Page 98 - The Wish Stream Year of 2021 (Crest)

rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Transferring to the Reserves, he remained in the Corps until 1965. So clandestine was his work that details of his war service are still sparce and
Although Tinling was banned from Wimbledon for the next 33 years, his influence as the ‘go-to’ dress designer meant that, behind the scenes,
only emerged after his death.
Tinling designed the dresses worn by 12 Wimbledon winners between 1959 and 1979 including Maria Bueno, Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova
he was one of the most influential figures in women’s tennis. Tinling designed the dresses worn by 12 Wimbledon winners between 1959 and 1979 including Maria Bueno, Bil- lie Jean King and Martina Navratilova as well as the three, post war, British champions, Angela Mortimer, Ann Jones and Virginia Wade.
Teddy Tinling was finally welcomed back to Wimbledon by the All England Club in 1982 when he was reinstated as the player liaison officer. A flamboy-
In the late 1940s, women’s tennis
was considered uninspiring so, in
1947, Tinling designed a dress for
the British player, Joy Gannon,
featuring a narrow pink and blue
hem that went unnoticed by the
officials. The players, however,
did notice and demanded more
colour in their dresses resulting in
a blanket ban on anything other
than white. In 1949, Tinling spiced
up the short white dress of American player Gussie Moran with frilly knickers which caused a media frenzy as photographers fought to take low angle shots of the player, who was instantly dubbed ‘Gorgeous Gussie’. The ‘establishment’ was horrified, the issue was debated in Parlia- ment and the All England Lawn Tennis Club accused Tinling and Moran of bringing “vulgarity and sins into tennis”.
ant figure, openly gay and with a shaven head and chunky jewellery he was one of the first celebrities to sport an earring. By this time an elder states- man, tennis author and commentator, he still courted controversy with his white catsuit worn by Ann White in 1985, for one match - before it was banned by the authorities. Teddy Tinling died on 23rd May 1990, one obituary describing him as ‘a towering figure in every sense’.
appeared. Found asleep on his bed an hour later he told the same War- rant Officer; “I did what you asked – but Her Majesty told me – King Hus- sein, you look tired – go to bed for the afternoon!”
KING HUSSEIN OF JORDAN
1952
The grandson of King Abdullah 1, the founder of modern Jordan, Hussein bin Talal was born in Amman, on 14th November 1935. Schooled in Egypt and at Harrow, he was close to the King acting as interpreter during diplomatic meetings. On 20th July 1951 He accompanied his grandfa- ther to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem when the King was assassinated by a Palestinian gunman. Hussein’s life was saved when a medal on his uniform deflected a bullet. He was named heir apparent in 1951 but, only a year later, his father was forced to abdicate and
the sixteen-year-old became king.
Run down to the statue of Queen Victoria, tell her how idle you are then run back and give me her reply.
Inherit-
ing the throne of not just Jordan, but the West Bank which was captured during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, the young King ruled a country in the middle of one of the most volatile regions on earth. After early reliance on British assistance, he dismissed his advisors and rode the wave of
During a period of regency, he
was sent to Sandhurst on Intake
12, arriving in September 1952.
Tales of the young King in training
are many but perhaps the best is
the aftermath of a mistake on the
drill square. The Sergeant Major
told him to “run down to the statue of Queen Victoria, tell her how idle you are then run back and give me her reply.” Instead of complying with this obviously ludicrous direction, Hussein dis-
Arab Nationalism, receiving a surge in popular- ity after the failed Anglo-French Suez invasion in 1956. After a brief experiment with a demo- cratically elected Government and a failed coup,
96 HISTORICAL