Images Dated 21st July 2004

Winston Churchill Hunting Boar, France, 1927

Photograph showing Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churcill (1874-1965), hunting boar on horseback in the Forest of Eu, Foucarmont, France, 1927. Winston Churchill, the English Statesman and Nobel Prize winner, was one of the most influential British politicians of the 20th century, leading Britain during the Second World War. Date: 1927

© Mary Evans Picture Library 2015 - https://copyrighthub.org/s0/hub1/creation/maryevans/MaryEvansPictureID/10218853

The Australian Cricket Team in England, 1912

Photographic montage of the Australian Cricket Team which toured England in the summer of 1912. This tour was unusual in that no test matches were played, the Australians only playing county sides. Top row, left to right: H. Webster, W. Whitty, S.E. Gregory (captain), E.R. Mayne, W. Carkeek. Middle row, left to right: C. Kelleway, J.W. MacLaren, R.B. Minnett, C.B. Jennings, J.T. Matthews. Bottom row, left to right: C.G. Macartney, W. Bardsley, D. Smith, G.R. Hazlitt, S.H. Emery

© Mary Evans Picture Library 2015 - https://copyrighthub.org/s0/hub1/creation/maryevans/MaryEvansPictureID/10218964

Blue opal gemstones

Blue opal gemstones. This mineral is a form of hydrous silicon oxide (silica, SiO2). It is named after the Indian word for precious stone. After it has been cut and polished, it has an iridescent sheen. This is as a result of its composition of microspheroids of silicon oxide that refract light. This is enhanced by reflections from tiny conchoidal fractures (crazing) that occur on exposure to the air. Opal never occurs in a crystalline form, but as small veins, globules and crusts. Several types occur: hazy blue, milky white, colourless and the highly prized red (fire opal) and black

© LAWRENCE LAWRY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY