March:
1 Mar 1694 – A great
storm raged in the strait resulting in the death of around 1200 people and the
sinking of HMS Sussex.
1 Mar 1817 – Young
Simi Cohen Levi fled Gibraltar for San Roque
on her way to Medina Sidonia to become a nun. Born in 1801 to Jacob Cohen and
Esther Levi, she shunned her Jewish upbringing and became a Catholic. Joining
the Convent of San Cristobal as a novice and later the Convent of Jesus Maria y
Jose, where two years later she became a nun on the 21st July 1819.
Simi adopted the Christian name of Maria de los Dolores Trinidad Josefa Cohen.
Simi passed away 70 years later on the 8th January 1887 and was
buried at Medina Sidonia. In 2012 the diocesan phase of her beatification was
completed; this is the first step in the process to eventually become a saint.
1 Mar 1880 – H.E. the
Governor Major General Anderson presented the V.C. to private John Williams at
Grand Parade. This award had originally been awarded in May 1879 for Williams
actions at Rourke’s Drift, Natal,
where he fought off a number of Zulu warriors and managed to bring out 8
patients to safety.
1 Mar 1900 - News of the relief of Ladysmith
received with indescribable enthusiasm.
Congratulatory messages sent to Sir George White, Lady White, General Buller and
the Manchester Regiment on their heroic defence of that place.
1 Mar 1905 – Lady
Acland, wife of the Senior Naval Officer performed the official opening of dry
dock No3, named King Edward VIIth,
with entry of the battleship of the same name. These warships were known as wobbly
eights, though fast and powerful they were difficult to steer in a straight
line.
1 Mar 1934 – HRH Lady Patricia Ramsay arrived on
board the P&O RMS Strathaird and stayed in Government House.
Patricia was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria (her father Arthur) but
surrendered her title of Princess on her marriage to a commoner. However, she
remained part of the Royal Household and in line to the throne. Strathaird
was a turbo-electric liner with four boilers and one of five Straths
known as the white sisters. (White hull and three buff funnels; one operational
& two dummies.) Previous P&O liners had black hulls.
1 Mar 1936 - King
Edward VIIIth addressed the Empire from London, by
wireless, loud speakers were placed in the Alameda and H.E. was present.
1 Mar 1996 – The
European Union Environmental and Nuclear Safety Civil Protection Commission
issued infraction proceedings against Algeciras,
for dumping sewage into the Bay.
2 Mar 1882 – Saw the installation
of Right Reverend Gonzalo Canilla, as Vicar Apostolic.
2 Mar 1894 - Branch of
the British Medical Assoc. established.
2 Mar 1923 - Speaker Alfred J Asquez was born.
2 Mar 1923 – The Queen of Spain visited Algeciras and left for Madrid 10th March.
2 Mar 1934 – The arrival of Gen. Sir A.A.
Montgomery-Massingberd, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, on a short visit;
he left for Malta on the 6th.
2 Mar 1938 -
(Sp Civ War) A cable message published yesterday read as follows: General
Dellano (Quiepo de Llano) violently attacked Britain
during an address to 50,000 German officered rebel troops at La
Linea, says the Gibraltar
correspondent of the Daily Herald. “British
treachery robbed us of Gibraltar, which always
was, is, and shall be Spanish. Its Rock now shelters criminals and pirates, but
we shall soon release Gibraltar from the
blackguards and deliver it to its legitimate owners, the true Spaniards…”…
boasted the General. Count Jordan,
Franco’s Foreign Minister immediately telegraphed to Britain
denying “the absurd statements regarding Gibraltar, attributed to General Dellano.” Now the
Daily Herald may not be very good with Spanish names… but I know who I believe.
2 Mar 2001 – The
Governor & Commander in Chief accompanied by Mrs Durie attended the first
mounting of the guard, by the Royal Gibraltar Regiment, at Buckingham Palace.
They performed their duties with precision and dignity, watched by a large
crowd including 4x former governors and members of RGA.
A Spanish diplomatic source described it as “an outmoded act of colonialism”
ha! Little did they know that Durie was batting for Spain?
3 Mar 1848 - The
Gibraltar skull was found at Forbes Quarry by Lieutenant Flint’s men.
3 Mar 1851 – The 55th
Regiment arrived from Cork.
3 Mar 1891 – General Sir Lothian Nicholson appointed
Governor and was sworn in on 30th
March 1891.
3 Mar 1913 - A
deputation composed of Messrs Albert Porral, CMG & WJ Salust Smith JP, left
for England on a mission to the Sec of State for the colonies, to support the
memorial sent by the inhabitants of Gibraltar regarding certain comments made
by HE the Governor Gen Sir Archibald Hunter in his address dated 31 Jan 1913 at
the Garrison Lecture Room, Wellington Front. Shops closed from 2 - 3 pm and thousands of people went
to the wharf to see the deputation off.
Afterwards the crowd proceeded in peaceful demonstration as far as the Alameda.
3 Mar 1935 – A dinner party was given at Government
House, where H.E. the Governor and Lady Harington entertained Captain G.
Braunerhielm and officers of His Swedish Majesty’s Ship Oscar II. Built
in 1907, Oscar II was named for the King of Sweden who approved her
drawings and name in May 1903. She was the world’s only 3-funnel
coast-defence-battleship; 4850 tons & a speed of 18.5 knots. Oscar II
was withdrawn from service in 1950 and relinquished as a hulk until 1974.
3 Mar 1954 – A BEA Viscount aircraft inaugurated the
London-Gibraltar flight.
3 Mar 2001 – The
Chronicle reports: Super gusts hit the
Rock; the met office recorded mean wind speeds of 47 knots, gusting to 67
knots around 1.30pm at the airport and possibly stronger gusts in some exposed
areas.
4 Mar 1845 – The
virtuoso pianist and celebrated composer, Franz Liszt, gave a concert at the
Mess House of the Royal Artillery, commencing at 9pm. Tickets were £2 each and
the event was attended by the Governor and la
gente del pish. Mr Liszt was accompanied by his confidential secretary and
performer, the baritone Ciabatti, who remained with him throughout the tour of Spain and Portugal. Liszt had arrived in
Gibraltar on March 3rd aboard the British steamship Pascha, from Lisbon
and was to leave several days later to continue his tour along the east coast
of Spain.
At that time it was commonplace to travel by steamer since the railway would
not arrive in Spain
until 1848 and the roads were in a terrible state, frequently impassable and
swarming with bandits.
4
Mar 1864 – There was a fire in a Bakery at Governor's Street.
4 Mar 1916 - Death of
Rev Mother Ignatius Byrne who had been engaged in educating children of Gibraltar's leading families, since 1891.
4 Mar 1929 - The
Markets Committee was replaced by a Board of Visitors.
4 Mar 1942 –
Gibraltarian Jose Key was arrested for having in his possession information
relating to the movement of ships and aircraft in Gibraltar.
He was subsequently sentenced to death (18th May) and executed in England.
4 Mar 1975 - Gale
force winds damaged the water catchments.
4 Mar 1989 -The Campo
newspaper AREA gave details of
contaminants in the bay, pronouncing it the most contaminated in all Andalucia,
and accusing the Algeciras
Municipality of wanton
destruction of natural areas.
5 Mar 1832 - Public
Vaccination performed free of charge.
5 Mar 1851 - 300
convicts arrived.
5 Mar 1882 -
Thanksgiving services held in all churches and synagogues for the escape of
Queen Victoria
from an attempt made on her life this month. Roderick Maclean had fired a revolver at the Queen as she left Windsor railway station, returning from a trip to London. Altogether some seven assassination attempts were made on the Queen during her reign.
5 Mar 1923 – There was
an accident on board HMS Coventry, five sailors being hurt; three of
whom subsequently died. The sum of £342/8/9d was collected at a football match
to aid their dependants.
5 Mar 1928 – HM the Queen of Spain and her daughters
lunched with HRH Princess Beatrice at Algeciras.
5 Mar 1933 – Rt. Rev. H.J. Buxton was installed as C.
of E. Bishop of Gibraltar.
5 Mar 1936 – A Fairey IIIF, S1404, 822 Sqdn, HMS
Furious, landed in a rough sea and sank, off Gibraltar.
Lt. Commander George Alexander Turner Laing (34) was killed. Flying Officer
Thomas Charles Geoffrey Holford (Pilot Lt. R.N.) was unhurt as was Lt. Geoffrey
Nethercote-Beaumont.
5 Mar 1949 – A Handley Page Halifax BVI,
Registration RG850, was on approach to North Front when one of its port engines
failed. The pilot elected to go-around but the Halifax lost speed, began to slip to
starboard and dived into the ground close to the Eastern threshold of the
airfield. The aircraft stalled and came down in La Linea, just north of the airfield. Five
crew members were killed, whilst two, including the trainee pilot, were injured
but survived. The trainer pilot was a Polish Officer who had to be restrained
in La Linea
gaol, from trying to rescue his personnel and endangering his own life. Norman
(Bunny) Bailey serving here at the time misremembered this as a Lancaster crash but
explained that rescuers could not reach the plane because of the soft ground.
