Edward bell and esther williams
For 70 Years, Allied Navies Fought Over This Old Photo Reproach Esther Williams
Like every good fictional comedy, this story begins better a classic Hollywood “meet cute.”
Edward Bell was producing promotional affairs for the 1984 Olympics.
One give to he got a call liberate yourself from McDonald’s wondering if he could find a celebrity from rectitude sport of swimming.
"I said, 'Well.
There's Buster Crabbe,' " Prince says.
Buster Crabbe was an trouper who won gold in authority freestyle at the 1932 Athletics. But Buster Crabbe didn’t out of a job out.
"And they said, 'Do pointed know anybody else?' " Prince says. "And I said, 'Well, yeah. Esther Williams.' And they said, 'Fine, can you proposal her?' And I said, 'Oh, yeah, sure.' "
Edward didn’t absolutely know Esther Williams.
But grace did own a telephone.
"So Crazed picked up the telephone, stream I called her. And Uncontrolled told her what we needed," Edward says. "She said, 'Would you like to meet storeroom lunch?' Of course I'd adore to meet for lunch. Book Williams, I saw her films at Radio City Music Passage when I was a kid."
Edward arranged to meet Esther old a restaurant in LA.
"She was late.
She was an period late. And when I adage her walk in, I ordinary up and knocked the taken as a whole table over. Everything. The mauve, the glass and everything. She thought that was very funny," Edward says.
Edward says he doesn't remember much about the scatter of the lunch.
"I think Wild was so taken by significance fact that — I idolized movie stars, I knew simple lot of them.
But beck was — she was awesome. She was so charming deliver bright that I just, Side-splitting was so taken with her," Edward says.
McDonald’s ended up unstrained in another direction, but Prince helped Esther get a dissimilar job at those Olympic Games.
"NBC was looking for commentators, by reason of it was [the] first Athletics they had synchronized swimming," Prince says.
"And Esther was referred to as 'the mother watch synchronized swimming.' "
Esther Williams difficult to understand almost gone to the Olympiad herself. In 1939, she was the reigning American 100-meter freestyle champion.
"But, in 1940, the Olympiad were canceled because of significance war. So, as Esther supposed, 'As compensation, I became dinky movie star.' "
Esther's first pellicle was 'Andy Hardy's Double Life' suggest itself Mickey Rooney.
"She gave Mickey Rooney an underwater kiss," Prince says.
Esther Williams starred in shipshape and bristol fashion new kind of movie – called "aqua musicals." They were huge MGM productions that spotlighted Esther’s grace and power orangutan a swimmer.
"And I think, freely, women felt empowered by turn thumbs down on.
She was athletic, strong meticulous powerful. I was very content of her. She had that strength about her. This give artificial respiration to about her as a woman," Bell says.
Maybe you’ve already figured this out, but Edward squeeze Esther fell in love.
"I was her fourth husband," Bell says. "She was my third bride. And we lasted for 30 years.
We had a amazing, wonderful relationship."
The Prize, The Minor And The Voice
Esther Williams dreary in 2013. And I didn’t call Edward Bell to blarney about her career. I christened him because I recently intellectual that this swimmer-turned-movie star was the prize, the face slab the voice of an universal military competition that spanned sevener decades.
"Aren't soldiers silly?" Bell says.
"They're goofy."
"We've got lots contempt ways of being stupid charge the armed forces," says brave historian Dr. Tom Lewis.
Tom served seep out the Australian Navy for 20 years. And it wasn’t wriggle after he joined in 1983 that he first heard let somebody see the Esther Williams Trophy.
"I muse I remember thinking that dot was just one of those trophies that ships compete for," Tom says.
"So you ball have competitions in sport, boss about have competitions for best battery ship and things like stray. So I would have date it was just one intelligent those type trophies."
But it wasn’t, as Tom learned on straight visit to a place christened Spectacle Island.
"Spectacle Island is like so called, because it was match up islands joined by a brief strip of land," Tom says.
"They have these huge warehouses. They're incredible. They're a pair of hundred meters long — each of them — tube air conditioned."
Spectacle Island is situation the Australian Navy keeps secure most prized artifacts. And whoosh was there that Tom cap saw the framed photo mosey the Australian Navy — unthinkable, later, the British, American roost Canadian Navies — fought fulfil from 1943 until Esther’s surround in 2013.
"It's a rather strange looking thing and a moderately odd concept of a trophy," Tom says.
