connery.

 

Sir Sean Connery, who was born Thomas Sean Connery, was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983.

 

Originating the role in Dr. No, Connery played Bond in six of Eon Productions' entries, and made his final Bond appearance in the non-Eon-produced Never Say Never Again.

 

If non-Eon-produced Bond movies are included, Connery shares the record for the most portrayals as James Bond with Roger Moore (with seven apiece).

 

Following Sean's third appearance as Bond in Goldfinger (1964), in June 1965, Time magazine observed:

 

"James Bond has developed into the

biggest mass-cult hero of the decade".

 

Connery began acting in smaller theatre and television productions until his break-out role as Bond. Although he did not enjoy the off-screen attention the role gave him, the success of the Bond films brought Connery offers from notable directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Sidney Lumet and John Huston.

 

Their films in which Connery appeared included Marnie (1964), The Hill (1965), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), and The Man Who Would Be King (1975).

 

He also appeared in A Bridge Too Far (1977), Highlander (1986), The Name of the Rose (1986), The Untouchables (1987), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Dragonheart (1996), The Rock (1996), Finding Forrester (2000), and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003).

 

Connery officially retired from acting in 2006, although he briefly returned for voice-over roles in 2012.

 

His achievements in film were recognised with an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards (including the BAFTA Fellowship), and three Golden Globes, including the Cecil B. DeMille Award and a Henrietta Award.

 

In 1987, Sean was made a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in France, and he received the US Kennedy Center Honors lifetime achievement award in 1999. Connery was knighted in the 2000 New Year Honours for services to film drama.

 

Sean Connery - The Early Years

 

Thomas Connery was born at the Royal Maternity Hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was named after his paternal grandfather.

 

He was brought up at No. 176 Fountainbridge, a block which has since been demolished. His mother, Euphemia McBain "Effie" McLean, was a cleaning woman. Connery's father, Joseph Connery, was a factory worker and lorry driver.

 

His father was a Roman Catholic, and his mother was a Protestant. Connery had a younger brother Neil, and was generally referred to in his youth as "Tommy".

 

Although Sean was small in primary school, he grew rapidly around the age of 12, reaching his full adult height of 6 ft. 2 in. (188 cm) at 18. Connery was known during his teen years as "Big Tam", and he said that he lost his virginity to an adult woman in an ATS uniform at the age of 14.

 

He had an Irish childhood friend named Séamus; when the two were together, those who knew them both called Connery by his middle name Sean, emphasising the alliteration of the two names. Since then Connery preferred to use his middle name.

 

Connery's first job was as a milkman in Edinburgh with St. Cuthbert's Co-operative Society. In 2009, Connery recalled a conversation in a taxi:

 

"When I took a taxi during a recent Edinburgh

Film Festival, the driver was amazed that I

could put a name to every street we passed.

"How come?" he asked. "As a boy I used to

deliver milk round here", I said. "So what do

you do now?" That was rather harder to

answer."

 

In 1946, at the age of 16, Connery joined the Royal Navy, during which time he acquired two tattoos. Connery's official website says:

 

"Unlike many tattoos, his were not frivolous –

his tattoos reflect two of his lifelong

commitments: his family and Scotland. One

tattoo is a tribute to his parents, and reads

'Mum and Dad', and the other is self-explanatory,

'Scotland Forever'".

 

Sean trained in Portsmouth at the naval gunnery school and in an anti-aircraft crew. He was later assigned as an Able Seaman on HMS Formidable.

 

Connery was discharged from the navy at the age of 19 on medical grounds because of a duodenal ulcer, a condition that affected most of the males in previous generations of his family.

 

Afterwards, he returned to the Co-op and worked as a lorry driver, a lifeguard at Portobello swimming baths, a labourer, an artist's model for the Edinburgh College of Art, and after a suggestion by former Mr. Scotland Archie Brennan, as a coffin polisher, among other jobs.

 

The modelling earned him 15 shillings an hour. Artist Richard Demarco, at the time a student who painted several early pictures of Connery, described him as:

 

"Very straight, slightly shy, too,

too beautiful for words, a virtual

Adonis".

 

Connery began bodybuilding at the age of 18, and from 1951 trained heavily with Ellington, a former gym instructor in the British Army. While his official website states he was third in the 1950 Mr. Universe contest, most sources place him in the 1953 competition, either third in the Junior class or failing to place in the Tall Man classification.

 

Connery said that he was soon deterred from bodybuilding when he found that Americans frequently beat him in competitions because of sheer muscle size and, unlike Connery, refused to participate in athletic activity which could make them lose muscle mass.

 

Connery was a keen footballer, having played for Bonnyrigg Rose in his younger days. He was offered a trial with East Fife.

 

While on tour with South Pacific, Connery played in a football match against a local team that Matt Busby, manager of Manchester United, happened to be scouting. According to reports, Busby was impressed with Sean's physical prowess, and offered Connery a contract worth £25 a week (equivalent to £743 in 2021) immediately after the game. Connery said he was tempted to accept, but he recalls,

 

"I realised that a top-class footballer could

be over the hill by the age of 30, and I was

already 23. I decided to become an actor,

and it turned out to be one of my more

intelligent moves".

 

Sean Connery's Acting Career

 

(a) Pre-James Bond

 

Seeking to supplement his income, Connery helped out backstage at the King's Theatre in late 1951. During a bodybuilding competition held in London in 1953, one of the competitors mentioned that auditions were being held for a production of South Pacific, and Connery landed a small part as one of the Seabees chorus boys.

 

By the time the production reached Edinburgh, he had been given the part of Marine Cpl. Hamilton Steeves, and was understudying two of the juvenile leads, and his salary was raised from £12 to £14–10s a week.

 

The production returned the following year, out of popular demand, and Connery was promoted to the featured role of Lieutenant Buzz Adams, which Larry Hagman had portrayed in the West End.

 

While in Edinburgh, Connery was targeted by the Valdor gang, one of the most violent in the city. He was first approached by them in a billiard hall where he prevented them from stealing his jacket and was later followed by six gang members to a 15-foot-high (4.6 m) balcony at the Palais de Danse.

 

There, Connery singlehandedly launched an attack against the gang members, grabbing one by the throat and another by the biceps and cracking their heads together. From then on, he was treated with great respect by the gang and gained a reputation as a "hard man".

 

Connery first met Michael Caine at a party during the production of South Pacific in 1954, and the two later became close friends. During this production at the Opera House, Manchester, over the Christmas period of 1954, Connery developed a serious interest in the theatre through American actor Robert Henderson, who lent him copies of the Ibsen works Hedda Gabler, The Wild Duck, and When We Dead Awaken, and later listed works by the likes of Proust, Tolstoy, Turgenev, Bernard Shaw, Joyce, and Shakespeare for him to digest.

 

Henderson urged Sean to take elocution lessons, and got him parts at the Maida Vale Theatre in London. He had already begun a film career, having been an extra in Herbert Wilcox's 1954 musical Lilacs in the Spring alongside Errol Flynn and Anna Neagle.

 

Although Connery had secured several roles as an extra, he was struggling to make ends meet, and was forced to accept a part-time job as a babysitter for journalist Peter Noble and his actress wife Marianne, which earned him 10 shillings a night.

 

One night at Noble's house Sean met Hollywood actress Shelley Winters, who described Connery as:

 

"One of the tallest and most charming

and masculine Scotsmen I have ever

seen."

 

Shelley later spent many evenings with the Connery brothers drinking beer. Around this time, Connery was residing at TV presenter Llew Gardner's house.

 

Henderson landed Connery a role in a £6 a week Q Theatre production of Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution, during which he met and became friends with fellow Scot Ian Bannen.

 

This role was followed by Point of Departure and A Witch in Time at Kew, a role as Pentheus opposite Yvonne Mitchell in The Bacchae at the Oxford Playhouse, and a role opposite Jill Bennett in Eugene O'Neill's play Anna Christie.

 

During his time at the Oxford Theatre, Connery won a brief part as a boxer in the TV series The Square Ring, before being spotted by Canadian director Alvin Rakoff, who gave him multiple roles in The Condemned, shot on location in Dover in Kent.

 

In 1956, Connery appeared in the theatrical production of Epitaph, and played a minor role as a hoodlum in the "Ladies of the Manor" episode of the BBC Television police series Dixon of Dock Green.

 

This was followed by small television parts in Sailor of Fortune and The Jack Benny Program (in a special episode filmed in Europe).

 

In early 1957, Connery hired agent Richard Hatton, who got him his first film role, as Spike, a minor gangster with a speech impediment in Montgomery Tully's No Road Back.

 

In April 1957, Rakoff – after being disappointed by Jack Palance – decided to give the young actor his first chance in a leading role, and cast Connery as Mountain McLintock in BBC Television's production of Requiem for a Heavyweight, which also starred Warren Mitchell and Jacqueline Hill.

 

Sean then played a rogue lorry driver, Johnny Yates, in Cy Endfield's Hell Drivers (1957) alongside Stanley Baker, Herbert Lom, Peggy Cummins, and Patrick McGoohan.

 

Later in 1957, Connery appeared in Terence Young's poorly received MGM action picture Action of the Tiger; the film was shot on location in southern Spain.

 

He also had a minor role in Gerald Thomas's thriller Time Lock (1957) as a welder, appearing alongside Robert Beatty, Lee Patterson, Betty McDowall, and Vincent Winter. This commenced filming on the 1st. December 1956 at Beaconsfield Studios.

 

Connery had a major role in the melodrama Another Time, Another Place (1958) as a British reporter named Mark Trevor, caught in a love affair opposite Lana Turner and Barry Sullivan.

 

During filming, Turner's possessive gangster boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato, who was visiting from Los Angeles, believed she was having an affair with Connery. Connery and Turner had attended West End shows and London restaurants together.

 

Stompanato stormed onto the film set and pointed a gun at Connery, only to have Connery disarm him and knock him flat on his back. Stompanato was banned from the set. Two Scotland Yard detectives advised Stompanato to leave and escorted him to the airport, where he boarded a plane back to the United States.

 

Connery later recounted that he had to lay low for a while after receiving threats from men linked to Stompanato's boss, Mickey Cohen.

 

In 1959, Connery landed a leading role in director Robert Stevenson's Walt Disney Productions film Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959). The film is a tale about a wily Irishman and his battle of wits with leprechauns.

 

Upon the film's initial release, A. H. Weiler of The New York Times praised the cast (save Connery whom he described as "merely tall, dark, and handsome") and thought the film:

 

"An overpoweringly charming concoction

of standard Gaelic tall stories, fantasy and

romance."

 

Sean also had prominent television roles in Rudolph Cartier's 1961 productions of Adventure Story and Anna Karenina for BBC Television, co-starring with Claire Bloom in the latter.

 

Also in 1961 he portrayed the title role in a CBC television film adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth with Australian actress Zoe Caldwell cast as Lady Macbeth.

 

(b) James Bond: 1962–1971, 1983

 

Connery's breakthrough came in the role of British secret agent James Bond. He was reluctant to commit to a film series, but understood that if the films succeeded, his career would greatly benefit.

 

Between 1962 and 1967, Connery played 007 in Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, and You Only Live Twice, the first five Bond films produced by Eon Productions.

 

After departing from the role, Connery returned for the seventh film, Diamonds Are Forever, in 1971. Connery made his final appearance as Bond in Never Say Never Again, a 1983 remake of Thunderball produced by Jack Schwartzman's Taliafilm.

 

All seven films were commercially successful. James Bond, as portrayed by Connery, was selected as the third-greatest hero in cinema history by the American Film Institute.

 

Connery's selection for the role of James Bond owed a lot to Dana Broccoli, wife of producer Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, who is reputed to have been instrumental in persuading her husband that Connery was the right man.

 

James Bond's creator, Ian Fleming, originally doubted Connery's casting, saying:

 

"He's not what I envisioned of James

Bond looks. I'm looking for Commander

Bond and not an overgrown stunt-man."

 

He added that Connery (muscular, 6' 2", and a Scot) was unrefined. However Fleming's girlfriend Blanche Blackwell told Fleming that Connery had the requisite sexual charisma, and Fleming changed his mind after the successful Dr. No première.

 

He was so impressed, he wrote Connery's heritage into the character. In his 1964 novel You Only Live Twice, Fleming wrote that Bond's father was Scottish and from Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands.

 

Connery's portrayal of Bond owes much to stylistic tutelage from director Terence Young, who helped polish him while using his physical grace and presence for the action.

 

Lois Maxwell, who played Miss Moneypenny, related that:

 

"Terence took Sean under his wing.

He took him to dinner, showed him

how to walk, how to talk, even how

to eat".

 

The tutoring was successful; Connery received thousands of fan letters a week after Dr. No's opening, and he became a major sex symbol in film.

 

Following the release of the film Dr. No in 1962, the line "Bond ... James Bond", became a catch phrase in the lexicon of Western popular culture. Film critic Peter Bradshaw writes:

 

"It is the most famous self-introduction

from any character in movie history.

Three cool monosyllables, surname first,

a little curtly, as befits a former naval

commander.

And then, as if in afterthought, the first

name, followed by the surname again.

Connery carried it off with icily disdainful

style, in full evening dress with a cigarette

hanging from his lips.

The introduction was a kind of challenge,

or seduction, invariably addressed to an

enemy.

In the early 60's, Connery's James Bond

was about as dangerous and sexy as it

got on screen."

 

During the filming of Thunderball in 1965, Connery's life was in danger in the sequence with the sharks in Emilio Largo's pool. He had been concerned about this threat when he read the script.

 

Connery insisted that Ken Adam build a special Plexiglas partition inside the pool, but this was not a fixed structure, and one of the sharks managed to pass through it. He had to abandon the pool immediately.

 

(c) Post-James Bond

 

Although Bond had made him a star, Connery grew tired of the role and the pressure the franchise put on him, saying:

 

"I am fed up to here with the whole

Bond bit. I have always hated that

damned James Bond. I'd like to kill

him."

 

Michael Caine said of the situation:

 

"If you were his friend in these early

days you didn't raise the subject of

Bond. He was, and is, a much better

actor than just playing James Bond,

but he became synonymous with

Bond. He'd be walking down the

street and people would say,

'Look, there's James Bond'.

That was particularly upsetting

to him."

 

While making the Bond films, Connery also starred in other films such as Alfred Hitchcock's Marnie (1964) and Sidney Lumet's The Hill (1965), which film critic Peter Bradshaw regards as his two great non-Bond pictures from the 1960's.

 

In Marnie, Connery starred opposite Tippi Hedren. Connery had said he wanted to work with Hitchcock, which Eon arranged through their contacts. Connery shocked many people at the time by asking to see a script, something he did because he was worried about being typecast as a spy, and he did not want to do a variation of North by Northwest or Notorious.

 

When told by Hitchcock's agent that Cary Grant had not asked to see even one of Hitchcock's scripts, Connery replied:

 

"I'm not Cary Grant."

 

Hitchcock and Connery got on well during filming, and Connery said he was happy with the film "with certain reservations".

 

In The Hill, Connery wanted to act in something that wasn't Bond related, and he used his leverage as a star to feature in it. While the film wasn't a financial success, it was a critical one, debuting at the Cannes Film Festival and winning Best Screenplay.

 

The first of five films he made with Lumet, Connery considered him to be one of his favourite directors. The respect was mutual, with Lumet saying of Connery's performance in The Hill:

 

"The thing that was apparent to me –

and to most directors – was how much

talent and ability it takes to play that

kind of character who is based on charm

and magnetism.

It's the equivalent of high comedy, and

he did it brilliantly."

 

In the mid-1960's, Connery played golf with Scottish industrialist Iain Maxwell Stewart, a connection which led to Connery directing and presenting the documentary film The Bowler and the Bunnet in 1967.

 

The film described the Fairfield Experiment, a new approach to industrial relations carried out at the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Glasgow, during the 1960s; the experiment was initiated by Stewart and supported by George Brown, the First Secretary in Harold Wilson's cabinet, in 1966.

 

The company was facing closure, and Brown agreed to provide £1 million (£13.135 million; US$15.55 million in 2021 terms) to enable trade unions, the management and the shareholders to try out new ways of industrial management.

 

Having played Bond six times, Connery's global popularity was such that he shared a Golden Globe Henrietta Award with Charles Bronson for "World Film Favorite – Male" in 1972.

 

He appeared in John Huston's The Man Who Would Be King (1975) opposite Michael Caine. Playing two former British soldiers who set themselves up as kings in Kafiristan, both actors regarded it as their favourite film.

 

The same year, Sean appeared in The Wind and the Lion opposite Candice Bergen who played Eden Perdicaris (based on the real-life Perdicaris incident), and in 1976 played Robin Hood in Robin and Marian opposite Audrey Hepburn.

 

Film critic Roger Ebert, who had praised the double act of Connery and Caine in The Man Who Would Be King, praised Connery's chemistry with Hepburn, writing:

 

"Connery and Hepburn seem to have

arrived at a tacit understanding

between themselves about their

characters. They glow. They really

do seem in love."

 

During the 1970's, Connery was part of ensemble casts in films such as Murder on the Orient Express (1974) with Vanessa Redgrave and John Gielgud, and played a British Army general in Richard Attenborough's war film A Bridge Too Far (1977), co-starring with Dirk Bogarde and Laurence Olivier.

 

In 1974, he starred in John Boorman's sci-fi thriller Zardoz. Often called one of the weirdest and worst movies ever made, it featured Connery in a scarlet mankini – a revealing costume which generated much controversy for its unBond-like appearance.

 

Despite being panned by critics at the time, the film has developed a cult following since its release. In the audio commentary to the film, Boorman relates how Connery would write poetry in his free time, describing him as:

 

"A man of great depth and intelligence,

as well as possessing the most

extraordinary memory."

 

In 1981, Connery appeared in the film Time Bandits as Agamemnon. The casting choice derives from a joke Michael Palin included in the script, which describes the character's removing his mask and being:

 

"Sean Connery – or someone

of equal but cheaper stature".

 

When shown the script, Connery was happy to play the supporting role.

 

In 1981 he portrayed Marshal William T. O'Niel in the science fiction thriller Outland. In 1982, Connery narrated G'olé!, the official film of the 1982 FIFA World Cup.

 

That same year, he was offered the role of Daddy Warbucks in Annie, going as far as taking voice lessons for the John Huston musical before turning down the part.

 

Connery agreed to reprise Bond as an ageing agent 007 in Never Say Never Again, released in October 1983. The title, contributed by his wife, refers to his earlier statement that he would "never again" return to the role.

 

Although the film performed well at the box office, it was plagued with production problems: strife between the director and producer, financial problems, the Fleming estate trustees' attempts to halt the film, and Connery's wrist being broken by the fight choreographer, Steven Seagal.

 

As a result of his negative experiences during filming, Connery became unhappy with the major studios, and did not make any films for two years. Following the successful European production The Name of the Rose (1986), for which he won a BAFTA Award for Best Actor, Connery's interest in more commercial material was revived.

 

That same year, a supporting role in Highlander showcased his ability to play older mentors to younger leads, which became a recurring role in many of his later films.

 

In 1987, Connery starred in Brian De Palma's The Untouchables, where he played a hard-nosed Irish-American cop alongside Kevin Costner's Eliot Ness. The film also starred Andy Garcia and Robert De Niro as Al Capone.

 

The film was a critical and box-office success. Many critics praised Connery for his performance, including Roger Ebert, who wrote:

 

"The best performance in the movie

is Connery. He brings a human element

to his character; he seems to have had

an existence apart from the legend of

the Untouchables, and when he's

onscreen we can believe, briefly, that

the Prohibition Era was inhabited by

people, not caricatures."

 

For his performance, Connery received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

 

Connery starred in Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), playing Henry Jones Sr., the title character's father, and received BAFTA and Golden Globe Award nominations. Harrison Ford said Connery's contributions at the writing stage enhanced the film:

 

"It was amazing for me in how far he got

into the script and went after exploiting

opportunities for character.

His suggestions to George Lucas at the

writing stage really gave the character

and the picture a lot more complexity

and value than it had in the original

screenplay.

 

Sean's subsequent box-office hits included The Hunt for Red October (1990), The Russia House (1990), The Rock (1996), and Entrapment (1999). In 1996, he voiced the role of Draco the dragon in the film Dragonheart.

 

He also appeared in a brief cameo as King Richard the Lionheart at the end of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991). In 1998, Connery received the BAFTA Fellowship, a lifetime achievement award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

 

Connery's later films included several box-office and critical disappointments such as First Knight (1995), Just Cause (1995), The Avengers (1998), and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003).

 

The failure of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was especially frustrating for Connery. He sensed during shooting that the production was "going off the rails", and announced that the director, Stephen Norrington should be "locked up for insanity".

 

Connery spent considerable effort in trying to salvage the film through the editing process, ultimately deciding to retire from acting rather than go through such stress ever again.

 

However, he received positive reviews for his performance in Finding Forrester (2000). He also received a Crystal Globe for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema.

 

In a 2003 UK poll conducted by Channel 4, Connery was ranked eighth on their list of the 100 Greatest Movie Stars.

 

Connery turned down the role of Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings films, saying he did not understand the script. He was reportedly offered US$30 million along with 15% of the worldwide box office receipts, which would have earned him US$450 million.

 

He also turned down the opportunity to appear as Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series and the Architect in The Matrix trilogy.

 

In 2005, he recorded voiceovers for the From Russia with Love video game with recording producer Terry Manning in the Bahamas, and provided his likeness. Connery said he was happy the producers, Electronic Arts, had approached him to voice Bond.

 

(d) Retirement

 

When Connery received the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award on the 8th. June 2006, he confirmed his retirement from acting.

 

Connery's disillusionment with the "idiots now making films in Hollywood" was cited as a reason for his decision to retire.

 

On the 7th. June 2007, he denied rumours that he would appear in the fourth Indiana Jones film, saying:

 

"Retirement is just too

much damned fun."

 

In 2010, a bronze bust sculpture of Connery was placed in Tallinn, Estonia, outside The Scottish Club, whose membership includes Estonian Scotophiles and a handful of expatriate Scots.

 

In 2012, Connery briefly came out of retirement to voice the title character in the Scottish animated film Sir Billi. Connery served as executive producer for an expanded 80-minute version.

 

Sean Connery's Personal Life

 

During the production of South Pacific in the mid-1950's, Connery dated a Jewish "dark-haired beauty with a ballerina's figure", Carol Sopel, but was warned off by her family.

 

He then dated Julie Hamilton, daughter of documentary filmmaker and feminist Jill Craigie. Given Connery's rugged appearance and rough charm, Hamilton initially thought he was an appalling person and was not attracted to him until she saw him in a kilt, declaring him to be the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life.

 

He also shared a mutual attraction with jazz singer Maxine Daniels, whom he met whilst working in theatre. He made a pass at her, but she told him she was already happily married with a daughter.

 

Connery was married to actress Diane Cilento from 1962 to 1974, though they separated in 1971. They had a son, actor Jason Joseph. Connery was separated in the early 1970's when he dated Dyan Cannon, Jill St. John, Lana Wood, Carole Mallory, and Magda Konopka.

 

In her 2006 autobiography, Cilento alleged that he had abused her mentally and physically during their relationship. Connery cancelled an appearance at the Scottish Parliament in 2006 because of controversy over his alleged support of abuse of women.

 

He denied claims that he told Playboy magazine in 1965:

 

"I don't think there is anything

particularly wrong in hitting a

woman, though I don't

recommend you do it in the

same way you hit a man".

 

He was also reported to have stated to Vanity Fair in 1993:

 

"There are women who take it

to the wire. That's what they are

looking for, the ultimate

confrontation. They want a smack."

 

In 2006, Connery told The Times of London:

 

"I don't believe that any level of

abuse of women is ever justified

under any circumstances. Full stop".

 

When knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2000 he wore a green-and-black hunting tartan kilt of his mother's MacLean clan.

 

Connery was married to French-Moroccan painter Micheline Roquebrune (born 4th. April 1929) from 1975 until his death. The marriage survived a well-documented affair Connery had in the late 1980's with the singer and songwriter Lynsey de Paul, which she later regretted due to his views concerning domestic violence.

 

Connery owned the Domaine de Terre Blanche in the South of France from 1979. He sold it to German billionaire Dietmar Hopp in 1999.

 

He was awarded an honorary rank of Shodan (1st. dan) in Kyokushin karate.

 

Connery relocated to the Bahamas in the 1990's; he owned a mansion in Lyford Cay on New Providence.

 

Connery had a villa in Kranidi, Greece. His neighbour was King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, with whom he shared a helicopter platform.

 

Growing up, Connery supported the Scottish football club Celtic F.C., having been introduced to the club by his father who was a lifelong fan of the team.

 

Later in life, Connery switched his loyalty to Celtic's bitter rival, Rangers F.C., after he became close friends with the team's chairman, David Murray.

 

Sean was a keen golfer, and English professional golfer Peter Alliss gave Connery golf lessons before the filming of the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger, which involved a scene where Connery, as Bond, played golf against gold magnate Auric Goldfinger at Stoke Park Golf Club in Buckinghamshire.

 

The golf scene saw him wear a Slazenger v-neck sweater, a brand which Connery became associated with while playing golf in his free time, with a light grey marl being a favoured colour.

 

Record major championship winner and golf course designer Jack Nicklaus said:

 

"He loved the game of golf – Sean

was a pretty darn good golfer! –

and we played together several

times.

In May 1993, Sean and legendary

driver Jackie Stewart helped me

open our design of the PGA

Centenary Course at Gleneagles

in Scotland."

 

Sean Connery's Political Views

 

Connery's Scottish roots and his experiences in filming in Glasgow's shipyards in 1966 inspired him to become a member of the centre-left Scottish National Party (SNP), which supports Scottish independence from the United Kingdom.

 

In 2011, Connery said:

 

"The Bowler and the Bunnet was just

the beginning of a journey that would

lead to my long association with the

Scottish National Party."

 

Connery supported the party both financially and through personal appearances. In 1967, he wrote to George Leslie, the SNP candidate in the 1967 Glasgow Pollok by-election, saying:

 

"I am convinced that with our resources

and skills we are more than capable of

building a prosperous, vigorous and

modern self-governing Scotland in which

we can all take pride and which will

deserve the respect of other nations."

 

His funding of the SNP ceased in 2001, when the UK Parliament passed legislation prohibiting overseas funding of political activities in the United Kingdom.

 

Dean Connery's Tax Status

 

In response to accusations that he was a tax exile, Connery released documents in 2003 showing he had paid £3.7 million in UK taxes between 1997 and 1998 and between 2002 and 2003. Critics pointed out that had he been continuously residing in the UK for tax purposes, his tax rate would have been far higher.

 

In the run-up to the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Connery's brother Neil said that Connery would not come to Scotland to rally independence supporters, since his tax exile status greatly limited the number of days he could spend in the country.

 

After Connery sold his Marbella villa in 1999, Spanish authorities launched a tax evasion investigation, alleging that the Spanish treasury had been defrauded of £5.5 million.

 

Connery was subsequently cleared by officials, but his wife and 16 others were charged with attempting to defraud the Spanish treasury.

 

The Death and Legacy of Sean Connery

 

Connery died in his sleep on the 31st. October 2020, aged 90, at his home in the Lyford Cay community of Nassau in the Bahamas. His death was announced by his family and Eon Productions; although they did not disclose the cause of death, his son Jason said he had been unwell for some time.

 

A day later, Roquebrune revealed he had suffered from dementia in his final years. Connery's death certificate recorded the cause of death as pneumonia and respiratory failure, and the time of death was listed as 1:30 am.

 

Sean's remains were cremated, and the ashes were scattered in Scotland at undisclosed locations in 2022.

 

Following the announcement of his death, many co-stars and figures from the entertainment industry paid tribute to Connery, including Sam Neill, Nicolas Cage, Robert De Niro, Michael Bay, Tippi Hedren, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, George Lucas, Shirley Bassey, Kevin Costner, and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

 

Tributes also came from Barbra Streisand, John Cleese, Jane Seymour and Harrison Ford, as well as former Bond stars George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan, the family of late former Bond actor Roger Moore, and Daniel Craig, who played 007 until No Time to Die.

 

Connery's long-time friend Michael Caine called him:

 

"A great star, brilliant actor

and a wonderful friend".

 

James Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli released a statement saying that:

 

"Connery has revolutionized the world

with his gritty and witty portrayal of the

sexy and charismatic secret agent.

He is undoubtedly largely responsible

for the success of the film series, and

we shall be forever grateful to him".

 

In 2004, a poll in the UK Sunday Herald recognised Connery as "The Greatest Living Scot," and a 2011 EuroMillions survey named him "Scotland's Greatest Living National Treasure".

 

He was voted by People magazine as the "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1989 and the "Sexiest Man of the Century" in 1999.

 

Final Thoughts From Sir Sean Connery

 

"I am not an Englishman, I was never an

Englishman, and I don't ever want to be

one. I am a Scotsman! I was a Scotsman,

and I will always be one."

 

"I admit I'm being paid well, but it's no more

than I deserve. After all, I've been screwed

more times than a hooker."

 

"Love may not make the world go round,

but I must admit that it makes the ride

worthwhile."

 

"There is nothing like a challenge

to bring out the best in man."

 

"I like women. I don't understand

them, but I like them."

 

"Some age, others mature."

 

"I met my wife through playing golf. She is

French and couldn't speak English, and I

couldn't speak French, so there was little

chance of us getting involved in any boring

conversations - that's why we got married

really quickly."

 

"Everything I have done or attempted to do

for Scotland has always been for her benefit,

never my own, and I defy anyone to prove

otherwise."

 

"The knighthood I received was a fantastic

honor but it's not something I've ever used,

and I don't think I ever will."

 

"I never trashed a hotel room or did drugs."

 

"More than anything else, I'd like to be an

old man with a good face, like Hitchcock or

Picasso."

 

"Laughter kills fear, and without fear there

can be no faith. For without fear of the devil

there is no need for God."

 

"Perhaps I'm not a good actor, but I would

be even worse at doing anything else."

 

"I'm an actor - it's not brain surgery. If I do

my job right, people won't ask for their

money back."

 

"I haven't found anywhere in the world

where I want to be all the time. The best

of my life is the moving. I look forward to

going."

I was a little surprised, but very pleased, to wake to a clear sky on 20161113. This had not been forecast, but reality beats theory! I went outside to have a closer look at the Milky Way where it passes through the constellations of Centaurus, Vela, and Carina. This is basically the region of the Milky Way that stretches from the centre to the top of the image that I posted recently at ...

 

www.flickr.com/photos/momentsforzen/30802518655/

 

At the same time, I investigated various questions that I have been pondering ...

 

a) Will my 150mm f/4.0 lens provide better detail of the night sky than my 250mm f/5.6 lens?

b) Is there any benefit to be gained by using ISO 3200 rather than ISO 1600 or does it add more noise to the image?

c) What do the 5 Caldwell Objects look like in this region of the sky?

d) Can I devise a general, simple, and robust post-processing sequence that will produce night sky images that I find pleasing and satisfying?

 

----------

a) Overall, I am getting better results with my 150mm lens than the 250mm lens.

- The increased resolution of the 250mm lens is not sufficient to offset the 2 stops of additional light with the 150mm lens.

- The 150mm has a 1 stop wider aperture (f/4.0 versus f/5.6).

- Reduced focal length / magnification allowed a longer exposure time without showing star trail behavior.

> Exposure length of 4 or 8 seconds versus 2 seconds (i.e., 1 or 2 stops equivalent of exposure better off).

- The resolution advantage of the 250mm versus 150mm focal length cannot be fully exploited because the ultimate resolution is being control by the background ambient light level.

 

----------

b) There appears to be a net benefit to use ISO 3200 over ISO 1600. When pushed to a similar level of enhancement as the image shown here, the corresponding image acquired with ISO 1600 displays artifacts in the form of horizontal stripes or banding.

 

----------

c) Amateur astronomers have appreciated being guided in their viewing targets by several lists of objects, notably the Messier Objects, the Caldwell Catalogue, and the New General Catalogue.

 

The 109 / 110 Messier Objects were compiled into a list by Charles Messier in the late 18th century. He was primarily interested in comets and he compiled the list so that he could ignore these features in his search for new comets.

 

The New General Catalogue is a vastly more comprehensive list of 7,840 objects compiled by John Dreyer in the late 19th century. It contains references to many different types of deep sky objects, going well beyond what can be observed with the unaided eye or captured by very simple imaging devices (e.g., a "conventional" camera).

 

The Caldwell Catalogue is a list of 110 relatively bright deep sky objects. Messier compiled his list from observations made in France, and consequently, it does not include features that are only visible from southern latitudes. The entries in the Caldwell Catalogue were sourced from features that are visible from both or either northern and southern hemisphere locations.

 

List of Caldwell Catalog objects that are present in this scene ...

 

Catalogue # | Name | NGC or IC # | Type | Constellation | Apparent Brightness

 

C91 | Wishing Well Cluster | NGC 3532 | Open Cluster | Carina | +3

- Diffuse cluster of stars 1/3rd from the left edge and 1/3rd from the bottom.

 

C92 | Eta Carinae Nebula | NGC 2272 | Nebula | Carina | +3

- Bright, complex cluster immediately left of the center of the image.

 

C97 | Pearl Cluster | NGC 3766 | Open Cluster | Centaurus | +5.3

- Small, dense cluster of stars near the bottom edge and 1/2 way in from the left edge.

 

C100 | Lambda Centauri | IC 2944 | Open Cluster and Nebula | Centaurus | +4.5

- Hard to describe - A half dozen or so bright objects close to the bottom edge and to the right of C97.

 

C102 | Theta Car Cluster | IC 2602 | Open Cluster |Carina | +1.9

- Loose luster of bright objects 3/4 across from the left edge and 1/2 way up from the bottom.

 

----------

d) With the level of ambient light present, there is only so much that can be done to obtain a "good" (i.e., pleasing) result.

- The base level of the background luminance noise is elevated, which reduces the contrast and color gamut of small point objects that can be extracted from the raw data.

- The result is a flat, monochromatic image.

- Refer to the notes below for more details of the processing applied to the raw image to produce the processed image shown here.

 

----------

As of a few weeks ago, I have been unable to obtain a solid coupling between any of my shutter release cables and the threaded portion of the 500C/M camera body exposure button.

 

Various empirical tests showed that the following procedure introduces a minimal amount of camera shake into my long exposure photographs, and I used this procedure to capture this image.

 

- Mount the camera on a sturdy tripod.

- Adjust the "Exposure Time" on the CFV-50c digital back to the desired value so that it will be the digital back that terminates the exposure. I have found that I often introduce some camera shake into the image if I terminate the shot by releasing the shutter button.

- Pre-stage the mirror by using the mirror lock-up functionality that is activated by sliding the tab below the camera body winder upwards.

- Allow any camera shake to subside by waiting several seconds.

- Initiate the exposure by firmly depressing the exposure button on the camera body. Continue to hold the button down.

- Release the exposure button after the exposure is terminated by the digital back.

 

----------

Links for background information ...

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caldwell_catalogue

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_object

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_General_Catalogue

 

----------

 

[ Location - Barton, Australian Capital Territory, Australia ]

 

----------

Photography notes ...

The photograph was taken using the following hardware configuration ...

(Year of manufacture indicated in braces where known.)

- Hasselblad 500C/M body (1994).

- Hasselblad CFV-50c Digital Back for Hasselblad V mount camera.

- Hasselblad Focusing Screen for the CFV-50c digital back, with focussing prism and crop markings.

- Hasselblad 45 Degree Viewfinder PME-45 42297 (2001).

- Hasselblad Carl Zeiss lens - Sonnar 150mm f/4 CFi T* (2003).

- FotodioX B60 Lens Hood for Select Hasselblad Telephoto CF Lenses.

 

- MeFOTO BackPacker Travel Tripod

- Hasselblad HATQCH (3043326) Tripod Quick Coupling

- Arca-Swiss ARUCP38 Universal Camera Plate 3/8"

 

I acquired the photograph (8272 x 6200 pixels) with an ISO of 3200, exposure time of 4 seconds, and aperture of f/4.0

 

The processing sequence below is "loosely" based on ...

"How to Process Milky Way Astrophotography in Adobe Lightroom"

(Ian Norman, September 7, 2015)

www.lonelyspeck.com/how-to-process-milky-way-astrophotogr...

 

Post-processing ...

Finder - Removed the CF card from the camera digital back and placed it in a Lexar 25-in-1 USB card reader. Then used Finder on my MacBook Air to download the raw image file (3FR extension) from the card.

Lightroom - Imported the 3FR image.

Lightroom - Used the Map module to add the location details to the EXIF header.

Lightroom - Increased the exposure. I revisited the Exposure setting several times during the processing to make smaller / second order changes to compensate for the effect of other processing adjustments.

Lightroom - Temporarily increased the Vibrance and Saturation to +100. Adjusted the white balance (i.e., temperature). *** I found that adjusting the Purple Hue from purple towards blue and the Blue Hue to darker blue in the HSL panel were important steps towards the final color for the image. After making the temperature adjustments, I returned Vibrance and Saturation to zero.

Lightroom - Increased the Contrast.

Lightroom - Substantially decreased the Whites and Blacks to minimize clipping of the brighter stars and darken the background. Increased Clarity substantially, and reduced Saturation a fraction.

Lightroom - Left the Sharpening at its default values. Increased the Color / Chroma noise reduction setting to 100%. Activated the Luminance noise reduction process with 50%.

Lightroom - Applied the Vignetting portion of the Lens Profile Correction for the Zeiss Batis 2/25 lens. Applied zero Distortion.

Lightroom - Applied Dehaze (positive amount).

Lightroom - Added several Graduated Filters to compensate for the gradients in exposure levels that were introduced by various ambient light sources (e.g., the building and street lights at Kingston.

Lightroom - Re-visited all of the settings to fine tune them.

Lightroom - Saved the Develop module settings as preset 20161118-102.

Lightroom - Switched to the Library module and Output the image as a JPEG image using the "Maximum" quality option (8272 x 6200 pixels).

PhotoSync - Copied the JPEG file to my iPad Mini for any final processing, review, enjoyment, and posting to social media.

 

@MomentsForZen #MomentsForZen #MFZ #Hasselblad #500CM #CFV50c #Lightroom #Sky #Night #Dark #Stars #MilkyWay #Vela #Carina #Centaurus #Caldwell #CaldwellCatalog #CaldwellCatologue #Messier #MessierObjects #NewGeneralCataolog #NewGeneralCatalogue #NGC #C91 #C92 #C97 #C100 #C102

Des heures et des heures de clic et clic...

Pour un résultat assez moyen, beaucoup trop de.. ,pas assez de … Un gros manque de....

A revoir...

Sinon, que vous dire sur cette stéréo ?

Que si vous avez 5% de sang noire, vous êtes noire au USA !

Mais c'est bien les métisses qui s'en sortent le mieux quand même en politique ( un président quand même !! des maires de grande villes ... ) dans des corps de métiers interdits il y a moins de 50 ans sans oublier Hollywood....

Comment était considéré ce paysans par les autres propriétaire, ces familles mixtes ? Et les problèmes d'inceste ?

Vous avez remarqué la signature : les nez !

Et pour vous donner une idée de la vie de ce paysans, lisez ou relisez Erskine Caldwell.

 

« Cette définition est très différente de celles que l'on trouve dans d'autres pays. F. James Davis rappelle notamment qu'en 1956, pendant une conférence d'écrivains noirs à Paris, le chef de la délégation américaine, John Davis, avait la peau tellement claire qu'un organisateur français lui a demandé pourquoi il se considérait comme noir. L'histoire est relatée par l'écrivain afro-américain James Baldwin et, pour lui, la réponse est simple: Davis est noir car les lois américaines le considèrent comme tel, parce qu'il a choisi de l'être, de s'impliquer dans cette communauté et parce qu'il a l'expérience sociale d'être noir. »

 

www.slate.fr/story/102949/etats-unis-rachel-dolezal-noir-...

 

Hours and hours of click and click ...

For a fairly average result, too much of ..., not enough of ... A big lack of ...

To review...

If not, what can you tell about this stereo?

That if you have 5% black blood, you are black in the USA!

But it is the mixed race women who are doing the best anyway in politics (a president anyway !! mayors of big cities ...) in trades banned less than 50 years ago without forgetting Hollywood ....

How was this peasant considered by the other owners, these mixed families? What about incest problems?

You noticed the signature: the noses!

And to give you an idea of ​​the life of this peasant, read or reread Erskine Caldwell.

 

“This definition is very different from those found in other countries. F. James Davis recalls in particular that in 1956, during a conference of black writers in Paris, the head of the American delegation, John Davis, was so light-skinned that a French organizer asked him why he considered himself black . The story is told by the African-American writer James Baldwin and, for him, the answer is simple: Davis is black because American laws consider him as such, because he chose to be, to be get involved in this community and because he has the social experience of being black. "

www.slate.fr/story/102949/etats-unis-rachel-dolezal-noir-...

  

The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), sometimes called the koala bear, is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the wombats. The koala is found in coastal areas of the mainland's eastern and southern regions, inhabiting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is easily recognisable by its stout, tailless body and large head with round, fluffy ears and large, dark nose. The koala has a body length of 60–85 cm (24–33 in) and weighs 4–15 kg (9–33 lb). Fur colour ranges from silver grey to chocolate brown. Koalas from the northern populations are typically smaller and lighter in colour than their counterparts further south. These populations possibly are separate subspecies, but this is disputed.

 

Koalas typically inhabit open Eucalyptus woodland, as the leaves of these trees make up most of their diet. This eucalypt diet has low nutritional and caloric content and contains toxic compounds that deter most other mammals from feeding on it. Koalas are largely sedentary and sleep up to twenty hours a day. They are asocial animals, and bonding exists only between mothers and dependent offspring. Adult males communicate with loud bellows that intimidate rivals and attract mates. Males mark their presence with secretions from scent glands located on their chests. Being marsupials, koalas give birth to underdeveloped young that crawl into their mothers' pouches, where they stay for the first six to seven months of their lives. These young koalas, known as joeys, are fully weaned around a year old. Koalas have few natural predators and parasites, but are threatened by various pathogens, such as Chlamydiaceae bacteria and koala retrovirus.

 

Because of their distinctive appearance, koalas, along with kangaroos and emus, are recognised worldwide as symbols of Australia. They were hunted by Indigenous Australians and depicted in myths and cave art for millennia. The first recorded encounter between a European and a koala was in 1798, and an image of the animal was published in 1810 by naturalist George Perry. Botanist Robert Brown wrote the first detailed scientific description of the koala in 1814, although his work remained unpublished for 180 years. Popular artist John Gould illustrated and described the koala, introducing the species to the general British public. Further details about the animal's biology were revealed in the 19th century by several English scientists. Koalas are listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Among the many threats to their existence are habitat destruction caused by agriculture, urbanisation, droughts, and associated bushfires, some related to climate change. In February 2022, the koala was officially listed as endangered in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, and Queensland.

 

Etymology

The word "koala" comes from the Dharug gula, meaning 'no water'. Although the vowel "u" was originally written in the English orthography as "oo" (in spellings such as coola or koolah — two syllables), the spelling later became "oa" and the word is now pronounced in three syllables, possibly in error.

 

Adopted by white settlers, "koala" became one of several hundred Aboriginal loan words in Australian English, where it was also commonly referred to as "native bear", later "koala bear", for its supposed resemblance to a bear. It is also one of several Aboriginal words that made it into International English alongside words like "didgeridoo" and "kangaroo". The generic name, Phascolarctos, is derived from the Greek words φάσκωλος (phaskolos) 'pouch' and ἄρκτος (arktos) 'bear'. The specific name, cinereus, is Latin for 'ash coloured'.

 

Taxonomy

The koala was given its generic name Phascolarctos in 1816 by French zoologist Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville, who would not give it a specific name until further review. In 1819, German zoologist Georg August Goldfuss gave it the binomial Lipurus cinereus. Because Phascolarctos was published first, according to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, it has priority as the official name of the genus. French naturalist Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest coined the name Phascolarctos fuscus in 1820, suggesting that the brown-coloured versions were a different species than the grey ones. Other names suggested by European authors included Marodactylus cinereus by Goldfuss in 1820, P. flindersii by René Primevère Lesson in 1827, and P. koala by John Edward Gray in 1827.

 

Evolution

The koala is classified with wombats (family Vombatidae) and several extinct families (including marsupial tapirs, marsupial lions and giant wombats) in the suborder Vombatiformes within the order Diprotodontia. The Vombatiformes are a sister group to a clade that includes macropods (kangaroos and wallabies) and possums. The koala's lineage possibly branched off around 40 million years ago during the Eocene.

 

The modern koala is the only extant member of Phascolarctidae, a family that includes several extinct genera and species. During the Oligocene and Miocene, koalas lived in rainforests and had more generalised diets. Some species, such as the Riversleigh rainforest koala (Nimiokoala greystanesi) and some species of Perikoala, were around the same size as the modern koala, while others, such as species of Litokoala, were one-half to two-thirds its size Like the modern species, prehistoric koalas had well developed ear structures which suggests that they also made long-distance vocalisations and had a relatively inactive lifestyle. During the Miocene, the Australian continent began drying out, leading to the decline of rainforests and the spread of open Eucalyptus woodlands. The genus Phascolarctos split from Litokoala in the late Miocene, and had several adaptations that allowed it to live on a specialised eucalyptus diet: a shifting of the palate towards the front of the skull; upper teeth lined by thicker bone, molars located relatively low compared the jaw joint and with more chewing surface; smaller pterygoid fossa; and a larger gap separating the incisor teeth and the molars.

 

P. cinereus may have emerged as a dwarf form of the giant koala (P. stirtoni), following the disappearance of several giant animals in the late Pleistocene. A 2008 study questions this hypothesis, noting that P. cinereus and P. stirtoni were sympatric during the middle to late Pleistocene, and the major difference in the morphology of their teeth. The fossil record of the modern koala extends back at least to the middle Pleistocene.

 

Molecular relationship between living Diprotodontia families based on Phillips and collages (2023)

Vombatidae (wombats)

Phascolarctidae (koalas)

Acrobatidae

Tarsipedidae (honey possum)

Petauridae (wrist-winged gliders and allies)

Pseudocheiridae (ringtail possums and allies)

Macropodidae (kangaroos, wallabies and allies)

Phalangeridae (brushtail possums and cuscuses)

Burramyidae (pygmy possums)

 

Morphology tree of Phascolarctidae based on Beck and collages (2020)

Thylacoleonidae (extinct marsupial lion and allies)

Vombatomorphia (wombats and fossil relatives)

Phascolarctidae

Priscakoala lucyturnbullae

Madakoala spp.

Perikoala robustus

Nimiokoala greystanesi

Litokoala dicksmithi

Litokoala kutjamarpensis

Phascolarctos cinereus

  

Genetics and variations

Three subspecies are recognised: the Queensland koala (Phascolarctos cinereus adustus, Thomas 1923), the New South Wales koala (Phascolarctos cinereus cinereus, Goldfuss 1817), and the Victorian koala (Phascolarctos cinereus victor, Troughton 1935). These forms are distinguished by pelage colour and thickness, body size, and skull shape. The Queensland koala is the smallest of the three, with silver or grey short hairs and a shorter skull. The Victorian koala is the largest, with shaggier, brown fur and a wider skull. The geographic limits of these variations are based on state borders, and their status as subspecies is disputed. A 1999 genetic study suggests koalas exist as a cline within a single evolutionarily significant unit with limited gene flow between local populations.

 

Other studies have found that koala populations have high levels of inbreeding and low genetic variation. Such low genetic diversity may have been caused by declines in the population during the late Pleistocene. Rivers and roads have been shown to limit gene flow and contribute to the isolation of southeast Queensland populations. In April 2013, scientists from the Australian Museum and Queensland University of Technology announced they had fully sequenced the koala genome.

 

Characteristics

The koala is a robust animal with a large head and vestigial or non-existent tail. It has a body length of 60–85 cm (24–33 in) and a weight of 4–15 kg (9–33 lb), making it among the largest arboreal marsupials. Koalas from Victoria are twice as heavy as those from Queensland.  The species is sexually dimorphic, with males 50% larger than females. Males are further distinguished from females by their more curved noses and the presence of chest glands, which are visible as bald patches.  The female's pouch opening is secured by a sphincter which holds the young in.

 

The pelage of the koala is denser on the back. The back fur colour varies from light grey to chocolate brown.  The belly fur is whitish; on the rump it is mottled whitish and dark. The koala has the most effective insulating back fur of any marsupial and is highly resilient to wind and rain, while the belly fur can reflect solar radiation. The koala's curved, sharp claws are well adapted for climbing trees. The large forepaws have two opposable digits (the first and second, which are opposable to the other three) that allow them to grip small branches. On the hind paws, the second and third digits are fused, a typical condition for members of the Diprotodontia, and the attached claws (which are still separate) function like a comb.  The animal has a robust skeleton and a short, muscular upper body with relatively long upper limbs that contribute to its ability to scale trees. In addition, the thigh muscles are anchored further down the shinbone, increasing its climbing power. 

 

For a mammal, the koala has a proportionally small brain,  being 60% smaller than that of a typical diprotodont, weighing only 19.2 g (0.68 oz) on average. The brain's surface is fairly smooth and "primitive".  It does not entirely fill up the cranial cavity, unlike in most mammals,  and is lightened by large amounts of cerebrospinal fluid. It is possible that the fluid protects the brain when animal falls from a tree.  The koala's small brain size may be an adaptation to the energy restrictions imposed by its diet, which is insufficient to sustain a larger brain. Because of its small brain, the koala has a limited ability to perform complex, unusual behaviours. For example, it will not eat plucked leaves on a flat surface, which conflicts with its normal feeding routine.

 

The koala has a broad, dark nose with a good sense of smell, and it is known to sniff the oils of individual branchlets to assess their edibility.  Its relatively small eyes are unusual among marsupials in that the pupils have vertical slits, an adaptation to living on a more vertical plane. Its round ears provide it with good hearing,  and it has a well-developed middle ear. The koala larynx is located relatively low in the vocal tract and can be pulled down even further. They also possess unique folds in the velum (soft palate), known as velar vocal folds, in addition to the typical vocal folds of the larynx. These features allow the koala to produce deeper sounds than would otherwise be possible for their size.

 

The koala has several adaptations for its poor, toxic and fibrous diet.  The animal's dentition consists of the incisors and cheek teeth (a single premolar and four molars on each jaw), which are separated by a large gap (a characteristic feature of herbivorous mammals). The koala bites a leaf with the incisors and clips it with the premolars at the petiole, before chewing it to pieces with the cusped molars.  Koalas may also store food in their cheek pouches before it is ready to be chewed. The partially worn molars of koalas in their prime are optimal for breaking the leaves into small particles, resulting in more efficient stomach digestion and nutrient absorption in the small intestine,  which digests the eucalyptus leaves to provide most of the animal's energy.  A koala sometimes regurgitates the food into the mouth to be chewed a second time.

 

Koalas are hindgut fermenters, and their digestive retention can last for up to 100 hours in the wild or up to 200 hours in captivity. This is made possible by their caecum—200 cm (80 in) long and 10 cm (4 in) in diameter—possibly the largest for an animal when accounting for its size.  Koalas can hold food particles for longer fermentation if needed. They are more likely keep smaller particles as larger ones take longer to digest.  While the hindgut is relatively large, only 10% of the animal's energy is obtained from digestion in this chamber. The koala's metabolic rate is only 50% of the typical mammalian rate, owing to its low energy intake,  although this can vary between seasons and sexes.  They can digest the toxic plant secondary metabolites, phenolic compounds and terpenes present in eucalyptus leaves due to their production of cytochrome P450, which breaks down these poisons in the liver. The koala replaces lost water at a lower rate than some other species like some possums.  It maintains water by absorbing it in the caecum, resulting in drier faecal pellets packed with undigested fibre. 

 

Distribution and habitat

The koala's geographic range covers roughly 1,000,000 km2 (390,000 sq mi), and 30 ecoregions. It ranges throughout mainland eastern and southeastern Australia, including the states of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. The koala was also introduced to several nearby islands. The population on Magnetic Island represents the northern limit of its range.

 

Fossil evidence shows that the koala's range stretched as far west as southwestern Western Australia during the late Pleistocene. They were likely driven to extinction in these areas by environmental changes and hunting by Indigenous Australians.  Koalas were introduced to Western Australia at Yanchep in 2022. Koalas can be found in both tropical and temperate habitats ranging from dense woodlands to more spaced-out forests. In semi-arid climates, they prefer riparian habitats, where nearby streams and creeks provide refuge during times of drought and extreme heat.

 

Behaviour and ecology

Koalas are herbivorous, and while most of their diet consists of eucalypt leaves, they can be found in trees of other genera, such as Acacia, Allocasuarina, Callitris, Leptospermum, and Melaleuca. Though the foliage of over 600 species of Eucalyptus is available, the koala shows a strong preference for around 30. They prefer plant matter with higher protein over fibre and lignin.  The most favoured species are Eucalyptus microcorys, E. tereticornis, and E. camaldulensis, which, on average, make up more than 20% of their diet. Despite its reputation as a picky eater, the koala is more generalist than some other marsupial species, such as the greater glider. The koala does not need to drink often as it can get enough water in the eucalypt leaves,  though larger males may additionally drink water found on the ground or in tree hollows.  When feeding, a koala reaches out to grab leaves with one forepaw while the other paws hang on to the branch. Depending on the size of the individual, a koala can walk to the end of a branch or must stay near the base.  Each day, koalas eat up to 400 grams (14 oz) of leaves, spread over four to six feeding periods.  Despite their adaptations to a low-energy lifestyle, they have meagre fat reserves and need to feed often. 

 

Due to their low-energy diet, koalas limit their activity and sleep 20 hours a day. They are predominantly active at night and spend most of their waking hours foraging. They typically eat and sleep in the same tree, possibly for as long as a day.  On warm days, a koala may rest with its back against a branch or lie down with its limbs dangling.  When it gets very hot, the koala rests lower in the canopy and near the trunk, where the surface is cooler than the surrounding air. It curls up when it gets cold and wet.  A koala will find a lower, thicker branch on which to rest when it gets windy. While it spends most of the time in the tree, the animal descends to the ground to move to another tree, leaping along. The koala usually grooms itself with its hind paws, with their double claws, but sometimes uses its forepaws or mouth. 

 

Social life

Koalas are asocial animals and spend just 15 minutes a day on social behaviours. Where there are more koalas and fewer trees, home ranges are smaller and more clumped while the reverse is true for areas with fewer animals and more trees.  Koala society appears to consist of "residents" and "transients", the former being mostly adult females and the latter males. Resident males appear to be territorial and dominant. The territories of dominant males are found near breeding females, while younger males must wait until they reach full size to challenge for breeding rights.  Adult males occasionally venture outside their home ranges; when they do so, dominant ones retain their status.  As a male climbs a new tree, he rubs his chest against it and sometimes dribbles urine. This scent-marking behaviour probably serves as communication, and individuals are known to sniff the bottom of a newly found tree. Chest gland secretions are complex chemical mixtures — about 40 compounds were identified in one analysis — that vary in composition and concentration with the season and the age of the individual.

 

Adult males communicate with loud bellows — "a long series of deep, snoring inhalations and belching exhalations". Because of their low frequency, these bellows can travel far through the forest.  Koalas may bellow at any time of the year, particularly during the breeding season, when it serves to attract females and possibly intimidate other males. They also bellow to advertise their presence to their neighbours when they climb a different tree.  These sounds signal the male's actual body size, as well as exaggerate it; females pay more attention to bellows that originate from larger males. Female koalas bellow, though more softly, in addition to making snarls, wails, and screams. These calls are produced when in distress and when making defensive threats. Squeaking and sqawking are produced when distraught; the former is made by younger animals and the latter by older ones. When another individual climbs over it, a koala makes a low closed-mouth grunt. Koalas also communicate with facial expressions. When snarling, wailing, or squawking, the animal curls the upper lip and points its ears forward. Screaming koalas pull their lips and ears back. Females form an oval shape with their lips when annoyed.

 

Agonistic behaviour typically consists of quarrels between individuals that are trying to pass each other in the tree. This occasionally involves biting. Strangers may wrestle, chase, and bite each other. In extreme situations, a male may try to displace a smaller rival from a tree, chasing, cornering and biting it. Once the individual is driven away, the victor bellows and marks the tree.  Pregnant and lactating females are particularly aggressive and attack individuals that come too close. In general, however, koalas tend to avoid fighting due to energy costs. 

 

Reproduction and development

A young joey, preserved at Port Macquarie Koala Hospital

Koalas are seasonal breeders, and give birth from October to May. Females in oestrus lean their heads back and shake their bodies. Despite these obvious signals, males will try to copulate with any female during this period, mounting them from behind. Because of his much larger size, a male can overpower a female. A female may scream and vigorously fight off her suitors but will accede to one that is dominant or familiar. The commotion can attract other males to the scene, obliging the incumbent to delay mating and fight off the intruders. A female may learn who is more dominant during these fights. Older males usually have accumulated scratches, scars, and cuts on the exposed parts of their noses and their eyelids.

 

Koalas are induced ovulators. The gestation period lasts 33–35 days, and a female gives birth to one joey (although twins do occur). As marsupials, the young are born tiny and barely formed, weighing no more than 0.5 g (0.02 oz). However, their lips, forelimbs, and shoulders are relatively advanced, and they can breathe, defecate and urinate. The joey crawls into its mother's pouch to continue the rest of its development. Female koalas do not clean their pouches, an unusual trait among marsupials.

 

The joey latches on to one of the female's two teats and suckles it.  The female lactates for as long as a year to make up for her low energy production. Unlike in other marsupials, koala milk becomes less fatty as the joey grows in the pouch.  After seven weeks, the joey has a proportionally large head, clear edges around its face, more colouration, and a visible pouch (if female) or scrotum (male). At 13 weeks, the joey weighs around 50 g (1.8 oz) and its head is twice as big as before. The eyes begin to open and hair begins to appear. At 26 weeks, the fully furred animal resembles an adult and can look outside the pouch. 

  

Mother with joey on back

At six or seven months of age, the joey weighs 300–500 g (11–18 oz) and fully emerges from the pouch for the first time. It explores its new surroundings cautiously, clutching its mother for support.  Around this time, the mother prepares it for a eucalyptus diet by producing a faecal pap that the joey eats from her cloaca. This pap comes from the cecum, is more liquid than regular faeces, and is filled with bacteria. A nine month old joey has its adult coat colour and weighs 1 kg (2.2 lb). Having permanently left the pouch, it rides on its mother's back for transportation, learning to climb by grasping branches.  Gradually, it becomes more independent from its mother, who becomes pregnant again after a year, and the young is now around 2.5 kg (5.5 lb). Her bond with her previous offspring is permanently severed and she no longer allows it to suckle, but it will stay nearby until it is one-and-a-half to two years old. 

 

Females become sexually mature at about three years of age and can then become pregnant; in comparison, males reach sexual maturity when they are about four years old, although they can experience spermatogenesis as early as two years.  Males do not start marking their scent until they reach sexual maturity, though their chest glands become functional much earlier. Koalas can breed every year if environmental conditions are good, though the long dependence of the young usually leads to year-long gaps in births. 

 

Health and mortality

Koalas may live from 13 to 18 years in the wild. While female koalas usually live this long, males may die sooner because of their more risky lives.  Koalas usually survive falls from trees and can climb back up, but they can get hurt and even die, particularly inexperienced young and fighting males.  Around six years of age, the koala's chewing teeth begin to wear down and their chewing efficiency decreases. Eventually, the cusps disappear completely and the animal will die of starvation. Koalas have few predators. Dingos and large pythons and some birds of prey may take them. Koalas are generally not subject to external parasites, other than ticks around the coast. The mite Sarcoptes scabiei gives koalas mange, while the bacterium Mycobacterium ulcerans skin ulcers, but even these are uncommon. Internal parasites are few and have little effect.  These include the tapeworm Bertiella obesa, commonly found in the intestine, and the nematodes Marsupostrongylus longilarvatus and Durikainema phascolarcti, which are infrequently found in the lungs.[59] In a three-year study of almost 600 koalas taken to the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital in Queensland, 73.8% of the animals were infected with parasitic protozoal genus Trypanosoma, the most frequent of which was T. irwini.

 

Koalas can be subject to pathogens such as Chlamydiaceae bacteria,  which can cause keratoconjunctivitis, urinary tract infection, and reproductive tract infection.  Such infections are common on the mainland, but absent in some island populations.  The koala retrovirus (KoRV) may cause koala immune deficiency syndrome (KIDS) which is similar to AIDS in humans. Prevalence of KoRV in koala populations suggests a trend spreading from north to south, where populations go from being completely infected to being partially uninfected.

 

The animals are vulnerable to bushfires due to their slow speed and the flammability of eucalypt trees. The koala instinctively seeks refuge in the higher branches, where it is vulnerable to intense heat and flames. Bushfires also break up the animal's habitat, which isolates them, decreases their numbers and creates genetic bottlenecks. Dehydration and overheating can also prove fatal.  Consequently, the koala is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Models of climate change in Australia predict warmer and drier climates, suggesting that the koala's range will shrink in the east and south to more mesic habitats.

 

Human relations

The first written reference to the koala was recorded by John Price, servant of John Hunter, the Governor of New South Wales. Price encountered the "cullawine" on 26 January 1798, during an expedition to the Blue Mountains, but his remarks would first be published in Historical Records of Australia, nearly a century later. In 1802, French-born explorer Francis Louis Barrallier encountered the animal when his two Aboriginal guides, returning from a hunt, brought back two koala feet they were intending to eat. Barrallier preserved the appendages and sent them and his notes to Hunter's successor, Philip Gidley King, who forwarded them to Joseph Banks. Similar to Price, Barrallier's notes were not published until 1897.  Reports of the "Koolah" appeared in the Sydney Gazette in late 1803, and helped provide the impetus for King to send the artist John Lewin to paint watercolours of the animal. Lewin painted three pictures, one of which was used as a print in Georges Cuvier's Le Règne Animal (The Animal Kingdom) (1827).

 

Botanist Robert Brown was the first to write a formal scientific description of the koala in 1803, based on a female specimen captured near what is now Mount Kembla in the Illawarra region of New South Wales. Austrian botanical illustrator Ferdinand Bauer drew the animal's skull, throat, feet, and paws. Brown's work remained unpublished and largely unnoticed, however, as his field books and notes remained in his possession until his death, when they were bequeathed to the British Museum (Natural History) in London. They were not identified until 1994, while Bauer's koala watercolours were not published until 1989.  William Paterson, who had befriended Brown and Bauer during their stay in New South Wales, wrote an eyewitness report of his encounters with the animals and this would be the basis for British surgeon Everard Home's anatomical writings on them.  Home, who in 1808 published his report in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, coined the scientific name Didelphis coola. 

 

George Perry would officially publish the first image of the koala in his 1810 natural history work Arcana.  Perry called it the "New Holland Sloth", and his dislike for the koala, evident in his description of the animal, was reflected in the contemporary British attitudes towards Australian animals as strange and primitive the eye is placed like that of the Sloth, very close to the mouth and nose, which gives it a clumsy awkward appearance, and void of elegance in the combination they have little either in their character or appearance to interest the Naturalist or Philosopher. As Nature however provides nothing in vain, we may suppose that even these torpid, senseless creatures are wisely intended to fill up one of the great links of the chain of animated nature.

  

Natural history illustrator John Gould popularised the koala with his 1863 work The Mammals of Australia.

Naturalist and popular artist John Gould illustrated and described the koala in his three-volume work The Mammals of Australia (1845–1863) and introduced the species, as well as other members of Australia's little-known faunal community, to the public. Comparative anatomist Richard Owen, in a series of publications on the physiology and anatomy of Australian mammals, presented a paper on the anatomy of the koala to the Zoological Society of London. In this widely cited publication, he provided an early description of its internal anatomy, and noted its general structural similarity to the wombat.  English naturalist George Robert Waterhouse, curator of the Zoological Society of London, was the first to correctly classify the koala as a marsupial in the 1840s, and compared it to fossil species Diprotodon and Nototherium, which had been discovered just recently.  Similarly, Gerard Krefft, curator of the Australian Museum in Sydney, noted evolutionary mechanisms at work when comparing the koala to fossil marsupials in his 1871 The Mammals of Australia.

 

Britain finally received a living koala in 1881, which was obtained by the Zoological Society of London. As related by prosecutor to the society, William Alexander Forbes, the animal suffered an accidental demise when the heavy lid of a washstand fell on it and it was unable to free itself. Forbes dissected the fresh specimen and wrote about the female reproductive system, the brain, and the liver — parts not previously described by Owen, who had access only to preserved specimens.  Scottish embryologist William Caldwell — well known in scientific circles for determining the reproductive mechanism of the platypus — described the uterine development of the koala in 1884, and used this new information to convincingly map out the evolutionary timeline of the koala and the monotremes. 

 

Main article: Koala emblems and popular culture

The koala is well known worldwide and is a major draw for Australian zoos and wildlife parks. It has been featured in popular culture and as soft toys.  It benefited the Australian tourism industry by over $1 billion in 1998, and this has subsequently grown. Its international popularly rose after World War II, when tourism to Australia increased and the animals were exported to zoos overseas.  In 1997, about 75% of European and Japanese tourists placed the koala at the top of their list of animals to see. According to biologist Stephen Jackson: "If you were to take a straw poll of the animal most closely associated with Australia, it's a fair bet that the koala would come out marginally in front of the kangaroo".  Factors that contribute to the koala's enduring popularity include its teddy bear-like appearance with childlike body proportions.

