Portsmouth Point, Lost and Found by The Portsmouth Grammar School

P O RT S MOU T H P O I N T

PORTSMOUTH POINT

Storytelling: Remembrance and Survival Lottie Kent

My Lost Saints William Wallace

Disrespecting the Dead Louisa Dassow

Is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Irreversible? Natasha Iliffe

On Waking My Smallest Tortoise from Hibernation Laura Burden

Finding the Lost Robert Bendell

The “Great” War? Tom Harper 18

New Age Found Benjamin Schofield

Heroes of Normandy John Sadden

The Normandy Landings Ross Watkins 40 Uncle Rudi’s War Max Kellermann-Stunt Wartime: Tales of Loss and Discovery Fergus Houghton-Connell

Lost in Translation Holly Govey

Me Na Vadna Cowz a Sowznack! Phoebe Warren 59 Scotland: Independence and Identity Zoe Rundle

Lego: a World of Discovery Tim Bustin 64 44

Goodbye Tiki-Taka Neil Chhabda 46

The Science of Finding Lost Objects Justin Wilkinson 65 Looking Bach in Time Julia Alsop 66

Perdido y Recuperado Lottie Kent and Rhiannon Lasrado

Lost World: Pariah State William Bates

My Music History Callum Cross 67

1971: Best Year of the 60s! Mark Richardson 68

Vinyl Revival Dom Baker 69 Lost in Landscapes Oliver Stone 70

The Legacy of the Great War Simon Lemieux

The Unwilling Sacrifice Alexander Quarrie-Jones

A Lost Decade: Japan and Europe Henry Cunnison

Portsmouth on the Eve of War Peter Galliver

Iceland: on the Edge Dominic Wood

The Art of War: an Interview Loren Dean

Lost Civilisations Gregory Walton-Green

Editorial Team (Magazine and Blog) Daniel Rollins (Blog Editor) * Charlie Albuery * Julia Alsop * Marley Andrews * Dom Baker * William Bates * Rosie Bell * Tilly Bell * Robert Bendell * Tim Bustin * Dodo Charles * Nathaniel Charles * Neil Chhabda * Callum Cross * Henry Cunnison * Louisa Dassow * Freya Derby * Harry Dry * Zoe Dukoff-Gordon * Nicholas Graham * Katie Green * Hattie Gould * Grace Gawn * William Hall * Tom Harper * Siena Hocking * Fergus Houghton-Connell * Fenella Johnson * Lottie Kent * Rhiannon Lasrado * Henry Ling * Annie Materna * Sophie Parekh * Thomas Penlington * Alexander Quarrie-Jones * Taylor Richardson * Maisie Riddle * Zoe Rundle * Benjamin Schofield * Sampad Sengupta * Kelvin Shiu * Benjamin Slader * Melissa Smith * Isabel Stark * Hugh Summers * William Wallace * Gregory Walton-Green * Phoebe Warren * Ross Watkins * Sophie Whitehead Editor: James Burkinshaw Magazine Designer: Clara Feltham, The Graphic Design House

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iscovery and loss lie at the heart of human experience. In this issue of Portsmouth Point, our contributors explore and elegize - from LEGO to tiki-taka. This summer marks the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the First World War. Simon Lemieux examines its complex legacy, while Benjamin Schofield considers the role the War played in the birth of Modernism. Tom Harper evaluates whether the catastrophic losses of the “Great War” were worth the sacrifice, while Alex Quarrie-Jones remembers the less well-known civilian losses in London and other British cities between 1914 and 1918. Peter Galliver presents a vivid picture of Portsmouth on the eve of war (July 1914) and PGS artist in residence Patti Gaal-Holmes discusses with Loren Dean the importance of local archives in her own artistic response to the Great War. On the seventieth anniversary of D Day, John Sadden and Ross Watkins commemorate the Normandy landings, including the sacrifice made by many former PGS pupils in liberating Europe from Nazism, while Max Kellermann-Stunt shares a fascinating account of his greatuncle’s experiences fighting for the German army on the Eastern Front. In the aftermath of war, there is a need for remembrance and recovery. Lottie Kent explores the role of storytelling in both commemoration and survival, and, with Rhiannon Lasrado, chronicles the fate of the “Disappeared” in Argentina (in both Spanish and English). Natasha Iliffe assesses attempts to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, while Louisa Dassow questions the way in which we treat the dead. William Wallace shares a moving account of his own loss of religious faith. Other writers are preoccupied by cultural loss and renewal. Gregory Walton-Green considers the place that Atlantis, Troy and other ancient worlds hold in our cultural memory. Phoebe Warren celebrates the recently recovered status of Cornish culture, while Zoe Rundle appraises the contested identity of Scotland in the light of September’s impending referendum. Holly Govey is interested in what is lost in every translation. Many of our writers are concerned with life at the margins. Robert Bendell investigates the situation of homeless people in Portsmouth and Chichester. William Bates reports on the “hermit kingdom” of North Korea and Dominic Wood explores the liminal land of Iceland. Henry Cunnison wonders whether Europe is entering an economic twilight, just as Japan is reawakening. From the world of music, Julia Alsop recounts the mercurial fortunes of the Bach family, Mark Richardson and Callum Cross map the relationship between music and memory, and Dom Baker celebrates the Vinyl Revival. Finally, Justin Wilkinson reassures us that there is always a science to finding lost objects. Our thanks to Mr Page and Mr Stone for their generous help in preparing this ‘Lost and Found’ issue, and, as ever, our gratitude to Clara Feltham for her creative and painstaking work in designing Portsmouth Point magazine.

Editorial TEAM

Cover image: Abandoned tyre. Salinas Grandes, Argentina by Oliver Stone

The Editors July, 2014

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storytelling REMEMBRANCE & SURVIVAL Lottie Kent

YEAR 12

t is with a certain degree of presumption and a greater degree of infamy that the speaker in Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy” declares ‘I think I may well be a Jew’. In notes written for the BBC in 1962 on her new work, Plath explained that the poem was ‘spoken by a girl with an Electra complex. Her father died while she thought he was God.’ Furthermore, she notes, the girl’s ‘case’ is made difficult by her father being a Nazi and her mother possibly ‘part Jewish.’ These divergent inheritances meet in the daughter and, Plath remarks, ‘paralyze each other - she has to act out the awful little allegory once over before she is free of it.’ The paralysis is certainly palpable; 'Daddy' is a poem of frustration, and the speaker’s stifled sexuality and repressed agency manifest themselves in her own linguistic gagging: ‘the tongue… stuck in a barb wire snare./ Ich, ich, ich, ich.’. Reading the poem as it would seem Plath directs us to, through a psychoanalytical lens, the speaker seems to ‘act out’ the paralysing sexual roles that psychologically enslave her, via her own utterance. In this way, Plath embeds an analogy to psychotherapy’s famous ‘talking cure’; the speaker stammers and spits her way through a journey of free-association that takes the reader from ‘the snows of the Tyrol’ to ‘Dachau, Auschwitz, Belsen’ to the Gothic fairy-tale murder of a ‘vampire’ in a collision of discourse governed by pastiche and parody. However, in using this analogy, Plath is constructing an uncomfortable equation – and one that some critics have opprobriously opposed – between her own traumatised womanhood and

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the traumatic persecution suffered by millions of defenceless people during the Shoah. Not unjustifiably was she labelled impudent for this: the parallel between her individual suffering and mass extermination despite her own nonJewishness was, understandably, a desecration to many. Indeed, her impersonations of the imagined, absent dead in her poetry have provoked accusations of arrogation, of larceny – what right did she have to appropriate the voices of victims, to profane their memory by imagining herself as one of them? Did she not understand the pain of survivors? Did she not grant that, as Elie Weisel has warned, to honour the dead ‘no one has the right to speak on their behalf’? Perhaps she did not. Certainly, Plath was not the only writer to adopt the voices of the dead to poetic effect. Her employment of the rhetorical device prosopopoeia (taking on the voice of an absent or imagined speaker) echoed some of the most prominent and gifted literary figures in their writings on the Holocaust. And whilst such deployment of this technique has been met with controversy, it has also shown itself to be an enabling device for poets to speak as, for, with and about the dead. It can produce work that shows a poignant solidarity with victims as well as allowing writers to articulate a response to the ineffable horrors of war. In the opening stanza of his Pulitzer Prizewinning poem “The World Doesn’t End”, Charles Simic lets an imagined representative for the one million murdered Jewish children speak to his reader: ‘My mother was a braid of black smoke./ She bore me swaddled over the burning cities.’ In presenting a posthumous subject, whose voice, innocence and stilldesperate longing to be with his family all endure after the crematorium, Simic is arguably forcing his reader to conceive of suffering beyond death; he is intimating that suffering, unlike bones and bodies, does not fade and dissipate like smoke to the sky – it remains. Moreover, to recognise this pertinent truth is to draw attention to another – that the victims of the Shoah did not have a cemetery, very few even a grave. It is in this fact that many postwar poets have grounded their art, deducing, as Weisel has, that the living must be their

cemeteries instead. The sheer dearth of bodies and the graves to mark their passing has meant that poets have written from the perspective of the ‘corpses [deprived of] coffins’ and, in doing so, given them a grave in poetry. Furthermore, prosopopoeia powerfully resists the empiricist’s logic for post-war amnesia. Such logic avers that, as there are no legitimate living eyewitnesses (victims) of the gas chambers, and a gas chamber could not exist without eyewitness identification, the gas chambers never existed. Certainly, this revisionist reasoning is highly irresponsible, but the concept allows prosopopoeia to be poetically effective: if the agony and magnitude of the Shoah cannot be expressed in extant words, then, as Jean-Francois Lyotard once proposed, we must use ‘idioms that do not yet exist’ to assert that ‘the silence imposed on knowledge does not impose the silence of forgetting’ but rather ‘a feeling.’ If the living cannot speak fittingly on the horror, they must use the voices of the dead to do so instead, in order that the memory of tragedy should continue. Artistic responses to the Shoah and to all of war’s casualties continue to incite debate today, but one notable criticism of prosopopoeia and of impersonating the imagined dead is that such practice suggests the voices of survivors are not enough. Do we need to adopt the tongue of someone who might have existed and died in order to stress the human expense of a disaster like the Shoah? Could we not listen to and learn from those that actually experienced it? This, however, is dependent on survivors being willing to tell their own stories, to reopen the wound of experience – and, of course, on writers being willing to sacrifice their freedom to respond creatively to catastrophe. Perhaps if those directly affected by conflict are unable to tell of their trauma, and we see appropriating absent victims’ voices as presumptuous, it might make sense to look to art beyond the written to provide a testimony. It is a hackneyed adage, yet the picture is so often worth a thousand words. And, if the picture is worth a thousand, the portrait is worth a million. At least, this was a central premise of Kingston University’s THE LIGHT: Portraits of the Hibakusha, an exhibition that featured the work of students majoring in oil painting at

WHAT RIGHT DID SHE HAVE TO APPROPRIATE THE VOICES OF THE VICTIMS?

Atomic cloud over Hiroshima, August 6th, 1945

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Right: One of the portraits of the ‘Hibakusha’ Below: The entrance to Auschwitz Bottom right: Sylvia Plath

Hiroshima City University. The artwork was generated as part of the educational and research activities that Hiroshima City University engages in to communicate the true facts about and effects of the atomic bombings over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Each of the one hundred portraits features a hibakusha – a word that literally translates as ‘explosion-affected people’ in Japanese.

It was a project that aimed to probe the very essence of painting – especially realism – in modern society, from the perspective of its relationships with people and the community. Indeed, through combining the social relevance of handing down the experiences of survivors, the importance of the people sitting for the portraits, and the immediacy of portraiture as a communicative medium, the exhibition culminated in incredible poignancy. This was not merely the result of a chance idea and good skill, however; there is a philosophical basis for storytelling using portraiture. Makoto Sekimura, a professor at the University’s Graduate School of Art, explores this somewhat in his essay “Portraiture and the Manifestation of the “Face””. He argues that the face, over all other aspects of the human form, can be sufficient to represent a person. If a portrait (‘a record of the face-to-face interaction between painter and model’) is realistic, then the face appears as a ‘natural’ form. However, if we view the face as representing human existence itself, as ‘the seat of personality’, then it is not merely a visual icon – it engenders

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an interaction. He asserts that the THE LIGHT is so effective in remembering past pain because the portraits render the faces of the hibakusha so well – and faces, ‘more than anything else, bring human suffering, and the appeals of those who have experienced it, out into the open’. He continues his discourse by stressing that the face is not a feature we perceive statically, rather, it is ‘pregnant with a certain dynamic, which we perceive as an appeal from another person.’ Invoking the ideology of Jewish philosopher and prisoner of war Emmanuel Lévinas, Sekimura informs us that the face extends beyond its tangible reality to reveal the other that stands before us; only through achieving a certain ‘closeness’ with another, he states, do you reflect upon the meaning of your own existence. The face, an infinite symbol, can cause us to do this. Indeed, it was Lévinas that wrote ‘This infinite, stronger than murder, resists to us already in the face, it is its face, it is the original expression, the first word: “Thou shalt not commit murder”.’ For him, the face of the other is a pleading or demanding appeal to oneself. It rouses us and transfixes us

storytelling:

REMEMBRANCE & SURVIVAL

and can tell us the story of a whole life in the time it takes light to travel to the eye. Its manifestation draws our humanity forth. As Tatsuru Uchida put it, it can ‘deactivate our violence mechanism’ – for the face is the light. Those who dropped the bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not looking at the faces of their victims, just as the Nazis who organised the concentration camps during the Shoah were not looking at the faces of those dying in the gas chambers. It is Sekimura’s belief that, if we build up ethical relationships by confronting others’ faces and responding to their appeals – by having ‘concern for others as emotionally close existences’ – then it becomes infinitely more difficult to maim or kill them. I might add that this is a thorny conception to present before acts of violence such as domestic abuse, committed by partners whose behaviour towards their victims often swings between cruelty and apparent loving ‘concern’; or before rape, when we consider that two thirds of all rape cases in the US are committed by someone known to the victim (according to a National Crime Victimization Study conducted in 2005 by the U.S. Department of Justice). It is incomprehensible that the

perpetrators of these acts can look their victims in the face, who are so often those closest to them, as they brutalise them – and yet it occurs. It is not clear whether Sekimura is choosing to disregard such wrongdoings in his argument against the desensitisation of violence, but nonetheless he raises a valid point that human apathy and detachment are the core facilitators for mass sadism and genocide. He posits that forming an attachment with the lives of the hibakusha in the paintings (through their faces) is a means to curb the ‘fading away of memories’ – to resist post-war amnesia just as prosopopoeia might aid us to do, too. Portraiture and beautiful painting are a means to maintain the memories of the past in the form of information that is ‘the object of our attention.’ Whilst written facts and figures might disappear with the evaporation of our interest, the faces depicted in portraits of survivors endlessly capture us; that we cannot evade the urgency of their appeals to our humanity, even in the silence of exhibition spaces, is, as Sekimura puts it ‘a measure of the true power of painting.’ To comprehend the losses of war we must confront them with a personal closeness. We must stand before the cavity in humanity, see the half-formed wound where swathes of human beings have been ripped out like layers of skin, and react to that absence of life. After seeing an inscription in Hiroshima that read ‘Rest in peace; this mistake will not be repeated’, Radhabinod Pal, a judge on the War Crimes Tribunal for the Far East, asked why the inscription did not specify the perpetrator of this mistake; in response, the hibakusha and former Mayor of Hiroshima, Hamai Shinz, maintains in his memoir that ‘the inscription deliberately eschews the subject of whose mistake the bombing was, so that everyone who stands before the memorial would take the bombing as a matter of personal responsibility.’ In fostering an awareness of our own mistakes we are cultivating our sense of empathy for the suffering of others. Though war might stand without clear perpetrators, its victims are self-evident, and our understanding and alliance with their suffering matters more for the advancement of peace than apportioning blame and punishment. Portraits of survivors allow us to stand before the genocidal wound as if it were a mirror to our faces, to see our fellow human beings and discover something about ourselves. Prosopopoeia allows us to occupy this lesion imaginatively, as if it were a rip in the evidence of war, and, through story, disprove the logic of revisionists. Although for some this means of engagement is too insensitive a behaviour towards such a tender locale in human history, it still represents the desire for a bond with those who are lost. The efforts of Plath and her peers show such an unflinching human desire for solidarity, and it is this energy that, against the torpor of mindless killing, will ultimately propagate peace.

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my lost William Wallace YEAR 13

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.

cute myeloid leukemia is a malignant disease of the bone marrow, which offers low survival prospects for those diagnosed with it. For the families of cancer sufferers, there is only one simple question that remains: “Why?” I was brought up in a church-going family and attended a prep school steeped in Christian values. From an early age, I was taught that God created the world through His divine power and, at the same time, He loves all of His creation. This is at the very heart of Christian belief, yet it is when people are left with the question “Why?” and feel a great sense of injustice that these two crucial aspects of God – power and love – are utterly undermined. I found myself asking that question, at about 11pm on Monday, 21st January 2013. I had just been told that my father, three months after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, had passed away. As my father’s life slipped away, so too did I lose my faith in, and love of, God. This was not an easy choice to reach, particularly as the church has dominated my life – not primarily in what is believed by its followers, but by the music that resonates through its walls. When I started out as a young chorister at Chichester Cathedral, my religious convictions were a mile away from what they are today.

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My prep school, home to the cathedral choristers, prides itself on being drenched in Christian precepts, with twice-weekly cathedral assemblies and a Religious Studies curriculum restricted to anything and everything found in the Bible. Unsurprisingly, this rubbed off on me and, as well as stringing a cross around my neck, I adopted a set of devout beliefs. These were, I’m afraid to say, accompanied by some intolerance: as far as I was concerned, abortion was wrong, homosexuals weren’t normal and Richard Dawkins was evil. Those views didn’t disappear overnight, and all it took was a bit of education to understand and accept the concept of a woman’s right to choose and the fact that homosexuality is about as unnatural as having blue eyes and floppy ears, as I do. But the speckles of love that I had for God were lost in an instant. Just as something is lost, something else is found. My life without a God was complemented by a new perspective: rather than turning to the Bible for answers, I have come to believe that humanity is better served when those solutions come from mankind itself, and not from faith. Yes, the love that I once had for those Saints has been lost – but I suppose you could say that, in doing so, I found my own ideals and principles, and such independence in thinking is something that we should all truly embrace.

Disrespecting the Dead:

THE PARIS CATACOMBS Louisa Dassow

YEAR 12

'm sorry for your loss.â&#x20AC;? When people die, they are lost to us, supposedly never to be found again. It's almost impossible to contemplate the loss of over six million lives, even harder to consider the prospect when you're faced with the seemingly never-ending expanse of their bones. I had never previously considered the importance of human remains. I take a common approach to death; when we are dead there is nothing left, no afterlife. Following this, I assumed that the discarded body became meaningless when it was empty of human thought and that it was irrelevant what happened to it.

The Paris Catacombs

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SOMETHING WAS FUNDAMENTALLY WRONG WITH THE CONCEPT OF THE CATACOMBS

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That is until I visited the “l'Ossuaire Municipal”, more commonly known as the Paris catacombs. The tunnels in which the crypt is situated were originally created in the Roman era, but the remains were only moved down into the tunnels in 1786. My trip below Paris was a fascinating experience, not only because of what I was seeing but also the emotions that it inspired in me. I was struck by a deep and unnerving sense that something was fundamentally wrong with the concept of the catacombs. The Paris catacombs were created out of necessity. There were too many dead. The Parisian graveyards were overflowing, permeating the city with the stench of rotting cadavers and spreading health problems, which only added to the growing pile of bodies. The most problematic graveyard in the city was called “Les Innocents” in the Les Halles district. Space became such an issue that there were metre-high piles of corpses waiting for a grave. Their burial was only temporary; when their flesh had finished decomposing, they were dug up and replaced with fresh corpses. The remains lost their identity. It's hard to believe that the graveyard-workers were able to respect each body when they were responsible for so many thousands of dead people. Bones swapped bodies. The process of moving the corpses underground did not help, the bones piled into covered wagons and led through the streets at night surrounded by chanting priests. It took two years for the graveyards of Paris to be exhumed and emptied into the tunnels. There is very little record of the living who worked so tirelessly in the catacombs, but they are the ones responsible for the intricate and artistic arrangements that make the catacombs especially haunting. To add to the excessive morbidity, there is a collection of well-meaning maxims written in French and Latin scattered throughout the catacombs. Fortunately for me, they were in the two languages that I understand reasonably well and the combination allowed me to decipher most of the phrases. The stone engravings offered cheerful insights including: “If you’ve ever witnessed the death of a man, know that the same fate also

disrespecting the dead:

THE PARIS CATACOMBS

awaits you” or “Ponder in the morning that you might not make it to the evening, and in the evening you might not make it to the morning”. They make the experience seem theatrical. The decoration is unnecessary and it detracts from the gravity of the situation. I felt unable to fully appreciate the mass grave while I was distracted by such absurd sayings. On the other hand, humour of this kind was typical of the people who worked in the catacombs and the words embody their approach to death. In another situation, I might have appreciated their wisdom but amidst the skulls I felt it was insulting. One of my greatest problems with the catacombs is the fact that very few of the people buried there had consented to, or even considered, being buried in the catacomb. I wonder how many of the six or seven million entombed underground would have wanted to be preserved in the catacombs. The more kindly among them might have chosen their resting place as a way of protecting their family from a growing health problem. Others might have been more resentful about their final destination becoming a tourist attraction. It has not always been open to the general public - at some points closed completely and at others freely accessible to the citizens of Paris. There are rules that are supposed to protect the dead from the unscrupulous tourists: Do Not Touch The Bones. A fairly simple command. Yet, every day tourists touch and attempt to pocket the bones. I was not above suspicion; I had to open my bag for the guard along with everyone else but I was horrified to see that the guard had already collected a pile of confiscated bones. In 2009, the catacombs had to be closed for a couple of months after an act of vandalism made the tunnels unsafe for the public. The anonymity of the catacombs, whilst it disconcerts me, actually serves to attract a handful of people who are dedicated to subterranean Paris - the 'cataphiles'. Cataphiles do not necessarily stray into “l'empire de la mort”; the term covers all explorers of the vast tunnel structure. Cataphiles are not

necessarily disrespectful to the dead - the tunnels themselves are a sufficient attraction - but the dead add an extra eeriness to the passages. The ambience is too appealing for some people; King Charles X hosted wild parties in the crypt. More recently, the crypt police uncovered a cavern filled with high-tech cinema equipment. An anonymous, highly secretive group titled the UX claimed responsibility for the theatre. They simply wanted to try another venue. I do not think that these adventures are automatically disrespectful. They do not involve themselves with the ossuary and focus instead on the old quarry tunnels. That does not mean that there are not any bone-loving cataphiles. A great challenge for an experienced cataphile is to try and break into the museum part of the catacombs and leave through the official exit. Others just prefer to pinch bones from the edges of the crypt and steal away back into the depths of Paris. The indignity of having your bones separated forever. I find the concept of jumbled bones disrespectful and the use of them as decorations equally unpleasant. A modern view suggests that what happens to our body after death is inconsequential. Our being is gone and our cells rot, it doesn't matter where they are left behind. However, there is still something human in our remains that should be respected and the catacomb actively prevents us being able to honour an individual. The bones are incapable of rotting in the environment of the catacomb, they are a permanent source of entertainment for visitors, forever being found. Despite my deep misgivings, I would still recommend a trip below Paris. The entrance is unassuming, a small green building opposite the Metro station of Denfert-Rochereau. Watch your head, dress warm and be aware that there are no toilets in the tunnels. Form your own opinions of the people lying in the catacomb, decide that I'm wrong. Either way, I am confident that you will discover something for yourself in the ossuary. Pleasant or unpleasant.

