On This Day...

Okay, I know that the title of this post has already been taken, but I couldn't say it any better myself!  Over the years, there have been many important happenings on this day, and some not quite so important.  Some have been momentous as far as the history of the world, and some are much more personal - as you will discover here!

Naturally, the event which takes undoubted precedence as far as English history - and world history too - is concerned, is that today is the centenary of the day that Great Britain declared war on Germany.  Of course, the First World War was already a few days old, but this was an event that was to change to course of history, and impact the lives of so many.

Some 649 years earlier, in 1265, the English were at battle then; not with any foreign nation, but with each other.  In what was to become known as the Second Barons' War, the Battle of Evesham took place (in what is now Worcestershire).  Forces led by Prince Edward (later to become King Edward I) defeated the Army of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester.

There was another important victory on the 4th of August, 1961, but nothing to do with war or bloodshed - simply on the speedway track!  My beloved Wimbledon "Dons" made the trip up to Leicester's Blackbird Rd circuit worthwhile, inflicting a 41-37 defeat on the "Hunters".  Leicester's Ken McKinlay was unbeaten in four rides, but only Pawel Waloszek and Guy Allott gave any real support.  The Dons were led by Ronnie Moore and Bob Andrews, who each dropped just one point to the opposition.

Staying with sport, we jump to 1975.  The Second Test at Lord's was a little uninspiring, as neither England nor Australia were able to take command.  However, things were livened up when a spectator by the name of Michael Angelow was to remove his clothes, and become cricket's best-known streaker!  Angelow ran across the pitch, hurdling the stumps, before being arrested.

Sadly, this day is also remembered for one of Britain's most shocking murders in recent years.  In 2002, two 10-year old girls went missing from the town of Soham, in Cambridgeshire.  The bodies of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman were found in a ditch two weeks later.  Ian Huntley, then 28, was found guilty of murdering the girls, and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Onto birthdays, and on this day in 1900, a new child was welcomed into the British Royal Family.  A daughter named Elizabeth Bowes-Lyons was born in London.  That may not mean a lot to some of you, but she was the mother of Queen Elizabeth II, otherwise known as the Queen Mother.

Not quite as popular as the Queen Mother, Percy Bysshe Shelley was born in West Sussex in 1792.  One of England's leading romantic poets, Shelley was drowned off the Italian coast when just 29 years old.

Finally, another birthday; the "personal" item I mentioned above.  On 4th August, 1939, my dad Ken was born!  Of course, he has been gone nearly eleven years, but it's a date that I'll never forget!