 

The koala is featured in the Dreamtime stories and mythology of Indigenous Australians. The Tharawal people believed that the animal helped them get to the continent by rowing the boat. Another myth tells of how a tribe killed a koala and used its long intestines to create a bridge for people from other parts of the world.  How the koala lost its tail has been the subject of many tales. In one, a kangaroo cuts it off to punish the koala for its uncouth behaviour.  Tribes in both Queensland and Victoria regarded the koala as a wise animal which gave valuable guidance. Bidjara-speaking people credited the koala for making trees grow in their arid lands.  The animal is also depicted in rock carvings, though less so than some other species.

 

Early European settlers in Australia considered the koala to be a creeping sloth-like animal with a "fierce and menacing look".  At the turn of the 20th century, the koala's reputation took a more positive turn. It appears in Ethel Pedley's 1899 book Dot and the Kangaroo, as the "funny native bear".  Artist Norman Lindsay depicted a more anthropomorphic koala in The Bulletin cartoons, starting in 1904. This character also appeared as Bunyip Bluegum in Lindsay's 1918 book The Magic Pudding. The most well known fictional koala is Blinky Bill. Created by Dorothy Wall in 1933, the character appeared in several books and has been the subject of films, TV series, merchandise, and a 1986 environmental song by John Williamson.  The koala first appeared on an Australian stamp in 1930.

The song "Ode to a Koala Bear" appears on the B-side of the 1983 Paul McCartney/Michael Jackson duet single Say Say Say.  A koala is the main character in Hanna-Barbera's The Kwicky Koala Show and Nippon Animation's Noozles, both of which were animated cartoons of the early 1980s. Food products shaped like the koala include the Caramello Koala chocolate bar and the bite-sized cookie snack Koala's March. Dadswells Bridge in Victoria features a tourist complex shaped like a giant koala  and the Queensland Reds rugby team has a koala as its icon.

 

Koala diplomacy

Several political leaders and members of royal families had their pictures taken with koalas, including Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Harry, Crown Prince Naruhito, Crown Princess Masako, Pope John Paul II, US President Bill Clinton, Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev and South African President Nelson Mandela At the 2014 G20 Brisbane summit, hosted by Prime Minister Tony Abbott, many world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama, were photographed holding koalas. The event gave rise to the term "koala diplomacy", which then became the Oxford Word of the Month for December 2016. The term also includes the loan of koalas by the Australian government to overseas zoos in countries such as Singapore and Japan, as a form of "soft power diplomacy", like the "panda diplomacy" practised by China.

 

Main article: Koala conservation

The koala was originally classified as Least Concern on the Red List, and reassessed as Vulnerable in 2014. In the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Queensland, the species was listed under the EPBC Act in February 2022 as endangered by extinction. The described population was determined in 2012 to be "a species for the purposes of the EPBC Act 1999" in Federal legislation.

 

Australian policymakers had declined a 2009 proposal to include the koala in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. A 2017 WWF report found a 53% decline per generation in Queensland, and a 26% decline in New South Wales. The koala population in South Australia and Victoria appear to be abundant; however, the Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) argued that the exclusion of Victorian populations from protective measures was based on a misconception that the total koala population was 200,000, whereas they believed in 2012 that it was probably less than 100,000. AKF estimated in 2022 that there could be only 43,000–100,000.[80] This is compared with 8 to 10 million at the start of the 20th century. The Australian Government's Threatened Species Scientific Committee estimated that the 2021 koala population was 92,000, down from 185,000 two decades prior.

 

The koala was heavily hunted by European settlers in the early 20th century,  largely for its fur. Australia exported as many as two million pelts by 1924. Koala furs were used to make rugs, coat linings, muffs, and on women's garment trimmings. The first successful efforts at conserving the species were initiated by the establishment of Brisbane's Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and Sydney's Koala Park Sanctuary in the 1920s and 1930s. The owner of the latter park, Noel Burnet, created the first successful breeding program and earned a reputation as a top expert on the species.

 

One of the biggest anthropogenic threats to the koala is habitat destruction and fragmentation. Near the coast, the main cause of this is urbanisation, while in rural areas, habitat is cleared for agriculture. Its favoured trees are also taken down to be made into wood products.  In 2000, Australia had the fifth highest rate of land clearance globally, having removed 564,800 hectares (1,396,000 acres) of native plants.  The distribution of the koala has shrunk by more than 50% since European arrival, largely due to fragmentation of habitat in Queensland. Nevertheless, koalas live in many protected areas.

 

While urbanisation can pose a threat to koala populations, the animals can survive in urban areas provided enough trees are present. Urban populations have distinct vulnerabilities: collisions with vehicles and attacks by domestic dogs. Cars and dogs kill about 4,000 animals every year. To reduce road deaths, government agencies have been exploring various wildlife crossing options, such as the use of fencing to channel animals toward an underpass, in some cases adding a ledge as a walkway to an existing culvert. Injured koalas are often taken to wildlife hospitals and rehabilitation centres. In a 30-year retrospective study performed at a New South Wales koala rehabilitation centre, trauma was found to be the most frequent cause of admission, followed by symptoms of Chlamydia infection

The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), sometimes called the koala bear, is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the wombats. The koala is found in coastal areas of the mainland's eastern and southern regions, inhabiting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is easily recognisable by its stout, tailless body and large head with round, fluffy ears and large, dark nose. The koala has a body length of 60–85 cm (24–33 in) and weighs 4–15 kg (9–33 lb). Fur colour ranges from silver grey to chocolate brown. Koalas from the northern populations are typically smaller and lighter in colour than their counterparts further south. These populations possibly are separate subspecies, but this is disputed.

 

Koalas typically inhabit open Eucalyptus woodland, as the leaves of these trees make up most of their diet. This eucalypt diet has low nutritional and caloric content and contains toxic compounds that deter most other mammals from feeding on it. Koalas are largely sedentary and sleep up to twenty hours a day. They are asocial animals, and bonding exists only between mothers and dependent offspring. Adult males communicate with loud bellows that intimidate rivals and attract mates. Males mark their presence with secretions from scent glands located on their chests. Being marsupials, koalas give birth to underdeveloped young that crawl into their mothers' pouches, where they stay for the first six to seven months of their lives. These young koalas, known as joeys, are fully weaned around a year old. Koalas have few natural predators and parasites, but are threatened by various pathogens, such as Chlamydiaceae bacteria and koala retrovirus.

 

Because of their distinctive appearance, koalas, along with kangaroos and emus, are recognised worldwide as symbols of Australia. They were hunted by Indigenous Australians and depicted in myths and cave art for millennia. The first recorded encounter between a European and a koala was in 1798, and an image of the animal was published in 1810 by naturalist George Perry. Botanist Robert Brown wrote the first detailed scientific description of the koala in 1814, although his work remained unpublished for 180 years. Popular artist John Gould illustrated and described the koala, introducing the species to the general British public. Further details about the animal's biology were revealed in the 19th century by several English scientists. Koalas are listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Among the many threats to their existence are habitat destruction caused by agriculture, urbanisation, droughts, and associated bushfires, some related to climate change. In February 2022, the koala was officially listed as endangered in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, and Queensland.

 

Etymology

The word "koala" comes from the Dharug gula, meaning 'no water'. Although the vowel "u" was originally written in the English orthography as "oo" (in spellings such as coola or koolah — two syllables), the spelling later became "oa" and the word is now pronounced in three syllables, possibly in error.

 

Adopted by white settlers, "koala" became one of several hundred Aboriginal loan words in Australian English, where it was also commonly referred to as "native bear", later "koala bear", for its supposed resemblance to a bear. It is also one of several Aboriginal words that made it into International English alongside words like "didgeridoo" and "kangaroo". The generic name, Phascolarctos, is derived from the Greek words φάσκωλος (phaskolos) 'pouch' and ἄρκτος (arktos) 'bear'. The specific name, cinereus, is Latin for 'ash coloured'.

 

Taxonomy

The koala was given its generic name Phascolarctos in 1816 by French zoologist Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville, who would not give it a specific name until further review. In 1819, German zoologist Georg August Goldfuss gave it the binomial Lipurus cinereus. Because Phascolarctos was published first, according to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, it has priority as the official name of the genus. French naturalist Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest coined the name Phascolarctos fuscus in 1820, suggesting that the brown-coloured versions were a different species than the grey ones. Other names suggested by European authors included Marodactylus cinereus by Goldfuss in 1820, P. flindersii by René Primevère Lesson in 1827, and P. koala by John Edward Gray in 1827.

 

Evolution

The koala is classified with wombats (family Vombatidae) and several extinct families (including marsupial tapirs, marsupial lions and giant wombats) in the suborder Vombatiformes within the order Diprotodontia. The Vombatiformes are a sister group to a clade that includes macropods (kangaroos and wallabies) and possums. The koala's lineage possibly branched off around 40 million years ago during the Eocene.

 

The modern koala is the only extant member of Phascolarctidae, a family that includes several extinct genera and species. During the Oligocene and Miocene, koalas lived in rainforests and had more generalised diets. Some species, such as the Riversleigh rainforest koala (Nimiokoala greystanesi) and some species of Perikoala, were around the same size as the modern koala, while others, such as species of Litokoala, were one-half to two-thirds its size Like the modern species, prehistoric koalas had well developed ear structures which suggests that they also made long-distance vocalisations and had a relatively inactive lifestyle. During the Miocene, the Australian continent began drying out, leading to the decline of rainforests and the spread of open Eucalyptus woodlands. The genus Phascolarctos split from Litokoala in the late Miocene, and had several adaptations that allowed it to live on a specialised eucalyptus diet: a shifting of the palate towards the front of the skull; upper teeth lined by thicker bone, molars located relatively low compared the jaw joint and with more chewing surface; smaller pterygoid fossa; and a larger gap separating the incisor teeth and the molars.

 

P. cinereus may have emerged as a dwarf form of the giant koala (P. stirtoni), following the disappearance of several giant animals in the late Pleistocene. A 2008 study questions this hypothesis, noting that P. cinereus and P. stirtoni were sympatric during the middle to late Pleistocene, and the major difference in the morphology of their teeth. The fossil record of the modern koala extends back at least to the middle Pleistocene.

 

Molecular relationship between living Diprotodontia families based on Phillips and collages (2023)

Vombatidae (wombats)

Phascolarctidae (koalas)

Acrobatidae

Tarsipedidae (honey possum)

Petauridae (wrist-winged gliders and allies)

Pseudocheiridae (ringtail possums and allies)

Macropodidae (kangaroos, wallabies and allies)

Phalangeridae (brushtail possums and cuscuses)

Burramyidae (pygmy possums)

 

Morphology tree of Phascolarctidae based on Beck and collages (2020)

Thylacoleonidae (extinct marsupial lion and allies)

Vombatomorphia (wombats and fossil relatives)

Phascolarctidae

Priscakoala lucyturnbullae

Madakoala spp.

Perikoala robustus

Nimiokoala greystanesi

Litokoala dicksmithi

Litokoala kutjamarpensis

Phascolarctos cinereus

  

Genetics and variations

Three subspecies are recognised: the Queensland koala (Phascolarctos cinereus adustus, Thomas 1923), the New South Wales koala (Phascolarctos cinereus cinereus, Goldfuss 1817), and the Victorian koala (Phascolarctos cinereus victor, Troughton 1935). These forms are distinguished by pelage colour and thickness, body size, and skull shape. The Queensland koala is the smallest of the three, with silver or grey short hairs and a shorter skull. The Victorian koala is the largest, with shaggier, brown fur and a wider skull. The geographic limits of these variations are based on state borders, and their status as subspecies is disputed. A 1999 genetic study suggests koalas exist as a cline within a single evolutionarily significant unit with limited gene flow between local populations.

 

Other studies have found that koala populations have high levels of inbreeding and low genetic variation. Such low genetic diversity may have been caused by declines in the population during the late Pleistocene. Rivers and roads have been shown to limit gene flow and contribute to the isolation of southeast Queensland populations. In April 2013, scientists from the Australian Museum and Queensland University of Technology announced they had fully sequenced the koala genome.

 

Characteristics

The koala is a robust animal with a large head and vestigial or non-existent tail. It has a body length of 60–85 cm (24–33 in) and a weight of 4–15 kg (9–33 lb), making it among the largest arboreal marsupials. Koalas from Victoria are twice as heavy as those from Queensland.  The species is sexually dimorphic, with males 50% larger than females. Males are further distinguished from females by their more curved noses and the presence of chest glands, which are visible as bald patches.  The female's pouch opening is secured by a sphincter which holds the young in.

 

The pelage of the koala is denser on the back. The back fur colour varies from light grey to chocolate brown.  The belly fur is whitish; on the rump it is mottled whitish and dark. The koala has the most effective insulating back fur of any marsupial and is highly resilient to wind and rain, while the belly fur can reflect solar radiation. The koala's curved, sharp claws are well adapted for climbing trees. The large forepaws have two opposable digits (the first and second, which are opposable to the other three) that allow them to grip small branches. On the hind paws, the second and third digits are fused, a typical condition for members of the Diprotodontia, and the attached claws (which are still separate) function like a comb.  The animal has a robust skeleton and a short, muscular upper body with relatively long upper limbs that contribute to its ability to scale trees. In addition, the thigh muscles are anchored further down the shinbone, increasing its climbing power. 

 

For a mammal, the koala has a proportionally small brain,  being 60% smaller than that of a typical diprotodont, weighing only 19.2 g (0.68 oz) on average. The brain's surface is fairly smooth and "primitive".  It does not entirely fill up the cranial cavity, unlike in most mammals,  and is lightened by large amounts of cerebrospinal fluid. It is possible that the fluid protects the brain when animal falls from a tree.  The koala's small brain size may be an adaptation to the energy restrictions imposed by its diet, which is insufficient to sustain a larger brain. Because of its small brain, the koala has a limited ability to perform complex, unusual behaviours. For example, it will not eat plucked leaves on a flat surface, which conflicts with its normal feeding routine.

 

The koala has a broad, dark nose with a good sense of smell, and it is known to sniff the oils of individual branchlets to assess their edibility.  Its relatively small eyes are unusual among marsupials in that the pupils have vertical slits, an adaptation to living on a more vertical plane. Its round ears provide it with good hearing,  and it has a well-developed middle ear. The koala larynx is located relatively low in the vocal tract and can be pulled down even further. They also possess unique folds in the velum (soft palate), known as velar vocal folds, in addition to the typical vocal folds of the larynx. These features allow the koala to produce deeper sounds than would otherwise be possible for their size.

 

The koala has several adaptations for its poor, toxic and fibrous diet.  The animal's dentition consists of the incisors and cheek teeth (a single premolar and four molars on each jaw), which are separated by a large gap (a characteristic feature of herbivorous mammals). The koala bites a leaf with the incisors and clips it with the premolars at the petiole, before chewing it to pieces with the cusped molars.  Koalas may also store food in their cheek pouches before it is ready to be chewed. The partially worn molars of koalas in their prime are optimal for breaking the leaves into small particles, resulting in more efficient stomach digestion and nutrient absorption in the small intestine,  which digests the eucalyptus leaves to provide most of the animal's energy.  A koala sometimes regurgitates the food into the mouth to be chewed a second time.

 

Koalas are hindgut fermenters, and their digestive retention can last for up to 100 hours in the wild or up to 200 hours in captivity. This is made possible by their caecum—200 cm (80 in) long and 10 cm (4 in) in diameter—possibly the largest for an animal when accounting for its size.  Koalas can hold food particles for longer fermentation if needed. They are more likely keep smaller particles as larger ones take longer to digest.  While the hindgut is relatively large, only 10% of the animal's energy is obtained from digestion in this chamber. The koala's metabolic rate is only 50% of the typical mammalian rate, owing to its low energy intake,  although this can vary between seasons and sexes.  They can digest the toxic plant secondary metabolites, phenolic compounds and terpenes present in eucalyptus leaves due to their production of cytochrome P450, which breaks down these poisons in the liver. The koala replaces lost water at a lower rate than some other species like some possums.  It maintains water by absorbing it in the caecum, resulting in drier faecal pellets packed with undigested fibre. 

 

Distribution and habitat

The koala's geographic range covers roughly 1,000,000 km2 (390,000 sq mi), and 30 ecoregions. It ranges throughout mainland eastern and southeastern Australia, including the states of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. The koala was also introduced to several nearby islands. The population on Magnetic Island represents the northern limit of its range.

 

Fossil evidence shows that the koala's range stretched as far west as southwestern Western Australia during the late Pleistocene. They were likely driven to extinction in these areas by environmental changes and hunting by Indigenous Australians.  Koalas were introduced to Western Australia at Yanchep in 2022. Koalas can be found in both tropical and temperate habitats ranging from dense woodlands to more spaced-out forests. In semi-arid climates, they prefer riparian habitats, where nearby streams and creeks provide refuge during times of drought and extreme heat.

 

Behaviour and ecology

Koalas are herbivorous, and while most of their diet consists of eucalypt leaves, they can be found in trees of other genera, such as Acacia, Allocasuarina, Callitris, Leptospermum, and Melaleuca. Though the foliage of over 600 species of Eucalyptus is available, the koala shows a strong preference for around 30. They prefer plant matter with higher protein over fibre and lignin.  The most favoured species are Eucalyptus microcorys, E. tereticornis, and E. camaldulensis, which, on average, make up more than 20% of their diet. Despite its reputation as a picky eater, the koala is more generalist than some other marsupial species, such as the greater glider. The koala does not need to drink often as it can get enough water in the eucalypt leaves,  though larger males may additionally drink water found on the ground or in tree hollows.  When feeding, a koala reaches out to grab leaves with one forepaw while the other paws hang on to the branch. Depending on the size of the individual, a koala can walk to the end of a branch or must stay near the base.  Each day, koalas eat up to 400 grams (14 oz) of leaves, spread over four to six feeding periods.  Despite their adaptations to a low-energy lifestyle, they have meagre fat reserves and need to feed often. 

 

Due to their low-energy diet, koalas limit their activity and sleep 20 hours a day. They are predominantly active at night and spend most of their waking hours foraging. They typically eat and sleep in the same tree, possibly for as long as a day.  On warm days, a koala may rest with its back against a branch or lie down with its limbs dangling.  When it gets very hot, the koala rests lower in the canopy and near the trunk, where the surface is cooler than the surrounding air. It curls up when it gets cold and wet.  A koala will find a lower, thicker branch on which to rest when it gets windy. While it spends most of the time in the tree, the animal descends to the ground to move to another tree, leaping along. The koala usually grooms itself with its hind paws, with their double claws, but sometimes uses its forepaws or mouth. 

 

Social life

Koalas are asocial animals and spend just 15 minutes a day on social behaviours. Where there are more koalas and fewer trees, home ranges are smaller and more clumped while the reverse is true for areas with fewer animals and more trees.  Koala society appears to consist of "residents" and "transients", the former being mostly adult females and the latter males. Resident males appear to be territorial and dominant. The territories of dominant males are found near breeding females, while younger males must wait until they reach full size to challenge for breeding rights.  Adult males occasionally venture outside their home ranges; when they do so, dominant ones retain their status.  As a male climbs a new tree, he rubs his chest against it and sometimes dribbles urine. This scent-marking behaviour probably serves as communication, and individuals are known to sniff the bottom of a newly found tree. Chest gland secretions are complex chemical mixtures — about 40 compounds were identified in one analysis — that vary in composition and concentration with the season and the age of the individual.

 

Adult males communicate with loud bellows — "a long series of deep, snoring inhalations and belching exhalations". Because of their low frequency, these bellows can travel far through the forest.  Koalas may bellow at any time of the year, particularly during the breeding season, when it serves to attract females and possibly intimidate other males. They also bellow to advertise their presence to their neighbours when they climb a different tree.  These sounds signal the male's actual body size, as well as exaggerate it; females pay more attention to bellows that originate from larger males. Female koalas bellow, though more softly, in addition to making snarls, wails, and screams. These calls are produced when in distress and when making defensive threats. Squeaking and sqawking are produced when distraught; the former is made by younger animals and the latter by older ones. When another individual climbs over it, a koala makes a low closed-mouth grunt. Koalas also communicate with facial expressions. When snarling, wailing, or squawking, the animal curls the upper lip and points its ears forward. Screaming koalas pull their lips and ears back. Females form an oval shape with their lips when annoyed.

 

Agonistic behaviour typically consists of quarrels between individuals that are trying to pass each other in the tree. This occasionally involves biting. Strangers may wrestle, chase, and bite each other. In extreme situations, a male may try to displace a smaller rival from a tree, chasing, cornering and biting it. Once the individual is driven away, the victor bellows and marks the tree.  Pregnant and lactating females are particularly aggressive and attack individuals that come too close. In general, however, koalas tend to avoid fighting due to energy costs. 

 

Reproduction and development

A young joey, preserved at Port Macquarie Koala Hospital

Koalas are seasonal breeders, and give birth from October to May. Females in oestrus lean their heads back and shake their bodies. Despite these obvious signals, males will try to copulate with any female during this period, mounting them from behind. Because of his much larger size, a male can overpower a female. A female may scream and vigorously fight off her suitors but will accede to one that is dominant or familiar. The commotion can attract other males to the scene, obliging the incumbent to delay mating and fight off the intruders. A female may learn who is more dominant during these fights. Older males usually have accumulated scratches, scars, and cuts on the exposed parts of their noses and their eyelids.

 

Koalas are induced ovulators. The gestation period lasts 33–35 days, and a female gives birth to one joey (although twins do occur). As marsupials, the young are born tiny and barely formed, weighing no more than 0.5 g (0.02 oz). However, their lips, forelimbs, and shoulders are relatively advanced, and they can breathe, defecate and urinate. The joey crawls into its mother's pouch to continue the rest of its development. Female koalas do not clean their pouches, an unusual trait among marsupials.

 

The joey latches on to one of the female's two teats and suckles it.  The female lactates for as long as a year to make up for her low energy production. Unlike in other marsupials, koala milk becomes less fatty as the joey grows in the pouch.  After seven weeks, the joey has a proportionally large head, clear edges around its face, more colouration, and a visible pouch (if female) or scrotum (male). At 13 weeks, the joey weighs around 50 g (1.8 oz) and its head is twice as big as before. The eyes begin to open and hair begins to appear. At 26 weeks, the fully furred animal resembles an adult and can look outside the pouch. 

  

Mother with joey on back

At six or seven months of age, the joey weighs 300–500 g (11–18 oz) and fully emerges from the pouch for the first time. It explores its new surroundings cautiously, clutching its mother for support.  Around this time, the mother prepares it for a eucalyptus diet by producing a faecal pap that the joey eats from her cloaca. This pap comes from the cecum, is more liquid than regular faeces, and is filled with bacteria. A nine month old joey has its adult coat colour and weighs 1 kg (2.2 lb). Having permanently left the pouch, it rides on its mother's back for transportation, learning to climb by grasping branches.  Gradually, it becomes more independent from its mother, who becomes pregnant again after a year, and the young is now around 2.5 kg (5.5 lb). Her bond with her previous offspring is permanently severed and she no longer allows it to suckle, but it will stay nearby until it is one-and-a-half to two years old. 

 

Females become sexually mature at about three years of age and can then become pregnant; in comparison, males reach sexual maturity when they are about four years old, although they can experience spermatogenesis as early as two years.  Males do not start marking their scent until they reach sexual maturity, though their chest glands become functional much earlier. Koalas can breed every year if environmental conditions are good, though the long dependence of the young usually leads to year-long gaps in births. 

 

Health and mortality

Koalas may live from 13 to 18 years in the wild. While female koalas usually live this long, males may die sooner because of their more risky lives.  Koalas usually survive falls from trees and can climb back up, but they can get hurt and even die, particularly inexperienced young and fighting males.  Around six years of age, the koala's chewing teeth begin to wear down and their chewing efficiency decreases. Eventually, the cusps disappear completely and the animal will die of starvation. Koalas have few predators. Dingos and large pythons and some birds of prey may take them. Koalas are generally not subject to external parasites, other than ticks around the coast. The mite Sarcoptes scabiei gives koalas mange, while the bacterium Mycobacterium ulcerans skin ulcers, but even these are uncommon. Internal parasites are few and have little effect.  These include the tapeworm Bertiella obesa, commonly found in the intestine, and the nematodes Marsupostrongylus longilarvatus and Durikainema phascolarcti, which are infrequently found in the lungs.[59] In a three-year study of almost 600 koalas taken to the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital in Queensland, 73.8% of the animals were infected with parasitic protozoal genus Trypanosoma, the most frequent of which was T. irwini.

 

Koalas can be subject to pathogens such as Chlamydiaceae bacteria,  which can cause keratoconjunctivitis, urinary tract infection, and reproductive tract infection.  Such infections are common on the mainland, but absent in some island populations.  The koala retrovirus (KoRV) may cause koala immune deficiency syndrome (KIDS) which is similar to AIDS in humans. Prevalence of KoRV in koala populations suggests a trend spreading from north to south, where populations go from being completely infected to being partially uninfected.

 

The animals are vulnerable to bushfires due to their slow speed and the flammability of eucalypt trees. The koala instinctively seeks refuge in the higher branches, where it is vulnerable to intense heat and flames. Bushfires also break up the animal's habitat, which isolates them, decreases their numbers and creates genetic bottlenecks. Dehydration and overheating can also prove fatal.  Consequently, the koala is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Models of climate change in Australia predict warmer and drier climates, suggesting that the koala's range will shrink in the east and south to more mesic habitats.

 

Human relations

The first written reference to the koala was recorded by John Price, servant of John Hunter, the Governor of New South Wales. Price encountered the "cullawine" on 26 January 1798, during an expedition to the Blue Mountains, but his remarks would first be published in Historical Records of Australia, nearly a century later. In 1802, French-born explorer Francis Louis Barrallier encountered the animal when his two Aboriginal guides, returning from a hunt, brought back two koala feet they were intending to eat. Barrallier preserved the appendages and sent them and his notes to Hunter's successor, Philip Gidley King, who forwarded them to Joseph Banks. Similar to Price, Barrallier's notes were not published until 1897.  Reports of the "Koolah" appeared in the Sydney Gazette in late 1803, and helped provide the impetus for King to send the artist John Lewin to paint watercolours of the animal. Lewin painted three pictures, one of which was used as a print in Georges Cuvier's Le Règne Animal (The Animal Kingdom) (1827).

 

Botanist Robert Brown was the first to write a formal scientific description of the koala in 1803, based on a female specimen captured near what is now Mount Kembla in the Illawarra region of New South Wales. Austrian botanical illustrator Ferdinand Bauer drew the animal's skull, throat, feet, and paws. Brown's work remained unpublished and largely unnoticed, however, as his field books and notes remained in his possession until his death, when they were bequeathed to the British Museum (Natural History) in London. They were not identified until 1994, while Bauer's koala watercolours were not published until 1989.  William Paterson, who had befriended Brown and Bauer during their stay in New South Wales, wrote an eyewitness report of his encounters with the animals and this would be the basis for British surgeon Everard Home's anatomical writings on them.  Home, who in 1808 published his report in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, coined the scientific name Didelphis coola. 

 

George Perry would officially publish the first image of the koala in his 1810 natural history work Arcana.  Perry called it the "New Holland Sloth", and his dislike for the koala, evident in his description of the animal, was reflected in the contemporary British attitudes towards Australian animals as strange and primitive the eye is placed like that of the Sloth, very close to the mouth and nose, which gives it a clumsy awkward appearance, and void of elegance in the combination they have little either in their character or appearance to interest the Naturalist or Philosopher. As Nature however provides nothing in vain, we may suppose that even these torpid, senseless creatures are wisely intended to fill up one of the great links of the chain of animated nature.

  

Natural history illustrator John Gould popularised the koala with his 1863 work The Mammals of Australia.

Naturalist and popular artist John Gould illustrated and described the koala in his three-volume work The Mammals of Australia (1845–1863) and introduced the species, as well as other members of Australia's little-known faunal community, to the public. Comparative anatomist Richard Owen, in a series of publications on the physiology and anatomy of Australian mammals, presented a paper on the anatomy of the koala to the Zoological Society of London. In this widely cited publication, he provided an early description of its internal anatomy, and noted its general structural similarity to the wombat.  English naturalist George Robert Waterhouse, curator of the Zoological Society of London, was the first to correctly classify the koala as a marsupial in the 1840s, and compared it to fossil species Diprotodon and Nototherium, which had been discovered just recently.  Similarly, Gerard Krefft, curator of the Australian Museum in Sydney, noted evolutionary mechanisms at work when comparing the koala to fossil marsupials in his 1871 The Mammals of Australia.

 

Britain finally received a living koala in 1881, which was obtained by the Zoological Society of London. As related by prosecutor to the society, William Alexander Forbes, the animal suffered an accidental demise when the heavy lid of a washstand fell on it and it was unable to free itself. Forbes dissected the fresh specimen and wrote about the female reproductive system, the brain, and the liver — parts not previously described by Owen, who had access only to preserved specimens.  Scottish embryologist William Caldwell — well known in scientific circles for determining the reproductive mechanism of the platypus — described the uterine development of the koala in 1884, and used this new information to convincingly map out the evolutionary timeline of the koala and the monotremes. 

 

Main article: Koala emblems and popular culture

The koala is well known worldwide and is a major draw for Australian zoos and wildlife parks. It has been featured in popular culture and as soft toys.  It benefited the Australian tourism industry by over $1 billion in 1998, and this has subsequently grown. Its international popularly rose after World War II, when tourism to Australia increased and the animals were exported to zoos overseas.  In 1997, about 75% of European and Japanese tourists placed the koala at the top of their list of animals to see. According to biologist Stephen Jackson: "If you were to take a straw poll of the animal most closely associated with Australia, it's a fair bet that the koala would come out marginally in front of the kangaroo".  Factors that contribute to the koala's enduring popularity include its teddy bear-like appearance with childlike body proportions.

 

The koala is featured in the Dreamtime stories and mythology of Indigenous Australians. The Tharawal people believed that the animal helped them get to the continent by rowing the boat. Another myth tells of how a tribe killed a koala and used its long intestines to create a bridge for people from other parts of the world.  How the koala lost its tail has been the subject of many tales. In one, a kangaroo cuts it off to punish the koala for its uncouth behaviour.  Tribes in both Queensland and Victoria regarded the koala as a wise animal which gave valuable guidance. Bidjara-speaking people credited the koala for making trees grow in their arid lands.  The animal is also depicted in rock carvings, though less so than some other species.

 

Early European settlers in Australia considered the koala to be a creeping sloth-like animal with a "fierce and menacing look".  At the turn of the 20th century, the koala's reputation took a more positive turn. It appears in Ethel Pedley's 1899 book Dot and the Kangaroo, as the "funny native bear".  Artist Norman Lindsay depicted a more anthropomorphic koala in The Bulletin cartoons, starting in 1904. This character also appeared as Bunyip Bluegum in Lindsay's 1918 book The Magic Pudding. The most well known fictional koala is Blinky Bill. Created by Dorothy Wall in 1933, the character appeared in several books and has been the subject of films, TV series, merchandise, and a 1986 environmental song by John Williamson.  The koala first appeared on an Australian stamp in 1930.

The song "Ode to a Koala Bear" appears on the B-side of the 1983 Paul McCartney/Michael Jackson duet single Say Say Say.  A koala is the main character in Hanna-Barbera's The Kwicky Koala Show and Nippon Animation's Noozles, both of which were animated cartoons of the early 1980s. Food products shaped like the koala include the Caramello Koala chocolate bar and the bite-sized cookie snack Koala's March. Dadswells Bridge in Victoria features a tourist complex shaped like a giant koala  and the Queensland Reds rugby team has a koala as its icon.

 

Koala diplomacy

Several political leaders and members of royal families had their pictures taken with koalas, including Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Harry, Crown Prince Naruhito, Crown Princess Masako, Pope John Paul II, US President Bill Clinton, Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev and South African President Nelson Mandela At the 2014 G20 Brisbane summit, hosted by Prime Minister Tony Abbott, many world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama, were photographed holding koalas. The event gave rise to the term "koala diplomacy", which then became the Oxford Word of the Month for December 2016. The term also includes the loan of koalas by the Australian government to overseas zoos in countries such as Singapore and Japan, as a form of "soft power diplomacy", like the "panda diplomacy" practised by China.

 

Main article: Koala conservation

The koala was originally classified as Least Concern on the Red List, and reassessed as Vulnerable in 2014. In the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Queensland, the species was listed under the EPBC Act in February 2022 as endangered by extinction. The described population was determined in 2012 to be "a species for the purposes of the EPBC Act 1999" in Federal legislation.

 

Australian policymakers had declined a 2009 proposal to include the koala in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. A 2017 WWF report found a 53% decline per generation in Queensland, and a 26% decline in New South Wales. The koala population in South Australia and Victoria appear to be abundant; however, the Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) argued that the exclusion of Victorian populations from protective measures was based on a misconception that the total koala population was 200,000, whereas they believed in 2012 that it was probably less than 100,000. AKF estimated in 2022 that there could be only 43,000–100,000.[80] This is compared with 8 to 10 million at the start of the 20th century. The Australian Government's Threatened Species Scientific Committee estimated that the 2021 koala population was 92,000, down from 185,000 two decades prior.

