SWINDON

1952: Mrs Winifred Guy, of Victoria Road, was due to travel from Swindon to Southampton and board the liner United States, bound for a reunion with her sister, Mrs Ella Orlando. Mrs Orlando had married American soldier Joseph Orlando while he was stationed at Shrivenham during World War Two. She now lived in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, and according to her sister had been made to feel very welcome by local people.

1962: Nylonic Engineering Company Limited, a manufacturer of nylon and other plastic materials, became the latest firm to announce a move to Swindon. Currently based in Pinner, Middlesex, it was to make its new home at the Cheney Manor Industrial Estate. A spokesman said the existing premises had become too cramped.

1973: Swindon MP David Stoddart highlighted the dangers of long overtime stints during a speech in the House of Commons. Addressing Employment Secretary Maurice MacMillan, he said too much overtime could compromise the health and safety of employees, and cited medical opinion drawing links with industrial accident and sickness rates. He also said excessive overtime was bad for industrial relations.

THE WORLD

AD 138: Hadrian, Roman Emperor who planned the great wall across northern

Britain, died.

1099: Spanish warrior Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar - El Cid - died in Valencia,

apparently of grief after defeat by the Moors.

1460: The Yorkists defeated the Lancastrians and captured Henry VI at the

Battle of Northampton.

1553: Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed Queen of England at the age of 16 - she lasted only nine days before being arrested and executed.

1834: American artist James McNeill Whistler, who made Chelsea his adopted

home, was born in Massachusetts.

1871: Author Marcel Proust - A la Recherche du Temps Perdu (Remembrance Of Things Past) - was born in Paris.

1900: The Paris Metro opened.

1954: Gordon Richards rode his last mount - at Sandown - the 21,834th of his

nearly 34-year-long career.

1958: The first parking meters in Britain were installed in London’s Mayfair.

1962: Telstar I, the world’s first television telecommunications satellite, was

launched in America.

2011: The News of the World bade farewell to its readers after 168 years with the simple words “Thank you & goodbye”.

2017: The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh marked 70 years since their engagement was celebrated at Buckingham Palace.

BIRTHDAYS

Gavin Strang, former MP, 75; Virginia Wade, former tennis player, 73; Sunil Gavaskar, former cricketer, 69; Neil Tennant, singer (Pet Shop Boys), 64; Gina Bellman, actress, 52; John Simm, actor, 48; Jason Orange, Take That singer, 48; Jessica Simpson, singer, 38.