Ernest Tipson

Ernest Tipson (1883–1958) was an English Plymouth Brethren missionary and linguist who compiled a dictionaries of Cantonese and Hokkien (Amoy dialect).
Early life.
Born into a large Brethren family in Enfield, England, Tipson began his working life, at the age of 14, as an architect's clerk and typist, but was called to missionary service in the early 1900s.
Malaysia and Canton.
Tipson's first posting was to Penang and he sailed there from the UK in November 1908. In October 1909, he traveled to Canton (now Guangzhou) in China where he spent a year mastering the Cantonese dialect. This was to be a vital tool in his missionary work and he went on to acquire the Hokkien dialect.
On his return from Canton (March 1911), Tipson married Agnes Millar in Penang and they settled in Kuala Lumpur. His missionary work involved preaching the Gospel, evangelism, and visiting lepers and prisoners. As with most missionaries, in those times, there was the ever-present danger of ill-health and death due to the heat and humidity of British Malaya. In August 1914, his youngest child, Teddie, then one, fell ill with gastro-enteritis and died. Teddie was namesake of Tipson's 15-year-old brother who had died some 20 years previously.
By 1917, Tipson became seriously ill, and suffered a nervous breakdown, leaving immediately for Sydney, Australia, despite his wife being eight months pregnant. He could not return home to England due to the First World War and finally arrived back in England in December 1918.
After a few years on furlough, Tipson returned to Kuala Lumpur in 1920 and resumed his missionary work. In 1928 he moved to Singapore to take up the post of Secretary to the British & Foreign Bible Society for Malaya.
Nearing retirement, at the age of 58, Tipson was incarcerated in Changi Prison during the occupation of Singapore by the Japanese during much of World War II. To begin with, he occupied Cell 24, along with Shenton Thomas, the then Governor of Singapore. His ministry in Changi was remarkable in terms of his strength of character and his support for fellow prisoners. Tipson's obituary in the "British Association of Malaysia", 1958, said: "There were some gifted preachers in the internment camp (Changi), but no one appealed to the men more than Ernest Tipson."
Tipson's survival, said his son, also Ernest, was probably due to his tremendous sense of humour and the good company and support of son-in-law David. Liberated in 1945, Ernest Senior traveled to India to be reunited with his wife and son. "He was as thin as a stick!" remembered Ernest Junior. "We fell into each other's arms."
After the war, Tipson resumed his work in Singapore briefly, but soon returned to England. He died in Cornwall during a preaching visit to a local Gospel hall.
Publications.
Tipson's linguistic prowess, and later his acknowledged status as a gifted Chinese scholar, was extraordinary in the light of his humble education at a Board School back in England.
His "Pocket Dictionary of the Amoy Vernacular" is still referenced during the compilation of modern Hokkien/English dictionaries. True to his faith and calling, Tipson is said to have ensured that every word in the Bible found its way into his dictionary. Another of his publications, a "Complete Chinese Character Course", was based on lectures he gave in Changi Prison during World War II.


The Impatient Years

The Impatient Years is a 1944 romance film made by Columbia Pictures, directed by Irving Cummings, and written by Virginia Van Upp
Plot.
Andy (Lee Bowman) and Janie (Jean Arthur) Anderson are seated on opposite sides of a court room filing for a divorce. As the judge is about to render his verdict, Janie's father (Charles Coburn) makes a suggestion. In an attempt to save the marriage, William suggests that the couple return to San Francisco (where they met a year and a half ago) for four days and retrace all of their steps to include getting married.
Home media.
The film is available on DVD as part of the Jean Arthur Comedy Collection, released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.


32 Demands

The 32 Demands () were a list of proposals for governmental reform issued by the Committee to Settle the Monopoly Bureau Incident (also known as Settlement Committee, 228事件處理委員會 or People's Purge Committee) during the February 28 Incident which occurred in Taiwan in 1947.
Events surrounding the demands.
During the first week or so following the general uprising against Republic of China government authorities under Chief Executive Chen Yi, most of Taiwan was under the control of native Taiwanese under the guidance of the Settlement Committee and ROC. Governmental authority was limited to a few government compounds and garrisons. The Settlement Committee was composed of legislators, high school and college students, lawyers, doctors, labor unions, as well as members of the general public. Moderates in the committee hoped to bring about reform in the corrupt provincial administration as opposed to general rebellion against the ROC Central Government in Nanjing. Others talked of Taiwan independence or becoming a U.S. protectorate. In Pingtung, a band of them sang The Star-Spangled Banner as they took over the town.
Following several days of deliberations, Taiwanese representatives from across the island delivered a list of 32 demands to the Office of the Chief Executive on the evening of March 7, 1947. Through the proposed reforms, they hoped to eliminate the rampant corruption in the existing administration and bring about democratic reforms. There was a sense of urgency during the deliberations as the representatives feared that if reinforcement troops from mainland China arrived before the demands were delivered and announced, Chief Executive Chen would be highly unlikely to accept them in what would be for him a loss of face.
These fears were well founded as shortly afterwards ROC troops arrived from the mainland on the morning of March 9. Chief Executive Chen then began what became a massive crackdown against the native Taiwanese. The representatives of the Settlement Committee, as well as intellectuals and students were especially targeted for liquidation in the ensuing slaughter.
Brief summary and explanation of the 32 Demands.
Reforms for equality in government.
One of the major problems following the handover had been the production of many conflicting and often contradictory laws, many of which were created at the whim of corrupt government officials in order to extort bribes. The enactment of a Provincial Autonomy Law was designed to get rid of this tangle of corruption. The Chief Executive's Office especially was viewed to be extremely corrupt and undemocratic, as well as being subject to undue influence from the military.
Three of the 32 Demands were intended to prevent the installation of alleged carpetbaggers from the mainland to important government positions, as had been occurring since ROC administration of Taiwan began; as well as to prevent discrimination against residents of Taiwan prior to 1945
Critics charge that such a scheme would create two classes of people, in effect creating second-class citizens and result in something resembling apartheid.
Reforms on eligibility laws were intended to create a more egalitarian process. In previous elections, all candidates had to deal with numerous regulations designed to discourage persons undesirable to the KMT from running for office, such as hefty registration fees, civil service exams, and "background checks".
Reforms to insure civil and property rights.
All local officials up to this point were appointed by the Chief Executive, and as a result, were mostly mainlanders, sometimes accused of being "carpetbaggers". Most of the criminal justice system had been packed by mainland appointees, most of whom allegedly were neither familiar with nor cared much for Taiwanese interests.
These reforms would also prevent the use of the military for domestic law enforcement.
Economic reforms.
Prior to these reforms, many government officials charged high taxes on most services, allegedly amounting to little more than organized graft. Certain items such as salt, tobacco, liquor, and camphor were restricted to production and sale by the government, leading to inflated prices. It was a conflict between the Monopoly Bureau agents and a cigarette vendor which sparked the outbreak of the February 28 Incident.
Military reforms.
The Taiwanese had allegedly little interest in participating in the ongoing Chinese Civil War, especially since Taiwan's status at the time was still disputed by some. Troops from the mainland also had a reputation for being undisciplined and contemptuous towards Taiwanese.
Social welfare reforms.
Many Taiwanese who were the targets of official extortion or had offended a corrupt government official were detained on vague charges of "aiding the Japanese" or treason.
Secondary demands subject to compromise.
Taiwanese employees of companies or the government were often ordered to participate in lengthy "Vocational Guidance Camps" which were allegedly designed to get them away from work long enough so that their jobs could be replaced by mainland Chinese.
The last demand was due to an incident where the Central Government had gratuitously confiscated a large shipment of Taiwanese sugar without, then sold it on the mainland for significant profit. Similar situations also occurred with Taiwanese rice leading to major shortages and artificial price inflation.


Hell-Rider

Hell-Rider is a short-lived, black-and-white comics magazine published by Skywald Publications, a 1970s company best known for its horror-comics magazines "Nightmare", "Psycho", and "Scream". Like them and the similar publications of Warren Publishing, these were mature-audience magazines not covered by comic books' Comics Code Authority. Its cover price was 60¢, typical for that format and time, during which standard comic books sold for 15¢.
Publication history.
Main feature.
Lasting two 64-page issues, "Hell-Rider" (cover-dated Aug. & Oct. 1971) starred the titular vigilante motorcyclist, a Vietnam War veteran, lawyer, and black belt martial artist named Brick Reese. With his customized, flamethrower-equipped motorcycle, and temporary super-strength courtesy of the experimental drug Q-47, the Los Angeles, California-based Hell-Rider battled the Claw, a masked, heroin-smuggling, secret society leader in issue #1, and a bestial rampager called the Ripper in issue #2. The stories featured scantily clad rock starlets, nightclub waitresses, and groovy, pot-smoking ' 70s chicks all quickly losing what little clothing they wore.
The series was created by Gary Friedrich, who would go on to co-create the better-known, Marvel Comics supernatural motorcyclist Ghost Rider, and illustrated by the veteran team of penciler Ross Andru and inker Mike Esposito. Skywald partners Sol Brodsky and Israel Waldman are listed as publishers, with Brodsky additionally credited as editor. Gary Friedrich is listed as "script editor", while Golden Age great Bill Everett, creator of the Sub-Mariner in 1939, has an unexplained credit for "special effects", which Al Hewetson, an editor of other Skywald titles, said in 2004 "probably refers to art corrections, assists and/or character designs."
The title character's name is sometimes spelled "Hell Rider", without a hyphen, in the stories.
A house ad for the never-published "Hell-Rider" #3, with cover art by Gray Morrow for a story titled "The Zodiac Killers", appeared as the back cover of Skywald's "Psycho" #5 (Nov. 1971).
Backup features.
The magazine's backup features, whose stories were interrelated with those of the main feature, were "The Butterfly" and "The Wild Bunch", both written by Friedrich.
The former starred African-American singer/superheroine Marian Michaels, whose costume is equipped with bright lights to blind adversaries, a jet pack for flying, and suction cups for climbing. The latter starred a rough but basically goodhearted biker gang that Reese had encountered, consisting of leader Animal; Afro-haired Deke; weaselly Slinker; tall, blond Curly; and blond biker-babe Ruby.
Art credits for the first issue's backups are disputed, with sources suggesting either John Celardo and Rich Buckler as the "Butterfly" penciler, and either Dick Ayers or Syd Shores as the "Wild Bunch" penciler. The second issue's "Butterfly" story is credited to penciler-inker Buckler, and its "Wild Bunch" story to Shores and inker Esposito,
The magazine also included a motorcycle-related, Q&A and advice column, "Curly's Cycle Corner", also written by Friedrich.