 

The koala was heavily hunted by European settlers in the early 20th century,  largely for its fur. Australia exported as many as two million pelts by 1924. Koala furs were used to make rugs, coat linings, muffs, and on women's garment trimmings. The first successful efforts at conserving the species were initiated by the establishment of Brisbane's Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and Sydney's Koala Park Sanctuary in the 1920s and 1930s. The owner of the latter park, Noel Burnet, created the first successful breeding program and earned a reputation as a top expert on the species.

 

One of the biggest anthropogenic threats to the koala is habitat destruction and fragmentation. Near the coast, the main cause of this is urbanisation, while in rural areas, habitat is cleared for agriculture. Its favoured trees are also taken down to be made into wood products.  In 2000, Australia had the fifth highest rate of land clearance globally, having removed 564,800 hectares (1,396,000 acres) of native plants.  The distribution of the koala has shrunk by more than 50% since European arrival, largely due to fragmentation of habitat in Queensland. Nevertheless, koalas live in many protected areas.

 

While urbanisation can pose a threat to koala populations, the animals can survive in urban areas provided enough trees are present. Urban populations have distinct vulnerabilities: collisions with vehicles and attacks by domestic dogs. Cars and dogs kill about 4,000 animals every year. To reduce road deaths, government agencies have been exploring various wildlife crossing options, such as the use of fencing to channel animals toward an underpass, in some cases adding a ledge as a walkway to an existing culvert. Injured koalas are often taken to wildlife hospitals and rehabilitation centres. In a 30-year retrospective study performed at a New South Wales koala rehabilitation centre, trauma was found to be the most frequent cause of admission, followed by symptoms of Chlamydia infection

The Postcard

 

A postcard bearing no publisher's name. The image is a glossy real photograph.

 

The card was posted in Battersea, S. W. London on Monday the 25th. August 1930 to:

 

Mr. G. H. Wadsworth,

16, Old Square,

Lincoln's Inn,

London.

 

The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:

 

"London, S. W. 11.

Dear Uncle George,

Having a fine time.

Have been to the Tivoli,

Astoria, Coliseum, and

a great number of other

picture palaces.

Have also been to the

Gaiety to see 'The Love

Race', which made me

laugh during the whole

performance.

Have been to the Test

Match, and am going to

the Oval again today".

 

The Love Race

 

The Love Race was a stage musical comedy that was first presented at the Gaiety Theatre in London on the 25th. June 1930.

 

The play was a hit production, and was made into a black and white film starring Stanley Lupino, and co-directed by Lupino Lane (a.k.a. George Lupino). The film was released in the UK on the 9th. May 1932.

 

The storyline of the play and the film was based around the fierce rivalry between two motor manufacturers - and the romance that develops between the daughter of one and the son of the other.

 

During the film a mix-up with suitcases lands wealthy racing driver (Stanley Lupino) into an embarrassing situation with his fiancée at a party.

 

The film co-starred silent-era veteran Jack Hobbs and Hitchcock heroine Dorothy Boyd - along with another member of the famous theatrical family, Wallace Lupino.

 

The film includes rare racing footage of British sports cars of the period.

 

Sir Sean Connery

 

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

 

Well, the 25th. August 1930 marked the birth in Edinburgh of Sean Connery.

 

Sir Sean Connery, who was born Thomas Connery, was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983.

 

Originating the role in Dr. No, Connery played Bond in six of Eon Productions' entries, and made his final Bond appearance in the non-Eon-produced Never Say Never Again.

 

If non-Eon-produced Bond movies are included, Connery shares the record for the most portrayals as James Bond with Roger Moore (with seven apiece).

 

Following Sean's third appearance as Bond in Goldfinger (1964), in June 1965, Time magazine observed:

 

"James Bond has developed into the

biggest mass-cult hero of the decade".

 

Connery began acting in smaller theatre and television productions until his break-out role as Bond. Although he did not enjoy the off-screen attention the role gave him, the success of the Bond films brought Connery offers from notable directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Sidney Lumet and John Huston.

 

Their films in which Connery appeared included Marnie (1964), The Hill (1965), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), and The Man Who Would Be King (1975).

 

He also appeared in A Bridge Too Far (1977), Highlander (1986), The Name of the Rose (1986), The Untouchables (1987), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Dragonheart (1996), The Rock (1996), Finding Forrester (2000), and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003).

 

Connery officially retired from acting in 2006, although he briefly returned for voice-over roles in 2012.

 

His achievements in film were recognised with an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards (including the BAFTA Fellowship), and three Golden Globes, including the Cecil B. DeMille Award and a Henrietta Award.

 

In 1987, Sean was made a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in France, and he received the US Kennedy Center Honors lifetime achievement award in 1999. Connery was knighted in the 2000 New Year Honours for services to film drama.

 

-- Sean Connery - The Early Years

 

Thomas Connery was born at the Royal Maternity Hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was named after his paternal grandfather.

 

He was brought up at No. 176 Fountainbridge, a block which has since been demolished. His mother, Euphemia McBain "Effie" McLean, was a cleaning woman. Connery's father, Joseph Connery, was a factory worker and lorry driver.

 

His father was a Roman Catholic, and his mother was a Protestant. Connery had a younger brother Neil, and was generally referred to in his youth as "Tommy".

 

Although Sean was small in primary school, he grew rapidly around the age of 12, reaching his full adult height of 6 ft. 2 in. (188 cm) at 18. Connery was known during his teen years as "Big Tam", and he said that he lost his virginity to an adult woman in an ATS uniform at the age of 14.

 

He had an Irish childhood friend named Séamus; when the two were together, those who knew them both called Connery by his middle name Sean, emphasising the alliteration of the two names. Since then Connery preferred to use his middle name.

 

Connery's first job was as a milkman in Edinburgh with St. Cuthbert's Co-operative Society. In 2009, Connery recalled a conversation in a taxi:

 

"When I took a taxi during a recent Edinburgh

Film Festival, the driver was amazed that I

could put a name to every street we passed.

"How come?" he asked. "As a boy I used to

deliver milk round here", I said. "So what do

you do now?" That was rather harder to answer."

 

In 1946, at the age of 16, Connery joined the Royal Navy, during which time he acquired two tattoos. Connery's official website says:

 

"Unlike many tattoos, his were not frivolous –

his tattoos reflect two of his lifelong

commitments: his family and Scotland. One

tattoo is a tribute to his parents, and reads

'Mum and Dad', and the other is self-explanatory,

'Scotland Forever'".

 

Sean trained in Portsmouth at the naval gunnery school and in an anti-aircraft crew. He was later assigned as an Able Seaman on HMS Formidable.

 

Connery was discharged from the navy at the age of 19 on medical grounds because of a duodenal ulcer, a condition that affected most of the males in previous generations of his family.

 

Afterwards, he returned to the Co-op and worked as a lorry driver, a lifeguard at Portobello swimming baths, a labourer, an artist's model for the Edinburgh College of Art, and after a suggestion by former Mr. Scotland Archie Brennan, as a coffin polisher, among other jobs.

 

The modelling earned him 15 shillings an hour. Artist Richard Demarco, at the time a student who painted several early pictures of Connery, described him as:

 

"Very straight, slightly shy, too,

too beautiful for words, a virtual

Adonis".

 

Connery began bodybuilding at the age of 18, and from 1951 trained heavily with Ellington, a former gym instructor in the British Army. While his official website states he was third in the 1950 Mr. Universe contest, most sources place him in the 1953 competition, either third in the Junior class or failing to place in the Tall Man classification.

 

Connery said that he was soon deterred from bodybuilding when he found that Americans frequently beat him in competitions because of sheer muscle size and, unlike Connery, refused to participate in athletic activity which could make them lose muscle mass.

 

Connery was a keen footballer, having played for Bonnyrigg Rose in his younger days. He was offered a trial with East Fife.

 

While on tour with South Pacific, Connery played in a football match against a local team that Matt Busby, manager of Manchester United, happened to be scouting. According to reports, Busby was impressed with Sean's physical prowess, and offered Connery a contract worth £25 a week (equivalent to £743 in 2021) immediately after the game. Connery said he was tempted to accept, but he recalls,

 

"I realised that a top-class footballer could

be over the hill by the age of 30, and I was

already 23. I decided to become an actor,

and it turned out to be one of my more

intelligent moves".

 

-- Sean Connery's Acting Career

 

(a) Pre-James Bond

 

Seeking to supplement his income, Connery helped out backstage at the King's Theatre in late 1951. During a bodybuilding competition held in London in 1953, one of the competitors mentioned that auditions were being held for a production of South Pacific, and Connery landed a small part as one of the Seabees chorus boys.

 

By the time the production reached Edinburgh, he had been given the part of Marine Cpl. Hamilton Steeves, and was understudying two of the juvenile leads, and his salary was raised from £12 to £14–10s a week.

 

The production returned the following year, out of popular demand, and Connery was promoted to the featured role of Lieutenant Buzz Adams, which Larry Hagman had portrayed in the West End.

 

While in Edinburgh, Connery was targeted by the Valdor gang, one of the most violent in the city. He was first approached by them in a billiard hall where he prevented them from stealing his jacket and was later followed by six gang members to a 15-foot-high (4.6 m) balcony at the Palais de Danse.

 

There, Connery singlehandedly launched an attack against the gang members, grabbing one by the throat and another by the biceps and cracking their heads together. From then on, he was treated with great respect by the gang and gained a reputation as a "hard man".

 

Connery first met Michael Caine at a party during the production of South Pacific in 1954, and the two later became close friends. During this production at the Opera House, Manchester, over the Christmas period of 1954, Connery developed a serious interest in the theatre through American actor Robert Henderson, who lent him copies of the Ibsen works Hedda Gabler, The Wild Duck, and When We Dead Awaken, and later listed works by the likes of Proust, Tolstoy, Turgenev, Bernard Shaw, Joyce, and Shakespeare for him to digest.

 

Henderson urged Sean to take elocution lessons, and got him parts at the Maida Vale Theatre in London. He had already begun a film career, having been an extra in Herbert Wilcox's 1954 musical Lilacs in the Spring alongside Errol Flynn and Anna Neagle.

 

Although Connery had secured several roles as an extra, he was struggling to make ends meet, and was forced to accept a part-time job as a babysitter for journalist Peter Noble and his actress wife Marianne, which earned him 10 shillings a night.

 

One night at Noble's house Sean met Hollywood actress Shelley Winters, who described Connery as:

 

"One of the tallest and most charming

and masculine Scotsmen I have ever

seen."

 

Shelley later spent many evenings with the Connery brothers drinking beer. Around this time, Connery was residing at TV presenter Llew Gardner's house.

 

Henderson landed Connery a role in a £6 a week Q Theatre production of Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution, during which he met and became friends with fellow Scot Ian Bannen.

 

This role was followed by Point of Departure and A Witch in Time at Kew, a role as Pentheus opposite Yvonne Mitchell in The Bacchae at the Oxford Playhouse, and a role opposite Jill Bennett in Eugene O'Neill's play Anna Christie.

 

During his time at the Oxford Theatre, Connery won a brief part as a boxer in the TV series The Square Ring, before being spotted by Canadian director Alvin Rakoff, who gave him multiple roles in The Condemned, shot on location in Dover in Kent.

 

In 1956, Connery appeared in the theatrical production of Epitaph, and played a minor role as a hoodlum in the "Ladies of the Manor" episode of the BBC Television police series Dixon of Dock Green.

 

This was followed by small television parts in Sailor of Fortune and The Jack Benny Program (in a special episode filmed in Europe).

 

In early 1957, Connery hired agent Richard Hatton, who got him his first film role, as Spike, a minor gangster with a speech impediment in Montgomery Tully's No Road Back.

 

In April 1957, Rakoff – after being disappointed by Jack Palance – decided to give the young actor his first chance in a leading role, and cast Connery as Mountain McLintock in BBC Television's production of Requiem for a Heavyweight, which also starred Warren Mitchell and Jacqueline Hill.

 

Sean then played a rogue lorry driver, Johnny Yates, in Cy Endfield's Hell Drivers (1957) alongside Stanley Baker, Herbert Lom, Peggy Cummins, and Patrick McGoohan.

 

Later in 1957, Connery appeared in Terence Young's poorly received MGM action picture Action of the Tiger; the film was shot on location in southern Spain.

 

He also had a minor role in Gerald Thomas's thriller Time Lock (1957) as a welder, appearing alongside Robert Beatty, Lee Patterson, Betty McDowall, and Vincent Winter. This commenced filming on the 1st. December 1956 at Beaconsfield Studios.

 

Connery had a major role in the melodrama Another Time, Another Place (1958) as a British reporter named Mark Trevor, caught in a love affair opposite Lana Turner and Barry Sullivan.

 

During filming, Turner's possessive gangster boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato, who was visiting from Los Angeles, believed she was having an affair with Connery. Connery and Turner had attended West End shows and London restaurants together.

 

Stompanato stormed onto the film set and pointed a gun at Connery, only to have Connery disarm him and knock him flat on his back. Stompanato was banned from the set. Two Scotland Yard detectives advised Stompanato to leave and escorted him to the airport, where he boarded a plane back to the United States.

 

Connery later recounted that he had to lay low for a while after receiving threats from men linked to Stompanato's boss, Mickey Cohen.

 

In 1959, Connery landed a leading role in director Robert Stevenson's Walt Disney Productions film Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959). The film is a tale about a wily Irishman and his battle of wits with leprechauns.

 

Upon the film's initial release, A. H. Weiler of The New York Times praised the cast (save Connery whom he described as "merely tall, dark, and handsome") and thought the film:

 

"An overpoweringly charming concoction

of standard Gaelic tall stories, fantasy and

romance."

 

Sean also had prominent television roles in Rudolph Cartier's 1961 productions of Adventure Story and Anna Karenina for BBC Television, co-starring with Claire Bloom in the latter.

 

Also in 1961 he portrayed the title role in a CBC television film adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth with Australian actress Zoe Caldwell cast as Lady Macbeth.

 

-- (b) James Bond: 1962–1971, 1983

 

Connery's breakthrough came in the role of British secret agent James Bond. He was reluctant to commit to a film series, but understood that if the films succeeded, his career would greatly benefit.

 

Between 1962 and 1967, Connery played 007 in Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, and You Only Live Twice, the first five Bond films produced by Eon Productions.

 

After departing from the role, Connery returned for the seventh film, Diamonds Are Forever, in 1971. Connery made his final appearance as Bond in Never Say Never Again, a 1983 remake of Thunderball produced by Jack Schwartzman's Taliafilm.

 

All seven films were commercially successful. James Bond, as portrayed by Connery, was selected as the third-greatest hero in cinema history by the American Film Institute.

 

Connery's selection for the role of James Bond owed a lot to Dana Broccoli, wife of producer Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, who is reputed to have been instrumental in persuading her husband that Connery was the right man.

 

James Bond's creator, Ian Fleming, originally doubted Connery's casting, saying:

 

"He's not what I envisioned of James

Bond looks. I'm looking for Commander

Bond and not an overgrown stunt-man."

 

He added that Connery (muscular, 6' 2", and a Scot) was unrefined. However Fleming's girlfriend Blanche Blackwell told Fleming that Connery had the requisite sexual charisma, and Fleming changed his mind after the successful Dr. No première.

 

He was so impressed, he wrote Connery's heritage into the character. In his 1964 novel You Only Live Twice, Fleming wrote that Bond's father was Scottish and from Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands.

 

Connery's portrayal of Bond owes much to stylistic tutelage from director Terence Young, who helped polish him while using his physical grace and presence for the action.

 

Lois Maxwell, who played Miss Moneypenny, related that:

 

"Terence took Sean under his wing.

He took him to dinner, showed him

how to walk, how to talk, even how

to eat".

 

The tutoring was successful; Connery received thousands of fan letters a week after Dr. No's opening, and he became a major sex symbol in film.

 

Following the release of the film Dr. No in 1962, the line "Bond ... James Bond", became a catch phrase in the lexicon of Western popular culture. Film critic Peter Bradshaw writes:

 

"It is the most famous self-introduction

from any character in movie history.

Three cool monosyllables, surname first,

a little curtly, as befits a former naval

commander.

And then, as if in afterthought, the first

name, followed by the surname again.

Connery carried it off with icily disdainful

style, in full evening dress with a cigarette

hanging from his lips.

The introduction was a kind of challenge,

or seduction, invariably addressed to an

enemy.

In the early 60's, Connery's James Bond

was about as dangerous and sexy as it

got on screen."

 

During the filming of Thunderball in 1965, Connery's life was in danger in the sequence with the sharks in Emilio Largo's pool. He had been concerned about this threat when he read the script.

 

Connery insisted that Ken Adam build a special Plexiglas partition inside the pool, but this was not a fixed structure, and one of the sharks managed to pass through it. He had to abandon the pool immediately.

 

(c) Post-James Bond

 

Although Bond had made him a star, Connery grew tired of the role and the pressure the franchise put on him, saying:

 

"I am fed up to here with the whole

Bond bit. I have always hated that

damned James Bond. I'd like to kill

him."

 

Michael Caine said of the situation:

 

"If you were his friend in these early

days you didn't raise the subject of

Bond. He was, and is, a much better

actor than just playing James Bond,

but he became synonymous with

Bond. He'd be walking down the

street and people would say,

'Look, there's James Bond'.

That was particularly upsetting

to him."

 

While making the Bond films, Connery also starred in other films such as Alfred Hitchcock's Marnie (1964) and Sidney Lumet's The Hill (1965), which film critic Peter Bradshaw regards as his two great non-Bond pictures from the 1960's.

 

In Marnie, Connery starred opposite Tippi Hedren. Connery had said he wanted to work with Hitchcock, which Eon arranged through their contacts. Connery shocked many people at the time by asking to see a script, something he did because he was worried about being typecast as a spy, and he did not want to do a variation of North by Northwest or Notorious.

 

When told by Hitchcock's agent that Cary Grant had not asked to see even one of Hitchcock's scripts, Connery replied:

 

"I'm not Cary Grant."

 

Hitchcock and Connery got on well during filming, and Connery said he was happy with the film "with certain reservations".

 

In The Hill, Connery wanted to act in something that wasn't Bond related, and he used his leverage as a star to feature in it. While the film wasn't a financial success, it was a critical one, debuting at the Cannes Film Festival and winning Best Screenplay.

 

The first of five films he made with Lumet, Connery considered him to be one of his favourite directors. The respect was mutual, with Lumet saying of Connery's performance in The Hill:

 

"The thing that was apparent to me –

and to most directors – was how much

talent and ability it takes to play that

kind of character who is based on charm

and magnetism.

It's the equivalent of high comedy, and

he did it brilliantly."

 

In the mid-1960's, Connery played golf with Scottish industrialist Iain Maxwell Stewart, a connection which led to Connery directing and presenting the documentary film The Bowler and the Bunnet in 1967.

 

The film described the Fairfield Experiment, a new approach to industrial relations carried out at the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Glasgow, during the 1960s; the experiment was initiated by Stewart and supported by George Brown, the First Secretary in Harold Wilson's cabinet, in 1966.

 

The company was facing closure, and Brown agreed to provide £1 million (£13.135 million; US$15.55 million in 2021 terms) to enable trade unions, the management and the shareholders to try out new ways of industrial management.

 

Having played Bond six times, Connery's global popularity was such that he shared a Golden Globe Henrietta Award with Charles Bronson for "World Film Favorite – Male" in 1972.

 

He appeared in John Huston's The Man Who Would Be King (1975) opposite Michael Caine. Playing two former British soldiers who set themselves up as kings in Kafiristan, both actors regarded it as their favourite film.

 

The same year, Sean appeared in The Wind and the Lion opposite Candice Bergen who played Eden Perdicaris (based on the real-life Perdicaris incident), and in 1976 played Robin Hood in Robin and Marian opposite Audrey Hepburn.

 

Film critic Roger Ebert, who had praised the double act of Connery and Caine in The Man Who Would Be King, praised Connery's chemistry with Hepburn, writing:

 

"Connery and Hepburn seem to have

arrived at a tacit understanding

between themselves about their

characters. They glow. They really

do seem in love."

 

During the 1970's, Connery was part of ensemble casts in films such as Murder on the Orient Express (1974) with Vanessa Redgrave and John Gielgud, and played a British Army general in Richard Attenborough's war film A Bridge Too Far (1977), co-starring with Dirk Bogarde and Laurence Olivier.

 

In 1974, he starred in John Boorman's sci-fi thriller Zardoz. Often called one of the weirdest and worst movies ever made, it featured Connery in a scarlet mankini – a revealing costume which generated much controversy for its unBond-like appearance.

 

Despite being panned by critics at the time, the film has developed a cult following since its release. In the audio commentary to the film, Boorman relates how Connery would write poetry in his free time, describing him as:

 

"A man of great depth and intelligence,

as well as possessing the most

extraordinary memory."

 

In 1981, Connery appeared in the film Time Bandits as Agamemnon. The casting choice derives from a joke Michael Palin included in the script, which describes the character's removing his mask and being:

 

"Sean Connery – or someone

of equal but cheaper stature".

 

When shown the script, Connery was happy to play the supporting role.

 

In 1981 he portrayed Marshal William T. O'Niel in the science fiction thriller Outland. In 1982, Connery narrated G'olé!, the official film of the 1982 FIFA World Cup.

 

That same year, he was offered the role of Daddy Warbucks in Annie, going as far as taking voice lessons for the John Huston musical before turning down the part.

 

Connery agreed to reprise Bond as an ageing agent 007 in Never Say Never Again, released in October 1983. The title, contributed by his wife, refers to his earlier statement that he would "never again" return to the role.

 

Although the film performed well at the box office, it was plagued with production problems: strife between the director and producer, financial problems, the Fleming estate trustees' attempts to halt the film, and Connery's wrist being broken by the fight choreographer, Steven Seagal.

 

As a result of his negative experiences during filming, Connery became unhappy with the major studios, and did not make any films for two years. Following the successful European production The Name of the Rose (1986), for which he won a BAFTA Award for Best Actor, Connery's interest in more commercial material was revived.

 

That same year, a supporting role in Highlander showcased his ability to play older mentors to younger leads, which became a recurring role in many of his later films.

 

In 1987, Connery starred in Brian De Palma's The Untouchables, where he played a hard-nosed Irish-American cop alongside Kevin Costner's Eliot Ness. The film also starred Andy Garcia and Robert De Niro as Al Capone.

 

The film was a critical and box-office success. Many critics praised Connery for his performance, including Roger Ebert, who wrote:

 

"The best performance in the movie

is Connery. He brings a human element

to his character; he seems to have had

an existence apart from the legend of

the Untouchables, and when he's

onscreen we can believe, briefly, that

the Prohibition Era was inhabited by

people, not caricatures."

 

For his performance, Connery received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

 

Connery starred in Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), playing Henry Jones Sr., the title character's father, and received BAFTA and Golden Globe Award nominations. Harrison Ford said Connery's contributions at the writing stage enhanced the film:

 

"It was amazing for me in how far he got

into the script and went after exploiting

opportunities for character.

His suggestions to George Lucas at the

writing stage really gave the character

and the picture a lot more complexity

and value than it had in the original

screenplay.

 

Sean's subsequent box-office hits included The Hunt for Red October (1990), The Russia House (1990), The Rock (1996), and Entrapment (1999). In 1996, he voiced the role of Draco the dragon in the film Dragonheart.

 

He also appeared in a brief cameo as King Richard the Lionheart at the end of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991). In 1998, Connery received the BAFTA Fellowship, a lifetime achievement award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

 

Connery's later films included several box-office and critical disappointments such as First Knight (1995), Just Cause (1995), The Avengers (1998), and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003).

 

The failure of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was especially frustrating for Connery. He sensed during shooting that the production was "going off the rails", and announced that the director, Stephen Norrington should be "locked up for insanity".

 

Connery spent considerable effort in trying to salvage the film through the editing process, ultimately deciding to retire from acting rather than go through such stress ever again.

 

However, he received positive reviews for his performance in Finding Forrester (2000). He also received a Crystal Globe for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema.

 

In a 2003 UK poll conducted by Channel 4, Connery was ranked eighth on their list of the 100 Greatest Movie Stars.

 

Connery turned down the role of Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings films, saying he did not understand the script. He was reportedly offered US$30 million along with 15% of the worldwide box office receipts, which would have earned him US$450 million.

 

He also turned down the opportunity to appear as Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series and the Architect in The Matrix trilogy.

 

In 2005, he recorded voiceovers for the From Russia with Love video game with recording producer Terry Manning in the Bahamas, and provided his likeness. Connery said he was happy the producers, Electronic Arts, had approached him to voice Bond.

 

(d) Retirement

 

When Connery received the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award on the 8th. June 2006, he confirmed his retirement from acting.

 

Connery's disillusionment with the "idiots now making films in Hollywood" was cited as a reason for his decision to retire.

 

On the 7th. June 2007, he denied rumours that he would appear in the fourth Indiana Jones film, saying:

 

"Retirement is just too

much damned fun."

 

In 2010, a bronze bust sculpture of Connery was placed in Tallinn, Estonia, outside The Scottish Club, whose membership includes Estonian Scotophiles and a handful of expatriate Scots.

 

In 2012, Connery briefly came out of retirement to voice the title character in the Scottish animated film Sir Billi. Connery served as executive producer for an expanded 80-minute version.

 

-- Sean Connery's Personal Life

 

During the production of South Pacific in the mid-1950's, Connery dated a Jewish "dark-haired beauty with a ballerina's figure", Carol Sopel, but was warned off by her family.

 

He then dated Julie Hamilton, daughter of documentary filmmaker and feminist Jill Craigie. Given Connery's rugged appearance and rough charm, Hamilton initially thought he was an appalling person and was not attracted to him until she saw him in a kilt, declaring him to be the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life.

 

He also shared a mutual attraction with jazz singer Maxine Daniels, whom he met whilst working in theatre. He made a pass at her, but she told him she was already happily married with a daughter.

 

Connery was married to actress Diane Cilento from 1962 to 1974, though they separated in 1971. They had a son, actor Jason Joseph. Connery was separated in the early 1970's when he dated Dyan Cannon, Jill St. John, Lana Wood, Carole Mallory, and Magda Konopka.

 

In her 2006 autobiography, Cilento alleged that he had abused her mentally and physically during their relationship. Connery cancelled an appearance at the Scottish Parliament in 2006 because of controversy over his alleged support of abuse of women.

 

He denied claims that he told Playboy magazine in 1965:

 

"I don't think there is anything

particularly wrong in hitting a

woman, though I don't

recommend you do it in the

same way you hit a man".

 

He was also reported to have stated to Vanity Fair in 1993:

 

"There are women who take it

to the wire. That's what they are

looking for, the ultimate

confrontation. They want a smack."

 

In 2006, Connery told The Times of London:

 

"I don't believe that any level of

abuse of women is ever justified

under any circumstances. Full stop".

 

When knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2000 he wore a green-and-black hunting tartan kilt of his mother's MacLean clan.

 

Connery was married to French-Moroccan painter Micheline Roquebrune (born 4th. April 1929) from 1975 until his death. The marriage survived a well-documented affair Connery had in the late 1980's with the singer and songwriter Lynsey de Paul, which she later regretted due to his views concerning domestic violence.

 

Connery owned the Domaine de Terre Blanche in the South of France from 1979. He sold it to German billionaire Dietmar Hopp in 1999.

 

He was awarded an honorary rank of Shodan (1st. dan) in Kyokushin karate.

 

Connery relocated to the Bahamas in the 1990's; he owned a mansion in Lyford Cay on New Providence.

 

Connery had a villa in Kranidi, Greece. His neighbour was King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, with whom he shared a helicopter platform.

 

Growing up, Connery supported the Scottish football club Celtic F.C., having been introduced to the club by his father who was a lifelong fan of the team.

 

Later in life, Connery switched his loyalty to Celtic's bitter rival, Rangers F.C., after he became close friends with the team's chairman, David Murray.

 

Sean was a keen golfer, and English professional golfer Peter Alliss gave Connery golf lessons before the filming of the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger, which involved a scene where Connery, as Bond, played golf against gold magnate Auric Goldfinger at Stoke Park Golf Club in Buckinghamshire.

 

The golf scene saw him wear a Slazenger v-neck sweater, a brand which Connery became associated with while playing golf in his free time, with a light grey marl being a favoured colour.

 

Record major championship winner and golf course designer Jack Nicklaus said:

 

"He loved the game of golf – Sean

was a pretty darn good golfer! –

and we played together several

times.

In May 1993, Sean and legendary

driver Jackie Stewart helped me

open our design of the PGA

Centenary Course at Gleneagles

in Scotland."

 

-- Sean Connery's Political Views

 

Connery's Scottish roots and his experiences in filming in Glasgow's shipyards in 1966 inspired him to become a member of the centre-left Scottish National Party (SNP), which supports Scottish independence from the United Kingdom.

 

In 2011, Connery said:

 

"The Bowler and the Bunnet was just

the beginning of a journey that would

lead to my long association with the

Scottish National Party."

 

Connery supported the party both financially and through personal appearances. In 1967, he wrote to George Leslie, the SNP candidate in the 1967 Glasgow Pollok by-election, saying:

 

"I am convinced that with our resources

and skills we are more than capable of

building a prosperous, vigorous and

modern self-governing Scotland in which

we can all take pride and which will

deserve the respect of other nations."

 

His funding of the SNP ceased in 2001, when the UK Parliament passed legislation prohibiting overseas funding of political activities in the United Kingdom.

 

-- Sean Connery's Tax Status

 

In response to accusations that he was a tax exile, Connery released documents in 2003 showing he had paid £3.7 million in UK taxes between 1997 and 1998 and between 2002 and 2003. Critics pointed out that had he been continuously residing in the UK for tax purposes, his tax rate would have been far higher.

 

In the run-up to the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Connery's brother Neil said that Connery would not come to Scotland to rally independence supporters, since his tax exile status greatly limited the number of days he could spend in the country.

 

After Connery sold his Marbella villa in 1999, Spanish authorities launched a tax evasion investigation, alleging that the Spanish treasury had been defrauded of £5.5 million.

 

Connery was subsequently cleared by officials, but his wife and 16 others were charged with attempting to defraud the Spanish treasury.

 

-- The Death and Legacy of Sean Connery

 

Connery died in his sleep on the 31st. October 2020, aged 90, at his home in the Lyford Cay community of Nassau in the Bahamas. His death was announced by his family and Eon Productions; although they did not disclose the cause of death, his son Jason said he had been unwell for some time.

 

A day later, Roquebrune revealed he had suffered from dementia in his final years. Connery's death certificate recorded the cause of death as pneumonia and respiratory failure, and the time of death was listed as 1:30 am.

 

Sean's remains were cremated, and the ashes were scattered in Scotland at undisclosed locations in 2022.

 

Following the announcement of his death, many co-stars and figures from the entertainment industry paid tribute to Connery, including Sam Neill, Nicolas Cage, Robert De Niro, Michael Bay, Tippi Hedren, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, George Lucas, Shirley Bassey, Kevin Costner, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Barbra Streisand, John Cleese, Jane Seymour and Harrison Ford, as well as former Bond stars George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan, the family of late former Bond actor Roger Moore, and Daniel Craig, who played 007 until No Time to Die.

 

Connery's long-time friend Michael Caine called him:

 

"A great star, brilliant actor

and a wonderful friend".

 

James Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli released a statement saying that:

 

"Connery has revolutionized the world

with his gritty and witty portrayal of the

sexy and charismatic secret agent.

He is undoubtedly largely responsible

for the success of the film series, and

we shall be forever grateful to him".

 

In 2004, a poll in the UK Sunday Herald recognised Connery as "The Greatest Living Scot," and a 2011 EuroMillions survey named him "Scotland's Greatest Living National Treasure".

 

He was voted by People magazine as the "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1989 and the "Sexiest Man of the Century" in 1999.

 

Final Thoughts From Sir Sean Connery

 

"I am not an Englishman, I was never an

Englishman, and I don't ever want to be

one. I am a Scotsman! I was a Scotsman,

and I will always be one."

 

"I admit I'm being paid well, but it's no more

than I deserve. After all, I've been screwed

more times than a hooker."

 

"Love may not make the world go round,

but I must admit that it makes the ride

worthwhile."

 

"There is nothing like a challenge to bring

out the best in man."

 

"I like women. I don't understand them,

but I like them."

 

"Some age, others mature."

 

"I met my wife through playing golf. She is

French and couldn't speak English, and I

couldn't speak French, so there was little

chance of us getting involved in any boring

conversations - that's why we got married

really quickly."

 

"Everything I have done or attempted to do

for Scotland has always been for her benefit,

never my own, and I defy anyone to prove

otherwise."

 

"The knighthood I received was a fantastic

honor but it's not something I've ever used,

and I don't think I ever will."

 

"I never trashed a hotel room or did drugs."

 

"More than anything else, I'd like to be an

old man with a good face, like Hitchcock or

Picasso."

