View allAll Photos Tagged Becalm
Taken on a recent trip down the Mornington Peninsular with just a slight touch up in photoshop.....:)
Just stop!
pause and wait
a minute even
for a schonen moment
to believe in
be still
a soul becalming
away from desensitizing
society, we opt out
for nature alleviating
desultory pains past
yet somehow still present
under a lucid sky
limpid visions appear
spinning cumulus defy
those morning slumbers
-muzzy awakenings-
can disappear, forever
let magical mystique
become our preordained endevour.
by anglia24
16h55: 25/11/2007
© 2007anglia24
☀
I had no telephoto or other long lens with me so my trusty Macro lens came to the rescue again. Being in essence 105mm in length I managed this shot. The dark line on the actual ocean is caused by a cloud formation and not put there during processing. I sat on a bank above Booby's Bay and got a series of six all hand held so I was quite pleased to get these shots...
I apologise for removing the shot I put up yesterday and your comments and faves are very much appreciated believe me but it was too bad a day really.. It was the first anniversary of the unnecessary death of my late sister Avril and I didnt even feel right putting that photo on even though I know my sister would have urged me to. I didn't intend to waste your time....
Life is all about sunshine and shadows though and I return today with a shot representative of that and for all the silver surfers out there and their offspring who may become the next generation surfers....
Every time I've ever been to Shining Tor (a lot, I LOVE this view) it's always been blowing a hoolie. What an absolute treat it was to arrive to perfectly calm and crisp conditions.
Desde Jancapampa, dejándose ver después de la lluvia.
Parque Nacional Huascarán, Cordillera Blanca, Perú.
Long-billed Dowitchers busily worked their way along the shoreline of a pond, eating what they found. They then stopped to take a break and digest.
Image from Ridgefield wildlife refuge in SW Washington.
Explored at #31.
Glow with me!
said the natural environment
a climate within ourself
such elements calling
as in light itself
Oaks shade and Heavenly glade
reflect the spirit of grace
from your bough
before the sun disappears without a trace
leaving hope with repentance to disavow
such things the heart cannot explain
no aqueduct of fluid motion
can transport oneself to the echelon
of past endemic emotion
that oh-so-restless eidolon
reappearing in just one beam of sunlight
a ray of the recurring dream
touches down gently before me
a pledge of a familiar theme
through fields of the very live sea
heaving with memories and tumult
becalming with souvenirs -
from the shell the bark calls still
those seedlings of thought were pioneers
of this adventurous journey of life to fulfil
the annular groove is so marked in time
tending the trend of footsteps thus traced
jumping the hurdle of each and every defensive wall
now nature glistens in our good taste
choiceness at the helm of life's value to all.
by anglia24
10h45: 20/03/2008
©2008anglia24
Today's music: Boards of Canada: "June 9th"
This minimal shot from Étretat, France,
comes with a smooth and gentle feeling to it. The landscape seems to raise out of the mist and gives this photo a very becalming and unbent atmosphere along with the quiet colors.
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One of the photos from my BE CALM series. You can check out the rest of the photos HERE.
Peaceful view in Portwrinkle, Cornwall, earlier this week. My first go with a 10 stop filter...hence the calm sea.
Glorious silence . . . spend a few minutes every day without conversation, music, or the news. Revel in the pleasure of it. A soft voice is the sound of peace.
84 days since I last posted. 84 days! It’s not for want of trying; events just took over. There are been days of great joy witnessing younger members of the family tie knots, days of incredible sadness watching a foundation stone of the family slowly slip away. Days lost to short-lived medical issues, days lost to longer-term ones. Days spend laughing so hard my ribcage could’ve split, days so tedious that I was in danger of calcifying in my office chair. Days where unexpected opportunities appeared, days when diaries were commanded by others. 84 days. Now its time to post again. Time to kick-start my Flickr days. I choose a shot taken almost exactly 2 years before my last post. A day that create a memory of an hour’s solitude spent totally enveloped in a spectacular dawn, and one that never ceases to becalm my fluttering mind.
it is time to close my eyes. this image gives me a calm sense of things. when i look at it, i see peace. i am a dreamer.
These captivating bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) look prehistoric and are native to the southeastern states. Makes me wonder how this family was transplanted here to the Niles Canyon district of Fremont. These trees are usually knee deep in water, but the drought has taken a toll on this and other natural habitat across the state of California.
The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.
On this sempiternal journey I proceed,
a path oft-treaded, oft-dreaded.
Memories compelling me to recede,
and a gripping fear of where its headed.
A gaze at this road, never-ending,
A tumultuous mind meandering, drifting.
For a voice becalming, I yearn,
A hope of things beautiful, keeping me stern.
Time to slow down, to catch my breath,
Time for contemplation,
A moment of reflection.
(Seen during the 13th Chennai Photowalk near the Marina Beach, Chennai)
PS: Thanks Amirtha for the help with the Sepia tones.
At this point in my home-film-processing journey I realized I could prevent those dark smudges (I think they are air bells) along one edge of the frame by using a little more chemistry and taking a little more care during agitation. The old Rollei has its own shortcomings but those smudges are entirely my fault. Doh!
I have only seen this problem on medium format negatives and my theory - you more experienced film shooter/processors chime in if you like - is that the holes at the edge of 35mm film allow bubbles to escape better as well as providing a wider buffer should bubbles sit there early in development. I am also upgrading to steel reels in the hope this will further mitigate the issue. We shall see!
Rolleiflex 3.5T - Ilford Hp5+ @ 400 - Rodinal 1+50 - DSLR scan w/Nikon D810 + Nikkor 105 2.8 - converted in Lightroom⠀
#filmisnotdead #filmphotography #nikonfe #rolleiflex #rollei #rolleiflex3.5T #ilfordhp5 #dslrscan #homeprocess
"I have lost track of how long I have been here; and how many visits I had made overall. Certainly, the landmarks are now so familiar to me that I have to remind myself to actually see the forms and shapes in front of me. I could stumble blindly across these rocks, the edges of these precipices, without fear of missing my step and plummeting down to sea below. Besides, I have always considered that if one is to fall, it is critical to keep one’s eyes firmly open.
At night you can see the lights sometimes from a passing tanker or trawler. From up on the cliffs they are mundane, but down here they fugue into ambiguity. For instance, I cannot readily tell if they belong above or below the waves. The distinction now seems mundane; why not everything and all at once! There’s nothing better to do here than indulge in contradictions, whilst waiting for the fabric of life to unravel. There was once talk of a wind farm out here, away from the rage and the intolerance of the masses. The sea, they said, is too rough for the turbines to stand: they clearly never came here to experience the becalming for themselves. Personally, I would have supported it; turbines would be a fitting contemporary refuge, especially to those of hermits: the revolution and the permanence."
runterkommen nach einem erfolreichen Tag auf dem Berg
chillout after a succsessfull day on the mountain
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Just sit back and relax
Cast your cares away
Feel the presence of love
On this beautiful Sunday
Link in with your dear ones
Forgetting the tears
Just know in your soul
That the sun will happen
The glow and the healing
Will enter your heart
Restore and uplift you
Give you strength to restart
Not just for the moment
It is with us to stay
The love that is with you
On this special day!
I specifically added the dreamy effect to this shot to reflect the mood which will be clearly seen only in large. So please view in large and then give your comments. Please View in Large
Have a great Sunday! Just Sit Back and Relax!
From the details in the photo album I can be certain that this photo album once belonged to David John Saer who was the Headmaster at the Alexander Rd Council School in Aberystwyth.
He was born in 1868 in Ciffig nr Whitland Carmarthenshire Wales. On the 1911 census this is spelt Kiffig. His mother Anne was also from Ciffig b 1846 and his father James b 1846 was a Police Constable from St Clears Carmarthen. He had two brothers John Saer b1869 in Carmarthen and William Rees Saer b1877 in Llanelli Carmarthen.
David married Mary Howell in 1896
The 1911 census indicates they had had 3 children 1 had died. The 2 girls were Hywela Annie born 1901 and Gwenllian Margaret b 1905
David John Saer was one of 3 Headteachers at the Alexander Rd Council School in Aberystwyth. According to the Ceredigion County Council the school had one for the boys (which was David) one for Girls and one for infants. Alexandra Road School was built in 1874 for 600 children aged 5-14
In 1910 a new block was built for 240 more boys with a manual room for 20 boys and a new class room for 40 girls with a cookery centre.
David taught at the school for 33 years and left behind a legacy in the form of a no of publications inc The Bilingual Problem ... a study based upon Experiments and observations in Wales , Find on Pendinas and Inquiry into effect of bilingualism upon the intelligence of young children. There are many more.
His daughter Hywela obviously followed in the same path and became an Education Lecturer, UCW . She also published books including Modern language teaching in smaller secondary schools,
Modern language teaching in Wales, Note on Dr. Johnson.
Mr Saer was a regular visitor to Llanelli so perhaps hewas aboard the train on this day or the news travelled so quickly that he rushed to the scene to take this photo?
From the Welsh Newspapers Online newspapers.library.wales/home
THE LLANELLY RAILWAY WRECKI Thrilling Stories of the Disaster. LIST OF THE KILLED AND INJURED. The cause of the Breakdown.EXPLODED. H0R3E AND CART THEORY The tale of the dead in the Llanelly railway wreck, concerning which so many conflicting statements were current yesterday afternoon, appears, so far as the official reports to hand this morning show, to be limited to the number which, in our second Pink edition last night, we said would probably cover that side of the catastrophe. On the other hand, the number of injured has increased from the highest figure which we gave yesterday (viz., forty) to fifty. Very little more is known as to the cause of the accident. The horse and cart incident which was reported to us yesterday afternoon appears to have been with- out foundation, and the only suggestion yet made to account for the smash-up is that the banker engine was too light and unfitted for the speed at which the second engine was taking the train. At any rate, whatever the immediate cause the acciident has to be attributed to a mechanical breakdown.
The train which met with the disaster was the morning mail express from New Milford to Paddington, which was drawn by two engines at the time. The express reached Llanelly all right, but just as it was nearing Loughor at a high rate of speed the leading engine seems to have left the rails. By the impact this engine banker was smashed, two of the leading coaches were overturned and tumbled over the embankment, and two coaches were telescoped and reduced to matchwood. The driver of the banker engine was cut in two and killed instantly, the fireman succumbing to his injuries later, and two passengers also were killed, whilst the permanent way was torn up for a considerable distance and traffic interrupted.
Heartrending scenes were witnessed. I INTERVIEWS with PASSENGERS I Graphic Stories Told of the Disaster. By the same train which conveyed the injured to Swansea arrived several Swansea gentlemen who had been in the train to which the accident had occurred. These included Mr. Francis, butcher, a. well-known tradesman; and Mr. Haydn Evans, coal merchant. Mr. Francis was somewhat injured, and showed signs of blood on his body. Mr. Evans said he came up from Llanelly by the train. It was very crowded. He was in a second-class carriage, with his back to the engine, and there happened to be only four persons in the carriage. The train, which had two engines on, had, apparently, reached its top speed-it must have been going 50 miles an hour-when suddenly there came a tremendous. check to the speed. It was as if the train had left the rails, and was ploughing over obstacles on the side of the track. It must have gone 50 yards in the second or two it took to stop. He was pitched violently to the other side of the carriage, and, naturally, lost his head a bit. He never realised what had happened, but the carriage did not turn over like some of the others. As soon as he could he got out, and he should never forget the scene which met his gaze. The cries of the, injured and the yells I of others endeavoring to direct the rescue work were confusing. When the injured were got out it was a sickening sight. There were people with feet and legs, apparently, half off; others had deep gashes in their heads; and one man had a, ear hanging almost off. There were a few splendid fellows in the train. In particular Mr. Evans admired the conduct of two of the soldiers. They did splendid work in smashing doors to l get at the injured, and they evidently I had had good experience of ambulance work. They got down doors and lifted I people from the tops of the carriages. There was a doctor present whom Mr. Evans did not L-now-a. traveller by the train. He rendered splendid help, cutting up towels and all sorts of garments for bandages, and altogether did wonders in an emergency; but it was an awful wait. Aid seemed terribly slow in arriving. He (the narrator) was on the spot, surrounded by agonizing scenes, for quite an hour before they got the engine away.
Dr. Abel David, Gowerton, was the first local doctor to arrive. Mrs. Williams, of Loughor, came immediately to the train, and assisted greatly in the relief work. The train was in an awful state. Three or four carriages seemed to be overturned. The second engine kept to the road, but not the rails. It seemed so far as Mr. Evans could judge to have jumped the line. Mr. Evans escaped with a severe shaking, but he, naturally, appeared to be highly nervous and I excited.
Colonel's Story. I Colonel Graines, of Tenby, who was travel- ling with his daughter, was one of the passengers in the third carriage of the train. He described his first sensations in the accident thus: Everything was being shaken up like a pea in a drum. Things were falling off the tracks, people were staggering about. The glass in the windows all smashed, and then after a big jerk the carriage suddenly became still. We found we had run on to a slag heap at the side of the line. The first two carriages were toppled over on the engines. Someone opened the door from outside, then we got out into a. scene of the greatest I confusion. Some things were very pitiful. There was a poor girl wandering from carriage to carriage asking, Where's my dada; where's my dada?" I and the other people who had been in the same carriage knew that her father was mortally injured, but we could not tell her, and some of the ladies looked after her. She was afterwards taken to Landore by a. man who had two of his own children with him. I very much admired the gallant conduct of some gunners of the Field Artillery who had been riding in the train. Aa soon as the accident occurred they rushed to the assistance of the officials, and were of the greatest service in extricating and attending to the wounded. Do you know what was the cause of the accident?No, I do not, but it is a well- known fact that with two engines to a train one is liable to jump the line. The colonel concluded with a. tribute to the railway officials near the accident for the promptitude with which they dealt with it. He was told that one survivor had suggested I that the company might have sent the relief I train earlier. The company did all they could," he said. "They sent the train as soon as it I was possible to do so."
Cardiff Man's Thrilling Story. I Mr. James Turner, of 12. Corporation-road. Cardiff, was one of the passengers in the m-I fated, train when he reached Cardiff r gave one of our representatives a graphic I description of his experiences. He said: "I was in the fourth carriage from the engine, and we left Llanelly soon after one. Within half a mile of Loughor Station I suddenly felt the carriage give a jump. This was followed by a bigger. jump. Up I sprang from the seat, and said, 'By Jove, there'a. a collision.' Then I felt the carriage was shutting up like a concertina, and with that sprang to the. side and jumped clean through the window and fell about twelve or fourteen feet. As soon as I looked up I saw the carriage go over the line and rush down over the embankment. I got up and heard a terrible yell, 'For God's sake, help me.' Looking round I saw a gentleman. who was afterwards recognized as the Rev. J. E. Phillips, of Pontygwaith, lying under a beam. He had his thigh broken. I caught him by the collar and dragged him out, and thus saved him from immediate, death, for directly afterwards the carriage in which be traveled collapsed. "I got away the best I could, and made the rev. gentleman as comfortable as possible, and he then collapsed. I found that he had also received a severe blow on the head. "During this time there was a dead silence, and those who escaped seemed thoroughly cool. The execution was horrible, and what with those killed and injured the scenes were most heartrending. "No one can conceive," Mr. Turner ex- claimed, "the state the wreckage was in- some of it one side, some of it another. The whole line was blocked, and the line was ripped up for about 150 yards. There were a number of poor fellows under the wreckage- it was a crowded train and I saw the engine- driver lying dead, with his body jammed in the remains of the engine."