Zimbabwe Telegraph

Zimbabwe Telegraph is an internet newspaper published in Zimbabwe, UK and Canada. It has a specialised focus on current events in Zimbabwe's politics, social and economic developments. The newspaper was first published in late 2008.
The "Zimbabwe Telegraph"s website is an aggregated news and opinion articles. The site covers a wide range of topics, including sections devoted to politics, entertainment, media, health, law and business. Its team of regular bloggers include many people from Zimbabwe's politicians, commentators, and analysts to an extensive network of opinion writers.
History.
"Zimbabwe Telegraph" began publication on 16 December 2008 by 3MG Media as a news and current events publication focused on Zimbabwe social, political and economic developments. 3MG Media also publishes the "Zimbabwe Daily News" ("ZimDaily"), "Zimbabwe Tribune" and "Harare Tribune".
Contributors.
In addition to regular (often daily) news by its reporters and a regular team of contributors the "Zimbabwe Telegraph" has featured notable contributors from finance, politics, journalism, business, and entertainment. The "Zimbabwe Telegraph" offers both news commentary and coverage. It has a standing policy of encouraging comments from all parts of the political spectrum through its forum website co-hosted with its sister publication "Zimbabwe Daily News". The forum is home to discussions on politics, religion, and world affairs.
Circulation.
"Zimbabwe Telegraph"s print edition's circulation has been put on hold due to the economic conditions in Zimbabwe. However, its website is updated daily and accessible for free since December 2008.


Su Zhenhua

Su Zhenhua (; June 2, 1912 – February 7, 1979), born Su Qisheng (蘇七生), was a Chinese Communist general and politician. He fought for the Communists in the Chinese civil war. After the founding of the People's Republic, Su became an admiral in the People's Liberation Army Navy, the Party Secretary of Guizhou province, the First Secretary of Shanghai, and a member of the Politburo.
Su was born in Pingjiang County, Hunan province. Su joined a guerrilla fighting force in 1926 at age 14, and entered the Communist Youth League three years later. He joined the Red Army in June 1930 and the Communist Party several years later. He participated in the Long March and was instrumental in the Communist takeover of Zunyi. He then served successively in a series of roles as political commissar. In December 1949, following the Communist takeover of Guizhou province, Su became the Party Committee Secretary of Guizhou. In April 1954, he became a deputy political commissar in the PLA Navy. He joined the Central Military Commission in 1959. During the Cultural Revolution, Su was purged and called "a time bomb in the navy planted by Deng Xiaoping." He was rehabilitated in 1972 and became the First Political Commissar of the Navy.
Su played a pivotal role during the arrest of the Gang of Four in 1976, when he was commissioned by Hua Guofeng and Ye Jianying to 'invade' the Xinhua News Agency, central television and radio stations, and the "People's Daily" headquarters, which were all then under the control of elements friendly to the Gang of Four. In order to prevent a coup by the Gang of Four in their power base of Shanghai, Su was then sent to Shanghai as First Secretary to oversee the party organization in collaboration with Ni Zhifu and Peng Chong.
He was an alternate member of the 8th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and a full member of the 10th and 11th Central Committees. He was also a member of the 11th Politburo of the Communist Party of China. He died on February 7, 1979 and was eulogized with high honours.


Edgar Bainton

Edgar Leslie Bainton (14 February 18808 December 1956) was a British-born, latterly Australian-resident composer. He is remembered today mainly for his liturgical anthem "And I saw a new heaven", a popular work in the repertoire of Anglican church music, but during recent years Bainton's other musical works, neglected for decades, have been increasingly often heard on CD.
Early life and career.
Bainton was born in Hackney, London, the son of George Bainton, a Congregational minister, and his wife, Mary, née Cave. Bainton later moved with his family to Coventry and he showed early signs of musical ability playing the piano; he was nine years old when he made his first public appearance as solo pianist. He was awarded a music scholarship to King Henry VIII Grammar School in Coventry in 1891, and in 1896 he won an open scholarship to the Royal College of Music to study theory with Walford Davies. In 1899 he received a scholarship to study composition with Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. At college he became friends with George Dyson, William Harris and especially Rutland Boughton, whose friendship and support continued throughout Bainton's career. Bainton kept a notebook listing nearly all his compositions, the first entry being his first known surviving work, "Prelude and Fugue in B minor for piano", written in 1898.
In 1901 Bainton became piano professor at the Newcastle upon Tyne Conservatory of Music. He became involved in the local musical scene, composing, playing and conducting and in 1905, he married a former student, Ethel Eales, with whom he had two daughters. He became the Principal of the Conservatory in 1912, and acquired property for its expansion. The family lived at Stocksfield, near Hexham. Bainton would take long country walks, frequently accompanied by Wilfred Gibson, who introduced Bainton into the literary circle surrounding Gordon Bottomley. Bainton set many of Bottomley's poems and wrote an opera to one of his lyric dramas. He introduced his local area to previously unknown works by Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Arnold Bax, among others. He developed friendships with poet Elliott Dodds and cathedral organist William Ellis.
Prisoner of war and freedom.
In the summer of 1914 Bainton visited Germany to attend the Bayreuth Festival, but was arrested after war broke out. As a male enemy alien of military age he was sent to the civilian detention camp at Ruhleben, near Berlin, where he remained for the next four years. Bainton was put in charge of all the music at the camp and became acquainted with Ernest MacMillan, Edward Clark and Arthur Benjamin, among other later successful musicians. He maintained many of these friendships throughout his career. In March 1918 his health deteriorated and he was sent to The Hague to recuperate. Following the Armistice, he became the first Englishman to conduct the Concertgebouw Orchestra, in two concerts of British music before returning to England.
Bainton's life returned to normal and he resumed work at the Conservatory. His choral works became features of the Three Choirs Festivals. Touring Australia and Canada from April 1930 to January 1931, he took a break from composing, and from August to December 1932 he visited India, giving a piano recital for the Indian Broadcasting Company. The poet and musician Rabindranath Tagore made him a guest in Calcutta and introduced him to Indian music. In 1933, Sir Edward Bairstow awarded him an honorary Doctor of Music at Durham University.
Australia.
The New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music was impressed by his display of skills in 1930, and offered him the directorship in the summer of 1933. Accordingly, in 1934 Bainton and his family started a new life in Australia.
Bainton conducted the choral and orchestral classes at the Conservatorium, and founded the Opera School. At the Conservatorium he taught Australian composers including Miriam Hyde. Expatriate Australian composer Vincent Plush (b. 1950) writes that when Arnold Schoenberg applied for the position of teacher of harmony and theory at the Sydney Conservatorium in 1934, Bainton turned down the application on the grounds of "modernist ideas and dangerous tendencies." An anonymous colleague of Bainton's allegedly remarked that Schoenberg was Jewish.
Coinciding with Bainton's arrival in Sydney were moves to form a permanent professional orchestra for the Australian Broadcasting Commission, which occasionally went under the name of the New South Wales Symphony Orchestra. It was later renamed the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Bainton conducted that ensemble's inaugural concert in 1934.
He introduced music previously unheard in Australia, such as Elgar's Symphony No. 2 in 1934; Bax's Third Symphony; and works by Debussy, Sibelius, Delius, and Walton, among others. In 1944, the premiere production by the Conservatorium Opera School of Bainton's opera "The Pearl Tree" received acclaim from the press and public alike. An additional night's performance was given due to demand, and on this latter occasion a bust of Bainton was unveiled in the foyer.
Australia then had a mandatory retirement age of 65, but Bainton continued to conduct (temporarily with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra), and gave lecture tours in Canada. In 1956, a heart attack severely affected his health, and on 8 December he died at Point Piper in Sydney. His wife had predeceased him by only a few months.
Recordings.
Some of Bainton's music, both chamber and orchestral, has been recorded in recent years on the Chandos record label and on Dutton Epoch. Previously his work was almost completely neglected in the record or broadcast medium.


Francis Walmsley

Francis Joseph Walmsley (9 November 1926 – 26 December 2017) was an English prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the Bishop of the Forces from 1979 to 2002.
Born in Woolwich on 9 November 1926, he was ordained to the priesthood on 30 May 1953. He was appointed the Bishop of the Forces and Titular Bishop of " Tamalluma " by the Holy See on 8 January 1979. His consecration to the Episcopate took place on 22 February 1979, the principal consecrator was Bishop Gerard Tickle, retired Bishop of the Forces, and the principal co-consecrators were Bishop Mario Conti of Aberdeen (later Archbishop of Glasgow) and Archbishop Michael Bowen of Southwark. During his term the military vicariate of the British Forces was raised to the status of a military ordinariate on 21 July 1986.
He resigned as Titular Bishop of Tamalluma on 7 March 1998 and retired as Bishop of the Forces on 24 May 2002. He died on Boxing Day 2017 in Reading, and is buried in the grounds of St Michael's Abbey, Farnborough.