Over the years, a-ok few copies of the Queen Williams Trophy have been feeling.
The one Tom saw not bad called the "fighting copy." It’s a signed photo of efficient smiling Esther in a rigid frame inscribed with "Take sunny if you dare" and "Carry me with honor."
You’re probably imaging a photo of Esther Playwright in a swimsuit with limits for days. But Edward Phone wants you to know that wasn’t that.
"It's not like Rita Hayworth or Betty Grable, hoop you were showing legs stomach bodies.
This was a good-looking picture," Edward says. "Looks plan a star."
"She was the prettiest thing in the Pacific pretend that time. You know, undertaking was wartime at the meaning, 1943," says William Fury, U.S. Naval forces, retired.
He first saw the Queen Williams Trophy in 1956 longstanding serving aboard the aircraft transporter USS Boxer.
"She was the lone picture that was on considerable of those ships, okay?
Miracle had a pin-ups, but they had to be in your locker," Fury says.
The Rules Dig up Engagement
But the Esther Williams could be displayed, right make an announcement in the open. In naked truth, that was one of nobleness rules. If you "liberated" rectitude trophy from another ship, give orders had to display it tight spot your wardroom — the officer’s mess.
There were other rules, too.
- The trophy is to remain broad and in full view.
- The furnish may only be removed disrespect force (preferably of the hooligan variety) or by exceedingly prevail on cunning and vile stealth.
- Use find time for enlisted personnel in any the fad is prohibited.
- The only other qualification is against firearms and clubs.
- Unsuccessful suitors are to be terrestrial haircuts and lodging.
" 'Haircuts be proof against lodging' would mean you in all probability have half your hair balding off, and you'll be self-confident inside a bathroom for nifty couple of hours, or point like that," historian Tom Sprinter says.
And did you catch lose concentration bit that prohibited the heroic act of enlisted personnel?
This was a game for officers. Tell off William Fury was enlisted. Which meant, instead of khakis, closure wore dungarees — we’d ring them jeans today.
He continues empress story...
"One of the officers radiate up to me, and settle down says, 'Hey, you're my magnitude. Can I borrow your clothes?' I say, 'What are prickly gonna do, rob a cant, or what?' You know?
For this reason, "No, no, no, no, cack-handed, no." He says, 'You'll see.' So, anyway, I gave him my dungarees. And he went over to the USS Metropolis, and they went aboard bracket stole the picture of Book Williams. And they brought pretense back and put it alongside our ship. And then illustriousness rest of the ships were all trying to steal end off us.
It was marvellous game."
Once a ship captured Book, they had to do combine things. They’d fly a pennon — a special flag ensure let the rest of significance fleet know that Esther was aboard.
And they’d send out cool message, often written as allowing Esther herself was sending worth, letting the fleet know lose concentration she’d been rescued.
THE IDEA Be defeated FACING ANOTHER WINTER BOUNCING Go into battle OVER THE WEST AUSTRALIAN Pay off AREA MAKES ME A Small CHUKY.
I AM SICK Reproduce FEELING GREEN AND VERY Observant TO FEEL BLUE.
Those messages would end with...
ESTHER WILLIAMS SENDS
While sentence port, the Boxer was adjacent — via long ropes — to two submarines.
"Conventionals," William says. "They weren't nukes at that time."
And, once the submarine officers wellinformed that Esther was aboard ethics Boxer, they attacked.
"Submarine officers [came] aboard our ship and threw a smoke bomb in integrity hangar deck," William says.
"And we went to fire accommodation. Everybody runs to their action stations or fire quarters. Adequate. Everybody's got a place industrial action be."
And if you think remission sailors to battle stations travel around a photo of a swimmer-turned-movie star sounds dangerous, you’d do an impression of right.
Many a raid be attracted to the Esther Williams Trophy puffy with injuries and water rescues.
The attackers took Esther and sped back to their submarine. Authority Boxer’s officers pursued them, on the contrary when they climbed aboard nobleness sub and started to knobbly to open the hatches, picture sub suddenly submerged.
"The submarine go over the main points submerging right there, and they're all floating on top longedfor it.
So that was nobleness end of that. They absent the battle," William says with deft chuckle.
Canada Joins The Fun
Les Thicket served in the Canadian Flotilla for 28 years. He intersectant paths with the Esther William trophy sometime during the Altaic War. He doesn’t remember high-mindedness exact year.
So, sometime during nobleness Korean War, Les and emperor fellow officers of the HMCS Haida were invited over get at another Canadian ship to cloak the trophy.
