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"It was" wrote Major General G L Verney to Sir Archibald Sinclair in August 1944 "a most inspiring sight to see the old Churchill's go up those banks, rear right up in the air an bring the banks down with a crash and a cloud of dust and then go sailing on" This quote typifies the relationship that the British Army had with Churchill. Yes it was old fashioned, a left over from WW1, with its design more influenced by the French Char B than any British concept, but it worked and in many ways out performed all other tanks in the Allied arsenal. Not bad for a vehicle, which it had been planned to stop making in 1943.

Churchill was slow (17.5 Mph in its fastest versions), but was tactically very mobile and in the Mk Vll of 1944 was even more heavily armoured than the Tiger 1, even if the layout was inferior. In brief the Churchill was a modernised WW1 type tank designed in 1939/40 for similar conditions to the Western Front of 1915-18. It even had sponsoon mounted guns in the first designs. It progressed via the A20 to the definitive A22 Churchill 1. Design was rushed in to production as the war began badly for Britain. The tank entered service too early before the design flaws had been ironed out and the Mk I and II were hardly battle worthy as the few used at Dieppe and in Tunisia in company with the more advanced Mk III proved.

The Mk III was an altogether better design with a 6 Pdr gun replacing the original 2 Pdr in the redesigned turret, plus mechanical improvements, new tracks etc. The Mk IV had a new cast turret again with the 6 pdr. The Mk 5 had a 95mm howitzer as a CS tank and the Mk VI was a Mk IV with the British 75mm QF gun (a re-bored 6 Pdr firing the same US ammunition as used in the Sherman’s M3 gun). The Mk VII became the definitive Churchill with a new hull with greater armour protection and was slightly wider. It was slower than the earlier vehicles, but the combat mobility was just as good. It mounted the 75mm gun in a new fabricated turret with an all round vision cupola (common in German designs, but a rarity on Allied vehicles). Minor variation’s were the Mk IV NA 75 locally fitted with the US 75mm gun replacing the 6 Pdr used in Italy. The Crocodile was a Mk VII with a flame thrower and trailer and the Mk VIII a CS Mk VII with a 95mm Howitzer. The AVRE was a modified Mk IV or III with a Petard spigot mortar and there were other up armoured versions (Mk’s IX, X and XI) from early 1945, plus many experimental types (E.g. 3 in Gun carrier) and various turret less vehicles like the Ark and ARV’s.

The Churchill saw action from 1942 until the end in Europe, middle and far east, Russia and then on to Korea in 1950. The final user was the Irish Army which still had up armoured versions as late as about 1969. The last version was the ill fated Black Prince, which had a 17 Pdr in a widened hull. It was inferior all round to the Centurion and was abandoned, the final throw of the British Infantry Tank concept.

Churchill had a long and complex production history. The following is a a brief summary of the versions produced.

Version list:

Mk I 2 Pdr in small cast turret, coax BESA MG. With a 3 in Howitzer in the hull position. Tracks uncovered. Alternatively the hull howitzer was replaced with a BESA MG (sometimes referred to in books as the Mk II, The only contemporary source I have is the pack available from the Tank Museum that includes stowage diagrams that definitely notes the Mk I as having the hull 3 in howitzer and the Mk II as having the BESA MG.

Churchill I, recognizable to its small turret with a 2-pounder gun and a 3-inch howitzer on the hull

It is also noted that some Mk ICS’s may have existed with 2 3 in Howitzers and others with the 2 Pdr and 3 in guns swapped over. Max armour 102mm thick. Speed 15.5 Mph. Used at Dieppe and in N Africa, plus a lot of training use.

Mk II a version of the Mk I with the 3 in howitzer replaced by a BESA in the hull.

Churchill II, very similar to the model I but with a MG instead of a 3-inch Howitzer in the hull

Mk I’s were used at Dieppe and in Tunisia, with some Mk II’s at Dieppe (as OKE flame throwers) and probably Tunisia as well. I have no photographic proof of the CS versions being used operationally. Many Mk I’s and II’s were rebuilt as Mk III’s. When their days as gun tanks were finished many others were used as ARK’s and experimental versions.

Churchill II-CS with the 3-inch howitzer in the turret and a 2-pounder gun in the hull

Mk III a new squareish fabricated plate turret with 6 Pdr (long or short L43 or L50 versions, L50’s had a counter weight at the muzzle), coax BESA and a second in the hull. New pattern tracks covered on the top run, new air intakes (also used on some Mk I’s and II’s notably at Dieppe), except on early vehicles. Used N Africa, Italy. There is some crossover between I’s and III’s. Some modified Mk I’s had track guards and some Mk III’s lacked them and many Mk III’s and indeed some IV’s used the early pattern tracks. They also seem to have introduced guide rails for the tracks on the top rather than the wheels used with the Mk I and II. Some were rebuilt from MK I’s and II’s. Some were also updated with the 75mm gun although not to the same extent as the Mk IV.