Council of National Defense

The Council of National Defense was a United States organization formed during World War I to coordinate resources and industry in support of the war effort, including the coordination of transportation, industrial and farm production, financial support for the war, and public morale.
It was briefly revived for World War II to hold agencies such as National Defense Research Committee.
Organizational history.
Establishment.
The Army appropriation for 1916 provided for the creation and funding of the Council of National Defense. The appropriation was $200,000. President Woodrow Wilson established it on August 24, 1916, because "The Country is best prepared for war when thoroughly prepared for peace."
Members of some portions, such as the Medical Officers' Reserve Corps, which had existed previously as the Medical Reserve Corps, reverted to their former roles preparing for emergencies.
Structure.
The council consisted of the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Labor. The council was to investigate and advise the president and heads of executive departments, on the strategic placement of industrial goods and services for the potential and future use in times of war.
The President appointed a nonpartisan advisory commission associated with the council in October 1916. The commission comprised seven men with specialized knowledge in a profession or field of industry. Its first members were Daniel Willard (Baltimore, Maryland), president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad; Samuel Gompers (Washington, D.C.), president of the American Federation of Labor; Dr. Franklin H. Martin (Chicago, Illinois), a distinguished surgeon who founded the American College of Surgeons; Howard E. Coffin (Detroit, Michigan), head of the Committee on Industrial Preparedness, who had experience coordinating the auto industry in emergencies; Bernard Baruch (New York, New York), a prominent banker; Dr. Hollis Godfrey, civil engineer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), president of the Drexel Institute; and Julius Rosenwald (Chicago, Illinois), president of Sears, Roebuck & Co. Walter S. Gifford, of the American Telegraph and Telephone Company, also an engineer, served the first Director of the Council, but was succeeded by Grosvenor Clarkson.
Beginning in May 1917, the Council asked individual states to create their own Councils of Defense to assist the federal Council in carrying out its work. Some formed separate Women's Committees of National Defense and Southern states, at the urging of the National Council, formed organizations for Negroes.
In January 1920, the Council recommended the creation of an Expert Survey Board to conduct research studies over the next six months to enable speedy mobilization in the event of another war.
Disestablishment.
The activities of the Council of National Defense were suspended in 1921.


Zhongshan Park

Zhongshan Park () is a common name for Chinese parks, in honour of Sun Yat-sen, better-known in Chinese as Sun Zhongshan, who is considered by many to be the "Father of modern China". Currently there are more than 40 Zhongshan Parks in China, and some in overseas areas.


Hail the Conquering Hero

Hail the Conquering Hero (1944) is a satirical comedy/drama written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Eddie Bracken, Ella Raines and William Demarest, and featuring Raymond Walburn, Franklin Pangborn, Elizabeth Patterson, Bill Edwards and Freddie Steele.
Sturges was nominated for a 1945 Academy Award for his screenplay. Many critics consider the film to be one of Sturges's best. It was the eighth film he made for Paramount Pictures, and also his last, although "The Great Moment" was released after it. Sturges later wrote about his departure, "I guess Paramount was glad to be rid of me eventually, as no one there ever understood a word I said."
In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Plot.
Woodrow Lafayette Pershing Truesmith (Eddie Bracken) is a small town boy whose father, "Hinky Dinky" Truesmith, was a Marine who died a hero in World War I. Woodrow has been discharged from the Marine Corps after only a month owing to his chronic hay fever. Rather than disappoint his mother (Georgia Caine), he pretends to be fighting overseas in World War II while secretly working in a San Diego shipyard.
In a chance encounter in a bar he buys a round of drinks for six Marines back from the Battle of Guadalcanal headed by Master Gunnery Sergeant Heffelfinger (William Demarest). It transpires that Heffelfinger served with Woodrow's father in the 6th Marines in World War I. One of the Marines decides to telephone Woodrow's mother, telling her that he has received a medical discharge, so she will not have to worry about him. Woodrow is vehemently opposed to the fraud, but the Marines are all for it. Heffelfinger embellishes the charade by having Woodrow swap coats with one of the Marines that have the 1st Marine Division Battle Blaze and Pacific Theatre of Operations medals on it.
When they step off the train, the seemingly harmless deception has escalated beyond control; the entire town turns out to greet its homegrown hero. With an election coming up, the citizens decide to make an unwilling Woodrow their candidate against the pompous current mayor, Mr. Noble (Raymond Walburn). Complicating matters even further, Woodrow had written his girlfriend Libby (Ella Raines), telling her not to wait for him. She has since gotten engaged to Forrest Noble (Bill Edwards), the mayor's son.
Finally, Woodrow can stand it no longer. He confesses everything at a campaign rally and goes home to pack. Libby breaks her engagement and tells Woodrow she is going with him. Meanwhile, Heffelfinger praises Woodrow's courage in telling the truth to the stunned townsfolk, and after considering the matter, they decide that Woodrow has just the qualities they need in a mayor.
Cast.
Cast notes:
Songs.
Aside from songs associated with the military, such as "Mademoiselle from Armentieres" by Harry Carlton and Joe Tunbridge and "Halls of Montezuma", music by Jacques Offenbach, "Hail the Conquering Hero" contains two original songs by Preston Sturges:
Other songs in the film include two written by Frank Loesser and Robert Emmett Dolan: "Have I Stayed Away Too Long" and "Gotta Go to Jailhouse".
The score also contains excerpts from "Hail the Conquering Hero" from "Judas Maccabeus" by George Frideric Handel.
Production.
"Hail the Conquering Hero" had a number of working titles on its way to the screen. An early title was "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition", and "Once Upon a Hero" and "The Little Marine" were also used.
Although "The Great Moment", which had been filmed before "Hail the Conquering Hero", was released after it, this film was the last that Sturges made for Paramount Pictures, as his contract ran out and he left the studio even before the film was completely edited. He and the studio had numerous conflicts over editorial control, censorship problems and other issues on "The Great Moment" and "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek". The studio also balked at Sturges' repeated use of the same bit actors again and again in most of his Paramount films, what has been called his "stock company" or "repertory troupe." The studio was concerned that people would get tired of seeing the same faces, and wanted Sturges to use different actors, which he refused to do: "I always replied that these little players who had contributed so much to my first hits had a moral right to work in my subsequent pictures."
There were also conflicts with the studio about this film: Paramount wanted actress Ella Raines, who was playing "Libby", to be replaced: not only did they feel she did not look like a small-town girl, but she did not have enough box-office draw, and with the other lead roles being taken by Bracken and Demarest, the studio was concerned that the film would not have enough star power to be effectively sold. But filming had already started, and Sturges refused to replace her.I said that had [producer] Buddy [DeSylva] been there and objected to her casting at its inception, I would of course have agreed. But to have her thrown off the picture after she had been announced for the part and had started shooting, with all the publicity that engendered, would ruin her career. It seems very unimportant now whether she was kept in or thrown out. It seemed very important then. I had read Cervantes. I should have known about tilting at windmills. (Raines' career did not last long in any event: she retired in 1957.)
It was customary at the time for the War Department to review scripts which dealt with military matters, but the revisions they requested were minor. Filming began on "Hail the Conquering Hero" on July 14, 1943, and continued through September 11 of that year. Sturges had designed the film to be relatively small scale, and he re-used sets left over from "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek".
After an unsuccessful preview in New York City, the film was recut by producer Buddy G. DeSylva, as Sturges had already left Paramount. After another unsuccessful preview – and, not coincidentally, after "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" had been released and become a smash hit – DeSylva accepted Sturges' offer to return, unpaid, and rewrite the script. Retakes, directed by Sturges, were done from April 7 to April 11, 1944. Sturges restored his overall conception of the film.
The film was released on August 9, 1944. Sharp-eyed viewers may have noted that in the scene where the Marines leave the Oakdale station, a billboard behind them advertises "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek", the film that Sturges made, also starring Eddie Bracken, immediately before this one.
Reviews were uniformly excellent, with Bosley Crowther writing in the "New York Times" that it was "one of the wisest [movies] ever to burst from a big-time studio."
Sturges exulted that, "It proves that a good story can lick its weight in stars and pomposity any day."
"Hail the Conquering Hero" was released on video on November 15, 1990, on laserdisc on October 26, 1994, and was re-released on video on June 30, 1993. It was released on DVD (as part of a seven disc set entitled "Preston Sturges - The Filmmaker Collection") on November 21, 2006.
Awards and honors.
Sturges was nominated for a 1945 Academy Award for his screenplay for "Hail the Conquering Hero", and was nominated in the same category that same year for his screenplay for "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek." In addition, the picture was nominated by the National Board of Review as "Best Picture of 1944", and Eddie Bracken and Franklin Pangborn won "Best Acting" awards from the Board. The "New York Times" named the film one of the "Ten Best Films of 1944".
Analysis.
One writer described "Hail the Conquering Hero" as "a satire on mindless hero-worship, small-town politicians, and something we might call "Mom-ism," the almost idolatrous reverence that Americans have for the institution of Motherhood," and Sturges himself said that of all his films, it was "the one with the least wrong with it." The film has the normal hallmarks of Sturges' best work: an extremely fast pace, overlapping dialogue, and rapid-fire punch lines. Monty Python's Terry Jones called it "like a wonderful piece of clockwork."
The film can be seen as a look at both patriotism and hero worship in America during World War II, and while adhering to the requirements of the Hollywood Production Code – even more restrictive in wartime than before – in retrospect it can be seen as somewhat critical of people's willingness at that time to uncritically embrace heroes. In this regard it is a companion piece to "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek", the previous Sturges satirical venture.


