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Becher was serving as squadron gunnery officer aboard the Royal Navy heavy cruiser HMS Devonshire ] when the Second World War broke out . In May 1940 , Devonshire was dispatched to the Namsos region of Norway to assist in the extraction of Allied troops . Commended for his " daring , resource and devotion " during the... |
In late November 1940 , Becher transferred to the recently launched destroyer HMAS Napier as part of the ship 's commissioning crew . While completing working @-@ up exercises , Napier was tasked with transferring British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his wife from Thurso in Scotland to the battleship HMS King ... |
Napier assisted in the evacuation of British and Commonwealth troops from the island of Crete in late May , following the successful Axis invasion . On one such occasion the vessel embarked 296 soldiers , three women , one Greek and one Chinese civilian , ten sailors , two children and a dog . Returning to Alexandria ... |
Becher returned to Australia in early 1942 , and from 17 May was appointed officer @-@ in @-@ charge of the gunnery school at HMAS Cerberus . He remained at this post for almost two years until , on 12 March 1944 , he was given command of the destroyer HMAS Quickmatch — formed up as part of the Eastern Fleet . On 22 J... |
In October 1944 , Quickmatch was transferred to Australian waters and underwent her annual refit at Sydney from November to December . Once the refit was completed she operated mainly off the Australian coast . During the early hours of 25 December 1944 , the Navy Office in Melbourne received an SOS from the SS Robert... |
Becher was promoted to commander on 31 December 1944 , and the following month Quickmatch was transferred to the recently established British Pacific Fleet . On 28 February , the British Pacific Fleet , including Quickmatch , sailed from Sydney Harbour for Manus Island to prepare for its role in support of the planned... |
On 25 June 1945 , Becher relinquished command of the Quickmatch and returned to Australia , where he was attached to the shore base HMAS Penguin . For his " distinguished service ... in the Pacific " he received a Mention in Despatches . In August , he transferred to HMAS Cerberus for duties with the Navy Office .
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= = Interbellum and Korean War = =
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Becher remained with the Navy Office until November 1947 , when he was posted to the United Kingdom to join the aircraft carrier HMAS Sydney 's commissioning crew . Embarking from Melbourne during February 1948 , he was temporarily attached to HMS Drake and later HMS Glory until Sydney 's commissioning on 16 December ... |
Warramunga arrived in Korean waters in late August 1950 . After some initial escort work , the destroyer joined HMAS Bataan as part of the carrier HMS Triumph 's protective screen while the latter contributed air cover to the Allied landing at Inchon on 15 September . For the next three months , Warramunga engaged in ... |
On 4 December , Warramunga and Bataan supported the emergency withdrawal of Allied troops from Chinnampo . Becher decided to sail up a channel of the Taedong River known as Short Cut , which according to his charts should have allowed him five to ten feet of clearance . The chart proved inaccurate , and Warramunga ran... |
Warramunga participated in the Siege of Wonsan during late February 1951 , where she engaged and partially destroyed North Korean shore batteries , as well as shelling buildings and transport infrastructure . Despite coming under fire the destroyer sustained no damage . For the remainder of her tour in Korea , Warramu... |
On 17 July 1951 , it was announced that Becher had been appointed as an honorary aide @-@ de @-@ camp to the Governor @-@ General of Australia for a period of three years . Following Warramunga 's departure from Korean waters on 1 August , Rear Admiral Alan Scott @-@ Moncrieff , Commander West Coast Blockade Force , c... |
= = Senior command = =
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Becher retained command of Warramunga until October 1951 , when he was posted to the shore base HMAS Lonsdale for service with the Navy Office as Deputy Chief of Naval Personnel and Director of Personal Services . In September that year he was additionally appointed trustee of the Services Canteens Trust Fund ; a posi... |
In 1956 , Becher embarked for the United Kingdom to attend the Imperial Defence College . A month after his December graduation , he travelled back to Australia and assumed command of HMAS Melbourne . Becher remained with Melbourne until December 1958 , at which time he returned to the Navy Office at HMAS Lonsdale to ... |
Relinquishing his position with the Navy Office in 1962 , Becher was sent to the United Kingdom as Head of the Australian Joint Services Staff in London . In January 1964 he returned to Australia , and was made Flag Officer Commanding HM Australian Fleet . During his time in this role Becher became embroiled in the co... |
= = Retirement = =
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Following his retirement , Becher accepted the position of Director @-@ General of Recruiting for the Australian armed forces from 1966 until 1969 , a period during which conscription was in effect . Minister of Defence Allen Fairhall asked Becher to find enough volunteers to fill the armed forces , and Becher believe... |
