Countryside La Vie Magazine

Enoch has made ‘em, and Enoch shall break ‘em”, was the rallying cry that rang out amongst textile workers through Yorkshire and Lancashire as the Luddite movement commenced their campaign against the introduction of power looms which threatened their livelihood. The phrase was apparently a reference to a Heartshead Moor blacksmith who made famously enormous sledgehammers as well as the frames of the power looms. There was thus a certain degree of irony in the call to action to destroy machinery which witnessed many killings, executions, damage, woundings and loss of business in the riots that occurred between 1810 and 1816

But how did the Luddites get their name and what was the history surrounding their mythical leader? To answer this question it is necessary to move a little further back in time and travel some 100 miles south to Nottingham and Leicestershire where the Luddite story really starts.

It was in 1811 that stocking manufacturers in Nottingham began to receive threatening letters concerning their use of new equipment which turned out inferior quality, but inexpensive stockings. The letters were sign by “General Ned Ludd and his Army of Redressers”; a sinecure for the workers so annoyed by looms driven by machinery and operated with unskilled labour. Ned Ludd probably didn’t exist, but there is evidence of a farm labourer of that name who destroyed some very early stocking making machinery back in 1782. By the 1800’s, the legend had already grown up that he was a Nottingham youth who lived in Sherwood Forest and his fame was elevated amongst many to that of a latter-day Robin Hood. Be it noted, however, that Anstey claims him as their own.

Whatever the truth, the actions of the Luddites across a broad swath of the north of England, driven not just by the introduction of machinery but by starvation, and dramatic changes in working practices, had a profound effect and necessitated Government action which today would be described as draconian.

So how did the Nottingham / Loughborough Luddites fare in these troubled times, and what circumstances within their industry of lace-making drove them to commit crimes that could and did result in hangings and transportation as well as acts of heroism in the face of adversity?

To better understand this it is constructive to gain a little appreciation of the state of the country at the time which was decidedly not good. The 1775-83 war with the then embryonic United States did nothing to improve matters and the lot of the British worker fell to low levels. The Napoleonic wars from 1793, which rumbled on for half a generation, then had a devastating effect on the lives of ordinary people and the 1812 -1815 war with the USA added nothing but misery. Business and trade were in chaos, food and other basic necessities were in short supply and employment was, at best, hit-and-miss. Money for the average working class family was short, and starvation loomed menacingly just over the horizon in many areas of the north and east midlands. Employment opportunities were so bad that thousands had to apply for parochial relief and then to add to the misery, several almost consecutive poor harvests between 1799 and 1811 witnessed the cost of basic food tripling in price. Some idea of the levels of deprivation can be gained from a study of some of the sparse statistics available. In just three south Nottinghamshire parishes in 1812, over 13,300 people applied for relief from the “Overseers of the Poor”. Starvation was now a very real adversary.

Lord Byron’s speech in the House of Lords early in 1812 paints a clear picture of the appalling conditions experienced by working families in the lace making areas. He commented, “These people are not ashamed to beg, but there are none to relieve them. Whilst these, (Luddite) outrages must be admitted to exist to an alarming extent, it cannot be denied that they have arisen from circumstances of the most unparalleled distress. Their own means of subsistence have been cut off and all other employment is taken. The perseverance of these miserable men in their proceedings tends to prove that nothing but absolute want could have driven a large, and once honest and industrious body of people into the commission of excesses so hazardous to themselves, their families and the community.”

By today’s standards this is indeed a flowery speech, but the message is clear, Byron understood that desperate people will resort to desperate measures because no others are available to them.

Against this appalling background, and after 800 years as a successful market town serving the Charnwood Forest and villages along the River Soar valley, Loughborough was, by the 18-hundreds on the way to becoming an industrial town. Worsted hosiery had already become a major industry and mohair spinning, using the then new power machinery, was established. As the century turned, machine lace-making came to the town, just in time to attract the attentions of the Luddites.

In such a short feature as this it is impossible to cover all the twists and turns of a situation which witnessed riots, assault, machinery breaking and cavalry charges to disperse unlawful assemblies. The circumstances of John Heathcoat and his lace-making business, however, serve to provide us with an insight into these troubled times and the experiences of the Loughborough Luddites themselves.