Scene Baffled Description. I A thrilling account of the accident was given by Mr. Richard Smith, who was on his way from Pembroke Dock to Wednesbury, in Staffordshire. Mr. Smith has served five year& on the pay-staff in South Africa, and has only recently returned to this country. Since his return he has been staying at Pembroke Dock, where his wife is now residing, and, being granted leave of absence, was on his I way to see his mother, who resides in King- street, Wednesbury. Mr. Smith was accompanied by his two children, a boy and girl. "The run from Pembroke to Llanelly," he said to our representative. was a splendid one. We had two engines, and the train. which had a. full complement of passengers, made excellent time. I was in the second carriage from the engine. It was a saloon carriage, and in my compartment were four ladies, my two children, and my- self. We started from Llanelly punctually, and had not proceeded far before we heard a most peculiar grating noise. At first we could not imagine the cause, and for a moment the noise ceased. A minute later, however, the noise was resumed, and the carriage in which we were travelling turned over on its side. 'A collision,* shouted someone in the carriage, and immediately there were scenes which it is impossible for me to adequately describe. The women in my compartment simply lost their heads. They shouted in a hysterical fashion, and implored everyone at random to save them from death. "Personally," continued Mr. Smith, "I quickly grasped what had happened. Seeing the carriage was on its side I smashed the windows, which were then above me, lifted out my two children, and placed them in positions of safety, and then turned my attention. to the women occupants in the same compartment. With difficulty they were got out on to the permanent way. Here the scenes almost bamed description. One man, who was in the same carriage as I was, sustained shocking injuries, and I guessed when I assisted him out of the window that he was mortally hurt. I understand that he died shortly afterwards. A little girl came I running along from carriage to carriage, crying, 'Where's my daddy ? Where's my daddy?' It was the dying man who was sought .by the little one. We pacified the girl as well as we co-aid, and, at the request of the railway authorities, I took charge of her until she reached Landore, whither she was bound. A woman in the same compartment bound for Devonport, suffered very badly from shock, but after a time was able to proceed on her journey as far as Cardiff. Another woman was cut about in a fearful manner. My two children sustained more or less serious injuries, and, as you will see, I was badly cut on my right hand and bruised on my head. The sights of rescue, the groans of the wounded, and the removal of the bodies are scenes which I shall never forget. I should like to add a word of praise to the medical gentlemen, who were simply indefatigable in their efforts on behalf of the injured." A Fearful Sight. I Our Neath representative says that a Neath I man, an employee of the Great Western Railway Company, was iu the train, and his experiences are interesting. Beinj an old railway hand and having been in nine previous railway accidents, I knew instantly that something serious had happened; in fact, that some part of the train was off the line. We went on for about 80 to 100 yards and then the final crash came. The end of our compartment was stove in with the terrible impact. The gentleman opposite me had his arm broken, and the other gentleman was severely shaken. I was knocked about and badly shaken, but, singularly enough, the lady and the child did not seem much the worse. "My first thoughts were for them. There was no chance of getting them out through either door, so I assisted them out through the roof, which was shattered, on to the roof of the next coach, and then to the ground." "What was the condition of the engines and I the coaches?" our representative asked. "Well, the bank engine was shattered and turned upside down, and the driver, whose name, I think, was Lloyd, was killed on the spot. Poor fellow! I searched for the body, ¡ and found his head among the debris of the l first engine in one place, the trunk in another, and the arms in another. It was a fearful sight. The stoker, whose name I don't know. was terribly injured, and I hear that he has died since." "Oh, you asked me as to the condition of the engines and the coaches. In regard to the second engine it was virtually shattered. The van following was reduced practically to matchwood, and from this we improvised the splints for the injured. The first coach was turned upside down, and the third had its end telescoped, and had fallen down over the I bank." "The end of the third coach was also telescoped, and the back part stove in. I was in this coach, and I have already told you what happened to the occupants. Nos. 4 and A coaches suffered severely, but ia p6 lesser degree, and the sixth and last coach was the only one which was left on the rails. The occupants of all suffered from severe shock, and when I left the actual number of casualties was not known." "What theory can you advance to account for the accident?" our representative asked. "It has been said that the bank engine collided with a horse and cart when passing the crossing." "There is no truth whatever in that, for we had parsed the crossing some distance before the accident happened." "Then what caused it?" "I cannot account for it. I have tried to account for the accident, but have failed."
Passengers Terror-Stricken Speaking to our representative, Mr. Wilkins (chairman of the Llanelly Urban District Council), who was a passenger by the train, said, that he could give, no explauation of what had occurred. That was for the rail- way authorities to do. All that he knew was that when the train was rattling along at a good speed he felt a sadden shock, and a moment later he knew that the train had left the track and was crushing through the slags on the embankment. He was thrown from his seat, and some flying timber crushed his leg. But this was. not serious. He added that the scene which presented itself to him as he got out of the train was one that he would never forget. The passengers, like himself, were all terror-stricken, and the plight of the ladies was pitiable in the extreme. He spoke in high terms of the kindness of the railway officials, and could not find words to express his appreciation of the splendid work done by the medic.at men, w.ho rose to the terrible emergency in a way that was splendid to see. Occupants of the First Carriage Interviewed. Our Swansea representative met and con- versed with several persons at Swansea who were in the very first carriage of the train- one which split up like matchwood and went down the embankment at the side. In a compartment in this carriage were Miss Church- ward, of Woking, Surrey, who had been staying with her sister, Mrs. Saunders, wife of Dr. Saunders, in Pembrokeshire. Also two little orphap. girls, Muriel and Dorothy Claxton, of Crawley, Sussex. They had been staying at Tenby, and were proceeding homewards. Mr. T. Francis,, cattle dealer, of Swansea, was in the same carriage, but in the next compartment. They had marvelous escapes, for all except the elder Miss Claxton (who sustained a fractured clavicle) were practically uninjured. Mr. Francis was seen by our representative after he had gone home and washed the blood from some nasty little cuts on the left side of his head and face. He asked where the little girls were, as he promised to take them to his home. in Swan- sea, and supply them with what they wanted for their journey, but he had lost them. "It was a terrible affair," said Mr. Francis. "Our carriage was smashed to pieces. After we felt the first bump we must have gone rocking and bumping along for nearly 100yds., during which time we were falling against and bumping each other fearfully. Then, apparently, the couplings of our carriage must have broken. The second engine went off the line to the right, and our carriage and the next one went on, as it were, into the place the second engine had occupied, and lay there side by side. I got up from where I had fallen^ and scrambled, through the. window, which was above that of the carriage next to it. I had to climb over the next carriage. The hot steam from the engine had filled our carriage, and at the same time there were flying cinders and splinters showered upon us, cutting, as it were, into our scalps. I got out, as I say, and I must say it was a terrible sight that met my gaze. The injured people seemed in terrible agony, and what the railway people were doing for about, an hour and a half after the accident I cannot make out. It was a scandalous shame." Miss Churchward and the two little Misses Claxton were taken to the Swansea Hospital by Superintendent Gill, and were not detained. They afterwards went to the Grand Hotel. Miss Churchward said the carriage seemed to go to splinters around them, and then there were splinters of wood driven against their heads. She escaped from the carriage without further injury. She lost her purse and some other things. The two Misses Claxton, girls of about sixteen and ten years of age respectively, seemed quite cheerful considering the experiences they had undergone. They were hatless, and their clothing was covered with dirt. The elder had been treated at the hospital, and her arm was- now bound up inside her coat. They intended proceeding to. London by the next train. Miss Claxton the elder said the whole thing occurred so suddenly that none of them could say really what happened. Her arm was hurt, but whether by being thrown against the woodwork of the carriage she could not say. The smaller Miss Claxton seemed none the worse, and seemed to treat the matter as a huge joke. "You are light, and you didn't fesl being; thrown about?" "That's it, I suppose," she said, laughingly, j "I've never been in a railway accident uetore. It was a nice finish to our holiday." Later on the girls were seen going to the station at Swansea without any hats, but still full of pluck and go. Miss Churchward had taken them under her charge. SENSATIONAL ACCOUNT. The Rev. Fuller Mills' Story. me nev. A. Fuller Mills, when seen by our Carmarthen representative at the hospital, was evidently in great agony. His leg had been fractured and terribly lacerated below the knee. He had just been visited by Dr. E. G. Price, Carmarthen, and seemed quite pleased to see another familiar face. He said he could not then attempt to describe what happened. "It was too terrible," he said. "I was on the grass for a. very long time without assistance, and my poor leg was in pieces. I am very thankful that it was not worse, though." "Can you see my coat?" asked Mr. Mills, who was lying in the cot. Our representative made a search under the bed, where he found the patient's clothes care- fully packed together. They were covered with blood, and torn. He wanted to know whether papers about which he was anxious were in his pocket. These were missing, and Mr. Mills remarked: "Ah! well, they have gone, I suppose, like my bag and other things. I don't know where they can be. The whole thing has been too terrible to think of." Screams and Crash of Glass The Misses Farley, of Tenby, who were passengers by the ill-fated train, were seen on Monday evening at Pantmawr, Whit- church, the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Davies, who are related to them, and with whom they are making a short stay, having specially traveled up from Tenby for that purpose. The young ladies were naturally much perturbed, although they were able to give an intelligent account of their experience and miraculous escape. They started from Tenby by the 10.55 train. They were seen off at the station by their friends. Miss Farley, sen., wished to ride in the compartment of a corridor carriage three or four carriages from the engine, but her younger sister and her friends prevailed upon her to get into a compartment at the lower end of the same carriage. The carriage being a through one they did not change at Whitland. In the same compartment were seven or eight other passengers. Everything went well until a short time after they left Llanelly, when they heard a noise, and the luggage was suddenly precipitated upon them. They naturally became alarmed, and soon after they could hear screams and the crash of broken glass. All the passengers in the compartment had by this time become alarmed and agitated. The Misses Farley j made an appeal for the door to be opened, but they were asked to becalm themselves Then the two girls clutched each other. thinking that if they were to die they would die together. A student who was in the same compartment got through the window and jumped down. Then a voice and a cry was heard as if it came from the top of the carriage, and on looking up they could see Colonel Goodeve, of Ivy Tower, Tenby, and a woman with a small baby walking above their heads. Evidently the colonel and the woman with the child had scrambled on to the top of the coach for safety. The little child had a nasty cut on its head. Eventually the Misses Farley were released from their prison and taken down the embankment, where they were told to sit. Every attention was shown to them by the officials, and they were given some brandy, as were the others who had escaped death. The front part of the carriage in which they traveled was smashed, and if the elder Miss Farley had not fallen in with the wishes of her sister and friends to ride in the compartment at the lower end of the carriage there is no doubt they would have been killed. One poor woman, said the elder Miss Farley, who was in the lavatory in the carriage at the time of the accident, had her foot cut off, while Dr. Reid, of Tenby, sustained a nasty cut on the head. She herself was all right, with the exception that her shoulder was slightly hurt by the luggage falling upon it. Asked to describe the scene, Miss Farley said it was impossible. She never witnessed such a thing-women with their arms through their blouses cut and bleeding; men cut on the face and head, with their clothes and shirts saturated with blood, and, above all, the cries and groans of those who had been more severely injured, and of those who were dying. "Ah!" she said, in conclusion, "the scene is one I cannot describe. and is one which I trust..it will not be . I have to thank my sister and my friends for my life. If we traveled in the compartment into which I first entered we should both have been killed." A Terrible Sight. Mr. Samuel, an articled pupil to a. firm of surveyors and architects, gave our Llanelly representative a graphic account of the occurrence
I was standing in a corridor of the express with Mr. Wade when all of a sudden the train dropped on to the permanent way from the metals. It crunched along for a few yards, and then came to a sudden standstill. All who were in the corridor were thrown to the ground. Our compartment threatened to topple over on its side, and as soon as I recovered myself I got out and found a terrible scene. The first engine had turned completely round, and was a mass of ruin, while the coaches had been crushed to pieces. The Montreal was off the metals, but it stood fairly entire, but its tender was a shapeless mass. We found the body of the driver of the banker engine under the wheels of the express engine, death having been, happily, instantaneous in his case. The lot of the passengers was pitiable in the extreme, and I could not help feeling sorry for the ladies, some of whom were in the last stage of prostration, although they had not sustained any bodily hurt. I was carrying with me some of my instruments, including a drawing board, rulers, scales, &c. These were promptly utilized as splints for the service of the injured ones, and I was glad that they should come in useful in such an emergency." "The Shock was Awful."
Another passenger, Miss Williams, of Carmarthen, said: was on my way to London. We were about half a mile out of Loughor, when all of a sudden we found our- selves hurled right across the carriage. Then we heard cries from all parts of tue train. Our own carriage was about the third from the engine, and as soon as the crash occurred we found the carriage swaying and leaping under us, as though we were on a ship. We were not hurt, but the shock was awful. The worst part of it was the agonising cries of the injured. The poor engine-driver was cut up into three pieces, and there were others whose limbs were badly shattered and mutilated. I could not say how many people were killed. The ground was torn up for a long distance, and the first engine appeared to be smashed to pieces. It was a scene I shall never forget. The screams of the injured passengers are still ringing in my ears. It was horrible. We were brought on by a special train, which was dispatched to the scene."
