SWINDON...

1947: Sixteen members of the Stratton St Margaret Nursing Division have just returned from a week in camp at Porthcawl, South Wales. The events included a church parade, a joint social with Porthcawl Division, singing evening in both English and Welsh and a 12th birthday party for Cadet Vera Grant.

1957: Ian Williams, the Swindon Speedway captain, became one of the highest qualifiers for the semi-finals of the World Cup, when saving 13 points at Leicester.

1977: Twenty years ago Tom Wales left Swindon to go prospecting for opals in South Australia. He gave up his job at Plessey and made his way to the outback. Three weeks later he, and his partner, mined £3,000 of opals, and Tom launched his business. Now the 62-year-old is back in Swindon for the first time and visiting friends.

2013: Street markets will soon be returning to the town centre after the council approved certain areas for trading. Following a public consultation the council has designated a number of locations in the town centre which are allowed to hold a market. The locations which have been permitted to hold markets are the old Post Office site, Canal Walk, Havelock Square, outside the Town Hall, Wharf Green, Fleet Street and Bridge Street.

THE WORLD...

1873: Jesse James and the James-Younger Gang pulled off the first successful train robbery in the American Old West.

1969: Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon.

2005: Four terrorist bombings, occurring exactly two weeks after the similar July 7 bombings, targeted London’s public transportation system. All four bombs failed to detonate and all four suspected suicide bombers were captured.

BORN...

1899: Ernest Hemingway, American author

1926: Bill Pertwee, English actor

1934: Jonathan Miller, English director, actor, and author

1951: Robin Williams, American comedian and actor

1964: Ross Kemp, English actor

1985: Paloma Faith, English singer-songwriter

DIED...

1796: Robert Burns, Scottish poet

1967: Basil Rathbone, Hollywood actor

2005: Long John Baldry, English singer

2012: Angharad Rees, English actress