#daniel laidlaw

[thisdayinwwi]

Piper Daniel Laidlaw

London Gazette, 18 November, 1915. For most conspicuous bravery prior to an assault on German trenches near Loos and Hill 70 on 25th September 1915. During the worst of the bombardment, when the attack was about to commence, Piper Laidlaw, seeing that his company was somewhat shaken from the effects of gas, with absolute coolness and disregard of danger, mounted the parapet, marched up and down and played the company out of the trench. The effect of his splendid example was immediate, and the company dashed out to the assault. Piper Laidlaw continued playing his pipes till he was wounded.

Issue 829. - Vol 63 - Dec 11 1915 - Sphere

Prior to the assault on the German trenches in September, Piper Laidlaw, with absolute coolness, mounted the parapet during the worst of the bombardment and played the regimental march of the K.O.S.B., “Blue Bonnets Over the Border.” The effect of his splendid example was immediate, and the company ... to the assault. Piper Laidlaw continued playing his pipes till he was wounded. For his act of superb bravery the piper was awarded the V. C. 

In a publish... gave the circumstances underwhich the episode took place. “There was a light wind that morning. he said. “It was blowing a bank of gas towards the German trenches when their high-explosive shells burst in its midst and sent it among our own men. For a minute or two it had a bad effect on my company; but in a flash Lieutenant Young sized up the situation, and, noticing I had my pipes, exclaimed, ‘For God’s sake, Laidlaw, pipe them together.” The brave piper is here seen playing the pipes in full view of the enemy.

Dec 4 1915 - Illustrated London News

Piper Daniel Laidlaw of the 7th Battalion, King’s Own Scottish Borderers, has added one more glorious page to the annals of the Scottish bag-pipes-annals which include the story of ”The Pipes at Lucknows,” as told in Whittier’s poem, and the heroism of Piper Findlater, of the Gordon Highlanders, at Dargai. The latter, it say be recalled, continued piping after he was wounded in the storming of the Dargai Heights on October 20, 1897, during the Tirah Campaign. Piper Laidlaw will henceforth stand beside Piper Findlater among the heroes of the bag-pipes, and for a very similar exploit. In the words of the official account, the V.C. was awarded to Piper Daniel Laidlaw “for most conspicuous bravery prior to an assault on German trenches near Loos and Hill 70 on September 25, 1915. During the worst of the bombardment, when the attack was about to commence, Piper Laidlaw, seeing that his company was somewhat shaken from the effects of gas, with absolute coolness and disregard of danger, mounted the parapet, marched up and down (i.e., outside), and played his company out of the trench. The effect of his splendid example was immediate, and the company dashed out to the assault. Piper Laidlaw continued playing his pipes till he was wounded.” A fragment of wire was blown through his foot as he was approaching the German trenches, but he still went on piping. He is seen marching up and down outside the British trench, playing “The Flowers of the Forest,” while Lieut. Young, the neat man out of the trench, is climbing over the parapet. The men are wearing their gas-masks. In the background is the ” Tower Bridge ” of Loos. Piper Laidlaw is the first man of the Scottish Borderers to win the V.C. in the present war.

IMAGE number: LLM976461

Piper Daniel Laidlaw marching up and down the parapet of his trench playing his pipes to rally men shaken by the effects of gas, Battle of Loos, 25 September 1915. Illustration for Deeds That Thrill The Empire (Standard Art Book Co, c 1919).

Artist: Bagdatopoulos, William Spencer (1888-1965)

[movies-to-add-to-your-tbw]

Title: Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party

Rating: R

Director: Stephen Cone

Cast: Cole Doman, Elizabeth Laidlaw, Nina Ganet, Joe Keery, Daniel Kyri, Francis Guinan, Pat Healy, Hanna Dworkin, Darci Nalepa, Patrick Andrews, Meg Thalken, Kelly O’Sullivan, Travis Knight, Melanie Neilan, Grace Melon, Tyler Ross, Jack Ball, Mia Hulen, Spencer Curnutt, Zoe Tyson

Release year: 2015

Genres: drama, LGBT+

Blurb: 17-year-old preacher’s kid Henry Gamble hosts a birthday pool party over 24 hours. The guests include adults and teenagers from his church, as well as Henry’s secular friends, including the closeted young Logan, who has eyes for Henry.

[scotianostra]

Piper Daniel Logan Laidlaw died on June 2nd 1950 aged 74.

Before Bill Millin became the only piper to play his fellow troops into during the second world war it was not unusual for the pipes to be played on the battlefront.

Danny Laidlaw was one such man and he gained fame on the morning of September 25, 1915 during the Battle of Loos. The men of the 7th King’s Own Scottish Borderers (K.S.O.B.) were under heavy shell fire, if that was not enough to unnerve the soldiers, a cloud of poison gas began to drift over their position. A few of the men began to cough and choke and many succumbed rapidly to the effects of the gas. The remainder were shaken by the disturbing image they saw. The commanding officer glanced over the scene as saw Laidlaw standing with his pipes waiting orders to go ‘over the top.' "Pipe them together, Laidlaw, for God’s sake, pipe them together,” cried the commanding officer.

Immediately Laidlaw climbed onto the parapet and began marching up and down the length of the trench. Bullets whizzed past him, shells burst near him, but oblivious to the danger he played, “All the Blue Bonnets Over the Border.” The effect it had on his company was almost magical.

