Latest news with #WitnessHistory
BBC News
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Witness History Staging Othello in apartheid South Africa
In September 1987, Othello was staged at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg during the apartheid regime in South Africa. The Immorality Act, which banned sexual relationships between white people and non-white people, had been repealed in 1985. But the Shakespeare play was controversial, especially the scene where the black actor, John Kani, kissed the white actress playing his wife. The play was directed by South African born actress Dame Janet Suzman, who looks back on the remarkable story. Produced by Jen Dale. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the 'Indian Titanic' and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy's Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they've had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America's occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP. (Photo: Joanna Weinberg, left, Richard Haines, rear centre, and John Kani, right, performing Othello. Credit: Ruphin Coudyzer/AP)
BBC News
14-04-2025
- BBC News
'The elite of the criminal world': The men behind the Great Train Robbery
Britain in the 1960s was captivated by the daring of the Great Train Robbery, and the sheer scale of the money stolen. But when the accused men stood trial in April 1964, the judge was determined to send a message that such crimes would not be tolerated. Fourteen years later, several of the convicts talked to the BBC. On 16 April 1964, Robert Welch was one of the 12 men found guilty of a notorious heist in Aylesbury Crown Court. Fourteen years later, in 1978, he was on the BBC's documentary and current affairs programme, Man Alive, and recalled seeing local dignitaries jostle for positions in the courtroom to hear the sentencing. "This was what they had all come to watch. The climax of the play, the drama," Welch said. "And the medieval setting in which we were sentenced, you know, it was a bit chilling." Welch and his fellow convicts had fallen a long way since pulling off one of the most audacious and lucrative thefts the UK had ever seen: the Great Train Robbery. Welch and his co-defendants were part of a band who held up a Royal Mail night train travelling from Glasgow to London. The robbers had made off with £2.6m in used banknotes, a record haul at that time, and the equivalent of over £50m ($65.8m) today. At the time of Welch's trial, police were still hunting for three of the people they suspected had been involved in the crime. To execute this carefully orchestrated robbery, 15 members of two of London's biggest criminal gangs had worked together, each tasked with a particular role in the plot. "They were regarded as the elite of the criminal world," Reginald Abbiss, who had covered the crime for the BBC as a young reporter, told the Witness History podcast in 2023. "You had to have a certain talent and audacity, certain abilities to be able to pull a heist of this magnitude and they came together because they needed a multitude of talent." The daring robbery took place just after 03:00 on 8 August 1963. The first step the criminals had taken was to cut the phone lines to stop an alarm being raised. They then rigged the train signals to stay red. "They put a glove over the green light, they wired a cheap battery up to the red light and this, of course, meant the driver had to slow up," said Abbiss. Seeing the red light, the train's driver, Jack Mills, stopped the engine, and his co-driver, David Whitby, climbed out to use the trackside phone to find out what the problem was. That's when Whitby discovered that the line had been cut, and he was set upon by masked men wearing boiler suits. In the meantime, a masked robber burst into the train's cab to restrain the driver. When Mills tried to put up a fight, another gang member hit him over the head, rendering him semi-conscious. "The one glitch, if you like, was the fact that the train driver… tried to resist," said Abbiss. "One of the robbers hit him on the head with a cosh. A lot of blood and down he went." The gang had been given inside information that the cash and high-value packages were held in the train's front two coaches. And because it was a Bank Holiday weekend, it would be carrying more money than usual. One hundred and twenty sacks of money Although there weren't any police onboard, there were more than 70 Post Office employees, mostly in the rear carriages, where they were busy sorting letters. The criminals who had already familiarised themselves with the train's operation and layout quickly uncoupled the two money-laden carriages. The plan was to detach them and drive them away from the steep embankment to a predetermined rendezvous where it would be easier to unload the bags of cash. It was then they hit a problem. "They had a driver to drive the train, he couldn't get the train going, and they had to pull the original driver, Jack Mills, up from the floor and threaten him and say, 'Drive the train,'" said Abbiss. "He managed to get the train a mile up the line to where most of the gang were waiting, leaving the other eight or nine coaches with sorters happily sorting, totally unaware that the main part of the train had gone on ahead." Mills, still bleeding profusely, was told to stop the two front carriages at Bridego Bridge. There, the rest of the gang broke into the carriages, overpowering the Post Office staff working in them, and forcing them to lie face down on the floor. They also brought in Mills and Whitby, who were handcuffed