1314Preliminary actions began for the Battle of Bannockburn, with the main battle beginning not long after daybreak the following day when the Scots began to move towards the English. It was one of the decisive battles of the First War of Scottish Independence. Robert the Bruce earned a place in Scottish history for his legendary victory over the English at Bannockburn where there is this statue (see picture) of Robert the Bruce.

Allegedly, it was in this cave (see picture) at Cove Manor House (formerly Dunskellie Castle - between Gretna and Lockerbie) that the story of 'Bruce and the spider' originated. Robert the Bruce supposedly gained inspiration to keep going after watching a spider attempting again and again to make its web. The revitalised Bruce gained support and ultimately defeated the English army at Bannockburn the following day. While the legend is strong, the factual basis is weak and inconclusive. as no fewer than 3 other caves claim to have been the location.

1661A marriage contract was signed between Charles II of England and Portuguese Catherine of Braganza. Catherine's dowry secured to England Tangier, the Seven islands of Bombay, trading privileges and two million Portuguese crowns (about £300,000).

1683William Penn, the English Quaker, signed a treaty with the Indian chiefs of the Lenni Lenade Tribe in an attempt to ensure peace in his new American colony, Pennsylvania.

1757British troops, commanded by Robert Clive, won the Battle of Plassey in Bengal - laying the foundations of the British Empire in India.

1894Birth of Edward, Duke of Windsor who was King Edward VIII from 20th January to 10th December 1936 before abdicating to marry twice-divorced Mrs. Wallis Warfield Simpson.

1939The Government of Eire declared membership of the IRA (Irish Republican Army) to be illegal.

1940The BBC’s Music While You Work programme was first broadcast on radio to brighten up the lives of munitions workers doing boring factory jobs.

1940World War II: German leader Adolf Hitler surveyed newly defeated Paris in German occupied France.

1942Germany's latest fighter, a Focke-Wulf Fw 190, was captured intact when it mistakenly landed at RAF Pembrey in Wales.

1951Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean, missing diplomats, fled to the USSR as Russian spies before the British authorities had the opportunity to arrest them for spying. They 'surfaced' in Moscow in 1956.

1985A terrorist bomb aboard Air India flight 182 brought down a Boeing 747 off the coast of Ireland killing all 329 people aboard.

1986Brighton bomber Patrick Magee, found guilty of planting the bomb at the Grand Hotel, Brighton during the Conservative Party Conference in 1983, was jailed for a minimum of 35 years. He was released from prison in 1999 under the terms of the 'Good Friday Agreement', having served only 14 years.

1989The Home secretary announced that the West Midlands Serious Crime Squad had been disbanded in the wake of allegations of malpractice.

1994It was announced that the Royal Yacht Britannia would be sold or scrapped. Her final voyage was to Hong Kong (1997) before being decommissioned. She is now based in Edinburgh, as a visitor attraction - (see picture).

1997Diana, Princess of Wales apologized for taking her two sons, Princes William and Harry, to see the 15 certificated film The Devil's Own, about an IRA assassin.

2013The RSPB told householders to stop weeding and let the garden grow messy, in its biggest ever campaign to save wildlife by building “homes for nature”.

2014The Queen officially opened the new £2.5bn Terminal 2 building at Heathrow Airport in west London.

2016The EU Referendum. The UK voted to leave the European Union. (The Union reached its 28 member countries with the accession of Croatia on 1st July 2013.

2023The national press carried the news that the 5 people on board the Titan submersible had all perished, after debris, consistent with a 'catastrophic implosion', was found close to the wreck of the Titanic. The vessel went missing on Sunday, 18th June after embarking on a mission to survey the wreckage of the Titanic. Those on board included British businessman Hamish Harding, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman.

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