Greenock

Sunday, 30 December 2012

Paddle Steamer Waverley / Greenock - Millport / 26/07/12

Watson's MMA@Kickback Greenock Training Video

HM Queen Elizabeth II in Greenock Battery Park July 4th 2012

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Algeciras
Algeciras (Spanish pronunciation: [alxeˈθiɾas]) is a port city in the south of Spain, and is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar (in Spanish, the Bahía de Algeciras). Port of Algeciras is one of the largest ports in Europe and in the world in three categories: container, cargo and transhipment. It is situated 20 km north-east of Tarifa on the Río de la Miel, which is the southernmost river of the Iberian peninsula and continental Europe. It has a population in 2009 of 116,209 people.
It is the biggest city among its metropolitan area, that also includes the municipalities of Los Barrios, La Línea de la Concepción, Castellar de la Frontera, Jimena de la Frontera, San Roque and Tarifa, with a population of 263,739.
The site of Roman cities called Portus Albus, Caetaria (current Getares) and Iuliua Tracta, the current name of Algeciras comes from the Arab period of the Iberian Peninsula: AlJazīra AlKhadrā' Arabic الجزيرة الخضراء or Green Island.
The area of the city has been populated since prehistory, and the earliest remains belong to Neanderthal populations from the Paleolithic.

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Americas
The Americas, or America, are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World.
In the English language, the Americas refers to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, whereas America, in current usage, usually refers to the United States of America.
The Americas cover 8.3% of the Earth's total surface area (28.4% of its land area) and contain about 13.5% of the human population (about 900 million people).
The specifics of Paleo-Indian migration to and throughout the Americas, including the exact dates and routes traveled, are subject to ongoing research and discussion. The traditional theory has been that these early migrants moved into the Beringia land bridge between eastern Siberia and present-day Alaska around 40,000–17,000 years ago, when sea levels were significantly lowered due to the Quaternary glaciation. These people are believed to have followed herds of now-extinct pleistocene megafauna along ice-free corridors that stretched between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets. Another route proposed is that, either on foot or using primitive boats, they migrated down the Pacific Northwest coast to South America. Evidence of the latter would since have been covered by a sea level rise of hundreds of meters following the last ice age.

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Ayrshire
Ayrshire (Scots: Coontie o Ayrshire; Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, pronounced [ʃirˠəxk iɲiˈɾʲaːɾʲ]) is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the last seven years^[when?] and eight times in total. Approximately 200,000 visitors came to Troon during the 2004 Open.^{[citation needed]} It was the members of Prestwick Golf Club who first created the British Open Championship in 1860 with the club hosting the event twenty-four times up until 1925.
Ayrshire, under the name the County of Ayr, is a registration county. The electoral and valuation area named Ayrshire covers the three council areas of South Ayrshire, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire, therefore including the Isle of Arran, Great Cumbrae and Little Cumbrae. The three islands were part of the County of Bute until 1975 and are not always included when the term Ayrshire is applied to the region. The same area is known as Ayrshire and Arran in other contexts.

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Belfast
Coordinates: 54°35′49″N 5°55′48″W / 54.597°N 5.930°W / 54.597; -5.930
Belfast (from Irish: Béal Feirste, meaning "mouth of the shoal") is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the fourteenth largest city in the United Kingdom and second largest on the island of Ireland. It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly. The city of Belfast has a population of 267,500 and lies at the heart of the Belfast urban area, which has a population of 579,276. The Larger Urban Zone, as defined by the European Union, has a total population 641,638. Belfast was granted city status in 1888.
Historically, Belfast has been a centre for the Irish linen industry (earning the nickname "Linenopolis"), tobacco production, rope-making and shipbuilding: the city's main shipbuilders, Harland and Wolff, which built the well-known RMS Titanic, propelled Belfast on to the global stage in the early 20th century as the biggest and most productive shipyard in the world. Belfast played a key role in the Industrial Revolution, establishing its place as a global industrial centre until the latter half of the 20th century. Industrialisation and the inward migration it brought made Belfast, if briefly, the biggest city in Ireland at the turn of the 20th century and the city's industrial and economic success was cited by Ulster unionist opponents of Home Rule as a reason why Ireland should shun devolution and later why Ulster in particular would fight to resist it.

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Buchanan bus station
Buchanan Bus Station is the main bus terminus in Glasgow, Scotland.
The bus station is the terminus for journeys between the city and other towns in United Kingdom and international journeys. It was originally built in 1977, close to the former site of Buchanan Street railway station which was closed in the 1960s by the Beeching Axe. The construction of the station realigned the intersection between Parliamentary Road and Sauchiehall Street, the former being renamed as Killermont Street, which runs along the southern edge of the station.
It is operated by the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, who inherited it from their predecessor agency, Strathclyde Passenger Transport, who in turn acquired it from Scottish Citylink in 1993. This development saw the consolidation of all bus services in Glasgow to the station, with all routes transferred from the Anderston Centre terminus, which was subsequently closed.
It is the biggest bus station in Scotland,^{[citation needed]} with around 1,700 bus journeys departing from the station every day, with over 40,000 passengers using these journeys on a daily basis. It is within walking distance of Glasgow Queen Street railway station and Cowcaddens and Buchanan Street subway stations. There is a bus link serving the bus station, Queen Street and Central stations.

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Campbeltown
Coordinates: 55°25′23″N 5°36′29″W / 55.423°N 5.608°W / 55.423; -5.608
Campbeltown (ⁱ/ˈkæmbəltən/; Scottish Gaelic: Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain or Ceann Locha) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre peninsula. Originally known as Kinlochkilkerran (an anglicization of the Gaelic, which means "head of the loch by the kirk of Ciarán"), it was renamed in the 17th century as Campbell's Town after Archibald Campbell (Earl of Argyle) was granted the site in 1667. Campbeltown became an important centre for shipbuilding and Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing port.
Campbeltown is one of the handful of areas in Scotland categorised as a distinct whisky producing region, and is home to the Campbeltown Single Malts. At one point it had 34 distilleries and proclaimed itself "the whisky capital of the world". However, a focus on quantity rather than quality, and the combination of prohibition and the Great Depression in the United States, led to most distilleries going out of business. Today only three active distilleries remain in Campbeltown: Glen Scotia, Glengyle, and Springbank.

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Cappielow
Cappielow is a district of Greenock in Inverclyde, west central Scotland. It is home to Scottish First Division side Greenock Morton F.C. The name Cappielow, taken alone, usually refers to the Cappielow Park stadium, but it can also refer to a small area of housing or the adjoining industrial estate.
Cappielow's etymology is supposedly of Scandinavian origin, although details of this are sketchy. It has been home to Greenock Morton F.C. since 1879. Cappielow hosted a Scotland v Wales match in the 1902 British Home Championship and was used for other events, including public lectures, track cycling and athletics, in its early history. The record attendance of 23,500 was for a league-deciding match against Celtic in 1922. This match ended in a riot, however, which caused damage to Cappielow and the surrounding area. Floodlights were first used at Cappielow for a league match against Third Lanark in 1958.
Cappielow presently has a capacity of 11,100, with 5,741 of these being seated. The area behind the western goal is known as the Wee Dublin end, which contains non-backed bench seating. This was converted from the old terracing in 1978, when Morton were promoted to the Premier Division. It is known as the Wee Dublin end because the Irish immigrant population of Greenock was once housed behind that stand. The main stand, built in 1931, contains plastic bucket seating that replaced the wooden benches that were a fixture of the ground until the late 1990s. The Cowshed lies to the north of the pitch; formerly a fully terraced area for both home and away supporters (complete with segregation fence down the middle), it is now for home supporters only, with much of the frontal terracing removed, and plastic bucket seats occupying its place. Behind the eastern goal is the "Sinclair Street" end, with uncovered terracing.

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Caribbean
The Caribbean (pronounced /ˌkærɨˈbiːən/ or /kəˈrɪbiən/) is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles (3,200 km) long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north. From the peninsula of Florida on the mainland of the United States, the islands stretch 1,200 miles (1,900 km) southeastward, then 500 miles (800 km) south, then west along the north coast of Venezuela on the South American mainland.
Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the region comprises more than 7,000 islands, islets, reefs, and cays. These islands generally form island arcs that delineate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea.
The Caribbean islands are part of the somewhat larger West Indies grouping, which consists of the Greater Antilles on the north, the Lesser Antilles on the south and east (including the Leeward Antilles), as well as the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands (the Lucayan Archipelago, which does not border the Caribbean Sea). Due to its proximity to the equator, the sun rises from 3am EST to 5am EST.^{[citation needed]}

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Central Lowlands
Coordinates: 56°24′29″N 4°02′38″W / 56.408°N 4.044°W / 56.408; -4.044
The Central Lowlands or Midland Valley is a geologically defined area of relatively low-lying land in southern Scotland. It consists of a rift valley between the Highland Boundary Fault to the north and the Southern Uplands Fault to the south. The Central Lowlands are one of the three main geographical sub-divisions of Scotland, the other two being the Highlands and Islands which lie to the north, northwest and the Southern Uplands, which lie south of the associated second fault line.
The Highland Boundary Fault, runs from Lochranza on the Isle of Arran in the south and west through the Isle of Bute and Helensburgh, then forms the northern boundary of Strathmore before reaching Stonehaven in the north east. The fault was active during the Caledonian orogeny, a plate tectonic collision which took place from Mid Ordovician to Mid Devonian periods (520 to 400 million years ago), during the closure of the Iapetus Ocean. The fault allowed the Midland Valley to descend as a major rift by as much as 4000 metres and there was subsequently vertical movement. This earlier vertical movement was later replaced by a horizontal shear.

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Darien Scheme
The Darien scheme was an unsuccessful attempt by the Kingdom of Scotland to become a world trading nation by establishing a colony called 'New Caledonia' on the Isthmus of Panama in the late 1690s. From the outset, the undertaking was beset by poor planning and provision, weak leadership, lack of demand for trade goods, devastating epidemics of disease and increasing shortage of food; it was finally abandoned after a siege by Spanish forces in April, 1700. As the Darien company was backed by about a quarter of the money circulating in Scotland, its failure left the nobles and landowners – who had suffered a run of bad harvests – almost completely ruined and was an important factor in weakening their resistance to the Act of Union (finally consummated in 1707). Although the scheme failed, it has been seen as marking the beginning of the country's transformation into a modern nation oriented toward business. Within a generation, Scotland had one of the most advanced commercial cultures in the world.

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Dundee
Coordinates: 56°27′50″N 2°58′12″W / 56.464°N 2.970°W / 56.464; -2.970
Dundee ⁱ/dʌnˈdiː/ (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Dè) is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 38th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea. Under the name of Dundee City, it forms one of the 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland.
The town developed into a burgh in Medieval times, and expanded rapidly in the 19th century largely due to the jute industry. This, along with its other major industries gave Dundee its epithet as the city of "jute, jam and journalism".
In mid-2008, the population of the City of Dundee was estimated to be 152,320. Dundee's recorded population reached a peak of 182,204 at the time of the 1971 census, but has since declined.
Today, Dundee is promoted as 'One City, Many Discoveries' in honour of Dundee's history of scientific activities and of the RRS Discovery, Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic exploration vessel, which was built in Dundee and is now berthed in the city harbour. Biomedical and technological industries have arrived since the 1980s, and the city now accounts for 10% of the United Kingdom's digital-entertainment industry. Dundee has two universities—the University of Dundee and the University of Abertay Dundee. A £1,000,000,000 master plan to regenerate and to reconnect the Waterfront to the city centre which started in 2001 is expected to be completed within a 30 year period, with the Dundee Victoria & Albert Museum opening within 5.

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Dunoon
Coordinates: 55°56′48″N 4°55′23″W / 55.946730°N 4.923000°W / 55.946730; -4.923000
Dunoon (Dùn Obhainn in Gaelic) is a resort town situated on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll, Scotland. It sits on the Firth of Clyde to the south of Holy Loch and to the west of Gourock.
Dunoon Pier originated in 1835 however, the current structure was built in 1895 Prior to the late 1960s fleets of paddle steamers brought holidaymakers doon the watter from Glasgow to it and numerous other piers on the Clyde. Until June 2011, the pier was used daily by Caledonian MacBrayne who ran a regular car-ferry service to Gourock and by the PS Waverley, the last surviving sea-going paddle steamer .
Overlooking the pier is a large statue to Robert Burns' love Highland Mary, also known as Bonny Mary O' Argyll, which is located on Castle Hill, just below the remains of the 12th century Dunoon Castle. Very little remains of the castle, which would originally have belonged to the Lamont family but became a royal castle with the Earls of Argyll (Campbells) as hereditary keepers, paying a nominal rent of a single red rose to the sovereign, presently Queen Elizabeth. In earlier times, Mary, Queen of Scots, stayed at the castle circa 1563 and granted several charters during her visit. The castle was destroyed during the rebellion in 1685.

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Edinburgh
Edinburgh (ⁱ/ˈɛdɪnbʌrə/ ED-in-burr-ə; Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Èideann) is the capital city of Scotland and the seat of the Scottish Parliament. It is the second largest city in Scotland and the seventh most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a 30 square miles (78 km²) rural area. Located in the south-east of Scotland, Edinburgh lies on the east coast of the Central Belt, along the Firth of Forth, near the North Sea.
The city was one of the historical major centres of the Enlightenment, led by the University of Edinburgh, helping to earn it the nickname Athens of the North. The Old Town and New Town districts of Edinburgh were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 in recognition of the unique character of the Medieval Old Town and the planned Georgian New Town. It covers both the Old and New Towns together with the Dean Village and the Calton Hill areas. There are over 4,500 listed buildings within the city. In May 2010, it had a total of 40 conservation areas covering 23% of the building stock and 23% of the population, the highest such ratios of any major city in the UK. In the 2011 mid-year population estimates, Edinburgh had a total resident population of 495,360.

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England
England ⁱ/ˈɪŋɡlənd/ is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, while the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separate it from continental Europe. Most of England comprises the central and southern part of the island of Great Britain in the North Atlantic. The country also includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.
The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Palaeolithic period, but it takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in AD 927, and since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world. The English language, the Anglican Church, and English law—the basis for the common law legal systems of many other countries around the world—developed in England, and the country's parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the world's first industrialised nation. England's Royal Society laid the foundations of modern experimental science.

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Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.
At its entrance the firth is some 26 miles (42 km) wide. Its upper reaches include an area where it is joined by Loch Long and the Gare Loch. This includes the large anchorage off Greenock known as the Tail of the Bank in reference to the sandbar which separates the firth from the estuary of the River Clyde. The Clyde is still almost 2 miles (3 km) wide at the sandbar, and its upper tidal limit is at the tidal Weir adjacent to Glasgow Green.
The cultural and geographical distinction between the firth and the River Clyde is vague, and people will sometimes refer to Dumbarton as being on the Firth of Clyde, while the population of Port Glasgow and Greenock frequently refer to the firth to their north as "the river". In Scottish Gaelic the landward end is called Linne Chluaidh (pronounced [ʎiɲəˈxlˠ̪uəj]) (meaning the same as the English), while the area around the south of Arran, Kintyre and Ayrshire/Galloway is An Linne Ghlas [ə ʎiɲə ɣlˠ̪as̪].

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France
France (English ⁱ/ˈfræns/ FRANSS or /ˈfrɑːns/ FRAHNSS; French: [fʁɑ̃s] ( listen)), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is the largest western European country and it possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world, covering 11,035,000 km² (4,260,000 sq mi), just behind that of the United States (11,351,000 km² / 4,383,000 sq mi).
Over the past 500 years, France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic, military and political influence in Europe and around the world. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America and Southeast Asia; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest colonial empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands.

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Gare Loch
The Gare Loch or Gareloch (Gaelic: An Gearr Loch) is a sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.
A sea loch aligned north-south, Gare Loch is 10 kilometres long with an average width of 1.5 kilometres. At its southern end it opens into the Firth of Clyde through the Rhu narrows. The village of Rosneath lies on the western shore just north of Rosneath Point and gives the name Rosneath Peninsula to the whole body of land separating the Gare Loch from Loch Long to the west. The area lies in the Lieutenancy area and former county of Dunbartonshire.
The town of Helensburgh lies on the eastern shore, giving attractive views across to Rosneath Point. Rhu, to the north of Helensburgh, features a yacht marina. Further north the eastern shore is dominated by the Faslane Naval Base, the home of the United Kingdom's Trident nuclear submarines. The loch was the site of a major naval base during World War II and was used to store decommissioned naval vessels in the 1950s. A shipbreakers yard ceased trading in the 1980s and has been absorbed into the naval base.

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Gibshill
Coordinates: 55°56′04″N 4°42′43″W / 55.93456°N 4.71184°W / 55.93456; -4.71184
Gibshill (sometimes spelt as Gibbshill and often referred to as The Gibby) is the eastern-most housing estate in Greenock and adjoins Port Glasgow, both in the Inverclyde Council Area, Scotland. It is served by Bogston railway station.As of 2012 most of the streets in Gibshill have been regenerated and are opened for the first time since the 70s eg:East st and Dalmally st, with new houses on every street this has changed the "gibby" from a mainly working class area to a middle class suburb of Greenock with private housing making up 2 thirds the housing stock
Gibshill is currently undergoing redevelopment. Until recently consisting mostly of tenements, the area has in recent years undergone much demolition. There are no shops in Gibshill since the shopping district's demolition. Large expanses of grass exist where housing once stood. New housing, both council-owned and private sector, is planned to regenerate the area with some already built in Cobham St, Bell St (both private) and Shankland Grove (council) already built. New houses are being constructed on Lansbury street along with 80 to 100 private houses being constructed on the eastern side of Gibshill.

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Glasgow
Coordinates: 55°51′29″N 4°15′32″W / 55.858°N 4.259°W / 55.858; -4.259
Glasgow (ⁱ/ˈɡlɑːzɡəʊ/, locally /ˈɡlazɡo/, GLAZ-goh; Scots: Glesga listen (help·info); Scottish Gaelic: Glaschu ([ˈkɫ̪as̪əxu] listen (help·info))) is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's West Central Lowlands.
Glasgow grew from a small rural settlement on the River Clyde to become one of the largest seaports in Britain. Expanding from the medieval bishopric of Glasgow and the later establishment of the University of Glasgow in the 15th century, it became a major centre of the Scottish Enlightenment in the 18th century. From the 18th century the city also grew as one of Britain's main hubs of transatlantic trade with British North America and the British West Indies. With the Industrial Revolution, the city and surrounding region shifted to become one of the world's pre-eminent centres of heavy engineering, most notably in shipbuilding and marine engineering industry, which produced many innovative and famous vessels. Glasgow was known as the "Second City of the British Empire" for much of the Victorian era and Edwardian period. Today it is one of Europe's top ten financial centres and is home to many of Scotland's leading businesses. Glasgow is also ranked as the 57th most liveable city in the world.

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Gourock
Coordinates: 55°57′N 4°49′W / 55.95°N 4.82°W / 55.95; -4.82
Gourock (Scottish Gaelic: Guireag, pimple-shaped or rounded, pronounced [kuɾʲak]; GOOR-uck) is a town falling within the Inverclyde council area and formerly forming a burgh of the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It has in the past functioned as a seaside resort on the Firth of Clyde. Its principal function today, however, is as a popular residential area, extending contiguously from Greenock, with a railway terminus and ferry services across the Clyde.
As far back as 1494 it is recorded that James IV sailed from the shore at Gourock to quell the rebellious Highland clans. Two hundred years later William and Mary granted a Charter in favour of Stewart of Castlemilk which raised Gourock to a Burgh of Barony. In 1784 the lands of Gourock were purchased by Duncan Darroch, a former merchant in Jamaica. He built Gourock House near the site of the castle in what the family eventually gifted to the town as Darroch Park, later renamed by the council as Gourock Park.

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Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the cities of Manchester and Salford. Greater Manchester was created on 1 April 1974 as a result of the Local Government Act 1972.
Greater Manchester spans 493 square miles (1,277 km²). It is landlocked and borders Cheshire (to the south-west and south), Derbyshire (to the south-east), West Yorkshire (to the north-east), Lancashire (to the north) and Merseyside (to the west). There is a mix of high-density urban areas, suburbs, semi-rural and rural locations in Greater Manchester, but overwhelmingly the land use is urban. It has a focused central business district, formed by Manchester city centre and the adjoining parts of Salford and Trafford, but Greater Manchester is also a polycentric county with ten metropolitan districts, each of which has at least one major town centre and outlying suburbs. The Greater Manchester Urban Area is the third most populous conurbation in the UK, and spans across most of the county's territory.

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Greenock
Coordinates: 55°56′58″N 4°45′51″W / 55.94957°N 4.76415°W / 55.94957; -4.76415
Greenock ( listen (help·info); Scottish Gaelic: Grianaig, pronounced [kɾʲiənɛkʲ]) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It forms part of a contiguous urban area with Gourock to the west and Port Glasgow to the east.
Greenock's population was recorded as being 45,467 in the 2001 census, a decrease from about 78,000 in 1966. It lies on the south bank of the Clyde at the "Tail of the Bank" where the River Clyde expands into the Firth of Clyde.
The origin of the town's name is uncertain. It is generally accepted, however, that the town is named after the Gaelic "Grianaig" meaning a sunny place. The suggestion that the town's name comes from the words Green Oak is merely folk etymology, but the image has been taken as a logo for the town's main shopping centre, The Oak Mall and was once emblazoned on the local Co-operative Society emblem. The myth that 'Greenock' derives from 'Green Oak' is also perpetrated in a local song (The Green Oak Tree). Significantly, no green oak appears on the town's coat of arms which features three sugar caskets, a sailing ship in full sail and three herring above the motto God Speed Greenock.

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Greenock Academy
Coordinates: 55°57′22″N 4°46′44″W / 55.956°N 4.779°W / 55.956; -4.779
The Greenock Academy was a non-denominational, mixed (11 to 18) comprehensive school in the west end of Greenock, Scotland.
On 24 June 2011, Greenock Academy closed its doors for the last time to pupils after a history spanning 156 years.
The Greenock Academy was opened as a fee paying secondary and primary establishment in September 1855 in Nelson Street, Greenock. The school lay at this central Greenock location for almost a century of its lifetime before the building was demolished and moved to a modern building in Madeira Street of Greenock's west end, on the site of the old Balclutha mansion. The Nelson Street site is now occupied by the Finnart Campus of James Watt College.
The new Academy featured both a secondary and primary school with the later named 'south wing' area being the primary school. On 29 December 1968 BBC Scotland's version of Songs of Praise came from the school; the rest of the UK saw it from Holy Trinity Platt Church in Rusholme, Manchester.

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Guelph
Guelph ( /ˈɡwɛlf/; Canada 2011 Census population 121,668) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly 28 kilometres (17 mi) east of Waterloo and 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of downtown Toronto at the intersection of Highway 6 and Highway 7. It is the seat of Wellington County, but is politically independent of it. Because of its low crime rates, clean environment and generally high standard of living, Guelph is consistently rated as one of the country's best places to live. in October 2011, Guelph was noted as having the lowest unemployment rate in the country at 4.1%.
The name Guelph comes from the Italian Guelfo and the Bavarian-Germanic Welf. It is a reference to King George IV monarch at the time of its founding (whose family was from the House of Hanover, a younger branch of the House of Welf) and a tongue in cheek reference to the (then) ascendant German population in neighbouring Berlin (Kitchener). (Guelphs being the name given to the northern Italian factions who opposed the reign of the Holy Roman Empire, i.e. medieval Germany, in the 12th to 16th centuries).

