On This Day – The House of Windsor and a Bosom Friend

West of Perth

1306 The Earl of Pembroke’s army defeated Robert the Bruce’s Scottish army at the Battle of Methven, west of Perth.

Happy Birthday, James I

1566 King James VI of Scotland and I of England was born.

Seats for Sale

1809 Curwen’s Act was passed in Britain, to prevent the sale of parliamentary seats, thus decreasing the number of seats which the British government could manipulate for its regular supporters.

The Bobbies and the Peelers

1829 Robert Peel’s Act was passed, to establish a new police force in London and its suburbs. They were known as Peelers and then Bobbies, derived from his surname and Christian name respectively.

An Unhappy Birthday

1861 Douglas Haig, British field-marshal was born. Haig became known as ‘Butcher of the Somme’, after he unnecessarily sent thousands of British troops to their deaths. After the war, he devoted himself to the care of ex-Servicemen.

The House of Windsor

1917 The British royal family renounced the German names and titles of Saxe-Coburg, (responding to anti-German sentiment) and became Windsor.

Bosom Friend

1925 The birth of Charlie Drake, slapstick English comedian. His catchphrase ‘Hello, my darlings’ came about because his short (5′ 1″)stature placed his eyes directly level with a lady’s bosom!

Independence Day

1961 Kuwait declared its independence from the United Kingdom after which the state’s oil industry saw unprecedented economic growth. In 1990, Kuwait was invaded and annexed by neighbouring Iraq.

Lord Lucan

1975 An inquest jury decided that the missing Lord Lucan murdered the 29-year-old nanny of his three young children.

Ian Botham

1978 Cricketing star Ian Botham became the first man in the history of the game to score a century and take eight wickets in one innings of a Test match.

Beef to the Slaughter

1996 Britain offered to slaughter up to 67,000 more cattle in an effort to end the ban on British beef.

Happy Wedding Anniversary

1999 The wedding of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex ( the fourth, and youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh) and Sophie Rhys-Jones. The wedding took place at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

 

On This Day – The Blitzkrieg, the Peacemaker and a Gallery

Recognition

1291 Scottish nobles recognized the authority of Edward I of England.

A Victory

1307 Scottish King Robert the Bruce defeated an English cavalry army at the Battle of Loudon Hill in Ayrshire.

The Power of the Press

1768 John Wilkes (English radical, journalist, and politician) was imprisoned for writing an article for the North Briton newspaper severely criticizing King George III. This action provoked rioting in London.

Tea Chronicles

1773 The British Parliament passed the Tea Act, designed to save the British East India Company by granting it a monopoly on the North American tea trade.

The National Gallery

1824 The National Gallery in London opened to the public.

Rags to Riches

1850 Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, founder of Lipton’s grocery chain, was born in Glasgow. He went from errand boy to millionaire by the age of 30.

Life Expectancy of a Parliament

1910 The British House of Commons resolved that the maximum lifetime of Parliament be reduced from seven to five years.

Tales of Antarctica 

1916 Explorer Ernest Shackleton and companions reached the Falkland island of South Georgia after sailing 800 miles in 16 days in an open boat. They were looking for help for the remaining members of their party marooned on Elephant island, Antarctica.

Anyone for Southport?

1919 The first scheduled commercial air service in Britain began. The flight from Manchester to Southport cost 4 guineas one way and was run by A.V.Roe.

 Blood, Toil, Tears & Sweat

1940 German forces invaded Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg by air and land. The invasion began at dawn with large numbers of aeroplanes attacking the main aerodromes and landing troops. Winston Churchill formed a coalition wartime Government. When he first met his cabinet on 13th May he told them – “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears & sweat”.

The Peacemaker

1941 Rudolf Hess, deputy leader of Nazi Germany, flew a small plane to Scotland and parachuted to the ground in a bizarre attempt to negotiate a peace settlement with Britain. After interrogation he was jailed for life.

Blitzkrieg

1941 World War II – The worst night of the Blitz in Britain. 550 German bombers dropped 100,000 bombs on London. More than 1500 people were killed and many thousands more were injured.

Turn of the Tide

1998 The political wing of the republican IRA backed the Good Friday peace agreement heralding a major shift in modern republicanism