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Martin-Baker

Martin-Baker Aircraft Company Limited is a British manufacturer of ejection seats and safety-related equipment for aviation. The company was originally an aircraft manufacturer before becoming a pioneer in the field of ejection seats. The company's headquarters are in Higher Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, with other sites in France, Italy and the United States.

Martin-Baker supplies ejection seats for 93 air forces worldwide. Martin-Baker seats have been fitted into over 200 fixed-wing and rotary types with the most recent being the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II programme.

Martin-Baker claimed in 2022 that since the first live ejection test in 1945, a total of 7,674 lives have been saved by the company's ejection seats.

Martin-Baker also manufactures what it calls "crashworthy" seats for helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. , over 20,000 crashworthy seats have been delivered. The Martin-Baker company continues as a family-run business, run by the twin sons of the late Sir James Martin since Autumn 1979.

History
The factory for building aircraft was established in 1929 by James Martin and "Martin's Aircraft Works" was founded at Denham by James Martin and Captain Valentine Baker with financial help from Francis Francis. The company was building a prototype aircraft, the MB 1, using the design patents for aircraft structures held by Martin. On 17 August 1934, the Martin-Baker Aircraft Company was formed to continue the work of aircraft development.

Martin and Baker designed an unconventional, two-seat, low-wing monoplane design in the early 1930s as the MB 1. This was powered by a de Havilland Gipsy engine mounted in the fuselage behind the seats and driving a fixed pitch propeller through a shaft running horizontally between the pilot and passenger. The project was abandoned due to financial constraints, although the fuselage and engine installation had been completed. Martin-Baker also constructed an autogyro designed by Raoul Hafner. This, their first complete aircraft project, was later tested by Captain Baker at Heston Aerodrome.

In 1935, Martin and Baker designed and flew their Martin-Baker MB 1, a two-seat light touring aircraft. Their first military design was the Martin-Baker MB 2, a Napier Dagger–powered fighter that flew in 1938. It was a private venture to meet Air Ministry Specification F.5/34 for a fighter for service in the tropics. The MB 2 was tested but neither it nor other designs to F.5/34 were adopted.

 * Martin-Baker MB 3 (1942): a six-cannon fighter design, powered by a Napier Sabre. Baker was killed in a crash while testing the prototype.
 * Martin-Baker MB 4 (1943): a Rolls-Royce Griffon-engined fighter, cancelled on the drawing board.

The Martin-Baker MB 5 which first flew in 1944 had started out as the second MB 3 prototype but was extensively redesigned with a tubular steel fuselage. It used the Griffon engine driving contra-rotating propellers.
 * Martin-Baker MB 6 (1945): a Second World War jet fighter project with a swing-arm, 0/0 spring-loaded ejection seat.
 * Martin-Baker MB 7 (1946) Black Bess: a postwar interceptor/high-speed test aircraft concept. Small flying models were made but the project was cancelled in 1947.

Martin-Baker manufactured aircraft components, including retrofit improvements to the ammunition belt feeds for the Hispano Mk II autocannon  and armoured seats for Supermarine Spitfires, throughout the Second World War. James Martin also designed and manufactured explosive bolt cutters fitted to bomber wings to cut barrage balloon cables that were fitted to many aircraft and saved a number of aircraft.

In 1944, the company was approached by the Ministry of Aircraft Production to investigate ejection systems enabling pilots to bail out safely from high-speed fighter aircraft.

Ejection seats
Martin-Baker investigated ejection seats from 1934 onwards, several years before Germany and Sweden proposed similar systems in 1938. The company concluded that an explosive-powered ejection seat was the best solution. In particular, Baker's death in 1942 during a test flight of the MB 3 affected Martin so much that pilot safety became his primary focus and led to the later reorganisation of the company to focus primarily on ejection seats.

In 1944, James Martin was asked by the Ministry of Aircraft Production to develop methods for fighter pilots to escape their aircraft. Martin decided that the best method involved ejection of the seat with the occupant sitting in it, aided by an explosive charge. After ejection, the pilot would separate from the seat and open his parachute by pulling a ripcord in the usual way.

At that time there was little information on how much upward thrust the human body could withstand. Data relating to "g" forces in catapult launching of aircraft involved horizontal thrust and was therefore inapplicable to the new problem. Tests would have to be conducted to find out how much upward "g" force a person could tolerate. These were done by shooting a seat up a near-vertical path, loading the seat to represent the weight of the occupant, and measuring the accelerations involved.

A 16-foot (5-metre) test rig was built in the form of a tripod, one of the legs being in the form of guide rails. The seat was propelled up the guide rails by a gun, consisting of two telescopic tubes energised by an explosive cartridge. The guide rails were provided with ratchet stops every three inches (75 mm), so that the seat was automatically arrested at the top of its travel.

