Tommy the Cork

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This wasn’t meant to be such a long piece but it just kept growing!

Back in 1991-96 I took a second degree in Business and Computer Studies as a part-time student. First-year students had to take two non-cognate modules to broaden their education. One of mine was ‘American History 101’ and then, though it would not count towards my degree, after this I enrolled for ‘Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal’. Enthused by the subject, I saved all my 22 textbooks with the aim of re-reading them at some point. 30+ years later I’ve finally done this: speed reading though and the books are set for the academic bookshop so don’t ask me questions! Comments welcome though.

'Tommy the Cork' book cover

‘Tommy the Cork’ book cover

One book though wasn’t in my original collection; I bought it recently wanting to know about its subject. David McKean’s ‘Tommy the Cork – Washington’s Ultimate Insider from Roosevelt to Reagan’ tells the story of Thomas Gardiner Corcoran (1900-1981), one of the New Deal’s top lawyers and adviser and speechwriter to FDR, then a successful lobbyist.

It’s a life which promised so much but ended up laced with a fair degree of sadness. Here, I’ve tried to focus on the man himself; for lots more on his political and lobbying activities, see McKean’s book or this page on the Spartacus Educational website.

Early life

Corcoran was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island to middle-class Irish immigrant parents. He was his high school’s ‘prize scholar’ then, following in his father’s footsteps, studied law at Brown University where he was a top student. At Harvard Law School Professor Felix Frankfurter noted his exceptional ability and arranged for him to clerk for Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes (1841-1935) during 1926-27. Holmes had fought in the Civil War and served as a Supreme Court justice from 1902 to 1932. Corcoran continued as a friend and caregiver to Justice Holmes until Holmes’ death, especially after the death of Mrs Holmes in 1929, and was at his bedside when he died. As McKean’s book tells, Corcoran was a complicated person: ruthlessly ambitious, ever keen to make money, yet capable of extreme kindness and generosity. Countless young lawyers benefitted from his support and encouragement.

Following his clerkship year Corcoran joined Wall Street law firm Cotton and Franklin where he learned the finer points of corporate law, mergers and acquisitions. He reputedly made a quarter of a million dollars in the late 1920s (nearly $5m 2025) only to lose nearly all of it in the Wall Street crash.

The New Deal Years

In 1932 Corcoran moved to Washington DC, joining the Reconstruction Finance Corporation as Special Counsel. Over time he would find his way into the White House, becoming a speechwriter, political adviser and friend to FDR. It was during this time that he teamed up with Benjamin Cohen, another gifted lawyer. Temperamentally the two were total opposite: Corcoran was an extrovert who loved to entertain; on occasions he’d take his accordion to the White House and lead a singalong. In contrast Cohen was quiet, sensitive, described by Joseph Lash as ‘the parfit gentil knight’ of the New Deal1. The two of them, described by ‘Time’, 1938, as ‘The gold dust twins’ would help draft some of the key New Deal legislation.

By the time FDR assumed office on 4th March 1933 the USA was on the verge of collapse. FDR asked Felix Frankfurter to assemble a team of lawyers to rewrite the nation’s security laws to minimise the risk of another Wall Street crash. Among those nominated were Corcoran and Cohen. Corcoran had his Wall Street experience; Cohen was a brilliant legal draftsman. His deep knowledge of British company legislation acquired while working in London would influence their thinking. Also appointed to the team was Jim Landis, Harvard’s first professor of legislation, who had the best understanding of markets. The fourth member of the team was 22-year-old Peggy Dowd, previously Corcoran’s PA at the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), of whom more later.

By March 1934 the bill that would establish the Securities and Exchange Commission was ready. Vested interests whipped up a huge campaign against it. Corcoran was chosen to defend it before the House Committee. After a bitter debate it passed. Legislation controlling utilities would follow, again the subject of a big fight.

After the New Deal

As the 1930s progressed Corcoran got involved in all sorts of political adventures. FDR’s son Elliott ventured “Apart from my father, Tom was the single most influential person in the country.” Alva Johnson of the Saturday Evening Post claimed that Corcoran held “a position of power vaguely resembling that which the Duke of Buckingham held under James I”2.

After FDR’s 1936 landslide victory, Corcoran’s influence began to decline. To FDR’s frustration, the Supreme Court increasingly took a critical view of New Deal legislation. During his first term not one justice had died or retired and a majority of the nine justices he’d inherited owed him no loyalty. The solution put forward was to appoint additional justices. This drew outrage from various quarters and the plan was dropped. Then the dam broke and FDR was able to appoint nine justices before his death in 1945. The first, Hugo Black, appointed 1937, served on the bench until 1971; Felix Frankfurter was another notable appointment, serving from 1939 to 1962.

With his marriage in 1940 Corcoran needed more money. He thought of returning to Cotton and Franklin, but only if Ben could come with him. The firm would not take Cohen on account of him being Jewish so Corcoran decided to stay in Washington and use his legal skills and political and personal contacts as a lobbyist.

WW2 saw Corcoran involved with the Chinese Flying Tigers who were attacking Japan well before Pearl Harbour. This brought him into contact with General Claire Chennault (1893-1958). This part of his life is marked by his name appearing in the Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame.

In 1941 the post of Solicitor General became vacant. Corcoran desperately wanted the job. He asked various people to recommend him. Four justices wrote in on his behalf. He needed one more to have a majority of the Supreme Court on his side. He went to see his old mentor Felix Frankfurter. Frankfurter said that he was sorry, but he couldn’t oblige. Corcoran reportedly then said, “I put you here, now produce”3. Frankfurter wouldn’t! Later he said that if he’d thought that Corcoran would devote himself to the post, he would have been happy to recommend him, but he felt that he would use the post as a political platform.

