Frederick Cardozo, British soldier and SOE veteran, died he was 94.

Frederick Henry Cardozo MC  was a British soldier and SOE veteran.^[1] Cardozo was brought up in the Loire Valley between 1923 and 1933; his father, Charles Cardozo, was of Portuguese stock. In 1949 he married Simone Bigot - they had two children - one of whom, Col. G Cardozo MBE, is the secretary of the veterans charity Veterans Aid. At the time of his birth, his father was the commander of a local army garrison, having been being wounded in 1915, at the battle of Loos.
In recognition of his work for the French resistance, Cardozo was awarded both the Legion of Honour and the Croix de Guerre.^[2]

(1 December 1916 – 7 October 2011)

Family background

Cardozo's Portuguese ancestors had become established in the London tobacco trade in the late 17th century. A century or so later his forebears, (including his father), were merchants for the East India Company in Madras. Cardozo's mother, Simone, was the daughter of Henry Daniell, who ran a china and antiques business in Wigmore Street, London; through his trade interests he had helped to organise the Wallace Collection and the Pierpont Morgan Collection.

World War II

Cardozo joined the British Army's Supplementary Reserve before the outbreak of war^[when?] and upon receiving his call up was posted with his regiment The South Lancashire Regiment to France. He was evacuated from Dunkirk and on his return to Britain was posted to coastline duties in anticipation of the expected German invasion.
Whilst on exercises in Scotland, Cardozo was approached by Henry Thackwaite, a senior SOE officer, who recruited him for operations in France; as a fluent French speaker he was a natural choice for such a posting. In May 1944 his team was parachuted onto Mont Mouchet in France to liaise with the maquis in the Auvergne. Relations with the maquis were not always easy and they had to cope with a series of vicious German counterattacks on Mont Mouchet and the surrounds.
Once Paris had fallen to the allies, Cardozo led a maquis operation to stop a German battalion leaving Aurillac; his efforts in this operation lead him to be awarded the Military Cross.

After WWII

Cardozo stayed in the army after the war, retiring in 1958, when he worked as a press attaché for American forces in France.
Before this he had served in India and later in Palestine with the 6th Airborne Division, where he was an instructor at École de guerre in Paris. He later served as the college commander at Sandhurst.
When the Americans left the command structure of NATO in 1966, he returned to England and became the president of the Latin Mass Society. He later moved to Morocco and began working for the Save the Children Fund. Later still, he worked for De Beers in Sierra Leone. When he finally retired, he moved back to his childhood home of the Loire Valley.



To see more of who died in 2011 click here

George Baker, British actor (I, Claudius, The Ruth Rendell Mysteries), died from a pneumonia following a stroke he was 80.

George Baker, MBE was an English actor and writer. He was best known for portraying Tiberius in I, Claudius, and Inspector Wexford in The Ruth Rendell Mysteries.

(1 April 1931 – 7 October 2011) 

Personal life

Baker was born in Varna, Bulgaria.^[1] His father was an English businessman and honorary vice consul.^[1] He attended Lancing College, Sussex; he then appeared as an actor in repertory theatre and at the Old Vic. Baker's third wife, Louie Ramsay, who died earlier in 2011, played his onscreen wife Dora in The Ruth Rendell Mysteries. Baker was survived by five daughters (four from his first marriage, one from his second).