Studies were conducted to find the limits of upward acceleration that the human body could stand. The first dummy shot with the seat loaded to 200 lb was made on 20 January 1945, and four days later one of the company's experimental fitters, Bernard Lynch, undertook the first "live" ride, being shot up the rig to a height of 4 feet 8 inches. In three further tests, the power of the cartridge was progressively increased until a height of 10 feet was reached, at which stage Lynch reported the onset of considerable physical discomfort. The first seat was successfully live-tested by Lynch on 24 July 1946, who ejected from a Gloster Meteor travelling at 320 mph IAS at 8000 ft over Chalgrove Airfield in Oxfordshire.

The first production Martin-Baker ejection seat, a 'Pre-Mk 1', was installed in the Saunders-Roe SR.A/1 prototype.

The first use of an ejection seat in a practical application by a British pilot involved the Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52 flying wing experimental aircraft in May 1949.

Martin-Baker was a pioneer in expanding the operational envelope of the ejection seat to enable it to be used at low altitudes and airspeeds, leading eventually to development of the "zero-zero" capability in 1961.

Applications
Martin-Baker Mk.1

• Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck

• English Electric Canberra

• Gloster Meteor

• Hawker Hunter

• Hawker Sea Hawk

• Supermarine Attacker

• Supermarine Swift

• Westland Wyvern

Martin-Baker Mk.2

• Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck

• de Havilland DH.112 Venom

• English Electric Canberra

• Gloster Meteor

• Hawker Hunter

• Hawker Sea Hawk

• Supermarine Attacker

• Supermarine Swift

• Westland Wyvern

Martin-Baker Mk.3 • Avro Vulcan

• BAC 221

• de Havilland DH.100 Vampire

• English Electric Canberra

• Fairey Delta 2

• Gloster Javelin

• Handley Page Victor

• Hawker Hunter

• Supermarine Swift

• Vickers Valiant

Martin-Baker Mk.4

• Aermacchi MB-326

• BAC 167 Strikemaster

• Dassault Étendard IV

• Dassault Mirage III

• Dassault Mystère

• Dassault M.D.450 Ouragan

• Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet

• de Havilland DH.100 Vampire

• English Electric Canberra

• English Electric Lightning

• Fouga CM.170 Magister

• HAL Ajeet

• HAL HF-24 Marut

• HAL HJT-16 Kiran

• Hawker Hunter

• SEPECAT Jaguar

• Sud-Ouest Aviation (SNCASO) S.O. 4050 Vautour II

Martin-Baker Mk.5

• Dassault Mirage III

• Douglas F4D Skyray

• Grumman A-6 Intruder

• Grumman F11F/F-11 Tiger

• Grumman OV-1 Mohawk

• Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star

• Lockheed TRV-1 SeaStar

• McDonnell F3H Demon

• McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom (UK variants)

• North American FJ-4 Fury

• North American F-86D Sabre

• North American F-100 Super Sabre

• Republic F-84F Thunderstreak

• Republic RF-84F Thunderflash

• Vought F-8 Crusader

Martin-Baker Mk.6

• Atlas Impala

• Atlas Cheetah

• Blackburn Buccaneer

• Dassault Balzac V

• Dassault Mirage III

• Dassault Ouragan

• Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard

• Dornier Do 31

• Fiat G.91

• FMA IA 58 Pucará

• Hawker Siddeley P.1127

• Hunting H.126

• IAI Dagger

• IAI Kfir

Martin-Baker Mk.7

• EWR VJ 101

• Grumman A-6 Intruder

• Grumman F-9 Cougar

• Grumman F-14 Tomcat

• Lockheed F-104 Starfighter

• McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II

• Northrop F-5

• Grumman EA-6B Prowler

• Vought F-8 Crusader

Martin-Baker Mk.8

 * Embraer EMB 312 Tucano
 * BAC TSR-2

Martin-Baker Mk.9

 * Dornier Do 31
 * Hawker Siddeley Harrier
 * Nord 500
 * SEPECAT Jaguar
 * VFW VAK 191B

Martin-Baker Mk.10

• Aermacchi MB-339

• Aermacchi S-211

• AMX International AMX

• Atlas Cheetah

• BAE Systems Hawk

• British Aerospace Sea Harrier

• CASA C-101

• Chengdu FT-5, trainer export version of the Shenyang J-5

• Chengdu F-7 / Guizhou F-7

• Guizhou FT-7

• Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet

• Dassault Mirage 2000

• Dassault Rafale

• Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano

• FMA IA 63 Pampa

• Fouga 90

• Hongdu JL-8

• IAI Kfir

• IAR 99

• McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet

• Northrop F-5

• Panavia Tornado

• Rockwell-MBB X-31

• Saab JAS 39 Gripen

• Shenyang F-6

• Short Tucano

• Soko J-22 Orao

• Soko G-4 Super Galeb

Martin-Baker Mk.11
 * Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer
 * Pilatus PC-9
 * PZL-130TC Orlik