At that time the area would still have been a marisma containing bulrush
type plants.
5 Mar 1973 – The Misuse of Drugs Ordinance was
effected.
5 Mar 2003 – Both Fire Services were called to Dutch
Magazine to fight a major fire in the MoD laundry, this evening. The cause has
so far yet to be determined.
5 Mar 2008 – Drugs
worth £4M were discovered by Gibraltar Customs hidden in a ‘secret compartment’
within a jetty in the port. North Mole
was cordoned off whilst a major search of the area continued after 7 bales, each
weighing about 30Kg, were found in a foreign registered vehicle. The searchers
subsequently discovered a further 46 bales in what Customs described as ‘an
underground cavity in one of the jetties.’ A vessel and a van have been seized
and 7 men aged between 30 and 50 have been arrested.
6 Mar 1772 – A Royal
Warrant was issued to raise a 'Company of Soldier Artificers' at Gibraltar. The Royal Engineers, to this date, had been
officers only (there were no lower ranks) and they were suffering the lack of
sufficient civilian tradesmen to work on the military fortifications. The
initial strength was 68 rank and file commanded by local R.E. officers. The
intention was for the unit to serve only in Gibraltar
and it served very well indeed throughout the Great Siege of 1779-82. On 30 June 1786 a second
company was raised with a total strength of 275 men.
6 Mar 1813 – The
Gibraltar Chronicle reports: ‘An account has reached the garrison from the
Tagus, which appears to be entitled to credit, of His Majesty’s Frigate Acasta having been taken by Commodore
Rodgers, and re-taken by the Poictoirs,
who at the same time also captured the President.’ (Taken from the London Chronicle, Volume 113 Naval
Intelligence.)
6 Mar 1852 – The Brig Irene
was driven aground off Prince Albert's
Front.
6 Mar 1929 – Copies of
the publication Hojas Libres (literally Free Sheets) were seized at local news
agencies, by the Police on instruction of the Colonial Secretary. This paper opposed the dictatorship of Prima
Rivera and the monarchy of Alfonso XIII and was introduced clandestinely into Spain.
Action was taken by representative bodies against the attitude of the Police, whom
they regarded as restricting the freedom of the press, resulting in questions
being asked in House of Commons, UK. There may have been an appeal
to the Supreme Court which was dismissed on 29th May. It would
appear that in 1929, freedom of the press was not available to colonies.
6 Mar 1935 – There was strong Easterly gale; no
sailings to Algeciras or Morocco.
6 Mar 1972 – The
Freedom of City was conferred on Royal Engineers.
6 Mar 1988 - Operation Flavius: Three IRA terrorists shot dead on Winston Churchill Avenue by security forces. A 'shoot to kill policy' was vehemently denied at the time; claiming that the intention had been to arrest the suspects. In time the truth came out, thanks to John Stalker.
6 Mar 2003 – MoD today
announced the replacement of their two wooden towers at Rock Gun. As soon as
the new steel towers are finished (they’ve finished one already but thought we
hadn’t noticed) the aerials will be transferred and the old towers removed.
6 Mar 2003 – NATO
warships have begun escorting allied civilian ships through the strait,
guarding against the possibility of terrorist attacks.
7 Mar 1892 - A heavy
fall of rain flooded Spanish Lines.
7 Mar 1892 - A
Commission of enquiry looked into allegations against the Colonial Engineer;
who was totally exonerated in a report of 13th.
7 Mar 1906 - King Edward VII
consents to be patron of Royal Calpe Hunt.
7 Mar 1927 – The Hon. K C Carrara, KC, appointed to
appear as Attorney General at Criminal Sessions.
7 Mar 1928 - Several
thousand Spanish workers (men and women) complained about customs abuses by the
Aduanas who were confiscating all dutiable goods. Small amounts of groceries
had always previously been allowed. One threw a stone; the Customs Officers
drew their firearms and called for help from the military. The Civil Guard and
a detachment of infantry soon arrived and shots were fired. The result was two
dead, Gabriel Gonzalez (20) and Jose Zamino (70) and Jose Moza Lara was
wounded. Many more were injured when the carabineros opened fire on them.
Crowds gathered outside the La Linea
first aid post seeking information about the dead and injured. The bodies were
escorted to the mortuary by mounted GC. The following day all La Linea shops were closed and 10,000 women
followed the procession to the cemetery. One carried a huge black flag and
people were heard to shout ‘Justice… we want justice.’
7 Mar 1933 - Lecture
given at the Exchange Rooms by Mr A.B.M. Serfaty, described ‘The Jews of
Gibraltar under British Rule’ was attended by H.E. and Lady Godley.
7 Mar 1942 – Seven
Blenheim aircraft departed N. Front for Malta. When they reached the
location of Force H, the aircraft carrier Eagle flew off fifteen Spitfires to
join the bombers which then guided them to Malta. Force H returned to Gibraltar on the 9th.
7 Mar 1968 – The
Piazza was completed. (its demolition had commenced 20.1.03 and was completed
06/03)
7 Mar 2001 – ‘Black
Wednesday’ in Gibraltar, as the realization that UK chancellor Gordon Brown’s
abolition of betting duty (replaced with a 15% levy on gross profits) would
result in the UK offshore-betting companies who had relocated to the Rock quite
probably returning to the UK,
taking over 200 jobs with them. In the end – they stayed.
8 Mar 1763 – Severe rains flooded Andalusia
drowning many persons and cattle.
8 Mar 1852 - Governor, Sir Robert Gardiner
prohibited a general meeting of merchants, landowners and others who wished to
press for an inquiry into the civil administration.
8 Mar 1858 - Arrival
of 4 Russian Guns captured in Crimean War which were a gift from the British
Government to the people of Gibraltar. Once
all four were mounted at La Batteria, today two are at the Alameda and two at Line Wall Boulevard.
8 Mar 1873 - 124
Spanish refugees brought from Malaga in the SS
Adriano, who reported that all remaining upper classes in Malaga are in a state of great alarm. The
town remains occupied by Volunteers of the Republic.
8 Mar 1877 - Crowded
meeting at the Exchange Rooms when it was decided to bestow full powers on the
Exchange Committee to endeavour to dissuade the government from implementing
the Customs scheme which would interfere with the freedom of the port and be
injurious to interests of the community.
8 Mar 1927 – Major
Hubert W Young, CMG, DSO, was appointed as Colonial Secretary.
8 Mar 1934 – H.E. the Governor, Gen. Sir C.H.
Harington and Lady Harington gave a dinner party at Government House in
honour of Admiral (Jackie) Fisher and officers of the Mediterranean Fleet. Rear
Admiral and HRH Lady Patricia Ramsay attended.
8 Mar 1946 – An RAF
Handley Page HP 61, Reg. PN387, en route to London,
found her controls jammed just minutes after take off from Gibraltar.
Eight crew members were able to bail out before the aircraft crashed into the
sea some 6 miles off Europa Lighthouse. These eight crewmen plus one other were
found alive whilst four others were killed.
9 Mar 1727 – (Sge of
1727) A deserter from the Spanish lines arrived and reported that whilst our
guns were firing at them, an officer pulled off his hat, huzzaed, and called
God to damn us all, when one of our balls, with unerring justice, took off the
miserable man’s head and left him a wretched example of divine justice.
9 Mar 1857 -
Inauguration of Gas Works at Vineyards (by John Mackintosh Senior) parts of the
town were illuminated to celebrate the occasion.
9 Mar 1917 - Phenomenally stormy weather caused a
landslip at Catalan
Bay with great material
damage but no loss of life.
9 Mar 1922 – The death occurred, at the Colonial Hospital, of Maurice E Bandmann, actor
and empresario, who had recently renovated and reopened the New Empire Theatre.
Bandmann had just returned from Egypt
where he had contracted enteric (typhus) from which he died. Company manager
Stephan Lopez announced that performances would be cancelled for tonight and
Friday and would recommence on Saturday.
9 Mar 1935 – Saw the
arrival of Their Highnesses Prince and Princess Arthur of Connaught,
who were cruising on the Cunard Liner Laeonia. They were met on board by
H.E. the Governor and Lady Patricia Ramsay. The royal visitors had teas at
Government House and visited the Upper Rock, returning on board at 6pm.
9 Mar 1943 – Spitfire
JG747 went missing on a flight of six aircraft from Gibraltar to Maison Blanche
via the USAF airfield at La Senia, Oran.
