The Postcard
A postcard that was published by E. S. of London. The artwork was by Jack Meredith, and the card was printed in England.
The card was posted in Southend-on-Sea using a ½d. stamp on Sunday the 23rd. June 1907. It was sent to:
Miss E. Ling,
3, Albert Road,
Silvertown,
London E.
The pencilled message on the divided back of the card was as follows:
"Edith,
Arrived quite safely by
boat. Had a quiet walk
down the pier, but it was
rather windy and nearly
blew me into the briny.
My friend and I went and
had a nice dinner at the
Sunflower - roast lamb
and green peas.
The boss of the Sunflower
asked me where was Fred.
I said he had gone to
Portsmouth.
Goodbye,
I remain,
Bert."
The Silvertown Explosion
Let us hope that Miss Ling was not still living in Albert Road ten years later, because on the 19th. January 1917, very close to Miss Ling's house, the largest explosion that London had ever experienced took place, creating a noise that could be heard as far away as Norwich.
Brunner Mond had established a factory at nearby Crescent Wharf in 1893 in order to manufacture soda.
Two years into the Great War, the Army was facing a crippling shell shortage. The War Office decided to use the factory’s surplus capacity to purify TNT, despite opposition from Brunner Mond and the fact that the factory was in a highly populated area.
Their fears became a reality at 6.52pm on the 19th. January when a fire in the melt-pot room caused an explosion of 50 tonnes of TNT.
The TNT plant was destroyed instantly, as were many nearby buildings, including Silvertown Fire Station opposite. Much of the TNT was in railway wagons awaiting transport.
Many buildings in the immediate vicinity, including Vanesta’s plywood factory, as well as streets of houses were destroyed.
The final death toll was put at 73, and those injured numbered 400, but these figures have always been thought to have been an underestimate.
Among the dead was Dr. Andreas Angel, an Oxford professor doing voluntary war work as the plant’s chief chemist. He was attempting to help put out the fire when the explosion occurred.
St. John's in Albert Road, Silvertown, houses a memorial wooden plaque for those who died in the disaster.
Margaret Lane AKA Lady Hastings
So what else happened on the day that Fred posted the card to Edith?
Well, the 23rd. June 1907 marked the birth of Margaret Lane.
Margaret Winifred Lane was a British journalist, biographer and novelist, the author of more than two dozen books.
She was the second wife of Francis Hastings, 16th. Earl of Huntingdon.
-- Margaret Lane - The Early Years
Margaret Lane was the only child of Edith (née Webb), daughter of a glass dealer, and Harry George Lane, a newspaper editor.
She was educated at St. Stephen's College (Sisters of St. John Baptist) and St. Hugh's College, Oxford.
-- Margaret Lane's Career
After university, Margaret worked as a reporter for the Daily Express from 1928 to 1931, and then as a special correspondent for the International News Service from 1931 to 1932, in which context she interviewed the gangster Al Capone.
From 1932 to 1938, she was a journalist for the Daily Mail, where she was the UK's highest paid woman journalist.
Margaret Lane wrote two biographies of Beatrix Potter, The Tale of Beatrix Potter: a Biography in 1946, and The Magic Years of Beatrix Potter in 1978.
In 1984, the BBC produced a two-part television dramatisation of Potter's life based on Lane's books, The Tale of Beatrix Potter with Penelope Wilton in the lead role, that was praised as:
"A simple yet intense story
with just the right touches
of unflinching reserve."
Lane also wrote books about the Brontë sisters (1953) and Samuel Johnson (1975).
Margaret wrote more than two dozen books, including novels, travelogues and children's books.
-- Margaret Lane's Personal Life and Death
In 1934, Margaret married Bryan Wallace, a film screenwriter and son of the writer Edgar Wallace. Their marriage was dissolved in 1939. Lane's biography of Edgar Wallace was published in 1938.
On the 1st. February 1944, Margaret married Francis Hastings, 16th. Earl of Huntingdon (1901–1990), who had divorced his first wife Cristina the previous year.
They had two daughters, the writer Lady Selina Shirley Hastings (born 1945), and Lady Caroline Harriet Hastings (born 1946).
Margaret died at the age of 86 in Southampton on the 14th. February 1994.
-- Notable Publications of Margaret Lane
Margaret's notable publications include:
-- Faith, Hope, No Charity (1935)
-- At Last, the Island (1937)
-- Edgar Wallace, the Biography of a Phenomenon (1938)
-- Walk Into My Parlour (1941)
-- Where Helen Lies (1944)
-- The Tale of Beatrix Potter: a Biography (1946)
-- The Brontë Story (1953)
-- A Crown of Convolvulus (1954)
-- A Calabash of Diamonds (1961)
-- Life With Ionides (1963)
-- A Night at Sea (1965)
-- A Smell of Burning (1966)
-- Purely for Pleasure (1966)
-- The Day of the Feast (1968)
-- Samuel Johnson and His World (1975)
-- The Magic Years of Beatrix Potter (1978)
Gerrit Bolhuis
Also born on the 23rd. June 1907 was Gerrit Bolhuis.
Gerrir was a Dutch sculptor. Although popular in the Netherlands he was not well-known internationally.
-- Biography of Gerrit Bolhuis
Bolhuis was born in Amsterdam. He studied at the Kunstnijverheidsschool Quellinus under the teachers Jan Bronner and Hendrik Adriaan van de Wal.
He was the winner of the Dutch Prix de Rome in 1934. After a troublesome time joining, he was accepted by the Dutch Society of Sculptors.
Many of his works were created after World War II, due to his work being disrupted by the hostilities.
In 1959, he made a statue of William the Orange that was previously on display in Willemsted, Curacao, before being moved to Breda.
In 1966 Gerrit produced a popular series of lamb statues near a fountain in the district of Osdorpplein, Amsterdam.
Gerrit died in Amsterdam on the 19th. November 1975, and was laid to rest in Amsterdam.
