The battle of Mandalay and the New World screwworm

28:11I was interested in hunting and fishing and interested in nearly all wildlife, including insects. You can't imagine how many houseflies there were around the farm where you had livestock. We didn't have any way to control a fly like that during the people just tolerated them, that's all. And one of the more severe pests was a screw worm. A screw worm would get into the navel of calves when they were born, or pigs, or if there was any wounds on animals. So they were constantly having to look for and treat animals for screw worms when they occurred, and that was a very unpleasant task. and you can imagine getting in a hog pen with a sow that has screwworms in it and then try to handle the sow.

29:07Those early experiences stayed with him. He went on to become an entomologist, a scientist who studies insects. And by then, screwworms had become one of the most destructive livestock pests in the Americas. Here's why. The female fly is attracted to open animal wounds. It lays hundreds of eggs in the wound. The eggs hatch into larvae, or worms, which burrow into the wound, feeding on flesh. The larvae grow and enlarge and deepen the wound. Within days, a wound as small as a tick bite becomes a cavity as big as a fist. The animal becomes weak and prone to other infections. It may eventually die.

29:52Any warm-blooded animal may be attacked, domestic or wild. Cows, sheep, dogs, cats, even human beings. When he later joined the US Department of Agriculture, much of the work on screwworms focused on treating animals after they became infested. Edward thought there had to be a better way. I realized that you would never really control the screwworm that way. What we needed was some preventive measure. Then I conceived the idea that perhaps we could rear the screwworm and have it some genetic deficiency and release those genetically deficient insects into the population. They would mate with the gnomon flies and transmit detrimental characteristics.

30:51I figured, well, maybe we could rear these screwworms in large numbers at reasonable cost and actually overwhelm the natural population. It all was rather vague, but nevertheless it seemed that these were possibilities. So the idea, instead of trying to kill every screwworm, why not stop the population reproducing? Edward had imagined releasing a large number of screwworms carrying some kind of genetic defect. The breakthrough came when scientists discovered that radiation could sterilise insects. The whole idea depended on one crucial fact about the screwworm's sex life. Female screwworm flies usually mate only once.

31:36If that single mating was with a sterile male, they would produce no young. Once the scientists learned how to breed sterile screwworms in huge numbers, they were ready to find out whether this idea could work outside the lab. The crucial test came not in the United States,

31:57but on the Caribbean island of Curacao. A vet in Curacao had sent a letter to Edward asking for advice on dealing with screw worms. Looking at a map, Edward realised the island was the perfect testing ground for his method. Its small size and distance from the mainland meant any results would be easier to measure. So the flies were reared at the rearing facility we had at Orlando and were exposed and irradiated and sterilized and were shipped to Curacao by air and released by airplane on the island of Curacao. We had decided we wanted to release the screwworm at the rate of about 1 ,000 per square mile per week.

32:43So that meant we had to rear and sterilize about 170 ,000 screwworm flies per week. Now that was a major undertaking at that time. To measure the success, researchers used goats placed around the island and collected the egg masses laid in their wounds to see whether they had been fertilised. This would show whether the wild female flies had mated with the sterile flies released by the programme. They maybe had at least a half a dozen goats in different parts of the island to collect these egg masses. Within about three generations, which is what, about 60 days or a little more, it seemed that the screwworm had been eradicated from the island of Curacao.

33:30It was a remarkable achievement. Edwards' method became known as the sterile insect technique. After it proved successful on Curacao, the program expanded to Florida, where screwworms were eradicated from the southeastern United States before in 1962 moving on to Texas and the southwest. Within the last decade, once the pupae developed, huge numbers of sterile male flies were dropped over infested areas to mate with female flies. This is from the United States Department of Agriculture Library in 1969. Soon drastically reducing the population of a major threat in America. But despite the success, not everyone was convinced.

34:14When outbreaks fled in the 1970s, critics began to question whether the program could ever work on such a vast scale. The program continued and the sterile insect technique was soon being used against more than just screw worms. It's been successful against the Mediterranean fruit flies and other tropical fruit flies. It's been used against the pink bullworm, and the Japanese used it to eradicate the melon fly, and all of these have been beneficial. The late Edward Nippling in an archive recording made before his death in the year 2000, and the story of the fight against the New World screwworm was told by Jill Kersley.

35:00Nippling's pioneering sterile insect technique is still being used today, And our thanks to the archive collection at the United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Library. Next, we're going to recognize a true artistic great. In 2011, Asha Bosley was officially named the most recorded artist in music history. She had sung more than 11 ,000 songs in more than 20 Indian languages. Reena Stanton-Sharma tells her story using the BBC's archive.

