3 February: Lord Robert Cecil

Born on this date in 1830 was Lord Robert Cecil, 3rd Marquis of Salisbury, statesman and former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

1. He was the first British Prime Minister of the 20^th century, and the last to head a British government while in the House of Lords and not the elected Commons.

2. He was born at Hatfield House, the third son of the 2nd Marquess of Salisbury and Frances Mary, née Gascoyne. He was a descendant of Lord Burghley and the 1st Earl of Salisbury, chief ministers of Elizabeth I.

3. He had a miserable childhood. His health wasn’t good and he was prone to depression, but developed a love of books and botany. His mother died when he was 10 and his father was cold and distant. He did well at school but had to leave because he was bullied. These experiences led him to the belief that most people were cowardly and cruel, and that the mob would run roughshod over sensitive individuals.

4. He went to university in Oxford and was a member of the Oxford movement or "Tractarianism".

5. He started to practice law, but didn’t enjoy it. He was advised by his doctor to travel to improve his health, which he did, visiting Cape Colony, Australia, including Tasmania, and New Zealand. His travels did indeed seem to improve his health and he was stronger when he returned.

6. He married Georgina Alderson in defiance of his father who had hoped he would marry someone of a higher social standing. It was a happy marriage; the couple had eight children, and Cecil made sure they had happier childhoods than his own.

7. Cecil entered the House of Commons as a Conservative on 22 August 1853, as MP for Stamford in Lincolnshire at the age of 23. He wrote political articles for journals to supplement his income, since he’d been cut off from his family money, gaining him a reputation as a sharp and clever commentator.

8. He served three terms as Prime Minister. Instead of the traditional role of First Lord of the Treasury, Lord Salisbury chose to combine the role of Prime Minister with that of Foreign Secretary as his interest lay in foreign affairs, especially in Africa. Under his direction, the colony of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) was established, and its capital city, Salisbury, was named after him.

9. He had a disorder called prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness, which made it difficult to recognise faces, although other aspects of visual processing and intellectual functioning remained unimpaired.

10. In July 1902, in failing health and grieving the death of his wife, Salisbury resigned. He was succeeded by his nephew, Arthur Balfour. King Edward VII conferred upon him the Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order. He died just over a year later from complications from an ulcerated leg after a fall from the chair he had taken to sleeping in due to breathing difficulties. He was 73.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

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