GRAPHIC STORY BY COLONEL GOODEVE. Touching Tribute to a Young Lady. One of the travelers by the train was Colonel Goodeve, who will be remembered by artillerymen, Regular and Auxiliary, in South Wales as having been for some years the officer commanding the Severn Defences. In that position he frequently visited Cardiff, and was on very friendly terms with the late Sir Edward Hill, K.C.B., M.P. Having retirêd i from the Army, he now lives at Ivy Tower, about three miles from Tenby, and was on a. journey to London when the accident happened. It was in the Royal Hotel, at Cardiff, that one of our reporters found him. He said:- "We left Llanelly about two minutes after one o'clock on Monday afternoon. About twenty minutes later we found that some- thing had gone wrong. The carriage in which I was, a corridor one, began to rock violently, and the passengers were hurled about in all directions. It was clear that the carriage had left the track." "What part of the train were you in?" "There were two engines, one, I under- stand being a bank engine, and the carriage in which I was was next to that engine." "Well, what happened next?" "After we got about 50 or 60 yards we found that we were brought to a dead stop on the side of an embankment, and almost parallel with the engine, but about ten feet lower. It appears to me that the couplings must have broken, and ours was pitched head foremost against a bank at the bottom of a rising hill. This brought us to a dead stop, and the whole front of the carriage in which I was riding was smashed up. The fore part of my own compartment was wrecked, but the damage did not reach the side upon which I was sitting. Then I saw on a still lower level, opposite to the compartment in which I was, another carriage, which had turned over partly on its side. just at that moment there was a rush of steam which almost blinded us, and the women who were in our carriage commenced to scream. Every effort was made to allay their fears, and when the steam cleared away a little we could see that we could get out of the window, and get upon the carriage which had turned over just below us. We saw that the women were removed first, nearly all of whom were more or less injured, but so far as I could see not fatally so." "I suppose that the excitement at this time was very great?" suggested the pressman. "It was," came the reply, "but it was nothing to what we had to experience later. One or two of those who had sustained the more severe injuries, such as broken limbs, were left behind until further help could be obtained. They were safe for the time, and we might have done more harm in attempting to remove them than by allowing them to remain. "How many were in your compartment?" "Seven or eight." "You seemed to have had a marvelous escape?" "Yes, I only had a Blight cut across the nose. Most of the others were bleeding badly, gome from the head, while others evidently had received bodily injuries." "Now, I understand you got out from your carriage on to the other which was on a lower level, and which had partly turned over?" "Several got out in that way, myself among the number. The more agile ones climbed down the embankment, but I waited until some steps were brought. A friend of mine, I may mention, was riding in the same train â Dr. Reid, of Tenby. He was a good bit cut about the head, and went away somewhere. He was in the next compartment to me towards the rear, but the train being of the corridor description, we walked to and fro." "Now, I am afraid, we are coming to the worst of it. What took place when you got clear from the wrecked carriages?" "Yes, you are right. It was, indeed, a terrible scene. What with the hysteria of the women and the groans of the dying it was a scene which was to the last degree saddening. One man, who was in the same carriage as myself, only lived five or six minutes after he was brought out. As a matter of fact, he never spoke after he was brought out. He appeared to be smashed up altogether, so that it was impossible for me to say what his injuries were. So far as I could gather, most of the killed were in the first coaches." How many coaches were there on the train?" "I believe the number was eight. The two first ran down the embankment, three turned turtle,' and three remained on the rails. My opinion is that the first engine was' stopped as quickly as possible for some reason; that the second, with the weight of the load behind, was smashed up in a. most marvelous way, and the two first carriages broke away. My idea is that the whole thing was due to a subsidence in the track." "Now, what assistance was there?" "In that respect the passengers were rather unfortunate. Loughor is a little place, and it was an hour before any help came from there, and it was an hour and a haJf before any assistance came from Swansea . There was a doctor there, who rendered ail assistance he could but he could not attend to all." I A Brave Girl. Our reporter had thanked Colonel Goodeve for his information and left the room, when he was called back to receive one of the most interesting parts of the sad story. I should have told you," said the colonel, that all the passengers rendered every possible assistance. Among those was a fair-haired girl, who, badly hurt herself, did all she could to bring comfort to others. She remembered that she had some brandy in a small travelling-bag, and brought it out. and went round among the more severely wounded giving them mouthfuls of the liquid until the doctors arrived." Colonel Goodeve added that he saw the driver of one of the engines with his head across the rail and a wheel upon his neck. That, he added, was sufficient to unnerve anybody. The rails were torn up, and the end of one section was about 18ft. above the permanent way. I SINGULAR INCIDENTS. I Heroism of the Injured. The list of the injured includes the name of a man who had his two legs injured and an arm fractured. He was brought down to Llanelly in a special train, but instead of going to the hospital he chose to return to his home in Swansea-, and accommodation was, therefore, provided for him in the branch train from Llanelly. In spite of his terrible injuries, he was perfectly composed, I and the last seen of him was his calmly smoking a, cigarette as the train steamed out. Scenes at Llanelly Station. The scene at the Llanelly Station on Monday, evening upon the arrival of the train conveying the injured passengers was most pathetic. There was a crowd of anxious lookers-on 'who had relatives in the ill-fated train. No information could be given as to the identity of the sufferers, and a period of anxious suspense followed, as each of them was care- fully removed to a conveyance in waiting and driven to the hospital. Llanelly was practically denuded of the services of its medical men. Among those who were quickly on the scene were Doctors D. J. Williams, S. Williams, A. Brookes, S. J. Roderick, J. L. Davies, Edgar Davies, E. Evans, and Harry Roberts. All these were in the evening in attendance at the hospital completing the good work they had commenced in the afternoon. Passenger's Strange Delusion. A young man, gesticulating amongst the crowd of spectators, declared that he had seen a boot with a foot inside by the embankment. A search was immediately made for the supposed body. The man seemed to be terribly in earnest about his discovery, but the searchers found no trace of what he had imagined. This was one of many incidents which went to show how highly strung the frightened passengers were after their terrible experience. Providential Escape. Among those who traveled by the express was Vr. M'Bride, who entered the train at Tenby, He had intended going to Swansea, but upon arriving at Llanelly he decided to break his journey there and go on by a later train. He was sitting in a smoking compartment in the forward part of the train which was completely' wrecked, and turned over OIl the embankment, all the occupants of the compartment being severely injured. Mr. M'Bride looks upon his escape as provident. Policeman and the Little Girl. One very pathetic incident is recorded by Police-constable Williams, of Loughor. He was one of the first police officers to arrive on the scene of the catastrophe, and, having r studied ambulance work, he asked Dr. Trafford Mitchell (Gorseinon) whether he could render any assistance. "Yes," replied Dr. Mitchell, "there is a little girl over there with a, broken arm. Go and see what you can do for her." Williams went over. The little girl was pale, crying in great pain. She told him that her arm was extremely painful. Williams went off to find splints and bandages, and after a few minutes he went back to the little girl. But his charge had vanished. She had been., hurried off to either Llanelly or Swansea, Hospital. Sympathy from Llanelly. At the meeting of the Llanelly Borough. Council on Monday the Chairman, Mr. D. J. Davies, said that he had just heard that a serious disaster had occurred on the Great. Western Railway near Llanelly, and that a large number of persons had been seriously injured, if not killed. It was impossible to ascertain exactly what had occurred, but they could well understand the anxiety that prevailed in the town, knowing as they did that a large number of Llanellyites were in the train. He was glad to state that one of the members of the council, in the person of Mr. W. Wilkins, who was a passenger, had escaped without injury. Their deepest sympathy went out to the relatives of the men who had been killed, and he proposed a vote of sympathy with them in their bereavement. This was seconded by Mr. D. Bees Edmonds,, and carried in silence. The news of the disaster was officially communicated by the local branch of the Bail- waymen's Association to Mr. D. Bees Edmonds, their Llanelly legal representative. Mr., Edmonds at once placed himself in communication with Mr. Richard Bell, M.P. It is expected that Mr. Bell will visit the scene to-' day (Tuesday). Heroic Suflerer at Swansea. A heroic sufferer was Private Savage, of that Shropshire Regiment, who, although found at, Swansea Hospital to have shocking injuries to the head which made his case a serious one, when the doctors came to look at him. on the platform, said, Never mind me, boys; go and assist the others. I'm all right." He limped away to the cab which. took him to the hospital. Soldiers' Good Work. Some seven or eight of the soldiers belonging to different regiments, who traveled by the train, were among the most heroic workers of & very heroic band. They proved themselves veritable "handy-men." Whether in removing the wreckage from its resting- place upon some poor unfortunate sufferer. or in conveying the wounded to the special trains for conveyance to the hospitals, they were equally energetic. A Guardsman who had two medals on his breast was very prominent among the soldier workers, and another ma-n with four medals worked like a Trojan. as indeed did all the gallant members of the, Army, one of whose number was among the injured. The splendid services rendered by the soldiers was one of the bright features of a terribly tragic affair. No Money for Telegrams. Two little girls travelling together to London dictated to Mr. Pugh, of the Y, a wire to relatives. Desiring to pay for it they searched for their purses, but found they were lost beneath the debris. Miss Churchward, of Pembroke, found her- self in similar trouble from which, however, she was at once relieved by Mr. Pugh, who dispatched the telegrams by special messengers. A little girl, named Finn, travelling to Cadoxton with her father, escaped injury herself, but her parent was badly hurt, and the grief of the child was heartrending. The farmers, colliers, and cottagers of the neighborhood treated the strangers with kindness.
People work in the kitchen at the Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre.
This photo shot with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 and M.Zuiko 12-40mm F/2.8 Pro at f/2.8. The photo was taken quickly, hand held, as I walked past the kitchen. This photo is not cropped.
Going west for some hundred kilometers is somehow becalming, when knowing your direction and your destination.
Thats the beach of Noja.
Purchase prints here:
From the details in the photo album I can be certain that this photo album once belonged to David John Saer who was the Headmaster at the Alexander Rd Council School in Aberystwyth.
He was born in 1868 in Ciffig nr Whitland Carmarthenshire Wales. On the 1911 census this is spelt Kiffig. His mother Anne was also from Ciffig b 1846 and his father James b 1846 was a Police Constable from St Clears Carmarthen. He had two brothers John Saer b1869 in Carmarthen and William Rees Saer b1877 in Llanelli Carmarthen.
David married Mary Howell in 1896
The 1911 census indicates they had had 3 children 1 had died. The 2 girls were Hywela Annie born 1901 and Gwenllian Margaret b 1905
David John Saer was one of 3 Headteachers at the Alexander Rd Council School in Aberystwyth. According to the Ceredigion County Council the school had one for the boys (which was David) one for Girls and one for infants. Alexandra Road School was built in 1874 for 600 children aged 5-14
In 1910 a new block was built for 240 more boys with a manual room for 20 boys and a new class room for 40 girls with a cookery centre.
David taught at the school for 33 years and left behind a legacy in the form of a no of publications inc The Bilingual Problem ... a study based upon Experiments and observations in Wales , Find on Pendinas and Inquiry into effect of bilingualism upon the intelligence of young children. There are many more.
His daughter Hywela obviously followed in the same path and became an Education Lecturer, UCW . She also published books including Modern language teaching in smaller secondary schools,
Modern language teaching in Wales, Note on Dr. Johnson.
Mr Saer was a regular visitor to Llanelli so perhaps hewas aboard the train on this day or the news travelled so quickly that he rushed to the scene to take this photo?
From the Welsh Newspapers Online newspapers.library.wales/home
THE LLANELLY RAILWAY WRECKI Thrilling Stories of the Disaster. LIST OF THE KILLED AND INJURED. The cause of the Breakdown.EXPLODED. H0R3E AND CART THEORY The tale of the dead in the Llanelly railway wreck, concerning which so many conflicting statements were current yesterday afternoon, appears, so far as the official reports to hand this morning show, to be limited to the number which, in our second Pink edition last night, we said would probably cover that side of the catastrophe. On the other hand, the number of injured has increased from the highest figure which we gave yesterday (viz., forty) to fifty. Very little more is known as to the cause of the accident. The horse and cart incident which was reported to us yesterday afternoon appears to have been with- out foundation, and the only suggestion yet made to account for the smash-up is that the banker engine was too light and unfitted for the speed at which the second engine was taking the train. At any rate, whatever the immediate cause the acciident has to be attributed to a mechanical breakdown.
The train which met with the disaster was the morning mail express from New Milford to Paddington, which was drawn by two engines at the time. The express reached Llanelly all right, but just as it was nearing Loughor at a high rate of speed the leading engine seems to have left the rails. By the impact this engine banker was smashed, two of the leading coaches were overturned and tumbled over the embankment, and two coaches were telescoped and reduced to matchwood. The driver of the banker engine was cut in two and killed instantly, the fireman succumbing to his injuries later, and two passengers also were killed, whilst the permanent way was torn up for a considerable distance and traffic interrupted.
Heartrending scenes were witnessed. I INTERVIEWS with PASSENGERS I Graphic Stories Told of the Disaster. By the same train which conveyed the injured to Swansea arrived several Swansea gentlemen who had been in the train to which the accident had occurred. These included Mr. Francis, butcher, a. well-known tradesman; and Mr. Haydn Evans, coal merchant. Mr. Francis was somewhat injured, and showed signs of blood on his body. Mr. Evans said he came up from Llanelly by the train. It was very crowded. He was in a second-class carriage, with his back to the engine, and there happened to be only four persons in the carriage. The train, which had two engines on, had, apparently, reached its top speed-it must have been going 50 miles an hour-when suddenly there came a tremendous. check to the speed. It was as if the train had left the rails, and was ploughing over obstacles on the side of the track. It must have gone 50 yards in the second or two it took to stop. He was pitched violently to the other side of the carriage, and, naturally, lost his head a bit. He never realised what had happened, but the carriage did not turn over like some of the others. As soon as he could he got out, and he should never forget the scene which met his gaze. The cries of the, injured and the yells I of others endeavoring to direct the rescue work were confusing. When the injured were got out it was a sickening sight. There were people with feet and legs, apparently, half off; others had deep gashes in their heads; and one man had a, ear hanging almost off. There were a few splendid fellows in the train. In particular Mr. Evans admired the conduct of two of the soldiers. They did splendid work in smashing doors to l get at the injured, and they evidently I had had good experience of ambulance work. They got down doors and lifted I people from the tops of the carriages. There was a doctor present whom Mr. Evans did not L-now-a. traveller by the train. He rendered splendid help, cutting up towels and all sorts of garments for bandages, and altogether did wonders in an emergency; but it was an awful wait. Aid seemed terribly slow in arriving. He (the narrator) was on the spot, surrounded by agonizing scenes, for quite an hour before they got the engine away.
Dr. Abel David, Gowerton, was the first local doctor to arrive. Mrs. Williams, of Loughor, came immediately to the train, and assisted greatly in the relief work. The train was in an awful state. Three or four carriages seemed to be overturned. The second engine kept to the road, but not the rails. It seemed so far as Mr. Evans could judge to have jumped the line. Mr. Evans escaped with a severe shaking, but he, naturally, appeared to be highly nervous and I excited.
Colonel's Story. I Colonel Graines, of Tenby, who was travel- ling with his daughter, was one of the passengers in the third carriage of the train. He described his first sensations in the accident thus: Everything was being shaken up like a pea in a drum. Things were falling off the tracks, people were staggering about. The glass in the windows all smashed, and then after a big jerk the carriage suddenly became still. We found we had run on to a slag heap at the side of the line. The first two carriages were toppled over on the engines. Someone opened the door from outside, then we got out into a. scene of the greatest I confusion. Some things were very pitiful. There was a poor girl wandering from carriage to carriage asking, Where's my dada; where's my dada?" I and the other people who had been in the same carriage knew that her father was mortally injured, but we could not tell her, and some of the ladies looked after her. She was afterwards taken to Landore by a. man who had two of his own children with him. I very much admired the gallant conduct of some gunners of the Field Artillery who had been riding in the train. Aa soon as the accident occurred they rushed to the assistance of the officials, and were of the greatest service in extricating and attending to the wounded. Do you know what was the cause of the accident?No, I do not, but it is a well- known fact that with two engines to a train one is liable to jump the line. The colonel concluded with a. tribute to the railway officials near the accident for the promptitude with which they dealt with it. He was told that one survivor had suggested I that the company might have sent the relief I train earlier. The company did all they could," he said. "They sent the train as soon as it I was possible to do so."
Cardiff Man's Thrilling Story. I Mr. James Turner, of 12. Corporation-road. Cardiff, was one of the passengers in the m-I fated, train when he reached Cardiff r gave one of our representatives a graphic I description of his experiences. He said: "I was in the fourth carriage from the engine, and we left Llanelly soon after one. Within half a mile of Loughor Station I suddenly felt the carriage give a jump. This was followed by a bigger. jump. Up I sprang from the seat, and said, 'By Jove, there'a. a collision.' Then I felt the carriage was shutting up like a concertina, and with that sprang to the. side and jumped clean through the window and fell about twelve or fourteen feet. As soon as I looked up I saw the carriage go over the line and rush down over the embankment. I got up and heard a terrible yell, 'For God's sake, help me.' Looking round I saw a gentleman. who was afterwards recognized as the Rev. J. E. Phillips, of Pontygwaith, lying under a beam. He had his thigh broken. I caught him by the collar and dragged him out, and thus saved him from immediate, death, for directly afterwards the carriage in which be traveled collapsed. "I got away the best I could, and made the rev. gentleman as comfortable as possible, and he then collapsed. I found that he had also received a severe blow on the head. "During this time there was a dead silence, and those who escaped seemed thoroughly cool. The execution was horrible, and what with those killed and injured the scenes were most heartrending. "No one can conceive," Mr. Turner ex- claimed, "the state the wreckage was in- some of it one side, some of it another. The whole line was blocked, and the line was ripped up for about 150 yards. There were a number of poor fellows under the wreckage- it was a crowded train and I saw the engine- driver lying dead, with his body jammed in the remains of the engine."