35:36That's the unmistakable voice of Asha Borsle, India's queen of melody.

35:53Asha Borsle speaking to the BBC in 1987. Also known as the Nightingale of India, She recalled how she'd sung everything from Kavali, a form of devotional Islamic music, to classical, rock and roll and pop, where she made her name. This versatility would see her transcend barriers and embrace the ever-changing landscape of the entertainment industry. As a playback singer, she would record songs for films in a studio, which were then lip-synced by actors on screen. Here she is performing In Ako Ki Musti from the film Amrao Jan on BBC television.

36:36So how did she reach such heights?

36:42Asha Ji, as she was fondly called, was born in 1933 and came from a musical family. Her father was a singer and actor who ran a touring theatre business, as she told the BBC in 2015. My father was a classical singer and drama artist. And his drama company, 200 people working in his company. My father was only 40 years old at that time he passed away. She was just nine when he died, and her eldest sister, Lata Mangeshkar, also sang in his troupe. The family moved to Mumbai after his death, where Lata first began singing for Marathi movies as a teenager to make money. Asha ji explained how her sister's burning ambition helped to propel her career.

37:36She wanted to be something big. From the start, it was within her that I will become something big. For me, it wasn't that I wanted to become something. I wanted to work. I enjoy working. I didn't know at that time what I would become. And what she did become, nobody could have predicted. Her career began when she was just a teenager, as she remembered in 1987.

38:06It's been 40 years since our freedom, and I recorded my first song in 1947 as well. So my career is as old as India's independence.

38:20She eloped at the age of 16 with an older man and was described as the wild one, while her sister was seen as pure. And Lutaji didn't make things easy for Asha, who had to do a lot of the leftover songs that her sister didn't want, including the sexy numbers at the beginning of her career. They both worked their way to the top through sheer hard work and didn't step aside for anyone. Despite their different approaches, they would both work with the biggest composers in India. Ashaji was asked if there was anyone in particular who she was drawn to.

39:02The one who taught me what playback singing is, He used to love me like a daughter. He used to say that we should keep in mind an actor's body language and style and sing in relation to this. This was S.D. Berman who taught me this, who I called father.

39:21And he would have become her father-in-law, but he died before she'd marry his son, R.D. Berman, in 1980, who was also a composer. He was behind one of her biggest hits, Dhammarodham. It was from the 1972 film Hare Rama Hare Krishna, which was meant to critique Western hippie culture in South Asia.

39:49Actress Zeena Tamman lip-syncs and sways among a group of young people sat around dancing while smoking marijuana from a clay pipe. It was banned by the station All India Radio because of its controversial lyrics, which mean take a puff. The song gained cult status and highlighted her ability to cross genres at a time when music coming out of India was also changing. In 1984, she was asked what she thought of the tracks coming out of the country.

40:23Songs tamales have become very modern. What we used to sing, the lyrics used to be very good and the tunes were good too. There weren't big orchestras. There was more emphasis on being able to hear the artist's voice and lyrics and those songs are still popular. Today's songs, the lyrics aren't very good. They don't have meaning and are vulgar.

40:48The presenter then chimes in about her song Iramina Dika from the 1957 movie Asha, which he says was popular but didn't have any meaningful lyrics. But Ashaji disagrees.

41:04This is a very old song, but if you look further, the lyrics are not bad.

41:17Asha Ji was lauded by some for introducing rock and roll to India thanks to this feel-good tune.

41:28In 1984, she was asked by BBC presenter Chamin Lal Chamin how many songs she'd recorded to date. I've not counted them, but I know I've sung many. The ratio has been high. I've sung three or four songs a day. When EMI gave me a gold disc award, they themselves said that I've sung up to seven songs in a day, which is a record. And then, in 2011, she received a Guinness World Record at the Glitzy Asian Awards Ceremony in central London, presented by Lord Sebastian Coe. I'm actually delighted to let you know that we've just received some very exciting news. In recognition of your extraordinary career, as of now, tonight, you've been awarded a Guinness World Record.

42:24Taking to the stage dressed in a white silk sari adorned with sparkling silver gems and a white flower in her long black hair, Asha Ji, who was then in her 70s, said her journey with music had only just begun. The record for most recorded artiste in the world belongs to Asha Bosley, who has recorded up to 11 ,000 solo, duet and chorus-backed songs in over 20 Indian languages since 1947. The title had previously been held by her sister Lata. The pair ruled India's playback singing world for decades. Asha Ji was revered by Indians around the world, including in Britain, where indie band Corner Shop paid tribute to her in their song Brim Full of Asha.