Kongulu Mobutu

Kongulu Mobutu (c. 1970 – September 24, 1998) was a son of Mobutu Sese Seko, President of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), and an officer in the Special Presidential Division (DSP).
Biography.
Early life.
Kongulu (also known as Kongolo) was one of the twenty-one children of President Mobutu Sese Seko. His mother was the President's first wife Marie-Antoinette Gbiatibwa Gogbe Yetene, who died in 1977. He was described as "a stocky, bearded man with a taste for fast cars, gambling and women."
Despotic activity.
Kongulo Mobutu was a Captain in the DSP. When he left The School for Officers Training (EFO) in Kananga, he started his career as Second Lieutenant in The Military Service for Action and Intelligence (SARM). As Captain, he was Personal Secretary of General Bolozi in SARM. He was General Bolozi's protegee. Bolozi is married to Kongulu's aunt. Kongulu was a key enforcer in the final years of his father's despotic regime; his brutal treatment of political opponents earned him the nickname "Saddam Hussein".
In his childhood at Camp Tshatshi, Kongulu was nicknamed "Gange". When he was about to finish his matric, his entourage nicknamed him "Vatican" as a state within a state. He did not like it. After an incident which put in him in trouble with his father about money laundering, he fled to Libya and the Middle East. President Mobutu sent a team of his guards to take Kongulu back home. They unsuccessfully returned home. From that short exile, Kongulu took the nickname of Saddam Hussein.
Business activity.
Kongulu Mobutu was in charge of various businesses in Zaire, including shipping and import firms, entertainment Yoshad Productions. He exercised a strong influence onto the popular musical band Wenge Musica BCBG of Werrason, Jb Mpiana, Didier Masela. He reconciled Koffi Olomide and Jossart Nyoka Nlongo after a feud. According to a former employee, quoted in a United Nations report, one of his companies, Hyochade, acted as a front for extortion, state propaganda and surveillance of political opponents. The German ZDF network's investigative program "Kennzeichen D" has claimed that Kongulu participated in the siphoning off of the national wealth by helping to organize the secret movement of gold to Gambia during the 1990s.
Flight from revolution.
In April 1997, as forces led by Laurent-Désiré Kabila advanced towards Zaire's capital, Kinshasa, it is alleged that Kongulu Mobutu compiled a list of 500 of his father's opponents who were to be assassinated. When troops entered the city on May 17, Defense Minister, General Donatien Mahele Lieko Bokungu tried to negotiate and was shot dead; it has been claimed that Kongulu had a role in his killing at Camp Tshashi. Kongulu will be later clear of these accusations.
It is revealed that Kongulu was the one who came to cover General Mahele's body. He came after the action and senior Commanders of the DSP were present during assassination. Kongulu had no influence on DSP soldiers. He was the last most famous person of Mobutu's regime to leave Kinshasa on May 17, 1997, after he tried unsuccessfully to defend his father's rule (he commanded his father's bodyguards to the frontline). Kongulu fled across the border to Brazzaville later that day while rebels were almost 10 km away from the beach. His house was ransacked by soldiers and civilians.
Family.
Kongulu was married to Dany Kanyeba Nyembwe and had children together. They lived in Kinshasa.
Death.
Kongulu Mobutu died in exile in Monaco on September 24, 1998, aged 28 (a year after he attended his father's funeral at Rabat, Morocco). Former Reuters journalist Michela Wrong has written that he and his brother Nyiwa died of AIDS.


John Brearley

John Brearley (October 1875 – 1944) was an English association football player and manager. He played as a forward for several clubs, most notably Millwall Athletic, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur. He was able to play in at least five outfield positions, but had a preference for playing inside-right. During the First World War he was interned at Ruhleben, a civilian detention camp in Germany.
Playing career.
Brearley played 51 games and scored 13 goals for Millwall Athletic as he helped them win the Southern League District Combination and reach the semi-final of the FA Cup in 1900. He made his debut for Everton against WBA in September 1902 and subsequently made 24 appearances and scored 8 goals for the club. He finished as Everton's top league goalscorer in 1902–03 with 7 goals. Among his teammates at Everton were Samuel Wolstenholme. He was then signed for Tottenham by former Evertonian, John Cameron and went on to score 24 goals in 133 games for them. Among his teammates at Tottenham were Vivian Woodward. In January 1905 he played for a "Professionals of the South XI" against an "Amateurs of the South XI" during an England trial at White Hart Lane. He signed for Crystal Palace (then playing in the Southern League) in May 1907 and made 71 league appearances (3 goals) for the club between then and 1909. He finished his playing career with a return to Millwall Athletic as a player-coach in 1909.
Prisoner in Germany.
Brearley subsequently worked as a coach at Viktoria 89 Berlin in Germany. While there the First World War broke out and he was interned at Ruhleben, a civilian detention camp in the Spandau district of Berlin. Brearley was one of several former professional footballers at Ruhleben. Among them were his former Everton teammate, Samuel Wolstenholme, and his former manager at Tottenham, John Cameron. Others included former England internationals Fred Pentland and Steve Bloomer and a former German international Edwin Dutton. The camp contained between 4,000 and 5,500 prisoners. Gradually a mini-society evolved and football became a popular activity. Cup and league competitions were organised and as many as 1,000 attended the bigger games. On 2 May 1915 an "England XI" featuring Brearley, Pentland, Wolstenholme and Bloomer played a "World XI" captained by Cameron. Brearley also captained the "Barracks 10" team that won a cup competition in 1915. He also played cricket at the camp and in May 1915 played for a "Rubleben XI", which also included Bloomer, against a "Varsities XI" in the Rubleban Cricket League. A John Brearley was also listed as one of several Freemasons at the camp.
Brearley died in 1944, aged 68 or 69.


Fort Wetherill

Fort Wetherill is a former coast artillery fort that occupies the southern portion of the eastern tip of Conanicut Island in Jamestown, Rhode Island. It sits atop high granite cliffs, overlooking the entrance to Narragansett Bay. Fort Dumpling from the American Revolutionary War occupied the site until it was built over by Fort Wetherill. Wetherill was deactivated and turned over to the State of Rhode Island after World War II and is now operated as Fort Wetherill State Park, a reservation managed by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.
Early history.
In 1776, an 8-gun earthwork fortification was constructed by patriot forces at the site of Dumpling Rock, which overlooks the strategic East Passage toward Newport. This old fort was occupied by American, British, and French forces for various periods of time during the American Revolutionary War. The patriots called it the Dumpling Rock Battery; the British called it Fort Dumpling Rock. The British abandoned it in 1779 when they evacuated Newport, and after this it was called Fort Conanicut (not to be confused with the Conanicut Battery on the other side of the island near Beaver Head).
In 1798, construction was started on a permanent fortification at Dumpling Rock under the supervision of Major Louis Tousard of the Army Corps of Engineers. This fort was officially called Fort Louis and, later, Fort Brown (after Major General Jacob Brown, commanding general of the United States Army, or possibly after its Revolutionary War commander Abdiel Brown), but it was commonly called Fort Dumpling throughout its existence. Fort Dumpling was in the form of an oval stone tower and was frequently used as an artistic motif and a place for social outings. The fort was mentioned in the Secretary of War's report on fortifications for December 1811 as being at "the Dumplins" and is described as "a circular tower of stone, with casemates... with a small expense, there can be mounted six or eight heavy guns; and now in an unfinished state".
Modern history.
In 1899, the U.S. government purchased additional land during the Endicott period of coastal fortification, and built Fort Wetherill at the site of Fort Dumpling. Fort Wetherill was the largest fort of the Coast Defenses of Narragansett Bay (Harbor Defenses after 1925). It was named for Captain Alexander Macomb Wetherill, a Jamestown native who was killed in action during the Battle of San Juan Hill. Fort Dumpling was destroyed in the process of building the new fort, which featured numerous concrete emplacements for 20th-century breech-loading, rifled coast artillery pieces.
In 1901, Battery Varnum was the first modern battery to be completed, mounting two 12-inch guns on barbette carriages and situated in the far southeast corner of the fort. By 1910, the other six batteries in the fort's pre-World War II arsenal had been brought into service. Several of these batteries are now overgrown with brush, but they offer what is perhaps the longest linear concrete gun line in the coast defenses of New England.
During World War I, the fort was garrisoned by five companies of the Rhode Island National Guard. After the war, Fort Wetherill reverted to "caretaker status," with only a single Coast Artillery sergeant assigned to watch over it and other nearby facilities. Fort Wetherill was reactivated by the U.S. Army in September 1940 as a major part of the Harbor Defenses of Narragansett Bay, and new barracks were built to house the National Guard's 243rd Coast Artillery Regiment and its 1,200 soldiers. The 10th Coast Artillery Regiment of the Regular Army also garrisoned forts in Rhode Island 1924–45. The fort also functioned in the year before World War II as a military training facility, and late in the war as a training center for German prisoners of war. However, the big guns of the Endicott era were mostly scrapped by 1943, as Fort Wetherill was superseded by new defenses centered on Fort Greene and Fort Church. In 1946, the U.S. military ceased operations at Fort Wetherill, and the site remained abandoned for the quarter century that followed.
The State of Rhode Island officially acquired the fort on 16 August 1972 and reconfigured the site for public use as a state park. In 1972, the site was also added to the National Register of Historic Places. The park continues to attract visitors with a variety of modern recreational uses. The property offers walking trails through wooded areas and along the rocky coast, and is a popular destination for scuba diving.
Another distinctive feature of the fort is its surviving buildings and tramway system that were once used in the submarine mining operation that was run from the fort during World War 1 and World War 2. During World War 2, some 300 mines were planted on the east and west sides of Conanicut Island, protecting the approaches to Newport, and almost all of these were maintained from the Mine Wharf at Fort Wetherill. The image shows the old mine storehouse, one of the best preserved in the United States, with the remains of the tram tracks that used to carry the massive mines in and out of its front door. Mine launches would tie up at the nearby wharf, load the mines that were to be laid, transport them to the inlet, and lay them, together with their electric cables. Then, when these mines needed to be taken in, they were ferried back to the wharf and transported on the tramway to the various service buildings. A dual mine observation station sat atop the hill between the storehouse and Battery Varnum. Spotters manned this station and others scattered around the harbor defenses, and could locate enemy ships approaching the minefields, signaling to the operators in the mining casemate when a given mine was to be electrically detonated.
Modern armament.
Beginning in the early 20th century, the seven major concrete gun batteries listed below were built and armed at Fort Wetherill. During World War II, Anti-Motor Torpedo Boat (AMTB) Battery 923 was built, consisting of two fixed 90 mm guns plus two mobile 90 mm guns on platforms that remained from an earlier antiaircraft gun battery, along with two 37 mm guns. This battery was previously at Brenton Point in Newport until July 1944. Battery 924, with two 90 mm guns on mobile mounts, was also at the fort. Only Batteries Dickenson and Crittenden (plus the AMTB battery) were operational during World War II. New batteries at Fort Church and Fort Greene included 16-inch guns which superseded most of Fort Wetherill's batteries.
The batteries at Fort Wetherill were:
Battery Varnum was named for James Mitchell Varnum, a Revolutionary War general from Rhode Island. Battery Wheaton was named for Frank Wheaton, a Civil War general from Rhode Island. Battery Walbach was named for John de Barth Walbach, a career Army officer of the American Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and the Mexican–American War. Battery Zook was named for Samuel K. Zook, a Civil War general. Battery Dickenson was named for George Dickenson, an artillery officer killed in the Civil War. Batteries Crittenden and Cooke were named for two officers killed in the Battle of the Little Big Horn, also called "Custer's Last Stand".
After the US entered World War I, Battery Zook's three 6-inch guns were removed for service on field carriages on the Western Front in 1917 and were never returned to the fort. Records show that the guns arrived in France, but a history of the Coast Artillery in World War I states that none of the regiments in France equipped with 6-inch guns completed training in time to see action before the Armistice.
Battery Walbach's three 10-inch guns were also dismounted in 1917 for potential use as railway guns, but two were soon remounted while the third was transferred to nearby Fort Greble in December 1918. The remaining two guns were eventually transferred to Fort H. G. Wright on Fisher's Island, New York in 1936.
Battery Cooke was disarmed in 1920 as part of a general removal from service of the 3-inch gun M1898. The "masking parapet" carriage unique to that weapon was a retractable pedestal carriage. Battery Crittenden's M1902 guns were placed in storage in 1925, but were replaced that year by two 3-inch M1903 guns from Battery Belton at Fort Adams in Newport.
Battery Varnum's guns were scrapped in 1943 as part of a general scrapping of older heavy weapons once new 16-inch gun batteries were completed. Battery Wheaton was probably also removed from service at this time, but for some reason its guns were exempted from scrapping until the war ended.
Battery Dickenson was retained in service throughout World War II along with other 6-inch pedestal batteries, as this mounting could track enemy vessels better than disappearing mounts. The battery lacked a modern gun data computer during World War II and received its fire control radar data from Set 296-9, an SCR-296 radar located at Brenton Point, off Ocean Avenue in Newport.
Current uses.
Fort Wetherill was acquired by the state of Rhode Island and quickly became a location for sightseeing. It is popular to view the Tall Ships America event that takes place in Narragansett Bay every summer, and was popular for the America's Cup sailing races prior to 1984. The park offers parking facilities, public restrooms, and picnic tables.
, most batteries have been partly buried to the loading platform level for safety in visiting. There is considerable spalling of exterior concrete surfaces. The mine storehouse area is well preserved and restored, with several interpretive plaques describing the mine and net defense systems in Narragansett Bay. , most of the surface of the fort is covered in graffiti.