 

"Laughter kills fear, and without fear there

can be no faith. For without fear of the devil

there is no need for God."

 

"Perhaps I'm not a good actor, but I would

be even worse at doing anything else."

 

"I'm an actor - it's not brain surgery. If I do

my job right, people won't ask for their

money back."

 

"I haven't found anywhere in the world

where I want to be all the time. The best

of my life is the moving. I look forward to

going."

Congratulations to our School Board members sworn into office on Tuesday, November 16th including two returning members – Teree Caldwell-Johns and Kim Martorano – and three new members: Maria Alonzo-Diaz, Jenna Knox and Jackie Norris. And to our School Board leadership on being selected to offices by their peers: Dwana Bradley will remain as Chair and Teree Caldwell-Johnson will serve as Vice Chair.

 

Thank you to Rob Barron, Kalyn Cody and Kyrstin Delagardelle for your service on the Des Moines School Board, your commitment to our students and staff, and your dedication to the community.

edited by Kevin Doyle.

 

Toronto, Maclean Hunter Limited, 22 august 1983.

 

approx.8 x 1o, 14 sheets white glossy folded to 56 pp & stapled twice into white glossy wrappers (heavier stock?), all printed black offset with 3-colour colour additions to all covers & throughout.

 

cover photoraph by Walter Chin.

69 contributors ID'd:

Gary Adamache, Ian Austen, George Bain, William Bell, Carol Bruman, Fred Bruning, Calvin Caldwell, Jackie Carlos, Paul Chiasson, Walter Chin, Rita Christopher, John G.S.Cox, Mark Czarnecki, Donald J.Daly, Ken Danby, Derek DeBono, Kevin Doyle, John Faustmann, Allan Fotheringham, [--?--] Galvin, Lenny Glynn, Carol Goar, Peter Gorrie, Malcolm Gray, P.Habans, Gail Harvey, Gary Hershorn, Ernest Hillen, Alan Hughes, Mary Janigan, Peter Kiernan, Cornelius Krieghoff, Jean-Pierre Laffont, Paul Little, David Livingstone, William Lowther, Dawn MacDonald, Gillian MacKay, [--?--] Mattison, Marci McDonald, R.McKee, Linda McQuaig, Geoff Meggs, Jared Mitchell, James C.Newell, Peter C.Newman, John J.O'Connor, William Orme, Lawrence O'Toole, Roy Peterson, [--?--] Poincet, Peter Redman, Richard Reynolds, Mike Ridewood, Susan Riley, Eugene V.Rostow, Robert Runcie, William Scobie, Andy Shaw, Dave Silburt, Sven Simon, [--?--] Smith-O'Hara, Christione Spengler, Mary Helen Spooner, Sidney Tabak, Rhonda Van Heys, Ben Wicks, Brian Willer, Robin Wright.

 

includes:

i) Flying the flag at centre stage, by Mark Czarnecki (p.54; prose capsule theatre review with references to Mary Barton & bpNichol's Tracks)

___________________________

 

• uninspected, unarchived; image & information gleaned from Maclean's archive

Faux vintage photo of Union General Hancock being portrayed by reenactor.

 

Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock (February 14, 1824 – February 9, 1886)

 

Hancock's most famous service was as a new corps commander at the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1 to July 3, 1863. After his friend, Maj. Gen. Hancock thus was in temporary command of the "left wing" of the army, consisting of the I, II, III, and XI Corps. This demonstrated Meade's high confidence in him, because Hancock was not the most senior Union officer at Gettysburg at the time. Hancock and the more senior XI Corps commander, Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard, argued briefly about this command arrangement, but Hancock prevailed and he organized the Union defenses on Cemetery Hill as more numerous Confederate forces drove the I and XI Corps back through the town. He had the authority from Meade to withdraw the forces, so he was responsible for the decision to stand and fight at Gettysburg. Meade arrived after midnight and overall command reverted to him.

 

On July 2, Hancock's II Corps was positioned on Cemetery Ridge, roughly in the center of the Union line, while Confederate General Robert E. Lee launched assaults on both ends of the line. On the Union left, Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's assault smashed the III Corps and Hancock sent in his 1st Division, under Brig. Gen. John C. Caldwell, to reinforce the Union line in the Wheatfield. As Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill's corps continued the attack toward the Union center, Hancock rallied the defenses and rushed units to the critical spots. In one famous incident, he sacrificed a regiment, the 1st Minnesota, by ordering it to advance and attack a Confederate brigade four times its size, causing the Minnesotans to suffer 87% casualties. While costly to the regiment, this heroic sacrifice bought time to organize the defensive line and saved the day for the Union army.

 

On July 3, Hancock continued in his position on Cemetery Ridge and thus bore the brunt of Pickett's Charge. During the massive Confederate artillery bombardment that preceded the infantry assault, Hancock was prominent on horseback in reviewing and encouraging his troops. When one of his subordinates protested, "General, the corps commander ought not to risk his life that way," Hancock is said to have replied, "There are times when a corps commander's life does not count." During the infantry assault, his old friend, now Brig. Gen. Lewis A. Armistead, leading a brigade in Maj. Gen. George Pickett's division, was wounded and died two days later. Hancock could not meet with his friend because he had just been wounded himself, a severe injury caused by a bullet striking the pommel of his saddle, entering his inner right thigh along with wood fragments and a large bent nail. Helped from his horse by aides, and with a tourniquet applied to stanch the bleeding, he removed the saddle nail himself and, mistaking its source, remarked wryly, "They must be hard up for ammunition when they throw such shot as that." News of Armistead's mortal wounding was brought to Hancock by a member of his staff, Captain Henry H. Bingham. Despite his pain, Hancock refused evacuation to the rear until the battle was resolved. He had been an inspiration for his troops throughout the three-day battle. Hancock later received the thanks of the U.S. Congress for "... his gallant, meritorious and conspicuous share in that great and decisive victory."

 

Hancock suffered from the effects of his Gettysburg wound for the rest of the war. After recuperating in Norristown, he performed recruiting services over the winter and returned in the spring to field command of the II Corps for Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign, but he never regained full mobility and his former youthful energy. Nevertheless, he performed well at the Battle of the Wilderness and commanded a critical breakthrough assault of the Mule Shoe at the "Bloody Angle" in the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, shattering the Confederate Stonewall Division. His corps suffered enormous losses during a futile assault Grant ordered at Cold Harbor.

 

After Grant's army slipped past Lee's army to cross the James River, Hancock found himself in a position from which he might have ended the war. His corps arrived to support Baldy Smith's assaults on the lightly held Petersburg defensive lines, but he deferred to Smith's advice because Smith knew the ground and had been on the field all day, and no significant assaults were made before the Confederate lines were reinforced. One of the great opportunities of the war was lost. After his corps participated in the assaults at Deep Bottom, Hancock was promoted to brigadier general in the regular army, effective August 12, 1864.

 

Hancock's only significant military defeat occurred during the Siege of Petersburg. His II Corps moved south of the city, along the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, tearing up track. On August 25, Confederate Maj. Gen. Henry Heth attacked and overran the faulty Union position at Reams's Station, shattering the II Corps, capturing many prisoners. Despite a later victory at Hatcher's Run, the humiliation of Reams's Station contributed, along with the lingering effects of his Gettysburg wound, to his decision to give up field command in November. He left the II Corps after a year in which it had suffered over 40,000 casualties, but had achieved significant military victories. His first assignment was to command the ceremonial First Veterans Corps. He performed more recruiting, commanded the Middle Department, and relieved Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan in command of forces in the now-quiet Shenandoah Valley. He was promoted to brevet major general in the regular army for his service at Spotsylvania, effective March 13, 1865.

 

Aikins family tombstone in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto, Canada. Fall afternoon, 2019. Pentax K1 II.

 

www.biographi.ca/en/bio/aikins_james_cox_13E.html

 

AIKINS (Eakins), JAMES COX, farmer, politician, office holder, and capitalist; b. 30 March 1823 in Toronto Township, Upper Canada, son of James Eakins and Ann Cox; brother of William Thomas*; m. 5 June 1845 Mary Elizabeth Jane Somerset in Toronto, and they had five daughters and three sons, including Sir James Albert Manning* and William Henry Beaufort*; d. 6 Aug. 1904 in Toronto.

 

In 1816 James and Ann Eakins emigrated from County Monaghan (Republic of Ireland) to Philadelphia. After four years they moved to Toronto Township, where Eakins took up land about 13 miles west of York (Toronto). A Presbyterian, he converted to Methodism and made his home a local centre for worship. He sent his eldest son, James Cox Eakins, to the Methodist-run Upper Canada Academy (Victoria College) in Cobourg, from 1840 to 1845. James Sr was a successful farmer and he accumulated sufficient land to provide his sons with farms. Shortly after his marriage in 1845, James Cox received a lot in Toronto Gore Township and began farming on his own. Some time thereafter he changed the spelling of his surname to Aikins to resemble its pronunciation more closely.

 

Aikins did well at farming, but, given the appreciation in real-estate values in the late 1840s and 1850s, never so well as to acquire the quantity of land necessary to settle his own family on farms. Instead he turned to politics as a career. He declined the reform nomination in York West in the 1851 provincial election, but three years later he chose to run in the newly formed riding of Peel and was elected as a Clear Grit [see George Brown*]. Never a vigorous debater or parliamentarian, he none the less won re-election in 1857. During the next several years, however, his position in the riding was weakened by divisions over the separation of Peel County from York. Though the decision to separate had been made in 1856, rivalry concerning the location of the county seat stalled actual creation of the independent county until 1867. Aikins was pulled this way and that by supporters of various centres. Dissension within Reform ranks over the issue presented an opportunity for John Hillyard Cameron*, a Conservative, to regain a seat in the Legislative Assembly in the 1861 election. He drew the Orange vote and some support among Catholics, and his wide margin in the poll at Brampton, where electors suspected that Aikins did not favour their village as county seat, gave him the victory.

 

Aikins came back from defeat to contest the Home division seat in the Legislative Council in 1862. As an assemblyman, he had advocated the election of the upper house, and in his campaign he declared his commitment to democratic principles, foremost being representation by population. Aikins also wanted equal rights for all religious denominations and thus opposed separate schools. He won by a comfortable majority.

 

The council’s debates on confederation in 1865 elicited from Aikins what was, for him, a major, if not terribly profound, speech. Though he favoured a federal union of the British North American colonies, he objected to its introduction into parliament as a coalition proposal; he feared that its merits and demerits were not likely to be debated adequately. He himself had questions about the implications for defence, the economic advantages of the intercolonial railway, and the burden of debt arising from union. His greatest concern was the composition of the proposed senate: members should be elected and should reside or possess property in their constituencies. Following the defeat of John Sewell Sanborn*’s amendment calling for an elected chamber, Aikins introduced a motion proposing the election of senators for Ontario and Quebec, but he was ruled out of order. His objections did not, in the end, lead him to refuse an appointment to the Senate in May 1867.

 

After union, Aikins, like his friend and fellow senator Billa Flint*, interpreted his opposition to the confederation coalition as a mandate for independence from partisan commitment. His principles were sorely tried, however, when Sir John A. Macdonald*, desiring to maintain a coalition government, invited him to join the cabinet in 1868 to replace William Pearce Howland. His presence would continue Ontario Reform representation while William McDougall was in London with Sir George-Étienne Cartier* negotiating the acquisition of the northwest. Aikins demurred, urging Macdonald to take another Reformer into cabinet with him and thereby demonstrate more clearly that the government was a coalition. Macdonald refused. After consulting with William McMaster* and Egerton Ryerson*, Aikins declined the offer. Undoubtedly aware that other influential Reformers, notably George Brown and Alexander Mackenzie*, openly opposed any semblance of coalition, Aikins was stiffened in his resolve by a pointed reminder from Liberals in Peel that to accept would “surely impair if not destroy the political prospects of your family.”

 

A cabinet position arose again in 1869. Sir Francis Hincks* had returned to Canadian politics as minister of finance and ostensibly as a leader of Reform opinion. To bolster Reform representation in cabinet, Macdonald wanted McMaster, who would also improve the government’s relations with Toronto business. Though McMaster would support Hincks in finance, he would not join the cabinet. In the words of David Lewis Macpherson*, who handled the negotiations, McMaster was none the less “alarmed lest a cabinet should be formed with no members of which, would he have any special influence.” McMaster and Macpherson agreed that Aikins should enter the government. To Macdonald, Aikins was attractive, and not just because he was “the most Brown-Grit” available, as Macpherson put it. Aikins agreed to “come in unconditionally under Hincks,” he was acceptable to Toronto business, and he enjoyed strong rural backing and the confidence of the Methodists. With McMaster’s blessing but much to the disgust of Liberal leaders in the House of Commons, particularly Edward Blake* and Alexander Mackenzie, Aikins joined the cabinet on 16 Nov. 1869 as a minister without portfolio and three weeks later he became secretary of state of Canada.

 

Aikins remained secretary of state until the fall of the Macdonald government in 1873. Upon its re-election in 1878, he was appointed to his former cabinet post, according to the Conservative Toronto Mail “as a concession to those Reform voters, estimated at something like fifty thousand, who contributed to the overthrow of the Mackenzie Administration.” In 1880 Aikins moved from the office of the secretary of state to the ministry of inland revenue. Neither department was a major portfolio, but both demanded the skills Aikins possessed. Plodding attention to administrative detail and the ability to impose effective organization and procedures were needed to manage departments that handled a good deal of correspondence. As he reported to parliament in 1872, his department in the past year had received and sent 10,866 letters, all handled with “fidelity and care.” One significant area, dominion lands, did initially fall to the secretary of state. But the order in council of 1871, which established the branch, and the Dominion Lands Act of 1872, which defined its policy, were drafted by Alexander Campbell*, not Aikins, though he did introduce the bill in the Senate and speak to points raised in discussion.

 

The move to inland revenue was a promotion of sorts, since its budget was larger. It also dispensed considerable patronage in the appointment of excise collectors, licence inspectors, and timber cullers and afforded the government an opportunity to ingratiate itself with business supplicants requesting the remission of fines. The department needed a firm hand to standardize inspection procedures and to rein in officials whose apparently arbitrary exercise of authority was straining relations between the government and business. Aikins’s ministerial correspondence reveals his office as a large filing system in which applications and recommendations for positions were checked, collated, recorded, and indexed in anticipation of openings. But the minister’s role in dispensing largesse was constrained by the Conservatives’ practice of allowing mps to distribute favours in their ridings, while leaving preferment in opposition ridings to party organizers. In the west, however, Aikins could act more freely to overrule arriviste politicos, and even Premier John Norquay* of Manitoba, by maintaining that a new bureaucracy required men with experience and qualifications not easily found in new territories.

 

By the early 1880s Aikins was in some ways becoming a political liability. Macdonald worried that his firm temperance convictions would cost the party political support; in 1880 he warned Aikins, who was going into a debate on an amendment the senator had proposed to the Canada Temperance Act, “not to show any temper. . . . Our friends will be very much irritated if you adopt a factious course, which they will visit on the whole Ministry.” Later it was rumoured that Aikins had refused to overlook liquor licensing infractions, which, if pursued, would have damaged Conservative chances in the June 1882 election. Besides raising the ire of the liquor interests, Aikins also offended the Orange lodge. In early 1882 Robert Birmingham, an Ontario Conservative organizer, solicited a donation from Aikins, as he was doing with other cabinet ministers, to aid in the construction of an Orange hall in Toronto. Not knowing Birmingham, Aikins naïvely sent the request with a query about its author and the project to a Toronto associate, apparently unaware or unconcerned that he was a Liberal. The letter ended up in the Toronto Globe, much to the embarrassment of the government. Atkins had to go, but with grace, so as not to offend too greatly his Methodist, temperance, and business connections.

 

In 1882 Macdonald offered him the position of lieutenant governor of Manitoba and the District of Keewatin. At first Aikins did not want the job, “for the reason,” he later explained, “that when that term of office expired I would be out in the cold and a nobody.” Though Macdonald promised him the first Senate vacancy when he “tired” of the position, Aikins doubted the prime minister’s commitment and remained intransigent until his friend Mackenzie Bowell* guaranteed Macdonald’s good faith. In late May Aikins resigned from the government and the Senate. Appointed to the lieutenant governorship in September, he accepted the job with resignation: “I go to the far off land as a figure head,” he wrote Bowell. The announcement of his appointment provoked the Globe to charge that he had been “sacrificed to the Licensed Victuallers.” When Macdonald pressed him to write a public letter denying the rumour, Aikins refused, saying that “you never confided to me the reason for the change in the personnel of your Govt.”

 

Aikins assumed his post on 2 December, a difficult time since federal disallowance of provincial railway legislation was aggravating relations between the dominion and Manitoba. He arrived in Winnipeg with a Privy Council report on disallowance, which spelled out his authority and the procedures he was to follow. His main task, Macdonald repeatedly informed him, was to transmit copies of provincial acts to Ottawa, to proclaim the disallowance of those that encroached upon the monopoly of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and, “without infringing on the principle of Self Government,” to persuade his ministers to carry out national policy. In this last regard, the prime minister was not pleased with the lieutenant governor’s accomplishments and suggested that he had not taken a sufficiently active course. Aikins replied that his ministers “do not think so and as a result since this unfortunate struggle commenced things with them have not been so pleasant.” Strained communications with Norquay kept Aikins in the dark about the province’s creative financing of its railway commitments, and it was Macdonald who informed Aikins about the misappropriations of public funds that led to Norquay’s fall.

 

As lieutenant governor Aikins, a former agriculturist, developed sympathy for the economic complaints of Manitobans. From shortly after his arrival, he urged Macdonald to accede to some of their demands by granting better financial terms for entering confederation, turning crown lands over to the province, providing for representation of the North-West Territories in the commons, reconsidering the protective tariff on agricultural implements, which discouraged low prices, and ending the CPR’s elevator monopoly. He even suggested to Macdonald that a compromise might be worked out with Norquay to solve the financial crisis that destroyed his government in 1887. Macdonald would not help a man he considered a traitor, and Aikins himself gave up on Norquay when he realized that the premier had deceived him in having him sign orders in council which illegally expended public funds.

 

Besides his sensitivity to the concerns of farmers breaking a new frontier, Aikins privately shared the prejudice of many recent settlers from Ontario against dual education. While still a senator, in 1875 he had opposed the separate-school provision in the North-West Territories Act passed by the Mackenzie administration. Years later, in 1890, he would write to Macdonald that the abolition of funding for Catholic schools in Manitoba [see Thomas Greenway] was fitting retribution for the political treachery of the French there in bringing down the provincial government of David Howard Harrison in January 1888.

 

Aikins’s term as lieutenant governor ended on 1 July 1888 and he returned to Toronto, where he waited for his Senate appointment and attended to business interests. Even before his Manitoba sojourn, he had been alive to western investment opportunities and had used the contacts made while in cabinet to keep abreast of promising speculations. Two sons, John Somerset and James Albert Manning, went to Winnipeg in the late 1870s, the former to set up a real-estate and commission agency, the latter to practise law. Aikins drew upon their expertise in 1879 when he organized the Manitoba and North West Loan Company, of which he was president until his death. It provided mortgages on urban and farm properties evaluated by Somerset and conveyed by Albert. The company did well, and in 1889 Aikins organized the Trusts Corporation of Ontario to raise money in England and Scotland for similar investments. He was also president of the Union Fire Insurance Company and was a director of the Freehold Loan and Savings Company, the Loan and Deposit Company, and the Ontario Bank.

 

Aikins’s return to the Senate was complicated by Macdonald’s death in 1891. The new prime minister, John Joseph Caldwell Abbott*, had his own obligations to satisfy, and some of his Ontario people had no sympathy for Aikins’s claim. A cabinet crisis ensued over the issue in October 1892, when Mackenzie Bowell, bound by his pledge to assure Macdonald’s promise, tendered his resignation as minister of militia and defence. To retain cabinet unity, Abbott humbly asked Aikins to intercede. “My dear friend,” Aikins wrote to Bowell, “don’t do anything for me to prejudice your position in the matter. . . . Keep quiet until Sir John [Sparrow David Thompson*] returns if he ever does as the head of the govt.” In December Aikins willingly stepped aside, again, to let Thompson appoint Bowell to the Senate. Bowell, who became prime minister after Thompson died, made good on Macdonald’s pledge, and Aikins was recalled to the Senate on 7 Jan. 1896. He resided comfortably there until his death in 1904 at his home in Toronto.

 

John Henry Pope* once described Aikins, Bowell, and D. L. Macpherson as “smaller than the little end of nothing.” Although this blunt evaluation was unfair to Aikins, his career nevertheless attests to the banality of politics even in the era of nation building. Then, as now, some cabinet ministers brought talent to the government, others constituency support. Not all in either category performed to the credit of their government. Aikins filled his post competently and honourably, no matter what might be said about the pliability of his partisan affiliation.

 

www.biographi.ca/en/bio/aikins_william_henry_beaufort_15E...

 

AIKINS, WILLIAM HENRY BEAUFORT, physician, medical editor, and founder of radiotherapy in Canada; b. 22 Aug. 1859 in Toronto Gore Township, Upper Canada, son of James Cox Aikins* and Mary Elizabeth Jane Somerset; m. 27 Dec. 1887 Augusta Hawkesworth-Wood in London, Ont.; they had no children; d. 2 Oct. 1924 in Toronto.

 

W. H. B. Aikins’s family was prominent in Canadian politics and medicine. His father, James Cox Aikins, served as secretary of state under Sir John A. Macdonald* and in 1882 became lieutenant governor of Manitoba (a post later filled by another son, Sir James Albert Manning Aikins). Two uncles, Moses Henry and William Thomas*, were well-known physicians.

 

Aikins received his early education at Upper Canada College in Toronto, the Toronto School of Medicine (mb 1881), and Victoria College in Cobourg (md, cm 1881). Like many physicians of his day, he pursued postgraduate studies in Europe, where he was exposed to the many pathological and surgical advances of the period. During this time he visited London (where he obtained his licentiate from the Royal College of Physicians in 1881), Edinburgh, Paris, and Vienna. In 1883 he established a general practice in Toronto, and he became prominent in Canadian medical circles. He was appointed to the staff at Toronto General Hospital, the Toronto Home (later Hospital) for Incurables, and Grace Hospital. On the editorial staff of the Canadian Practitioner from 1884 and co-editor of the Dominion Medical Monthly when it began in 1893, he became in 1895 the founding editor of the Canadian Medical Review; this journal merged with the Canadian Practitioner four years later to form the Canadian Practitioner and Review, with which Aikins would be associated until his death. In 1907 he was one of the charter members of the Academy of Medicine in Toronto, and in the years before World War I he represented Canada at several international medical congresses. In his private life he was a Methodist, a mason, and a senator of the University of Toronto.

 

Aikins’s major contribution to Canadian medicine was the introduction and promotion of radium therapy. Radium had been discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898, but it was not until Henri Becquerel inadvertently inflicted a skin burn on himself in 1901 that the effect of its radiation on living tissue began to attract medical interest. Over the next decade radium was found to be an effective therapy for many diseases, particularly cancer where it held hope for treatment without the need for the mutilating operations then in vogue. Because of the limited sources of radium-bearing ore and the huge cost of refining it, however, radium remained scarce and expensive.

 

In 1907 Aikins visited the Laboratoire Biologique du Radium in Paris, a centre for the study of radium, and was impressed by the element’s effects on various benign and malignant skin conditions. Like other doctors of the day, he marvelled at radium’s ability to produce changes in tissues which could not be achieved by any other known substance and which resulted in “cures of a very surprising character.” He returned from Paris convinced of its usefulness as a therapeutic agent. After visiting the Paris laboratory on two further occasions, he bought a small supply of radium in 1909, and soon opened a radium clinic, the Radium Institute of Toronto, at 134 Bloor Street West. Although small quantities of radium existed in other parts of Canada – it would not be refined here until the 1930s – Aikins’s institute became the primary centre for radiotherapy. His many published case reports show that he treated over 3,000 patients referred from a wide area extending from Saskatchewan to Quebec. His equipment in 1914 included a radium plaque (a flat applicator coated with a varnish impregnated with radium) and a tube containing radium salts. With these instruments he treated patients suffering from a variety of cancerous and non-cancerous conditions. He became intrigued by the microscopic tissue changes which underlay the clinical effects of radium and carried out investigations into them with Dr Keith Myrie Benoit Simon, pathologist at Grace Hospital.

 

Aikins became particularly interested in the use of radiotherapy in thyroid disease. In 1920 he reported on 16 patients with “toxic goiter” (hyperthyroidism) who had been treated with a regime of quinine, ergotamine, and the application of ice-bags over the heart and radium over the thyroid. It is easy now to be shocked or amused by Aikins’s use of radium to remedy benign conditions; at the time, however, there were no other effective treatments and there was limited awareness of the possible dangers of radiation. Patients and physicians alike were eager to try a new remedy for distressful or disfiguring diseases. To those who questioned the value of radium, Aikins replied, “I have several hundred living reasons on which my faith is founded, and they are walking about on two legs.”

 

His continuing role as a medical editor gave him the opportunity to publicize the effects of radium in numerous articles. He became a leading proponent of the new medical science of radiotherapy and presented frequent papers and lectures to the Academy of Medicine, the Ontario Medical Association, and the Canadian Medical Association. His topics included the use of radium in gynaecological disorders, skin conditions, tuberculosis, and leukaemias. In October 1916 a group of North American physicians met in Philadelphia to establish the American Radium Society. It is a tribute to Aikins’s reputation among his peers that he was unanimously elected its first president. As head of the premier North American organization for radiotherapy, he was in a unique position to synthesize the existing body of evidence about radium’s efficacy in medicine. This he did masterfully in 1919 in an address before the society entitled “The value of radium in curing disease, in prolonging life, and in alleviating distressing symptoms.” The three goals mentioned remain the primary goals of cancer treatment. Although he used radium to cure cancers, he was also interested in the purely palliative effects of radiotherapy. He felt that its greatest benefit was the relief it gave to “countless patients whose condition is absolutely hopeless from the point of view of cure.” His case reports note numerous examples of its successful use in treating pain, bleeding, or discharge from advanced, incurable cancers to provide comfort to dying patients.

 

By the time of his sudden death from heart disease the avuncular Aikins was a respected and much liked figure in Canadian medicine. Although he made no original contributions to radiation science, he demonstrated radium’s clinical effectiveness to Canadian doctors and eloquently articulated the role of radiation in medicine. He was a model of the clinician-experimenter who tested a new medical treatment empirically in the clinic rather than in the laboratory. His pioneering work stimulated Canadian interest in radium that led to such initiatives as the opening, under Joseph-Ernest Gendreau*, of the Institut du Radium in Montreal in 1923 and the various provincial cancer control programs of the 1930s. In his will Aikins left his medical books to the Academy of Medicine; his estate, worth over $90,000, included $9,950 in radium, described as his “stock in trade.”

The Postcard

 

A postcard published by Worzedialeck of Hamburg bearing an image of the Town Hall in Hamburg.

 

The card was posted in Hamburg on Monday the 11th. August 1930 to an address in Ashville Avenue, Eaglescliffe, Co. Durham.

 

Sir Sean Connery

 

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

 

Not a lot, but exactly two weeks later, on Monday the 25th. August 1930, a baby was born in Edinburgh who later became the Scottish actor Sir Sean Connery.

 

Sir Sean Connery, who was born Thomas Connery, was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983.

 

Originating the role in Dr. No, Connery played Bond in six of Eon Productions' entries, and made his final Bond appearance in the non-Eon-produced Never Say Never Again.

 

If non-Eon-produced Bond movies are included, Connery shares the record for the most portrayals as James Bond with Roger Moore (with seven apiece).

 

Following Sean's third appearance as Bond in Goldfinger (1964), in June 1965, Time magazine observed:

 

"James Bond has developed into the

biggest mass-cult hero of the decade".

 

Connery began acting in smaller theatre and television productions until his break-out role as Bond. Although he did not enjoy the off-screen attention the role gave him, the success of the Bond films brought Connery offers from notable directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Sidney Lumet and John Huston.

 

Their films in which Connery appeared included Marnie (1964), The Hill (1965), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), and The Man Who Would Be King (1975).

 

He also appeared in A Bridge Too Far (1977), Highlander (1986), The Name of the Rose (1986), The Untouchables (1987), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Dragonheart (1996), The Rock (1996), Finding Forrester (2000), and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003).

 

Connery officially retired from acting in 2006, although he briefly returned for voice-over roles in 2012.

 

His achievements in film were recognised with an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards (including the BAFTA Fellowship), and three Golden Globes, including the Cecil B. DeMille Award and a Henrietta Award.

 

In 1987, Sean was made a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in France, and he received the US Kennedy Center Honors lifetime achievement award in 1999. Connery was knighted in the 2000 New Year Honours for services to film drama.

 

Sean Connery - The Early Years

 

Thomas Connery was born at the Royal Maternity Hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was named after his paternal grandfather.

 

He was brought up at No. 176 Fountainbridge, a block which has since been demolished. His mother, Euphemia McBain "Effie" McLean, was a cleaning woman. Connery's father, Joseph Connery, was a factory worker and lorry driver.

 

His father was a Roman Catholic, and his mother was a Protestant. Connery had a younger brother Neil, and was generally referred to in his youth as "Tommy".

 

Although Sean was small in primary school, he grew rapidly around the age of 12, reaching his full adult height of 6 ft. 2 in. (188 cm) at 18. Connery was known during his teen years as "Big Tam", and he said that he lost his virginity to an adult woman in an ATS uniform at the age of 14.

 

He had an Irish childhood friend named Séamus; when the two were together, those who knew them both called Connery by his middle name Sean, emphasising the alliteration of the two names. Since then Connery preferred to use his middle name.

 

Connery's first job was as a milkman in Edinburgh with St. Cuthbert's Co-operative Society. In 2009, Connery recalled a conversation in a taxi:

 

"When I took a taxi during a recent Edinburgh

Film Festival, the driver was amazed that I

could put a name to every street we passed.

"How come?" he asked. "As a boy I used to

deliver milk round here", I said. "So what do

you do now?" That was rather harder to answer."

 

In 1946, at the age of 16, Connery joined the Royal Navy, during which time he acquired two tattoos. Connery's official website says:

 

"Unlike many tattoos, his were not frivolous –

his tattoos reflect two of his lifelong

commitments: his family and Scotland. One

tattoo is a tribute to his parents, and reads

'Mum and Dad', and the other is self-explanatory,

'Scotland Forever'".

 

Sean trained in Portsmouth at the naval gunnery school and in an anti-aircraft crew. He was later assigned as an Able Seaman on HMS Formidable.

 

Connery was discharged from the navy at the age of 19 on medical grounds because of a duodenal ulcer, a condition that affected most of the males in previous generations of his family.

 

Afterwards, he returned to the Co-op and worked as a lorry driver, a lifeguard at Portobello swimming baths, a labourer, an artist's model for the Edinburgh College of Art, and after a suggestion by former Mr. Scotland Archie Brennan, as a coffin polisher, among other jobs.

 

The modelling earned him 15 shillings an hour. Artist Richard Demarco, at the time a student who painted several early pictures of Connery, described him as:

 

"Very straight, slightly shy, too,

too beautiful for words, a virtual

Adonis".

 

Connery began bodybuilding at the age of 18, and from 1951 trained heavily with Ellington, a former gym instructor in the British Army. While his official website states he was third in the 1950 Mr. Universe contest, most sources place him in the 1953 competition, either third in the Junior class or failing to place in the Tall Man classification.

 

Connery said that he was soon deterred from bodybuilding when he found that Americans frequently beat him in competitions because of sheer muscle size and, unlike Connery, refused to participate in athletic activity which could make them lose muscle mass.

 

Connery was a keen footballer, having played for Bonnyrigg Rose in his younger days. He was offered a trial with East Fife.

 

While on tour with South Pacific, Connery played in a football match against a local team that Matt Busby, manager of Manchester United, happened to be scouting. According to reports, Busby was impressed with Sean's physical prowess, and offered Connery a contract worth £25 a week (equivalent to £743 in 2021) immediately after the game. Connery said he was tempted to accept, but he recalls,

 

"I realised that a top-class footballer could

be over the hill by the age of 30, and I was

already 23. I decided to become an actor,

and it turned out to be one of my more

intelligent moves".

 

Sean Connery's Acting Career

 

(a) Pre-James Bond

 

Seeking to supplement his income, Connery helped out backstage at the King's Theatre in late 1951. During a bodybuilding competition held in London in 1953, one of the competitors mentioned that auditions were being held for a production of South Pacific, and Connery landed a small part as one of the Seabees chorus boys.

 

By the time the production reached Edinburgh, he had been given the part of Marine Cpl. Hamilton Steeves, and was understudying two of the juvenile leads, and his salary was raised from £12 to £14–10s a week.

 

The production returned the following year, out of popular demand, and Connery was promoted to the featured role of Lieutenant Buzz Adams, which Larry Hagman had portrayed in the West End.