JG747 failed to arrive at La Senia and when no radio or distress signals were
received, the Pilot 22 year old Sergeant Arthur Reginald Cope RAAF from
Victoria Australia, was reported missing. His body was not recovered.
10 Mar 1829 - A monument was erected in Kings Chapel
to Dr John Hennen, Principal Medical Officer of Gibraltar
who died of Yellow fever on 2nd Nov1828.
10 Mar 1838 – The old
sailing ship HMS Minden, having been detained in the Strait for 3 weeks
by adverse Westerly gales, was towed through the Gut by the Peninsular Steam
Navigation Co. (later P&O) Packet Tagus.
The Captain and Officers of HMS
Minden presented a rose-bowl to Tagus
inscribed as follows:
Presented to William Symonds Esq. by Captain AR Sharpe CB and the officers of HM Ship Minden for having volunteered with the most handsome manner the services of the steamer Tagus, under his command, to tow the Minden, having the 11th Regiment of Foot on board, through the Gut of Gibraltar, where she had been detained by adverse gales for three weeks, in which arduous and unprecedented undertaking he fully succeeded against both wind and current on the 10th March 1838.
10 Mar 1863 - General Holiday
to celebrate the Prince of Wales’s wedding day: the streets were decorated with
wreaths, banners & tapestries and illuminated in the evening.
10 Mar 1879 - St
Michael's Cave was explored by Major W Verner. (Who was a famed ornithologist)
10 Mar 1895
– The Spanish Cruiser Reina Regente, 4800 tons, Comdr. Francisco de Paula Sanz de Andino, foundered with
all hands (412 men) during a voyage from Tangier to Cadiz. The port of Tangier
was closed by extreme weather but the captain decided to leave anyway; meeting
hurricane force winds immediately outside the harbour. She was last seen by the
British steamers Mayfield and Matheus, who were running for the
protection of the Mediterranean, and who
described the Reina as being
violently tossed by the waves and rolling heavily. She had enormous firepower,
the weight of which may have caused instability.
10 Mar 1933 - HE and Lady Godley attended the
Exchange Rooms to hear a lecture about 'Cyprus' given by Lt-Col the
Hon AE Beattie, Colonial Secretary.
10 Mar 1941 – No 2
Canadian Tunnelling Company disembarked in Gibraltar.
No 1 Company had been here since the previous November. Together with No 1 Co.
their main task involved excavating a series of wards and tunnels in
subterranean (Gort’s) hospital. It would later house 200 beds, a laundry, an
operating theatre and flush toilets.
They also built pillboxes, ammunition magazines and oil storage tanks
and fortified and expanded Gibraltar’s web of
underground passages. All in all the Canadians excavated 140,000 tons of
material in two years. 324 miners were eventually a silver badge called the
Gibraltar Key (because so few were awarded it is highly sought-after by
collectors) sponsored by Noranda Mines in Quebec.
11 Mar 1811 – The
storming of Badajoz
(Peninsula War) which was later commemorated (1860s) by Lt John Marshman, in a
mural in the Convent patio at the request of Lady Airey.
11 Mar 1868 - Private
Maith, sentry on the Main Guard, shot Police Sergeant Wall. A bystander was
killed and the soldier was found to be insane.
11 Mar 1886 - A heavy Easterly gale caused the British
steamer Ettrickdale and three sailing vessels to become stranded then
wrecked off Torre Nueva, about 5 miles NNE of Gibraltar. Ettrickdale’s
crew were forced to take to the rigging.
The following day two unsuccessful rescue attempts were made by a Spanish
fishing vessel. An attempt was then made by a boat from HMS Monarch (led
by Lt. Jellicoe later to become Admiral Jellicoe of Jutland
fame) however the boat capsized in the breakers. Finally another Spanish
fishing boat got alongside and rescued all but one of the crew; the 1st
Mate had been knocked overboard by the topsail brace. Jellicoe was awarded the
Board of Trade Gallantry medal in silver, his 7 crew were each awarded a bronze
and the Spanish fishermen received a total of 16 'Foreign Service' Sea
Gallantry medals in silver.
11 Mar 1847 - Inhalation of ether successfully tried,
for the first time in Gibraltar.
11 Mar 1934 – The
arrival of 1200 Irish pilgrims under the leadership of Cardinal Joseph MacRory,
Archbishop of Armagh (thus Primate of all Ireland) on board Cunard’s RMS Lancastria, en route to
Rome. MacRory was a strong opponent of social injustice, National Socialism and
the partition of Ireland. Unfortunately he encouraged Eoin O’Duffy to
form the Irish Brigade to fight with Franco, as an act of Catholic solidarity. Lancastria was later sunk, June 1940,
off the port of St
Nazaire whilst evacuating British nationals from France with the
loss of 3-5000 lives. This was the largest single ship loss of life in British
maritime history.
11 Mar 2002 – Commonwealth Day Bank Holiday.
Today, the old 1142 kHz MW antenna at Wellington Front was taken down and the
top section of the mast was removed… see also 1st
April.
12 Mar 1852 – The Rev.
Godfrey Kingsford, Chaplain to the Convict Establishment, died by his own hand; 'In a fit of delirium from fever he cut his throat.' He was a zealous preacher
and much esteemed by all classes in Gibraltar.
He was of Corpus Christi College Cambridge, BA 1841, and was formerly Curate at
St Mary’s Dover.
12 Mar 1874 – The
Glasgow steamship Queen Elizabeth ran
aground at Punta Arenas,
seven miles east of Tarifa, between 8.30 and 9.00pm. The vessel lay east-west
was firmly bedded on a bank of shingle, a large rent abaft the funnel showing
that her hull was broken and before long she would part amidships. A long
involved rescue ensued during which people were brought off variously by boat,
raft and rocket line. Some 23 persons were drowned but the remainder of the
passengers and crew were saved. See 14th.
12 Mar 1934 – Arrival
of the Rt. Hon. Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister, Secretary of State for the
Colonies, and Lady Lister on board the Union-Castle Line SS Dunluce Castle. They
were met on board by Lt. Col. the Hon. A.E. Beattie, Colonial Secretary, and
visited HE the Governor Gen. Sir C.H. Harington, at Government House. There,
they were presented to the Executive Councillors and Chairmen of local
representative bodies. Afterwards, accompanied by H.E. they visited the Upper
Rock and places of interest, leaving the same day for London, by the same vessel.
12 Mar 1943 – An RAF
Lockheed L.414 Hudson, Reg. FK621, was performing a flight from UK (unknown) to UK Hastings with an intermediate
stop at Gibraltar. Whilst approaching
Gibraltar from the west, the twin engined aircraft hit the slope of a mountain
near Algeciras,
killing all four crew members. F/O B W Polson and three other crewmembers died
instantly.
11/12 Mar 2006 – This
weekend the Royal Engineers Association from UK joined their colleagues from
Gibraltar in celebrating the formation of the Corps on 6th Mar 1772,
as the Company of Soldier Artificers.
They exercised their right to the freedom of the city by marching down Main St. where the
Mayor of Gibraltar, Clive Beltran, took the salute. The weekend started with a
massed bands concert at St Michael’s cave and a Freedom Dinner in the WO and
Sergeants Mess.
12 Mar 1783 - Great Siege
officially ends.
12 Mar 1974 - Sr Fraga
Iribarne, whilst addressing a London conference
stated: "Spain will
never relinquish its claim over Gibraltar. Spain
is evolving towards increasing democracy"
12 Mar 2002 -
Re-emergence of an old adversary: Tonight, around 2100, an SVA helicopter attacked
an open fishing boat returning to Western Beach.
Just off the runway’s ballast island, the aircraft was rotated about a
horizontal axis so that the downwash from its rotor repeatedly struck the boat
in an apparent attempt to capsize it, putting both aircraft and boat occupants
in immediate danger of losing their lives.
13 Mar 1889 – Jose
Xerri was sentenced to death for the murder of Amabile Spiteri, the previous
Christmas Eve. The execution took place on the 1st April at 0800.
13 Mar 1906 - Dock No 1 was opened.
13 Mar 1925 - A
terrific gale with heavy seas: Homes were inundated at Catalan Bay;
inhabitants taking refuge in Admiralty Tunnel. Several steamers were driven
ashore; two foundered.
13 Mar -1960 – Arrival
at North Front of an experimental flight from London, by a BEA flagged Vanguard aircraft.
The 139 seater could also carry 8000lbs of freight. The new giant (then)
aircraft, designed by Vickers, was said to 'inspire a vision of an age of mass
air travel' and was expected to cut European air fares by half. BEA intended to
operate the service to Gibraltar starting in
April or May.
13 Mar 1963 – A
Grumman S-2 Tracker, Reg. 152, operated by the Royal Netherlands Navy
(Marineluchtvaartdienst) was taking part in an exercise with 2 destroyers when
control was lost. The aircraft crashed into the sea and was lost. Two crew
members were rescued but the other two drowned.
