British History

On this day in history….29th November 1975

On this day in history : 29th November 1975 – British racing driver Graham Hill is killed in an aircraft crash at Arkley in Hertfordshire….

Graham Hill – Image credit : Lothar Spurzem CC BY-SA 2.0

The two times Formula One World Champion (1962 and 1968) had retired from racing four months previously…. Hill was piloting his Piper PA-23 Aztec twin engined light aircraft back from a car testing session in the South of France…. He had on board five passengers, all from the Embassy Hill team : manager Ray Brimble, mechanics Terry Richards and Tony Alcock, designer Andy Smallman and driver Tony Brise….

It was a night flight and they were due to be landing at Elstree Airfield…. Visibility was appalling on account of thick fog….and just before 10pm the aircraft struck a row of trees on Arkley golf course…. All on board were killed….

At the later inquest it emerged that Hill had been flying at only 60ft above the ground – because of the poor visibility he had not realised…. The verdicts on all of the deaths was accidental….

3,000 mourners attended Hill’s funeral in St. Albans, Hertfordshire…. He left behind his wife Bette, two daughters, Brigette and Samantha – and a 15-year-old son, Damon – who was to follow in his father’s footsteps by becoming Formula One World Champion in 1996….

On this day in history….28th November 1990

On this day in history : 28th November 1990 – A tearful Margaret Thatcher makes her last speech as Prime Minister outside No.10 Downing Street….

Mrs Thatcher had formally tended her resignation to the Queen earlier that morning…. John Major had been elected as her successor by the Conservative party the previous day – after a leadership challenge had been mounted by Michael Heseltine on the 14th of November…. Mrs Thatcher reportedly regarded her ousting as a betrayal….

As she appeared outside No.10 it was to applause from the gathered Press…. She addressed the reporters : “Ladies and Gentlemen”….her voice cracking on the ‘Gentlemen’….”We’re leaving Downing Street for the last time after eleven-and-a-half wonderful years, and we’re very happy that we leave the United Kingdom in a very, very much better state than when we came here eleven-and-a-half years ago”….

Mrs Thatcher went on to thank the staff who had supported her and to say what a privilege it had been to serve the country…. She finished by wishing John Major all the luck in the world – adding “He’ll be splendidly served and he has the makings of a great Prime Minister”….

After her speech she and husband Denis were driven to Buckingham Palace where they had a half hour meeting with the Queen – and then returned to their home in Dulwich, South London…. Margaret Thatcher remained MP for Finchley until 1992….

British History

On this day in history….22nd November 1946

On this day in history : 22nd November 1946 – The first British Biro ballpoint pen goes on sale…. It was manufactured by a British company but had originally been designed by Hungarian Laszlo Biro….

Biro’s invention – Image credit : Roberto Fiadone – edited by Daniel Schwen – CC BY-SA 2.5

Laszlo, who was a Hungarian-Jewish newspaper editor living in Germany, got frustrated with the amount of time he spent filling up his fountain pen with ink – and then cleaning up the mess afterwards…. He couldn’t help but notice that the ink used for printing newspapers did not smudge and so the paper it was used on stayed dry…. He approached his brother, Gyorgy, who was a chemist, to help him develop an ink that could be used in a pen….

The first patent for such a writing instrument had originally been issued in October 1888 to John J Loud – who had wanted something he could write with on coarse surfaces, such as wood, rough paper and leather…. His pen nib had a small rotating steel ball held by a socket…. However, it did not sell commercially and the patent expired…. Further attempts by others to create a reliable ballpoint which delivered ink properly failed – the ink would either be too thin, or would clog…. Very often the ball socket would be too tight, not allowing ink to reach the paper…. But the Biro brothers managed to get the formula just right – and a patent was filed on the 15th of June 1938….

In 1941 the brothers had to flee Germany and the Nazis…. Along with friend Juan Jorge Meyne they went to Argentina – and together they formed Biro Pens of Argentina, with a new patent filed in the US in 1943…. The pens were sold as the Birome in Argentina and are still known by this name there…. Britain soon cottoned on to this revolutionary new pen and started to produce them for use by RAF aircrews – as they could be used at high altitudes – whereas fountain pens leaked even more….

Advert in Argentine magazine ‘Leoplan’, 1945 – Image credit : Revista Leoplan, Argentina, ano 1945 – CC BY-SA 2.5

In 1946 Catalonian firm Vila Sevilla Hermanos began making ballpoint pens in contract with French firm Societe Bic – hence the name Bic-Biro….

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….29th February 1964

On this day in history : 29th February 1964 – Princess Alexandra, cousin to Queen Elizabeth II, gives birth to a son – believed to be the first ever Royal baby to be born on February the 29th….

Princess Alexandra, June 1961 – Photo credit : Harry Pot – National Archief (Netherlands) CC BY-SA 3.0nl

Princess Alexandra gave birth at home in Richmond, Surrey; her husband, Angus Ogilvy, was with her and her mother, Princess Marina, was also at the house…. The 9lb 6oz baby boy was born at 12.15am and was a week overdue…. He was named James Robert Bruce and later christened in the chapel at Buckingham Palace…. Two years later he was to be joined by a sister, Marina….

Princess Alexandra’s baby was the first of four royal babies to be born within a matter of weeks of each other…. The Queen’s fourth child, Prince Edward, was born on the 10th of March….and her sister, Princess Margaret, had a daughter, Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones, on the 1st of May…. Finally the Duchess of Kent had her second baby, Lady Helen Windsor, on the 28th of April….

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….26th February 1960

On this day in history : 26th February 1960 – An Alitalia DC-7 bound for New York crashes into a cemetery in Shannon, Ireland, shortly after take-off – killing 34 out of the 52 people onboard….

Italian airline Alitalia flight AZ618 4-engine propellor Douglas DC-7C was on route from Rome to New York and had stopped at Shannon for an unscheduled refuelling stop…. Shannon International Airport, in County Clare between Ennis and Limerick, was at the time a major refuelling stop for transatlantic flights….

After a brief stop of 45 minutes or so the aircraft took off to continue its journey at 1.34am, on a cold but clear Friday morning…. There had been no contact from the ‘plane and it seemed all was well – but about a mile from the airport the DC-7 crashed…. It struck the old graveyard situated beside the ruins of the 10th century Clanloghan Parish Church…. Its port wing-tip hit the wall of the cemetery, damaging some of the headstones on the south eastern side…. Some of the traditional family graves would still have been in use…. The aircraft then ploughed on, ending up in a nearby field before exploding and disintegrating…. After its refuelling stop the DC-7 was laden with some 7,000 gallons of fuel….the explosion was heard 17 miles away….

Thankfully the ‘plane was not full but out of the 52 onboard 11 of the 12 crew and 23 of the 40 passengers were killed….the other 18 were seriously injured…. The surviving cabin crew member had been seated at the rear of the aircraft…. Wreckage was scattered over a large area – bodies were found up to a mile away….

The aircraft had failed to gain enough height to clear the hill top…. At the official crash investigation no clear treason could be found as to the cause…. It could only be assumed that the DC-7, which had made its maiden flight in 1958, had rapidly lost height whilst making a steep turn to the left….