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….
On this day in history : 10th July 1040 – To help the people of the town Lady Godiva rides naked through the streets of Coventry to force her husband, the Earl of Mercia, to lower taxes….
Lady Godiva by John Collier c.1897 – Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry – Public domain
Whilst the story is most certainly a myth, Lady Godiva was a real person during the 11th Century…. The name ‘Godiva’ is a Latinised form of the Old English ‘Godgifu’ or ‘Godgyfu’ – meaning ‘gift of God’…. She was known for her kindness and her generosity to the Church – but then, so was her husband…. Together they helped found a Benedictine monastery in Coventry….
In the legend Lady Godiva’s husband, Leofric, Earl of Mercia is portrayed as greedy and money grabbing – which seems rather unjust – as he was part of a husband and wife benefactor team….such slander would not be acceptable today…. The story of her naked horseback ride only appeared a hundred years or so after her death – when it was recorded by English monk Roger of Wendover, who was often known to ‘spin a good yarn’…. But anyhow, somehow it found its way into our history books – and makes a good tale….
The story goes that Lady Godiva was dismayed at the extortionate taxes that the Earl was levying on the good citizens of Coventry…. Time and time again she pleaded with her husband to be reasonable and to lessen the burden…. Eventually he jested that only if she were to ride naked through the town would he lower the taxes….
Lady Godiva by Edward Blair Leighton, 1892 ‘depicts the moment of decision’ – Public domain
Taking him at his word she ordered the people of Coventry to remain indoors and not to look out of their windows…. She then disrobed, mounted her horse and with only her long flowing hair to afford her some modesty she rode through the town…. Only the temptation to peek was too much for one man – a tailor by the name of Tom…. But the second he clapped eyes on Lady Godiva he was instantly struck blind…. He was the original ‘Peeping Tom’….
True to his word Leofric, Earl of Mercia, held up his end of the bargain and reduced the taxes for the people of Coventry….
Lady Godiva – a statue by Sir William Reid Dick – Broadgate, Coventry – Image credit Cmglee – own work CC BY-SA 3.0
On this day in history : 21st March 1920 – The death of Evelina Haverfield, the British suffragette who during WW1 began to devote herself to helping the Serbian people….
Portrait of Honorable Evelina Haverfield by B. Cundy – The Wellcome Collection CC BY 4.0
Evelina Scarlett, the daughter of William Frederick Scarlett, 3rd Baron Abinger and Helen Magruder Scarlett, was born at Inverlochy Castle, Kingussie, Scotland on the 9th of August 1867…. She grew up in London and Inverlochy before going to school in Düsseldorf, Germany in 1880….
On the 10th of February 1887 Evelina married Royal Artillery Major Henry Wykeham Brooke Tunstall Haverfield – she was 19-years-old, he was 20 years older than her…. They had two sons, John Campbell Haverfield in 1887 followed by Brook Tunstall Haverfield in 1889…. The family made their home in Sherborne, Dorset….only Henry was to die only a few years later in 1895….
Evelina remarried on the 19th of July 1899 – another Royal Artillery Major, John Henry Balguy, a friend of her late husband…. She kept her house in Sherborne – and continued to use the name Haverfield, changing it back by deed poll just a month after the marriage…. She accompanied her new husband to South Africa during the Second World War…. Being an accomplished horsewoman herself she formed a retirement camp for horses…. After 10 years Evelina and Balguy went their separate ways as it was not a happy union, although they never actually divorced….
After joining the Sherborne branch of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Evelina attended a rally at the Royal Albert Hall…. Inspired she then in 1908 joined the Women’s Social and Political Union, founded by Emmeline Pankhurst…. She was arrested several times, once with Emmeline during a demonstration, another time along with 200 other suffragettes for smashing windows and in 1910 for assaulting a police officer…. She reportedly claimed in court that she had not hit him hard enough and “next time I will bring a revolver!”She eventually found herself in Holloway serving a two week sentence after attempting to break through a police cordon outside the House of Parliament…..
In 1911 Evelina began a relationship with Vera ‘Jack’’ Holme, also known as the Pankhursts’ Chauffeur……it was a friendship that was to last for the rest of her life…. They soon began to live together, quite possibly as a couple – and Vera made Evelina the sole heir in her Will….
