Country Matters With the Hodge: Tirpitz Rememebered after Nov 11th Commemorations

Turpitz onboad HMS Glasgow

Country Matters

By The Hodge

‘Would any regiment like as a gift from a lady a little tame white pig for a mascot? Two months old; hand fed; very affectionate.’

                                                                From The Times,  8th January 1916

 

Last month, I distinctly recall saying that I wouldn’t burden readers – that’s you and possibly one other – with tales about pigs. Now, that was my best intention but having been involved with the commemoration of the end of World War I last month, I was reminded of an unlikely tale that I thought I might share and, no, it is not from the book which is currently eating most of my time.

‘Tirpitz’ was the name given to this heroic hog from the First World War. Tirpitz was awarded an Iron Cross, albeit by sailors on a Royal Naval vessel, survived indescribable red tape in order to enter the British Isles and then raised firstly £200 and then £400 in aid of the British Red Cross before slipping into obscurity.

Tirpitz was a ’pet’ pig or mascot kept on board the Dresden. During the Falkland Islands battle, the Dresden sank apparently having been scuttled by her crew, on March 14th 1915. They escaped leaving Tirpitz as the only crew member not to abandon ship. HMS Glasgow arrived on the scene and brought Tirpitz aboard, the crew awarding him the Iron Cross for his devotion to duty.

The Petty Officer who had first spotted the pig swimming around the stricken Dresden, claimed ownership and the Glasgow eventually returned to Portsmouth some eighteen months later. The ship’s captain signalled the Commander-in-Chief requesting permission to land the pig but the matter was referred to The Admiralty and on to the Ministry of Agriculture before a decision could be made.

Eventually, temporary accommodation was built on Portsmouth jetty to house the pig whilst he underwent the quarantine demanded by the men from the ministry. But the jetty at Portsmouth was not the ideal place in wartime and plans were eventually agreed to transfer Tirpitz to a piggery on nearby Whale Island. This too did not pass off without incident. The Royal Navy’s finest loaded the pig onto a cutter and secured him in place with a net but the cutter broke free from its tow just as a sea fog blew up and Tirpitz was left drifting in the waters off the south coast of England while search parties were scrambled to find him.

Eventually he arrived and dwelt with the other pigs at Whale Island until one day the Petty Officer turned up there demanding his spoils of war. Tirpitz was duly handed over and was taken back to the sailor’s home in Yorkshire. In due course, the Petty Officer was again called up to re-join the fleet and he decided to raffle the now famous Tirpitz to raise funds for the Red Cross which he did, raising over £200.

A newspaper report shows that Tirpitz was (again) raffled in Wiltshire in aid of the British Red Cross on the instructions of Commodore Luce (late Captain of HMS Glasgow) by Messrs Knight Frank and Rutley in December 1917. The sale took place at Malmesbury and raised 400 guineas so Tirpitz truly helped the British war effort. In honouring this unlikely hero, when he died – or more likely was turned into sausages - his head was preserved and mounted. A display is on show at the Imperial War Museum.

Alison Fielden & Co: Civil Partnerships vs Marriage Dec 18

MODERN DAY RELATIONSHIPS

The face of the ‘modern family’ has been in transition for some time. Same sex couples have been able to enter into a civil partnership in the UK since December 2005. A further 9 years on, same sex couples could then marry including converting their civil partnerships into marriages. This marked a significant change in family law as well as a moment of profound importance for the gay community.

Conversion of Civil Partnerships to Marriage

Statistics from the Office for National Statistics show that between the 10th December 2014 and the 30th June 2015, the number of conversions of civil partnerships to same sex marriages has declined. The peak was in December 2014. As the ONS identifies one possible reason is because when civil partnerships were first introduced this was the only option available to same sex couples to formalise their relationship.

Same Sex Marriage and Religion

It is important to remember that whilst same sex couples are now able to enter into a civil marriage, the legislation does not compel religious organisations to conduct marriages between same sex couples. The Church of England is in fact legally banned from conducting marriages between same sex couples pursuant to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. Same sex marriages cannot take place in Islamic mosques, Roman Catholic churches, Orthodox synagogues and Hindu temples.

You can only therefore enter into a marriage as a same sex couple if:

· The religious organisation allows the marriage of same sex couples to take place and,

· The premises have been registered for the marriage of same sex couples.

Research undertaken by York University and Leeds University shows that, ‘Only 182 places of worship have registered to perform same sex marriage in England and Wales, meaning approximately 99.5% do not offer it’. This in itself may therefore represent a disincentive to marriage for many same sex couples who wish to have a religious marriage in addition to a civil marriage and for whom a religious marriage is of crucial significance.

Opposite Sex Couples and Civil Partnerships

On the 27th June 2018, The Supreme Court delivered their judgment. Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan were successful in arguing that the current law discriminates against opposite sex couples who wish to enter into a civil partnership as opposed to marriage. The Court ruled that the bar on opposite sex couples entering into civil partnerships breached the Appellants’ rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.

The couple felt that a civil partnership was a more accurate reflection of their values and beliefs and would enable them to formalise their relationship and subsequently afford them greater rights than what they currently enjoyed.

Whilst this may represent a significant step forward, it remains to be seen how Parliament will amend legislation either to introduce civil partnerships to opposite sex couples or whether civil partnerships will be abolished in their entirety.

For advice in relation to civil partnerships and family law matters, please contact Steven Barrett or Heather Weavill at Alison Fielden & Co on 01285 653 261. www.alisonfielden.co.uk

Alison Fielden & Co: Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas Nov 18

Introduction
We are fortunate in Gloucestershire to live in an attractive part of the country, surrounded by beautiful buildings, but property owners should be aware of the powers that Local Planning Authorities have in relation to historically or aesthetically interesting buildings and locations.

