· .. The Battle of Crecy took place on 26th August 1346. Edward III had invaded France during the Hundred Years War with 4,000 men-at-arms and 10,000 archers, many of whom were Welsh.
Edward's son, The Black Prince, Prince of Wales took up a strategic position threatening Paris, where he waited for Phillip VI of France with 12,000 men-at-arms and several thousand foot soldiers to attack him. Edward positioned his knights in the centre surrounded by a crescent of archers and as the French attacked, they were cut to pieces by the arrows of the Welsh longbowmen.
After the battle, it is said that Edward found the helmet of a dead German mercenary that had three ostrich plumes and the motto Ich Dein, meaning 'I serve' and decided to adopt it as his coat of arms. The emblem of the Prince of Wales’remains the three feathers with the legend Ich Dein to this day. ..
1652 Battle of Plymouth: General-at-Sea George Ayscue of the Commonwealth of England attacks a convoy of the Dutch Republic commanded by Vice-Commodore Michiel de Ruyter; Dutch victory ..
1682 English astronomer Edmond Halley first observes the comet named after him.
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Sixty women were widowed and 153 children left fatherless when a huge explosion that occurred at the Parc Slip Colliery at Aberkenfig near Tondu on 26th August 1892, claimed the lives of 112 men and boys. Only 39 survived, with some being trapped underground for a week before being rescued. The mine closed in 1904, but the coal seams were later re-worked as part of the Parc Slip opencast coal mine. There is a memorial to the disaster comprising of 112 stones, one for each life lost..
On 26th August 1967, The Beatles, along with Mick Jagger and his girlfriend Marianne Faithfull attended a lecture from the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, at Bangor Normal College. Afterwards the group held a press conference to announce that they had become his disciples in the 'Spiritual Regeneration Movement' and officially renounced the use of all drugs.
Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp; On 26th August 1981, the 'Women for Life on Earth' group began an 110-mile protest walk from Cardiff City Hall to the American air base at RAF Greenham Common in Berkshire. Their aim was to raise awareness of the British government's decision to allow cruise missiles to be based at the site.
1985 French government denies knowledge of bombing of Greenpeace flagship the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland, New Zealand.
26 Aug 1970 Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, (his last ever UK appearance), Donovan, Jethro Tull, Miles Davis, Arrival, Cactus, Family, Taste, Mungo Jerry, ELP, The Doors, The Who, Spirit, The Moody Blues, Chicago, Procol Harum, Sly and the Family Stone and Free all appeared over three days at the third Isle Of Wight Festival. Weekend tickets, £3.
26 Aug 1967 Small Faces, Move, The Gass, Tomorrow, Denny Laine, Jeff Beck, Eric Burdon and Marmalade all appeared on the first day of the 3-day non-stop happening 'Festival of the Flower Children' at Woburn Abbey, England. Plus DJ's John Peel and Tommy Vance, day tickets cost £1.
26 Aug 1970 Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, (his last ever UK appearance), Donovan, Jethro Tull, Miles Davis, Arrival, Cactus, Family, Taste, Mungo Jerry, ELP, The Doors, The Who, Spirit, The Moody Blues, Chicago, Procol Harum, Sly and the Family Stone and Free all appeared over three days at the third Isle Of Wight Festival. Weekend tickets, £3.
