Remembrance Day

[Christina Holstein]

BeppoSapone, send me your address off-line and I'll send you a pin with the French cornflower on it. It was given to me last week in Rheims by a chap from the Dept. of the Marne who was attending a meeting of a group of Champagne/Marne remembrance associations which, I may say, I was attending on behalf of the WFA.

I also remember Horace Batchelor although R. Luxembourg was strictly transistor-under-the-bedclothes stuff in our house. Radio Lux broadcast from its buildings - which still stand - in the middle of the park in the city. The powerful installations used to broadcast pop were apparently earlier used by Lord HawHaw to broadcast his messages to Britain. As Hedley would say, not many people know that. Funnily enough, I don't remember bad reception. Must have been because I had my head under the bedclothes anyway.

11th Nov. isn't a holiday in Luxembourg, although various associations lay wreaths at the national monument in the city centre.

Christina

[Frank_East]

Hedley,

No wonder there was competition between S&N and Vaux.Vaux, as you might know was a Sunderland Brewery.

Some years ago Vaux's took over Wards of Sheffield and then some 5 years ago rationalised the business and shut them down.In a change of business plan Vaux ceased brewing shortly afterwards.You could find the brews here in North Lincolnshire usually where there had been financial support from the brewery to purchase free houses.Vaux as a brand appears to have vanished off the face of the earth.

Regarding "Horace", I do not think he existed.I had the impression that it was what we would now refer to as a marketing brand.If it was'n't, I wonder if he was ever collared for his outrageous forecasting claims under the name of Horace Bachelor.

R.L. brings back happy memories. Listening to to the Top Twenty on Sunday night from 2300 to 2400 with my "Rear Gunner" then dashing across town to catch a chartered bus back to camp,hoping that my mate had remembered to make up my "pit".A few hours sleep followed with the drone of Merlins in the air if the other resident squadrons were on weekend night flying. All for £1 and 8 shillings a week to start with but in the money after 18 months progressing to a princely sum of £3 17shillings a week.Purchasing power not too bad. Best bitter to hand at 10 pence a pint.

Getting back to the memory of those who passed our way before us.I saw a news item on "Look North" tonight that the compass of Captain S.T.A. Neil of the Leeds Pals (15th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment, Prince of Wales's Own) has been found on the Somme by a young Frenchman.Captain Neil was 27 years of age and declared missing on the fateful day of 1st July 1916.

Remembering.

Regards

Frank East

[healdav]

Radio Luxembourg was, of course, broadcast from Luxembourg.

The old studios are still there in an old fort. They are now only used as some offices, Radio/TV Luxembourg now has a brand new, enormous office block and studios just around the corner from where I am now. They are the most luxurious studios I have ever seen.

The English language service died at the end of the 70s on MW, but carried on as an FM local service until the end of the 80s.

Even before WW2 Radio Luxembourg (now known as RTL) was the biggest broadcaster on the continent and now has TV and radio channels in French, German and Dutch and broadcasts from Luxembourg, paris and, Frankfurt and Berlin.

During WW2 Lor Haw-Haw made some of his broadcasts either from here or using recordings sent here as the aerials were tuned to the Britain.

[michaeldr]

Hedley

(Barman, Dene Bar, Corner House Hotel, Coast Road, Newcastle, 1965)

Totally off thread

Hedley, it seems that in a previous life out paths may have crossed

I take it that the Dene in Dene Bar refers to Jesmond Dene and that the Corner House in question was just up the road from the Peoples Theatre. In 1965 I popped in there (sorry for the pun) a few times myself.

1965 was however a bad year for my relationship with Vaux. At about that time I got into serious trouble with my boss for sending Col. Nicholson (then Chairman of Vaux) our bog standard letter regarding his lease of shooting rights, when of course I should have sent him something more personal and dignified. Not a shooting offence, but in all honesty life has been down hill ever since and of course the taste of a 'Double Maxim' never recovered for me.

Older, but not necessarily wiser

Michael D.R.