British History – Page 44

On this day in history….17th August 1896

On this day in history : 17th August 1896 – Mrs Bridget Driscoll, from Croydon, Surrey is the first person in Britain to be knocked down by a car and killed….

Bridget, aged 44, had been on a visit to the Crystal Palace with her 16-year-old daughter; as part of the exhibition automobiles were being demonstrated…. People were unfamiliar with these new horseless carriages and many were unsure how to react around them….

Bridget Driscoll (circled) Public domain (this version – Madgamers via Wikimedia)

The driver of the Roger-Benz, an employee of the Anglo-French Motor Co., had only been driving for three weeks (there were no driving tests back then)…. He claimed he was only doing 4mph and had rung his bell and shouted “Stand back!”…. But as he swerved and zig-zagged towards them Bridget Driscoll hesitated and appeared bewildered…. Bridget had the misfortune of becoming Britain’s first motoring fatality – at the time there were fewer than 20 cars on the roads….

At the inquest her death was given an ‘accidental death’ verdict – the coroner stated that he hoped “this would be the last death in this sort of accident”…. It is estimated there have been more than 550,000 people killed on Britain’s roads since then….

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On this day in history….16th August 1743

On this day in history : 16th August 1742 – Champion bare-knuckle fighter John ‘Jack’ Broughton formulates the first prize-ring code of boxing rules….

Jack Broughton – W.THOMAS.SCFRANK HAYMAN, R.A. Henry Downes Miles ( 1806-1889) – Public domain

Broughton, born around 1704 was the son of a farmer from Baunton, Gloucestershire…. At the age of 12 he went to work at the quayside in Bristol – and would often fight with the local lads…. Before long he came to the attention of James Figg, England’s first bare-knuckle champion – having claimed the title in 1719; the concept of current-day boxing originally came from him….

James Figg – John Faber Jr after John Ellys – Public domain

Figg owned an amphitheatre in London – and it was here that he trained Broughton to bare-knuckle fight…. Once Broughton had become successful he opened an amphitheatre of his own, near to Oxford Street; it became the largest and most influential establishment of its kind in the country….

At the time ‘rules’ varied from contest to contest, Broughton decided some regulation was needed…. He devised a set of rules; among them – that a round would last until one man went down – and that there should be a 30 second interval between rounds…. His rules eventually evolved into the London Prize-Ring Rules – promulgated in 1838 and revised in 1853…. They outlawed head butting, kicking, biting, scratching, gauging, hitting a man whilst he was down, using hard objects in the hands and holding the ropes….

Broughton’s rules – Jack Broughton, public domain

The London Prize Rules were replaced by the Marquess of Queensbury Rules during the 1860s; however most of the earlier measures still remain in effect today, having laid the foundation to modern-day boxing….

As for Broughton, in 1750 he fought Jack Slack – and within 14 minutes of the contest starting had received a punch that rendered him temporarily blinded – and he had to retire from the fight….His patron of the time, the Duke of Cumberland, is said to have lost thousands on the match…. Broughton closed his amphitheatre very soon afterwards and ran an antiques business instead…. He died on the 8th of January 1789….

‘The Bruiser Bruisd; Or the Knowing Ones Taken-in’ – A boxing match between John Broughton and Jack Slack – Public domain

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On this day in history….15th August 1971

On this day in history : 15th August 1971 – English equestrian Harvey Smith is stripped of his £2,000 winnings at the British Show Jumping Derby, after allegedly making a rude gesture at the judges….

It is said Harvey had been involved in a heated exchange with one of the judges on the morning of the competition, which was being held at Hickstead in West Sussex…. Harvey, who had won the derby the previous year had forgotten to bring the trophy with him for this year’s presentation…. Some believed he had done this deliberately, assuming it was a foregone conclusion he would win it again…. The trophy eventually arrived from Harvey’s Yorkshire home just in time for it to be presented back to him….

Photo credit : The Dutch National Archives – Public domain

It was after winning the competition that Harvey was seen to make a two-fingered V-sign in the direction of the judges…. He protested innocence, saying “It was a straightforward V for Victory. Churchill used it throughout the war”….

He had a point…. Harvey had used the gesture with his palm facing towards him; Churchill, on first adopting his V for Victory salute had also done so with his palm inwards…. His advisors eventually took him aside and explained the actual meaning of this….and from then on Churchill used the palm outward-facing sign….

Harvey bucked the trend of the then usual upper class snobbery of the show jumping set…. He was a blunt Yorkshire lad, with a broad accent; he was known as ‘Heathcliff on Horseback’…. Frequently clashing with the sport’s governing body, his rebellious nature made him popular with the public…. Through much publicity and the backing of the public the disqualification was reversed two days later….

Harvey Smith (1974) – Photo credit: Rob Mieremet / Anefo CCO

Harvey won the British Show Jumping Derby a total of seven times and represented Britain in the Olympics three times…. He did later admit in interviews that he had indeed V-signed the judges!

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On this day in history….14th August 1941

On this day in history : 14th August 1941 – Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American President Franklin D Roosevelt sign the Atlantic Charter, laying out their plans for a post-war world….

Winston Churchill’s edited copy of the final draft of the Charter – Churchill blue, public domain

The announcement ended speculation as to the whereabouts of the Prime Minister, who had noticeably been absent from the House of Commons for a number of days…. Similarly Roosevelt had done a disappearing act too, along with several other top officials…. The pair had been involved in secret talks onboard American Cruiser USS Augusta and British Battleship HMS Prince of Wales, in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland…. A joint declaration had been made setting out the basic principles for after the war had ended….sealing an alliance between Britain and America….in anticipation of Hitler’s downfall….

Franklin D Roosevelt and Winston Churchill aboard HMS Prince of Wales in 1941 – US Navy, public domain

The Charter had eight main objectives:- that Britain and America seek no territorial gains from war and any change to a country’s territory had to be with the agreement of its people…. Nationals would also have the right to choose their own government….with self-government being restored to those countries that had already lost it…. There was to be free trade for all nations – with improvement to economies and to living standards…. The aim was for peace at the end of the Nazi tyranny and for freedom of movement around the world….the belief being that aggressive nations must be disarmed to ensure world peace….

Printed version – Winston Churchill, public domain

As it stood the Charter was to lay foundations for granting independence to Britain’s own Empire….starting with Indian Independence Day in 1947….

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On this day in history….13th August 1991

On this day in history : 13th August 1991 – The Prince of Wales resigns as the patron of Scotland’s National Museum after a row over a competition to design its new building….

It was not the first time Prince Charles had vented his opinions on modern architecture…. He had previously called the redesign of the National Gallery in London “a monstrous carbuncle”….

The Prince claimed the competition for the new building in Edinburgh did not allow for public consultation….

The winning entry, a five storey building made up of geometric forms, clad in golden Moray sandstone, was designed by London-based architects Gordon Benson and Alan Forsyth…. It was one of 400 entrants from all over the country….

Image credit : Maccoinnich via Wikimedia CC-SA

The withdrawal of the Prince created problems for the museum’s trustees to secure funding for the new building – which cost £37m to construct and a further £18m for the interior…. It was opened by the Queen in November 1998 and on visiting early the following month Prince Charles refused to comment on the new building…. One of the winning architects stressed that the Prince’s objection was not aimed at the design itself but at the competition and the way the winner had been chosen….

In 1999 the Royal Fine Art Commission Trust awarded the building the Stirling Prize for the Best Building of the Year….