Page 34 - br-aug-2020
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August 2020                                                                          August 2020

       DORSET TRADING STANDARDS                                                            years during training on HMS Ganges) and covered all aspects of practical and
                                                                                           theoretical seamanship.

       Dorset Council Trading Standards Service check and approve                          Reginald passed out of Britannia in 1896 as a  Midshipman and was promoted to
                                                                                           Lieutenant  in  1906.  It  was  clear,  early  in  his  naval  career,  that  the  young
       businesses so you don’t have to.
                                                                                           Lieutenant Plunkett, was destined for the higher ranks of the Royal Navy. His Times
       For more information visit www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk or                          obituary said he ‘was a man of brilliant and original brain’ who many of his fellow
       call 08454 040506.
                                                                                           officers felt should have succeeded to First Sea Lord when that position became
       To report or seek advice about problems you have                                    vacant  in  1939.  At  his  own  request,  he  was  sent  on  the  Army  Staff  course  at
       experienced when dealing with a trader call 08454 040506.                           Camberley,  a  highly  unusual  request,  in  order  to  study  introducing  staff  training
                                                                                           into the Royal Navy – something unheard of at the time. He published privately a
                                                                                           book  on  naval  tactics,  an  action  somewhat  frowned  upon  by  some  of  his  die-
       Two sides to a COVID hair cut                                                       hard  senior  officers,    it  coming  from  a  relatively  junior  officer.  Nonetheless,
                                                                                           Reginald was the first of 12 officers to be selected to attend training for the new
       Hair has become quite an emotional issue during lockdown. Feeling good about        Admiralty War Staff when it was set up by Winston Churchill in 1912.
       how we look helps us to feel good about ourselves, good wellbeing helps us to
       get through these tougher times.                                                    He was promoted to Commander during the course and was appointed to the
                                                                                           prestigious post of the War Staff Officer (Operations Officer) to Admiral Sir David
                                                     Businesses   have    been             Beatty in 1  Cruiser Squadron on HMS Lion, Beatty’s flagship. Reginald served on
                                                                                                     st

                                                     reopening  from  lockdown  in         HMS  Lion  at  the  battles  of  Helgoland  Bight,  August  1914,  and  Dogger  Bank,
                                                     a  staged  approach,  with            January 1915. In May 1915, HMS Lion took a significant role in the Battle of Jutland
                                                     Trading  Standards  oversight,        as Admiral Beattie’s flagship of the 1  Battle Cruiser Squadron.
                                                                                                                           st
                                                     as  we  all  work  together  to
                                                     restart  our  economy  safely         Admiral Beattie made specific mention in his despatch of Commander Plunkett’s
                                                     while  Government  gradually          role during the battle: ‘My Flag Commander, the Hon.Reginald A R Plunkett, was
                                                     amend business closure rules.         most  valuable  in  observing  the  effect  of  our  fire,  thereby  enabling  me  to  take
                                                     At  the  time  of  writing  this      advantage  of  the  enemy’s  discomforture.’  Plunkett  received  the  Distinguished
                                                     Dorset   hairdressers   and           Service Order (DSO) for his services with Beattie.
                                                     barbers,  closed  since  the          Reginald’s mother, Lady Dunsany, died in early 1916 and the Charborough Park
                                                     start   of   lockdown   are           estate, which included most of the tenanted properties in Bere Regis, as well as his
                                                     reopening.                            mother’s extensive estates in Dorset, Wiltshire, Kent, Surrey, Yorkshire and the sugar
                                                     M a n y    p e o p l e    h a v e     plantations in the West Indies, passed to him. A condition of the inheritance was
                                                     embraced  DIY  hairdressing,          that  he  was  to  adopt  his
                                                     attempting  at-home  trims            mother’s  surnames  of  Ernle-
       and dye jobs, or growing out a more natural look, but generally we can't wait to    Erle-  Drax.  Thus,  his  new
       get back into the salon and into the hands of a professional hairstylist.           quadruple-barrelled surname
                                                                                           of   Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax
       While  thinking  about  our  own  hair  you  may  not  have  given  much  thought  to   together  with  his  forenames,
       Dorset  sheep,  but  our  Trading  Standards  Animal  Health  Officers  have.  This  is   earned  him,  amongst  his
       because COVID-19 has resulted in a lack of migrant workers coming into the UK       naval    colleagues,   the
       and when it comes to sheep shearers, that has had quite an impact on farmers.       nickname     of   ‘Admiral
                                                                                           Acronym’.  He  was  married
       Shearers  normally  arrive  in  the  UK  from  Australia  and  New  Zealand  from  spring   on  15  April  1916  to  Kathleen
       onwards  but  have  been  unable  to  get  here  this  spring.  UK  based  shearers  are   Chalmers  in  Edinburgh  and
       working hard to get around to all the sheep as soon as possible, which has been     lived at Charborough Park.
       especially important with the hot weather we have had, as shearing sheep helps
       prevents welfare issues from developing.

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