Great Britain's H.E.I.C. Nemesis for China.

Sometimes grand achievements are blighted by dreadful origins. I suppose we sometimes look back at the Roman Empire, or any other, and think of its wonders but don't take into account the suffering of the many that succumbed to such power of a grand empire - the many people that are caught up in its suffering. I think this is often so of the British Empire. Sometimes something grand comes out of dreadful and ominous beginnings. It's no consolation to those who suffered the horrendous beginning, however. 

Model of H.E.I.C. Nemesis

In the late 1830s, Great Britain was full of private overseas companies searching the orient for trade. These British run companies would often use the vast Royal Navy to protect their trade interests. When looking at the vast areas of land, that Great Britain was beginning to rule; the empty areas of Australia, Canada and Africa paled when compared to the vast oceans used to gain access to the ageing civilizations of China and India.

Technology wise, the old and ancient civilizations of Asia had become stagnant but their produce of food and other materials offered vast bounties for the entrepreneurs of Europe – especially the British who had gained an enormous advantage with the growth of its Navy and developing industrial abilities.

The rulers of China had become over confident in their old and, once mighty, territory. In reality, the nation of China was less of a match for the more unscrupulous trade companies and adventurers of Great Britain then realised. Sometimes the vast and very great Empire of Great Britain is seen in a perspective of grand achievement, but it is also fair to look at it in another light – the one which shows immoral civilian profiteers using evil methods of acquiring trade.

The British business companies of the time wanted Chinese tea, which was now very popular in Great Britain and other parts of the Empire. Instead of using money to trade for tea, the British transported and used opium as a currency for China's tea and caused a terrible drug problem.

When the Chinese rulers witnessed the apathy and degradation that opium caused among its population they tried to halt the trade of opium. The British companies would not oblige by the Chinese rulers’ demands and attempted to continue trading in opium. Therefore, China excluded Great Britain from trading in their ports.

The British industrialists called upon the British government to employ the Royal Navy to protect their interests and in 1839 began to attack Chinese ports and occupy them with land forces.

H.E.I.C. Nemesis destroying Chinese Junks in 1841

During one of the prominent events of the First Opium War, in 1841, a state of the art ship owned by the East India Company called H.E.I.C. Nemesis went up the River Yangtze after Canton was captured by the British. Chinese junk ships were sent to confront the huge paddle steamer but the fire power of the East India company, British ship, was devastating and the fleet of junks were destroyed or dispersed. The British continued up the river and captured the tax barges, which denied the Chinese government huge revenue. It was the major blow to China’s Qing authority – the war lasted until 1842 when Chinese Qing authorities in Peking were forced to sue for peace. The Treaty of Nanking was signed and Great Britain gained Hong Kong as a foothold into China – a deep water port, and a way of trusting imperial China to stick to its part of the bargain.

The British continued to trade opium for tea. Hong Kong developed into a huge industrial powerhouse, becoming a place of prominent trade and commerce until this day. The British remained in Hong Kong until 1997, but the blighted Opium Wars brought about this legacy.

Moyra Melons holiday ear rings.

Moyra Melons was a little self conscious when she went on holiday. The weather was nice and hot, but she thought her ear rings were a bit on the small side. People would not notice her, and secretly, Moyra liked to be noticed.

I need something that will make me stand out," said Moyra to her perplexed husband.

"Are you serious dear?" he replied gruffly and a little inebriated. He had had a few drinks in the hotel bar.

"Of course I'm serious," she replied. "These ear rings are a little small and people are not going to stop and stair at a pair like these, are they?"

Her poor husband coughed, "I think you might be a little surprised my dear. I think your ear rings look absolutely marvelous and I'm sure there will be plenty of other chaps that would agree with me."

"Do you really think so," beamed Moyra Melons. Once again her husband had found the right words. 

"Oh I do indeed." He was coming over with his usual hot flush. "Allow me to demonstrate why such ear rings would excite a man." He took her by the hand and led her from the balcony - closing the curtains after them.