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Harland and Wolff
Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries is a Northern Irish heavy industrial company, specialising in shipbuilding and offshore construction, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The shipyard has built many ships; among the more famous are the White Star trio Olympic, Titanic and Britannic, the Royal Navy's HMS Belfast, Royal Mail's Andes, Shaw Savill's Southern Cross and P&O's Canberra. The company's official history, "Shipbuilders to the World" was published in 1986.
As of 2011, the expanding offshore wind power industry has taken centre stage and 75% of the company's work is based on offshore renewable energy.
Harland and Wolff was formed in 1861 by Edward James Harland (1831–1895) and Hamburg-born Gustav Wilhelm Wolff (1834–1913, in the UK from age 14). In 1858 Harland, then general manager, bought the small shipyard on Queen's Island from his employer Robert Hickson.
After buying Hickson's shipyard, Harland made his assistant Wolff a partner in the company. Wolff was the nephew of Gustav Schwabe, Hamburg, who was heavily invested in the Bibby Line, and the first three ships that the newly incorporated shipyard built were for that line. Harland made a success of the business through several innovations, notably replacing the wooden upper decks with iron ones which increased the strength of the ships; and giving the hulls a flatter bottom and squarer cross section, which increased their capacity.

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HMNB Clyde
Her Majesty's Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde (HMS Neptune) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth). It is the service's headquarters in Scotland and is best known as the home of the United Kingdom's strategic nuclear deterrent, in the form of nuclear submarines armed with Trident missiles.
HMNB Clyde lies on the eastern shore of Gare Loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, to the north of the Firth of Clyde and 25 mi (40 km) west of the city of Glasgow. The submarine base encompasses a number of separate sites, the primary two being:
Faslane is also a Defence Equipment and Support site, operated in dual site organisation with Great Harbour, Greenock, by Babcock Marine, and managed by Serco Denholm.
Faslane Naval Base, situated on the Gare Loch, and the RN Armaments Depot Coulport on Loch Long, are the primary components of HM Naval Base Clyde. The naval shore establishment at Faslane is HMS Neptune, Naval personnel appointed to the base who do not belong to a sea-going vessel make up Ship's Company. Both the Gareloch and Loch Long are sea lochs extending northwards from the Firth of Clyde. The base serves as home base to the United Kingdom's fleet of Vanguard-class nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed submarines, as well as conventionally-armed nuclear powered submarines, supported by the Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines.

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Hungary
Hungary ⁱ/ˈhʌŋɡəri/ (Hungarian: Magyarország [ˈmɒɟɒrorsaːɡ] ( listen)) is a country, which is located in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The country's capital, and largest city, is Budapest. Hungary is a member of the European Union, NATO, the OECD, the Visegrád Group, and is a Schengen state. The official language is Hungarian, also known as Magyar, which is part of the Finno-Ugric group and is the most widely spoken non-Indo-European language in Europe.
Following a Celt (after c. 450 BC) and a Roman (AD 9 - c. 430) period, the foundation of Hungary was laid in the late 9th century by the Hungarian prince Árpád, whose great-grandson Saint Stephen I was crowned with a crown sent by the pope from Rome in 1000 AD. The Kingdom of Hungary lasted for 946 years, and at various points was regarded as one of the cultural centres of the Western world. After about 150 years of partial Ottoman occupation (1541–1699), Hungary was integrated into the Habsburg Monarchy, and later constituted half of the Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy (1867–1918).

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IBM railway station
IBM railway station (formally known as IBM Halt) is a railway station on the Inverclyde Line, 25½ miles (41 km) west of Glasgow Central.
Clinging to the south slope of Spango Valley on the Glasgow-Wemyss Bay line, IBM Halt opened on 9 May 1978 to serve what was at that time a thriving computer manufacturing plant employing over 4,000 people. Originally, only peak time services stopped there, but now, despite the decline in the fortunes and population of the plant, almost all services make the stop.
As the name suggests, it is located within the confines of a large facility formerly owned entirely by IBM, a former major employer for the town of Greenock.
Parts of the site were sold off to companies such as Sanmina-SCI and Lenovo, which have now closed. By June 2009 half of the buildings had been demolished and the site was rebranded as Valley Park, although locals still refer to the complex by its old name. Accordingly, there are no plans to change the station name.
Due to its location away from major housing areas and other transport links, the station is used primarily by people employed in Valley Park, but access to the station and its services by the general public is possible.

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Inverclyde
Inverclyde (Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Chluaidh, pronounced [iɲiɾʲˈxlˠ̪uəj]) is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the historic county of Renfrewshire - which current exists as a registration county and lieutenancy area - located in the west central Lowlands. It borders on to the Renfrewshire and North Ayrshire council areas, and is otherwise surrounded by the Firth of Clyde.
Inverclyde District was one of nineteen districts within Strathclyde Region, from 1975 until 1996. Prior to 1975, Inverclyde was governed as part of the local government county of Renfrewshire, comprising the burghs of Greenock, Port Glasgow and Gourock, and the former fifth district of the county. Its landward area is bordered by the Kelly, North and South Routen burns to the south west (separating Wemyss Bay and Skelmorlie, North Ayrshire), part of the River Gryfe and the Finlaystone Burn to the south-east.

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Italy
Italy ⁱ/ˈɪtəli/ (Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic or the Republic of Italy (Italian: Repubblica italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in south-central Europe. To the north, it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the Alps. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia–the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea–and many other smaller islands. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers some 301,338 km² (116,347 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.6 million inhabitants, it is the fifth most populous country in Europe, and the 23rd most populous in the world.
Rome, the capital of Italy, was for centuries a political and religious centre of Western civilisation as the capital of the Roman Empire and site of the Holy See. After the decline of the Roman Empire, Italy endured numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombards and Ostrogoths, to the Byzantines and later, the Normans, among others. Centuries later, Italy became the birthplace of Maritime republics and the Renaissance, an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that would prove to be integral in shaping the subsequent course of European thought.

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James Watt College
Coordinates: 55°56′53″N 4°45′14″W / 55.948°N 4.754°W / 55.948; -4.754
The James Watt College is a further education college in Greenock, Scotland.
The James Watt Memorial College on the corner of William Street and Dalrymple Street was officially opened as the Watt Memorial Engineering and Navigation School on 1 June 1908. The building was constructed near the site of James Watt's birthplace (which was on the other side of William Street) and was built with funds donated by another famous Scot, Andrew Carnegie, who performed the opening ceremony, unveiling a statue of James Watt that stands prominently in the angle formed at the corner tower. David Barclay of Glasgow designed the original red sandstone building in a heavily ornamented Scottish baronial style, The corner is marked by an L-plan tower, the wing to William Street being capped by a crow step gable while the north wing has a conical roofed tower above a balustrade. The Dalrymple Street facade faces north out onto the main A8 road to Glasgow and is capped by a steep sloping roof up to an iron balustrade which protects a flat roof originally used to allow navigation students to take observations of the sun. The west corner features a corbelled corner turret with a conical roof. A later extension in William Street to the south of the tower is in a plainer more modern style. The building is now in use by Inverclyde Council local authority education department as office accommodation.

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Japan
Japan ⁱ/dʒəˈpæn/ (Japanese: 日本 Nihon or Nippon; formally 日本国 Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, literally the State of Japan) is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.
Archaeological research indicates that people lived in Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other nations followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and World War I allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of increasing militarism. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since adopting its revised constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament called the Diet.

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Kilcreggan
Coordinates: 55°59′06″N 4°49′34″W / 55.98502°N 4.82601°W / 55.98502; -4.82601
Kilcreggan is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.
It developed on the north shore of the Firth of Clyde at a time when Clyde steamers brought it within easy reach of Glasgow at about 25 miles (40 km) west of the centre of Glasgow by boat. Many Glasgow shipowners and merchants made their summer retreats or even permanent residences there, and this is reflected in some very grand houses along the shore. Not all have remained occupied, some were demolished and others have been converted into flats.
Its location at the end of the Rosneath Peninsula, between the Gare Loch and Loch Long, makes the journey 38 miles (60 km) by road. The B833 minor road runs along the shore for the length of the village then cuts north inland just to the east of Kilcreggan pier rather than going east along the shore past Portkil bay to Rosneath Point. About 2 miles (3 km) north of Kilcreggan the road reaches the village of Rosneath then continues north along the shores of the Gare Loch.

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Libya
Libya (Arabic: ‏ليبيا‎ Lībyā), Berber: ⵍⵉⴱⵢⴰ) is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west.
With an area of almost 1.8 million square kilometres (700,000 sq mi), Libya is the third largest country in Africa by area, and the 17th largest in the world. The largest city, Tripoli, is home to 1.7 million of Libya's 6.4 million people. The three traditional parts of the country are Tripolitania, Fezzan and Cyrenaica.
In 2009 Libya had the highest HDI in Africa and the fourth highest GDP (PPP) per capita in Africa, behind Seychelles, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Libya has the 10th-largest proven oil reserves of any country in the world and the 17th-highest petroleum production.
As a result of the Libyan civil war, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, which had at that time been in existence for 34 years, collapsed and Libya entered a period of governance by a transitional administration called the National Transitional Council. The NTC has stated its intention to oversee the first phase of a transition to constitutional democracy, after which it claims it will dissolve in favor of a representative legislature.

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Liverpool
Liverpool ( /ˈlɪvəpuːl/) is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Liverpool was 445,200 and was part of a larger urban area of 816,216.
Historically a part of Lancashire, the urbanisation and expansion of Liverpool were both largely brought about by the city's status as a major port. By the 18th century, trade from the West Indies, Ireland and mainland Europe coupled with close links with the Atlantic Slave Trade furthered the economic expansion of Liverpool. By the early 19th century, 40% of the world's trade passed through Liverpool's docks, contributing to Liverpool's rise as a major city.
Inhabitants of Liverpool are referred to as Liverpudlians but are also colloquially known as "Scousers", in reference to the local dish known as "scouse", a form of stew. The word "Scouse" has also become synonymous with the Liverpool accent and dialect. Liverpool's status as a port city has contributed to its diverse population, which, historically, were drawn from a wide range of peoples, cultures, and religions, particularly those from Ireland. The city is also home to the oldest Black African community in the country and the oldest Chinese community in Europe.

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Loch Long
Loch Long (Gaelic for Ship Lake, Long being the word for ship) is a body of water in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The sea loch extends from the Firth of Clyde at its southwestern end. It measures approximately 20 miles in length, with a width of between one and two miles. The loch also has an arm, Loch Goil, on its western side.
Loch Long was historically the boundary between Argyll and Dunbartonshire. However in 1996 boundary redrawing meant that it moved wholly within the council area of Argyll and Bute.
The loch was used as a testing ground for torpedoes during World War II and contains numerous wrecks. It is now a popular area for sport diving.The Ardentinny Outdoor Education Centre (on the other bank) also uses the loch for watersports.
Several Scottish Sea Fishing records are attributed to the Loch:
The Finnart Oil Terminal is located on the eastern shore of the loch, linked to the Grangemouth Refinery via a sixty mile long pipeline. The eastern shore is also the location of the Royal Navy's Coulport Armament depot, part of HMNB Clyde, and the Glen Mallan jetty, linked to Glen Douglas defence munitions depot.

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London
London ⁱ/ˈlʌndən/ is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium. London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its square-mile mediaeval boundaries. Since at least the 19th century, the name London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core. The bulk of this conurbation forms the London region and the Greater London administrative area, governed by the elected Mayor of London and the London Assembly.
London is a leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transport all contributing to its prominence. It is the world's leading financial centre alongside New York City and has the fifth-largest city GDP in the world (and the largest in Europe). London has been described as a world cultural capital. It was the world's most visited city during 2011 and London Heathrow is the world's busiest airport by number of international passengers. London's 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education in Europe. In 2012 London will become the first city to host the modern Summer Olympic Games three times.

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Lyle Hill
Lyle Hill is a viewpoint in Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland.
Providing a panoramic view across the Clyde estuary, its highest point is 426 feet (130 m) above sea level. It overlooks Gourock and the 'Tail of the Bank', an area of the River Clyde denoting the point at which the river becomes the Firth of Clyde. Also visible are the Cowal hills, with the town of Dunoon below, the Holy Loch, former site of the US Navy Scottish submarine base and the settlements of Kilcreggan, Rosneath and Helensburgh to the east. On a clear day it is possible to see beyond the Erskine Bridge to Glasgow in the east, and the Island of Arran and beyond to the south west.
Immediately to the north of the hill Greenock's Battery Park formed from landfill at the time of railway construction provides level playing fields, bounded on the west by Gourock's Cardwell Bay and on the east by the former torpedo factory, now occupied by warehousing and a housing development, and the Navy Buildings occupied by HM Coastguard. They stand at Ironotter Point which in the late 18th century was the site of a coastal gun battery called Fort Matilda, a name now given to the area, to the railway station just to the north of Lyle Hill and to the playing pitch of the local rugby side, the Greenock Wanderers.

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Mclean Museum
The Mclean Museum and Art Gallery is a museum and art gallery situated in Greenock, Inverclyde. It is the main museum in the Inverclyde area and opened in 1876. Most notably it features an exhibition of items related to James Watt, the Greenock-born inventor, a Mummy Cartonnage from Herakleopolis Magna and a collection of British & Scottish art. The museum is located on Kelly Street, in the Greenock West area, nearby the Ardgowan Tennis Club and Cedars School of Excellence
The Museum originates to the Greenock Philosophical Society's burgeoning collection of artificial and natural curiosities which became a museum in 1816 as branch of the Society, housed in the Greenock library. When the Greenock Library changed location to the Watt Library, Society members added "autographs, maps, prints, coins, medals, and armour to the collection." The Society sent a report to local ship owners and masters to generate interest in the museum's collection in the hope of receiving donations. In 1863 work began on building a lecture hall and museum building, funded by local timber merchant James Mclean, who was also a member of the Philosophical Society. The new building was completed by the 3rd of November, 1876, but James Mclean was unable to attend the opening due to ill health (although he still managed to visit and inspect the Museum's contents), later dying in January of the next year. Thomas Struthers, a geologist and naturalist from Glasgow was the Museum's first curator. In its early years the Museum was loaned items from other museums, such as the Albert Museum and National Gallery in return that it would lend parts of its collection to these national museums for their exhibitions.

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Moscow
Moscow ( /ˈmɒskaʊ/ or /ˈmɒskoʊ/; Russian: Москва́, tr. Moskva; IPA: [mɐˈskva] ( listen)) is the capital and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural and scientific center of Russia and the continent. Moscow is the northernmost megacity on Earth, the most populous city in Europe, and the 6th largest city proper in the world. Its population, according to the results of the 2010 Census, is 11,503,501. Based on Forbes 2011, Moscow has the largest community of billionaires in the world.
Moscow is situated on the Moskva River in the Central Federal District of European Russia. In the course of its history the city has served as the capital of a progression of states, from the medieval Grand Duchy of Moscow and the subsequent Tsardom of Russia to the Soviet Union. Moscow is the site of the Moscow Kremlin, an ancient fortress that is today the residence of the Russian President and of the executive branch of the Government of Russia. The Kremlin is also one of several World Heritage Sites in the city. Both chambers of the Russian parliament (the State Duma and the Federation Council) also sit in Moscow.

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Ontario
Ontario /ɒnˈtɛərioʊ/ is one of the provinces of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province or territory and fourth largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa.
Ontario is bordered by the province of Manitoba to the west, Hudson Bay to the north, Quebec to the east, and to the south by the U.S. states of Minnesota, Michigan (portions to the west), New York (portions to the east), Ohio and Pennsylvania. All but a small part of Ontario's 2,700 km (1,677 mi) border with the United States follow inland waterways: from the west at Lake of the Woods, eastward along the major rivers and lakes of the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence River drainage system. These are the Rainy River, the Pigeon River, Lake Superior, the St. Mary's River, Lake Huron, the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River, Lake Erie, the Niagara River, Lake Ontario, and along the St. Lawrence River from Kingston, Ontario to the Quebec boundary just east of Cornwall, Ontario.

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Panama
Panama (ⁱ/ˈpænəmɑː/ PAN-ə-mah; Spanish: Panamá), officially the Republic of Panama (Spanish: República de Panamá [reˈpuβlika ðe panaˈma]), is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The capital is Panama City. Explored and settled by the Spanish in the 16th century, Panama broke with Spain in 1821 and joined a union of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela, named the Republic of Gran Colombia.When Gran Colombia the dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada remained joined. Nueva Granada later became the Republic of Colombia.
With the backing of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, allowing the Panama Canal to be built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. In 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the United States to Panama by the end of the century.

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Port Glasgow
Coordinates: 55°56′N 4°41′W / 55.94°N 4.69°W / 55.94; -4.69
Port Glasgow (Scottish Gaelic: Port Ghlaschu, pronounced [pʰɔrˠʃt̪ˈɣlˠ̪as̪əxu]) is the second largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16617 persons. It is located immediately to the east of Greenock and was previously a burgh in the former county of Renfrew.
The town was formed as port for nearby of Glasgow in 1668 and became Port Glasgow in 1775. Port Glasgow was home to dry docks and shipbuilding beginning in 1762.
The town grew from the central area of the present town and thus many of the town's historic buildings are found here. Port Glasgow expanded up the steep hills inland to open fields where areas such as Park Farm, Boglestone and Devol were founded. This area has subsequently become known as upper Port Glasgow and most of the town's population occupies these areas.
The town is served by Port Glasgow railway station (main station) in the town centre and Woodhall railway station on the east of the town.

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Rochdale
Coordinates: 53°36′49″N 2°09′40″W / 53.6136°N 2.1610°W / 53.6136; -2.1610
Rochdale /ˈrɒtʃdeɪl/ is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, 5.3 miles (8.5 km) north-northwest of Oldham, and 9.8 miles (15.8 km) north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, population 206,500. Rochdale is the largest settlement and administrative centre, with a total population of 95,796.
Historically a part of Lancashire, Rochdale's recorded history begins with an entry in the Domesday Book of 1086 under Recedham Manor. The ancient parish of Rochdale was a division of the hundred of Salford and one of the largest ecclesiastical parishes in England comprising several townships. By 1251, Rochdale had become important enough to have been granted a Royal charter. Subsequently, Rochdale flourished into a centre of northern England's woollen trade, and by the early 18th century was described as being "remarkable for many wealthy merchants".

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Royal Arsenal
The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, originally known as the Woolwich Warren, carried out armaments manufacture, ammunition proofing and explosives research for the British armed forces. It was sited on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England.
The Warren in Tower Place was established as an Ordnance Storage Depot in 1671 on a 31-acre (13 ha) site. An ammunition laboratory (the Royal Laboratory) was added in 1695, and a gun foundry (the Royal Brass Foundry) was established in 1717. By 1777 it had expanded to 104 acres (0.4 km²). Shortly afterwards, convict labour was used to construct a 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km) (approximately) brick boundary wall, generally 8 feet (2.4 m) high. In 1804 this wall was raised to 20 feet (6.1 m) near the Plumstead road, and to 15 feet (4.6 m) in other parts. In 1814–16, convict labour was also used to dig a canal (the Ordnance Canal), which formed the eastern boundary.
In 1805, during the reign of King George III, at the King's suggestion, it became known as the Royal Arsenal. By this time, Woolwich was already a busy military centre, with the Woolwich Dockyard to the west of the Arsenal, the Royal Military Academy and the headquarters of the Royal Artillery next to each other to the south. The Royal Military Academy had been originally based at the Royal Arsenal but it was moved to Woolwich Common in 1806, although some of the Cadets did not finally vacate the Arsenal until as late as 1882. The old Military Academy building then became part of the Royal Laboratory. Several buildings within the Arsenal are attributed to architect Sir John Vanbrugh.

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Scotland
Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Alba ([ˈalˠ̪apə] listen (help·info))) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland constitutes over 790 islands including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.
Edinburgh, the country's capital and second largest city, is one of Europe's largest financial centres. Edinburgh was the hub of the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th century, which transformed Scotland into one of the commercial, intellectual and industrial powerhouses of Europe. Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, was once one of the world's leading industrial cities and now lies at the centre of the Greater Glasgow conurbation. Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third largest city in Scotland, the title of Europe's oil capital.

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Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament (Scottish Gaelic: Pàrlamaid na h-Alba; Scots: The Scots Pairliament) is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). Members are elected for four-year terms under the mixed member proportional representation system. As a result, 73 MSPs represent individual geographical constituencies elected by the plurality ("first past the post") system, with a further 56 returned from eight additional member regions, each electing seven MSPs. The most recent general election to the Parliament was held on 5 May 2011.
The original Parliament of Scotland (or "Estates of Scotland") was the national legislature of the independent Kingdom of Scotland, and existed from the early 13th century until the Kingdom of Scotland merged with the Kingdom of England under the Acts of Union 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. As a consequence, the Parliament of Scotland merged with the Parliament of England to form the Parliament of Great Britain, which sat at Westminster in London.

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South Korea
South Korea ( listen), officially the Republic of Korea (Hangul: 대한민국; Hanja: 大韓民國; Daehan Minguk listen), is a sovereign state in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The name "Korea" is derived from Goryeo, a dynasty which ruled in the Middle Ages (an initial "G" in Korean is pronounced like an English "K").
Its neighbors are China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the Korea Strait to the south. South Korea lies in the north temperate zone with a predominantly mountainous terrain. It covers a total area of 99,392 square kilometers and has a population of almost 50 million. The capital and largest city is Seoul, with a population of 9,794,304.
Archaeological findings show that the Korean Peninsula was occupied by the Lower Paleolithic period.Korean history begins with the founding of Gojoseon in 2333 BC by the legendary Dan-gun. Following the unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea under Silla 668 AD, Korea went through the Goryeo Dynasty and Joseon Dynasty as one nation until the end of the Korean Empire in 1910, when it was annexed by Japan. After liberation and occupation by Soviet and U.S. forces at the end of World War II, the nation was divided into North and South Korea. The latter was established in 1948 as a democracy, though political turmoil and times of military rule and martial law characterized much of the period until the foundation of the Sixth Republic in 1987.

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Spain
Spain (ⁱ/ˈspeɪn/ SPAYN; Spanish: España, pronounced: [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a sovereign state and a member of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar; to the north and north east by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the northwest and west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal.
Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, that border Morocco. Furthermore, the town of Llívia is a Spanish exclave situated inside French territory. With an area of 504,030 square kilometres (194,610 sq mi), it is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union after France, and the fourth largest country in Europe after Russia, Ukraine and France.