Career

Baker first made his name in The Dam Busters and his first starring role was in The Ship That Died of Shame with Richard Attenborough.^[1] This was followed by a string of Ealing films, and his film the 1950s swashbuckler, The Moonraker has been shown all over the world since 1958. However over time, Baker became more well known as a television actor.^[1] He was the second (to Guy Doleman) of many actors to portray the role of "Number Two" in the series The Prisoner, appearing in the series' first episode. He appeared in his own TV comedy series Bowler. He was also in the first episode of Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, playing a company boss interviewing the show's hapless main character. In the acclaimed 1976 drama serial, I, Claudius, Baker played the emperor Tiberius Caesar.
In the late 1970s, he starred as Inspector Roderick Alleyn in four adaptations of the mystery novels of Ngaio Marsh with New Zealand settings, in a production for New Zealand television. From 1988 to 2000, he played Inspector Reg Wexford in numerous television adaptations of mysteries by Ruth Rendell and this is probably the role for which he became best known. In 1993, following the death of his second wife, he married the actress Louie Ramsay, who played Mrs Wexford in the same television series.^[2]
He also appeared in The Baron, Survivors, Minder in Series 1's You Gotta Have Friends, Coronation Street (as brewery owner Cecil Newton) and in the Doctor Who story Full Circle.
Baker also appeared in the British comedy television series The Goodies' episode "Tower of London" as the "Chief Beefeater", as well as in the sitcom No Job for a Lady, and he is popularly known for playing Captain Benson, the James Bond ally in the film The Spy Who Loved Me^[3] and for his appearances as Sir Hilary Bray in On Her Majesty's Secret Service and You Only Live Twice. ^[1] Ian Fleming considered Baker to be the ideal candidate to play James Bond in the films but the role went to Sean Connery because Baker had other commitments.^[1] In On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Baker dubbed George Lazenby's voice for the central segment of the film, where Bond is impersonating Sir Hilary Bray (Baker's character in the film), as can clearly be heard.^[1]
Baker's first theatre work was in repertory at Deal, Kent. His major stage credits include a season with the Old Vic company (1959–61), where he played Bolingbroke in Richard II, Jack in The Importance of being Earnest and Warwick in Saint Joan. In 1965 he started his own touring company, Candida Plays, based at the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.^[4] He was Claudius in Buzz Goodbody's celebrated, modern-dress Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1975. ^[2]
In 1980 Baker wrote Fatal Spring, a play for television dealing with lives of poets Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon and Robert Graves; this appeared on BBC 2 on 7 November 1980.^[5] It won him a United Nations peace award.^[2] His other writing credits included four of the Wexford screenplays.^[6]

MBE

In 2007, Baker was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire ("MBE") for his charitable work helping establish a youth club in his home village.^[2][7][8]

Death

Baker died on 7 October 2011 at the age of 80. He died of pneumonia, shortly after a stroke.^[9]

Filmography

• The Intruder (1953)
• The Woman for Joe (1955)
• The Ship That Died of Shame (1955)
• The Dam Busters (1955)
• The Extra Day (1956)
• The Feminine Touch (1956)
• A Hill in Korea (1956)
• These Dangerous Years (1957)
• No Time for Tears (1957)
• The Moonraker (1958)
• Tread Softly Stranger (1958)
• Lancelot and Guinevere (1963)
• The Finest Hours (1964)
• Curse of the Fly (1965)
• Mister Ten Per Cent (1967)
• Justine (1969)
• Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969)
• On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
• The Executioner (1970)
• A Warm December (1973)
• Three for All (1975)
• Intimate Games (1976)
• The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
• The Thirty Nine Steps (1978)
• North Sea Hijack (1979)
• Hopscotch (1980)
• Time After Time (1986)
• Out of Order (1987)
• For Queen & Country (1988)
• Back to the Secret Garden (2001)
• Parineeta (2005)

Television

• Rupert of Hentzau (1964)
• The Prisoner: "Arrival" (1967)
• Bowler (1973)
• Survivors (1975)
• I, Claudius (1976)
• Doctor Who: Full Circle (1980)
• Robin of Sherwood (1984)
• The Ruth Rendell Mysteries (1987–2000)
• Spooks (2005)

Publications

To see more of who died in 2011 click here

Neil Street, Australian speedway rider, died from cancer/brain hemorrhage he was 80.

Neil Street OAM was an international motorcycle speedway rider, manager and engineer, who first came to Britain in 1952 to ride for the Exeter Falcons. Street was born in Melbourne, Australia.^[1]
He rode for the Swindon Robins and the Newport Wasps before retiring from racing in 1976. He made international appearances for Australia, Australasia, Great Britain and one for Norway!^[2] In 2002 he was awarded the Order of Australia in the Australia Day 'Motor Sport' Awards for his services to speedway.

