1/11/2024 0 Comments London fog 1952But we could find no Churchill comments on the Great Smog. This is a nice example of educated repartee from a vanished time. Ross replied that he was quoting Homer, and WSC thanked him: “We shall certainly not quarrel on the differing usage of ‘Boo’ and ‘Bo’ north and south of the Tweed.” 3 In Parliament, Ross had used the expression “Boo to a goose,” which Churchill mistakenly thought should be “Bo” from Swift. He did find time for an amusing exchange with Willie Ross (Lab.-Kilmarnock, Ayr and Bute). By Monday the 8th he was back at work on the Budget Estimates. 2Ĭhurchill spent the weekend at Chequers, where he met with Anthony Eden on foreign affairs. The Conservatives’ thin majority prevailed, 304-280. He deftly handled Labour’s chief critic, Aneurin Bevan, in a famous exchange. On December 4th he faced down a motion of Censure (that his government was dealing “incompetently and unfairly” with the needs of the nation). On the week of the Great Smog, Churchill was in London. We readily answered the producer’s question. Central heating was not then common in Britain, but its expansion eventually contributed to a cleaner environment. Financial incentives saw homeowners replace open coal fires with gas, or switch to low-smoke coke instead of coal. Whatever the number, this was a serious misfortune.Įnvironmental legislation swiftly followed: The Clean Air Acts of 19 diminished air pollution. Contemporary estimates that 4000 died from respiratory effects have since expanded to 10-12,000. Londoners burned more coal than usual to keep warm. In 1952, it occurred following a temperature inversion during a very cold December. 1 Poor air quality had been known in the capital since the 13th century. The smog which descended on London on 5-9 December 1952, is accurately described on Wikipedia. The Great Smog of 1952 Nelson’s Column in the 1952 Great Smog: a contemporary photo. Call this a preemptive strike, in the event we are confronted with more inaccurate history in the upcoming production. Let us omit the most logical rejoinder: how many would have died without heat? Instead consider what really happened, and Churchill’s role (or non-role) in it. The Clean Air Acts were only passed after the evil Global Warmer was finally brought down, which The Queen was just about to do.” A viewer wrote: “Churchill is accused of killing 12,000 because he insisted on keeping coal and wood burning, causing pollution, smog, emphysema, civil unrest and mass murder. The Great Smog came up in Season 1, episode of a popular TV series, The Crown, reviewed in 2016. The Churchill Project was asked by a London television producer of a documentary on London’s Great Smog of 1952: “What was Winston Churchill was doing during the crisis? We are struggling to find any records.”
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |