1963: Gravesend, Dartford, and Erith said goodbye to the old ladies of the Thames, the sailing barges, which competed in races. Refuse disposal merchant Henry Dodd had the idea of racing barges on the Thames in 1863.

1953: Prime Minister Winston Churchill suffered a severe stroke at his country home, Chartwell. His left side was partially paralysed, he could not speak and his physician Lord Moran was advised to take up permanent residence. Churchill, 79, made a good recovery and lived for another 12 years.

1913: Gladys Cooper, a 25-year-old actress from Lewisham, played Cecily in The Importance of Being Ernest and parts in the works of Shaw, Galsworthy and Bennett. When she was 19 she performed as a Gaiety Girl, watched by Boer War veteran Herbert Buckmaster. They were married in 1908.