Author: cottagecapers

Hi, I'm Hazel.... I write purely for pleasure; I love to delve in history, customs, traditions and nature....or whatever else grabs my attention at the time.... I am in no way an expert on what I choose to write about - I simply love to find out about things.... Whilst I always endeavour to get the facts right - occasionally I may get things wrong.... I guess you could call this my disclaimer.... I hope you enjoy reading my blog posts.... If so please give me a follow on Twitter or sign up via email for future posts.... If you are on Facebook Cottage Capers has a page with lots of ‘mini blogs’ and snippets.... It’s where we ‘like-minded’ folk can interact.... Hope to meet you again soon....

British History

On this day in history….23rd September 1976

On this day in history : 23rd September 1976 – Eight men are killed in a blaze onboard HMS Glasgow whilst she is being fitted out at a shipyard near to Newcastle-upon-Tyne….

HMS Glasgow had been launched on the 14th of April 1976 by Lady Kirstie Treacher, the wife of Admiral Sir John Treacher…. The £23m Type 42 destroyer was being worked on at Swan Hunter’s Neptune yard and was soon due to be starting sea trials….

Survivors of the blaze reported hearing an explosion and a fire rapidly took hold, spreading to three decks of the 3,500 ton destroyer…. Over 500 men were working onboard, the smoke was so thick it was impossible to see – there was only one gangplank on and off the ship…. It took 70 firemen two hours to bring the fire under control; eight shipyard workers were killed and six others were injured….

An investigation confirmed that the fire had been started by a welder’s torch when oxygen ignited that had been leaking from a supply line all night…. The blame was put on Swan Hunter Shipbuilders for not ensuring the oxygen pipes had been turned off the previous evening…. The report also recommended escape routes from ships under construction be reviewed….

HMS Glasgow was commissioned into the Royal Navy on the 25th of May 1977 and saw active service in the Falklands War…. She was de-commissioned on the 1st of February 2005 – and on the 7th of January 2009 began her final journey as she was towed from Portsmouth bound for Turkey, to be broken up….

HMS Glasgow being towed to the breakers – Image credit : Brian Burnell CC BY-SA 3.0

On this day in history….22nd September 1999

On this day in history : 22nd September 1999 – A two-minute “SCREAM!” is held at a pub in Ashburton, Devon by Lord Sutch’s Official Monster Raving Loony Party ~ to honour his memory….

Born in 1940 David Edward Sutch had no known connection to nobility but changed his name to Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow on account of his musical career…. His band, becoming known as ‘Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages’, were influenced by American singer-songwriter Screamin’ Jay Hawkins…. In 1968 Sutch officially changed his name by deed poll….

Lord Sutch began his political career in the 1960s, as a representative of the National Teenage Party…. His first parliamentary election was in 1963 when he contested the Stratford-upon-Avon by-election after the resignation of John Profumo…. He received 208 votes….

The Official Monster Raving Loony Party was formed on the 16th of June 1982 at the Golden Lion public house in Ashburton, Devon – which then became its headquarters…. The first time the party stood under this name was in 1983, in Finchley – against Margaret Thatcher…. Lord Sutch and his party contested more than 40 by-elections…. His most successful was at Rotherham in 1994 with 1,114 votes….4.2% of the share….

Lord Sutch carried on making his music – using the money from concerts to fund his political campaigns….with the Party renowned for its bizarre policies making a deliberate satire of British politics…. Lord Sutch was instantly recognisable in his wacky, flamboyant attire – usually sporting a top hat…. He often appeared on television – and was even in the first episode of the popular ITV comedy ‘The New Statesman’, as himself…. The advertising industry liked him; Heineken had him appear as ‘PM’ outside No.10 Downing Street in one of their advertisements – and in 1999 he appeared in a Coco Pops ad….

