TODAY: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2018
ON THIS DAY 74 YEARS AGO (1944)
We told how British Halifax bombers hit Walcheren island, off the Dutch coast, used as a garrison by retreating Nazi troops. The RAF also severed the Dortmund-Ems Canal, “Hitler’s lifeline waterway”.
60 YEARS AGO (1957)
The Russian Sputnik satellite was launched into orbit 560 miles above Earth. It sent radio signals for three weeks. Sputnik II launched a month later, carrying dog Laika.
42 YEARS AGO (1976)
British Rail launched its InterCity 125 service between London and Bristol costing £5 for a single ticket, standard class. Powered by two diesel motors, the High Speed Train recorded a top speed of more than 140mph during trials and was the fastest diesel-powered train in the world.
BIRTHDAYS
50 Shades star Dakota
Johnson is 29. Her grandmother is Hitchcock film actress Tippi Hedren. Ex-Tory MP Ann
Widdecombe is 71. She also writes novels. Thelma & Louise star Susan
Sarandon is 72. She is also a political activist. And many happy returns to Mirror reader Hazel
England, of Brackley, Northants, who turns 61 today.
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