SWINDON

1952: Swindon people had so far raised a little over £162 - equivalent to about £2,500 in 2018 - for a disaster relief appeal launched after Devon and Somerset were hit by severe flooding. The Mayor of Swindon, Alderman AE Long, attended a meeting of the town’s Round Table where collection boxes were prepared for distribution among local shops and businesses. Other collections were made in Wootton Bassett, Cricklade, Highworth, Marlborough and Faringdon.

1952: A new television transmitter at Wenvoe in South Wales was expected to improve reception in Swindon and the surrounding area immensely. Many electronics shops took the opportunity to advertise their wares in the Adver. They included Rentaset in Victoria Road, which promised demonstrations of reception daily between 11am and noon and 3pm and 4pm, and was willing to arrange evening appointments for potential customers. Sets could be rented for as little as the equivalent of 50p per week.

1962: An 18-year-old Swindon woman was awarded a scholarship to attend Bedford University. Jennifer Sturmey, whose family home was in Birch Street, attended Marlborough Grammar School and had formerly been a pupil of Clifton Street Junior School. Her scholarship was for a degree in geography, a subject she eventually hoped to teach. Her exam results were so good that she was also given the option of a history scholarship.

1962: It was announced that the Corn Exchange clock in Old Town had struck its last note. We said: “For 18 months it has neither struck nor told the time, because of a number of teeth missing in the clock’s escapement mechanism.” The borough council announced it had looked into the possibility of a repair but decided not to proceed after being told it would cost £200.

1972: About 2,000 Plessey employees in Swindon downed tools in support of 100 maintenance workers who held a 24-hour strike in support of a pay claim. The maintenance workers failed to turn up at the firm’s Cheney Manor and Kembrey Street factories. The 2,000 who walked out in support did so because the compressed air systems had evidently been kept running by staff other than the maintenance workers.

1972: About 60 building workers on the site of the new Burmah Oil headquarters in Swindon voted to stop work, demanding a better deal from management. Pickets turned lorries away in what was the fifth major stoppage at a Swindon building site in less than a week.

THE WORLD

1485: The Battle of Bosworth Field was fought in Leicestershire and Richard III was butchered as he vainly tried to reach the usurper Henry Tudor. He was the third King Richard to die by violent means and cautious monarchs have avoided the name since.

1642: The Civil War in England began, between the supporters of Charles I (Royalists or Cavaliers) and of Parliament (Roundheads), when the King raised his standard at Nottingham.

1893: Dorothy Parker, author, wit and theatre critic, was born in New Jersey. Her reviews were often short and to the point. “The only thing I didn’t like about The Barretts Of Wimpole Street was the play.”

1862: Composer Claude Debussy was born in St Germain-en-Laye, France.

1922: Michael Collins, Irish politician and revolutionary, was assassinated by extremist Republicans in an ambush in Ireland.

1933: BBC TV televised a boxing match for the first time.

1960: Beyond The Fringe, one of the most influential satirical revues staged in Britain, opened in Edinburgh.

1962: Fifteen terrorists attacked General de Gaulle in the 22nd of 31 attempts on his life. Despite being sprayed with a volley of 150 shots, the General was only superficially cut by flying glass.

1985: A British Airtours Boeing 737 burst into flames at the end of the runway at Manchester Airport when take-off was aborted. Although 80 escaped, 55 died in the flames and fumes.

1989: Lord Hill of Luton, BBC’s Radio Doctor who gave medical advice to families in the Second World War, died aged 85.

2004: Edvard Munch’s iconic painting The Scream was stolen at gun point from the Munch Museum in Norway.

BIRTHDAYS

Valerie Harper, actress, 79; Steve Davis, former snooker player, 61; Roland Orzabal, pop musician, 57; Tori Amos, singer/songwriter, 55; Mats Wilander, former tennis player, 54; Howie D, former pop singer, 45; Kristen Wiig, actress, 45; Sheree Murphy, actress, 43.