History UK and The Republic Of Ireland

26/10/2026

Happy Essex Day! 🛡⚔️🛡

https://britishcountyflags.com/2013/11/03/essex-day/
https://britishcountyflags.com/2013/05/20/essex-flag/

Happy Essex Day! 🙂 https://britishcountyflags.com/2013/11/03/essex-day/ https://britishcountyflags.com/2013/05/20/essex-flag/

26/10/2026

On This Day 27th October in British History

~939 Æthelstan, the first King of England, died in Gloucester and was succeeded by his half-brother, Edmund I. He was buried at Malmesbury Abbey and is commemorated by an empty fifteenth-century tomb.

~1327 The death of Elizabeth de Burg (Scottish), at the royal residence at Cullen, Banffshire, aged around 43, and was buried at Dunfermline Abbey, resting place of Scottish kings and queens since 1093. King Robert, her husband, died 18 months later (b. 1289).

~1644 The Second Battle of Newbury in the English Civil War took place in Speen, adjoining Newbury in Berkshire. The combined armies of Parliament inflicted a tactical defeat on the Royalists, but failed to gain any strategic advantage.

~1744 The birth of Mary Moser, English painter and academic (d. 1819).

~1914 Birth of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. He had a long affinity with Laugharne, spending the last four years of his life in the Boathouse.

~1914 World War I: The British super-dreadnought battleship HMS Audacious was sunk off Tory Island, north-west Ireland, by a minefield laid by the armed German merchant-cruiser Berlin. The Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet, Sir John Jellicoe, proposed that the sinking be kept a secret, to which the Board of Admiralty and the British Cabinet agreed, and for the rest of the war, Audacious' name remained on all public lists of ship movements and activities.

~1936 American Wallis Simpson, the future Duchess of Windsor, was granted a divorce from her second husband Ernest, leaving her free to marry King Edward VIII.

~1939 The birth of John Cleese, actor, comedian, writer and film producer. He appeared in BBC TV's Monty Python's Flying Circus and Fawlty Towers, and has starred in many films including the four Monty Python films, Clockwise and A Fish called Wanda.

~1958 The birth of Simon Le Bon, English musician, best known as the lead singer, lyricist and musician of the band Duran Duran.

~1967 Britain passed the Abortion Act, allowing abortions to be performed legally for medical reasons.

~1968 An estimated 6,000 marchers, demonstrating against the Vietnam War, faced up to police outside the US Embassy in London. https://youtu.be/TLRL6qYSDuI?si=19JS9xkXhfj5i9IF

~1978 Four people were killed and four others seriously wounded after a gunman (Barry Williams) went on a shooting spree on the Bustleholm estate, Wednesbury and later at a service station in Nuneaton.

~1980 The start of a hunger strike by Republican prisoners interned in the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland.

~1986 The government suddenly deregulated financial markets, leading to a total restructuring of the way in which they operated, in an event now referred to as the Big Bang.

~1987 Gilbert McNamee was sentenced to 25 years in prison for being an IRA bomb maker

~1998 Welsh Secretary Ron Davies resigned after what he described as his 'inappropriate behaviour' late at night on Clapham Common, London which led to him being robbed at knife point.

25/10/2026

On This Day 26th October in British History

~664 The death of Cedd, English monk and bishop (b. 620).
https://www.catholicireland.net/saintoftheday/st-cedd-d-664-bishop-of-the-east-saxons/

~760 The death of Cuthbert, Archbishop of Canterbury.
http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/adversaries/bios/cuthbertcant.html

~899 King Alfred the Great, Saxon King of Wessex, south west England, is believed to have died on this date. A soldier and scholar, he fought against the invading Danes and formed England's first navy. His son, Edward the Elder became King.

~ 1326 The garrison of Bristol Castle surrenders after an eight day to the forces of Isabella and Mortimer with Hugh Despenser the elder executed soon afterwards.

~1640 The Treaty of Ripon was signed, by Charles I, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the Scottish Covenanters. It was a major setback for Charles, and its terms were humiliating. It stipulated that Northumberland and County Durham were to be ceded to the Scots as an interim measure, that Newcastle was to be left in the hands of the Scots, and that Charles was to pay them £850 a day to maintain their armies there.

~1775 King George III went before Parliament to declare the American colonies in rebellion, and authorized a military response to quell the American Revolution.

~1859 The Royal Charter steam clipper was wrecked in Dulas Bay, off the coast of Anglesey, with almost 460 dead, the highest death toll of any shipwreck off the Welsh coast. The exact number of dead was not verified as the passenger list was lost in the wreck.

~1863 The Football Association was formed at a meeting at Freeman's Tavern in London.

~1907 The Territorial Army was formed by the Secretary of State for War, Richard Haldane.