Not a lot is known about the early life of Vera Holme…. She was born on the 29th of August 1881 in Birkdale, Lancashire to parents Richard and Mary Holme…. She may have been educated in France before becoming an actress…. Vera was known to be a lesbian, she tended to dress in masculine clothes and adopted mannish mannerisms…. She joined the WSPU in 1908, soon becoming an active member, working alongside the likes of Annie Kennedy, Clara Codd and Elsie Howey…. It was in 1909 that a wealthy supporter of the WSPU bought Emmeline Pankhurst an automobile that Vera was appointed her chauffeur…. Vera also spent time in Holloway….during 1911 after being convicted of stone throwing….
Vera ‘Jack’ Holme – LSE Library via Flickr
At the outbreak of WW1 Evelina founded the Women’s Emergency Corps, to help with the war effort….an organisation that helped women to become doctors, nurses and motorcycle messengers….
In 1915 she received instructions to organise the dispatch of the Scottish Women’s Hospital units to Serbia, an expedition she herself accompanied…. The Scottish Women’s Hospital to Foreign Services had been founded in 1914, providing nurses, doctors, ambulance drivers, cooks and orderlies to what was to become four hospitals in Serbia…. The conditions in Serbia were beyond dire….the Serbian army had just 300 doctors for half a million men…. As well as battle injuries to contend with there was also a typhus epidemic affecting both the military and civilians alike…. However, in 1916 the volunteers were forced to leave after Serbia was finally invaded…. A hard resistance campaign had been fought against the invading Austrians but eventually starvation, disease and exhaustion were to take their toll in the winter of 1915 – Serbia could no longer hold out….
In August 1916 Evelina was dispatched to Serbia via Russia as ‘Head of Transport Column’ – she was in charge of an army of 75 women…. She was then later to co-found with Flora Sandes the ‘Evelina Haverfield’s and Flora Sandes’ Fund for Promoting Comforts for Serbian Soldiers and Prisoners’…. Back in England she raised awareness of the situation in Serbia….
Flora Sandes in Serbian Army uniform ca.1918 – Public domain
After the War Evelina and Vera travelled back to Serbia and they set up a children’s health centre and orphanage in the small mountain town of Bajina Bašta…. The centre was later to be named after her – and she was to receive the highest Serbian award….the Order of the White Eagle….
On the 21stof March 1920 Evelina died of pneumonia…. She was buried with full military honours of the cemetery in Bajina Bašta…. Shops and offices closed for the day and all the inhabitants of the town attended…. Her work was continued after her death – a British medical mission remained in Bajina Bašta until 1922; now a hospital stands in its place where a plaque commemorating Evelina Haverfield hangs…. She is still held in the highest esteem by the Serbian people….
Evelina Haverfield on a 2015 Serbian postage stamp – Post of Serbia – Public domain
On her death Evelina left Vera £50 a year for life in her Will – even though it was contested by the man who was still legally her husband….
On this day in history : 15th December 1982 – The Major Oak in Sherwood Forest – reputed to have been Robin Hood’s tree – is fitted with a fire alarm….
The Major Oak, an English oak (Quercus robur), is the largest oak tree in Britain and can be found in the heart of Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve, not far from the Nottinghamshire village of Edwinstowe…. It is estimated to be between 800 and 1,000 years old – and has a canopy spread of 92ft (28m) and a girth of 33ft (10m)…. It weighs an estimated 23 tons and can produce some 150,000 acorns in a good year…. In 1908 chains had to be added to help support the tree and in the 1970s support beams were put up to help hold up the sprawling branches…. These beams were reinforced with metal in the 2000s…. It was fenced off in the 1970s as the thousands of footsteps of visitors compounding the surrounding ground were damaging the tree’s roots…. It is estimated around 350,000 visit the oak each year….
Over the centuries the Major Oak has survived storms, wars and deforestation…. Legend has it that it once sheltered Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men…. The trunk has a hollow interior that is big enough to climb inside – it was within here that in 1982 vandals lit a fire – and so as a future precaution a fire alarm was fitted to the tree…. Then, in the July of 2020, whilst the country was in ‘lockdown’ during the COVID-19 pandemic, vandals struck again…. A 3ft chunk of bark was ripped from the trunk by somebody climbing on the ancient oak…. Local people branded the vandalism as sacrilege…..
Cottage Capers 