Swindon

1951: An old postcard showing a moment of Wootton Bassett history was sent to the Swindon Advertiser offices. The coloured card, printed by an old Swindon firm, Tomkins and Barrett, reproduced an old engraving of an election procession in the market town in 1808. A throng of men in smocks and women in bonnets were shown following the carriage of the winning candidate, a Mr Walsh.

1951: A ginger cat became stuck on a William Street roof in an attempt to bypass the front door of a fish and chip shop. The marooned moggy was there for three days before an passer-by noticed his plight. A RSPCA inspector came to the rescue.

1961: The County Ground car park was the venue for a new motorcycle training course organised by Swindon Accident Prevention Council. The organisation said the course would consist of 12 weekly lessons in the practical and theoretical aspects of motorcycling, delivered by 10 volunteer instructors. The opening ceremony was conducted by the Deputy Mayor of Swindon, Coun Miss ECM Millin, who described the course as a credit to the town.

1961: Miss Valerie Dewe, 17, of Pound Lane in Pinehurst, entered a glamorous hair competition organised by a shampoo manufacturer with a top prize including a holiday in Luxembourg, a career with a model agency and a chance to model dresses from a West End fashion house. She The young woman was also keeping her feet on the ground by continuing to with her training as a secretary.

1971: Swindon Town FC’s new £350,000 stadium was taking shape exactly on schedule. The first stage, including seating and other areas used by spectators, was due to be completed by July 31, while the second stage, involving new dressing rooms, a boardroom and a social area, was scheduled to be ready by the middle of September. A club spokesman said: “Everything is going according to plan. We were held up for bricks at one stage but the fine weather has helped us to catch up.”

1971: Barbara Mattinson, who lived in Bath Road, was invited to a Buckingham Palace garden party in her capacity as a senior member of women’s volunteer organisation Soroptimists. Mrs Mattinson, one of 50 members invited, was a past president of Swindon Soroptimists and the current president of the movement’s South West Divisional Union.

The world

1545: The Mary Rose, pride of Henry VIII’s battle fleet, sank in the Solent with the loss of 700 lives. It was raised on October 11, 1982 and taken to Portsmouth Dockyard.

1553: Mary Tudor was proclaimed Queen and Lady Jane Grey, a Protestant, was sent to the Tower, where she was beheaded on February 12, 1554. Mary’s reign was short - she died in 1558.

1814: Samuel Colt, inventor of the six-shot revolver, was born.

1843: At Wapping Dock, Prince Albert launched the world’s largest ship, Brunel’s 3,270-ton Great Britain.

1848: At a convention in Seneca Falls, New York state, female rights campaigner Amelia Bloomer introduced ‘’bloomers’’ to the world, which she described as ‘’the lower part of a rational dress’’.

1860: Lizzie Borden was born in America, attaining notoriety when she was accused of hacking to death both her father and stepmother. The charge was never proven.

1896: Novelist AJ Cronin, creator of Dr Finlay, was born in Cardross, Dunbartonshire.

1937: The creator of the immortal Peter Pan, JM Barrie, died. He was made a baronet for his most famous play.

1970: Brunel’s 320-ft Great Britain, the world’s first all-metal liner, returned to Bristol from the Falkland Islands, where it had lain rusting since 1886.

1983: People searching a clay pit in Surrey discovered fossils of a previously unknown species of carnivorous dinosaur.

1990: MPs voted in favour of permanent televising of the House of Commons.

Birthdays Ilie Nastase, former tennis player, 71; Bernie Leadon, rock guitarist (The Eagles), 70; Brian May, rock guitarist, 70; Adrian Noble, theatre director, 67; Anthony Edwards, actor, 55; Evelyn Glennie, percussionist, 52; Angela Griffin, actress, 41; Benedict Cumberbatch, actor, 41.