1949 – At midnight 26 Irish counties officially left the British Commonwealth. A 21-gun salute on O’Connell Bridge, Dublin, ushered in the Republic of Ireland.

1951 – The entire 75 strong crew of the British submarine Affray died after it went missing off the south coast of England. It was the worst British submarine accident since the 2nd World War.

1956 – Premium Bonds were introduced into Britain by the Conservative Chancellor, Harold Macmillan. They were described as a ‘squalid raffle’ and as a ‘cold, inhuman activity’. 750,000 Methodists were urged by their church leaders to boycott the scheme.

1963 – The opening of the Hilton Hotel in London.

1964 – The British pop group The Rolling Stones released their first album. The debut album was called “The Rolling Stones!” It was released a month later in the US with the title ‘England’s Newest Hit Makers’.

1969 – A 21-year-old woman, Bernadette Devlin, was voted in as Britain’s youngest ever female MP and the country’s third youngest ever.

1969 – The age at which a person was eligible to vote in Britain was lowered from 21 to 18.

1979 – British tennis star John Lloyd married the American tennis star Chris Evert.

1984 – WPC Yvonne Fletcher was shot dead during an anti Gadaafi protest outside the Libyan People’s Bureau in London. Ten others were wounded and the events led to an 11-day siege of the building. Diplomatic relations with Libya were severed on 23rd April and her killer escaped under the cloak of diplomatic immunity.

1986 – British journalist John McCarthy was kidnapped in Beirut. He was not released until August 1991.

1986 – El Al security officials at Heathrow Airport, London foiled an attempt to smuggle a bomb on board an airliner with 360 passengers. The bomb was found in the baggage of a pregnant, Irish woman duped by her Jordanian boyfriend. He was arrested the following day.

2013 – The funeral of Baroness Margaret Thatcher. She was the longest-serving British Prime Minister of the 20th century and the first woman to have held the office.

2014 – Bolton council voted overwhelmingly in favour of schools being encouraged to fly the union flag and to sing the national anthem in assemblies to foster patriotism in the young. The motion was proposed by Conservative councillor Mudasir Dean, who said he was inspired by his grandfather, who became a ‘true English gentleman’ after settling in Bolton from India in the 1920s.

2014 – Scientists warned that losing interest in hobbies and other activities in older age could be an early sign of dementia.

2021 – The funeral of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II for more than 70 years. Because of coronavirus restrictions the funeral was confined to Windsor Castle after an 8 minute procession within the castle grounds.