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I S P O S T- T R AU M AT I C STRESS DISORDER

IRREVE Natasha Iliffe

YEAR 13

pproaching the 100-year anniversary of the outbreak of World War One, when an early version of post-traumatic stress disorder – “shell shock” - became a common diagnosis for soldiers in the trenches, studying the development and treatment of PTSD has never been more interesting. Although post-traumatic stress disorder was not recognised as a clinical condition until 1980, stress as a result of a traumatic event is a condition that dates back as far as can be recorded. Throughout history, from at least the time of the Romans, Egyptians and Greeks, fear of death and trauma has been documented as stories have been repeated, from the Egyptian war veteran Hori, three thousand years ago, who described the fear of battle as “shuddering seizes you, the hair on your head stands on end, your soul lies in your hand1” to the Englishman Samuel Pepys who experienced the Great Fire of London in 1666 and wrote six months later that “this very day I cannot sleep at night without great terrors of fire2”. During World War One, around 80,000 men who had experienced the front line were diagnosed with “battle fatigue” or “shell shock”, and high numbers of veterans from Vietnam, Korea and Afghanistan continue to be diagnosed with the disorder. It is suggested that at least 479,000 male Vietnam veterans were diagnosed with PTSD, and statistics in 2004 show that 161,000 veterans were still receiving disability compensation for their PTSD. This raises the question that I

intend to explore – does persistent PTSD suggest that irreversible physical changes occur in the brain during a traumatic event and if so, can the disorder ever be treated? Arguments have been made for what actually defines posttraumatic stress disorder as an illness. Most people are affected in some way when they have experienced a traumatic event, but in the majority of cases symptoms reduce in the following days and weeks. However, in certain people they can develop further and cause both continuing psychological problems, including anxiety, hyper-vigilance and behavioural avoidance, and physical problems such as insomnia, palpitations or trembling. However, DSMIV shows that every mental disorder has a physical component. In order to study the physical effect of trauma, the sections of the brain believed to be participating factors in the development of post-traumatic stress disorder must be observed. These areas include the hippocampus and the amygdala and in addition to this, hormone levels also appear different in PTSD sufferers. Although all of these sections of the brain affect each other in response to trauma, it is the amygdala and hippocampus that largely take control of the functions that cause PTSD to develop. The amygdala is sometimes thought of as being the “fear centre” of the brain as it mediates the emotional content of a thought or memory, storing the highlights of an event; there is a positive correlation between amygdala activity and severity of PTSD symptoms. In combination with the hippocampus, the

SHUDDERING SEIZES YOU, THE HAIR ON YOUR HEAD STANDS ON END, YOUR SOUL LIES IN YOUR HAND

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RSIBLE? neutral context processor, a disruption to the process can cause PTSD, as the two are the key to human memory and an important symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder is the reliving of the traumatic event through flashbacks or nightmares. The amygdala conditions the brain to think about certain situations in a particular emotional way, developing a connection between fear-inducing situations of the past and present events. However, in the case of PTSD, the amygdala connects dangerous past events with harmless present stimuli that are often neutral. This incorrect conditioning of a dangerous view of a safe situation forces the suffering individual to maintain a constant state of hyper-arousal because the amygdala is telling them that a safe environment is threatening. For example, it is not uncommon for a veteran suffering from PTSD to react to something like a firework as if it were a gun, and go into â&#x20AC;&#x153;fight or flightâ&#x20AC;? survival mode. In reaction to present stimuli, the amygdala queries the hippocampus to check past events to determine the safety of the stimuli. However as trauma is often not stored logically, due to the emotional amygdala taking precedence over the logical hippocampus during the event, there tend to be gaps in the memory, forcing the amygdala to associate the fear with anything present without real cause.

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is PTSD

IRREVERSIBLE?

Although this is a physical change to the brain to do with the release of stress hormones and other factors, it could be argued that, while the post-traumatic stress disorder itself may not be fully treatable, systematic desensitisation has been used as a tool to reduce phobias and so could be a method used to help sufferers of PTSD cope with their over-reacting amygdala, telling them that they are in almost constant danger. In addition to this, there is research to suggest that the anterior cingulate and the medial prefrontal cortex may not function well enough to modulate and inhibit the amygdala’s reaction to trauma in PTSD sufferers as blood flow to the medial prefrontal cortex is seen to decrease during stressful situations and Shin et al (2001) showed that anterior cingulate activity was diminished in Vietnam veterans, suggesting that an exposure to stressful and traumatic events, while not directly causing PTSD, at least contributes to changes in the brain which will allow post-traumatic stress to develop. In contrast to the amygdala storing the emotion behind a traumatic event, the hippocampus stores the logical, ordered version of the event itself. However, as the hippocampus is overpowered by the survival mode of the amygdala during the event itself, the processing can be fragmented, leading to disjointed recollections and the application of fear to a variety of neutral stimuli. This is because the hippocampi may try to create the emotion the person expects in a situation based on rewards or punishments from past experiences and previous learned memory. In addition to this theory, there is evidence to show that hippocampi may be smaller in post-traumatic stress sufferers, with up to 8% decreased mass and it is suggested that the more chronic the post-traumatic stress symptoms, the smaller the hippocampi will be as a result. Bremner et al (1997) went as far as to suggest that Vietnam veterans suffered up to 26% hippocampi reduction. This theory is supported by Gilbertson, whose twin studies compared the brain of one twin who had been exposed to war combat to their trauma-exposed counterpart who had developed PTSD. He found that the twin who had been exposed to war and had developed PTSD had a smaller hippocampus than other veterans who had not developed PTSD. Results were similar to those shown in the pictures below. This physical reduction in hippocampus size shows that emotional damage can have physical repercussions, and the result of this damage, in combination with the reaction of the

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amygdala, can make it difficult for the brain to recognise new expectations and react to a situation without going into survivor mode. This would suggest that the damage is irreversible, and so, although therapy or medication may help to reduce the symptoms of PTSD, there is no way to fully restore the hippocampus to its capacity prior to exposure to trauma. The logical aspect of the functioning hippocampus includes the retrieval and interpretation of events. Van der Kolk and McFarlene (1996) suggest that it is not the physical damage to the brain that causes post-traumatic stress disorder, but is rather the way the individual interprets the event. Their study of a young woman who had been raped showed that she “… managed to cope very well…until many months after the event. She then discovered that her rapist had killed one of his victims. Suddenly she developed full blown PTSD symptoms as her interpretation of the danger she had been in changed3”. If the cause of PTSD is partially the interpretation of data received from the hippocampus then, while the hippocampus may not be functioning faultlessly after trauma, if the individual was able, through treatment, to come to terms with their experience, then it is possible that their post-traumatic stress may be treatable. The part of stress hormones in the development of PTSD is an important one. “Fight or flight” responses to stressful situations are determined by multiple hormones, and in studies of PTSD sufferers, it has been found that they have lower level of cortisol, but high levels of epinephrine and norepinephrine. The combination of an abnormal level of these hormones means that the sufferer constantly lives in survivor mode, on high alert for danger. The low levels of cortisol, which gives energy and controls cardiovascular function and regulates blood pressure, is common in someone currently in a threatening situation, but if the levels remain low, then it can be a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder. Glucocorticoids combat the reaction of cortisol, and help with post stress survival. The hippocampus also plays a part in the regulation of hormones, and in particular when to send a message to the adrenal glands to reduce the release of adrenaline. If there is damage to the hippocampus and it does not function properly, its irregular hormone release can cause it to lose all control over the glands, and so there is no regulation of adrenaline. This contributes to the high alert the body feels, even in non-threatening situations. Furthermore, if serotonin levels are not balanced, there can be a lack of inhibiting signals,

O N WAKING MY SMALLEST TO RTO ISE FRO M HIBERNAT IO N Imperceptibly, his front legs twitch so slightly. In his shell and so neurons may not cause stress responses to shut down as they would in a person not suffering from PTSD. If the cause of post-traumatic stress disorder is shown to be largely based on the lack of regulation of hormones then, with medication that will balance the relevant hormones, and in spite of any hippocampal damage, the symptoms could by and large be treated. There are also suspected abnormalities in the central nervous system within a post-traumatic stress patient. Grillon and Morgan III (1998) studied this by observing startle-responses by Gulf War Veterans who had PTSD. All of the men had experienced the same SCUD missile attacks and had witnessed dismembered bodies in battle; half had PTSD while the other half did not. The study concluded that the men who suffered from post-traumatic stress had an increased startle-response between the multiple sessions of testing, suggesting that the high alert the body is on following a traumatic event is contributed to by the central nervous system. In conclusion of the multiple research studies conducted, as well as physical evidence from PET scans, I would argue that there can be little disagreement that post-traumatic stress is largely caused by damage to specific parts of the brain and the inability to function normally as a result. In particular the roles of the amygdala and the hippocampus are vital in our memory and interpretation of past events, which include flashbacks and nightmares, key symptoms of PTSD. In terms of the treatability of post-traumatic stress, it can be proposed that certain aspects of the disorder can be treated with medication, in particular the imbalance of hormone levels, but that the physical changes to the hippocampus and amygdala are ultimately irreversible, and this can be suggested to be the cause of high rates of suicide of around 5,000 veterans per year.

his head, still so snug, is stuck, tucked. The front legs, once again, so subtly fall and rise to reflect the slow suck of too warm air through narrow nares. Then, gradually, the tail unhooks, relaxes, de-contracts, hangs down slackly. And still the front legs softly pulse indistinctly. From deep within, his back legs, once-crammed inside, untuck and, loosely drooping, drop, unwind. The wedged head edges forwards; the neck-folds in the shell-cover still smother the throat. Now the neck extends archly, outwardly. A slit: beady, bright, onyx eye with its sleepy stare gazes blackly at the springâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Retrieved July, 15, 2013. http://www.vva.org/archive/TheVeteran/2005_03/ feature_HistoryPTSD.htm 2 Regel, S and Joseph, S (2010). The Facts: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Oxford University Press. 1st edition. P2 3 Gerhardt, S., (2004). Why Love Matters: How Affection Shapes a Babyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Brain. Routledge. 1st edition. P136 1

harsh, inimical light and, opening fully, looks blankly.

Ms Laura Burden Head of English

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Robert Bendell YEAR 13

I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT HE WAS TRYING TO SAY. BUT WHAT HE DID SAY ANSWERED MY QUESTION ENOUGH

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: While writing for the Portsmouth Point (incidentally, the institution at PGS for which I have the most respect) I have normally written mildly academic, gentle articles. I decided for my last ever piece that I would produce something a little more like real journalism. The purpose of this piece was purely to note what happened. I tried not to pass judgement, or include more of my own reflections than I thought necessary. If there are thoughts to be had about this situation, it is not up to a middle class teenager to express them. I have changed people’s names to protect their identity. I would thank Portsmouth Point for publishing it.

'm standing in a parking lot in Chichester at midnight, speaking through the window of a police car to a man named Dave. 'Most of them choose it' he tells me. 'They don't want the responsibility of a house, bills...it's a lifestyle choice. The British ones, they keep to themselves mostly...it used to be worse. St Joseph's, the homeless centre, they used to accept anyone who came around six or seven. Now they only stay for twenty one or twenty three days, time to find a house, then they go. We don't get the influx anymore.' I've asked him about the police perspective on the homeless population in Chichester - an area, as he reminds me, that has relatively few. He finds that they aren't much trouble. He's awkward as he talks about them, and I can see why - the word alone is difficult. There's no acceptable noun for the homeless. The words “hobo” or “tramp” are both insulting and “vagrant” or “vagabond” are pretentious, leaving your writer with the painful “homeless person” as an alternative. My decision to write this article came when walking home from school. At Portsmouth Harbour, I noticed the collection of homeless people sitting by the station and wondered how many students at PGS had given them money - or even looked at them for more than a moment. The tiny distance between our gazes marked the huge gap in our worlds and I began to wonder what it would be like to experience their world. With this in mind, I began speaking to them - and one, named Josh, invited me to meet up with him and talk about his life.

Josh had been in a stable job (not named here at his request), where he earned enough to live in a private home, eat and have the normal comforts. When I spoke to him, he had been on the streets for a little less than a month. 'It was all too much... responsibility, y'know?' he tells me, and the police officer's words echo in my head. He was sleeping behind the Chichester library, where I spent one night with him. I hardly slept but for me this was little more than a camping trip - for him, it was how he had been existing for the past month. He chose to do this and had been - as he put it - on a 'monthlong binge'. The encounter that sticks most in my mind - the one that makes me doubt, in some cases, whether homelessness is really a choice - is my first. I saw a man carrying a sleeping bag through a back alley at around eleven thirty. I asked if I could hang out with him and ask him a few questions. He said I couldn't stay but that I could ask. He had been on the street for twenty three years, previously a mechanic. I asked how he came to live on the streets. His answer: 'Have you seen the film The Eagle Has Landed? (I hadn't.) Well, there's a bit in it when a German general puts a Jewess on a train and shoots her. And I stood up and said 'that's not right'. I mean, when the Russians were fighting through...but by this time they'd destroyed. And just shooting her, for sport like. And they said to get Dave Cameron. And I couldn't. And...(reaches up and removes something from mouth) I've got false teeth. D'you see?' I nodded slowly. I didn't know what he was trying to say. But what he did say answered my question enough.

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the

“GREAT” Tom Harper

YEAR 13

o the poor old ostrich died for nothing”. However ludicrous and inaccurate Baldrick’s summary of the causes of the First World War may be in the much loved Blackadder series, one finds that, now we have reached its centenary, such words are becoming increasingly provocative. Indeed, from the witty puns of Rowan Atkinson and Tony Robinson has emerged what some (most notably the current Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove) are calling the ‘Blackadder version’ of history, in which the so-called ‘Great War’ was little more than a pointless waste of life and something that Britain as a nation should never have involved itself in. As part of marking the event, two noteworthy historians, Max Hastings and Niall Ferguson, recently locked horns on the BBC2 programmes The Necessary War and The Pity of War arguing for and against Britain’s participation in World War One, and this, in turn, has seemingly relit the fire beneath the debate. Hence, in the spirit of ‘Lost and Found’, I have found it interesting to explore the aspects of the period between 1914 and 1918 that are most prominent in the minds of people nowadays, and whether or not it is still seen as a truly ‘Great’ war. So what exactly has been ‘lost’ concerning the notion of a ‘Great’ War? There is a stark contrast to be made between the sentiments of the British public at the beginning and the end of World War One, as, whilst initially we Brits were firmly committed to the belief that the war would be “over by Christmas”, such aspirations were quickly shattered in the face of trench warfare. Indeed, after four years of brutal conflict with little territorial gain on either side, a total of between 10 and 13 million casualties had amounted, leading many to question the purpose of the war. Although our losses perhaps pale in comparison to the 2 million Germans lost to the conflict, Britain’s 750,000 casualties led to many fearing the ‘horrors of war’, as evidenced by Chamberlain’s enthusiasm towards appeasement as opposed to aggression in the 1930s. On top of

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FERGUSON HAS LABELLED BRITAIN’S ENTRY INTO WORLD WAR ONE AS ‘THE BIGGEST ERROR IN MODERN HISTORY’

this, anyone studying history at school will have most likely heard of the ‘Lions led by Donkeys’ take on the war in which incompetent generals such as Haig led to pointless losses of life in the hundreds of thousands at infamous battles such as the Somme and Passchendaele. Indeed, Niall Ferguson has labelled Britain’s entry into World War One as “the biggest error in modern history” on account of such casualties and our contribution to turning an international conflict into a global war. Although it is difficult to deny that the death toll would have been on a catastrophic scale due the combination of recent technological innovations in weaponry as well as the mass conscription undertaken by the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente in the years leading up to 1914, he, among other historians, argues that our intervention was partly responsible for the abomination of trench warfare. Furthermore, it is clear that many lost their faith in the legitimacy of the war due to the economic cost that the war caused Britain. As Ferguson himself commented: "The cost… was catastrophic, and it left the British empire at the end of it all in a much weakened state … It had accumulated a vast debt, the cost of which really limited Britain's military capability throughout the interwar period.” It is therefore unsurprising that so many historians have criticised British involvement in the war, as not only did it cause severe losses to the nation but such losses themselves also significantly weakened Britain in the build-up to the Second World War. Having said this, I’m sure there are those of you reading this who are thinking ‘But if Britain had to stand up to Germany during the First World War, can the losses really be our fault?’ There are also almost certainly those amongst the readers of this article who would refer to Britain’s treaty with Belgium, which debatably forced their entry into the conflict (specific knowledge for which I commend you). Yet interestingly, on his recent programme The Pity of War Ferguson was able to quibble with this too. He argued that Britain could have waited a while before Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, shortly before their assassination

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Above Trench warfare dashed British hopes of a quick end to the war Right: British recruitment poster – focusing on Germany’s invasion of Belgium

entering the war and hence limited the scale of destruction. For him and other historians, Britain’s treaty obligation to defend Belgium’s neutrality (as threatened by the Schlieffen Plan) was merely a piece of paper that should have been cast aside by harder heads. Indeed, Laurence Tisch (Professor of History at Harvard University) highlights how “Britain tolerated exactly that situation happening when Napoleon overran the European continent, and did not immediately send land forces to Europe” and hence had the option to intervene later. It was remarkable, he said, that Britain intervened on land so early in 1914, when quite unprepared: “Given the resources that Britain had available in 1914, a better strategy would have been to wait and deal with the German challenge later when Britain could respond on its own terms, taking advantage of its much greater naval and financial capability." Finally, another perhaps controversial argument put forward as to why the notion of a ‘Great’ war should be ‘lost’ is that, according to Ferguson, "Britain could indeed have lived with a German victory.” He argues that, had Britain stayed out of

the conflict, the overall outcome would have been very similar – a continent eventually dominated by German economic power and, perhaps, the avoidance of Hitler and Stalin. The world would have been different, but in all likelihood more benign. However, although counterfactual history (that is to say the history of ‘what might have been’) is a fun parlour game that can draw attention to indeterminacy and contingency in history, such an argument does not carry much weight. Yet, interestingly, this did not stop Max Hastings offering his own ‘What if?’ perspective concerning Britain’s entry into World War One. In his own side of the debate, through the programme The Necessary War, he argued that a war avoided by Britain in 1914 would have been “a war delayed”. Had Germany and Austria defeated France and Russia (which was likely in Britain’s absence), it was arguably inevitable that the Central Powers’ domination of European trade markets and colonial frontiers would have posed a continued security risk to the British Empire. What’s more, Britain would be facing Germany without the benefit of

WOULD A WAR AVOIDED IN 1914 HAVE BEEN A WAR DELAYED?

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the ‘Great’ WAR?

a continental alliance, making the prospects of winning such a conflict more remote than the one that actually took place. Hence although such an argument is equally as likely (or indeed unlikely) as the one presented by Ferguson, Hastings argues that we, as a nation, need to rediscover how ‘Great’ the First World War truly was to Britain, as, without our intervention, the consequences for us (as well as others) could have been severe. In addition, Hastings draws upon the moral argument when highlighting how our involvement in World War One was noble and ‘the right thing to do’. If British ‘black propaganda’ at the time is anything to go on, the evils of Germany would have been catastrophic to Europe; hence we had to intervene in order to protect other nations. To an extent this can be seen as true, as on one level, despite Germany possessing universal suffrage, this masked an absolute monarchy that, by 1916, had effectively become a military dictatorship under Hindenburg and Ludendorff. Thus the threat posed by Germany to the freedom of other nations can be perceived as significant. As if that weren’t enough, the atrocities committed by the German army in occupied Belgium and France towards civilians certainly demanded some kind of ‘moral’ intervention. Indeed, what was donned as the ‘Rape of Belgium’ by British propaganda constituted the burning down of homes and the execution of civilians (including women and children) whom German armies deemed equally as threatening as the soldiers themselves. The most notable example of this was the ravaging of the city of Leuven, whose university library (which contained around 300,000 medieval books) was deliberately burnt to the ground by German soldiers armed with gasoline; they had just executed 248 residents. Although this was nowhere near the barbarism of their Nazi successors, Hastings argues that for these reasons Britain could not remain neutral: to do so would have been fundamentally against its interests. Moreover, the most obvious reason why the notion of a ‘Great’ war should not be lost to Britain is its mobilisation of British patriotism. In the years leading up to the First World War, the emergence of ‘Social Darwinism’ – the belief that your nation was better than all the rest – resulted in the emergence of a mass propaganda machine in Britain. For the first years of the conflict, the majority of strongly pro-British culture came from below with respect to musicians, writers and filmmakers, and so 1914-1918 saw a huge surge in British cultural unity. It is interesting to note that, like the rest of Europe, Britain's working class movement was militantly intruding onto the political stage, with the 7 months leading up to the war seeing approximately 40 million workers lost to strikes. However, such a number significantly decreased in Britain as men and women all contributed to the war effort. Echoes of this significant elevation in patriotism can still be felt in Britain today, and thus one might argue that in spite of the horrific losses we suffered between 1914 and 1918, it was the creation of a powerful national sentiment that merits this war as being remembered as ‘Great’.

In conclusion, as an A-level student as opposed to a qualified historian, obviously I myself am not at liberty to say whether or not the First World War deserves to be viewed as ‘Great’ from the perspective of the British. Indeed, it is a debate that still plagues the minds of historians nowadays, leading some such as Hastings to argue that it was a matter of ‘honour’, whilst others such as Ferguson are more inclined to believe that the price paid to uphold such ‘honour’ was too high. Yet I personally believe that the notion of a ‘Great’ war should not be ‘lost to Britain, but rather rediscovered and hence found. Regardless of the counterfactual theories presented by historians concerning what may and may not have happened, in the absence of facts all we have to work with is what did happen: with our help the Entente was able to achieve victory in the First World War, stem the scale of atrocities committed by German armies in Belgium and France, and mobilise levels of patriotism never seen before. Therefore, as much as I love the comedic antics of Rowan Atkinson and Tony Robinson, it seems the ostrich’s death was perhaps for something after all.

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Lost and found: THE LEGACY OF THE G R E AT WA R Mr Simon Lemieux

HEAD OF HISTORY AND POLITICS

he commemorations for the centenary of the Great War are now well under way. We have already seen the inevitable sniping over the causes, involving some of our leading politicians: see the spat between Michael Gove and Tristan Hunt for starters, with a somewhat ill-informed Education Secretary coming off rather the worse. Still if he cannot come up with something more creative than blaming it on the Germans and challenging a proper historian (namely Hunt), what does he expect? But is there something more fertile when reflecting on the war than merely the hotly contested debate about who started it? Arguably, just as interesting is a discussion on what we have ‘lost and found’ both as a nation and as a global community as a result of this global conflict. What follow, therefore, are my own thoughts on this easily neglected aspect of the war. Some points are inevitably a little simplified and summarised for reasons of space, but hopefully the more astute readers will accept that. So where to start in our audit of gains and losses? First of all, consider the subject of empires and global superpowers. The war saw the destruction of three long-established Empires in Europe and the Near East: the Ottoman (Turkish), the Romanov (Russian) and the Habsburg (Austro-Hungarian) – all, arguably, were in terminal decline before 1914, but there is no doubt that the strains of sustained total warfare finished them off. In return, the world found new successor states created out of the rubble

of these imperial entities. Examples of these artificial new creations included: Austria, Czechoslovakia and modern day Turkey. Also, restored to independence were states such as Poland and Lithuania, peoples with a proud history but victims of imperial expansion in the previous centuries. Europe also lost the Second Reich – Imperial Germany, created from the unification of 1871 and led by the Kaiser. Arguably, too, this was when the sun really began to set on the British and French empires, the costs of warfare fundamentally undermining their ability to sustain their vast and unwieldy colonial collections. Great Britain saw the net sale of around £300 million of overseas investments. True, in the short term with the arrival of League mandates of ex-German colonies such as South West Africa (modern day Namibia) the British Empire had never been larger geographically. In reality, we lacked the resources and increasingly the will to keep the show on the road. World War Two would deliver the coup de grace but the rot set in after 1919. But for losers, there were also winners. The entry into the war in 1917 of the USA marked its arrival as a global rather than merely regional power. Yes, isolationism would characterise much of its foreign policy in the 20s and 30s, but the USA had done well financially out of the war supplying the allies with vital supplies and materials. Easily overlooked, perhaps (given the refusal of the Senate to ratify the Treaty of Versailles or to join the League of Nations in 1920), is the role the USA played in aiding the anti-Bolshevik White forces in the Russian Civil War from 1918.