13 Mar 1998 – During a period of tension, the RGP
asked a Spanish fisherman to remove his nets and leave an area close to the
Rock. Within minutes an SVA helicopter appeared and then proceeded to attack
& damage the RGP patrol boat Lady Grandy. Fortunately the attack was videotaped. Later
in the UK
parliament Michael Howard asked the Sec of State for F&CO why no
representations had been made to the Spanish government. Dougie Henderson replied
that on 17 Mar the British Ambassador in Madrid
had protested to the Spanish Foreign Ministry and on 24 Mar handed over video
and photographic evidence. The Spaniards have not accepted nor rejected the
protest and there the matter has rested ever since.(Hansard 36782)
14 Mar 1757 – Admiral John Byng, born 1704, the year
his father George helped capture Gibraltar, was today ceremoniously shot dead,
on the quarterdeck of HMS Monarch, as she rode to her anchor in Portsmouth Harbour. Cleared at Court Marshal of
cowardice or disaffection, he was nonetheless found guilty of neglecting his
duty, resulting in the loss of Minorca to the
French fleet in June 1756.
14 Mar 1860 – The
P&O liner SS Ceylon left
Gibraltar for UK arriving in
Southampton on the 19th. She was a
steam + sailing vessel, was re-engined in 1866 and became the first liner to
cruise around the world in 1883.
14 Mar 1874 – Two days
ago the British vessel Queen Elizabeth, on a voyage from Calcutta to
London, had stranded at Cala Parra (Punta Arenas) Tarifa, in a S.E. gale with
4-5 metre waves. Rocket Line life saving apparatus, rigged by the Royal
Artillery from Gibraltar was employed to bring
off 25 people including six passengers. All
together there had been 70 people on board, 16 passengers and 54 crew; 23 were
saved by a Spanish escampavia (Revenue Cutter) and 25 by the R.A. but
the rest were to perish, alongside the mate and two crew of the escampavia. This
2 year old, Glasgow built cargo ship had 3 masts and 2x 359HP compound engines
giving her 11 knots and was operated by the Queen Steamship Company. Captain
Wallace appears to have mistaken the new lighthouse at Punta Carnero for the
light at Europa and believed he was turning into the Bay… she was completely
wrecked.
14 Mar 1933 - Governor & Lady Godley gave a
dinner party to honour the Chief Scout and Chief Guide, Lord and Lady
Baden-Powell.
14 Mar 1954 – Gibraltar awoke to the astonishing sight of a quantity of
snow which had fallen during the night. The Chronicle stated: “A fall of snow
is a phenomenon in this place even in the depth of winter, but that it should
take place about the middle of March is still more extraordinary, and what the
oldest inhabitant does not remember ever to have been seen before.”
15 Mar 1887 – Bombardier W Haynes, Royal Artillery,
was presented with the RHS Bronze Medal for lifesaving at Gibraltar.
Case No 23432.
15 Mar 1898 – An explosion
in the tunnel being dug from Sandy
bay to dockyard, (now Admiralty Tunnel) resulted in one man being killed.
15 Mar 1899 - The Coldstream Guards arrive from Southampton.
15 Mar 1900 – (Boer
War) The capture of Bloemfontein
was celebrated with much rejoicing.
15 Mar 1933 - Grand Scouts Rally at the Naval
Reclamation Ground to welcome Lord & Lady Baden-Powell. It was attended by
boy scouts from neighbouring Spain
(as far as Madrid)
and presents were given to the distinguished visitors.
15 Mar 1935 - Official visit by H.E. Gen. Riquelme,
Captain General of Andalucia; a reception was held at Government House
and the official call was returned next day at Algeciras.
15 Mar 1978 - Working parties agreed to, at The
Gibraltar Talks in Paris.
15 Mar 1983 – Michael
Mifsud returned to London last week after accompanying the Queen and Prince
Philip on their tours of Jamaica, Caymans, Mexico and the W. coast of America.
He was an accredited member of the press party. Whilst in Jamaica he visited the site of
Gibraltar Camp where he lived as an evacuee during WW2. The site is now part of
the University College
of the West Indies and the former Mifsud
dwelling is now a store cupboard. Whilst in Mexico City he called on senior Knights
Templar, initiating contact between Gibraltarian and Mexican Knights.
15 Mar 2002 – Two RAF Hawk aircraft, presently
training in Gibraltar, today infringed Spanish air space by over-flying
Sotogrande on their approach to landing at Gibraltar.
The official explanation was ‘a navigational error’ leading to the pilots
involved being reprimanded. There was no formal protest, the matter being dealt
with by the Ministerio de Defensa and their UK counterpart. Neither was there
any mention of the attack, three days ago, by an SVA helicopter on a local
fishing boat; a matter successfully swept under the carpet by HE the Governor,
David Durie, a man with a different agenda. His task was to ‘keep the natives
quiet’ in return for a knighthood, whilst Jack Straw got on with handing us
over to Spain.
15 Mar 2006 – At 0920
this morning a prisoner escaped from H.M.P. Moorish Castle. Moses Gomez
Castillo, who was serving an eight week sentence, was due to be released in two
days, however, he climbed onto the roof of D wing cellblock after breaking
through a razor wire fence. He then climbed onto the south perimeter wall from
where he jumped into the roadway outside. The alarm was raised and he was
recaptured around 40 minutes later in Road to the Lines.
15 Mar 2006 – The Convent today confirmed that Supt.
Louis Wink is to be the new Commissioner of Police when Comm. Joe Ulger retires
in April (after 36yrs).
15 Mar 2006 –
Demolition work started today on the historic Rosia Tanks site.
15 Mar 2006 - There are over 300 licenced firearms
holders in Gibraltar, said Police firearms
expert Sgt. Joe Olivero yesterday. The licences are held by clay pigeon, rifle
& pistol shooters and people who go hunting in Spain. Sgt. Olivero said he was in
the process of examining existing controls to tighten responsibility for
firearms and also to speed up their disposal once the licence holders pass
away. “We cannot keep guns indefinitely and we want to minimise the amount of
weapons that exist in Gibraltar” added the
sergeant.
16 Mar 1866 - The Infante Don Sebastian and Princess
Maria Cristina arrived.
16 Mar 1914 - Theatre Royal re-opened for the second
time in its history. The first performance since the rebuild was Verdi's opera
Aida being produced by Signor Giovanni's company. HE the Governor and Lady
Miles attended.
16 Mar 1927 –
Performance by massed bands of the Atlantic & Mediterranean fleets at the
Naval Recreation Ground. A fine searchlight display was given by fleet vessels.
16 Mar 1934 – The Home and Mediterranean Fleets
returned to Gibraltar after combined exercises
during which some vessels sustained damage through the severe weather
encountered, in which a petty officer lost his life.
16 Mar 1935 – The combined fleet staged a Route March
from Ragged Staff to Reclamation
Road, H.E. the Governor taking the salute at Government
House.
16 Mar 1936 - Restrictions were imposed on the export
and import of Spanish currency notes into Spain. A public meeting was
convened by the Exchange Committee.
16 Mar 1944 – USN P1,
P7 and P8 aircraft of VP 63 Sqdn located U-392 (Oblitz S Schuman) in the Strait of Gibraltar using magnetic anomaly
detectors (MAD) and guided destroyer Vanoc
and frigate Affleck to her location,
where they sank her with Hedgehog mortars.
16 Mar 1946 - Gibraltar Amateur Swimming Association
(GASA) was founded.
16 Mar 2002 – A Euro-leak
today revealed that Spain
has convinced the EC to divi-up £30M to be spent on projects in Gibraltar if we succumb to their demand to surrender our
sovereignty. The Chief Mini replied (to his credit) that there was no cash
offer they could make that would persuade us to do so.
17 Mar 1891 - Anchor Line steamship SS Utopia
collided with HMS Anson, in the bay, over 552 souls lost their lives of
the 880 on board.
17 Mar 1891 - All of the crew of the Cableship
Amber were involved in rescuing people from the water, out in the Bay.
RHS Bronze Medals for lifesaving were awarded to: G Hunter 2nd
Officer, L Xuereb AB, S Degoergio AB, J Michaleff AB, L Tabone AB, E Marshall AB;
Case No 25346. In addition WM Ladds, 3rd
Officer, C Eich Storekeeper, ECS Emslie 3rd Engineer, J
Bonsitit Quartermaster, C Perides Fireman and W Scovell, Boy, were similarly
awarded in Case No 25348.
17 Mar 1891 – The crew of the Yacht Resolute
assisted in saving many persons from drowning in Gibraltar Bay.
Henry Wheeler 2nd Mate, Frank Loosemore AB, James Turl AB and S Southcott AB, were awarded the RHS Bronze Medal. Case
No 25331.
17 Mar 1891 – O.L.
Theobold, Surgeon was awarded the RHS Bronze Medal for the same event, as were
crew; Constantine Krimjin Cable Hand, M Xomadaki AB, F Bonici AB, J Gaster
Fireman, T Zammett, Fireman, S Gafam Fireman, F Borg Fireman, Patsy Borg Fireman,
P Villa, Boy and A Villa, Boy, all of the Cableship Amber. Case No
25347.
17 Mar 1891 – All of the Port Department staff
assisted in saving people from the Utopia
and were awarded RHS Bronze Medals. They included William Undery Boarding Officer,
Peter Gras Coxswain, Charles Nile AB, John Chappory AB, J Ramognin AB, F Carrea
Engine Driver and F Stagno Fireman; Case No 25330. In Case No 25329, WG Adair Boarding Officer,
had received his RHS Bronze.
17 Mar 1924 – A gift of shamrock from HRH Queen
Alexandra was presented to the Irish Guards by H.E the Governor, at the Alameda.
17 Mar 2003 – Armed
Police took up positions at the airport; ‘in order to come fully into line with
security measures introduced internationally’ according to the GoG. Interestingly, internal security has always
been a Governor’s responsibility, (via his Police forces) not a GoG one, in
fact our constitution says so. The airside, i.e. RAF Gibraltar, is also alive
with machine gun toting GSP men. No doubt these measures will last until
overtime costs or summer hours put an end to them.
17 Mar 2005 – Spanish
Prime Minister Zapatero announced that the last statue of General Franco had
been taken down; there are no more left in Spain. His explanation was that the
statues were no longer appropriate for a country aspiring to democracy.
17 Mar 2006 – Monarch flight ZB068, a Boeing 757
aircraft carrying 184 passengers from Luton to Gibraltar
had to abort this evening’s landing because of bad weather. The aircraft flew a
conventional approach before banking to line up with the runway. But then, as
it came close to landing, it turned sharply and flew at low altitude over the
town area; said a witness. In a statement Monarch said the crew had been unable
to land due to poor weather conditions. “After
the crew discontinued their approach into Gibraltar, they received a report from Air Traffic Control that,
although they had remained within the designated airspace, they had deviated
from the normal routing,” the statement said, “Following standard procedure
this matter has been reported to the UK CAA
and is now subject to a full investigation by the airline.” After aborting
the landing, the flight diverted to Malaga
where it touched down at 9.13pm.
Investigators from the AAIB may take several months before publishing their
report. Even at this early stage, concern is being expressed locally about
aircraft safety and high-rise buildings.
17 Mar 2006 – Abdeslam Ahizoune, Chairman of Maroc
Telecom, visited Gibraltar to confirm the successful
operation of the new 155 mbps microwave link set up jointly by Maroc Telecom
and Gibtelecom. It allows increased traffic between the Rock and Morocco and enables Gibraltar
to forward traffic to other carriers via the Sea-Me-We3 submarine cable station
at Tetuan.
17 Mar 2007 - A Greek registered crude oil tanker went aground this morning (Saturday) just after 2.00am on the East side of Gibraltar. The Samothakri, a 1989 built, 27793 ton tanker owne by Cheetah shipping of Piraeus, Greece, apparently freed then herself but later reported that she was taking on water. Reports from residents at Europa Point indicate that she was sounding the emergency signal, seven blasts on the horn, at 7.00am and consequently all three of TP Towage's tugs, Mumbles, Egerton and Sun Swale were called to the scene, as was Mairine Services Gibraltar's tug Capable. The Captain of the Port requested that the Algeciras based salvage/rescue tug Miguel de Cervantes be called to standby. At 9.00am the stricken vessel could be seen listing severely to starboard but had been stabilised by just after lunch when the Algeciras based, Salvamar Algeciras, was also in attendance. The Gibraltar based diving tug Palencia was also called to the scene, as was a marine surveyor. It must be pointed out that the ship, which was fully laden, is a double hulled vessel and was only shipping water into her ballast tanks and posed absolutely no threat to the local environment. The ship was later towed into the Bay of Gibraltar at about 1800.
18 Mar 1753 - Civil Population recorded as being
1,816.
18 Mar 1844 – The flag staff at The Signal Station -
where the Top of the Rock restaurant is today - was split by lightning.
18 Mar 1903
– The RMS Orotava, 5857 tons, of the
Orient Line was in collision with the iron sailing boat Netherby, 1478 tons, at Gibraltar.
Both sustained damage. Examination of the Orotava showed her damage was slight and
she will proceed on her journey tonight. The newspapers showed little interest
in the Netherby but a subsequent
Board of Enquiry, in July, found the Orotava
at fault.
18 Mar 1904 – Kaiser
Wilhelm, the Emperor of Germany,
(and eldest grandson of Queen Victoria)
arrived on board the German liner Koenig
Albert, escorted by the cruiser SMS
Friedrick Karl. As a mark of respect for his honorary rank of a British
Admiral his flag was hoisted on HMS
Caesar. Admiral Lord Charles Beresford, Commander of the Channel Fleet,
tells us: “On the 20th, his Majesty
honouring me with his presence at dinner in the Caesar,
the boats of the Fleet were
lined on either side of-the passage between the Koenig Albert and the Caesar;
and when the Emperor proceeded
between the lines, every boat burned a blue light, all oars were tossed, blades
fore and aft, in perfect silence, the midshipmen conveying their orders by
signs.”
18 Mar 1933 - March
past of 2500 Sailors and Royal Marines of Home Fleet; from Waterport Wharf to
Ragged Staff, HE taking the salute at Government House.
18 Mar 1935 - Retreat
played at the Alameda
by massed bands and bugles of the Mediterranean Fleet, thousands witnessed a
fine show. H.E. the Governor congratulated Bandmaster Green of HMS Queen Elizabeth.
18 Mar 1963 – A Grumman S2A Tracker, Reg 152, of the Marine
Luchtvaartdienst – MLD VSQ2– Dutch Navy crashed into the sea off
Gibraltar when control was lost during a combined anti submarine exercise with
two Dutch ‘Friesland’ class destroyers and a Dutch ‘Walrus’ class submarine. Of
the 4 occupants, two were rescued but two drowned; the aircraft was beyond
repair.
18 Mar 1983 – Fugitive Kerry Aston successfully
evaded capture and escaped the Rock after his James Bond style escape from Moorish
Castle Prison last week. He was last seen in Torremolinos from where he will
not be returned, as the 1878 extradition treaty between Great Britain and Spain
does not include Gibraltar. (Neither do the
1985 and 1991 versions) Aston was held in connection with an alleged stolen
credit card racket. He was discovered to be missing from his cell at 6.30am last Friday. Prison Officers
discovered his cell bars had been sawn through and found a trail of knotted bed
sheets leading down the side of the steep Castle walls to the ground below.
18 Mar 1986 - Spanish
Defence Minister Narcis Serra assured the world that no Spanish government
could support total integration of Spain
within NATO whilst "Spain's
historic rights as regards Gibraltar were not
satisfied." In fact Robin Cook allowed Spain
to join NATO's integrated structure (without removing any of the restrictions
against Gibraltar) closing COMGIBMED in 1999 and handing control of the Strait
area to a new NATO 3rd level command in Madrid. (In Sep 2002, NATO are now
considering closing all 3rd level commands including Madrid, although Spain says it will refuse to accept
the decision).
18 Mar 2002 – 25
thousand Gibraltarians staged a mass demonstration, meeting at USOC and
marching to the Coach Park, against the deal about to be struck between the UK
and Spain, determining our future - without any input from us. (for younger readers USOC is now Commonwealth Park and the Coach Park is now Albert
Risso House)
19 Mar 1866 - Heavy gale, six vessels stranded.
19 Mar 1873 - Meeting
of the Roman Catholic community at the Theatre Royal decided to build a new church;
it is Sacred Heart of Jesus, on Castle
Road.
19 Mar 1878 - Captain Paul Boyton crossed the strait
from Tarifa to Tangier in his life saving apparatus, taking just over five and
a half hours. The apparatus was a vulcanised rubber suit, which left only the
face exposed, and was the forerunner of the modern Dry-Suit. It was originally
intended for steamship passenger safety.
19 Mar 1930 – A new
chapel was consecrated at the Civil Prison by Rt Rev RJ Fitzgerald, DD, R.C
Bishop of Gibraltar.
19 Mar 2005 – A huge operation involving British
& Spanish helicopters and search teams continued throughout yesterday and
into the night. A local man in his twenties is missing after being swept away
by rough seas the night before last. The RGP refuse to confirm reports that the
incident occurred whilst smuggling activity was taking place.