Those not overcome by the gas swarmed up out of the trenches with bayonets bristling and followed Laidlaw into the assault. Men began falling all around him, but Laidlaw continued piping until he got near the German lines. Here he was hit and fell wounded and the officer beside him were killed. Like many other wounded pipers, he attempted to play, then managed to get up and hobble after the regiment.

For his efforts the 40 year old Laidlaw received the Victoria Cross. The official entry in the London Gazette, November 18, 1915, read:

“During the worst of the bombardment, Piper Laidlaw, seeing that his company was badly shaken from the effects of gas, with absolute coolness and disregard of danger, mounted the parapet, marched up and down and played company out of the trench. The effect of his splendid example was immediate and the company dashed out to the assault. Piper Laidlaw continued playing his pipes until he was wounded.”

Laidlaw also received the French Croix de Guerre and was afterward promoted to Sergeant-Piper.

The video shows him being interviewed some years later

[melbournenewsvine]

MAFS Dom blasts embarrassing Tamara as cast feud reignites

It’s been over six months since this year’s season of Married At First Sight came to an end, and yet the drama between the contestants is just as chaotic as ever. A majority of cast members reunited for the first time this weekend while attending the Team Ellis boxing match in Melbourne to support their co-stars Brent Vitiello, Daniel Holmes and Jackson Lonie, resulting in plenty of awkward moments and nasty confrontations. MAFS’ Tamara Djordjevic and Kate Laidlaw had an awkward reunion at the boxing match on Saturday. Photos: Matrix/Supplied After Yahoo Lifestyle revealed that Tamara Djordjevic told fellow bride Kate Laidlaw to “f**k off to her own table” at the event, causing a divide between all of the girls in attendance, the 30-year-old operations manager has now explained the reason behind their feud. “I dislike Kate because she openly spoke to media about us girls when we had invited her out with us, saying we were embarrassing and that she regret being with us,” Tamara commented on The Wash’s Instagram on Sunday evening. “So why would she want to come over to our table if she dislikes us… I can’t stand fake s**t and if you want to be that way don’t expect not to get a reaction.” RELATED: Meanwhile, Kate took to her Instagram Story around the same time to address the feud and explain her side of the story. “I had no interest in talking to Tamara or being at their table!” she wrote. “I was just saying hello to Anthony [Cincotta] and his gf. As an adult I was choosing to be civil and pleasant at a public event, clearly she couldn’t do the same. “I’ve never been treated so badly. Watching some of the other cast members laugh at her behaviour was truly hurtful. Adult women being mean girls and bullying is not cool, it’s embarrassing.” Domenica Calarco didn’t attend the boxing match but has weighed in on the drama. Photo: Channel Nine Dom weighs in Domenica Calarco, who is friends with Kate and was one of the few cast members who didn’t attend the event on Saturday night, then replied to Tamara’s Instagram comment to call her out. Story continues “Probs because you ‘prank’ called Ella [Ding] and I at the dinner table… Maybe that’s why she said you were embarrassing,” she wrote. “And she’s right, you are embarrassing.” The incident Dom is referring to happened back in April when Tamara was accused of “harassing” her co-stars with rude phone calls during a wild night out with Carolina Santos, Jessica Seracino, Kate and her twin sister Bec. Dom claimed that Tamara, who had called her on a private number, screamed at her “calling her a c**t”. “She then said to me, ‘Have you got your f**king teeth fixed yet?’. I just laughed and then she hung up. I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to give them anything but I am furious,” she told So Dramatic!. Ella Ding also told the publication that she had received a call from Tamara, who passed the phone to Carolina. “I asked her why she was calling me,” she explained. “Carolina was going on about Mitch [Eynaud] and Tamara, saying ‘Aren’t you jealous Tamara has touched his d*ck?’ and basically just trying to me feel bad that Tamara is with Mitch and rubbing it in my face. I told her that I don’t care and that Tamara can have him.” Tamara has since deleted her comment on The Wash’s Instagram post, which consequently deleted the whole thread including Dom’s response. Never miss a thing. Sign up to Yahoo Lifestyle’s daily newsletter. Or if you have a story idea, email us at lifestyle.tips@yahooinc.com. Source link Originally published at Melbourne News Vine

[pompeynewsnow]

✍️ #PompeyAcademy 2022/23 Mitch Aston, Kevin Bosaka, Jack Fox, Maxwell Hurst, Harvey Laidlaw, Koby Mottoh, Daniel Murray, Destiny Ojo, Malachi Osei-Owusu and Bastian Smith recently put pen to paper on their contracts in a ceremony at Fratton Park before posing for photographs inside the stadium. Last season’s new intake of scholars – Josh Dockerill, Jamie Howell, Gabriel Kamavuako, Adam Payce, Spencer Spurway and Toby Steward – were also present, having missed out on the chance to sign at Fratton Park 12 months ago due to Covid protocols. Elliott Simpson was sadly missing through illness. #Pompey 🔗 https://bit.ly/3Pbo4Nf 📸 Colin Farmery https://instagr.am/p/CfwSwu6opAr/

[cheap-spirits]

