British History

On this day in history….17th October 1091

On this day in history : 17th October 1091 – A tornado sweeps through London – it is the earliest reported tornado in Britain…. The wooden London Bridge is demolished along with over 600 houses….

The tornado is thought to have been T8 on the Torro Scale, which is used to measure tornado intensity ranging between T0 and T11…. Or on the Fujita Scale it would have registered at F4, indicating wind speeds between 207-260mph – classified as causing devastating damage….

The tornado twisted in from the south west direction…. Many churches in the area were badly damaged or demolished…. The church at St. Mary-Le-Bow, in the City, was completely levelled – all that survived was the newly completed arched crypt…. Four rafters at 28ft long were driven into the ground with such force that only 4ft showed above the surface…. The church was later rebuilt during the Norman period….

According to William of Malmesbury, in his account of the tornado – “churches and houses, enclosures and walls were left in heaps”…. Not only was it the first tornado recorded in England it has also been the most violent one ever…. Over 600, mostly wooden houses, were destroyed – it is amazing that out of a population of around 18,000 there were only two known fatalities….

After the tornado William Rufus rebuilt London Bridge – only for it to be destroyed by fire forty years later…. Eventually one was built from stone….

On this day in history….16th October 1902

On this day in history : 16th October 1902 – In the village of Borstal, in Kent, a detention centre for young offenders is opened…. It is the first of several such custodial institutions, which become known as borstals….

Young offenders in the schoolroom at Borstal (now known as Rochester Prison), circa 1906 – Public domain

It was in 1895 that the Gladstone Committee first proposed the concept of the ‘borstal’ – seeing a need to separate young people from the influence of older convicts in adult prisons…. Those under the age of 16 were already segregated after the introduction of Industrial Schools, a new reformatory system to correct wayward behaviour as an alternative to prison…. The Gladstone Committee sought to find a solution for those in the 16-21 age group….

An experimental scheme was conducted at Bedford Prison commencing in 1899…. This was then extended to a part of the existing prison in Borstal; the new institution being kept entirely separated from the main adult prison…. The young inmates were given physical exercise, schooling and training for future work…. The skills taught included trades such as brick-laying, carpentry, farming, agriculture, metalwork and cookery…. Sentences were generally between two and three years, with supervision after discharge….

The Prevention of Crime Act 1908 saw the scheme come officially into force; in 1910 a second institution was established at Feltham and was then followed by others, including Portland…. The first for girls was opened in Aylesbury in 1909 and offered training in skills such as housework, cookery, laundry, sewing, gardening and farming….

Aylesbury Prison, where the first Borstal for girls was established – Public domain

Discipline was strict but with corporal punishment used only as a last resort…. Other punishments such as withdrawal of privileges, docked wages, reduction of food rations and confinement were implemented instead…. The birch could only be imposed by a visiting magistrate and was only ever administered to males over the age of 18…. In the ten year period between 1926-36 it was only used on 7 occasions…. Caning was used in Northern Ireland but was not authorised in England, Scotland and Wales…. Borstals should not be confused with approved schools, which were a different type of youth correction institution, based more on boarding schools – the cane was used in approved schools….

The Criminal Justice Act 1982, officially abolished the borstal system in the UK, being replaced by youth custody centres, or detention centres…. Since the 1960s and 1970s the old borstal system had been viewed as out dated…. In 1972 Community Order sentences began to appear – with offenders undertaking unpaid work to provide services for the benefit of the community….

British History

On this day in history….15th October 1871

On this day in history : 15th October 1871 – The Church Times publishes Onward Christian Soldiers – originally written for a children’s festival by the Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould….

Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould – Engraving from Strand Magazine – Public domain

It was the Monday following Whitsuntide, 1865…. It had been arranged for the children of Horbury village school, near to Wakefield in Yorkshire, to meet up with children from a school in a neighbouring village…. They were to rendezvous at St. Peter’s Church in Horbury where Baring-Gould was curate at the time….

St. Peter’s Church, Horbury – Image credit : Stanley Walker CC BY-SA 2.0

Baring-Gould wanted a suitable rousing song for the children to sing as they marched along but was unable to find anything fitting…. So, he sat up the night before and wrote Onward Christian Soldiers – it reputedly took him 15 minutes to write the words….

He had not ever intended the song to be published – and when it was later added to the hymn books he apologised profusely for his hastily written words…. He allowed the compilers to change some of his lyrics – for example his ‘one in hope and doctrine’ was amended to ‘one in hope and purpose’….