43:18It was remixed in 1998, topping the charts. Asha Borsley recorded over 12 ,000 tracks by the time she died in April 2026, aged 92. An outpouring of grief followed news of her death around the world.

43:41Reena Stanton-Sharmer with the story of the late, great Asha Bosley. Next, we've got this week's Sporting Witness, and for this we're focusing on the English Premier League. Formed in 1992, it is now the most-watched sports league in the world. Football did exist before the Premier League, but to borrow a phrase from the league's launch, this was a whole new ball game. David Dean was the vice chairman of Arsenal in 1992 and was one of the main drivers behind the new league. He tells Tim O 'Callaghan about the challenges involved. The first day in the history of the FA Premier League was rewarded with a feast of goals and some shock results.

44:19It was a turning bike for English football and when you look at it now, we'll talk about where it's gone since 1992 but it's been a runaway success. And the man behind it all? David Dean, OBE, former vice chairman of Arsenal and the Football Association. Can't be an ambassador for both. Anything else you'd like to know? Well, yes, actually, David, because the Premier League was his idea. A plan formulated alongside the chairman of five other clubs in English football, known as the Big Five. So who were they? Who do you support, Tim? I'm a Bolton Wanderers fan. OK, well, I'm afraid Bolton was not one of the big five, but we liked Bolton.

45:03It was Arsenal, Spurs, Liverpool, Manchester United and Everton. And we were all mates. I mean, that was another thing. Of course, the teams weren't mates. They were bitter rivals. But the chairman all got on, which made what they were about to do a little bit easier. But we'll get back to that in just a moment. There has been professional football leagues in England since 1888. when 12 clubs, including my beloved Bolton Wanderers, formed the Football League. It had consisted of 92 teams since 1950, spread across four divisions, known since 1958 as Divisions 1, 2, 3 and 4. During the 1980s, though, football in England was facing a number of challenges.

45:46We had hooliganism. There was fighting inside the grounds, fighting outside the grounds. Women were not going to the games. Mothers didn't want their children to go to the games because they were worried about their safety. It was virtually a 99 % male audience. The grounds themselves were fairly dilapidated places, not welcoming. The game itself was from three o 'clock to 20 to five. And that was it. Nothing before or afterwards. It wasn't a particularly welcoming environment. Something had to change. Your tendencies were dropping like a stone. In any other business, you'd think, what are you going to do?

46:21We needed something radical.

46:26Around this time, David and the other four chairmen were approached by a TV executive called Greg Dyke. He worked for the broadcaster ITV, who had the rights to show Football League matches on television between 1988 and 1992. and he wanted to buy our television rights, just the five clubs, television rights. And of course, he said that was impractical because, you know, you've got to play other clubs. You can't just have five clubs. But in a way, he opened our eyes to the value of television and football. And he actually hosted a famous evening where the five of us decided the time was right to what we call break away from the old football league and start again, you know, reinvent ourselves.

47:11and it was a mammoth job and it caused a lot of problems because there was obviously friction with the rest of the football league because there was 22 clubs in the old first division. We were going to take the old first division and form a new legal entity, rebrand ourselves, reinvent ourselves and it left behind the 70 clubs. Well, they were less pleased, you can imagine, losing the top division. However, David and the other chairman had a crucial backer. The Football Association has approved controversial plans to set up a new Super League consisting of the top 18 clubs. It would start the season after next, but the decision looks certain to cause a rift within the game.

47:52Both the Football League and the Players Union are strongly opposed to it. The FA, who are the governing body for the sport in England, didn't have a great relationship with the Football League and saw the breakaway as an opportunity to help the England national team. The original plan was to cut the number of sides in the top flight from 22 to 18, which in theory would give the England team a better chance in international tournaments, as the players would have fewer games. To move it forward, David and the other chairman needed to convince the other clubs in the top league that this was a good idea.

48:26We decided that the five of us would choose a Dancy partner and try to convince them to come on board, because we knew if we had 10, rather like in Scotland, we could have a league of 10, we could actually do it. So getting the next five on board was the key. And we managed to do that. And I think I went with West Ham, somebody went with Newcastle, somebody went Sheffield Wednesday, whatever it was. Once we got the other five, we knew the other 12 would roll in, which they did. Seems simple now, but it was an army manoeuvre. The clubs in the top division signed a founder members agreement in July 1991, before the next step in the breakaway.