Scene Baffled Description. I A thrilling account of the accident was given by Mr. Richard Smith, who was on his way from Pembroke Dock to Wednesbury, in Staffordshire. Mr. Smith has served five year& on the pay-staff in South Africa, and has only recently returned to this country. Since his return he has been staying at Pembroke Dock, where his wife is now residing, and, being granted leave of absence, was on his I way to see his mother, who resides in King- street, Wednesbury. Mr. Smith was accompanied by his two children, a boy and girl. "The run from Pembroke to Llanelly," he said to our representative. was a splendid one. We had two engines, and the train. which had a. full complement of passengers, made excellent time. I was in the second carriage from the engine. It was a saloon carriage, and in my compartment were four ladies, my two children, and my- self. We started from Llanelly punctually, and had not proceeded far before we heard a most peculiar grating noise. At first we could not imagine the cause, and for a moment the noise ceased. A minute later, however, the noise was resumed, and the carriage in which we were travelling turned over on its side. 'A collision,* shouted someone in the carriage, and immediately there were scenes which it is impossible for me to adequately describe. The women in my compartment simply lost their heads. They shouted in a hysterical fashion, and implored everyone at random to save them from death. "Personally," continued Mr. Smith, "I quickly grasped what had happened. Seeing the carriage was on its side I smashed the windows, which were then above me, lifted out my two children, and placed them in positions of safety, and then turned my attention. to the women occupants in the same compartment. With difficulty they were got out on to the permanent way. Here the scenes almost bamed description. One man, who was in the same carriage as I was, sustained shocking injuries, and I guessed when I assisted him out of the window that he was mortally hurt. I understand that he died shortly afterwards. A little girl came I running along from carriage to carriage, crying, 'Where's my daddy ? Where's my daddy?' It was the dying man who was sought .by the little one. We pacified the girl as well as we co-aid, and, at the request of the railway authorities, I took charge of her until she reached Landore, whither she was bound. A woman in the same compartment bound for Devonport, suffered very badly from shock, but after a time was able to proceed on her journey as far as Cardiff. Another woman was cut about in a fearful manner. My two children sustained more or less serious injuries, and, as you will see, I was badly cut on my right hand and bruised on my head. The sights of rescue, the groans of the wounded, and the removal of the bodies are scenes which I shall never forget. I should like to add a word of praise to the medical gentlemen, who were simply indefatigable in their efforts on behalf of the injured." A Fearful Sight. I Our Neath representative says that a Neath I man, an employee of the Great Western Railway Company, was iu the train, and his experiences are interesting. Beinj an old railway hand and having been in nine previous railway accidents, I knew instantly that something serious had happened; in fact, that some part of the train was off the line. We went on for about 80 to 100 yards and then the final crash came. The end of our compartment was stove in with the terrible impact. The gentleman opposite me had his arm broken, and the other gentleman was severely shaken. I was knocked about and badly shaken, but, singularly enough, the lady and the child did not seem much the worse. "My first thoughts were for them. There was no chance of getting them out through either door, so I assisted them out through the roof, which was shattered, on to the roof of the next coach, and then to the ground." "What was the condition of the engines and I the coaches?" our representative asked. "Well, the bank engine was shattered and turned upside down, and the driver, whose name, I think, was Lloyd, was killed on the spot. Poor fellow! I searched for the body, ¡ and found his head among the debris of the l first engine in one place, the trunk in another, and the arms in another. It was a fearful sight. The stoker, whose name I don't know. was terribly injured, and I hear that he has died since." "Oh, you asked me as to the condition of the engines and the coaches. In regard to the second engine it was virtually shattered. The van following was reduced practically to matchwood, and from this we improvised the splints for the injured. The first coach was turned upside down, and the third had its end telescoped, and had fallen down over the I bank." "The end of the third coach was also telescoped, and the back part stove in. I was in this coach, and I have already told you what happened to the occupants. Nos. 4 and A coaches suffered severely, but ia p6 lesser degree, and the sixth and last coach was the only one which was left on the rails. The occupants of all suffered from severe shock, and when I left the actual number of casualties was not known." "What theory can you advance to account for the accident?" our representative asked. "It has been said that the bank engine collided with a horse and cart when passing the crossing." "There is no truth whatever in that, for we had parsed the crossing some distance before the accident happened." "Then what caused it?" "I cannot account for it. I have tried to account for the accident, but have failed."
Passengers Terror-Stricken Speaking to our representative, Mr. Wilkins (chairman of the Llanelly Urban District Council), who was a passenger by the train, said, that he could give, no explauation of what had occurred. That was for the rail- way authorities to do. All that he knew was that when the train was rattling along at a good speed he felt a sadden shock, and a moment later he knew that the train had left the track and was crushing through the slags on the embankment. He was thrown from his seat, and some flying timber crushed his leg. But this was. not serious. He added that the scene which presented itself to him as he got out of the train was one that he would never forget. The passengers, like himself, were all terror-stricken, and the plight of the ladies was pitiable in the extreme. He spoke in high terms of the kindness of the railway officials, and could not find words to express his appreciation of the splendid work done by the medic.at men, w.ho rose to the terrible emergency in a way that was splendid to see. Occupants of the First Carriage Interviewed. Our Swansea representative met and con- versed with several persons at Swansea who were in the very first carriage of the train- one which split up like matchwood and went down the embankment at the side. In a compartment in this carriage were Miss Church- ward, of Woking, Surrey, who had been staying with her sister, Mrs. Saunders, wife of Dr. Saunders, in Pembrokeshire. Also two little orphap. girls, Muriel and Dorothy Claxton, of Crawley, Sussex. They had been staying at Tenby, and were proceeding homewards. Mr. T. Francis,, cattle dealer, of Swansea, was in the same carriage, but in the next compartment. They had marvelous escapes, for all except the elder Miss Claxton (who sustained a fractured clavicle) were practically uninjured. Mr. Francis was seen by our representative after he had gone home and washed the blood from some nasty little cuts on the left side of his head and face. He asked where the little girls were, as he promised to take them to his home. in Swan- sea, and supply them with what they wanted for their journey, but he had lost them. "It was a terrible affair," said Mr. Francis. "Our carriage was smashed to pieces. After we felt the first bump we must have gone rocking and bumping along for nearly 100yds., during which time we were falling against and bumping each other fearfully. Then, apparently, the couplings of our carriage must have broken. The second engine went off the line to the right, and our carriage and the next one went on, as it were, into the place the second engine had occupied, and lay there side by side. I got up from where I had fallen^ and scrambled, through the. window, which was above that of the carriage next to it. I had to climb over the next carriage. The hot steam from the engine had filled our carriage, and at the same time there were flying cinders and splinters showered upon us, cutting, as it were, into our scalps. I got out, as I say, and I must say it was a terrible sight that met my gaze. The injured people seemed in terrible agony, and what the railway people were doing for about, an hour and a half after the accident I cannot make out. It was a scandalous shame." Miss Churchward and the two little Misses Claxton were taken to the Swansea Hospital by Superintendent Gill, and were not detained. They afterwards went to the Grand Hotel. Miss Churchward said the carriage seemed to go to splinters around them, and then there were splinters of wood driven against their heads. She escaped from the carriage without further injury. She lost her purse and some other things. The two Misses Claxton, girls of about sixteen and ten years of age respectively, seemed quite cheerful considering the experiences they had undergone. They were hatless, and their clothing was covered with dirt. The elder had been treated at the hospital, and her arm was- now bound up inside her coat. They intended proceeding to. London by the next train. Miss Claxton the elder said the whole thing occurred so suddenly that none of them could say really what happened. Her arm was hurt, but whether by being thrown against the woodwork of the carriage she could not say. The smaller Miss Claxton seemed none the worse, and seemed to treat the matter as a huge joke. "You are light, and you didn't fesl being; thrown about?" "That's it, I suppose," she said, laughingly, j "I've never been in a railway accident uetore. It was a nice finish to our holiday." Later on the girls were seen going to the station at Swansea without any hats, but still full of pluck and go. Miss Churchward had taken them under her charge. SENSATIONAL ACCOUNT. The Rev. Fuller Mills' Story. me nev. A. Fuller Mills, when seen by our Carmarthen representative at the hospital, was evidently in great agony. His leg had been fractured and terribly lacerated below the knee. He had just been visited by Dr. E. G. Price, Carmarthen, and seemed quite pleased to see another familiar face. He said he could not then attempt to describe what happened. "It was too terrible," he said. "I was on the grass for a. very long time without assistance, and my poor leg was in pieces. I am very thankful that it was not worse, though." "Can you see my coat?" asked Mr. Mills, who was lying in the cot. Our representative made a search under the bed, where he found the patient's clothes care- fully packed together. They were covered with blood, and torn. He wanted to know whether papers about which he was anxious were in his pocket. These were missing, and Mr. Mills remarked: "Ah! well, they have gone, I suppose, like my bag and other things. I don't know where they can be. The whole thing has been too terrible to think of." Screams and Crash of Glass The Misses Farley, of Tenby, who were passengers by the ill-fated train, were seen on Monday evening at Pantmawr, Whit- church, the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Davies, who are related to them, and with whom they are making a short stay, having specially traveled up from Tenby for that purpose. The young ladies were naturally much perturbed, although they were able to give an intelligent account of their experience and miraculous escape. They started from Tenby by the 10.55 train. They were seen off at the station by their friends. Miss Farley, sen., wished to ride in the compartment of a corridor carriage three or four carriages from the engine, but her younger sister and her friends prevailed upon her to get into a compartment at the lower end of the same carriage. The carriage being a through one they did not change at Whitland. In the same compartment were seven or eight other passengers. Everything went well until a short time after they left Llanelly, when they heard a noise, and the luggage was suddenly precipitated upon them. They naturally became alarmed, and soon after they could hear screams and the crash of broken glass. All the passengers in the compartment had by this time become alarmed and agitated. The Misses Farley j made an appeal for the door to be opened, but they were asked to becalm themselves Then the two girls clutched each other. thinking that if they were to die they would die together. A student who was in the same compartment got through the window and jumped down. Then a voice and a cry was heard as if it came from the top of the carriage, and on looking up they could see Colonel Goodeve, of Ivy Tower, Tenby, and a woman with a small baby walking above their heads. Evidently the colonel and the woman with the child had scrambled on to the top of the coach for safety. The little child had a nasty cut on its head. Eventually the Misses Farley were released from their prison and taken down the embankment, where they were told to sit. Every attention was shown to them by the officials, and they were given some brandy, as were the others who had escaped death. The front part of the carriage in which they traveled was smashed, and if the elder Miss Farley had not fallen in with the wishes of her sister and friends to ride in the compartment at the lower end of the carriage there is no doubt they would have been killed. One poor woman, said the elder Miss Farley, who was in the lavatory in the carriage at the time of the accident, had her foot cut off, while Dr. Reid, of Tenby, sustained a nasty cut on the head. She herself was all right, with the exception that her shoulder was slightly hurt by the luggage falling upon it. Asked to describe the scene, Miss Farley said it was impossible. She never witnessed such a thing-women with their arms through their blouses cut and bleeding; men cut on the face and head, with their clothes and shirts saturated with blood, and, above all, the cries and groans of those who had been more severely injured, and of those who were dying. "Ah!" she said, in conclusion, "the scene is one I cannot describe. and is one which I trust..it will not be . I have to thank my sister and my friends for my life. If we traveled in the compartment into which I first entered we should both have been killed." A Terrible Sight. Mr. Samuel, an articled pupil to a. firm of surveyors and architects, gave our Llanelly representative a graphic account of the occurrence
I was standing in a corridor of the express with Mr. Wade when all of a sudden the train dropped on to the permanent way from the metals. It crunched along for a few yards, and then came to a sudden standstill. All who were in the corridor were thrown to the ground. Our compartment threatened to topple over on its side, and as soon as I recovered myself I got out and found a terrible scene. The first engine had turned completely round, and was a mass of ruin, while the coaches had been crushed to pieces. The Montreal was off the metals, but it stood fairly entire, but its tender was a shapeless mass. We found the body of the driver of the banker engine under the wheels of the express engine, death having been, happily, instantaneous in his case. The lot of the passengers was pitiable in the extreme, and I could not help feeling sorry for the ladies, some of whom were in the last stage of prostration, although they had not sustained any bodily hurt. I was carrying with me some of my instruments, including a drawing board, rulers, scales, &c. These were promptly utilized as splints for the service of the injured ones, and I was glad that they should come in useful in such an emergency." "The Shock was Awful."
Another passenger, Miss Williams, of Carmarthen, said: was on my way to London. We were about half a mile out of Loughor, when all of a sudden we found our- selves hurled right across the carriage. Then we heard cries from all parts of tue train. Our own carriage was about the third from the engine, and as soon as the crash occurred we found the carriage swaying and leaping under us, as though we were on a ship. We were not hurt, but the shock was awful. The worst part of it was the agonising cries of the injured. The poor engine-driver was cut up into three pieces, and there were others whose limbs were badly shattered and mutilated. I could not say how many people were killed. The ground was torn up for a long distance, and the first engine appeared to be smashed to pieces. It was a scene I shall never forget. The screams of the injured passengers are still ringing in my ears. It was horrible. We were brought on by a special train, which was dispatched to the scene."