THE ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR CAN BE FOUND IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR

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Left: The Russian Revolution, 1917: setting the scene for twentieth century totalitarianism Below: President Wilson: a new era of American dominance

The real origins of the Cold War can be found in the aftermath of the First, not Second, World War. The composition of the Whites (in truth, a motley collection of autocratic nationalists with few genuine liberals or democrats among their ranks) also serve to remind us that, not for the last time, the mother of all democracies was quite happy to support ‘offspring’ with dubious credentials other than being sworn enemies of America’s enemy (in this case, Lenin and the Bolsheviks). If the world witnessed the collapse of the main European outposts of monarchical autocracy, it also found new and arguably even crueller tyrants. In Russia the seizure of power by the Far Left and in Weimar Germany the political instability in part engendered by the Far Right set the scene for 20th totalitarianism. The roots of Stalin’s Russia and Hitler’s Germany, with their self-proclaimed secular messiahs, lie in the debris of the Great War. A vengeful and embittered Germany would in due course find their saviour in an Austrian corporal for whom the experience of war provided a purpose and direction to his hitherto drifter lifestyle. In Russia, the creation of a communist one-party dictatorship under Lenin paved the way for Stalin to rise to power by the late 1920s. Under Lenin, the key ingredients of a communist secret police, merciless treatment of any opponents and bureaucratic party machinery were all established ready to be cynically manipulated in due course by the ex-trainee priest and bank robber from Georgia. Part of this Bolshevik brutality was the execution of the entire Russian royal family in 1918. Yet on matters royal, in Great Britain we too lost and found a royal family. In an act of clever spin or desperate re-branding, the surname of the Royal Family was changed from the Germanic Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to the reassuringly English surname of Windsor. During the war H. G. Wells wrote about Britain's "alien and uninspiring court", and George famously replied: "I may be uninspiring, but I'll be damned if I'm alien." With an Order in Council in July 1917, his wish was granted. Not to be left out, other German titles held by members of the Royal Family were also patriotically dropped for more British-sounding titles. Thus for example, Prince Adolphus of Teck became Marquess of Cambridge. Remaining with the United Kingdom, the war also heralded ‘lost and found’ in domestic politics. On the losing side was the Liberal Party. Having suffered a damaging split in 1916 when one of its leading lights, David Lloyd George - then Munitions Minister - replaced the Liberal leader Herbert Asquith as

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Right: Oh What A Lovely War (1963) was influential in its portrayal of senior officers as incompetent butchers Below: Commemoration of soldiers’ sacrifice became democratised Bottom: Women’s suffrage

Prime Minister but not as Liberal leader, the party never fully recovered. Lloyd George remained PM with Tory backing as head of the Coalition Government until 1922, when he, in turn, was ousted by the Conservatives. Incidentally, this was the last Coalition Government until 2010, as those in the 1930s and 1940s were technically National Governments. Like the empires of continental Europe, the British Liberal Party was not without its considerable problems prior to 1914, but the War, if nothing else, acted as the catalyst in its decline and fall. However, if the British electorate lost a party of the progressive centre, it gained a party of the constitutional left in the form of the Labour Party. Although founded back in 1900, it was only in 1918 that it emerged as a fully fledged and properly constituted political machine. It also adopted its long serving Clause IV and socialist commitment to nationalisation, only ever partly realised and then dropped (sorry, re-worked) by Blair’s New Labour project in 1994. Well, if a monarchy can re-brand itself, why not a political party … Alongside the arrival of a new political force in Britain, came full democracy. In 1918, the one third of men who still could not vote and women over 30 at last found their political voice. It is rather a simplification to argue that votes for women was achieved due to their war work, and there is an argument that in fact it slightly delayed it, but overall the suspension of the militant suffragette campaign in 1914 and the need for comprehensive franchise reform in 1918 to allow men who had been away at the front fighting to vote undoubtedly helped gain the vote for women. But it would be unfair simply to focus on gains and losses in the area of politics and empires. The social and belief aspects also merit discussion. The scale and horror of so much of the trench-based fighting, the sheer scale of casualties all round, put paid in Britain, at least, to any residual notions of nobility and romanticism concerning war. The 'Dulce et Decorum est' view of warfare based on notions of duty and service fuelled by imperial pride was an early victim of the War. For many it soon became a lie, replaced by a more bitter tone, often critical (rightly or wrongly) of social and military superiors. General Haig was probably wrongly lambasted by some as the butcher of the Somme; modern historians have been more sympathetic towards his methods and tactics, but nonetheless those who survived the

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Lost and found:

THE LEGACY OF THE GREAT WAR

war were less likely than their forebears to be deferential and accepting of the status quo. The golden age of a DowntownAbbey-style social hierarchy was no more. The number of domestic servants plummeted; numerous country estates were split up and sold in the years immediately after 1918. They were victims often of either death duties or the death of male heirs on the battlefields of Flanders or the beaches of Gallipoli. Junior officers drawn frequently from the ranks of the younger landed classes had the highest casualty rate of pretty much any group serving in the British armed forces. If the innocence of a generation about the brutal realities of warfare had been lost, we gained some evocative war poetry. The likes of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon came to epitomise for many the futility of war. Their experience of heavy casualties and of the sheer brutality and scale of modern warfare with its artillery shells, shrapnel and gas, all served to propagate a growing pacifist movement for much of the interwar years. With works such as Robert Graves’ Goodbye To All That, which appeared in 1929, and plays such as Journey’s End by R.C. Sherriff (described by George Bernard Shaw as a "useful [corrective] to the romantic conception of war"), the myth of ‘lions led by donkeys’ was created. This approach was later followed through by musicals such as Oh! What a Lovely War and Alan Clark’s work actually entitled Lions Led By Donkeys. Perhaps it is no surprise that much of this second wave of academic and cultural output criticising the leadership of the Great War generals appeared in the 1960s, another period that saw much criticism of the political and social establishment and, of course, anti-war protests over Vietnam. So there is a case to be made for saying that the much of the modern-day pacifist and anti-war movement dates from the immediate post-war period, when organisations such as the Peace Pledge Union flourished and much (misplaced) faith was placed in the League of Nations movement. Yet, while we might have found the pacifist and anti-war movement, we also saw the emergence of the ordinary soldier

as a hero. Previous monuments to wars or battles focused very much on the leaders and generals; think of Nelson’s Column – where are the names of all the ordinary seamen who served on board HMS Victory alongside the great admiral? Or the Arc de Triumph in Paris, inscribed only with the names of Bonaparte’s generals? Following the Great War, commemoration of a soldier or sailor’s sacrifice in Britain, at least, became individualised and democratised. Visit any British war cemetery and generals and lowly privates (and even deserters) are all commemorated alike by a simple white stone headstone of uniform size and layout. Even the impromptu roadside shrine has its origins in the war, when such shrines became a feature of many East End streets when news of death reached a neighbourhood. Flowers and written tributes would often be placed there as an act of solemn tribute. Conventional religious faith was also affected and challenged by the experience of war. While faith brought comfort and a crutch to some, for others, the sheer scale of devastation and randomness of life and death encouraged a secularist fatalism. The socialist and Fabian F.H. Keeling, writing from the trenches in 1915, noted that, ‘the yarns … about the revival of religion at the Front is all rot…. I don’t think there is much to be said to be said for le bon Dieu after all this.’ The strident muscular Christianity of ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’ and ‘Fight the Good Fight’ was in part replaced by a more reflective and activist style of Christianity. Many theologians would doubt the Just War theories which had helped provide some moral camouflage for entering the war in the first place. Wilfred Owen, in a letter to his mother in 1917, wrote "I am more and more a Christian. . . Suffer dishonour and disgrace, but never resort to arms. Be bullied, be outraged, be killed: but do not kill." The Great War was for many who experienced it one long Good Friday. So, there we have it. A lengthy if necessarily incomplete audit of gains and losses, with reference to the Great War. Above all, what strikes one when looking at the bigger picture is just how widespread was the impact of the war: on empires and the political map of Europe and beyond, on the arts and culture, on belief systems and political ideology, and also (and most poignantly) on numerous individual families. Few if any wars so well illustrate Leon Trotsky’s famous maxim: ‘War, comrades, is a great locomotive of history.’ However, the context in which Trotsky used it when addressing the Comintern in 1922 was not directly referring to World War One. He was actually speculating about the consequences of a possible war between the USA and Japan. Yet, on the premise of that almost throwaway remark, a famous quote about war was coined. In the end, Trotsky is right about the impact of war and also about a war occurring between the USA and Japan. But he was wrong about its consequences and the fortunes of world revolution. Historians are better suited, therefore, to poring over the ‘lost and found’ of the past, than speculating about what might turn up next in the railway station lost property room!

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Alexander Quarrie-Jones YEAR 13

ver the next four years, I am sure we will become highly saturated by every intrinsic detail of the First World War - every battle, key figure and sacrifice. However, the commonly-held image of World War One – of men monotonously waiting in trenches with shells raining over their heads - actually negates the whole concept of the war being (somewhat) worldwide. However, the issue that also becomes dwarfed by this image is that of civilian casualties. These are the people who are most commonly forgotten in everyday discussions of the First World War. Approximately 42% of deaths during World War One were civilian and - lest we forget - these deaths were not just caused by fighting on the Western Front or zeppelins bombing London but by aggressive powers seeking to cleanse their own borders, as witnessed in the atrocity of the Armenian Genocide, an event that is heavily under-publicised in historical accounts of the war. The doctrine of Total War teaches that, when engaged upon a wartime footing, every citizen of the enemies’ country becomes a target due to their capability to contribute to the war effort. Therefore, the opponent nation is somewhat justified in carrying out operations against this citizenry since its intended goal is to stall the war effort of their enemy. However, in a pragmatic situation, adhering to said doctrine always becomes a matter of contentious interpretation. For example, the bombing of London in World War One carried out by German Zeppelins was labelled as a ‘strategic bombing campaign’, indicating that there should be a strategy informing the decisions of the Zeppelin crews. Yet, they knew that their bombing was rudimentary at best; attempting to accurately hit a military target was virtually impossible, so the chances of civilian casualties were practically guaranteed. To be honest, this is what the Germans most likely desired. Britain hadn’t experienced a genuine invasion by an aggressive foreign force for over nine centuries. Then there were airships dominating the sky above people’s heads, raining death and destruction. Although these raids killed a relatively small proportion of the population

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(557 killed), the Zeppelins were dubbed “baby-killers” and a sense of fear permeated the everyday lives of those exposed to such raids. All this was what the Germans wished to achieve: instil terror and fear amongst the populace in order to crush their spirit for war. While the raids did not fully achieve the end that the Germans sought, they planted the concept in the minds of many that civilian casualties would become a burden that every country involved would have to bear over the next century. The discussion of civilian casualties during World War One also leads to the single greatest atrocity of the First World War: the Armenian Genocide. Although acknowledged as the second most studied case of genocide after the Holocaust, this topic is rarely discussed in the context of the First World War. The genocide was perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire against the Armenian minorities who lived inside the empire’s borders. To this day, Turkey (viewed as the successor state to the Ottoman Empire) refuses to acknowledge that the event can be called ‘genocide’. However, this seems like a foolish argument as the word itself was coined by Raphael Lemkin to describe that very event. The total number of Armenians killed is generally accepted to be 1.5 million, but estimates vary from 600,000 to 1.8 million. It featured both mass deportation and mass murder of ethnic groups like the Armenians, the Assyrians and the Greeks. The factor that makes this entire affair of events even worse is that, while this was committed against a backdrop of death and destruction, none of the 1.5 million who were killed were fighting against the Ottomans but were all in fact Ottomans themselves. Yet, when it came to reparations for those affected, the effort was underwhelming and Turkey got off practically scot-free. While civilian casualties make for a particularly shocking topic - even within the context of the mass slaughter of the First World War as a whole – the boundary between civilian and military casualties has become increasingly blurred during the past century. Psychological warfare will always weigh heavily in deciding the outcome of a conflict, especially in the conflicts of the modern age.

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Dr Peter Galliver

HISTORY AND POLITICS DEPARTMENT

eyond the national press, the people of Portsmouth in 1914 could keep themselves informed by reading any of the three local newspapers. There was the Liberal-supporting daily, the Evening News, and its weekly sister paper, the Hampshire Telegraph. Alongside these was another weekly, the Conservative-inclined Portsmouth Times. All three appeared in much the same format. It was standard practice for newspapers of this period to have a front page of advertisements. This was followed by pages offering still more advertisements and public notices, wide-ranging coverage of local news from the courts to local scout troops, reports of national and local sport, cartoons offering comment on the political issues of the day and serialised fiction (in July 1914, the Portsmouth Times gave considerable space to the work of Nat Gould, while the Evening News serialised Sybil Campbell Lethridge’s “Unseen Force”. Coverage of political events and editorial comment, called either “Notes of the Week” in the Portsmouth Times or “Today” in the Evening News, was provided a few pages in, after the advertisements, serials and first sections of local news. Looking at the three Portsmouth newspapers in the weeks between the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on 28 June and Britain’s entry into the War on 3 August gives a glimpse into the life of the town on the eve of the cataclysm and allows us an opportunity to look at how the events leading to war were put before the people of Portsmouth. In the month before the outbreak of war, little was said in the Portsmouth press regarding the international situation. On Friday 3 July, the Portsmouth Times started its “Notes of the Week” with the story of the Sarajevo assassination, praising the Archduke and calling his tragic death “a misfortune for Austria

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Left: Fleet Review at Spithead, July 1914 (from Keep The Home Fires Burning by John Sadden) Below: Portsmouth Dockyard, c. 1910 (from Portsmouth in Archive Photographs)

and, through Austria, the rest of Europe.” The remainder of the column was taken up with items such as the news that Sir James Key Laird had given £24,000 for a Trans-Antarctic Expedition to be led by Ernest Shackleton and the progress of Sir Thomas Lipton’s Shamrock IV in its attempt to win the America’s Cup. This unawareness of what was to follow from the assassination of the Habsburg heir makes the reading of the Portsmouth press in July 1914 all the more poignant. The pages of the newspapers show a peacetime world that was about to be pulled into tragedy. In the shops it was sale time and the advertisements were dominated by offers such as Morant’s of Palmerston Road having reduced white linen motor coats from 29/6 to 19/11 and ladies’ afternoon gowns from 12/6 to 8/11. At Knight and Lee’s, genuine ostrich feather boas were on sale at 3/11, boys’ suits from 12/6 to 15/6 and men’s shirts at 2/6. Corbin’s could provide men’s heavy boots for 3/10. In the first week of July, a full page was taken in the Evening News by the People’s Teeth Association of Commercial Road. It offered painless extractions from 1/- but free to those having artificial teeth, available in sets from £1 to £4. Entertainment was on offer at the Theatre Royal, the King’s, the Prince’s, the Coliseum, Clarence Pier and South Parade Pier. In July, the run of The Thief at the Theatre Royal was coming to an end to be replaced by East Lynne. Vaudeville was on offer at South Parade Pier, the John Ridgely Opera Company at Clarence Pier. At the Prince’s, Should the Preacher Tell was replaced by An Indian Girl’s Devotion. In sport, the cricket season was well under way. Hampshire’s matches (featuring a core of players who would turn out for the county into the 1930s - The Hon. Lionel Tennyson, Phil Mead, George Brown, Jack Newman and Alec Kennedy)

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were recorded, notably defeats against Sussex and Jack Hobbs’ Surrey, as were the scorecards of all first class matches, including the Gentlemen versus Players. Full coverage was also given to that month’s Eton versus Harrow match and all local cricket. Portsmouth FC announced that their former Derby County player, Horace Wright, had been sold to Pontypridd and that the money would be used for ground improvements. The July AGM of the club reported increased attendances leading to a profit of £440, with gate receipts having brought in £7,164/3/9, the players’ wage bill having been £4,085/12/5. Local matters were dominated by court reports ( there was sensational case of attempted murder in the Dockyard), the politics of the Town Council, School Board and Board of Guardians, the work of local charities and matters of interest to the Dockyard community. In July, the main Council story was the fuss caused by the town’s Labour councillors, Jock McTavish and Stephen Pile, over the Library’s acceptance of a gift copy of the official guide book to Pretoria. In the aftermath of trade union disputes, they regarded the government there as “cosmopolitan thieves.” The School Board was exercised by teachers complaining about low pay and some attention was giving to the raising of over £2,000 by the Hospital Fund to provide the latest radium treatment on Baring Ward. Dockyard issues focused on the campaign to have pensions extended to hired men, the preparations for George V’s review of the Fleet on Saturday 18 July and fears about recent flights over the Dockyard by a German airship. There was also some gloating that, while the Iron Duke had been built in Portsmouth inside the Admiralty’s two-year target for the building of battleships, its sister ship, the Marlborough, had been launched four months late in Devonport.

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National politics centred around the Irish question and the prospects of civil war being triggered by Home Rule. Much attention in “Notes of the Week” and “Today” was given to the role of George V in arranging a last-minute conference to achieve a resolution. Outside of this, there was reference to the Suffragette campaign and coverage of Joseph Chamberlain’s death. The Liberal newspapers ran cartoons extolling the virtues of Asquith and Lloyd George, the Portsmouth Times taking swipes at free traders and pointing out the merits of fair trade. It was not until Friday 31 July that any reference to the developing crisis moved out of the “Today” column in the Evening News, when a major article appeared under the headline “The European Crisis – Russian Mobilisation – Germany Expected to Follow Suit.” Further headline articles followed on Saturday 1 August: “Is it Peace or War?” and on Monday 3 August, “The Great War – England’s Decision.” Looking at the comments in the “Today” and “Notes of the Week” columns, an interesting picture emerges. There is nothing in the Portsmouth newspapers of jingoism, intense anti-German sentiment or the glorification of war. What is displayed is an acute awareness of the awfulness of war and a perceptive analysis of the causes of its declaration in 1914. As a daily newspaper, the Evening News in its “Today” column gave an unfolding commentary on events. In its reflections on the Fleet Review in the 18 July edition, it was argued that, while Portsmouth’s economy might be based on preparation for war, the town itself did not relish the prospect of wars. There was even some sympathy for Germany with the comment, “For several years now Germany has been the bogey used to frighten us into naval and military activity exactly in the same way as the French were employed until we understood each other better...

July 1914

PORTSMOUTH ON THE EVE OF WAR Left: Pre-War view of children playing on Southsea Promenade (from Portsmouth Through Time by John Sadden) Below: Ad published on the eve of war (from Portsmouth and Gosport at War by John Sadden)

Very foolishly we have irritated Germany by openly basing our strength and our preparations upon the assumption that her object was to attack us, instead of quietly maintaining our supremacy without, in a sense, questioning the right of other nations to increase their power on the sea.” As events unfolded, the Evening News, expressed hope that the Liberal Government would find a peaceful solution but coupled with this was an acute awareness of the difficulty of the situation. On Saturday 25 July the view was, “This is one of Europe’s dark days. Austria-Hungary has threatened Servia with war… But, the way to peace is the prompt acceptance by Servia of most demands.” On Monday 27, it argued, “No need for war. Servia already brought to its knees unless she (Austria) is determined to subjugate the country and reduce it to vassaldom…The man who really holds the peace of Europe in his hands is not, however, the Czar but the Kaiser. By Thursday 30, there was some hope expressed with the comment that “the situation is not nearly so desperate as it appears.” Britain’s diplomatic role was vital and the highest influences were at work. The next day it was admitted that, “Issues of peace and war still hang in the balance.” By Saturday, pessimism had grown with the comment, “There can be no doubt that Europe stands face to face with an appalling danger – the danger of universal war – consequence of which can only mean ruin to all nations concerned and destitution to millions of people....It is a moot point whether the murder was merely seized on by Austria as an excuse for crushing for ever the little Slav state.... Britain’s position is extremely awkward as it is difficult to see how she can refrain from helping France and Russia without an immense loss of prestige.” When war was declared, the Portsmouth Times produced an explanation of its genesis that is markedly similar to what in the 1960s would become known as “The Fischer Thesis”. Working on the German Archives, Fritz Fischer of the University of Hamburg argued that the Great War was principally the result of decisions made by the Kaiser and his circle in response to problems that they had largely created. The Portsmouth Times had this to say on 7 August 1914: “Britain stands united. Germany may have calculated that our internal dissensions would prevent us from joining in the wanton war which the Teutons so wilfully

provoked against six nations...The people agreed that it was impossible for Britain to stand aside whilst her friends were being attacked, treaties torn up and the neutrality of friendly countries violated by a country waging war with no apparent reason except that of greed and lust for power…The Kaiser’s counsellors may have considered that it was a case of now or never for the German Empire.” In developing this last point, the writer referred to the strength of the Socialist Party in Germany, its resentment of the tax burden created by the German arms programme and the difficulty for Germany in keeping up in the European arms race. For the Kaiser and his generals, war was a solution. The Evening News in its appraisal of how peace had been lost also produced an analysis that presages the arguments used by modern historians in disputes over the origins of the Great War. Those taking the view that the 1914-1918 was undertaken by Britain for reasons every bit as important and valid as the war of 1939-45, might well have drawn on the Portsmouth press for support. Announcing the declaration of war, the Evening News said, “Today may prove to be the blackest in the history of civilisation...Germany could have prevented the war if it wanted, she had but to speak the word and Austria would lay down her arms” and went on to point out the violation of treaties by the German invasion of Luxembourg and Belgium. There was also a counter to the argument used by Niall Ferguson in the recent television debate with Max Hastings. Ferguson’s view is that, whatever the legality of Germany’s actions in 1914 and Britain’s diplomatic obligations, the cost of entering the conflict was so great that Britain should have stood aside and made some accommodation with the Europe that emerged from the fighting. The conclusion of the “Today” column on 3 August 1914 was “And if she were to prefer present security to the price of honour what then? What will be her place in the new Europe that will emerge from the great catastrophe? And what guarantee could she (Britain) rely upon from a victorious Germany that the “little island set in the silver sea” would remain inviolate? God grant that even now something may happen to stay the plague which threatens to devastate a continent and destroy the civilisation of centuries.”

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the

art of

war

An interview with Patti Gaal-Holmes, PGS Artist-in-Residence

his year, Patti Gaal-Holmes worked with Year 9 pupils to produce a body of work in response to First World War archives. Patti encouraged pupils to consider the ideas of fragmentation and narrative through the creation of Artists’ Books, splicing the imagery and exploring the relationship between text and photograph. Pupils then enlarged the drawings to create grainy, monochrome outcomes emphasizing the nostalgic quality of the imagery. They wrote texts to accompany the drawings, informed both by the archival records and by their own personal, sensory interpretations of the material. Their work was presented in the exhibition, ‘Moments, Memories and Histories: A Response to the Archive’, at the Square Tower, Portsmouth, on 31st May.