They took an awful a long time to get ready and when they did finally go out; Moyra Melons' husband was so gratified, that he took her to a jewellers and bought her another pair of ear rings.

However, that is another story...

  

TORNADO DOWN - Peters & Nichol - Gulf War incident DVD

During the first Gulf War a British Tornado was shot down during a bombing raid over Iraq. The two aircrew (John Peters and John Nicol) ejected but were captured by Iraqi ground forces and paraded on Iraqi television as prisoners of war. We saw the flight navigator and pilot on our own news stations too. Many nations had their captured pilots paraded on TV. This was part of Saddam Hussein's properganda ploy during the first Gulf War. 

This was to force fears and concerns among the US led allies, but it did not work. The pilots did eventually return home to tell their remarkable stories, and the book below; Tornado Down, tells the story of pilot John Peters and flight navigator John Nicol. 

Tornado

Tornado aircraft are used by the RAF for ground attacks and on this occasion the crew approached their target during daylight at very low altitude to avoid radar detection. They completed their attack on Muharraq airfield but were hit by an enemy shoulder launched SAM SA14 missile.

Lady Pirates of Calico Jack's ship.

Mary Reid, Anne Bonney
and Calico Jack Rackam

 An English pirate called Calico Jack Rackam (1682-1720) was active towards the end of the Golden age of pirates between the years 1717 - 1720. He had mediocre achievements but enjoyed a colourful press because he dressed in fancy cheap bright clothes and had two female pirates in his crew. 

These two ladies were, Irish born, Anne Bonney and, English born, Mary Reid. He had formed a relationship with Anne Bonney but was ignorant of Mary Reid's gender because she dressed as a young man when first coming aboard ship.

It was rumoured that Anne Bonney was taken by Mary Reid - thinking her a young man. Calico Jack Rackam became jealous of his loved one's attention towards the young deck hand. When he decided on a reckoning; Mary Reid made her identity and gender known. This came as a surprise to Calico Jack and Anne Bonney but he kept her in the crew alongside Anne Bonney. Both women wore men's clothing during attacks on government vessels and then dressed in ladies clothes on other occasions. It is not known for sure when Mary Reid was born, but some put it at about 1690. Anne Bonney was younger and born in 1702.

Their vessel was captured in 1720 and the entire crew were put on trial in Spanish Town, Jamaica. Calico Jack was hanged with other members of his crew, but both Mary Reid and Anne Bonney claimed to be with child and were spared the hangman's noose. Mary Reid was said to be pregnant by the ship's artist and Anne Bonney by Calico Jack.

Mary Reid died in prison during child birth in 1721, but Anne Bonney survived and vanished from the history books. She was rumoured to have got away and lived out her life in South Carolina and died in 1782 at the age of 80.

Giving You The Bengal Lancers of the British Raj

Bengal Lancers during bygone days of the British Raj



The Bengal Lancers bring all sorts of romantic thoughts to mind and their name echoes in history. To the British, we see them as glorious horsemen in turbans patrolling the far-flung reaches of the British Empire during the times of the British Raj in India. The origins go back to around 1803 when the East India company were looking for a regiment of native Indian horseman to protect British trade interests in India.



This was a time of Empire and Britain was aspiring to become the dominant power in the world - competing with France - the superpower in Europe, where the island nation of Britain was protected by her vast Royal Navy from Napoleon's imperial ambitions.



James Skinner

In India, at this time, there was a young man called James Skinner of mixed race, born in Calcutta in 1778 to a British Lieutenant Colonel called Hercules Skinner, and an Indian Rajput Princess. Because of his mixed background, he could not get a commission in the British Army or East India Company's Army and so, for a time, he served as an Ensign in a private force under a French commander before joining the British Army.

Despite not having an officer's commission, he was still of high enough birth for the British Raj and Indian traders to accept his help in raising a force of horseman to protect booming trade interests in this part of the Empire. On his father's side, he had Scottish origins and his ancestors could also be traced back to Norman Knights who helped William the Conqueror in 1066. His Indian mother was also of high esteem in Rajput, but the mixing of both noble backgrounds from Europe and Asia was a handicap in the day and age of British Imperialism and Indian tradition.

