The Postcard
A National Series postcard that was printed in Great Britain. The card was posted in Sauchen, Aberdeen using a ½d. stamp on Monday the 7th. December 1914.
The card was sent to:
Miss Hayser,
Ruby Cottage,
Anderson Road,,
Woodside,
Aberdeen.
The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:
"I asked Barbara as my
partner, but she could
not get out.
I hope you are all about
your usual self.
How is Bessie? I hope
the cold weather hasn't
affected her much.
Did you see the 'At Home'
in the Journal?
Well you should have been
there to get a good laugh.
Tell Mrs. Harper it was
worse than usual - a duet
by John Anderson was
minus an alto & sometimes
the treble vanished without
any warning.
I will write soon.
Love from
Maggie Dickson."
Charles Dibdin
Tom Bowling was written by Charles Dibdin. Charles wrote over a thousand popular songs, and contributed more than most to the development of the Pantomime.
Charles Dibdin wrote Tom Bowling on the death of his eldest brother, Thomas Dibdin. Thomas was twenty-nine years older than Charles, and was a father-figure as well as brother. Thomas Dibdin was captain of a ship in the East India trade who died at sea.
The song first appeared in The Oddities which was performed at The Lyceum in 1789. The song is also known as the Sailor's Epitaph.
Charles Dibdin was the eighteenth son of a poor silver maker. He was born in Southampton in 1740, and died in London in 1814. In 1778 he became resident composer at Covent Garden.
In 1803 the British government paid him to write a series of songs in order to keep alive the national feelings against the French. Dibdin's songs were said to be worth ten thousand sailors to the cause of England.
His songs were also popular in Canada and America before and during the American Revolution and during the War of 1812.
Tom Bowling Lyrics
The lyrics to Tom Bowling account for the caption of the postcard:
' Here a sheer hulk, lies poor Tom Bowling
The darling of our crew;
No more he'll hear the tempest howling
For death has broached him to.
His form was of the manliest beauty, his heart was kind and soft;
Faithful below, Tom did his duty
And now he's gone aloft
And now he's gone aloft
Tom never from his word departed
His virtues were so rare:
His friends were many and true hearted
His Poll was kind and fair;
And then he'd sing so blithe and jolly
Ah! Many's the time and oft;
But mirth is turn'd to melancholy
For Tom is gone aloft
For Tom is gone aloft
Yet shall poor Tom find pleasant weather
When He who all commands
Shall give, to call life's crew together
The word to pipe all hands:
Thus Death, who kings and tars despatches
In vain Tom's life hath doff'd
For tho' his body's under hatches
His soul is gone aloft
His soul is gone aloft.'
Pope Benedict XV
So what else happened on the day that Maggie posted the card?
Well, on the 7th. December 1914, Pope Benedict XV called for an official truce between the warring nations of the Great War by Christmas, asking "that the guns may fall silent, at least upon the night the angels sang."
Endurance
Also on that day, the exploration ship Endurance encountered pack ice further north than expected, and was forced to maneuver, creating delays for the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.
The Maritz Rebellion
Also on that day, Boer rebel leader General Christian Frederick Beyers drowned in the Vaal River while trying to escape pursuing forces of the Union of South Africa.
Beyers' death effectively ending any organized rebellion in South Africa.
Leo Frank
Also on the 7th. December 1914, the Supreme Court of the United States rejected a final plea by Leo Frank, sentenced to death for the murder of 13-year old Mary Phagan in Georgia.
Nygaard
Also on that day, the Norwegian cargo ship Nygaard, formerly the SS Belle of Spain, sank in a storm while being towed to Esbjerg, Norway.
All crew had abandoned ship days earlier, and were safely transported to port.
'In The Land of The Head Hunters'
Also on the 7th. December 1914, the first feature-length film composed entirely of indigenous North Americans was released as 'In The Land of The Head Hunters.'
The film is a fictionalized depiction of the Kwakiutl peoples who lived in the Queen Charlotte Strait region of British Columbia.
The film was written and directed by Edward S. Curtis, and acted entirely by Kwakiutl.
It was an inductee to the National Film Registry list, with the comment:
"The film combines many accurate
representations of native culture,
art, and technology of the period."
Charlie Chaplin
Also on that day, the last film Charlie Chaplin made for Keystone Studios was released; His Prehistoric Past was a prehistoric comedy written and directed by Chaplin.
Chaplin had asked for an increase in salary to $1,000 a week ($23,943 in 2016 dollars) when his contract came up for renewal at the end of the year, but Keystone producer Mack Sennett refused on the grounds that it was too big an increase.