~1965 The Beatles went to Buckingham Palace to be presented with their MBEs by Queen Elizabeth II. Four years later, John Lennon sent back his MBE, stating that he was returning the award in protest against British involvement in Biafra, Nigeria, and Vietnam.
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/beatles-mbe/

~1977 The birth of Dame Sarah Storey, Britain's most decorated female Paralympian. Her list of major achievements (as of October 2015) include being a 21-time World champion (6 in swimming and 15 in cycling), a 21-time European champion (18 in swimming and 3 in cycling) and a holder of 72 world records. There is a sculpture to her and her husband 'Barney' Storey in their home town of Disley, Cheshire.

~1986 Leading politician Jeffery Archer was forced to resign from the deputy chairmanship of the Conservative party following allegations that he made a payment to a pr******te to avoid a scandal. He denied the allegations and later fought a successful libel case.

~1989 The British Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson resigned over policy differences with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. John Major replaced him.

~1992 The London Ambulance Service was thrown into chaos after the failure of a new Computer Aided Dispatch system. Its poor design and implementation led to significant delays in the assigning of ambulances, with reports of 11 hour waits. Media reports at the time claimed that up to 30 people may have died as a result of the chaos. The then-chief executive, John Wilby, resigned shortly afterwards.
https://www.wired.com/2009/10/1026london-ambulance-computer-meltdown/amp

~2000 The long awaited report into the spread of BSE or 'mad cow disease' and its fatal human equivalent, vCJD, criticised officials, scientists and government ministers.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/26/newsid_2478000/2478331.stm

~2001 British troops were put on standby for action in Afghanistan as Tony Blair warned that Osama bin Laden must be stopped.

~2014 Camp Bastion, the last UK base in Afghanistan, was handed over to the control of Afghan security forces, ending British combat operations in the country.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-29776544

24/10/2026

On This Day 25th October in British History

~1154 The death of Stephen, King of England,
the grandson of William the Conqueror
(b. 1096).

~1400 The death of Geoffrey Chaucer, the English poet famous for the Canterbury Tales. Chaucer is known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey.

~1415 In the Hundred Year's War, King Henry V's Englishmen along with Longbowmen defeated a numerically superior French Army at the Battle of Agincourt. His victory crippled France and started a new period in the war, during which Henry married the French king's daughter and his son, Henry VI, was made heir to the throne of France.

~1415 The death of Dafydd Gam (Davy Gam) Welsh hero who reputedly saved Henry V's life at Agincourt. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dafydd_Gam

~1415 The death of Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York, English politician (b. 1373)
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward-of-Norwich-2nd-duke-of-York
•Here's a good article about 'The Masters Game' that Edward of Norwich wrote:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Master_of_Game

~1415 The death of Michael de la Pole, 3rd Earl of Suffolk, English soldier (b. 1394) http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/plantagenet_51.html

~1747 British fleet under Admiral Sir Edward Hawke defeats the French at the Second Battle of Cape Finisterre. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Cape_Finisterre_(1747)

~1760 King George II died. George III Hanover, his grandson, became king. In the later part of his life, George III suffered from recurrent, and eventually permanent, mental illness which may have been caused by a blood disease. After a final relapse in 1810, a regency was established, and George III's eldest son, George, Prince of Wales, ruled as Prince Regent.

~1800 The birth of Thomas Macaulay, British poet, historian, and politician. He was a member of the supreme council of India from 1834 - 1838 and pressed for parliamentary reform and the abolition of slavery.

~1828 The St Katharine Docks opened in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. They were part of the Port of London, in the area now known as the Docklands, and are now a popular housing and leisure complex.

~1839 Bradshaw's Railway Guide, the world's first railway timetable, was published, in Manchester. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradshaw%27s_Guide

~1854 Lord Cardigan led the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War. An ambiguous order from the commander, Lord Raglan, led Cardigan’s brave cavalry to charge the Russians while fire came from three different sides.

~1920 The Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney died in Brixton Prison after 74 days on hunger strike.

~1951 Margaret Roberts (later Thatcher), aged 26, of the Conservative Party, became the youngest candidate to stand at a general election. The Conservatives won a narrow overall majority but the future British Prime Minister failed to win the seat.

~1964 The Beatles won five UK Ivor Novello Awards - 1963's Most Broadcast Song, and Top-Selling Single 'She Loves You', Second Best-Selling Single 'I Want to Hold your Hand', Second Most Outstanding Song 'All My Loving', and the Most Outstanding Contribution to Music.

~1976 The new National Theatre on the South Bank in London, was officially opened after years of delays.

~1978 Queen Elizabeth II opened the new Anglican Cathedral in Liverpool.

