John Whittle (1882–1946) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria
Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy"
that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed
forces. Whittle was serving as a sergeant in the First World War when
he was decorated with the Victoria Cross following two separate actions
against German forces during their retreat to the Hindenburg Line in
1917. In the latter action, he attacked an entire machine gun crew,
killing the group and seizing the gun. Born in Tasmania, Whittle
completed twelve months active service during the Second Boer War,
before returning to Australia and enlisting in the Royal Navy where he
served for five years as a stoker. Re-enlisting in the army, he was
posted to the Army Service Corps, artillery, and Tasmanian Rifle
Regiment prior to the outbreak of the First World War. Transferring to
the Australian Imperial Force in 1915, Whittle joined the 12th
Battalion in Egypt and embarked for the Western Front the following
year. During an attack on the village of La Barque, Whittle rushed a
German trench and forced the men from the position; he was awarded the
Distinguished Conduct Medal as a result. Wounded three times during the
war, Whittle was the subject of two courts-martial due to his unruly
behaviour. In October 1918, he returned to Australia at the invitation
of the Prime Minister of Australia to assist in recruitment. Discharged
from the military in December 1918, he later moved to Sydney. In 1932,
Whittle was presented with a Certificate of Merit after saving a
drowning boy. He died in 1946 at the age of 63.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Whittle>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
986:
Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars: The Bulgarians defeated the Byzantine forces
at the Gate of Trajan near present-day Ihtiman, with Byzantine Emperor
Basil II barely escaping.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Gates_of_Trajan>
1862:
A council of Dakota decided to attack settlements throughout the
Minnesota River valley in an effort to drive whites out of the area,
sparking the Dakota War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakota_War_of_1862>
1945:
Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaimed the independence of Indonesia ,
igniting the Indonesian National Revolution against the Dutch Empire,
who wanted to regain control of the territory following Japan's
surrender to end World War II two days earlier.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_National_Revolution>
1959:
Kind of Blue by Miles Davis, cited by many music critics as one of the
best selling and most acclaimed jazz recordings of all time, was
released.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kind_of_Blue>
1969:
Hurricane Camille struck the Mississippi coast of the United States,
killing 259 people and causing US$1.42 billion in damages.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Camille>
1999:
A 7.5 Mw earthquake struck northwestern Turkey, killing over 17,000
people and leaving approximately half a million people homeless.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_%C4%B0zmit_earthquake>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
enamor (v):
To inflame with love; to charm; to captivate
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/enamor>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
To this day, if you ask me how I became a writer, I cannot give you an
answer. To this day, if you ask me how a book is written, I cannot
answer. For long periods, if I didn't know that somehow in the past I
had written a book, I would have given up.
--V. S. Naipaul
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/V._S._Naipaul>
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