Killing Fields
1265 The Battle of Evesham (Worcestershire) took place, in which the army of Prince Edward, the future king Edward I of England, defeated the forces of rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester. De Montfort and many of his allies were killed.
The Rock of Gibraltar
1704 Gibraltar was captured for the British by Admiral Sir George Rooke.
Happy Birthday, Percy
1792 The birth of Percy Shelley, one of the major English Romantic poets.
The Birth of Red Cross
1870 The British Red Cross Society was founded, by Lord Wantage.
Two Very Different Declarations
1914 Britain declared war on Germany after the Germans had violated the Treaty of London by invading Belgium, and so began ‘the war to end all wars’.
The United States declared their neutrality.
A Cross and A Bar
1917 Captain Noel Chavasse, of the Royal Army Medical Corps, only the second man to be awarded the additional bar to the Victorian Cross for bravery, died from injuries sustained in battle four days earlier.
Pips of Time
1923 The BBC began using the ‘pips’ as a time signal in its broadcasts.
Supersonic
1954 Britain’s first supersonic fighter plane, the English Electric Lightning P-1, made its maiden flight.
Popularity Contest
1966 In a US radio interview, John Lennon claimed that the Beatles were probably more popular than Jesus Christ. Beatles’ records were consequently banned in many US states and in South Africa.
Confessions of A Sick Mind
1987 Moors murderer Ian Brady claimed that he was involved in another five killings.
A Royal Century
2000 Celebrations took place all over the United Kingdom to mark the 100th birthday of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. She was the first ever member of the Royal Family to reach her centenary.
The Soham Murders
2002 Police in Soham, Cambridgeshire were ‘extremely concerned’ over the disappearance of two 10-year-old schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. Their school caretaker Ian Huntley was later found guilty of their murder.
