SWINDON

1952: A total of 56 veteran cars made between 1896 and 1915 were expected to assemble at the County Ground at noon the following day, ready for a rally to Cirencester. Some of the vehicles were based as nearby as Watchfield and Upper Stratton, and others from as far away as Devon and Cheshire. Special awards were to be given for the cars travelling the greatest distances to the event.

1962: Peter Lomas, son of Mr and Mrs EJ Lomas of Okus Road in Swindon, was preparing for his ordination as a deacon in Peterborough Cathedral on June 17. The 30-year-old, due to be married at the end of the year, had attended Commonweal Grammar School and worked for a Manchester radar firm before doing his mandatory military service. He then began training for the ministry at a Nottinghamshire theological college.

1972: A young Swindon boy, Eric Scarlato, was reunited with his favourite teddy bear after a tense few days. Eric, who lived in Purton Road, lost the musical bear, which played a lullaby, at the bus station but fortunately it was spotted and handed in to the Adver by a kind seven-year-old girl. We reported that the bear, called Teddy, had been waiting for a bus home.

THE WORLD

1683: The first public museum, the Ashmolean, was opened by Elias Ashmole in Oxford. Exhibits included stuffed animals and a dodo.

1844: George Williams founded the YMCA at 72 St Paul’s Churchyard, London.

1882: The three-mile coastal limit for territorial waters was established by the Hague Convention.

1907: Persil washing powder first went on sale, made in Dusseldorf, Germany.

1933: The first drive-in movie theatre opened in Camden, New Jersey, with room for 400 cars.

1936: Gatwick airport was opened.

1944: D-Day: The Allied landings on the coast of Normandy, called Operation Overlord, took place. It was the biggest sea-borne invasion in history.

1949: Nineteen Eighty Four, George Orwell’s prophetic novel of a world ruled by Big Brother, was published.

1954: The Eurovision television link-up was inaugurated.

1988: The Queen stripped imprisoned jockey Lester Piggott of his OBE.

BIRTHDAYS

David Blunkett, former politician, 71; Sandra Bernhard, comedienne and actress, 63; Bjorn Borg, former tennis player, 62; Mike Gatting, former cricketer, 61; Josie Lawrence, comedienne and actress, 59; Steve Vai, rock guitarist, 58; Jason Isaacs, actor, 55.