On this day in history : 16th September 1847 – The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust buys the house in which playwright William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, for £3,000….
The timbered house situated on Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, is believed to be where Shakespeare was born in 1564 and where he spent his childhood….
It is thought the building dates to the 1400s…. At the time of Shakespeare’s birth his father was renting the house but ten years later was in a position to buy it along with another property in Henley Street…. The house remained in the family until 1806 when it was sold to Thomas Court, a butcher….
In the following years the house fell into disrepair – but interest in it sparked again when writers such as Charles Dickens, Sir Walter Scott, Isaac Watts and Thomas Carlyle visited, wanting to see Shakespeare’s birthplace….
1769 engraving of Shakespeare’s birthplace from Gentleman’s Magazine, July 1769 – Public domain
The house was put up for sale in 1846 – American showman P.T.Barnum planned to buy it and ship it back to the United States, where he intended to have it rebuilt…. To prevent this from happening the Shakespeare Birthday Committee was formed and with the help of the likes of Dickens the necessary £3,000 to buy it was raised – and restoration work began…. The committee later became the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust….
Nowadays Shakespeare’s birthplace is a museum and popular tourist attraction – it is often referred to as ‘a mecca for all lovers of literature’….
On this day in history : 15th September 1966 – The launch of HMS Resolution, Britain’s first nuclear ballistic missile submarine, at Barrow-in-Furness….and is attended by the Queen Mother….
HMS Resolution, 1977 – Public domain
It had been decided that Britain would have 4 Polaris submarines to carry the latest A-3 missiles…. The submarines were to be designed and built in Britain but the weapon systems, with the exclusion of the warheads, were to be purchased from the United States…. The warheads themselves would be manufactured in the UK…. The programme was authorised in February 1963 – and the Polaris submarine programme was then to take some 500,000 man-hours to complete…. A full scale wooden mockup model was built – to help determine where all the equipment should go and also to aid the placement of all the pipes and cables…. It was even possible for the crew to train on it….
The formal purchase order for Resolution was placed in May 1963, at a cost of £40.2m…. The 130m (425ft) long submarine was built by Vickers Armstrong – and her keel was laid down on the 26th of February 1964 by Director General Ships Sir Alfred Sims….
Resolution was commissioned on the 2nd of October 1967…. She underwent extensive trials which included the firing of the first Polaris missile on the 15th of February 1968 – followed by a second on the 3rd of April…. Her surface speed was 37km/h and when submerged 48km/h…. Her first patrol began on the 15th of June 1968 – she was soon joined by her sister ships Repulse, Renown and Revenge…. An order for a fifth submarine was placed but this was later cancelled….
Polaris missile launch from Resolution, 1983 – Public domain
The first Trident submarine was completed in 1992 and gradually the Resolution class of submarines were withdrawn from service…. After 61 patrols, the longest being 108 days, Resolution was de-commissioned on the 22nd of October 1994 and laid up at Rosyth Dockyard….
On this day in history : 14th September 1910 – The birth of actor Jack Hawkins – who appeared in films such as Lawrence of Arabia, Zulu and The Bridge on the River Kwai…. He was voted No 1 star of the British Box Office in 1954….
Jack Hawkins – Image credit : Allan Warren – own work – CC BY-SA 3.0
Hawkins was one of Britain’s best known and popular film actors of the 1950s…. He was born in Wood Green (now Haringey) London and at around the age of 10 he joined the local operatic society…. He made his stage debut in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Patience with the society…. Encouraged by his parents he then enrolled in the Italia Conti Academy…. His London stage debut came at the age of 11, as the Elf King in the pantomime Where the Rainbow Ends, alongside a young Noel Coward….
During the 1930s Hawkins built on his stage career, having made his Broadway debut at 18 in Journey’s End…. He had also begun to venture into film, making a number of quota quickies; at the time there was a requirement for British cinemas to show a percentage of British films in an aim to revive a flagging British film industry…. In 1932 Hawkins was to marry actress Jessica Tandy, they had a daughter in 1934 but divorced in 1940….
World War 2 saw Hawkins join the Royal Welch Fusiliers as an officer – he was to become Colonel in the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA)…. Then after being demobilised in 1946 he resumed his acting career, meeting actress Doreen Lawrence, whom he married in 1947…. They were to have three children, two sons and a daughter….