With this door closed, Corcoran redoubled his lobbying work which he would pursue for the rest of his life. Here are several of the many examples cited by McKean:

  • In 1941 Corcoran was approached by Henry Kaiser who was after a loan from RFC to build a magnesium plant. Using his contacts Corcoran secured the loan and sent Kaiser a bill for $135,000, also asking for a 15% stake in the enterprise. Kaiser hadn’t got rich by being free with his money so Corcoran had to make do with ‘just’ $65,000 (at this time a WW2 US Private was paid $50 a month).
    .
  • At congressional hearing in December 1941 Corcoran was asked about his lobbying. He admitted to making more than $100,000 during the year for his defence-related work and was quizzed on various assignments. He’d helped the Savannah shipbuilding company to get a contract (subsequently rescinded) to build twelve cargo ships for twenty million dollars; they had no relevant experience of such work. Corcoran had collected a $5,000 fee. To avoid public scandal, the company was then awarded $1,285,000 compensation!
    .
  • One of Corcoran’s key clients was the American-owned United Fruit Company which had substantial interests in Guatemala. In 1951 a democratically-elected government led by Jacobo Arbenz took charge and reformed education and healthcare in the country. It also instituted a new labour code that improved worker’s rights. UFC owned 42% of Guatemalan land yet only utilized a small part of it. Arbenz’s aim was to redistribute these huge tracts of unused land to the landless poor.
    In 1953, with Eisenhower installed as US President, Corcoran started urging the US government to undermine and overthrow the Arbenz government. With the help of the CIA, the United Fruit Company began a massive disinformation campaign in the USA, labelling Arbenz and his administration as being under communist influence. In June 1954 the Arbenz government was overthrown, Corcoran having acted as a liaison between the CIA and UFC. When the full story came out, “for those who had served with Corcoran in the New Deal it was an inexplicable betrayal”4.

Lots more on the influence of the United Fruit Company in Guatemala here.

The women in Tom’s life

Tom’s mother, Mary O’Keefe was a strong and intelligent woman. McKean quotes him as saying: “Mother had given me an abiding discomfort about women”5. She wanted her son to achieve great things and didn’t wanted him being distracted. Away from her influence in New York, Isabel Cotton, his boss’s daughter, caught his eye and in due course their engagement was announced. She, though, broke it off. Tom later recorded that she had “decided I was too busy to pay the attention to her that an aristocratic girl deserved”6.

In 1932 Peggy Dowd enters the story, joining the RFC as a PA. Her parents were immigrants: her father worked for the post office. She was stunningly attractive – FDR later referred to her as ‘Our gorgeous hussy’, not of course the sort of language a present-day president would use of a junior female employee. She’d never attended college, only taken a typing course, but impressed Tom’s RFC colleague Frank Watson: “My secretary at that time was Peggy Dowd, who later became Mrs Tom Corcoran She was a brilliant individual and a very beautiful girl. She could type so fast you could hardly see the keys move, and at the same time carry on a conversation or ask a question. During this period, l would be up on the Hill all morning, going over the act with the committees. Then I’d come back and Peggy and I would work until midnight, running off copies for the next day’s meetings7.”

Her ability and work ethic did not go unnoticed: “To help with the typing Corcoran asked the RFC to send over a young secretary named Peggy Dowd. … She was only twenty-two years old. She had met Corcoran a few weeks earlier when she had been sent to his office by the chief of the secretarial pool. “You’re Irish. Maybe you can handle him,” she was told. During their first encounter Corcoran sat behind his desk chomping on a cigar and barking orders when Peggy interrupted him and said coolly, “Take the cigar out of your mouth or I won’t take dictation from you.” Corcoran, looking stunned but amused, obliged.”8.

Over the next few years the two grew increasingly close. Tom loved Peggy whilst wanting to maintain his bachelor freedom; Peggy loved him but was getting impatient. “I bore no ill will towards your mother”, she told him, “but it’s a long time since I knew that I was in love with you, that your mother died [she died in 1936]. But I understand being Irish — you’re the oldest son and the oldest son, I don’t know when it began, can never marry till his mother dies. So his mother will never believe that any other woman came before her“9.

Still Tom didn’t rush things. In early 1940 he finally asked Peggy to marry him. Not everyone was supportive. His mother had referred to Peggy as “your warmed over French fried potato of a secretary.” FDR thought that Corcoran could do better than marry a working girl whose father was a mailman. Frankfurter wanted him to marry someone with money so that he would be free to continue in public service10. Marion Frankfurter told Tom that in Britain it was the accepted practice for bright young lawyers to marry into the English gentry – though we can note that her husband married the solidly middle-class daughter of a Congregational minister. But all to no avail. Once engaged, Tom made an appointment to formally introduce his intended to FDR. Peggy bought a new dress and hat. On the day FDR sent a message that he was too busy to see them. Tom viewed this as a snub for many years after.

The couple married on March 4th 1940. Not long afterwards Peggy was expecting the first of their six children. The couple moved to a larger house where they often entertained. Peggy seemed to be happy, but this was an illusion. Sadly she’d began to drink, not just at social events but at home. In 1957 she died of a cerebral haemorrhage, aged just forty-four.

Left a widower, Tom tried to be a good father, pushing all his children to achieve, especially daughter Margaret. She studied law, possibly not by choice, and, although not an exceptional student, through her father she got a clerkship with Justice Black. The pressure was getting to her. In January 1970, aged twenty-eight, she died from an overdose of sleeping pills.

'The Education of Anna' book cover

‘The Education of Anna’ book cover

Following Peggy’s death, Tom had acquired a number of female friends. Most prominent was Peking-born Anna Chennault (1923-2018). At 21 as a junior journalist she was sent to interview General Claire Chennault, then head of the US China-based 14th air force. In 1946 he divorced his wife (leaving her with eight children!), marrying Anna a year later. He died in 1958 of lung cancer. She moved into the world of politics, campaigning for Richard Nixon among Chinese-Americans in 1960, then began a career as a society hostess in Washington, living in a Watergate penthouse at the time of the notorious burglaries.

Anna’s 1980 memoir, ‘The Education of Anna’ is dedicated “to all my teachers, and to the best teacher of them all, Thomas G. Corcoran”. In it she tells us: “… my parties were never very large. With rare exception they were limited to three tables of twelve each …”. Eight courses were the norm. How the other half live! Anna claimed that Tommy wanted to marry her, but she’d vowed never to marry again.

In later years a second female friend and regular escort was Lindy Boggs (1916-2013). Like Tasmania’s own Enid Lyons, she started life as a political wife and then built her own political career: her husband Hale was majority leader of the US House of Representatives. In 1972 he was in a plane that went missing over Alaska and was declared dead. In the ensuing special election Lindy was elected to succeed him. She was elected to a full term in 1974 with 82% of the vote and was re-elected seven times thereafter until she vacated her office in January 1991. After her district was redrawn in 1984 she became the only white member of Congress representing a majority-African-American constituency. In 1997 President Bill Clinton appointed her official U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, a position she held until 2001.

