1918 – The Royal Air Force was formed. It incorporated the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.

1933 – English cricketer Wally Hammond set a record for the highest individual Test innings of 336 not out, during a Test match against New Zealand.

1935 – Green Belt legislation was introduced to stop indiscriminate building on many areas of the countryside.

1949 – The 26 counties of the Irish Free State became the Republic of Ireland.

1969 – The Hawker Siddeley Harrier entered service with the Royal Air Force.

1973 – Britain introduced VAT (Value Added Tax). It replaced Purchase Tax and Selective Employment Tax.

1980 – Britain’s first nudist beach opened at Brighton.

1983 – Tens of thousands of peace demonstrators formed a human chain stretching for 14 miles, lining a route along what the protesters called ‘Nuclear Valley’ in Berkshire.

1989 – Despite threats of non-payment, the Community Charge or Poll Tax was introduced in Scotland.

1990 – Up to 1,000 prisoners staged a riot at Strangeways Prison in Manchester in a violent protest against overcrowding. It was the longest prison riot in British history and lasted until 25th April. One remand prisoner died.

1998 – A world record price for a musical instrument was set when a 1727 Stradivarius violin was sold at Christie’s for £947,500.

2000 – The Enigma machine, used by the Germans to encrypt messages in the Second World War, was stolen from Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire and a ransom was demanded for its return. The ransom was not paid, but in October 2000 the machine was sent, anonymously and with three of its rotors missing, to BBC journalist Jeremy Paxman.

2009 – A Super Puma Mk 2 helicopter crashed, 11 nautical miles northeast of Peterhead in Scotland, while returning from a BP oil platform in the Miller oilfield. The crash, caused by gearbox failure, killed all sixteen people aboard.

2014 – The RAF’s 617 ‘Dambuster’ squadron, formed at Scampton on 21st March 1943 and last based at Lossiemouth in Moray, was disbanded as its Tornado aircraft were withdrawn from service. During World War II they practiced their techniques at the Derwent Dam in Derbyshire and also at Eyebrook Reservoir in the East Midlands.

2015 – English Heritage officially became a charity after the government split the public body into two parts – the smaller Historic England and the English Heritage Trust.

2016 – The new, mandatory National Living Wage came into force, requiring employers to pay workers aged 25 and over at least £7.20 an hour.