The first question I wanted to ask was how you decided to come here to PGS? I am with a studio group called Art Space Portsmouth and some of the members have undertaken residencies at PGS before. One of the artists was artist-in-residence last year so she told me about it and I was really keen to do this. I really liked the work you did with the ink - how you got different inks and discovered them and what to do I think some of the things are quite accidental in a way – working in a studio I place ink on paper, and leave it to pool. So it dries over a few days and it is interesting to see what happens in the way it dries, often resembling a map or landscape. With different liquid materials like tea or ink or diluted earth there are different results and I am interested in the process of ‘inking’ or staining the paper and seeing what comes about through this. What else have you done with that process? I’ve also worked with raw pigments – which can look like ink (when wet) but these dry pigments are mixed with gum arabic and honey and water; and they dry differently. And I like the

relationship between setting something up like a controlled experiment (i.e. having a fixed idea of what to do) and the accidental or incidental things that happen when the ink goes its own way on the page. There’s a big difference between a ‘controlled’ way of working and this more open process. I have experimented with tea, watercolour, pigment, etc., either leaving these to pool and dry or with paper fixed to the wall with the ink then running down the page across either wet or dry areas of paper. I work across disciplines and my main media are photography, film and drawing. I like the way in which different media have different languages that can serve different purposes. There is a resonance between these different ways of working. I am interested in the materiality of a medium and in revealing this, for example revealing the way ink dries on paper in ridges like a contour map, so you’re not hiding the process. This is also the way I currently work with film and photography: mixing chemicals, hand-processing and revealing the materiality of the medium within the image, so there is a dialogue between content, process and material. Vimy Ridge: post-detonation (2014) pigment on Fabriano paper

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Vernichtet: instructions for fleet destruction (2014) pencil crayon on paper

Can you tell me more about your work with maps? The maps I made for the residency project are a series of drawings and 2 etchings I have called The Natural History of Destruction: Maps for Practical Dreamers, taken from the title of a book by W.G. Sebald and a quote by the Surrealist artist, Man Ray. These are abstract maps, inspired by World War One aerial photographs. I call them maps but they are in a way small frames, like details from a photograph or a real map of how I have interpreted archival landscape photographs devastated by war, fire and ash. I am interested in the idea of the fragmentary, where there are a lot of fragments or parts that make up a whole; for example, some of the drawings have eight small fragments. They can be laid out as if they are forensic ‘objects’, as if they are evidence of something, of an event. And this is how I’ve interpreted the use of maps and these burnt-out landscapes, using some of the World War One aerial photographs as a starting point. Who initiated the war project? Ms Dyer said she would like it if I wanted to do something on World War One because of the centenary. I am interested in archives, artefacts from another time and place, and bringing these to the present by exploring ways in which to respond to them and making work as a response to that. It is such a very interesting period (WWI). There is something about archives which I find fascinating, not secrets exactly, but hidden things lying dormant in boxes until someone takes them out and gives them space to be looked at again. I take this cue from the

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historian, Keith Jenkins who, in his book Re-thinking History, talks about the historian/researcher going to mute sources to make them speak. What did you find in our archives that you really picked up on? I was really interested in the Dunn diaries. Dunn served in the First World War and his diary is fascinating because it combines a military diary with something more personal – for example, “I had a really good day”. Often anxiety comes through when you read between the lines and that’s the one thing I found really interesting, as well as his map of Gallipoli (in the diary) which is a beautiful artifact, especially with the folds and crumples of having had it in his pocket during the war. It was very helpful discussing Dunn’s archive with John Sadden and having digital images of the diary and map to look at more closely too. When you first started your career, what did you think you would do? I’ve not followed a very straightforward trajectory. I was born in South Africa, went travelling for a year in Israel, Egypt and Europe after leaving school. I went back to South Africa and attended art school for two years. I didn’t finish my studies but left permanently in 1986 and travelled/lived in Belgium, Ireland, Germany and Cyprus, and had three children along the way. I painted in Cyprus, doing exhibitions and working in oils and water colours. I began my studies when I moved to England (1999). Since then, I have gone on to do a PhD in History of Art and further research. I am interested in the role of the historian and the visual artist in dealing with the ‘facts’ of history. While the historian’s role is to use sources with integrity and rigour, is it the responsibility of the artist to adhere to these same rules? I am also very interested in the relationship between theory/philosophy and practice and how one combines research/writing and making. For me these are integral relationships and working between history/theory and practice is integral to my working process. How did you juggle children with art and travel? When I lived in Cyprus (1990-1999) I had my first studio. With children, I had to work in short bursts of time. Some people need a lot of time to work but I worked in small snippets of time then – it can be fruitful, just responding to the world you are living in in this way. I was doing photography (I had a darkroom at home) and painting, and was interested in the whole maternal side of things and found that the work of German artist, Paula Modersohn-Becker, (Frida Khalo, the poet Sylvia Plath and others) informed that. Are there other German artists that have influenced you? I am interested in the work of Anselm Kiefer, and his exploration of the Holocaust with Paul Celan’s poetry. I am interested in German history generally, but also because it is part of my heritage and because of an interest in the idea that coming from a country means that you carry responsibility for that history (I am half- German, half-Hungarian and was born/ raised in South Africa). In Israel, on a kibbutz, I met a woman who had been in a concentration camp and we spoke to each other in German/Yiddish for a few days whilst working in the

the art of WAR

laundry. However, when she found out that I was not Jewish she was (understandably) not so friendly, having lost all her family in the Holocaust. This also became very clear to me when I visited the Yad Vashem Museum (in Jerusalem) some weeks later as it focuses on Holocaust history. And I realised then that you carry these histories with you. Also growing up in South Africa in the apartheid era: when living/travelling in Israel at 18 I became aware of the privileged life I had led as a white person which was related to the fact that the majority of the population had very little and were not free to change their lives. I find this idea of complicity and guilt very interesting, carrying history with you because of who you are. This also includes other family histories like the fact that my father had escaped from Hungary and also worked in the Belgian Congo for 15 years when it was under Belgian colonial rule; and my maternal grandfather, an economist, was contracted to work in the Congo under the World Bank for some months in the early 1960s. So colonial histories are of particular interest to me, and relating these to my genealogy. Where are you with your career? I feel that I am in mid-career – with my family now grown up I can focus on my art and writing. My recent work has involved a lot of writing, the academic side: doing a PhD, giving papers at conferences, writing a book, reviews in academic journals, including one recently for Crossings: Journal of Migration and Culture, exploring the concept of ‘home’ – ‘(Re) calling ‘home’: an artist’s negotiation and (re)negotiation between memory, geography, history and language’. You have worked on songs as well with Emily Barker Yes, Emily has written songs for my films and I have made films for her songs. They have been worked on kind of in parallel but in totally different ways. I like having this outlet, thinking quite hard about how to integrate sound and image; and working with a musician who uses a completely different creative language. It was great to have the opportunity to screen films as part of an event at Late at Tate Britain with Emily. More recently, we were both reading about colonial histories (she is Australian with Dutch ancestry) for a project, looking at the meaning of ‘home’. The outcomes of this ‘home’ research were Emily’s new album Dear River and my exhibition at Aspex Gallery (2012) ‘Questions of Home: Excavations in Film & Fragments Lost in the Ether’ which included experimental photographs, films and drawings; and a performance with Emily of music and films. What does home mean to you Being with family or close friends and feeling like you can really understand or relate to each other. Landscape is also important, being somewhere you feel comfortable and ‘at home’. Even walking by the sea here I feel connected to something bigger than just the few metres around me. Somehow the sea here connects me to Cape Town and Cyprus (other ‘homes’ elsewhere…) What was your favourite song [of Emily’s] to work with? I love ‘Letters’ (a song from her new album, Dear River) and ‘Pause’ which is about time taken out to be with family, and friends and that slowness when so much of life is so busy,

and these very necessary brief moments to be quiet and just unwind a bit. I’ve made films for both of these. When you were younger, did you always want to be an artist? There was a point when I wanted to be a marine biologist, then a writer. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do for sure until I returned from travelling, which is why I went to art school. At school I had chosen to do German, not art, because my parents wanted me to do it, which may have been a mistake (but was probably a good thing in the long run). As I say, it took me a year of travelling to be sure; and then additional years of travel/family before pursuing this more formally through studying. If you don’t know what you want to do, I would recommend travelling and exploring the world, as it gives fresh perspectives. In one of Emily’s songs, it asks “What you will be remembered for?” I hope for more than the tea project (laughs). I’d like to be remembered as an artist that crosses the boundaries, not being fixed in one discipline, inspired in different ways and inspiring in different ways to different people.

Top: 8 x 12: return to an ordered place (2014) etching on Fabriano (2/4) Bottom: location of place (2014) ink on Fabriano paper

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The birth of the modern

New age found:

he First World War is an event we constantly return to. It was socially transformative, acting as a final catalyst to the already advanced motion of the Industrial Revolution by bringing about a massive mobilisation of the world’s people on a scale unseen until then. On a personal and English scale it is, to borrow Ted Hughes’s term, a one-hundred-year-old national ghost, and it just “goes on getting stronger.” However there was conflict before The First World War. At the opening of the War, Herman Hesse lamented that this was merely part of a further cycle in the controversial pacifist essay that would force him to emigrate to Switzerland. Patriotic fervour and the “old tones” used to marshal the public was not unique to Germany; in England, during the early stages of the war, unless it was patriotic it would not be published, less reflective of a restrictive establishment than of the fact that this is simply what people wanted to read. Initially inundated by patriotic verses (the Times receiving “as many as a hundred metrical essays in a single day”), by the end of an over-long war the common taste had shifted to ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’. As “the old lie” of militarism died, so did the last vestige of Empire. Self-determination struck a chord as the dominating ideology of statehood. While this would not last for long in the face of an expanding Germany (and, later, the Soviet Union), it dominated the treaty of Versailles which, in turn, set the direction of the next hundred years. If any one idea could be said to dominate the twentieth century it would be that of the sovereignty of the individual. As the memorialised dead “gave their lives in defence of liberty and right”, so Britain, the United States, and France would set about ensuring these common ideals were spread throughout the world. In essence, as the hard empire of Queen Victoria, Regina et Imperatix, quietly died, a phoenix of cultural empire rose from the ashes. The British would remain victorious, but through a softer power. As Britain entered the war with an imperialist attitude and exited it without, we can see a social revolution was fought in the trenches. The indicator of this is in the most successful poetry. Almost universally, the well-appreciated British poets of the day were soldier-poets, or poet-soldiers as in the case of Rupert Brooke. The crowded canon features many who are well loved and remembered today for revolutionary verses as well as their contribution in the trenches: Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, Brooke, and “the father of us all”, Edward Thomas. While, at the time, John Drinkwater, Wilfred Gibson, and Lascelles Abercrombie were far better known poets, they never saw active service and faded into obscurity. Perhaps this is in part owed to the distinction gained by being a soldier-poet that lent itself to anthologization.

Benjamin Schofield YEAR 13

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Left to right: Edward Thomas, F Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway

While the subject matter has lasted, the language has not. Were it not for their war-influenced explorations, the politically revolutionary ideas of Sassoon’s and Owen’s poetry would not have found such a strident voice. Georgian language meshed well with the strident rhyming verse of Kipling and Tennyson, both excellent poets but inadequate for a modern age. The English poems of the war age survive more as an account of what the war was like than as perfected poetry. Of the three most celebrated poets – Owen, Sassoon and Thomas - only Thomas could have claimed to be at a point of progression of the three; perhaps it is from him we would have the most to gain if he had not gone to war. Curiously, the American literary canon following the war is dominated by noncombatants: Keith Gandal argued that the principal “American voices of the Great War” are defined not by the horror of war, but the fact that they failed to have these experiences. Hemingway served as an ambulance driver; Fitzgerald enlisted but never saw action; Faulkner, at a miniature 5’5½”, was too short to enlist in the US army at all. Yet, for all their lack of involvement, these American writers were to open the 1920s as the voices of modernism (although perhaps not to the extent of Joyce and Eliot - also noncombatants). This decade saw the birth of The Great Gatsby, a novel which seems to represent the death of the very culture in which it set itself. The two protagonists - one from a respectable family, the other a farm boy with high ideas - have both been to war. Uniform allows Gatsby to disguise his origins and seduce a

high-born American girl, the War brings glory to him. Whereas Hemingway’s injury (sustained “on a joke front like the Italian”) was transformed, in his novel Fiesta, to the narrator’s literal impotence, his literary rival Fitzgerald responded by constructing a character with an almost compensatory military history, Gatsby winning a medal from every country in the allied forces: “even little Montenegro”. Faulkner’s first novel centres on a wounded airman left blind and almost perpetually silent by a head injury. Each of these gives substantiation to Fiesta’s legendary epigraph, attributed to Gertrude Stein: “You are all a lost generation.” Certainly this was how it must have felt for many of the older generation experiencing a fundamental cultural shift. Even the more colloquial of American sources frequently describe a sense of loss to the country which only entered the war in the same year that the second- largest combatant (Tsarist Russia) buckled. The cheerfully titled ‘How ‘Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm (After They’ve Seen Paree?)’ could merely be a rephrasing of an expression as simple as “the cat’s out of the bag”. As in England, the agricultural communities of America were broken up by the war; social glues that had held things together prior dissolved into an age of the individual. If the war wrought more social change than it did military, it cannot be said to be a failure. If it is a national ghost, then it is certainly also a natural ghost. The world had changed before the conflict yet it took the events of those years to draw a line in the sand to what we might conflictedly call a modern era.

KIPLING AND TENNYSON, BOTH EXCELLENT POETS, WERE INADEQUATE FOR A MODERN AGE

Bibliography Gandal, K. (2008). The Gun and the Pen: Hemingway, Fitzgerald and the Fiction of Mobilization. Oxford University Press. Hemingway, E. (1927). Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises. Hughes, T. (1995). ‘National Ghost’. In T. Hughes, Winter Pollen: Occasional Prose (pp. 70-72). Faber and Faber.

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Heroes Mr John Sadden

ARCHIVIST

Lieutenant Richard Harris

of Normandy

Major Reginald Tarrant

h e 70th anniversary of Operation Overlord provides an opportunity to reflect on the significant role of OPs in the D-Day campaign, and to commemorate those who did not return from the great invasion for the liberation of Europe from Nazi occupation. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on 6 June, and a similar number were landed on the Normandy beaches within the first five days. By the end of August it is estimated that more than three million allied troops were in France. The vital role played by Portsmouth, Gosport and the surrounding area in the preparation and execution of D-Day is widely recognised. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, visited PGS on the 40th anniversary in 1984 to commemorate the importance of the area, and met pupils and Normandy veterans. She was greeted by the Headmaster, Tony Evans, and Chairman of the governors, the Very Rev. Michael Nott. As a schoolboy, John Walker (1941-51), witnessed military preparations over the skies of Bournemouth, where PGS had been relocated. He recalled, on the 5th June, “…the skies above,

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Private Elliot Pease

Lieutenant Ronald Eades

the sight of the fleet of bombers and paratrooper-carrying aircraft crossing the coast, followed later by the hundreds of aircraft-towing troop-carrying Horsa and Hamilcar gliders that took off from airfields in Hampshire and Dorset. Then suddenly looking out to sea to witness the never-to-be-forgotten sight of ships and landing craft of all shapes and sizes gathering in Poole Bay to await General Eisenhower’s signal to sail for Normandy. The next day, on returning to the clifftop, we were amazed to find the bay virtually empty of any craft.” The planning of the Allied invasion had taken four years. At least three OPs are reported to have participated in the planning of Operation Overlord or have taken a vital role in leading operations. Air Marshal Sir Edward Chilton (1915-24) played a key role at Coastal Command in aerial anti-submarine warfare, contributing significantly to the RAF’s part in frustrating U-boat attempts to disrupt the landings. Following service in Persia, Iraq and Burma, Brigadier G.O.M. Jameson (1915-23) played a part in planning the British army invasion. Sir Harry Broadhurst (1915-22), commanded several stations during the Battle of Britain and become the youngest Air Vice-Marshal. He helped in

Flight Sergeant Keith Burroughs

Lieutenant Keith Lorimer

the planning for air support, and set up base in Normandy four days after D-day and his squadrons of ground-attack fighters, equipped with the formidable rocket-firing Typhoons, played a crucial role in supporting the Second Army's advance. He was appointed a C.B. following the operation and was made a K.B.E. at the end of hostilities. PGS teachers who took part included Peter Barclay (1950-87), who landed in Normandy at Arromanches on 11th June and fought with the 21st Army Group in the “big push” westwards across France, Belgium, Holland and into Germany. Old Portmuthians who served and died in the campaign include Ronald Eades (1917-22), who was a Lieutenant with the RNVR, serving with the American Rangers near Omaha Beach. He was killed six days after D-Day. Reginald Tarrant (1926-31) volunteered for the Parachute Regiment and landed in Normandy on D-Day with the 6th Airborne Division. For his actions he was awarded the Military Cross, but he was mortally wounded in an attack on an enemy position. Richard Harris (1932-1940) was a Lieutenant in the Essex Regiment who landed at Gold Beach on D-Day, but was killed a month later.

PGS pupils with D Day veteran, Frank Rosier

Elliot Pease (1929-32) was a Private serving in the Hampshire Regiment which became part of the 43rd Wessex Division. Landing soon after D-Day, the division took a major part in the Arnhem landings. Pease was killed in October 1944. Keith Burroughs (1936-41) was a Flight Sergeant in the RAF and was killed a month after D-Day during Operation Goodwood. Kenneth Lorimer (1937-43) was a naval Lieutenant who served as part of Force D off Sword Beach and survived, but was later killed in a flying accident. Many other OPs took part, directly and indirectly, in Operation Overlord. In 1940, the Battle of Britain was won by the “few”. In 1944, the liberation of Europe was achieved by the many.

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the

NORMANDY LANDINGS British soldiers landing in Normandy

Ross Watkins

YEAR 11

he Normandy Landings, commonly referred to as D-Day, were among the most crucial events which ever took place. They required particular planning by the British and American central command and even a campaign of deceit by using double-agents against the Germans. In all, the D-Day landings included the largest fleet ever assembled pitched against the best defended coastline known to man to cumulate in an event which has gone down in history as the day in which the allies turned the Germans on their heels and allowed the Allies to eradicate the plague of evil which had infected Europe. The planning for D-Day did not just cover all conventional areas; the variety of territory which was covered is remarkable to this day and the Allied Commanders left nothing to chance. One of the main areas of planning was not to do with the actual invasion but was to persuade the Germans that the Allies were in fact going to land in Calais. This was done with a plethora of methods and was successful to the extent that the Germans actually believed that the Allies were going to open up this Western Front by landing in Calais. The way this was done was effective and many point this out to being one of the key reasons for the successful landings on the 6th June, 1944. One of the ways this was done was by creating fake radio communication to make the Germans believe that an attack was due on Norway; another done with similar methods was in Calais. These initiatives under the name Operation Fortitude were extremely effective at diverting attention away from areas which the allies were to land in. Arguably, the most important type of deception carried out by the Allies was the use of German agents for their own means. Due to the breaking of the Enigma Code, the British knew exactly where and when German spies would land in the country. This subsequently meant that the British could arrest the spies immediately and stop them from causing any harm. But, more importantly the British then realised that they could use

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Preparations for Operation Overlord, Portsmouth Harbour

these spies as double-agents. They persuaded them by reminding them that the punishment for spying was death and said they could escape this by working for the British. They would have them send false information to the German spy masters telling them false troop numbers and false locations. This deception was so effective that the Germans even kept 15 divisions in Calais after the Normandy Landing as they believed that an attack would still come to Calais. This was all vital to the overall success of Operation Neptune (the D-Day landings) and therefore Operation Overlord. The daring operations of the airborne divisions were vital in stopping counter attacks by the Germans and for securing the beachheads. The main aims of the airborne landings were to seize key strategic positions such as bridges, road crossings and terrain features. The American airborne landings began at 00:15 but there were difficulties mainly with cloud cover. Paratroopers from the 101st division landed around 1:30; their mission was to control the causeways behind Utah beach and to destroy road and rail bridges

over the Douve River. Due to the heavy cloud cover the mission did not go to plan. The troops were dropped far away from their intended landing zones and many were picked off by Germans, very few reaching their target locations. The 82nd airborne division was more successful with around 75% of their troopers landing near the drop zone and within two hours they captured the important crossroads at Saint-Mere Eglise and they managed to start work on protecting the western flank. The British airborne divisions were also subjected to the same weather conditions which led to troubles occurring elsewhere, such as only 160 out of 600 men of the 9th Battalion coming to the rendez-vous point. The British paratroopers engaged in the first fighting of the Normandy Landings when they captured the Pegasus Bridge intact with very few casualties. Once again the art of deception and confusing the Germans was intertwined with airborne divisions landing at false locations to try to persuade them that the landings were elsewhere. I want to focus in particular on Operation Neptune, which took place on the 6th June. The landings involved were spread over five beaches with different nations responsible for each beach, codenamed Juno, Gold, Utah, Omaha and Sword. There was also another landing at Pointe du Hoc . The troops arriving at Juno were delayed due to choppy seas. This had the consequence of men arriving in front of their supporting armour. This meant that many soldiers were made casualties during disembarkation. Furthermore, the naval bombardment had missed the German defences, making it even harder for the landed troops to advance. By the end of the day they managed to clear the beach and create several exits. The casualties by the end of the day were 961 men. Sword Beach had slightly higher casualties, estimated at around 1,000. The initial landing at Sword went smoothly with 25 DD tanks arriving safely ashore to provide cover for the infantry who began disembarking at 7:30. The high number of casualties was in part due to the fact that the beach was heavily mined and loaded with obstacles making clearing the beach a very dangerous job. Another problem facing the allies on the beach was the high winds and the rising tide. The combination of the two created a situation in which the beach became crowded. In the afternoon the British faced a counter attack from the Germans between Sword and Juno beaches. The allies defended well and fended off the attack making the Germans fall back to assist an area between Caen and Bayeux. The high winds coupled with the tide also created problems at Gold Beach. These factors led to the DD tanks being released much closer to the beach than originally planned. Even with this problem, three out of four gun emplacements were neutralised. The landing force cleared heavily defended houses inland and advanced. The only Victoria Cross awarded on D-Day was to Company Sergeant Major Stanley Hollis for attacking two pillboxes at the Mont Fleury high point. Not all objectives were seized â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Bayeux remained in German hands- but it was considered to be of reasonable success; casualties on Sword Beach were around 1,000. Utah Beach was assigned mainly to the Americans. Strong currents pushed the landing craft and the soldiers found themselves nearly 2km away from their designated landing zones.

