Latest news with #CharlesTodd
The Hindu
18-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Monuments stand in silence
It was another Sunday – May 10, 1857 – at the Delhi Telegraph office, nestled beside the British Magazine. The sun was just starting to heat the streets, and as per the custom, the office was to close by 9am. However, this Sunday was not like any other. The needle of time had shifted. Major Charles Todd, the British commander on site, stood by the telegraph machine, waiting for news to flash in from Meerut. Two Eurasian signallers, William Brendish and John Pilkington, bent down to read — the transmission was short and ominous. Meerut, 70 kilometers away, was distraught. Earlier in the day, sepoys (Indian troops in the British army) had rebelled, refusing to salute a foreign crown. Following this, the British officers issued a warning that any soldier backing the rebellion would be disarmed and chained. In Delhi, the message reachednot via horse or any other mode, but via a pulse in copper wires and tapping keys. By nightfall, when the connection with Meerut conked out, Todd sent his aides to survey the damage. When they did not return, he went himself and never returned. Hours later, an urgent message was tapped out to the Telegraph Office in Ambala: 'We must leave office. All the bungalows are on fire, burned down by the sepoys of Meerut. They came in this morning. We are off. Mr. Todd is dead, I think. He went out this morning and has not returned yet. We heard that nine Europeans were killed.' This was perhaps the last message wired from the telegraph office and possibly the first about freedom from oppressive British rule. The 1857 rebellion had lit the fire of mutiny awakening the people to the path of independence. Barely a 100 metres away opposite to the Telegraph office, the Mutiny Memorial was built in 1863 to honor soldiers of the British Indian Army who died during the revolt. In 1972, on the 25th anniversary of Indian independence, the Indian government renamed the Mutiny Memorial as 'Ajitgarh', the place of unvanquished. A plaque in memory of the officers and soldiers of the Delhi Field Force, whom the British considered rebels, was also installed. Today, the Telegraph Memorial stands not in silence, but in silent remembrance of the place as an enduring symbol of courage and where once wires shook with urgency for a nation's awakening. In that final message, the British heard the end of their rule and heard the start of the Indian voice. Not every revolution rages, some start as a whisper through copper, bearing the burden of a people poised to rise.
The Independent
11-02-2025
- General
- The Independent
Family mourn sailor who vanished in Bay of Biscay during Storm Herminia
Tributes have been paid to a 'loving and charismatic' sailor who vanished in the Bay of Biscay during a fierce storm. Charles Todd, 73, is feared dead after rescuers found the wreckage of his yacht day s after he set off to sail solo to the Caribbean. The family of the father-of-five have revealed they are 'heartbroken' by their 'sudden loss'. Mr Todd, a beloved sailor with the Greenwich Yachting Club in London, set off a distress beacon on January 25 around 50 miles west of France. It came after he radioed a cargo ship that he was safe after not initially responding to radio messages. It was his last contact before the search for Mr Todd was called off the following day after divers who winched down to the yacht, called Tiger PA, found no sign of the sailor. His daughter Nadine Gowan told the BBC that Mr Todd was sailing to the Caribbean when the tragedy occurred. She described him as someone who 'lived life to the full and was 'loving, charismatic, young-at-heart'. Born in Ghana, Ms Gowan said her father moved to Manchester when he was young and lived in Germany for more than two decades before returning to London in the 2000s. Greenwich Sailing Club in London posted on Facebook: 'Rest in peace dear friend.' A Portuguese cargo ship and a Spanish hospital vessel were both diverted to the area and to help with the search, alongside the French navy. After several hours of searching, it was called off 'due to a lack of information". The north of Spain and western France have had heavy rain and wind during Storm Herminia, which was named by Spanish meteorologists because the country was expected to experience the worst of the conditions.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Family 'heartbroken' as missing sailor named as London father
The family of a British sailor who went missing after his boat capsized off the south-west coast of France say they are "heartbroken by this sudden loss". Father-of-five Charles Todd, 73, sent out a distress signal from his yacht on 25 January amid fierce weather brought on by Storm Herminia in the area of the Bay of Biscay. A French air force helicopter was dispatched as part of an immediate response to try and find Mr Todd, but they found his 12-metre yacht, the Tiger PA, "eviscerated" in the Bay of Biscay. Mr Todd's family said the search was called off in the early hours of 26 January after teams were "unable to locate him". According to the Préfecture maritime de l'Atlantique, the distress call was detected approximately 80km (50 miles) west of Lacanau at about 15:00 local time (14:00 GMT). As part of the rescue operation, French officials said a Portuguese cargo ship and a Spanish hospital vessel were both diverted to the area and to help with the search, alongside the French navy. But, at 01:33 (00:33 GMT) the following morning the Préfecture maritime de l'Atlantique said the search was suspended "due to a lack of new information". In a tribute, Mr Todd's daughter, Nadine Gowan, told the BBC her father was sailing to the Caribbean via the Canary Islands when the tragedy occurred. His family described him as a "loving, charismatic, young-at-heart" and as someone "who lived life to the full". They added that Mr Todd was born in Ghana and moved to Manchester when he was young. He was a keen musician, a skilled carpenter and lived in Germany for 25 years where he ran his own joinery business, the family said. Mr Todd returned to London in 2004 and was a well-respected member of the Greenwich Yacht Club for over a decade. The family has expressed their gratitude to the French rescue teams and the British Consulate in Bordeaux.
BBC News
11-02-2025
- General
- BBC News
Family 'heartbroken' as missing sailor named as London father Charles Todd
The family of a British sailor who went missing after his boat capsized off the south-west coast of France say they are "heartbroken by this sudden loss".Father-of-five Charles Todd, 73, sent out a distress signal from his yacht on 25 January amid fierce weather brought on by Storm Herminia in the area of the Bay of Biscay.A French air force helicopter was dispatched as part of an immediate response to try and find Mr Todd, but they found his 12-metre yacht, the Tiger PA, "eviscerated" in the Bay of Todd's family said the search was called off in the early hours of 26 January after teams were "unable to locate him". According to the Préfecture maritime de l'Atlantique, the distress call was detected approximately 80km (50 miles) west of Lacanau at about 15:00 local time (14:00 GMT).As part of the rescue operation, French officials said a Portuguese cargo ship and a Spanish hospital vessel were both diverted to the area and to help with the search, alongside the French at 01:33 (00:33 GMT) the following morning the Préfecture maritime de l'Atlantique said the search was suspended "due to a lack of new information". In a tribute, Mr Todd's daughter, Nadine Gowan, told the BBC her father was sailing to the Caribbean via the Canary Islands when the tragedy family described him as a "loving, charismatic, young-at-heart" and as someone "who lived life to the full".They added that Mr Todd was born in Ghana and moved to Manchester when he was young. He was a keen musician, a skilled carpenter and lived in Germany for 25 years where he ran his own joinery business, the family Todd returned to London in 2004 and was a well-respected member of the Greenwich Yacht Club for over a family has expressed their gratitude to the French rescue teams and the British Consulate in Bordeaux.