On the 16th of June 1999 Lord Sutch was discovered dead by his fiancée at his home in Harrow, north-west London; he had hanged himself…. He had a history of manic depression…. He was to be sadly missed in the political world which he so extrovertly livened up…. A two-minute “SCREAM!” was an appropriate memorial…. The Golden Lion at Ashburton is, incidentally, no more – it has since been converted into flats….

British History

On this day in history….12th September 1440

On this day in history : 12th September 1440 – Eton College is founded by Henry VI to provide free education for 70 poor boys – who would then go on to King’s College, Cambridge – which he also founded….

Statue of founder King Henry VI in Eton College Quadrangle

Eton was founded as Kynges College of Our Ladye of Eton beside Windsor…. The earliest records held by the college date to the 1500s…. The students had a strict, spartan and gruelling routine…. Their day would begin at 5am, prayers would be chanted whilst they prepared themselves for the day ahead – at 6am their lessons began, which were all in Latin…. They were supervised by prefects – or ‘praepostors’ – senior boys who had been appointed by the headmaster….

The boys only had one hour of recreation per day…. It seems that football was a favourite game; according to a Latin translation from 1519 it was known as playing with ‘a bag full of wynde’…. Lessons ended at 8pm and there were just two holidays per year, Christmas and Summer….

Eton College by Loggan, 1690 – Public domain

Eton College is nowadays one of England’s most prestigious and largest independent secondary schools, with attendance fees in the region of £42K per year…. It has produced twenty of the nation’s prime ministers, including Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson….

Image credit : diamond geezer via flickr

British History

On this day in history….21st September 1979

On this day in history : 21st September 1979 – An RAF Harrier crashes onto houses in the Cambridgeshire town of Wisbech; two men and a young boy are killed….

Image credit : Andrew P Clarke CC BY-SA 4.0

It was 9.55am, on a Friday morning…. Two Harrier jump jets from a nearby Air Force base at Wittering were on a training exercise when they collided by clipping wings at around 8,000ft…. Both pilots managed to eject safely; one plane broke up and fell into a field…. However, the other plummeted towards Wisbech and landed on two houses and a bungalow in Ramnoth Road, narrowly missing two schools and a college…. The impact left a crater 15ft wide and 50ft deep….

Several people were injured, including a mother and her baby…. The two dead men were Bill Trumpess, a former Mayor of Wisbech and Bob Bowers – along with his two-year-old son, Jonathan….

As a result of the crash the RAF raised the minimum training height from 5,000ft to 8,000ft…. The incident at Wisbech had been the third Harrier jump jet crash of that year….

British History

On this day in history….20th September 1906

On this day in history : 20th September 1906 – The launch of the Cunard Line’s RMS Maurentania – at the time she was the largest and fastest ship in the world…

Official launch party – Image credit : Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums

Maurentania was built by Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson and was sister ship to the Lusitania, which was sunk by a German U Boat in 1915…. The two ships held between them the Blue Riband (Atlantic speed record) for over twenty years…. Less than a century before it had taken a month to cross the Atlantic, Maurentania could do it in five days….

Weighing over 30,000 tons and with a crew of 812 Maurentania could carry 560 first class passengers in luxurious accommodation amidships on five decks…. She could also carry 475 second class and 1,300 in third class….

RMS Maurentania after her launch – Image credit : Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums

The grand interior of the ship was fitted out in French and Italian Renaissance styles, with a magnificent 15th century Italian staircase…. The two dining saloons were in the style of Francis I and the 80ft lounge Louis XVI style…. The smoking room was Italian Renaissance with a spectacular marble chimney surrounded by carved wood…. There was even a children’s room with a giant rocking horse…. The first class cabins were decorated and furnished to give maximum comfort…. It really was a floating palace…. Even the second and third class accommodation was a vast marked-improvement on what had been before….

RMS Maurentania Image credit : Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums

However, Maurentania’s reign was relatively short-lived…. In 1929 her speed record was lost to the new German liner Bremen…. In 1935 she was scrapped at Rosyth….