Today in History

[Daisy]

Wow, I never knew that. You can imagine wooden buildings flying all over the place, can't you.

[Gemini]

1910

The trial began at the Old Bailey of the American Dr. Crippen, accused of murdering his wife Cora Henrietta Crippen. Born in Michigan in 1862 Hawley Harvey Crippen moved to Camden in 1897 and became the first suspect to be captured using the aid of wireless telegraphy. When he and his lover Ethel Neave were spotted escaping on board the liner Montrose the authorities were alerted and Crippen was arrested as the liner entered the St. Lawrence River.

[Gemini]

1996

Oscar winners 'Wallace and Gromit' disappeared after being left in a taxi in New York. Both the life-size plastic models from Britain's award winning animation film were later found safe and well!

[Gemini]

1824

Portland cement, the modern building material, was first patented by Joseph Aspdin of Wakefield in Yorkshire. Its name is derived from its similarity to Portland stone, a type of building stone that was quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset

[Daisy]

Portland stone is still mined on the Isle of Portland, but I imagine it's very expensive. It used to be quarried but the mining is to preserve the SSSIs on the Isle. It was used in many famous buildings such as St Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London, the Lutyens building in King Street, Manchester and the Port of Liverpool Building and more recently, the Armed Forces Memorial in Staffordshire.

The Isle of Portland is an interesting place to visit if you're ever in the area of the Jurassic coast.

[Gemini]

2001

Towns and villages in Cambridgeshire and Essex were on flood alert as forecasters predicted more torrential downpours following what experts said were the worst floods in 20 years.

[Daisy]

It must be truly awful to have your house flooded.

[Gemini]

1922

The shortest term of office this century for a British Prime Minister began on this day when Andrew Bonar Law took office. Due to ill health, he was replaced six months later by Stanley Baldwin.


LIZ TRUSS HAS NOW BROKEN THIS RECORD, WITH 45 DAYS IN OFFICE!!

[Oma]

If nothing else she’s made history too😂😂🙄

[Daisy]

There are some records you just wouldn't want to hold, aren't there!

[Gemini]

1907

The Territorial Army was formed by the Secretary of State for War, Richard Haldane.

[Gemini]

1962

The opening of Britain's first urban motorway - the M62 (now M60) around Manchester.

[Daisy]

I remember the first time I travelled on that!

[Gemini]

1886

Fred Archer rode the last of his 2746 winners at Newmarket, retiring as a jockey after 16 years.

[Gemini]

1942

Three British Royal Navy personel - Lt. Tony Fasson, Able Seaman Colin Grazier and canteen assistant Tommy Brown from HMS Petard boarded the sinking German submarine U-559, and retrieved vital instruments and documentation which would later lead the Bletchley Park codebreakers to crack the German Enigma code.

Brown was the only one of the three to survive when the submarine sank. All three received the George Cross Medal and Tommy Brown (aged 16 and too young to be at sea at the time ) is the youngest person to have ever received that award.