The Postcard
A Phototype Series postcard that was published by Valentine & Sons Ltd. of Dundee and London. The card was posted in Southend-on-Sea using four ½d. stamps on Sunday the 6th. June 1954.
It was sent to:
Mrs. G. Kirby,
11, Thornfield Road,
Bishop's Stortford,
Herts.
The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:
"Saturday.
Lovely fine weather and
really enjoying my visit.
Spent this morning on the
pier and watched the
Royal Sovereign arrive &
depart for Margate.
Hope Muriel is very well
after her change.
Love to both,
Nora."
The Royal Sovereign and the Brocklebank Brothers
The Royal Sovereign was built in 1822 and plied the London - Ramsgate route. The vessel was owned by the General Steam Navigation Company (GSNC), which was London's foremost short sea shipping line for almost 150 years.
It was the oldest shipping company in the world to begin business with seagoing steam vessels.
The brothers Thomas and John Brocklebank were traders in timber, and had a shipyard at Deptford Creek. In about 1821, Thomas Brocklebank arrived at Margate on the first steamboat to ply that route.
However on disembarking, the local authorities charged him 2s 6d for himself and 2s 6d for his hand baggage. This was the equivalent of about a week's income for an average salary.
Brocklebank immediately saw a business opportunity, and decided to convert one of the barges he had on the stocks to a steamboat. He ordered engines, and soon launched her as the Eagle Packet.
She was used for a route between London and Ramsgate, where people could disembark without charges.
Brocklebank built some more vessels, and formed the Ramsgate and Broadstairs Steam Packet Company. This company issued shares dated 29th. April 1822. It became the General Steam Navigation Company in 1824.
The company employed Brocklebank's Thames paddle steamer Eagle Packet on the route between London and Ramsgate. In 1822 Brocklebank built the slightly larger Royal Sovereign for the same route.
By 1825 the GSNC was operating a fleet of 15 Deptford-built steamers, maintained from a yard at the Stowage, Deptford (a former East India Company depot).
The Unveiling of a Statue
So what else happened on the day that Nora posted the card?
Well, on the 6th. June 1954, a statue of Yuriy Dolgorukiy was unveiled in Moscow. The statue was originally conceived in 1947 in recognition of the 800th. anniversary of the city's foundation.
The San Francisco Chief
Also on that day, the San Francisco Chief passenger train came into use on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway between Chicago and San Francisco.
Harvey Fierstein
The 6th June 1954 also marked the birth in Brooklyn, New York of the American actor, playwright and screenwriter Harvey Fierstein.
Harvey Forbes Fierstein is best known for his theater work in Torch Song Trilogy and Hairspray, and movie roles in Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day, and as the voice of Yao in Mulan and Mulan II.
Fierstein won two Tony Awards, Best Actor in a Play and Best Play, for Torch Song Trilogy. He received his third Tony Award, Best Book of a Musical, for the musical La Cage aux Folles and his fourth, the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, for playing Edna Turnblad in Hairspray.
Fierstein also wrote the book for the Tony Award-winning musicals Kinky Boots, Newsies, and Tony Award-nominated, Drama League Award-winner A Catered Affair. Harvey was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2007.
For his role on the television show Cheers, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
Harvey Fierstein's Gender Identity
Speaking with People magazine in February 2022 to promote his memoir I Was Better Last Night, Fierstein stated:
"I'm still confused as to whether I'm a man
or a woman. As a child I often wondered if
I'd been born in the wrong body.
When I was a kid, I was attracted to men.
I didn't feel like the boy was supposed to
feel.
Then I found out about gay. So that was
enough for me for then."
The interview also noted his ease at playing both Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof and Edna Turnblad in Hairspray.
Harvey avoided identifying as non-binary in the interview, saying that he had thought about it a lot and that:
"It's the term that bothers me."
He concluded that:
"I don't think I've missed anything
by not making up my mind".
On the LGBTQ&A podcast the following month, Fierstein said:
"I'm comfortable being me, and if
I ask myself, 'Would you want to
transition?' The answer's no."
'Cara Mia'
Also on the 6th. June 1954, the Number One chart hit record in the UK was Cara Mia by David Whitfield & the Mantovani Orchestra.
David Whitfield (2nd. February 1925 – 15th. January 1980) was a popular British male tenor vocalist from Hull. He became the first British artist to have a UK No. 1 single in the UK and in the United States with Cara Mia.
David died from a brain haemorrhage in Sydney, Australia, while on tour at the age of 54.