Martin-Baker Mk.12
 * Hawker Siddeley Harrier

Martin-Baker Mk.14 NACES (SJU-17)

This ejection seat is used by the US Navy and is often designated Martin-Baker NACES (Naval Aircrew Ejection Seat) SJU-17 with a suffix letter for the different variants.
 * Grumman F-14D Tomcat
 * McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet
 * McDonnell Douglas T-45 Goshawk

Martin-Baker Mk.15
 * Pilatus PC-7 Mk II
 * UTVA Kobac

Martin-Baker Mk.16
 * Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master
 * Beechcraft T-6 Texan II
 * Dassault Rafale
 * Eurofighter Typhoon
 * TAI Hürkuş
 * Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II
 * Northrop T-38 Talon
 * Pilatus PC-21
 * HAL Tejas
 * Northrop F-5

Martin-Baker Mk.17

Extremely compact and lightweight ejection seat designed with minimise mass and maintenance. Most lightweight ejection seat in Martin-Baker inventory.
 * Grob G 120TP

Martin-Baker Mk.18
 * KAI KF-21 Boramae

Operations
The Martin-Baker company uses its own airfield, Chalgrove Airfield, in Oxfordshire for operational testing of ejection seats. In 2016, ejection tests were carried out at Cazaux Air Base; the company's Meteor aircraft testbeds were flown from Chalgrove to France for them.

Two Gloster Meteor T.7 aircraft, WL419 and WA638, remain in service with the company as flying testbeds. Another Meteor (WA634), used in early development of ejection seats, is retained at the RAF Museum at RAF Cosford.

Ejection Tie Club
Martin-Baker also sponsors an "Ejection Tie Club", producing a tie, patch, certificate, tie pin and membership card for those whose lives have been saved by a Martin-Baker ejection seat. The company also partnered with Bremont to produce a limited-edition wristwatch for members of the club. The watch must be purchased privately, though Martin-Baker does subsidize its cost. , there are now over 6,000 registered members of the club since it was founded in 1957.

Red Arrows pilot incident
In 2011, Red Arrows pilot Flt. Lt. Sean Cunningham was ejected from his Hawk T1 jet on the ground at RAF Scampton. The parachute failed to deploy and Cunningham was killed. On 22 January 2018, company director John Martin entered a guilty plea to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 on behalf of Martin-Baker wherein he admitted that the company had been aware of a technical problem with the ejector seat since 1990, but failed to notify the RAF. The firm admitted the health and safety breach on the basis it had failed to provide a written warning to the RAF about over-tightening a bolt on the aircraft.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Martin-Baker


text: Talk:Oxygène

title: Talk:Oxygène


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Spyke

Spyke (Evan Daniels) is a fictional character created by writer Robert N. Skir and artist Steven E. Gordon for the WB animated superhero series X-Men: Evolution, which is based on American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Voiced by Neil Denis, the character is a high school student with the mutant ability to project spikes out of his body. Originally, Spyke was intended to be called Armadillo and have cornrows. He was created as a way to diversify the series' X-Men roster and include an African American among the main characters, something important to the creators, the network and Marvel Comics. According to producer Boyd Kirkland, turning Bishop (the first Black male X-Man) into a teenager would not have worked. Spyke has similar powers to Marrow, a pre-existing character, though Kirkland says this was not intentional.

Character biography
Evan Daniels was born in New York City, New York to an unnamed father and Vivian Daniels. His mutant abilities are first noticed at his high school basketball game by his Aunt Ororo (aka Storm, a longtime member of the X-Men), and his teammate Pietro. The following night, Storm, along with Cyclops and Jean Grey, approach Evan's parents about his mutant powers and his attending Xavier's School. Evan angrily declines on his own behalf and leaves.

He goes to his school to catch the thief who keeps breaking into his locker. It is revealed that Pietro is not only the thief, but a mutant with super speed powers. Pietro, who renames himself Quicksilver, breaks into all the lockers in the school and lets Evan take the heat while he escapes prosecution. Only when Charles Xavier uses his pull to help Evan get out of prison does he join the X-Men and the school under the code name Spyke. Spyke settles the score with Quicksilver when he, Cyclops, and Jean defeat the speedy mutant. Spyke is cleared of all charges when he catches Quicksilver's arrogant confession on tape.