McKean tells us that “Corcoran, however, told one friend that he would not marry Lindy or Anna or anyone else for that matter, because, “once you marry, they’re not nice to you””11

Later years

One might have hoped that age would bring increasing wisdom but McKean tells a number of stories that sadly suggest otherwise:

  • In 1969 the Supreme Court initially declined a petition to re-hear the El Paso Natural Gas case. El Paso wasn’t a Corcoran client but the suggestion is that he may have been providing informal advice. Totally disregarding legal rules, Tom went up to see Justice Hugo Black in his Supreme Court chambers to petition him to think again. Shocked, Black threw Tom out but not wishing to humiliate an old friend, he decided to say nothing. A few days later Tom made a similar visit to Justice Brennan, with a similar result.
    At the weekly justices meeting, Brennan told them what had happened. A number of justices were sympathetic to reopening the case but knew if this happened, Tom might have then started boasting about his achievement in bending the court’s will. So the application to re-hear was denied. To quote McKean, “Had Douglas’s dissent been made public, Tommy Corcoran, one of the most distinguished and successful lawyers in Washington for more than forty years, would surely have been disbarred.”12  Ten years later the District of Columbia Bar was asked to examine Corcoran’s conduct. Thankfully for him, Justice Black was dead (d.1971) and Justice Brennan conveniently couldn’t remember the conversation13. A lucky escape!
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  • In 1971 a number of Washington’s legal elite gathered for a black-tie dinner to mark Tom’s 70th birthday. In his speech Ben Cohen remarked that “I think we may count the New Deal years among the best years of his life. ….. There has never been a better spirit de corps in government than that inspired by Tom in the New Deal years.” Then it was Tom’s turn and to the dismay of many listening he began by noting that he represented one of the largest pipeline companies in the USA. Close friend Joe Rauh later said that seeing this once brilliant, crusading lawyer now bragging about his corporate clients “made me sick”14.
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  • Ten months later Tom attended the funeral of Peggy’s cousin, Michael Dowd. After the ceremony he offered a lift to Michael’s 19-year-old daughter, Maureen. While driving back to the family home Tom told her that he would like to adopt her. She would have the best education possible and a credit card and sports car like the ones Margaret had had. Daughter and newly-widowed mother were, not surprisingly, horrified by the suggestion.15

While most of his contemporaries were long retired, Corcoran worked almost to the end. In late 1981 he went into hospital for a gall bladder operation. On December 5th he told visiting son Tim that when he got out of hospital he was going to make lots more money. The next day he was dead, from an embolism. At his funeral fellow lawyer James Rowe spoke, quoting Justice Holmes: “Through our great good fortune, in our youth our hearts were touched with fire.”16 If only this sentiment had underlaid Tom’s 70th birthday speech.

References (to ‘Tommy the Cork’ unless otherwise stated)

• 1. p.452; 2. p.91; 3. p.152; 4. p.227; 5. p.13; 6. p.28; 7. Louchheim, p.109; 8. p.39; 9. Lash p.445; 10.p.126; 11. p.310; 12. p.272; 13. pp.306-8; 14. p.298; 15. p.299; 16. p.316

Key books (links are to AbeBooks):

For a detailed account of Tommy Corcoran’s political and lobbying career, check out this Spartacus Educational article.

 

Cunard’s newest ship: MS Queen Anne

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For me one of the joys of being retired is that my holidays aren’t constrained by work. So having decided to come back to UK for Paul and Carole’s group cruise, I looked at what else might be possible. I was delighted to find a 7-night cruise to Northern Spain and Cherbourg on Cunard’s new Queen Anne. To save a little money, I opted for an internal cabin. And, yes, it’s true: the total blackness meant I slept much better than in a cabin with curtains or blinds that aren’t totally lightproof.

Our actual route from thecruiseglobe.com
Our actual course, from thecruiseglobe.com

La  Coruña

We set sail from Southampton on Sunday June 1st, 2025. After two nights and a full day at sea – formal night: black suit, shirt and tie for dinner as per the dress code – we arrived at La  Coruña. It’s an industrial and financial centre, population about 250,000. The ship docked within walking distance of the city centre and I spent a pleasant few hours exploring. There are any number of fine period buildings to be seen.

La Coruña marina
La Coruña marina
St Lucia church, La Coruña, 1912
St Lucia church, La Coruña, 1912
Government building, La Coruña
Government building, La Coruña
Company of Mary School, La Coruna, 1925
Company of Mary School, La Coruna, 1925

Gijón

The overnight sail took us to Gijón, population about 270,000. The key interest for me was that it’s home to one of the largest railway museums in Spain, the Asturias Railway Museum. Even better, the free shuttle bus from the ship stopped outside the museum! The museum, which opened in 1998, is housed in the old North Gijón railway station built in 1874, since extended. After spending a good couple of hours in the museum I went for a stroll through the old town before getting the shuttle bus back to the ship. The 18th century Revillagigedo Palace is a notable sight. The Town Hall and adjoining square date back to 1858-64. As with La Coruna, these are but two of many buildings of merit.

Asturias Railway Museum, Gijón
Asturias Railway Museum, Gijón
1902 Hunslet loco, 1000mm gauge
1902 Hunslet loco, 1000mm gauge
Revillagigedo Palace, Gijón
Revillagigedo Palace, Gijón
Gijón town hall, 1858-64
Gijón town hall

Bilbao

Our third and final Spanish port call was Bilbao, the tenth largest city in Spain, population around 350,000. Cruise ships dock at Getxo, about 20km from Bilbao. This was Queen Anne’s maiden visit. From the ship Cunard laid on a shuttle bus service to the Algorta metro station. At the time I went, passengers were being delivered to the station faster than the ticket machines could handle them, so I walked to the next station, Aiboa, which was almost deserted. From there I got the train to Abando in the city centre (15km, €4.20; £3.60; A$7.50 return). I spent some time looking round the cathedral, then took a quick walk through the city centre, once again appreciating the many historic buildings along the way. Then back to the ship.

Abando station entrance, Bilbao
Abando station entrance, Bilbao
Palacio de la Diputación de Bizkaia palace, Bilbao, 1890
Palacio de la Diputación de Bizkaia, Bilbao, 1890
Chavarri Palace, Bilbao, 1888-1894
Chavarri Palace, Bilbao, 1888-1894
Ariaga Theatre, Bilbao, 1890
Ariaga Theatre, Bilbao, 1890
Cathedral Basilica of Saint James, Bilbao
Cathedral Basilica of Saint James, Bilbao
Effigy of St Anthony (couldn't leave this one out!)
Effigy of St Anthony (couldn’t leave this one out!)