GRAPHIC STORY BY COLONEL GOODEVE. Touching Tribute to a Young Lady. One of the travelers by the train was Colonel Goodeve, who will be remembered by artillerymen, Regular and Auxiliary, in South Wales as having been for some years the officer commanding the Severn Defences. In that position he frequently visited Cardiff, and was on very friendly terms with the late Sir Edward Hill, K.C.B., M.P. Having retirêd i from the Army, he now lives at Ivy Tower, about three miles from Tenby, and was on a. journey to London when the accident happened. It was in the Royal Hotel, at Cardiff, that one of our reporters found him. He said:- "We left Llanelly about two minutes after one o'clock on Monday afternoon. About twenty minutes later we found that some- thing had gone wrong. The carriage in which I was, a corridor one, began to rock violently, and the passengers were hurled about in all directions. It was clear that the carriage had left the track." "What part of the train were you in?" "There were two engines, one, I under- stand being a bank engine, and the carriage in which I was was next to that engine." "Well, what happened next?" "After we got about 50 or 60 yards we found that we were brought to a dead stop on the side of an embankment, and almost parallel with the engine, but about ten feet lower. It appears to me that the couplings must have broken, and ours was pitched head foremost against a bank at the bottom of a rising hill. This brought us to a dead stop, and the whole front of the carriage in which I was riding was smashed up. The fore part of my own compartment was wrecked, but the damage did not reach the side upon which I was sitting. Then I saw on a still lower level, opposite to the compartment in which I was, another carriage, which had turned over partly on its side. just at that moment there was a rush of steam which almost blinded us, and the women who were in our carriage commenced to scream. Every effort was made to allay their fears, and when the steam cleared away a little we could see that we could get out of the window, and get upon the carriage which had turned over just below us. We saw that the women were removed first, nearly all of whom were more or less injured, but so far as I could see not fatally so." "I suppose that the excitement at this time was very great?" suggested the pressman. "It was," came the reply, "but it was nothing to what we had to experience later. One or two of those who had sustained the more severe injuries, such as broken limbs, were left behind until further help could be obtained. They were safe for the time, and we might have done more harm in attempting to remove them than by allowing them to remain. "How many were in your compartment?" "Seven or eight." "You seemed to have had a marvelous escape?" "Yes, I only had a Blight cut across the nose. Most of the others were bleeding badly, gome from the head, while others evidently had received bodily injuries." "Now, I understand you got out from your carriage on to the other which was on a lower level, and which had partly turned over?" "Several got out in that way, myself among the number. The more agile ones climbed down the embankment, but I waited until some steps were brought. A friend of mine, I may mention, was riding in the same train â Dr. Reid, of Tenby. He was a good bit cut about the head, and went away somewhere. He was in the next compartment to me towards the rear, but the train being of the corridor description, we walked to and fro." "Now, I am afraid, we are coming to the worst of it. What took place when you got clear from the wrecked carriages?" "Yes, you are right. It was, indeed, a terrible scene. What with the hysteria of the women and the groans of the dying it was a scene which was to the last degree saddening. One man, who was in the same carriage as myself, only lived five or six minutes after he was brought out. As a matter of fact, he never spoke after he was brought out. He appeared to be smashed up altogether, so that it was impossible for me to say what his injuries were. So far as I could gather, most of the killed were in the first coaches." How many coaches were there on the train?" "I believe the number was eight. The two first ran down the embankment, three turned turtle,' and three remained on the rails. My opinion is that the first engine was' stopped as quickly as possible for some reason; that the second, with the weight of the load behind, was smashed up in a. most marvelous way, and the two first carriages broke away. My idea is that the whole thing was due to a subsidence in the track." "Now, what assistance was there?" "In that respect the passengers were rather unfortunate. Loughor is a little place, and it was an hour before any help came from there, and it was an hour and a haJf before any assistance came from Swansea . There was a doctor there, who rendered ail assistance he could but he could not attend to all." I A Brave Girl. Our reporter had thanked Colonel Goodeve for his information and left the room, when he was called back to receive one of the most interesting parts of the sad story. I should have told you," said the colonel, that all the passengers rendered every possible assistance. Among those was a fair-haired girl, who, badly hurt herself, did all she could to bring comfort to others. She remembered that she had some brandy in a small travelling-bag, and brought it out. and went round among the more severely wounded giving them mouthfuls of the liquid until the doctors arrived." Colonel Goodeve added that he saw the driver of one of the engines with his head across the rail and a wheel upon his neck. That, he added, was sufficient to unnerve anybody. The rails were torn up, and the end of one section was about 18ft. above the permanent way. I SINGULAR INCIDENTS. I Heroism of the Injured. The list of the injured includes the name of a man who had his two legs injured and an arm fractured. He was brought down to Llanelly in a special train, but instead of going to the hospital he chose to return to his home in Swansea-, and accommodation was, therefore, provided for him in the branch train from Llanelly. In spite of his terrible injuries, he was perfectly composed, I and the last seen of him was his calmly smoking a, cigarette as the train steamed out. Scenes at Llanelly Station. The scene at the Llanelly Station on Monday, evening upon the arrival of the train conveying the injured passengers was most pathetic. There was a crowd of anxious lookers-on 'who had relatives in the ill-fated train. No information could be given as to the identity of the sufferers, and a period of anxious suspense followed, as each of them was care- fully removed to a conveyance in waiting and driven to the hospital. Llanelly was practically denuded of the services of its medical men. Among those who were quickly on the scene were Doctors D. J. Williams, S. Williams, A. Brookes, S. J. Roderick, J. L. Davies, Edgar Davies, E. Evans, and Harry Roberts. All these were in the evening in attendance at the hospital completing the good work they had commenced in the afternoon. Passenger's Strange Delusion. A young man, gesticulating amongst the crowd of spectators, declared that he had seen a boot with a foot inside by the embankment. A search was immediately made for the supposed body. The man seemed to be terribly in earnest about his discovery, but the searchers found no trace of what he had imagined. This was one of many incidents which went to show how highly strung the frightened passengers were after their terrible experience. Providential Escape. Among those who traveled by the express was Vr. M'Bride, who entered the train at Tenby, He had intended going to Swansea, but upon arriving at Llanelly he decided to break his journey there and go on by a later train. He was sitting in a smoking compartment in the forward part of the train which was completely' wrecked, and turned over OIl the embankment, all the occupants of the compartment being severely injured. Mr. M'Bride looks upon his escape as provident. Policeman and the Little Girl. One very pathetic incident is recorded by Police-constable Williams, of Loughor. He was one of the first police officers to arrive on the scene of the catastrophe, and, having r studied ambulance work, he asked Dr. Trafford Mitchell (Gorseinon) whether he could render any assistance. "Yes," replied Dr. Mitchell, "there is a little girl over there with a, broken arm. Go and see what you can do for her." Williams went over. The little girl was pale, crying in great pain. She told him that her arm was extremely painful. Williams went off to find splints and bandages, and after a few minutes he went back to the little girl. But his charge had vanished. She had been., hurried off to either Llanelly or Swansea, Hospital. Sympathy from Llanelly. At the meeting of the Llanelly Borough. Council on Monday the Chairman, Mr. D. J. Davies, said that he had just heard that a serious disaster had occurred on the Great. Western Railway near Llanelly, and that a large number of persons had been seriously injured, if not killed. It was impossible to ascertain exactly what had occurred, but they could well understand the anxiety that prevailed in the town, knowing as they did that a large number of Llanellyites were in the train. He was glad to state that one of the members of the council, in the person of Mr. W. Wilkins, who was a passenger, had escaped without injury. Their deepest sympathy went out to the relatives of the men who had been killed, and he proposed a vote of sympathy with them in their bereavement. This was seconded by Mr. D. Bees Edmonds,, and carried in silence. The news of the disaster was officially communicated by the local branch of the Bail- waymen's Association to Mr. D. Bees Edmonds, their Llanelly legal representative. Mr., Edmonds at once placed himself in communication with Mr. Richard Bell, M.P. It is expected that Mr. Bell will visit the scene to-' day (Tuesday). Heroic Suflerer at Swansea. A heroic sufferer was Private Savage, of that Shropshire Regiment, who, although found at, Swansea Hospital to have shocking injuries to the head which made his case a serious one, when the doctors came to look at him. on the platform, said, Never mind me, boys; go and assist the others. I'm all right." He limped away to the cab which. took him to the hospital. Soldiers' Good Work. Some seven or eight of the soldiers belonging to different regiments, who traveled by the train, were among the most heroic workers of & very heroic band. They proved themselves veritable "handy-men." Whether in removing the wreckage from its resting- place upon some poor unfortunate sufferer. or in conveying the wounded to the special trains for conveyance to the hospitals, they were equally energetic. A Guardsman who had two medals on his breast was very prominent among the soldier workers, and another ma-n with four medals worked like a Trojan. as indeed did all the gallant members of the, Army, one of whose number was among the injured. The splendid services rendered by the soldiers was one of the bright features of a terribly tragic affair. No Money for Telegrams. Two little girls travelling together to London dictated to Mr. Pugh, of the Y, a wire to relatives. Desiring to pay for it they searched for their purses, but found they were lost beneath the debris. Miss Churchward, of Pembroke, found her- self in similar trouble from which, however, she was at once relieved by Mr. Pugh, who dispatched the telegrams by special messengers. A little girl, named Finn, travelling to Cadoxton with her father, escaped injury herself, but her parent was badly hurt, and the grief of the child was heartrending. The farmers, colliers, and cottagers of the neighborhood treated the strangers with kindness.
18/365
This is Chapolio, Chap for short. He was almost 2 years old but today I came home from taking pictures then going to a wake ( weird huh) and found him dead :( he is my 5th fish to die, all from the same tank. I suspected a devious plot when the massacre of my 3 other fish happened. Now I am left with one fish and I am convinced he is the serial killer. I also find it funny how close I am to this fish, cause he is dead. But thats the only reason I am. When he was alive he was vicious. He is actually a shark, a Bala Shark, and he would jump and kick and flip and nip if you tried to get near him. So docile now....
So my sister and I took some great shots for today. 659 shots total, not all great, some for a video (maybe?) that were going to be put up today. But i think Chap deserves the spotlight for one last time. So the others will be used tomorrow for my 365, idc if its a day late. Just watch for a mass upload. :)
ps. i know he isnt focused, but hes down the toilet now, so not like i can redo it...
Black British people and Black people in Britain have always been part of the English folk revival, from artists as diverse as Davey Graham (innovative folk guitar tunings and playing), Nadia Cattouse (British/Caribbean folk), and Dorris Henderson (American folk and folk rock), to Edward II now (folk reggae), but it's less well known how far back Black British ballad singing was a daily part of the English music scene.
Joseph Johnson was a Black merchant navy veteran who, because he had been born abroad and wasn't entitled to a pension or parish relief, earned his living as a street singer in London, Romford, St Albans, Staines, and the villages in between, reputedly hitching lifts with passing wagoners. He performed while wearing an elaborate hand-crafted model of the Royal Navy ship HMS Nelson on his head, a sculpture he presumably created himself. According to Vagabondiana, Anecdotes of Mendicant Wanderers through the Streets of London, a series of prints of well-known street traders and beggars, published in 1815-17, Johnson sang "The Wooden Walls of Old England" and "The British Seaman's Praise" - most likely the songs now known as "The Tough Wooden Walls" (Roud V11049) and "The Neglected Tar" (Roud V4171, aka "The Hardy Tar"), both of which positioned him as a British sailor worthy of the money he was earning as a disabled veteran. Since neither song seems to have either a clear text transcript or a brief history available on the internet, I've provided both below. The most interesting additional fact is that one of Johnson's signature songs was probably originally authored by political radical, disability activist, and anti-slavery campaigner Edward Rushton, of whom I've also included a brief biography below (under 1806).
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"I sing the British seaman's praise", aka The Neglected Tar, aka Hardy Tar, Roud V4171, recorded from 1791 onwards. It was published regularly for 15 years before being claimed by radical Liverpudlian author Edward Rushton, who is indeed a likely candidate for the poem's authorship. The book Thames Valley Villages, 1910, claims Neglected Tar was sung to the tune Country Garden (a tune mentioned as early as 1728).
1790-1840, Hardy Tar, London, broadside ballad in Bodleian collection.
Bodleian: ballads.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/search/roud/V4171/
1791, The Neglected Tar, London, prints in Yale and British Library collections.
Yale: findit.library.yale.edu/catalog/digcoll:553527
British Museum: www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collecti...
The Neglected Tar, 1791, transcript from print in Yale collection
I sing the British seaman's praise;
A theme renown'd in story;
It well deserves more polish'd lays;
Oh! 'tis your boast and glory.
When mad brain'd war spreads death around,
By them you are protected;
But when in peace the nation's found,
These bulwarks are neglected.
Chorus.
Then, Oh! protect the hardy tar,
Be mindful of his merit;
And when again you'r plung'd in war,
He'll show his daring spirit.
When thickest darkness covers all,
Far on the trackless ocean;
When lightnings dart, when thunders roll,
And all is wild commotion;
When o'er the bark the white topp'd waves,
With boist'rous sweep are rolling,
Yet coolly still, the whole he braves,
Untam'd amidst the howling.
Then, Oh! protect &c.
When deep immers'd in sulphurous smoke,
He feels a glowing pleasure;
He loads his gun, he cracks his joke,
Elated beyond measure.
Though fore and aft the blood-stain'd deck,
Should lifeless trunks appear;
Or should the vessel float a wreck,
The sailor knows no fear.
Then, Oh! protect &c.
When long becalm'd on southern brine,
Where scorching beams assail him;
When all the canvas hangs supine,
And food and water fail him;
Then oft he dreams of Britain's shore,
Where plenty still is reigning;
They call the watch, his rapture's o'er,
He sighs, but scorns complaining.
Then, Oh! protect &c.
Or burning on that noxious coast,
Where death so oft befriends him;
Or pinch'd by hoary Greenland frost,
True courage still attends him:
No clime can this eradicate,
He glories in annoyance;
He fearless braves the storms of fate,
And bids grim death defiance.
Then, Oh! protect &c.
Why should the man who knows no fear,
In peace be then neglected?
Behold him move along the pier,
Pale, meagre and dejected!
Behold him begging for employ!
Behold him disregarded!
Then view the anguish in his eye,
And say, are Tars rewarded?
Then, Oh! protect &c.
To them your dearest rights you owe,
In peace then would you starve them?
What say ye Britain's sons? - oh! no!
Protect them and preserve them.
Shield them from poverty and pain,
'Tis policy to do it;
Or when grim war shall come again,
Oh Britons, ye may rue it!
Then, Oh! protect &c.
1792, Edinburgh syren, or, Musical bouquet, Being a new selection of modern songs, sung at the various places of amusement in Great Britain and Ireland, 1792, Edinburgh, book in the National Library of Scotland collection. Only minor typographical differences from the 1791 print in the Yale collection.
National Library of Scotland: digital.nls.uk/special-collections-of-printed-music/paget...
1805, A collection of songs, moral, sentimental, instructive, and amusing, edited by James Plumtre, 1805, London, book. Minor typographical and phraseological variations. The Neglected Tar is credited to a "gentleman of Liverpool".
"Serene amidst the howling." was "Untam'd amidst the howling."
"He loads his gun - right heart of oak - " was "He loads his gun, he cracks his joke,"
"He sighs - forbears complaining." was "He sighs, but scorns complaining."
"He's calm amidst annoyance;" was "He glories in annoyance;"
1806, Edward Rushton (1756–1814), as a boy and young man, was a sailor on slave trading ships between Africa and the Americas. While on board one insanitary slave ship Rushton was blinded by an infection. He returned to his home in Liverpool and became a political radical, including campaigning for the abolition of slavery. Rushton published his West Indian Eclogues in 1787. He opened the successful and lasting Liverpool School for the Indigent Blind in 1791. He published a reprimand to George Washington for owning slaves in 1797. Rushton published his Poems in 1806, including a poem of praise to Toussaint L'Overture and the Black Haitian revolutionaries. Rushton's anti-slavery writings also included cultural details he had learned from his earlier contacts with enslaved Africans, such as a "negro" "Egbo", held in slavery in the British West Indies, who swears by "Obi" and has a wife named "Zuna". In 1807 an operation partially restored Edward Rushton's eyesight and he saw his wife and children for the first time.
Neglected Tar, 1806, from Poems by Edward Rushton
To ocean's sons I lift the strain,
A race renown'd in story;
A race whose wrongs are Britain's stain,
Whose deeds are Britain's glory.
By them, when courts have banish'd peace,
Your sea-girt land's protected,
But when war's horrid thunderings cease,
These bulwarks are neglected.
When thickest darkness covers all,
Far on the trackless ocean,
When lightnings dart, when thunders roll,
And all is wild commotion;
When o'er the barque the foam-capt waves,
With boisterous sweep are rolling,
The seaman feels, yet nobly braves,
The storm's terrific howling.
When long becalm'd on southern brine,
Where scorching beams assail him,
When all the canvas hangs supine,
And food and water fail him,
Then oft he dreams of that loved shore,
Where joys are ever reigning, -
The watch is called, his rapture's o'er,
He sighs, but scorns complaining.
Now deep immers'd in sulphurous smoke,
Behold him at his station,
He loads his gun, he cracks his joke,
And moves, all animation.
The battle roars, the ship's a wreck,
He smiles amid the danger,
And though his messmates strew the deck,
To fear his soul's a stranger.