Churchill III immobilized and then destroyed in front of Dieppe during the missed landing in August of 1942. The turret with hard edges, the gun ending with a counterweight and the MG in the hull distinguish this model from a Churchill I, the only other type of tank used during this operation.

Mk IV a new cast turret to alleviate a shortage of plate for the fabricated Mk III, other wise identical and produced concurrently with the same armament variations as Mk 3, but the L50 6 Pdr was more common on Mk IV than Mk III. Common in Italy and NW Europe after D Day. NA 75 with US 75mm M3 gun from scrapped Sherman’s used in Italy after conversion in N Africa (hence the name not North American!). The coax armament was replaced with the us .30 Browning as was the hull gun for commonality. Many were updated with the 75mm gun, making them very hard to distinguish from new build Mk VI’s.

Column of Churchill IV heading for the concentrations areas before the landing in Normandy. The cast turret, without hard edges and the 6-pounder gun are clearly visible

Mk V Mk IV with 95mm CS howitzer.

Churchill V, the infantry support version of the Churchill IV, with the same cast turret but a short 9.5 cm howitzer intead of a 6-pounder gun

Mk VI updated Mk IV with 75mm gun Some minor modifications were common to the Mk VII. There was at least one Mk VI with a 6 Pdr recorded in the 1945 21 Army Group returns, with it being important enough to warrant a column of its own. I do not know what the explanation for this is.

MK VI - First version of the Churchill to get a 7.5 cm gun with muzzle-brake. It retained the cast turret of the model IV.

Mk VII revised wider hull, welded construction, circular hull hatches, new turret with a 75mm gun. Armour up to 152mm thick. Speed 12.5 Mph. It also had revised guide rails, 2 alternative turret fronts (bulged and non bulged). In service from D Day. Crocodile was a Mk VII with the hull BESA MG replaced by the flame gun connected to the trailer towed at the rear. Most later Mk VII’s could be fitted as Crocodiles as they were built with the standard mountings for the trailer and flame unit. Used from early 1944 and in common used by D Day in mixed units. Crocodiles were used in Korea as gun tanks taking the Churchill's combat career to 10 years. Post war it became the base for conversions to replace Mk I to IV engineer vehicles. Many detail variations over time. In WW2 this vehicle was often called the "Heavy Churchill" to distinguish it from its earlier brethren.

A Churchill VII recognizable to its 7.5 cm gun with a brake muzzle, its welded turret and the shape of the gun shield. That is a flamethrowing version ("Crocodile") that you can identify thanks to the trailer for the fuel behind.

Mk VIII a Mk VII with a 95mm CS howitzer, turret slightly revised.

Churchill VIII, recognizible to the short 9.5 cm howitzer in a turret with sharp edges. Note the circular hatch on the hull.

In 1944 a rebuilding programme of the older tanks began. This took the basic MK’s III, IV and V and took them up roughly to Mk VII standards. The work involved the following changes:

20mm appliqué armour to the sides, a Mk VII type visor plate, glacis increased to 2 ¼ inches, turret replaced by a Mk VII one, turret gear box replaced by the heavy duty Mk VII type, Mk VII suspension, H41 engine gear box.

Mk IX a Mk III or IV updated.

Mk X a Mk VI updated.

Mk XI a Mk V with a Mk VIII 95mm turret and extra armour.

Over the years there has been talk of LT or light versions of these rebuilt Churchills. WO 165/136 states that the LT designation would have retained the old turret, but "none have been produced as supply of heavy turrets exceeded hull uparmouring capacity" It is further stated that all such conversions were to cease by August 1945.

AVRE Mk III and IV WW2 variant with Petard mortar, widely used from 1944. AVRE’s carried a lot of equipment such as bridges and fascines, hand placed charges etc.

AVRE Mk VII a Mk VII post war with a huge 165mm demolition gun.

Churchill AVRE Mk VII - Combat engineer vehicle.

3 in Gun carrier an experimental vehicle with an excellent gun in a limited traverse mount in an armoured box. It was no worse than many German improvisations, but only 24 were built and they were never used due to inter service rivalry. Some were converted to Snake carriers (a mine clearing device).

Churchill 3" Gun Carrier - Assault gun version fitted with 3" AA gun.