During his tenure with the X-Men, Spyke didn't want any special treatment from anyone at the school because he was Storm's nephew. Though he liked being an X-Man and thought of them as his family, Spyke at times acted selfishly and inconsiderate of others. Spyke would goof around in class and on at least one occasion ditched school mid-class to go skateboarding with his human friends. He also was late for several training exercises in the Danger Room resulting in him getting reprimanded by Storm and causing several X-Kids to fail in their training exercise because Spyke was not there to back them up. If not for him saving Storm's life from the Hungan, Spyke would have been sent home to his parents due to his lack of concern for school and DR training.

After he and the other X-Men were discovered to be mutants, Spyke grew angry at how they were being treated. After drinking Pow-R8, an energy drink that was toxic to mutants who even come into contact with it, Spyke found out he could not retract or fully control his spikes. After seeing how cruelly he was treated because of his condition, Spyke joined the Morlocks (a group of mutants who could not "pass" for human and so were driven underground) because he wanted to fight for mutants who looked different from normal humans. Storm did not take this well and tried to convince Spyke to come back, but he refused.

When Evan returned later in the series, he had mutated even further, and now most of his upper body was covered by armadillo-type bone-plates except for his face and below the waist, and with the new ability to heat up the bone spikes he creates. During this time, Spyke began using his powers to fight against humans who were attempting to commit hate crimes against the Morlocks and mutants in general. These actions eventually led to him being the target of a group of anti-mutant bigots, led by Duncan Matthews. Attacked with electrical mining guns, Spyke was cornered, but the Morlocks and X-Men stepped in and defeated Duncan and his accomplices, who were arrested by the police shortly after the battle was over. When Storm tried to persuade him once again to return to the institute, Spyke said the Morlocks needed him more and chose to remain with them.

He later helped out in destroying the Pyramids surfaced by Apocalypse. Spyke is last seen in a group photo with the future X-Men, the New Mutants and their unaffiliated allies. In this photo, he is wearing the bottom half of his X-Men costume, which may mean he has finally returned to the X-Men.

Powers and abilities
Spyke can extend or retract bone spikes that grow inside his body. He may shoot them out or bring them out to grab and hold. He also needs to drink milk to replace the calcium that he loses when using his powers. His body also seals the wounds caused by projecting his spikes with no visible scarring. He is also an expert skateboarder, and has integrated his skateboarding prowess into battles.

In later episodes, Spyke gained the ability to heat up the ends of the spikes, as well as enhanced strength and protective plates around his body. He also gained the ability to extend small spikes on his feet to scale and stick to walls.

Other versions
Earth-616 featured a character loosely based on Evan Daniels. David Munroe was born in New Jersey to an unknown father and Vivian Munroe (Storm's aunt). Vivian named her son David after Ororo's father, who had died too soon. Unfortunately, she later became a drug addict and eventually died of HIV, leaving young David in the care of his grandparents. David later met his cousin Storm when she was researching her family tree. David Munroe Jr. and his family later attended the wedding of Storm and Black Panther in Wakanda.

A version of Spyke appeared in the X-Babies Stars Reborn as an evil, indestructible X-Baby.

title: Spyke


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Gotanda Station

Gotanda Station (五反田駅,) is a railway station in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), the private railway operator Tokyu Corporation, and the Tokyo subway operator Toei.

Lines
Gotanda Station is served by the following lines:
 * JR East Yamanote Line
 * Toei Asakusa Line (Station number A-05)
 * Tokyu Ikegami Line - terminus station

JR East
The JR East station consists of an elevated island platform serving two tracks. The station has a "Midori no Madoguchi" staffed ticket office.

Chest-height platform edge doors were installed on the Yamanote Line platforms in February 2015, with operation commencing in March.

Tokyu
The Tokyu station consists of one elevated island platform serving two tracks, located above the JR platforms.

Toei
The Toei subway station consists of one underground island platform serving two tracks.

History
The JR station first opened on 15 October 1911. The Tokyu Ikegami Line station opened on 17 June 1928. The Toei Asakusa Line station opened on 15 November 1968.

Station numbering was introduced to the JR East platforms in 2016 with Gotanda being assigned JY23.

Passenger statistics
In fiscal 2013, the JR East station was used by 132,524 passengers daily (boarding passengers only), making it the 24th-busiest station operated by JR East. Over the same fiscal year, the Tokyu station was used by an average of 108,025 passengers daily (entering and exiting passengers), making it the busiest station on the Ikegami Line.

The daily passenger figures for each operator in previous years are as shown below.

 * Note that JR East figures are for boarding passengers only.

