British History – Page 35

On this day in history….30th September 1938

On this day in history : 30th September 1938 – Neville Chamberlain arrives back in the UK with an agreement signed by Hitler…. He claims “I believe it is peace for our time” – he could not have been more misguided….

Chamberlain holds the paper signed by himself and Hitler on his return to Heston Airport – Ministry of Information Official Photographer – Public domain

The Prime Minister had met with the German leader three times in the last two weeks of September…. This last meeting had been at the Munich Conference – which involved talks between Britain, Germany, France and Italy, to decide the future of Sudetenland, part of Western Czechoslovakia…. The Czech government had been hoping Britain and France would come to its aid in the event of a German invasion…. However, it was Chamberlain’s main priority to avert war – British people were terrified of another conflict within Europe…. It was agreed that Germany would annex a large part of Czechoslovakia and Britain and France would not support any resistance put up by Czechoslovakia; in return a non-aggression pact was signed with Germany…. Czechoslovakia was forced to hand over Sudetenland, though it had not even been present at the conference….

Chamberlain arrives in Munich, September 1938 – Courtesy : Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-H12967 CC BY-SA 3.0

British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (left) and German Chancellor Adolf Hitler leave their meeting at Bad Godesberg, 23rd September 1938 – Courtesy: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-H12751/CC BY-SA 3.0

Chamberlain, Daladier, Hitler, Mussolini and Italian Foreign Minister Count Galeazzo Ciano as they prepare to sign the Munich Agreement – CC BY-SA 3.0 de

Chamberlain arrived back at Heston Airport, West London, where a large crowd greeted him, eager to hear him read out the signed agreement…. He then went on to Buckingham Palace, where he appeared on the balcony with the King and Queen – and then went on to hold a further audience outside No.10 Downing Street…. The crowds were jubilant….but there were also many who believed Chamberlain had given in to the demands of Hitler….

Needless to say, Hitler did not adhere to his promise…. A year later he dismissed the agreement as a ‘scrap of paper’ and on the 1st of September 1939 Germany invaded Poland…. World War 2 was declared two days later…. Chamberlain was succeeded by Winston Churchill after being forced to resign in May 1940; he died the following November….

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….29th September 1829

On this day in history : 29th September 1829 – The inauguration of the Metropolitan Police Service, London – giving England its first professional police force….

Set up by the then Home Secretary, Robert Peel, after ‘The Metropolitan Police Act 1829’, the policemen became known as ‘Bobbies’ and ‘Peelers’…. The headquarters, which was to become known as ‘Scotland Yard’ had 17 divisions, each with 4 inspectors and 144 constables – all answering to the Home Secretary….

Sir Robert Peel by Henry William Pickersgill – Public domain

It all got off to a bit of a ropey start…. Out of the 2,800 newly recruited policemen only 600 managed to meet the grade and keep their jobs…. The policeman given the unique identification ‘No.1’ (often called the ‘collar number’) was sacked after just 4 hours for drunkenness…. But things soon settled down and the Metropolitan Police went on to become amongst the finest police services of the world….

A ‘Peeler’ of the Metropolitan Police Service in the 1850s – Public domain

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….28th September 1884

On this day in history : 28th September 1884 – Michael Marks and Tom Spencer form a partnership – bringing us a name we are all familiar with on the high street….

Michael Marks – Image credit : Bombix145 CC BY-SA 4.0

Marks, a Polish refugee, had opened a stall in Kirkgate Market, Leeds, some years before…. He had arrived in Britain, from his hometown of Slonim, Belarus with little money and only a smattering of English…. However, his penny bazaar – with its slogan ‘Don’t ask the price, it’s a penny’ was soon a roaring success and he needed to take on a partner…. He approached an associate, Isaac Dewhirst, the owner of a wholesale company who had loaned him the money for his initial start-up costs…. Dewhirst recommended his senior cashier, Tom Spencer – who agreed and invested £300….

Thomas Spencer – Image credit : Andysmith248 CC BY-SA 4.0

Together they ran the business, adding ‘Admission free’ to the ‘it’s a penny’ slogan – drawing their potential customers in to browse without obligation to buy – quite an unusual concept in those days…. But it worked; by 1900 as well as 36 penny bazaars they had 12 high street shops….and became a public company in 1926…. The flagship store at Marble Arch, London, was opened in 1930…. Marks and Spencer was set to become a familiar landmark on so many high streets and in our shopping centres….

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….27th September 1888

On this day in history : 27th September 1888 – A letter is received by the Central News Agency, London, signed ‘Jack the Ripper’….so giving the name to one of the most infamous murderers in British history….

The letter was addressed to ‘The Boss, Central News Office, London City’…. It began ‘Dear Boss’ and was signed ‘Yours truly Jack the Ripper’…. The contents of the letter were of a gloating nature – and at first it wasn’t taken seriously, being put down to another crank letter…. Two days later a postcard arrived, signed in the same manner – so both were passed on to the Metropolitan Police….

‘Dear Boss’ letter – ‘Jack the Ripper’ – Public domain

‘Jack the Ripper’ – Public domain

Although it has been commonly accepted by experts that neither correspondence was from the actual killer the name ‘Jack the Ripper’ stuck…. Previously names such as ‘The Whitechapel Murderer’, ‘Leather Apron’ and ‘Red Fiend’ had been used….

Jack the Ripper was responsible for five murders between the dates of August 31st and November 9th 1888…. All of the victims, Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly, were prostitutes and all but one had been brutally mutilated…. As well as the five proven cases the Ripper may well have been responsible for a further four murders – and possibly even another two in addition to that….

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….26th September 1955

On this day in history : 26th September 1955 – Birds Eye launches one of the most famous of its products – the frozen fish finger….

Birds Eye fish fingers (1956) – Bradford Timeline via Flickr

After World War 2 there was an abundance of herrings in the UK – and after sampling ‘herring savouries’ in the United States Clarence Birdseye wondered if there could be a market for herring fish fingers in Britain…. A test was conducted; shoppers in Southampton and South Wales were asked to try the herring fish fingers and compare them to a blander alternative – cod…. Much to the surprise of Birdseye the public overwhelmingly preferred the taste of the cod variety….

The fish finger we know and love was launched at the Brighton Sales Conference in the Autumn of 1955 – it retailed at an introductory price of 1s 6d a pack…. Each finger came individually wrapped in a waxed film, then packaged in a wax coated carton…. In the first year the British public got through some 600 tonnes of fish fingers! Nowadays more than 1.5 million are sold on a daily basis….