swindon

1952: Mr Salaheddin Sateh, of the Hedjaz Railway, who was studying locomotive building at the works of British Railways (Western Region) had visited Swindon. The young Syrian, who lived in Damascus and was married, spent most of his weekends trying to see as much English scenery and famous buildings as possible during his visit.

1952: A little bit of India came to Swindon when two young elephants were spotted in a field. They came from a visiting circus and became great favourites with the Swindon children, who took it in turns as volunteer feeders to carrying bunches of very green grass to the exotic visitors.

1962: A display of dancing and singing by pupils of the Estelle School of Ballet and the Spokane School of Singing was given at St Luke’s Church Hall, Broad Street, Swindon in aid of the Guide and Brownie funds of St Luke’s Church. Miss Patricia Bennett of the dancing school and Phylis Whitewood principal of the singing school were presented with bouquets.

1962: It was reported that Leon Fortuna, the young star from Tonga, who was a last minute substitute for the wrestler George Kidd, would return to The Locarno in Swindon to wrestle Tony Skarlo. Also on the bill would be the welter weight return contest between Pasquale Salvo and Brian Burke.

1972: Calne postal inspector Mr Fred Eley had found the answer to the housing problems by finding a 1909 gipsy caravan in Swindon, and restoring it. Mr Eley spent two months working on the caravan with the help of a detailed plan dug up by the Calne branch of the county library.

1972: Brian Trubshaw, Concorde’s Chief Test Pilot, said when he visited Swindon that he hoped major negotiations would begin with airlines that would produce orders for the jetliners. He predicted a great future for the supersonic jetliner. He said the nation had something to be proud of in Concorde.

the world

1603: The funeral of Queen Elizabeth I took place at Westminster Abbey.

1789: The crew of the HMS Bounty, led by Fletcher Christian, mutinied in the Friendly Islands in the South Seas, sailing for the Pitcain Islands.

1923: The first English FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium was staged. Bolton Wanderers defeated West Ham 2-0.

1945: Benito Mussolini and his mistress Claretta Petacci were executed by Italian partisans and their bodies hung in a square in Milan.

1947: The Kon Tiki expedition set out with Thor Heyerdahl, aiming to prove that ancient cults could have sailed on a balsa wood raft from Peru to Polynesia.

1967: Muhammad Ali refused induction into the US army and was stripped of his world heavyweight boxing title.

1969: General de Gaulle resigned as president of France after defeat in a referendum on electoral reform.

1985: Dennis Taylor won the Embassy World Snooker Championship after a spectacular final frame against Steve Davis.

1990: A Chorus Line closed on Broadway after a record-breaking 15 years.

BIRTHDAYS

Ann-Margret, actress, 77; Mike Brearley, former cricketer, 76; Jay Leno, comedian and chat show host, 68; Mary McDonnell, actress, 66; John Daly, golfer, 52; Howard Donald, singer (Take That), 50; Penelope Cruz, actress, 44; Sir Bradley Wiggins, former road and track cyclist, 38; Jessica Alba, actress, 37.