(15 January 1931 – 6 October 2011) 

Management

In 1981 he was appointed team manager of the Weymouth Wildcats. When they closed in 1984 he became manager of the Poole Pirates and was still team manger there in 1999 when he handed over to current Great Britain speedway team manager Neil Middleditch. In 1984 he was also the team manager of the Exeter Falcons. In 1997 he also took over as manager of the Newport Wasps and stayed in charge there until 2005.
Street was also manager of the Australia speedway team and was in charge when they won the World Team Cup in 1999 and the Speedway World Cup in 2001 and 2002. In 2009, Street returned to take charge of the Newport Wasps for after the club returned to racing following the death of promoter Tim Stone in 2008.^{[citation needed]}

Family

His daughter Carole married motorcycle speedway rider Phil Crump and his grandson, Jason Crump, has won the World Speedway Championship three times, in 2004, 2006 and 2009.^[3]

Engine development

In 1974–1975 and his training as a skilled engineer came to prominence. Street had always built his own frames and tuned his engines. Ivan Tighe designed a four valve head for the Jawa engine, with input from Neil Street. The engine was off the drawing board and into manufacture in just four weeks. The engine was taken to Newcastle for a meeting there the night before the Australian championships, but the meeting was rained off, so the engine was yet to complete one lap.^{[citation needed]}
Phil Crump used the engine in the Australian Championships at Sydney and, with the increased power, took nearly 3 seconds off the track record held by Jim Airey immediately. This was considered more remarkable feat considering the fact that the engine was straight from of the workshop and used in a top class speedway meeting. Crump had been given the option of his normal 2-valve engine, but after trying the 4-valve refused to get off the motorcycle.

Death

Street died at home in his native Melbourne on 6 October 2011, aged 80. He had battled with cancer for 5 years, but kept the illness hidden from the media. His cancer spread to his leg and as a result had a fall a few weeks prior to his death; he also kept this to himself. He was unaware that the fall had caused a brain hemorrhage from an impact to his head. Street slipped into a coma state during his sleep one night and died on 6 October.^[4]


To see more of who died in 2011 click here

Zaheer Ahmad, Pakistani-born American doctor, died from a brain hemorrhage he was 63.

Zaheer Ahmad  was a Pakistani American^[1] medical doctor who was credited as being the founder and chief executive of the Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad.

(1948–2011)

 In 2011, he came under media attention when the United States accused him of being an associate of Dr. Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, an Indian American lobbyist from Kashmir and founder of the Kashmir American Council (KAC) who was charged for covertly attempting to lobby and influence the American government on the Kashmir conflict on behalf of the Government of Pakistan's interests (see Pakistani lobby in the United States).^{[2][3][4][5][6]} According to U.S. government officials, Fai and Ahmad lobbied for the Kashmir cause secretly rather than making a formal declaration, as is required legally per the Foreign Agents Registration Act. It was claimed that the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) used Ahmad, who had contacts with the agency, as a channel through which they used to transfer large funds of money to Fai.^[1]
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after detaining and interrogating Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai charged Ahmad for having involvement with Fai in the scandal. However, Ahmad was living in Pakistan at the time and was not apprehended by U.S. authorities.^[2] The FBI maintained that the two had been participating in a long-term conspiracy to act as agents of the Pakistani government in the United States without disclosing their affiliation, which is illegal. Thus, both potentially faced a sentence of five years in prison if convicted.^[1] Referring to Ahmad's shady contacts, one article published in the Indian newspaper Hindustan Times even alleged that Ahmad was present during the much-publicised nuclear scientist Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood's alleged meeting with Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan one month prior to the September 11 attacks; it said that Ayman al-Zawahiri was also present at the meeting and that the discussion revolved around "building a nuclear bomb."^[7] However, this allegation has never been proven or validated.
Born in 1948, Ahmed obtained a master's degree in pharmacy from the University of Punjab in Lahore and later became a doctor of medicine after pursuing studies in internal medicine from abroad.^[1] Apart from the Shifa Foundation, Ahmad also founded the Tameer-e-Millat Foundation, a non-government organisation (NGO) aimed at uplifting education.^[8] He belonged to a wealthy, upper elite class background and was a respected public figure due to his entrepreneurial activities.^[5] On 7 October 2011, local media reported that Ahmad had died in in Islamabad at the age of 63 due to brain haemorrhage.^[1][8] He left behind a widow and four children. His funeral was attended by many prominent politicians and bureaucrats and the salat al-Janazah (funeral prayer) was led by Qazi Hussain Ahmed.^[1] The News International remarked that the country had been deprived of a patriot "who inspired a revolutionary change in the private health care sector of Pakistan through his stellar accomplishments."^[9]

To see more of who died in 2011 click here

Ramiz Alia, Albanian politician, First Secretary of the Party of Labour (1985–1991), President (1991–1992), died from lung disease he was 85.

