February 27th – On This Day
1939 - Built in 1862, the Borley Rectory in Essex which was famously described as the “most haunted house in England” was badly damaged by fire. It was finally demolished in 1944.
February 26th – On This Day
1935 - Robert Watson-Watt first demonstrated RADAR (radio detection and ranging) at Daventry, Northamptonshire. This significantly contributed to winning the Battle of Britain and changed the outcome of World War Two.
February 25th – On This Day
1939 - The first Anderson air raid shelters appeared. Between then and the outbreak of the war in September, around 1.5 million shelters were distributed to people living in areas expected to be bombed by the Luftwaffe. During the war a further 2.1 million were erected.
February 24th – On This Day
1989 - An X-ray examination of a 150 million-year-old fossil egg discovered in Utah has revealed the outlines of what probably is the oldest dinosaur embryo ever found in the Northern Hemisphere.
February 23rd – On This Day
1965 - The death of Stan Laurel, film comedian, born in Ulverston (which was then in Lancashire but now lies in Cumbria) in 1890. In 1961 Laurel was given a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award for his pioneering work in comedy.
February 22nd – On This Day
2018 - Analysis of 65,000-year-old cave paintings in Spain revealed that Neanderthals were the first artists long before humans. These paintings were made tens of thousands of years before humans arrived.
February 21st – On This Day
1958 - The Peace symbol, commissioned by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament was designed and completed by Gerald Holtom. The logo was not copyrighted and later became known in the wider world as a general-purpose peace symbol.
February 20th – On This Day
2023 - The 100th birthday of "The House in the Clouds" at Thorpeness, Suffolk. It is 70 feet high and was originally a water supply storage tank for Thorpeness village. Disguised as a house for aesthetic reasons, it is now available as a Holiday Let.
February 19th – On This Day
1985 - The first episode of the BBC soap opera, EastEnders was screened. 13 million viewers watched as Arthur Fowler, Ali Osman and Den Watts forced their way into Reg Cox’s flat and found Reg near death. Several weeks later Nick Cotton was revealed as Reg’s murderer.