Powers in relation to individual buildings include “Listing” those of special architectural or historic interest. For areas or neighbourhoods which are of special architectural or historic interest, conservation areas can be created.

Listed Buildings
There are currently over 375,000 Listed Buildings in England.

There are three grades of listing:

Grade I relates to those of “exceptional interest” and are relatively rare. Locally these include Cirencester Parish Church, Barnsley Park and Arlington Row Bibury.

Grade II* are “particularly important buildings of more than special interest”. Locally these include Holy Trinity Church, Watermoor and Cirencester Park Mansion.

Grade II is the largest category, (over 90%) and includes many private homes.

Five Criteria are used in Listing:
· Age and rarity
· Aesthetic merits
· National Interest
· Selectivity
· Value

Practical Consequences for owners of Listed Buildings are restrictions on development or alterations. If any alterations are planned then an application must be made to the Local Planning Authority for Listed Building Consent. There is usually no charge. Where relevant, an application for usual Planning Consent must also be made, for which the usual charge applies.

Modifications to Listed Buildings which need Listed Building Consent include any changes outside or inside which will affect the character of the building. This would not normally include repairs, but may do so where repairs involve replacement, depending on what is being replaced and what kind of building it is.

Modifications which are often refused are UPVC windows and conservatories.

As there is no time limit on the Local Planning Authority’s entitlement to enforce (unlike other planning breaches) it is wise to err on the side of caution when considering whether to apply for Listed Building Consent.

Conservation Areas
There are approximately 7,000 Conservation Areas in England. Cirencester town centre is a local Conservation Area.

Before designating Conservation Areas, Local Planning Authorities are encouraged to but do not have to liaise with the public.

Consequences of designation as a Conservation Area include extra controls over:

· Demolition of buildings – Planning Consent is needed for those over 115 cubic metres

· Felling of trees – Notice is required for many trees

· Reduction of the normal “Permitted Development” rules e.g. for dormer windows, cladding, and large extensions

Additionally, an Article 4 Direction may be imposed, which means that the Permitted Development rules are entirely withdrawn and Planning Consent always has to be applied for in respect to development which in other areas would not be required.

Building Regulations Compliance
Separately from Planning Consent and Listed Building Consent, Building Regulations Consent must also be applied for where relevant. There are some exemptions such as full compliance with energy efficiency requirements for older properties but in other cases such as extensions the building will need to be fully compliant with modern standards.

Selling
When selling a Listed Building or one within a Conservation Area, expect enquiries from the buyer in relation to Compliance with the extra Planning rules and Building Regulations regime mentioned above. If there has been non-compliance in the past, the expedient of indemnity insurance may not be available as it would be for other breaches of Planning or Building regulations and it will often be necessary to make specific enquiry with the Insurance Company.

For further information, see the following websites:

www.historicengland.org.uk

www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk

https://www.cotswold.gov.uk/residents/planning-building/historic-buildings-conservation-areas/

Alternatively, please feel free to contact Alison Fielden at Alison Fielden & Co, The Gatehouse, Dollar Street, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 2AN on 01285 653261 or alison@alisonfielden.co.uk.

Country Matters by the Hodge November 18

Gloucester Old Spot Litter

Country Matters

By The Hodge

“If you would be happy for a week kill a pig;

if you would be happy for a month take a wife;

but if you would be happy all your life, plant a garden.”

Traditional

I was late on parade this month. I try not to be but occasionally I let our esteemed Editor down and miss the set deadline. Excuses are numerous – well who among us does not have constant pressures on their time? I’m certainly not unique!

But this month I was facing several deadlines, the main one finishing my latest book. Like all the others it is about pigs and an approved draft including illustrations and captions in full layout has to be in America for approval by the end of October. And it’s going to be down to the wire, believe me!

As I said, I’ve written about pigs before, (I try not to overload readers of Cirencester Scene on the subject), but this one was more of a challenge than the others as it is more technical with a lot more science and the research was prodigious. I locked horns with a technical editor based in Australia who kept urging me to use the internet more but much of what appears on that source us unverified and frankly risible in many respects and thus I tended to ignore anything that wasn’t a peer-reviewed scientific paper thereon. The young lady was not impressed but I prevailed.

But now it is nearly complete and my job is done, (unless, of course, our American friends demand revisions), and I will have to wait ten months to get the finished article into my hands. Why so long? After all it only takes nine months to produce a baby!

Well, the reasons are several but one of the main ones is that it is also being translated into German to be published in Germany simultaneously and no, I’m not having to do the translation. My language abilities are few and German defeated me at school with 16 variations of ‘the’ and a habit of parking the verb at the end of the sentence so I’m not the one qualified to do that job. My mischievous side prevailed though and I set the translator a few ‘challenges’ along the way, just to test his or her mettle. For instance, I included an old saying to do with giving young pigs iron in order to avoid anaemia. Nowadays it is by giving liquid iron as an injection or orally but an alternative is to put a turf into the pen which the little pigs will play with and ingest natural iron from the soil. Thus, the saying is: ‘Throw a sod in or throw the sods out.’ Should be interesting…

All being well, I should have no excuses for being late in future although time is rarely something that passes unnoticed. There’s always something to do and not all of it swine-related. But I may perhaps in ten months or so time, be urging you, dear reader, to go for a more unusual Christmas present for Aunt Maud, Cousin Cyril and maybe even closer family members as I’m sure they’d all want a brand new book all about… pigs!
Get some of The Hodges past books here.