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Wikipedia is the worst website in the world. Its editors are extremely rude and they do not get punished for their terrible behavior. [[User:HXL49]] should be blocked from editing wikipedia forever. I hate wikipedia. Sincerely [[User talk:Ryan Vesey]] |
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{{Infobox Person |
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|name = Stanley Green, the Protein Man |
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|image = Stanley Green, Oxford Street, 1977.jpg |
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|image_size = 150px |
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|alt = A man in coat, tie, glasses, and a baseball-like cap carries a tall sign in a crowded street. The sign says "LESS LUST, BY LESS PROTEIN: MEAT FISH BIRD; EGG CHEESE; PEAS BEANS; NUTS." Then "AND SITTING, and in smaller letters below that "PROTEIN WISDOM". |
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|caption = [[Oxford Street]], 1977 |
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|birth_date = {{birth date|1915|2|22|df=y}} |
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|birth_place = [[Harringay]], London |
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|death_date = {{death date and age|1993|12|4|1915|2|22|df=y}} |
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|occupation = [[Human billboard|Sandwich man]] |
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|parents = Richard and May Green |
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|box_width = |
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}} |
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'''Stanley Owen Green''' (22 February 1915 – 4 December 1993), known as the '''Protein Man''', was a [[Human billboard|sandwich man]] who became a well-known figure in [[London]], England, during the latter half of the 20th century.<ref name=McKie/> |
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For 25 years, Green patrolled [[Oxford Street]] in the [[West End of London|West End]], carrying a placard that advocated "Less Lust, By Less Protein: Meat Fish Bird; Egg Cheese; Peas Beans; Nuts. And Sitting," though the wording—and punctuation—changed slightly over the years. Arguing that [[protein]] made people lustful and aggressive, his solution was "protein wisdom," a low-protein diet for "better, kinder, happier people."<ref name=Carter/> For a few pence, passers-by could buy his 14-page pamphlet, ''Eight Passion Proteins with Care'', which reportedly sold 87,000 copies over 20 years, its front cover observing, "This booklet would benefit more, if it were read occasionally."<ref>Green, Stanley. [http://www.flaneur.org.uk/html/green/green.html ''Eight Passion Proteins''], accessed 6 May 2011. |
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*Also see Ackroyd, Peter. ''London, A Biography''. Vintage, 2001, p. 189, and the image pp. 664–665.</ref> |
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Green became one of London's much-loved eccentrics, though his campaign to suppress desire, as one commentator put it, was not invariably popular, leading as it did to two arrests for obstruction and the need to wear green overalls to protect himself from spit.<ref>For the overalls, see Green, Stanley. "My own message to the streets," ''The Sunday Times Magazine'', 14 April 1985. |
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*For the campaign to suppress desire, see Rowlands, Alun. ''[http://www.bookworks.org.uk/asp/detail.asp?uid=book_5D039A57-348E-4EEC-923A-B80D9C8DEA06&sub=pas 3 Communiqués]'', Book Works, 2007, accessed 26 April 2011.</ref> He nevertheless took great delight in his local fame. ''The Sunday Times'' interviewed him in 1985, and his "less passion, less protein" slogan was used by [[Red or Dead]], the London fashion house.<ref name=Blanchard>Blanchard, Tamsin. [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/culture-clash-of-the-catwalk-titans-1578989.html "Culture clash of the catwalk Titans"], ''The Independent'', 23 October 1995.</ref> When he died in 1993 at the age of 78, ''The Daily Telegraph'', ''The Guardian'', and ''The Times'' published his obituary, and his pamphlets, placards, and letters were passed to the [[Museum of London]].<ref name=Londonmuseum>[http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/archive/exhibits/changing_faces/lives/lives2.htm "Londoners"], Museum of London, accessed 10 December 2008. |
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*Also see Campbell-Johnston, Rachel. [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/article7124337.ece "The Galleries of Modern London"], ''The Times'', 13 May 2011.</ref> In 2006, he achieved what no other sandwich man has, an entry in the ''[[Dictionary of National Biography|Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]''.<ref name=McKie>McKie, David. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/21/london "Pining for the boards"], ''The Guardian'', 21 July 2008.</ref> |
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==Early life== |
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Green was born in [[Harringay]], north London, the youngest of four sons of Richard Green, a clerk for a [[Stopper (plug)|bottle stopper]] manufacturer, and his wife, May. He attended Wood Green School<!--note: it's not the one in Oxfordshire--> before joining the Royal Navy in 1938, and fought in the Second World War until he left the Navy in September 1945.<ref name=Carter>Carter, Philip. "Green, Stanley Owen (1915–1993)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, May 2006.</ref> |