When long becalm'd on southern brine,
Where scorching beams assail him,
When all the canvass hangs supine,
And food and water fail him,
Then oft he dreams of that loved shore,
Where joys are ever reigning;
The watch is called - his rapture's o'er,
He sighs, but scorns complaining.
Or burning on that noxious coast,
Where death so oft befriends him;
Or pinch'd by hoary Greenland's frost,
True courage still attends him.
No clime can this eradicate,
He glories in annoyance,
He, fearless, braves the storms of fate,
And bids grim death defiance.
Why should the man, who knows no fear,
In peace be thus neglected?
Behold him move along the pier,
Pale, meagre, and dejected;
He asks a berth with downcast eye,
His prayers are disregarded,
Refus'd — ah hear the veteran sigh,
And say, are tars rewarded?
Much to these fearless souls you owe,
In peace then would you starve them?
What say you, patriot souls? Oh no!
Admire, protect, preserve them.
And oh! reflect, if war again
Should menace your undoing,
Reflect, who then would sweep the main,
And shield your realm from ruin.
CHORUS
Then oh! protect the hardy tar,
Be mindful of his merit,
And if pure justice urge the war,
He'll show his daring spirit.
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1820, The Tough Wooden Walls, Roud V11049, recorded from 1820 (title recorded from 1804)
Reputedly sung at Vauxhall Gardens by the famous Mr Dignum in 1804 (according to books such as The Whim of the Day, and other sources), and possibly on the streets of London by the almost equally famous Black British naval veteran and street singer Joseph Johnson by 1817 (according to Vagabondiana, which names the song as "The Wooden Walls of Old England"), and perhaps popular enough to be parodied not long after.
Vaughan Williams Memorial Library: www.vwml.org/record/RoudBS/B86180
The Tough Wooden Walls (Roud V11049, oddly one number after the apparently later parody), 1820, from The Vocal Library, book
When the despots of France felt a wish to invade
The island that freedom had long call'd her own,
The impulse of honour each Briton obey'd,
Determined to fight for his country and crown:
Then encircled by fleets she has nothing to fear,
While no civil commotions her people dissever;
This adage remains ev'ry Briton to cheer,
The tough Wooden Walls of Old England for ever.
Then what fear can invasion impress on the mind
If Britons for ever united we stand,
While our brave Volunteers in true valour combin'd,
Step forward to fight for our dear native land:
With such guardians as these, let the boasters appear,
Shall we e'er yield to Frenchmen? Oh Englishmen, never;
For this adage remains, ev'ry Briton to cheer,
The tough Wooden Walls of Old England for ever.
Then a health to the fleets which our islands surround,
Success to their Adm'rals courageously brave;
With their actions of valour the heavens resound,
The deeds of our Navy, our country to save.
Approbation this toast from each Briton must meet,
Prosper well ev'ry Englishman's loyal endeavour,
May God save the King, his army and fleet,
The tough Wooden Walls of Old England for ever.
Heute startete Mini einen kleinen Spaß, wie er sagte. Er verkleidete sich als Mumie und versteckte sich hinter dem MacBook meiner Freundin. Als Danbo vorbei kam, machte Mini gruselige Geräusche und lief mit ausgetreckten Armen auf Danbo zu. Danbo rannte komplett verängstigt davon. Ich musste ihn wirklich beruhigen. Mini war das Ganze dann schon etwas peinlich, er wollte Danbo nicht so sehr erschrecken. Aber jetzt ist wieder alles bestens und Danbo kann auch darüber lachen.
Today Mini started a litle joke, as he said. He disguised as a mummy and hid behind my girlfriends MacBook. When Danbo came by, Mini made lots of spooky sounds and walked towards Danbo with his arms outstretched. Danbo ran away, completely feared. I really had to becalm him. Mini was a bit sorry as he didn't want to frighten Danbo that much. But now everything is fine again and Danbo can laugh about it.
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your past
crouched
in a corner
held captive
in a memory
or is it your
present that
becalms your
senses uselessly
or is it your future
running hurriedly
tell me son what
do you see ..
darkness beyond
reality ..or your
soul rocked by
gravity or ..
do you feel the
silence of eternity
closed eyes
do they mock
humanity ...
think force yourself
to think as prose
or poetry...now
tell me what
you dont see
visually ..
a shadow play
of right wrong
overcoming
your desires
aphoristically
#beggarpoet
#firozeshakir
At Busuanga airport, we have to open the bag. The officer fumbles halfheartedly through our treasures, a few wet towels on top always fasten the procedure. Then we have to stand on scales again, including all luggage. When all is added up, this time we have six kilos excess luggage/excess body weight - even though nothing at all changed compared to Manila, where we were charged for 13 kilos.
As we want to enter the departure area, we are stopped by another cantankerous official: "Terminal fee, sir." That's 25 US cents per person here. The low price might explain the abysmal state of Busuanga Airport restrooms.
The open air waiting sala has nothing except broken plastic chairs (and a resident cat). So all passengers simply step through the open door onto the airport tarmac (followed by the resident cat). There we stand and watch various Seair 19seaters arriving from Manila and El Nido.
The pilot's are good-looking, well-natured guys. As soon as they step out of their toy planes, they light up smokes and start cracking chain-jokes. They stand around with us (and the resident cat) on a shaded corner of the tarmac, non-stop smoking, joking, laughing and nonchalantly signing whatever papers ground staff holds in their way.
One last round of smoke, joke, laugh and signatures, then everybody seems to catch a parting mood. The pilots wander towards their three planes. We have no idea which plane will continue to our destination El Nido, but I simply follow the most humourous, energetic pilot. At the airplane, a ground staffer sweeping the cabin asks me:
"Where would you like to go, sir?"
Polite question.
"Hmm... El Nido... possible?"
"That's fits well, sir, this plane goes to El Nido."
How nice. We crawl inside.
Our humourous, energetic pilot shoots his little bird almost vertically into the Busuanga sky. We pass more clusters of lovely South Sea like islets. Then a string of impressive rocks rises out of the Palawan Sea. Nestled between rocks and rolling waves, there lies El Nido, our destination.
All of a sudden, our pilot dives vertically towards the waves. Now that is scary.
The wife pales. "What is this", she asks with a low voice?
"Pilot can't wait to get his next ciggie", I becalm her.
Just moments before the aircraft rams into the waters, somehow we roll out on El Nido's gravel airstrip that starts right on the beach.
Kamera: Nikon FE2
Linse: Nikkor-S Auto 55mm f1.2 (1970)
Film: Kodak 5222 @ ISO 400 -1EV
Kjemi: Xtol (stock / 9 min. @ 20°C)
Baruch Goldstein, Patron Saint of Israel
In order for you to understand just how vile, insane and immoral the State of Israel has become, there are a few things that should be said and known about the veneration of Baruch Goldstein (1956-1994) in Israeli society today. His worshippers are to a large degree the numerous followers of American mad 'rabbi' Meir Kahane (1932-1990) and his racist, fascist ideology. Kahanism is mainstream in Israel today and is represented in the Israeli government by extremist settlers turned ministers like:
- Itamar Ben-Gvir (b. 1976), the current Minister of National Security and in charge of the Israel Police, the Border Police and the Israel Prison Service. He has been the party leader of Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) since 2022. Son of a mother active in the Irgun terrorist organization. Previously convicted of supporting the Kach terrorist organization. Exempted from service in the IDF due to extremist political background. Lawyer known for representing far-right Jewish activists suspected of terrorism and hate crimes; most notably representing the American-born extremist settler Baruch Marzel (b. 1956 in Boston, USA) in Hebron, the «right-hand man» of American-born rabbi Meir Kahane (1932-1990) and a fellow Otzma Yehudit party member. Known for displaying the portrait of American-born extremist settler and terrorist mass-murderer Dr. Baruch Goldstein (1956-1994) in his living-room. Itamar Ben-Gvir has 6 children and is a permanent resident of the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba in Hebron, West Bank, Occupied Palestine.
- Bezalel Smotrich (b. 1980), the current Minister of Finance and a minister in the Defense Ministry, in addition to being leader of the Higher Planning Committee of the Israeli Civil Administration (of the Occupied Territories) - an agency akin to the many different quasi-colonial german Reichskommissariat entities in nazi occupied countries and territories of Europe during WW2 - and in this capacity Smotrich is effectively being the man in charge of the ever ongoing escalation of illegal jewish settlement expansions in the West Bank.
- Orit Strook (b. 1960); who is the fourth and current ‘Minister of Settlements and National Missions’ in Israel. [Note: The first settlement minister (2020) was Tzipi Hotovely (b. 1978), the current vile Israeli ambassador to the UK. The third settlement minister (2021-2022) was Naftali Bennett (b. 1972); prime minister of Israel 2021-2022.]
Therefore, today I will present to you chapter 6 from the 2004 edition of the book Jewish fundamentalism in Israel, originally published in 1998 and written by the well-known Israeli human rights advocate and activist Israel Shahak (1933-2001) together with American historian Norton Mezvinsky (1932-2022):
Chapter 6: The Real Significance of Baruch Goldstein
The story of the massacre committed by Baruch Goldstein (1956-1994) in the Patriarchs’ Cave in Hebron on February 25, 1994, is well known. Goldstein entered the Muslim prayer hall and shot worshippers mostly in their backs, killing 29, including children, and wounding many more. In this chapter we shall not describe that massacre; rather we shall focus upon Goldstein’s career prior to the massacre and upon the reactions of the Israeli government and fundamentalist Jews to the massacre a short time after it occurred. This should provide a vivid illustration of Jewish fundamentalism. We shall extend our discussion of some details until the summer of 1998.
One important background fact about Goldstein exemplifies the influence of Jewish fundamentalism in Israel: long before the massacre, Goldstein as an army physician repeatedly breached army discipline by refusing to treat Arabs, even those serving in the Israeli army. He was not punished, either while in active or reserve service, for his refusal because of intervention in his favor. Political commentators discussed this story in the Hebrew press even though not a single Israeli politician referred to it. This story deserves detailed exploration in our analysis of Jewish fundamentalism.
In his March 1, 1994, Yedioth Ahronot article, Arych Kizel, a regular Davar correspondent, wrote that Goldstein, shortly after immigrating to Israel and as a conscript assigned to an artillery battalion in Lebanon as a doctor, refused to treat Gentiles. According to Kizel, Goldstein, after refusing to treat a wounded Arab, declared: “I am not willing to treat any non-Jew. I recognize as legitimate only two [religious] authorities: Maimonides (1138-1204) and Meir Kahane (1932-1990).” Kizel further reported:
Three Druze soldiers who served in Goldstein’s battalion approached their commander and asked for another doctor to be stationed in their battalion, because they were afraid that Goldstein would refuse to treat them in case they were wounded. Because of their request Goldstein was reassigned to another battalion. He continued to serve as a military doctor both in the conscript army and in the reserves. After some years he was reassigned to the regional Hebron brigade of the central command where he thereafter served his reserve stint. Immediately after receiving this assignment, he told his commanders that his religious faith would make it impossible for him to treat wounded or ill Arabs; he asked to be reassigned elsewhere. His request was granted, and he was reassigned to a reserve unit serving in South Lebanon.
Amir Oren, who subsequently became the military correspondent of Haaretz, provided the most complete story of Goldstein’s relations with the Israeli army and the entire Israeli political establishment in his March 4 Davar article. According to Oren, after the 1984 elections and the subsequent formation of the national unity government, then Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin (1922-1995) and then Chief of Staff General Moshe Levi (1936-2008) learned about Goldstein’s refusal to treat non-Jews in Lebanon. Oren wrote:
When Goldstein’s refusal to treat non-Jewish patients became evident to his commanders, both the artillery corps and medical corps commanders quite naturally wanted to court-martial him and thus get rid of him. They took it for granted that this could be easily done, because Goldstein had graduated only from the army’s course for medical officers. [Goldstein did not have combat officer training, which is normally a prerequisite for admission to the course for medical officers.] The two corps [commanders] also knew that Goldstein, while attending the army’s course for medical officers, had become notorious as an anti-Arab extremist.
According to other Hebrew press reports, some of Goldstein’s trainee colleagues demanded that he be dismissed from the course; their demand was refused. Oren related: “[Goldstein] was already then protected by highly placed people in senior ministries. Those patrons requested that Goldstein be allowed to serve in Kiryat Arba rather than in a combat battalion.” The situation then developed into “a bone of contention between the commander of the army’s medical corps and its chief rabbi.” Oren continued:
In the end the issue of what to do with an officer who openly refused to obey orders by invoking Halakha has never been resolved, even if that officer openly refused to provide medical help both to Israeli soldiers and POWs. Can we avoid being stunned by the army’s failure to court-martial Goldstein? Why was no order to court-martial him ever issued by the entire chain of the army command? That chain of command included the commander of the northern command, Reserve General Ori Orr (b. 1939) [a Labor MK and later in 1994 the chairman of the Knesset Committee for Foreign and Defense Affairs], and General Amos Yaron (b. 1940), who now is the commander of the manpower department. Why did they refuse to decide without first consulting the chief rabbi? The already embarrassed medical corps [commanders] now [after the massacre] admit that they were scared by publicity that might have propelled the religious parties and religious settlers’ lobbies to make things more of a mess than ever before. The fear of publicity time after time prompted the army commanders to give in to all kinds of Goldsteins, rather than to denounce their views and court-martial them.
Many sources corroborated Oren’s hinting that this Goldstein situation did not constitute a unique case. The story told by Oren revealed the pervasiveness of the religious parties’ influence in the Israeli army. Jewish orthodoxy’s stance against non-Jews, as openly advocated by Goldstein’s idolized leader, Rabbi Meir Kahane (1932-1990), was – and still is – an essential position held by the major religious parties. As such, this stance has had a strong impact upon the Israeli army. Had Rabin and the army commanders mentioned by Oren, moreover, felt no affinity whatsoever with Kahane’s and Goldstein’s views, they would not have given in to the religious parties with such abandon and thus sacrificed all consideration of military discipline. Israeli policies, directed towards Palestinians, other Middle East Arabs (perceived by Zionists as non-Jews) and people of other nations, are only explainable by assuming that they are based upon anti-Gentile feeling. The anti-Gentile feeling is strongest among the most religious Jews but exists as well in this secular milieu. This is the reason why support for Goldstein in 1984 and 1985 had a sequel in the excuses by many Israeli leaders for the slaughter. These excuses were thinly disguised by mostly hypocritical expressions of shock.
Goldstein’s refusal to give proper medical treatment to non-Jews continued after he was transferred to Kiryat Arba. In his February 27,1994 Yediot Ahronot article, Nahum Barnea (b. 1944) wrote:
The senior Israeli army officer in the Hebron area told me about his two encounters with Baruch Goldstein. The second time he saw him was in the company of Kach goons who were abusing President Ezer Weizman (1924-2005) during his visit to Kiryat Arba. The first time he encountered Goldstein was after an Israeli soldier had wounded a local Arab in his legs. The Arab was brought to an army clinic for treatment, but Goldstein refused to treat him. Another army physician had to be summoned to substitute for Goldstein. The officer did not explain why Goldstein was thereafter not demoted in rank but was rather allowed to keep performing his duties in the reserves. Incidentally, his misconduct also constituted a violation of the oath he had taken upon becoming a doctor, but for this the Israeli army cannot be blamed.
