Latest news with #UniversityOfBristol
BBC News
09-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Bristol's Wills Memorial Building celebrates 100th birthday
The 100th anniversary of one of Bristol's most iconic landmarks has been Wills Memorial Building was built as a memorial to the tobacco magnate Henry Overton Wills and opened by King George V and Queen Mary on June 9 1925 in a ceremony that saw thousands lining the of the building, seen by many as the heart of the university area of the city, began in 1915 but was delayed by the First World was one of the last gothic buildings to be built in England and attracted national attention in the run-up to its grand opening. The University of Bristol marked the centenary with a special ringing of the tower's bell and commissioned a poem by Dr Lawrence Hoo that references the building's links to the transatlantic slave trade through the Wills family."If law made it legal, does that make it right, would justice have weight, if it only wore white?" it reads. "We have newspaper cuttings from across the Bristol and national press showing pictures of the king and queen and events from the day - it just shows the level of interest there was across the country," said Rachel Gardner, Senior Archivist at the University of Bristol."The stories focus on the famous people you could see at the procession but also on people like Granny Mary Jarrett, who was 104 years old and was given special permission to ride in a taxi as part of the procession, and met the king." "There's also a lot about how the citizens of Bristol were so well behaved and only a handful of wallets went missing that day so everyone should be very proud of themselves."It was specifically requested by the king that there wasn't a costly decorations scheme but the mayor wrote in the press asking everyone to decorate as freely as possible - it really involved the whole city," she added. The building narrowly avoided destruction just 15 years after its completion when incendiary bombs dropped during The Blitz caused the roof of the Great Hall to collapse - leaning burn marks on the floor that can still be seen today. Winston Churchill - who was chancellor of the university - inspected the damage the next day and insisted that a ceremony to award honorary degrees still went Great Hall has long been repaired and now welcomes hundreds of students for graduation ceremonies every has also welcomed some famous people to receive honorary degrees, including James Blunt and the former leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev. The building's opening was marked by 21 chimes from Great George - the 9.5 tonne bell that sits at the top of the mark the anniversary the university organised a special manual ringing, as it would have been done in bell is the third largest that can be manually swung in the country, and when that happens it can be heard much further than its normal two-mile radius. "When we get the bell ringing there is a lot more energy involved, and the speed the clapper hits is much higher," said Matthew Tosh, bell ringer with the University of Bristol Society of Change Ringers."But getting the bell that high is really physically demanding and even with the strongest, heaviest big bell ringers we've never managed to get it more than half way up," he George is normally only rung manually for special state occasions such as royal deaths and coronations.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Swimming society improve safety after student death
A university student union says it has improved safety measures after a "heroic" student drowned while rescuing three women from the sea. Jack Lees was just days away from turning 21 when he embarked on a four-day trip with the University of Bristol Students' Union Wild Swimming Society on 4 June 2024. The aspiring brain surgeon died after being swept away by the strong currents off Northcott Mouth beach in Bude, Cornwall. His body was recovered two weeks later. The student union say the coastal event has since been banned, and club members must complete a mandatory risk assessment and water safety training. Wild swimming, also known as cold-water swimming, involves natural bodies of water like rivers, lakes and the sea. Despite its inherent risks - including cold-water shock, rips and currents, submerged obstacles, unknown depths and unpredictable weather conditions- there is no evidence a risk assessment was carried out at the beach on the day of Mr Lees' death. An inquest into his death revealed Mr Lees, from Crediton in Devon, swam out 150m (500ft) with a male friend to save their three fellow students, who were spotted struggling to stay afloat in the outgoing tide. Two of the women eventually managed to reach the shore with the help of Mr Lees and his friend, but after bravely returning to help the third, the 20-year-old never resurfaced from the rough tide. Assistant Cornwall coroner Emma Hillson ruled his death as misadventure. Ben Pilling, CEO of the student union, said new health and safety measures have since been implemented to help prevent another senseless loss. "Following the tragic accident last year, we've worked with relevant student groups to further enhance their approach to water safety," he told the BBC. "All our student groups are required to submit a risk assessment for their activities, which is reviewed by the SU. "In partnership with the university, we are running a water safety campaign which has been produced with support from the RNLI. "We are also working on a project with the National Union of Students that will aim to develop and share best practice across the sector. "We continue to take all matters of student safety extremely seriously, and work with our student groups to ensure that this is a priority for them." In the wake of her son's death, Dr Dawn Lees has pioneered the development of a Safe Society Chartermark, providing a safety framework for student societies that partake in outdoor activities. She said the news he had selflessly jumped in to save others came as no surprise, describing him as "a gentleman in his life and in his death". Dr Lees also thanked the RNLI for their tireless efforts to locate her son and bring him home. Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Student died trying to save lives, inquest hears Cold water dips and swims: the benefits and risks How to stay safe in the water this summer University of Bristol
BBC News