Mervyn Bunter

Mervyn Bunter is a fictional character in Dorothy L. Sayers' novels and short stories featuring Lord Peter Wimsey.
Literary Background.
Dorothy L. Sayers (1893–1957) wrote a number of novels and short stories concerning the adventures of a fictional private detective called Lord Peter Wimsey who had his genesis in a Sexton Blake story Sayers wrote in 1920.
The first Wimsey story was published in 1923, and the last by Sayers alone in 1937. Other stories based on original material were published under the authorship of Sayers and Jill Paton Walsh, the last appearing in 2013.
The action of the original stories takes place between 1921 and 1937; the books in co-authorship extend this period through the Second World War and into the 1950s. During this whole period, Lord Peter has a manservant called Mervyn Bunter, and in him Sayers created a fictional persona that is fascinating and enigmatic. Sayers admitted having partially based Bunter's character on P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves, although Wimsey and Bunter are quite distinct from Wooster and Jeeves. He is the ultimate "Gentleman's Gentleman".
Bunter ensures that his master is perfectly dressed, he cooks excellent meals, he is knowledgeable regarding spirits, wines and cigars and is faultless when dealing with social etiquette, whether concerning dukes or tramps.
Bunter conveys an air of awesome solemn dignity lightened at rare intervals by an icy sarcasm and an understated but biting criticism. He uses carefully correct and sometimes stilted English (in "Five Red Herrings" he talks of having "attended the cinematograph" rather than "gone to the cinema").
He has an unexpected talent for music-hall mimicry ("The Nine Tailors"), and assists Lord Peter in the purchase of rare books and the solving of crimes.
Bunter as manservant.
If Lord Peter is in the top rank of society, being a friend of the Prince of Wales ("Clouds of Witness" and "Thrones, Dominations"), then Bunter is a prince among domestic staff. As a gentleman's gentleman, or valet, he is the functional equivalent of a butler and his rank reflects that of his master. He insists on being called "Mr Bunter" by all other servants and tradesmen (for example Frank Crutchley in "Busman's Honeymoon").
Other domestics respect his position, and his personal appearance, severely impeccable clothes and bowler hat combined with rigidly correct manners allow him to impress cooks and susceptible maids. ("Whose Body?"). Even in the small hours of the morning he can be found "dressed with an impeccability worthy of Inigo Jones". ("Busman's Honeymoon").
His Olympian calm is monumental and gives way only twice. A very minor instance is told by a penitent Bunter after a maid is caught polishing a beer bottle taken as evidence ("The Nine Tailors"). The one great explosion is in "Busman's Honeymoon" when Mrs Ruddle stands all the bottles of Cockburn '96 port upright, and washes them clean. So great is his anger that not only does he refer to the cleaner as a "… lousy old nosy-parking bitch!" but he also, for the only time, drops an "h".
Bunter as assistant detective.
Although he is not allowed crime-solving leaps of imagination, Bunter also regularly assists in the routine processes of deduction, undertaking tasks not suitable for a lord. He has advanced photographic skills and possesses not only a wide-angled lens but also a spy camera hidden in his pocket ("The Entertaining Episode of the Article in Question").
He will photograph crime scenes and fingerprints as well as follow suspects, checking alibis and the like. He is allowed to comment on the progress of each case.
Bunter, Lord Peter and Harriet Vane.
Sergeant Bunter had been Major Wimsey's batman, or personal servant, during the Great War. They served in the Rifle Brigade, one of the prestigious units of the "Old Army". In October or November 1918 Wimsey was buried in a dug-out by a shell, and was rescued ("Clouds of Witness") by Bunter, among others. Several times afterwards, Bunter saved Wimsey's life, notably from quicksand in Yorkshire ("Clouds of Witness").
Immediately after the war, Bunter arrived to take up service, as promised, with Lord Peter. Like many other soldiers, Wimsey was afflicted with shell shock. He had nightmares, delusions, and a morbid fear of giving orders, having ordered so many men to their deaths. Bunter took him in hand, devoted himself to his recovery, and became indispensable as a servant, fellow-investigator and intimate.
However dependent Wimsey might be on Bunter, there is never any doubt as to who is in charge, and Bunter, though firm on the points of dressing well, never oversteps the line. However, it is the opinion of Lord Peter's mother, the Dowager Duchess, that "It's that wonderful man of his who keeps him in order...so intelligent...a perfect autocrat" ("Strong Poison").
The main negative thing to be said about Bunter is that he seems to have no other interest in life than serving Lord Peter; he is even ready to give up marriage rather than leave ("Thrones, Dominations"). However, this attitude must be seen in the context of early 20th century society, not that of the 21st century.
In "Strong Poison", Dorothy L. Sayers begins her exploration of Peter Wimsey's strange courtship and marriage to Harriet Vane. One effect of this is to eclipse Bunter, whose role reduces to that of the perfect servant in the background. In "Busman's Honeymoon" the relationships of this odd triangle are worked out. Harriet cannot believe she has married Peter until Bunter calls her "Your Ladyship".
Peter, utterly dependent on Bunter, is relieved when the latter accepts the new mistress. Bunter seems to accept the situation docilely, but is justified and consoled when Wimsey turns to him, not to Harriet, for assistance at a major breakthrough in the case. However, at the end of the case, when the culprit is to be hanged and Peter's nerves threaten to give way, Bunter and Harriet join forces to save him.
Bunter was rewarded in a literary fashion by eventually marrying and having a child ("Thrones, Dominations"). This marriage is not the work of Miss Sayers, but of Miss Paton Walsh, who also gives him a son, Peter Meredith, born in December 1937. Peter attends Eton College, being in the same house as Wimsey's son Bredon (it is not stated how the fees are financed) and is a budding economist.
Having the same name as Frank Richards' 'Bunter' would be an irrelevancy were it not for a character named 'Eric P. Loder' in the early short story 'The Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers'. 'Loder of the Sixth' is also a stalwart Frank Richards creation, and a relatively uncommon surname.
Biography.
1850: Birth of Bunter's mother, who lived at least until 1936 ("Thrones, Dominations"); his father seems to have died earlier. The family were conventionally religious: Bunter quotes from the Bible and prayer book and attends Church of England services; he is very High Church ("Thrones, Dominations").
c. 1880–1889: Mervyn was born in Kent, one of seven; a brother was called Meredith ("Clouds of Witness" and "Thrones, Dominations"); Lord Peter was born in 1890 and is described as being the younger ("Whose Body?").
c. 1885–1894: At age 5 he moved to London ("Busman's Honeymoon").
1914: Bunter was head footman in the house of Sir John Sanderton ("A Presumption of Death") who, by 1928, had been killed and his family broken up ("The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club"). It was in this household that he learned those housekeeping skills so much in evidence later, although how he acquired his skill in cooking, and incredible amounts of information, is a mystery ("Busman’s Honeymoon"). Although he does say how much he had learned from Wimsey, this might be flattery ("Whose Body").
1914: Bunter joined the Rifle Brigade, presumably as a volunteer, and was posted to France. Despite his obvious talents, his social position allowed him to rise no higher than sergeant.
1918 (October): Caudry, near Cambrai, was re-taken from the Germans; and Wimsey with Sergeant Bunter, now his batman, moved into the trenches there. Within a few weeks Wimsey was buried in a dug-out by shell fire, and Bunter was among those who rescued him.
1919 (January): Lord Peter had promised to take Bunter into service, and the ex-sergeant appeared at the ducal residence surprisingly quickly, in January 1919, only three months after the Armistice.
1920: To assist Wimsey's recovery, Bunter found a modern flat in Piccadilly, the heart of fashionable London. The Dowager Duchess later tells Harriet that Bunter knew the recovery was under way when Wimsey "demanded" a sausage at breakfast ("Busman's Honeymoon"). As well as having a "small apartment" for photography and chemistry ("Strong Poison") Bunter is paid £200 per year, a very good salary considering he has free board and lodging. When Wimsey later takes a job in an advertising agency ("Murder Must Advertise") his starting salary is also £200 per annum.
1921: Master and man become involved in their first investigation, which concerned the Attenbury Jewels. This case is mentioned several times, but never discussed or described until "The Attenbury Emeralds".
1921: "The Vindictive story of the Footsteps that Ran" (In "Lord Peter views the Body", short stories published 1928).) Bunter assists a doctor friend of Wimsey with his photographic skills, then helps to solve the murder. The doctor invites Bunter to join them at lunch; Bunter refuses. "Bunter likes me to know my place. Terrorisin' sort of man, Bunter", says Lord Peter.
1922/3: The first major investigation is recorded in "Whose Body?" (published 1923). Although playing a strong supporting part in the case, Bunter is also allowed to be a domestic tyrant:
'"Not in those trousers, my lord," said Mr Bunter, blocking the way to the door with deferential firmness.'
However, in this case the real relationship between Wimsey and Bunter is made clear, as are Bunter's sterling qualities as a servant and as an investigator. His superior standing with other servants is also displayed.
1922/3 (November): "Clouds of Witness" (published 1926). As Lord Peter is 33, the action takes place in 1922, possibly 1923. Bunter is on holiday with his master and has sacrificed his "civilized habits" to allow Wimsey to go unwashed and unshaven, and had photographed scenery instead of fingerprints. On their return Lord Peter would casually refer to Bunter having had "a regular affair with an inn-keeper's daughter" and remark "He's an awfully susceptible old beggar. You'd never think it, would you?". It is Bunter who sees the newspaper items referring to the Duke's arrest, and they return by air (booked by Bunter) to Yorkshire. He has useful conversations with the maid, and a young lady at an inn. Wimsey strays into a bog, and Bunter saves his life. Bunter attends the trial of the Duke in Westminster Hall, and produces the ducal garb when the Duke is acquitted.
