Today in History

[Gemini]

1908
The Wind In The Willows, Kenneth Grahame's classic children's book, was published. It has never been out of print in its entire history.

[Daisy]

I remember reading Wind in the Willow to both my sons as bedtime stories- one chapter a night. We had a lovely version of it with the original E H Shepard's fantastic illustrations.

[Gemini]

1961

Following a volcanic eruption, the entire population of the South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha was evacuated to Britain.

[Daisy]

Golly - I remember that - literally the whole population was evacuated.

[Gemini]

I was unaware of this Daisy!

[Gemini]

1940
Princess Elizabeth, aged 14, (now Queen Elizabeth II), made her first radio broadcast to child evacuees.

[Gemini]

1969

Ahead of the complete changeover to decimalization, Britain scrapped the 10 shilling note and introduced the 50 pence coin.

[Enfys]

1662

King Charles II sells Dunkirk to France for £40,000.

I never knew that!

[Gemini]

Neither did I Enfys!

[Gemini]

1986
The world’s youngest heart transplant patient, a two-and-a-half-month-old baby from north west London, was given the heart of a five-day-old Belgian boy by Professor Magdi Yacoub at Harefield Hospital, Middlesex.

[Gemini]

1929
London's world famous buses were painted red.

[Gemini]

1949
The glove puppet Sooty, with Harry Corbett, made his first appearance on BBC TV.

[Enfys]

Gosh, was it that long ago!

[Gemini]

1960

English surgeon Michael Woodruff performed Britain's first successful kidney transplant, at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

[Gemini]

1971

A terrorist bomb exploded at the top of the Post Office Tower in London. The building has been closed to the public ever since.