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On this day in history

On this day 1948, Oswald Mosley's fascist Union Movement was completely routed in Brighton by Jewish anti-fascists from the 43 Group. Leader of the demo, Jeffrey Hamm, ended up in hospital with a broken jaw.
 
On this day John Profumo lied to parliament.
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On this day in 1954 mathematician and cryptologist Alan Turing died , allegedly by suicide after being convicted of gross indecency for consensual acts carried out in his own home .Considered to be the Father of theoretical computer science his contribution to cracking of the Nazi Enigma code is said to have shortened the second world war by years and saved millions of lives. In 2009 the government of the day apologized for Turings conviction and he was later pardoned.
 
Not necessarily on this day, but interesting to hear about the curse, then it came true twice!
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I used to live in Highgate, not far from Ally Pally, I saw the huge glow in the sky from the fire in the 80's and went to see. Somewhere I have photos of the conflagration.
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On this day in 1993 the UK lost one of its great comedians when Les Dawson sadly passed away. A great comic, actor, game show host and much more, Les had a number of his own shows and his passing was a great loss. Les is fondly remembered to this very day and who will ever forget the gurning, the piano playing and of course Cissie and Ada. RIP Les.
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On this day in 1860,
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On this day in 1940 Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes his "finest hour" broadcast to the nation. Listen to a clip.
"This was their finest hour"
still sends a shiver up my spine!
 
On this day in 1984 5000 miners arrived to shut down the Orgreave coking plant in South Yorkshire.As the pickets moved forward to prevent lorries entering the plant mounted police charged and miners responded by throwing stones.Further charges followed with riot squads handing out beatings to anyone in their reach.The plant then closed for the day and many strikers left , those remaining playing football in fields or sunbathing.Without warning or provocation another mounted charge took place & pursued the strikers into Orgreave village.
The events have been described by historian Tristram Hunt as "almost medieval in its choreography ..... at various stages a siege, a battle, a chase, a rout and, finally, a brutal example of legalised state violence"
71 pickets were charged with riot which carried a life sentence & 24 with violent disorder.The trials collapsed because of lack of evidence Micheal Mansfield called it "the worst example of a mass frame-up in this country this century"
Lawsuits brought against South Yorkshire police for assault, wrongful arrest , unlawful detention and malicious prosecution secured damages and costs of more than half a million pounds.No officers were disciplined. It was said by one policeman that senior officers ordered them not to write anything in their pocketbooks , a practice that later emerged as a key factor in the cover up of Hilsborough .
pictured below is Lesley Boulton who narrowly avoided having her head smashed in , pulled to safety at the last moment. Photo by John Harris

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On this day in 1967 boxing legend Muhammad Ali was convicted for refusing the draft for the Vietnam war and sentenced to 5 years prison and $10,000 fine. He criticised the system where: "the rich man’s son went to college, and the poor man’s son went to war" he also said
“Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on Brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs?”
His bravery and eloquence are sadly missed by many .
 
On this day in 1969 a man walked on the moon.
 
On this day in 1981 Mark Chapman pleads guilty to shooting dead former Beatle John Lennon in New York.
 
On Thursday 23 June 2016 the EU referendum took place and the people of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union.
 
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