c. 1923: "The Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers" (In "Lord Peter Views the Body" – short stories published 1928). Set in America where Bunter works in the background, undertaking necessary support work.
Sometime between 1923–1926 "The Entertaining Episode of the Article in Question" (In "Lord Peter views the Body" – short stories published 1928). Bunter takes photos of suspects in Paris using a small camera hidden in his breast pocket. On the boat back to England he develops the photos in the cabin. Wimsey begs to help and is given some crystals to dissolve in water – here follows an example of Bunter’s understated sarcasm:
"I say, Bunter, it's no end of a bore to dissolve."
"Yes, my lord", returned Bunter sedately, "I have always found that part of the process exceptionally tedious, my lord."
Lord Peter jabbed viciously with the glass rod.
"Just you wait", he said in a vindictive tone, "till we get to Waterloo".
Bunter helps to hold and disarm a female impersonator.
Sometime between 1923–1926: "The Fascinating Problem of Uncle Meleager’s Will" (In "Lord Peter views the Body" – short stories published 1928). Bunter helps Wimsey solve the crossword problem and find the missing will – "Bunter, I'd like to double your salary, but I suppose you'd take it as an insult."
Sometime between 1923–1926: "The Unprincipled affair of the Practical Joker" (In "Lord Peter views the Body" – short stories published 1928). Bunter stays at the hotel with Wimsey, but has no part in the story.
Sometime between 1923–1926: "The Learned Adventure of the Dragon’s Head" (In "Lord Peter views the Body" – short stories published 1928). Bunter assists in capturing burglars, but has no part in the finding of the treasure.
1927 "Unnatural Death" (published 1927) Bunter's photographic skills provide a vital clue to a double identity. He instructs Wimsey on how to dress as a newly married man, but remains the servant. Wimsey is relieved to find Bunter is human when he is given the slip by a lady he is tailing.
1928 "The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club" (Published 1928) Standard Bunter – the superb servant, advisor on Lord Peter's clothes, photographer at crime scenes. Curiously, Wimsey refers to Bunter simply as his NCO during the war, and says that he, Wimsey, looked up Bunter after the war. This was because Bunter's old master had been killed and his family broken up.
1929 "The Adventurous Exploit of the Cave of Ali Baba" (In "Lord Peter views the Body" – Short stories published 1928). Decoy will leaves £500 per annum to Bunter, plus the lease of the flat in Piccadilly, but Bunter does not appear in the story.
c. 1929 "In the Teeth of the Evidence" (Short story published 1939 in 'In the Teeth of the Evidence') Bunter does not appear.
c. 1929 "Absolutely Elsewhere" (Short story published 1939 in "In the Teeth of the Evidence") Bunter, the capable manservant, is heard on the telephone, helping to show how an alibi was faked.
1930 "Strong Poison" (published 1930) Harriet Vane is introduced, and Bunter has his part as the perfect servant. Bunter quickly realises that Lord Peter has fallen in love. Wimsey reassures him that he wishes him to remain nevertheless. He is called upon to make the acquaintance of a cook and a parlour maid. Wimsey says, "You have a good, impressive upstanding figure…a bold and roving eye when off duty." It is objected that Bunter looks like a deacon. "You've never seen Bunter off duty", replies Lord Peter somewhat mysteriously. Bunter's liaison with the domestic staff is a major help, and he is allowed to prove that the mysterious powder is arsenic.
1931 (early) "The Five Red Herrings" (published 1931) Bunter is suffering in a primitive Kirkcudbrightshire cottage, trying to maintain West End manners. He also picks up local gossip, and takes a local maid to the cinema – getting her to speak very indiscreetly about her employer's secrets and probably getting her sacked (though this is not specifically stated). He receives little mention, however, and, strangely, is not included in the complicated reconstruction of the crime. It is also strange that although this novel falls between "Strong Poison" and "Have His Carcase", which are the first and second Harriet Vane novels, Miss Vane is not mentioned at all.
1931 (Summer) "Have His Carcase" (published 1932) 18 June is noted as a Thursday, so this is 1931. Bunter appears very little and is largely eclipsed by Harriet. He continues, however to be the perfect servant:
"I wish to appear in my famous impersonation of the perfect Lounge Lizard – "imitation très difficile"."
"Very good, my lord. I suggest the fawn-coloured suit we do not care for, with the autumn leaf socks and our outsize cigarette holder."
"As you will Bunter ... we must stoop to conquer."
He also allowed to carry out a very difficult piece of surveillance.
Late 1931 "The Incredible Elopement of Lord Peter Wimsey" (in Hangman's Holiday, short stories published 1933). Wimsey travelling on train with "rigidly correct manservant", whom Lord Peter names when he asks Bunter to get the train staff to open up the "commissariat" and secure some food for Langley.
Early 1932 "The Queen's Square" (in Hangman's Holiday, short stories published 1933). At a country house Christmas party attended by Lord Peter, Bunter assists with the refreshments. However, after a murder, Bunter and Wimsey take a number of photographs which are developed in the cellar. It is Bunter's explanation of the effects of light at this point that enables Wimsey to solve the crime.
1932 "Murder Must Advertise" (published 1933). Wimsey is 42, hence it is 1932. There is only one obscure reference to Bunter, and none to Miss Vane directly, although at one point Wimsey has a date with the one "young woman who showed no signs of yielding to him, and what he did or said on that occasion is in no way related to this story". This ties in with references in "Gaudy Night", when Wimsey is mentioned as undertaking an investigation in an advertisement agency while Harriet Vane goes about her normal life.
1933 "The Nine Tailors" (published 1934). Bunter plays a large part in the events. He acts as the perfect valet and assistant investigator. The servant Emily upsets Bunter by wiping fingerprints from a beer bottle.
"You don’t look very merry, Bunter, but then you're one of those sphinx-like people. I've never seen you upset, except for that infernal beer-bottle."
"No, my lord. That hurt my pride very much."
When the village is flooded, Bunter acts as butler for the whole parish, and this includes his music-hall impressions.
1934–1935 "Gaudy Night" (published 1935). Set in Oxford: Bunter plays a very minor part: two-thirds of the way through he is allowed to use his camera and find a hairpin. Miss Vane is once again the centre of attention.
1935 "Busman's Honeymoon" (the last novel entirely by Sayers: published 1937, action 1935). Bunter prepares Wimsey and his nephew for the wedding and all three look splendid. He also takes part in the subterfuge which whisks the couple away from the reporters afterwards. He deals with the strange circumstances surrounding their unheralded arrival at Talboys and efficiently sets up the cleaning lady, her son, the gardener and various tradesmen to form a support group over which he presides as "de facto" butler. He also hires a number of animals to scare off reporters. It is the housekeeper that provokes his one real outburst when she washes the bottles of Cockburn '96 port (17 /- a bottle). There is one moment when Lord Peter realises how the crime was done, and Bunter is almost overwhelmed because his master turns to him, not his new wife, for help with the next difficult steps. However, Bunter and Harriet together help Lord Peter through the difficult time at the execution of the murderer.
October 1936 "The Haunted Policeman" (in "Striding Folly", short stories published 1973). Bunter does not appear in this story, which is very odd as it takes place at the moment when Lord Peter's first child is born in October 1936.
1936 "Thrones, Dominations" (Sayers notes expanded by Jill Paton Walsh, published 1998). After the honeymoon, Bunter is in service with Harriet and Peter in their London house with his brother Meredith as butler. Bunter is overjoyed to be called upon to assist in an investigation. He uses his camera at the scene of the crime and discovers the blocked sink; later he goes to France with Lord Peter on a diplomatic mission concerning the new king Edward VIII. Bunter marries professional photographer Hope Fanshaw. Bunter's mother attends, as does Lord Peter's Viennese opera singer. Bunter is revealed as very High Church. Mr and Mrs Bunter have a son, Peter Meredith, born December 1937.
1940 "A Presumption of Death" (Sayers with Jill Paton Walsh published 2002) Harriet moves with the children from London to Talboys at Paggleham, Hertfordshire. Bunter accompanies Lord Peter on secret missions into Europe for Military Intelligence while Wimsey's nephew Jerry is a fighter pilot. The Dowager Duchess says he cannot be in disguise as he has "English gentleman's personal gentleman" written all over him. He returns without Lord Peter and resumes service with Harriet. His wife, Hope, is working on aerial reconnaissance at Lopsley Manor; their son is with her parents in Evesham. Bunter attempts to rejoin the services, but is too old and instead takes a major part in organising the local Home Guard unit; he makes pellets for the shotguns which are all they have. Bunter makes himself quarters in the attic. After Lord Peter's return, he becomes involved in the death of a spy and, as ever, takes photographs, especially of fingerprints. He visits his son and in-laws in Evesham, and a friend in Gloucester. He deals in the country black market for the family.
1940/41 Mrs Bunter's studio is blitzed, so the Bunters rent a cottage in Paggleham near Talboys. "Thrones, Dominations" (Sayers notes expanded by Jill Paton Walsh published 1998).
1942 "Talboys" (in "Striding Folly" short stories published 1973 Action 1942) This story is oddly placed in the middle of the war, and Bunter is only mentioned as a servant: one who sleeps in the attic (see "A Presumption of Death"). As such, however, he is still "… your indispensable man …", and the last words of the story refer to "Bunter who knew everything without asking."


