Auschwitz survivor Kazimierz Smolen, 91, dies in the same town as death camp. By Daily Mail Reporter Updated: 22:55 GMT, 27 January 2012 Kazimierz Smolen, a 91-year-old Auschwitz survivor who after World War II became director of the memorial site, has died on the 67th anniversary of its liberation. Smolen died in a hospital in Oswiecim, the southern Polish town where Nazi Germany operated Auschwitz-Birkenau during World War II. Today is the anniversary of the camp's 1945 liberation by Soviet troops. Kazimierz Smolen, a 91-year-old Auschwitz survivor, has died on the 67th anniversary of its liberation. He continued to live in the town after his retirement The 27th January was designated as International Holocaust Remembrance Day by the United Nations in 2005, and was marked with ceremonies across Europe. Two years after the war ended, Auschwitz-Birkenau became a museum — and Smolen himself served as its director from 1955-1990. He continued to live in the town after his retirement, often attending the memorial ceremonies marking the camp's liberation.
Woman, 100, from Hyde beats breast cancer. 31 August 2011Last updated at 20:58 Dorothy Affleck was diagnosed with the disease when she was 99 A 100-year-old woman has been told she is free of breast cancer after having surgery in Greater Manchester. Dorothy Affleck, from Hyde, was 99-and-a-half when she had a lump removed from her breast at Tameside Hospital in August 2010. The former dancer, who celebrated her centenary in March, has now been told by her consultant she is in remission. Doctors at the hospital believe Mrs Affleck is the oldest person in the UK to undergo surgery for the disease. The great great grandmother was diagnosed with the disease last summer. Age 'not a factor' Her consultant, Pardeep Arora, said he felt surgery was her only option as the cancer was so aggressive. Soon afterwards she had a lump removed, but rather than be operated on under a general anaesthetic she was given a local because of her age.
Mrs Affleck said: "When I was told 'you've got cancer', I couldn't believe it. Worlds oldest man.
Pilot Stops Plane for Family of Murdered Child. British Darth Vader fighter dies aged 89. 2 January 2012Last updated at 15:26 Bob Anderson represented Britain in fencing at the 1952 Olympics, among other events Former Olympic fencer Bob Anderson, who staged fights in Star Wars films and From Russia With Love, has died at the age of 89. Anderson fought light sabre battles as Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, two of the original Star Wars films. In the non-fight scenes, Vader was played by David Prowse and voiced by James Earl Jones. The British Academy of Fencing confirmed Anderson died on 1 January. It was Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars trilogy, who revealed Anderson was behind the fight scenes in a 1983 interview with Starlog magazine. "It was always supposed to be a secret, but I finally told George (Lucas) - the director - I didn't think it was fair any more," he said.
"Bob worked so bloody hard that he deserves some recognition. Robert James Gilbert Anderson was born in Hampshire in 1922.