Steve South

Featured in: Favicon

bbc.co.uk

Articles

Wolfgang Grulke: Fossils collected over 50 years to be sold

May 8, 2024 | bbc.co.uk | Steve South |Steve Harris

A collector who has amassed thousands of rare fossils that he displays in a private museum is in talks to sell his "cabinet of curiosities". Wolfgang Grulke has been buying and conserving prehistoric artefacts, which he keeps in a converted barn near Sherborne, Dorset, for 50 years. Now he wants to find them a new home, before he turns 80 in two years' time. Mr Grulke says he wants the collection to go to a place where "people will be astonished and fuel their curiosity".
Portsmouth Royal Navy veteran recalls HMS Barham attack

Jan 8, 2024 | bbc.co.uk | Steve South |Steve Humphrey

A veteran who suffered severe burns when his ship sank during World War Two has said he remembers it being "complete oblivion". Len Chivers, 99, witnessed the attack on HMS Barham by a German U-boat in November 1941. He was on board HMS Queen Elizabeth in the Mediterranean, when he "heard a bang and went out on deck". After the attack, in which 862 sailors died, Mr Chivers was moved to a different ship where he was wounded.
Cerne Abbas Giant: Has the mystery of the chalk hill figure been solved?

Jan 1, 2024 | bbc.co.uk | Ros Tappenden |Steve South |Steve Humphrey

A centuries-old mystery surrounding the origins of a chalk giant hill figure has been unravelled by academics from Oxford University. New research indicates the Cerne Abbas Giant in Dorset was originally carved as an image of Hercules to mark a muster station for West Saxon armies. Speculation has long surrounded the figure, with some believing it could date back to prehistoric times. The academics said it was reinterpreted in the 11th Century by local monks.
Boy, 9, cycles 80 miles on Isle of Wight after gran's MND diagnosis

Jul 31, 2023 | bbc.co.uk | Steve South |Steve Humphrey

By Steve HumphreyBBC SouthA nine-year-old boy has cycled around the Isle of Wight for charity after his great-grandmother was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND). Riley Townsend, from Southampton, completed the 80-mile challenge with his dad, Sam, over four days. Rita Elsy, 79, was recently diagnosed with MND which, within a few weeks, left her unable to speak. Riley, who arrived home on Monday, said he wanted to help raise awareness of the disease.