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All in the month of June The D-Day Normandy Landings The RSPCA celebrates 200 years George Orwell of Nineteen Eighty-Four The disappearance of George Mallory on Everest The back story to what is happening in Sudan ** Editor:  We continue our column that looks at memorable dates in the month (this time, June) down the...

It was: 200 years ago, on 16th June 1824, that a London vicar, Arthur Broome, and some 22 of his friends, including the MPs William Wilberforce (anti-slavery campaigner) met at Old Slaughters Coffee House to found the SPCA – the first national animal protection society in the world. By1840 Queen Victoria had given permission for...

Eighty years ago, on 6th June 1944, the D-Day Normandy Landings took place. More than 150,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy.  The Battle of Normandy ended on 25th August with an Allied victory. The question of what the D stood for has never been absolutely determined: some say it just stood for...

It was 200 years ago this month, on 16th June 1824, that a London vicar, Arthur Broome, and some 22 of his friends, including the MP William Wilberforce, met at Old Slaughters Coffee House in London. They were there because they were deeply concerned about the pitiful plight of many animals in Victorian England. That...

It was 75 years ago, on 8th June 1949, that George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four was published. The book focuses on a society dominated by central government, whose citizens are kept in line by force and mind control, and by restricting access to the truth. Orwell invented terms like ‘Big Brother’, ‘doublethink’ and ‘thoughtcrime’, and...

One hundred years ago, on 8th June 1924, the British mountaineer George Mallory disappeared on Mount Everest.  His body was found in 1999. The man who may have been the first to climb Everest went missing with his fellow climber Andrew (Sandy) Irvine after setting off for the summit and encountering deep snow and high...

Some 125 years ago, on 19th June 1899, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was established. It was granted independence in 1956 as the Republic of Sudan, and South Sudan gained its independence in 2011. On 15th April 2023, violent clashes erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan, resulting in...

All in the month of May Remembering Beethoven’s greatest symphony The man who created Father Brown Rock Around the Clock Roger Bannister and the Four Minute Mile Roads at ‘breaking point’ In appreciation of our nurses ** Editor:  We continue our column that looks at memorable dates in the month (this time, May) down the...

It was: 200 years ago, on 7th May 1824 that the first performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 took place in Vienna. It is regarded as Beethoven’s greatest work and is one of the most-performed symphonies in the world. 150 years ago, on 9th May 1874 that Howard Carter, British archaeologist and Egyptologist,...

Two hundred years ago, on 7th May 1824, the first performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No 9 took place in Vienna. It is regarded as Beethoven’s greatest work and is one of the most-performed symphonies in the world. This last of his symphonies is known for its revolutionary structure and majestic emotion, and it...

The British writer G K Chesterton was born 150 years ago, on 29th May 1874, in Kensington, West London. A novelist, short story writer, philosopher and critic, he was best known for his Father Brown stories, popular now through their adaptation for television. He thought of himself as a journalist with good reason, composing 30...

Seventy years ago, on 20th May 1954, Bill Haley & His Comets released the song Rock Around the Clock. It brought rock and roll into the mainstream and is regarded as one of the most important records in music history. The American rock and roll band had been founded in 1952 and continued to perform...