This Day in History - 13th November

1002 English king Aethelred II ordered the killing of all Danes in England, known today as the St. Brice's Day massacre.

1093 Malcolm III of Scotland, son of King Duncan, died at Alnwick, Northumberland, during his fifth attempt to invade England. 

1312 Birth of Edward III, King of England from 1327.

1642 First English Civil War: At the Battle of Turnham Green (Middlesex), the Royalist forces withdrew in the face of the Parliamentarian army and failed to take London. Charles and his army retreated to Oxford for secure winter quarters.

1779Thomas Chippendale, English cabinet-maker died. (Note:- He was born in Otley, Yorkshire and there is this statue of him outside the former Grammar School. Nostell Priory, a National Trust house has over 100 pieces of Chippendale furniture.

1887 'Bloody Sunday' in London when violence erupted in Trafalgar Square at a Socialist rally attended by Irish agitators.

1901 The Caister (Norfolk) Lifeboat Disaster. Lifeboat Beauchamp and its crew were lost while attempting a rescue during heavy seas. The following morning, eight bodies were recovered at the scene with another, that of Charles Bonney George being washed away, only to be recovered months later in April of the following year. 

1910 The birth of Pat Reid British Army officer and author. He was a prisoner of war at Colditz Castle and was one of the few to escape. He wrote about his experiences in two best-selling books, which became the basis of a film, TV series and even a board game.

1916 World War One : The final Battle of the Somme, on the River Ancre. By the end of the battle, (which started on 1st July 2016) the British Army had suffered 420,000 casualties including 19,240 fatalities on the first day alone. The French lost 200,000 men and the Germans nearly 500,000. The Battle of the Somme epitomised the futility of trench warfare and the indiscriminate slaughter of so many men.

1936 King Edward VIII told the Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, that he intended to marry twice divorced Mrs. Simpson.

1947 Chancellor of the Exchequer, Hugh Dalton, resigned after admitting he had disclosed tax proposals to a reporter several minutes before presenting his Budget speech.

1954 Great Britain defeated France to capture the first ever Rugby League World Cup, held in Paris, in front of around 30,000 spectators.

1969 Britain's first live quintuplets this century were born, at Queen Charlotte's maternity hospital in London.

1979 The Times newspaper was published for the first time in nearly a year. The paper's disappearance from news stands followed a dispute between management and unions over manning levels and the introduction of new technology.

1987 With a view to encouraging 'safe sex', or AIDS prevention, the BBC screened its first condom 'commercial' (without a brand name).

1995 18 year Leah Betts was on a life-support machine after taking a single ecstasy tablet at her 18th birthday party. She died three days later without ever regaining consciousness.