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Philip Carter writes in the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' that Green's time with the Navy affected him deeply. He was reportedly shocked by the sailors' obsession with sex, and by 1958 had come to believe that their [[libido]] had been dangerously heightened by the intake of too much protein.<ref name=Carter/> "I was astonished when things were said quite openly—what a husband would say to his wife when home on leave," he told ''The Sunday Times'' "A Life in the Day" column in 1985. "I've always been a moral sort of person." He began to protect himself against erotic excess with a daily diet of porridge, home-made bread, steamed vegetables and pulses, and a pound of apples. "Passion can be a great torment," he told the newspaper.<ref name=Green1985>Green, Stanley. "My own message to the streets," ''The Sunday Times Magazine'', 14 April 1985.</ref> |
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After the war, he took a job with the [[Fine Art Society]], and it was while working there that he failed the entrance exam for the University of London in March 1946. He later worked for [[Selfridges]], as well as the civil service, and as a storeman for Ealing Borough Council. In 1962, he had a job with the post office, then became a self-employed gardener, and seems to have earned his living that way until he started his full-time anti-protein campaign in 1968. He lived with his parents until they died—his father in 1966 and his mother in 1967—after which he was given a [[Council house|council flat]] in Haydock Green, [[Northolt]], Middlesex.<ref name=Carter/> |
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==His mission== |
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===On the streets=== |
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[[Image:Protein.jpg|left|thumb|130px|alt=photograph|Green near the corner of [[Dean Street]], [[Soho]], c. 1983]] |
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{{ external media |
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| align = right |
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| width = 300px |
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| image1 = [http://www.flickr.com/photos/16400798@N04/2400690247/ Stanley Green's press, now in the Gunnersbury Museum], [[Flickr]] |
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| image2 = [http://www.flickr.com/photos/normko/5515248947/ His sandwich board in the Museum of London], [[Flickr]] |
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| video1 = [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFUebuWtrX8 Brief footage of Green on Oxford Street], [[YouTube]] |
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}} |
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Green began his mission in June 1968, at the age of 53, initially in [[Harrow, London|Harrow]] on Saturdays, becoming a full-time human billboard six months later on Oxford Street. He cycled there from Northolt with a [[sandwich board]] attached to the bicycle, a journey of {{convert|12|mi|km}} that could take up to two hours, until he was given a free [[bus pass]] when he turned 65.<ref name=Green1985/> |
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He rose early, and after porridge for breakfast, made bread – which would rise while he was out on patrol – for the evening, and prepared his lunch on a [[Bunsen burner]], which he said he ate at 2:30 in a "warm and secret place" near Oxford Street.<ref name=Green1985/> He walked up and down the street six days a week, reduced to four days from 1985 onwards, campaigning until 6:30 pm among the shoppers. Saturday evenings he would spend with the cinema crowds in [[Leicester Square]].<ref name=Carter/> He would to go to bed at 12:30 am, after saying a prayer. "Quite a good prayer, unselfish too," he told ''The Sunday Times''. "It is a sort of acknowledgment of God, just in case there happens to be one."<ref name=Green1985/> |
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Peter Ackroyd wrote in ''London: The Biography'' that Green was for the most part ignored, becoming "a poignant symbol of the city's incuriosity and forgetfulness."<ref>Ackroyd, Peter. ''London: The Biography''. Vintage, 2001, p. 189.</ref> His advice to young women that they should eat a low-protein diet—because "You cannot deceive your groom that you are a virgin on your wedding night!"<ref name=Quinn>Quinn, Tom & Leaver, Ricky. [http://books.google.com/books?id=8xEnamQrlvEC&pg=PA14 ''Eccentric London'']. New Holland Publishers, 2008, p. 14.</ref>—was not always appreciated, and led to his being arrested twice for public obstruction, once in 1980 and again in 1985.<ref name=Carter/> "The injustice of it upsets me," he said, "because I'm doing such a good job." He took to wearing overalls to protect himself from spit, several times finding it on his hat after a day's work.<ref name=Green1985/> It was noted that Green was not upset by this abuse, because he believed people attacked him because they were confused into believing he was a religious person.<ref name=Quinn/> |
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===In writing=== |
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[[Image:Cover of Eight Passion Proteins.jpg|right|thumb|160px|alt=Booklet cover with "EIGHT PASSION PROTEINS WITH CARE" in large letters and much fine print|Green argued that too much protein causes conflict.<ref name=Carter/>]] |
