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The Isle of Man or Mann, is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Governor. The government of the United Kingdom is responsible for the isle's military defence and represents it abroad.
The Isle of Man has an extensive communications infrastructure consisting of telephone cables, submarine cables, and an array of television and mobile phone transmitters and towers.
Douglas is the capital city and largest settlement of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,677 (2021) and an area of 10.5 km2. It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and on a sweeping bay of two miles. The River Douglas forms part of the city's harbour and main commercial port.
Castletown is a town in the Isle of Man, geographically within the historical parish of Malew but administered separately. Lying at the south of the island, it was the Manx capital until 1869. The centre of town is dominated by Castle Rushen, a well-preserved medieval castle, originally built for a Viking king.
Peel is a seaside town and small fishing port in the Isle of Man, in the historic parish of German but administered separately. Peel is the third largest town in the island after Douglas and Ramsey but the fourth largest settlement, as Onchan has the second largest population but is classified as a village.
Port Erin is a seaside village in the south-west of the Isle of Man, in the historic parish of Rushen. It was previously a seaside resort before the decline of the tourist trade. Administratively it is designated as a village district, with its own board of commissioners. The district covers around 1 square mile, and is adjacent to: Port St Mary to the south-east; the main part of Arbory and Rushen parish district to the north and east; the sea to the west; and an exclave of Arbory and Rushen parish district to the south. Following recent residential expansion, the settlement is now contiguous with that of Port St Mary, and on 18 July 2018 Tynwald authorised a public enquiry into the proposed expansion of the district boundary to include some of this expansion.
The Isle of Man Railway (IMR) is a narrow gauge steam-operated railway connecting Douglas with Castletown and Port Erin on the Isle of Man. The line is 3 ft narrow gauge and 15+1⁄2 miles long. It is the remainder of what was a much larger network that also served the small western hamlet of Peel, the northern town of Ramsey and the small mining village of Foxdale. Now in government ownership, it uses original rolling stock and locomotives and there are few concessions to modernity.
Rushen, formally Kirk Christ Rushen, is one of the seventeen historic parishes of the Isle of Man.
Port Soderick Railway Station is the first station on the Port Erin line of the Isle of Man Railway and is located near the settlement of the same name on the Isle of Man. It forms part of the sole remaining section of the railway which once served a 46-mile network across the island.
For a small country, sport in the Isle of Man plays an important part in making the island known to the wider world. The principal international sporting event held on the island is the annual Isle of Man TT motorcycling event. However, the Isle of Man is represented internationally in a number of other sports at the Commonwealth Games and the Island Games.
The Isle of Man has a rich transport heritage and boasts the largest narrow-gauge railway network in the British Isles with several historic railways and tramways still in operation. These operate largely to what is known as "Manx Standard Gauge" and together they comprise about 65 miles (105 km) of Victorian railways and tramways. The Isle of Man Railway Museum in Port Erin allows people to find out more about the history of the Manx railways, and was until 1998 accompanied by a similar museum in Ramsey, which was dedicated to the history of the electric line, but this was closed and converted into a youth club. The steam railway to the south of the island, electric to the north and mountain line to the summit of Snaefell, the island's only mountain, are all government-owned, and operated under the title Isle of Man Railways, as a division of the island's Department of Infrastructure. The lines at Groudle Glen and Curraghs Wildlife Park are both privately owned but open to the public.
Walter Leslie Handley born in Aston, Birmingham, known as Wal Handley, was a champion British inter-war motorcycle racer with four wins at the Isle of Man TT Races in his career. Later he also raced cars in the 1930s and died in a World War II aircraft accident while serving as pilot with the Air Transport Auxiliary.
Thomas Guillaume St. Barbe Baker was a pre-War British Nazi who had been an officer in World War I as a second lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery and later as a captain in the Royal Air Force. He was affiliated with many fascist movements, was an independent Nazi speaker, known for his eccentricity and walrus moustache. Baker was the brother of Richard St. Barbe Baker, famous for his tree-planting programmes, founder of the Men of the Trees.
Fay Taylour, known as Flying Fay, was an Irish motorcyclist in the late 1920s and a champion speedway rider. She switched to racing cars in 1931. She was interned as a fascist during the Second World War. After the war, she managed to enter some races in the UK, Ireland, Sweden and Australia and took up midget car racing in America until she retired in the late 1950s.
Frederick William Dixon was an English motorcycle racer and racing car driver. The designer of the motorcycle and banking sidecar system, he was also one of the few motorsport competitors to have been successful on two, three and four wheels. He was twice awarded the BRDC Gold Star for car racing. Dixon, who had the nickname "Flying Freddie", was born at Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England, one of eight children of John and Martha Dixon.
Bus Vannin - styled as bus vannin - is the government-owned and operated bus service on the Isle of Man. The name was adopted in June 2009 to replace Isle of Man Transport. The company was founded on 1 October 1976, as National Transport, which was an amalgamation of two other operating companies.
Eileen Ellison was a British Grand Prix racer. Born in Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire, she was a daughter of Sidney and Theresa Ellison. She had a sister, Diana, and a brother, Tony.
SS (RMS) Tynwald (III), No. 95755, was an iron passenger steamer which served with the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, and was the third vessel in the Company to bear the name.
The history of the Jews in the Isle of Man goes back to at least the early 19th century.
Eva Askquith (1905–1985), at times misspelt as Ashquith or Asquith, was a pioneering British female speedway motorcycle racer in the three seasons from 1928 and 1930 when female riders were allowed race speedway in Britain. She was one of only four British female speedway riders at this time and also raced internationally.
References
- ↑ Europe's only all-female WW2 internment camp remembered By Mark Edwards BBC News 29 May 2015
- ↑ "Taylour, Helen Frances [Fay] (1904–1983), racing motorist and political activist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/97894 . Retrieved 3 April 2022.
- ↑ "Brooklands Museum: Tales from Brooklands: Fay Taylour". www.brooklandsmuseum.com. Retrieved 3 April 2022.