24 APRIL HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR HELEN St Mark’s Eve, on which apparitions of those to die in the coming year are said to appear at midnight in churchyards. 1533: Birth of William I, the Prince of Orange, in Germany. He was known as ‘William the Silent’ because of his ability to keep a secret. He helped free the Netherlands from Spanish domination. 1766: Founder of Farmer's Almanac Robert Bailey Thomas born. 1782: This night, and into the early hours of the morning, Claude Rouget de Lisle composed the French national anthem, the Marseillaise. 1856: Birth of Henri Philippe Omer Pétain, French statesman and Army marshal who tried to make terms with the Germans during the Second World War and established a collaboratist government in Vichy. After the War, he was imprisoned for life as a traitor. 1882: Birth of Lord Dowding (Hugh Caswall Tremenheere, 1st Baron), British Air Force Commander-in-Chief in the Battle of Britain, which he directed from Bentley Priory. 1889: Sir Richard Stafford Cripps, British statesman, economist and chemist who became the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the 1947 Labour government. The ravages of war left him no alternative but to introduce an austerity programme, but his style produced a positive public response; trade unions imposed a voluntary wage freeze. 1895: Captain Joshua Slocum, in his sloop Spray, set sail from Boston to circumnavigate the world single-handed. He would return on 27 June 1898. 1906: Birth of William Joyce, US-born British traitor who collaborated with the Nazis, broadcasting propaganda to Britain from Germany during the Second World War in a curious English accent which earned him the nickname ‘Lord Haw-Haw’. 1906: Liverpool City Hospital at Fazakerly was ready to open 1922: Cunard began a Liverpool Quebec service, when the 'Albania' sailed out of Liverpool. 1930: Amy Johnson landed her Gypsy Moth Jason in Darwin, Australia, the first woman to fly solo from England. Her departure 19 days earlier had not attracted much attention, but her courage in braving sandstorms and forced landings made her an international heroine. 1932: A mass trespass by thousands of ramblers took place on Kinder Scout in the Peak District to establish public right of access on the moors and mountains which were privately owned for grouse shooting. 1939: Robert Menzies became Australian Prime Minister, aged 44. 1949: One of the great days in any British child’s life - if they were born during the war years - sweets and chocolate were no longer rationed! 1953: Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. 1967: The first space tragedy occurred: Vladimir Komarov, aged 40, was killed when the Russian Soyuz I crashed to earth after leaving orbit. 1986: Duchess of Windsor, dies in Paris at age 89. 1989: Peter Scudamore became the first National Hunt jockey to ride 200 winners in a season over jumps when he won at Towcester with Gay Moore. >> --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.351 / Virus Database: 197 - Release Date: 19/04/02