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Sundays were spent at home, not always quietly, with the printing press on which ''Eight Passion Proteins'' was produced. It was described by [[Waldemar Januszczak]] as worthy of the cartoonist [[W. Heath Robinson|Heath Robinson]]—who became known for his drawings of eccentric contraptions<ref name=Januszczak/>—and the racket it made on print days caused trouble between Green and his neighbours.<ref name=Quinn/> |
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''Eight Passion Proteins'' went through 52 editions between 1973 and 1993. Raising the price only slightly over the years, from 10 pence in 1980 to 12 pence 13 years later, Green sold 20 copies on weekdays and up to 50 on Saturdays, a total of 87,000 copies by February 1993.<ref name=Carter/> The self-published booklet was noted for its poor [[typography]] with inconsistent line spacing and the seeming random capitalization of words.<ref>Lake, p. 115</ref> It identified the eight "passion-proteins" as meat, fish, birds, cheese, eggs, peas, beans, and nuts, arguing that "those who do not have to work hard with their limbs, and those who are inclined to sit about," will "store up their protein for passion," making retirement, for example, a period of increased passion and, therefore, marital discord. "We should not let passion defeat us," his pamphlet advised, "either alone or with a sexual friend, for discipline in the single years prepares us for the discipline of marriage." He singled out the [[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]] for particular criticism, accusing it of spreading "indiscretion, indiscipline, and indecency."<ref name=Green1>Green, Stanley. [http://www.flaneur.org.uk/html/green/green2.html ''Eight Passion Proteins''], pp. 1–2, 14.</ref> |
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Green was also unable to find a publisher for his only novel, ''Behind the Veil: More than Just a Tale'', which Carter describes as a "colourful account of the danger of passion and the possibility of redemption." Two other manuscripts remain unpublished, a 67-page text called ''Passion and Protein'', and a 392-page version of ''Eight Passion Proteins'', rejected by Oxford University Press in 1971. Carter writes that Green's efforts on Oxford Street were augmented by a letter-writing campaign to the great and the good, and over the years ''Eight Passion Proteins'' made its way to five British prime ministers, the [[Charles, Prince of Wales|Prince of Wales]], the Archbishop of Canterbury, the [[Director-General of the BBC]], the editor of ''The Times'', the British Medical Association, and [[Pope Paul VI]].<ref name=Carter/> |
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==Posthumous recognition== |
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After his death, Green's letters, diaries, pamphlets, and placards were given to the Museum of London, and the other artefacts went to the [[Gunnersbury Park Museum]].<ref name=Carter/> His printing press was featured in [[Tilda Swinton]]'s 1995 exhibition, "The Maybe", at the [[Serpentine Gallery]], alongside [[Robert Maxwell]]'s shoe lasts and one of [[Winston Churchill]]'s cigars.<ref name=Januszczak>Januszczak, Waldemar. "Making an exhibition of herself," ''The Sunday Times'', 10 September 1995, cited in Pearce, Susan M. and Martin, Paul. [http://books.google.com/books?id=gNM1q6y9cuUC&pg=PA293 ''The Collector's Voice: Critical Readings in the Practice of Collecting'']. Ashgate Publishing Ltd, 2002, pp. 293–294.</ref> Over a decade later, he is still remembered by writers and bloggers, fondly for the most part, though not invariably so: artist Alun Rowlands' documentary fiction, ''3 Communiqués'' (2007), portrays him as trawling the streets of London, "campaigning for the suppression of desire."<ref name=Rowlands>Rowlands, Alun. ''[http://www.bookworks.org.uk/asp/detail.asp?uid=book_5D039A57-348E-4EEC-923A-B80D9C8DEA06&sub=pas 3 Communiqués]'', Book Works, 2007, accessed 26 April 2011.</ref> |
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<gallery> |
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File:Stanley Green by Sean Hickin (2a).jpg |
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File:Stanley Green by Sean Hickin (1a).jpg |
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</gallery> |
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==See also== |
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*[[Philip Howard (preacher)]] |
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*[[Sylvester Graham]] |
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==Notes== |
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{{reflist|2}} |
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==References== |
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{{refbegin|2}} |
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*Ackroyd, Peter. ''London: The Biography''. Vintage, 2001. ISBN 0-385-49771-7 |
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*Blanchard, Tamsin. [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/culture-clash-of-the-catwalk-titans-1578989.html "Culture clash of the catwalk Titans"], ''The Independent'', 23 October 1995. |
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*Carter, Philip. "Green, Stanley Owen (1915–1993)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, May 2006. {{doi|10.1093/ref:odnb/92286}} |
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*Green, Stanley. [http://www.flaneur.org.uk/html/green/green2.html "Eight Passion Proteins with Care"], Museum of London, accessed from flaneur.org, 26 April 2011. |
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*Green, Stanley. "My own message to the streets," ''The Sunday Times Magazine'', 14 April 1985. |