Continue reading ‘The Loughborough Luddites’

Born in 1905 in the town of Lawrence Massachusetts, Thelma Todd was a popular actress of the late 1920s and 1930s. As a child she was so academically inclined, that she decided to become a school teacher and after high school went on to college. However, at her mothers instance, she entered several beauty contests. Apparently her mother wanted her to be more than a school marm.

As Thelma was so successful in the beauty contests, she entered on state level and won the title of Miss Massachusetts in 1925. She progressed to the Miss America pageant and although she didn´t win she was spotted by talent scouts who were looking for a new beauty to showcase on film.

She began appearing in movie shorts which were like the television programmes of today. These one reelers proved very advantageous for Thelma as they helped to develop her talent for the big screen. At the age of 21 she made her first film for Paramount which was a romantic comedy called Fascinating Youth. After receiving minor billing in another film that year, in 1927 she starred with Gary Cooper and William Powell in the western Nevada. That year also saw her in 3 more films.

As the twenties wore on, Thelma starred in more films, ranging from comedies to dramas, gothic and horror flicks. As sound came into vogue, Thelma certainly had reason to celebrate, for she was one of the lucky ones to have their film careers continue after the silent era ended. While other actors voices did not lend themselves to the microphone, Thelmas did.

Appearing in over 40 movies between 1926 and 1935, she is best remembered for her comedic roles in films like the Marx Bros movies, Monkey Business and Horse Feathers.

An excellent business woman she also opened a restaurant, Thelma Todd´s Sidewalk Café and took up residence in a luxurious apartment over the café. Located near the ocean on the Roosevelt Highway at Catellammar it soon became a popular place for showbusiness people. It was rumoured that Thelma had become involved with men of questionable character who frequented the restaurant.

Well liked by colleagues, Thelma liked to party, and it was after a late-night soiree that she met her untimely end. Her body was found slumped over the steering wheel of her car, in a locked garage, where she apparently died of carbon monoxide poisoning. But was it suicide or murder?

The autopsy report found Thelma´s blood ´to contain 75 to 80% carbon monoxide saturation´. On examining her brain tissue it was found that there was only 0.13 per cent ethanol, which suggested that she was not very intoxicated.

Spots of blood were found both on and in the car, and on Thelma´s mouth, leading to the theory that she might have been knocked out, then placed in the car by a person or persons unknown. Additionally, an unidentified, smudged handprint was found on the door of her car.

After driving Thelma home after a party at approximately 3.15 in the morning, her chauffeur Ernest Peters offered to walk Thelma up to her door from the highway. Thelma had been silent the entire trip home and moodily replied, ´No never mind. Not tonight.´ It was at least 300 feet uphill and she never walked it alone as she was prone to fainting spells.

Thelma had lived with ex-film director/producer Roland West. At the inquest West´s testimony was shaky. This coupled with the ambiguity of their relationship, he immediately became a suspect. He told the Coroner´s Jury that he slept in a separate room with a sliding door. When asked if he was an ´intimate friend´ he only admitted to being Thelma´s business partner. West had known Thelma for four years and had put up the property and high quality restaurant

equipment to get the café up and running. Ironically, he´d bolted the one outside door that Thelma had the key to for that night, which would have let her into the upper living area above the café.

Could she have committed suicide after being further depressed by not getting into her own home? The keys were always left in the ignitions of both cars. However, she had been locked out before, and she´d broken a window and awakened a sleeping West.

It had been cold on the night in question. Did Thelma knock on the door, then march up to the garage, start the engine to drive to her mother´s 10 minutes away and then fall asleep? LAPD Captain Bruce Clark was the first detective on the scene and told the inquest that there were no signs of a struggle and no bruises. At the same time there was no note and no motive for suicide.

Thelma´s attorney believed the underworld was responsible and requested a second inquest. His theory was that mobster Lucky Luciano proposed that Thelma convert her cafe into a secret gambling parlour, and when she refused, Luciano unleashed his vengeance. The second inquest request was declined.

Could jealousy as a spurned lover have been a motivational factor for West? Certainly his testimony was very contradictive. He said at around 3.30a.m. he heard running water in Thelma´s bathroom, but did not find her in her room later in the morning. He later revised his statement and claimed that he was told that the water noise ´could have been the carbonator that pumps water into the fountain,´ downstairs in the cafe.