I absolutely love learning history, I'm doing some revision for my prelim for history and I've just been reminded of a man in the First World War. He was a Scottish Piper and at the battle of Loos he played a song on his bagpipes to keep morale high even though everything was going wrong, many of his friends were being gunned down around him but he kept playing. They kept advancing to the German trenches when he was hit with shrapnel on his left leg. He kept playing. He kept walking. He stayed with his fellow soldiers and kept them moving. Daniel Laidlaw. Scottish hero, keeping morale high since 1915

[laserpinksteam]

Film after film: Henry Gamble's Birthday Party (dir. Stephen Cone, 2015)

There's sadness and hope about this neat and low-key film, featuring a birthday party for the title's protagonist, who gradually grows into accepting and opening up about his queerness, whilst being surrounded by devotedly religious family members and friends. There are cracks in this toxic facade, obviously, with Gamble's mother moving on and his father coming to terms with some sort of emotional breakthrough. The focus lies on on the teenagers and young adults, hanging around the swimming pool, sharing different concepts about faith, sex, their friends' sexual expressions, and thoughts about their futures. The bookending scenes happening in Henry's bed punctuate the film with sweetness.

[ulrichgebert]

Auf der Party zum siebzehnten Geburtstag des wohlbehütet unter christlichen Eiferern aufgewachsenen Henry Gamble (links) sprechen alle darüber, was Jesus von ihnen erwartet, denken aber an ..äh.. Sex. 

[theworldofwars]

"Daniel Logan Laidlaw VC. Laidlaw was 40 years old, and a Piper in the 7th Battalion, The King's Own Scottish Borderers, 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division. His actions at Loos won him the VC. On 25 September 1915 during the Battle of Loos at Hill 70, prior to an assault on enemy trenches and during the worst of the bombardment, Piper Laidlaw, seeing that his company was shaken with the effects of gas, with complete disregard for danger, mounted the parapet and, marching up and down, played his company out of the trench. The effect of his splendid example was immediate and the company dashed to the assault. Piper Laidlaw continued playing his pipes despite suffering from the effects of gas until the position was won" (Source - Illustrated London News - December 1915, Issue 829. - Vol 63)

[jackdawyt]

With Dragon Age 4 still quite a few years away, given it's expected 2022-2023 release window. I've been reflecting and thinking retrospectively about how long Dragon Age 4 has actually been in development. And so, with that question, here I am on a quest to try and answer it.  

This investigation has been put together for the betterment of everyone in the BioWare community, including myself, plaguing the developers with infinite questions regarding what’s next for Dragon Age and when will we hear something about the next game.  

If we, as a community, can understand at which point BioWare are with the development of the next Dragon Age, then perhaps we’ll have more grace and patience as we support the developers with their hard work and dedication to creating the next game.  

We’d have some appreciation, all the while garnering an understanding of how long this game has left in development.  Yes, for our sakes, but also for BioWare’s sake. We need to see if EA are giving the Dragon Age team enough time for them to create the Dragon Age game they want to make, and nothing short of that.  

And that’s exactly what I want to uncover in this video. With that, let’s begin. it's no secret that the next Dragon Age game has already had quite the tumultuous time in its early stages of production:

The previous iteration known as 'Joplin' was canned and has been rebooted for 'live service elements'.

The Creative Director and 14-year BioWare Veteran Mike Laidlaw left the studio, along with his vision for the next Dragon Age game.  

Shortly after that, the Lead Writer and 17-year BioWare Veteran David Gaider left the studio to pursue other games design avenues.  

Not to mention the anxiety and panic attacks the developers faced ensuing Anthem's development.  

Although all of these factors point to disaster and worry, and they can lead to mixed feelings about the next game in production, I can assure you that there's still plenty confidence and hope for the next iteration of Dragon Age 4:

The developers working on the next Dragon Age game are creating the next with "an eye to what the fans love about Dragon Age, which is easy because they love Dragon Age."

The Creative Director of 'Morrison', the latest iteration is Matthew Goldman, the previous Art Director of Dragon Age: Inquisition.  

Plenty of BioWare Veterans are still in the studio, working on the next Dragon Age title such as Patrick Weekes (15 years), John Epler (13 years), Caroline Livingstone (12 years), Mary Kirby (13 years), Graham Scott (13 years), Mark Darrah (23 years?), Parrish Ley (14 years), Lucas Krisjanson (22 years), and many more legacy developers!  

There's been signs of improvement within the working conditions at BioWare, Casey Hudson personally has been getting involved with solving these issues. I've seen a few developers sharing tweets that they're enjoying working at BioWare, and they're eager to share more on the next Dragon Age game. I'll share even more on this topic in my next news video coming end of May! But it seems that the developers are staying on top, and positive for the next Dragon Age.  

Regardless, I'll take any chance I can get to inspire folks that the next Dragon Age game is in the right hands and BioWare are aware of what the fans expect from them. Let's move on to the main investigation of this video, to examine the next Dragon Age game’s development process.  

Ironically, the next game hasn't officially been announced, according to many of the developers at BioWare, yet EA have already given the project an initial release window of 2022-2023. One of the main questions I want to answer by the end of this video is, do BioWare have enough time to create an epic Dragon Age game, with that strict deadline mandated by EA?

Well, in order to answer that question and understand the production stages the game is currently at, I'm going to have to begin at the start by revisiting Jason Schreier's "The Past & Present Of Dragon Age", which I know we've talked about a lot, but it's the biggest indicator on Dragon Age 4's development. So, here we go.  