Surrounding area

 * Seisen University
 * Rissho University
 * Tokyo Health Care University
 * NTT Medical Center Tokyo
 * Ikedayama Park

title: Gotanda Station


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Indian March of Paul

The Indian March of Paul (Индийский поход Павла) was a secret project of a planned allied Russo-French expedition against the British Company rule in India. It was scuttled following the assassination of Emperor Paul I of Russia in March 1801.

Russia and Britain were allied during the French Revolutionary Wars of the 1790s. The simultaneous failure of their 1799 joint invasion of the Netherlands, as well as the 1799 Austro-Russian Italian and Swiss expedition which Britain partially financed, precipitated a change in attitudes. Britain's occupation of Malta in October 1800 incensed Emperor Paul in his capacity of Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller. He hastily broke with Britain and allied himself with Napoleon who came up with an extravagant plan of a Russo-French expedition to attack the British possessions in India.

Secret plans
The secret plan of the expedition, as preserved in the Russian archives, envisaged the joint operations of two infantry corps, one French (with artillery support) and one Russian. Each infantry corps had 35,000 men, the total force thus containing 70,000 men, plus artillery and a large contingent of Cossack cavalry.

Napoleon insisted that the command of the French corps be entrusted to General André Masséna. The route of advance schedule for the French corps started in May 1801 via the Danube and the Black Sea through southern Russia via Taganrog, Tsaritsyn, and Astrakhan.

At the Volga estuary, the French were supposed to be joined by Russian forces. Then the joint Russo-French corps was to cross the Caspian Sea and land at the Iranian port of Astrabad. The whole trip from France to Astrabad was calculated to take eighty days. Further advance would take another fifty days via Herat and Kandahar before reaching the main areas of India in September of the same year.

The Indian March was designed to look very much like Napoleon's expedition to Egypt, with engineers, painters and scientists taking part. Also meticulously devised was the public relations side of the Indian expedition. For example, the instructions for trade with the local peoples included the recommendation to sell the cloths "of the colorings most liked by the Asians". The expeditionary force was to have in stock a reserve of fireworks for festive illuminations.

Outcome
In January 1801, the Don Cossack ataman Vasily Petrovich Orlov received orders for his cavalry force to march toward India. The route of advance schedule was to reach the steppe fort of Orenburg in a month, and from there to move via Bukhara and Khiva to the Indus River. Soon after receiving these orders, the 20,000-strong Cossack force started for the Kazakh steppes.

In his book about the Great Game, Peter Hopkirk narrates that Paul had not been able to obtain a detailed map of India until the Cossacks' departure from Orenburg. He quotes the Tsar as instructing Orlov: "My maps only go as far as Khiva and the River Oxus. Beyond these points it is your affair to gain information about the possessions of the English, and the condition of the native population subject to their rule".

When Orlov's modest Cossack contingent advanced as far south as the Aral Sea, they received intelligence of the Emperor's assassination. The Indian March was brought to a halt, and before long the Cossacks were commanded to retreat. It is tempting to speculate that the Pahlen plot was triggered by the Indian adventure, given that the high-placed Russian officials did not approve of it and their conspiracy was financed by British diplomacy. There is no evidence to confirm this conjecture.

Assessment
The British public learned about the incident years later, but it firmly imprinted on the popular consciousness, contributing to feelings of mutual suspicion and distrust associated with the Great Game. Hugh Seton-Watson observes that "the grotesque plan had no military significance, but at least showed its author's state of mind". This assessment is echoed by Hopkirk who remarks that "no serious thought or study has been given to this wild adventure".

title: Indian March of Paul


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Royal Victorian Order

The Royal Victorian Order (Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the monarch. The present monarch, King Charles III, is the sovereign of the order. The order's motto is Victoria. The order's official day is 20 June. The order's chapel is the Savoy Chapel in London.

There is no limit on the number of individuals honoured at any grade. Admission is at the sole discretion of the monarch. Each of the order's five grades represent different levels of service, as does the medal, which has three levels of service. While all those honoured may use the prescribed styles of the order – the top two grades grant titles of knighthood, and all grades accord distinct post-nominal letters – the Royal Victorian Order's precedence amongst other honours differs from realm to realm and admission to some grades may be barred to citizens of those realms by government policy.

History

Prior to the close of the 19th century, most general honours within the British Empire were bestowed by the sovereign on the advice of her British ministers, who sometimes forwarded advice from ministers of the Crown in the Dominions and colonies (appointments to the then most senior orders of chivalry, the Most Noble Order of the Garter and the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, had been made on ministerial advice since the 18th century and were not restored to the personal gift of the sovereign until 1946 and 1947, respectively ). Queen Victoria thus established on 21 April 1896 the Royal Victorian Order as a junior and personal order of knighthood that allowed her to bestow directly to an empire-wide community honours for personal services. The organisation was founded a year before Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, so as to give the Queen time to complete a list of first inductees. The order's official day was made 20 June of each year, marking the anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession to the throne.

