Sir Nigel: A Novel of the Hundred Years' War

Product Information

Nigel Loring therefore seems like an honourable fool to us now. He can think of no other way to woo his lady than to show her the fruits of his valour, i.e. killing and wounding others. He leads a few men on a suicidal attempt to enter The Butcher’s castle, an attempt that would, even if successful, have led to the slaughter of the very prisoners he was trying to rescue. However he dismisses any guilt about this, and sees it as an honourable act. We know that Nigel and Sam Aylward will not die gloriously at the end, as they appeared in The White Company. We know that Nigel will overcome his misfortunes and become a wealthy and renowned figure. We can even guess he will be knighted. The title clues us in as much as the first book. Sir Herbert Nigel Gresley CBE (19 June 1876 – 5 April 1941) [1] was a British railway engineer. He was one of Britain's most famous steam locomotive engineers, who rose to become Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). He was the designer of some of the most famous steam locomotives in Britain, including the LNER Class A1 and LNER Class A4 4-6-2 Pacific engines. An A1 Pacific, Flying Scotsman, was the first steam locomotive officially recorded over 100mph in passenger service, and an A4, number 4468 Mallard, still holds the record for being the fastest steam locomotive in the world (126mph). Heath, J.F. "Classic UK Minitrix Models". Classic UK Minitrix Models - The Pacifics . Retrieved 13 September 2020.

In 1936, Gresley designed the 1,500 V DC locomotives for the proposed electrification of the Woodhead Line between Manchester and Sheffield. The Second World War forced the postponement of the project, which was completed in the early 1950s. Edgar Claxton was Gresley's assistant throughout this project, working on power supply, equipment and systems, besides carrying out the trials. [4] In 1934 the (now re-numbered 4472) Flying Scotsman became the first steam locomotive to officially reach 100mph. Gresley was already working on his next masterpiece, the streamlined A4 class Pacific. The first batch of four A4s was introduced in September 1935 in a striking silver and grey livery to pull the Silver Jubilee train, marking the jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary. No 2509 Silver Link set a new British speed record, twice touching 112mph, on the return trip from Grantham to Kings Cross during the inaugural run. Sir Nigel was a slight man of poor stature, with soft lisping voice and gentle ways. So short was he that his wife, who was no very tall woman, had the better of him by the breadth of three fingers. He was knighted in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to the finance industry and regional development. [3]Another A4, ' Silver Link', previously holding the world speed record for steam locomotives (112mph) Nigel is a most annoying young man. He is not terribly intelligent; indeed, his choice of fiancée is probably the only remotely intelligent act he performs throughout the book. Even then, it is only by chance that this happens, for he prefers the sister, who is dishonoured through her own flirtatiousness at the crucial moment. In his view, a long-term industrial strategy is more important than specific tax changes in the Budget. Hunt's debut, he says, was 'competent' on 'pressing issues like childcare and empowering our cities'. 'But we need real investment that raises living standards and solves climate change.

Sir Nigel was knighted for services to the Financial Services Industry and Regional Development in the 2022 New Year’s Honours List. This book was good, but did not have as much impact on me as The White Company. It was fun to see Nigel in his youth, to witness the taming of his great war-horse Pommers, to learn which of two sisters he would pledge vows to before he leaves for war, to watch him become who he was meant to be. But even though there were incredibly exciting moments throughout the story, at the end I did not say WOW the way I did with the earlier book, where the characters seemed more alive than they were here. Nigel was the main focus but in many battles he was injured early and lay unconscious while the melee went on around him. This tends to lessen a reader's involvement with him, and was sometimes frustrating. But imagine how Nigel himself must have felt about it! Since 1927 Sir Nigel had cherished hopes of a national locomotive testing plant, for the ‘attainment of increased efficiency’ but times were hard and government help was not forthcoming. He persevered however, enlisting the support of LMS CME Sir William Stanier. Eventually the directors of the LMS and LNER agreed to pool their resources and gave the go-ahead, in 1937, for a plant to be built at Rugby but the outbreak of war, in 1939, brought this to a halt.