 

While in Edinburgh, Connery was targeted by the Valdor gang, one of the most violent in the city. He was first approached by them in a billiard hall where he prevented them from stealing his jacket and was later followed by six gang members to a 15-foot-high (4.6 m) balcony at the Palais de Danse.

 

There, Connery singlehandedly launched an attack against the gang members, grabbing one by the throat and another by the biceps and cracking their heads together. From then on, he was treated with great respect by the gang and gained a reputation as a "hard man".

 

Connery first met Michael Caine at a party during the production of South Pacific in 1954, and the two later became close friends. During this production at the Opera House, Manchester, over the Christmas period of 1954, Connery developed a serious interest in the theatre through American actor Robert Henderson, who lent him copies of the Ibsen works Hedda Gabler, The Wild Duck, and When We Dead Awaken, and later listed works by the likes of Proust, Tolstoy, Turgenev, Bernard Shaw, Joyce, and Shakespeare for him to digest.

 

Henderson urged Sean to take elocution lessons, and got him parts at the Maida Vale Theatre in London. He had already begun a film career, having been an extra in Herbert Wilcox's 1954 musical Lilacs in the Spring alongside Errol Flynn and Anna Neagle.

 

Although Connery had secured several roles as an extra, he was struggling to make ends meet, and was forced to accept a part-time job as a babysitter for journalist Peter Noble and his actress wife Marianne, which earned him 10 shillings a night.

 

One night at Noble's house Sean met Hollywood actress Shelley Winters, who described Connery as:

 

"One of the tallest and most charming

and masculine Scotsmen I have ever

seen."

 

Shelley later spent many evenings with the Connery brothers drinking beer. Around this time, Connery was residing at TV presenter Llew Gardner's house.

 

Henderson landed Connery a role in a £6 a week Q Theatre production of Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution, during which he met and became friends with fellow Scot Ian Bannen.

 

This role was followed by Point of Departure and A Witch in Time at Kew, a role as Pentheus opposite Yvonne Mitchell in The Bacchae at the Oxford Playhouse, and a role opposite Jill Bennett in Eugene O'Neill's play Anna Christie.

 

During his time at the Oxford Theatre, Connery won a brief part as a boxer in the TV series The Square Ring, before being spotted by Canadian director Alvin Rakoff, who gave him multiple roles in The Condemned, shot on location in Dover in Kent.

 

In 1956, Connery appeared in the theatrical production of Epitaph, and played a minor role as a hoodlum in the "Ladies of the Manor" episode of the BBC Television police series Dixon of Dock Green.

 

This was followed by small television parts in Sailor of Fortune and The Jack Benny Program (in a special episode filmed in Europe).

 

In early 1957, Connery hired agent Richard Hatton, who got him his first film role, as Spike, a minor gangster with a speech impediment in Montgomery Tully's No Road Back.

 

In April 1957, Rakoff – after being disappointed by Jack Palance – decided to give the young actor his first chance in a leading role, and cast Connery as Mountain McLintock in BBC Television's production of Requiem for a Heavyweight, which also starred Warren Mitchell and Jacqueline Hill.

 

Sean then played a rogue lorry driver, Johnny Yates, in Cy Endfield's Hell Drivers (1957) alongside Stanley Baker, Herbert Lom, Peggy Cummins, and Patrick McGoohan.

 

Later in 1957, Connery appeared in Terence Young's poorly received MGM action picture Action of the Tiger; the film was shot on location in southern Spain.

 

He also had a minor role in Gerald Thomas's thriller Time Lock (1957) as a welder, appearing alongside Robert Beatty, Lee Patterson, Betty McDowall, and Vincent Winter. This commenced filming on the 1st. December 1956 at Beaconsfield Studios.

 

Connery had a major role in the melodrama Another Time, Another Place (1958) as a British reporter named Mark Trevor, caught in a love affair opposite Lana Turner and Barry Sullivan.

 

During filming, Turner's possessive gangster boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato, who was visiting from Los Angeles, believed she was having an affair with Connery. Connery and Turner had attended West End shows and London restaurants together.

 

Stompanato stormed onto the film set and pointed a gun at Connery, only to have Connery disarm him and knock him flat on his back. Stompanato was banned from the set. Two Scotland Yard detectives advised Stompanato to leave and escorted him to the airport, where he boarded a plane back to the United States.

 

Connery later recounted that he had to lay low for a while after receiving threats from men linked to Stompanato's boss, Mickey Cohen.

 

In 1959, Connery landed a leading role in director Robert Stevenson's Walt Disney Productions film Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959). The film is a tale about a wily Irishman and his battle of wits with leprechauns.

 

Upon the film's initial release, A. H. Weiler of The New York Times praised the cast (save Connery whom he described as "merely tall, dark, and handsome") and thought the film:

 

"An overpoweringly charming concoction

of standard Gaelic tall stories, fantasy and

romance."

 

Sean also had prominent television roles in Rudolph Cartier's 1961 productions of Adventure Story and Anna Karenina for BBC Television, co-starring with Claire Bloom in the latter.

 

Also in 1961 he portrayed the title role in a CBC television film adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth with Australian actress Zoe Caldwell cast as Lady Macbeth.

 

(b) James Bond: 1962–1971, 1983

 

Connery's breakthrough came in the role of British secret agent James Bond. He was reluctant to commit to a film series, but understood that if the films succeeded, his career would greatly benefit.

 

Between 1962 and 1967, Connery played 007 in Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, and You Only Live Twice, the first five Bond films produced by Eon Productions.

 

After departing from the role, Connery returned for the seventh film, Diamonds Are Forever, in 1971. Connery made his final appearance as Bond in Never Say Never Again, a 1983 remake of Thunderball produced by Jack Schwartzman's Taliafilm.

 

All seven films were commercially successful. James Bond, as portrayed by Connery, was selected as the third-greatest hero in cinema history by the American Film Institute.

 

Connery's selection for the role of James Bond owed a lot to Dana Broccoli, wife of producer Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, who is reputed to have been instrumental in persuading her husband that Connery was the right man.

 

James Bond's creator, Ian Fleming, originally doubted Connery's casting, saying:

 

"He's not what I envisioned of James

Bond looks. I'm looking for Commander

Bond and not an overgrown stunt-man."

 

He added that Connery (muscular, 6' 2", and a Scot) was unrefined. However Fleming's girlfriend Blanche Blackwell told Fleming that Connery had the requisite sexual charisma, and Fleming changed his mind after the successful Dr. No première.

 

He was so impressed, he wrote Connery's heritage into the character. In his 1964 novel You Only Live Twice, Fleming wrote that Bond's father was Scottish and from Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands.

 

Connery's portrayal of Bond owes much to stylistic tutelage from director Terence Young, who helped polish him while using his physical grace and presence for the action.

 

Lois Maxwell, who played Miss Moneypenny, related that:

 

"Terence took Sean under his wing.

He took him to dinner, showed him

how to walk, how to talk, even how

to eat".

 

The tutoring was successful; Connery received thousands of fan letters a week after Dr. No's opening, and he became a major sex symbol in film.

 

Following the release of the film Dr. No in 1962, the line "Bond ... James Bond", became a catch phrase in the lexicon of Western popular culture. Film critic Peter Bradshaw writes:

 

"It is the most famous self-introduction

from any character in movie history.

Three cool monosyllables, surname first,

a little curtly, as befits a former naval

commander.

And then, as if in afterthought, the first

name, followed by the surname again.

Connery carried it off with icily disdainful

style, in full evening dress with a cigarette

hanging from his lips.

The introduction was a kind of challenge,

or seduction, invariably addressed to an

enemy.

In the early 60's, Connery's James Bond

was about as dangerous and sexy as it

got on screen."

 

During the filming of Thunderball in 1965, Connery's life was in danger in the sequence with the sharks in Emilio Largo's pool. He had been concerned about this threat when he read the script.

 

Connery insisted that Ken Adam build a special Plexiglas partition inside the pool, but this was not a fixed structure, and one of the sharks managed to pass through it. He had to abandon the pool immediately.

 

(c) Post-James Bond

 

Although Bond had made him a star, Connery grew tired of the role and the pressure the franchise put on him, saying:

 

"I am fed up to here with the whole

Bond bit. I have always hated that

damned James Bond. I'd like to kill

him."

 

Michael Caine said of the situation:

 

"If you were his friend in these early

days you didn't raise the subject of

Bond. He was, and is, a much better

actor than just playing James Bond,

but he became synonymous with

Bond. He'd be walking down the

street and people would say,

'Look, there's James Bond'.

That was particularly upsetting

to him."

 

While making the Bond films, Connery also starred in other films such as Alfred Hitchcock's Marnie (1964) and Sidney Lumet's The Hill (1965), which film critic Peter Bradshaw regards as his two great non-Bond pictures from the 1960's.

 

In Marnie, Connery starred opposite Tippi Hedren. Connery had said he wanted to work with Hitchcock, which Eon arranged through their contacts. Connery shocked many people at the time by asking to see a script, something he did because he was worried about being typecast as a spy, and he did not want to do a variation of North by Northwest or Notorious.

 

When told by Hitchcock's agent that Cary Grant had not asked to see even one of Hitchcock's scripts, Connery replied:

 

"I'm not Cary Grant."

 

Hitchcock and Connery got on well during filming, and Connery said he was happy with the film "with certain reservations".

 

In The Hill, Connery wanted to act in something that wasn't Bond related, and he used his leverage as a star to feature in it. While the film wasn't a financial success, it was a critical one, debuting at the Cannes Film Festival and winning Best Screenplay.

 

The first of five films he made with Lumet, Connery considered him to be one of his favourite directors. The respect was mutual, with Lumet saying of Connery's performance in The Hill:

 

"The thing that was apparent to me –

and to most directors – was how much

talent and ability it takes to play that

kind of character who is based on charm

and magnetism.

It's the equivalent of high comedy, and

he did it brilliantly."

 

In the mid-1960's, Connery played golf with Scottish industrialist Iain Maxwell Stewart, a connection which led to Connery directing and presenting the documentary film The Bowler and the Bunnet in 1967.

 

The film described the Fairfield Experiment, a new approach to industrial relations carried out at the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Glasgow, during the 1960s; the experiment was initiated by Stewart and supported by George Brown, the First Secretary in Harold Wilson's cabinet, in 1966.

 

The company was facing closure, and Brown agreed to provide £1 million (£13.135 million; US$15.55 million in 2021 terms) to enable trade unions, the management and the shareholders to try out new ways of industrial management.

 

Having played Bond six times, Connery's global popularity was such that he shared a Golden Globe Henrietta Award with Charles Bronson for "World Film Favorite – Male" in 1972.

 

He appeared in John Huston's The Man Who Would Be King (1975) opposite Michael Caine. Playing two former British soldiers who set themselves up as kings in Kafiristan, both actors regarded it as their favourite film.

 

The same year, Sean appeared in The Wind and the Lion opposite Candice Bergen who played Eden Perdicaris (based on the real-life Perdicaris incident), and in 1976 played Robin Hood in Robin and Marian opposite Audrey Hepburn.

 

Film critic Roger Ebert, who had praised the double act of Connery and Caine in The Man Who Would Be King, praised Connery's chemistry with Hepburn, writing:

 

"Connery and Hepburn seem to have

arrived at a tacit understanding

between themselves about their

characters. They glow. They really

do seem in love."

 

During the 1970's, Connery was part of ensemble casts in films such as Murder on the Orient Express (1974) with Vanessa Redgrave and John Gielgud, and played a British Army general in Richard Attenborough's war film A Bridge Too Far (1977), co-starring with Dirk Bogarde and Laurence Olivier.

 

In 1974, he starred in John Boorman's sci-fi thriller Zardoz. Often called one of the weirdest and worst movies ever made, it featured Connery in a scarlet mankini – a revealing costume which generated much controversy for its unBond-like appearance.

 

Despite being panned by critics at the time, the film has developed a cult following since its release. In the audio commentary to the film, Boorman relates how Connery would write poetry in his free time, describing him as:

 

"A man of great depth and intelligence,

as well as possessing the most

extraordinary memory."

 

In 1981, Connery appeared in the film Time Bandits as Agamemnon. The casting choice derives from a joke Michael Palin included in the script, which describes the character's removing his mask and being:

 

"Sean Connery – or someone

of equal but cheaper stature".

 

When shown the script, Connery was happy to play the supporting role.

 

In 1981 he portrayed Marshal William T. O'Niel in the science fiction thriller Outland. In 1982, Connery narrated G'olé!, the official film of the 1982 FIFA World Cup.

 

That same year, he was offered the role of Daddy Warbucks in Annie, going as far as taking voice lessons for the John Huston musical before turning down the part.

 

Connery agreed to reprise Bond as an ageing agent 007 in Never Say Never Again, released in October 1983. The title, contributed by his wife, refers to his earlier statement that he would "never again" return to the role.

 

Although the film performed well at the box office, it was plagued with production problems: strife between the director and producer, financial problems, the Fleming estate trustees' attempts to halt the film, and Connery's wrist being broken by the fight choreographer, Steven Seagal.

 

As a result of his negative experiences during filming, Connery became unhappy with the major studios, and did not make any films for two years. Following the successful European production The Name of the Rose (1986), for which he won a BAFTA Award for Best Actor, Connery's interest in more commercial material was revived.

 

That same year, a supporting role in Highlander showcased his ability to play older mentors to younger leads, which became a recurring role in many of his later films.

 

In 1987, Connery starred in Brian De Palma's The Untouchables, where he played a hard-nosed Irish-American cop alongside Kevin Costner's Eliot Ness. The film also starred Andy Garcia and Robert De Niro as Al Capone.

 

The film was a critical and box-office success. Many critics praised Connery for his performance, including Roger Ebert, who wrote:

 

"The best performance in the movie

is Connery. He brings a human element

to his character; he seems to have had

an existence apart from the legend of

the Untouchables, and when he's

onscreen we can believe, briefly, that

the Prohibition Era was inhabited by

people, not caricatures."

 

For his performance, Connery received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

 

Connery starred in Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), playing Henry Jones Sr., the title character's father, and received BAFTA and Golden Globe Award nominations. Harrison Ford said Connery's contributions at the writing stage enhanced the film:

 

"It was amazing for me in how far he got

into the script and went after exploiting

opportunities for character.

His suggestions to George Lucas at the

writing stage really gave the character

and the picture a lot more complexity

and value than it had in the original

screenplay.

 

Sean's subsequent box-office hits included The Hunt for Red October (1990), The Russia House (1990), The Rock (1996), and Entrapment (1999). In 1996, he voiced the role of Draco the dragon in the film Dragonheart.

 

He also appeared in a brief cameo as King Richard the Lionheart at the end of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991). In 1998, Connery received the BAFTA Fellowship, a lifetime achievement award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

 

Connery's later films included several box-office and critical disappointments such as First Knight (1995), Just Cause (1995), The Avengers (1998), and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003).

 

The failure of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was especially frustrating for Connery. He sensed during shooting that the production was "going off the rails", and announced that the director, Stephen Norrington should be "locked up for insanity".

 

Connery spent considerable effort in trying to salvage the film through the editing process, ultimately deciding to retire from acting rather than go through such stress ever again.

 

However, he received positive reviews for his performance in Finding Forrester (2000). He also received a Crystal Globe for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema.

 

In a 2003 UK poll conducted by Channel 4, Connery was ranked eighth on their list of the 100 Greatest Movie Stars.

 

Connery turned down the role of Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings films, saying he did not understand the script. He was reportedly offered US$30 million along with 15% of the worldwide box office receipts, which would have earned him US$450 million.

 

He also turned down the opportunity to appear as Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series and the Architect in The Matrix trilogy.

 

In 2005, he recorded voiceovers for the From Russia with Love video game with recording producer Terry Manning in the Bahamas, and provided his likeness. Connery said he was happy the producers, Electronic Arts, had approached him to voice Bond.

 

(d) Retirement

 

When Connery received the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award on the 8th. June 2006, he confirmed his retirement from acting.

 

Connery's disillusionment with the "idiots now making films in Hollywood" was cited as a reason for his decision to retire.

 

On the 7th. June 2007, he denied rumours that he would appear in the fourth Indiana Jones film, saying:

 

"Retirement is just too

much damned fun."

 

In 2010, a bronze bust sculpture of Connery was placed in Tallinn, Estonia, outside The Scottish Club, whose membership includes Estonian Scotophiles and a handful of expatriate Scots.

 

In 2012, Connery briefly came out of retirement to voice the title character in the Scottish animated film Sir Billi. Connery served as executive producer for an expanded 80-minute version.

 

Sean Connery's Personal Life

 

During the production of South Pacific in the mid-1950's, Connery dated a Jewish "dark-haired beauty with a ballerina's figure", Carol Sopel, but was warned off by her family.

 

He then dated Julie Hamilton, daughter of documentary filmmaker and feminist Jill Craigie. Given Connery's rugged appearance and rough charm, Hamilton initially thought he was an appalling person and was not attracted to him until she saw him in a kilt, declaring him to be the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life.

 

He also shared a mutual attraction with jazz singer Maxine Daniels, whom he met whilst working in theatre. He made a pass at her, but she told him she was already happily married with a daughter.

 

Connery was married to actress Diane Cilento from 1962 to 1974, though they separated in 1971. They had a son, actor Jason Joseph. Connery was separated in the early 1970's when he dated Dyan Cannon, Jill St. John, Lana Wood, Carole Mallory, and Magda Konopka.

 

In her 2006 autobiography, Cilento alleged that he had abused her mentally and physically during their relationship. Connery cancelled an appearance at the Scottish Parliament in 2006 because of controversy over his alleged support of abuse of women.

 

He denied claims that he told Playboy magazine in 1965:

 

"I don't think there is anything

particularly wrong in hitting a

woman, though I don't

recommend you do it in the

same way you hit a man".

 

He was also reported to have stated to Vanity Fair in 1993:

 

"There are women who take it

to the wire. That's what they are

looking for, the ultimate

confrontation. They want a smack."

 

In 2006, Connery told The Times of London:

 

"I don't believe that any level of

abuse of women is ever justified

under any circumstances. Full stop".

 

When knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2000 he wore a green-and-black hunting tartan kilt of his mother's MacLean clan.

 

Connery was married to French-Moroccan painter Micheline Roquebrune (born 4th. April 1929) from 1975 until his death. The marriage survived a well-documented affair Connery had in the late 1980's with the singer and songwriter Lynsey de Paul, which she later regretted due to his views concerning domestic violence.

 

Connery owned the Domaine de Terre Blanche in the South of France from 1979. He sold it to German billionaire Dietmar Hopp in 1999.

 

He was awarded an honorary rank of Shodan (1st. dan) in Kyokushin karate.

 

Connery relocated to the Bahamas in the 1990's; he owned a mansion in Lyford Cay on New Providence.

 

Connery had a villa in Kranidi, Greece. His neighbour was King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, with whom he shared a helicopter platform.

 

Growing up, Connery supported the Scottish football club Celtic F.C., having been introduced to the club by his father who was a lifelong fan of the team.

 

Later in life, Connery switched his loyalty to Celtic's bitter rival, Rangers F.C., after he became close friends with the team's chairman, David Murray.

 

Sean was a keen golfer, and English professional golfer Peter Alliss gave Connery golf lessons before the filming of the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger, which involved a scene where Connery, as Bond, played golf against gold magnate Auric Goldfinger at Stoke Park Golf Club in Buckinghamshire.

 

The golf scene saw him wear a Slazenger v-neck sweater, a brand which Connery became associated with while playing golf in his free time, with a light grey marl being a favoured colour.

 

Record major championship winner and golf course designer Jack Nicklaus said:

 

"He loved the game of golf – Sean

was a pretty darn good golfer! –

and we played together several

times.

In May 1993, Sean and legendary

driver Jackie Stewart helped me

open our design of the PGA

Centenary Course at Gleneagles

in Scotland."

 

Sean Connery's Political Views

 

Connery's Scottish roots and his experiences in filming in Glasgow's shipyards in 1966 inspired him to become a member of the centre-left Scottish National Party (SNP), which supports Scottish independence from the United Kingdom.

 

In 2011, Connery said:

 

"The Bowler and the Bunnet was just

the beginning of a journey that would

lead to my long association with the

Scottish National Party."

 

Connery supported the party both financially and through personal appearances. In 1967, he wrote to George Leslie, the SNP candidate in the 1967 Glasgow Pollok by-election, saying:

 

"I am convinced that with our resources

and skills we are more than capable of

building a prosperous, vigorous and

modern self-governing Scotland in which

we can all take pride and which will

deserve the respect of other nations."

 

His funding of the SNP ceased in 2001, when the UK Parliament passed legislation prohibiting overseas funding of political activities in the United Kingdom.

 

Dean Connery's Tax Status

 

In response to accusations that he was a tax exile, Connery released documents in 2003 showing he had paid £3.7 million in UK taxes between 1997 and 1998 and between 2002 and 2003. Critics pointed out that had he been continuously residing in the UK for tax purposes, his tax rate would have been far higher.

 

In the run-up to the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Connery's brother Neil said that Connery would not come to Scotland to rally independence supporters, since his tax exile status greatly limited the number of days he could spend in the country.

 

After Connery sold his Marbella villa in 1999, Spanish authorities launched a tax evasion investigation, alleging that the Spanish treasury had been defrauded of £5.5 million.

 

Connery was subsequently cleared by officials, but his wife and 16 others were charged with attempting to defraud the Spanish treasury.

 

The Death and Legacy of Sean Connery

 

Connery died in his sleep on the 31st. October 2020, aged 90, at his home in the Lyford Cay community of Nassau in the Bahamas. His death was announced by his family and Eon Productions; although they did not disclose the cause of death, his son Jason said he had been unwell for some time.

 

A day later, Roquebrune revealed he had suffered from dementia in his final years. Connery's death certificate recorded the cause of death as pneumonia and respiratory failure, and the time of death was listed as 1:30 am.

 

Sean's remains were cremated, and the ashes were scattered in Scotland at undisclosed locations in 2022.

 

Following the announcement of his death, many co-stars and figures from the entertainment industry paid tribute to Connery, including Sam Neill, Nicolas Cage, Robert De Niro, Michael Bay, Tippi Hedren, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, George Lucas, Shirley Bassey, Kevin Costner, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Barbra Streisand, John Cleese, Jane Seymour and Harrison Ford, as well as former Bond stars George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan, the family of late former Bond actor Roger Moore, and Daniel Craig, who played 007 until No Time to Die.

 

Connery's long-time friend Michael Caine called him:

 

"A great star, brilliant actor

and a wonderful friend".

 

James Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli released a statement saying that:

 

"Connery has revolutionized the world

with his gritty and witty portrayal of the

sexy and charismatic secret agent.

He is undoubtedly largely responsible

for the success of the film series, and

we shall be forever grateful to him".

 

In 2004, a poll in the UK Sunday Herald recognised Connery as "The Greatest Living Scot," and a 2011 EuroMillions survey named him "Scotland's Greatest Living National Treasure".

 

He was voted by People magazine as the "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1989 and the "Sexiest Man of the Century" in 1999.

 

Final Thoughts From Sir Sean Connery

 

"I am not an Englishman, I was never an

Englishman, and I don't ever want to be

one. I am a Scotsman! I was a Scotsman,

and I will always be one."

 

"I admit I'm being paid well, but it's no more

than I deserve. After all, I've been screwed

more times than a hooker."

 

"Love may not make the world go round,

but I must admit that it makes the ride

worthwhile."

 

"There is nothing like a challenge to bring

out the best in man."

 

"I like women. I don't understand them,

but I like them."

 

"Some age, others mature."

 

"I met my wife through playing golf. She is

French and couldn't speak English, and I

couldn't speak French, so there was little

chance of us getting involved in any boring

conversations - that's why we got married

really quickly."

 

"Everything I have done or attempted to do

for Scotland has always been for her benefit,

never my own, and I defy anyone to prove

otherwise."

 

"The knighthood I received was a fantastic

honor but it's not something I've ever used,

and I don't think I ever will."

 

"I never trashed a hotel room or did drugs."

 

"More than anything else, I'd like to be an

old man with a good face, like Hitchcock or

Picasso."

 

"Laughter kills fear, and without fear there

can be no faith. For without fear of the devil

there is no need for God."

 

"Perhaps I'm not a good actor, but I would

be even worse at doing anything else."

 

"I'm an actor - it's not brain surgery. If I do

my job right, people won't ask for their

money back."

 

"I haven't found anywhere in the world

where I want to be all the time. The best

of my life is the moving. I look forward to

going."

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Conversation with Tyler PD Integrity UNIT Officer Jon Thorn In The Side Thornhill " This is Not Nevada or Las Vegas,NV This is Tyler and Smith County Texas and We Have Our Own way Of Doing Things Here " Obviously Didn't want to read and Would not Understand it if Stuck HIM In His Side and collapsed a Lung. " We are Racist I object to that Comment about 711 W. Ferguson being The KKK Lair " I replied " Do you Have Ears , Sgt Thornhill?"

Co. E, 9th KS. Cavalry

Pages 284-285, History of Allen and Woodson Counties, Kansas: embellished with portraits of well known people of these counties, with biographies of our representative citizens, cuts of public buildings and a map of each county / Edited and Compiled by L. Wallace Duncan and Chas. F. Scott. Iola Registers, Printers and Binders, Iola, Kan.: 1901; 894 p., [36] leaves of plates: ill., ports.; includes index.

 

GEORGE J. ELDRIDGE—Those who lived in the vicinity of Iola as early as the year 1850 recall the appearance, one July day of a little Englishman driving a yoke of oxen across the prairie and into the village. Behind this primitive team was a young wife and son and all the worldly effects of the travelers. That they were settlers was early made known and that they were poor was at once apparent. They had made the journey all the way from McHenry County, Illinois, to Iola and were just finishing their trip that 27th of July. Their resources, aside from their team, wagon and camping outfit, amounted to $40. The head of the family was a wagonmaker and the hope of their future welfare lay in his ability to provide life's necessities from his trade. He built a small cabin on the site of the Hart livery barn and took possession. If his wagon shop was not the first in town it was one of the early ones and he plied his trade as the main means of existence from that date till 1868.

The few foregoing facts are sufficient to identify the subject of this review, George J. Eldridge. He was born in East Kent, England, Mary[sic] 19, 1833, and was a son of Richard and Mary (Bone) Eldridge. The parents had six children, two of whom survive: Mrs Peter Adams, of Caldwell, Missouri, and the subject of this notice. Although his father was a shoemaker George Eldridge left England without a trade. He went aboard a sailing vessel at London, in company with an uncle and family, and after five weeks of sea life landed in Castle Garden. The little company located in Wayne County, New York, and there, at the age of eighteen years, our subject took his first lessons in wagon-making. In 1856 he came on west to McHenry County, Illinois, residing three years, and while there marrying Miss Martha J. Hopkins, a lady born in Alleghany County, New York. She was a daughter of William and Mary Hopkins whose children she and Mrs. Catharine Washburn, deceased, of Elgin, Illinois, are.

Two of the three children of Mr. and Mrs. Eldridge survive: Mary, wife of John Cloud, of Allen County, has a son, Glen; and Richard A. Eldridge, still under the parental roof.

George Eldridge had been in America ten years when the Rebellion broke out. He felt the same patriotic zeal for the preservation of the Union under the southern sun of Kansas as in the free and invigorating air of the northern clime. When the second call for troops was issued he enlisted for three years or during the war. He entered Company E, 9th Kansas Cavalry. Colonel Lynde and Captain Flesher, on the 19th of October, 1861. The Company joined the regiment at Lawrence, Kansas, and in the course of events was sent south into the Territory. It took part in the battle of Prairie Grove and in many smaller engagements and skirmishes in Missouri and Arkansas. Mr. Eldridge was discharged at Duval's Bluff, Arkansas, in January, 1855,[sic] having served his three years.

In 1867 Mr. Eldridge purchased the tract of land which is his homestead. It is the northwest quarter of section 36, township 24, range 17, and cost him three and a half dollars per acre. The first years of his career as a farmer was something of a struggle for little more than existence. Like all settlers without means it was a slow process to do more than the natural improvement the first ten years. After this his progress was steady and sure and as the circumstances warranted he extended the area of his farm. As is well known he is one of the substantial men of his community, and a gentleman whose social and political integrity are undoubted and above reproach. He is a Republican pioneer, having joined the party in 1856 as a charter member. His first vote was for John C. Fremont and his last one for William McKinley. He has aided in an official capacity the conduct of public business in his township and does his part as an individual toward the promotion of Republican principles and Republican success in political campaigns.

      

Biographical Info

b Brooklyn, NY, 1947

 

Allan Gorman’s unique point of view and engaging style offers a nostalgic exploration (ala Hopper and Sheeler) of place, time and mystery applied to architecture, transportation and modern machinery. Recent work has been included as part of the NJ Arts Annual — a statewide survey of contemporary art at the NJ State Museum; Mid-Atlantic New Paintings 2012 at the Ridderhof Martin Gallery in Fredericksburg, VA; The Governor’s Island Art Fair (NYC); in solo and invitational exhibitions in NJ, NYC and California; and he’s currently hard at work in his home studio preparing new works for upcoming exhibitions in 2012 and 2013. Largely self-taught, Gorman took his first painting course with celebrated artist Power Booth at NYC’s School of Visual Arts in the mid-1980s. More recently, he’s studied with artists Gary Godbee and David Kapp, and was awarded a month’s residency at the Vermont Studio Center in Jackson VT, in March, 2011. His work is in several private collections and has been published in two issues of Poets & Artists Magazine, America Art Collector, on the cover of Artists’ Portfolio Magazine and in Manifest Prize’s International New Paintings Annual 2 (Summer. 2012). Gorman has gallery affiliations with Anthony Brunelli Fine Art in Binghamton, NY and at Gallery50, Rehoboth Beach, DE.

 

Selected Exhibitions

 

2012

Gallery 50, Rehoboth Beach, DE (featured)

SCCC Galleries, Newton, NJ (solo)

Art Gallery at Holy Family University - Philadelphia, PA (solo)

Elliott Fouts Gallery - Sacramento, CA (Invitational)

George Segal Gallery, Montclair State Univ. - Little Falls, NJ

Ridderhof Martin Gallery, UMW - Fredricksburg, VA

 

2011

Phoenix Gallery - NY, NY (solo)

Perkins Art Center - Collingswood, NJ (three-person show)

Anthony Brunelli Fine Arts - Binghamton, NY (Invitational)

Longyear Gallery - Margaretville, NY (Invitational)

Governor’s Island Art Fair - NY, NY

Aljira Center for Contemporary Art - Newark, NJ

Academy of Fine Arts - Lynchburg, VA

BWAC Galleries - Brooklyn, NY

Verge/Brooklyn - Brooklyn, NY

George Segal Gallery, Montclair State Univ. - Little Falls, NJ

Monmouth Museum - Monmouth, NJ

(continues)

inquiry@allangorman.com or 973 509 2728 www.allangorman.com

Allan Gorman Paintings

Selected Exhibitions (continued)

 

2010

Brassworks on Grove - Montclair, NJ (solo)

NJ State Museum - Trenton, NJ (2010 NJ Arts Annual)

Landscapes in Transition - Montclair Art Museum - Montclair, NJ (Invitational)

Walsh Gallery, Seton Hall Univ. - S.Orange, NJ

Bowery Gallery - NY, NY

SMI Summer Salon - Montclair, NJ

Ceres Gallery - NY, NY

Gallery 125 - Trenton, NJ

BWAC Galleries - Brooklyn, NY

Rogue Space | Chelsea - NY, NY

Visceglia Gallery, Caldwell College - Caldwell, NJ

Monmouth Museum - Monmouth, NJ

 

2009

Rogue Space | Chelsea - NY, NY

Pierro Galley - South Orange NJ (2009 Biennial)

SMI Summer Salon – Montclair NJ

Teaching

2012 - “Finding Abstractions in Reality”, Center for Contemporary Art, Bedminster, NJ

 

Selected Awards

Artavita Premier Award - Important World Artists - Volume 1 - Summer, 2012

Manifest International Paintings Award - Volume 2 - Summer, 2012

Vermont Studio Center Residency Fellowship - March, 2011

Artist Portfolio Magazine #2 - 1st Place Cover Award - June 2011

Artist Portfolio Magazine #2 - Editor’s Choice Award - June 2011

ArtScene Today Magazine - 2010

Artslant Showcase - Jun, Nov 2011

Artslant Showcase - Feb, Apr, Aug 2010

Projekt30 Showcase - Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec 2011, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr 2012

(continues)

inquiry@allangorman.com or 973 509 2728 www.allangorman.com

Allan Gorman Paintings

inquiry@allangorman.com or 973 509 2728 www.allangorman.com

 

Selected Bibliography

“Collaboration: Allan Gorman and Michelle Elvy” -Poets & Artists #31 - January, 2012

“Moving Masterpieces: Collecting Train, Plane & Automobile Art” - Special Section -

American Art Collector #73 - November 2011

Thomas, Allison - “Canvas Constructions: Drawing Inspiration from Concrete and Steel”

Transportation Today #9 - July, 2011

Lilli, Diane - ‘Allan Gorman Connects Digital Highway with Modern Art”

TheJerseyTomatoPress.com Feature - June, 12, 2011

Finn, Joan - ‘sTRUCKtures’: Transforming the Ordinary into the Extraordinary”

Montclair Times Arts Section Cover Feature - May, 26, 2011

Seed, John - “5 Paintings, 5 Studio Shots, 5 Quests for Beauty”

Huffington Post - Apr 29, 2011

Menendez, Didi - “Allan Gorman: Profile” Poets & Artists #24 - Spring 2011

Finn, Joan - “Allan Gorman: digital-age Edward Hopper”

Montclair Times Arts Section Cover Feature - Oct. 7, 2010

Sailer, Anne - Art Connections 7 (review) - annesailer.com/wordpress/

Corbin, Michael - “ArtChat with Allan Gorman” - Artbookguy.com - Aug 2010

BackrowMafia Blog - “Allan Gorman Delivers a New Art Medium”

BackrowMafia.com - Aug 2, 2010

Featured Artist for August – JerseyArts - Aug 2010

Artist of the Month for April - ArtList.com - April 2010

Lilli, Diane - “Montclair Artist Selected for Prestigious Bowery Gallery Show”

TheJerseyTomatoPress,com - Aug 2010

 

Art Education

Largely self-taught. Painting classes and workshops at SVA (NYC); Montclair Art Museum;

Summer Workshops at Rock Gardens Inn (Casco Bay, ME);

Residence at Vermont Studio Center (Jackson, VT)

Web Sites

www.allangorman.com

www.artslant.com/ny/artists/show/125681-allan-gorman

www. afonline.artistsspace.org

Representation/Affiliations

The Painting Center - NY, NY

Anthony Brunelli Gallery - Binghamton, NY

Gallery50, Rehoboth Beach, DE

Studio Montclair - Montclair, NJ

The U.S. Army Contracting Command presented 29 individual and four team awards for excellence in acquisition, contracting and small business at a ceremony at Fort Bliss, Texas.