together. The gang had decided that they would give themselves just 15 minutes to unload the loot and then leave whatever money was left. They formed a human chain and swiftly removed 120 sacks containing two-and-a-half tonnes of money into parked Land Rovers. After a quarter of an hour, the crew called time and ordered the terrified Post Office staff to stay still and not to attempt to contact the police for 30 minutes. Then the robbers drove off into the night. The boldness of the theft and the enormous sum of money involved captured the British public's imagination. In the weeks that followed, the country was gripped by sensational headlines detailing the police's hunt for the perpetrators. But despite the meticulous nature of the robbery's planning and its skilful execution, within a year the majority of the criminal gang had been rounded up and were facing trial. "Well, at first view, the job was a very well-planned job," ex-Det Supt Malcolm Fewtrell, who led investigations into the heist, told BBC News in 1964. "But in the event, it has been a disaster. They obviously weren't so clever as they thought they were." The judge at their trial did not view the robbers' actions in the "romantic" way some of the public seemed to, saying that it would be "positively evil" if he showed the convicted men any semblance of leniency. Crime and punishment "I remember a shock wave ran through the courtroom when the judge, a man called Lord Justice Edmund Davies, handed down 307 years in the space of half an hour," Abbiss told BBC Witness History in 2023. At the time, the punishments they received for the robbery were some of the harshest in British criminal history, especially since nobody had been killed and no firearms had been used. "I was just numbed, I couldn't think of anything but 30 years. When are we going to get out? We are never going to get out," one of the robbers, Tommy Wisbey, told Man Alive in 1978. "I don't think it really hits you until a couple of days later and you realise what you've got," fellow gang member Gordon Goody said to the BBC. "I mean it was a bit of a joke downstairs, clowning around and all that kind of thing. But deep down, I suppose you were sick." More like this:• The British politician who was caught faking his own death• The true story of The Great Escape• The bizarre siege behind Stockholm Syndrome The reason the judge gave for the severity of the prison terms was the assault on Mills. "Anybody who has seen that nerve-shattered engine driver can have no doubt of the terrifying effect on law-abiding citizens of a concerted assault by armed robbers," said Justice Davies at the trial. Mills never worked again and died in 1970 of leukaemia. His co-driver Whitby died of a heart attack the following year at the age of 34. But there was also a sense, at least among the robbers themselves, that they were being disproportionately punished because the heist had embarrassed the British establishment. One of them, Roy James, said to the BBC in 1978, "At that moment, all the shame that was with me throughout the trial was lifted because I felt that Mr Edmund Davies then used his position as a High Court judge, used the backing of the state for vengeance. He put himself on a par with me and everything that he said I was." "There was a feeling that Justice Davies came down particularly hard for two reasons," said Abbiss. "One was the violence shown against the train driver, and the other was that the establishment, the government, the Post Office and British Rail, the way that they were sort of caught with their pants down. It showed the establishment to be people perhaps who take their eye off the ball." The criminals' notoriety only grew following their sentencing when two of the gang made dramatic escapes from prison. Charles Wilson, who had been the treasurer of the group, broke out of jail just four months after the trial. He was recaptured in Canada after four years on the run and served another 10 years behind bars. Ronnie Biggs escaped from London's Wandsworth Prison, 15 months after his sentencing, using a makeshift rope ladder. He underwent plastic surgery and lived at times in Spain, Australia and Brazil, evading arrest for nearly 40 years. In 2001, he voluntarily returned to the UK for medical treatment and served the rest of his prison sentence. On the run The law would also eventually catch up with the three gang members who didn't stand trial that day. Bruce Reynolds, considered to be the robbery's mastermind, spent five years on the run until he was arrested on his return to England. He was sentenced to 25 years in jail, but ended up serving just 10. His son Nick, who spent his early life on the run with his father in Mexico and Canada, would later have his own link to the outlaw lifestyle when his band Alabama 3's song Woke Up This Morning became the opening theme of The Sopranos TV series. Ronald "Buster" Edwards, who was later played by Genesis singer Phil Collins in a 1988 film, Buster, fled to Mexico following the robbery. He gave himself up in 1966 and was released after serving nine years. James White, who acted as the quartermaster for the robbery, was caught in Kent and sent to prison after three years on the run. He was released in 1975. Despite the lengthy jail time handed down, all the men convicted of the Great Train Robbery would end up being released early. None served more than 13 years for the crime – although many of them would return to prison for different offences in the years that followed. As for the huge haul stolen during the robbery, despite the police in 1964 offering a 10% share for information that would lead them to it, the majority of the money was never recovered. -- For more stories and never-before-published radio scripts to your inbox, sign up to the In History newsletter, while The Essential List delivers a handpicked selection of features and insights twice a week. For more Culture stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Independent