CONTENTS

A Judicial Commissioner is a serving or retired member of the senior judiciary in the UK. Appointments are made by the Prime Minister, having consulted with Scottish Ministers, on the recommendation of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner, the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, the Lord President of the Court of Session and the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland. As an engineer he was interested in railway developments abroad and keen to exchange ideas. André Chapelon, CME of the Paris-Orleans Railway was a good friend who was also involved in experimental designs, including the Kylchap exhaust system which became an important aspect of Gresley’s later designs. Gresley was also introduced to French-based racing car designer Ettore Bugatti. They often discussed ideas for streamlining, still quite a futuristic concept at that time. A lot of people don't have mentors in their life. People in the North East might say to me: 'I could have been you, I should have been you' but they weren't, because they didn't have the advantage of great mentors and coaches that I had. People can get to the top with resilience and capability. Resilience is underrated.' Under his stewardship, the Group has consistently delivered profitable, sustainable and inclusive growth. Nigel has been a tireless champion for investment-led growth and responsible investment. On 1 st January 1923 Nigel Gresley became CME of the new London & North Eastern Railway, one of the Big Four railway companies, formed by Act of Parliament, grouping together the hundred-plus companies operating at the time into four large regional operators. The aim of the Act was to make the railways more efficient and cost-effective, as had been the case under state control during the war, but fell short of nationalisation. The following month Doncaster works turned out one of the most famous engines of all time, class A1 (later changed to A3) Pacific No 1472 Flying Scotsman, named after the train service begun in 1862, by the GNR, and now inherited by the LNER. As head of the new company, Nigel Gresley moved his office to Kings Cross station in London and, as he loved the country, bought a house at Hadley Wood with two tennis courts. The property was quite near to the Golf Club where he soon became Captain. He was also very fond of dogs from his boyhood days, keeping them as companions throughout his life, with a special affection for spaniels.

For his premier express locomotive Gresley decided in favour of a Pacific 4-6-2 configuration which would allow a much great boiler capacity and his first Pacific class engine No 1470 Great Northern appeared in April 1922, earning a huge amount of publicity on account of the engine’s huge size yet graceful looks. Nigel Gresley had come to the public’s attention for the first time. Heath, J.F. "Classic UK Minitrix Models". Classic UK Minitrix Models - History . Retrieved 13 September 2020. Although he is now referred to as "Conan Doyle", the origin of this compound surname (if that is how he meant it to be understood) is uncertain. His baptism record in the registry of St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh gives 'Arthur Ignatius Conan' as his Christian name, and simply 'Doyle' as his surname. It also names Michael Conan as his godfather. Other film roles during this time included Demolition Man, which he detested for being "brainless" and a "cheap picture". However, it led to his most famous role: that of King George III in Alan Bennett's stage play The Madness of George III (for which he won a Best Actor Olivier Award) and then the film adaptation entitled The Madness of King George, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and won the BAFTA Film Award for Best Actor.

Things are on the move

To drive home how unprepossessing this hero is in appearance, Conan Doyle compares his features with those of his wife Lady Mary: a b Shah, Oliver (3 July 2016). "There is so much money around — we need to spend it on our cities". The Sunday Times. ISSN 0956-1382 . Retrieved 4 January 2018.

BUSINESS CLOSE: Rightmove lifts growth forecast; Aviva buys Canada’s Optiom; Revolution Beauty nears settlement with founder I identified the problems of the historical adventure story in my review of The White Company. Here we must add the problems of the prequel. I don’t think I am including too many spoilers, as the outcome is fairly obvious to a new reader who did not read the earlier book, but be warned. The Board would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the outstanding contribution Nigel has made to Legal & General Group for almost fourteen years. He is a world-class leader who has worked with great passion and energy, and we have been very fortunate to have had his vision, drive and commitment. Chandos takes Nigel under his wing, and a number of adventures follow. He defeats a notorious robber, but the robber and his wife elude capture. Conan Doyle is strangely sympathetic to minor rogues. He meets the daughters of Sir John Buttesthorn. While his head is turned by the flighty daughter Edith, he soon settles for the sensible Mary, and is able to help wrest Edith from the clutches of a corrupt seducer.

Be involved

And yet this same age, in Conan Doyle’s view, stood for patriotic and personal virtues we forget to our peril. It’s hardly happenstance that a man who actually lived by the pen, not by the sword, should lie beneath a gravestone inscribed “Steel True, Blade Straight.” For Sir Arthur as for Sir Nigel, chivalry was grounded in duty, honor, tradition, loyalty, physical prowess and good sportsmanship, courtesy, charity, piety, service, and love of family. These, he insisted, characterize a moral, civic, and martial tradition worth honoring and living up to even in the modern world. They met in 1968 when Bentham was stage-managing the Royal Court Theatre. From 1979 until Hawthorne's death in 2001, they lived together in Radwell and then at Thundridge, both in Hertfordshire. The two of them became fund raisers for the North Hertfordshire hospice and other local charities. [8] Death [ edit ] What’s more, Conan Doyle invests him with some of the loveable absurdity of Don Quixote, especially in his unflagging zeal to advance himself in honor and renown through challenges and hand-to-hand combat. Though a formidable warrior, when writing to Lady Mary he produces a single run-on sentence, largely about recent battles and skirmishes, as he circles around saying that he loves and misses her. In August 1936 another of the original A4s, 2512 Silver Fox, reached 113mph on a regular southbound express, a record that stood until the 1970s as the fastest revenue earning train, but the British speed record was taken by the LMS in July 1937 when their new Coronation streamliner recorded 114mph just outside Crewe.