Parted This Life 2012 Part II

8 May saw the passing of Maurice Sendak at 83 -  the man who gave the world Where the Wild Things Are

Andrew Huxley, one of the greats of neurophysiology and Nobel laureate, died on 30 May at the age of 94.  A half bother of Aldous, his work with Julian Huxley on the squid axon was truly ground breaking

Alphonse Le Gastelois died on 4 June at the age of 97.Best known as the King of the Ecrehous Le Gaselois an agriculturalworker was wrongly suspected to be the serial rapist the Beast of Jersey. Fearing for his safety he left jersey for the Ecrehous Reef in 1961 staying there as a hermit until 1975 espite the capture of the real beast Edward Paisnel in 1971. He remained a recluse after his return to Jersey until a few years before is death dying in a nursing home.




His surviving sister is calling for a memorial to be placed on the Ecrehous. A small recompense for a screwed up life.

Rodney King came to the attention of the world in March 1991 when video footage of his beating at the hands of LA police. The acquittal of the police at their first trial precipitated the LA riots of 1992.  King did not live happily ever after dying by drowning in is swimming pool on 17 June.

Sally Ride the first American woman in space died of pancreatic cancer on 23 July. She was 61.

August Kowalczykwas later known as an actor but on 10 June 1942 he was one of a small group of prisoners to successfully break out of Auschwitz. He served in the Polish Home Army making his stage debut in November 1945. The last survivor of the breakout he was 90 years old when he died on 29 July.

Military Historian John Keegan died on 2 August at the age of 78.His ooks Soldiers and the Face of Battle are still must-reads if you have an interest in the subject.

6 August saw the passing of radio astronomer Sir Bernard Lovell first director of the Jodrell Bank observatory a post he held from 1945 to 1980.

Scott McKenzie died on 18 August at the age of 73. Who could not love him for this.