On 3rd October…

1283 Dafydd ap Gruffyd, Prince of Gwynedd, the last independent ruler of Wales was executed by King Edward I of England for treason. Dafydd had led a revolt against the English king and for that, he was punished. He became the first noblemen to be hanged, drawn and quartered. He was dragged through the streets of Shrewsbury attached to a horse, then hanged alive; revived; then sliced open, before being beheaded and cut into four quarters. Each piece of his body was then displayed in different parts of the country as a deterrent to other would-be traitors.

On 4th October…

1821 - John Rennie (the elder) the Scottish engineer died. He designed many canals. aqueducts, bridges and dockyards; amongst his works are Waterloo Bridge, Southwark Bridge and the Kennet and Avon Canal. He is buried in St Paul’s Cathedral.

On 5th October…

1936 - The Jarrow March set off for London. The march was organised by the unemployed men of Jarrow to draw attention of their plight to the British government; their town had been prosperous and busy before and during World War I when there was a huge demand for ships to be built but since the end of the war and the Depression of the 1930’s the shipbuilding industry in the town had all closed down.

About 200 fit and unemployed men walked 300 miles from the town of Jarrow in north-east England to London in order to let Parliament know that since the shipbuilding company had closed there was no other source of work for them or their families; the little money they received from the government did not help much; and the living standards of the town had dropped to very low levels.

Unfortunately, the march only succeeded in getting attention and sympathy for Jarrow, the Government still did not do much to help. Their lives only changed with the onset of World War II and the new demand for naval ships which once again opened their shipyards for business.

On 6th October…

1854 - The Great Fire of Newcastle and Gateshead started in a factory on the riverfront side of the River Tyne in Gateshead. The factory produced worsted; a smooth yarn made from wool. Next door to the factory was a warehouse filled with explosive chemicals such as brimstone and manganese which was also in danger of catching fire.

People had begun to gather on the opposite bank of the river in Newcastle to watch the fire thinking that they were at a safe distance because the river was between them. Firemen and soldiers were battling the blaze trying to stop it spreading to the warehouse but eventually the warehouse packed with the chemicals caught fire.

The explosive chemicals heated up and exploded causing fireballs to shoot in all directions, including across the river to the crowds of people and buildings in Newcastle. The explosion was so big that folk living in Hartlepool, 30 miles away even heard it and thought it was an earthquake.

Firemen were called from towns up to 20 miles away to help fight the blaze which by now was on both sides of the river burning down homes and businesses, including pubs whose stocks of alcohol only added more fuel to the flames. Fifty-three people died and hundreds more were injured as a result of the fire and many buildings and businesses were destroyed.

1927 - The Jazz Singer was released. It was the first film to made with sound; all films before then had been silent and in black and white; music was only added when the film was shown in the cinemas by a musician playing an organ as the film displayed. The film starred the actor Al Jolson who played a man going against his father’s wishes and becoming a jazz singer.

On 7th October…

1806 - Carbon paper was patented by Ralph Wedgwood in London. Carbon paper is a sheet of paper saturated with ink and then dried out, when it’s placed between two sheets of paper whatever is written on the top sheet is then copied straight onto the bottom sheet of paper.

1920 - For the first time in its history Oxford University allowed women to collect degrees for their studies. Oxford had been a centre for education since 1096 but women had been excluded until 1878 when separate academic halls were established for them. Even though they had been able to study at Oxford for over 30 years it wasn’t until 1920 that women could receive certificates to prove they had studied at Oxford University to a degree standard.

On 8th October…

1908 - The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame was published for the first time. The story features Mole, Rat, Toad and Badger and their lives by the river. The book is so popular that it has never been out of print in its lifetime.

1965 - The Post Office Tower (now known as Telecom Tower) opened in London. At the time it was the tallest building in Britain at 191 metres high and helped to relay telecommunications across the UK. On the 34th floor there was a revolving restaurant where you could sit and eat whilst viewing the entire cityscape of London.

On 9th October…