The tune Baring-Gould had originally set his words to was Joseph Haydn’s Symphony in D No.15…. This did not particularly inspire public interest in the hymn – and even after being printed in the Church Times it did not increase in popularity…. Then along came composer Arthur Sullivan – best known for his collaborations with W.S. Gilbert, where together they produced works such as HMS Pinafore and The Pirates of Penzance…. Sullivan wrote the tune St. Gertrude to accompany Onward Christian Soldiers – it was first publicly performed in 1902…..

Winston Churchill further helped increase its popularity when in August 1941 he met with Franklin Roosevelt onboard HMS Prince of Wales to agree the Atlantic Charter…. As part of the proceedings a church service was held, for which Churchill chose the hymns…. Onwards Christian Soldiers was one of them….

British History

On this day in history….14th October 1881

On this day in history : 14th October 1881 – Scotland’s worst ever fishing disaster occurs when a Berwickshire fishing fleet gets caught in a violent storm – 189 fishermen lose their lives….

Granite memorial in Eyemouth; depicts a broken sailing mast – Image credit : Walter Baxter CC BY-SA 2.0

Locals still know the day, when some 29 boats were swallowed by the sea off the south coast of Scotland in hurricane force conditions, as Black Friday…. Most of the fleet was from Eyemouth; 129 men from the town drowned, around 10% of the male population…. A further 24 from Burnmouth died, 15 from Newhaven-by-Edinburgh, 11 from Cove, 7 from Fisherrow, Musselburgh and 3 from Coldingham….

Bronze memorial at St. Abbs, figures of women and children looking out to sea – Image credit : Karen Bryan CC BY-SA 2.0

Fishing, being such a vital part of the economy, meant the fishermen had ignored the weather forecast that day…. Times were hard and not being able to afford losing a day’s income meant the fleet had set out as usual…. By lunchtime their worst fears were being realised – they were caught in the most violent of storms…. Those boats that could headed back to harbour but some were already beginning to sink, many more capsized and others were smashed against rocks…. The only glimmer of brightness out of this dark time being when fishing boat Ariel Gazell limped back into harbour at Eyemouth two days after the storm….

Eyemouth Harbour – Image credit : Peter Nisbet at English Wikipedia – Public domain

A massive relief fund was launched to help the families of the lost fishermen and the community – more than £5m in today’s equivalent was raised….

A commemorative tapestry of the tragic event can be seen in Eyemouth Museum….

British History

On this day in history….13th October 1904

On this day in history : 13th October 1904 – The birth of actor and radio presenter Wilfred Pickles – a proud Yorkshire man and the first newsreader to speak on the BBC with a regional accent….

Pickles was born and grew up in Halifax – and when his family moved to Southport, Lancashire in 1929 he, now a young man, went with them…. He was to join an amateur dramatic society and here he was to meet Mabel Cecelia Myerscough; they were to marry on the 20th of September 1930 and went on to have one child….

It was during the 1920s that Pickles made his first professional appearance as an actor, at the Theatre Royal in Halifax, as an extra in a production of Julius Caesar…. He was to go on to become a radio celebrity after joining the BBC in 1927…. He was chosen by the BBC as an announcer for their Northern Regional Radio Service during World War 2 – the thinking behind this being that his regional accent would make it harder for the Nazis to impersonate BBC broadcasters….

Pickles made his West End debut in 1946 – and his acting career developed to include films and television…. Also in 1946 he became the host of radio show Have A Go, which ran until 1967…. This hugely popular show, which also featured his wife, brought familiar catchphrases, such as ‘How do, how are yer?’, ‘What’s on the table, Mabel?’, ‘Give him the money Barney’ and ‘Are yer courting?’…. By sharing their innermost secrets contestants could earn £1.19s.11d…. Over 20 million listeners tuned in each week….

In 1948 a children’s board game, called Ask Pickles, was released that was based on the format of the show…. In May 1954 the hit radio show became a TV show, with the same name – Ask Pickles…. It ran until 1956…. Pickles starred in his first TV sitcom Caxton’s Tales (along with Mabel) in 1958….

Pickles was not unique in his family for becoming famous…. He was the uncle of actresses Vivian Pickles and Christina Pickles and great uncle to Carolyn Pickles…. He was also uncle to colourful and outspoken Judge, James Pickles….

Pickles was awarded with a CBE for services to broadcasting in 1950…. He died in Brighton on the 27th of March 1978 and is buried with Mabel in Southern Cemetery, Manchester….