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Tail of the Bank
Coordinates: 55°58′37″N 4°46′52″W / 55.977°N 4.781°W / 55.977; -4.781
The Tail of the Bank is the name given to the anchorage in the upper Firth of Clyde immediately north of Greenock and Gourock. This area of the firth gets its name from the sandbar immediately to its east which marks the entrance to the estuary of the River Clyde.
The Tail of the Bank was a significant point of embarkation for many travellers, especially emigrants, to Canada and the United States of America. Steamships of the Cunard Line en-route from Liverpool to New York City regularly called at Tail of the Bank to pick up additional passengers.
In the past this area was at times crowded with ships, particularly during World War II when the Home Fleet warships of the Royal Navy temporarily left Scapa Flow after the sinking of HMS Royal Oak and were based at the Tail of the Bank. The Clyde Anchorages Emergency Port was improvised there in September, 1940, by stevedoring companies evacuated from the Royal Docks of London (closed by the first bombing raids on London.) Hundreds of merchant ships of the Atlantic convoys gathered there, as well as ships of the Free French navy. At this time the upper firth was protected by an anti-submarine boom stretching from Cloch point across the firth to Dunoon. A monument in the form of a Cross of Lorraine combined with an anchor was erected on Lyle Hill overlooking the Tail of the Bank, to commemorate the Free French Naval Forces. It is also associated locally with the Vauquelin class destroyer Maillé Brézé which blew up off Greenock with heavy loss of life on 30 April 1940, before the Free French Naval Forces were established. By 1944 the CAEP became one of the principal destinations for US troops sent to Britain.

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Tesco
Coordinates: 51°42′18.89″N 0°1′36.37″W / 51.7052472°N 0.0267694°W / 51.7052472; -0.0267694
Tesco plc (LSE: TSCO) is a British multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues (after Wal-Mart and Carrefour) and the second-largest measured by profits (after Wal-Mart). It has stores in 14 countries across Asia, Europe and North America and is the grocery market leader in the UK (where it has a market share of around 30%), Malaysia, the Republic of Ireland and Thailand.
The company was founded in 1919 by Jack Cohen as a group of market stalls. The Tesco name first appeared in 1924, after Cohen purchased a shipment of tea from T. E. Stockwell and combined those initials with the first two letters of his surname, and the first Tesco store opened in 1929 in Burnt Oak, Middlesex. His business expanded rapidly, and by 1939 he had over 100 Tesco stores across the country. Originally a UK-focused grocery retailer, since the early 1990s Tesco has increasingly diversified geographically and into areas such as the retailing of books, clothing, electronics, furniture, petrol and software; financial services; telecoms and internet services; DVD rental; and music downloads.

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Texas Instruments
Coordinates: 32°54′33″N 96°45′04″W / 32.909256°N 96.751054°W / 32.909256; -96.751054
Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN), known as TI, is an American company based in Dallas, Texas, United States, which develops and commercializes semiconductor and computer technology. TI is the third largest manufacturer of semiconductors worldwide after Intel and Samsung, the second largest supplier of chips for cellular handsets after Qualcomm, and the largest producer of digital signal processors (DSPs) and analog semiconductors, among a wide range of other semiconductor products, including calculators, microcontrollers and multi-core processors.
Texas Instruments was founded in 1951. It emerged after a reorganization of Geophysical Service. This company manufactured equipment for use in the seismic industry as well as defense electronics. TI researched infrared technology in the late 1950s and later made transistors, including the world's first workable silicon transistor, radar systems, guidance and control systems for both missiles and bombs. In 1954, Texas Instruments designed and manufactured the first transistor radio and Jack Kilby invented the integrated circuit in 1958 while working at TI's Central Research Labs. The company produced the first integrated circuit-based computer for the U.S. Air Force in 1961. The hand-held calculator was introduced to the world by TI in 1967.

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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.
The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.

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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km²) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.

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Woolwich
Coordinates: 51°29′46″N 0°04′05″E / 51.4961°N 0.0681°E / 51.4961; 0.0681
Woolwich ( /ˈwʊlɪtʃ/ or /ˈwʊlɪdʒ/) is a district in south London, England, located in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created. It is notable as a river crossing point, having the Woolwich Ferry (and the lesser-known Woolwich foot tunnel) to North Woolwich, and as the one-time home of the Woolwich Building Society (now owned by Barclays plc).
In 1796 Daniel Lysons wrote, "this place in old charters is called Hulviz, Wolwiche, Wollewic, &c. I can find nothing satisfactory relating to its etymology." But it is now generally believed that the name Woolwich derives from the Anglo-Saxon name, "trading place for wool". Woolwich has been inhabited since at least the Iron Age, and a Roman fort was found in the current Riverside park.
Woolwich remained a small Kentish village until it started to become a leading military and industrial town. It was home to the Woolwich Dockyard (founded in 1512), the Royal Arsenal (dating back to 1471), the Royal Military Academy (1741) and the Royal Horse Artillery (1793); the town still retains an army base at the Royal Artillery Barracks (although 16RA Royal Artillery left in 2007, Woolwich Barracks still house the Royal Artillery Band and more recently Second Battalion Princess of Wales Royal Regiment and Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery), and the Royal Artillery Museum, Firepower. The nearby Greenwich Heritage Centre also houses exhibits relating to the Royal Arsenal.

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Abram Lyle
Abram Lyle (1820–1891) is noted for founding the sugar refiners Abram Lyle & Sons which merged with the company of his rival Henry Tate to become Tate & Lyle in 1921.
He was born in the seaport of Greenock in Scotland, and at twelve years old became an apprentice in a lawyer's office. He then joined his father's cooperage businesses and in partnership with a friend, John Kerr, developed a shipping business, making the Lyle fleet one of the largest in Greenock. The area was heavily involved in the sugar trade with the West Indies, and his business included transporting sugar.
Together with four partners he purchased the Glebe Sugar Refinery in 1865, and so added sugar refining to his other business interests. When John Kerr, the principal partner, died in 1872, Lyle sold his shares and began the search for a site for a new refinery.
He was Provost of Greenock from 1876 to 1879.
Together with his three sons he bought two wharves at Plaistow in East London in 1881 to construct a refinery for producing Golden Syrup. The site happened to be around 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the sugar refinery of his rival, Henry Tate. In the first year Lyle's refinery showed a loss of £30,000, with economies being made by asking staff to wait for their wages on occasion, but eventually the business came to dominate the United Kingdom market for Golden Syrup.

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Alan Sharp
Alan Sharp (b. 1934 in Alyth, Scotland) a novelist and screenwriter. He published two novels in the 1960s, and since then has written the screenplays for about twenty films, mostly produced in the United States.
Sharp was raised in Greenock, Scotland, where his adoptive father worked in the shipyards. He left school at 14 to work in the yards. He pursued various jobs, did his national service, and married. He ultimately relocated to London with the intention of becoming a writer. One of his screenplays was broadcast on British television in 1963, and his play A Knight in Tarnished Armour was broadcast in 1965. His first novel, A Green Tree in Gedde, was published in 1965 to acclaim and won the 1967 Scottish Arts Council Award. It was the first part of a proposed trilogy, and Sharp published the second novel, The Wind Shifts, in 1967. The third novel, which had the working title The Apple Pickers, was left incomplete when Sharp emigrated to Hollywood and focused on screenwriting.
In the 1970s, six of Sharp's screenplays became high-profile Hollywood feature films, most of them dealing with quintessentially American themes and characters. Walter Chaw writes of Sharp's screenplays from this period, "On the strength of his scripts for The Hired Hand, Ulzana's Raid, and Night Moves, Scottish novelist Alan Sharp seems well at home with the better-known, more highly-regarded writers and directors of the New American Cinema. Sharp's screenplays are marked by a narrative complexity and situations gravid with implication and doom." Trevor Johnston has written recently, "There’s an argument to suggest that a certain seventysomething Scot could well be Britain’s greatest living screenwriter. Much is made of pre-Star Wars 70s Hollywood as a kind of celluloid golden age, and Alan Sharp was there in the thick of it, working with the very best, generating the sort of track record few British screenwriters are likely to match."

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Alasdair Gray
Alasdair Gray (born 28 December 1934) is a Scottish writer and artist. His most acclaimed work is his first novel Lanark, published in 1981 and written over a period of almost 30 years. It is now regarded as a classic, and was described by The Guardian as "one of the landmarks of 20th-century fiction." His novel Poor Things (1992) won the Whitbread Novel Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize. He is a Scottish civic nationalist and a republican.
Gray's works combine elements of realism, fantasy, and science fiction, plus clever use of typography and his own illustrations. He has also written on politics, in support of socialism and Scottish independence, and on the history of English literature. He has been described by author Will Self as "a creative polymath with an integrated politico-philosophic vision", and as "a great writer, perhaps the greatest living in this archipelago today" and by himself as "a fat, spectacled, balding, increasingly old Glasgow pedestrian".
Gray was born in Riddrie, east Glasgow. His father had been wounded in the First World War and worked at the time in a factory, while his mother worked in a shop. During the Second World War, Gray was evacuated to Perthshire and then Lanarkshire, experiences which he drew on in his later fiction. The family lived on a council scheme, and Gray received his education from a combination of state education, (at Whitehill Secondary School), public libraries, and public service broadcasting: "the kind of education British governments now consider useless, especially for British working class children", as he later commented. He studied at Glasgow School of Art from 1952 to 1957, and taught there from 1958 to 1962. It was as a student that he first began what would become the novel Lanark.

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Barony of Cartsburn
The Barony of Cartsburn in the Baronage of Scotland was created for Thomas Crawfurd of Cartsburn in 1669, when the lands of Cartsburn in the Parish of Easter Greenock in the Shire of Renfrew were erected in liberam baronium, as a free Barony held of the Prince and Great Steward of Scotland. The estate of Cartsburn, also known as Crawfurdsburn, incorporated the lands of Cartsdyke, or Crawfurdsdyke, and part of the lands of Easter Greenock Castle. The Barony of Cartsburn is a feudal Barony of Scotland. The seat of the Barony was the House of Cartsburn, built in the 17th century near Greenock, Renfrewshire.
The most notable Barons of Cartsburn are Thomas Crawfurd of Cartsburn, 4th Baron of Cartsburn, Thomas Macknight Crawfurd of Cartsburn and Lauriston Castle, 8th Baron of Cartsburn, and Mark Lindley-Highfield of Ballumbie Castle, 14th Baron of Cartsburn. The current Baron is the 15th Baron of Cartsburn. Other people associated with the Barony include George Crawfurd, the compiler of The Peerage of Scotland, the inventor James Watt, the nation's bard Robert Burns, and the poet Jean Adam.

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Bill Bryden
William Campbell Rough Bryden CBE (born 12 April 1942, Greenock, Scotland) is a British stage- and film director and screenwriter.
He has worked as a director at the Royal Court Theatre (1967–1971), the Royal Lyceum Theatre (1972–1975), the National Theatre (1975–1985); and as a visiting director in Glasgow and New York. In 1990, he directed Leoš Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen, at the Royal Opera House. He has also done work for film and television, as screenwriter, director and executive producer.
He married Deborah Morris, a potter, in 1970 and they had two children. The couple divorced in 1988.
In 1988, he met actress Angela Douglas at a dinner party arranged by mutual friend Marsha Hunt. They have lived together in west London since, and were married at City Hall, New York City in February 2009.

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Chic Murray
Charles Thomas McKinnon "Chic" Murray (6 November 1919 – 29 January 1985), was a Scottish comedian and actor. He appeared in various roles on British television and film – most notably in the 1967 version of Casino Royale – and portrayed Liverpool Football Club manager Bill Shankly in a musical. In 2005, he was named in The Comedian's Comedian.
Murray was born in Greenock, Inverclyde. He began his career as a musician in amateur groups such as "The Whinhillbillies" and "Chic and His Chicks" while an apprentice at the Kincaid shipyard, Inverclyde, in 1934. Maidie already a seasoned star in her own right (having worked since she was 3 with many of the great stars of the time) was playing the Greenock Empire. Chics mother was the welfare officer & put Maidie up in her home. Subsequently, Maidie gave chic parts within her own act & he formed a double-act with her, Maidie Dickson. Billed as "The Tall Droll with the Small Doll" (he was 6'3" tall, she was 4'11") and also as "Maidie and Murray", their combination of jokes and songs made them popular on television and in theatres throughout the country. Their success peaked in 1956 when they were selected to appear in the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium, but, due to the Suez Crisis, the show was cancelled. Maidie & Chic had had much success at the Prince of Wales theatre in London.

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Denis Devlin
Denis Devlin (April 15, 1908 - August 21, 1959) was, along with Samuel Beckett and Brian Coffey, one of the generation of Irish modernist poets to emerge at the end of the 1920s. He was also a career diplomat.
He was born in Greenock, Scotland of Irish parents, and his family returned to live in Dublin in 1918. He studied at Belvedere College and, from 1926, as a seminarian for the Roman Catholic priesthood at Clonliffe College. As part of his studies he attended a degree course in modern languages at University College Dublin (UCD), where he met and befriended Brian Coffey. Together they published a joint collection, Poems, in 1930.
In 1927, Devlin abandoned the priesthood and left Clonliffe. He graduated with from UCD his BA in 1930 and spent that summer on the Blasket Islands to improve his spoken Irish. Between 1930 and 1933, he studied literature at Munich University and the Sorbonne in Paris, meeting, amongst others, Beckett and Thomas MacGreevy. He then returned to UCD to complete his MA thesis on Montaigne.

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Douglas Dunn
Douglas Eaglesham Dunn, OBE (born 23 October 1942) is a Scottish poet, academic, and critic. He currently lives in Scotland.
Dunn was born in Inchinnan, Renfrewshire. He was educated at the Scottish School of Librarianship, and worked as a librarian before he started his studies in Hull. After graduating with a First Class Honours degree from the University of Hull, he worked in the Brynmor Jones Library under Philip Larkin. He was friendly with Larkin and admired his poetry, but did not share his political opinions.
He was a Professor of English at the University of St Andrews from 1991, becoming Director of the University's Scottish Studies Centre in 1993 until his retirement in September 2008. He is now an Honorary Professor at St Andrews, still undertaking postgraduate supervision in the School of English. He was a member of the Scottish Arts Council (1992–1994). He holds an honorary doctorate (LL.D., law) from the University of Dundee, an honorary doctorate (D.Litt., literature) from the University of Hull and St Andrews. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1981, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2003. Terry Street, Dunn's first collection of poems, appeared in 1969 and received a Scottish Arts Council Book Award as well as a Somerset Maugham Award.

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Gary Harkins
Gary Harkins (born 2 January 1985) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Scottish Premier League club Kilmarnock.
He has previously played for Blackburn Rovers, he then went on to play for Huddersfield Town, Bury, Blackpool, Grimsby Town, Partick Thistle and Dundee.
Gary Harkins started out as a schoolboy player with Celtic before joining Blackburn Rovers as a YTS player when he was 16. He became a trainee in August 2003 but although he appeared in the academy and reserve teams he did not play a first team competitive game for the club. Harkins joined Huddersfield Town on loan in March 2004, where he made only three appearances before returning to Blackburn in June. The arrival of Mark Hughes as manager of Blackburn in September 2004 saw Harkins called up to play with the first team in a number of pre-season friendlies with Hughes apparently seeing potential in his future as a centre back. He joined Bury in February 2005, for whom he played five times in a month-long spell, and in November 2005, Harkins joined Blackpool on loan for one month, where he made six appearances, scoring two goals.

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Hamish MacCunn
Hamish MacCunn (22 March 1868 – 2 August 1916), Scottish romantic composer, conductor and teacher of great merit. His opera Diarmid was produced at Covent Garden in 1897. His other music includes cantatas, overtures, part-songs, instrumental pieces and songs, all markedly Scottish in type. He had a genuine love of Scottish folksong, and although he lived in London he was a lifelong champion of Scottish music and of the country’s musical life.
He was born in Greenock, the son of a shipowner, and was educated at the Royal College of Music, where his teachers included Sir Hubert Parry and Sir Charles Villiers Stanford.
MacCunn's first success was with the overture The Land of the Mountain and the Flood in 1887 at the Crystal Palace, and this (which remains far and away his best-known piece) was followed by other compositions, with a characteristic Scottish colouring. From 1888 to 1894 he was a professor at the Royal College of Music.
In 1888, he married Alison Pettie, daughter of John Pettie, RA, who had painted MacCunn's portrait several times. They had one son. John Pettie was an enthusiastic musician, who helped MacCunn build up his career by organising concerts of his work. The production of his opera Jeanie Deans at Edinburgh, soon followed. He was for some years conductor to the Carl Rosa Opera Company, and subsequently to other companies. A hectic programme of composing, conducting and teaching brought about a gradual deterioration in MacCunn's health, and he died aged only 48.

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Henry Tate
Sir Henry Tate, 1st Baronet (11 March 1819 White Coppice near Chorley Lancashire – 5 December 1899) was an English sugar merchant and philanthropist, noted for establishing the Tate Gallery, London.
Tate was the son of a Unitarian clergyman. When he was 13, he became a grocer's apprentice in Liverpool. After a seven-year apprenticeship, he was able to set up his own shop. His business was successful, and grew to a chain of six stores by the time he was 35. In 1859 Tate became a partner in John Wright & Co. sugar refinery, selling his grocery business in 1861. By 1869, he had gained complete control of the company, and renamed it as Henry Tate & Sons. In 1872, he purchased the patent from German Eugen Langen on a method of making sugar cubes, and in the same year built a new refinery in Liverpool. In 1877 he opened a refinery at Silvertown, London, which remains in production. At the time, much of Silvertown was still marshland. Tate was a modest rather retiring man, well known for his concern with workers’ conditions. He built the Tate Institute opposite his Thames Refinery, a bar and dance hall for their recreation.

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Hugh Enes Blackmore
Hugh Enes Blackmore (1 October 1863 – 21 May 1945) was a British opera and concert singer. Known as the 'Iron-Throated Tenor', he is best remembered for his performances of tenor roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. His career with D'Oyly Carte spanned almost 30 years, as he briefly became the company's stage manager, and was later a teacher of operatic singing and acting.
Blackmore was born in Greenock in Scotland. He attended Fettes College in Edinburgh where he sang tenor solos beginning at age 14. Encouraged by Alexander Potts, his headmaster, Blackmore took lessons in singing and thought to make a career in grand opera by training in Italy. However, Blackmore's father wanted him to follow a more secure profession, so he trained as a solicitor. Finding this not to his liking, he gave up law and studied singing under Signor Caravoglia.
In the early 1890s, Blackmore sang in a variety of concerts with performers including Leonora Braham and W. H. Squire. He took part in an evening concert at Kensington Town Hall on 22 March 1893 in aid of the fund for building a church at the Pembroke College, Cambridge mission in Walworth. The concert, which included Schubert's incidental music from Rosamunde, receiving its "First performance in England in its original and complete form", was held under the patronage of the Master and fellows of Pembroke College, with a young Henry Wood conducting.

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James Watt
James Watt, FRS, FRSE (19 January 1736 – 25 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer whose improvements to the Newcomen steam engine were fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both his native Great Britain and the rest of the world.
While working as an instrument maker at the University of Glasgow, Watt became interested in the technology of steam engines. He realised that contemporary engine designs wasted a great deal of energy by repeatedly cooling and re-heating the cylinder. Watt introduced a design enhancement, the separate condenser, which avoided this waste of energy and radically improved the power, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of steam engines. Eventually he adapted his engine to produce rotary motion, greatly broadening its use beyond pumping water.
Watt attempted to commercialize his invention, but experienced great financial difficulties until 1775 he entered a partnership with Matthew Boulton. The new firm of Boulton and Watt was eventually highly successful and Watt became a wealthy man. In his retirement, Watt continued to develop new inventions though none were as significant as his steam engine work. He died in 1819 at the age of 83. Watt has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history.

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Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno /ˈlɛnoʊ/ (born April 28, 1950) is an American stand-up comedian and television host.
From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. (Eastern Time, UTC-5), also on NBC. After The Jay Leno Show was canceled in January 2010 amid a host controversy, Leno returned to host The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on March 1, 2010.
James "Jay" Leno was born in New Rochelle, New York, in 1950. His mother, Catherine (née Muir; 1911–1993), a homemaker, was born in Greenock, Scotland, and came to the United States at age 11. Leno's father, Angelo (1910–1994), who worked as an insurance salesman, was born in New York to immigrants from Flumeri, Italy. Leno grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, and although his high school guidance counselor recommended that he drop out of school, he later obtained a Bachelor's degree in speech therapy from Emerson College, where he started a comedy club in 1973. Leno's siblings include his late older brother, Patrick, who was a Vietnam veteran and a lawyer.

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Jean Adam
Jean Adam (or Adams) (April 30, 1704 – April 3, 1765) was a Scottish poet.
Born in Greenock into a maritime family, her most famous work (though the authorship was for some time in dispute) is "There's Nae Luck Aboot The Hoose," a tale of a sailor's wife and the safe return of her husband from the sea. It is reported that Robert Burns remarked on its quality in 1771, some years after Adam's death.
Adam had a limited education in reading, writing, and sewing. She first encountered poetry not at school but when she read extracts from Sir Philip Sidney's romance The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia (1590) whilst working in domestic service with the minister of West Kirk, Greenock. There she also became acquainted with John Milton’s work and his translations of the classics.
She began to write in earnest and in 1734, one Mr Drummond, a collector of customs and excise, aided in the publication of a volume of her poems, Miscellany poems, by subscription, dedicated to the Laird of Cartsburn and printed by James Duncan. The collection did not sell well and Adam's financial situation worsened after she used her savings to ship a substantial number of copies to Boston, USA, in an unsuccessful bid for success there.

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John McGeoch
John Alexander McGeoch, (25 August 1955 – 4 March 2004), was a Scottish guitarist who played with a number of bands of the post-punk era, including Magazine, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Visage and Public Image Ltd.
He was described as "one of the most influential guitarists of his generation" and he was also considered as "the new wave Jimmy Page". In 1996, he was listed by Mojo in their "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" for his work on the Siouxsie and the Banshees song "Spellbound".
McGeoch was born and brought up in Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland, and got his first guitar when he was twelve. He first learned to play guitar learning blues songs, including the repertoire of Hendrix and Clapton. In 1970 he played in a local band called The Slugband. In 1971 he moved to London with his family, and in 1975 he began to attend Manchester Polytechnic, where he studied art.
McGeoch had a degree in Fine Art and an ongoing interest in photography, painting and drawing. He provided some of the cover art for his future band The Armoury Show, years later.

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Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore (born Julie Anne Smith on December 3, 1960) is a British-American actress and a children's book author. She has been nominated for four Oscars, six Golden Globes, three BAFTAs and nine Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Moore began her acting career in 1983 in minor roles, before joining the cast of the soap opera As the World Turns, for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1988. She began to appear in supporting roles in films during the early 1990s, in films such as The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and The Fugitive. Her performance in Short Cuts (1993) won her and the rest of the cast a Golden Globe for their ensemble performance, and her performance in Boogie Nights (1997) brought her widespread attention and nominations for several major acting awards.
Her success continued with films such as The Big Lebowski (1998), The End of the Affair (1999) and Magnolia (1999). She received particular acclaim for her portrayal of a betrayed wife in Far from Heaven (2002), winning several critic awards as best actress of the year, in addition to several other nominations, including the Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award. The same year, she was also nominated for several awards as best supporting actress for her work in The Hours. In 2010, Moore starred in the comedy drama The Kids Are All Right, for which she received a Golden Globe and BAFTA nomination.

