Category: Local History

John Smith and Pocahontas

26/4/2024

On the 26th April in 1607, Captain John Smith arrived in Virginia (named after Elizabeth I - the Virgin Queen) where he established the first permanent settlement. Eventually, a fort was built on a marshy peninsula on the James River from where they encountered the Powhatan people, among them was Pocahontas, the daughter of the chief.

Smith described meeting Pocahontas in the spring of 1608 when she was "a child of ten years old" when he was captured by a hunting expedition and taken to the Powhatan camp. Men from his party were tortured or killed and Smith feared for his life while the Powhatans decided what to do with him. Some of the tribe wished to trade, and others wished to kill him. History tells us that it was Pocahontas who saved his life by throwing herself in between him and his executioners.

This is the tale of John Smith and Matoaka (Pocahontas was her nickname) that we all know, however, the truth is a little different.

John Smith is seen by some as a 'swashbuckling character and self-publicist and prone to exaggeration' while Pocahontas meaning 'playful one or 'ill-behaved child' turned her back on her own people and allied herself with the English.
Which is the truth I wonder?

Incidentally, John Smith was a lad from Lincolnshire, born not far from me. His parents were tenant farmers on land belonging to Peregrine Bertie, 13th Baron Willoughby, the son of Catherine Willoughby, widow of Charles Brandon and Richard Bertie.

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Charles Tennyson d'Eyncourt

9/2/2023

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Charles Tennyson d’Eyncourt, and his older brother George Clayton Tennyson, had been brought up with the story of their connection to the ennobled family of d’Eyncourt. This tale greatly impressed Charles, who would spend the rest of his life trying to obtain the right to the d’Eyncourt name and the peerage that went with it.

By 1831 Charles was employed as Clerk of the Ordnance, an inferior position that he considered did not fit his social status. As part of a government reshuffle, he was persuaded to leave this post with an offer of a position as a member of the privy council, gleefully he wrote to his father.

‘... this rank is the nearest to a peerage, and given the title of Right Honourable is a distinction for life.’

With a change of his position in government and a step closer to his heart's desire Charles Tennyson pestered his father to change the family name to d’Eyncourt, but he would not. He did succeed however in getting his father to add a codicil to his will so that he could be called Charles Tennyson d’Eyncourt and on the death of his father, he added d’Eyncourt to his name. Four years later he petitioned government for permission to officially use the name, but he was refused. At the same time, he had begun work on a ‘grandiose building programme’ on his house in Tealby, turning it into an ‘extravagant Gothic castle.’

d'Eyncourt/Tennyson Coat of Arms

Charles’ delusions of grandeur I think are rooted in his childhood and his father’s dislike, and disinheritance of his brother George.

One reason for the name change could be that he saw himself superior in person, and in rank, to George who was living as a rector of the parish of Somersby, but pride they say comes before a fall, and Charles’ fall was the jealously he felt regarding the achievements of his nephew.

Alfred Tennyson’s success as a poet irritated him, but it was the rewards that came with it that angered him the most, especially when he was granted the prestigious post of Poet Laureate, but what really made him seethe was the offer of the one thing he desired above anything else - a peerage.

Charles Tennyson d’Eyncourt would never receive a peerage, his lowly brother’s son however would become Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

‘... this rank is the nearest to a peerage and given the title of Right Honourable is a distinction for life.’

Memorial to Charles Tennyson d’Eyncourt at All Saints Church Tealby in Lincolnshire.

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Henry Handley

11/7/2022

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Henry Handley, entrepreneur and member of Parliament was described by one James Grant as

"a tall, stout, good-looking man. He has a jolly, countrified countenance, with a complexion redolent of health. His face is full, and his features are regular and pleasing. His hair is of a light brown, and he sports a pair of whiskers of which any Spanish Don might be proud."

Handley inherited his estates in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire on the death of his father Benjamin Handley who had helped to establish the canalisation of the River Slea, known as the Sleaford Navigation, and who also founded the first bank in the town.

Following his move to Culverthorpe Hall, his new home just outside the town, Handley became interested in agricultural affairs and the plight of the land working people in regard to the Malt Tax stating

" it was impossible for the present system to continue long; the voice of the people must prevail...."

Proud of their son, the town erected a monument to commemorate the life of Henry Handley who had been born in the town in 1797.

Handley died in the June on 1846.

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Mohne Eder and Sorpe Dams Breached

16/5/2018

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It was on this day in 1943 that news came through that the mighty Mohne, Eder and Sorpe dams in Germany had been breached. 617 Squadron of Lancaster bombers led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson had succeeded in this by using the ‘bouncing’ bombs developed by Dr Barnes Wallis.

The History of 617 Squadron writes:

"Perhaps the most famous RAF squadron currently flying, 617 Squadron was formed at Scampton on 21 March 1943 specifically to undertake one operation - Operation Chastise - the breaching of dams vital to the German war effort. The Squadron's Commanding Officer, Wing Commander Guy Gibson, was given free reign to comb other Lancaster squadrons for the crews he thought could best undertake the mission. For weeks, not even Gibson was told of the unit's task, only that low-level flying over water was essential, and training was undertaken in around the dams and reservoirs of Derbyshire. Chastise called for the breaching of three enormous dams in the Ruhr - the heart of German industrial production - by dropping a specially designed mine at exactly 60 feet (18.29m) and a speed 220 mph (354 km/h). Nineteen specially modified Lancaster carried out the attack during the night of 16/17 May 1943, successfully breaching the Mohne and Eder dams, butfailing with attacks on two others, the Sorpe and Schwelme. Wing Commander Gibson repeatedly flew over the Mohne and Eder dams to draw fire away from the attacking aircraft and was subsequently awarded the Victoria Cross for his gallantry. Thirty-two other members of the Squadron were also decorated but a total of eight aircraft and their crews were lost during the night.
The unit was retained to carry out highly specialised attacks, many of which employed the 12,000lb (5,448kg) 'Tallboy' and 22,000lb (9,988kg) 'Grand Slam' bombs. The Squadron received Lincolns in September 1946 and Canberras six years later with which the Squadron took part in Operation Firedog in Malaya before disbanding on 15 December 1955. On 1 May 1958, No 617 reformed at Scampton equipped with Vulcans, a type that remained on strength until 31 December 1981 when the unit disbanded. The following year, the Squadron reformed with Tornado GR1s at Marham, initially in the strike role, but latterly in the maritime strike mission based at Lossiemouth.

Number 617 continued to fly the Tornado GR1 until it was replaced by the updated GR4 and it was with these that the squadron carried out the first attacks with the RAF's stand-off weapon - Storm Shadow - during Operation Telic in April 2003.

But what happened to the squadron after the mission?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-22612737

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John Smith and Pocahontas

Charles Tennyson d'Eyncourt

Henry Handley

Mohne Eder and Sorpe Dams Breached

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