= 2006 Bank of America 500 =
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The 2006 Bank of America 500 was the 31st stock car race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the fifth in the ten @-@ race season @-@ ending Chase for the Nextel Cup . It was held on October 14 , 2006 , before a crowd of 175 @,@ 000 in Concord , North Carolina , at Lowe 's Motor Speedway , one of ten intermediate... |
Although Scott Riggs won the pole position , he was immediately passed by teammate Kahne at the start of the race . Riggs regained the lap twelve laps later , only to lose it to Tony Raines on the 19th lap . Riggs retook the lead on lap 31 and maintained it for the following sixteen laps , until he was passed by Dale ... |
The victory was Kahne 's sixth of the season , and the seventh of his career . After the race Burton maintained his lead in the Drivers ' Championship , which increased to 45 points over nearest rival Matt Kenseth . Kahne 's victory moved him from ninth to eighth , while Jeff Gordon dropped to tenth because his engine... |
= = Report = =
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= = = Background = = =
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The Bank of America 500 was the 31st of 36 scheduled stock car races of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series , and the fifth in the ten @-@ race season @-@ ending Chase for the Nextel Cup . It was held on October 14 , 2006 , at Lowe 's Motor Speedway ( now called Charlotte Motor Speedway ) in Concord , North Carolina , o... |
Before the race Jeff Burton led the Drivers ' Championship with 5 @,@ 598 points , with Matt Kenseth second , and Mark Martin third . Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin were fourth and fifth . Dale Earnhardt , Jr . , Jeff Gordon , Jimmie Johnson , Kasey Kahne , and Kyle Busch rounded out the top ten drivers competing in t... |
After he was rammed by his teammate Brian Vickers in the UAW @-@ Ford 500 , Johnson said the expectations for him to succeed at Lowe 's Motor Speedway were high and hoped the track 's surface would be more predictable . Martin said he was in the best position that he had been in for several years to win the championsh... |
One team made its début at the race . Red Bull Racing Team elected to start operations early as part of a warm @-@ up exercise to running a full @-@ time schedule in 2007 with 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion Bill Elliott driving the No. 83 car . Elliott would attempt to qualify the car at three races towards t... |
= = = Practice and qualification = = =
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Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race - one each on Thursday , Friday and , Saturday . The first practice session lasted 90 minutes , the second 60 minutes , and the third 50 minutes . Kahne set the fastest time in the first practice session with a lap of 28 @.@ 834 seconds ; Scott Riggs was second ... |
Although 52 cars were entered in the qualifier , according to NASCAR 's qualifying procedure , only 43 could race . Each driver ran two laps , with the starting order determined by the competitor 's fastest times . Riggs clinched the third pole position of his career , and his third consecutive at Lowe 's Motor Speedw... |
On Friday afternoon Kyle Busch was fastest in the second practice session with a time of 29 @.@ 378 seconds , ahead of Kahne and Robby Gordon . Bowyer was fourth @-@ fastest ; Johnson was fifth and Truex sixth . Greg Biffle , Kurt Busch , Burton , and Martin followed in the top ten . Of the other drivers in the Chase ... |
= = = Race = = =
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Live television coverage of the race on NBC began at 7 : 04 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time in the United States . Around the start of the race , weather conditions were sunny with an air temperature of 64 ° F ( 18 ° C ) which was forecast to drop as the race progressed . Dr. William K. Thierfelder , president of Belmont A... |
The race started at 7 : 21 p.m. Kahne accelerated faster than teammate Riggs off the line , and was ahead of him by the second turn . The first caution of the race was given one lap later when Todd Bodine contacted Robby Gordon in the tri @-@ oval . Gordon slid but regained control of his car with Bodine slowing . Thi... |
Tony Raines decided not to make a pit stop and led the field back up to speed at the lap @-@ 22 restart , ahead of Newman , McMurray , Terry Labonte , and Riggs . On the 23rd lap , Riggs and Kahne got ahead of Labonte for fourth and fifth positions . Riggs passed McMurray for third one lap later , and Kahne got ahead ... |
Riggs closed the gap to Earnhardt , and was 1 @.@ 5 seconds behind by lap 75 . Green @-@ flag pit stops began on lap 78 , with Earnhardt stopping on lap 79 , giving the lead back to Riggs . Kahne and Riggs made pit stops on the 85th lap for scuffed right @-@ hand tires . After the pit stops , which concluded on lap 91... |
Kahne moved up into second place by lap 132 after passing Jeff Gordon , Earnhardt , and Robby Gordon . Johnson got ahead of Robby Gordon for fourth place one lap later . Kahne moved back into the lead after passing Raines on the backstretch on lap 138 , while Johnson moved into second one lap later . The second round ... |
Johnson drove to the track 's inside at turn three and passed Kahne for the lead on lap 211 and started to pull away from the rest of the field . Bowyer drove to his garage on lap 216 for a transmission change because he lost the use of third gear . Jeff Gordon had closed the gap to Kahne by lap 229 . Green @-@ flag p... |