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Lawrence Tynes
Lawrence James Henry Tynes (born May 3, 1978) is a Scottish American football placekicker for the New York Giants. He was originally signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2001. After 4 seasons in Kansas City, he was traded to the Giants in 2007. In his first season with the Giants, he kicked them to Super Bowl XLII with a last-second field goal in overtime against the Green Bay Packers in the 2008 NFC Championship Game and another last-second field goal in the 2012 NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers. He has experienced his best success in New York, winning two Super Bowl championships in 2007 and 2011.
Tynes attended Milton High School in Milton, Florida along with professional golfer and classmate, Bubba Watson.
Tynes attended Troy State University (now simply Troy University), graduating with a degree in criminal justice, and holds school records for career field goals (45), and points (262).
Tynes originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Kansas City in 2001. He also played in 10 games for the Scottish Claymores of NFL Europe in 2002.

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Matthew Fitt
Matthew Fitt is a Lowland Scots/Lallans poet and novelist. He was born in 1968 in Dundee, Scotland. Previously writer-in-residence at Greater Pollok in Glasgow, he is currently National Scots Language Development Officer.
In 2002, together with James Robertson and Susan Rennie, he co-founded 'Itchy Coo', a publishing imprint and educational project to reintroduce schoolchildren to the Scots tongue.
His best known work is But'n'Ben A-Go-Go, a cyberpunk novel in Lowland Scots. Earlier works included The Hoose O Haivers, a loose retelling of the Metamorphoses of Ovid in Scots and The Smoky Smirr O Rain, a Scots anthology.
He wrote the lyrics to Icker in a Thrave, the 2007 Scots entry for the Liet-Lavlut song contest for minority languages in Europe. The tune was written by Simon Thoumire, and the song was performed by Mairi Campbell (singing), Kevin Mackenzie (guitar), Clare McLaughlin (fiddle), and Simon Thoumire (concertina).

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Peter McDougall
Peter McDougall (born 1947, Greenock, Scotland) is a BAFTA and Prix Italia award-winning television playwright whose major success was in the 1970s.
McDougall claims to have had very little schooling and to rarely read books, He began his working life at the age of fourteen in the shipyards of Greater Glasgow and Greenock with future comedian and actor Billy Connolly. Depressed by the harsh conditions and unfulfilled by the menial work, he left Scotland and moved to London, where he worked as a house-painter.
It was while painting Colin Welland's house that McDougall impressed the actor and writer when relating tales of being the drum major in the Orange Walk as a teenager. He was advised to try writing a television play about this and the result was Just Another Saturday, which McDougall wrote in secret and hid even from his first wife, a teacher nearly a decade his senior. Once completed, the script was sent to the BBC Play for Today team, who were enormously impressed but rejected the play because of the sensitive subject matter. McDougall was however asked to try again, and wrote a more intimate piece Just your Luck (1972) based on his sister's wedding, again exploring the sectarian divide in its story of a Protestant girl who finds herself pregnant by a Catholic boy.

wn.com/Peter_McDougall
Robert Burns
Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796) (also known as Rabbie Burns, Scotland's favourite son, the Ploughman Poet, Robden of Solway Firth, the Bard of Ayrshire and in Scotland as simply The Bard) was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is also in English and a "light" Scots dialect, accessible to an audience beyond Scotland. He also wrote in standard English, and in these his political or civil commentary is often at its most blunt.
He is regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic movement, and after his death he became a great source of inspiration to the founders of both liberalism and socialism, and a cultural icon in Scotland and among the Scottish Diaspora around the world. Celebration of his life and work became almost a national charismatic cult during the 19th and 20th centuries, and his influence has long been strong on Scottish literature. In 2009 he was chosen as the 'Greatest Scot' by the Scottish public in a vote run by Scottish television channel STV.

wn.com/Robert_Burns
Robin Jenkins
Robin Jenkins OBE (11 September 1912 - 24 February 2005) was a Scottish writer of thirty-four published novels, the most celebrated being The Cone Gatherers.
Robin Jenkins was born John Robin Jenkins in Flemington near Cambuslang in 1912; his father died when John was only seven years old and he and his three siblings were brought up by his mother in straitened circumstances. However, he won a bursary to attend the former Hamilton Academy then a famous fee-paying school . The theme of escaping circumstances through education at such a school was to form the basis of Jenkins's later novel Happy for the Child (1953) Winning a scholarship, he subsequently studied Literature at the University of Glasgow, graduating in 1936. During the Second World War, he registered as a conscientious objector and was sent to work in forestry (a theme that would re-appear in The Cone Gatherers). Upon the release of his first novel, So Gaily Sings the Lark in 1951, he shortened his writing name to 'Robin Jenkins'.

wn.com/Robin_Jenkins
Ryan McWilliams
Ryan McWilliams (born 24 November 1989 in Greenock, Scotland) is a Scottish goalkeeper playing in the Scottish First Division with Ayr United.
Growing up in his home-town of Greenock McWilliam's always wanted to play for Greenock Morton at professional level. He worked his way through the youth system to the U 19's and then was called up-to the first team. On 15 August 2009 he made his professional debut in a game against Dunfermline Athletic.
He has also played for junior side Largs Thistle and Greenock Morton.
McWilliams made his debut for Greenock Morton on 15 August 2009, against Dunfermline Athletic after Bryn Halliwell was injured in the warm-up.
McWilliams was loaned to his old club, Ayrshire junior side, Largs Thistle towards the end of the 2009-10 season.
After being released by Morton, on 30 July 2010, Ryan signed for Ayr United on a 1 year deal as back up to David Crawford .
At the end of the 2010/2011 season McWilliams signed a 1 year extension with Ayr for the 2011/2012 Season.

wn.com/Ryan_McWilliams
Stella Gonet
Stella Gonet (born 8 May 1963 in Greenock, Scotland) is a Scottish theatre, film and TV actress.
Gonet trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and is known for playing Beatrice Eliott, one of the two lead roles, in three series of the television drama The House Of Eliott, and Chief Executive Officer Jayne Grayson in the medical drama Holby City. She also has appeared in Casualty, The Crow Road, Dalziel and Pascoe, Foyle's War, Outnumbered, and played a villain in the mini-series The Secret.
Gonet's screen credits include For Queen and Country, Nicholas Nickleby, and Red Mercury.
Gonet also has acted extensively in the theatre. She appeared as Ophelia opposite Daniel Day-Lewis as Hamlet in the Royal National Theatre production of Hamlet.
Gonet is married to English actor, Nicholas Farrell (the couple co-starred in an episode of The Roman Mysteries as Queen Berenice of Judea and Emperor Titus). She comes from a family of twelve children. Gonet's nephew, Stefan Gonet, is currently a goalkeeper with Clydebank F.C..

wn.com/Stella_Gonet
Thomas Leer
Thomas Leer (born Thomas Wishart, 1953, Port Glasgow, Scotland) is a British musician who as well as releasing a number of albums and singles in his own right, was also one half (the other being Claudia Brücken) of the 1980s electropop band Act. His single "Private Plane", which he recorded in his home, is considered a seminal example of DIY indie techno.
Born in Port Glasgow, October 1953, Leer played in several local experimental pop groups in the early to mid-1970s, moving to London when the punk rock scene was at its height. He formed the punk band Pressure, but by 1978 had moved on to music influenced by electro-pop and Krautrock bands such as Can. He self-financed his debut single, "Private Plane" that year, and in 1979 released the album The Bridge in collaboration with Robert Rental. In 1981 he signed to Cherry Red, his first release for the label being the 4 Movements EP. After two further releases on the label he was signed by Arista Records, releasing three further singles and his debut full-length solo album, The Scale of Ten in late 1985.

wn.com/Thomas_Leer
William Burn
William Burn (20 December 1789 – 15 February 1870) was a Scottish architect, pioneer of the Scottish Baronial style.
He was born in Edinburgh, the son of architect Robert Burn, and educated at the Royal High School. After training with the architect of the British Museum, Sir Robert Smirke, he returned to Edinburgh in 1812. Here he established a practice from the family builders' yard. In 1841, he took on a pupil, David Bryce, with whom he later went into partnership. From 1844 he worked in London, wher he took on his nephew John Macvicar Anderson as a partner.
Burn was a versatile architect who was happy to turn his hand to a variety of styles. He designed many Scottish churches, a castle and some important public buildings, including:
He also designed or remodelled as many as 600 country houses, including:
David Bryce went on to perfect the Scottish Baronial style of architecture.

wn.com/William_Burn
William Kidd
William "Captain" Kidd (c. 1645 – 23 May 1701) was a Scottish sailor remembered for his trial and execution for piracy after returning from a voyage to the Indian Ocean. Some modern historians deem his piratical reputation unjust, as there is evidence that Kidd acted only as a privateer. Kidd's fame springs largely from the sensational circumstances of his questioning before the English Parliament and the ensuing trial. His actual depredations on the high seas, whether piratical or not, were both less destructive and less lucrative than those of many other contemporary pirates and privateers.

Captain William Kidd was either one of the most notorious pirates in the history of the world or one of its most unjustly vilified and prosecuted privateers in an age typified by the rationalisation of empire. Despite the legends and fiction surrounding this character, his actual career was punctuated by only a handful of skirmishes followed by a desperate quest to clear his name.

wn.com/William_Kidd

Oak Mall Greenock - Gangnam Style

Greenock public with staff and shoppers at Oak Mall Shopping Centre giving Xmas shopping s...

published: 06 Dec 2012

author: George Monaghan

Argument on Greenock bus

A 585 bus driver banged into a taxi and refused to give the taxi driver his details in wri...

published: 31 Jul 2012

author: Jason Luke

Greenock 1981 - A shipbuilding town

A bit of history here. A drive from the BPI factory on Port Glasgow Rd. through Greenock's...

published: 05 Dec 2011

author: Brian31252

Women of the Clyde" Greenock & port glasgow..

Clydeside Women, Clydeside Banter" Exclusive"......

published: 17 Aug 2012

author: Eddie Ceann Caidhe

Greenock then and now - Part one

How certain areas of Greenock have changed since the 1960s....

published: 01 Jan 2011

author: grianaig1

Paddle Steamer Waverley / Greenock - Millport / 26/07/12

A trip on the Paddle Steamer Waverley sailing from Greenock, on the mouth of the River Cly...

published: 28 Jul 2012

author: devsteam

Watson's MMA@Kickback Greenock Training Video

Training Video for Watsons Martial Arts Kickback based in Greenock. Visit www.watsonsma.co...

published: 02 Jun 2012

author: Michael Ireland

HM Queen Elizabeth II in Greenock Battery Park July 4th 2012

The Queen departs Greenock by helicopter of the Royal Flight from the Battery Park. The he...

published: 05 Jul 2012

author: Brian31252

greenock screwball, george square!

...

published: 08 Jun 2011

author: andyboyd69

Greenock Gangnam Style.mp4

a VERY Drunkenly/quickly put together version of the Classic PSY's Gangnam Style Video...a...

published: 26 Dec 2012

author: David Lyons

A "Silent Night" in Greenock.mp4

A beautiful dreamy version LIVE of "Silent Night" for the unlikely combination of Recorder...

published: 29 Dec 2012

author: David Lyons

billy boys wren road greenock

orange band...

published: 23 Sep 2012

author: machico63

Laird 5treet Greenock Celtic club

Celtic Fans celebrating 2011/2012 Title...

published: 08 Apr 2012

author: KennyGreenock

fireworks 2012, Greenock

Battery Park Public Firework Display 2012. Content Probably owned by Disney....

published: 04 Nov 2012

author: Graeme Freeman

Greenock

published: 27 Apr 2009

author: Tom Cstricum

Greenock Quadding

Greenock Donnies compilation including footage from our Quad day out.... Enjoy, more info...

published: 15 Apr 2009

author: Marty

Godspeed Greenock

This is a scene from "Godspeed Greenock", A Documentary about an industrial city in Scotla...

published: 25 May 2010

author: Benjamin Backus

YSM: Greenock

published: 18 Jul 2011

author: Your Square Mile

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photo: AP / Altaf Qadri

Indian anti-riot personnel stand guard at a check point after security was beefed up following the death of a young woman who was recently gang-raped in a moving bus in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012.

India appeal for calm after Delhi gang-rape victim dies

BBC News

29 Dec 2012

Police in India have sealed off much of the capital, Delhi, and issued an appeal for calm after the death of a woman who was gang-raped in the city. The 23-year old woman, who has not been identified, died early on Saturday at a hospital in Singapore, where she had been taken for specialist treatment. Her body is to be flown back to India for burial ... Gatherings of more than five people have been banned in the city centre ... ....(size: 4.9Kb)

photo: AP / New York City Police Department

In this image provided by the New York City Police Department, a composite sketch showing the woman believed to have pushed a man to his death in front of a subway train on Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012 is shown.

US woman charged with hate crime in subway death

Taipei Times

30 Dec 2012

A woman who told police she shoved a man to his death off a subway platform because she has hated Muslims since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the US and thought he was one was charged on Saturday with murder as a hate crime, prosecutors said ... Menendez, 31, was awaiting arraignment on the charge on Saturday evening, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. She faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted ... On Dec ... ....(size: 3.0Kb)

photo: AP / Ben Curtis

In this Sunday, April 29, 2012 file photo, troops from the Central African Republic stand guard at a building used for joint meetings between them and U.S. Army special forces, in Obo, Central African Republic, where U.S. special forces have paired up with local troops and Ugandan soldiers to seek out Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).

CAR seeks foreign help against rebels

Al Jazeera

28 Dec 2012

The president of Central African Republic (CAR) has urgently called on France and other foreign powers to help his government fend off rebels who are quickly seizing territory and approaching the capital. Speaking to crowds in Bangui, a city of some 600,000, Francois Bozize on Thursday pleaded with foreign powers to do what they could. He pointed in particular to France, Central African Republic's former colonial ruler ... 516 Share ... News ... ....(size: 19.5Kb)

photo: AP / Shaam News Network

In this image taken from video obtained from the Shaam News Network, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, smoke rises from buildings from heavy shelling in Homs, Syria, on Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012.

Syria risks becoming ‘new Somalia’: UN envoy

Zeenews

30 Dec 2012

London. UN-Arab League envoy to Damascus, Lakhdar Brahimi, has said that a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Syria seemed far away, adding that the country risked being slithering into ‘hell’ ... (ANI). For Zee News’s Updates, follow us on Twitter , Facebook, Google+, Pinterest. First Published ... ....(size: 1.7Kb)

photo: WN / Yolanda Leyba

Galaxy Note 2 vs. iPhone 5: Do The Companies Have Their Game Plans Right?

The Verge

28 Dec 2012

Galaxy Note 2 vs. iPhone 5. Do The Companies Have Their Game Plans Right?. Posted by Jay099 on December 28, 2012 02.15 pm 0. via. Mountain View at California seems to be a busy center now. Google is stepping up the gas on the march towards a holistic environment and experience for the consumers ... My Blog . My FB Page ... ....(size: 2.2Kb)

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'Waterloo Road's Heather Peace on Nikki Boston's 'comedic' return

IMDb

31 Dec 2012

The actress told the Daily Record. "I couldn't do the first 10 episodes when they moved [to Greenock], because I had my tour booked and it clashed ... It's quite funny, really ... ....(size: 0.9Kb)

Man fined $1000 for speeding in Barossa Valley

The Daily Telegraph Australia

30 Dec 2012

The 33-year-old Greenock man's licence was also suspended for six months after he was allegedly caught doing 160km/h in a 110km/h zone on the ......(size: 0.8Kb)

Speeding - there is just no excuse (SAPOL - South Australia Police)

noodls

29 Dec 2012

(Source. SAPOL - South Australia Police). Sunday, 30 December 2012 8.35am. A 33-year-old man from Greenock was detected speeding last night at Daveyston. ... The driver will also incur 9 demerit points against his licence. ... (noodl....(size: 1.7Kb)

Parents celebrate the arrival of Scotland's Christmas babies

BBC News

25 Dec 2012

By 10.00, midwives at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley and Greenock's Inverclyde Royal Hospital said they were still waiting for the first arrivals in their labour wards. ....(size: 1.0Kb)

Fans can roar Cliftonville to victory: Smyth

Belfast Telegraph

25 Dec 2012

Wednesday promises to be a day of firsts for Cliftonville defender Marc Smyth ... An unsused substitute when Cliftonville limped to a disappointing derby defeat at Seaview earlier in the season, the former Ayr United, Partick Thistle, Airdrie and Greenock Morton defender doesn’t absolve himself of any responsbility for that loss and insists everyone of a Reds’ persuasion felt the pain associated with that setback ... ....(size: 4.3Kb)

First Christmas For Reunited Father And Son

Skynews

24 Dec 2012

A 50-year-old man is looking forward to the "best present ever" when he speaks to his father on Christmas Day for the first time.. Westley Grey, who lives near Greenock in Inverclyde, had never met his father Westley Moorehead until October this year when he travelled to the United States.. Mr Grey, along with his twin brother David, started searching for Mr Moorehead after their mother Thomasina died.....(size: 4.3Kb)

Kip call (Inverclyde Council)

noodls

23 Dec 2012

(Source. Inverclyde Council). Sunday 23 December 2012 ... All expressions of interest should be forwarded to Aubrey Fawcett, Corporate Director, Environment, Regeneration and Resources, Inverclyde Council, Municipal Buildings, Clyde Square, Greenock, PA15 1LY by Friday 25 January 2013 ... Date published....(size: 1.8Kb)

Match Day Info – St Mirren v Motherwell (Saint Mirren Football Club Ltd)

noodls

21 Dec 2012

(Source. Saint Mirren Football Club Ltd). If you are thinking about coming to St Mirren Park for the first time tonight please click here for all the info you will need to make sure your match day experience runs as smoothly as possible. The referee for Friday's Clydesdale Bank Premier League fixture against Motherwell at St Mirren Park will be Iain Brines. The other match day officials are as follows. ... 4th Official ... From M8 Greenock....(size: 9.8Kb)

Man, 56, dies after being hit by car in Greenock

BBC News

20 Dec 2012

The man was crossing Inverkip Street, Greenock, when he was hit by a southbound black Peugeot ......(size: 0.5Kb)

Flying Phantom skipper's widow criticises FAI system

BBC News

19 Dec 2012

A woman whose husband died when a tugboat capsized five years ago has backed reforms to the "deficient" fatal accident inquiry (FAI) system. Stephen Humphreys was the skipper of the Flying Phantom, which sank in thick fog on the Clyde on 19 December 2007. The 33-year-old from Greenock died, along with Robert Cameron, 65, from Houston in Renfrewshire, and Eric Blackley, 57, from Gourock, Inverclyde ... She said ... 'Pot luck' ... ....(size: 3.9Kb)

Clyde coastguard ceases operating

BBC News

18 Dec 2012

At its height the Greenock base employed more than 30 staff to oversee air and sea rescues from the Mull of Galloway to Ardnamurchan Point ......(size: 0.7Kb)

Last day of operations as Clyde Coastguard closes

BBC News

18 Dec 2012

Clyde Coastguard will cease operations on Tuesday as it becomes the latest of eight stations to close under a UK government modernisation plan. When it was fully operational, the Greenock facility employed 31 staff to oversee air and sea rescues from the Mull of Galloway to Ardnamurchan Point. Its work has now been taken on by stations in Stornoway and Belfast ... Sir Alan said ... Staff unhappy. Sir Alan said ... ....(size: 2.7Kb)

iYouthZone officially opened (Inverclyde Council)

noodls

17 Dec 2012

(Source. Inverclyde Council). Monday 17 December 2012. The new iYouthZone youth facility will provide activities for up 1500 young people. It is funded by the Big Lottery Fund Our Place Programme and operated by Inverclyde Council. This three year project will increase activities for young people from the Greenock Central and East areas ... Date published....(size: 2.3Kb)

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For other uses, see Greenock (disambiguation).

Coordinates: 55°56′58″N 4°45′51″W / 55.94957°N 4.76415°W / 55.94957; -4.76415

Greenock
Scottish Gaelic: Grianaig
Scots: Greenock
View north west over Greenock and the River Clyde, with the Golden Princess at Greenock Ocean Terminal
Greenock Greenock shown within Inverclyde
Population	45,467 (2001 Census)
OS grid reference	NS275764
Council area	Inverclyde
Lieutenancy area	Renfrewshire
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	GREENOCK
Postcode district	PA15, PA16
Dialling code	01475
Police	Strathclyde
Fire	Strathclyde
Ambulance	Scottish
EU Parliament	Scotland
UK Parliament	Inverclyde
Scottish Parliament	Greenock and Inverclyde
List of places: UK • Scotland •

Greenock ( listen (help·info); Scottish Gaelic: Grianaig, pronounced [kɾʲiənɛkʲ]) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It forms part of a contiguous urban area with Gourock to the west and Port Glasgow to the east.

Greenock's population was recorded as being 45,467 in the 2001 census, a decrease from about 78,000 in 1966. It lies on the south bank of the Clyde at the "Tail of the Bank" where the River Clyde expands into the Firth of Clyde.

History [link]

Name [link]

The origin of the town's name is uncertain. It is generally accepted, however, that the town is named after the Gaelic "Grianaig" meaning a sunny place. The suggestion that the town's name comes from the words Green Oak is merely folk etymology, but the image has been taken as a logo for the town's main shopping centre, The Oak Mall and was once emblazoned on the local Co-operative Society emblem. The myth that 'Greenock' derives from 'Green Oak' is also perpetrated in a local song (The Green Oak Tree). Significantly, no green oak appears on the town's coat of arms which features three sugar caskets, a sailing ship in full sail and three herring above the motto God Speed Greenock.

Early history [link]

The Cut - visitor centre.

The Cut – aqueduct.

The area on which Greenock was founded included two estates: Cartsburn and Easter Greenock and Wester Greenock. Cartsburn and Easter Greenock had existed as a single estate since the rule of Mary, Queen of Scots. A small fishing village was established there sometime prior to 1592. By 1670 a Crown Charter united the estates as the Burgh and Barony of Greenock with the exception of Cartsburn, which in 1669 became a distinct Barony with Burgh of Barony of Crawfurdsdyke or Cartsdyke. Greenock was quickly established as a port, and was the location for the second voyage as part of the ill-fated Darien Scheme. This fleet left on August 18, 1699 arriving in Panama on 30 November with the majority of its passengers diseased or dead. After the Act of Union 1707, Greenock's facilities made it the main port on the West Coast and it prospered due to trade with the Americas, importing sugar from the Caribbean.

In 1827 Loch Thom was constructed as a reservoir with The Cut aqueduct, bringing water to power industry.

Greenock Central railway station at Cathcart Street opened in 1841, for the first time providing a fast route from Glasgow to the coast linking up with Clyde steamer services. The provision of this new line eliminated the necessity of taking the steamer all the way down river from Glasgow. In 1869 the Caledonian Railway was bypassed by the rival Glasgow and South Western Railway which opened a station on the waterfront at Princes Pier. To regain custom, the Caledonian Railway extended (what is now known as the Inverclyde Line) the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway west to Gourock; this line was built to run inland through deep cuttings and tunnels to avoid disturbance to the villas of Greenock's west end. The Gourock line opened in 1889.

