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Article: God bless you, Comrade... Sir Richard Knowles was a larger than life figure who made a lasting mark on the city of Birmingham. AUREEN MESSENT recalls her personal memories of the man.(News)
- Article from:
- Birmingham Mail (England)
- Article date:
- February 18, 2008
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Birmingham Post & Mail Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: MAUREEN MESSENT
HIS heart matched his girth, he addressed everyone as 'Comrade' and he was proud to be a man of Kent, the county of his birth.
Sir Richard could hold the council chamber in thrall with his rhetoric, make it explode with laughter and wake it up on days of dull debate.
Behind the bonhomie and the ability to seize on a weak argument and demolish it with a pithy phrase, there was a man who loved books. He had assembled a fair-sized library at his home.
His ability to quote the Bible was legendary and he was deeply romantic.
When he first met his second wife, now Lady Anne Knowles, both were on a ...