He recruited local Indian horsemen and called them, Skinner's Horse (sometimes known as Yellow Boys because of the colour of their uniform) These were to become the Bengal Lancers. As the years moved on this famous regiment would change its title name on a number of occasions, but Skinner's name would always be associated with them long after his death in 1841.

Among the name changes, most people would know of 1st Regiment of Bengal Lancers or later 1st (Duke of York's Own) Bengal Lancers (Skinner's Horse) The names varied through the decades, but the Bengal Lancers would become notorious. While James Skinner still led them, they took part in the siege of Bharatpur in 1818. For this, he was granted a jagir which, in India, is a district of land - in Skinner's case, Hisar district.

Finally, in 1828, the British broke with their outdated tradition and showed their gratitude by making the mixed race James Skinner a Lieutenant Colonel.

1st Regiment of Bengal Lancers
During the time of the British Raj

His beloved 1st Regiment of Bengal Lancers (Skinner's Horse) would go on throughout the time of the British Raj. They saw action in the first Afghanistan War at Candahar in 1842, the second Afghanistan War of 1878-1880 and the third Afghanistan War of 1919. They also saw fighting in the First World War - on the Western Front and in the Balkans. Also the Boxer rebellion in China at the turn of the century.

When the British Raj ended in 1947, the Bengal Lancers moved over to the Indian Army and saw action in the Indian-Pakistan War.

Skinner's Horse (Yellow Boys)
Origin of Bengal Lancers

To many, their legend or image is that of the time when the, now obsolete, Raj ruled in India. There remains a romantic vision of them that sometimes shadows the old Empire's less appealing aspects - creating a colourful picture from a time when the world was different, and when adventurers still had an air of romance in a world that was very different from today.

Rush - Tom Sawyer (Reminds me of Stan Dolan)

When I worked in the Royal Mail, there was a work mate named Richard Dolan. We nicknamed him Stan Dolan and we always referred to him as Stan. He was the same age as me and there were a few of us that went in to the Royal Mail in 1979 at the age of 18.

One time he told us he had joined a rock band and they were playing live at a place called The Bridge House near the A13 flyover at Canning Town, East London. My friend and I went down to see Stan in his band and to be honest they were awful. They were a supporting band to another group that I liked.

When we were in work on the Monday, Stan said the other band sounded like Rush - an American rock group. Stan later brought in a tape of Rush so that I could listen to them. I can't remember the name of this Canning Town 3 piece band, but the song Tom Sawyer, sung by Rush, does remind me of them. Of course, Rush are so much more famous and nothing came of the rock band in Canning Town,to my knowledge. Nothing came of my late friend, Stan's band either. We did have a few laughs about it afterwards though and Stan laughed too. He liked a bit of good natured chuff. He introduced me to Rush and I always think of him when I hear this song. It reminds me of Stan's two week jaunt on the road to not becoming a rock star. I hope you are in a better band up there Stan... :)

Banderas - She Sells

You don't hear much about the Banderas anymore. They made a few haunting and compelling songs. I would suppose that the two ladies followed their own avenues in the music industry. I particularly like this one. The lyrics are good and the actual video sends a strong message about how ladies can sell anything with a kind smile and suggestion of other things too. 

I remember watching it for the first time after they were on a late programme singing their single; This is Your Life. Both songs were very good and very compelling. However, the lyrics and the video to this one do flick a switch with me, because what the Banderas are singing about, is very true indeed. 

I'm not sure if the band are just pointing out that when, (She Sells;) they are stating a fact. Or, if they are feminist and perhaps, a little annoyed by the reality of it all. If it is the later; I'm afraid I like the song and video because I don't mind being shallow and teased by the smiling lady selling things from an air line to a cheese cake. I might even have bought a cheese cake off of her... :)