19 Mar 2012 – Whilst
digging a trench alongside the frontier near the commercial gate, builders
discovered a few broken ‘bomblets’, which they placed in a bucket. When they
later uncovered a complete ‘bomblet’ they called the RGP who immediately sent
for the Bomb Disposal team (3x RGR soldiers and Nick Johnson of 11th
Ordnance Disposal Regt). Led by WO2 Chris Ghio the Disposal Team began to dig
and found 70 bomblets, left over from the 1950s. The RGP cordoned off the area
and contacted the Spanish police to do likewise on their side. “Of the 72
munitions found, 4 were in a dangerous condition and another 12 will need some
careful handling” said Chris. “Many of the remainder were broken and posed no
threat to anyone. The munitions were originally designed to be air dropped and
to explode on impact releasing scores of lead ball bearings” he continued. The
team worked through the night to clear the site allowing the airport to open
normally in the morning. The dangerous bomblets were taken to the eastern end
of the runway and detonated with a controlled explosion. Another 12 will be safely
disposed of in the next few weeks.
20 Mar 1901 - Arrival
of their Royal Highnesses the Duke & Duchess of Cornwall & York in HMS
Ophir escorted by Diodem and Niobe. They were welcomed by H.E
the Governor and other authorities. They departed on 22nd amid thunderous
gunfire from the Channel Fleet and shore batteries.
20 Mar 1901 - The last
block for the Detached Mole was laid by the Royal Party.
20 Mar 1934 – The
arrival from London and Tangier of Sir Bolton Eyres Monsell, First Sea Lord,
with members of the Board of Admiralty, in HMS Codrington escorted by HMS
Active. A year later he was to become the 1st Viscount Monsell.
20 Mar 1934 – At a meeting of the Exchange &
Commercial Library, it was decided, jointly with the Chamber of Commerce and
T&GW, to send to the Executive a report on the draft of the Estate Duties
Ordinance; their representations were not favourably entertained.
20 Mar 1934 – The Massed bands and Bugles of the
Mediterranean Fleet beat retreat at the Alameda.
H.E the Governor, General Sir HC Harington, Sir Bolton Eyres Monsell and the
Board of the Admiralty were all present.
20 Mar 1969 – John Lennon married Yoko Ono in Gibraltar, which John described as “quiet, friendly and
British”. The event was immortalized in the song; The Ballad of John &
Yoko.
20 Mar 1971 – The
Chronicle reports: Budget increases announced today include motor car licences
from £7.50 to £9.60 (+33%); but none for goods and PSVs; petrol up by 2.5p per
gallon; cigs by 1p per pack of 20. From April 1st a new 10 year passport
will be £4, spirits will go up 5p per quart and beer by 1/2p per bottle.
20 Mar 1973 – A New
Town Planning Ordinance put in place.
20 Mar 2003 – The
Governor, David Durie, issued a statement about international tension over Iraq and the possibility
of terrorist attacks locally should hostilities become imminent. He explained
that all local agencies had contingency plans but to release details would not
be sensible. Public reaction varied but generally it was ‘if the plans remain
secret they are of little use.’
21 Mar 1829 – An earthquake killed 840 persons in Alicante.
21 Mar 1886 - Sapper R
Nettleton was stabbed to death by Francisco Contreras Castillo.
21 Mar 1863 - The Drawbridge at West Place of Arms was opened.
21 Mar 1934 – A special Navy Day Race Meeting was
held by the Jockey Club at North Front, H.E. the Governor, General Sir CH
Harington, presenting cups. Amongst those present was the Marques de
Viladarias, a title familiar with Gibraltar
history. The original holder of that title was commander of the French &
Spanish forces when the first unsuccessful attack was made to attempt to
re-capture the Rock. (Franciso Castillo Fajardo, received the honour as a
posthumous award for his son, killed in Flanders
in 1690. He was governor of Ceuta before being
made Captain General of Andalucia in 1702 where he defended Cadiz against an Anglo Dutch force under Sir
Geo. Rooke. In 1704 he was trying to regain control of Gibraltar
(12th Siege) until replaced in Feb 1705 by the French Marshall Tesse,
who eventually gave up the siege and retired.)
21 Mar 1942 – Enemy aircraft
sank motor launches ML 129 and ML132 off the Algerian Coast.
Temporary S/Lt R.P Cotterell, RNVR, and six ratings were killed or died of
their wounds and the rest were interned. A total of 3 officers and 23 ratings
were interned at Bone, Algeria.
22 Mar 1898 - The first
Caisson for the Detached Mole was launched. The term Caisson comes from the
French for a chest… a hollow box.
22 Mar 1900 -
Publication of despatches between Governor Sir R Biddulph and the Secretary of
State for the colonies regarding unbounded enthusiasm shown by inhabitants of
Gibraltar at successes of British Arms in South Africa.
22 Mar 1903 - Arrival
of their Royal Highness’s the Duke and Duchess of Connaught.
22 Mar 1924 – There is a scarcity of Spanish silver
in Gibraltar since the Spanish government prohibited its export from Spain.
Arrangements were quickly made and silver was allowed to come in.
22 Mar 1933 – The death occurred of Mr W.U. Thornton,
late Consul for Liberia.
22 Mar 1933 – A dinner was given at Government House
in honour of Admiral (Jackie) Fisher and the officers of HMS Resolution,
flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet. Subsequently, a ball was given in their
honour on 24th March.
22 Mar 1934 – A brilliant spectacle at North Front on
occasion of a Naval Review held by combined Home and Mediterranean Fleets. Over
6000 men participated and Governor General Sir H.C. Harington took the salute
at Government House as sailors marched to the review.
22 Mar 2003 - HMCS Iroquois (Destroyer) & Federicton
(Frigate) arrived today shortly after 0900. Iroquois was built in 1970
and Federicton 1993, both are in Gibraltar
for routine visits.
23 Mar 1885 - The
entrance for foot passengers at Waterport was opened by HE Sir John Adye. See
the plaque at Grand Casemates Gate and coat of arms at Southport Gate.
23 Mar 1903 – The foundation
stone was laid for Beriro's Asylum for the aged and needy of the Hebrew
community by Mr R Benzecry.
23 Mar 1922 - The destroyer
HMS Versatile accidentally rammed HMS H-42 off Europa Point; the
submarine sank in 500 fathoms with the loss of all 24 hands. H-42 was practising torpedo attacks
against British destroyers off Europa when she surfaced unexpectedly less than
100 yards ahead of HMS Versatile who
was making 20knots. Versatile put her
engines full astern and her helm hard to port, but had not yet begun to answer
her helm when she struck H-42 abaft
the conning tower, almost slicing the submarine in half.
23 Mar 1934 – Saw the
departure of the Mediterranean and Home Fleets; the Board of Admiralty
returning to England
with the Home Fleet. Some ships remained behind for a few days. Farewell
messages were broadcast by the Board of Admiralty on the termination of the
visit. Several ships anchored off the Spanish coast during the fleets’ stay and
the people of Algeciras
organized various entertainments for the officers, etc.
23 Mar 1966 -
Gibraltar Youth Association formed.
23 Mar 2006 – In
answer to questions tabled at the HoA, the Chief Minister replied that
government had collected £68.7M in PAYE income tax in 2004/5. The main
contributor was the private sector with £37.3M, followed by GoG £23.2M and MoD
£5M. The number of tax deductions in each sector were; MoD 2,650; GoG 6,500;
government owned joint venture companies 650; and private sector companies
18,500. A total of 28,300 employee tax
deduction cards were processed. Meanwhile increases in import duty from June
2004 yielded an extra £4.4M during the current financial year. Since December
2005, Customs have collected £190,000 from persons entering at the
non-commercial gate.
24 Mar 1891 - A German
Squadron arrived.
24 Mar 1900 - The Indian Famine Fund Subscription reached
£131.
24 Mar 1913 - HE Sir
Archibald Hunter departed on leave. He was never to return,
his unpopularity forced his resignation. Governor from 1910-13, Hunter managed Gibraltar in a military fashion
and thus upset residents, civilian traders and Spanish dock workers who were
prevented from walking to work through certain areas.
" I know Gibraltar better and am a better qualified judge than anybody else here - except the Chief of Police and the Colonial Secretary, whose experience and opportunities have been wider than mine - on any subject affecting the general order and cleanliness, discipline, traffic, trade, and welfare of Gibraltar. The Chamber of Commerce takes no time for reflection. There are other people to be considered in this place besides those engaged in commerce. The Chamber of Commerce think of nobody but themselves, (mind you I don't blame them) but this fortress is not maintained for purely commercial interest.
There are places I will let civilians go to and there are places I shall prevent them from going to. There are routes they may follow and routes they may not. There is a limit beyond which I am not prepared to allow the local press to go. I see that press censorship is a duty that may soon have to be undertaken...