Arks – turret less tanks with manual ramps front and rear for use as obstacle fillers, widely used in NW Europe and Italy. Some had track ways over the tracks, while others (mainly ones converted locally in Italy), just had the ramps and no track ways. Post-war the Twin Ark was developed to support the Conqueror MBT and remained in service until 1965.

CHURCHILL ARK MK 2 [UK Pattern]

Churchill Infantry Tank at Dieppe 1942

During August 1942, 147 (Hampshire) Regiment RAC was stationed at Worthing on the south coast of England. It was regimental practice to maintain a listening watch on its No.19 wireless sets, a boring duty which, throughout the early hours of 19 August promised little diversion. However, towards dawn, freak reception brought a spate of transmissions. The accents were Canadian, but the speakers were obviously tank crew, and the operators began to log each message. It was not easy, since the rapid speech was that of men under stress, overlaid with the sound of gunfire. The transmissions continued for several hours, but petered out by mid-morning.

It was not until the newspapers began printing reports of the raid on Dieppe that the signals logs started to make sense. They told at first hand the tragic story of 2nd Canadian Division’s decimation on the beaches in front of the town, as seen from the Churchill turrets of 14th Army Tank Battalion, otherwise known as the Calgary Regiment.

An LCT (Black smoke, farther in the water.)(Tide not yet full out)

The object of the Dieppe raid was to test the defences on a sector of enemy-held coast known to be heavily fortified, and to apply the lessons learned when the Allies returned to continental Europe at a later date. As far as the Calgary Regiment was concerned its tasks were to support the Essex Scottish Regiment and Royal Hamilton Light Infantry off the beach and into the town, following which the tanks would shoot up the airfield at St Aubyn and attack the chateau of Arques-les-Batailles, which was suspected of being a divisional headquarters.

The beach, flanked by the East and West Headlands, consisted of heavily banked and graded shingle, and was backed by a sea wall which for most of its length was too high for the Churchills to scale. Beyond lay a wide stretch of open ground that had once been ornamental gardens, the Boulevard Foch, and then a row of hotels and houses. The whole area was covered from several directions by carefully sited anti-tank and machine gun posts, and the exits from the boulevard into the town had been sealed by concrete barriers.

This is apparently the only tank to reach the strand (shore proper) intact.

The Calgarys’ Churchills had been waterproofed and equipped with deep-wading exhausts which would see them ashore from the LCTs. To counter the effect of the shingle, which would scatter and slide about under the tracks, the first tanks out of the landing craft would carry an elementary bobbin which would unroll a carpet of hessian and wooden paling strips ahead of the vehicles and up to the sea wall, along which the others would follow. Where the sea wall was too high to cross, engineer teams would blow down sections to form ramps, and then go on to demolish the anti-tank walls blocking the routes into the town; however the engineers were on foot, and terribly vulnerable.

It goes almost without saying that the overall planning of the operation demanded that the East and West Headlands should be secured before the assault on the town beach went in; but because of a combination of the most evil bad luck and a certain amount of bad management, neither headland had been taken when the Essex, Hamilton and Calgary landing craft grounded on the shingle to find themselves trapped in a natural killing ground. Cross-fire from the headlands flayed the beach, while the landing craft were raked from the buildings beyond the sea wall. Some platoons were shot down as they crossed the lowered ramps, while the survivors of others tried to scrape what cover they could for themselves among the loose stones.

Germans Examining at Captured Churchill Tank at Dieppe

It had been decided that the tanks would land in four waves, made up as follows:

First Wave; two groups totalling nine tanks, with the infantry.
Second Wave; one group of twelve tanks.
Third Wave; one group of sixteen tanks.
Fourth Wave; remainder of regiment.

The first wave included three ‘Oke’ flamethrowers, one of which left its LCT too early and drowned, while the second had a track shot away and the third erupted into an inferno when the flame gun fuel tank was penetrated. Three more tanks lost tracks or bellied in the shingle; but the three survivors, Cougar, Cheetah and Cat, successfully crossed the beach on their carpet and climbed the sea wall, to be joined by four tanks from the second wave, whose fate had been as mixed as that of the first.

The third wave was committed at the same time as the reserve infantry battalion, the Fusiliers Mont Royal, but only ten tanks reached the shore due to damage sustained by the LCTs as the covering smoke screen began to disperse. Of these seven left the beach, while one remained jammed across the wall, engaging the houses with its guns fully depressed. The Calgarys’ commanding officer, Lt.-Col. Andrews, was shot down in the shallows after extricating his crew from their tank, which had been launched prematurely into deep water.

