December 2023 - The MrT Podcast Studio

TH2023 Ep05 Wellington

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 52:00 — 47.6MB)

Season 2023 – Talk 05 – Wellington

In Wellington Derek Sibley tells us about a few things that we might not know about the 1st Duke of Wellington.

Click a thumbnail below to view the image gallery that accompanies the talk.

Early life:

Arthur Wesley (at this time this is the correct spelling) is the sixth of nine children born to Anne Wellesley, Countess of Mornington and Garret Wesley. His father has a short career in politics representing the constituency Trim in the Irish House of Commons. In 1758 he becomes 2nd Baron Mornington.

Arthur spends most of his childhood at his family’s two homes. One, Mornington House is a large house in Dublin, and the other is Dangan Castle in County Meath.

Early military career:

His military career starts in Ireland. He rapidly moves through the ranks, changing regiments on a number of occasions. He also serves as a member of Parliament in the Irish Parliament. It is in the early 1790s that he is attracted to Kitty Pakenham, to her father’s displeasure.

He is sent to join the Duke of York’s campaign in Belgium and the Netherlands. The campaign is a failure however he learns much. He later comments ‘at least I learned what not to do, and that is always a valuable lesson’.

India:

The British East India Company uses the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1798 to increase it’s rule. They fight against the Sultan of Mysore, Tipu Sultan. Wellington succeeds in his mission and the company gains control over this part of India.

Whilst in India Wellington is promoted to Brigadier General in July 1801.

Peninsular War:

Wellington shows his prowess as a commander fighting from Portugal, through Spain and France to Napoleon’s final defeat at Waterloo. You can find out more about the campaign in Portugal in Peter Duffy’s talk.

Politics, marriage and later life:

Listen to the podcast and hear the whole story from Derek.

About this podcast:

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History Group .

It is not always possible to use all of the images presented in the original talk because of copyright reasons.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher and Vurbl and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use the music in this talk.

USRJ S3 Ep 20 Overnight from Los Angeles to Tucson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:35 — 17.9MB)

Overnight from Los Angeles to Tucson – US Rail Journeys Series 3 Episode 20

In ‘Overnight from Los Angeles to Tucson‘ I travel through the night on the first leg of my journey to Chicago. We depart on time from Union Station in LA and arrive in Tucson the next morning, 30 minutes early, whilst I’m having breakfast.

To view the photographs for this podcast:

Please click on a thumbnail to open the gallery:

Departing from Los Angeles:

We depart exactly on time. Our GE Genesis locomotives power up and we are soon slipping out of LA Union Station. This is my favourite station in the US. Will I ever return here?

I’m travelling on the Texas Eagle to Chicago which is some 2,728 miles away. For the first part of the journey I’m in a carriage attached to the Sunset Limited. The train splits in San Antonio which is rougly half way.

Pomona:

The schedule says that we should be in Pomona about 40 minutes after departing from LA. We’re running late!

The eastbound Sunset Limited / Texas Eagle stops at the station on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday around 10:40 pm, and the westbound trains are supposed to stop on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 4am.

1,131 Amtrak passengers used the station in 2022.

Ontario:

This is California’s Ontario, not the state in Canada. The station consists of a covered, open-air pavilion built by the city in 1991. 3,374 Amtrak passengers use the station in 2022 although the trains are during the night.

Palm Springs and Yuma:

I’m sound asleep as we stop at these two stations, probably gently rocked by the train travelling along the tracks. The station at Palm Springs is 7 miles from the city, however 2,224 passengers used it in 2022.

The train schedule says we stop at Yuma around a quarter to three in the morning – why not 3.10? Yuma sees 4,403 night owls in 2022.

Maricopa:

This station dates from 1996 when Amtrak has to move from Phoenix. In 1999, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad dome car, “The Silver Horizon” from the old California Zephyr moves to act as the station office. Today it is on static display at the station.

Tucson:

The station dates from 1907. We are early and so we have a long stop in the station allowing me the chance to finish breakfast and look around.

Listen to the podcast to hear more about the first section of my journey on the Texas Eagle.

Next up:

If you enjoy these podcasts please join me in a couple of weeks as we travel through the desert on the Texas Eagle.

Links:

To visit the Amtrak website please follow this link.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox , Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher and Vurbl and others.

Music:

AKM Music licenses Steam Railway and One More Bebop for use in this podcast.

TH2023 Ep04 Farnham Workhouse

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:33 — 31.6MB)

Season 2023 – Talk 04 – Secrets of the Farnham Workhouse

In Secrets of the Farnham Workhouse Ian Wallace tells us a story that is not for the faint hearted. He reveals the workings of the Farnham Workhouse in the nineteenth century.

Click a thumbnail below to view the image gallery that accompanies the talk.

Good Intentions:

In the mid-19th Century Farnham is a prosperous town. Historically wealth had come from wool, then the corn market and between 1600 and the 1970s from hops and brewing.

1849 sees the arrival of the railway and in 1854 the opening of the army town, just to the north, in Aldershot. To this day Castle Street shows the historic wealth of this market town.

Farnham believes it looks after the poor. An example of this is the Andrew Windsor Almshouses dating from 1619. A new workhouse is built in 1791 to replace one in the town centre.

Report on the Farnham Workhouse:

Drs Joshua Stallard and Francis Anstey publish a report in 1867. The report criticises virtually every aspect of the workhouse. The report notes that it is:

Poorly ventilated with dirty walls and narrow beds.
Poor sanitary facilities, two towels per week for each ward and no toilet paper.
Only one nurse during the day, none at night.
No forks for the inmates to use when eating food.

According to the report, the master of the workhouse, James Sargent, could easily come from the pages of Dickens. The guardians dismiss him after the furore following the report. According to the Daily Express he was the great, great grandfather of Jeremy Corbyn.

Health care:

Virtually nil at the time of the report. Florence Nightingale, who has local connections, and Louisa Twining are involved in moves to improve healthcare in Britain.

Listen to the podcast and hear the whole story from Ian.

About this podcast:

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History Group .

It is not always possible to use all of the images presented in the original talk because of copyright reasons.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher and Vurbl and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use the music in this talk.