Morning, Clunkers!
On this day in 1066, the Battle of Hastings was fought near Pevensey. The English army, under the command of King Harold, was defeated by the forces of William the Conqueror and the feudal system was introduced.
In 1322, Robert the Bruce defeated Edward II at the Battle of Old Byland in Yorkshire, forcing Edward to accept Scotland's independence. Everything happens in Yawkshire. That situation held - despite many conflicts - until the 1707 Act of Union, over a century after James VI of Scotland (the son of Mary Queen of Scots) became James I of England.
And coincidentally, on this same day in 1586, Mary, Queen of Scots, went on trial for conspiring against Elizabeth I. She was convicted on 25th October and sentenced to death, but initially, Elizabeth was reluctant to order her execution because regicide, the killing of a king or queen, set a terrible precedent. The two women were first cousins once removed; Elizabeth’s grandfather and Mary’s grandmother were siblings.
Mary did not have an easy death. The first blow missed her neck and struck the back of her head. The second blow didn’t quite sever her neck; a third blow was required. She remained calm and resolute throughout. Her long auburn hair turned out to be a wig. Her own hair was short and grey. She was 45.
When Elizabeth’s throne passed to Mary’s son James, their shared bloodline brought the two kingdoms together.
In 1881, 181 fishermen died when the Berwickshire fishing fleet was caught in a hurricane. Black Friday remains Scotland's worst fishing disaster. 129 of the victims came from the village of Eyemouth.
In 1913, Britain's worst pit disaster took place at Senghenydd, near Caerphilly. More than 400 miners were killed in an explosion down a mine, caused by fire damp, a lethal mixture of methane and hydrogen.
On this day, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Martin Luther King Jr for his work in combating racial inequality through nonviolence. His role model was Mahatma Gandhi.
Grace Jones, born on 7 December 1899 in Bermondsey, died at the age of 113 years 342 days. She was the last living British person to be born in the 1800s. Grace was engaged during WWI but her fiancé died on active service. She worked as a seamstress and for the government during and after WWII. Until just a few weeks before her death, she cleaned her own flat and did her own shopping. A remarkable woman.
Here’s to you, Mary and Grace 🥂