2015:

Following Dragon Age: Inquisition's Trespasser DLC release in 2015, Dragon Age 4's previous iteration began its very early stages of production. The plans for the next game were very exciting, and some of the developers had put their best work into it.  

The project was called 'Joplin' and it would've centred on spies embarking on heists in Tevinter, smaller in scale then Inquisition, however, much further in depth, choices and consequences. And there was an emphasis on repeat play, having the player's visit previous areas again, with new content.

2016:

However, the first major bump in the road occurred in 2016, one year after development had started. Mass Effect: Andromeda required all hands-on deck, and so many members of the Dragon Age team were moved to work on Andromeda, they're even mentioned in the credits of Andromeda as the 'Dragon Age Finaling Team.'

2017:

After Andromeda's release in March 2017, it was back to working on 'Joplin' for the majority of the shifted developers. For some developers, it was refreshing to get back to working on the next Dragon Age. However, it wasn't long before BioWare's next releasing title - Anthem was suffering through development troubles. By the latter half of 2017, Anthem was in real trouble, and so EA took drastic action.  

In October, 2017, EA cancelled Joplin's development and moved the bulk of the project's staff onto Anthem. With two years of development on a project that will never see the light of day, Mike Laidlaw departed BioWare that same month.  

Alexis Kennedy was previously working on 'Joplin' too, however, according to his LinkedIn profile, he left the project in October too. It seems his work only extended to 'Joplin' and will most likely be scrapped as well.

Towards the end of 2017, as the majority of "Joplin's" core team went to work on Anthem, a very small skeleton team stuck around to work on a brand-new Dragon Age project under the new title 'Morrison.'  This team will have consistent of developers like Patrick Weekes, who was anointed the role of Lead Writer since David Gaider departed. Other key developers working on the foundations of 'Morrison' in 2017 included: John Epler, Matthew Goldman, Daniel Kading, Matt Rhodes and many other talented designers.

It's unknown how much of "Joplin's" previous work will make its way into 'Morrison', surely a project with production escalating over two years would have some worthy elements that could be added to 'Morrison'

As it stands, we don't know if the games will share the same vision, or if any of the same key mechanics, concepts, story threads, etc, have made their way into Morrison.  

All that is known about 'Morrison' is that the game has been rebooted with Anthem's codebase, so the developers aren't starting from complete scratch, they'll have somewhat of a preset of the Frostbite engine that can act as Dragon Age 4's very foundations. However, unlike Joplin, this new version of the fourth Dragon Age is planned with a live service component, built for long-term gameplay and revenue.

A few developers working on 'Morrison' stated that this game will change drastically in the next two years, however, that's been the case with every Dragon Age game. The point is that the project will take many different shapes until it feels like a Dragon Age game.  

2018:

So, we know that this project reboot happened around the end of 2017, with a very small skeleton team going forward following a slightly new approach, and a new Creative Director. This is the new Dragon Age 4 that was later teased at The Game Awards in 2018. However, unbenounced to us at the time, we didn't know the game was rebooted, and therefore, as fans do, we presumed that this title would release soon.  

In actuality, when 'The Dread Wolf Rises' teaser dropped, the new iteration of Dragon Age 4 had only been in very early development with a small team for about a year, hence why we still haven't heard, or seen anything of this project since. the game's production stages had barely started.

Not only that, but the teaser wasn’t supposed to act as an announcement, but more of a message to the fans that something is happening with Dragon Age.  

2019:

Anthem shipped in February, 2019, and following its release, the Dragon Age developers who were shuffled to the Anthem team back in 2017, then went back to the new iteration of Dragon Age in May of 2019, including the Executive Producer, Mark Darrah.  

The Dragon Age team; fully operational with all hands-on deck, could begin to wrap up its pre-production stages, and start production development. We discovered a few key production stages last year in my massive 2019 news roundup, things like voice acting, concept art, and potential 3D models.

Fernando Melo left the studio in August of 2019, stating that his work of “guiding the team through EA’s concept and early production phases” had been complete, and he felt it was the least messy time to leave the company. This proves that indeed; the title has begun production stages.  

2020:

With that, we can safely say that Dragon Age 4's production has continually increased, as the project makes its way through many core development stages.  

To this date, the game has recently had script readings for scenes, some of them being romance moments. Animations for a dog-like companion. Something about coding 'Scriplets' and plenty more of tidbits, that if you're interested be sure to check out my latest news video.

Conclusions:  

So, in an attempt to work out how long Dragon Age 4 has been in development... If we do some quick maths, it seems that project 'Joplin' was in development for around two years, between 2015 - 2017.

Therefore, project 'Morrison' has been in development for around 3 years, given that it started in 2017 - present.  

However, from late 2017 to early 2019. the work on 'Morrison' was pre-production. The main production stages began in May 2019.

So, 'Morrison' has been in pre-production for approximately 18 months, with the production stages starting around a year ago, in May 2019.

With its release window of 2022-2023, can BioWare successfully create an epic Dragon Age title? Is this enough time for the developers to create the best Dragon Age possible?  

Well, I'm not one to leave you with rhetorical questions. If we look at Dragon Age: Inquisition's development, a game that I'd consider to be a Dragon Age epic, that served the fans supremely well.