This miscalculation turned out to bring benefits as in this new location there was one less strongpoint. In addition to this the area in which they landed had been heavily bombed and had many obstacles on the beach providing effective cover for the advancing troops. Once officers onshore had realised the advantages they ordered all further landing to be re-routed. The beach was cleared quickly and the sea wall was blown up in area to hasten the advance of troops and armoured vehicles. In all the number of casualties was remarkably low - only 197 out of 21,000 landed troops. Not all objectives were met, mainly due to the force landing so far to the south away from their designated area, but because of the amazingly low casualty numbers many consider the landings here to be reasonably successful. The most infamous beach on D-Day was arguably Omaha. It was the most heavily defended beach and was assigned to the 1st infantry division. Due to the landing craft arriving late the American bombers delayed their bombing attacks for fear of hitting the landing craft meaning that when the troops landed there was little damage to defensive structures. Also the DD tanks which were supposed to land hit problems and 27 of the 33 tanks sank with 33 men lost. Any tanks which did reach the beach but were disabled managed to provide covering fire until they ran out of ammunition. Omaha had the highest casualty numbers at around 2,000. Problems with clearing the beach meant that the beach commanders had to call off any more landing as the beach was too crowded. They could only advance when destroyers arrived to bombard the German positions. Even with the naval bombardment, the advances had to be taken through very small heavily defended gullies and by late morning only around 600 men had reached high ground. By late afternoon the naval bombardment began to take its toll on the defenders and with the Germans running out of ammunition the Americans were able to make advances. The beachhead was slowly expanded over the coming days and the hold on it remained tenuous. The D-Day objectives for Omaha were not met at all on the first day and it took three days after the landings for them to be completed. Operation Neptune highlighted the skill and bravery of the men fighting for the allies. The landings had heavy losses and many young valiant men were killed way before their time to help rid the world of the Nazi threat. Their sacrifice was not in vain and it allowed the allies to rapidly advance through France towards Berlin and, in less than a year (May 1945) force the Germans to unconditionally surrender. Many would argue that luck played an important role in the landings and that if some things had not gone to plan the Germans could have easily defended the beaches. But I would argue against that and say that chance was eliminated by planning and skill. The planning of the officers and the sheer valour of the men on the beaches highlighted key values that everybody should honour and emulate. On the 70th anniversary of these landings, I hope that we can remember those who lost their lives on that day, on both sides, and that we will not forget that the Allies were fighting against an evil ideology. I hope this will allow us to make sure that something like this never has to happen again.

THE LARGEST FLEET EVER ASSEMBLED PITCHED AGAINST THE BEST DEFENDED COASTLINE KNOWN TO MAN

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Uncle M Rudi’s WAR Max Kellermann-Stunt

YEAR 10

German soldiers at the Eastern Front

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y Uncle Rudi joined the Hitler Youth when he was ten years old, in 1937. At that age, they were called “Pimpf” – the “Teenies”. When he was fourteen, he became a “Hitler Boy”. He had been keen to join them... twice weekly they had to march in their school yard and the gymnasium. They sang the Hitler song, they did exercises, games, running, ball games and lots of marching... He liked it. He was proud to show off his uniform – a brown shirt, a black scarf, black trousers, a knife with the inscription “ Blood and honour “ – he could show that he belonged... The Hitler Youth was founded as a youth organisation of the National Socialists in Germany. All other youth groups were outlawed. In 1939 a law was passed that all youngsters between ten and eighteen years old had to do their “youth duty” two days per week. The Hitler Youth was organised according to the “Leader Principle” and physical and ideological schooling was most important. Marches, exercises in the fresh air were meant to make “men” out of even the ten-year olds and in the long-term they were prepared for their war duties. “What are we?” “Pimpfe” – “What are we to become?” – “Soldiers!” A complete and blind acceptance of orders, camaraderie, discipline and self-sacrifice for the 'common good' of the country were drummed into them. Obedience to the leaders, love for the Führer (Hitler) and absolute allegiance to the Fatherland to the point of giving up one’s live willingly and happily was the ideology of the Hitler Youth. They were constantly told about the idea of a Great Germany and the superiority of the German race was the basic principle. Rudi’s school teacher was an enthusiastic Nazi. Rudi became a youth leader, looking after eight people, doing the drills with them. He loved being strict, giving orders. “Walk – right – left – lay down – get up – lay down – press ups”. When he was fourteen years old, he became a proper Hitler Youth. “Hard like Krupp steel, fast as whippets and tough as leather” – that’s what the Nazis wanted the children to become and many wanted to be just that. War-like exercises were the order of the day because they were going to save Germany! Most children didn’t see how their will and characters became indoctrinated and eventually broken. In 1939, when my Uncle Rudi was 12 years old, there were nine million members of Hitler Youth. Unless you were Jewish or ill, that’s what you did. Or you had to pay a fine or ended up in prison. But most of them were keen to belong to the Hitler Youth. On national holidays and Sundays there were marches. But Rudi’s grandmother insisted he went to church. What a dilemma! He was embarrassed. He ran across the road desperately trying not to be seen by his Hitler Youth friends. When he marched past his parent’s house, all people watched and waved out of the windows. That made him proud. His Hitler Youth group went to the cinema. Lots of films telling

them that the Jews were bad. Rudi remembers “Hitlerjunge Quax” – the Hitler youth hero Quax. War started in 1939. News from the front was reported at school. They had to parade in the school yard and stand to order to celebrate a successful campaign at the front. After each parade the German flag was saluted and they sang the German Song. My family had a removal company. Their lorries were deemed to make a valuable contribution to the war effort. So that is why my great-granddad (grandfather of my mum and uncle) had to go to war with his lorries. My Uncle Rudi and his older brother, Heinrich were proud that their dad fought in the war. A Nazi bigwig was put in charge of the company. Uncle Rudi said you had to watch him - one wrong word and you were sent to Dachau, the concentration camp 20 miles away... The Hitler Youth leaders told the youngsters that they would be heroes, part of the war effort, their goal was to fight for Germany, that war would show who was a proper man, that the enemy was bad and the Germans were good. Children enjoyed the fact that they were taken seriously, that they could feel they were contributing to the "good" of the Fatherland. At the beginning of the war the Youth Organisations were used to help with the harvesting and collecting all sorts of things useful for the war such as metal etc. They also learnt how to use guns from a young age and handling tank grenades was child’s play. It followed that most of the anti-aircraft flak stations were then manned by Hitler Youth during the war. In 1943, the Nationalsozialists introduced the “Emergency A-Levels” so that youngsters could finish their schooling early and become proper soldiers. My Uncle Rudi did an apprenticeship as a mechanic. His company repaired military vehicles. He painted many in camouflage, he remembers. And then he joined the SS. At a “Home Evening” at his group they were talking in glowing colours about how wonderful the SS was, and everyone joined. He told his mum. She should understand that he couldn’t be the odd one out. And, anyway, he was proud; he was going to do his bit for the Fatherland and he felt that he belonged... My great-grandmother cried. Her husband and her two oldest boys were soldiers and would they come back? He joined the military and was sent to Tyrol, in Austria, where he learnt proper use of all types of guns. He was sent to the mountains to cut down trees. As it was hard physical work they were all fed properly, the first time since the beginning of the war that he wasn’t hungry, he said! However, the war was turning against Germany. In 1944, the “Volkssturm” (the “Folk Storm” force) was founded. It was fighting to the last man! Fast-track courses turned even old men and very young boys into “proper” soldiers to desperately avoid losing the war. Tens of thousands of soldiers died in these last months of the war - many of them were sixteen or seventeen years old or even younger. The largest prisoner of war camp for

under-age soldiers housed thousands of boys between fourteen and sixteen years of age. In the Spring of 1945, Uncle Rudi marched from Austria to the Eastern Front. He was quite frightened. You could hear the bombs and the guns. They were staying in a barn and the next morning they were told they would march into battle. But nobody woke them up. Finally the farmer came and told them the war was over and they should run so that the Russians wouldn’t capture them. So they marched... then ran. All the heavy items were discarded on the way: their winter coat, the gas mask... they felt depressed and scared. The much acclaimed camaraderie didn’t last long....most of them scarpered. Rudi and three of his mates were picked up by a truck and they got to the River Enns in north-east Austria. It was the demarcation line between the Russians and the Americans. The American 65th Infantry Division had arrived in France in January 1945. At the end of March, the division crossed the Rhine and advanced through Germany, reaching the Danube south-west of Regensburg. On 2nd May 1945, the 261st Regiment advanced to the Enns River and overran the city of Enns. The division closed to the Enns River by May 6. So on that day my Uncle Rudi had the Russians at his back and the Americans to his front. The Yanks were the better option. But word had it that as a member of the SS there would be no chance to cross the river to the safer side. Anyway, all SS people were going to be in prison to the end of their lives, they were told. My Uncle Rudi was afraid. He and his friends ripped all of the SS insignia off their remaining uniforms - some even used hot nails to get rid of the Nazi tattoos on their upper arms. In the end, they swam across the river and were picked up by the Americans. Each one of them was interrogated – by a Jewish-American soldier. Would he take revenge, my Uncle asked himself. No, he didn’t. And another miracle happened: Anyone up to birth year 1927 was going to be sent home! He was free. Some weeks later he made it home to Augsburg, stood in front of his two sisters and his mum who were all happy to see him alive. The American Regiment made contact with the Soviet Army near Strengberg on 8th May, just as hostilities ceased, as Nazi Germany unconditionally surrendered its armed forces. It was the end of World War II in Europe. Germany had been destroyed. The people were starving. The Nazi ideology had burnt itself out. Some legacies of World War II live on in Germany, but the country is free now. As part of the European Union, Germans can travel and live where they want. My mother came to England in 1990. I was born in 1999. I have a German passport and I am English.

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Wartime tales of loss and discovery Fergus Houghton-Connell

YEAR 13

Niels Bohr

hen thinking about wars, it is common to t hi nk a b o u t l o s s - t ho s e who died, the treaties that were broken or the land that was taken. But to explore what was found following war is arguably a more challenging and laborious task. The newfound liberation of Europe in 1945? Or perhaps even the abolition of slavery after the American Civil War? Loss and discovery seem, then, to be key concepts of war. Here, I have collated three rather extraordinary stories of people "lost and

Max Von Laue

found": events that were side-lined by the great loss of life during their respective Wars. The first took place during and after the Vietnam War. Jerry Quinn was a US soldier posted in Ho Chi Minh City when, in 1973, his Vietnamese girlfriend, Brandy, became pregnant with his son. They were trying to get married at the time and get a US Visa for Brandy but, as you can imagine, it was difficult for an American soldier to marry a Vietnamese woman until in January 1973, US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger agreed a ceasefire with North Vietnamese

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James Franck

leaders. Fortunately, the War was over for America. Unfortunately, all American troops had to leave Vietnam and Jerry was forced to leave Brandy in Vietnam. All he ever received from her again were a few pictures of her and their baby son. All seemed lost until this year, when Jerry went in search of his long lost son in Vietnam. After three days in Ho Chi Minh City, Jerry had found no sign of Brandy or his son until a rather unlikely meeting occured. With the help of the owner of a noodle bar near to where Jerry and Brandy used to live, he got in contact with the daughter of the midwife there at Jerry's son's birth. The lady

identified Brandy's Vietnamese name as Bui, but the trail ended there: no first name, no contact details, nothing. Jerry posted a few photographs of Brandy on Facebook explaining that he was looking for a 40-year-old called Bui. Jerry travelled to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where a man called Gary Bui lived, who recognised the photos. When Jerry travelled to Gary's house, they immediately recognised each other as father and son and, after a long embrace, started to catch up about each other's lives. As Vietcong troops hunted down American-Asian children and their mothers, Brandy left her son to close friends as she tried to flee. When Gary was four, in 1977, he was flown to America as part of a US government programme to save thousands of AmericanAsian children. Gary had managed to settle in America, marry and have two children of his own. Jerry, racked with emotion and guilt, apologised and said he wanted to be a part of Gary's life now, as a father and son united for the rest of their lives. The next story occurred during World War II. In 1935, the German government prohibited Germans from accepting Nobel

Brandy and Jerry

Prizes after a jailed peace activist received the Peace prize. In order to stop the Nazis confiscating their Gold Nobel Medals for Physics, two German-Jewish physicists, Max von Laue and James Franck, entrusted George de Hevesy, who was working at Professor Bohr's Institute in Copenhagen, with their medals. When the Nazis occupied Norway, de Hevesy used a red solution called Aqua Regia, or nitro-hydrochloric acid, to dissolve the gold medals, and placed the murky red solution in a jar on a shelf in his laboratory. When the Nazis searched the Institute, they thought nothing of the jar, believing it just contained some chemicals de Hevesy was using - and thus the gold remained safe. After the war, the gold was extracted from the solution and sent to the Nobel Foundation, who recreated the medals and awarded them again to von Laue and Franck in 1952. Meanwhile, in 1940, Niels Bohr and August Krogh donated their Nobel Prize Medals to an auction, where an anonymous

buyer bought them. The money raised from the auction was donated to the Fund for Finnish Relief and, although Bohr and Krogh never reclaimed their medals, the medals were donated to the Danish Historical Museum in Fredriksborg, where they remain today. Since it is the 100-year anniversary of World War One, it seems only fitting that the last of these tales involves the Great War. When you're walking through the graves of Ypres, there are many graves with just the words "A Soldier of the Great War" written at the top, and "Known Unto God" at the bottom. This is, of course, the tragic scenario in which the bodies of many dead soldiers could not be recognised due to the horrific injuries inflicted upon them. But what if your relative or loved one was never found, if all you were told was that they were "Missing in Action". Surely this must have been worse, never knowing what happened to them? In 2009, the bodies of ten soldiers from World War One, unnamed and unknown, were found near the French village of Beaucamps-Ligny. Through the use of DNA, the bodies were identified and were thought to have been in the 2nd Battalion, The York and Lancaster Regiment. A 70-yearold retired computer programmer was astonished to be told by the MoD that his second cousin twice-removed Corporal Francis Carr Dyson was one of the men. 69-year-old retired teacher Marlene Jackson discovered, through a DNA match, that another was her great-uncle, Private Allcock. All of the relatives of those recently found were surprised and "Known unto God" moved to discover more about their long-lost family members who had died so valiantly in France. A happy ending, then, to all the stories? Jerry found his son, von Laue and Franck were awarded their Nobel medals again and the ten soldiers were finally laid to rest with a proper military burial. But what about Jerry's girlfriend, fleeing for her life from a Vietcong witch-hunt as she abandoned her child? Not to mention the German-Jewish physicists sent to concentration camps or forced to work on weapons of mass destruction for the Nazis? Or, finally, consider the thousands of families after the First World War who never discovered whether their loved ones were killed, missing or prisoners of war; did they receive any closure from the scores of unnamed graves in Ypres? I suppose in war the huge loss of life surely outweighs any gains or success by either side. Maybe world leaders should consider this before they act irrationally and start a future War.

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goodbye

TIKI-TAKA? Neil Chhabda

YEAR 13

‘

The Beautiful Game’ is a constantly evolving sport. Innovative, world-beating tactics can become completely obsolete, even in the space of one or two seasons. Occasionally, some of these ‘lost’ tactics can be rediscovered, and employed with incredible success. Recent seasons have seen the rebirth of counterattacking, defensive football. In recent seasons, the ‘tiki-taka’ style of play implemented by Barcelona, and the Spanish National Team was considered to be the route to victory. This tactic was indeed extremely successful, with Barcelona winning 14 trophies between 2008 and 2012, and Spain winning 2 consecutive European Championships, and a World Cup over the same period. Due to such success, many teams have attempted to replicate this possession-based, aesthetically pleasing tactic . Since 2012, however, tiki-taka has been in terminal decline. Barcelona are set to finish the season without a trophy, whilst Spain crashed out of the 2014 World Cup. To counter tiki-taka, less technically gifted opponents employed a very rigid, defensive structure, with the counter attack used as the lone point of offence. This tactic places a strong focus on individual sacrifice for collective gain. The success of this defensive style of play against Barcelona and Spain has led to many teams commonly employing the tactic against attacking teams in general, not only those who specialize in tiki-taka. Over this last season, Atlético Madrid, the favourites to win the Spanish League, ahead of Barcelona and Real Madrid, have received widespread acclaim for perfecting this strategy. Even Real Madrid, who currently have the most expensive squad in world football, employed this tactic against Pep Guardiola’s tikitaka Bayern Munich side. They won this tie 5-0, on aggregate. The man who could be seen as the pioneer of this renaissance of counter-attacking football, José Mourinho, has employed this strategy to win countless big games this season, with each of the victories being dubbed a ‘Mourinho master class’. After his in-form Liverpool team lost to a weakened Chelsea, at home, Brendan Rogers accused Mourinho of ‘parking two buses in front of goal’. Regardless of these allegations, Chelsea have taken 14 points, out of a possible 16, from their games against the top 3 Premier League sides. One can only guess, but it’s likely that the success of this traditional tactic in the modern era will lead to an even greater number of teams adopting it. This tactical shift in world football has led to the return of several ‘old-school’ positions. These include the defensive winger. One of the key features of modern football is the attacking responsibility shouldered by full backs. Traditionally, full backs were entirely

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defensive players, with no attacking intent. Nowadays, full backs are expected to perform overlapping runs, and be heavily involved in attacking play. With an increase in popularity of more defensive, counter-attacking tactics, wingers are also expected to no longer be purely attacking players, and provide defensive cover for their full backs. This position is similar to the role of the wide-midfielder in a 4-4-2 formation. The formation is now considered out-dated, but the position of the defensive winger is key in defending against attacking teams, whilst still providing an effective threat on the counter. Willian and Eden Hazard of Chelsea are often the best examples, but the position is of such great tactical importance that even Cristiano Ronaldo, the best, and most expensive, attacking player in the world, was chosen to fulfil it in this season’s Champions League semi-final. The 4-2-3-1 is arguably the most common formation in modern football. A key aspect of this formation is the security provided by the two defensive midfielders. It is common for teams to field two purely defensive players in those positions, but this can be detrimental offensively, especially if defensive wingers are playing. As a result, teams commonly employ one purely defensive midfielder, and a deep-lying playmaker, or ‘regista’. Over the last decade or so, the popularity of the 4-3-3 (with only one defensive midfielder) made employing a regista too risky, and it was widely accepted that a strong, powerful, purely defensive midfielder needed to play that role. Now, however, the presence of a regista can be crucial to a team’s success. Registas do perform some defensive duties, however their primary function is to act as a playmaker, and to use their vision, technique, and passing to orchestrate the moves of the entire team. This position has been popularized by Juventus’ Andrea Pirlo, known as ‘the architect’, Sergio Busquets of Barcelona, and Xabi Alonso of Real Madrid. Over the last season, Liverpool manager, Brendan Rodgers, has converted England captain, Steven Gerrard (formerly an attacking midfielder), into this more traditional role. In conclusion, tiki-taka is no longer the world-beating, allconquering tactic it once was. Defensive, counter-attacking football is once again coming to the fore, due to its effectiveness against increasingly popular attacking, possession-based football. These developments will likely lead to more competitive matches, as smaller teams become increasingly difficult to break down and more dangerous offensively, on the break. While many may criticize this style of play, there can be no doubt that it will provide more interesting matches, from a tactical point of view, and provide a test for the bigger teams.

PERDIDO:

Los Desaparecidos de la Dictadura Argentina 1976-83 Lottie Kent

YEAR 12

To have been in Argentina at the end of the 1970s and early 1980s was to have witnessed a period of brutality and terror of immense proportions. Known as the “Dirty War”, this period in Argentine history was characterised by State terrorism - acts of violence carried out with shocking regularity against those whom the regime considered a threat – from the left-wing guerillas to the trade unionists to those apparently linked with the socialists. Anyone in their sights lived under the threat of persecution and execution, both at the hands of the military Junta’s forces and the Triple A (The Anticommunist Alliance). It is believed that around 30,000 people were forcibly ‘disappeared’ during this period with thousands executed. Many families lost their loved ones without trace; even today, they are unaware of their whereabouts or what became of them. What is known for sure are the details of the unimaginable events that took place, such as the Noche de los Lápices that took place on and after the 6th September, 1976. A series of ten kidnappings and killings of school pupils took place in La Plata, near Buenos Aires. The disappeared were under 18 years of age and supposedly belonged to the student branch of the Revolutionary Peronist group. They were raped, tortured and imprisoned before all but three were killed at the hands of the 601 Squadron of the Armed Forces Intelligence Service and the police. Emilce Moler, a survivor who was just seventeen at the time, describes how they were “tortured with a sadistic brutality”. She remembers being naked. “I was just a small, fragile girl around 1m 50 tall weighing a mere 47Kg, and I was beaten by a huge figure until I lost consciousness.”

star en Argentina durante los últimos años de los setenta y los primeros de los ochenta sería ser testigo a un periodo de terror y brutalidad inmensos. Conocido en el mundo hispanohablante como ‘La Guerra Sucia’, este periodo era plagado por el terrorismo estatal; actos de violencia fueron llevados a cabo con una regularidad chocante contra los que se consideraban ‘disidentes políticos’. Esto significaba que cualquier persona a quien el gobierno consideraba ser un inconforme – de las güerillas izquierdistas a los sindicalistas a los con vínculos aparentes al socialismo – podía vivir amenazada de la persecución y la ejecución, tanto por las fuerzas de seguridad como por la Alianza Anticomunista Argentina (la Triple A). Se aproxima que alrededor de treinta mil personas fueron detenidas-desaparecidas durante esta época, y miles más fueron ejecutadas. A las familias de estas personas, ellas fueron perdidas sin rastro y, hasta el día de hoy, no tienen ninguna idea de los paraderos de sus queridos o lo que les pasó. Lo que sí se sabe son unos de los detalles sobre incidentes que fueron particularmente abominables, tal como La Noche de los Lápices, que tuvo lugar el 6 de septiembre 1976 y los días siguientes. Una serie de diez secuestros y asesinatos de estudiantes de secundaria se llevó a cabo en la ciudad de La Plata, Buenos Aires. Los desaparecidos eran menores de dieciocho años (la mayoría) y supuestamente miembros de la rama estudiantil del peronismo revolucionario, de la ciudad de La Plata. Ellos fueron violados, torturados y encarcelados antes de ser asesinados (aparte de los tres que sobrevivieron) por miembros del Batallón 601 del Servicio de Inteligencia del Ejército y por la policía de la provincia de Buenos Aires. Emilce Moler, un sobreviviente que tenía diecisiete años en ese momento, ha descrito cómo ‘nos torturaron con un sadismo profundo. Recuerdo siendo nuda. Yo era justo una chica pequeña y frágil de alrededor de 1,5 metros y pesaba alrededor de 47 kilogramos, y era golpeada hasta que me dejó sin sentido por un hombre masivo.’ Pablo Díaz también ha dado un testimonio, diciendo ‘en Arana, me dieron las descargas eléctricas en la boca, las encías y los genitales. Arrancaron una de las uñas del pie. Era lo normal pasar varios días sin alimento.’

Left: Los Desaparecidos

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RECUPERADO Rhiannon Lasrado

YEAR 12

en Argentina

osa Tarlovsky de Roisinblit es miembro de Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo – una organización que trata de reunir con sus legítimas familias a todos los niños desaparecidos por la última dictadura militar 1976 - 1983. Hay una generación entera de personas perdidas a la guerra sucia en Argentina y una generación que nunca conocerá sus padres a causa del crimen durante esa época. Sin embargo, siempre hay finales felices – esta es la historia del nieto de Rosa, que fue recuperada en el año 2000. El seis de octubre de 1978, gente aparentando una división de “defraudación y estafa” secuestró José Manuel Pérez Rojo, el yerno de Rosa, en una tienda. El mismo día, su mujer Patricia, la hija de Rosa fue secuestrada a pesar del hecho que estaba embarazada de ocho meses. José y Patricia ya tuvieron una hija, Mariana, de quince meses, que fue regresada a la familia de José después del incidente. Los dos, José y Patricia, eran montoneros – lucharon contra la Junta Militar que trataba de extinguir a los guerrilleros de izquierda como ellos. Lo que fue de ellos era desconocido durante muchos años. El año 1981, Rosa viajó a Ginebra para hablar con unas personas que habían sido detenidas en la Escuela de la Mecánica de la Armada (la ESMA) – tenían información sobre unos partos que tuvieron lugar allí en secreto. Rosa podía aprender que su hija fue torturada duramente en una casa cerca de Buenos Aires por muchos días. Sin embargo, su embarazo significó que necesitaron trasladarla a la ESMA para dar a luz. Allí, Patricia debía quedarse en un cuarto sin ventilación adecuada que se encontraba bajo el rellano de una escalera. El niño nació al mediodía del 15 de noviembre y Patricia quería que su hijo se llamara Rodolfo Fernando. Cuatro días después, ella se fue de la ESMA… Y todavía nadie sabe qué pasó a ella. El abril de 2000, la organización Abuelas de la Plaza de Mayo recibió una llamada anónima que contó la historia de Gómez, un hombre que participó en estas atrocidades. La persona que llamó preguntó acerca de la paternidad de su hijo asegurando que el hijo fue eso de una detenida muerta. Resulta que Gómez había inscrito Rodolfo como su propio hijo. Su fecha de nacimiento era “el 24 de noviembre de 1978 – nacido en la casa de Gómez”. Unos capitanes de aeronáutica firmaron la falsa acta de nacimiento para hacerla oficial. Afortunadamente, la hermana de Rodolfo, Mariana, hizo contacto con su hermano para obtener los análisis genéticos que confirmaron su identidad. De hecho, viajó al lugar de trabajo de Rodolfo y ella fue la primera persona de conocerlo. Lugar, la madre de José podía conocerlo en una reunión agridulce. Inmediatamente, ella dijo que su nieto se parecía a su hijo, José. Finalmente, Rosa conoció su nieto, después de veinte años de buscar.

