ON JULY 4TH...

IN 1954, Britain’s 14 years of food rationing ended, when the restrictions on the sale of meat were lifted. At a ceremony in Trafalgar Square to mark the occasion, the Minister of Fuel and Power burned a large replica of a ration book.

IN 1985, 13-year-old Ruth Lawrence achieved a starred first in Mathmatics at Oxford University. The youngest British person ever to get a first-class degree, she took just two years to complete the three-year course.

IN 1995, John Major won the Tory leadership election, having called a vote to try to end deep divisions over Europe.