George V & British Colonies Collectors

I am a long time collector of British Colonial stamps and especially like the many definitive sets issued with the portrait of George V and a scene or scenic from the colony. So when I saw the headline The death of George V in 1936 and why it still matters, I had to have a look.

It didn't take long for the author to make his point, that George V had been euthanized. His personal doctor, Bertrand Dawson, stated so in his diaries.

From the article:




The third reason especially gets me, not to miss a newspaper deadline!.

Here is a link to the article from which this was taken, should anyone be interested in pursuing it further.

https://alexkrainer.substack.com/p/...medium=email

This 'news' was made public in 1986.

The third reason is not entirely truthful.
He had asked the Times to postpone its printing.

What was good enough for a King should be available to all of us when the time comes.

AQ

When the scenes used for the stamps issued late in King George Fifth's reign were reused for King George Sixth it caused quite a stir!

Of course many were used again for the first pictorial issues of Queen Elizabeth Second.

And yet, I've never once met a person who did not ultimately cope with the act of dying......

English law, at the time, would have considered it murder,

Currently, it is legal if conditions are met, in the Netherlands.

The rumour is that the former prince-consort to Queen, later Princess Juliana, Prince Bernhard, was euthanised. He was caught on camera smiling when he was driven away from the palace. A few hours later his death was announced.

Like many people here, I have experience with the deaths of family members. But, having spent the last 9 years spending hundreds of hours in cancer infusion and dialysis facilities, I have much more experience with the deaths of those around me. And beyond that, I also have experience of having the Grim Reaper sitting at my front door for many years. Facing many years of being told by 3 different doctors at 3 different hospitals that I would not live more than a few months, I was forced to deal with my mortality and was facing horrific, difficult medical decisions. I could have easily chosen to not fight for additional time and at times of extreme pain thoughts of checking myself out seemed both logical and welcome.

But after the first time we got the awful diagnosis, I promised my wife that I would 'give' her at least 5 more years. I felt that while dying might be a reasonable path for myself, I knew that I had others around me who wanted to share more time with me. For me, the easy and selfish way out would have been to tell the doctors to drug me up, turn down the 50+ operations, years of chemo and dialysis that I endured, and just let go in a drug induced haze.

But now here I am, having beat the odds and almost feeling like a 'normal boy' once again. My wife and I have shared countless laughs, cry's, and experiences; none of which we would have had if I had chosen the easy way out.

I support people making the medical choices they think are best for themselves (especially if they are totally alone in the world). But I always implore those with loved ones in their lives to also consider them in their decisions. And always remember that medical professionals are not always right, outcomes can sometimes not be what they predict (no matter how overwhelming the evidence).
Don

We are all fortunate, and glad, that you are here, Don.

Ditto.