Barnea made clear that the entire Israeli establishment, not just the army, was responsible for the leniency granted to Goldstein for his misdeeds. The leniency lasted until the massacre. Only after the massacre did the official line change to shock, coupled with assertions that Goldstein had acted alone. Thus, during the first three hours after the slaughter Rabin and his retinue insisted either that Goldstein was a psychopath or that he was a devoted doctor who happened to suffer a momentary derangement. Barnea reported: “Within hours a whole edifice of rationalization was built, according to which Goldstein had allegedly been under unbearable mental pressure, because he had to attend so many wounded and dead [persons], including Arabs.” The men who propagated this lie knew that Goldstein had refused to treat Arabs. Barnea continued: “Thus, the Arabs were made guilty for what he could not avoid doing. The implication was that the Arabs assaulted him rather than the other way around and that he really acted for the benefit of the Arabs by letting them finally realize that Jewish blood could not be shed with impunity.” This brazen lie was maintained as long as possible before being abandoned without apology. The propagation of such a lie reveals the influence of Jewish fundamentalism upon the secular parts of the Israeli establishment.
Goldstein represented Jewish fundamentalism in the extreme. Some of the Gush Emunim leaders at the time of the massacre were only a bit less extreme. Barnea compared Goldstein’s attitude toward non-Jews with that of Rabbi Moshe Levinger (1935-2015), the Gush Emunim leader whom he interviewed on the day of the massacre:
Levinger was in a good mood; after arguing about how religious settlers should respond to the massacre, he shortly before had won the three hour debate at a session of the Kiryat Arba municipality. The secretary of the Council of Judea, Samaria and Gaza District, Uri Ariel (b. 1952), [who became director of the prime minister’s office in 1998] proposed condemning the massacre. Levinger staked his authority behind the proposal that the [Israeli] government should instead be condemned [for putting Goldstein] under unbearable mental pressure [propelling him to action].
In the discussion the terms “murder,” “massacre” or “killing” were avoided; instead the terms used were “deed,” “event” or “occurrence.” The reason is that according to the Halakha the killing by a Jew of a non-Jew under any circumstances is not regarded as murder. It may be prohibited for other reasons, especially when it causes danger for Jews. In many cases the real feelings about a Jew murdering non-Jews, expressed in Israel with impunity, correspond to the law. Levinger told Barnea that the resolution “expresses in passing” the sorrow about dead Arabs “even though it emphasizes the responsibility of the government.” When asked by Barnea whether he felt sorry, Levinger answered: “I am sorry not only about dead Arabs but also about dead flies.”
Goldstein on principle had refused to treat non-Jews for many years before the massacre. He worked as the municipal doctor of Kiryat Arba and treated Arabs only when he could not avoid doing so. Barnea quoted one of Goldstein’s colleagues from the Kiryat Arba clinic who recalled that “whenever Goldstein arrived at a traffic accident spot and recognized that some of the injured were Arabs, he would attend to them but only until another doctor arrived. Then, he would stop treating them. ‘This was his compromise between his doctor’s oath and his ideology,’ said his colleague.”
The Halakha enjoins precisely the behavior of Goldstein’s refusing to attend non-Jews. The Halakha dictates that a pious Jewish doctor may treat Gentiles when his refusal to do so might be reported to the authorities and cause him or other Jews unpleasantness. There is reason to believe that whenever doctors as pious as Goldstein were forced to treat Arabs they behaved as did Goldstein. In his previously cited Yediot Ahronot article, Arych Kizel added that the Israeli army found that Goldstein’s conduct did not require any disciplinary measures. A Maariv correspondent wrote in his March 8, 1994 article that Goldstein’s military service record was sufficiently distinguished to earn him a ceremonial promotion from the rank of captain to that of major. The president of Israel would have officially awarded this promotion on May 14, 1994, Israel’s independence day. Only Goldstein’s death, which occurred at the time of the massacre, prevented what would have been a revealing promotion.
An even greater example of Jewish fundamentalism’s influence upon the secular part of the Israeli establishment can be detected in the official arrangement of Goldstein’s elaborate funeral at a time that the deliberate character of the massacre could not be denied. The establishment was affected by the fact, widely reported in the Hebrew press but given little place in the foreign press, that within two days of the massacre the walls of religious neighborhoods of west Jerusalem (and to a lesser extent of many other religious neighborhoods) were covered by posters extolling Goldstein’s virtues and complaining that he did not manage to kill more Arabs. Children of religious settlers who came to Jerusalem to demonstrate sported buttons for months after the massacre that were inscribed: “Dr Goldstein cured Israel’s ills.” Numerous concerts of Jewish religious music and other events often developed into demonstrations of tribute to Goldstein. The Hebrew press reported these incidents of public tribute in copious detail. No major politician protested against such celebrations.
President Ezer Weizman (1924-2005) expressed more extravagantly than others his sorrow for the massacre. Weizman, as reported by Uzi Benziman in his March 4, 1994 Haaretz article, was also engaged in lengthy and amiable negotiations with Goldstein’s family and Kach comrades concerning a suitably honorable funeral for the murderer. Kiryat Arba settlers, many of whom had already declared themselves in favor of the mass murder in radio and television interviews and had lauded Goldstein as a martyr and holy man, demanded that General Danny Yatom (b. 1945), the commander responsible for the Hebron area, allow the funeral cortege to parade through the city of Hebron, in order to be viewed by the Arabs even though a curfew existed. Yatom did not object outright to the demand but opposed it as something that could cause disorder. Tzvi Katzover [Note: worth investigating], the mayor of Kiryat Arba and one of the most extreme leaders of the religious settlers, telephoned Weizman and threatened that the settlers would make a pogrom of Arabs if their demands were not met. Weizman responded by telephoning the chief of staff and asking why the army opposed the demand of the settlers. According to Benziman, Chief of Staff Ehud Barak (b. 1942) answered: “The army was afraid that Arabs would desecrate Goldstein’s tomb and carry away his corpse.” In further negotiations involving Ehud Barak, Danny Yatom, Yitzhak Rabin, Kach leaders and Kiryat Arba settlers, Weizman assumed the consistent position, as stated by Benziman, that “the army should pay respect to the desires and sensibilities of the settlers and of the Goldstein family.” Ultimately, the negotiated decision was that a massively attended funeral cortege would take place in Jerusalem and that the police would close some of the busiest streets to the traffic in Goldstein’s honor. Afterwards, the murderer would be buried in Kiryat Arba along the continuation of Kahane Avenue. According to Benziman, Kach leaders at first rejected this compromise. General Yatom had to approach the Kach leaders in person and beg them abjectly for their agreement, which he finally secured. Yatom also had to obtain consent from the notorious Kiryat Arba rabbi, Dov Lior (b. 1933). As reported in the March 4, 1994, issue of Yerushalaim Lior declared: “Since Goldstein did what he did in God’s own name, he is to be regarded as a righteous man.” Benziman explained the conduct of Weizman and his entourage: “After the fact the officials of the presidential mansion justify those goings on by the need to becalm the settlers’ mood.” After the funeral the army provided a guard of honor for Goldstein’s tomb.
The tomb became a pilgrimage site, not only for the religious settlers but also for delegations of pious Jews from all Israeli cities.
The details of Goldstein’s funeral as arranged through the office of President Weizman are significant. The facts below were taken mostly from the Ilana Baum and Tzvi Singer report, published in Yedioth Ahronot on February, 28 1994. The funeral’s first installment took place in Jerusalem. Among the estimated thousand mourners only a few were settlers from Kiryat Arba. Baum and Singer noted: “Without having met Goldstein personally, other mourners most of whom were Jerusalemites, were enthusiastic admirers of his deed. Many more were Yeshiva students. A large group represented the Chabad Hasidic movement, another group [consisted of anti- Zionist] Satmar Hassids.” Other Hassidic movements were also well represented. (Not mentioned in the English-language press, Goldstein, a follower of Meir Kahane (1932-1990), was also a follower of the Lubovitcher rabbi [Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994).) Baum and Singer continued:
People awaiting the arrival of the corpse could be heard repeating: “What a hero! A righteous person! He did it on behalf of all of us.” As usual in such encounters between religious Jews, all the participants tuned into a single, collective personality, united by their burning hatred of the Israeli media, the wicked Israeli government and, above all else, of anyone who dared to speak against the murder.
Before the start of the procession well-known rabbis eulogized Goldstein and commended the murder. Rabbi Yisrael Ariel (b. 1939), for example, said: “The holy martyr, Baruch Goldstein, is from now on our intercessor in heaven. Goldstein did not act as an individual; he heard the cry of the land of Israel, which is being stolen from us day after day by the Muslims. He acted to relieve that cry of the land!” Toward the end of his eulogy Rabbi Ariel added: “The Jews will inherit the land not by any peace agreement but only by shedding blood.” Ben-Shoshan Yeshu’a, a Jewish Underground member, sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and amnestied after a few years spent under luxurious hotel conditions, lauded Goldstein and praised his action as an example for other Jews to follow.
Border guards, police and the secret police protected the funeral cortege. Baum and Singer related:
An entire unit of border guards precede the cortege; they were followed by young Kahane group members from Jerusalem who continuously yelled: “death to the Arabs.” While obviously intending to find an Arab to kill, they could not spot one. Suddenly, a border guard noticed an Arab approaching the cortege behind a low fence. The border guard immediately jumped over the fence, stopped the Arab and, using force, led him away to safety before anyone could notice. He [the border guard] thus saved him [the Arab] from a certain lynching.
Behind the young Kahane group members was a coffin, which was surrounded by leaders of Kahane splinter groups, some of whom were wanted by the police. (The police and the secret police claimed later that they did not recognize these wanted leaders. The press correspondents easily recognized them.) Baum wrote:
Tiran Polak, a Kahane group leader wanted by the police, granted me an interview near the coffin. “Goldstein was not only righteous and holy,” he told me, “but also a martyr. Since he is a martyr, his corpse will be buried without being washed, not in a shroud but in his clothes. The honorable Dr. Goldstein has always refused to provide medical help to Arabs. Even during the war for Galilee he refused to treat any Arab, including those serving in the army. General Gad Navon (1922-2006), the chief rabbi of the Israeli army, at that time contacted Meir Kahane (1932-1990) to ask him to persuade Baruch Goldstein of blessed memory to treat the Arabs. Kahane, however, refused to do so, because this would be against the Jewish religion.” Suddenly the crowd began yelling: “Death to the journalists.” I looked around and realized that I was the only journalist inside the crowd of mourners. I clung to Tiran Polak and begged him to “please protect me.” I was scared to death that the crowd might recognize me as a journalist.
Military guards transported Goldstein’s coffin to Kiryat Arba through Palestinian villages. A second round of eulogies was delivered in the hall of the Hesder Yeshiva Nir military institution by a motley of religious settlers, including the aforementioned Rabbi Dov Lior (b. 1933). Lior said: “Goldstein was full of love for fellow human beings. He dedicated himself to helping others.” The terms “human beings” and “others” in the Halakha refer solely to Jews. Lior continued: “Goldstein could not continue to bear the humiliations and shame nowadays inflicted upon us; this was why he took action for no other reason than to sanctify the holy name of God.”
Tohay Hakah reported in Yerushalaim on March 4, 1994 upon another Dov Lior (b. 1933) eulogy of Goldstein a few days after the funeral. He recalled that Lior several years ago was excoriated in the press for recommending that medical experiments be performed on the live bodies of Arab terrorists. The outcry against this recommendation influenced the attorney general to prevent the otherwise guaranteed election of Dov Lior (b. 1933) to the Supreme Rabbinical Council of Israel. The attorney general, however, did not interfere with Lior’s current rabbinical duties. The press reported upon other eulogies, delivered not only in religious settlements but in religious neighborhoods of many Israeli towns during the days immediately following the slaughter. The Hebrew press reportage of these eulogies suggests that the most virulent lauding of Goldstein and the calling for further massacres of Arabs occurred in the more homogeneous religious communities.
The approval of Goldstein and his mass murder extended well beyond the perimeters of the religious Jewish community. Secular Israeli Jews, especially many of the youth, praised Goldstein and his deed. That Israeli youth were even more pleased by the massacre than were the adults is well-documented. The concern here nevertheless will be with the adult population, which in many ways is the most significant. According to Yuval Katz, who wrote an article published in the March 4, 1994 issue of Yerushalaim, it is not true that “with the exception of a few psychopaths, the entire nation and its politicians included, has resolutely condemned Dr. Goldstein, even though, luckily for us, all major television networks in the world were last week still deluded by this untruth.” Katz told how a popular television entertainer, Rafi Reshef (b. 1957), who was not controlled as tightly as the moderators in sedate panels, “could this week announce the findings of some reliable polls.” Katz continued:
It is important that according to one poll about 50 per cent of Kiryat Arba inhabitants approve of the massacre. More important is another poll that showed that about 50 per cent of Israeli Jews are more sympathetic toward the settlers after the massacre than they were before the massacre. The most important poll established that at least 50 per cent of Israeli Jews would approve of the massacre, provided that it was not referred to as a massacre but rather as a “Patriarch’s Cave operation,” a nice-sounding term already being used by religious settlers.
Katz reported that the politicians and academics interviewed by Reshef failed to grasp the significance of those findings. Attributing them to a chance occurrence, they refused to comment upon them. He tended to excuse them:
I presume that those busy public figures, along with everybody else who this week exerted himself to speak in the name of the entire nation simply did not have time to walk the streets in the last days. Yet, with the exception of the wealthiest neighborhoods, people could be seen smiling merrily when talking about the massacre. The stock popular comment was: “Sure, Goldstein is to be blamed. He could have escaped with ease and have done the same in four other mosques, but he didn’t.”
The impression of many other Israelis corresponded to the Reshef findings. People were rather evenly divided into two categories: in one category the people were vociferous in cheering the slaughter; in the other category the people mostly remained silent and condemned the massacre only if encouraged to do so. Katz continued:
Therefore, this was the right time to draw finally the obvious conclusion that we, the Jews, are not any more sensitive or merciful than are the Gentiles. Many Jews have been programmed by the same racist computer program that is shaping the majority of the world’s nations. We have to acknowledge that our supposed advancement in progressive beliefs and democracy have failed to affect the archaic forms of Jewish tribalism. Those who still delude themselves that Jews might be different than [people of] other nations should now know better. The spree of bullets from Goldstein’s gun was for them an occasion to learn something.
The wise comments of Katz were not heeded in Israel except by a minority. It may be that had more Israeli Jews paid attention and heeded the words of Katz the murder of Yitzhak Rabin (1922-1995) would have been averted. In the view of this book’s authors, the important difference between the real shock caused by Rabin’s murder and the lack of shock caused by Goldstein’s massacre lies in the fact that Goldstein’s victims were non-Jews.