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*[http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/archive/exhibits/changing_faces/lives/lives2.htm "Londoners"], Museum of London, accessed 26 April 2011. |
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* {{cite book|last1=Lake|first1=Matt|last2=Moran|first2=Mark|last3=Sceurman|first3=Mark|title=Weird England|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=S7JNAU3J2lkC&pg=PA115|accessdate=7 May 2011|date=1 October 2007|publisher=Sterling Publishing Company|isbn=9781402742293|page=115}} |
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*McKie, David. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/21/london "Pining for the boards"], ''The Guardian'', 21 July 2008. |
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*McNally, Joe. [http://www.flaneur.org.uk/html/green/green.html "Another Green World"], ''flaneur.co.uk'', accessed 26 April 2011. |
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*Pearce, Susan M. and Martin, Paul. ''The Collector's Voice: Critical Readings in the Practice of Collecting''. Ashgate Publishing Ltd, 2002. ISBN 1-85928-419-1 |
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*Quinn, Tom & Leaver, Ricky. [http://books.google.com/books?id=8xEnamQrlvEC&pg=PA14 ''Eccentric London'']. New Holland Publishers, 2008. ISBN 1-84773-219-4 |
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*Rowlands, Alun. ''[http://www.bookworks.org.uk/asp/detail.asp?uid=book_5D039A57-348E-4EEC-923A-B80D9C8DEA06&sub=pas 3 Communiqués]'', Book Works, 2007, accessed 26 April 2011. ISBN 978-1-870699-91-4 |
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{{refend}} |
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==Further reading== |
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{{refbegin}} |
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*{{cite news|url=http://www.thelondontraveler.com/2008/12/the-less-protein-man-a-sight-of-old-london/|title=The Less Protein Man – a sight of old London|first=Andrea|date=December 23, 2008|publisher=The London Traveler|accessdate=7 May 2011}} |
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*Donaldson, William. ''Brewer's Rogues, Villains, and Eccentrics''. Cassell Reference, 2004. ISBN 0-7538-1791-8 |
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*Green, Stanley. [http://www.flaneur.org.uk/html/green/green2.html ''Eight Passion Proteins With Care''], accessed 26 April 2011. |
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*{{cite news|title=I’m in training to be an old eccentric|url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23596283-im-in-training-to-be-an-old-eccentric.do|first=Felix|last=Llyod|date=December 3, 2008|work=London Evening Standard|accessdate=2011-05-07}} |
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*Nevin, Charles. [http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/the-third-leader-street-scenery-482189.html "The Third Leader: Street scenery"], ''The Independent'', 13 June 2006. |
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*Ross, C. "The scourge of sex and nuts and sitting," ''The Oldie'', March 1997. |
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*[[Lynne Truss|Truss, Lynne]]. "Stanley Green," ''The Times'', 25 January 1994. |
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* {{cite news|url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/474970601.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT|title=Come on up and see my collection of passion fruit|last=Wicks|first=Ben|date=March 8, 1986|work=The Toronto Star|page=M2|accessdate=7 May 2011|location=Ontario, Canada}} |
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*Willis, David. "A consuming passion," obituary, ''The Guardian'', 26 January 1994. |
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{{refend}} |
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{{London history}} |
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{{featured article}} |
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{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] --> |
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| NAME =Green, Stanley |
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| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = |
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| SHORT DESCRIPTION = |
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| DATE OF BIRTH =22 February 1915 |
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| PLACE OF BIRTH =[[Harringay]], London, England |
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| DATE OF DEATH =4 December 1993 |
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| PLACE OF DEATH = |
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}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Stanley}} |
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[[Category:History of Westminster]] |
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[[Category:People from Harringay|Green Stanley]] |
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[[Category:1915 births]] |
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[[Category:1993 deaths]] |
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[[fr:Stanley Green]] |
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[[ru:Грин, Стэнли Оуэн]] |
Revision as of 14:18, 7 May 2011
Wikipedia is the worst website in the world. Its editors are extremely rude and they do not get punished for their terrible behavior. User:HXL49 should be blocked from editing wikipedia forever. I hate wikipedia. Sincerely User talk:Ryan Vesey