Cherbourg

Friday was our second sea day, sailing back across the Bay of Biscay to Cherbourg in NW France. Next to where the ship docks is La Cité de la Mer, Cherbourg’s maritime museum. I spent several hours there taking in the Titanic exhibits, the aquariums and exploring the Redoutable, the first now-preserved French nuclear submarine before having a quick walk round the city centre.

La Cité de la Mer, Cherbourg, 1933
La Cité de la Mer, Cherbourg, 1933
Redoubtable submarine, 1971, interior
Redoubtable submarine, 1971, interior
Former transatlantic baggage hall, Cherbourg
Former transatlantic baggage hall, Cherbourg
Italian Theatre, Cherbourg, 1882
Italian Theatre, Cherbourg, 1882

As for the ship …

The order for the ship that is now Queen Anne was placed in 2017. Delivery was originally planned for 2022 but with Covid delays the maiden voyage was deferred to May 2024. With a gross tonnage of 113,000 and capacity of 2,996 passengers she is slightly larger than Cunard’s Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth.

As previously posted here, I’ve cruised on Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth several times and love their Art Deco interiors. Queen Anne is very different: she’s been given a contemporary look. I liked the arrows on the carpets in the corridors which point to the nearest staircase.

Away from the ‘hardware’ it’s very definitely Cunard. All the crew I interfaced with were excellent. The Insight lecturers were Andrew Ryder, historian, Barry Halliday, retired Detective Superintendent, and the theatre-filling Pam Ayres. As is my custom on Cunard ships I enjoyed the Queens Room music and dancing each evening. For dinner I was on a shared table and enjoyed the company.

Queen Anne docked at La Coruna
Queen Anne docked at La Coruna
Queen Anne pool deck
Queen Anne pool deck
Queen Anne corridor - arrows point to nearest lift
Queen Anne corridor – arrows point to nearest lift
Dressed for formal night dinner
Dressed for formal night dinner
Queen Anne inside stateroom 7161
Queen Anne inside stateroom 7161
Music and dancing in Queen Anne's Queens Room
Music and dancing in Queen Anne’s Queens Room

During the cruise the ship travelled 1,489 nautical miles, 2,758km.

Driving Mum’s Car

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Everyone who knows me knows that I enjoy visiting car museums. Back when visiting UK in 2023 I had plans to visit the Great British Car Journey, a car museum in Ambergate, Derbyshire which had opened in 2021. Alas events intervened and I never got there.

But this year, as part of my UK visit, I got there and wasn’t disappointed. The museum has around 150 cars on display and unlike some car museums the emphasis is on the ordinary: Austin, Morris, Ford, Vauxhall etc, many of the cars that were commonplace during my childhood. My ‘I Spy Cars’ and ‘Observers Book of Automobiles’ were two of my childhood treasures: I wish I still had them.

The story is split into nine ‘chapters’:

  1. 1921-39: A little car that changed the world: the Austin Seven
  2. 1945-57: A Minor miracle: the Morris Minor
  3. 1957-67: Wizardry on wheels: the Mini
  4. 1967-70: BL is formed but begins a long decline
  5. 1913-70: A family affair: Rootes – Hillman, Humber, Singer and Sunbeam
  6. 1905-2021: The Americans: Ford and Vauxhall
  7. 1970-77: Difficult times: BL is nationalised
  8. 1977-90: The lady’s not for turning: Mrs T. reluctantly refinances BL; enter the Metro
  9. 1990-today: British-owned volume car producers are no more.

Visitors are lent an tablet – the commentary is excellent, with even more information delivered if you click on the display board QR codes.

There’s a good café too.

If this was it, the Great British Car Journey would just be another medium size motor museum – The British Motor Museum, Gaydon has 400 cars. But what makes this museum different (unique?) is that you can Drive Dad’s Car!

… Or in my case, since my dad never drove (eyesight issues), Drive Mum’s Car.

On the day we visited a good number of their sixty-car drive fleet was out ready for visitors to drive, everything from a 1920s Austin Seven, a 1938 Wolseley that’s appeared in Foyle’s War, a London Black Cab, a Rolls Royce Silver Spirit, a police Jaguar with blue flashing lights, and at the other end of the scale numerous humbler vehicles. The current cost (June 2025) of a drive depends on the car chosen: they’re grouped into Classic (£54), Premium (£75) and Luxury (£85) with discounts if you drive more than one. Buying one or more drives gets you free museum admission.

For myself, I chose to drive their Hillman Imp, since it was the first car my mother ever owned, bought new in 1963 for £532. She sold it in 1966, well before I learned to drive. Had I not chosen this car, I’d probably have chosen one that I’d owned in the past.

The museum buildings are at one end of a four-acre site, home to a wire rope factory from 1876 until it closed in 1996. Each drive lasts about twenty minutes, three circuits of the site, accompanied by a supervisor. You can take passengers for a small extra charge (£10) and a souvenir photo is a very modest £9.95. Not having driven a manual car for 25+ years, I felt somewhat like a learner; thankfully I only stalled once! But a great experience.

Thanks to my friend John for providing transport; if you want to visit the museum using public transport, it’s about a 20 minute walk from Ambergate station.

Your journey begins here ... with the Austin Seven
Your journey starts here … with the Austin Seven
A Minor 1000000 - one of 350 built to mark the millionth Minor
A Minor 1000000 – one of 350 built to mark the millionth Minor
J40 pedal car built by disabled Welsh ex-miners
J40 pedal car built by disabled Welsh ex-miners
Jowett Javelin - built in Bradford
1953 Jowett Javelin – built in Bradford
Rootes Group gallery
Rootes Group gallery
Ford and Vauxhall gallery
Ford and Vauxhall gallery
Choices, choices!
Choices, choices!
About to take the Hillman Imp out for a drive
About to take the Hillman Imp out for a drive

My first group cruise

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.. as a guest, not host, I hasten to add! The cruise was organised and hosted by Paul and Carole who run the ‘Paul and Carole love to travel’ YouTube channel which I’ve followed for several years. Check it out here. They are a very down-to-earth friendly couple from Gloucestershire, England.

I first met Paul and Carole when they visited Melbourne in January 2023 whilst on their Australian cruise and held a meetup for their supporters, handily for me here in Melbourne Docklands.

Our actual route: map from thecruiseglobe.com
Our actual course: map from thecruiseglobe.com – click to enlarge

When in May 2023 Paul and Carole announced their first group cruise, on Sky Princess, from Southampton to Norway, Denmark and back, my interest was aroused. Copenhagen was the first non-UK place I ever visited by myself, back in 1985. I’d always meant to go back but never got round to it. And although Southampton is a long way from Melbourne, I could combine this cruise with seeing friends and family. So in August 2023 I signed up. To qualify as a group cruise Paul and Carole needed 30 people to sign up; in the end they got 170!