Finally there was a supernatural twist on this complex tragedy when a friend of Thelma´s, Mrs Wallace Ford, claimed she received a call from Thelma on Sunday afternoon, around 4.30pm. Thelma had already been invited to a large party that had begun at 3pm. Thelma asked if she could bring along a guest. Wallace inquired if the guest was a girlfriend. The fun loving Thelma would not reveal any more than the guest was male: ´I want to have the fun of seeing your face when I come through the door.´

Thelma never arrived because, according to the Coroner´s Surgeon, she was dead between 4 and 5 that morning. Even more curious, LAPD officer A. Kallmeyer, in his appearance at the Inquest, told those assembled that the phone records from Thelma´s home revealed no calls to Wallace Ford that day.

In the end, the Grand Jury ruled her death as suicide. Speculation continues as to the cause of the tragedy. Was she murdered on orders of her alleged boyfriend, gangster Lucky Luciano? Other accounts by knowledgeable survivors of the period said that Roland West locked her in the garage to keep her from going out again, or to punish her, and the resulting death was accidental. Either way, a beautiful screen presence became one of Hollywood´s unsolved mysteries. What really happened to Thelma Todd on that December morning in 1935?

Easton Drive, Benedict Canyon is arguably one of the most disturbing hauntings in South California. This beautiful beach house is a Bavarian style mansion, with wooden carvings of various silent screen stars such as Pickford, Fairbanks and Valentino. In the late 20’s and early 30’s the house was owned by the movie star Jean Harlow and her husband MGM producer Paul Bern. However, this was a very stormy relationship and after only 6 weeks of marriage, Bern was found dead with a bullet hole in the brain. The coroners verdict was suicide, but this was suspect and for many crime buffs numerous questions remained unanswered. Some people claim that the mansion was jinxed because of Bern’s death. Two other people also died there, drowning in the swimming pool. One man who didn’t believe in jinxes was Jay Sebring. He was a popular hairdresser to the stars who bought the house in 1963.

He shrugged off the idea that the house was cursed’, though perhaps he shouldn’t have. Jay met and fell in love with a young 20 year old actress called Sharon Tate. In 1969, Sharon would fall victim to one of the most savage slayings in the history of Hollywood. But three years before she was brutally murdered at the hands of the Charles Manson family’, she glimpsed a ghostly image of the horrific fate that awaited her. Could the glimpse into the future have been provided by the phantom of Paul Bern? Sharon and Jay dated for 3 years and even announced their engagement, but in 1966 Sharon broke off the engagement for her soon to be husband Roman Polanski. Jay accepted this and considered Sharon and Roman his family and Jay and Sharon stayed very good friends, up to their murders at the hands of the Manson family. In 1966 just before Sharon fell for Roman, she was spending the night alone in Jay’s mansion.

Trying to sleep in Jay’s master bedroom, she was overwhelmed with an uneasy feeling of a strong presence. Jumping at every noise, she lay on the bed with the lights on. Suddenly, an apparition of a creepy little man’ scuttled into the bedroom. She immediately recognised the ghost to be Paul Bern, who was so intent on his mission of wandering around the room to find some unknown thing. Putting on her robe Sharon hurried out of the bedroom. What happened next was especially chilling in light of events to come. Sharon started down the stairs, but halfway down them she froze in shock. Tied to the staircase posts at the bottom of the steps she saw a figure. It was unclear if it was a man or a woman, but she could clearly see that the figure’s throat had been cut. The apparition then vanished. Sharon was very shaken and went into the living room to pour herself a drink, but couldn’t find where Jay kept the alcohol.

She felt an inexplicable urge to press on a section of the bookcase which opened to reveal a hidden bar. Without thinking she tore away a piece of wallpaper at the base of the bar as she nervously poured herself a drink. The next morning she was convinced the whole episode had been a terrible nightmare…… until she saw the wallpaper that had been torn way from the bar. She had indeed seen Paul Bern and at that time, had unknowingly seen a vision of her fate. In 1969, after she married Roman, and was almost 9 months pregnant, she, Jay and two others were staying at Sharon and Roman’s mansion on Cielo Drive. Roman was away directing a film at the time. The Manson family invaded the home, Jay died trying to defend Sharon, who suffered a ghastly death, just like the vision she experienced on the stairs that night at Jay’s home.