Day: Sep 7, 2023

RNPS: Seaman Arthur James Gibson [1911-1997] (NO: JX381363) – HMS BEAUMARIS CASTLE (Minesweeper) – [North Atlantic] Commemorative Service Medal Award [1939-1945]! (7.9.2023)

I am told that during WWII – the RNPS lost around 250 ships protecting the UK coasts from Nazi German aggression! My grandfather assisted in the ongoing process of keeping the sea-lanes ‘free’ of Nazi German sea-mines that did so much damage to Allied shipping! Linked above is the article recording his official MOD Medals issued in 1950 for his Military Service – but this article is about a special RNPS Commemorative Medal which we had to apply for (and finance) separately – which honours the fight the men of the RNPS put-up to secure the freedom we enjoy today! Furthermore, my family in the UK are proud that our grandfather assisted the hundreds of ships that formed the Russian Arctic Convoys which carried much needed aid to our Allies in the Soviet Union! Long Live the Royal Navy Patrol Service!

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UK: British Museum Faces Renewed Calls to Return Cultural Relics! (7.9.2023)

“They are the subject of loot. They were illegally taken out of the country,” Tijani said. He demanded the British Museum give back the Benin Bronzes, which British forces took in 1897.

“It is irrespective whether they are safe there. That is not an issue. The issue is that these are stolen artefacts, and they should be returned to Nigeria to the communities that they belong to,” he added.

Bell Ribeiro-Addy, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Afrikan Reparations, threw light on the “insulting ridiculousness” of the British Museum’s refusal to return artefacts to their country of origin on security grounds.

“One of the most insulting reasons that they’ve given is that the other countries that these items belong to would either not be able to take care of them or they are likely to be stolen,” she said. “But you’ve got people in this country putting them on eBay.”

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1986: Video of Me Attending a Shukokai ‘Karate-Do’ Course! (7.9.2023)

Hereford is the place where the (professional) 22nd Special Air Service (SAS) has its military base and airfield. Many men in this area either have been in the British Army – or are members of the ‘V’ (‘Volunteer’) Squadron of the SAS. This is a ‘Territorial Army’ (TA) Unit in the 22nd SAS that allows local men to try ‘Selection’ and if successful – join this highly elite group of men. Believe or not – there are individuals out there who are not in the British Army (and have never been in the military) and yet are physically and psychologically tough enough to meet this challenge!

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