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| David Richerby wrote:
quote:
> Spam Scone wrote:
>
> Actually, at that time, the constituent parts of what are now
> Greater London were parts of the surounding counties.
> (I believe this continued until 1972, though I may be wrong.)
Thanks to David Richerby for his contribution.
When I read John Henderson's column for ChessBase (which placed
Vera Menchik's death in Kent), I assumed (whether correctly or not)
that John Henderson was referring to Kent in a contemporary context,
*not* in a historical 1944 context. Given that John Henderson was
writing for an international audience and most readers at ChessBase
should not have been expected to know anything about the historical
changes in England's internal borders, I believed that it was
reasonable to assume that John Henderson was referring to Kent
in a contemporary context. If John Henderson had intended to
refer to Kent in a historical 1944 context, then he should have
added such a note of explanation.
quote:
> Blackheath (south-east London) was part of Kent and is about
> fifteen miles from a variety of places that can reasonably be
> described as North London -- places as far out as Golders
> Green, Wood Green, Walthamstow and what have you.
Phil Innes's original statement (above) referred to a place in
North London being 'just a few miles away from her house', which
I had been led (by John Henderson) to believe was in Kent.
On some occasions I have said something like "I'm going out to
walk for just a few miles", and on those occasions I never have
walked as far as 'about fifteen miles'. I *could* have walked
'about fifteen miles', but then I would *not* have described
it as 'just a few miles'.
quote:
The V-1 had quite a reputation for inaccuracy, often landing nearly
at random. As long as the distinctive noise (or 'acoustical
signature')
of the V-1's pulsejet engine could be heard, one felt safe enough
because that showed that the V-1 was still airborne. But once that
noise suddenly stopped, it was time to take cover.
[vbcol=seagreen]
> Clapham would have been in Surrey at this time and is also within
> about fifteen miles of all the places I mentioned above.
In rec.games.chess.politics, Phil Innes ('Chess One') wrote (sic):
"Travelling London to the Kent countryside every day would also be
difficult since there were no private cars or public buses or hardly
any gasoline, the railyards bombed beyond recognition."
To comment on only one part of Phil Innes's statement (above),
it seems far from true that by 1944 (when Vera Menchik died)
that 'the railyards (were still) bombed beyond recognition'.
The Allies enjoyed air supremacy over the skies of England.
All that the Luftwaffe bombers could do were some nuisance
raids at night against 'area targets' (such as entire cities,
not specific 'railyards').
*If* it had been true (as Phil Innes has claimed) that the British
'railyards (were still) bombed beyond recognition', then how could
the vast build-up of resources to support the Allied landings in
France on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) have been achieved in time?
--Nick
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