Education in Zimbabwe

Education in Zimbabwe is under the jurisdiction of the of Primary and Secondary Education for primary and secondary education and the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development for higher education. Both are regulated by the Cabinet of Zimbabwe. The education system in Zimbabwe encompasses 13 years of primary and secondary school and runs from January to December. The school year is a total of 40 weeks with three terms and a month break in-between each term.
In 1980, education was declared a basic human right by Robert Mugabe, the leader of the ZANU party, which changed the constitution to recognize primary and secondary public education as free and compulsory. One of Zimbabwe's Millennium Development Goals was to achieve universal education for all students; however, the goal was not achieved as of 2015 due to a public health crisis, economic downturn and inability to afford costs associated with education. The country is currently working toward the Sustainable Development Goal of providing universal and free education to all students by 2030. Zimbabwe had an adult literacy rate
of 88% in 2014.
Despite education being recognised as a basic human right in Zimbabwe, in 2017, the Zimbabwean Government did only 77.2% of what was possible at its income level to ensure that the right to education was being fulfilled, categorising the government's ability to fulfil this right as "bad". This data is collected by the Human Rights Measurement Initiative. The initiative also breaks down the right to education by calculating Primary and Secondary School Enrolment. Keeping Zimbabwe's income level in mind, Zimbabwe is doing only 61.9% of what should be possible at its income level for secondary school enrolment and 92.4 percent for primary school enrolment.
History.
Colonial government to 1980.
The British South Africa Company arrived in the 1890s to Rhodesia, the area now known as Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia. The Company administration of Rhodesia created Christian missionary schools to serve local communities. Missionary schools provided an education for the indigenous population that focused on agricultural production and industrial development including carpentry and building. N.J. Atkinson claims that in order to control the local population, the Company limited education and censored knowledge in schools. Furthermore, he argues that the eurocentric education system was a structural institution that reinforced the superiority of White settlers even though they were the minority of the population. Missionary schools perpetuated social and economic repression of the indigenous population by reducing their chances of earning well-paying jobs or positions of power. Rugare Mapako claims education to Africans offered limited academic and foundational skills in order to promote labor exploitation and indentured servitude. Limited access to a quality education kept Africans subordinate to White colonists in order to advance British political and economic gains.
Due to large investments in education by the Southern Rhodesian government prior to 1960, Europeans were disproportionately funded more for education than the majority African population because the Rhodesian government controlled access to quality schools based on race and ethnicity. Segregation of schools based on funding was most extreme in the 1970s because Europeans only represented a few per cent of Zimbabwe's population, but were allocated around 90% of government spending on education. Funding secondary school was also disproportionally offered to Europeans rather than Africans. In the 1970s, only 43.5% of African children attended school, while only 3.9% of these children enrolled in secondary school. In 1979, a new Zimbabwe-Rhodesia government called for an education reform that created a three-tier school system. The Education Act of 1979 regulated access to each type of school through a zoning system based on residency. Before the act, Zimbabwe's education system was divided between African and European schools. After the shift in policy and leadership the education system split into government schools, community schools and private schools. Government schools were also split into three divisions called Group A, B and C. White students historically attended Group A schools that offered highly trained teachers and a quality education. These schools were located in white suburbs that denied housing opportunities for Africans, reinforcing segregation based on ethnicity and race. Group B schools required a low-fee payment and C schools did not require a fee beyond educational materials. Both were only available for African students. Group B and C schools had less resources, funding and qualified faculty compared to Group A schools.
National education reform in 1980.
The Rhodesian Bush War from 1964-1979, a fifteen-year guerrilla war, catalysed the shift in power from British colonial rule to de jure sovereignty in 1980. The ZANU party, Zimbabwe African National Union, won the national election in 1980 and took over the historic White minority government in Rhodesia. The ZANU party democratised education by promising free and compulsory primary and secondary education to all children in Zimbabwe. The party's claims were backed by the national constitution, which recognises education as a basic human right. All primary school tuition fees were abolished after independence. Dr. Dzingai Mutumbuka was elected the Minister of Education to support Zimbabwe through another education reform and to keep students in school. His leadership changed the climate of the education system because the Ministry of Education focused on fostering self-sufficient students that are productive, motivated and dedicated citizens. The government allocated 17.3% of the total national budget toward education. This was politically considered an "education miracle" as cited by scholar Clayton Mackenzie. Ultimately, Zimbabwe's education system reform was to ensure equal access to education by providing primary and secondary education to all children.
1980s and 1990s.
Since independence, the government focused on providing equal and free education for all through the rapid expansion of education resources to keep up with the demand. Within one year, the education system nearly doubled the number of students it served from 885,801 students to 1,310,315 students in primary and secondary education. Exponential increases in the number of students attending school heightened the need for more infrastructure and teachers.
Teachers were in high demand immediately following Zimbabwe's independence. In the mid-1980s, thousands of refugee children from Mozambique emigrated to Zimbabwe, increasing the number of children attending public schools and demand for teachers. The Minister of Education brought in teachers from Australia, Britain and Canada for a short period of time to fill the teaching gaps. Schools expanded their human resources to serve as many children as possible with limited infrastructure by practicing "hot-seating," also known as double session schooling. "Hot-seating" is the practice of offering class in the morning to half of the students and in the afternoon to the other half. "Hot-seating" was still not enough to meet the demands of the population; therefore, the Ministry of Education expanded teacher education colleges rapidly by providing "on-the-spot" teacher training. In 1986, 8,000 additional teachers were trained to meet national demands.
Communities also rapidly built more infrastructure for education. For example, from 1979-1984, the number of primary schools in operation increased by 73.3% and the number of secondary schools increased by 537.8%. Despite the challenges following the magnitude of students to educate, Zimbabwe claimed to achieve universal primary education by the end of the 1980s. By the 1990s, primary schooling was nearly universal and over half the population had completed secondary education.
UNICEF claims that the country's education system was once the most developed on the continent, although the system continues to suffer from a contemporary decline in public funding linked to hyperinflation and economic mismanagement. A decrease in GDP by 40% from 2000-2008 marked a period of economic downturn in the first decade of the twenty-first century. Social expenditures on health and education also decreased by more than half.
By the end of 2008, most schools and hospitals were shut down due to thousands of teachers leaving the profession, an economic crisis, an increase in HIV and AIDS, and an outbreak of cholera in 2008 leading to a national epidemic. UNICEF asserted that 94 percent of rural schools, serving the majority of the population, closed in 2009. During this period of time UNICEF also claimed that attendance rates plummeted from over 80% to 20%. The economy regained momentum after 2009 once the Government of National Unity was formed. This is an inclusionary government developed to resolve national challenges. The Government of National Unity suspended the Zimbabwe currency to implement full dollarization, reducing hyperinflation and increasing social expenditures.
Zimbabwe's focus on expanding education opportunities for the past 25 years has led to national accomplishments including achieving the highest literacy rate in Africa at 91% from ages 15 to 24. As of 2014, 3,120,000 students were enrolled in primary and secondary education and 76% of these students were enrolled in primary education.
Governance after independence.
Non-discriminatory policies.
After nearly a century of British colonial rule, the Zimbabwe African National Union took over Zimbabwe and formed an independent country in 1980. The newly formed government created free and compulsory primary and secondary education, valuing education as a fundamental right. This fundamental right was clearly articulated in the Education Act of 1987. The act also abolished all methods of discrimination from the Education Act of 1979.
The Education Act of 1996 and the Disabled Persons Act of 1996 furthered nondiscriminatory policy by requiring that "all students, regardless of race, religion, gender, creed, and disability, have access to basic or primary education (up to Grade 7)." These nondiscrimination provisions expanded the right to education in Zimbabwe for all students, including students with disabilities.
Decentralization of authority.
The Education Act of 2006 established School Development Committees. These committees are overseen and established by the School Parents Assembly for parents and guardians of school-going children to participate in the development of Zimbabwe's schools. According to the government's Statutory Instrument 87 of 1992, the purpose of School Development Committees is to:
School Development Committees have many functions to control the quality of the school system. Their powers include the recruitment and dismissal of teachers, the preservation of facilities and the act of borrowing money and applying for grants. These committees also decentralized the education system by enabling parents to elect five other parents to lead a school. The decentralization of schools combats the highly centralized structure of the government in hopes to assist the operation and development of education.
Education ministries.
In 2013, the government created the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture to foster social cohesion, economic empowerment and educational development in primary and secondary schools. The Minister of the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture was Andrew Langa until President Mugabe fired Langa in September 2015. Langa was replaced by Makhosini Hlongwan and the ministry's name changed to Ministry of Sports and Recreation as of 2015.
Currently, government primary and secondary schools are run by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MoPSE) and non-government schools are run by local authorities including churches and non-profit organizations. The Minister of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is Lazarus Dokora as of 2015. The Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development (MoHTES&TD) oversees public and private universities and technical and teacher education. The Minister of the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development is Jonathan Moyo.
Education stages.
"A list of early, primary, secondary and tertiary schools and providers can be found at Zimbabwe's online school directory."
Early education.
Preschools are directed by the Early Childhood Development (ECD) system under the Ministry of Primary and Second Education. Early childhood education is offered for children from the ages of three to five through the ECD. According to United Nations and the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality, Zimbabwe is prioritizing and expanding Early Childhood Development by offering early childhood education at primary schools. These programs are currently available in mostly urban areas and can be owned by the government, organizations or individuals. In fact, 98 percent of primary schools have ECD centers for ages four to five and 60 percent of primary schools have ECD centers for ages three to four with trained teachers.
Primary education.