Custom House [link]

The Greenock Custom House building was designed by William Burn in 1818 and is considered by many^[specify] to be the finest in Britain. It underwent extensive refurbishment which was completed in 1989 and, until closure of the building in 2010, housed a customs and excise museum which was open to the public. In June 2008 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced that the building would close in 2011 as part of a rationalisation project with any jobs being transferred to offices in Glasgow. In response, staff, their union PCS and local politicians organised a campaign to oppose HMRCs plans. Despite this widespread opposition HMRC announced in December 2008 that the closure would definitely go ahead. In the event, the building closed ahead of schedule in August 2010 and now lies empty.

Victoria Tower [link]

The Municipal Buildings with the Victoria Tower and "Cowan's Corner", and the Mid Kirk spire of 1781 to the left.

Greenock's increasing importance and wealth was manifested in the construction of the Italianate Municipal Buildings, whose Victoria Tower, completed in 1886, stands 245 feet (75 m) tall. Begun five years previously in a competition won by architects H. & D. Barclay, it exceeds the height of the tower of Glasgow City Chambers by more than a metre. The Municipal Buildings remain uncompleted, as a local businessman called Robert Cowan refused to sell his building in front of the tower for less than his own price, preventing completion of the right hand façade of the southern elevation.

Villas [link]

Further evidence of this wealth can be seen in the large villas of Greenock's west end, one time home to the ship owners, industrialists and investors. The area is fronted by the mile long (1.6 km) sweep of the Esplanade with its views across the Clyde to Kilcreggan which almost convinces the visitor that no heavy industry could have been anywhere nearby.

Battery Park and torpedoes [link]

At Fort Matilda railway station the Newton Street railway tunnel emerges near the coast. The excavated material from the construction of the tunnel was used as landfill to the west of the old coastal gun emplacement of Fort Matilda, forming a level area which became the playing fields of Battery Park.^{[citation needed]}

In 1907 the Admiralty compulsorily purchased part of this land and constructed the Clyde Torpedo Factory, which opened in 1910, with 700 workers transferred from the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich. The site was tasked with designing and testing of torpedoes. These were then tested in Loch Long. During the Second World War the site switched entirely to manufacturing torpedoes. The original gun battery site was occupied by the Navy Buildings, the main offices, just to the east of the torpedo factory buildings.

Old West Kirk [link]

A church had been established in Greenock in 1591 under the patronage of John Schaw, the first built in Scotland since the Reformation. In 1926, to make way for expansion of the Harland & Wolff shipyard (the present-day location of Container Way), the Old West Kirk was relocated to a new site on the Esplanade where it still stands. The church is notable for stained glass by artists such as Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Sir Edward Burne-Jones. The Church has a website.^[1]

Second World War [link]

Free French Memorial on Lyle Hill overlooking Gourock

The original James Watt Memorial College building

Greenock Town Hall

Greenock suffered badly during the Second World War and its anchorage at the Tail of the Bank became the base for the Home Fleet as well as the main assembly point for Atlantic convoys. On 30 April 1940 the French Vauquelin class destroyer Maillé Brézé blew up off Greenock with heavy loss of life following an accident involving two of her own torpedoes. Although this disaster occurred before the Free French Naval Forces were established, many people tend to regard the Cross of Lorraine on Lyle Hill as a memorial to the loss of the Maillé Brézé as well as to the later losses of the Free French naval vessels which sailed from the town. On the nights of 6 May and 7 May 1941 around 300 Luftwaffe aircraft attacked the town in the Greenock Blitz.

A large building housing a drapery business constructed on Cowan's property at the corner of the Municipal Buildings was badly damaged and was demolished, leaving the blank brick corner area still known as "Cowan's Corner". This was later set as a garden for the blind.

The original blank brick of Cowans Corner was covered in 2008 as part of the continuing work to improve the look of the town centre.

Postwar years [link]

Greenock thrived in the post-war years but as the heavy industries declined in the 1970s and 1980s unemployment became a major problem, and it has only been in the last ten years with reinvestment and the redevelopment of large sections of the town that the local economy has started to revive. Tourism has appeared as an unexpected bonus with the development of the Clydeport Container Terminal as an Ocean Terminal for cruise ships crossing the Atlantic. Students who do not travel further afield for study often attend the James Watt College of Further and Higher Education.

Greenock reached its population peak in 1921 (81,123) and was once the sixth largest town in Scotland.

Governance [link]

Main article: Greenock (UK Parliament constituency)

Until 1974 Greenock was a parliamentary burgh in its own right. It was merged with Port Glasgow to form Greenock and Port Glasgow constituency. In 1997 it became Greenock and Inverclyde. After the redistribution of Scottish seats it was merged into an enlarged Inverclyde constituency- the first time in political history that Greenock has not been named in a parliamentary seat. Greenock and Inverclyde remains a Scottish Parliament constituency.

Health [link]

Main article: Inverclyde Royal Hospital

The Inverclyde Royal Hospital is located in Greenock serving the population of Inverclyde, Largs, Bute and the Cowal Peninsula.^[2] Ravenscraig Hospital deals with psychiatric, day patients, referrals and specialised prescribing.^[3]

Geography [link]

Areas and suburbs [link]

Arran View, Bogston, Bow Farm, Braeside, Branchton, Bridgend, Broomhill, Cartsburn, Cornhaddock, Fancy Farm, Fort Matilda, Gibshill, Greenock West, Grieve Hill, Hole Farm, Larkfield, Lyle Hill, Lynedoch Overton, Pennyfern, Strone, Strone Farm, and Whinhill.

Economy [link]

Historically, the town relied on shipbuilding, sugar refining and wool manufacturing for employment, but none of these industries are today part of Greenock's economy. More recently the town relied heavily on electronics manufacture. However this has given way mostly to call centre business, insurance, banking and shipping export.

The Fleming and Reid merino wool mill employed 500 people - mostly women and produced wool garments spun and woven at the mill. This mill was at the corner of Drumfrochar Road and Mill Road

Nowadays Greenock, Inverclyde has one of the highest rates of unemployment in the UK with a average of 12.5% of locals claiming unemployment benefits [30].

Shipbuilding [link]

Greenock waterfront from Victoria Harbour to Ocean Terminal, the skyline dominated by Victoria Tower.

The Inchgreen Dry Dock at Greenock, opened in 1964, is one of the largest in the world at 305m long and 48m wide. It was previously used to fit-out the QE2 and re-fit the RMS Queen Elizabeth.

Ocean Terminal seen from the esplanade.

In the early 17th century, the first pier was built in Greenock. Shipbuilding was already an important employer by this time. The first proper harbour was constructed in 1710 and the first well-known shipbuilders, Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, was established the following year. It was the oldest shipbuilding business in the world and gained numerous contracts with the Royal Navy from 1806, building ships such as the Glasgow.

In 1967 Scott's was merged with Lithgows (founded 1874, later the largest privately owned yard in the world) the same year becoming Scott Lithgow, which was later nationalised as part of British Shipbuilders in 1977. From the 1800 to 1980 many thousands of people worked to design, build and repair ships. The reduction in shipbuilding in the 1970s and 1980s meant that none of these companies are still trading.

Greenock Shipbuilders included: Scotts, Browns, William Lithgows, Fergusons, Head the Boat Builder (lifeboats). Other marine engineering related companies included engine-makers - Kincaids, Scotts, Rankin and Blackmore (which included the Eagle Foundry) - ship repair (Lamonts) and Hasties for steering gear. Yacht builders included Adams and McLean (at Cardwell Bay). Other yards included Cartsburn, Cartsdyke, and Klondyke - all of which closed during the 1970s and 1980s due to competition from South Korea and Japan.

Part of the site of the Scott's yard, is now a T-Mobile call centre.

Ship repair work continues at the Garvel and Inchgreen dry docks and Shipbuilding continues at Ferguson Shipbuilders in nearby Port Glasgow.

Shipping [link]

Freight traffic is handled at the container cranes of Greenock's Ocean Terminal, at Prince's Pier which was constructed for the Glasgow and South Western Railway. The same terminal is a regular port of call for cruise liners visiting the west of Scotland.

Greenock's Great Harbour is one of the three main ports providing marine services support to the Royal Navy, in dual site operation with Faslane at HMNB Clyde on the Gare Loch. 240 staff of the former Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service were transferred to Serco Denholm under a 15-year £1bn PFI contract awarded in December 2007.^[4] This facility means that "Admiralty" boats and tugs are a common sight on the Clyde.

Greenock's attractive esplanade provides a gently curving riverside walk just over a mile (1.6 km) long extending to the west from Ocean Terminal to the Royal West of Scotland Amateur Boat Club sailing, kayaking and rowing facilities and clubhouse at the corner of the Navy Buildings which house a main Her Majesty's Coastguard centre as well as a Royal Naval Reserve establishment, HMS Dalriada.

Sugar [link]

The Sugar Warehouse dominates the James Watt Dock

A covered arcade sheltered sugar unloading.

Sugar refining began in Greenock in 1765.^[5] John Walker began a sugar refinery in Greenock in 1850 followed by the prominent local cooper and shipowner Abram Lyle who, with four partners, purchased the Glebe Sugar Refinery in 1865. Another 12 refineries were active at one point. The most famous of these (and successful, being the only survivor until August 1997) was Tate & Lyle. It was formed from a merger in 1921 between Abram Lyle, who had expanded into Plaistow, and Henry Tate, who had set up a sugar refinery in Liverpool and had expanded into London.

By the end of the 19th century, around 400 ships a year were transporting sugar from Caribbean holdings to Greenock for processing. There were 14 sugar refineries, including The Westburn, Walkers, The Glebe, Lochore and Ferguson and Dempster, plus a sugar beet factory on Ingleston Street. Tobacco from the Americas also arrived here.

When Tate and Lyle finally closed its Greenock refinery in 1997 it brought to an end the town's 150-year old connections with sugar manufacture. A newly built sugar warehouse continued shipping operations at Greenock's Ocean Terminal. The former sugar warehouse at the James Watt Dock was by then scheduled as a category A listed building as a fine example of early industrial architecture, with an unusual feature of a colonnade of cast iron columns forming a sheltered unloading area next to the quayside. This building has since lain empty, with various schemes being proposed for conversion and restoration. The photographs show the building still intact in February 2006, but a fire on the evening of 12 June 2006 caused severe damage to much of the building before being brought under control in the early hours of 13 June. The local council confirmed that parts of the building will have to be taken down to ensure public safety, but promised an investigation and emphasised the importance of this world heritage building.^[6]

Fortunately in 2007, contracts to develop the sugar refinery into housing went ahead and the building is slowly being restored to its grand spectacle along side the ever increasingly developing waterfront of the East end of Greenock. Many new and exciting housing projects combining new environmentally friendly technologies along with historically fashioned architecture are restoring Greenock's Waterfront facia to its once glorious former self.^[7]

Electronics [link]

Since IBM arrived in the town in 1951, electronics and light manufacturing have, until recently, been the mainstay of local employment. Texas Instruments (Formally National Semiconductor) has run a silicon wafer manufacturing plant in the town since 1970.

However, with manufacturing moving to Eastern Europe and Asia, work has shifted to the service sector, especially call centres. T-Mobile and IBM both have major call centre operations in Greenock, while the Royal Bank of Scotland Mortgage Centre processes Mortgage applications from throughout the UK & Ireland.

IBM have in recent years curtailed their operations greatly in the area. Sanmina, another electronics company, took over much of the IBM installation but moved 370 jobs to Hungary in 2006.^[8] The Sanmina plant, which consisted of the former IBM AMDC (Automated Materials Distribution Centre) and Modules buildings 1 to 5, has since ceased operation and was demolished in 2009. The Spango Valley site was rebranded as "Valley Park" in late 2009.

Lenovo has also re-located away from Greenock, and the plant is now at 10% of the 1999/2000 capacity

Trade and commerce [link]

Greenock's main shopping thoroughfare was Hamilton Street, which connected West Blackhall Street in the west to Clyde Square in the east. In 1975 it disappeared along with several other streets as the area was pedestrianised as Hamilton Way. In the 1990s it was refurbished again, and The Oak Mall indoor shopping centre now forms the central feature of the town, and provides most of the major retail shops in Inverclyde, with approximately 85 units, with main anchor stores including Marks and Spencer, Boots, Primark and a newly opened New Look store. Marks and Spencer is in its original building (dating from 1936) which was simply built round during the first phase of pedestrianisation.^[9] In addition, two major supermarkets Tesco and Morrisons are sited near the mall. A retail estate is located nearby, in front of the Waterfront swimming pool and leisure centre, and the streets around the mall provide a large number of smaller shops. Small groups of shops in most of the areas of the town provide for day to day needs, but most of the specialist shops are in the town centre. The town contains one diplomatic mission, an Italian consulate.

Transport [link]

Greenock Central

Greenock's most significant transportation connection is the Container Terminal (see above).

Greenock is Scotland's best served town in terms of railway stations. It boasts nine: Bogston, Cartsdyke, Greenock Central, Greenock West, Fort Matilda, Whinhill, Drumfrochar, Branchton and IBM Halt. Only Glasgow has a much greater number of stations and Edinburgh possesses only one more. Greenock has the longest bored railway tunnel in Scotland^{[citation needed]} at 1.2 miles (1.9 km) in length - the cut and cover tunnels of the North Clyde Line and Argyle Line beneath Glasgow City Centre are considerably longer. Located directly under Newton Street in the town, the tunnel allowed for the extension of the railway to Gourock.

Greenock is served by a number of local bus routes covering the majority of Greenock, Gourock and Port Glasgow. Long distance services travel regularly to Glasgow, Largs and Dunoon. The majority of routes are run by McGill's Bus Services. The Largs to Glasgow corridor is served by three services, the 901, 906 and 908, which provide a bus along this route every 15 minutes for most of the day. Route 907 offers a service from Glasgow's Buchanan bus station to Dunoon via Braehead, Port Glasgow and Greenock every 2 hours. The X7 service also offers travel from Greenock to Glasgow, serving the Slaemuir area of Port Glasgow before travelling through Kilmacolm, Bridge of Weir, Houston and Linwood, then joining the motorway to Braehead before heading into Glasgow City Centre.

Greenock is located at the end of the A8 road/M8 motorway which begins in Edinburgh. It is also the northern terminus of Euroroute E05 which heads south through England, France and Spain, ending at the Spanish port and container terminal of Algeciras.

Culture [link]

Mclean Museum and Art Gallery

Greenock is one of the settings for Alan Sharp's 1965 novel A Green Tree in Gedde. It is fictionalised as 'Gantock' by Robin Jenkins in his 1979 novel Fergus Lamont (The Gky shoal in the Firth of Clyde nearby, just off Dunoon). Alasdair Gray's 1984 novel 1982, Janine is set in a Greenock hotel room. Matthew Fitt's cyberpunk novel But'n'Ben A-Go-Go features a submerged Greenock after the effects of global warming. Greenock featured in several of the poems of W.S. Graham (evoking his childhood) and Douglas Dunn. Greenock is home to the world's first Burns Club, The Mother Club, which was founded in 1801 by merchants born in Ayrshire, some of whom had known Robert Burns. They held the first Burns Supper on what they thought was his birthday on 29 January 1802, but in 1803 discovered from the Ayr parish records that the correct date was 25 January 1759.^[10] The Victorian landscape artist John Atkinson Grimshaw depicted a somewhat idealised Greenock in several of his paintings. The Mclean Museum is the largest museum in the Inverclyde area, featuring exhibitions on James Watt and a collection of Ancient Egyptian artifacts. The Arts Guild Theatre (Greenock) is a local venue thay hosts many comedians, musicians and plays every year.

In television [link]

As of 2012, Greenock will be the setting for BBC television drama Waterloo Road, after the series will be relocated from Rochdale, Greater Manchester. The series will be shot at Greenock Academy, a former secondary school in the west end of town.^[11]

In film [link]

Greenock has featured as the backdrop to several films: the television films Just a Boys' Game (1979), Down Where The Buffalo Go (1988) and Down Among the Big Boys (1993)^[12] and the cinema films Sweet Sixteen (2002) and Dear Frankie (2004). "Leaving" 1988 by Danny Boyle

Media [link]

The town has a daily evening newspaper, The Greenock Telegraph. Dating from 1857, it is one of the oldest daily local newspapers in the United Kingdom.^{[citation needed]} Inverclyde FM on line is a community Internet radio station run by volunteers.^[13]

Notable Greenockians [link]

A statue at the original James Watt College building marks the site of his birthplace.

Greenock's most noted son is the engineer James Watt. He is remembered in the name of the local college, at the library instituted in his memory, by the original James Watt Memorial College building on the site of his birth place in William Street which incorporates a commemorative statue and a pub.

Other famous Greenockians include: the composers Hamish MacCunn and William Wallace, musicians John McGeoch and Thomas Leer,^{[citation needed]} poets Denis Devlin, W. S. Graham and Jean Adam, merchant Matthew Algie, actors Richard Wilson and Stella Gonet, artist William Scott, playwrights Bill Bryden, Neil Paterson and Peter McDougall, comedian Charles 'Chic' Murray, opera singer Hugh Enes Blackmore, broadcaster Jimmy Mack, American football player Lawrence Tynes, Antarctic explorer Henry Robertson 'Birdie' Bowers, and footballers Ryan McWilliams and Gary Harkins.

People associated with Greenock [link]

Pirate William Kidd claimed on death row that he was born in Greenock, however subsequent evidence has shown that he was born either in Belfast or Dundee.^[14]^[15]^[16]

Robert Burns' love Mary Campbell (Highland Mary) and her father sailed from Campbeltown to visit her brother in Greenock early in October 1786. Her brother fell ill with typhus, which she caught while nursing him. She died of typhus on 20 or 21 October 1786, and was buried in the Old West Kirk graveyard. In 1842 increasing interest in their romance led to a monument being erected by public subscription to mark the grave. In 1920 when the church site was needed to expand Harland and Wolff’s shipyard, the monument was moved to its present site in Greenock Cemetery, with her remains being transferred to a casket and re-interred with due ceremony. The church itself was moved and rebuilt in its current location at the west end of the Esplanade in 1926.^[17]^[18]

The novelist John Galt, noted for founding Guelph, Ontario in 1827, lived in the town and based some of his work, most notably Annals of the Parish (1821), on Greenock and surrounding towns. He is buried in the Inverkip Street Cemetery. The mother of American comedian and writer Jay Leno, Catherine Muir, was born in Greenock and emigrated to the US as a child. The American actress Julianne Moore is the daughter of the late Anne Love, a former psychiatric social worker who emigrated from Greenock. The Rev William C. Hewitt (minister at Westburn Parish Church in Greenock), Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 2009-2010, is the first serving minister at a church in Greenock to be appointed.

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the Libyan intelligence officer convicted of the Lockerbie Bombing was incarcerated at Greenock Prison from 2005 until his release on 20 August 2009.

Sports [link]

Cappielow Park, home of Morton F.C.

Greenock Morton F.C. are the local senior football team who currently play in the Scottish Football League First Division.^[19] Founded in 1874 as Morton F.C., they play their home matches at Cappielow. At lower levels of the game, Greenock Juniors F.C. play in the Stagecoach West of Scotland junior football league.

Greenock hosts a rugby union team, Greenock Wanderers RFC,^[20] and is the home town of the Greenock Cricket Club.^[21]

Public Sports and Leisure Facilities [link]

Leisure facilities in Greenock are primarily provided by Inverclyde Leisure. There are several sports facilities in the town and surrounding area managed by Inverclyde Leisure:

Waterfront Leisure Complex
Greenock Sports Centre
Lady Octavia Sports Centre
Boglestone Community Centre and Fitness Gym
Ravenscraig Sports Centre
Battery Park Pavilion
Gourock Fitness Gym
Gourock Outdoor Swimming Pool
Birkmyre Park Fitness Gym (Kilmacolm)

As of 2009, there are plans to build a new multi-purpose facility at Rankin Park.^[22]

Climate [link]

File:Greenock Temp.GIF

Mean monthly temperatures (click to enlarge)

Looking north west over Greenock in winter

Greenock’s climate is temperate maritime having mainly cool summers but with relatively mild winters. Its location means that the heat retentive properties of seawater help keep winter temperatures higher. Additionally, the effect of the Gulf Stream on the Clyde helps Greenock's average temperature stay approximately one degree above that of eastern coastal towns on the same latitude. Indeed Greenock's latitude (55.94 degrees north with a longitude of 4.75 degrees west) places it at the same latitude as the Moscow area. The warming effect of the Gulf Stream however, keeps the winter weather in Greenock much milder than that of Moscow.

Greenock anecdotally has the reputation for having higher than average rainfall (the song The Green Oak Tree comments on this) but this is not statistically true; northwest of Fort William has the highest average rainfall in Scotland.^[23] Greenock's location gives long hours of daylight in midsummer with the opposite true in midwinter. On the longest day, 21 June, the sun rises at 04:31 and sets at 22:07. In midwinter, 21 December, the sun rises at 08:46 and sets at 15:44.

Twin cities [link]

Greenock's twin cities are:

Gallery [link]

View from Greenock East India Harbour over the River Clyde
Greenock Sheriff Court in baronial style, by architects Peddie and Kinnear
Carribbean Princess Greenock Docking.JPG

MS Caribbean Princess docking at Greenock
View over West Greenock towards The Gare Loch.
Loch Thom, seen from the south

References [link]

This article uses bare URLs for citations. Please consider adding full citations so that the article remains verifiable. Several templates and the Reflinks tool are available to assist in formatting. (Reflinks documentation) (April 2012)

^ "The Old West Kirk, Greenock". Greenock Old West Kirk. http://www.owkgreenock.info/. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
^ "Inverclyde Royal Hospital". NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. http://www.nhsggc.org.uk/content/default.asp?page=s762&loc_id=2528. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
^ "Page 2" (PDF). http://www.drugmisuse.isdscotland.org/dat/argyllclyde/CANPart3.pdf. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
^ "Signing of Marine Services Contract". Serco Group plc. 14 Dec 2007. http://www.serco.com/media/market/defencenews/marineservicescontract.asp. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
^ "Online encyclopedia from Britannica 1911". http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/GRA_GUI/GREENOCK.html.
^ "Picture Gallery". http://www.inverclydenow.com/ShowGallery.asp?ID=249.
^ "£180 million Regeneration Project Approved". Inverclyde Council. 7 January 2010. http://www.inverclyde.gov.uk/news/2010/jan/163-180-million-regeneration-project-approved/. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
^ "Workers’ disgust at Hungary move", Greenock Telegraph, 15 Feb 2006, http://www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/news/roundup/articles/2006/02/16/6819-workers034-disgust-at-hungary-move/, retrieved 2010-05-07
^ Greenock from Old Photographs, 1984
^ "Congratulation Greenock Burns Club". The Robert Burns World Federation Limited. http://www.worldburnsclub.com/newsletter/0107/greenock_burns_club.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
^ "Waterloo Road relocates to Greenock". BBC News. 27 October 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-15484570.
^ "Screen One" Down Among the Big Boys (1993) at the Internet Movie Database
^ "Inverclydemedia.com". http://inverclydemedia.com/radio/. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
^ "KIDD-L Archives — Subject: [KIDD-L Captain William Kidd: recent biography"]. RootsWeb. http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/KIDD/2003-03/1048442258. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
^ "William Kidd 1645–1701". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. http://web.archive.org/web/20070928132408/http://www.greenock-town.co.uk/william_kidd.html. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
^ "William Kidd Undiscovered Scotland: The Ultimate Online Guide". Archived from the original on 2007-10-30. http://web.archive.org/web/20071030225010/http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usbiography/jkl/williamkidd.html. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
^ "Highland Mary (Mary Campbell)". Famous Sons and Daughters of Greenock. Nostalgic Greenock. http://www.greenock-town.co.uk/highland_mary.html. Retrieved 2010-01-17. ^{[dead link]}
^ "National Burns Collection - Design for a Monument proposed to be erected in memory of Highland Mary". http://burns.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-000-136-199-C. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
^ "GMFC.net". Greenock Morton FC. http://www.gmfc.net.
^ "Greenockwanderers.co.uk". Greenock Wanderers RFC. http://www.greenockwanderers.co.uk.
^ "Greenockcricketclub.com". Greenock Cricket Club. http://www.greenockcricketclub.com.
^ Baxter, Eric (2009-02-13), "Council tax frozen...but £23m leisure boost", Greenock Telegraph, http://www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/news/greenock/articles/2009/02/13/34068-council-tax-frozenbut-23m-leisure-boost, retrieved 2010-05-07
^ "Northern Scotland: climate". Met Office. http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/ns/. Retrieved 2010-05-07.