 

The ceremony was conducted Jan. 28 during the Operational Contract Support Joint Exercise 2014. The goal of this program is to foster a sense of accomplishment and pride in the organization by acknowledging actions that encourage civilian and military employees to achieve the highest levels of performance and service, according to ACC Awards Program Manager, Kirk Martindale.

 

"It's an honor to recognize the recipients for their hard work and dedication," said Brig. Gen. Ted C. Harrison, ACC commanding general. "These professionals exemplify the best of this command and are the type of individuals others can aspire to become."

 

The awards are presented for excellence in acquisition, contracting and small business. Selectees were recognized for their outstanding achievements between October 1, 2011 and September 30, 2012. The awards panel reviewed more than 150 nominations before making the selections.

 

This year, teams and personnel from ECC received 11 awards; personnel and teams from the ACC-Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., received 12 awards; ACC-Warren, Mich., and ACC- Rock Island, Ill., personnel and teams received three each; personnel and teams from ACC-Redstone Arsenal, Ala., ACC-New Jersey, MICC and ACC headquarters received one each.

 

Award recipients are:

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting Officer, Maj. Stuart I. McMillan, ECC - 409th Contracting Support Brigade, Kaiserslautern, Germany

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting Civilian, Paula Claudio, ECC - 410th CSB, Joint Base San Antonio -- Fort Sam Houston, Texas

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting NCO, Sgt. 1st Class John D. Hickman, ECC - 409th CSB

 

Outstanding Contracting Officer (Major Weapons Systems), Jennifer M. Meyer, ACC-Warren

 

Outstanding Contracting Specialist (Major Weapons Systems), Jesse L. Lefever, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Contracting Officer (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Michael D. Haydo, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Outstanding Contracting Specialist (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Ronnie T. Sakata, ECC - 413th CSB, Fort Shafter, Hawaii

 

Outstanding Price Analyst (Major Weapons System), Denise L. Dimatteo, ACC-NJ

 

Outstanding Price Analyst (Other than Major Weapons System), Joseph L. Loftus, ACC-RI

 

Excellence in Acquisition Leadership (Major Weapons Systems), Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicle Team, ACC-Warren

 

Excellence in Acquisition Leadership (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Soldier Systems Team, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Procurement Analyst (Other Major Weapons Systems), Stephanie R. Benger, ECC - 409th CSB

Outstanding Workforce Development Specialist Team, Enterprise Resources Division Team, ACC-

APG

 

Outstanding Workforce Development Specialist, Brenda L. Pitcher, ACC Headquarters

 

Outstanding Intern of the Year (Major Weapons Systems), Matthew C. Ebner, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Intern of the Year (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Shahaadah C. Nalls, ACC-APG

 

Innovation Award (Major Weapons Systems), Keith D. Depoorter, ACC-Warren

 

Innovation Award (Other than Major Weapons Systems),Andrew J. Ordway, ACC-APG

 

ACC Ability One Award, Douglas S. Kirby, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Mission Support Business Operations (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Human Resource Solutions Division, MICC

 

Outstanding Mission Support Business Operations (Non-Acquisition), Juan S. Ortiz, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Outstanding Active Duty Military Officer/ NCO (Major Weapons Systems), Lt. Col. Jeffrey L. Caldwell, ACC-RSA

 

Outstanding Active Duty Military Officer/ NCO (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Lt. Col. Vernon L. Myers, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Excellence in Direct Sales Contracting of the Year, Debby C. Broyles, ACC-RI

 

Small Business Specialist of the Year, Donna L. Peebles, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Small Business Champion of the year, Sonya P. Delucia, ACC-APG

 

Small Business Program Supporter of the Year, Mark R. Dahilig, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Customer Service Excellence Award of the Year, Quality Assurance Team, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Major Weapons Systems), Danielle M. Moyer, ACC-APG

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Timothy P. Baker, ACC-APG

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Non Acquisition), Cheryl A. Saylock, ACC-APG

 

Personal Development Achievement Award of the Year, Gerald B. Haan, ACC-RI

 

Public Affairs Liaison of the Year, Rachel D. Clark, ECC - 409th CSB

Tyler PD General Orders Intergrity Unit Complaint Proceedure Written Report Required via Chain Of Command which you are going to look at Right Now Instead of doing your real-Job and Pulling The Videotape inside WAL-Mart SC Which I demanded in Front of Veggie-Mac Brain Gardner and Ofc Caldwell and Jimmy The WAL-Mart Manger on Duty or Watching The Hibel Video and It's associated Police Chief Magazine STOP and ID Laws Sept 2004 Article WHICH is Legally Binding In a Court of Law ".

.

Conversation with Tyler PD Integrity UNIT Officer Jon Thorn In The Side Thornhill " This is Not Nevada or Las Vegas,NV This is Tyler and Smith County Texas and We Have Our Own way Of Doing Things Here " Obviously Didn't want to read and Would not Understand it if Stuck HIM In His Side and collapsed a Lung. " We are Racist I object to that Comment about 711 W. Ferguson being The KKK Lair " I replied " Do you Have Ears , Sgt Thornhill?"

The U.S. Army Contracting Command presented 29 individual and four team awards for excellence in acquisition, contracting and small business at a ceremony at Fort Bliss, Texas.

 

The ceremony was conducted Jan. 28 during the Operational Contract Support Joint Exercise 2014. The goal of this program is to foster a sense of accomplishment and pride in the organization by acknowledging actions that encourage civilian and military employees to achieve the highest levels of performance and service, according to ACC Awards Program Manager, Kirk Martindale.

 

"It's an honor to recognize the recipients for their hard work and dedication," said Brig. Gen. Ted C. Harrison, ACC commanding general. "These professionals exemplify the best of this command and are the type of individuals others can aspire to become."

 

The awards are presented for excellence in acquisition, contracting and small business. Selectees were recognized for their outstanding achievements between October 1, 2011 and September 30, 2012. The awards panel reviewed more than 150 nominations before making the selections.

 

This year, teams and personnel from ECC received 11 awards; personnel and teams from the ACC-Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., received 12 awards; ACC-Warren, Mich., and ACC- Rock Island, Ill., personnel and teams received three each; personnel and teams from ACC-Redstone Arsenal, Ala., ACC-New Jersey, MICC and ACC headquarters received one each.

 

Award recipients are:

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting Officer, Maj. Stuart I. McMillan, ECC - 409th Contracting Support Brigade, Kaiserslautern, Germany

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting Civilian, Paula Claudio, ECC - 410th CSB, Joint Base San Antonio -- Fort Sam Houston, Texas

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting NCO, Sgt. 1st Class John D. Hickman, ECC - 409th CSB

 

Outstanding Contracting Officer (Major Weapons Systems), Jennifer M. Meyer, ACC-Warren

 

Outstanding Contracting Specialist (Major Weapons Systems), Jesse L. Lefever, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Contracting Officer (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Michael D. Haydo, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Outstanding Contracting Specialist (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Ronnie T. Sakata, ECC - 413th CSB, Fort Shafter, Hawaii

 

Outstanding Price Analyst (Major Weapons System), Denise L. Dimatteo, ACC-NJ

 

Outstanding Price Analyst (Other than Major Weapons System), Joseph L. Loftus, ACC-RI

 

Excellence in Acquisition Leadership (Major Weapons Systems), Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicle Team, ACC-Warren

 

Excellence in Acquisition Leadership (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Soldier Systems Team, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Procurement Analyst (Other Major Weapons Systems), Stephanie R. Benger, ECC - 409th CSB

Outstanding Workforce Development Specialist Team, Enterprise Resources Division Team, ACC-

APG

 

Outstanding Workforce Development Specialist, Brenda L. Pitcher, ACC Headquarters

 

Outstanding Intern of the Year (Major Weapons Systems), Matthew C. Ebner, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Intern of the Year (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Shahaadah C. Nalls, ACC-APG

 

Innovation Award (Major Weapons Systems), Keith D. Depoorter, ACC-Warren

 

Innovation Award (Other than Major Weapons Systems),Andrew J. Ordway, ACC-APG

 

ACC Ability One Award, Douglas S. Kirby, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Mission Support Business Operations (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Human Resource Solutions Division, MICC

 

Outstanding Mission Support Business Operations (Non-Acquisition), Juan S. Ortiz, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Outstanding Active Duty Military Officer/ NCO (Major Weapons Systems), Lt. Col. Jeffrey L. Caldwell, ACC-RSA

 

Outstanding Active Duty Military Officer/ NCO (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Lt. Col. Vernon L. Myers, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Excellence in Direct Sales Contracting of the Year, Debby C. Broyles, ACC-RI

 

Small Business Specialist of the Year, Donna L. Peebles, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Small Business Champion of the year, Sonya P. Delucia, ACC-APG

 

Small Business Program Supporter of the Year, Mark R. Dahilig, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Customer Service Excellence Award of the Year, Quality Assurance Team, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Major Weapons Systems), Danielle M. Moyer, ACC-APG

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Timothy P. Baker, ACC-APG

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Non Acquisition), Cheryl A. Saylock, ACC-APG

 

Personal Development Achievement Award of the Year, Gerald B. Haan, ACC-RI

 

Public Affairs Liaison of the Year, Rachel D. Clark, ECC - 409th CSB

Congratulations to our School Board members sworn into office on Tuesday, November 16th including two returning members – Teree Caldwell-Johns and Kim Martorano – and three new members: Maria Alonzo-Diaz, Jenna Knox and Jackie Norris. And to our School Board leadership on being selected to offices by their peers: Dwana Bradley will remain as Chair and Teree Caldwell-Johnson will serve as Vice Chair.

 

Thank you to Rob Barron, Kalyn Cody and Kyrstin Delagardelle for your service on the Des Moines School Board, your commitment to our students and staff, and your dedication to the community.

The U.S. Army Contracting Command presented 29 individual and four team awards for excellence in acquisition, contracting and small business at a ceremony at Fort Bliss, Texas.

 

The ceremony was conducted Jan. 28 during the Operational Contract Support Joint Exercise 2014. The goal of this program is to foster a sense of accomplishment and pride in the organization by acknowledging actions that encourage civilian and military employees to achieve the highest levels of performance and service, according to ACC Awards Program Manager, Kirk Martindale.

 

"It's an honor to recognize the recipients for their hard work and dedication," said Brig. Gen. Ted C. Harrison, ACC commanding general. "These professionals exemplify the best of this command and are the type of individuals others can aspire to become."

 

The awards are presented for excellence in acquisition, contracting and small business. Selectees were recognized for their outstanding achievements between October 1, 2011 and September 30, 2012. The awards panel reviewed more than 150 nominations before making the selections.

 

This year, teams and personnel from ECC received 11 awards; personnel and teams from the ACC-Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., received 12 awards; ACC-Warren, Mich., and ACC- Rock Island, Ill., personnel and teams received three each; personnel and teams from ACC-Redstone Arsenal, Ala., ACC-New Jersey, MICC and ACC headquarters received one each.

 

Award recipients are:

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting Officer, Maj. Stuart I. McMillan, ECC - 409th Contracting Support Brigade, Kaiserslautern, Germany

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting Civilian, Paula Claudio, ECC - 410th CSB, Joint Base San Antonio -- Fort Sam Houston, Texas

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting NCO, Sgt. 1st Class John D. Hickman, ECC - 409th CSB

 

Outstanding Contracting Officer (Major Weapons Systems), Jennifer M. Meyer, ACC-Warren

 

Outstanding Contracting Specialist (Major Weapons Systems), Jesse L. Lefever, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Contracting Officer (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Michael D. Haydo, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Outstanding Contracting Specialist (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Ronnie T. Sakata, ECC - 413th CSB, Fort Shafter, Hawaii

 

Outstanding Price Analyst (Major Weapons System), Denise L. Dimatteo, ACC-NJ

 

Outstanding Price Analyst (Other than Major Weapons System), Joseph L. Loftus, ACC-RI

 

Excellence in Acquisition Leadership (Major Weapons Systems), Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicle Team, ACC-Warren

 

Excellence in Acquisition Leadership (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Soldier Systems Team, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Procurement Analyst (Other Major Weapons Systems), Stephanie R. Benger, ECC - 409th CSB

Outstanding Workforce Development Specialist Team, Enterprise Resources Division Team, ACC-

APG

 

Outstanding Workforce Development Specialist, Brenda L. Pitcher, ACC Headquarters

 

Outstanding Intern of the Year (Major Weapons Systems), Matthew C. Ebner, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Intern of the Year (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Shahaadah C. Nalls, ACC-APG

 

Innovation Award (Major Weapons Systems), Keith D. Depoorter, ACC-Warren

 

Innovation Award (Other than Major Weapons Systems),Andrew J. Ordway, ACC-APG

 

ACC Ability One Award, Douglas S. Kirby, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Mission Support Business Operations (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Human Resource Solutions Division, MICC

 

Outstanding Mission Support Business Operations (Non-Acquisition), Juan S. Ortiz, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Outstanding Active Duty Military Officer/ NCO (Major Weapons Systems), Lt. Col. Jeffrey L. Caldwell, ACC-RSA

 

Outstanding Active Duty Military Officer/ NCO (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Lt. Col. Vernon L. Myers, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Excellence in Direct Sales Contracting of the Year, Debby C. Broyles, ACC-RI

 

Small Business Specialist of the Year, Donna L. Peebles, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Small Business Champion of the year, Sonya P. Delucia, ACC-APG

 

Small Business Program Supporter of the Year, Mark R. Dahilig, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Customer Service Excellence Award of the Year, Quality Assurance Team, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Major Weapons Systems), Danielle M. Moyer, ACC-APG

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Timothy P. Baker, ACC-APG

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Non Acquisition), Cheryl A. Saylock, ACC-APG

 

Personal Development Achievement Award of the Year, Gerald B. Haan, ACC-RI

 

Public Affairs Liaison of the Year, Rachel D. Clark, ECC - 409th CSB

The U.S. Army Contracting Command presented 29 individual and four team awards for excellence in acquisition, contracting and small business at a ceremony at Fort Bliss, Texas.

 

The ceremony was conducted Jan. 28 during the Operational Contract Support Joint Exercise 2014. The goal of this program is to foster a sense of accomplishment and pride in the organization by acknowledging actions that encourage civilian and military employees to achieve the highest levels of performance and service, according to ACC Awards Program Manager, Kirk Martindale.

 

"It's an honor to recognize the recipients for their hard work and dedication," said Brig. Gen. Ted C. Harrison, ACC commanding general. "These professionals exemplify the best of this command and are the type of individuals others can aspire to become."

 

The awards are presented for excellence in acquisition, contracting and small business. Selectees were recognized for their outstanding achievements between October 1, 2011 and September 30, 2012. The awards panel reviewed more than 150 nominations before making the selections.

 

This year, teams and personnel from ECC received 11 awards; personnel and teams from the ACC-Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., received 12 awards; ACC-Warren, Mich., and ACC- Rock Island, Ill., personnel and teams received three each; personnel and teams from ACC-Redstone Arsenal, Ala., ACC-New Jersey, MICC and ACC headquarters received one each.

 

Award recipients are:

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting Officer, Maj. Stuart I. McMillan, ECC - 409th Contracting Support Brigade, Kaiserslautern, Germany

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting Civilian, Paula Claudio, ECC - 410th CSB, Joint Base San Antonio -- Fort Sam Houston, Texas

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting NCO, Sgt. 1st Class John D. Hickman, ECC - 409th CSB

 

Outstanding Contracting Officer (Major Weapons Systems), Jennifer M. Meyer, ACC-Warren

 

Outstanding Contracting Specialist (Major Weapons Systems), Jesse L. Lefever, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Contracting Officer (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Michael D. Haydo, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Outstanding Contracting Specialist (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Ronnie T. Sakata, ECC - 413th CSB, Fort Shafter, Hawaii

 

Outstanding Price Analyst (Major Weapons System), Denise L. Dimatteo, ACC-NJ

 

Outstanding Price Analyst (Other than Major Weapons System), Joseph L. Loftus, ACC-RI

 

Excellence in Acquisition Leadership (Major Weapons Systems), Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicle Team, ACC-Warren

 

Excellence in Acquisition Leadership (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Soldier Systems Team, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Procurement Analyst (Other Major Weapons Systems), Stephanie R. Benger, ECC - 409th CSB

Outstanding Workforce Development Specialist Team, Enterprise Resources Division Team, ACC-

APG

 

Outstanding Workforce Development Specialist, Brenda L. Pitcher, ACC Headquarters

 

Outstanding Intern of the Year (Major Weapons Systems), Matthew C. Ebner, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Intern of the Year (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Shahaadah C. Nalls, ACC-APG

 

Innovation Award (Major Weapons Systems), Keith D. Depoorter, ACC-Warren

 

Innovation Award (Other than Major Weapons Systems),Andrew J. Ordway, ACC-APG

 

ACC Ability One Award, Douglas S. Kirby, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Mission Support Business Operations (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Human Resource Solutions Division, MICC

 

Outstanding Mission Support Business Operations (Non-Acquisition), Juan S. Ortiz, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Outstanding Active Duty Military Officer/ NCO (Major Weapons Systems), Lt. Col. Jeffrey L. Caldwell, ACC-RSA

 

Outstanding Active Duty Military Officer/ NCO (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Lt. Col. Vernon L. Myers, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Excellence in Direct Sales Contracting of the Year, Debby C. Broyles, ACC-RI

 

Small Business Specialist of the Year, Donna L. Peebles, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Small Business Champion of the year, Sonya P. Delucia, ACC-APG

 

Small Business Program Supporter of the Year, Mark R. Dahilig, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Customer Service Excellence Award of the Year, Quality Assurance Team, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Major Weapons Systems), Danielle M. Moyer, ACC-APG

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Timothy P. Baker, ACC-APG

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Non Acquisition), Cheryl A. Saylock, ACC-APG

 

Personal Development Achievement Award of the Year, Gerald B. Haan, ACC-RI

 

Public Affairs Liaison of the Year, Rachel D. Clark, ECC - 409th CSB

The U.S. Army Contracting Command presented 29 individual and four team awards for excellence in acquisition, contracting and small business at a ceremony at Fort Bliss, Texas.

 

The ceremony was conducted Jan. 28 during the Operational Contract Support Joint Exercise 2014. The goal of this program is to foster a sense of accomplishment and pride in the organization by acknowledging actions that encourage civilian and military employees to achieve the highest levels of performance and service, according to ACC Awards Program Manager, Kirk Martindale.

 

"It's an honor to recognize the recipients for their hard work and dedication," said Brig. Gen. Ted C. Harrison, ACC commanding general. "These professionals exemplify the best of this command and are the type of individuals others can aspire to become."

 

The awards are presented for excellence in acquisition, contracting and small business. Selectees were recognized for their outstanding achievements between October 1, 2011 and September 30, 2012. The awards panel reviewed more than 150 nominations before making the selections.

 

This year, teams and personnel from ECC received 11 awards; personnel and teams from the ACC-Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., received 12 awards; ACC-Warren, Mich., and ACC- Rock Island, Ill., personnel and teams received three each; personnel and teams from ACC-Redstone Arsenal, Ala., ACC-New Jersey, MICC and ACC headquarters received one each.

 

Award recipients are:

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting Officer, Maj. Stuart I. McMillan, ECC - 409th Contracting Support Brigade, Kaiserslautern, Germany

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting Civilian, Paula Claudio, ECC - 410th CSB, Joint Base San Antonio -- Fort Sam Houston, Texas

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting NCO, Sgt. 1st Class John D. Hickman, ECC - 409th CSB

 

Outstanding Contracting Officer (Major Weapons Systems), Jennifer M. Meyer, ACC-Warren

 

Outstanding Contracting Specialist (Major Weapons Systems), Jesse L. Lefever, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Contracting Officer (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Michael D. Haydo, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Outstanding Contracting Specialist (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Ronnie T. Sakata, ECC - 413th CSB, Fort Shafter, Hawaii

 

Outstanding Price Analyst (Major Weapons System), Denise L. Dimatteo, ACC-NJ

 

Outstanding Price Analyst (Other than Major Weapons System), Joseph L. Loftus, ACC-RI

 

Excellence in Acquisition Leadership (Major Weapons Systems), Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicle Team, ACC-Warren

 

Excellence in Acquisition Leadership (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Soldier Systems Team, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Procurement Analyst (Other Major Weapons Systems), Stephanie R. Benger, ECC - 409th CSB

Outstanding Workforce Development Specialist Team, Enterprise Resources Division Team, ACC-

APG

 

Outstanding Workforce Development Specialist, Brenda L. Pitcher, ACC Headquarters

 

Outstanding Intern of the Year (Major Weapons Systems), Matthew C. Ebner, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Intern of the Year (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Shahaadah C. Nalls, ACC-APG

 

Innovation Award (Major Weapons Systems), Keith D. Depoorter, ACC-Warren

 

Innovation Award (Other than Major Weapons Systems),Andrew J. Ordway, ACC-APG

 

ACC Ability One Award, Douglas S. Kirby, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Mission Support Business Operations (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Human Resource Solutions Division, MICC

 

Outstanding Mission Support Business Operations (Non-Acquisition), Juan S. Ortiz, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Outstanding Active Duty Military Officer/ NCO (Major Weapons Systems), Lt. Col. Jeffrey L. Caldwell, ACC-RSA

 

Outstanding Active Duty Military Officer/ NCO (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Lt. Col. Vernon L. Myers, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Excellence in Direct Sales Contracting of the Year, Debby C. Broyles, ACC-RI

 

Small Business Specialist of the Year, Donna L. Peebles, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Small Business Champion of the year, Sonya P. Delucia, ACC-APG

 

Small Business Program Supporter of the Year, Mark R. Dahilig, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Customer Service Excellence Award of the Year, Quality Assurance Team, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Major Weapons Systems), Danielle M. Moyer, ACC-APG

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Timothy P. Baker, ACC-APG

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Non Acquisition), Cheryl A. Saylock, ACC-APG

 

Personal Development Achievement Award of the Year, Gerald B. Haan, ACC-RI

 

Public Affairs Liaison of the Year, Rachel D. Clark, ECC - 409th CSB

Tyler PD General Orders Intergrity Unit Complaint Proceedure Written Report Required via Chain Of Command which you are going to look at Right Now Instead of doing your real-Job and Pulling The Videotape inside WAL-Mart SC Which I demanded in Front of Veggie-Mac Brain Gardner and Ofc Caldwell and Jimmy The WAL-Mart Manger on Duty or Watching The Hibel Video and It's associated Police Chief Magazine STOP and ID Laws Sept 2004 Article WHICH is Legally Binding In a Court of Law ".

.

Conversation with Tyler PD Integrity UNIT Officer Jon Thorn In The Side Thornhill " This is Not Nevada or Las Vegas,NV This is Tyler and Smith County Texas and We Have Our Own way Of Doing Things Here " Obviously Didn't want to read and Would not Understand it if Stuck HIM In His Side and collapsed a Lung. " We are Racist I object to that Comment about 711 W. Ferguson being The KKK Lair " I replied " Do you Have Ears , Sgt Thornhill?"

Tyler PD General Orders Intergrity Unit Complaint Proceedure Written Report Required via Chain Of Command which you are going to look at Right Now Instead of doing your real-Job and Pulling The Videotape inside WAL-Mart SC Which I demanded in Front of Veggie-Mac Brain Gardner and Ofc Caldwell and Jimmy The WAL-Mart Manger on Duty or Watching The Hibel Video and It's associated Police Chief Magazine STOP and ID Laws Sept 2004 Article WHICH is Legally Binding In a Court of Law ".

.

Conversation with Tyler PD Integrity UNIT Officer Jon Thorn In The Side Thornhill " This is Not Nevada or Las Vegas,NV This is Tyler and Smith County Texas and We Have Our Own way Of Doing Things Here " Obviously Didn't want to read and Would not Understand it if Stuck HIM In His Side and collapsed a Lung. " We are Racist I object to that Comment about 711 W. Ferguson being The KKK Lair " I replied " Do you Have Ears , Sgt Thornhill?"

The U.S. Army Contracting Command presented 29 individual and four team awards for excellence in acquisition, contracting and small business at a ceremony at Fort Bliss, Texas.

 

The ceremony was conducted Jan. 28 during the Operational Contract Support Joint Exercise 2014. The goal of this program is to foster a sense of accomplishment and pride in the organization by acknowledging actions that encourage civilian and military employees to achieve the highest levels of performance and service, according to ACC Awards Program Manager, Kirk Martindale.

 

"It's an honor to recognize the recipients for their hard work and dedication," said Brig. Gen. Ted C. Harrison, ACC commanding general. "These professionals exemplify the best of this command and are the type of individuals others can aspire to become."

 

The awards are presented for excellence in acquisition, contracting and small business. Selectees were recognized for their outstanding achievements between October 1, 2011 and September 30, 2012. The awards panel reviewed more than 150 nominations before making the selections.

 

This year, teams and personnel from ECC received 11 awards; personnel and teams from the ACC-Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., received 12 awards; ACC-Warren, Mich., and ACC- Rock Island, Ill., personnel and teams received three each; personnel and teams from ACC-Redstone Arsenal, Ala., ACC-New Jersey, MICC and ACC headquarters received one each.

 

Award recipients are:

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting Officer, Maj. Stuart I. McMillan, ECC - 409th Contracting Support Brigade, Kaiserslautern, Germany

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting Civilian, Paula Claudio, ECC - 410th CSB, Joint Base San Antonio -- Fort Sam Houston, Texas

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting NCO, Sgt. 1st Class John D. Hickman, ECC - 409th CSB

 

Outstanding Contracting Officer (Major Weapons Systems), Jennifer M. Meyer, ACC-Warren

 

Outstanding Contracting Specialist (Major Weapons Systems), Jesse L. Lefever, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Contracting Officer (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Michael D. Haydo, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Outstanding Contracting Specialist (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Ronnie T. Sakata, ECC - 413th CSB, Fort Shafter, Hawaii

 

Outstanding Price Analyst (Major Weapons System), Denise L. Dimatteo, ACC-NJ

 

Outstanding Price Analyst (Other than Major Weapons System), Joseph L. Loftus, ACC-RI

 

Excellence in Acquisition Leadership (Major Weapons Systems), Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicle Team, ACC-Warren

 

Excellence in Acquisition Leadership (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Soldier Systems Team, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Procurement Analyst (Other Major Weapons Systems), Stephanie R. Benger, ECC - 409th CSB

Outstanding Workforce Development Specialist Team, Enterprise Resources Division Team, ACC-

APG

 

Outstanding Workforce Development Specialist, Brenda L. Pitcher, ACC Headquarters

 

Outstanding Intern of the Year (Major Weapons Systems), Matthew C. Ebner, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Intern of the Year (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Shahaadah C. Nalls, ACC-APG

 

Innovation Award (Major Weapons Systems), Keith D. Depoorter, ACC-Warren

 

Innovation Award (Other than Major Weapons Systems),Andrew J. Ordway, ACC-APG

 

ACC Ability One Award, Douglas S. Kirby, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Mission Support Business Operations (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Human Resource Solutions Division, MICC

 

Outstanding Mission Support Business Operations (Non-Acquisition), Juan S. Ortiz, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Outstanding Active Duty Military Officer/ NCO (Major Weapons Systems), Lt. Col. Jeffrey L. Caldwell, ACC-RSA

 

Outstanding Active Duty Military Officer/ NCO (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Lt. Col. Vernon L. Myers, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Excellence in Direct Sales Contracting of the Year, Debby C. Broyles, ACC-RI

 

Small Business Specialist of the Year, Donna L. Peebles, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Small Business Champion of the year, Sonya P. Delucia, ACC-APG

 

Small Business Program Supporter of the Year, Mark R. Dahilig, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Customer Service Excellence Award of the Year, Quality Assurance Team, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Major Weapons Systems), Danielle M. Moyer, ACC-APG

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Timothy P. Baker, ACC-APG

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Non Acquisition), Cheryl A. Saylock, ACC-APG

 

Personal Development Achievement Award of the Year, Gerald B. Haan, ACC-RI

 

Public Affairs Liaison of the Year, Rachel D. Clark, ECC - 409th CSB

The U.S. Army Contracting Command presented 29 individual and four team awards for excellence in acquisition, contracting and small business at a ceremony at Fort Bliss, Texas.

 

The ceremony was conducted Jan. 28 during the Operational Contract Support Joint Exercise 2014. The goal of this program is to foster a sense of accomplishment and pride in the organization by acknowledging actions that encourage civilian and military employees to achieve the highest levels of performance and service, according to ACC Awards Program Manager, Kirk Martindale.

 

"It's an honor to recognize the recipients for their hard work and dedication," said Brig. Gen. Ted C. Harrison, ACC commanding general. "These professionals exemplify the best of this command and are the type of individuals others can aspire to become."

 

The awards are presented for excellence in acquisition, contracting and small business. Selectees were recognized for their outstanding achievements between October 1, 2011 and September 30, 2012. The awards panel reviewed more than 150 nominations before making the selections.

 

This year, teams and personnel from ECC received 11 awards; personnel and teams from the ACC-Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., received 12 awards; ACC-Warren, Mich., and ACC- Rock Island, Ill., personnel and teams received three each; personnel and teams from ACC-Redstone Arsenal, Ala., ACC-New Jersey, MICC and ACC headquarters received one each.