Ramiz Tafë Alia  was the second and last communist leader of Albania from 1985 to 1991, and the President of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania from 1991 to 1992, and also the first President of the post communist Albania elected in 1991–92. He had been designated as successor by Enver Hoxha and took power after Hoxha died. Alia died on 7 October 2011 in Tirana due to lung disease, aged 85.^[1]

(18 October 1925 – 7 October 2011) 

Early life and politics

Alia was born in 1925. In the early part of World War II he was a member of a Fascist youth organization but joined the underground Albanian Communist Youth Organization in 1941.^[2][3] In 1943, he became member of the Albanian Communist Party.^[3] He had risen rapidly under Hoxha's patronage and by 1961 was a full member of the ruling Political Bureau (Politburo of the Party of Labour of Albania).^{[citation needed]}
Hoxha chose Alia for several reasons. First, Alia had long been a militant follower of Marxism-Leninism and supported Hoxha's policy of national self-reliance. Alia also was favored by Hoxha's wife Nexhmije, who had once been his instructor at the Institute of Marxism-Leninism. His political experience was similar to that of Hoxha; and inasmuch as he appeared to share Hoxha's views on most foreign and domestic issues, he accommodated himself to the totalitarian mode of ruling.^{[citation needed]}

Political career

First Secretary of the Albanian Labor Party

After World War II, Alia resumed his duties in the Communist Youth Organization, and at the First Congress of the Albanian Party of Labor in November 1948, he was elected to its Central Committee and was assigned in the department of agitation and propaganda.^[2] When he succeeded Hoxha in 1985, the country was in grave difficulty. Political apathy and cynicism were pervasive, with large segments of the population having rejected the government's values. The economy, which suffered from low productivity and permanent shortages of the most basic foodstuffs, showed no sign of improvement. Social controls and self-discipline had eroded. The intelligentsia was beginning to resist strict party controls and to criticize the government's failure to observe international standards of human rights. Apparently recognizing the depth and extent of the societal malaise, Alia cautiously and slowly began to make changes in the system. His first target was the economic system. In an effort to improve economic efficiency, Alia introduced some economic decentralization and price reform in specific sectors.^{[citation needed]}
Alia did not relax censorship, but he did allow public discussions of Albania's societal problems and encouraged debates among writers and artists on cultural issues. In response to international criticism of Albania's record on human rights, the new leadership loosened some political controls and ceased to apply repression on a mass scale. In 1989, general amnesties brought about the release of many long-term prisoners. He strengthened ties with Greece, Italy, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. A loosening of restrictions on travel and tourism resulted in a more promising outlook for Albania's tourist trade.^{[citation needed]}

Transition to multi-party system and presidency

Despite Alia's efforts to proceed with change on a limited, cautious basis, reform from above threatened to turn into reform from below, largely because of the increasingly vocal demands of Albania's youth. On 9 December 1990, student demonstrators marched from the Enver Hoxha University (now University of Tirana) at Tirana through the streets of the capital shouting slogans and demanding a reforms. By December 11, the number of participants had reached almost 3,000. In an effort to quell the student unrest, which had led to clashes with riot police, Alia met with the students and agreed to take further steps toward democratization. The students informed Alia that they wanted to create an independent political organization of students and youth. Alia's response was that such an organization had to be registered with the Ministry of Justice.^{[citation needed]}
In his traditional New Year's message to the Albanian people, Alia welcomed the changes that had been occurring in the country and claimed that 1991 would be a turning point in terms of the economy. Despite positive signs of change, many Albanians were still trying to leave their country. At the end of 1990, as many as 5,000 Albanians crossed over the mountainous border into Greece. Young people motivated by economic dissatisfaction made up the bulk of the refugees.^{[citation needed]}
Alia was a crucial figure in the peaceful political transition of the early 1990s as many believe that he helped rise to power the anti communist opposition forces thus eliminating a possible bloodshed.
Alia managed to remain a key political figure throughout several political crises. Nonetheless, with Albania in the throes of a grave economic crisis, Alia had to face challenges that he could not surmount. After the collapse of a coalition government in December 1991 and the Democratic Party of Albania's (DPA) landslide victory in the spring 1992 general election, he resigned as president on 3 April 1992.^[2] On 9 April the People's Assembly elected DPA leader Sali Berisha as Albania's new head of state.

