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That the man who killed Rasputin — the mad monk and guru of the Russian court — came from Smethwick. Yes, I hear you say, and Peter the Great once had a shop in Harborne.
It is , and the First World War is devouring nations and manpower across Europe. Lined up on the battlefield are the central powers of Germany and Austro-Hungary, and facing them the British, the French and the Russians. But Russia is on the point of political and economic meltdown, and its leaders split over its continued participation in the war.
On the one side of this debate stands the Tsarina, with her reputed German sympathies; on the other men like Felix Yusupov, flamboyant businessman and nephew to the Tsar, and the Grand Duke Dimitri Romanov, who perhaps has ambitions to be Tsar himself. Neither the British nor the German governments could remain entirely impartial in all this. Should Tsar Nicholas pull out of the war, then a third of a million Russian soldiers would be removed from the eastern front, tipping the balance significantly towards the Central Powers.
Whatever his reputation as a debaucherer and womaniser, Rasputin had found favour at the top table. His apparent ability to treat the Crown Prince Alexei for his haemophilia gave him extraordinary and unbridled influence with the Romanovs.
It was said that Rasputin was chief among those who wished for peace with Germany. There was a queue of people, then — Russian as well as British — who would like to rid them of this turbulent priest. All this might seem a far cry from the young boy who was born — the son of a local draper — in Soho Street, Smethwick, in But Oswald Rayner was a bright lad, and in he won a place at Oriel College, Oxford, to study modern languages. By the time he left university Oswald was highly proficient in French, German and Russian.
He had also formed a close — some say homosexual — relationship with the same Felix Yusupov, who was at University College, and happened to be a member of the infamous Bullingdon Club. Rayner was initially called to the Bar, but his linguistic skills made him much more useful elsewhere, and in he was recruited by the Army and sent to Petrograd by MI6. Here he teamed up with a little coterie of British agents, and was also able to renew acquaintances with his old chum, Yusupov.
Here too Rayner would have heard of the plot to kill Rasputin. According to the popular version of the story, Rasputin was poisoned, beaten, shot several times and finally drowned in the Nevka.
The reality is that only two of these were correct; he was certainly beaten with a cosh and shot, and then his body dumped in the river. And the final fatal shot, from a Webley revolver, was fired by Oswald Rayner himself. As Russia disintegrated into revolution, none of the perpetrators ever faced trial. As for Rayner, he continued to work for British Intelligence for the next few years, both in Russia and in Sweden. But he had not left the mad monk entirely behind.
Lee Embley, 42, shot at the Harborne Stores pub on the High Street in and did not know where he was when he woke up in a police cell. Spy School is back for summer ! Your mission if you choose to accept it is: • Spend a week at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre working with our Secret.
Embley, pictured, got into his car and drove off after firing at the pub. Incredibly, nobody was hurt despite the bullet going through a bedroom window. The bullet smashed through the window of an upstairs bedroom at the pub, where a family with children sometimes sleep. After the shooting, Embley got into his car which was parked a few metres away on Station Road and drove off. Firearms officers in the area were alerted and spotted Embley driving erratically on Lordswood Road.
When they tried to stop him, he made off at speeds of up to 80mph on 30mph roads. He led police on a chase for nearly three miles before crashing into a 'no entry' sign on Alwold Road, Weoley Castle, where he was arrested. After leading police on a nearly three-mile high-speed chase, Embley crashed into a 'no entry' sign. The year-old had been doing 80mph in a 30mph zone when police caught up with him.
Armed officers dragged him from the car and arrested him. One officer, who is seen pointing a handgun at Embley's head, can be heard shouting at him: Down on the floor. Embley is then dragged out the car door by his collar before being spread-eagled on the ground.
Back to top Home News U. Serena Williams reveals she's suffering 'postpartum emotions' Post-menopausal women should eat tofu: Marketing Promote Your Venue Need to get your venue out to millions? Our ability to run this programme is supported by charitable donations and funds are limited, so this programme is not open to public applications. On the one side of this debate stands the Tsarina, with her reputed German sympathies; on the other men like Felix Yusupov, flamboyant businessman and nephew to the Tsar, and the Grand Duke Dimitri Romanov, who perhaps has ambitions to be Tsar himself. Shelagh Musgrave, an exercise instructor who was a cubs leader from to , said:
Bodycam from the officers shows the moment they spotted the Colt. He told police he had drunk eight cans of strong cider and eight double brandies before the shooting and did not know where he was when he woke up in a police cell.
Embley, of no fixed address, admitted nine charges for firearms and ammunition offences as well as dangerous driving and was jailed for a total of nine years at Birmingham Crown Court. It had two bullets in the barrel, and one spent cartridge pictured.
Last year, the force seized more than firearms linked to crime in the West Midlands. He was jailed for nine years and banned from driving for six years at Birmingham Crown Court. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
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