05-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Couple who set record for longest kiss in 2013 have now separated
A Thai couple who had set the Guinness World Record for the longest kiss in 2013 have now separated. Ekkachai and Laksana Tiranarat kissed continuously for 58 hours and 35 minutes, breaking their own 2011 record in 2013. Their first record in 2011 was a 46-hour and 24-minute kiss. However, 56-year-old Mr Ekkachai has now confirmed that they have separated. Mr Ekkachai told BBC News World Service podcast Witness History that he was 'trying to cherish the good memories' and that he is 'very proud" of their Guinness World Record. The record-breaking kiss took place at Ripley's Believe It or Not! event at Pattaya in Thailand, starting on 12 February 2013 and ending on Valentine's Day. He added: 'I am very proud. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We spent a long time together, and I'm trying to cherish the good memories of what we achieved together.' The couple didn't share many details about their separation. Despite parting ways, Ekkachai said that they have respect for each other. During the podcast, which was aired on 17 February, Mr Ekkachai recalled the Guinness competition's gruelling rules, including staying locked in a kiss even during bathroom breaks and transferring water mouth-to-mouth. 'I was stunned by all the rules, but we decided the show must go on, we must commit. That's the decision we had made,' he said. In 2011, when they won, he said: 'My family and friends congratulated me. They were happy for me. In response, I told them, only crazy people would accomplish something like that. A normal person wouldn't try it.' In 2013, they were hesitant to compete. Ms Laksana, who was aged 33 at the time, had just recovered from an illness, and Mr Ekkachai had planned a trip for her instead. However, the lure of a 50,000 Thai Baht prize and a diamond ring convinced them to try again. They had attempted to get their title back in 2012 also but at the time, they lost to another couple as Ekkschai had fallen ill. 'After we lost in 2012 we discussed whether to go back, but we decided we wanted to win back our record. It was our Roman Empire. We wanted to take back what belonged to us,' he said during the podcast. He said: 'We tried to stand straight like statues. Instead of pinching (to stay awake) we were tapping each other on the head with one hand and on the other hand, we were hugging each other to keep each other awake.' They had to beat the record of 50 hours and 25 minutes. And the prize money was two diamond rings and 100,000 Thai baht (around $3,000). When finally they won, Mr Ekkachai recalled that he was so tired that 'I didn't want to stand up anymore. I wanted to drink water. I just wanted to rest and drink.' In 2013, after 15 years, Guinness World Records deactivated the longest kiss category, saying it had become too dangerous and some of the rules conflicted with their current updated policies. Guinness World Record said in a statement on their website at the time: 'Although we no longer monitor the longest kiss record, we have replaced it with something else: the longest kissing marathon. 'The crucial difference, as with all our 'longest marathon' records, is that challengers are permitted rest breaks. After every continuous hour of kissing, challengers earn five minutes of rest, which can be accumulated if not used. 'Challengers are allowed to sleep, eat, and separate their lips during these rest breaks, mitigating the risk of passing out, suffering psychosis, or requiring resuscitation.' Several kissing contest participants have suffered health issues over the years. In 1999, record holders Karmit Tzubera and Dror Orpaz nearly fainted after kissing for 30 hours and had to be hospitalised. In 2004, Andrea Sarti required oxygen after enduring muscle cramps during a 31-hour kiss. In 2011, a contestant passed out just 30 minutes into the challenge. Mr Ekkachai and 45-year-old Laksana are still the final holders of this record before it was deactivated.
BBC News
28-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Witness History Africa's stolen Metis children
In 1953, in what was then the Belgian Congo, four-year-old Marie-José Loshi was forcibly removed from her family's village and taken more than 600km away to live in a Catholic institute. The cause of her kidnapping was the colour of her skin. Under Belgium's colonial rule, thousands of mixed-race children were taken from their homes and separated from their families. The state hoped the actions would quash any sense of revolt against the colony. More than 70 years later, Marie-José and four other women took on the former colonial power, seeking justice for themselves and the many other mixed-race children that suffered the same fate. She speaks to Kaine Pieri. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the 'Indian Titanic' and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy's Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they've had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America's occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP. (Photo: Marie-José Loshi. Credit: Marie-José Loshi)