Kahne maintained his lead at the lap @-@ 281 restart and pulled away from Earnhardt . Jeff Gordon passed Nemechek to move into fourth place on the following lap . Jeff Gordon 's engine failed after he crossed the start @-@ finish line on lap 302 , triggering the race 's final caution . The leaders , including Kahne , ... |
= = = Post @-@ race = = =
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Kahne appeared in victory lane in front of the crowd of 170 @,@ 000 to celebrate his sixth win of the season earning him $ 305 @,@ 889 . Kahne was delighted with his victory and thanked the people who worked on his car 's transmission and rear @-@ end : " We had a great car . It was unbelievable all night . I slammed ... |
Shortly after leaving his car , Martin felt the championship was an achievement that he was unable to secure : " They tell me a lot of people are having trouble anyway , but we didn 't need to throw that away , " He said he was unaware that Yeley intended to make a pit stop and , from his viewpoint , it allowed Kenset... |
Johnson and Burton stated it was difficult to achieve a rhythm because of the small fuel cells mandated for the race and the hard @-@ compound tires . Temperatures had been warmer than the previous day 's Busch Series race and thus gave the drivers more grip though sliding was observed during both events . McMurray no... |
The result kept Burton in the lead of the Drivers ' Championship with 5 @,@ 763 points , ahead of Kenseth on 5 @,@ 718 . Harvick moved into third with 5 @,@ 674 , thirteen points ahead of Martin who fell to fourth . Earnhardt moved in front of Hamlin for fifth , and Johnson , Kahne and Kyle Busch filled positions seve... |
= = Results = =
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= = = Qualifying = = =
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= = = Race results = = =
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= = Standings after the race = =
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= Olive Trees ( Van Gogh series ) =
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Vincent van Gogh painted at least 18 paintings of olive trees , mostly in Saint @-@ Rémy @-@ de @-@ Provence in 1889 . At his own request , he lived at an asylum there from May 1889 through May 1890 painting the gardens of the asylum and , when he had permission to venture outside its walls , nearby olive trees , cypr... |
One painting , Olive Trees in a Mountainous Landscape , was a complement to The Starry Night .
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The olive tree paintings had special significance for Van Gogh . A group in May 1889 represented life , the divine and the cycle of life while those from November 1889 arose out of Van Gogh 's attempt to symbolize his feelings about Christ in Gethsemane . His paintings of olive pickers demonstrate the relationship bet... |
Van Gogh found respite and relief in interaction with nature . When the series of olive tree paintings was made in 1889 Van Gogh was subject to illness and emotional turmoil , yet the paintings are among his finest works .
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= = Saint @-@ Rémy = =
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In May 1889 , Van Gogh voluntarily entered the asylum of St. Paul near Saint @-@ Rémy in Provence . There he had access to an adjacent cell he used as his studio . He was initially confined to the immediate asylum grounds and painted ( without the window bars ) the world he saw from his room , such as ivy covered tree... |
The imposed regimen of asylum life gave Van Gogh a hard @-@ won stability : " I feel happier here with my work than I could be outside . By staying here a good long time , I shall have learned regular habits and in the long run the result will be more order in my life . " While his time at Saint @-@ Rémy forced him to... |
= = Olive trees as a subject = =
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Painting the countryside , the surrounding fields , cypress trees and olive trees restored Van Gogh 's connection to nature through art . He completed at least 18 paintings in 1889 of " venerable , gnarled olive trees , " pervasive throughout southern France , of which he wrote :
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" The effect of daylight and the sky means there are endless subjects to be found in olive trees . For myself I look for the contrasting effects in the foliage , which changes with the tones of the sky . At times , when the tree bares its pale blossoms and big blue flies , emerald fruit beetles and cicadas in great nu... |
He found olive trees , representative of Provence , both " demanding and compelling . " He wrote to his brother Theo that he was " struggling to catch ( the olive trees ) . They are old silver , sometimes with more blue in them , sometimes greenish , bronzed , fading white above a soil which is yellow , pink , violet ... |
= = Spiritual significance = =
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As a young man , Van Gogh was interested in pursuing ministry to serve working people . He studied for a time in the Netherlands but his zeal and self @-@ imposed asceticism cost him a short @-@ term position in lay ministry . He became somewhat embittered and rejected the church establishment , yet found a personal s... |
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