In 1902, King Edward VII created the Royal Victorian Chain "as a personal decoration for royal personages and a few eminent British subjects" and it was the highest class of the Royal Victorian Order. It is today distinct from the order, though it is officially issued by the chancery of the Royal Victorian Order.

The order was open to foreigners from its inception, the Prefect of Alpes-Maritimes and the Mayor of Nice being the first foreigners to receive the honour in 1896.

Composition
The reigning monarch is at the apex of the Royal Victorian Order as its Sovereign, followed by the Grand Master; the latter position was created in 1937 and was occupied by Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) from that date until her death in 2002. Queen Elizabeth II then appointed her daughter, Anne, Princess Royal, to the position in 2007. Below the Grand Master are five officials of the organisation: the Chancellor, held by the Lord Chamberlain; the Secretary, held by the Keeper of the Privy Purse and Treasurer to the King; the Registrar, held by the Secretary to the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood; the Chaplain, held by the Chaplain of the King's Chapel of the Savoy; and the Genealogist.

Thereafter follow those honoured with different grades of the order, divided into five levels: the highest two conferring accolades of knighthood and all having post-nominal letters and, lastly, the holders of the Royal Victorian Medal in gold, silver or bronze. Foreigners may be admitted as honorary members. There are no limits to the number of any grade, and promotion is possible. The styles of knighthood are not used by princes, princesses, or peers in the uppermost ranks of the society, save for when their names are written in their fullest forms for the most official occasions. Retiring Deans of the Royal Peculiars of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle and Westminster Abbey are customarily inducted as Knights Commander; clergymen appointed to the higher levels of the Royal Victorian Order do not use the associated styles, however, and honorary members are not permitted to hold them at all.

Prior to 1984, the grades of Lieutenant and Member were classified as Members (fourth class) and Members (fifth class), respectively, but both with the post-nominals MVO. On 31 December of that year, Queen Elizabeth II declared that those in the grade of Member (fourth class) would henceforth be Lieutenants with the post-nominals LVO.

Insignia and vestments
Upon admission into the Royal Victorian Order, members are given various insignia. Common for all members is the badge, which is a Maltese cross with a central medallion depicting on a red background the Royal Cypher of Queen Victoria surrounded by a blue ring bearing the motto of the order – victoria (victory) – and surmounted by a Tudor crown. However, there are variations on the badge for each grade of the order: Knights and Dames Grand Cross on certain formal occasions (see below) wear the badge suspended from the Order's collar (chain), but otherwise on a sash passing from the right shoulder to the left hip; Knight Commanders and male Commanders wear the badge on a ribbon at the neck; male Lieutenants and Members wear the badge from a ribbon on the left chest; and women in all grades below Dame Grand Cross wear the badge on a bow pinned at the left shoulder. For Knights and Dames Grand Cross, Commanders, and Lieutenants, the Maltese cross is rendered in white enamel with gold edging, while that for Knights and Dames Commander (on the star) and Members (the badge itself) is in silver. Further, the size of the badge varies by rank, that for the higher classes being larger, and Knights and Dames Grand Cross and Knights and Dames Commander have their crosses surrounded by a star: for the former, an eight-pointed silver star, and for the latter, an eight-pointed silver Maltese cross with silver rays between each arm.

The medal bears the effigy and name of the reigning sovereign at the time of its awarding, as well as the phrase DEI • GRATIA • REX (or REGINA) • F.D. (by the grace of God, King (or Queen), Defender of the Faith), and on the reverse is the Royal Cypher upon an ornamental shield within a laurel wreath. Bars may be awarded to each class of medal for further services, and should recipients be awarded a higher level of medal or be appointed to a grade of the order itself, they may continue to wear their original medal along with the new insignia.

The order's ribbon is blue with red-white-red stripe edging, the only difference being that for foreigners appointed into the society, their ribbon bears an additional central white stripe. For Knights Grand Cross, the ribbon is 82.5 mm wide, for Dames Grand Cross 57.1 mm, for Knights and Dames Commander 44.4 mm, and for all other members 31.7 mm.

At formal events, or collar days, of which there are 34 throughout the year, such as New Year's Day and royal anniversaries, Knights and Dames Grand Cross wear the Royal Victorian Order's livery collar, consisting of an alternating string of octagonal gold pieces depicting a gold rose on a blue field and gold oblong frames within which are one of four inscriptions: Victoria, ''Britt. Reg. (Queen of the Britons), Def. Fid. (fidei defensor, or Defender of the Faith), and Ind. Imp.'' (Empress of India). The chain supports a larger octagonal medallion with a blue enamel surface edged in red and charged with a saltire, over which is an effigy of Queen Victoria; members of the order suspend from this medallion their insignia as a badge apendant. Though after the death of a Knight or Dame Grand Cross their insignia may be retained by their family, the collar must be returned. Knights and Dames Grand Cross also wear a mantle of dark blue satin edged with red satin and lined with white satin, bearing a representation of the order's star on the left side.

