ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE JULY 17, 1941
POSTAgE stamps up to the value of 3d are to be printed in lighter shades. ‘As more than 20 million stamps are printed every day, great quantities of dyestuffs will be saved which can be used to assist the war effort,’ said a spokesman for the gPO.
JULY 17, 1943
REVOlUTIONARy plans for post-war education in Britain, published in a government White Paper yesterday, include: free secondary education for all; school-leaving age to be raised to 15; secondary schools to be known as ‘grammar’, ‘modern’ and ‘technical’ schools; children to be classified for entrance at 11 on the basis of their primary school records; and school meals and milk to be provided.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
THE DUCHESS OF CORNWAll, 71. Camilla (right) has revealed that at school she was known as ‘the growler’ because of her low singing voice. These days, she shares a name with lady gaga. She told the singer in 2016 that her grandchildren call her ‘ gaga’. In the Sixties, Camilla was sacked from her first serious job at a posh interior design firm when she was late for work after a night out dancing. DONAlD SUTHERlAND, 83. The Canadian-born Hollywood star’s films include The Dirty Dozen, Kelly’s Heroes, Don’t look Now, Cold Mountain and The Hunger games trilogy. In 1978, Universal Studios offered him 2 per cent of gross revenue for his role in National lampoon’s Animal House, but he insisted on being paid a day’s salary instead. It meant he earned $50,000 when he could have got $2.8 million.
BORN ON THIS DAY
PHyllIS DIllER (1917-2012). The trailblazing American comedienne, dubbed ‘the funniest woman in the world’, found fame on Bob Hope’s films and TV specials. A trained classical pianist, she was known for appearing on stage with a blonde fright wig and a cigarette holder. Her famous oneliners included: ‘I’m at an age where my back goes out more than I do.’ SIR HARDy AMIES (19092003). The london-born couturier to the Queen also designed uniforms for staff at WH Smith and male nurses at Broadmoor. Sir Hardy (right) once described himself as a ‘suburban frockmaker’ and an ‘elitist with a sense of humour’.
ON JULY 17…
IN 1918, the RMS Carpathia, which had rescued more than 700 survivors from the Titanic six years earlier, was sunk off Ireland by a german U-boat.
IN 1975, former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and Maureen Cox were divorced after a decade of marriage.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Iron lung (1940s) A) An inexperienced airman, not ‘hatched’. B) A very cursory salute. C) A shelter in the london Underground. Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED Forbidden fruit is always the sweetest
– refers to the human desire for something that’s out of reach; it comes from the Bible when god told Adam not to have an apple.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child! William Shakespeare, English playwright (1564-1616)
JOKE OF THE DAY
IT’S raining cats and dogs outside ... I just stepped in a poodle. Guess The Definition answer: C