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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.

For other uses, see Elizabeth II (disambiguation).

Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II in 2007
Queen of the Commonwealth realms List United Kingdom (1952–) Canada (1952–) Australia (1952–) New Zealand (1952–) Pakistan (1952–56) South Africa (1952–61) Ceylon (1952–72) Ghana (1957–60) Nigeria (1960–63) Sierra Leone (1961–71) Tanganyika (1961–62) Jamaica (1962–) Trinidad and Tobago (1962–76) Uganda (1962–63) Kenya (1963–64) Malawi (1964–66) Malta (1964–74) The Gambia (1965–70) Guyana (1966–70) Barbados (1966–) Mauritius (1968–92) Fiji (1970–87) The Bahamas (1973–) Grenada (1974–) Papua New Guinea (1975–) Solomon Islands (1978–) Tuvalu (1978–) Saint Lucia (1979–) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (1979–) Belize (1981–) Antigua and Barbuda (1981–) Saint Kitts and Nevis (1983–)
Reign	6 February 1952 – present
Coronation	2 June 1953
Predecessor	George VI
Heir apparent	Charles, Prince of Wales
Prime Ministers	See list

Spouse	Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (m. 1947)
Detail Issue
Charles, Prince of Wales Anne, Princess Royal Prince Andrew, Duke of York Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
Full name
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary
House	House of Windsor
Father	George VI
Mother	Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Born	(1926-04-21) 21 April 1926 (age 86) Mayfair, United Kingdom
Religion	Church of England Church of Scotland

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born 21 April 1926^{[note 1]}) is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms, and head of the 54-member Commonwealth of Nations. She is also head of state of the Crown Dependencies.^[1]^[2]

Elizabeth was born in London, and educated privately at home. Her father acceded to the throne as George VI in 1936 on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII. She began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, in which she served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. On the death of her father in 1952, she became Head of the Commonwealth and queen regnant of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon. Her coronation service in 1953 was the first to be televised. Between 1956 and 1992, the number of her realms varied as territories gained independence and some realms became republics. Today, in addition to the first four aforementioned countries, Elizabeth is Queen of Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.

In 1947, she married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with whom she has four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward. In 1992, which Elizabeth termed her annus horribilis (horrible year), Charles and Andrew separated from their wives, Anne divorced, and a severe fire damaged part of Windsor Castle. Revelations continued on the state of Charles's marriage to Diana, Princess of Wales, and they divorced in 1996. The following year, Diana died in a Paris car crash, and the media criticised the royal family for remaining in seclusion in the days before her funeral. Elizabeth's personal popularity rebounded after she appeared in public and has subsequently remained high.

Her reign of 60 years is the second-longest for a British monarch; only Queen Victoria has reigned longer. Elizabeth's Silver and Golden Jubilees were celebrated in 1977 and 2002; her Diamond Jubilee is being celebrated during 2012.

Early life [link]

Elizabeth as a thoughtful-looking toddler with curly, fair hair

Princess Elizabeth aged 3, 1929

Elizabeth was the first child of Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI), and his wife, Elizabeth. Her father was the second son of King George V and Queen Mary, and her mother was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. She was born by Caesarean section at 2.40 am (GMT) on 21 April 1926 at her maternal grandfather's London house: 17 Bruton Street, Mayfair.^[3] The Anglican Archbishop of York, Cosmo Lang, baptised her in the private chapel of Buckingham Palace on 29 May.^[4]^{[note 2]} She was named Elizabeth after her mother, Alexandra after George V's mother, who had died six months earlier, and Mary after her paternal grandmother.^[5] Her close family called her "Lilibet".^[6] George V cherished his granddaughter, and during his serious illness in 1929 her regular visits were credited in the popular press and by later biographers with raising his spirits and aiding his recovery.^[7]

Elizabeth's only sibling was Princess Margaret, born in 1930. The two princesses were educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governess, Marion Crawford, who was casually known as "Crawfie".^[8] Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature and music.^[9] To the dismay of the royal family,^[10] in 1950 Crawford published a biography of Elizabeth and Margaret's childhood years entitled The Little Princesses. The book describes Elizabeth's love of horses and dogs, her orderliness, and her attitude of responsibility.^[11] Others echoed such observations: Winston Churchill described Elizabeth when she was two as "a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant."^[12] Her cousin Margaret Rhodes described her as "a jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved".^[13]

Heiress presumptive [link]

Elizabeth as a rosy-cheeked young girl with blue eyes and fair hair

Princess Elizabeth aged 7, 1933
Painting by Philip de László

As a granddaughter of the monarch in the male line, Elizabeth's full style at birth was Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth of York. She was third in the line of succession to the throne, behind her uncle, Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father. Although her birth generated public interest, she was not expected to become queen as the Prince of Wales was still young and many assumed he would marry and have children of his own.^[14] In 1936, when her grandfather, George V, died and her uncle Edward succeeded, she became second in line to the throne after her father. Later that year, Edward abdicated after his proposed marriage to divorced socialite Wallis Simpson provoked a constitutional crisis.^[15] Elizabeth's father became king, and she became heiress presumptive, with the style Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth.^[16] If her parents had had a son, he would have been heir apparent and above her in the line of succession.^[17]

Elizabeth received private tuition in constitutional history from Henry Marten, Vice-Provost of Eton College,^[18] and learned French from a succession of native-speaking governesses.^[19] A Girl Guides company, the 1st Buckingham Palace Company, was formed specifically so she could socialise with girls her own age.^[20] Later she was enrolled as a Sea Ranger.^[19]

In 1939, Elizabeth's parents toured Canada and visited the United States. As in 1927, when her parents had toured Australia and New Zealand, Elizabeth remained in Britain as her father thought her too young to undertake public tours.^[21] Elizabeth "looked tearful" as her parents departed.^[22] They corresponded regularly,^[22] and on 18 May, she and her parents made the first royal transatlantic telephone call.^[21]

Second World War [link]

From September 1939, with the outbreak of the Second World War, Elizabeth and Margaret stayed at Balmoral Castle, Scotland, until Christmas 1939, when they moved to Sandringham House, Norfolk.^[23] From February to May 1940, they lived at Royal Lodge, Windsor, until moving to Windsor Castle, where they stayed for most of the next five years.^[24] The suggestion by senior politician Lord Hailsham that the two princesses should be evacuated to Canada was rejected by Elizabeth's mother; she declared, "The children won't go without me. I won't leave without the King. And the King will never leave."^[25] At Windsor, the princesses staged pantomimes at Christmas in aid of the Queen's Wool Fund, which bought yarn to knit into military garments.^[26] In 1940, the 14-year-old Elizabeth made her first radio broadcast during the BBC's Children's Hour, addressing other children who had been evacuated from the cities.^[27] She stated:

We are trying to do all we can to help our gallant sailors, soldiers and airmen, and we are trying, too, to bear our share of the danger and sadness of war. We know, every one of us, that in the end all will be well.^[27]

In 1943, at the age of 16, Elizabeth undertook her first solo public appearance on a visit to the Grenadier Guards, of which she had been appointed Colonel-in-Chief the previous year.^[28] As she approached her 18th birthday, the law was changed so that she could act as one of five Counsellors of State in the event of her father's incapacity or absence abroad, such as his visit to Italy in July 1944.^[29] In February 1945, she joined the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service, as an honorary Second Subaltern with the service number of 230873.^[30] She trained as a driver and mechanic,^[31] and was promoted to honorary Junior Commander five months later.^[32]

The Royal Family of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms

HM The Queen HRH The Duke of Edinburgh HRH The Prince of Wales HRH The Duchess of Cornwall HRH The Duke of Cambridge HRH The Duchess of Cambridge HRH Prince Harry of Wales HRH The Duke of York HRH Princess Beatrice of York HRH Princess Eugenie of York HRH The Earl of Wessex HRH The Countess of Wessex Viscount Severn Lady Louise Windsor HRH The Princess Royal HRH The Duke of Gloucester HRH The Duchess of Gloucester HRH The Duke of Kent HRH The Duchess of Kent HRH Prince Michael of Kent HRH Princess Michael of Kent HRH Princess Alexandra Sarah, Duchess of York
v t e

During the war, plans were drawn up to quell Welsh nationalism by affiliating Elizabeth more closely with Wales.^[33] Welsh politicians proposed that Elizabeth be made Princess of Wales on her 18th birthday. The idea was supported by Home Secretary Herbert Morrison, but rejected by the King because he felt such a title belonged solely to the wife of a Prince of Wales, and the Prince of Wales had always been the heir apparent.^[34] In 1946, she was inducted into the Welsh Gorsedd of Bards at the National Eisteddfod of Wales.^[35]

At the end of the war in Europe, on Victory in Europe Day, Elizabeth and her sister mingled anonymously with the celebratory crowds in the streets of London. She later said in a rare interview, "we asked my parents if we could go out and see for ourselves. I remember we were terrified of being recognised ... I remember lines of unknown people linking arms and walking down Whitehall, all of us just swept along on a tide of happiness and relief."^[36] Two years later, the princess made her first overseas tour, when she accompanied her parents through southern Africa. During the tour, in a broadcast to the British Commonwealth on her 21st birthday, she pledged: "I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong."^[37]

Marriage [link]

Further information: Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Elizabeth met her future husband, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, in 1934 and 1937.^[38] After another meeting at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in July 1939, Elizabeth – though only 13 years old – fell in love with Philip, and they began to exchange letters.^[39] They married on 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey. They are second cousins once removed through King Christian IX of Denmark and third cousins through Queen Victoria. Before the marriage, Philip renounced his Greek and Danish titles, converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Anglicanism, and adopted the style Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, taking the surname of his mother's British family.^[40] Just before the wedding, he was created Duke of Edinburgh and granted the style of His Royal Highness.^[41]

The marriage was not without controversy: Philip had no financial standing, was foreign-born (though a British subject), and had sisters who had married German noblemen with Nazi links.^[42] Marion Crawford wrote, "Some of the King's advisors did not think him good enough for her. He was a prince without a home or kingdom. Some of the papers played long and loud tunes on the string of Philip's foreign origin."^[43] Elizabeth's mother was reported, in later biographies, to have opposed the union initially, even dubbing Philip "The Hun".^[44] In later life, however, she told biographer Tim Heald that Philip was "an English gentleman".^[45]

Elizabeth and Philip received 2500 wedding gifts from around the world,^[46] but Britain had not yet completely rebounded from the devastation of the war. Elizabeth still required ration coupons to buy the material for her gown, designed by Norman Hartnell.^[47] In post-war Britain, it was not acceptable for the Duke of Edinburgh's German relations to be invited to the wedding, including Philip's three surviving sisters.^[48] Edward, the former king, was not invited either.^[49]

Elizabeth gave birth to her first child, Prince Charles, on 14 November 1948, less than one month after letters patent were issued by her father allowing her children to use the style and title of a royal prince or princess. They otherwise would not have been entitled to such a status as their father was no longer a royal prince.^[50] A second child, Princess Anne, was born in 1950.^[51]

Following their wedding, the couple leased Windlesham Moor near Windsor Castle, until 4 July 1949,^[46] when they took up residence at Clarence House in London. At various times between 1949 and 1951, the Duke of Edinburgh was stationed in the British Protectorate of Malta as a serving Royal Navy officer. He and Elizabeth lived intermittently, for several months at a time, in the Maltese hamlet of Gwardamanġia, at the Villa Gwardamanġia, the rented home of Philip's uncle, Lord Mountbatten. The children remained in Britain.^[52]

Reign [link]

Accession and coronation [link]

George VI's health declined during 1951, and Elizabeth was soon frequently standing in for him at public events. In October of that year, she toured Canada, and visited President Truman in Washington, D.C.; on the trip, her private secretary, Martin Charteris, carried a draft accession declaration for use if the King died while she was on tour.^[53] In early 1952, Elizabeth and Philip set out for a tour of Australia and New Zealand by way of Kenya. On 6 February 1952, they had just returned to their Kenyan home, Sagana Lodge, after a night spent at Treetops Hotel, when word arrived of the death of Elizabeth's father. Philip broke the news to the new queen.^[54] Martin Charteris asked her to choose a regnal name; she chose to remain Elizabeth, "of course".^[55] She was proclaimed queen throughout her realms, and the royal party hastily returned to the United Kingdom.^[56] She and the Duke of Edinburgh moved into Buckingham Palace.^[57]

Elizabeth in crown and robes next to her husband in military uniform

Coronation portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, June 1953

With Elizabeth's accession it seemed likely that the royal house would bear her husband's name. Lord Mountbatten thought it would be the House of Mountbatten, as Elizabeth would typically have taken Philip's last name on marriage; however Elizabeth's grandmother Queen Mary and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill favoured the retention of the House of Windsor, and so Windsor it remained. The Duke complained, "I am the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his own children."^[58] After the death of Queen Mary on 24 March 1953 and the resignation of Churchill in 1955, the surname Mountbatten-Windsor was adopted in 1960 for Philip and Elizabeth's male-line descendants who do not carry royal titles.^[59]

Amid preparations for the coronation, Princess Margaret informed her sister that she wished to marry Peter Townsend, a divorcee 16 years her senior, with two sons from his previous marriage. The Queen asked them to wait for a year; in the words of Martin Charteris, "the Queen was naturally sympathetic towards the Princess, but I think she thought – she hoped – given time, the affair would peter out."^[60] Senior politicians were against the match, and the Church of England did not permit re-marriage after divorce. If Margaret contracted a civil marriage, she would be expected to renounce her right of succession.^[61] Eventually, she decided to abandon her plans with Townsend.^[62] In 1960, she married Antony Armstrong-Jones, who was created Earl of Snowdon the following year. They were divorced in 1978; she did not remarry.^[63]

Despite the death of Queen Mary ten weeks before, the coronation went ahead on 2 June 1953. Before she died, Mary had asked that the coronation not be delayed.^[64] The ceremony in Westminster Abbey, except the anointing and communion, was televised for the first time,^[65] and the coverage was instrumental in boosting the medium's popularity; the number of television licences in the United Kingdom doubled to 3 million,^[66] and many of the more than 20 million British viewers watched television for the first time in the homes of their friends or neighbours.^[67] In North America, just under 100 million viewers watched recorded broadcasts.^[68] Elizabeth's coronation gown was commissioned from Norman Hartnell and embroidered on her instructions with the floral emblems of Commonwealth countries:^[69] English Tudor rose, Scots thistle, Welsh leek, Irish shamrock, Australian wattle, Canadian maple leaf, New Zealand silver fern, South African protea, lotus flowers for India and Ceylon, and Pakistan's wheat, cotton, and jute.^[70]

Continuing evolution of the Commonwealth [link]

Further information: Historical development of the Commonwealth realms

Elizabeth and Robert Menzies at a formal evening event

Queen Elizabeth with Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies during her first visit to Australia in 1954

Elizabeth witnessed, over her life, the ongoing transformation of the British Empire into the Commonwealth of Nations.^[71] By the time of her accession in 1952, her role as nominal head of multiple independent states was already established.^[72] Spanning 1953–54, the Queen and her husband embarked on a six-month around-the-world tour. She became the first reigning monarch of Australia and New Zealand to visit those nations.^[73] During the tour, crowds were immense; three-quarters of the population of Australia were estimated to have seen the Queen.^[74] Throughout her reign, Elizabeth has undertaken state visits to foreign countries, and tours of Commonwealth ones. She is the most widely travelled head of state in history.^[75]

In 1956, French Prime Minister Guy Mollet and British Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden discussed the possibility of France joining the Commonwealth. The proposal was never accepted, and the following year France signed the Treaty of Rome, which established the European Economic Community, the precursor of the European Union.^[76] In November 1956, Britain and France invaded Egypt in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to capture the Suez Canal. Lord Mountbatten claimed the Queen was opposed to the invasion, though Eden denied it. Eden resigned two months later.^[77]

The absence of a formal mechanism within the Conservative Party for choosing a leader meant that, following Eden's resignation, it fell to the Queen to decide whom to commission to form a government. Eden recommended that she consult Lord Salisbury (the Lord President of the Council). Lord Salisbury and Lord Kilmuir (the Lord Chancellor) consulted the Cabinet, Winston Churchill, and the Chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, as a result of which the Queen appointed their recommended candidate: Harold Macmillan.^[78]

The Suez crisis and the choice of Eden's successor led in 1957 to the first major personal criticism of the Queen. In a magazine, which he owned and edited,^[79] Lord Altrincham accused her of being "out of touch".^[80] Altrincham was denounced by public figures and physically attacked by a member of the public appalled at his comments.^[81] Six years later in 1963, Macmillan resigned and advised the Queen to appoint the Earl of Home as prime minister, advice that she followed.^[82] The Queen again came under criticism for appointing the Prime Minister on the advice of a small number of ministers, or a single minister.^[82] In 1965, the Conservatives adopted a formal mechanism for electing a leader, thus relieving her of involvement.^[83]

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Queen Elizabeth II's Address to the United Nations General Assembly

In 1957, she made a state visit to the United States, where she addressed the United Nations General Assembly. On the same tour, she opened the 23rd Canadian Parliament, becoming the first monarch of Canada to open a parliamentary session.^[84] Two years later, she revisited the United States as Queen of Canada and toured Canada,^[84]^[85] despite learning upon landing at St. John's, Newfoundland, that she was pregnant with her third child.^[86] In 1961, she toured Cyprus, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Iran.^[87] On a visit to Ghana the same year, she dismissed fears for her safety, even though her host President Kwame Nkrumah, who had replaced her as head of state, was a target for assassins.^[88] Harold Macmillan wrote: "The Queen has been absolutely determined all through ... She is impatient of the attitude towards her to treat her as ... a film star ... She has indeed 'the heart and stomach of a man' ... She loves her duty and means to be a Queen."^[88] Before her tour through parts of Quebec in 1964, the press reported that extremists within the Quebec separatist movement were plotting the Queen's assassination.^[89]^[90]^[91] No attempt was made, but a riot did break out while she was in Montreal; the Queen's "calmness and courage in the face of the violence" was noted.^[92]

Elizabeth and Pat Nixon walk out of a red-brick building in step

Elizabeth (left) with US First Lady Pat Nixon, 1970; President Nixon is hidden from view, next to British Prime Minister Edward Heath, behind Elizabeth

Elizabeth's pregnancies with Princes Andrew and Edward in 1959 and 1963, respectively, mark the only times she has not performed the State Opening of the British parliament during her reign.^[93] In addition to performing traditional ceremonies, she also instituted new practices. Her first royal walkabout, meeting ordinary members of the public, took place during a tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1970.^[94]

The 1960s and 1970s saw an acceleration in the decolonisation of Africa and the Caribbean. Over 20 countries gained independence from Britain as part of a planned transition to self-government. In 1965, however, Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith declared unilateral independence in opposition to moves toward majority rule. Although the Queen dismissed Smith in a formal declaration and the international community applied sanctions against Rhodesia, Smith's regime survived for over a decade.^[95]

In February 1974, British Prime Minister Edward Heath called a general election in the middle of the Queen's tour of the Austronesian Pacific Rim and she had to fly back to Britain, interrupting the tour.^[96] The election resulted in a hung parliament; Heath's Conservatives were not the largest party, but could stay in office if they formed a coalition with the Liberals. Heath only resigned when discussions on forming a coalition government foundered, after which the Queen asked the Leader of the Opposition, Labour's Harold Wilson, to form a government.^[97]

A year later, at the height of the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was dismissed from his post by Governor-General Sir John Kerr, after the Opposition-controlled Senate rejected Whitlam's budget proposals.^[98] As Whitlam had a majority in the House of Representatives, Speaker Gordon Scholes appealed to the Queen to reverse Kerr's decision. Elizabeth declined, stating that she would not interfere in decisions reserved by the Constitution of Australia for the governor-general.^[99] The crisis fuelled Australian republicanism.^[98]

Silver Jubilee [link]

In 1977, Elizabeth marked the Silver Jubilee of her accession. Parties and events took place throughout the Commonwealth, many coinciding with the Queen's associated national and Commonwealth tours. The celebrations re-affirmed the Queen's popularity, despite virtually coincident negative press coverage of Princess Margaret's separation from her husband.^[100] In 1978, Elizabeth endured a state visit to the United Kingdom by Romania's communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, and his wife Elena,^[101] though privately she thought they had "blood on their hands".^[102] The following year brought two blows: one was the unmasking of Anthony Blunt, former Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures, as a communist spy; the other was the assassination of her relative and in-law Lord Mountbatten by the Provisional Irish Republican Army.^[103]

According to Paul Martin, Sr., by the end of the 1970s the Queen was worried the Crown "had little meaning for" Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.^[104] Tony Benn said that the Queen found Trudeau "rather disappointing".^[104] Trudeau's supposed republicanism seemed to be confirmed by his antics, such as sliding down banisters at Buckingham Palace and pirouetting behind the Queen's back in 1977, and the removal of various Canadian royal symbols during his term of office.^[104] In 1980, Canadian politicians sent to London to discuss the patriation of the Canadian constitution found the Queen "better informed on ... Canada's constitutional case than any of the British politicians or bureaucrats".^[104] She was interested in the constitutional debate after the failure of Bill C-60, which would have affected her role as head of state.^[104] Patriation removed the role of the British parliament in the Canadian constitution, but the monarchy was retained. Trudeau said in his memoirs: "The Queen favoured my attempt to reform the Constitution. I was always impressed not only by the grace she displayed in public at all times, but by the wisdom she showed in private conversation."^[105]

1980s [link]