My views have not altered since I came here. They are that a fortress in peace should always be ready for war. In peace time you employ labour here from a source that may not and almost certainly will not be available or allowable in time of war. It would be as easy, as I think it would be wise, to bring British labour or labour from the congested districts of India. I can find room for them by turning other people out. Remember, this is a fortress. None of you can deny that."
General Sir Archibald Hunter, 10th February 1913.
24 Mar 1934 - Mr A.E.A. Verano was appointed Commissioner of Stamp Duties.
24 Mar 1944 - U-466, U-421 and U-618 began their attempt to transit the Strait and enter the Mediterranean. U-466 was successfulthe same day and U-421 succeeded the next day.
24 Mar 1953 - Queen Mary died.
24 Mar 1998 - Opinion
109/84 given by the petitions committee of the European Parliament (after
examining Denise Matthews case) stated that "All European Community
citizens have the right to vote in European Elections"… y hora... que?
25 Mar 1874 - The Bishop
of Cadiz, assisted by Dr Scandella, the Vicar
Apostolic for Gibraltar laid the foundation
stone for the Church of Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Castle Road.
25 Mar 1904 - Reverend Amigo becomes Bishop of
Southwark.
25 Mar 1933 – The Earl of Athlone and Princess Alice,
Countess of Athlone landed from SS Durham Castle and breakfasted with H.E
the Governor and Lady Godley.
25 Mar 2006 – Two IT
professionals from Singapore, who were in Gibraltar to provide services for a
local law firm, went for a meal in La Linea… and promptly disappeared. When
they failed to turn up for work next day enquiries revealed that their rooms at
the Caleta Palace had not been used. Authorities at
the frontier including La Policia National claimed to have no knowledge of
their whereabouts. This led to full scale search including hospitals. The mens’
whereabouts were only discovered when a Spanish lawyer filed a missing persons
report. It was found that they had been detained by Policia National on
suspicion of having false passports. They emerged from cells shaken by the
incident and one returned home immediately. It is understood that this is a
fairly regular occurrence when non-EU nationals arrive in Spain from Gibraltar.
The issue continued after both men had left the Rock. The Policia National
still claim the men were in Spain
illegally and are seeking a detention order that will effectively bar both men
from all Schengen territories for up to 10 years. Isola & Isola are trying to prevent this
and have expressed concern about the implications of such incidents for Gibraltar’s multi-national commercial environment.
26 Mar 1349 - Alfonso
XI died from plague whilst besieging Gibraltar.
26 Mar 1935 - Heavy
easterly weather dislocated local shipping services. The Fleet Repair Ship
(depot ship) HMS Resource broke away from her moorings.
26 Mar 1955 – A visit
by HRH Duke of Edinburgh.
27 Mar 1899 - Inauguration of electric light in
public streets.
27 Mar 1908 – The Scout Association was founded.
27 Mar 1934 – Flags
were flown at half-mast at Government House and public buildings and
shipping in the harbour, on the occasion of the funeral of Her Late Majesty the
Dowager Queen of the Netherlands.
27 Mar 2003 – The
Dangerous Dogs Bill has now been published and will go through all the stages
of the HoA (due to meet tomorrow to) to become law.
27 Mar 2004 –
Internationally renowned rock climbers Catherine Destivelle and Jim
Fotheringham climbed the Rock’s northern cliff as part of the tercentenary
celebration and to celebrate 100 years of the Rotary Cub in Gibraltar.
Despite poor weather conditions – wind and rain – they took just 8.5 hours and
expect to have raised about £20,000. The climb was filmed by Jim Curran.
28 Mar 1727 - Sentry's
head shot-off at White Convent. (La Merced)
28 Mar 1781 (Gt.
Siege) Two soldiers of the 56th Foot were hanged for robbery. Three
young officers of the 72nd Foot were also fined severely for
threatening merchants who had provided them with stores and were pressing, not
unreasonably, for payment.
28 Mar 1822 – In the
House of Commons, Mr Hume was questioning the government about sums received
from the colonies. He started by saying that under the (previous) reign of
George III, some £8M had passed into the possession of the Sovereign, which had
not been brought under the view of the Government. On the accession of George
IV it was provided by Act of Parliament that all sums received from the
Colonies of Demerara and Gibraltar, and other
places, should every year be regularly laid before the House…. Further on… He
now wished to know if the surplus revenue of Gibraltar
was to be applied to the general service of the nation. Part of it was
appropriated to the payment of widows of deceased officers; the amount thus
employed was £1,562. He hoped the remaining £2,123 would be carried to the
account of the nation. Under the head of Admiralty Droits there appeared the
sum of £162,802. He wished to ask a similar question with respect to this. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nicolas
Vansittart, said that the greater part of the sums received from the Colonies
would be claimed for Colonial purposes. Mr Hume wished to know, if the sums
remaining after that part claimed for Colonial purposes, would be made
available to the country. The Chancellor replied that he could not answer that
question until the pleasure of his Majesty was made known on the subject.
(Corruption was less circumspect in 1822)
28 Mar 1876 - Calpe
Rowing Club was formed.
28 Mar 1905 - HM Queen
Alexandra arrived in Gibraltar accompanied by Prince Charles of Denmark, on
board the Royal Yacht.
28 Mar 1934 – Arrival
of the White Star Line SS Laurentic, having on board 700 more Irish
pilgrims heading for Rome. White Star and Cunard merged later this year. In
WW2, Laurentic was requisitioned as HMS Laurentic and in November
1940 whilst going to the assistance of another ship which had been torpedoed by
a U-boat, she was hit by two torpedoes and sank.
28 Mar 1935 – The dedication of the Masonic Temple
at the old R.E.s Mess in Cornwall’s
Parade took place. The Masonic meetings which had been held in the Assembly
Rooms since 1886 are now celebrated in the new building.
29 Mar 1781 - (Gt Siege)
Salt meat in the store is quite rotten.
29 Mar 1796 – Captain
William Usher of His Majesties 64th Regiment of Foot, aged 25, was
killed in a duel with a Royal Navy Purser and buried in St Jago’s Cemetery. A
few days beforehand, Captain Usher and a Major Oswald, on hearing the sounds of
music and dancing in a tavern, had entered and offered to join in the dance.
Among the persons there were several officers of the Navy who insisted that
this was a private party and the soldiers were not welcome. The officers
withdrew but were followed by ten or twelve persons who knocked down Captain
Usher than later Major Oswald. The next day reports were made by both parties
to the Governor, who took no action. Subsequently the officers sent message to
two Pursers who were the most ostensible of the assailants. At their meeting,
Major Oswald and his opponent fired three shots without effect. Captain Usher,
unfortunately, fell at the first shot, the ball entering his head killed him on
the spot. The Governor, to show his disapprobation of duels on any account,
ordered that the funeral be conducted without military honours. Captain Usher
having been esteemed by the whole garrison, this order was received with
dissatisfaction and obeyed with manifest regret. The Governor was, of course, General Charles O’Hara,
nicknamed Cock-of-the Rock, for the attention he paid to other peoples’ wives.
He had children by two mistresses in Gibraltar
and was apparently ‘a complete stranger to matters of honour’.
29 Mar 1869 -
Newspaper Licence was 4/- (shillings).
29 Mar 1883 – Private
John Chappell, aged 20 years, from the band of the 2nd Durham Light
Infantry, fell from the road near Europa Point to his death on the rocks below.
29 Mar 1883
– It is stated that Spain
will shortly release the Cuban refugees who were handed over to the Spanish
authorities last November by Lt. General Baynes, the Colonial Secretary of Gibraltar. Their release was formally demanded by the
British Government through its ambassador at Madrid. (Argus) Both the Colonial Secretary and the Chief Inspector of Police were dismissed from their posts as punishment for disregarding both the obligation to maintain neutrality in this Caribbean conflict and the violation of established humanitarian principles with regard to refugees seeking asylum. General
Baynes was subsequently replaced by Lord Gifford, lately Colonial Secretary for Australia.
29 Mar 1894 -
Gibraltar Lifeboat rescued the crew of the British Steam Ship Genoese which
was hard aground about 3 ships lengths off Torre Nueva, about 5 miles NNE of Gibraltar.
The lifeboat saved all the crew except the cook (Reece) who fell between the
ship and lifeboat and swam or was washed ashore, where he later died of
exhaustion. On the 27th April the ship was salvaged.
29 Mar 1915 - Some 52.36" of rain have been
registered to date in a record spanning 20 years.
29 Mar 1928 – 4000 sailors paraded through Main St on the
occasion of a naval review.
29 Mar 1934 – Mr C.G.S. follows was appointed to act
as Colonial Secretary during the absence on leave of Lt. Co. the Hon. A.E.
Beattie.
29 Mar 1939 – This was
the official end of the Spanish Civil War, though hostilities and retribution
attacks continued in some areas.
29 Mar 1939 – The Government announced the
creation of a defence force at Gibraltar, to
control supplies in the event of an emergency.