Twenty-one months later, May 16 2025, I’m in Southampton for the eve-of-cruise get-together. Then after a good night’s sleep it was off to the ship, check-in and once on board off to the Vista lounge for group registration and a chance to meet more fellow travellers. Each day we had exclusive use of this lounge from 1.30-3.30, with excellent service from the staffed bar, with a different activity each day, e.g. a ‘How well do you know Paul and Carole?’ quiz to see who’d been paying attention to their videos.

By default our group was assigned a dining time of 5.30p.m. with a section of the Soleil dining room being assigned to us. This was great: we were effectively on a cruise for 170, not 3,660 (the ship rated capacity). No one was obligated to eat here; if you wanted to eat later, in the buffet or at a speciality restaurant you were of course free to do so. Those of us who are P&C Patreons (financial supporters) were each invited to dine with Paul or Carole on one night of the cruise.

The cruise was meant to include four port stops: Kristiansand and Oslo in Norway, and Copenhagen and Skagen in Denmark, with sea days at the beginning and end of the cruise. For weather reasons we had to skip Skagen so got an extra sea day. Here’s a quick summary of our three port visits; lots of other websites cover them in more detail:

Kristiansand

This was my first visit to Norway. Kristiansand, Norway’s fifth largest city, was an easy walk from the ship. I got to see the city centre, 1885 cathedral and railway station. The brightly painted buildings near where the ship was docked are a credit to those who commissioned and designed them.

Kristiansand harbourside
Kristiansand harbourside
Kristiansand Cathedral
Kristiansand Cathedral
Statue of Vilhelm Krag, Norwegian poet and writer
Statue of Vilhelm Krag, Norwegian poet and writer
Kristiansand Arts Centre
Kristiansand Arts Centre

Oslo

Oslo is the capital of Norway. I could have done better here. I’d booked a ticket for the hop on/hop off bus, intending to do two circuits, the first to get an overview of the sights, noting those to stop off on the second circuit. The full circuit takes ninety minutes. Having made a rather leisurely start to the day I realised once on the bus that I’d only manage one circuit if I was to be sure of being back on board by the stated time (3.30). By alighting at one stop and walking to the next I did get to see the Opera House, Parliament, University and National Theatre, plus lots more from the bus. Next time, if ever …

The Royal Palace, Oslo
The Royal Palace, Oslo
Oslo parliament building
Oslo parliament building
Oslo Opera House
Oslo Opera House
National Theatre, Oslo
National Theatre, Oslo

Copenhagen

Here members of our group cruise had the option of taking a coach for an extended visit to the Tivoli Gardens; all aboard time wasn’t until 8.30p.m. I chose to do my own thing. Cruise ships dock a fair way from the city with a free shuttle bus running to and from the Orientkaj metro station, opened in 2020. From here I got a train to the city centre (24DKK, A$5.72, £2.75). 27,000 steps later I’d visited the National Gallery, the Royal palace and after a quick visit to the Tivoli Gardens walked along Strøget, to the historic Nyhavn. From there I walked to the Vor Krelsers Kirke (Church of our Saviour) to see its famed 400-step spire built in 1752. The last 150 steps go round the outside of the spire and, no, I didn’t climb them!

Tivoli Gardens - not all rides and food!
Tivoli Gardens – not all rides and food!
Copenhagen State Museum of Art
Copenhagen State Museum of Art
Nils Ryberg with his son Johan Christian and daughter-in -law Engelke, Jens Juel 1797
Nils Ryberg with his son Johan Christian and daughter-in -law Engelke, Jens Juel 1797
Nyhavn
Nyhavn
Strøget, one of the world's first pedestrian-only streets
Strøget, one of the world’s first pedestrian-only streets
Vor Krelsers Kirke spire, 1752
Vor Krelsers Kirke spire, 1752

Then back to the ship for two full days at sea with plenty of onboard activities and entertainment. A great trip! Many thanks to Paul and Carole for being such good hosts, to Dan, their travel agent, who did all the admin, and, as ever, the first class Princess crew.

Sky Princess at Kristiansand
Sky Princess at Kristiansand
Sky Princess atrium
Sky Princess atrium
Paul, me and Carole
Paul, me and Carole
Sky Princess mini-suite B410
Sky Princess mini-suite B410

Map from thecruiseglobe.com. Distance travelled by ship 1,922 Nm, 3,560km

Along the Tocumwal railway line

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Last time I wrote about my visit to Tocumwal, mentioning the Pacific National freight service from Tocumwal to Appleton Dock, Melbourne. The railway reached Shepparton in 1880, then was extended to Numurkah in 1881, Strathmerton in 1905 and finally to Tocumwal in 1908. Passenger services ran until 1986 but carriage of grain and livestock was the main source of revenue. So let’s go up the line from Shepparton to Tocumwal with a quick stop at each intermediate station site. Figures in brackets are the distance from Shepparton and population.

Congupna (7.1km, 620)

A now-disused siding served what is now a fertiliser depot. A mound of earth is all that is left of the former station platform. Next to the fertiliser depot there’s a park, Pony Paddock Park, and next to the park a primary school. The school has 54 pupils and a teaching staff of 8 – very different to the average city school! A plaque explains the park’s name:

PONY PADDOCK PARK

In the early days children either walked or rode ponies to Congupna Primary School. In 1922 provision was made next to the school to house students’ ponies during school hours. By 1934 some of the larger families came to school by horse and gig. The ponies were left in the Pony Paddock with feed and water and harnessed up again after school.

In 1976 the use of the Pony Paddock ceased as the family car took over. In the year 2000 the Congupna/Tallygaroopna Landcare members cleared and cleaned this paddock of all noxious weeds and trees and set about transforming this derelict area into a native park… which opened in December 2004.

Tallygaroopna (14.2km, 600)

The Goulburn Valley Stock and Property Journal, 15 March 1933, reported that:

“after careful consideration and close examination of six schemes for the bulk handling of wheat within the last five months, the experts appointed by the Minister of Agriculture (Hon. J.Allan) submitted their scheme to the Cabinet last week. The scheme is estimated to cost £2,000,000, and will include the erection of 160 country silos at railway stations with terminals at Williamstown and Geelong. …  It is proposed to build silos of the following capacity at stations in the northern district: — 50,000 bushels at Rochester, Tallygaroopna, Wunghnu, Numurkah …”. The Tallygaroopna silo went into service in 1941 and was in use until 1987. The station also had stockyards for sheep and cattle.

