1944 – World War II: A cafe in the French town of Benouville was the first place to be liberated from German occupation when British paratroopers seized control of a vital canal bridge in advance of the main Allied D-Day landings in Normandy the following morning on 6th June.

1944 – World War II: The people of liberated Rome crowded onto the streets to welcome the victorious Allied troops.

1963 – Secretary of State for War, John Profumo resigned, admitting he lied to Parliament about his relationship with a call girl, Christine Keeler, the reputed mistress of an alleged Soviet spy. His resignation damaged the reputation of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan’s government and Macmillan himself resigned a few months later due to ill health.

1964 – Blue Streak became Britain’s first rocket, taking her into the space age. The 69 ft rocket was launched at Woomera, Australia and was a simplified civilian version that had been designed for research and satellite launching purposes. Blue Streak had originally been planned as Britain’s first nuclear weapon carrier but was scrapped due to costs.

1970 – Tonga became independent within the Commonwealth.

1972 – World leaders attended the funeral in Windsor of the former King Edward VIII who abdicated in 1936.

1993 – The Holbeck Hall Hotel in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, fell into the sea following a landslide, making news around the world.

2002 – The Queen was said to be basking in ‘absolute delight’ at celebrations to mark her Golden Jubilee.

2003 – Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott flashed a V-sign at journalists as he went into a Cabinet meeting at Downing Street.

2007 – The new Olympics 2012 logo received a ‘mauling’ when it was unveiled to the public. The logo, which took a year to design was designed to ‘engage with young people and excite sponsors’ said the London 2012 chairman, Sebastian Coe.

2012 – The day was declared a Bank Holiday to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee. It was the final day of 4 days of celebration to honour 60 years of the Queen as our monarch. It has been 115 years since the United Kingdom last celebrated a royal Diamond Jubilee (that was Queen Victoria’s) and it may be another century or more before there is another.

2014 – Property experts estimated there could be up to 1,000 JCBs buried underground in London, because it is cheaper to bury them than to lift them to street level following basement extensions. The total value of the JCBs buried underground is thought to be around £5 million.