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Press Releases
Inside Out returns to 91Èȱ¬ One Yorkshire & Lincolnshire
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Inside Out returns to 91Èȱ¬ One Yorkshire & Lincolnshire on Wednesday 17 September with the story of a Yorkshire aristocrat whose body was exhumed from his grave last week in a bid to help prevent a modern flu pandemic.
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The body of Sir Mark Sykes – who died nearly 90 years ago from Spanish Flu – was exhumed from his grave in the church of St Mary's Sledmere, East Yorkshire on the morning of 8ÌýSeptember.
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The exhumation was carried out by a team led by one of the world's top virologists – Professor John Oxford, who is Professor of Virology at Barts and The London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry.
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Several tissue samples were taken and Sir Mark was re-interred immediately in a short ceremony conducted by the Rev Mike Smith, Rural Dean of Driffield.
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The operation, which started before dawn, was the climax of a three-year project which needed the approval of Sir Mark's surviving relatives, the Church of England, the Ministry of Justice and the Health and Safety Executive.
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The team which carried out the exhumation was filmed by a crew from 91Èȱ¬ Yorkshire's Inside Out.
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Their report will be broadcast on 91Èȱ¬ One Yorkshire & Lincolnshire on Wednesday 17 September at 7.30pm.
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A 91Èȱ¬ Four documentary will follow on 6 October.
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It was information provided by 91Èȱ¬ Yorkshire that first pointed towards Sir Mark's grave as a likely source of much-needed material to track down the exact DNA profile of the Spanish Flu, which is one of the most deadly viruses known to medicine.
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Editor Ian Cundall says: "Sir Mark was buried in a lead coffin and his remains may help them find out more about the final stages of the pandemic flu, adding to major breakthroughs by American scientists in 2006. This knowledge could help prevent a modern pandemic."
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Historical researchers from the 91Èȱ¬ Yorkshire programme tracked down contemporary records of Sir Mark's funeral at Sledmere Church and other archive documents to aid the medical team from St Barts and the Royal London Hospitals.
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Ian Cundall adds: "We were glad to put our researchers' skills to such a useful purpose. We often investigate incidents that occurred a long time ago but they rarely represent such an immediate potential benefit."
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Sir Mark – landowner, politician and diplomat – died in France in 1919 of the flu, which killed 50 million people worldwide.
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He was working for the Government in the Middle East in the weeks before his death. He sailed home from Syria via London, where it is thought he contracted the virus and died in a Parisian hotel a few days later.
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He had been tipped as a future Prime Minister and helped draw the national boundaries of the Middle East that still exist today.
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The exhumation was watched by Sir Mark's grandson, Sir Tatton Sykes, on a TV link set up from the grave to the nearby Sledmere Church.
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The medical team wore sealed suits with their own filtered air supply to screen out any possibility of the virus escaping.
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The operation also entailed the exhumation of Sir Mark's wife, Lady Edith Sykes.
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AB2
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