SWINDON

1952: The Phifteen Glee Singers, a male voice choir conducted by Mr Eatwell and accompanied by Mrs Eatwell, gave a concert at the final meeting of the Sanford Street (Swindon) Congregational Church Talks, Humour, Art, Music, Education and Social Society when it closed down for the summer months. The soloists were Mr P Whitewood, Mrs M Dobson and Mr B Griffiths.

1952: A film of the Passion Play - a traditional religious drama - held in Oberammagau, Germany, in 1950 was shown by Miss EA Babb during an evening service at St Augustine’s Church, Swindon. The vicar, the Rev AG Ringwood, officiated at the service, which was attended by a congregation of about 200. The organist was Mr G West.

1962: Entertainment was provided by the North Ward Silver Threads Choir when the Penhill Silver Threads met in St Peter’s Church Hall, Penhill. It was conducted by Mr Selwood and accompanied by Mrs Coleman. The female soloists were Mrs Winslow, Mrs Church and Mrs Carpenter, and the males Mr Green, Mr Selwood and Mr Church. Birthday greetings were received by Mrs Bowles.

1962: Ushers Wiltshire Brewery won an appeal against Swindon Corporation’s refusal to allow improvements to the bars and toilets at the Rodbourne Arms in Cheney Manor Road, as well as the building of off-licence premises with a flat above. Mr JE Cardell, the inspector who conducted the inquiry, said the pub was architecturally sound and a reasonable example of its period, and that there was no evidence of a need for further major development for many years.

1972: Britain’s first code of practice drawn up between road safety officers and ice cream sellers was due to come into force that summer. The message to people who ran ice cream vans was: “A child with an ice cream in his hand forgets everything else and you have a responsibility for his safety.” The code included an agreement that vans would not park at or near school entrances, on main roads or at junctions.

1972: A report on the future of certain Swindon schools following a forthcoming reorganisation of local government was discussed in secret by the town’s education committee. The document concerned the takeover by Wiltshire County Council of the town’s schools in 1974. The reorganisation was the one which saw the creation of Thamesdown Borough Council.

THE WORLD

1644: Sir Thomas Fairfax was victorious at the Battle of Selby in the English Civil War.

1689: William III and Mary II were crowned joint monarchs.

1713: Gibraltar and Newfoundland were ceded to Britain in the Treaty of Utrecht.

1814: Napoleon was forced to abdicate - but allowed to retain his title of Emperor - and was banished to the island of Elba.

1914: George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion opened in London with Mrs Patrick Campbell as Eliza Doolittle and Sir Herbert Tree as Professor Higgins.

1929: Popeye made his first appearance as a supporting character in a cartoon strip in Hearst’s New York newspapers.

1951: President Truman relieved war hero General Douglas MacArthur of his command in the Far East in a row over Korea.

1961: Bob Dylan made his first public appearance in Greenwich Village, New York.

1983: Richard Attenborough’s film Gandhi won eight Oscars.

2017: A high-volume crustacean that produces a sound louder than rock concerts was named after the band Pink Floyd.

BIRTHDAYS

Jill Gascoine, actress, 81; Peter Riegert, actor, 71; Jeremy Clarkson, TV motoring expert, 58; Lisa Stansfield, singer, 52;

Cerys Matthews, singer and broadcaster, 49; Jennifer Esposito, actress, 45; Ian Bell, cricketer, 36; Joss Stone, singer, 31.