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Gómez fue detenido. Sola es una de las muchas historias de este tipo pero muestra la existencia de un sistema que secuestrar a los niños de los padres y darles a otros en poder, que fue útil para incriminar a otros delincuentes de este tipo. Por supuesto, la vida de Rodolfo ha cambiado de forma irreversible, pero la búsqueda de toda la vida de Rosa para su nieto se ha terminado. Ella sigue buscando respuestas a la suerte de su hija pero una abuela más ha encontrado a su nieto.

Found

The Fight for Truth and Justice for the ‘Disappeared’

osa Tarlovsky de Roisinblit is a member of the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, an organisation that seeks to reunite all of the children of the ‘disappeared’ of the Military Dictatorship in Argentina 1976-83 with their legitimate, biological families. There is a whole lost generation, victims of the “Dirty War” in Argentina and a generation that will never get to meet their parents due to the crimes committed. However, there can sometimes be a happy ending – this is the case of Rosa’s grandson who was found and reunited in 2000. On the 6th October 1978, José Manuel Pérez Rojo, Rosa’s son in law, was kidnapped in a shop by people purporting to

be members of the Fraud Squad. On the same day, his wife Patricia, Rosa’s daughter, was kidnapped, despite being eight months pregnant. José and Patricia already had one daughter, Mariana, 15 months old, who was given over to other family members. Both José and Patricia were “montoneros” who fought against the Military Regime that was trying to rid the country of leftist fighters such as they were. What became of them was a mystery to all for many years. In 1981, Rosa travelled to Geneva to talk to some other people that had been “disappeared” in the grounds of a military installation known as the ESMA. These people had knowledge of a number of children born in captivity there. Rosa asked for information about her daughter who had been tortured for many days in a location in Buenos Aires. However, her state of pregnancy meant that she was soon transferred to the ESMA building to give birth. There, Patricia was confined to a room with poor ventilation at the bottom of a stairwell. The child was born on 15th November and Patricia wished for her son to be named Rodolfo Fernando. Four days later, Patricia was taken away from the ESMA....and no-one knows to this day what happened to her. In April of 2000, the Abuelas de la Plaza de Mayo received an anonymous call that recounted the story of a Mr Gómez, a man who took part in these atrocities. The person making the call asked about the paternity of his son, stating that he was, without doubt, a child of one of the “disappeared”. It turns out that Rodolfo assumed the surname of Gómez Jofré. His date of birth was registered as 24th November 1978 to a Mr and Mrs Gómez – this we now know was false. Officers of the Argentine Air Force falsified the information on his birth certificate. Fortunately, Rodolfo’s sister, Mariana, made contact with her brother in order to carry out the necessary genetic tests that confirmed his identity. In fact, she travelled to Rodolfo’s place of employment and she was the first person to meet him. José’s mother met him and at once saw the likeness between him and his father. At last, Rosa was reunited with her grandson after some 20 years of searching and hoping. Gómez was arrested. This is only one of the very many similar stories that speak of a systematic kidnapping of children to be passed on to other families of the military regime. Of course, Rodolfo’s life has changed irreversibly but Rosa’s life of searching has come to a happy end. She does, nonetheless, seek answers to what became of her daughter, but one more grandmother has been reunited with one more grandchild.

Rosa Tarlovsky de Roisinblit and a photograph of her daughter, Patricia

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Lost world: the Pariah State of

NORTH KOREA William Bates YEAR 11

he Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is one of the world’s last lost nations. Uniquely, there is no access to the internet or use of international mobile phone networks. Foreign television, radio and telecommunications signals are all jammed. But what is life like for ordinary people in this lost communist world? Moreover, who is calling the shots in this despotic regime? Interestingly Kim Jong-Un is no longer in control: many people wonder if North Korea will ever have a coup but in reality one has only recently taken place. North Korea was formed after the Second World War and was originally to be another vassal state of the USSR. However the government of the DPRK was one of the most independent of any in the communist block and played off the USSR and China for great economic advantage after the Korean War. However the country has been in a state of stagnation since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1988, best illustrated by the infamous Ryungyong Hotel, a 105-storey monolith built in Pyongyang. Construction began in 1987 and it has been announced that the hotel is due to open some time next year, with over 3,000 rooms and several revolving restaurant. Around 1,500 tourists visit North Korea every year, meaning that this hotel will have enough capacity to hold twice the entirety of annual tourists to the country within one night. North Korea collapsed economically around 1992 as it no longer received heavily discounted energy from Russia. This meant that they were unable to fuel their huge but grossly inefficient industrial sector. The loss of the vital foreign exchange

generated by the sale of these products at ‘friendship prices’ to other communist states meant that the country was unable to purchase the chemical fertilisers that it used in order to eke out the last vestiges of usefulness of the overused and ruined collective farms which supplied the country’s food supplies. This led to a massive famine in which 2 million people died. In order to relieve the situation, called the ‘Arduous March’ by the North Korean propaganda regime, the government advised the use of dangerous ‘food substitutes’ such as sawdust. As a result the generation born in this time was seriously stunted. As a consequence, in 2012 the government had to lower the height requirement for entrance into the army from 4.5 feet to around 4.3 feet as they were unable to find enough people who met this already modest height requirement. To enable people to eat, underground markets emerged in which anything and everything could be brought or sold for the right price (ironically in US dollars) with families selling all their possessions in order to buy rice supposedly distributed as part of UN aid. Even junior party cadres who nominally still receive rations will sell anything in exchange for food. In North Korea, nothing run by the state actually works. Soldiers steal food, there is free healthcare and yet people buy fake aspirin made in China; industrial chemicals and travel papers can be brought with a Casio watch. At this time, even China, staunch ally of the DPRK demanded any goods be paid for up front in US dollars as the official rate is a complete joke. When North Korea engages with the west it is always acting

WHAT IS LIFE LIKE FOR ORDINARY PEOPLE IN THIS LOST COMMUNIST WORLD?

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The Pariah State of NORTH KOREA

Left: North Korean rocket lauchers towed by tractors

in a highly calculated way. Leading diplomats have referred to disarmament talks as ‘food farming’ and, as such, these talks encourage North Korea’s nuclear development. When the United States provided shipments of high energy food bars instead of saleable rice as food aid, all talks stopped. When the North Koreans demolished the cooling tower from one of their two nuclear testing sites, the West rewarded them with more food. When the food stopped coming, they proceeded to take the insane risk of restarting the reactor- without any cooling tower. The North Korean ‘Military First’ diplomatic bluster is designed to extort money from the West. The ‘drones’ used by North Korea are literally model planes with Canon consumer level cameras mounted on them. As anyone who has used Google Earth would know, these are pointless militarily for spying. The sole purpose of such weapons is to intimidate the South. The air force is made up of rusting MIGs. There is no way that North Korea could withstand any modern attacks. It is far more likely that, as North Korea’s military becomes more and more outdated, it will eventually be invaded by the South than the possibility that it will collapse internally. Life in North Korea is certainly no laughing matter. After the government stopped distributing rations, around 2 million of the population of 22 million died of starvation. Shocking all analysts who have predicted the belligerent communist regime as being on the verge of collapse, the Kim regime soldiered on, surviving an attempted military coup and even the death of ‘Great Leader’ Kim Il Sung. No matter how incompetent the government is, no matter if they build a dam that destroys precious agricultural land just before a famine, the government of North Korea will hang on indefinitely. This is because many of the people of North Korea legitimately support the Kim regime. Indeed the much mocked scenes of mourning at the funerals of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il were in fact real as they both had cults of personality forged by the Korean War or by years of propaganda respectively. The extreme stresses that went through the regime at the time of the famine show that the system in North Korea can survive almost anything as it is as flexible with its policies and it is inflexible when dealing with the USA. North Korea is often assumed to be a communist country but this is simply not the case, so much so that the pictures of Marx and Lenin that once graced Pyongyang’s central square have been removed. The Kim regime never supported the communist ideology. This is shown by the fact that before the Korean War there were a number of political factions in the DPRK. Kim Il Sung belonged the faction of guerrilla fighters from the Japanese occupation of Korea and was only proclaimed leader after Soviet placemen

such as Pak Chang-ok failed to gain much support. As such, North Korea was only nominally communist in order to gain the support of the Soviet Union. After the Korean War the Kim cult was secure and the truth about the regime’s real loyalties were slowly revealed, coming to the fore after the fall of the Soviet Union. It can now be shown that North Korea never was a communist state; it was Stalinist in the context that the methods used to rule were pioneered by Stalin but not the ideology underpinning those methods. North Korea is a nationalist regime in which one’s standing in official life is dictated by songbun, which is dictated by racial and family heritage. In North Korea, guilt is passed down through three generations so there have been instances of defectors growing up in prison camps because their grandfathers used a piece of newspaper with a picture of Kim Il Sung on it to roll a cigarette. North Korea is the most racially homogenous place on earth and the number of foreigners in the country can be measured in hundreds, most of whom are tourists or diplomats. If someone has relatives who had defected or lived in Japan before the Korean War this would give them very bad songbun. However, due to the emergence of smugglers and the market economy many of these people are now considered very rich and often marry sons or daughters of mid-ranking Korean officials. Songbun splits people into three main classes: the core class, the wavering class and the hostile class. Kim Il Sung is reported to have said “Tomatoes, which are completely red to the core, are considered worthy Communists; apples, which are red only on the surface, are considered to need ideological improvement; and grapes are completely hopeless”. This system nominally decides everything a person can do in North Korea, for instance whether they can go abroad or travel to university. However, as with everything in North Korea, there is an open market alternative: paying bribes for official papers or being smuggled across the Chinese border. There are also sub-classes within the core class. The children of high ranking officials may be able to travel abroad to study in the West, while lower ranking officials may send their children to universities in China. More petty officials will send their children to an elite Korean university such as the Kim Il Sung University or, if they are very lucky, PUST, a western-run university in the DPRK. In Korea, only one person in a thousand has a car but for those who do they are a very important status symbol. In this, again, there is a distinct social ranking. This means for example that there are a number of speed limits in North Korea, with lanes for party, military and other uses, each with a lower speed limit respectively. As an elite party member progresses through the North Korean system, they slowly get better cars: for example,

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The Pariah State of NORTH KOREA

A lost decade

moving from the fake to the genuine Mercedes 190E and then up through the range. Many defectors only ever make it to China (as opposed to South Korea) as it very imposing to cross the southern border while it is relatively easy to cross the Yalu river into China. If a defector is caught in China, they will be returned to North Korea, where they will often be put in a prison camp. It is relatively easy for Koreans to hide in the area of China on the border as the area has a sizeable KoreanChinese minority. If you look at the North Korean government today, you will see that many senior figures have been replaced since Kim Jong Un took power. People point to the killing of Jang Song Theak, uncle of Kim, as a sign of his getting rid of his ‘Number 2 man’. This is not the case, as Jang Song Theak never was Number 2. Ironically, Kim Jong Un is not even number one. High ranking defector Jang Jin-Sung said “When Kim Jong Il died and Kim Jong Un succeeded him, people saw the transfer of power from father to son……. What they did not see also was what happened to the apparatus of the totalitarian system that supported the rule of Kim Jong Il.”. The apparatus he referred to is the highly secret Organization and Guidance Department of the Worker Party (OGD), which is responsible for all appointments to positions within the party at senior levels. This organisation is considered so powerful that it can summon Field Marshals to be humiliated or have people executed. The OGD was founded by Kim Jong Il and, as such, was full of his friends. Interestingly, Kim Jong Un was never put in charge of this organisation, meaning that he does not control critical appointments. For example, when he took power many of his father’s old officials were disposed of. Not one of these officials was a member of the OGD. Until recently, there was one enforceable power base in the DPRK outside of this organisation and that was Ministry of People’s Security under one Jang Song Theak. In a bizarre echo of Adolf Hitler, Kim Jong Il enjoyed appointing two organisations to do one job, meaning that they would fight each other and so stay loyal to him. This meant that while Theak controlled the Ministry of People’s Security the OGD controlled the Ministry of State Security. If Kim Jong Un was in charge, why would he remove this most vital system of power checking? What has happened is that these two factions within the elite of North Korea have fought each other and the OGD is now in charge of everything in North Korea. This country exists not to support Kim Jong Un but for a handful of people who want to hold on to their positions and hoard personal wealth. One consequence of this is that almost every government minister in North Korea is a proxy and any dealings with North Korea should be looked at cynically by the West. There is nothing to gain by appeasing this distasteful regime and hoping that it will eventually collapse itself because this will never happen.

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EUROPE JAPAN Henry Cunnison

YEAR 13

he economies that make up the Eurozone remain in turmoil. Five years of stagnation have followed the Great Recession. Unemployment in many of the southern nations is still over twenty per cent. There seems little hope of an end to misery soon. The Eurozone faces the prospect of a lost decade or worse. However, in the East, a fallen sun seems to be rising again. Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, when not provoking tension with China, has launched a set of stimuli and reforms that seem to be finally reflating Japan’s stagnant economy. Whereas Europe seems to have lost its way, Japan may have finally found its road to recovery. The Eurozone’s current problems were triggered by the Great Recession. Yet, whereas the other developed nations have begun to recover, the Eurozone remains flat. The complicating factors are the common currency and the ineptitude of policy. In the boom years before the economic downswing, there was an outflow of capital from core Eurozone countries, mainly Germany, to periphery nations such as Spain and Greece. German money was used to build new houses and hotels in these countries, fuelling a housing bubble. In the process, wages and prices in these countries increased sharply compared to in Germany. When credit dried up, labour costs in these countries were clearly too high compared to those of Germany. If the Eurozone countries had different currencies, this would not be much of a problem. The exchange rate of the periphery countries could simply fall. This would painlessly, make prices and wages in these countries closer to those of Germany. Iceland managed to achieve something very like this in the years since the huge financial crisis that it suffered. Even in a currency union, if the core countries had maintained full employment, in contrast to the high unemployment the Great Recession had caused in the periphery, wages would be equalised. Yet this did not happen. Instead, the periphery nations were told to pursue “internal devaluation.” This is basically just a euphemism for deflation. However, the process of internal devaluation is very difficult. This is due to the downwards nominal rigidity of prices and wages. Basically, wages and prices do not fall easily. Think about it. Workers do not like having their wages cut in nominal terms. This means that it will take a long

period of depression and high unemployment in these countries to drive down wages and restore competiveness. The only way to become more competitive than Germany was for costs to fall in relative terms. In other words, inflation (particularly wage increases) had to be lower in the other Eurozone countries than in Germany. It is generally agreed that around 2% was the best rate of inflation, but that higher positive rates are better than negative rates (deflation). Thus the best policy would be an increase in inflation in Germany to, say, 6%, and a decrease in the periphery to maybe 1.5%. The German government should have engaged in fiscal expansion, while the ECB should have followed a more aggressive monetary policy. But German politicians, perhaps remembering the 1920s, seem to believe any increase in inflation would inevitably lead to hyperinflation. Thus the other Eurozone nations have been driven to deflation. In Greece, falling prices are already the norm, and in other nations a similar situation is emerging. Deflation will, by increasing the value of money and thus debts, only worsen the crisis. The problems in the Eurozone show no sign of ending, despite marginally more optimistic employment and growth news in nations such as Greece this year. Europe, unless it dramatically changes policy, could face a lost decade. In the Far East, an economy that has suffered its own lost decade and more is perhaps on the road to recovery. Japan experienced a massive bubble that collapsed in the early 1990s. The Bank of Japan was too late in lowering interest rates and deflation has been a spectre ever since. Japan entered a liquidity trap - monetary policy no longer had traction- and, as a consequence, recovery was slow. And then came the global financial crisis. Exports fell and Japan experienced a major fall in output. Unemployment peaked at nearly 5.5%. The economy was slow to recover and deflation returned. In these circumstances, Shinzo Abe became Prime Minister for the second time in late 2012. He brought with him Abenomics, comprising the three â&#x20AC;&#x153;arrowsâ&#x20AC;? of monetary stimulus, fiscal expansion and structural reform. Abe hoped that with these policies deflation could finally be conquered, growth restored and the liquidity trap overcome. The signs so far are that he is succeeding. Inflation has returned and is rising. The economy has enjoyed its best run of growth for over three years. Unemployment is only 3.6% and falling. However there are signs that progress is stalling. Exports and domestic consumption were lower than expected in the final quarter of 2013,

and this helps explain a disappointing quarterly GDP growth rate of 0.2%; a recent increase in the sales tax is likely to hinder recovery. This year may be crucial for Abenomics. However, even if growth in Japan does falter, they already perform well in many other areas. Inequality and crime are low, life expectancy high, it is a technologically advanced country. Despite this, Japan faces a particularly acute threat from the aging population that is now gradually afflicting all developed countries. The Eurozone faces a grim future. As long as austerity and deflation are the norm, recovery will be difficult. It is increasingly apparent that peripheral nations should have been allowed to leave the common currency at the beginning of the crisis. Unemployment in some countries is at levels not seen since the Great Depression. Austerity, including cuts to government healthcare spending, means that many countries now face a public health crisis; in Greece, HIV infections have increased by more than 200% since 2010. In Japan, in contrast, not only is the output rising again, but it is already performs exceptionally on arguably more meaningful statistics. Even if Abenomics ultimately fails, Japan seems to have found a strong economic model.

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ICELAND: on the edge

Dominic Wood

YEAR 13

celand is without a doubt the most queer and unique part of the world I have ever visited. Every aspect of Iceland, from its history to its politics, is both completely bizarre and extraordinary at the same time. As soon as you step off the aeroplane, you’re hit by just how barren the landscape is, with jagged rocks bursting from every angle as far the eye can see. The magnitude of the geography is then juxtaposed against Iceland’s modern and highly developed economy, where highrise buildings in the capital jut out into the skyline against the surreal backdrop of snow-capped volcanic mountains. Although our trip was mainly focused on the geography of Iceland, the country also showed a rich and diverse culture and history. It was first colonised by Scandinavians in the 9th century; settlers would stop off in Scotland on the way to Iceland and take Celtic slaves to help set up their pre-built ‘flatpack’ settlements. This is why around 40% of today’s Icelandic population are descended from Celts. The population of the volcanic island grew quickly, even against the harsh cold and windy conditions the first settlers faced. After being governed under Denmark for over 700 years, Icelanders severed all ties

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with the Danish monarchy (interestingly while Denmark was still being occupied by Nazi Germany) gaining independence in 1944, subsequently forming a republic. Over the next 50 years, the government would grow to have one of the highest numbers of political representatives per capita in the world. But the government has been widely criticised for being unproductive due to the constant political infighting that goes on. This was illustrated during the 2008 financial crisis, in which Iceland’s economy was plunged into recession and dealt with poorly by the government. Within two years, the Icelandic króna plummeted in value from 70 króna: 1€ to 260 króna: 1€. Part of the government’s plan to get the economy back on track was to raise interest rates to eye-watering levels of 18% and implement currency controls which are still in place today. This stops Icelanders from taking or investing their money overseas. Consequently, Icelanders can’t invest their money outside of the country, which has caused a property boom in the capital and the controversial construction of a number of high rise apartments for the growing tourism industry. Accordingly, the coalition government collapsed due to the

Left: The ‘Harpa’ Concert Hall, Reykjavik Below: Reykjavik Bottom: Þingvellir National Park

public dissent over the handling of the financial crisis in 2008. Although many Icelanders are ashamed of their financial meltdown, they still optimistically brag that they were the first country to start the crash. Four years ago, in response to public frustration, a group of comedians formed their own political party named the “Best Party” Yes, seriously the ‘Best Party’, and what’s better is that their party’s song is ‘Simply the Best’ by Tina Turner. Surprisingly despite being a joke at first, they have been very successful, winning the mayoral elections of Reykjavik which is home to two thirds of Iceland’s 325,000 population with the electoral promise to “break all of their manifesto promises” Such a strange political move which has been wholeheartedly embraced by voters epitomises what a unique country this is. Jón Gnarr, Reykjavik’s cross-dressing mayor, has been so successful that he has inspired comedian Edie Izzard to similarly run for London Mayor in 2016. The Icelandic culture is just as remarkable. It is third in the world for equality as well as one of the safest; our guide, Steven, told us it was commonplace to leave babies outside in front of their houses to sleep, unthinkable almost anywhere else

across the globe! Icelandic people also have a strong passion for the arts, as author Eric Weiner highlights: “There's no one on the island telling them they're not good enough, so they just go ahead and sing and paint and write.” Throughout the trip, we were all struck by the number of public pieces of art scattered around Reykjavik in particular. However, the pinnacle was the Reykjavik concert hall named the ‘Harpa’. Situated on the seafront, the building’s wonderful architecture makes it a landmark of its own, equal to any of the spectacular surrounding landscape. Although everything in Iceland is unbelievably expensive (nearly the equivalent of £5 for a sandwich!) and often smells of eggs due to the sulphur from the volcanoes, please don’t let it put you off. It is a beautiful country with one of the most stunning landscapes in the world and a wonderfully unique culture. The Iceland trip was thoroughly enjoyable and I would highly recommend it.