In a 2014 interview with Mike Laidlaw, conducted by UK newspaper The Guardian:

Dragon Age: Inquisition's production had been about three years, but taking in the early concepting, it would be four years. As studio general manager Aaryn Flynn kindly pointed out, that’s about 10% of Mike's life.

If we go by that measure, 'Morrison' with 18 months of pre-production and one year of full production, and two to three years of development left before an initial release window.... it sounds quite plausible that BioWare could pull this off. 

Although BioWare have their work cut out for them, I have hope that they can deliver an amazing Dragon Age game dedicated to the fans. With plenty of time spent on the pre-production stages, hopefully the team has learned from Anthem and Andromeda's rough early stages, and they've conceptualised the development enough, that production can carry on at ease.  

And regarding Joplin's two years of previous work, I hope that at least some aspects of that project's production went into 'Morrison', the core concept alone sounded like it could've been the best Dragon Age game to date, and with so many developers pouring in some of their best work, I truly hope that it all hasn't been canned and it can make its way into the next Dragon Age game.  

Regardless, I have a news update in the works for the end of May as I mentioned before, there's still plenty of tidbits coming out, and as I stated in my Tinfoil Tea Party podcast, I'll be doing news videos before the first of every month when we have enough, well news... In April, we got a fair bit, but May has been epic so far. So, stay tuned for that!

[thisdayinwwi]

Issue 3998. - Vol CXLVII - Dec 4 1915 - Illustrated London News

How Piper Daniel Laidlaw Won the Victoria Cross at Loos

London Gazette, 18 November, 1915.

For most conspicuous bravery prior to an assault on German trenches near Loos and Hill 70 on 25th September 1915. During the worst of the bombardment, when the attack was about to commence, Piper Laidlaw, seeing that his company was somewhat shaken from the effects of gas, with absolute coolnesss and disregard of danger, mounted the parapet, marched up and down and played the company out of the trench. The effect of his splendid example was immediate, and the company dashed out to the assault. Piper Laidlaw continued playing his pipes till he was wounded.

[unblogparaloschicos]

Cine: Henry Gamble's Birthday Party (2015)

Henry Gamble (Cole Doman) está emocionado y no es para menos: es el día de su decimoséptimo cumpleaños, celebración que tendrá lugar en su hogar. Su vida no puede parecer más perfecta: hijo del pastor Bob (Pat Healy) y Kat Gamble (Elizabeth Laidlaw), vive en una casa fastuosa y disfruta de una amorosa familia, que se completa con su hermana Autumn (Nina Ganet). Miembro de un grupo juvenil de la iglesia, sabe que muchos de los invitados son compañeros y, otros tantos, adultos amigos de sus padres y familiares.

Y es aquí donde reside el mayor logro de esta película: en el preciso retrato psicológico de los personajes, y no sólo el de los protagonistas: sus reacciones frente a los demás invitados, sus aparentes virtudes y defectos, la hipocresía religiosa, las charlas de ocasión. La naturalidad de las actuaciones y los textos son un punto admirable mientras que otra de sus fortalezas recae en su fabulosa colección musical, que le otorga a la película una personalidad única. 

¿Que la vida de Henry “no puede parecer más perfecta”, dijimos? Claro que sí: hasta la fachada de esa perfecta familia cristiana está a punto de desquebrajarse a la luz de los inminentes secretos internos que están por develarse.

Con gran astucia, el escritor y director Stephen Cone nos invita a participar de una fiesta inolvidable que dura todo el día y nos convierte en testigos de los infiernos personales de varios personajes, volviéndolos creíbles e incluso dignos de nuestro afecto y compasión. Como, por ejemplo, Logan (Daniel Kyri), un muchacho tímido del grupo que se siente atraído por Henry; o Jon (Jack Ball), otro amigo del protagonista que cree que la humanidad no tiene destino con tanto depravado suelto; o Ricky Matthews (Patrick Andrews), señalado por todos porque ha sobrevivido a un intento de suicidio. Y tampoco podemos obviar la mención del mejor amigo de Henry, Gabe (Joe Keery: sí, el de la serie “Stranger Things”), con quien comparte algún que otro “trabajo manual” al inicio del filme. Muy, muy recomendable.

Aquí, el trailer en inglés (no pude hallar uno subtitulado en español):

[scotianostra]

Piper Daniel Laidlaw of The King’s Own Scottish Borderers was born on July 26th 1875.

As I said the other day Victoria Cross winners are not a subject I post about very often, celebrating death with modern weaponry leaves me cold, Daniel Laidlaw was a different kind of hero….he was later given the nickname The Piper of Loos.

The men of the 7th King’s Own Scottish Borderers (K.S.O.B.) were under heavy shell fire the morning of September 25, 1915. If that was not enough to unnerve the soldiers, a cloud of poison gas began to drift over their position. A few of the men began to cough and choke and many succumbed rapidly to the effects of the gas. The remainder were shaken by the disturbing images they saw.

Piper Laidlaw, seeing that his company was shaken with the effects of gas, with complete disregard for danger, mounted the parapet and, marching up and down, playing “All the Blue Bonnets Over the Border.” The effect of his bravery was immediate and the company dashed to the assault. Piper Laidlaw continued playing his pipes even after he was wounded and until the position was won.

