Cottage Capers

On this day in history….12th September 1878

On this day in history : 12th September 1878 – Cleopatra’s Needle is erected in the City of Westminster, London…. It had originally been presented to the UK by the ruler of Egypt and Sudan in 1819….

An 1840 portrait of Muhammad Ali Pasha, leader of Egypt and Sudan – by Auguste Couder – Public domain

The red granite obelisk, which is over 2,000 years old, had been given to Britain to commemorate the victories of Lord Nelson (Battle of the Nile, 1798) and Sir Ralph Abercrombie (Battle of Alexandra, 1801) – but it had taken until 1877 to arrange for its transportation to Britain…. Standing at 69 feet high and weighing 224 tons this was no easy task; a special floating ‘pontoon’ had to be designed so it could be towed to London….

Encasing Cleopatra’s Needle for shipment to London – Flickr’s The Commons

London’s Needle being erected – Public domain

Cleopatra’s Needle is one of three similarly named obelisks; its counterparts can be found in Paris and New York…. London’s Needle is flanked by two bronze reproduction sphinxes, designed by English architect George John Villiamy…. Concealed in the pedestal, on which the obelisk stands, is a time capsule….contained within are items such as:- a portrait of Queen Victoria, a map of London, copies of newspapers, a set of British coins, a box of cigars, children’s toys, a box of hairpins and a dozen photographs of the most attractive women of the day….

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….11th September 1649

On this day in history : 11th September 1649 – Oliver Cromwell captures Drogheda, Ireland; his troops massacre nearly 3,500 people – some 2,700 of which are Royalist soldiers….

Oliver Cromwell – after Samuel Cooper – Public domain

The Siege of Drogheda took place from the 3rd to the 11th of September…. The coastal town had been held by the English Royalists and Irish Catholic Confederation under the command of Sir Arthur Aston….as it was besieged by Cromwell’s Parliamentarian forces Aston refused to surrender – and so the town was stormed….

Most of the garrison were executed – along with many civilian men, including priests…. Cromwell was also accused of having Irish Catholics transported to the West Indies as slaves and of giving their land to Protestant settlers….

19th Century representation of the massacre at Drogheda – Henry Edward Doyle – Public domain

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….10th September 1897

On this day in history : 10th September 1897 – George Smith, a 25-year-old London taxi driver, is the first person to be charged with the offence of drink driving….

On Friday the 10th of September at 12.45am George had crashed his cab into a building in New Bond Street…. He pleaded guilty and admitted to having consumed 2 or 3 glasses of beer…. He was fined £1….

Example of an electric car, photo from 1895 – This particular car was built by Thomas Parker – and would have been similar to the one George Smith was driving – Public domain

Drink driving laws did not actually come into force in the UK until 1967…. The Road Traffic Act of 1960 made it an offence to drive or attempt to drive, or be in charge of a motor vehicle on the road or in a public place, whilst under the influence – but no legal drink-driving limit was set….

In 1967 the Breathalyser was introduced – a way of testing the blood alcohol level…. William Ducie and Tom Parry Jones developed an electronic device – and the Road Safety Act 1967 introduced the first legal maximum blood alcohol level for those behind the wheel…. In 1981 the Transport Act set this at 35 micro grams of alcohol per 100ml of breath – but this was not officially implemented until 1983…. In 1991 it became a compulsory prison sentence if causing a death by driving whilst under the influence….

It has been over 50 years since the drink-driving alcohol limit was introduced…. Many of us believe a no alcohol policy if behind the wheel is preferable…. In 2017 around 1,400 people were killed or injured due to drivers being over the limit…. Despite the drink-driving campaign over 70,000 drunk drivers are caught every year…. How many more go undetected…?

Photo credit : West Midlands Police via Flickr

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….9th September 1543

On this day in history : 9th September 1543 – Mary Stuart is crowned Queen of Scots at the age of just nine months…. She had become Queen when she was less than a week old….

The Coronation of Mary Queen of Scots – Image credit : teaattrianon.blogspot.com

The ceremony was conducted by Scotland’s most senior Catholic cleric, Cardinal David Beaton, Archbishop of St.Andrews – and took place in the Chapel Royal of Stirling Castle…. Mary had officially become Queen when she was six days old, after the death of her father, James V of Scots…. Mary’s mother, Mary of Guise, ruled as regent – aided by Cardinal Beaton….

Mary of Guise, portrait attributed to Corneille de Lyon c.1537 – Public domain

Mary of Guise came from one of the most powerful of aristocratic families in France…. As a Roman Catholic she was faced with the rising tide of Protestantism in Scotland – and was also under pressure from the English throne to force a marriage between her baby daughter and the young heir to the English throne, Edward Tudor…. Mary Guise had no intention of allowing such a union and when little Mary was 5-years-old she was sent to live with her French grandmother, Antoinette of Guise…. Mary was brought up in the French court as a Catholic with French as her first language….

Mary Queen of Scots – Photo credit : Lisby via Flickr

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….8th September 1914

On this day in history : 8th September 1914 – Nineteen-year-old Private Thomas Highgate is the first British soldier to be executed for desertion during World War I….

Private Thomas Highgate – image via Pinterest

Three days earlier, on the first day of the Battle of Marne, Thomas had been found hiding in a barn, dressed in civilian clothing – his nerves having got the better of him…. Thomas had fled from the battlefield and had hidden in a barn in the French village of Tournan; he was discovered by a gamekeeper – who happened to be an English ex-soldier….

Thomas was tried by court martial – a brief trial presided over by three officers…. The following morning at 6.20am he was informed that he was going to be executed; at 7.07am he faced the firing squad….

In total 306 executions of British and Commonwealth soldiers took place in World War I – for ‘crimes’ such as cowardice and desertion….