~1995 Fans gathered outside Buckingham Palace, to sing 'Congratulations' after singer Cliff Richard formally received his knighthood.

~2001 British Crime Survey revealed that the chances of being a victim of crime were the lowest for 20 years.

~2004 John Peel, veteran BBC broadcaster and Radio 1 DJ died, aged 65, from a heart attack whilst in Peru on holiday. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death.

~2013 A dog walker found around sixty thousand pounds in banknotes (some charred after being burnt), floating in a Lincolnshire waterway (South Drove Drain in Spalding) . Six months later police were still following up a number of lines of enquiry.

~2013 The former Labour home and foreign secretary, Jack Straw (67) announced that he was to stand down as MP for Blackburn at the next general election.He was elected in Blackburn in 1979 and stood in eight general elections in the constituency.

24/10/2026

24/10/2026

Explore London’s transport history and heritage, uncover the stories of those who have travelled and worked in London over the past 200 years, and see how technology is shaping the future.

23/10/2026

On This Day 24th October in British History

~ 1360 The Treaty of Brétigny is ratified between King Edward III of England and King John II of France (the Good), at Calais, marking the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years' War.

~1537 Henry VIII's 3rd wife, Jane Seymour, died following the birth of future king, Edward VI.

~1857 The founding of the world's first official football club, Sheffield Football Club, in Yorkshire, by a group of former students from Cambridge University. The club's finest hour came in 1904 when they won the FA Amateur Cup, a competition conceived after a suggestion by Sheffield. They are commemorated by the English Football Hall of Fame for their significant place in football history.

~1895 The birth of Jack Warner OBE, the English film and television actor who is closely associated with the role of PC George Dixon in the BBC television series Dixon of Dock Green, a part he played until the age of eighty.

~1922 George Cadbury, the English chocolate manufacturer, died aged 83.

~1945 The United Nations was formed with the aim to 'save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.'

~1969 British actor Richard Burton bought his wife, American actress Elizabeth Taylor, a 69.42 carat diamond costing more than half a million pounds.

~1983 Civil servant Dennis Nilsen, from North London, went on trial accused of six murders and two attempted murders.

~1986 The UK government broke off diplomatic relations with Syria following revelations of complicity in a plot to blow up an El Al airliner.

~1995 Britain's main church leaders attacked the setting up of Britain's first National Lottery, accusing it of undermining public culture and damaging society.

~2003 The legendary supersonic aircraft, Concorde, made its last commercial passenger flight amid emotional scenes at Heathrow airport. Concorde was retired after 27 years due to a general downturn in the aviation industry after the 11th September terrorist attacks in 2001 and a decision by Airbus to discontinue maintenance support.

~2008 'Bloody Friday' saw many of the world's stock exchanges experience the worst declines in their history, with drops of around 10% in most indices.

~2012 Sir Norman Bettison resigned as chief constable of West Yorkshire Police, saying that an inquiry into his role after the Hillsborough football tragedy of 1989 was 'a distraction' to the force. At the time he was a South Yorkshire Police inspector who attended the match as a spectator and later took part in an internal inquiry. He denied claims that he helped 'concoct' a false version of events.

23/10/2026

Autumn in Snowshill in the Cotswolds🍂🍁
What a beautiful place

Photo: instagram.com/hope_and_wander

22/10/2026

On This Day 23rd October in British History

22/10/2026

The mystery surrounding the identity of a skeleton found in a Roman sarcophagus in the grounds of Westminster Abbey more than 150 years ago appears closer to being solved.

The limestone sarcophagus was excavated on the North Green in 1869. It bears an inscription to Valerius Amandinus – a wealthy Briton who lived in the city in around 300 to 400 AD.

Also sculpted on the lid however is a Latin cross dating from the 10th or 11th century, suggesting that the human remains which were found within might belong to an Anglo-Saxon who had died many centuries later, when the coffin was re-used. The identity of that person has been a mystery ever since.

Now new research by our Consultant Archaeologist, Professor Warwick Rodwell, published in the Journal of the British Archaeological Association, concludes that the bones belonged to a high-ranking medieval monk.

Professor Rodwell believes the most likely candidate is Aelfwig, who served as Abbot of the medieval Benedictine monastery and died in around 1020. Another possibility is Aelfwig’s successor, Wulnoth, who died in 1049 and is also presumed to have been buried at the Abbey.

Reflecting on his research, Professor Rodwell said: 'We have two viable contenders for the occupant of the sarcophagus. We do not know the date of birth of either. But either would fit equally well if we assume the Abbot was in his early twenties when the appointment was made and close to fifty when he died. The fact Aelfwig was already a monk of Westminster might favour him.'

You can find out more about this piece of historic detective work via the link in the comments, and you can see the sarcophagus on permanent display in our museum, The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries.