On this day in history : 21st July 1897 – The grand opening of the Tate Gallery, in the City of Westminster, London – by the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII)….
The gallery was built on the former site of Millbank Prison, which had been the departure point of convicts being transported to Australia…. It had been demolished in 1890….
The architect for the new gallery was Sidney R.J. Smith and construction began in 1893…. The building we see today is still very much like it was when it was first built….with its grand entrance, central dome and statue of Britannia with a lion and a unicorn….
Image credit : Tony Hisgett CC BY 2.0
The gallery was officially opened as the National Gallery of British Art – but from the onset people referred to it as the Tate Gallery, after its founder and benefactor, Sir Henry Tate…. The sugar magnate had also donated 65 paintings and 2 sculptures, forming the founding collection of the gallery…. In 1932 it became officially known as the Tate Gallery….
On this day in history : 3rd July 1966 – Over 30 protesters are arrested outside the US Embassy in London as a demonstration against the Vietnam War turns violent….
The US Embassy, Grosvenor Square, London
Throughout the Vietnam War protest marches, often led by students, were organised in cities across America and Europe…. Eventually, as public opinion increased more and more against the war, the US government was forced to reconsider its intervention in Southeast Asia….
One such demonstration was held outside the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square, London, by a crowd of some 4,000 protesters – 2,000 of which were members of the newly formed ‘Youth for Peace in Vietnam Movement’…. The YPVM had earlier marched to Downing Street, chanting….“Victory to the Vietcong”…. before handing in a letter for Prime Minister Harold Wilson demanding that the United Kingdom disassociate itself from the US policy in Vietnam…. The YPVM then joined the rest of the demonstrators at Trafalgar Square ready for the march to the US Embassy….
When the protesters arrived at Grosvenor Square 200 police officers had already cordoned it off…. Things became ugly when John Gollan, General Secretary of the Communist Party, urged them to disperse…. At one point a policeman was knocked from his motorcycle and as fuel leaked from it a lit match was thrown upon it….
Accompanied by chants of….“hands off Vietnam”….a delegation of 5 handed over a resolution to Embassy officials, calling for an end to the US bombings and a withdrawal of its troops….
Protests across the world intensified towards the end of the 1960s as casualties in Vietnam continued to rise…. The demonstrations eventually declined when President Nixon began to withdraw US troops in 1971….
On this day in history : 7th January 1965 – The Kray twins are remanded in custody after being charged with running a protection racket in London….
The Kray twins, 1965 – taken by David Bailey (Reggie on the left, Ronnie forefront) – Fair use
The case revolved around a Soho nightclub owned by Hew McGowan, the son of a wealthy baronet, who had bought the club – ‘The Hideaway’, in Gerrard Street, in 1964….
McGowan claimed the 31-year-old identical twins, Ronnie and Reggie, had offered to supply two doormen for the club for a percentage of the takings…. However, it was said that it was in fact McGowan, knowing that the Krays were wanting to increase their influence in the West End, who offered them 20% of the venture…. When McGowan reneged on the deal it did not take much time before the Kray twins began to ‘demand money with menace’…. McGowan went to the police….
The Hideaway – Fair use
The twins were arrested at the Glenrae Hotel, on the Seven Sisters Road, North London – where they were listed as being company directors…. They were taken into custody and then refused bail, even though they offered sureties of £18,000…. They were remanded at Brixton Prison until their trial date, which was set for March….
The Krays’ defence argued that the twins had only become involved with the club to help secure investment for a future project in Nigeria – it had nothing to do with ‘protection’…. The jury were unable to come to an agreement and a re-trial was ordered…. After three trials the Kray twins were acquitted, along with a third accused man, Edward Smith, a free-lance writer….
Within a month the twins had bought and taken control of the Hideaway, changing its name to ‘El Morocco’…. They threw a huge party at the nightclub to celebrate….
On the 8th of May 1968 Ronnie and Reggie Kray were arrested again, to face numerous charges, including murder…. After being convicted in March 1969 they were sentenced to life imprisonment….
The Kray twins with their older brother Charlie, 1965 – Image: Kristine via Flickr
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