Elizabeth in red uniform on a black horse

Elizabeth riding Burmese at a Trooping the Colour ceremony

During the 1981 Trooping the Colour ceremony, and only six weeks before the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer, six shots were fired at the Queen from close range as she rode down The Mall on her horse, Burmese. Police later discovered that the shots were blanks. The 17-year-old assailant, Marcus Sarjeant, was sentenced to five years in prison and released after three.^[106] The Queen's composure and skill in controlling her mount were widely praised.^[107] From April to September 1982, the Queen remained anxious^[108] but proud^[109] of her son, Prince Andrew, who was serving with British forces during the Falklands War. On 9 July, the Queen awoke in her bedroom at Buckingham Palace to find an intruder, Michael Fagan, in the room with her. Remaining calm, and through two calls to the palace police switchboard, she spoke to Fagan while he sat at the foot of her bed until assistance arrived seven minutes later.^[110] Though she hosted President Ronald Reagan at Windsor Castle in 1982, and visited his Californian ranch in 1983, she was angered when his administration ordered the invasion of Grenada, one of her Caribbean realms, without her foreknowledge.^[111]

Intense media interest in the opinions and private lives of the royal family during the 1980s led to a series of sensational stories in the press, not all of which were entirely true.^[112] As Kelvin MacKenzie, editor of The Sun, told his staff: "Give me a Sunday for Monday splash on the Royals. Don't worry if it's not true – so long as there's not too much of a fuss about it afterwards."^[113] Newspaper editor Donald Trelford wrote in The Observer of 21 September 1986: "The royal soap opera has now reached such a pitch of public interest that the boundary between fact and fiction has been lost sight of ... it is not just that some papers don't check their facts or accept denials: they don't care if the stories are true or not." It was reported, most notably in The Sunday Times of 20 July 1986, that Elizabeth was worried that British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's economic policies fostered social divisions, and was alarmed by high unemployment, a series of riots, the violence of a miners' strike, and Thatcher's refusal to apply sanctions against the apartheid regime in South Africa. The sources of the rumours included royal aide Michael Shea and Commonwealth Secretary-General Shridath Ramphal, but Shea claimed his remarks were taken out of context and embellished by speculation.^[114] Thatcher reputedly said the Queen would vote for the Social Democratic Party – Thatcher's political opponents.^[115] Thatcher's biographer John Campbell claimed "... the report was a piece of journalistic mischief-making".^[116] Belying reports of acrimony between them, Thatcher later conveyed her personal admiration for the Queen,^[117] and after Thatcher's replacement by John Major, Elizabeth gave two honours in her personal gift to Thatcher: appointment to the Order of Merit and the Order of the Garter.^[118]

In 1987, the elected Fijian government was deposed in a military coup. Elizabeth, as head of state, supported the attempts of the Governor-General, Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, to assert executive power and negotiate a settlement. Coup leader Sitiveni Rabuka deposed Ganilau, abolished the monarchy, and declared Fiji a republic.^[119] By the start of 1991, republican feeling in Britain had risen because of press estimates of the Queen's private wealth, which were contradicted by the palace, and reports of affairs and strained marriages among her extended family.^[120] The involvement of the younger royals in the charity game show It's a Royal Knockout was ridiculed,^[121] and the Queen was the target of satire.^[122]

1990s [link]

In 1991, in the wake of victory in the Gulf War, Elizabeth became the first British monarch to address a joint session of the United States Congress.^[123] The following year, she attempted to save the failing marriage of her eldest son, Charles, by counselling him and his wife, Diana, Princess of Wales, to reconcile.^[124]

Behind her husband, Elizabeth holds a pair of spectacles to her mouth in a thoughtful pose

Prince Philip and Elizabeth II, October 1992

In a speech on 24 November 1992, to mark the 40th anniversary of her accession, the Queen called 1992 her annus horribilis, meaning horrible year.^[125] In March, her second son Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and his wife Sarah, Duchess of York, separated. In April, her daughter Anne, Princess Royal, divorced her husband Captain Mark Phillips.^[126] During a state visit to Germany in October, angry demonstrators in Dresden threw eggs at her,^[127] and in November Windsor Castle suffered severe fire damage. The monarchy received increased criticism and public scrutiny.^[128] In an unusually personal speech, Elizabeth said that any institution must expect criticism, but suggested it be done with "a touch of humour, gentleness and understanding".^[129] Two days later, Prime Minister John Major announced reforms of the royal finances that had been planned since the previous year, including the Queen paying income tax for the first time, starting in 1993, and a reduction in the civil list.^[130] In December, Charles and Diana formally separated.^[131] The year ended with a lawsuit as the Queen sued The Sun newspaper for breach of copyright when it published the text of her annual Christmas message two days before its broadcast. The newspaper was forced to pay her legal fees, and donated £200,000 to charity.^[132]

In the ensuing years, public revelations on the state of Charles and Diana's marriage continued.^[133] Even though support for republicanism in Britain seemed higher than at any time in living memory, republicanism remained a minority viewpoint and Elizabeth herself had high approval ratings.^[134] Criticism was focused on the institution of monarchy itself and the Queen's wider family rather than the Queen's own behaviour and actions.^[135] In consultation with Prime Minister Major, Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, her private secretary Robert Fellowes, and her husband, she wrote to Charles and Diana at the end of December 1995, saying that a divorce was desirable.^[136] A year after the divorce, which took place in 1996, Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997. The Queen was on holiday with her son and grandchildren at Balmoral. Diana's two sons wanted to attend church, and so the Queen and Prince Philip took them that morning.^[137] After that single public appearance, for five days the Queen and the Duke shielded their grandsons from the intense press interest by keeping them at Balmoral where they could grieve in private.^[138] The royal family's seclusion caused public dismay.^[139] Pressured by the hostile reaction, the Queen agreed to a live broadcast to the world and returned to London to deliver it on 5 September, the day before Diana's funeral.^[140] In the broadcast, she expressed admiration for Diana, and her feelings "as a grandmother" for Princes William and Harry.^[141] As a result, much of the public hostility evaporated.^[141]

Golden Jubilee [link]

In evening wear, Elizabeth and President Bush hold wine glasses of water and smile

Elizabeth II and George W. Bush share a toast during a state dinner at the White House, 7 May 2007

Street scene of Elizabeth and spectators

Elizabeth II (centre, in pink) during a walkabout in Queen's Park, Toronto, 6 July 2010

In 2002, Elizabeth marked her Golden Jubilee as queen. Her sister and mother died in February and March, respectively, and the media speculated as to whether the Jubilee would be a success or a failure.^[142] She again undertook an extensive tour of her realms, which began in Jamaica in February, where she called the farewell banquet "memorable" after a power cut plunged the King's House, the official residence of the Governor-General, into darkness.^[143] As in 1977, there were street parties and commemorative events, and monuments were named to honour the occasion. A million people attended each day of the three-day main Jubilee celebration in London,^[144] and the enthusiasm shown by the public for Elizabeth was greater than many journalists had predicted.^[145]

Though generally healthy throughout her life, in 2003 she had keyhole surgery on both knees, and in June 2005 she cancelled several engagements after contracting a bad cold. In October 2006, she missed the opening of the new Emirates Stadium because of a strained back muscle that had been troubling her since the summer.^[146] Two months later, she was seen in public with a bandage on her right hand, which led to press speculation of ill health.^[147] She had been bitten by one of her corgis while she was separating two that were fighting.^[148]

In May 2007, The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported claims from unnamed sources that the Queen was "exasperated and frustrated" by the policies of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, that she had shown concern that the British Armed Forces were overstretched in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that she had raised concerns over rural and countryside issues with Blair repeatedly.^[149] She was, however, said to admire Blair's efforts to achieve peace in Northern Ireland.^[150] On 20 March 2008, at the Church of Ireland St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh, the Queen attended the first Maundy service held outside of England and Wales.^[151] At the invitation of Irish President Mary McAleese, in May 2011 the Queen made the first state visit to the Republic of Ireland by a British monarch.^[152]

Elizabeth addressed the United Nations for a second time in 2010, again in her capacity as queen of all her realms and Head of the Commonwealth.^[153] UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon introduced her as "an anchor for our age".^[154] During her visit to New York, which followed a tour of Canada, she officially opened a memorial garden for the British victims of the 11 September attacks.^[154] The Queen's visit to Australia in October 2011, her 16th visit since 1954, was called her "farewell tour" in the press because of her age.^[155]

Diamond Jubilee [link]

Main article: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee in 2012 marks 60 years as queen, with celebrations throughout her realms, the wider Commonwealth, and beyond. In a message released on Accession Day, the Queen stated: "In this special year, as I dedicate myself anew to your service, I hope we will all be reminded of the power of togetherness and the convening strength of family, friendship and good neighbourliness ... I hope also that this Jubilee year will be a time to give thanks for the great advances that have been made since 1952 and to look forward to the future with clear head and warm heart".^[156] She and her husband undertook an extensive tour of the United Kingdom, while her children and grandchildren embarked on royal tours of other Commonwealth realms on the Queen's behalf.^[157]^[158]^[159] On 4 June, Jubilee beacons will be lit around the world.^[160]

She is the longest-lived and second-longest-reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, and the second-longest-serving current head of state (after King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand). She does not intend to abdicate,^[161] though the proportion of public duties performed by Prince Charles may increase as Elizabeth reduces her commitments.^[162]

She is scheduled to open the 2012 Summer Olympics on 27 July and the Paralympics on 29 August in London. Her father, George VI, opened the 1948 London Olympics, and her great-grandfather, Edward VII, opened the 1908 London Olympics. Elizabeth also opened the 1976 Games in Canada, and Prince Philip opened the Melbourne Olympics in 1956.^[163]

Public perception and character [link]

Main article: Personality and image of Queen Elizabeth II

Since Elizabeth rarely gives interviews, little is known of her personal feelings. As a constitutional monarch, she has not expressed her own political opinions in a public forum. She does have a deep sense of religious and civic duty, and takes her coronation oath seriously.^[164] Aside from her official religious role as Supreme Governor of the established Church of England, she personally worships with that church and with the national Church of Scotland.^[165] She has demonstrated support for inter-faith relations, and has met with leaders of other religions, including three popes: John XXIII, John Paul II and Benedict XVI. A personal note about her faith often features in her annual Royal Christmas Message broadcast to the Commonwealth, such as in 2000, when she spoke about the theological significance of the millennium marking the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ:

To many of us, our beliefs are of fundamental importance. For me the teachings of Christ and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life. I, like so many of you, have drawn great comfort in difficult times from Christ's words and example.^[166]

Elizabeth and Ronald Reagan on black horses. He bare-headed; she in a headscarf; both in tweeds, jodhpurs and riding boots.

Elizabeth II and Ronald Reagan riding at Windsor, 1982

She is the patron of over 600 organisations and charities.^[167] Her main leisure interests include equestrianism and dogs, especially her Pembroke Welsh Corgis.^[168] Scenes of a relaxed, informal home life are occasionally acted out; she and her family, from time to time, prepare a meal together and do the washing up afterwards.^[169]

In the 1950s, as a young woman at the start of her reign, Elizabeth was depicted as a glamorous "fairytale Queen".^[170] After the trauma of the war, it was a time of hope, a period of progress and achievement heralding a "new Elizabethan age".^[171] Lord Altrincham's accusation in 1957 that her speeches sounded like those of a "priggish schoolgirl" was an extremely rare criticism.^[172] In the late 1960s, attempts to portray a more modern image of monarchy were made in the television documentary Royal Family, and by televising Prince Charles's investiture as Prince of Wales.^[173] She took to wearing in public clothes that consist mostly of solid-colour overcoats and decorative hats, which allow her to be seen easily in a crowd.^[174]

At her Silver Jubilee in 1977, the crowds and celebrations were genuinely enthusiastic,^[175] but in the 1980s public criticism of the royal family increased, as the personal and working lives of Elizabeth's children came under media scrutiny.^[176] Elizabeth's popularity sank to a low point in the 1990s. Under pressure from public opinion, she began to pay income tax for the first time, and Buckingham Palace was opened to the public.^[177] Discontent with the monarchy reached its peak on the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, though the Queen's popularity rebounded after her live broadcast to the world five days after Diana's death.^[178]

In November 1999, a referendum in Australia on the future of the Australian monarchy favoured its retention in preference to an indirectly elected head of state.^[179] Polls in Britain in 2006 and 2007 revealed strong support for Elizabeth,^[180] and referenda in Tuvalu in 2008 and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in 2009 both rejected proposals to become republics.^[181]

Finances [link]

Further information: Finances of the British Royal Family

View of Sandingham House from the south bank of the Upper Lake

Sandringham House, Elizabeth's private residence in Sandringham, Norfolk

Elizabeth's personal fortune has been the subject of speculation for many years. Forbes magazine estimated her net worth at around US$450 million in 2010,^[182] but official Buckingham Palace statements in 1993 called estimates of £100 million "grossly overstated".^[183] Jock Colville, who was her former private secretary and a director of her bank, Coutts, estimated her wealth in 1971 at £2 million (the equivalent of about £21 million today^[184]).^[185]^[186] The Royal Collection, which includes artworks and the Crown Jewels, is not owned by the Queen personally and is held in trust,^[187] as are the occupied palaces in the United Kingdom such as Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle,^[188] and the Duchy of Lancaster, a property portfolio valued at £383 million in 2011.^[189] Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle are privately owned by the Queen.^[188] The British Crown Estate – with holdings of £7.3 billion in 2011^[190] – is held in trust for the nation, and cannot be sold or owned by Elizabeth in a private capacity.^[191]

Titles, styles, honours, and arms [link]

Personal Flag of Queen Elizabeth II

Titles and styles [link]

Main article: List of titles and honours of Queen Elizabeth II

Elizabeth has held titles throughout her life, as a granddaughter of the monarch, as a daughter of the monarch, through her husband's titles, and eventually as Sovereign. In common parlance, she is The Queen or Her Majesty. Officially, she has a distinct title in each of her realms: Queen of Canada in Canada, Queen of Australia in Australia, etc. In the Channel Islands and Isle of Man, which are Crown dependencies rather than separate realms, she is known as Duke of Normandy and Lord of Mann respectively. Additional styles include Defender of the Faith and Duke of Lancaster. When in conversation with the Queen, the practice is to initially address her as Your Majesty and thereafter as Ma'am.^[192]

She has received honours and awards from around the world, and has held honorary military positions throughout the Commonwealth, both before and after her accession.

Arms [link]

Issue [link]

Name	Birth	Marriage		Children	Grandchildren
Charles, Prince of Wales	14 November 1948	29 July 1981 Divorced 28 August 1996	Lady Diana Spencer	Prince William, Duke of Cambridge Prince Harry of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales	14 November 1948	9 April 2005	Camilla Parker-Bowles
Anne, Princess Royal	15 August 1950	14 November 1973 Divorced 28 April 1992	Captain Mark Phillips	Peter Phillips	Savannah Phillips Isla Phillips
		14 November 1973 Divorced 28 April 1992	Captain Mark Phillips	Zara Phillips
		12 December 1992	Sir Timothy Laurence
Prince Andrew, Duke of York	19 February 1960	23 July 1986 Divorced 30 May 1996	Sarah Ferguson	Princess Beatrice of York Princess Eugenie of York
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex	10 March 1964	19 June 1999	Sophie Rhys-Jones	Lady Louise Windsor James, Viscount Severn

Ancestry [link]

Main articles: Ancestry of Elizabeth II and Descent of Elizabeth II from William I

Ancestors of Elizabeth II

16. Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

8. Edward VII of the United Kingdom

17. Victoria of the United Kingdom (niece of 22)

4. George V of the United Kingdom

18. Christian IX of Denmark

9. Princess Alexandra of Denmark

19. Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel

2. George VI of the United Kingdom

20. Duke Alexander of Württemberg

10. Francis, Duke of Teck

21. Countess Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde

5. Princess Mary of Teck

22. Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge (uncle of 17)

11. Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge

23. Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel

1. Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

24. Thomas Lyon-Bowes, Lord Glamis

12. Claude Bowes-Lyon, 13th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne

25. Charlotte Grimstead

6. Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne

26. Oswald Smith

13. Frances Dora Smith

27. Henrietta Mildred Hodgson

3. Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon

28. Lord Charles Cavendish-Bentinck

14. Charles Cavendish-Bentinck

29. Anne Wellesley

7. Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck

30. Edwyn Burnaby

15. Caroline Louisa Burnaby

31. Anne Caroline Salisbury

Notes [link]

^[note 1] See Queen's Official Birthday for an explanation of why her official birthday is not the same as her real one.
^[note 2] Her godparents were: King George V and Queen Mary; Lord Strathmore; Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught (her paternal great-granduncle); Princess Mary, Viscountess Lascelles (her paternal aunt); and Lady Elphinstone (her maternal aunt).^[195]
^[note 3] Canada has used three different versions of the arms during her reign. This version was used between 1957 and 1994.^[196]

References [link]