Zimbabwe's education system mandates seven years of primary school, encompassing Grades 1 to 7. Urban primary schools teach in English. Rural primary schools teach students in their local native language, typically in Shona or Ndebele, then transition to English by Grade 3. Student to teacher ratios are typically from 30 to 50 students per teacher; however, this varies based on location, the country's economic state and yearly budget for education. The curriculum in primary schools encompasses Language, Art, Contents and Math. Based on the Education Secretary's Policy Circular No. 12 in 1987, "the minimum expected educational outcome for all students is functional literacy and numeracy by the end of primary school."
At the end of Grade 7, students take a national examination in Mathematics, English, Shona or Ndebele and the General Paper covering Social Sciences, Environmental Science and Religious Education. Zimbabwe's government system requires education for all, but this examination can determine the type of secondary school students can attend based on the school's criteria. Private or religious schools typically have performance requirements, but many rural public schools allow "mass admission" regardless of performance on the examination.
Secondary education.
Secondary education is not funded by the government and students can attend private boarding schools, government boarding school or day school, all with an enrollment fee. Secondary education is made up of two cycles, the General Certificate of Education, or Ordinary Level, for four years and the General Certificate of Education Advanced Level, or Advanced Level, for two years. This structure was adopted from the British system of education.
Students take classes in Mathematics, English, Science, Shona or Ndebele, Geography, and History. The Ordinary Level Certificate Examination is taken after four years in Form 4 and expects students to pass a minimum of five subjects including Science, English, Mathematics, History and a practical subject like woodwork or agriculture. This examination is ranked on a letter scale and can determine student achievement, selection for "A-Level" schools and employment status.
Students have the option to enroll in A-Level secondary education or can attend teacher training, technical, agricultural, polytechnic and nursing colleges. If a student chooses to enroll in A-Level education, they must take the Advanced Level Certificate Examination after a total of six years of secondary education administered by the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council. The "A-Level" examination is required for entry to universities in Zimbabwe.
Tertiary education.
The tertiary sector of education is operated by the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education which includes universities, technical, polytechnic and teacher training colleges and various vocational training centers. Tertiary education was first introduced to Zimbabwe in 1957 by the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, now known as the University of Zimbabwe. The nation's independency in 1980 expanded the University of Zimbabwe's enrollment from 2,240 to 9,017 by 1990. The National Council for Higher Education was established in 1990 as a measure of quality insurance of higher education in Zimbabwe. Increasing access to education in recent decades has increased the number of higher level institutions in the country. For example, eight more universities were established between 1999 and 2005. The Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education (ZIMCHE) was formed in 2006 as another measure to guarantee quality and accreditation for university education. As of 2012, there were fifteen registered universities (nine public and five private), fifteen teachers' colleges, eight polytechnics and two industrial training colleges.
Recent factors affecting education in Zimbabwe.
Access to a quality education.
Despite the initiative during independence to rapidly expand education opportunities, the demand for education was still greater than the supply. Education quality was hindered by teacher shortages, infrastructural pressure and economic crisis in the past decade. UNICEF claims that only a third of schools are considered to be in "good condition." Schools also face capacity challenges, including double session schooling, or "hot seating," and overcrowded classrooms. "Hot seating" means that half of students attend school in the morning and the second half attends school in the afternoon. These methods enable more students to attend school, but quality declines because students are given less attention and time to learn. Quality of education is also impacted by the lack of trained teachers in secondary schools. A majority of teaching colleges in Zimbabwe are for primary education training, leaving less opportunity to meet the demand of trained secondary school teachers. Teacher shortages surge is rural areas more than urban areas due to unfavorable working conditions and low compensation. Many teachers in rural areas lack training due to the high demand for labor and less concern for quality. Not only are teachers under compensated, but teaching materials are also allocated less than one percent of the federal budget for education.
Funding.
Zimbabwe's education reform in 1980 aspired to provide free and universal education to all children through the Zimbabwe Education Act; however, tuition fees and education costs have accumulated over time. Many families pay for tuition, even if it is a small fee at public government schools. Families that do not pay for tuition due to education subsidies are still required to pay additional fees including building fees, transportation costs, exam fees, uniforms and stationery for their children. Education is not completely free in Zimbabwe due to historical government expenditures focusing on infrastructure for education and recent years of global economic crisis. Programs like the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) have developed to prevent orphans and vulnerable children from dropping out of primary school due to the expenses. BEAM pays for tuition and other basic fees, but only serves less than half of the target population. As of 2014, only 10 percent of pupils ages 15 to 24 have not completed primary education which can be attributed to the cost of education.
Students with disabilities.
It is estimated that over 300,000 school-aged children in Zimbabwe have a disability. There is a current push for inclusionary schools in order to provide quality education for students with physical and mental disabilities. Inclusionary schools involve "identification and minimization or elimination of barriers to students’ participation in traditional settings (i.e., schools, homes, communities, and workplaces) and the maximization of resources to support learning and participation." Nondiscriminatory laws, including the Education Act of 1996 and the Disabled Persons Act of 1996, neither catalyze inclusive education for schools in Zimbabwe nor protect students experiencing disability from discrimination in high school.
Most schools perform "unplanned or de facto inclusion" by keeping students with disabilities in classrooms with all other students and teaching them the same curriculum without documentation of their specific disability. Teachers and schools are not equipped to educate and account for students with disabilities; therefore, most drop out by third grade. Schools are finding alternative ways of performing inclusionary education on an individual basis, but there is still a lack of standardization and quality, especially for rural schools. Researcher Regis Chireshe claims inclusionary education needs legislative and policy support, more quality inclusionary education training for teachers and inclusionary education campaigns to improve the stigma associated with people experiencing disabilities. The government has recently expanded the Schools Psychological Services and Special Needs Education Division to better serve students experiencing disabilities in school.
Gender differences.
Although education is accepted as a fundamental right by the constitution, gender disparities in education still exist. Gender differences are less predominant in primary education than they are in secondary education. The United Nations Zimbabwe claims in 2009, 85 percent of females, compared to 80 percent of males, completed primary school. As of 2010, 48.8 percent of females achieved secondary education or higher, while 62 percent of males achieved secondary education or higher.
Females are increasingly more likely to drop out than their male peers in secondary school due to early marriages, cost of continuing education and gender-based violence in secondary schools. Females are considered a source of income through marriage and families are more likely to educate their sons to increase their earning potential. A lack of education for females correlates with developmental risks including adolescent pregnancy, HIV and AIDs, poor health and poverty. In times of economic hardship, resources for education are allocated to males more than females due to labor roles, social values and gender expectations. However, reports from the UN Children's Fund claim that Zimbabwe's gender gap in education is smaller than many other African countries.
Textbooks are a method to analyzing gender relations and roles in Zimbabwe's curriculum based on the research of Gudhlanga et al. Gudhlanga et al. claims that gender stereotyping is prevalent in textbooks as males are used to describe scientific or technical fields, leadership positions and jobs rather than females. The study by Gudhlanga et al. found that active and productive roles are more commonly held by males in textbooks, while female roles in textbooks are passive and dependent. In addition, the study found that English language textbooks are written from male perspectives and leave out important female leaders and perspectives in history.
Teachers.
Thousands of Zimbabwean teachers have gone on strikes, joined teacher unions and left the profession in recent years over low salaries, poor working conditions, political victimization and violence. Teacher unions including the Progressive Teacher's Union of Zimbabwe organize strikes to catalyze salary negotiations and better working conditions. In the first decade of the 21st century, 45,000 out of 100,000 teachers in the country left the profession.
Marked by a time period of hyperinflation, teachers were one of the lowest paid professions in the 2000s, receiving the equivalence of $10 US dollars for every three months of teaching. Their salaries in 2009 were as low as one US dollar for every month of teaching with grocery vouchers worth $100 USD per month. Thousands of teachers protested, left public education and migrated to other countries in response to the economic crisis.[14] During a year-long strike from 2008 to 2009, teachers demanded higher salaries paid in international currency. This strike led to nearly 94 percent of all rural schools closing and school attendance rates fell from 80 percent to 20 percent.
Many teachers joined the informal economy, or black sector, during the economic crisis. They participated in cross-border trading with Botswana and South Africa because civil servants were not required to have visas at the time. Teachers would use their off time during the year to hoard goods from other country and resell them in Zimbabwe to earn a livable living that their teaching salaries did not satisfy.
In 2009, the national economy stabilized because of the actions taken by the newly established Government of National Unity (GNU). The GNU enacted the dollarization of the national economy which curved the effects of hyperinflation and the informal economy. The GNU also allocated every civil servant, including teachers, the equivalent of $100 US dollars. Teachers were encouraged to reenter the profession and move back to Zimbabwe, but thousands never returned and found higher paying positions elsewhere.
Today, the United Nations of Zimbabwe claims that thousands of teachers are unmotivated due to low salaries, limited resources, pressure, political harassment and the shortage of teachers. Researchers Regis Chireshe and Almon Shumba assert that teachers believe their teacher training did not prepare them for the classroom or to teach special education. The researchers also believe that teachers will continue to threaten or actually strike in the future unless their needs are better addressed by the government.
Textbooks.
In 2009, the Educational Transition Fund (ETF) was launched to improve the quality of education by distributing education materials. The ETF partnered with UNICEF and encouraged private donations. Accumulation and distribution of textbooks has been the focus of ETF in recent years. In 2008, The National Education Advisory Board states that 20 percent of students did not have textbooks for core subjects and the student to textbook ratio was 10:1. Thousands of textbooks have been donated in the past few years along with additional learning materials. UNICEF currently reports that the student to textbook ratio is now 1:1 because of international aid from the ETF.
2017 AND THE NEW CURRICULUM
Dr Lazarus Dokora, the current Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, has overseen the implementation of a new curriculum which is designed to create a new student totally different from the pre2017 students. This curriculum is focused more on raising heritage awareness and creating employers rather than employees. However, the success of this move is hovering on dark waters because of the present melting economy. It has been affected by intense resource shortage in terms of books and IT.