True stardom arrived for Hawkins in the 1950s – after the release in quick succession of three successful films:- Angels One Five (1951), The Planter’s Wife (1952) and The Malayan Emergency (1952)…. In these films Hawkins played strong authoritative characters who at the same time showed a sympathetic side…. These characters were different to the ones he usually portrayed – but the roles suited him…. His next film, The Cruel Sea (1953), in which he played a naval officer, was the most successful film of that year….
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He received his first offer from Hollywood in 1955, as the part of a Pharaoh in Land of the Pharaohs…. He then returned to the UK, made a few minor films – and then landed one of the main parts in The Bridge on the River Kwai, alongside Alec Guinness and William Holden in 1957…. He was awarded a CBE for his services to drama in 1958 and continued on to star in successful films such as Ben-Hur in 1959 and League of Gentlemen, 1960….
Ben-Hur trailer – Public domain
Hawkins was a star at the top of his game – but he had a vice…. He was an extremely heavy smoker, going through three packs a day…. In the late 1950s he began to experience problems with his voice…. This was unknown to the public at the time – but explains why he took more or less any work that came his way…. For a star of his calibre he took on some surprisingly minor roles – his concern being that if his voice went, then so did his income…. He reduced the amount of cigarettes he was smoking, from 60 to 5 a day and took voice coaching lessons….
He still managed to land some good roles in big films such as Lawrence of Arabia in 1962, in which he played General Allenby…. Then Zulu, in 1964, he was cast in the supporting role, as a priest who was none too brave – his days of the macho lead were over….
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In December 1965 Hawkins was diagnosed with throat cancer and in January 1966 his larynx was removed…. Amazingly his acting career continued, his voice being dubbed – although the dialogue was kept to a minimum…. Stubbornly he continued to smoke….
In May 1973 he underwent experimental surgery for an artificial voicebox…. However the following month he began haemorrhaging and was admitted to hospital…. A second haemorrhage occurred and Hawkins died on the 18th of July 1973….
A memorial service was held on the 14th of September 1973 on what would have been his 63rd birthday, at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London…. The address was read by Kenneth More and the lesson by Richard Attenborough….
Jack Hawkins – Image credit : Allan Warren – own work – CC BY-SA 3.0
On this day in history : 13th September 1970 – Concorde makes its first landing at Heathrow Airport to a barrage of complaints about the noise from local residents….
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Concorde 002 (G-BSST) was Britain’s first Concorde and made its maiden flight on the 9th of April 1969…. It took off from Filton for RAF Fairford, where it was to be based for testing and development…. The pilot was chief test pilot Brian Trubshaw, who made a faultless landing at Fairford despite the altimeters failing to function….
The Concorde was shown at the Farnborough Airshow on the 1st of September 1970 – shortly before making its landing at Heathrow on the 13th – its first landing at an international airport….
During its flight history Concorde 002 made 438 flights, 196 of which were supersonic…. Its final flight was on the 4th of March 1976, when it was delivered to Yeovilton Air Museum – where it can be seen today….
Concorde 002 G-BSST at Yeovilton Air Museum – Photo credit : Alan Wilson CC BY-SA 2.0
On this day in history : 12th September 1440 – Eton College is founded by Henry VI to provide free education for 70 poor boys – who would then go on to King’s College, Cambridge – which he also founded….
Statue of founder King Henry VI in Eton College Quadrangle
Eton was founded as Kynges College of Our Ladye of Eton beside Windsor…. The earliest records held by the college date to the 1500s…. The students had a strict, spartan and gruelling routine…. Their day would begin at 5am, prayers would be chanted whilst they prepared themselves for the day ahead – at 6am their lessons began, which were all in Latin…. They were supervised by prefects – or ‘praepostors’ – senior boys who had been appointed by the headmaster….
The boys only had one hour of recreation per day…. It seems that football was a favourite game; according to a Latin translation from 1519 it was known as playing with ‘a bag full of wynde’…. Lessons ended at 8pm and there were just two holidays per year, Christmas and Summer….
Eton College by Loggan, 1690 – Public domain
Eton College is nowadays one of England’s most prestigious and largest independent secondary schools, with attendance fees in the region of £42K per year…. It has produced twenty of the nation’s prime ministers, including Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson….
Cottage Capers 