^ States of Guernsey Government website http://www.gov.gg/article/1867/Relationship-with-the-Crown
^ Official British Monarchy web site http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchUK/QueenandCrowndependencies/ChannelIslands.aspx
^ Bradford, p. 22; Brandreth, p. 103; Marr, p. 76; Pimlott, pp. 2–3; Lacey, pp. 75–76; Roberts, p. 74
^ Hoey, p. 40
^ Brandreth, p. 103
^ Pimlott, p. 12
^ Lacey, p. 56; Nicolson, p. 433; Pimlott, pp. 14–16
^ Crawford, p. 26; Pimlott, p. 20; Shawcross, p. 21
^ Brandreth, p. 124; Lacey, pp. 62–63; Pimlott, pp. 24, 69
^ Brandreth, pp. 108–110; Lacey, pp. 159–161; Pimlott, pp. 20, 163
^ Brandreth, pp. 108–110
^ Brandreth, p. 105; Lacey, p. 81; Shawcross, pp. 21–22
^ Brandreth, pp. 105–106
^ Bond, p. 8; Lacey, p. 76; Pimlott, p. 3
^ Lacey, pp. 97–98
^ e.g. Assheton, Ralph (18 December 1936). "Succession to the Throne". The Times: 10.
^ Marr, pp. 78, 85; Pimlott, pp. 71–73
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^ ^a ^b "Her Majesty The Queen: Education". Royal Household. http://www.royal.gov.uk/HMTheQueen/Education/Overview.aspx. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
^ Marr, p. 84; Pimlott, p. 47
^ ^a ^b Pimlott, p. 54
^ ^a ^b Pimlott, p. 55
^ Crawford, pp. 104–114; Pimlott, pp. 56–57
^ Crawford, pp. 114–119; Pimlott, p. 57
^ "Biography of HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother: Activities as Queen". Royal Household. http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/The%20House%20of%20Windsor%20from%201952/QueenElizabethTheQueenMother/ActivitiesasQueen.aspx. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
^ Crawford, pp. 137–141
^ ^a ^b "Children's Hour: Princess Elizabeth". BBC. 13 October 1940. http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/princesselizabeth/6600.shtml?all=1&id=6600. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
^ "Early public life". Royal Household. http://www.royal.gov.uk/HMTheQueen/Publiclife/EarlyPublicLife/Earlypubliclife.aspx. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
^ Pimlott, p. 71
^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 36973. p. 1315. 6 March 1945. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
^ Bradford, p. 45; Lacey, p. 148; Marr, p. 100; Pimlott, p. 75
^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 37205. p. 3972. 31 July 1945. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
^ "Royal plans to beat nationalism". BBC. 8 March 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4329001.stm. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
^ Pimlott, pp. 71–73
^ "Gorsedd of the Bards". National Museum of Wales. http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/911/. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
^ Bond, p. 10; Pimlott, p. 79
^ "21st birthday speech". Royal Household. http://www.royal.gov.uk/ImagesandBroadcasts/Historic%20speeches%20and%20broadcasts/21stbirthdayspeech21April1947.aspx. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
^ Brandreth, pp. 132–139; Lacey, pp. 124–125; Pimlott, p. 86
^ Bond, p. 10; Brandreth, pp. 132–136, 166–169; Lacey, pp. 119, 126, 135
^ Hoey, pp. 55–56; Pimlott, pp. 101, 137
^ London Gazette: no. 38128. p. 5495. 21 November 1947. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
^ Edwards, Phil (31 October 2000). "The Real Prince Philip". Channel 4. http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/R/real_lives/prince_philip_t.html. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
^ Crawford, p. 180
^ Davies, Caroline (20 April 2006). "Philip, the one constant through her life". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/campaigns/queen80/uqphilip.xml. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
^ Heald, p. xviii
^ ^a ^b "60 Diamond Wedding anniversary facts". Royal Household. 18 November 2007. http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/Factfiles/60diamondweddinganniversaryfacts.aspx. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
^ Hoey, p. 58; Pimlott, pp. 133–134
^ Hoey, p. 59; Petropoulos, p. 363
^ Bradford, p. 61
^ Letters Patent, 22 October 1948; Hoey, pp. 69–70; Pimlott, pp. 155–156
^ Pimlott, p. 163
^ Brandreth, pp. 226–238; Pimlott, pp. 145, 159–163, 167
^ Brandreth, pp. 240–241; Lacey, p. 166; Pimlott, pp. 169–172
^ Brandreth, pp. 245–247; Lacey, p. 166; Pimlott, pp. 173–176; Shawcross, p.16
^ Bousfield and Toffoli, p. 72; Charteris quoted in Pimlott, p. 179 and Shawcross, p. 17
^ Pimlott, pp. 178–179
^ Pimlott, pp. 186–187
^ Bradford, p. 80; Brandreth, pp. 253–254; Lacey, pp. 172–173; Pimlott, pp. 183–185
^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 41948. p. 1003. 5 February 1960. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
^ Brandreth, pp. 269–271
^ Brandreth, pp. 269–271; Lacey, pp. 193–194; Pimlott, pp. 201, 236–238
^ Bond, p. 22; Brandreth, p. 271; Lacey, p. 194; Pimlott, p. 238; Shawcross, p. 146
^ "Princess Margaret: Marriage and family". Royal Household. http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/The%20House%20of%20Windsor%20from%201952/HRHPrincessMargaret/Marriageandfamily.aspx. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
^ Bradford, p. 82
^ "50 facts about The Queen's Coronation". Royal Household. 25 May 2003. http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/Pressreleases/2003/50factsaboutTheQueensCoronation.aspx. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
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^ Briggs, pp. 420 ff.; Pimlott, p. 207; Roberts, p. 82
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^ Lacey, p. 190; Pimlott, pp. 247–248
^ Cotton, Belinda; Ramsey, Ron. "By appointment: Norman Hartnell's sample for the Coronation dress of Queen Elizabeth II". National Gallery of Australia. http://www.nga.gov.au/ByAppointment/. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
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^ Pimlott, p. 182
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Marr, p. 126
^ Brandreth, p. 278; Marr, p. 126; Pimlott, p. 224; Shawcross, p. 59
^ Challands, Sarah (25 April 2006). "Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 80th birthday". CTV News. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060418/queen_liz_birthday_060418. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
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^ Marr, pp. 175–176; Pimlott, pp. 256–260; Roberts, p. 84
^ Lacey, p. 199; Shawcross, p. 75
^ Lord Altrincham in National Review quoted by Brandreth, p. 374 and Roberts, p. 83
^ Brandreth, p. 374; Pimlott, pp. 280–281; Shawcross, p. 76
^ ^a ^b Hardman, p. 22; Pimlott, pp. 324–335; Roberts, p. 84
^ Roberts, p. 84
^ ^a ^b "Queen and Canada: Royal visits". Royal Household. http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchAndCommonwealth/Canada/Royalvisits.aspx. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
^ Bradford, p. 114
^ Bousfield, Arthur; Toffoli, Gary (2002), Fifty Years the Queen, Toronto: Dundurn Press, p. 107, ISBN 1-55002-360-8, http://books.google.ca/books?id=w8l5reK7NjoC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false
^ Pimlott, p. 303; Shawcross, p. 83
^ ^a ^b Macmillan, pp. 466–472
^ Speaight, Robert (1970), Vanier, Soldier, Diplomat, Governor General: A Biography, London: William Collins, Sons and Co. Ltd., ISBN 978-0-00-262252-3
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^ Dubois, Paul (12 October 1964), "Demonstrations Mar Quebec Events Saturday", Montreal Gazette: 1, http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19641012&id=3K4tAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YZ8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=6599,2340498, retrieved 6 March 2010
^ Bousfield, p. 139
^ Dymond, Glenn (5 March 2010). "Ceremonial in the House of Lords". House of Lords Library. p. 12. http://www.parliament.uk/documents/documents/upload/lln2010-007.pdf. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
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^ Bradford, p. 181; Marr, p. 256; Pimlott, p. 419; Shawcross, pp. 109–110
^ ^a ^b Bond, p. 96; Marr, p. 257; Pimlott, p. 427; Shawcross, p. 110
^ Pimlott, pp. 428–429
^ Pimlott, p. 449
^ Hardman, p. 137; Roberts, pp. 88–89; Shawcross, p. 178
^ Elizabeth to her staff, quoted in Shawcross, p. 178
^ Pimlott, pp. 336–337, 470–471; Roberts, pp. 88–89
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Heinricks, Geoff (29 September 2000). "Trudeau: A drawer monarchist". National Post: B12.
^ Trudeau, p. 313
^ "Queen's 'fantasy assassin' jailed". BBC. 14 September 1981. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/14/newsid_2516000/2516713.stm. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
^ Lacey, p. 281; Pimlott, pp. 476–477; Shawcross, p. 192
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^ Shawcross, p. 127
^ Lacey, pp. 297–298; Pimlott, p. 491
^ Bond, p. 188; Pimlott, p. 497
^ Pimlott, pp. 488–490
^ Pimlott, p. 521
^ Pimlott, pp. 503–515; see also Neil, pp. 195–207 and Shawcross, pp. 129–132
^ Thatcher to Brian Walden quoted in Neil, p. 207; Andrew Neil quoted in Woodrow Wyatt's diary of 26 October 1990
^ Campbell, p. 467
^ Thatcher, p. 309
^ Roberts, p. 101; Shawcross, p. 139
^ Pimlott, pp. 515–516
^ Pimlott, pp. 519–534
^ Hardman, p. 81; Lacey, p. 307; Pimlott, pp. 522–526
^ Lacey, pp. 293–294; Pimlott, p. 541
^ Pimlott, p. 538
^ Brandreth, p. 349; Lacey, p. 319
^ "Annus horribilis speech, 24 November 1992". Royal Household. http://www.royal.gov.uk/ImagesandBroadcasts/Historic%20speeches%20and%20broadcasts/Annushorribilisspeech24November1992.aspx. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
^ Lacey, p. 319; Marr, p. 315; Pimlott, pp. 550–551
^ Stanglin, Doug (18 March 2010). "German study concludes 25,000 died in Allied bombing of Dresden". USA Today. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/03/official-german-study-concludes-25000-died-in-allied-bombing-of-dresden/1?csp=34. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
^ Brandreth, p. 377; Pimlott, pp. 558–559; Roberts, p. 94; Shawcross, p. 204
^ Brandreth, p. 377
^ Bradford, p. 229; Lacey, pp. 325–326; Pimlott, pp. 559–561
^ Bradford, p. 226; Hardman, p. 96; Lacey, p. 328; Pimlott, p. 561
^ Pimlott, p. 562
^ Brandreth, p. 356; Pimlott, pp. 572–577; Roberts, p. 94; Shawcross, p. 168
^ MORI poll for The Independent newspaper, March 1996, quoted in Pimlott, p. 578 and O'Sullivan, Jack (5 March 1996). "Watch out, the Roundheads are back". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/watch-out-the-roundheads-are-back-1340396.html. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
^ Pimlott, p. 578
^ Brandreth, p. 357; Pimlott, p. 577
^ Brandreth, p. 358; Hardman, p. 101; Pimlott, p. 610
^ Bond, p. 134; Brandreth, p. 358; Marr, p. 338; Pimlott, p. 615
^ Bond, p. 134; Brandreth, p. 358; Lacey, pp. 6–7; Pimlott, p. 616; Roberts, p. 98; Shawcross, p. 8
^ Brandreth, pp. 358–359; Lacey, pp. 8–9; Pimlott, pp. 621–622
^ ^a ^b Bond, p. 134; Brandreth, p. 359; Lacey, pp. 13–15; Pimlott, pp. 623–624
^ Bond, p. 156; Bradford, pp. 248–249; Marr, pp. 349–350
^ Brandreth, p. 31
^ Bond, pp. 166–167
^ Bond, p. 157
^ "Queen cancels visit due to injury". BBC. 26 October 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6087724.stm. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
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^ Whittaker, Thomas (14 December 2006). "Corgi put the queen in plaster". The Sun. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article75313.ece. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
^ Alderson, Andrew (28 May 2007). "Revealed: Queen's dismay at Blair legacy". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1552769/Revealed-Queens-dismay-at-Blair-legacy.html. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
^ Alderson, Andrew (27 May 2007). "Tony and Her Majesty: an uneasy relationship". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/05/27/nqueen127.xml. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
^ "Historic first for Maundy service". BBC. 20 March 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7305675.stm. Retrieved 12 October 2008.
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^ ^a ^b "Queen addresses UN General Assembly in New York". BBC. 7 July 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/10518044.stm. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
^ "Royal tour of Australia: The Queen ends visit with traditional 'Aussie barbie'". The Daily Telegraph. 29 October 2011. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/queen-elizabeth-II/8857106/Royal-tour-of-Australia-The-Queen-ends-visit-with-traditional-Aussie-barbie.html. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
^ "The Queen's Diamond Jubilee message". Royal Household. http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/Pressreleases/2012/TheQueensDiamondJubileemessage.aspx. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
^ Gower, Eleanor (25 February 2012), "A royal match! Glamorous Prince Edward and Sophie wear co-ordinated outfits as they attend Barbados state dinner", Daily Mail, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2106246/Prince-Edward-Sophie-wear-ordinated-outfits-attend-Barbados-state-dinner.html, retrieved 31 May 2012
^ "Prince Harry pays tribute to the Queen in Jamaica". BBC. 7 March 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17281585. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
^ "Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall to Undertake a Royal Tour of Canada in 2012". Office of the Governor General of Canada. 14 December 2011. http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=14382. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
^ Anon. "The Queen's Diamond Jubilee in London". Visit London. London and Partners. http://www.visitlondon.com/events/special/queens-diamond-jubilee-in-london. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
^ Brandreth, pp. 370–371; Marr, p. 395
^ Owen, Glen; Smith, Martin (18 November 2006). "Key aides move to Windsor ahead of Queen's retirement". The Mail on Sunday. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-417251/Key-aides-Windsor-ahead-Queens-retirement.html. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
^ "Opening of the Olympic and Paralympic Games". Royal Household. http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/Pressreleases/2012/OpeningOlympicParalympicGames2012.aspx. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
^ "Queen 'will do her job for life'". BBC. 19 April 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4921120.stm. Retrieved 4 February 2007.
Shawcross, pp. 194–195
^ "How we are organised". Church of Scotland. http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/about_us/how_we_are_organised. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
^ Elizabeth II (2000). "Historic speeches: Christmas Broadcast 2000". Royal Household. http://www.royal.gov.uk/ImagesandBroadcasts/TheQueensChristmasBroadcasts/ChristmasBroadcasts/ChristmasBroadcast2000.aspx. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
Shawcross, pp. 236–237
^ "Queen and Charities". Royal Household. http://www.royal.gov.uk/HMTheQueen/QueenCharities/Overview.aspx. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
^ "80 facts about The Queen". Royal Household. http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/Factfiles/80factsaboutTheQueen.aspx. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
^ Delacourt, Susan (25 May 2012), "When the Queen is your boss", Toronto Star, http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1193874--when-the-queen-is-your-boss, retrieved 27 May 2012
^ Bond, p. 22
^ Bond, p. 35; Pimlott, p. 180; Roberts, p. 82; Shawcross, p. 50
^ Bond, p. 35; Pimlott, p. 280; Shawcross, p. 76
^ Bond, pp. 66–67, 84, 87–89; Bradford, pp. 160–163; Hardman, pp. 22, 210–213; Lacey, pp. 222–226; Marr, p. 237; Pimlott, pp. 378–392; Roberts, pp. 84–86
^ Cartner-Morley, Jess (10 May 2007). "Elizabeth II, belated follower of fashion". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2076067,00.html. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
^ Bond, p. 97; Bradford, p. 189; Pimlott, pp. 449–450; Roberts, p. 87; Shawcross, pp. 114–117
^ Bond, p. 117; Roberts, p. 91
^ Bond, p. 134; Pimlott, pp. 556–561, 570
^ Bond, p. 134; Pimlott, pp. 624–625
^ Hardman, p. 310; Lacey, p. 387; Roberts, p. 101; Shawcross, p. 218
^ "Monarchy poll". Ipsos MORI. April 2006. http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/poll.aspx?oItemId=378. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
"Monarchy Survey" (PDF). Populus Ltd. 14–16 December 2007. p. 9. http://populuslimited.com/uploads/download_pdf-160108-The-Discovery-Channel-Monarchy-Survey.pdf. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
"Poll respondents back UK monarchy". BBC. 28 December 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7162649.stm. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
^ "Vincies vote "No"". BBC. 26 November 2009. http://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/news/story/2009/11/091126_nib.shtml. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
^ Serafin, Tatiana (7 July 2010). "The World's Richest Royals". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/07/richest-royals-wealth-monarch-wedding-divorce-billionaire.html. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
^ Lord Chamberlain Lord Airlie quoted in Hoey, p. 225 and Pimlott, p. 561
^ UK CPI inflation numbers based on data available from Lawrence H. Officer (2010) "What Were the UK Earnings and Prices Then?" MeasuringWorth.
^ "£2m estimate of the Queen's wealth 'more likely to be accurate'". The Times: 1. 11 June 1971.
^ Pimlott, p. 401
^ "FAQs". Royal Collection. http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/about/frequently-asked-questions. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
"Royal Collection". Royal Household. http://www.royal.gov.uk/The%20Royal%20Collection%20and%20other%20collections/TheRoyalCollection/TheRoyalCollection.aspx. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
^ ^a ^b "The Royal Residences: Overview". Royal Household. http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalResidences/Overview.aspx. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
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Bibliography [link]

Bond, Jennie (2006). Elizabeth: Eighty Glorious Years. London: Carlton Publishing Group. ISBN 1-84442-260-7
Bousfield, Arthur; Toffoli, Gary (2002). Fifty Years the Queen. Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN 1-55002-360-8
Bradford, Sarah (2012). Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Our Times. London: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-670-91911-6
Brandreth, Gyles (2004). Philip and Elizabeth: Portrait of a Marriage. London: Century. ISBN 0-7126-6103-4
Briggs, Asa (1995). The History of Broadcasting in the United Kingdom: Volume 4. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-212967-8
Campbell, John (2003). Margaret Thatcher: The Iron Lady. London: Jonathan Cape. ISBN 0-224-06156-9
Crawford, Marion (1950). The Little Princesses. London: Cassell & Co.
Hardman, Robert (2011). Our Queen. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 978-0-09-193689-1
Heald, Tim (2007). Princess Margaret: A Life Unravelled. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-0-297-84820-2
Hoey, Brian (2002). Her Majesty: Fifty Regal Years. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-653136-9
Lacey, Robert (2002). Royal: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. London: Little, Brown. ISBN 0-316-85940-0
Macmillan, Harold (1972). Pointing The Way 1959–1961 London: Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-12411-1
Marr, Andrew (2011). The Diamond Queen: Elizabeth II and Her People. London: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-74852-1
Neil, Andrew (1996). Full Disclosure. London: Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-64682-7
Nicolson, Sir Harold (1952). King George the Fifth: His Life and Reign. London: Constable & Co.
Petropoulos, Jonathan (2006). Royals and the Reich: the princes von Hessen in Nazi Germany. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-516133-5
Pimlott, Ben (2001). The Queen: Elizabeth II and the Monarchy. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-255494-1
Roberts, Andrew; Edited by Antonia Fraser (2000). The House of Windsor. London: Cassell & Co. ISBN 0-304-35406-6
Shawcross, William (2002). Queen and Country. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. ISBN 0-7710-8056-5
Thatcher, Margaret (1993). The Downing Street Years. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-255049-0
Trudeau, Pierre Elliott (1993). Memoirs. Toronto: McLelland & Stewart. ISBN 0-7710-8588-5
Wyatt, Woodrow; Edited by Sarah Curtis (1999). The Journals of Woodrow Wyatt: Volume II. London: Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-77405-1

External links [link]

Find more about Elizabeth II on Wikipedia's sister projects:
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	Source texts from Wikisource
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Official British website
Official Canadian website
Archival material relating to Elizabeth II listed at the UK National Register of Archives
Portraits of Queen Elizabeth II at the National Portrait Gallery, London
Queen Elizabeth II at the Internet Movie Database

Titles and succession

Regnal titles
Elizabeth II House of Windsor Cadet branch of the House of Wettin Born: 21 April 1926
Preceded by George VI	Queen of the United Kingdom 1952–present	Incumbent Heir apparent: Charles, Prince of Wales
Preceded by George VI as King of the British Dominions beyond the Seas	Queen of Canada 1952–present
	Queen of Australia 1952–present
	Queen of New Zealand 1952–present
	Queen of Pakistan 1952–1956	End of title
	Queen of South Africa 1952–1961
	Queen of Ceylon 1952–1972
Preceded by Herself as Queen of the United Kingdom	Queen of Ghana 1957–1960
	Queen of Nigeria 1960–1963
	Queen of Sierra Leone 1961–1971
	Queen of Tanganyika 1961–1962
	Queen of Jamaica 1962–present	Incumbent Heir apparent: Charles, Prince of Wales
	Queen of Trinidad and Tobago 1962–1976	End of title
	Queen of Uganda 1962–1963
	Queen of Kenya 1963–1964
	Queen of Malawi 1964–1966
	Queen of Malta 1964–1974
	Queen of the Gambia 1965–1970
	Queen of Guyana 1966–1970
	Queen of Barbados 1966–present	Incumbent Heir apparent: Charles, Prince of Wales
	Queen of Mauritius 1968–1992	End of title
	Queen of Fiji 1970–1987	End of title
	Queen of the Bahamas 1973–present	Incumbent Heir apparent: Charles, Prince of Wales
	Queen of Grenada 1974–present
Preceded by Herself as Queen of Australia	Queen of Papua New Guinea 1975–present
Preceded by Herself as Queen of the United Kingdom	Queen of the Solomon Islands 1978–present
	Queen of Tuvalu 1978–present
	Queen of Saint Lucia 1979–present
	Queen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1979–present
	Queen of Belize 1981–present
	Queen of Antigua and Barbuda 1981–present
	Queen of Saint Kitts and Nevis 1983–present
Political offices
Preceded by George VI	Head of the Commonwealth 1952–present	Incumbent
Military offices
Preceded by The Earl Jellicoe as First Lord of the Admiralty	Lord High Admiral 1964–2011	Succeeded by The Duke of Edinburgh
British royalty
Preceded by Prince Albert, Duke of York later King George VI	Heir to the Throne as heiress presumptive 1936–1952	Succeeded by Charles, Prince of Wales
Order of precedence
First	Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom as the Sovereign	Succeeded by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
First	Order of Precedence in Canada as the Sovereign	Succeeded by David Johnston as Governor General

Queen Elizabeth II navigational boxes

v t e Queen Elizabeth II

Monarchies	Queen of Antigua and Barbuda Queen of Australia Queen of the Bahamas Queen of Barbados Queen of Belize Queen of Canada Queen of Grenada Queen of Jamaica Queen of New Zealand (Cook Islands) Queen of Papua New Guinea Queen of Saint Kitts and Nevis Queen of Saint Lucia Queen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Queen of the Solomon Islands Queen of Tuvalu Queen of the United Kingdom Prime Ministers

Titles and honours	List of titles and honours Head of the Commonwealth List of things named for Queen Elizabeth II

Overseas visits	State visits Commonwealth visits

Public celebrations	Wedding to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Coronation Silver Jubilee Golden Jubilee Diamond Jubilee Queen's Official Birthday

English, Scottish and British monarchs

Monarchs of England before 1603	Monarchs of Scotland before 1603

Alfred the Great Edward the Elder Ælfweard Athelstan the Glorious Edmund the Magnificent Eadred Eadwig the Fair Edgar the Peaceable Edward the Martyr Æthelred the Unready Sweyn Forkbeard Edmund Ironside Cnut Harold Harefoot Harthacnut Edward the Confessor Harold Godwinson Edgar the Ætheling William I William II Henry I Stephen Matilda Henry II Henry the Young King Richard I John Henry III Edward I Edward II Edward III Richard II Henry IV Henry V Henry VI Edward IV Edward V Richard III Henry VII Henry VIII Edward VI Jane Mary I with Philip Elizabeth I	Kenneth I MacAlpin Donald I Constantine I Áed Giric Eochaid Donald II Constantine II Malcolm I Indulf Dub Cuilén Amlaíb Kenneth II Constantine III Kenneth III Malcolm II Duncan I Macbeth Lulach Malcolm III Canmore Donald III Duncan II Donald III Edgar Alexander I David I Malcolm IV William I Alexander II Alexander III Margaret (First Interregnum) John (Second Interregnum) Robert I David II Edward Robert II Robert III James I James II James III James IV James V Mary I James VI

Monarchs of England and Scotland after the Union of the Crowns in 1603

James I & VI Charles I (Commonwealth) Charles II James II & VII William III & II and Mary II Anne

British monarchs after the Acts of Union 1707

Anne George I George II George III George IV William IV Victoria Edward VII George V Edward VIII George VI Elizabeth II

Debatable or disputed rulers are in italics.

v t e Monarchs of Canada

Dominion of Canada (1867–1931)	Victoria Edward VII George V

Canada (1931–present)	George V Edward VIII George VI Elizabeth II

Heads of state of the European Union member states

v t e Current heads of state in Central American countries

Elizabeth II (Belize) Laura Chinchilla (Costa Rica) Mauricio Funes (El Salvador) Otto Pérez Molina (Guatemala) Porfirio Lobo (Honduras) Daniel Ortega (Nicaragua) Ricardo Martinelli (Panama)

v t e British princesses

The generations indicate descent from George I, who formalised the use of the titles prince and princess for members of the British Royal Family. Where a princess may have been or is descended from George I more than once, her most senior descent, by which she bore or bears her title, is used.

1st generation	Queen Sophia Dorothea, Queen in Prussia

2nd generation	Princess Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange Princess Amelia Princess Caroline Princess Mary, Landgravine of Hesse-Cassel Queen Louise, Queen of Denmark and Norway

3rd generation	Princess Augusta, Duchess of Brunswick Princess Elizabeth Princess Louisa Queen Caroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark and Norway

4th generation	Princess Charlotte, Princess Royal and Queen of Württemberg Princess Augusta Sophia Princess Elizabeth, Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg Princess Sophia of Gloucester Princess Sophia Princess Amelia Princess Caroline of Gloucester Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester

5th generation	Princess Charlotte Augusta, Princess Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld Princess Charlotte of Clarence Princess Elizabeth of Clarence Queen Victoria Princess Augusta, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck

6th generation	Princess Victoria, Princess Royal and German Empress Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse Princess Helena, Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll Princess Beatrice, Princess Henry of Battenberg Princess Frederica, Baroness Alfons von Pawel-Rammingen Princess Marie of Hanover

7th generation	Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife Princess Victoria Queen Maud, Queen of Norway Queen Marie, Queen of Romania Princess Victoria Melita, Grand Duchess of Hesse Princess Alexandra, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg Princess Beatrice, Duchess of Galliera Princess Margaret, Crown Princess of Sweden Princess Patricia of Connaught Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone Princess Marie Louise, Princess Maximilian of Baden Princess Alexandra, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Princess Olga of Hanover

8th generation	Princess Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife Princess Maud, Countess of Southesk Princess Sibylla, Duchess of Västerbotten Princess Caroline Mathilde of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Queen Frederica, Queen of the Hellenes

9th generation	Queen Elizabeth II Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy

10th generation	Princess Anne, Princess Royal

11th generation	Princess Beatrice of York Princess Eugenie of York Lady Louise Windsor

v t e Charles, Prince of Wales

Titles	Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester Duke of Cornwall Duke of Rothesay Earl of Carrick Baron of Renfrew Lord of the Isles Prince and Great Steward of Scotland more

Family	Diana, Princess of Wales (first wife) Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (elder son) Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (daughter-in-law) Prince Harry of Wales (younger son) Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (second wife) Elizabeth II (mother) Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (father) Anne, Princess Royal (sister) Prince Andrew, Duke of York (brother) Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex (brother)

Events	Investiture of the Prince of Wales First wedding (guest list) Divorce Second wedding

Charities	The Prince's Charities/The Prince's Carities Canada Mutton Renaissance Campaign

Miscellaneous	Duchy Originals from Waitrose Poundbury

v t e Time Persons of the Year

Mohammad Mosaddegh (1951) Elizabeth II (1952) Konrad Adenauer (1953) John Foster Dulles (1954) Harlow Curtice (1955) Hungarian Freedom Fighter (1956) Nikita Khrushchev (1957) Charles de Gaulle (1958) Dwight D. Eisenhower (1959) U.S. Scientists (1960) George Beadle Charles Draper John Enders Donald A. Glaser Joshua Lederberg Willard Libby Linus Pauling Edward Purcell Isidor Rabi Emilio Segrè William Shockley Edward Teller Charles Townes James Van Allen Robert Woodward John F. Kennedy (1961) Pope John XXIII (1962) Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963) Lyndon B. Johnson (1964) William Westmoreland (1965) Baby boomers (1966) Lyndon B. Johnson (1967) The Apollo 8 Astronauts (1968) William Anders Frank Borman Jim Lovell The Middle Americans (1969) Willy Brandt (1970) Richard Nixon (1971) Henry Kissinger Richard Nixon (1972) John Sirica (1973) King Faisal (1974) American Women (1975) Susan Brownmiller Kathleen Byerly Alison Cheek Jill Conway Betty Ford Ella Grasso Carla Hills Barbara Jordan Billie Jean King Carol Sutton Susie Sharp Addie L. Wyatt

Complete roster 1927–1950 1951–1975 1976–2000 2001–present

Authority control: PND: 118529889 | LCCN: n80126296 | VIAF: 20471592 | WorldCat

Persondata
Name	Elizabeth II
Alternative names	Elizabeth Alexandra Mary
Short description	Queen regnant of the Commonwealth realms
Date of birth	21 April 1926
Place of birth	London, United Kingdom
Date of death
Place of death

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