He later achieved the rank of sergeant-piper. His medals are on display on the 5th floor of the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. Only one other piper was awarded a Victoria Cross during the First World War, the Scottish-born Canadian soldier James Cleland Richardson.

More on the story here https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-34218923

[blackswaneuroparedux]

The sound of the pipes on a Scottish battlefield echoes through the ages. The original purpose of the pipes in battle was to signal tactical movements to the troops, in the same way as a bugle was used in the cavalry to relay orders from officers to soldiers during battle.

After the Jacobite Rebellions, during the late 18th century a number of regiments were raised from the Highlands of Scotland and by the early 19th century these Scottish regiments had revived the tradition with pipers playing their comrades into battle, a practice which continued into World War I.

The bloodcurdling sound and swirl of the pipes boosted morale amongst the troops and intimidated the enemy. However, unarmed and drawing attention to themselves with their playing, pipers were always an easy target for the enemy, no more so than during World War One when they would lead the men ‘over the top’ of the trenches and into battle. The death rate amongst pipers was extremely high: it is estimated that around 1000 pipers died in World War One.

Piper Daniel Laidlaw of the 7th Kings Own Scottish Borderers was awarded the Victoria Cross for his gallantry in World War One. On September 25th 1915 the company were preparing to ‘go over the top’. Under heavy fire and suffering from a gas attack, the company’s morale was at rock bottom. The commanding officer ordered Laidlaw to start playing, to pull the shaken men together ready for the assault.

Immediately the piper mounted the parapet and began marching up and down the length of the trench. Oblivious to the danger, he played, “All the Blue Bonnets Over the Border.” The effect on the men was almost instant and they swarmed over the top into battle. Laidlaw continued piping until he got near the German lines when he was wounded. As well as being awarded the Victoria Cross, Laidlaw also received the French Criox de Guerre in recognition of his bravery.

[materialsworld]

Materials World’s top feature of 2019

As 2019 is drawing to a close, the Materials World team wanted to highlight a couple of stories to end the year on a high note. On Wednesday we shared the news story that got the most clicks on our website in 2019.  Today, we are sharing the top feature. We hope you enjoy and Merry Christmas from the editorial team. 

15 UNDER 30

By: Idha Valeur 

IOM3 is looking to the future and celebrating young talent and ambition. Idha Valeur talks to the ones to watch in STEM.

Kyle Saltmarsh Age: 27 Job: Robotics Engineer at Woodside Energy. Education: PhD Engineering in Submarine Vibration and Acoustics, BSc in Physics and Applied Mathematics, BME (Honours). Current project: Deployment of robotic technology onto Woodside’s oil and gas plant for surveillance, and performing tasks through robot manipulation. Achievements: Best honours thesis, several hackathon wins, top IBM 2018 graduate in Australia/New Zealand, 2018 Young Persons’ World Lecture Competition Winner, world’s largest bungee jumper, blogger and hosting a podcast to inspire people in technology. Ultimate goal: To positively impact the world through the power of technology.

Kyle Saltmarsh     Image credit: Brent Campbell 

Jennie Palmer Age: 26 Job: Research Engineer. Education: Undertaking an EngD in Structural Metals for Gas Turbine Applications, BEng in Aerospace Engineering, with a year in industry, Swansea University. Current project: I am researching the development of bespoke test facilities and fundamental understanding of thermo-mechanical fatigue crack growth behaviour in titanium alloys. Achievements: Graduating with a BEng in Aerospace Engineering with First-Class Honours, presenting my research at national and international conferences, having research published in an internationally recognised journal and a Green Belt Certificate in Lean Six Sigma. Ultimate goal: To become a well-established, technical expert in my engineering field.

Jennie Palmer     Image credit: Jemima Bond 

Ilija Rašović Age: 27 Job: Lecturer at University of Birmingham Education: MEng in Materials Science at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. DPhil in Materials at St Cross College, Oxford. Current project: The use of fullerenes — nanometre-sized balls of carbon — in biomedical applications. One of the methods I have devised, to make them soluble in water, helps in the formation of large self-assembled structures that hold great promise as multi-modal drug delivery vehicles. Achievements: The IOM3 international Literature Review Prize in 2016. Final of the IOM3 Young Persons’ World Lecture Competition in 2017. I joined the P1 Graphene Solutions as an advanced materials engineer and became a lecturer at the University of Birmingham. In 2019, I joined IOM3’s Younger Members’ Committee. Ultimate goal: To make a contribution to the wide deployment of transformative nanomedicine in a clinical setting within my lifetime. My broader vision is to continue to champion materials science and make more accessible the obfuscated world of academic research.

Ilija Rašović     

Amanda Field Age: 25 Job: Development Engineer. Education: BEng Materials Science and Technology, University of Birmingham. Current project: Trying to finish my PhD on additive manufacturing of tungsten for nuclear fusion reactors. It’s challenging but worthwhile because the success of nuclear fusion would go a long way to solving the energy crisis. I’m working in additive manufacturing. Achievements: I have presented my work at international conferences. I was involved with an experimental parabolic flight campaign for the European Space Agency where we used a demonstrator device to 3D print metal in zero gravity. I came second in the IOM3 Young Persons Lecture Competition. Ultimate Goal: To keep working in additive manufacturing. I’d like to stay in R&D as you get such variety in your role and you have the potential to make significant improvements to a product or a technology, or design new ones yourself.