Arrest

On 21 May 1994, senior officials from the communist regime, including Ramiz Alia, went to trial. Alia was charged with abuse of power and misappropriation of state funds, as was Adil Carçani, the former prime minister, Manush Myftiu, his deputy, and Rito Marko, a former vice-president.
Alia had been placed under house arrest in August 1992 and his detention was converted into imprisonment in August 1993.^[2] In court he claimed he was the victim of a political show trial and demanded that the trial be broadcast on television, a request denied by the presiding judge. The trial was monitored by a Human Rights Watch/Helsinki representative and proceeded with only minor due process irregularities. The ten defendants were found guilty as charged and sentenced to between three and nine years in prison; Alia received a nine-year sentence.
A court of appeals subsequently reduced some of the sentences, notably Alia's to five years. Alia, Myftiu, Carçani, Stefani and Isai were also ordered to repay various sums to the state. On 30 November, the Court of Cassation reduced Alia's term by an additional three years. On 7 July 1995, Ramiz Alia was freed from jail. However, his freedom was short-lived and in 1996 he was charged with committing crimes against humanity during his term, and was imprisoned anew in March. The trial against him began on 18 February 1997, but he escaped from the prison following the unrest in the country and the desertion of the guards.^[2] Amid the unrest he appeared on State TV in an exclusive interview with Blendi Fevziu. In the late 2000s he was seen traveling seldom to Albania from Dubai by giving interviews or publishing personal books.^[4]

Death

Ramiz Alia died on 7 October 2011 in Tiranë from lung disease, shortly before his 86th birthday, according to a spokesman for President Bamir Topi.^[1]



To see more of who died in 2011 click here

Julien Bailleul, French footballer, died he was 23.

Julien Bailleul was a French footballer who played for RAEC Mons and Sporting Lokeren.^[1]

(15 February 1988 – 7 October 2011) 

Career

Born in the Lille region, Bailleul began playing football with the Lille OSC youth academy. He also played youth football for CS Sedan Ardennes and AC Cambrai. He played amateur football for SC Feignies from 2007 to 2009 before signing a professional contract with Belgian Second Division side R.A.E.C. Mons.^[2]
The following season, Bailleul transferred to Belgian Pro League side Sporting Lokeren but returned on loan to Mons in January 2011. Two months later he was forced to stop playing after suffering from an illness. After battling the disease for several months, he died at age 23 in October 2011.^[2]


To see more of who died in 2011 click here

Birgit Rosengren, Swedish actress, died she was 98.

Birgit Rosengren  was a Swedish film actress most active from the 1930s to the early 1960s.

(November 27, 1912 – October 6, 2011)

Rosengren made her film debut in 1934's Flickorna från Gamla Sta'n, directed by Schamyl Bauman.^[1] She was widowed twice.^[2] Her first husband was actor and film director Elof Ahrle, who died in 1965. Her second husband was Swedish actor Eric Gustafson.^[1] She lived in retirement at her home in Bromma, Stockholm.^[1] She remained active, giving a full interview to the Swedish newspaper, Svenska Dagbladet, shortly before her 98th birthday in 2010.^[2]
Her closest friends included Lasse Lönndahl and Göte Wilhelmsson.^[2] Rosengren died from complications of a fracture on October 6, 2011, at the age of 98.^[1]

Filmography

• 1979 - I frid och värdighet
• 1963 - Här kommer Petter
• 1958 - Gäst hos bagaren
• 1955 - Het är min längtan
• 1952 - Åke klarar biffen
• 1945 - Moderskapets kval och lycka
• 1945 - Sextetten Karlsson
• 1945 - Skådetennis
• 1941 - Uppåt igen
• 1940 - Åh, en så'n advokat
• 1940 - Lillebror och jag
• 1939 – Efterlyst
• 1938 - Kloka gubben
• 1937 - Skicka hem Nr. 7
• 1937 - En sjöman går iland
• 1936 – Kvartetten som sprängdes
• 1935 - Flickor på fabrik
• 1935 - Larsson i andra giftet
• 1934 - Kvinnorna kring Larsson
• 1934 - Flickorna från Gamla Sta'n

To see more of who died in 2011 click here