49:06All 22 First Division football clubs have resigned from the Football League. The new season starts tomorrow. The clubs handed in their letters of resignation today. They're leaving to join the new Super League. If we were going to resign from the old Football League, under their rules, we had to give three years' notice of resignation. Well, we didn't have the luxury of time. We couldn't wait three years because by which time you could have nine different clubs moving up and down. So we had to resign immediately. We actually resigned under the FA rules, not the Football League rules, because the FA rules did run in parallel to the Football League rules.

49:45And we could resign after one year. Of course, the Football League wasn't happy about any of this. They launched legal challenges against the FA and the teams. There was even talk of a player strike. But after the High Court dismissed the Football League's case, the plans for the Premier League were approved in February 1992. Football's new Premier League has finally been given the go-ahead after 10 months of argument. The league, which will replace the First Division, will start this August. The original plan to have 18 teams was scrapped. Instead, 22 teams would remain in the top flight until 1995, when it would then become a league of 20.

50:27A lot needed to be done in five months to get the Premier League ready to launch. Nobody realised, Tim, what we had to go through. You know, there's an old saying, you can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs. We broke a lot of eggs. It was fraught. And not least the players' contracts. I mean, people don't realise this, that the players' contracts were registered in the old football league. When we are starting a new legal entity, we needed the players. So we had to do a deal with the PFA to make sure the players simultaneously would cancel their football league contract and sign a Premier League contract.

51:07We did it and we had to be innovative. I remember we managed to get through a 15 minute halftime. We put names on the shirts. It made it more attractive. It became an event. We had to, you know, as I say, reinvent our product. And one other way of reinventing the product was the new TV deal that the league struck with the satellite broadcaster Sky, who paid over US$500 million for the exclusive rights to live games, which would be distributed amongst the clubs, with 25 % of the money dependent on where you finished in the league. The higher up you finished, the more you got. The latest domestic TV rights deal for the Premier League was$8.9 billion, and that doesn't include the money the league makes from international TV rights.

51:51Well, it goes out around the world. The biggest players want to play in the Premier League, the managers want to manage it and now you've got all the owners from all overseas, various countries, want to be part of it. The league began on the 15th of August 1992 and 34 years on, David is still as invested as he ever was. I've got a paternal interest there. I consider it to be my baby. Every time I see it on television, going around the world, it is fantastic. A lot of pride, a lot of satisfaction.

52:25David Dean stood down as vice chairman of Arsenal in 2007 and has since written Calling the Shots, a book about his life in football. He was speaking to Tim O 'Callaghan. Finally this week, we're in the kitchen for a spot of cake baking. In Australia in the late 1970s, a recipe book was written that brought novelty cakes to the masses. It was the Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book. Agnes Lee was a home economist behind more than 20 of the book's quirky designs, including the famous rubber ducky. She's been speaking to Helen Ledwick, who decided to give it a go herself. OK, what do I need?

53:03Got my cake mix, got my eggs, got my oil, got my whisk. Off we go. I did the gingerbread house, the caterpillar, the butterfly. Agnes Lee designed more than 20 of the rainbow-coloured creations that have become a nostalgia fest for families around the world. The guitar, hopscotch, the dragon. And arguably the most well-known... A rubber ducky. It's 1979 and Agnes, who grew up in Hong Kong, is now a home economist at the Australian Women's Weekly magazine in Sydney. She's working with a small team on a new birthday cake book and every so often they'll head to the test kitchen for what they call cake day.

53:51OK, that's starting to look like cake mixture. We laugh a lot because there are lots of things that didn't work. We assemble it, it might flop, then we share ideas. But usually, no one will interview anyone when they are really into it. Because you know that once you get into decorating, your inspiration evolves. So it gets quieter and quieter, and towards the end, everyone will be quite intense. It's funny that when you ask, that really brings me back to that time. They're measuring, cutting, decorating, aiming for cakes that look impressive but can actually be made at home. It has to be very simple and straightforward.

54:39As easy as possible so every child's wife who don't know much about cooking can make these cakes. If not, it will never work. As remembered in this 2023 report on ABC TV. The Weekly recognised the fact that not everyone was a pro-cake maker. So they made it easier for people and gave them permission to use cake mix. It wasn't going to be held against you. I've got this. That looks like a dog's body. There'll be more than 100 recipes by the time the book launches in 1980. So where does the inspiration come from? It comes from anywhere, Helen. like for example the train cake. The choo-choo train, a red steam engine pulling brightly coloured wagons filled with sweets.

55:28It'll end up as the cover of the book but it starts out as a last minute idea on one of those cake days. I got up, couldn't even think of anything. Got to the train station, there was a train strike, no train. And then all of a sudden the train came and it was filled with coal. Then I stare at it and I say, yeah, I can make a train. I don't need passengers. I can fill it up with coal and I use lolly instead and that's it. And Agnes, I don't know if this is true, but I read that you had a nickname. Is that right? They call me engineer. Yeah, because I usually like to cut cakes and assemble it and it looks complicated, but it's not for me.

56:15So they think that I'm the engineer. So that's why I got to do the duck.

56:24This is no ordinary duck. It's a 3D engineering marvel of sponge cake and fluffy yellow icing, head crowned with popcorn and a beak made of, well, we'll get to that. But for now, it's cake day again and the book is almost complete. They need one last cake to finish it and the pressure is on. The editor walk in, pull out from the handbag a rubber ducky. And then she say, oh, not two dimension, but three dimension. Everyone pointed to me and say, oh, it's an engineering job. So I got the rubber ducky. so I stare at the kick tins the size how I can use the pieces and then it all just fell together Agnes has it all figured out but there's a problem when come to the beak I was lost completely so I gave up and I say I'm taking my lunch now Agnes walks out of the test kitchen and into a nearby cafe and she spots a packet of crisps or as some people call them chips.

57:38And I saw it and say yeah the chips is edible I can use the chips. So I was so happy I brought a couple packets of chips back. It worked so well because the chips has a natural curl and out of the two packets I bought I found two really match very well and when I put them together it does look like a duck's beak. I said, I'm going to use that. Crisps on a cake. It's a novel idea and one that Agnes is not ready to share with her colleagues just yet. I dare not call them out. Just look at it. I want to finish a whole thing and then surprise them and see what they think. So I did the beak, the eyes and all that and then say, she's finished.

58:27And they all came out. No one say anything. They don't know what to say. At the end, the food editor, Helen Sinclair, came in and she whispered quietly to one of the girls, it's chips, it's savoury. And I turned my head, I don't want to look at anyone. Do they approve it or do they not? I don't know. At the end, yes, they approved it. The final step is a photograph for the book. The photographer came in, it's approved. you can get rid of the cake. And because the cake at that time, they sit there, can't be covered and all that, usually they go into the bin when we finish. Then I'm so sick of it.

59:11By that time, I just chuck it in and done. Job done. But it's not job done. The photographer needs another picture and there's no time to make another cake. Then I say, hang on, it's quite solid. The frosting has set. Let's pull it out and see what it looks like. It actually has a crack right in the front. Time for some lateral thinking. Out goes the tiny little red ribbon around the duck's neck and in comes a massive red bow with red buttons to match. That's it. What you see is what you get. Hopefully the duck is so cute people don't notice. The Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake book is published and according to the magazine goes on to sell more than a million copies around the world.

59:59The recipes discover a new lease of life on social media and in 2020, the duck cake gets a starring role in the children's TV programme Bluey from Ludo Studio. Bluey's dad, Bandit, has taken on the challenge of making it, but is struggling to attach the head. It's good. It's very good. Oh, two weeks. Oh, duck cake. Oh, that's not good. At first I worried, you know, I should give more detail so that they can be more successful. But after a while, especially when Bluey did the episode, I said, no, if it comes off, it comes off. It's part of making the cake and enjoying it. It's not a disaster in a way.

1:00:43It became a highlight.

1:00:48One last thing. I think this is actually the moment of truth. the beak. I am quite happy with that. And there it is, nearly 50 years after Agnes first imagined not just the duck cake, but many of the others that fill the pages of the book. I'm proud of it. Yes, I am. And knowing how much it affects people and knowing that really lots of families use it and they pass on to the children. That really makes me feel proud. Hungry now? Helen Ledwick was talking to Agnes Lee, one of the inventive bakers behind the best-selling Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cakebook. We'll be cooking up more first-hand stories from the past for you next week, but that's it for this edition of the History Hour.

1:01:36This is Max Pearson from all of us here. Thank you for listening. Goodbye. Sporting Witness takes you to the events that have shaped the sports world through the eyes of the people who were there. We weren't going to ask permission, we were just going to do it. It was such an amazing feeling, it was incredible. He started to write a story about how he came up with the idea for the red and yellow cars. I got to go. We cried a bit, we laughed a bit. It was wonderful. There's a magic during those moments that carries your soul. We were truly blessed to be a part of history. Sporting Witness. Subscribe wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

1:02:48Thank you. Bye.