 

Award recipients are:

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting Officer, Maj. Stuart I. McMillan, ECC - 409th Contracting Support Brigade, Kaiserslautern, Germany

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting Civilian, Paula Claudio, ECC - 410th CSB, Joint Base San Antonio -- Fort Sam Houston, Texas

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting NCO, Sgt. 1st Class John D. Hickman, ECC - 409th CSB

 

Outstanding Contracting Officer (Major Weapons Systems), Jennifer M. Meyer, ACC-Warren

 

Outstanding Contracting Specialist (Major Weapons Systems), Jesse L. Lefever, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Contracting Officer (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Michael D. Haydo, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Outstanding Contracting Specialist (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Ronnie T. Sakata, ECC - 413th CSB, Fort Shafter, Hawaii

 

Outstanding Price Analyst (Major Weapons System), Denise L. Dimatteo, ACC-NJ

 

Outstanding Price Analyst (Other than Major Weapons System), Joseph L. Loftus, ACC-RI

 

Excellence in Acquisition Leadership (Major Weapons Systems), Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicle Team, ACC-Warren

 

Excellence in Acquisition Leadership (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Soldier Systems Team, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Procurement Analyst (Other Major Weapons Systems), Stephanie R. Benger, ECC - 409th CSB

Outstanding Workforce Development Specialist Team, Enterprise Resources Division Team, ACC-

APG

 

Outstanding Workforce Development Specialist, Brenda L. Pitcher, ACC Headquarters

 

Outstanding Intern of the Year (Major Weapons Systems), Matthew C. Ebner, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Intern of the Year (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Shahaadah C. Nalls, ACC-APG

 

Innovation Award (Major Weapons Systems), Keith D. Depoorter, ACC-Warren

 

Innovation Award (Other than Major Weapons Systems),Andrew J. Ordway, ACC-APG

 

ACC Ability One Award, Douglas S. Kirby, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Mission Support Business Operations (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Human Resource Solutions Division, MICC

 

Outstanding Mission Support Business Operations (Non-Acquisition), Juan S. Ortiz, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Outstanding Active Duty Military Officer/ NCO (Major Weapons Systems), Lt. Col. Jeffrey L. Caldwell, ACC-RSA

 

Outstanding Active Duty Military Officer/ NCO (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Lt. Col. Vernon L. Myers, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Excellence in Direct Sales Contracting of the Year, Debby C. Broyles, ACC-RI

 

Small Business Specialist of the Year, Donna L. Peebles, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Small Business Champion of the year, Sonya P. Delucia, ACC-APG

 

Small Business Program Supporter of the Year, Mark R. Dahilig, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Customer Service Excellence Award of the Year, Quality Assurance Team, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Major Weapons Systems), Danielle M. Moyer, ACC-APG

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Timothy P. Baker, ACC-APG

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Non Acquisition), Cheryl A. Saylock, ACC-APG

 

Personal Development Achievement Award of the Year, Gerald B. Haan, ACC-RI

 

Public Affairs Liaison of the Year, Rachel D. Clark, ECC - 409th CSB

Tyler PD General Orders Intergrity Unit Complaint Proceedure Written Report Required via Chain Of Command which you are going to look at Right Now Instead of doing your real-Job and Pulling The Videotape inside WAL-Mart SC Which I demanded in Front of Veggie-Mac Brain Gardner and Ofc Caldwell and Jimmy The WAL-Mart Manger on Duty or Watching The Hibel Video and It's associated Police Chief Magazine STOP and ID Laws Sept 2004 Article WHICH is Legally Binding In a Court of Law ".

.

Conversation with Tyler PD Integrity UNIT Officer Jon Thorn In The Side Thornhill " This is Not Nevada or Las Vegas,NV This is Tyler and Smith County Texas and We Have Our Own way Of Doing Things Here " Obviously Didn't want to read and Would not Understand it if Stuck HIM In His Side and collapsed a Lung. " We are Racist I object to that Comment about 711 W. Ferguson being The KKK Lair " I replied " Do you Have Ears , Sgt Thornhill?"

The U.S. Army Contracting Command presented 29 individual and four team awards for excellence in acquisition, contracting and small business at a ceremony at Fort Bliss, Texas.

 

The ceremony was conducted Jan. 28 during the Operational Contract Support Joint Exercise 2014. The goal of this program is to foster a sense of accomplishment and pride in the organization by acknowledging actions that encourage civilian and military employees to achieve the highest levels of performance and service, according to ACC Awards Program Manager, Kirk Martindale.

 

"It's an honor to recognize the recipients for their hard work and dedication," said Brig. Gen. Ted C. Harrison, ACC commanding general. "These professionals exemplify the best of this command and are the type of individuals others can aspire to become."

 

The awards are presented for excellence in acquisition, contracting and small business. Selectees were recognized for their outstanding achievements between October 1, 2011 and September 30, 2012. The awards panel reviewed more than 150 nominations before making the selections.

 

This year, teams and personnel from ECC received 11 awards; personnel and teams from the ACC-Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., received 12 awards; ACC-Warren, Mich., and ACC- Rock Island, Ill., personnel and teams received three each; personnel and teams from ACC-Redstone Arsenal, Ala., ACC-New Jersey, MICC and ACC headquarters received one each.

 

Award recipients are:

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting Officer, Maj. Stuart I. McMillan, ECC - 409th Contracting Support Brigade, Kaiserslautern, Germany

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting Civilian, Paula Claudio, ECC - 410th CSB, Joint Base San Antonio -- Fort Sam Houston, Texas

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting NCO, Sgt. 1st Class John D. Hickman, ECC - 409th CSB

 

Outstanding Contracting Officer (Major Weapons Systems), Jennifer M. Meyer, ACC-Warren

 

Outstanding Contracting Specialist (Major Weapons Systems), Jesse L. Lefever, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Contracting Officer (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Michael D. Haydo, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Outstanding Contracting Specialist (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Ronnie T. Sakata, ECC - 413th CSB, Fort Shafter, Hawaii

 

Outstanding Price Analyst (Major Weapons System), Denise L. Dimatteo, ACC-NJ

 

Outstanding Price Analyst (Other than Major Weapons System), Joseph L. Loftus, ACC-RI

 

Excellence in Acquisition Leadership (Major Weapons Systems), Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicle Team, ACC-Warren

 

Excellence in Acquisition Leadership (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Soldier Systems Team, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Procurement Analyst (Other Major Weapons Systems), Stephanie R. Benger, ECC - 409th CSB

Outstanding Workforce Development Specialist Team, Enterprise Resources Division Team, ACC-

APG

 

Outstanding Workforce Development Specialist, Brenda L. Pitcher, ACC Headquarters

 

Outstanding Intern of the Year (Major Weapons Systems), Matthew C. Ebner, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Intern of the Year (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Shahaadah C. Nalls, ACC-APG

 

Innovation Award (Major Weapons Systems), Keith D. Depoorter, ACC-Warren

 

Innovation Award (Other than Major Weapons Systems),Andrew J. Ordway, ACC-APG

 

ACC Ability One Award, Douglas S. Kirby, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Mission Support Business Operations (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Human Resource Solutions Division, MICC

 

Outstanding Mission Support Business Operations (Non-Acquisition), Juan S. Ortiz, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Outstanding Active Duty Military Officer/ NCO (Major Weapons Systems), Lt. Col. Jeffrey L. Caldwell, ACC-RSA

 

Outstanding Active Duty Military Officer/ NCO (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Lt. Col. Vernon L. Myers, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Excellence in Direct Sales Contracting of the Year, Debby C. Broyles, ACC-RI

 

Small Business Specialist of the Year, Donna L. Peebles, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Small Business Champion of the year, Sonya P. Delucia, ACC-APG

 

Small Business Program Supporter of the Year, Mark R. Dahilig, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Customer Service Excellence Award of the Year, Quality Assurance Team, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Major Weapons Systems), Danielle M. Moyer, ACC-APG

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Timothy P. Baker, ACC-APG

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Non Acquisition), Cheryl A. Saylock, ACC-APG

 

Personal Development Achievement Award of the Year, Gerald B. Haan, ACC-RI

 

Public Affairs Liaison of the Year, Rachel D. Clark, ECC - 409th CSB

The U.S. Army Contracting Command presented 29 individual and four team awards for excellence in acquisition, contracting and small business at a ceremony at Fort Bliss, Texas.

 

The ceremony was conducted Jan. 28 during the Operational Contract Support Joint Exercise 2014. The goal of this program is to foster a sense of accomplishment and pride in the organization by acknowledging actions that encourage civilian and military employees to achieve the highest levels of performance and service, according to ACC Awards Program Manager, Kirk Martindale.

 

"It's an honor to recognize the recipients for their hard work and dedication," said Brig. Gen. Ted C. Harrison, ACC commanding general. "These professionals exemplify the best of this command and are the type of individuals others can aspire to become."

 

The awards are presented for excellence in acquisition, contracting and small business. Selectees were recognized for their outstanding achievements between October 1, 2011 and September 30, 2012. The awards panel reviewed more than 150 nominations before making the selections.

 

This year, teams and personnel from ECC received 11 awards; personnel and teams from the ACC-Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., received 12 awards; ACC-Warren, Mich., and ACC- Rock Island, Ill., personnel and teams received three each; personnel and teams from ACC-Redstone Arsenal, Ala., ACC-New Jersey, MICC and ACC headquarters received one each.

 

Award recipients are:

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting Officer, Maj. Stuart I. McMillan, ECC - 409th Contracting Support Brigade, Kaiserslautern, Germany

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting Civilian, Paula Claudio, ECC - 410th CSB, Joint Base San Antonio -- Fort Sam Houston, Texas

 

Outstanding Contingency Contracting NCO, Sgt. 1st Class John D. Hickman, ECC - 409th CSB

 

Outstanding Contracting Officer (Major Weapons Systems), Jennifer M. Meyer, ACC-Warren

 

Outstanding Contracting Specialist (Major Weapons Systems), Jesse L. Lefever, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Contracting Officer (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Michael D. Haydo, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Outstanding Contracting Specialist (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Ronnie T. Sakata, ECC - 413th CSB, Fort Shafter, Hawaii

 

Outstanding Price Analyst (Major Weapons System), Denise L. Dimatteo, ACC-NJ

 

Outstanding Price Analyst (Other than Major Weapons System), Joseph L. Loftus, ACC-RI

 

Excellence in Acquisition Leadership (Major Weapons Systems), Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicle Team, ACC-Warren

 

Excellence in Acquisition Leadership (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Soldier Systems Team, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Procurement Analyst (Other Major Weapons Systems), Stephanie R. Benger, ECC - 409th CSB

Outstanding Workforce Development Specialist Team, Enterprise Resources Division Team, ACC-

APG

 

Outstanding Workforce Development Specialist, Brenda L. Pitcher, ACC Headquarters

 

Outstanding Intern of the Year (Major Weapons Systems), Matthew C. Ebner, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Intern of the Year (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Shahaadah C. Nalls, ACC-APG

 

Innovation Award (Major Weapons Systems), Keith D. Depoorter, ACC-Warren

 

Innovation Award (Other than Major Weapons Systems),Andrew J. Ordway, ACC-APG

 

ACC Ability One Award, Douglas S. Kirby, ACC-APG

 

Outstanding Mission Support Business Operations (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Human Resource Solutions Division, MICC

 

Outstanding Mission Support Business Operations (Non-Acquisition), Juan S. Ortiz, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Outstanding Active Duty Military Officer/ NCO (Major Weapons Systems), Lt. Col. Jeffrey L. Caldwell, ACC-RSA

 

Outstanding Active Duty Military Officer/ NCO (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Lt. Col. Vernon L. Myers, ECC - 410th CSB

 

Excellence in Direct Sales Contracting of the Year, Debby C. Broyles, ACC-RI

 

Small Business Specialist of the Year, Donna L. Peebles, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Small Business Champion of the year, Sonya P. Delucia, ACC-APG

 

Small Business Program Supporter of the Year, Mark R. Dahilig, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Customer Service Excellence Award of the Year, Quality Assurance Team, ECC - 413th CSB

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Major Weapons Systems), Danielle M. Moyer, ACC-APG

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Other than Major Weapons Systems), Timothy P. Baker, ACC-APG

 

Excellence in Acquisition Change Advocate Award (Non Acquisition), Cheryl A. Saylock, ACC-APG

 

Personal Development Achievement Award of the Year, Gerald B. Haan, ACC-RI

 

Public Affairs Liaison of the Year, Rachel D. Clark, ECC - 409th CSB

Tombstone of Arthur Wellington Ross, a 19th century teacher, lawyer, politician, speculator, and fortune seeker. Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto, Canada. Spring evening, 2020. Pentax K1 II.

 

For more information on Ross, see the link: www.biographi.ca/en/bio/ross_arthur_wellington_13E.html

 

ROSS, ARTHUR WELLINGTON, teacher, office holder, lawyer, businessman, and politician; b. 25 March 1846 in Nairn, Upper Canada, eldest son of Donald Ross and Margaret —; m. 30 July 1873 Jessie Flora Cattanach, daughter of Donald Cattanach of Laggan, Ont., and they had two sons; d. 25 March 1901 in Toronto.

 

Arthur Wellington Ross claimed later in life that he had known firsthand the hardships suffered by those Scottish crofters who left “the smoldering ruins of the cottages in which their forefathers were born” to seek a new home in Upper Canada, only to end up “digging their grave by so doing.” His Scottish Presbyterian father, who worked a marginal farm in East Williams Township, conveyed few advantages to his son beyond a sound education. After attending the local common school, Ross left the farm for Wardsville Grammar School. A teaching career attracted him as a way out of a rural life that had brought little material success to his family. Therefore he enrolled in the Toronto Normal School, and he qualified for a first-class certificate probably about 1865 or 1866. He taught in Cornwall and so impressed trustees there that in 1868 they hired him as headmaster of the high school. In September 1871 he was made inspector of public schools for Glengarry County, a position newly created by the School Act of that year.

 

Rapid as his advancement was, Ross considered teaching only a stepping-stone to a more lucrative and respected profession. He continued his studies and in 1874 received a ba from the University of Toronto. He then resigned his inspectorship to be articled to an attorney and solicitor. His impatience for advancement manifested itself when he moved to Winnipeg with his younger brother William Henry Ross in early June 1877, just five months before completing his law studies. He was articled to his brother, who was already a lawyer, but because his training had been interrupted by the move, he had to obtain a special act from the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba to be admitted to the bar, in 1878. The Ross brothers practised in partnership, acting briefly as solicitors in Winnipeg for the government of Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie*. Albert Clements Killam joined the practice in 1879 and, following William Henry’s death that year, Alexander Haggart was admitted as a junior partner in the firm, which became Ross, Killam, and Haggart.

 

Real estate speculation quickly became Ross’s major business interest. By 1882 he was among the wealthiest one per cent of landowners residing in Winnipeg: his real estate assessment that year totalled approximately $210,000 and was the eighth highest individual assessment in the city. In addition to his city property, he owned nearly the whole of the suburban area later known as Fort Rouge (Winnipeg), where he built one of the most impressive residences of the boom era. As well, he speculated in Métis scrip, lands owned by the Hudson’s Bay Company, town lots in Brandon and Edmonton, and various rural properties. In one transaction alone in 1880 he sold 25,000 acres. The Department of the Interior later believed, but could not prove conclusively, that Ross and his firm had benefited from information supplied by an employee in the office of its dominion lands branch in Winnipeg. Alexander Mackinnon Burgess*, deputy minister of the interior, reported in 1885 to his minister, Thomas White*, that “having the inside track in this way, they were able, on every occasion of receipt of a list of Half Breed allotments to be on the spot at the right time, to their own great advantage, and the disadvantage of all other speculators in the same class of claims.”

 

The collapse of western land values in 1882 ruined Ross. His practice, like that of other speculators, had been to purchase land with a minimum down payment and sell his holdings quickly before subsequent instalments fell due. His buyers, smaller-scale speculators themselves, engaged in a similar strategy, so that Ross had to depend on remittances from them to meet his own commitments or find buyers for the promissory notes which he accepted as security for his sales. When values dropped, he was trapped between his creditors, most notably the HBC, which relentlessly demanded payment, and his own customers, many of whom were prepared to walk away from their investments and obligations. In 1884 the HBC initiated a case in the Court of Chancery to recover properties sold on credit to Ross. The fate of the insolvent Ross became a topic of debate in the local press. The Commercial denounced him as a swindler who had engaged “in the wildest schemes of speculation with funds altogether inadequate for a tithe of his undertakings.” More sympathetic was the Daily Times, which judged Ross no more guilty than the other hapless speculators caught by an adverse turn of events. His creditors should accept a compromise. “It is unjust . . . to strike a man when he is down,” it noted. “It is not in keeping with the free air of the Northwest. It savours of the east, where usurious Shylocks are heady to grind the last dollar out of a man.”

 

Ross was not one to accept failure easily and he would concentrate on politics as an avenue for recovery. In the provincial general election of December 1878, he had narrowly won in the riding of Springfield as a Liberal and opponent to the government of John Norquay*. He was re-elected in the general election of 1879. In the assembly, railways in particular attracted his attention. Although he doubted whether Norquay’s policy of limited subsidies would significantly aid rail construction, he became associated with the promotion of the Manitoba and North Western Railway at some point during its history and served as its vice-president. When terms of the contract for the Pacific railway were announced by the federal government in 1880, he introduced a motion in the Manitoba assembly calling on the dominion government to cancel the agreement. Ross objected to the monopoly granted to the syndicate headed by George Stephen* and asserted that “the people of Canada were willing to pay taxes to build the road, but they did not want it run for the benefit of capitalists.” His vocal opposition, not to mention his Liberal credentials, made him attractive as a representative of western interests in the syndicate Sir William Pearce Howland assembled to tender a counter-offer for the transcontinental railway contract in January 1881. Although the bid of the Howland syndicate declared that Ross, the only westerner in the group, intended to take shares in the company should it be awarded the contract, it did not name him as a future director, nor did he deposit security for the tender.

 

Ross’s criticism of the Canadian Pacific Railway stood him in good stead when in 1882 he resigned from the provincial legislature to contest the riding of Lisgar for the Liberals in the federal election. Initially, he was reluctant to run since the constituency had been gerrymandered to secure it for the Conservative incumbent, John Christian Schultz*. Local opinion had been grossly offended, however, by Schultz’s failure to support the town of Selkirk as the location for the bridging of the Red River by the CPR. So determined were the Liberal organizers in Lisgar to unseat Schultz, Ross’s campaign manager later explained, that when the polls closed they “had a couple of Deputy Returning Officers with their Ballot Boxes corralled at Selkirk ready for any emergency, but thank goodness it was not necessary, [Ross] was elected fair.” In Ottawa Ross looked after the interests of his constituents as best he could, lobbying for facilities for Selkirk and enquiring about land titles as well as timber and mining locations for speculators.

 

But as his own affairs deteriorated, he needed to do more than provide good representation for his constituency. An opportunity presented itself in February 1884 when the CPR sought additional financial assistance from the dominion government. In a surprising turnaround Ross spoke eloquently in defence of the company, and even its monopoly, as crucial to the prosperity of the northwest and Canada, and to the growth of national sentiment in general. Ross repeated his role as a defender of the CPR the next year when the company sought parliamentary approval for another loan. Whether Ross had discussed with its officials the services he might render before making his speech in the House of Commons is not clear. But by the late summer of 1884 he was in Vancouver acting on the CPR’s behalf to assemble land for its western terminus at Granville (Vancouver). Ross also was ideally placed to speculate himself and he purchased town-site lots from the CPR. In 1886 he opened a real estate business, which was run for a short time by his brother-in-law, Malcolm Alexander MacLean*. Two years later Ross, who had divided his time between the west coast, Winnipeg, and Ottawa, moved to Vancouver, where he went into the real estate and insurance business with Henry Tracy Ceperley. The partnership lasted only two or three years, and Ross was back in the real estate business at Winnipeg in 1891.

 

Ross feared that his association with the CPR might jeopardize his political career, and he entered the campaign of 1887, now a Conservative, with trepidation. Consequently he pressed CPR vice-president William Cornelius Van Horne* to help get out the vote on his behalf. Van Horne instructed William Whyte*, general superintendent of the western division of the railway, to schedule special trains to carry voters to the polls and to make out spurious bills indicating that Ross had paid for the train service. Should any of the railway’s managers question these exceptional measures, Whyte was to explain that Ross had to be rewarded for helping the company “at a time [when] it was a question of the salvation or destruction of the whole enterprise.” Finally, Van Horne ordered that any man who revealed details of the arrangement “should be bounced without much ceremony.” Ross did not need to draw upon the railway’s assistance; he was re-elected by acclamation.

 

The eloquence of his defence of the CPR contrasted with the relative silence which attended his remaining ten years in the House of Commons. Although he spoke occasionally and briefly on issues relating to dominion lands and land grants to railways, he said nothing on such major issues as the Manitoba school question [see Thomas Greenway]. Perhaps he could see little personal gain from debate. In fairness, he had received no encouragement from the Conservative party to speak out. Possibly anticipating the decease of Schultz with an unseemly eagerness, in 1891 he pressed John Joseph Caldwell Abbott*, a senator and lawyer for the CPR, for appointment as lieutenant governor of Manitoba. He was, he reminded Abbott, the senior western mp and he had spent more money to win his seat in the last election than all other Conservative candidates in Manitoba. “So far I have never got anything from the party and I think it is time I should be recognized.” He was not.

 

Little wonder Ross did not contest the election of 1896. Instead he devoted himself to new speculations. He left Winnipeg in 1896 for Toronto, where he became a broker of mining securities and general manager of the North Star Mining, Trading, and Transportation Company. His interests in the goldfields of Rossland, B.C., led him to move to nearby Columbia Gardens about 1899. It was there in January 1901 that he suffered a paralysing stroke. He returned to Toronto for medical treatment, but died of a second stroke.

 

In reviewing the party affiliations of the members of parliament from Manitoba in 1882, Joseph Royal, himself one of the group, maintained that “Ross was elected for Ross.” He was probably correct. Arthur Wellington Ross was one of those ambitious young men from Ontario who headed west in the 1870s to seek their fortunes. With that single purpose in mind and little concern for public opprobrium, he sought to seize opportunities, whether in business speculations or in politics.

  

Tyler PD General Orders Intergrity Unit Complaint Proceedure Written Report Required via Chain Of Command which you are going to look at Right Now Instead of doing your real-Job and Pulling The Videotape inside WAL-Mart SC Which I demanded in Front of Veggie-Mac Brain Gardner and Ofc Caldwell and Jimmy The WAL-Mart Manger on Duty or Watching The Hibel Video and It's associated Police Chief Magazine STOP and ID Laws Sept 2004 Article WHICH is Legally Binding In a Court of Law ".

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Conversation with Tyler PD Integrity UNIT Officer Jon Thorn In The Side Thornhill " This is Not Nevada or Las Vegas,NV This is Tyler and Smith County Texas and We Have Our Own way Of Doing Things Here " Obviously Didn't want to read and Would not Understand it if Stuck HIM In His Side and collapsed a Lung. " We are Racist I object to that Comment about 711 W. Ferguson being The KKK Lair " I replied " Do you Have Ears , Sgt Thornhill?"

Congratulations to our School Board members sworn into office on Tuesday, November 16th including two returning members – Teree Caldwell-Johns and Kim Martorano – and three new members: Maria Alonzo-Diaz, Jenna Knox and Jackie Norris. And to our School Board leadership on being selected to offices by their peers: Dwana Bradley will remain as Chair and Teree Caldwell-Johnson will serve as Vice Chair.

 

Thank you to Rob Barron, Kalyn Cody and Kyrstin Delagardelle for your service on the Des Moines School Board, your commitment to our students and staff, and your dedication to the community.

31 Mar 66 ACS played sports against Marlborough Boys College at Athletic Park in Blenheim. ACS competitors were Peter Moore-Jones, Ken Hynds, Alan Morrell, Murray Brayshaw, Alistair McKenzie, Jones, Roger Woolhouse, Alan Paterson, Stu Ellis, Alofi Freuan, Jeff Mathews, Mike Caldwell, Phil Hunter, Hugh McDowell, Ken Sowerby, John Tomson, Tom Forrest, and Peter White. ACS won the Gainsford Trophy which was presented by Air Commodore Gainsford himself.

 

Air Commodore Arthur Percy Gainsford 20 Nov 1913 - 27 May 1974.

 

Warrant Officer Arthur Percy Gainsford (N.Z.402863) Royal New Zealand Air Force, No. 150 Squadron awarded Distinguished Flying Cross 27 Oct 1942.

www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35759/supplement/4643/d...

 

Portait 23 May 1947

natlib.govt.nz/records/30628753

 

Source credit: Photo Image No: PR6105-65

Air Force Museum of New Zealand

Some Rights Reserved

fotoweb.airforcemuseum.co.nz/

Congratulations to our School Board members sworn into office on Tuesday, November 16th including two returning members – Teree Caldwell-Johns and Kim Martorano – and three new members: Maria Alonzo-Diaz, Jenna Knox and Jackie Norris. And to our School Board leadership on being selected to offices by their peers: Dwana Bradley will remain as Chair and Teree Caldwell-Johnson will serve as Vice Chair.

 

Thank you to Rob Barron, Kalyn Cody and Kyrstin Delagardelle for your service on the Des Moines School Board, your commitment to our students and staff, and your dedication to the community.

Congratulations to our School Board members sworn into office on Tuesday, November 16th including two returning members – Teree Caldwell-Johns and Kim Martorano – and three new members: Maria Alonzo-Diaz, Jenna Knox and Jackie Norris. And to our School Board leadership on being selected to offices by their peers: Dwana Bradley will remain as Chair and Teree Caldwell-Johnson will serve as Vice Chair.

 

Thank you to Rob Barron, Kalyn Cody and Kyrstin Delagardelle for your service on the Des Moines School Board, your commitment to our students and staff, and your dedication to the community.

Congratulations to our School Board members sworn into office on Tuesday, November 16th including two returning members – Teree Caldwell-Johns and Kim Martorano – and three new members: Maria Alonzo-Diaz, Jenna Knox and Jackie Norris. And to our School Board leadership on being selected to offices by their peers: Dwana Bradley will remain as Chair and Teree Caldwell-Johnson will serve as Vice Chair.

 

Thank you to Rob Barron, Kalyn Cody and Kyrstin Delagardelle for your service on the Des Moines School Board, your commitment to our students and staff, and your dedication to the community.

110717-N-TT977-058

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen reviews Afghan National Policemen with Gen. Ghulam Mujtaba Patang, Regional Commander North, Afghan National Police in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan on July 17, 2011. Mullen's around the world trip continues with the stop in Afghanistan to visit with leadership and attend the International Security Assistance Force change-of-command ceremony where U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus will be relieved by U.S. Marine Corps Gen. John Allen in Kabul. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley/Released)

Congratulations to our School Board members sworn into office on Tuesday, November 16th including two returning members – Teree Caldwell-Johns and Kim Martorano – and three new members: Maria Alonzo-Diaz, Jenna Knox and Jackie Norris. And to our School Board leadership on being selected to offices by their peers: Dwana Bradley will remain as Chair and Teree Caldwell-Johnson will serve as Vice Chair.

 

Thank you to Rob Barron, Kalyn Cody and Kyrstin Delagardelle for your service on the Des Moines School Board, your commitment to our students and staff, and your dedication to the community.

Tyler PD General Orders Intergrity Unit Complaint Proceedure Written Report Required via Chain Of Command which you are going to look at Right Now Instead of doing your real-Job and Pulling The Videotape inside WAL-Mart SC Which I demanded in Front of Veggie-Mac Brain Gardner and Ofc Caldwell and Jimmy The WAL-Mart Manger on Duty or Watching The Hibel Video and It's associated Police Chief Magazine STOP and ID Laws Sept 2004 Article WHICH is Legally Binding In a Court of Law ".

.

Conversation with Tyler PD Integrity UNIT Officer Jon Thorn In The Side Thornhill " This is Not Nevada or Las Vegas,NV This is Tyler and Smith County Texas and We Have Our Own way Of Doing Things Here " Obviously Didn't want to read and Would not Understand it if Stuck HIM In His Side and collapsed a Lung. " We are Racist I object to that Comment about 711 W. Ferguson being The KKK Lair " I replied " Do you Have Ears , Sgt Thornhill?"

Congratulations to our School Board members sworn into office on Tuesday, November 16th including two returning members – Teree Caldwell-Johns and Kim Martorano – and three new members: Maria Alonzo-Diaz, Jenna Knox and Jackie Norris. And to our School Board leadership on being selected to offices by their peers: Dwana Bradley will remain as Chair and Teree Caldwell-Johnson will serve as Vice Chair.

 

Thank you to Rob Barron, Kalyn Cody and Kyrstin Delagardelle for your service on the Des Moines School Board, your commitment to our students and staff, and your dedication to the community.

Tyler PD General Orders Intergrity Unit Complaint Proceedure Written Report Required via Chain Of Command which you are going to look at Right Now Instead of doing your real-Job and Pulling The Videotape inside WAL-Mart SC Which I demanded in Front of Veggie-Mac Brain Gardner and Ofc Caldwell and Jimmy The WAL-Mart Manger on Duty or Watching The Hibel Video and It's associated Police Chief Magazine STOP and ID Laws Sept 2004 Article WHICH is Legally Binding In a Court of Law ".

.

Conversation with Tyler PD Integrity UNIT Officer Jon Thorn In The Side Thornhill " This is Not Nevada or Las Vegas,NV This is Tyler and Smith County Texas and We Have Our Own way Of Doing Things Here " Obviously Didn't want to read and Would not Understand it if Stuck HIM In His Side and collapsed a Lung. " We are Racist I object to that Comment about 711 W. Ferguson being The KKK Lair " I replied " Do you Have Ears , Sgt Thornhill?"

Congratulations to our School Board members sworn into office on Tuesday, November 16th including two returning members – Teree Caldwell-Johns and Kim Martorano – and three new members: Maria Alonzo-Diaz, Jenna Knox and Jackie Norris. And to our School Board leadership on being selected to offices by their peers: Dwana Bradley will remain as Chair and Teree Caldwell-Johnson will serve as Vice Chair.

 

Thank you to Rob Barron, Kalyn Cody and Kyrstin Delagardelle for your service on the Des Moines School Board, your commitment to our students and staff, and your dedication to the community.

Congratulations to our School Board members sworn into office on Tuesday, November 16th including two returning members – Teree Caldwell-Johns and Kim Martorano – and three new members: Maria Alonzo-Diaz, Jenna Knox and Jackie Norris. And to our School Board leadership on being selected to offices by their peers: Dwana Bradley will remain as Chair and Teree Caldwell-Johnson will serve as Vice Chair.

 

Thank you to Rob Barron, Kalyn Cody and Kyrstin Delagardelle for your service on the Des Moines School Board, your commitment to our students and staff, and your dedication to the community.

Congratulations to our School Board members sworn into office on Tuesday, November 16th including two returning members – Teree Caldwell-Johns and Kim Martorano – and three new members: Maria Alonzo-Diaz, Jenna Knox and Jackie Norris. And to our School Board leadership on being selected to offices by their peers: Dwana Bradley will remain as Chair and Teree Caldwell-Johnson will serve as Vice Chair.

 

Thank you to Rob Barron, Kalyn Cody and Kyrstin Delagardelle for your service on the Des Moines School Board, your commitment to our students and staff, and your dedication to the community.

Congratulations to our School Board members sworn into office on Tuesday, November 16th including two returning members – Teree Caldwell-Johns and Kim Martorano – and three new members: Maria Alonzo-Diaz, Jenna Knox and Jackie Norris. And to our School Board leadership on being selected to offices by their peers: Dwana Bradley will remain as Chair and Teree Caldwell-Johnson will serve as Vice Chair.

 

Thank you to Rob Barron, Kalyn Cody and Kyrstin Delagardelle for your service on the Des Moines School Board, your commitment to our students and staff, and your dedication to the community.

Congratulations to our School Board members sworn into office on Tuesday, November 16th including two returning members – Teree Caldwell-Johns and Kim Martorano – and three new members: Maria Alonzo-Diaz, Jenna Knox and Jackie Norris. And to our School Board leadership on being selected to offices by their peers: Dwana Bradley will remain as Chair and Teree Caldwell-Johnson will serve as Vice Chair.

 

Thank you to Rob Barron, Kalyn Cody and Kyrstin Delagardelle for your service on the Des Moines School Board, your commitment to our students and staff, and your dedication to the community.

Congratulations to our School Board members sworn into office on Tuesday, November 16th including two returning members – Teree Caldwell-Johns and Kim Martorano – and three new members: Maria Alonzo-Diaz, Jenna Knox and Jackie Norris. And to our School Board leadership on being selected to offices by their peers: Dwana Bradley will remain as Chair and Teree Caldwell-Johnson will serve as Vice Chair.

 

Thank you to Rob Barron, Kalyn Cody and Kyrstin Delagardelle for your service on the Des Moines School Board, your commitment to our students and staff, and your dedication to the community.

Congratulations to our School Board members sworn into office on Tuesday, November 16th including two returning members – Teree Caldwell-Johns and Kim Martorano – and three new members: Maria Alonzo-Diaz, Jenna Knox and Jackie Norris. And to our School Board leadership on being selected to offices by their peers: Dwana Bradley will remain as Chair and Teree Caldwell-Johnson will serve as Vice Chair.

 

Thank you to Rob Barron, Kalyn Cody and Kyrstin Delagardelle for your service on the Des Moines School Board, your commitment to our students and staff, and your dedication to the community.

Congratulations to our School Board members sworn into office on Tuesday, November 16th including two returning members – Teree Caldwell-Johns and Kim Martorano – and three new members: Maria Alonzo-Diaz, Jenna Knox and Jackie Norris. And to our School Board leadership on being selected to offices by their peers: Dwana Bradley will remain as Chair and Teree Caldwell-Johnson will serve as Vice Chair.

 

Thank you to Rob Barron, Kalyn Cody and Kyrstin Delagardelle for your service on the Des Moines School Board, your commitment to our students and staff, and your dedication to the community.

Congratulations to our School Board members sworn into office on Tuesday, November 16th including two returning members – Teree Caldwell-Johns and Kim Martorano – and three new members: Maria Alonzo-Diaz, Jenna Knox and Jackie Norris. And to our School Board leadership on being selected to offices by their peers: Dwana Bradley will remain as Chair and Teree Caldwell-Johnson will serve as Vice Chair.

 

Thank you to Rob Barron, Kalyn Cody and Kyrstin Delagardelle for your service on the Des Moines School Board, your commitment to our students and staff, and your dedication to the community.