Photographs courtesy of Maddie Fletcher and William Sparkes

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LOST civilisations Gregory Walton-Green

Right: Minoan fresco showing three women, possibly queens

YEAR 13

he idea of the “lost civilisation” has thoroughly infected our cultural consciousness, from adventure films such as the Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider franchises to the plethora of research, journalism and fiction about Atlantis. Nonetheless, “lost civilisation” is not a concept that can be easily pinned down by a simple definition. If we take the term to mean a society that no longer exists, for instance, this would include every previous historical society, as civilisation is constantly changing. Life in Britain now is radically different from what it was a mere 200 years ago, so can one really call 19th Century Britain and modern Britain the same society? On the other hand, if “lost civilisation” means an advanced society far distant in time from us that has left little to no surviving evidence of their culture, how can we be sure it ever existed at all? Can we call something a “lost civilisation” if it never existed in the first place? Perhaps it would be better to call a lost civilisation an ordered society that shared common cultural beliefs and practices but that left behind no descendent cultures. Although Atlantis is the most popular “lost civilisation” in the modern psyche, the only original mention of it is in one of Plato’s dialogues, and the general vagueness and improbability of the details given rules out “Atlantis” as having existed in any form similar to what Plato describes, especially considering that the story of Atlantis is related within an allegory. Another “lost civilisation” mentioned in an Ancient Greek work that is infinitely more likely to have actually existed is Troy, made famous by Homer’s Iliad. The account given in Homer’s epic was largely taken as fact in antiquity, with the Greek city “Ilion”, generally assumed to be on the same site as the famous Troy, although there were those who speculated alternative locations. However, during The Middle Ages, the

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Iliad and Troy became consigned to the realm of legend and it wasn’t until 1822 that interest started to gather again about a real city upon which the literary Troy was based when Scotsman Charles McLaren identified the position of the acropolis of the Roman “New Ilium” in what was then north-western Anatolia, in Turkey. Excavations began in the mid-19th century on a hill called Hisarlık by the local Turks. What has been found over the following two centuries has shown that there was a long series of ancient cities built upon the same site, from a prosperous Bronze Age mercantile city dating to approximately 3,000 B.C., to an economically struggling city which was part of the Roman Empire, finally abandoned around 500 A.D. It is now widely agreed by archaeologists that Homer’s Troy should be associated with archaeological “Troy VIIa” dated to the mid-late 13th Century B.C., which fits with traditional dates for the Trojan War. Other strong evidence for this city being Homeric Troy is the evidence of many violent deaths, destruction by fire and a city wall with a weakness at one point which match the description given by Homer. It is believed that this city corresponds to a city “Wilusa”, in the Assuwa league of Western Anatolia, which we know about only from Hittite records. The only literary evidence from the period associated with the Trojan War is written in Luwian. Currently, only the hill-top fort of Troy VII has been excavated, with the rest of the city untouched. The modern name of the river Karamenderes, which flows by Hisarlık, is uncannily similar to the name of the Scamander mentioned by Homer as Troy’s river; meanwhile, the name of a king of Wilusa, Alaksandu, seems to correspond to the other name of Paris of Troy, Alexander. Troy can only really be called part of “a lost civilisation”, since it was only one city among many with the same culture and language. The other “lost civilisation” I am going to discuss is also Mediterranean, attested to in Greek mythology. In the story

of Theseus and the Minotaur, Theseus, the young prince of Athens, goes as one of the 14 young men and women who were chosen as tributes for the Minotaur, a vicious half-man, half-bull who was allegedly the son of Minos’ wife and a bull. Theseus manages to defeat the Minotaur in the labyrinth and returns home to Athens. Minos, the king of Crete, being the son of Zeus, could communicate with him directly. He was also enormously wealthy and later reputed to have become a judge of the dead. The Minoan civilisation, based at the Palace at Knossos, was named by Arthur Evans, who rediscovered it in the early 20th century, after the legendary king. It has been suggested that “Minos” may have been a title for a king in Minoan, or the name of a royal dynasty. Depictions of double-headed axes are engraved into many of the stones at the palace at Knossos. The Minoan word for this axe was labrys, which is believed to be the origin of the Greek word labyrinth, which the later Greeks used to refer to the Palace at Knossos. Three different writing systems of the Minoan civilisation have been discovered: Cretan hieroglyphics, Linear A and Linear B. These have offered much work to recent scholars of linguistics. It is not known what language Linear A and Cretan hieroglyphics represent, with neither yet having been deciphered, but Linear B has been translated and shown to be a way in which to write Mycenaean Greek, the language that Homer’s heroes, if they were real, would have spoken. Linear B was based upon Linear A, and borrowed by the Mycenaean Greeks, who lived in mainland Greece, Crete and Cyprus between the 16th and 12th centuries B.C. The Linear B inscriptions discovered reveal little about Minoan civilisation, as the information consists largely of records of goods such as wool, sheep and grain. Although we haven’t translated any literary works, the records tell us about the Minoan lifestyle, and we also have a huge amount of Minoan artwork and goods, which have been found

across the Mediterranean, showing their cultural influence and trading prowess. We also know about some of their religious practices and clothing from their surviving frescoes, especially at Knossos, including the “bull-leaping” ritual, which may have inspired the myth of the Minotaur. Their religion appears to have been based on worshipping female deities, and they display a complex level of society, with running water and sewers, roads, organised religion and government, a highly developed artistic style and a wide range of food vessels. The Minoan civilisation spanned over a thousand years, from the 27th century B.C. to the 15th. We now know a great deal about what sort of items the Minoans traded and with whom, and so, if the Minoan civilisation was “lost” perhaps it is now found. There are so many civilisations from all over the world that we know very little about from the past, as they have left behind no literary record. The multiple pyramid-building cultures of Mesoamerica often came to power and declined rapidly, and, unlike Eurasian powers, there was less mention of them in surviving literature. However, there are always clues to help us understand “lost civilisations”, as by their very definition they must have had an organised society, which usually includes buildings and artefacts that can survive their creators. The efforts of archaeologists and scholars in related fields such as linguistics can help to rediscover how these ancient people lived and how their societies came into power and declined without leaving descendent cultures to the modern world. It is an area that has captured some of the greatest minds of the past few centuries, perhaps because researching a “lost civilisation” offers the possibility of solving mysteries and discovering information known to no other human alive - a chance to find out about the lives of people long dead and distant in time.

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LOST in TRANSLATION Holly Govey

YEAR 12

anguage is routinely warped and manipulated on a day- to-day basis, leading to an abundance of mistranslations and subsequent misunderstandings. Despite the relatively microscopic gulf between languages, the words of one tongue hardly ever find their exact equivalent in another; there is always something approximated, imagined or lost. The meaning of overall expressions can be badly obscured or entirely removed. Similarly, figurative loss in translation can occur when colloquialisms, gestures and behaviours are disconnected from one subculture and demonstrated without context in another. In this way, through translation from one language to another, words, phrases and even actions can lose so much of their connotation that the full sense of their meaning is no longer discernible. These alternating patterns in the formation of different languages can lead to a discrepancy between the way that people understand, relate and remember their experiences. Language shapes thought and profoundly influences our cognitive processes. This view dates back centuries to Charles the Great (in French Charlemagne): “to have a second language is to have a second soul”, which epitomises the idea of the imperative power concealed within the ability to both communicate effectively and achieve reciprocal understanding. For example, Russian speakers, who have more words for light and dark blues, are better able to visually discriminate shades of blue. Furthermore, some indigenous tribes use north, south, east and west simply to differentiate between right and left and as a consequence have a greater special awareness. Patterns in language can offer an insight into a culture’s dispositions and priorities. While English speakers tend to describe events in terms of agents doing things, even for accidents, speakers of Japanese would be more likely to omit a subject and describe an incident as a result of a passive action, such as “the vase broke itself”. Such differences have profound consequences for how their speakers understand events, construct notions of causality, what they remember as eyewitnesses and how much they blame and punish others. Therefore language can be said to shape cultural values. Nevertheless, the influence can simultaneously go the other way, such that our culture impacts on our language, thus a bidirectional relationship can be established. Since language serves as a human creation and tool, it is questionable whether its cognitive influences are innate or whether it is in fact our thoughts which shape the language we speak. Noam Chomsky suggested that the acquisition of language could not be fully explained by learning alone. Instead, he proposed that children are born with a language acquisition device (LAD), an innate ability to understand the principles of language. However, Eric Lenneberg suggests that the ability to acquire language is subject to a critical period, during which an organism is sensitive to external stimuli and capable of acquiring certain skills, which last until around the age of 12, when the organization of the brain becomes set and no longer able

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to learn and utilize language in a fully functional manner. This difference of opinion reflects the on-going nature-versus-nurture debate over the acquirement of language. While nativists believe that the capacity for language is innate, empiricists suggest that it is our environmental variables that play a key role in determining our language proficiency. Either way, reduced external or internal linguistic stimulation can lead to a lack of language capabilities which can cause someone to lose the ability to communicate with those around them. One case study which exemplifies this idea is that of Genie - a feral child who spent almost her entire childhood locked in a bedroom, isolated and abused for over a decade - who became unable to apply grammar and acquire new language. In addition, evidence suggests that changing the way people speak can cause changes to the way that they think. If people learn another language, they learn a new perspective on the world. In L’Etranger by Albert Camus, Meursault describes how Raymond, switches his mode of address (“il me tutoyait”), speaking to Meursault in a more informal manner by addressing him using the “tu” form of the verb. However, the act of differentiating verbs for altered modes of address is not used in English, so in the translated version of The Outsider, it is written that “he was now calling me by my first name” which does not convey the same essence in meaning as the act of using the “tu” form of address. Overcoming the language barrier is rapidly becoming one of the most critical issues of our globalised time. Although a rather clichéd phrase, facilitated by overuse in the media, there seems to be no alternative to “lost in translation” that captures the essence of miscommunication across the language barrier in quite the same way. In the film of the same title, the two central characters Bob and Charlotte, Americans in Tokyo - are simultaneously lost in their own lives, a feeling amplified by their displaced location and their alienation from Japanese culture. In our technological society meaning can be easily lost through conversion from oral to written form. Furthermore, the loss of tonality and sound from the language causes the essence of what is trying to be communicated to be blurred. While sarcasm fails to be transmitted through texts leading to a difference in intended connotation, simple recordings of information can be mistaken on answer-phone messages, causing confusion. Miscommunications can create changes in the course of history. Failure to convert to the metric system caused the NASA Mars Climate Orbiter to disintegrate; the 1977 plane crash in the Canary Islands that killed 583 people happened because of miscommunication between the pilot and air traffic control. Language, therefore enables effective communication with those around us and ensures an innate comprehension of ourselves and our perspective on the world. Through mistranslation something more than meaning disappears, as cultural and social values are lost in the language itself. The structures that exist in languages profoundly shape how we construct our reality. Language is a uniquely human gift; through its study we are uncovering in part what makes us human.

Me Na Vadna Cowz a Sowznack!

I will not speak English! Phoebe Warren

YEAR 12

anguage consists of a system of communication used by a particular country or community. Yet, it remains a mystery how animal vocalisation (howling and barking etc.) developed into human language. It has been suggested that language developed from the primal grounds by small groups of people living together independently of others. They made ways to describe their environment and resources to trade using actions followed by sounds. When another group migrated to their area, or alternatively entered equipped with unusual resources for trade, the groups were forced to discover a common ground to merge their lexicons and communicate. However, when a dominant group overthrew another, they often used language as a means of repression and enforced their own, causing languages to die out. This is still happening today. An estimated 7,000 different languages are spoken worldwide, of which 90% are used by less than 100,000 people. It is not unusual to have multiple languages in practice simultaneously in one country. For example, in Morocco, the predominant language is Arabic, but Berber as well as French also runs strongly within regions. Here in the UK, the official language is obviously English. Yet there are subdivisions of Welsh-speaking people, Scottish, Irish, and, now, the Cornish. Cornish was almost a lost language until recognised with its new status of a ‘National Minority’; as of April 2014, the UK has officially recognised the Celtic cultural identity, separating the Cornish from the English. So now when asked: “What constitutes the British nation?”, we must reply: the English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish and the Cornish. There are an estimated 300 active speakers of Cornish in Cornwall, and around 50 in London. On the day of the announcement, dancing broke out on the streets of Cornish towns such as Bodmin; music sounded merrily and poetry was shared- in Cornish of course - alongside a reasonable volume of traditional Cornish pints washing down the celebration of their new status. All this celebration comes with good reason. Until this point, Cornwall had been an “invisible minority”, according to Bert Biscoe, a long-time campaigner. However Cornwall has always been seen as ‘different’. Its physical isolation has proven key to Cornish history, engulfed by waves on all sides bar one, the rocky peninsula stuck out like a shard of glass exposed to the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the Cornish industry is now based upon tourism, and with its new status residents will hope to encourage more tourism. Moreover, the Liberal Democrats may benefit from this since Nick Clegg (Deputy Prime Minister) announced the government would be investing £120,000 extra into

preservation, promotion and development of the Cornish language. Is the language simply being used as a commodity? However, language is part of identity, which helps strengthen the values of the Cornish youth and reconnect with their culture valued by the rest of the UK. This raises the question: is it so important that we keep dying languages alive? If it is, the ones who value the language most will appreciate it, since it provides a rich cultural heritage providing a distinctive outlet to pass on and share. Thus, loss of a language is a cultural loss. Yet this seems illogical simultaneously, since culture is forever reshaping, reforming and moving with time, especially in our modern era. To desperately cling onto a fading language when cultural forms are lost all the time seems mindless. So, the government’s action to invest in keeping the Cornish language alive can be seen as illogical since it shows a desire to keep a grasp on the past instead of driving change and movement forward. Still, to me, it seems tragic that we lose over 25 mother tongues each year. Languages are important for heritage and identity. They should be preserved.

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SCOTLAND : Independence & Identity Zoe Rundle

YEAR 13

ome may remember 2014 as the 100-year anniversary of World War One, or even because of the Brazilian World Cup. However, for many in Britain (who certainly won’t remember it as the year England won the World Cup), 2014 will mark the date of an incredibly significant decision, not just in Scotland’s history, but in United Kingdom's as a whole. The much anticipated national referendum regarding Scottish independence will determine whether or not the country will once again become its own sovereign state. While it has been an aim of some political parties, advocacy groups and individuals in Scotland for quite some time, it is an issue that has divided opinion for years, but an outcome will eventually be decided by the end of the year. The debate regarding Scottish Independence has become ever more prominent since the end of World War Two, when the Scottish National Party (founded in 1934) won its first seat in parliament at Westminster in 1945. A significant discovery later took place in 1970 - oil from the North Sea, off the east coast of Scotland; Scots believed this oil could benefit their then-struggling economy and the issue of independence intensified. After the Kilbrandon Commission recommended devolved assemblies for Scotland and Wales in 1973, a referendum on Scottish devolution was held in 1979. However, this failed as it did not achieve the necessary 40% of votes from the electorate and, as a result, the SNP experienced an electoral decline during the 1980s.

Despite this, ten years later, Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government introduced the Poll Tax which helped to revive the independence movement; its growth was demonstrated in 1997 when a referendum showed overwhelming support (73.8%) for a separate Scottish Parliament with tax-raising powers. In 1998, devolved powers were assigned to a new Scottish Parliament. One year later, the SNP won 35 of the 129 seats available in the Scottish Parliament, as Labour topped the chart with 56. However, this soon changed as support for Scottish independence grew. In 2007, the SNP overturned the Labour majority, forming a minority government with 47 seats to Labour's 46. This margin was soon increased as Alex Salmond won the SNP their first majority government, taking 69 seats compared to Labour’s 37. A vote for independence looked increasingly likely. In October 2012, the Edinburgh Agreement was signed by both Salmond and Prime Minister Cameron, paving the way for a referendum to take place. “Scotland’s Future” was published eleven months later making the case for independence. However, those against independence may question the legitimacy of the referendum. There is some debate as to who represents the people of Scotland in the British constitution, especially in light of the Scottish Government's insistence that the SNP's majority in the Scottish Parliament provides a mandate for an independence referendum – something which has never formally been stated. Furthermore, while the vote is open to those born in other parts of the UK who are now living in Scotland, those who are from

SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE IS A REAL POSSIBILITY, BUT WILL IT BENEFIT SCOTLAND?

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Scotland:

INDEPENDENCE & IDENTITY

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the country (and perhaps consider themselves Scottish) yet reside in elsewhere in Britain are not eligible to vote. As well as this, the vote is also open to 16 and 17-year olds who will never have voted before and therefore lack political experience. This may lead to a number of wasted votes as well as an element of pressure from the parents, in that the child votes not for what they want but for what their parents want instead. The signing of the Edinburgh Agreement resulted in the British Parliament undertaking to pass a ‘Section 30’ order to temporarily grant the Scottish parliament legal power to hold the referendum, giving it a sense of legitimacy. Additionally, the United Nations charter, which the UK is signatory to, allows the right of peoples to self-determination, while the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Britain also abides by, guarantees peoples’ rights to change nationality. There are several other arguments to suggest that the issue is worthwhile and would benefit the country. For example, if independence was to take place then decisions about Scotland would be made by those who live and work there. An independent parliament appointed by a Scottish electorate would replace the current Westminster system where only 9% of the 650-member House of Commons are elected representatives from Scotland. Government officials would therefore be more accountable to the people. Governments will always be formed by parties that win elections in Scotland, meaning no key decisions will be made by those who don’t have the country’s support behind them. There will also be a guarantee that tax and social security rates will be in line with the wishes from the Scots. Therefore, there will be an end to the imposition on Scotland of policies such as the ‘bedroom tax’. The abolition of this tax alone will save 82,500 households in Scotland – an average of £50 per month. This would make a huge difference to the lives of so many and there are also other, smaller, benefits to the Scots which would come from independence, such as a return of the Royal Mail to public ownership in Scotland. However it would seem ridiculous to think that such a large, controversial issue comes without its problems. The fact there is currently a strong Scottish Parliament within the United Kingdom gives the country large advantages: not only is there the decision-making power in Scotland, it also plays a key role in

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a strong and secure UK. Scotland is stronger as part of Britain and Britain is stronger with Scotland as a partner. In terms of businesses, those in Scotland increasingly have to win orders against smart, efficient and productive firms in foreign markets. These competitive challenges look to get tougher in the years ahead and the UK is better placed than a separate Scotland (or England) to help the businesses find and win new orders across the world. As well as all of this, in an uncertain world Scotland's security will only be strengthened as part of the United Kingdom. The British Armed Forces that protect the country are extremely skilled and experienced and, as part of the UK, Scotland has real clout in the UN Security Council, NATO and the EU. On top of this, there are also embassies around the world. These connections and power would all be significantly decreased if Scotland should become independent. Finally, it can be argued that there is no need for change as the system has worked well as it is for decades and there have been no controversies of damaging significance as a result. If Scotland was to change the make-up of the United Kingdom, not only would it be altering what is already in place (and has been for years), it may also be costly for the economy. For example, despite the fact that Alex Salmond described the pound as a ‘millstone around Scotland’s neck’ in 1999, today he is desperate to keep the currency. An independent currency might be so volatile that it could reduce trade and investment, turning Scotland into an economic backwater. Additionally, once the North Sea oil runs out, what does Scotland have that will sustain its fabulously wealthy future? The ability to attract major industries, in the likes of finance, manufacturing and IT, to the country would be diminished by independence. Standard Life, the insurance company has already warned of the possibility of relocating its headquarters should the outcome of the referendum be ‘yes’. This would cost around 5,000 Scots their job and with more companies threatening to do the same, the tally would only increase. In a recent survey conducted by the BBC, 579 businesses were asked if they would consider moving away from Scotland should ‘yes’ be the final vote in September’s referendum – onefifth said they would. The Guardian reported that house-buyers are being put off because of doubt regarding Scotland’s future.

Scotland:

INDEPENDENCE & IDENTITY

According to estate agents, wealthy buyers are being deterred from entering the top end of the Scottish property market due to the uncertainty over September's referendum. The matter has completely split the opinions, not just of Scots but of Brits in general. With so many people feeling passionately about the vote, and the decision which will come from it, large measures have been taken in order to shift the outcome one way or another. A number of demonstrations in support of independence have been arranged since the announcement of the referendum. In September 2012, there was a march and rally for Scottish independence which drew a crowd of between 5,000 and 10,000 people to Princes Street Gardens. Debates have also occurred in Scotland, in order to sway voters a particular way – these have taken place on television, in communities, and within universities and societies since the announcement of the referendum. The Yes campaign has repeatedly called for there to be a televised debate between UK Prime Minister David Cameron and First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond; however, the former has refused due to the fact he feels the referendum is "for Scots to decide". In April 2014, UKIP leader Nigel Farage is one who has challenged Salmond to a debate; however, a SNP spokeswomen responded by dismissing the prospect and stating that Farage was “an irrelevance in Scotland”. A survey for the Scottish Chambers of Commerce recorded that more than half of those asked (56%) stated that the level of debate so far had been either ‘poor’ or ‘dismal’. It appeared that there had been a lack of discussion on what they regarded as the key issues: currency, taxes and business rates. No respondents described the quality of debating as "excellent" and just 5% said it had been "very good". There were also a number of other key findings from the survey which took place: 53% of businesses saw potential opportunities from independence, while 77% identified potential risks, 68% of businesses would welcome more powers for the Scottish Parliament in the event of a ‘no’ vote, and in the event of a ‘yes’ vote, 62% would favour Scotland to retain sterling as part of a formal currency union with the rest of the UK. So, after all of this, the arguments for, the arguments against, the legitimacy of the referendum, the impact it has on lives, plus the ongoing debates and deliberations which have become a fundamental part of the campaigns, what do the opinion polls

look like? As of the 16th April 2014, 42% stated that Scotland should not become an independent country, while 39% believe the converse; this leaves 19% unsure, meaning that the campaigns could increase in significance even more as it will be these that are likely to sway the opinions of those still undecided. Looking at the opinion polls (taken from www.whatscotlandthinks.org) which date back to the 1st February 2013, the ‘no’ vote has almost always looked the likely outcome, reaching an all-time high of 65% on 9th May 2013. However, on 28th August 2013, the ‘yes’ opinion lay at 44%, leaving 43% opting for a ‘no’ to Scottish Independence. Similarly, on the 2nd April 2014, both possibilities had 41% of support from those concerned. This data goes to show how easily opinions can change, meaning nothing should be taken for granted come September. There are so many who still remain undecided – more than enough to overturn those who are against independence. In conclusion, Scottish Independence is a real possibility. Whether it will benefit the country is questionable. However it will be absolutely fascinating to see how the election unfolds and, either way both, Scotland and Britain will have been significantly impacted by the vote and the decision.

Po r t s m o u t h

Po i n t

www.pgs.org.uk

LEGO : a world of discovery Tim Bustin

YEAR 13

t has been voted the number one toy in the history of everything, shaped modern architecture and built the countless daydreams of children and adults. It’s also taking over the world. I’m not just talking about LEGO Batman, Superman, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones, Toy Story, Simpsons and Morgan Freeman. There are approximately 80 LEGO bricks per person on the planet, and by 2019 LEGO minifigures will outnumber people (expect an uprising of plastic superheroes very soon). We’ve all designed impossible spaceships, created extravagant cities, where people drive multicoloured house-cars or recreated scenes from Bilbo Skywalker and the Temple of Spongebob Squarepants. The point of LEGO is that you can do what you want, combine whatever bricks or characters you happen to have at hand and make something that before could only exist in your imagination. As the LEGO corporation has grown in size and stature, with its beautiful theme parks being built around the globe, its dominance of the toy market increasing, and its popularity ever rising, we have been given an ever-increasing list of what are known as ‘instructions’. Thankfully, as a man, I’ve been fairly resistant to this, though the promise of what you can create from an image on the box of a LEGO kit, from small race cars to a complete Death Star with fully-functioning planet-destroying lasers, has slowly persuaded us all to abandon our own ideas and instead piece together intricately made parts, all under the careful guidance of an instruction booklet. Now, don’t get me wrong, I think the LEGO kits are awesome. The fact that you can “LEGOise” the famous boulder chase from Raiders of the Lost Ark, the epic battles for Middle Earth, or James Bond is literally the coolest thing I can think of. The problem is, nowadays there are just too many LEGO sets. Sure, you can technically still buy ordinary bricks, but shops only tend to stock sets. Possibly worst of all are the models – LEGO sets that aren’t even designed to be played with, simply the LEGO equivalent of a die-cast model. I mean, come on, that’s what Miniworld is for. This great toy that sparked creativity in the youngsters of the world has, in many ways, been lost, or at least its original purpose has. Even the LEGO videogames seem to have less freedom than before. In the past, there were LEGO Racers, where you could design and build your own car at least, or the LEGO Creator

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games, where you were encouraged to design and build. Now, games such as LEGO Star Wars or LEGO Harry Potter seem to offer little creativity for the player, though admittedly they are very enjoyable to play. The question is, can we do anything about all this? Can anything bring back the imagination? And the answer to that question is a reasonably certain yes. The LEGO Movie. I think I may well have fallen off my chair with awe and wonder when I first heard about it. A film filmed entirely in LEGO. With Batman as one of the main characters. I remember seeing the trailer in the cinema with a group of friends, and I think it’s fair to say none of us doubted for a second that we couldn’t not see it. If you haven’t seen it I won’t say too much. The whole point of the film is that we shouldn’t just go through life “following the instructions”. Some characters in the film are “Master Builders” and have a special ability to be able to create whatever machine, vehicle or whatever by combing parts from different existing LEGO items. But at the end they say: we all have this ability inside of us. The main purpose of The LEGO Movie, apart from being outrageously hilarious and turning Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman and Liam Neeson into LEGO minifigures (and constantly reminding us that “EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!”), is to inspire all of us to take whatever bricks we want, whatever sets we see, any piece or character we like, and use them to make a world from our imaginations. Of course, the fact that you can buy “The LEGO Movie” LEGO sets from all good retailers (instructions included) is a bit of a contradiction, but c’mon guys, that’s just beside the point which is that, while we can just follow the instructions and make the same thing as everyone else (just as we do in life – hrm, deep), there’s nothing stopping you from building even the craziest of ideas – a metalbeard pirate for example or a Bionicle Yoda if you fancy (though you might not want to admit having a Bionicle set). So, pop down to your nearest LEGOLAND, get yourself a bag of finest quality bricks, and just let your imagination go free. Especially if you’re in Year 13, because you won’t have time for fun if you’re doing a serious degree at uni. If you’re doing Media Studies, then you probably don’t have much imagination anyway (though you will have plenty of LEGO time when you’re unemployed). Enjoy!

THE SCIENCE of finding lost objects Justin Wilkinson

YEAR 13

he news recently has seen much coverage of the disappearance of the flight MH370. Despite lengthy searches, nothing concrete has been found as to the whereabouts of the plane. Similarly, many objects that are lost fail to be recovered in our day-to-day lives. This leads to interesting questions as to how to best find something that is lost. There are many refreshing ideas regarding how best to find a lost object. Many of these are pseudoscientific ideas masquerading as proven theories. One such suggestion is dowsing. Dowsing is a historical divination process that was used in attempts to locate ground water, metal ores and gems as well as grave-sites. The principle of dowsing is simple: Carry a Y-shaped stick or a dowsing rod and walk about over the area that is being searched. The rod or stick will drop when it is close to whatever it is that the dowser is trying to find. Today, some people use their hands or pendulums to experience “feedback” from their muscles when they near an object. As one might expect, testimony from dowsers and other anecdotes from practitioners are the only sources of data to support dowsing as a means of finding natural resources. Several scientific surveys have been conducted into dowsers’ abilities to find such objects. In 1948, scientists found that 58 dowsers failed to reliably predict the location of water resources. More recently, 30 dowsers were tested on the ability to find pipes containing flowing water buried under 50cm of earth in a level field, amongst other empty pipes. Despite claims of the participants of a 100% success rate and a written agreement that it was a fair test of their abilities, none managed to predict where these pipes were any better than you or I would. In short, dowsing is an unscientific and unproven ability to find lost objects. In fact, you’d be better off sticking to the basics: conducting a search, retracing your steps and thought processes and trusting to your eyes and brain. Interestingly, recent research has shown that the brain has its own method of finding lost keys, wallets or wayward children. Normally, the brain processes visual data by dividing objects into categories, and using different parts of the brain to process the information. When something important is lost, the brain broadens the search by increasing the number of categories that are associated with the search. In doing so, more brain cells are used to perform the same task – searching for the item lost. This increases the speed and efficiency of the search. There have been instances in the past in which a lost item cannot be found for extended periods of time. Most people will have lost something before, be it important or not, and have failed to find it. There have been cases of the whole world searching for something that has not been found, a good example of this is the Air France Flight 447 which disappeared on the 1st of June 2009. The aircraft departed from Rio de Janeiro-Galeao International

Airport on 31 May 2009 at 19:29 local time. The 3-pilot flight was proceeding as normal until an area of turbulence was met and it is thought that the plane encountered icy conditions resulting in the plane disappearing just minutes later. The search involved submarines and ships from Brazil and France and, by June 16th, the bodies of 50 passengers from the plane had been found in a large area of ocean. On June 26th, the search for passengers was ended and the underwater search for the plane’s black box began, lasting until 24th May, 2010, at which point 6,300km of sea had been searched. Such an ignorant and wasteful approach to the search yielded no results, so in July 2010 a US – search consultancy called Metron were contracted to draw a probability map of the areas where the plane was thought to have gone down. They used Bayesian search theory to do so. Bayes was an English statistician who lived in the 18th century and is best known for his theorem of conditional probability:

He also developed this search theory consisting of 6 stages: 1) Develop hypotheses as to the possible series of events involving the missing object. 2) For each hypothesis a probability density function (pdf) describing the probability of an object being at a given site must be generated. 3) The probability of finding the object at a given site, should it be there, also needs to be determined – a measure of how well hidden the object could be. 4) Combining the above functions (usually by multiplication) into a map of the probability of finding the object at any given point and representing the data in a contour map such as that seen below. 5) Construction of a search path from high probability areas to lower areas. 6)Continual refinement of the probabilities according to evidence supported by each hypothesis. So if one hypothesis showed that the object has a high probability be present in one place but wasn’t, the probability of other such areas regarding the same hypothesis can be reduced. Within a week of the search being renewed, following the path Metron dictated, the aeroplane’s black box was found, on the 3rd April, 2011, demonstrating the values of scientific theories instead of blind and broad searches. So: when you lose something, take a moment and assess the situation and apply heuristic algorithms, rather than panicking and turning over every stone, or, worse, descending into superstition and irrationality.

Po r t s m o u t h

Po i n t

www.pgs.org.uk

Julia Alsop

YEAR 12

ohann Sebastian Bach. Perhaps you’ve heard his Toccata and Fugue in D Minor accompanying a cliché horror scene in a TV show, or a movie, and the chances are that you’ve heard other music of his. Perhaps you even like to indulge in his St Matthew Passion or B Minor Mass (I wouldn’t blame you, I may or may not be listening to them as a write this article). However, perhaps you didn’t know that he managed to father a whopping twenty children, although not all of them survived past childhood. Of his children, unsurprisingly, some became very skilled musicians, and celebrated composers – two, in particular, (Johann Christian & Carl Philipp Emanuel) were substantially better known during their lifetimes than their father ever was. Two other sons, Wilhelm Friedemann and Johann Christoph, became professional musicians too. But now, whilst their names are only really recognized by those with a particular interest in classical music, Johann Sebastian Bach is famed as being one of the greatest musical geniuses of all time. So, how was Johann Sebastian’s fame ‘found’ after death, and why, comparatively, was the fame of his sons ‘lost’? J.S Bach did have some element of fame, or at least recognition within the musical world, during his lifetime – he was a highly skilled organist and very gifted at the art of improvisation, and many people enjoyed hearing him play. He held a few posts during his life, but most notably he was Kapellmeister for Johann Sebastian Bach King Leopold, and Cantor (responsible for providing all the music, training the choir etc) at St Thomas’ in Leipzig, although he had not been the first-choice candidate for this role. In this time he composed productively, at some points composing whole cantatas in just a week for performance for the church services. But Bach never composed any operas, which tended to allow composers to win fame and favour in his time, instead opting to compose primarily liturgical works. On the other hand, his sons seemed to acquire more fame as composers during their lives. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, whose 300th anniversary is this year, was the fifth child of J.S, and while still in his early twenties was appointed into the service of the Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia, and became a

Bach

LOOKING IN TIME

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member of the royal orchestra, famed for his impressive clavier playing, with his reputation growing as he composed, dedicating works to the Prince. He was praised by following composers, such as Mozart; however, Schumann did say that ‘as a creative musician he remained very far behind his father.’ Johann Christian Bach was the eleventh Bach child and spent much of his time in England. There is a bigger difference between his music and that of his father than between his father’s and brother’s, since he was born much later, when his father was already fifty, and his brother C.P.E Bach was twentyone. His music seems to suggest hints of early Classical period writing, rather than the recognizably Baroque sound that we hear in his father’s music. He spent some time as organist at Milan Cathedral and then became music master to Queen Charlotte in England. He eventually died in considerable debt since his steward embezzled his wealth. Towards the end of his life, his music went from being extremely popular to rather unpopular. The comeBach (sorry, it’s impossible to resist a good pun) of J.S Bach’s music is, above all, attributed to another composer, Felix Mendelssohn. In 1829, with encouragement from his aunt Sarah Levy, who had introduced him to the work, he conducted Bach’s St Matthew Passion, the first performance since 1750 – Bach’s death. Mendelssohn edited a number of Bach’s works, including a vast amount of his organ repertoire. He went on to travel around Europe, including to England, introducing Bach’s music – and encouraging the adjustment of the relatively limited English organs (many of which did not have a pedal board at all), in order to allow Bach’s music to be played on them. Since then, Bach’s popularity has grown immensely, his instrumental and choral works are some of the most recorded and performed works, and no organist’s repertoire is complete without Bach. As for Johann Christian and Carl Philipp Emanuel, don’t feel too bad for them – their music still has fans and does get performed on concert programmes, but if you’re intrigued, why not give them a listen? I must confess that, despite fondness for the music of his sons, my adoration for Johann Sebastian’s music is incomparable.

Music HISTORY

Callum Cross

Y YEAR 13

ear 9 was my first at PGS, so naturally people were trying to “read” me so to speak. I can quite honestly say that if they were to just use my music from that year to gauge what kind of person I was I don’t think that I would have actually had anyone socialize with me. Year 9 to me means heavy metal or things of a similar nature. Now this falls into the ‘found’ section of my music history. Recently, some new friendships have re-kindled my passion for the heavy side of music. My top three bands of Year Nine would have to be: Iron Maiden, Metallica and Led Zeppelin. I passed up the opportunity to see the first two live, which I shamefully regret. However, this rolls nicely on to the next thing. I have tickets to Sonishpere this summer. With both Metallica and Iron Maiden headlining, it would appear that life has given me a second bite of the “Black Stone Cherry” so to speak. Led Zeppelin, on the other, had an invitation- only gig the year before, around my birthday, which I was not happy with as I had no chance of seeing them live as they are far too old to do anything big now, however much that pains me to say. My favourite three songs from Year 9: 1. ‘Diary of Jane’ – Breaking Benjamin, 2. ‘Run to the Hills’ – Iron Maiden, 3. ‘Unforgiven III’ – Metallica. Year 10 brought about a different phase - niche genres of metal, ranging from melodic death metal to my personal favourite “Viking Metal”. Again, I’m glad that I wasn’t solely judged on that or people might be expecting 15 year old me to grow a full beard and start to only scream things at people. My top 3 Year 10 bands: Amon Amarth, Avenged Sevenfold and Rammstein. The first of these is the Viking metal band. This was a short phase, however, and this band now falls into the lost category; after a year of the double-kick drum pounding my ears, they gave in to the loud monotony and I wanted something more melodic. Avenged Sevenfold are a band I still enjoy listening to. My favourite album is their self-titled one, which has

maintained its spot on my phone. Finally Rammstein, another lost band, became too synthy and the whole blood-and- guts mixed with profanities lost my interest. So, Year 10, a year of short-term interests. My three favourite songs from that year: 1. ‘Afterlife’ – Avenged Sevenfold, 2. ‘Tattered Flags and Bloody Banners’ – Amon Amarth, 3. ‘Scream Aim Fire’ – Bullet for my Valentine. In Year 11, my music swayed back to what I enjoyed in Year 9. I rediscovered my love of classic rock and older metal. This probably came down to the fact that newer forms of metal just waned and what was left was what had always been around. This year also brought about the most disappointing album that I have ever bought. AC/ DC’s Black Ice looked so promising but it was just awful, didn’t come close to Highway to Hell, an album that I practically worshipped, and I just felt I had wasted money on an album for the first time. This rediscovery of older favourites has led to the top 3 of Green Day, Rainbow and more Led Zeppelin. Green Day is solely for American Idiot, which is arguably a great cult classic and Rainbow for its album Kill the King which had incredible guitar solos littered everywhere and amazing vocals on the song “Rainbow Eyes”. My top 3 songs: 1. ‘Jesus of Suburbia’ – Green Day, 2. ‘Home Sweet Home’ – Motley Crue, 3. ‘Whisky in the Jar’ – Thin Lizzy. By Year 12, classic rock had become boring and metal wasn’t new or interesting, so my interest turned to Alternative. With quicker songs than classic rock and less shouting than metal it was the perfect compromise. Had I finally found a perfect musical home? Yes, yes I had. Year 12 included some of my first encounters with the classic late 90s/early 00s alt bands like Simple Plan and The Offspring. This music had engulfed me and there was no escape. My three favourite bands were Simple Plan, Weezer and Fountains of Wayne. Oh, and before you say “Fountains of Wayne, they did “Stacy’s Mom” “, yes they did and it needs to be said now that it is far from their best song (listen to “Maureen”), and no they were not a one-hit- wonder band. As for the other two, they are commonly-liked alt bands from the late 90’s so I was bound to be exposed to them by the genre. My three favourite songs: 1.'Welcome to my Life’ – Simple Plan, 2. ‘Sometimes’ – Sound of Guns, 3. ‘Pork and Beans’ – Weezer. So what musical delight do I have for you from my final year at PGS? I am still into the alternative rock scene, though I can now narrow that down to the genre known as Pop Punk. My current three favourite bands are Jimmy Eat World, Bayside and Alkaline Trio; the second two I was actually introduced to by Mr McGuiggan from the Maths department. For these three bands it was impossible to pick a top 3 songs so I have had to choose my favourite album from each one, and if you haven’t already you should buy them, all. So in first is Pain – Jimmy Eat World, then Good Mourning – Alkaline Trio and finally Cult – Bayside. So, there is a list of music that either I have discovered or people around me have recommended -and also a short look at what I have chosen to lose. These songs have so greatly impacted my life and you never know how one could affect yours. Po r t s m o u t h

Po i n t

www.pgs.org.uk

1971:

BEST YEAR OF THE 60s! Mr Mark Richardson

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

he music scene underwent a seismic change during the 1960s, but its finest flowering occurred not during that decade at all, but instead emerged in a year that saw more releases of major musical creations than any other, all of which were the product of the ethos and practices of the 1960s but which came out not in any of the years of that decade at all, but in 1971! January was one of the mildest ever in the UK, and one way to describe record releases that month would be luke-warm, with the most notable release being Pearl, Janis Joplin’s posthumous and best-sounding record, including ‘Mercedes Benz’. February was better: strong releases abounded, with Yes (here playing music more inspired by their late 60s roots), David Crosby, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix (another posthumous album) Soft Machine (one of the major experimental groups of the 60s), the German group Can (Tago Mago, superb) and the excellent Faces, fronted by Rod Stewart. The classic release, though, was Carole King’s Tapestry, every song the product of her long years of song-writing in New York where she was co-writing a string of hits for others, standout tracks being ‘It’s Too Late’ and ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’. March was quieter, although it did see the release of Aqualung by Jethro Tull, a staple of many a record collection of the 70s. April saw two major releases, arguably the best for two iconic 1960s groups, namely the Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers and, from the other side of the Atlantic, The Doors’ final album LA Woman. Both the Stones’ ‘Sister Morphine’ and The Doors’ ‘Riders on the Storm’ are dark evocations of the destructive side of the previous decade, and a suitable epitaph in the case of Jim Morrison, who departed the band on the album’s release and left for Paris, where he died in July. In the slipstream of those two albums were noteworthy releases from Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (excellent live album) Captain Beefheart and James Taylor. May was very sunny in the UK, and coincidentally the US jazz rock group Weather Report released their eponymous album, a stunning work of virtuosity voted best jazz album of the year in the US magazine Downbeat. The month was dominated, though, by two magnificent releases: Curtis/Live!, a wonderful, atmospheric series of reflective soul/R ’n B songs by the legendary Curtis Mayfield, and the more well-known and truly inspirational What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye. Both Mayfield and Gaye were fully engaged in the turmoil of the 60s in the USA, as the country struggled to come to terms with its poisonous social divisions based on skin colour, and these two albums are strongly evocative of those times whilst also being beautiful records. June was a quiet month, but it also saw another classic: Joni Mitchell’s Blue. Even at the time, it seemed like a defining point

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in her career: it is an extraordinary album, the apogee in terms of her 60s approach: soaring voice, restrained arrangements, deep emotions, her folk roots still strongly evident. By July, releases featured little of any real note, apart from perhaps Isaac Haye’s soundtrack to the film Shaft, and the lesser-known Maggot Brain by Funkadelic, the title track of which is incendiary, featuring a lengthy guitar solo by band member Eddie Hazel: according to legend, group leader George Clinton told Hazel that his mother was dead just before he played the solo, only telling him afterwards that it wasn’t true. August featured even fewer releases, but The Who's album Who’s Next, became one of the band’s all-time sellers, featuring a series of songs that would become staple fare for all their subsequent concerts, most notably ‘Baba O’Reilly’. September saw Santana, Curved Air, Colosseum and Free all releasing strong work, but that month will always be notable for one LP in particular: John Lennon’s Imagine, a phenomenal record, the title track heard everywhere at the time on the radio and regularly since then. October had some glorious records: Hendrix, folk group Pentangle, Frank Zappa, Hawkwind and Don MacLean with his American Pie, the title track being played incessantly that year, all featured, but it is Pink Floyd’s Meddle that deserves particular emphasis: the second side’s ‘Echoes’ is a culmination of all their 60s work, experimental, psychedelic-ish, romantic, emotional and evocative, it became the soundtrack for a generation. November saw a slew of releases, all reflective of the sixties: none more so than four great albums. Progressive rock giants-to-be Yes produced Fragile, drenched in quirky progressions but still, at heart, blues-influenced material. Jazz god Miles Davis shocked all with the magnificent Live-Evil double LP, Sly and the Family Stone reflected upon the emerging Black Consciousness movement in the States with There’s A Riot Goin’ On, and most crucially, an album with no title at all, indeed with no mention of the band on its cover at all, appeared: Led Zeppelin’s fourth album, and its final track on the first side ‘Stairway to Heaven’, remains a gorgeous thing. In December, one can also see the 1960s finally beginning to fade: Alice Cooper, America and ELO were just a few of the acts that would become hugely important in the first half of the 70s, as would another artist, one whose album is the last in this lengthy list, but by no means could be described as the least. Indeed, its creator now regards it as his favourite of all, and for good reason, as it features songs such as ‘Changes’, ‘Oh You Pretty Things’ and ‘Life on Mars’. It is, of course, Hunky Dory by David Bowie, who came to dominate the 70s and beyond. Finally, the 1960s were coming to a close: the turbulent and complex decade was now over, and the new decade could begin, just as complex and turbulent as its predecessor.

vinyl REVIVAL Dom Baker

YEAR 12

t’s been a fairly recent venture of mine, but I’ve already fallen in love. After managing to persuade my father to drag his old record deck and mammoth collection of LPs and singles out of the loft, around half way through last year, I’ve become somewhat obsessed with starting a record collection of my own. Records themselves fascinate me. I can tell that my Dad feels very strongly attached to some of his records, such as For Everyman by Jackson Browne. My desire to listen to vinyl sprang from seemingly nowhere, and flicking past his countless Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin albums, it got me thinking. My father and I both share this interest, yet most of the past few decades have been dominated by the CD, the MP3 player, and now the iPod. However, since 2006, record sales have been picking up across the US and Europe, with the global trade value of gramophone records, commonly known as vinyl, having trebled – now standing at around $200 million. So what happened to vinyl? The gramophone record was pioneered and developed during the latter half of the 19th century. In 1887, Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, capable of both recording and reproducing sounds, by using a stylus and a tinfoil sheet wrapped around a cylinder. He improved on this a decade later by replacing his previous tin-foil sheet with a hollow wax cylinder. The gramophone was developed by Emile Berliner in the US, using the first sort of records as we know them today, in the form of 5 inch discs. These early inventions laid the foundations upon which many adaptations were made. Different sizes of disc, running speeds and recording methods were all tried and tested, but it was Columbia Records and RCA Victor that made the biggest impacts during the 1940s. Using a new lightweight and durable plastic, Columbia released the 12 inch LP in 1948, running at 33 rpm, and RCA

released the 7 inch Single in 1949, running at 45 rpm. These two formats dominated the world of entertainment, as the single, with short length tracks and a changing mechanism, was perfect for radio transcriptions, and both could be played at home. Vinyl was incredibly popular, as shown by the success of record shops during the 20th century, and their status as social hubs. Sound quality and technical improvements were made over the years, until the introduction of the Compact Disc in 1982. CDs developed very quickly, and for many people the optical recording of CDs was preferable to their acoustic counterparts, which suffered from surface noise and scratches that lead to skips or cracks in the music. Some 24 years later, in 2006, vinyl started to come back into fashion. Whilst certainly most of today’s vinyl buyers are those who were around to experience records in their heyday, an online poll showed that one third of today’s enthusiasts are younger than 35, and 15% are, like me, under the age of 24. Over 700,000 records were sold in the UK during 2013, and with so much appeal it’s easy to see why. What I personally love about owning, and playing records, is the realness of it. Whilst I can pull my iPod out at anytime and put on a song, holding the record, placing it onto the turntable and listening to the crackle, in anticipation of the music, and then the music itself, is magical. You feel like you own a piece of the artist, not just an electronic file. I also love the sound of vinyl; it’s richer and deeper, and more rewarding to listen to. Another reason that I’ve taken to buying records is the artwork, especially on albums. The sleeves are huge, and the pictures seem immense: vibrant, interesting and easily worthy of putting on display (most often in a particularly pretentious manner). In accordance with this resurgence, there are now many more indie record shops, personal favourites of mine being Helterskelter in Chichester, and Southsea Pie & Vinyl, stocking big new releases, like AM from the Arctic Monkeys, to new smaller releases such as Atlas by Real Estate. Interestingly, whilst record sales have started increasing again, CD sales are dropping. This means that whilst record stores are becoming ever more popular, music chains are being forced to shut up shop; HMV closed 80 stores down last year. Finally, I have so much admiration for the bands that record their music onto vinyl, and have taken back vinyl for themselves. I’m now making a conscious effort not just to listen to my favourite bands on Spotify anymore, but buy their records as well, and so far it’s proving completely and utterly worth it. This year, I went to Record Store Day, a yearly convention on the third Saturday of April that celebrates independent record stores, bringing together vast collections of records that are happily bought in the thousands – last year 68,936 records were sold. For the time being however, I’ll listen to one of my favourite Christmas presents – Fade Away by the Californian duo Best Coast.

Po r t s m o u t h

Po i n t

www.pgs.org.uk

lost IN LANDSCAPES

Clockwise: Big skies on a road towards Socompรก, Argentina. Basecamp of the Fitz Roy, border between Chile and Argentina. Boulder field in San Juan, Argentina. Contemplation on Salinas Grandes, Argentina. The Lost City of the Incas, Machu Picchu, Peru. Lonely grave, Juyjuy, Argentina.

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Mr Oliver Stone

HEAD OF SPANISH AND PHOTOGRAPHY

Latin America offers some of the most expansive landscapes in the world, with huge tracts of land containing little or no civilisation. Big skies and crystal-clear light falling onto vast panoramas provide that ultimate sense of space, that feeling of true isolation. High altitude roads along which, in some areas, only one vehicle is seen in twenty four hours, are no place for a puncture. Venturing away from the road, there truly is no hope of being found.

Po r t s m o u t h

Po i n t