May 9th – On This Day
1662 - The first recorded Punch & Judy Show in Britain took place at Covent Garden in London performed by the Italian puppet showman Pietro Gimonde from Bologna, otherwise known as Signor Bologna.
May 8th – On This Day
1984 - The Thames Barrier is officially opened, preventing the floodplain of most of Greater London from being flooded except under extreme circumstances.
May 7th – On This Day
1765 - HMS Victory, the ship which became the flagship of British Admiral Horatio Nelson, was launched at Chatham. The ship is now preserved at Portsmouth.
May 6th – On This Day
1979 - Six rock-cut tombs at Heysham in Lancashire became Grade I listed and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Further excavation in 1993 on land below the stone coffins showed that the site had been occupied about 12,000 years previously.
May 5th – On This Day
1980 - The SAS stormed the terrorist-occupied Iranian Embassy at Knightsbridge in London. Four gunmen were killed in the attack and all 19 hostages were rescued.
May 4th – On This Day
1471 - Edward IV defeated a Lancastrian Army and killed Edward, Prince of Wales. Many of the Lancastrian nobles and knights sought sanctuary in Tewkesbury Abbey although the Abbey was not officially a sanctuary.
May 3rd – On This Day
1926 - Britain's first General Strike, in support of the miners started 'On This Day'. It ended on 12th May.
May 2nd – On This Day
2016 - Ranked outsiders Leicester City win the Premier League title. They achieved the impossible and were crowned champions for the first time in their history at odds of 5,000- 1.
May 1st – On This Day
1840 - The first British Penny Black stamp went on sale. Invented by Rowland Hill, it was the world’s first adhesive postage stamp and it became valid for postage on 6th May.