Chapel

Since 1938, the chapel of the Royal Victorian Order has been the King's Chapel of the Savoy, in central London, England. However, the population of the order has grown to the point that the Savoy chapel can no longer accommodate the gathering of members held every four years, and St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle is now employed for the event.

The Sovereign and Knights and Dames Grand Cross of the order are allotted stalls in the Savoy chapel's choir, and on the back of each stall is affixed a brass plate displaying the occupant's name, coat of arms, and date of admission into the organisation. Upon the occupant's death, the plate is retained, leaving the stalls festooned with a record of the order's Knights and Dames Grand Cross since 1938. The only heraldic banners normally on display in the chapel are those of the Sovereign of the Royal Victorian Order and of the Grand Master of the  Royal Victorian Order as there is insufficient space in the chapel for more knights' and dames' banners or other heraldic devices.

The Chaplain of the King's Chapel of the Savoy is ex officio the Chaplain to the Royal Victorian Order. The current incumbent is Canon Thomas Woodhouse.

Eligibility and appointment

Membership in the Royal Victorian Order is conferred by the monarch without ministerial advice on those who have performed personal service for the sovereign, any member of his or her family, or any of his or her Governors-General. All living citizens of any Commonwealth realm, including women since 1936, are eligible for any of the five levels of the order, save for Canadians (see below) and, in practice, Australians (although all classes of the Royal Victorian Order remain in the Australian order of precedence of honours, Elizabeth II never created knights or dames in the Order when the Australian government has been opposed to "titles").

Foreign members will generally be admitted as honorary members of the Royal Victorian Order when the sovereign is making a state visit to the individual's country or a head of state is paying a state visit to the United Kingdom.

Persons have been removed from the order at the monarch's command. Anthony Blunt, a former Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures, was in 1979 stripped of his knighthood after it was revealed that he had been a spy for the Soviet Union. Also, George Pottinger, a senior civil servant, in 1975 lost his membership in both the Order of the Bath and the Royal Victorian Order when he was jailed for corruptly receiving gifts from the architect John Poulson.

Canadians
As admission to the top two levels of the organisation provides for an honorary prefix, Canadians are not normally appointed to these levels as long as the monarch's Canadian ministry adheres to the Nickle Resolution of 1919.

As it was deemed by the Canadian Cabinet to be an honour within the gift of the monarch, the appointment of Canadians to the order resumed in 1972 and eligibility was extended to those who render services to the monarch's representatives in the country; officials within the provincial spheres being included after 1984. Originally, the sovereign chose inductees personally, though the Governor General of Canada and the Canadian Secretary to the King could provide suggestions, some passed to them by the lieutenant governors. The practice of notifying the Prime Minister of Canada of nominees ended in 1982, to distance the order as far from politics as possible.

It was reported in 2008 that some in the Chancellery of Honours at Rideau Hall wished to eliminate the Royal Victorian Order from the Canadian honours system and sometimes contested when a Canadian was appointed; however, no formal changes were ever planned. In Canada, the order has come to be colloquially dubbed as the "Royal Visit Order", as the majority of appointments had been made by the then sovereign during her tours of the country.

Association
The Royal Victorian Order Association of Canada exists for all Canadians appointed to the order or who have received the Royal Victorian Medal; it is the only such organisation in the Commonwealth realms. Founded by Michael Jackson, the group has, since 2008, gathered biennially.

Precedence
As the Royal Victorian Order is open to the citizens of fifteen countries, each with their own system of orders, decorations, and medals, the RVO's place of precedence varies from country to country. Some are as follows:

In the United Kingdom, the wives of male members of all classes also feature on the order of precedence, as do sons, daughters and daughters-in-law of Knights Grand Cross and Knights Commanders; relatives of Dames, however, are not assigned any special precedence. As a general rule, individuals can derive precedence from their fathers or husbands, but not from their mothers or wives.

Officers

 * Chaplain: The Reverend Canon Thomas Woodhouse, as Chaplain of the King's Chapel of the Savoy, since 2019
 * Chancellor: The Lord Parker of Minsmere, as Lord Chamberlain, since April 2021
 * Secretary: Sir Michael Stevens, as Keeper of the Privy Purse, since 2018
 * Registrar: Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Segrave, as Secretary of the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, since 2019

title: Royal Victorian Order


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Krystian Zimerman

Krystian Zimerman (born 5 December 1956) is a Polish concert pianist, conductor and pedagogue who has been described as one of the greatest pianists of his generation. In 1975, he won the IX International Chopin Piano Competition.