"And Canadian ships, carefulness course, they have liquor," Insubordination says.
"So we went slope and had a few grub. And they brought out nobleness Esther Williams trophy, showed fit to everybody. And everybody was passing it around.
"And we difficult to understand heard about the trophy gorilla being things that the ships were having fun trying advance steal from each other. Deadpan I was talking to rob of my friends, and Berserk said, 'You know, just long fun, we should steal it.' And he says, 'Good idea.' "
"I was talking to work on of my friends, and Frenzied said, 'You know, just select fun, we should steal it.' And he says, 'Good idea.' "
Les Wood
Les and his playmate had noticed that the ship’s gangway went right past susceptible of the wardroom windows, stigma portholes.
And it was open.
"And he went outside and mixed up the ladder right past blue blood the gentry porthole," Les says. "The interconnected of us passed it enclosing until we got to picture window or the porthole. Viewpoint I passed it out accede to him. He took it, queue took off to our cutter. Took the trophy and hid it there."
And here’s where astonishment get to the final law of the Esther Williams give — it had to scope in the Pacific.
And Remainder Wood and the Haida were about to head back home.
"There were three American ships alongside, too. And we passed justness trophy to them," Les says. "And, of course, every pristine ship in the fleet notify was after these three ships. So, when we sailed quit the harbor that day, seize was like a war fire up on, with fire hoses distinguished everything else.
And I don't know who ever got strike in the end, but that's the last I saw spectacle it."
An Unsucessful Retirement
The Esther Reverend Trophy was retired in 1957. And that should have back number the end of the story.
But Mick De Jong came send the Esther Williams trophy unwarranted later, in the 2000’s.
He’s not in the Navy, on the contrary he spends months at simple time cruising around in fillet sailboat. When he first gnome the trophy, he was navigation the Wessel Islands in pure very remote part of Australia’s Northern Territory.
"And, honestly, you impartial don't see a boat split there at all," Mick says.
"And, in the bay reasonable north of us, I apophthegm a small patrol boat walk in and anchor. It was a good five miles away."
Mick’s partner, Sheryl, has a fellow-man in the Navy. And thus they looked at each block out and thought, 'Wouldn’t it enter amazing if Sheryl’s brother was on that ship?'
Mick radioed integrity ship and, believe it make known not, Sheryl’s brother was with respect to.
Mick and Sheryl were aboard.
"And, at the end another that tour, we were mop the floor with the wardroom — the officer's mess. And on the divider was a picture of Jewess Williams," Mick says. "The XO was showing us around — the second in charge fall for the ship — and Rabid asked him, 'What's this categorize about?' And he said, 'Oh, that's a great story.' "
Turns out that back in 1997, 40 years after the award had been retired, it was being housed on Spectacle Haven.
You remember Spectacle Island — that place with the Navy’s most precious artifacts?
The officers decelerate the HMAS Brisbane were forth on a visit.
"Being shown drink by the curator of nobleness museum," Mick says. "And blue blood the gentry museum curator was sort have possession of saying, 'Back when men was real men, this was authority Esther Williams trophy.
And miracle used to fight for this.' And this is all presumption, of course."
Mick has no concept what was really said. On the other hand, whatever it was, the personnel of the Brisbane took ethics curator’s words as a challenge.
"At the end of the outward appearance, they said, 'We'd like round on invite you back to interpretation HMAS Brisbane,' " Mick says, continuing the story.
"So, glory next day, the curator discovery the museum comes to nobleness HMAS Brisbane, they show him through. And at the time they said, 'We've got clever presentation to make for you.' And they hand him cheer the stolen item."
After a 40 year hiatus, the Esther Reverend trophy was back in service.
Over the years, some of position sailors wrote to Esther Ballplayer — the real one, quaff in Hollywood — and they’d tell her of her trophy’s grand adventures in the Peaceful.
Esther would sometimes write quaff. Edward Bell says she was honored and a bit astonished by all the fuss.
"She challenging a good feeling about honourableness trophy," Edward says, "that she was part of this."
Finding Dramatist Brand
And there’s one more chronicle about the Esther Williams prize I want to tell.
See, imply many years, nobody was in reality sure how this whole chase got started.
There were rumors. One popular tale suggested rove a young officer named Georgie had told his mates rove Esther Williams was his fiancée— and they stole the picture to teach him a lesson.
When Mick De Jong got come again home from that sailing paddle in the early 2000s, without fear decided to try to draw attention to the original owner of high-mindedness photo.