According to the RBA inflation calculator, £2m in 1933 would be about A$250m now,

Wunghnu (23.5km, 334)

The weighbridge can still be seen as well as the silo. The Goulburn Valley Stock and Property Journal, 26 March 1941, reported:

WUNGHNU SILO Nearing Completion

The silo at the Wunghnu railway station being built by the Government to replace the grain shed is beginning to tower up, and when completed, will hold a considerable quantity of grain. The silo can be seen for some considerable distance, as it is well above the tree tops and still going up. It ought to make a wonderful look-out as well if there is a way left to get to the top.

Numurkah (30.4km, 4768)

As can be inferred from the population, Numurkah is a larger settlement than the others listed here. Next to rail tracks site Graincorp have a huge facility for processing Canola and other oilseeds, though everything is now moved in and out by road.

The station platform and footbridge still exist, and what I presume was formerly the station building is now occupied by a funeral director.

Katunga (41.0km, 996)

Another c.1940 silo. Before this was built, a good harvest could see 100,000 sacks of grain being stacked up for shipment.

Strathmerton (53.1km, 1072)

Nothing much remains except for the platform. Back in May 1899 “A very enthusiastic and representative meeting of farmers and others was” held at Strathmerton on Saturday night for the purpose of forming a league to agitate for the extension of the railway line from Strathmerton to Tocumwal.” It took some time. The Corowa Free Press, 14 July 1908, reported:

STRATHMERTON – TOCUMWAL RAIILWAY

“The new railway line from Strathmerton to Tocumwal crossing the Murray was opened on Thursday last. A large crowd of residents and railway officials were present. The first train was a sheep special of 40 trucks. The new station is equipped with a good yard and facilities for loading sheep and cattle. The ordinary passenger train came in on Thursday afternoon. It is intended to have a banquet later to celebrate the event.“

And for more on Tocumwal, see last month’s post.

Perhaps in time the silo art brigade will get to these silos – we can hope!

Victorian Places A-Z

Congupna Station remains of platform
Congupna Station – remains of platform to left
Congupna Pony Paddock Park
Congupna Pony Paddock Park
Congupna Pony Paddock Park plaque
Congupna Pony Paddock Park plaque
Tallygaroopna silo
Tallygaroopna silos
Wunghnu weighbridge
Wunghnu weighbridge
Wunghnu Silo
Wunghnu silos
Numurkah station
Numurkah station
Katunga silo
Katunga silos
Strathmerton station platform
Strathmerton station platform

Interstate mini-break: Tocumwal

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Last week I went on a two-night break to Tocumwal. It’s a small town 291km/182mi north of Melbourne, on the north bank of the Murray River so in New South Wales. The town was established in the early 1860s. As with the other Murray river communities, paddle steamers were initially the way in which goods were imported and exported.

The bridge

The Murray bridge opened in 1895. It has three spans, the centre originally being liftable for navigation. The last lift for navigational purposes was in 1933. The span was last raised in 1995 to mark the bridge’s centenary, following which it was welded shut. Initially built for road traffic only, the bridge was strengthened and adapted for rail traffic in 1908. It was then used for both road and rail traffic until November 1987, when a separate road bridge was opened, and continues to carry the occasional freight train.

The railway

On the Victorian side of the river a 53km/33mi rail line from Shepparton to Strathmerton in opened 1888, later being extended to a temporary terminus on the south side of the Murray opposite Tocumwal. Following agreement between the Victorian and NSW governments this line was taken across the bridge to a new VR-operated station, Tocumwal, opened in 1908. A NSWR branch to Tocumwal opened in 1914 creating a break-of-gauge station, NSW railways being standard gauge (4’8½”,1435mm), Victorian Railways, broad gauge (5’3”, 1600mm). Note that by rail it’s about 250km to Melbourne and 760km to Sydney.

The last NSWR train to Tocumwal ran in 1986 and the entire SG line was closed in 1988. The last VR passenger service to Tocumwal ran on 8 November 1975 but the line remains open for freight traffic: Pacific National runs container and grain trains to the Port of Melbourne several times each week.

Much of the original rail infrastructure has gone but the station buildings have been given a new lease of life as the Tocumwal Railway Heritage Museum. Unlike Newport Railway Museum where I am a volunteer, there’s no rolling stock, but there are lots of maps, pictures and other items of interest.

For more on Tocumwal’s railway history, see Newsrail, May 2005.

Museums

Just out of town is Tocumwal Aviation Museum which opened in 2021. Tocumwal might at first seem to be just another small relatively unimportant place but during WW2 it saw the construction of the largest aerodrome in the southern hemisphere which was home to many aircraft and was also a vast storage and repair depot for many aircraft types including Avro Anson, Beaufort, Boeing, Dakota, Hudson, Lancaster, Lincoln, Meteor, Mosquito, Mustang, Spitfire, Beaufighter, Vampire and Wirraway. No. 7 Operational Training Unit RAAF was based at Tocumwal from 1944. After the RAAF left Tocumwal in 1960, over 700 aircraft were scrapped through until 1963. There’s an excellent pictorial here.

Chrystie’s Classics and Collectibles Museum is a place which is hard to describe. You’ll find all sorts of things here: classic cars, old agricultural implements and a vast range of collectibles.

And … last but not least

My two nights in Tocumwal bracketed Anzac Day 2025. Anzac Day commemorates the ANZAC forces landing at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. As is the custom across Australia, the day was marked with a dawn service, then, later, the main service with guest speakers and wreath laying. The latter drew a huge crowd including all the children from local schools.


All in all an interesting and enjoyable trip, seeing and learning new things.

Tocumwal location (https://free-map.org)
Tocumwal location (https://free-map.org)
Tocumwal bridge
Tocumwal bridge
Pacific National train at Tocumwal
Pacific National train at Tocumwal
de Havilland DH-89
Air Museum: de Havilland DH-89
Chrystie's Museum
Chrystie’s Museum
Murray River at Tocumwal
Murray River at Tocumwal
Tocumwal big fish
Tocumwal big fish
Tocumwal Anzac Day march 2025
Tocumwal Anzac Day march 2025
Tocumwal Anzac Day 2025 wreaths
Tocumwal Anzac Day 2025 wreaths

A trip to Panda Mart

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During my life retail has seen numerous changes: the growth of supermarkets and retail chains, big box discount stores, IKEA, online shopping and more. New to Australia is South Africa-based Panda Mart. They opened their first Australian warehouse outlet in Cranbourne, an outer suburb, 43km (27mi) SE of the Melbourne CBD on February 27th, the occasion being marked by huge crowds necessitating additional security and police attendance.

