Middlesaxons proudly fight to keep county name alive
TECHNICALLY, Middlesex ceased to exist in 1965 when its county council was dissolved and the region was absorbed by Greater London.
So why, you might ask, more than 50 years later are people still celebrating Middlesex Day?
Before listing the reasons why some people are still proud Middlesaxons, let’s first consider what and where Middlesex is (or was).
Middlesex University, in Barnet, and Middlesex County Cricket Club are among the famous institutions named after the ancient county that once reached as far as Whitechapel and Westminster.
When Middlesex was formed around 890AD, it stretched from Bow in east London to Uxbridge in the west and as far north as Potters Bar.
Self-professed Middlesaxons would argue the county still exists and includes bits of the boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Ealing, Enfield, Haringey, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmond-upon-Thames.
Today (Wednesday) they will be proudly celebrating Middlesex Day, which occurs on May 16 each year.
It not only honours the Middlesex Regiment, who successfully stopped Napoleon’s troops in their tracks on that same date in 1811, but it is a salute to everything Middlesaxon.
The Middlesex Federation is an organisation that campaigns to raise awareness of the county and describes Middlesex Day as “the lodestone of perpetual Middlesex pride”.
On its website, The Middlesex Federation writes: “Now the fight to retain the magnificent and honourable Middlesex name is against bureaucracy, or some politicians who wish to merge, disband or abolish a century of history.
“That is why May 16 has come to mean more than a battle for it has become the lodestone of perpetual Middlesex pride, lest we forget this is the name that men through over a thousand years of history have rallied to in England and Britain’s defence. Middlesex [has] never let our country down, but there are those who have let our county down, lest they forget May 16 is our day, Middlesex Day.”
So even if you do not consider yourself as living in Middlesex, why not spare a thought for its rich history on Wednesday?