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which was to be held in 1924 and 1925. He invited Archie and Agatha
Christie to join him on a tour of the Empire counties to promote the forthcoming exhibition. Christie outlined the tour in her autobiography and letters. She describes Belcher as an insufferable man who was prone to temper tantrums.
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Belcher was 51 and unmarried when he led the
British Empire Tour. During his visit to Australia he needed some work done. One of the officials Harold Greenwood suggested that his daughter Gladys Greenwood could act as Belcher's personal secretary while he was in Australia.
229:"He was a man with terrific powers of bluff. He had, according to his own story, bluffed himself into the position of Controller of Potatoes during the war. How much of Belcher's stories was invented and how much true, we never knew."
512:"BRITISH REPORTER IN ANANIAS CLUB; Major Belcher, Ret., Inducted by Col. Roosevelt with Appropriate Remarks. YELLOW JOURNALS ABROAD And Their Deeper Saffron Line Compared with Ours -- What the Colonel Did Not Say to the Major"
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Christie's assessment of
Belcher seems to have been supported by an incident that happened in 1915, seven years before the tour when Belcher was invited as part of a group to visit former United States President
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307:. They then moved to an apartment in Clifton Court London in about 1930 and then to Rodney Court. In about 1935 the couple divorced. Two years later Gladys married Sydney Gould.
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at his home for a very short informal social gathering. Belcher wrote up the event as if
Roosevelt had given him an exclusive interview on foreign policy and gave it to the
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and gained a
Bachelor of Arts degree with honours in history. He obtained a position as a school teacher in England for several years and then in 1902 he entered the
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where the
Christies visited him occasionally. Gladys still lived in Australia with her parents. In 1925 Belcher moved to Lake End House in Dorney, which was a large
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and several other newspapers. The article was a complete fabrication of what
Roosevelt had said and was so bad that the former President issued a statement to
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After the divorce
Belcher remained in Rodney Court London for several years. He then moved to an apartment in Clive Court. He was a member of the
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in New
Zealand and remained there for the next two years until the outbreak of the war. He returned to England and joined the military.
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147:. His father was Albert Belcher, a clerk in the General Post Office and his mother was Maria Crossley. He was educated at
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in
September 1926. The Times marriage notice is shown. Shortly after they returned to England and lived for some time in
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Christie also felt that it was difficult to know whether to believe his stories or not. In her autobiography she said:
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who was a pupil at this time. While he was a teacher here, he commanded the cadets one of whom was Archie.
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Major Belcher with Archie (far left) and Agatha Christie on the British Empire Exhibition Tour in 1922
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In 1926 Belcher went to Canada on business and while he was there Gladys travelled from Australia to
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CHRIST'S COLLEGE Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14471, 27 September 1912, Page 6. Online reference
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After Belcher returned to England at the end of 1922, his engagement to Gladys was announced in
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were members of this group and Christie mentions him in her notes and biographies. A 2013 book
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and spent a great deal of his time there. He died at Clive Court London in 1949 aged 78.
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in 1924 and 1925. He was leader of the 1922 tour around the world to promote this event.
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The Grand Tour: Letters and photographs from the British Empire Expedition 1922
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In 1915 Belcher was promoted from captain to major in the 9th Battalion of the
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http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=CHP19120927.2.38
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Canadian Passenger List for the ship Aorangi leaving Sydney on 9 April 1926
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The Natal Who's who: An Illustrated Biographical Sketch Book of Natalians
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in January 1923. At this time he lived at The Mill House at Clewer near
501:(Kindle Locations 5525–5526). HarperCollins Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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gives an outline of this tour and describes Major Belcher in depth.
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Marriage Notice of Major Belcher and Gladys Greenwood in 1926.
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196:. He retained this position for several years after the war.
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After this, he returned to England and became a teacher at
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The Grand Tour: Around the World with the Queen of Mystery
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Assistant general manager of the British Empire Exhibition
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In 1921 Belcher became Assistant general manager of the
488:(Kindle Locations 2461–2464). Headline. Kindle Edition.
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Marriage Index Tonbridge, Kent 1937 Vol 2a, page 3684.
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Military personnel from the London Borough of Hackney
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A good description of him is given in a recent book.
381:. unknown library. Natal Who's Who Pub. Co. 1906.
633:Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates
628:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
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455:The Agricultural Gazette and Modern Farming
159:until 1908. During this time he joined the
638:Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry officers
155:Civil Service and was assistant master at
139:Ernest Albert Belcher was born in 1871 in
68:Learn how and when to remove this message
405:The Times (London), 14 July 1909; pg. 4
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86:Major Ernest Albert Belcher circa 1920.
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623:British Army personnel of World War I
573:The Times (London) 6 May 1942; pg. 5;
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497:Christie, Agatha (14 October 2010).
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181:In 1912 he became the headmaster of
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299:to meet him. They were married in
200:The British Empire Exhibition Tour
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484:Thompson, Laura (28 March 2013).
260:Gladys Greenwood in 1922 aged 18.
190:Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
135:Ernest Albert Belcher circa 1900.
288:house surrounded by five acres.
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546:(London) 3 January 1923; pg. 11
474:. H.M. Stationery Office. 1918.
586:(London) 30 April 1949; pg. 4;
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337:. HarperCollins Publishers.
163:as a captain and taught the
618:People from Stoke Newington
248:rebutting the whole event.
43:. The specific problem is:
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613:Territorial Force officers
312:Oxford and Cambridge Club
214:British Empire Exhibition
105:British Empire Exhibition
101:Assistant general manager
252:Major Belcher's Marriage
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174:in Bristol where he met
366:England Census of 1871.
471:Board of Trade Journal
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99:(1871 – 1949) was the
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92:Ernest Albert Belcher
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50:improve this article
39:to meet Knowledge's
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161:Territorial Forces
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58:January 2016
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48:Please help
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608:1949 deaths
603:1871 births
165:army cadets
52:if you can.
597:Categories
432:Daily News
318:References
286:Queen Anne
127:Early life
584:The Times
544:The Times
524:0362-4331
387:cite book
293:Vancouver
278:The Times
145:Middlesex
529:31 March
438:31 March
301:Montreal
34:require
458:. 1917.
297:Aorangi
109:Wembley
103:of the
36:cleanup
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305:Dorney
282:Dorney
117:Archie
90:Major
153:Natal
531:2023
520:ISSN
440:2023
393:link
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