Amanda Field    Image credit: Luke Carter 

Jack Saunders Age: 25 Job: PhD Student in Materials Chemistry. Education: MChem with a year in industry, University of Manchester. Undertaking a PhD in Materials Chemistry, University of Manchester, in collaboration with AkzoNobel. Current project: To analyse the impact of different polymers on the corrosion protection afforded by emulsion paints. I aim to achieve this by synthesising and testing polymer’s corrosion performance. This is to better understand how polymer chemistry can affect the corrosion protection offered by the dried paint. Achievements: A First Class Master’s degree in chemistry. My PhD at the School of Materials at The University of Manchester. Awarded the President’s Doctoral Scholar Award. Presented my work at conferences such as the RSC’s MacroGroup YRM, Dublin, 2018. Won the regional Young Persons’ Lecture Competition this year. Ultimate goal: To develop my research and management skills in order to have my own research group in the field of polymer chemistry and colloid science.

Jack Saunders    Image credit: University of Manchester  Megan McGregor Age: 25 Job: PhD Candidate at the Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy, University of Cambridge. Education: MSci in Natural Sciences, University of Cambridge, specialising in Materials Science. Current project: A PhD project investigating a new intermetallic alloy for commercial gas turbine engines. Specifically, trying to develop a novel coating material required to attach abrasives onto the end of rotating turbine blades, in pursuit of a more efficient sealing system. Achievements: I enjoy teaching in the department, and was recently awarded the Departmental Demonstrator Prize. I talked at the Cambridge Science Festival and the inaugural Cambridge Soapbox Science event. I will be representing the South Eastern Region in the final of the IOM3 Young Persons’ Lecture Competition this year, selected for an RCUK Public Policy Internship at the Government Office for Science in 2018, where I got to contribute to government policy. Ultimate goal: To see the material I am working on make it into a commercial gas turbine engine. I want to take my expertise in this area into industry, and be able to contribute to the development of the hybrid-electric aircraft sector.

Megan McGregor    Image credit: Andrew Jeskins 

Abigail Georgia Robinson Age: 22 Job: Geology student. Education: MGeol in Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of St Andrews, graduating in 2020. Current project: I will co-lead an expedition to the Lofdal Complex, Namibia, which hosts a suite of carbonatitic and silicic igneous rocks, some of which are enriched in heavy rare earth elements. I aim to integrate geological field data with geochemical and isotopic datasets to model the petrogenesis of the scientifically interesting igneous rocks. Achievements: I was awarded the prestigious Laidlaw Scholarship in Research and Leadership in 2018. This supported my field campaign in Armenia, to investigate the interplay between climate change, hydrology and medieval irrigation systems. I did a research placement at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre where I learned to code in Python and used this to statistically investigate the geographical origin of lunar meteorites across the lunar surface. This work was included in Dr Marissa Tremblay’s published abstract and presentation at the 2019 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, USA. Ultimate goal: I plan to embark on a PhD on the tectonically imposed planet-wide cycling of the volatile elements. I plan to be an active communicator promoting an understanding of geoscience and the global scale problems that we, the geoscientists, can work to solve.

Abigail Robinson      Image credit: Evan Margerum 

Federica Rosaria Lisa Age: 24 Job: Technical Graduate at British Steel. Education: MChem Chemistry with Forensic Science with a year in industry, University of Leicester. Current project: A variety of research and development projects – one on understanding and reducing the factors that influence power and electrode consumption at the ladle arc furnaces in the secondary steelmaking process. Achievements: Graduated with a First Class Honours and secured a 12-month industrial placement and a place on a graduate programme. I succeeded in my secondary school exams after moving to a new continent and starting International School. Ultimate goal: To work for a sustainable discovery/development that will improve lives and I would like to lead a company. I would also like to promote the importance of education, support developing countries in the construction of more schools and strengthen the educational system.

Frederica Lisa    Image credit: Johnny Gallagher  Daniel Everington Age: 26 Job: Materials Technologist – Surface Engineering. Education: MEng Aerospace Engineering with a year in industry, University of Sheffield. Current project: Surface engineering at Rolls-Royce. I’m involved with different projects across the engine, including compressor sealing systems, hot end environmental protection and anti-seize coatings. Achievements: Developed a novel method to flow test ceramic filters used in the investment casting process. The technique contributed to a 3% improvement in casting yield and the reduced variation helps lower the amount of metal. Patents may be filed on the work. Ultimate goal: I’d like to work with academia to co-develop novel coatings/surface treatments. I enjoy the challenges that come with working on new technology as the answers can’t simply be found in a textbook.

Daniel Everington     Image credit: Alistair Coast-Smith 

Louise Gale Age: 28 Job: Materials Engineer at Rolls-Royce Plc. Education: MSci & MA in Natural Sciences, specialising in Materials Science, University of Cambridge. Current project: The development of ceramic matrix composites for introduction into aerospace gas turbine engines. My responsibilities include running mechanical testing programmes, supervising work at our university partners as well as the analysis and fractography of tested samples to elucidate damage mechanisms. Achievements: Completing the Rolls-Royce Graduate Scheme, including obtaining funding for an international placement in the Materials Testing Department in Berlin. I became Technical Lead of a £2.5mln project which was part of a government-funded programme to develop SiC/SiC ceramic matrix composites. I developed the £7mln, three-year materials development component to the follow on project that was approved in late 2017. Ultimate goal: To become an expert on ceramic and composite materials systems.

