Valentine’s Day: The Greatest Acts of Love (part 2)

# VALENTINE’S DAY ACT OF LOVE 4

Horace Greasley

In World War 2, a brave young soldier called Horace Greasley did the unthinkable, all in the name of love.  Horace was captured by the Germans in May 1940 and forced into five brutal years working in quarries and factories. The war camp prisoner would break out each night to meet up with the woman he loved, just to sneak back into the camp the following morning.  

The girl he was risking his life for was a quarry director’s interpreter’s daughter Rosa Rauchbach, who was herself hiding her part-Jewish background from the Nazis. The sweethearts met over 200 times and were heartbroken when Horace was transferred to a different camp.

Rosa eventually tracked her lover down and for the next two-and-a-half years Horace risked his life, evading guards to meet her in an old chapel. Horace was freed in May 1945, returning to Ibstock, Leicestershire while Rosa became a translator for the American occupation forces.

She would regularly write to him but her letters suddenly stopped – and Horace later discovered Rosa had died in childbirth, not long after he arrived back in Britain. He never knew if the child was his.

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# VALENTINE’S DAY ACT OF LOVE 5

Scientists Marie Sklodowska and Pierre Curie

Maria Sklodowska, Polish by birth, moved to France in 1891 to go to university in Paris. Shortly afterwards, she was introduced to Pierre Curie. She was ‘struck by the open expression of his face and by the slight suggestion of detachment in his whole attitude. His speech, rather slow and deliberate, his simplicity, and his smile, at once grave and youthful, inspired confidence.’ We assume he made a pretty good impression then! 

Within a year, Pierre asked for Marie’s hand in marriage. At the time, she did not accept because she planned to return to Poland. But when Marie was denied a place at Krakow University because she was a woman, Pierre convinced her to return to Paris. In 1895, the pair got married. Instead of a bridal gown, Marie chose a dark blue dress as she wanted her outfit to be ‘practical and dark so that I can put it on afterwards to go to the laboratory.’

In 1903, the couple won the Nobel Prize for Physics, along with Henri Becquerel, for their joint research on radiation. But at first, Marie was not included in the nomination. Pierre wasn’t going to let that happen however! He complained and Marie’s name was added to the nomination, making her the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize. 

On 19 April 1906 tragedy struck the family when Pierre was killed. He was hit by a horse-drawn vehicle and fell under the wheels. Marie was devastated but determined to honour him in any way she could: she lovingly dedicated her life to continuing his work. Taking over his position and cracking on with what Pierre was working on, Marie even won her own Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1911. 

Tragically, her devotion spelled her doom. Marie died of exposure to radioactive materials in 1934. She was buried by his side and their remains lay together in Paris to this day.

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# VALENTINE’S DAY ACT OF LOVE 6

A heart-shaped meadow

Now this is a cute one, short and very sweet. Farmer Winston Howes loved his wife so much that when she suddenly died in 1995, he planted thousands of oak trees on his land, keeping a heart shaped empty space in the middle. The heart pointed towards his wife’s childhood home and he would often go down there to think. 

For many years nobody knew about what he had created as it couldn’t be seen from the road, remaining a family secret, until one day.  A man in a hot air balloon flew over and accidentally discovered it, taking a photo to capture the beautiful meadow.

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# VALENTINE’S DAY ACT OF LOVE 7

Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe

Norma Jeane, or more commonly known as Marilyn Munroe, was married three times. One of her husbands was Joe DiMaggio, a famous American baseball player for the New York Yankees.

At the start, Marilyn didn’t want to meet Joe because she assumed he was a stereotypical arrogant sports star. That opinion must have changed with time, as they eloped in January 1954.

Their marriage was far from perfect and less than a year after they eloped, Marilyn’s attorney filed for divorce on grounds of mental cruelty. This kicked DiMaggio up the arse as he quit drinking, went into therapy and expanded his interests beyond baseball.

Later, after Marilyn’s unsuccessful marriage with playwright Authur Miller, Joe swooped in and they began to see each other again. In 1962 Joe wanted to ask Marilyn to marry him again. Unfortunately for him and her fans, she was found dead in her home in LA on 5th Aug 1962, the cause of death being acute barbiturate poisoning.

He refused to talk about her in public but his actions spoke more than words ever could: Marilyn once asked him to send her roses forever, so DiMaggio placed an order for half a dozen of roses delivered to Monroe’s grave three times a week for the next 20 years.

If this isn’t the sweetest, we don’t know what is. Feeling inspired?