Although less direct than Katz, many other commentators in the Israeli Hebrew press have focused upon that part of the Israeli Jewish public who were shocked by the rejoicing over the massacre of innocent people and disturbed by the apologia offered by many politicians and public figures. Some of those people who were shocked described the backers of and apologists for Goldstein as “Nazis” or “Nazi-like.” These same people, who can be considered moderate hawks rather than Zionist doves, had before the massacre reacted negatively to the use by a few Israeli Jewish critics of such terminology in describing a part of the Israeli Jewish population. These “moderate hawks” had habitually labelled many Arab organizations, such as the Abu Nidal group (1974-2002) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (founded 1967), “Nazi” or “Nazi-like.” They did not repudiate their views about these Arab organizations; they merely concluded that some Jewish individuals and organizations also merit being so labelled on equal terms with some Arabs. The prestigious journalist, Teddy Preuss, reflected upon all of this in a most severe but substantially representative manner in his March 4, 1994 Davar article:
Compared to the giant-scale mass murderers of Auschwitz, Goldstein was certainly a petty murderer. His recorded statements and those of his comrades, however, prove that they were perfectly willing to exterminate at least two million Palestinians at an opportune moment. This makes Dr. Baruch Goldstein (1956-1994) comparable to Dr. Josef Mengele (1911-1979); the same holds true for anyone saying that he [or she] would welcome more of such Purim holiday celebrations. [The massacre occurred on that holiday.] Let us not devalue Goldstein by comparing him with an inquisitor or a Muslim Jihad fighter. Whenever an infidel was ready to convert to either Christianity or Islam, an inquisitor or Muslim Jihad fighter would, as a rule, spare his life. Goldstein and his admirers are not interested in converting Arabs to Judaism. As their statements abundantly testify, they see the Arabs as nothing more than disease-spreading rats, lice or other loathsome creatures; this is exactly how the Nazis believed that the Aryan race alone had laudable qualities that were inheritable but that could become polluted by sheer contact with dirty and morbid Jews. Meir Kahane (1932-1990), who learned nothing from the Nuremberg Laws (1935), had exactly the same notions about the Arabs.
Really, Kahane had the same notions about non-Jews. Although less scathing than Preuss, other Israeli commentators suggested the same consideration.
In contrast to the above criticism were the even more numerous comments about the harm caused to Israeli Jews by the Goldstein massacre. The lament in the February 28, 1994 Haaretz Economic Supplement, for example, was headlined: “Goldstein’s massacre caused distress on the Tel-Aviv stock market.” Other papers voiced similar sentiments. More importantly, Shimon Peres (1923-2016) and other senior dovish politicians presented a typical political apologia in their criticism of the massacre, which they delivered in a meeting of the Knesset Committee for Foreign and Defense Affairs. Specific detail of this meeting is included below to illustrate the real opinions of most Israeli politicians and their general disregard of a major massacre of non-Jews except as it affected the interests of Israel and its allies. A March 8, 1994 Haaretz article reported the discussion at this meeting. Peres wasted no time expressing heartfelt shock about the murdered Palestinians but spoke instead about the harm to Israel caused by the “pictures of corpses that the entire world could watch.” Peres did not condemn the armed religious settlers for their public rejoicing and shooting; he deplored the harm caused to Israel and to themselves by the pictures of them. As quoted in Haaretz, Peres added: “The events in Hebron also adversely affected the interests of President Hosni Mubarak> (1928-2020) and King Hussein of Jordan (1935-1999), and even more of the PLO and its leadership.” Peres then went on to say: “We have had Jewish Kibbutzim located in the midst of Arab-inhabited areas for 80 years, and I cannot recall a single instance of such a slaughter nor of firing at Arab buses nor of maiming Arab mayors.” At this point in the discussion senior Likud politicians interpolated Peres. As reported in Haaretz:
The first to interrupt Peres’ speech was Ariel Sharon (1928-2014). “Kibbutzim are dear to me no less than to you, but there have been many cases when somebody from a kibbutz would go out to murder Arabs.” Peres answered: “The two cases are not comparable, because in the case under discussion the murderer was supported by a whole group of followers.” Benny Begin (b. 1943) [answered]: “Why are you always talking in generalities?” Peres [responded]: “I am not. I only maintain that in order to pursue the peace process we need the PLO as a partner, and now this partnership is in straits and we need to help the PLO.” Sharon [answered]: “You mean that we should help that murderer [Yasser Arafat (1929-2004)].” Peres, angrily banging the table [responded]: “And what about Egyptians with whom you, Likud, made peace? Didn’t Egyptians murder Jews? Really. What’s the difference between war and terrorism? Does it make any difference how 16,000 of our soldiers were killed? Everywhere, states are making deals with terror organizations.” Benjamin Netanyahu (b. 1949) [spoke]: “No state exists that has made a deal with an organization still committed to its destruction. The PLO has not rescinded the Palestinian Covenant. You are dwelling upon the crime committed in Hebron not in order to reassure people [Jews] living there but in order to advance your plan to establish a Palestinian state.” Peres [answered]: “It is you and your plans that will lead to the formation of a Palestinian state, because it is you, the Likud, that created the PLO in Madrid. It is you who conceived the autonomy in the first place, contrary to all our [previously pursued] aims.” Netanyahu [stated]: “Autonomy is not the same thing as a state.” Peres [continued]: “But it is Sharon who is first to say that autonomy is bound to lead to a Palestinian state ... I am not less steadfast than are you; this is why I have elaborated the most restrictive possible interpretation of autonomy in Oslo, in relation to its territory, power and authorities. This is why we are against international observers and consent only to the temporary presence of representatives from the countries contributing money [Note: That is; the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH)] . And regarding the Palestinian Covenant, they have renounced it publicly, but they find it difficult to convene their representative bodies to ratify this renunciation.” Begin [answered]: “Let me remind you that the PLO has not undertaken publicly to rescind the Palestinian Covenant.” Peres [answered]: “I don’t give a damn about you and/or your legalistic verbiage! Arafat said that he renounced the Palestinian Covenant and for me Arafat is the PLO.”
The above passage shows, among other things, that knowledge of Israeli politics and more generally Jewish affairs can be best attained by using the original sources of what Jews say among themselves.
The continuing process of Goldstein’s elevation to the rank of saint by groups of Israeli Jews and his worship as such began soon after the massacre. In his February 28, 1994 Haaretz article, Shmuel Rosner (b. 1968) recounted a sermon delivered on the Sabbath after the massacre by Rabbi Shlomo Goren (1917-1994), the former chief military rabbi and chief rabbi of Israel. Rosner wrote: “Goren’s conclusion was that next time an authorization would be needed for a massacre. The authorization should come from the community ‘not from the [present] illegal government.’” Rosner observed that the audience liked Goren’s sermon but would have preferred, as would numerous other Israeli Jews, that the army rather than Goldstein had committed the massacre.
In the days and weeks after the massacre, appreciation of Goldstein and his deed spread throughout the Israeli religious community and among its supporters in the United States. The initial expressions of that appreciation may be most significant, because they were spontaneous and because they illustrated the influence, even beyond the messianic community, of an ideology that approved indiscriminate killing of Gentiles by Jews. Avirama Golan described in her February 28, 1994 Haaretz article how news about Goldstein on the day of the massacre became known in the overwhelmingly Haredi city of Bnei Brak and how the next day a religious Jewish crowd reacted with praise of Goldstein during a mass entertainment event. The massacre occurred on Purim, the festival during which religious Jews are merry and sometimes drink alcoholic beverages to the point of drunkenness. Bnei Brak streets were filled to capacity by joyful celebrants that day; a special security force, comprised of religious veterans of the Israeli army’s elite units, had been hired by the mayor to enforce order and modesty. Golan described the response in the streets to the spreading news of the massacre:
A hired security guard, with a huge gun in his belt, a black skullcap on his head, and special insignia of “Bnei Brak Security Team” on his chest, stared at a fundraising stall. Then he noticed his pal across the street. “A Purim miracle, I’m telling you, Purim miracle,” he shouted at the top of his voice. “That holy man did something great. 52 Arabs at one stroke.” However, the fundraiser, a slim yeshiva student, was skeptical. “That’s just impossible,” he said. “Those must be just stories.” But the people standing around confirmed the news. “It was on the radio,” they said. “Where?” “In the Patriarchs’ Cave in Hebron.” The yeshiva student turned pale. “I don’t mind the Arabs, but it is us who will pay the price,” he said. “What are you talking about?” the security guard shouted, “It’s a Purim miracle. God has helped.” People around the stall formed two groups: on the one hand those who said that God Himself ordained a well-deserved punishment of the Arabs; on the other, those who remained silent throughout. The fundraiser went on writing receipts and shaking his head. “Oh,” he said, “nothing really happened.” The Bnei Brak functionary’s wife said that dozens of visitors who, as is customary on Purim, visited their home that morning, were shocked. “By the murder?” somebody asked. “To tell you the truth, not exactly by the murder. About what may now happen to the Jews.”
Jumping to the evening of the next day, Golan continued: “Masses of religious Jews were expected to come to Yad Eliahu Stadium [the biggest in Israel] to be entertained by the famous religious jazz singer, Mordechai Ben-David (b. 1951). For months before the massacre, this evening had been planned as a demonstration intended to save the land of Israel from Rabin, Peres and other Jewish infidels.” All factions of the religious community were represented in the crowd. Golan again continued:
The first part of the evening passed quietly and even rather dully. Only after the intermission, some minutes before the star of the evening was to appear, the crowd went on a rampage. The master of the ceremony called upon a Kiryat Arba resident to address the crowd. He started by praising that “righteous and holy physician, Dr. Goldstein, who rendered us a sacred service and got martyred in the process.” The speaker called upon the audience to mourn him. By and large, the audience remained silent. Some applauded. Only a single individual, wearing a small beard and a knitted skullcap, stood up and yelled: “I disagree; that was a cold-blooded murder!” Instantly he was physically assaulted. Many in the crowd yelled: “Kick the infidel out of the hall!” The tempers calmed down only when Ben-David finally appeared on the stage and began singing. Outside after the performance some people reminisced that more Gentiles had been killed by the Jews in Susa during the original Purim [75,000]. They, therefore, reasoned that this was the right time to kill a comparable number of Gentiles in the holy land.
No wonder that Dov Halvertal, a member of the almost defunct faction of the NRP doves, told Golan: “This Purim joy epitomizes the moral collapse of religious Zionism ... If religious Zionism does not undertake soul-searching right now, I doubt if it will ever have another opportunity.”
Subsequent developments showed that neither the religious Zionists nor other factions within the Jewish religious community were or are in any mood to engage in soul-searching. On the contrary, the appreciation of Goldstein and the feeling that Jews have a right and duty to kill Gentiles who live in the land of Israel are growing. In his March 23, 1994 Haaretz article, Nadav Shragai (b. 1959) discussed the visit of a delegation of all Israeli branches of the Bnei Akiva, the large youth movement affiliated with the NRP, to Kiryat Arba and Hebron, which was then under a curfew selectively applied to its Arab inhabitants. The purpose of this visit was to “encourage Jewish settlers.” Yossi Leibowitz, a settler leader from Hebron [Note: worth investigating], as described by Shragai, “beaming with satisfaction visible in his face asked the delegation: ‘Have you already visited the tomb of holy Rabbi Doctor Goldstein?’ ” The visitors rejected the suggestion but did not utter one word of rebuke to the worshippers of the new saint. They then had to withstand a flurry of abuse from their local Bnei Akiva comrades who argued that their refusal to pay homage to Goldstein amounted to support of the left. Local rabbis affiliated with the NRP seconded the denunciation. Rabbi Shimon Ben-Zion, a senior teacher in the local Hesder Yeshiva and hence a state employee, delivered a eulogy of Goldstein and of what he called “his act.” He added: “[If the government] keeps bowing low to Arabs, all of whom are murderers, [and if] the Jews fail to establish a firm rule over the land of Israel [there will be] more Goldsteins.” Most visitors made counter-arguments; they were nevertheless influenced by their hosts’ arguments; they came to believe that their duty to support the Jewish settlers in Hebron was more important than any minor disagreements about Goldstein’s sainthood.
Gabby Baron reported in the March 16, 1994 Yedioth Ahronot:
Deputy Minister of Education Micha Goldman (b. 1948) was physically assaulted yesterday after delivering a welcoming speech at a meeting of Jerusalem’s district teachers in the Binyaney Ha’umah hall in that city. He managed to avoid being hurt. His speech infuriated dozens of religious teachers, because he talked about his visit to Kiryat Arba and the shock he experienced when finding how enthused the religious school children were by the massacre in the Cave of the Patriarchs. A virtual riot erupted in the hall, which was filled by about 5000 Jerusalem district teachers, as soon as he spoke about it. Dozens of religious teachers jumped onto the podium. A female teacher who managed to reach it [the podium] picked up a flowerpot from the speaker’s table; she was ready to hurl it at him when at the last moment she balked. All the religious teachers assembled in rage in front of the podium and decried the deputy minister as “a fascist.” Goldman insisted upon continuing his speech. When he ended, he had to leave the building under heavy guard, thanks to which the pursuing teachers were unable to injure him.
Neither Education Minister Amnon Rubinstein (1931-2024) nor Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (1922-1995) uttered a single word in condemnation of the incident.
On April 5, 1994, Israeli radio reported that Rabbi Shimon Ben-Zion had distributed a leaflet among the Kiryat Arba and Hebron settlers requesting financial contributions for a book about “Saint Baruch Goldstein.” On April 6, Yedioth Ahronot published the text. The book refers to Goldstein as “Rabbi Doctor Baruch Goldstein of blessed memory, let the Lord avenge his blood.” The Kiryat Arba municipal council backed the ideas of Ben-Zion. In his April 5, 1994 Haaretz article, Amnon Barzilay reported that two days earlier Gush Emunim leaders, including Mayor Benny Katzover [Note: worth investigating], had an amicable talk with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (1922-1995) who apologized to them for his past outbursts against them and promised never to repeat them. (The outbursts anyway were intended for consumption of the Israeli “doves,” Yasser Arafat (1929-2004) and the Western media.) The two sides agreed to cooperate closely in the future. Thus, Rabin understandably found it ill-advised to say anything about Rabbi Ben-Zion’s idea.
About one year later the Kiryat Arba municipality obtained a permit from the Civil Administration of the Occupied Territories to build a large and sumptuous memorial on Goldstein’s tomb, which has become a place of pilgrimage. Thousands of Jews from all Israeli cities, and even more from the United States and France, have come to light candles and pray for the intercession of “holy saint and martyr,” now in a special section of paradise close to God and able to obtain for them various benefits, such as cures for diseases from which they suffer, or to grant them male offspring. The visitors have donated money for Goldstein’s comrades. No Orthodox rabbi has criticized this.
The well-publicized worship of the new saint has brought increasing opposition from secular Jews. (The opposition of Palestinians, especially those living in Hebron, to the hero-worship of Goldstein and to the monument to this mass murderer are not within the scope of this book but should be obvious.) After a long campaign in the press, Knesset members passed a piece of legislation in May, 1998, that prohibited the building of monuments for mass murderers and ordering removal of existing ones. The Israeli army should have removed the monument immediately after passage of the law in the Knesset. Instead army spokesmen announced that negotiations over the Goldstein monument were on-going with Goldstein’s family and local rabbis.
The book in praise of Goldstein, titled Blessed is the Man, was published in 1995 and sold in many editions. Most of the readers were from the religious public. The book contained eulogies of Goldstein and halakhic justifications for the right of every Jew to kill non-Jews. Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh (b. 1944), the then head of the Kever Yosef (Tomb of Joseph) Yeshiva [Od Yosef Chai], located on the outskirts of Nablus, wrote one chapter of that book. The essence of Rabbi Ginsburgh’s views were presented in Chapter 4. His and other such ideologies, even if expressed more cautiously, explain Goldstein’s massacre, the considerable support Goldstein and later his followers have received from religious Jews and the ambiguous attitude of Israeli governments to this crime. Those people, especially Germans, who were silent and did not condemn Nazi ideology before Hitler came to power are also, at least in a moral sense, guilty for the terrible consequences that followed. Similarly, those who are silent and do not condemn Jewish Nazism, as exemplified by the ideologies of Goldstein and Ginsburgh, especially if they are Jews, are guilty of the terrible consequences that may yet develop as a result of their silence.