The store, housed in what was a Masters DIY shed until its closure in 2016, has been described as a bricks-and-mortar Temu. Out of curiosity rather than needing anything, I decided to take a look. A healthy 25-minute walk from Merinda Park station got my step count up to target – not that I need have worried. From outside, the store is a totally unprepossessing sight though press reports say that a large panda mural will shortly adorn the fascia.

Inside it is huge! I walked nearly every aisle, skipping multiple rows of partyware, toys and petware . This took me a full hour, 2,265 steps!

What’s on offer? Think of a mega-size $2/pound shop but much cheaper. No clothes, no food, but you will find furniture. Lots of hardware and tools, housewares, stationery, craft supplies, artificial flowers and much more. They claim to stock 28,000 products. The pricing was, as promised, extraordinary. The base price seems to be 40c (25c US, 20p UK), though the cheapest paintbrushes were 30c.

Having initially decided to buy nothing, just look, I did succumb. My $11.60 spend bought me a premium quality paintbrush (hopefully, yet to be tested), $3.20, a spanner, $1.90, and a LED worklight, $6.50. I bought the last since the pack stated it took 3xAAA batteries and I have (not sure why) a box of 25 looking to be used. Bad news: on opening it up, it actually takes AA batteries – I had to buy some!

Conclusions:

  • Good: Vast selection of merchandise at unbelievable prices.
  • Good: See before you buy and no waiting for a mail order package
  • Good: Unlike Temu you won’t get spammed and there are minimal privacy issues
  • Bad: For some things, product quality is uncertain. In the first week, Consumer Affairs (Trading Standards) seized lots of merchandise that didn’t meet Australian standards including toys with insecure button batteries and dangerous electrical goods. There’s no excuse for this: they should know what standards apply and have already had multiple product recalls in New Zealand, whose standards are probably very similar to ours. They had lots of cordless power tools: would I trust their chargers and batteries? No. But this will probably change: when I was a child ‘Made in Japan’ was synonymous with junk.
  • Bad: As with all goods whose prices are too low to believe, you have to wonder about the working conditions and pay of those in the supply chain. That said, how many higher priced products are made in sweatshop conditions with those down the line creaming off the extra.
  • Threatened?: If Panda Mart builds a large branch chain it’s possibly bad news for Temu, AliExpress and the like, also all the $2 shops, Daiso etc. As I write this, Canadian Dollarama has just bid a generous A$259m for the Australian Reject Shop chain, with the intention of expanding from 390 to 700 stores by 2034, so they obviously think they have nothing to worry about. Kmart should be OK: they’ve worked hard to establish a good reputation for their Anko-branded goods and appliances. Time will tell.

Panda Mart’s Australian presence will double when a second store opens at Preston in Melbourne’s inner north, due to open mid-2025.

Panda Mart, 1280 Thompsons Road, Cranbourne North, 3977

Store exterior
Store exterior
Store interior
Store interior
Foil trays in all shapes and sizes
Foil trays in all shapes and sizes
Artificial flowers
Artificial flowers
30c paintbrushes
30c paintbrushes
My purchases
My purchases
Worklight card (note incorrect battery size)
Worklight card (note incorrect battery size)

A trip to Benton Rise Farm

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Like most Australians, I buy nearly all my food from my local supermarket. I know that I ought to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables and with the Queen Victoria and South Melbourne markets within walking distance I’ve really no excuse. Further afield, Victoria is home to numerous farmers’ markets and farm shops.

A few weeks ago Channel 9 TV’s Postcards programme featured a farm shop with a difference, Benton Rise Farm. What’s special? The site is now home to a 1955 W-class Melbourne tram and a 1910 ‘Red Rattler’ train carriage which houses the farm shop.

752 W-class trams were built by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) between 1923 and 1956, the majority at the MMTB’s Preston Workshops. Tram 1005 entered service April 1955, then was stored from 2000 to 2009 when it was returned to service, to be permanently withdrawn from service in 2015. In 2019 it was moved to its current site and is set up for children to play in.

Wooden-bodied Tait carriages, 623 in total, were built from 1910 in preparation for the electrification of Melbourne’s suburban railways. Initially they were steam hauled. Between 1917 and 1922 they were converted to run on electric power. They were progressively withdrawn from 1974, the longest-serving (including this one, 256M) lasting to 1984-85, a service life of around 70 years. They’d been banned from the City Loop from 1982 due to the fire hazard presented by their wooden bodies, so spent most of their final years on the Port Melbourne, St Kilda and Sandringham lines.

Both train and tram are – and I’m sure the owners won’t mind me saying this – in poor condition, badly needing some TLC. Hopefully they’ll get it before too long.

As for the farm, there’s a good café where I enjoyed banana bread and coffee. As said above, the railway carriage is home to the farm shop with lots of local produce on offer; I came away with locally-sourced honey and marmalade. Outside, children will enjoy seeing the sheep and goats, and there’s a playground and space to have a picnic.  

Farm address: 150 Coolart Rd, Tuerong VIC 3915

Farm website

Mamma knows South review

Welcome sign
Welcome!
The tram
The tram
Tram interior
Tram interior
The railway carriage
The railway carriage
The farm shop
The farm shop
The cafe
The cafe
One of the sheep
One of the sheep

Hobart Revisited

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On January 5th I boarded Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth for my fourth, and possibly last, time. This cruise, five nights, sailed from Sydney to Hobart, then returning via the magnificent scenery of Great Oyster Bay and the Freycinet National Park.

Hobart, the capital city of Tasmania, was first settled by the British in 1804. I’d been there twice before. My first trip was by air in 2018 when I got to see most of the sights – Mount Wellington, the Cascades Brewery, the Female Factory (women’s prison), Mawson’s Huts museum, MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) and more. My second visit was as part of my 2020 Queen Elizabeth cruise, the day being spent on an excursion to the one-time penal colony of Port Arthur.

This time, after a good breakfast (please don’t tell my GP about the sausage, egg, bacon and the rest!), I disembarked with no set plan for the day. Cruise ships visiting Hobart dock at Macquarie Wharf, just a short walk from the city centre. This season Hobart is due to see 93 cruise ship visits. On cruise ship days the terminal is home to a well-supported Makers Market.

