THORNS IN THE CROWN

Nineteen twenty-four was a leap year. It was also a year of many disturbing developments, both national and international. Political upheavals were underway throughout the world. Far away, in Russia, Vladimir Lenin was dead and Joseph Stalin became the de facto leader of the USSR. 

Adolf Hitler was sentenced to five years in jail for his participation in the Beer Hall Putsch. Fascists won the election in Italy. Fascism was on the rise and Kemal Ataturk had finally ended the Islamic caliphate of five hundred and sixty-two years, giving birth to the Republic of Turkey. Tremors of the global political mayhem were also felt in British-ruled India.