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Part Twenty Eight    British Cornet player Ken Colyer was once a Merchant Seaman and was fortunate enough on one trip to visit New Orleans. When he subsequently formed his own band, the Ken Colyer Jazzmen in and around 1953/1954 he just had to pay due homage to the home of Trad Jazz by recording an LP (Long Playing) record called ‘New Orleans to London’ The cover was designed by his clarinettist, Monty Sunshine. Other members of the band included Chris Barber on Trombone and a young banjo player named Anthony Donegan. The opening track on this record was appropriately called ‘Going Home’...

INSIGHTS INTO IVOR  Part Twenty-Seven    The Wimbledon tournament in 1953 saw a new star burst upon the scene when a young American girl named Maureen -  who due to her diminutive height was lovingly dubbed Little Mo - Connelly won the ladies title beating fellow American Doris Hart in the final. The men’s title was won by another American, Vic Seixas who beat Denmark’s Kurt Nielsen.The American dominance in sport continued into the world of golf when one of the best ever golfers, Ben Hogan,  crossed the Atlantic to not only make his one and only appearance in the Open...

INSIGHTS ON IVOR   Part Twenty Six        My decision to leave the American Embassy proved to be a good move because in January 1953 the ex General and Allied Supreme Commander during World War Two, Dwight David Eisenhower, was inaugurated as the new President of the United States of America. One of the first decisions his new administration made was to have a monetary purge by cutting back on staff levels at many of the US Embassies around the world. This drastic move included the Embassy in London where the last three people to join the communications department were made redundant....

INIGHTS ON IVOR   Part Twenty Five           Before the RAF introduced me to the world of Teleprinters I hardly knew anything about these machines. I certainly wasn’t aware of how much they were used in the world of communications, not just in the armed services but also in civilian life. Many men and women learnt the necessary skills through the training they received through the armed services but also in civilian life with companies such as the Post Office, Western Union, Commercial Cable Company, PQ. This quick way of communicating was also used by newspapers, banking and...

 INSIGHTS ON IVOR Part Twenty Four    The year of 1951 also saw the Peak District being designated as Britain ’s first National Park. This was followed in the same year by the Lake District and Snowdon receiving National Park status. The man who bought Radar – Radio, Detection and Ranging - to the world, Sir Robert Watson-Watt was, quite rightly, awarded fifty thousand pounds in 1951 by a grateful Government. The whole world owes a massive debt to this Scotsman born 1892 in Brechin and died 1973 in Inverness .    This was also the year when the Government...