As we left the terminal several operators were offering excursions to those who weren’t already booked on cruise company tours. As it was leaving shortly, I signed up for Gray Line’s 90-minute no-stop tour of all the key attractions as a way of refreshing my memory of my previous visits. Sitting on the open top deck it was cool and windy and I was glad I’d taken my rain jacket.

At the end of the bus tour I walked up to St David’s Cathedral which I’d not previously visited. Construction of the first church on this site began in 1817; the present cathedral, designed by English architect George Frederick Bodley, was consecrated in 1874. The tower is a later addition, only completed in 1936. Like many sandstone buildings in Hobart it still looks good, a reflection on Tasmania having some of the cleanest air in the world. The superb stained-glass windows were made by Burlison and Grylls, London, at the time one of the most highly regarded producers of stained glass in Britain.

Then on to the Maritime Museum which absorbed me so much I forgot to take any pics of the exhibits. After a late lunch I walked up to the Botanical Gardens, established in 1818. The uncertain morning weather had given way to bright sunshine and I thoroughly enjoyed the walk and time in the gardens. Then back to the ship.


Why perhaps was this my last cruise on Queen Elizabeth? For the last few years she has been homeported in Melbourne and Sydney during the Australian summer, offering a dozen or more short cruises.

From 2026 the only Cunard visits to Australia will be when one or more of our ports is on a world cruise itinerary – for example in March 2026, as part of 108-night world cruise, Queen Mary 2 will call at Sydney, Brisbane, Yorkey’s Knob and Darwin. The most expensive suite is $640,998 (US$402,219; £326,617) – still available as I write this! Alternatively, slum it in an inside cabin, just $47,510.

Extract from cruise map
Extract from cruise map
Former IXL jam factory
Former IXL jam factory
Old Treasury Building, Hobart (built 1837)
Old Treasury Building (1837)
St David's Cathedral, Hobart
St David’s Cathedral
Cathedral window: Saints David, Augustine and Gregory
Cathedral window: Saints David, Augustine and Gregory
Maritime Museum of Tasmania (former Carnegie Library, built 1903-07)
Maritime Museum of Tasmania (former Carnegie Library, built 1903-07)
MONA - reconstructed studio
MONA – reconstructed studio
Royal Engineers Building, Hobart (built 1847)
Royal Engineers Building (1847)
Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens
Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens
Freycinet National Park scenery
Freycinet National Park scenery

FDR’s Splendid Deception

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FDR's Splendid Deception book cover

FDR’s Splendid Deception book cover

Last month I wrote about how I came to get interested in Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal. My current project, to read all my New Deal books once more and then dispose of them, continues.

I’ve just finished another book, somewhat different to the others, FDR’s Splendid Deception, by Hugh Gregory Gallagher. The subtitle explains: “The moving story of Roosevelt’s massive disability and the intense efforts to hide it from the public.” The author contracted polio at the age of nineteen and has been wheelchair-bound ever since, so brings an understanding to the subject that others might not have.

Franklin Roosevelt was born in 1882 to a well-heeled family; Theodore Roosevelt, later to be President (1901-09), was a fifth cousin. FDR was destined for success and in 1913 at 31 he became Assistant Secretary to the Navy, serving in this capacity through WW1. James Cox selected FDR as his running mate for the 1920 presidential election but lost to Warren Harding.

Then disaster struck. In 1921 FDR contracted polio, which left his legs paralysed. His political ambitions were done for. Or were they?

Urged on by his wife and close advisor Louis Howe, FDR resolved to continue in public life. He laboriously taught himself to walk short distances while wearing iron braces on his legs. Until his death he would spend much of his time at Warm Springs, Georgia, believing in the recuperative powers of the waters.

FDR got his big break in 1928 when the governor of New York State, Al Smith, resigned so as to run for president. He persuaded FDR to nominate for the governorship. FDR won by a whisker, then by a more than comfortable majority in 1930. Having shown that his disability was no obstacle to political leadership, he won the Democratic nomination for the 1932 presidential election, then won the election by a handsome margin (see below).

Those who know something about FDR probably think first of his speeches and his wireless fireside chats, his wonderful delivery accentuating his fine choice of words, for example:

  • I pledge you, I pledge myself to a new deal for the American people. [First inaugural address 1933]
  • The only thing we have to fear is…fear itself [First inaugural address 1933]
  • I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished. [Second inaugural address 1937]
  • The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. [Second inaugural address 1937]
  • Yesterday, December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

Could a wheelchair-bound person win a presidential election today? I doubt it especially if their politics were at variance from the mainstream media.

But things were different then. The picture on the front cover of the book is one of only two known to exist showing FDR in a wheelchair. To quote Gallagher’s book (pp.93,94):

During his first campaign for governor, FDR made it a rule that photographers were not to take pictures of him looking crippled or helpless. His actual words, said to some newsreel cameramen taking his picture as he was being helped out of a car in 1928, were “no movies of me getting out of the machine, boys.”

And from then on, remarkably, no such photographs were taken. It was an unspoken code, honoured by the White House photography corps. If, as happened once or twice, one of its members sought to violate it and try and sneak a picture of the President in his chair, one or another of the older photographers would “accidentally” knock the camera to the ground, or otherwise block the picture. Should the president himself notice someone in the crowd violating the interdiction, he would point out the offender and the Secret Service would move in, seize the camera and expose the film. This remarkable voluntary censorship was rarely violated.

Did the press’s self-imposed censorship matter? For the first three elections arguably not. FDR’s physical limitations did not materially affect his ability to serve as president. Indeed several surveys note him as one of the USA’s best presidents but by 1944 things were different. The demands of wartime leadership had taken their toll. FDR was not a well man as many could see. Key advisors Tommy Corcoran and Ben Cohen decided to tell their beloved leader that he should stand down and not contest the 1944 election, but when it came to it Corcoran couldn’t get the words out and Cohen, the ‘parfit gentil knight’* of the New Deal, chickened out and sent FDR a letter, which was ignored. FDR would contest and win the election but his fourth term ended just months later with his death on April 12, 1945 aged just 63.

  • Joseph Lash, Dealers and Dreamers p.452

Electoral College votes (FDR/others) and share of popular vote:

1932: 472/59, 57.4%;

1936: 523/8, 60.8%;

1940: 449/82, 54.7%

1944: 432/99, 53.4%

The book: FDR’s Splendid Deception, by Hugh Gregory Gallagher, Vandamere Press 1994, ISBN 0-918339-33-2