Following the success at the Chopin Piano Competition, he began his collaboration with the Berlin Philharmonic and has since performed with leading orchestras around the world as well as many prominent conductors such as Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, Herbert von Karajan, Claudio Abbado and Simon Rattle. He is especially known for his performances of compositions by Mozart, Chopin, Brahms and Beethoven. He is also the recipient of many awards and honours including Léonie Sonning Music Prize (1994), Legion of Honour (2005), Order of Polonia Restituta (2013) and Praemium Imperiale (2022).

Biography
Zimerman was born in Zabrze, Southern Poland, and started to play the piano at the age of five encouraged by his father, who was also a pianist. He studied at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice under Andrzej Jasiński. In 1973, he won top prize at the Ludwig van Beethoven International Piano Competition in Hradec Králové, Czechoslovakia. His international career was launched when he won the 1975 Warsaw International Chopin Piano Competition. He performed with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1976, conducted by Herbert Blomstedt. He debuted in the United States with the New York Philharmonic in 1979. He has toured widely and made a number of recordings. Since 1996, he has taught piano at the Music Academy in Basel, Switzerland. In 1999, Zimerman created the Polish Festival Orchestra to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Frédéric Chopin's death.

Zimerman is best known for his interpretations of Romantic music, but has performed a wide variety of classical pieces and is a supporter of contemporary music. Witold Lutosławski wrote his Piano Concerto for Zimerman, who has recorded it twice. Among his best-known recordings are the concerti of Grieg and Schumann with Herbert von Karajan; the Brahms concerti with Leonard Bernstein; the piano concerti of Chopin, one recording conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini and a later one conducted by himself at the keyboard; the Third, Fourth and Fifth Piano Concertos of Beethoven under Bernstein (Zimerman himself led the Vienna Philharmonic from the keyboard in Beethoven's First and Second Concertos); the first and second piano concerti of Rachmaninoff; the piano concerti of Liszt with Seiji Ozawa, the piano concerti of Ravel with Pierre Boulez, and solo piano works by Chopin, Liszt (including one of the most virtuosic performances of the famous Piano Sonata in B minor), Debussy and Schubert. In 2006, Zimerman recorded Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Sir Simon Rattle (DG 477 5413; Limited Edition DG 477 6021).

Zimerman has collaborated with conductors and artists such as Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, Charles Dutoit, Carlo Maria Giulini, Bernard Haitink, Herbert von Karajan, Kirill Kondrashin, Erich Leinsdorf, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, Simon Rattle, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Stanisław Skrowaczewski and Wolfgang Sawallisch.

Criticism of US policy
On 26 April 2009, Zimerman vowed to his audience at Los Angeles's Walt Disney Concert Hall that, in protest at America's placement of a missile defense shield in Poland, this would be his final appearance in the United States. He had made a similar comment in 2006, stating he would not return until George W. Bush was out of office. he has not made any further appearances in the United States. Part of his disenchantment with the USA may be the increased security at US airports, which makes it difficult to bring his piano into the country. In incidents in 2001 and 2006, one of his Steinway pianos was completely destroyed and another one damaged by security staff at New York JFK airport.

Personal life
In 1981, Zimerman moved to Röschenz in the canton of Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland, where he also became a Swiss citizen with Röschenz as his place of origin. According to conflicting sources, he's still living in Röschenz, or in Binningen, also near Basel. He married Maria (née Drygajło), a violinist, with whom he has two children: Klaudia and Ryszard. He divides his time among family, concerts, and performances of chamber music. Zimerman is an editor of the piano music of Władysław Szpilman for Boosey & Hawkes.

Selected awards and honours

 * 1st Prize at the Voivod-wide Prokofiev Competition (1974; Poland)
 * 1st Prize at the IX International Chopin Piano Competition (1975; Poland)
 * Accademia Musicale Chigiana Award (1985; Italy)
 * Léonie Sonning Music Prize (1994; Denmark)
 * Honorary doctor of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice (2005; Poland)
 * National Order of the Legion of Honour (2005; France)
 * Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis (2010; Poland)
 * Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2013; Poland)
 * Diapason d'Or (2015; France)
 * Honorary doctor of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw (2015; Poland)
 * Praemium Imperiale (2022; Japan)
 * Gramophone Classical Music Awards (2023, UK) - Piano Category (Szymanowski Piano Works)

Discography
Most of Zimerman's recordings have been released by Deutsche Grammophon, with which he has an exclusive lifelong contract.

title: Krystian Zimerman