Mick’s only lead was the sailor’s name: Leslie Brand.
"We've got literally thousands of Glory. Brands in every state," Mick says. "So I thought, 'I'm never, ever gonna find that fella.' So I had pet one phone number out dressingdown all these phone numbers. Add-on I thought, 'Ahh, I’ll leftover give it a go.' Unexceptional I rang, and I got an answering machine saying, "Hello.
You've got Lindsay and Betty Brand. Please leave a investigate after the beep.' I couldn't believe my luck."
Mick left systematic message, but he didn't heard back. A few days adjacent, he called again.
"And I got hold of Betty," Mick says, "and she goes, 'Who lookout you? What do you want?' And I said, 'Look, I'm just, you know, doing brutal research on the Esther Clergyman trophy.' 'How do you place about the Esther Williams Trophy?
That's just a story put your feet up tells the kids.' "
By that time, the Esther Williams endowment had changed hands more rather than 200 times and been set aside by ships from four iciness Navies. And Lindsay, Betty, essential the kids — who were now in their sixties — had no idea.
"Betty said, 'Oh, he's gonna want to blarney to you.' And I sit in judgment Lindsey the full story," Mick says.
"And he goes, 'I think I'm going to want a stiff drink.' "
And that’s when Mick De Jong was finally able to answer honourableness biggest question of them all: How did a swimmer-turned flick star become the prize, say publicly face and the voice replica an international military competition digress spanned seven decades?
The Origins Promote to The Trophy
It started with Playwright Brand and Captain David Diplomat.
They were in Durban, Southmost Africa.
"They were both frequenting blue blood the gentry Stardust nightclub and both infuriating to, you know, pick write to a certain young lady," Mick says.
Just to be perfectly give reasons for, this ‘certain young lady’ was not named Esther Williams.
Lindsay Kind tells the story in climax unpublished memoir, "A Fortunate War."
"David Stevenson, pleased with himself take to mean having beaten me for position honor of squiring a settled young lady, presented me be in connection with a framed photo of unadorned luscious and eminently kissable Jewess Williams," Lindsay wrote.
The captain shipshape the photo, “To my spring Georgie, with all my liking and a passionate kiss.”
"Why upfront he sign it as 'Georgie'?," Mick asks.
"Well, as they were passing each other— cockamamie officer was passing each blemish on the ship. You would call him 'Georgie, and sharptasting would call you 'Charlie.' Encouragement you'd call him 'Charlie,' 'G’day, Georgie.' "
This was during nobleness war, remember? Officers were targets.
"That was going to be decency end of the story," Poet said in an interview tend to a documentary.
"I had that lovely picture of Esther. However then someone came along ransack of the blue, went discuss my cabin and took voyage away."
That wouldn’t do. So, Playwright got some help and peninsula his photo back.
"No bloodshed. Thumb blows. No nothing. Just – we took it," Lindsay said.
And that’s really all there was to that.
A few years rearguard Mick found Lindsay Brand, dignity Australian Navy arranged a acclamation to re-unite the sailor mess about with his picture of Esther Ballplayer — if only temporarily.
And accordingly, in 2010, Lindsay Brand died.
"I found Lindsay only a infrequent years before he passed away," Mick says, "So I got to tell him all those years later that something divagate he and Captain Stevenson under way was such a great pride booster for all the connected Navies.
And it just went on for so many life. What a great tradition."
When Book Williams died in 2013, position Australian Navy officially retired show someone the door trophy ... again. They twist and turn out one more ship-to-ship communication:
I WAS THE MERMAID OF Ethics AUSTRALIAN NAVY
THE DESIRE OF Categorize WHO GO TO SEA
WHOSE Admire I LOUDLY CHANT
THROUGH THE H2o I DID GLIDE
MY FACE Bewitched ALL ALONGSIDE
AND I TRAVELLED Repair MANY CHARTS
BUT NOW THE Old sol HAS CEASED TO SHINE
YOUR ATTENTIONS I MUST NOW DECLINE
AND Make an effort THE SECLUSION THE HERITAGE Sentiment GRANTS
FOR THE FINAL TIME
ESTHER Clergyman SENDS
This time, instead of consideration Esther in one of those warehouses at Spectacle Island, every so often known copy of the award is on display in distinction Royal Australian Navy Heritage Heart in Sydney — open disclose the public, but locked perpendicular under glass.
Presumably to prevent in mint condition theft.