29 Mar 1939 - Nationalist troops and artillery
from the interior are garrisoning districts surrounding Gibraltar.
It is understood that the Nationalists intend to fortify the Sierra Carbonera
opposite the Rock. These areas have hitherto been unfortified or weakly
garrisoned by the Nationalists. (Franco went on to construct 640 bunkers, using
30,000 Republican prisoners, kept in appalling conditions, as slave labour.)
29 Mar 1944 – Naval
trawler Kingston Agate damaged the
USN destroyer John D Ford – DD228, in
a collision in Gibraltar
Harbour.
30 Mar 1891 - Arrival
of HE the Governor, Sir Lothian Nicholson, who died in Gibraltar less than two
years later on 27th Jan 1893.
30 Mar 1922 - HRH Prince George entertained to a dance at
Government House (The Convent) by HE & Lady Smith-Dorien.
30 Mar 1924 – Heavy rains and a sudden thaw led to
widespread flooding across Europe; Seville
was flooded and many persons drowned.
30 Mar 1933 – The old established practice of
publishing rules as supplements to the Official Gazette has been discontinued.
30 Mar 1942 – A Fairey
Swordfish aircraft of 813 Squadron, from North Front, made a forced landing
between Ras el Farea and Ponta Pescadores, Spanish Morocco. S/Lt LG Morris,
S/Lt JT Taylor and Leading Airman E Casey were interned.
30 Mar 1944 – US convoy UGS
36 entered the Strait with 72 merchant ships and 18 LST (landing ship tank)
vessels. US task force TF64 (Capt Berdine USN) escorted convoy UGS 36 with USN
destroyers Decatur - DD341, Whipple - DD217, Alden – DD211, John D Edwards – DD216, Sellstrom – DE255, Ramsden – DE 382, Mills –
DE 383, Rhoades – DE 384, Savage – DE 386, Tomich – DE 242 and Sloat
– DE 245 plus the British 37th Escort Group with light cruiser Colombo, Dutch frigate Johan Mauritz Van Nassau (F), sloops Black Swan, Deptford and Friso
(Dutch), corvettes Amethyst and Campion and the US Auk-class minesweeper
Speed.
31 Mar 1944 - USN
destroyer Tomich – DE 242, forced U-421 under before she could attack
convoy UGS 36 in the Strait. Sloop Black
Swan forced U-969 under before she
could attack the same convoy east of Gibraltar
in 37’21 N. 001’13E.
30 Mar 1966 – The Cable
Car, built by Swiss company Von Roll, was inaugurated.
30 Mar 2002 – HM Queen
Elizabeth the Queen Mother died peacefully in her sleep at 3.15 this afternoon
at Royal Lodge, Windsor. She was born in London,
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, in 1900, in the reign of Queen Victoria
and was brought up in the family home at Glamis Castle.
She is credited with inventing the Royal walkabout during a visit to Canada.
31 Mar 1492 – After the conquest of Granada
the Catholic Monarchs signed the Alhambra Decree, ordering the expulsion of
Jews from Spain,
to take effect from 31 July. Many passed through Gibraltar on their way to
exile in North Africa.
31 Mar 1865 - Dr
Pariente died.
31 Mar 1901 - A census
of the population was taken, the results being published in July. It revealed
the population was 27,460 some 1,705 more than in 1891.
31 Mar 1930 - A night
attack (exercise) in Gibraltar by the fleet on
manoeuvres.
31 Mar 1934 – The Hon. D.L. Bethell, Colonial
Treasurer and Mr H.E. Bacarisas, Asst. Treasurer, appointed Commissioner and
Deputy Commissioner of Estate Duties under Ordinance No.4 of 1934, enacted this
day.
31 Mar 1935 – The Rev. Dr. William Jack was inducted
as the minister of St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church.
31 Mar 2002 – Easter
Sunday: The BBC Radio 4 programme Gardner’s Question Time
was broadcast today from the Convent Ballroom (actually recorded a 13th
Mar). The team comprised Chairman Eric Robson and panel; Nigel Colborn, Matthew
Biggs and our own John Cortes who stood in for Anne Swithinbank, who was sick.
31 Mar 2004 – RGP officers from the Financial Crime
Unit arrested South African born David Van Der Merwe, aboard his boat M.V.
YouNique in Marina
Bay today. He was arrested on suspicion
of obtaining property on a forged instrument and a search warrant was executed.
The resultant search turned up a .357 Magnum handgun and 43 rounds of
ammunition. Some 4,490 Euros, documents and a laptop computer were seized. (Van
de Merwe may have been an alias.)
31 Mar 2005 – With the
Tsunami Emergency Phase nearing completion, the British Red Cross have asked
the Gibraltar Branch to close its SE Asia Tsunami Appeal today. Since late
December the appeal has raised £520,000 which isn’t bad for a small community,
eh?
~~~~~~~
Mar 1725 - The Spanish
ambassador protested that an Algerine cruiser, suffering from stress of
weather, had sought shelter in Gibraltar,
where she had received free pratique, provisions & new masts. The Governor
denied the vessel had been allowed pratique but stated that, as she was totally
disabled the master was permitted to buy rope and timber for temporary repairs;
though she was not allowed to re-fit in Gibraltar.
Mar 1799 - Line Wall
Road Synagogue (colloquially Esnoga Flamenca but more correctly Nefusot Yehuda)
was built.
Mar 1801 – Today was
the birthday of Simi Cohen Levi who went on to become Hma. Maria Dolores Amor de Dios (affectionately known as Saint Simi)
and is related to the Sene family.
Mar 1838 – Extremely
bad weather at the end of the month did damage right across the western Mediterranean. At sea, HMS Orestes lost her
rudder.
Mar 1850 – A merchant
vessel from Liverpool, the Lady Rowley, arrived with a cargo of
merchandise for a Gibraltar merchant. A gale
of wind drove the ship ashore nearer to the Spanish Lines than to the British
sentries. Lighters were sent to recover that cargo not already discharged, but
the Spanish carabineers approached the beach and threatened to fire on the men
in the lighters. The consignees of the cargo asked the governor, Sir Robert
Gardiner for assistance. He declined since the vessel was on the neutral ground
beyond his authority. Fortunately the naval commander, wisely leaving the
question of international law aside, brought his steamer alongside, armed a
boat and told the carabineers that he would repel force by force. The Spaniards
withdrew and the cargo was protected from plunder.
Mar 1864 - Ferry boat
capsized in a SW gale, 3 of the 6 man crew drowned.
Mar 1890 - First Horse
and Dog Show took place at North Front.
Mar 1894 - Branch of
British Medical Association established in Gibraltar.
Mar 1910 -
Construction started of Queen Victoria’s Monument, Governor’s Parade.
Mar 1925 – There was a
terrific gale and heavy rain. Catalan
Bay homes were flooded
causing residents to seek shelter in Admiralty Tunnel. Two ships sank.
Mar 1968 – The Piazza
was completed, above the WW2 bomb shelter, which still exists below it.
Mar 1971 - Prince of
Wales Cinema opened at Bayside. Currently being used as a store, it will be
demolished in 2001 to make way for a sporting complex.
Mar 1984 - Christopher
Bertram, political editor of Die Zeit, asked Anthony Morton, UK Ambassador to NATO, if it was conceivable
that British Forces on The Rock might one day come under Spanish
regional control, in peacetime, once Spain became fully integrated
into NATO. He replied "If we are ever able to ease the frontier problem
and there is integration of the military command, I would
see no problem in having Gibraltar under
a Spanish regional officer." He added "But such subordination cannot
take place in peacetime as this is only justified in times of war. It could
lead to misunderstandings if too many Spanish troops were to stroll down Main St during an
allied exercise." Well, such a subordination took
place in 1999 and is current today. Interestingly, Snr. Marcel Oreja was
subsequently quoted as saying; "Once we are in NATO, if Gibraltar is attacked, we will go in to defend it, and
then stay there, thus solving the sovereignty problem."
Mar 1997 – Two sailors
from the Gibraltar Squadron braved the threat of an explosion whilst searching
the MV Brunito, which was on fire
near the marina. One man was rescued from choppy waters nearby. L/S David Grima
and AB Tony Gache received commendations from C.O. Gibraltar, Captain Richard
Lord, for the skill and courage during the rescue. They were on patrol in an
inflatable, which they put alongside the burning Brunito whilst they sought
survivors. Tony Gache jumped in the water to rescue the survivor whilst David
Grima controlled the boat.
Mar 1998 - According
to Antenna Tres programme Nazis en Espana, the one-time Hitler spy Angel
Alcazer de Velasco, in Barcelona, still
distributes Nazi propaganda throughout Spain, via the secret Odessa
Organisation now known as La Arana. Nazis who escaped the Nuremberg
war trials still finance this work in Spain.
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