Random Cuttings - James Stewart obituaries (1997)

3rd July 1997

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3rd July 1997

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James Stewart was not just a great film and theatre actor, he also flew Liberators and B24s in combat missions from Britain in World War II and was awarded the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the French Croix de Guerre among others.

I saw him close-up and personal once in 1975. He was signing autographs and chatting to fans outside the stage door of  the Prince of Wales Theatre in London's West End where he was starring in the play 'Harvey'.

Prospect of Peace at Easter (1919)

Evening Standard dated Wednesday March 12th 1919

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Fighting in the Great War or World War I ended with the Armistice on November 11th 1918 but didn't officially end until the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28th 1919, missing Easter by just over 2 months. Some say it didn't end until the Treaty of Sèvres was signed on August 10th 1920. The Paris Peace Conference began on January 18th 1919 and came to an end on January 21st 1920 with the inaugural General Assembly of the League of Nations. 

Random Ad - Hanimex and Olympus (1974)

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Photography 1970's style. The horrible 110 Instamatic Hanimex cameras. Cheap but with inferior 16mm negative size. Luckily you could still get proper 35mm SLRs like the Olympus.

Big Game Hunters in London (1910)

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If murdering wildlife is your thing then Frederick Courteney Selous is your man, or he was until, rather ironically, a German sniper shot him in 1917.

6 Minute War (1979)

Sunday Mirror dated Sunday November 11th 1979

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Those were the days my friends when total annihilation of the human race was just a button push away, or at least some-idiot-not-checking-that-a–training-exercise-could-be-mistaken-for-the-real-thing away. This was just one of at least 4 false alarms during the Cold War.

Random Ad - Player's Please (1940's)

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Player's Navy Cut cigarettes had been advertised using the sailor image since 1883 and the 'Player's Please' slogan used since 1924. This is a WWII version. Note the request to leave the empty packet with the shop to be recycled.

Random Cutting - Myra Hindley O-Level (1969)

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Hindley went on to get a Humanities Degree from the Open University. She died in 2002 while still in prison.