James Newland (22 August 1881 – 19 March 1949) was an Australian
officer in the First World War. He received the Victoria Cross for
successfully leading a company in several assaults on German positions
and repulsing counterattacks in April 1917. Newland joined the
Australian military in 1899 and saw active service during the Second
Boer War. After completing several years' service in the artillery, he
transferred to the militia in 1907. He became a police officer in
Tasmania before re-joining the permanent forces in 1910. He was in the
first wave of Australian Imperial Force soldiers to land at Gallipoli.
In the days following the landing, he was wounded and evacuated to
Egypt, where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant. Transferring to
the Western Front in 1916, Newland was mentioned in despatches for his
leadership while commanding a company during an attack at Mouquet Farm.
He was wounded twice more during the war; medically discharged in March
1918, he returned to service with the permanent army. He retired as a
lieutenant colonel in 1941.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Newland>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1711:
Queen Anne's War: A British attempt to attack Quebec failed
when eight ships wrecked on the Saint Lawrence River.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_Expedition>
1777:
American Revolutionary War: Benedict Arnold used a ruse to
convince the British that a much larger force was arriving, causing them
to abandon the Siege of Fort Stanwix (reconstructed fort pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Fort_Stanwix>
1864:
The Red Cross movement led by Henry Dunant officially began
when twelve European nations signed the First Geneva Convention,
establishing the International Committee of the Red Cross.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Geneva_Convention>
1944:
World War II: Wehrmacht infantry carried out an assault
operation against the civilian residents of nine villages located in the
Amari Valley on the Greek island of Crete.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust_of_Kedros>
1961:
Ida Siekmann jumped from a window in her tenement building
trying to flee to West Berlin, becoming the first person to die at the
Berlin Wall.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_Siekmann>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
louche:
1. Of questionable taste or morality; decadent.
2. Not reputable or decent.
3. Unconventional and slightly disreputable in an attractive manner;
raffish, rakish.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/louche>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
We are the miracle of force and matter making itself over into
imagination and will. Incredible. The Life Force experimenting with
forms. You for one. Me for another. The Universe has shouted itself
alive. We are one of the shouts.
--Ray Bradbury
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ray_Bradbury>