Morning, Clunkers!
On this day in 899, Cyninge Ęlfrede - Alfred the Great - is thought to have died. Despite his reputation as a clumsy cook, he was a soldier, a scholar, formed England’s first navy and fought against the invading Danes. He was succeeded by his son, Edward the Elder.
The Treaty of Ripon was signed on this day in 1640 by Charles I and the Scottish Covenanters. Its terms were humiliating. It gave Northumberland and County Durham to the Scots, ceded Newcastle to them, and required Charles I to pay them £850 a day to maintain their armies there. Thank goodness he never had to lead the Brexit negotiations.
In 1775, George III went before Parliament to declare the American colonies in rebellion, and authorised a military response to quell the American Revolution. That went well too.
In 1977, Dame Sarah Storey was born in Manchester without a functioning left hand after her arm became entangled in the umbilical cord in the womb and her hand did not develop as normal. Her total of fourteen gold medals makes her the most successful female British Paralympian of all time and she is a 21-time World champion (6 in swimming and 15 in cycling), a 21-time European champion (18 in swimming and 3 in cycling) and a holder of 72 world records. What an inspiring woman!
In 1986, Jeffrey Archer was forced to resign from the deputy chairmanship of the Conservative party following allegations that he made a payment to Monica Coghlan, a prostitute, to avoid a scandal. He denied the allegations, despite being his representative being filmed the day before by the News of the World giving Monica Coghlan £2000 in £50 notes on Platform 3 of Victoria Station to leave the country to avoid reporters. He then fought a successful libel case in which Monica was shredded in the witness box under cross examination and repeatedly reduced to tears. In late 1999 and 2000, as Archer was running for Mayor of London,
several of the pals who had given evidence at the trial for him began recanting their stories. He was charged with perjury and sent to prison.
Too late for Monica. "Jeffrey Archer took everything away from me," she later said. "I lost my home, my dignity, my self-respect, and any hope of a future." She was left in desperate circumstances and died in a car crash at the age of 50. Following her death and Archer's conviction for perjury, the English Collective of Prostitutes wrote a letter to TBG, calling her unjustly "branded by her sex, race and class and by the prostitution laws which label and condemn women”, and calling for her vindication.
In 2014, Camp Bastion, the last UK base in Afghanistan, was handed over to the control of Afghan security forces, ending British combat operations in the country.
Happy birthday, Dame Sarah 🥂 and these are for you, Monica 💐