07-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Jack Lees: Bristol wild swimming society improve safety measures
A university student union says it has improved safety measures after a "heroic" student drowned while rescuing three women from the Lees was just days away from turning 21 when he embarked on a four-day trip with the University of Bristol Students' Union Wild Swimming Society on 4 June 2024. The aspiring brain surgeon died after being swept away by the strong currents off Northcott Mouth beach in Bude, Cornwall. His body was recovered two weeks student union say the coastal event has since been banned, and club members must complete a mandatory risk assessment and water safety training. Wild swimming, also known as cold-water swimming, involves natural bodies of water like rivers, lakes and the its inherent risks - including cold-water shock, rips and currents, submerged obstacles, unknown depths and unpredictable weather conditions- there is no evidence a risk assessment was carried out at the beach on the day of Mr Lees' death. An inquest into his death revealed Mr Lees, from Crediton in Devon, swam out 150m (500ft) with a male friend to save their three fellow students, who were spotted struggling to stay afloat in the outgoing of the women eventually managed to reach the shore with the help of Mr Lees and his friend, but after bravely returning to help the third, the 20-year-old never resurfaced from the rough Cornwall coroner Emma Hillson ruled his death as misadventure. Ben Pilling, CEO of the student union, said new health and safety measures have since been implemented to help prevent another senseless loss. "Following the tragic accident last year, we've worked with relevant student groups to further enhance their approach to water safety," he told the BBC."All our student groups are required to submit a risk assessment for their activities, which is reviewed by the SU."In partnership with the university, we are running a water safety campaign which has been produced with support from the RNLI."We are also working on a project with the National Union of Students that will aim to develop and share best practice across the sector."We continue to take all matters of student safety extremely seriously, and work with our student groups to ensure that this is a priority for them." In the wake of her son's death, Dr Dawn Lees has pioneered the development of a Safe Society Chartermark, providing a safety framework for student societies that partake in outdoor said the news he had selflessly jumped in to save others came as no surprise, describing him as "a gentleman in his life and in his death".Dr Lees also thanked the RNLI for their tireless efforts to locate her son and bring him home.
Telegraph
04-06-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Professor prosecuted over tweets calling for Jews to be ‘de-Zionised'
An academic is facing a private prosecution over social media posts calling for Jews to be 'de-Zionised'. The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) has brought three charges against Prof David Miller over posts on X. They allege that he used a public communications network to send messages of a menacing character, contrary to the Communications Act 2003. Prof Miller was previously found to have been unfairly and wrongfully dismissed by the University of Bristol in October 2021 after making comments criticising Israel. 'Zionist subversion' The CAA said the first message was posted on Nov 8 last year in relation to a discussion on violence in Amsterdam after a football match involving an Israeli team. It said: 'Last night's response by the brave Muslim communities of Amsterdam was necessary, but extremely measured and not at all proportional to the genocidal violence unleashed by Zionist terrorists on the Levant, on Muslims worldwide, or indeed in the provocations that preceded the measured response. Future incidents will likely involve a more proportional response. 'As well as being unwelcoming to Zionist colonists coming from Occupied Palestine, Europe must be unviable as a base for Zionist terror by Jewish supremacists who have infiltrated and are camouflaged among us. 'Zionist terrorist entryists must be expunged from European institutions, whether political parties, media, think tanks or elsewhere. Again, either institutions take the lead and conduct this work in orderly fashion with advice from experts on Zionist subversion, or the people will take care of it for them.' '#DismantleZionism' The first hearing is set to take place at Westminster magistrates' court on July 2, HM Courts & Tribunals Service confirmed. Prof Miller is alleged to have sent another message on March 20, saying: 'Every genuinely anti-Zionist Jew can count on being kept safe by the movement, when the time comes. Every Zionist Jew must be held accountable and de-Zionised. #DismantleZionism.' On March 24, he is said to have made another post saying: 'Protests are not enough. Listen to our brothers and sisters in Gaza. 'Those who are interested in ending this genocide must begin by targeting those responsible near them: the entire Zionist movement globally must live in fear of accountability until it is dismantled and its ideology eradicated. And let's be clear, there are Zionists everywhere. In every town and city. Find out where they are. #DismantleZionism.' He successfully claimed at an employment tribunal last year that he experienced discrimination based on his anti-Zionist belief. The CAA describes itself as an organisation of volunteers that works to 'expose and counter antisemitism through education and zero-tolerance enforcement of the law'.
Times
22-05-2025
- Health
- Times
Bristol fire: Mothers and newborns evacuated from hospital
Mothers at a maternity hospital in Bristol had to evacuate the building carrying their babies after a large fire broke out on the roof. Black smoke was seen rising over St Michael's Hospital in the city centre shortly before 4.30pm on Thursday. Firefighters from Avon Fire and Rescue Service quickly extinguished the blaze. Mothers and their babies were taken to a nearby University of Bristol building. Outside, Matt Burden, from Weston-super-Mare, told BBC News that he was in the maternity unit with his wife when the fire broke out. She was in labour with their third baby and he was 'really eager to get back' to her, he said. 'I went out to get some food, came back and the alarm went off,' he said.
