On this day in history

[goodoldboy]

A very good friend of ours grew up in East Berlin & described the grim existence , being forced to work in a factory at weekend as a teenager , for no wages.Her family were party members & this meant privileges like better schooling & housing , foreign travel but still no escaping Saturdays on a drill press !

 

[Chas]

On this day in 1989: At least 30 people die after a pleasure cruiser and a barge collide on the River Thames. Party-goers die in Marchioness river crash, 1989 www.bbc.co.uk

 

[goodoldboy]

according to Wikipedia it was 51 dead. I remember how the victims & their families fought for years for an enquiry in the face of indifference from the authorities

 

[Chas]

according to Wikipedia it was 51 dead. I remember how the victims & their families fought for years for an enquiry in the face of indifference from the authorities

Well it actually said AT LEAST 30 dead and if you read the link supplied it says 51!

 

[goodoldboy]

Ok Chas i didn't look at the link .

 

[Chas]

OnThisDay in1945: George Orwell's Animal Farm was first published.

 

[Chas]

On this day in 1485, Richard III was killed at Bosworth Field.

 

[goodoldboy]

the last English king killed in battle.

 

[Chas]

the last English king killed in battle.

That's right GOB, I'd forgotten that.

 

[Chas]

On this day in 1967 Sweden changed sides.
.

 

[Towpack]

In 1939 John Cobb breaks his own land speed record with a 365.85 mph run at Bonneville in the Railton Special built by Reid Railton.

 

[Shayne]

On this day 1814 British troops burned looted and gutted the American presidential residence known as the White House .

 

[BobMurphy]

The Americans might do it themselves next time .

Bob.

 

[goodoldboy]

the Railton special , what a fearsome piece of kit powered by twin W12 areo engines.Cobb must have had a gran par de cojones

 

[BobMurphy]

the Railton special , what a fearsome piece of kit powered by twin W12 areo engines.Cobb must have had a gran par de cojones

Two of these you mean . . . .

One appears to be a considerable handful

(The Bo'Ness Hillclimb (Forth Valley) 05/09/2015).

Bob.

 

[goodoldboy]

100 MPH in a vintage car is a whole other ball game .The closest i've come to experiencing that was driving an unrestored series LR before i bought my first Toyota .I imagine the Railton as a 500 bhp version of that

 

[goodoldboy]

on this day in 1944 the liberation of Paris was completed.Occupying German forces surrendered.The previous day the 9th Company of the Régiment de marche du Tchad also known as La Nueve or La Española had been the first troops to enter Paris. This regiment consisted of mostly Spanish exiles who volunteered to fight the fascists , socialists ,communists , Republicans & anarchists . Also involved were volunteer colonial black African troops who were excluded form the victory celebrations .

 

[Towpack]

The Napier Lion was very advanced for it's time with twin OHC's. Later, supercharged versions had well over 1300BHP. The Railton Special had two of these. A good train of thought that......Stick a Napier in.....We need more speed.......Stick another one in!

 

[Chas]

On this day in 1994: Man gets 'bionic' heart A man has been given the world's first battery-operated heart in a pioneering operation in Britain. The patient, an unnamed 62-year-old from the south of England, is now in a stable condition at the world-famous Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire. He had only months to live when doctors offered him the chance of being a guinea-pig for the new titanium and plastic device, manufactured in America. Known as the Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) it is not a replacement for the human heart. It is essentially an electrical pump which does most of the work of the pumping chamber of the heart, the left ventricle. During the four-hour operation the LVAD was placed in the wall of the man's abdomen and connected to his heart. The pump is powered by a battery pack which the patient will wear on his belt.

 

[goodoldboy]

Wasn't the title of the Pink Floyd album atom heart mother inspired by something similar ?