SWINDON...
1945: A cricketer escaped with just a bruise and a headache after the fielder was hit in the head by the ball at the GWR Athletic Association ground. A 15 Shop batsman connected with the ball and it struck the short leg fielder on the forehead before his teammate, the square leg fielder, caught it.
1955: More than £10 was raised within half-an-hour for Swindon Community Silver Threads funds at a rummage sale, in the East Street Co-operative Hall in Swindon.
1975: Skurrays announced it was making long-term plans to house its three garages, in Swindon, the High Street and Marlborough under one roof in the town.
2013: The Adver’s campaign to help the unemployed in Swindon won the backing of North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson. He said: “I am delighted to support this fantastic campaign.”
THE WORLD...
1583: The first life insurance policy was sold in London.
1815: The Battle of Waterloo was fought, where combined forces led by the Duke of Wellington and the Prussian Field Marshal Blucher defeated Napoleon.
1817: London’s Waterloo Bridge was opened. It was originally called Strand Bridge but was re-named on the anniversary of the Battle.
1822: London’s first nude statue was unveiled in Hyde Park. The bronze figure of Achilles was sculpted by Sir Richard Westmacott. Achilles later acquired a bronze fig-leaf.
1940: With France collapsing before German forces, the Battle of Britain was about to begin, with Winston Churchill saying: '”Let us brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that if the British Commonwealth and Empire lasts a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour’.”
1963: Henry Cooper, pictured, floored Cassius Clay (later Muhammed Ali) in Round Four at Wembley Stadium. But by the fifth, with Cooper badly cut, the fight was stopped.
1978: Garfield, the world’s favourite fat cat created by Jim Davis, was born. The name came from Davis’s grandfather, James A Garfield Davis.
2010: John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics for Beatles hit A Day In The Life sold for £810,000 at auction.
2013: Afghan forces formally took over the lead security role in their country from NATO. Afghan President Hamid Karzai told his troops: “You are the sons and guardians of this country and it is your responsibility to protect it.”
BORN...
1941: Delia Smith, TV cook
1942: Sir Paul McCartney, musician
1942: Thabo Mbeki, South African politician
1946: Fabio Capello, football manager
1952: Isabella Rossellini, actress/model
1957: Ralph Brown, actor
1961: Alison Moyet, singer
DIED...
1234: Emperor Chukyo of Japan (b. 1218)
2005: Syed Mushtaq Ali, Indian cricketer (b. 1914)
2007: Bernard Manning(b. 1930)
2012: Victor Spinetti, actor, (b. 1930)
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