Louise Gale      Image credit: Stephen Gale 

James Grant Age: 24 Job: EngD student with TATA Steel and M2A, Materials and Manufacturing Academy. Education: School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, College of Engineering, Swansea University. Current project: Development of novel coating solutions for the improvement of pre/post heat treatment of carbon steel conveyance tubes. My project aims to reduce high-temperature oxidation caused by the normalising process. Achievements: I developed a novel anodisation system for fabricating alumina masks in the molecular beam epitaxy application. In addition to this, my placement with Merck successfully optimised electrophoretic fluids to further enhance the E-ink display technology. I’ve been competing in the 2019 IOM3 Young Persons Lecture Competition. Having won the SWMA heat and the South West Regional, presenting at the national final in May. Ultimate goal: To educate and encourage the next generation of students to take up STEM subjects. I hope I can engage and excite a younger audience about materials science and demonstrate the opportunities available in engineering.

James Grant      Image credit: James Grant 

Vidya Chamundeswari Narasimhan Age: 28 years Job: Post-doctoral Research Fellow Department of Materials Science and Engineering, NTU. Education: PhD in Materials Engineering. Current project: Developing responsive nasogastric tubes for the elderly and using nature-derived biopolymers for biomedical applications. Achievements: Young Scientist Award conferred by VIWA in India, Title Winner of the IOM3 Young Persons’ World Lecture Competition 2017, Women in Engineering Travel Grant in 2018, Chair of the Young Scientists Forum at the European Materials Research Society conference in Poland 2018. Ultimate goal: To lead and manage a diverse team, foster interdisciplinary collaboration and offer R&D support for cutting edge research in the healthcare sector. I also want to contribute significantly towards mentoring the next generation of young girls towards pursuing exciting careers in STEM fields.

Vidya Chamundeswari     Image credit: Dr Rohit Satish  Frederick Cooper Age: 28 Job: Research Engineer and PhD student. Education: BEng with Honours, Swansea University. Current project: Microstructural and mechanical characterisation of flow formed F1E – a novel, maraging steel. Achievements: Used flow form to develop materials for detailed metallographic, micro-textural, and mechanical assessment. I run two small businesses, have an Associate Diploma from the National College of Music, and an Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy and was appointed as a Yeoman of the Worshipful Company of Tin Plate Workers. Ultimate goal: To complete my current project and transfer a comprehensive mechanical property database detailing static and fatigue performance to a major engineering sponsor – to enable novel component manufacture. Further, I would like to use my experience to develop a career in public engagement or education.

Frederick Cooper    Image credit: Lauren Ednie Photography 

Robert Hoye Age: 28 Job: Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow. Education: PhD, Cambridge University, BE(Hons). Current project: I am looking at two areas that could accelerate the scale of photovoltaics. This makes an attractive technology for producing clean energy, especially in remote regions. Achievements: Developed a recombination contact to couple a metal-halide perovskite top-cell with an n-type silicon bottom cell, which lead to new design rules to identify promising classes of materials that could tolerate defects, and an all-inorganic device structure that led to 80% external quantum efficiency in solar cells. This went on display in the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum in Dresden, Germany. 2018 Young Engineer of the Year Award by the Royal Academy of Engineering, which also awarded me £500,000 to start an independent group at the University of Cambridge. European Forbes 30 under 30 list. Ultimate goal: To create new classes of defect-tolerant semiconductors that can be used as low-cost and efficient top-cells in tandem with silicon.

Robert Hoye      Image credit: Zoe Chung 

Matthew Wadge Age: 24 Job: PhD Researcher. Education: BSc(Hons) Biomedical Materials Science & PhD (ongoing), University Of Nottingham. Current project: Exploring novel formation and ion-exchange reactions of titanate surfaces for biomedical applications. Achievements: Achieved eight awards during my undergraduate degree including the Best Student Prize, Best Project Prize, and The Armourers and Brasiers’ Best Student Prize for achieving the highest project mark within the faculty. I have since won the Armourers and Brasiers’/TWI Best BSc/BEng Student of the Year Award, Best Oral Presentation Prize from the UK Society for Biomaterials Conference in 2018. Published my first journal paper during the first year of my PhD. I am one of the Nottingham coordinators for this year’s Pint of Science festival. Ultimate goal: To try and improve a patient’s quality of life, from improving fixation of hip stems for improved longevity, through to antibacterial surfaces for minimising infections. I aim to continue on into academia post PhD to share my experiences, and hopefully train the next generation of bioengineers and biomaterial scientists.

Matthew Wadge     Image credit: Matthew James 

[kwebtv]

The Red Line  -  CBS  -  April 28, 2019 - Present

Drama (6 episodes)

Running Time:  60 minutes

Stars:

Noah Wyle as Daniel Calder

Noel Fisher as Officer Paul Evans

Michael Patrick Thornton as Jim Evans

Aliyah Royale as Jira Calder-Brennan

Vinny Chhibber as Liam

Emayatzy Corinealdi as Tia Young

Howard Charles as Ethan Young

Elizabeth Laidlaw as Victoria “Vic” Renna

Enuka Okuma as Suzanne Davis

Glynn Turman as Nathan Gordon