Approximately half the tanks ashore had now crossed the wall and were engaging the defences beyond. A French tank serving as a pillbox was blow apart by Cougar, while Cheetah engaged bunkers in the gardens, cutting down the occupants when they tried to make a run for it. Other tanks succeeded in suppressing the fire coming from the houses and hotels, one building being rammed to bring it down around the defenders’ ears; but the Churchills could not break into the town because of the concrete road-blocks, since the demolition teams had either been killed or were pinned down by the murderous cross-fire on the beach.

The Calgarys’ fourth wave did not land, for by 0900hrs it was clear to the operational commander that further effort was useless, and he gave the order to withdraw. All but six of the tanks returned to the beach, where an unsuccessful rescue was attempted; but of all the crews ashore, only one man succeeded in reaching England. The regiment’s casualties amounted to 13 killed, 4 wounded and 157 taken prisoner. That evening, with a consideration rare in total war, the Luftwaffe dropped a bundle of photographs onto the Calgarys’ barracks in Seaford, showing those who had survived the raid.

For the Canadian infantry Operation ‘Jubilee’ had been a bloodbath; but the terrible price they paid led directly to the development of the armoured engineer vehicles with which the Allied armies led their assault landings on 6 June 1944, with comparatively small loss of life for such an enormous undertaking.

Additional Sources:

staff.bus.bton.ac.uk
www.ospreypublishing.com
freespace.virgin.net/shermanic.firefly
users.swing.be/tanks.tanks/complet/ www.anecdotage.com
www.jed.simonides.org
cap.estevan.sk.ca
www.sunpoint.net/~mapatsik
www.archives.ca
www.wwiivehicles.com
www.bibl.u-szeged.hu
www.jodyharmon.com

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on March 09:
1454 Amerigo Vespucci explorer
1564 David Fabricius Essen Germany, astronomer (discovered variable star)
1568 Aloysius "Luigi" van Gonzaga Italian prince/Jesuit/saint
1758 Franz Joseph Gall German/French physician (frenology)
1791 George Hayward US, surgeon, 1st to use ether
1814 Taras Shevchenko Ukraine, national poet/painter/professor of Kiev
1824 Leland Stanford (Governor/Senator)/found Stanford University
1839 Felix Huston Robertson Brigadier General (Confederate Army),died in 1928
1839 Modest P Mussorgsky Russian composer (Boris Godunov)
1875 Martin Fallas Shaw composer
1881 Enver Pasja Turkish General/politician
1885 Ringgold "Ring" Lardner baseball player
1890 Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov Soviet foreign minister (UN)
1902 Will Greer Frankfort IN, actor (Grandpa Walton-The Waltons)
1912 Alan David Melville polymath
1918 Mickey [Frank Morrison] Spillane Brooklyn NY, mystery writer (I the Jury)
1920 Carl Betz Pittsburgh PA, actor (Alex Stone-Donna Reed Show)
1923 André Courréges France, fashion designer (introduced the miniskirt)
1923 James Buckley (Senator-Republican-NY)
1926 Irene Papas Corinth Greece, actress (Moses The Lawgiver)
1933 Lloyd Price Kenner LA, singer (Lawdy Miss Clawdy, Misty, Just Because, Come to Me)
1934 Yuri Gagarin Russia, cosmonaut, 1st man into space (aboard Vostok 1)
1936 Glenda Jackson Birkenhead Cheshire England, actress (Hopscotch, Touch of Class)
1936 Marty Ingels Brooklyn NY, comedian (I'm Dickens He's Fenster)
1936 Mickey Gilley Ferriday LA, country singer (Urban Cowboy)
1940 Raul Julia San Juan Puerto Rico, actor (Addams Family, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Eyes of Laura Mars)
1942 John Cale Welsh/US bassist/violinist/singer (Velvet Underground)
1942 Mark Lindsay Eugene OR, rocker (Paul Revere & the Raiders)
1943 Bobby Fischer US, world chess champion (1972-75)
1945 Ray Royer rocker (Procol Harum-Whiter Shade of Pale)
1945 Robin Trower London England, rocker (Procol Harum-Whiter Shade of Pale)
1955 Teo Fabi formula-1 Indy-car racer (rookie of year-1983)
1959 Barbie doll (Mattel)
1964 Phil Housley St Paul MN, NHL defenseman (New Jersey Devils, Team USA Olympics-98)
1970 Melissa Rathburn-Nealy US soldier (Iraqi POW)
1972 Sara Nicole Williams Miss Washington-USA (1997)
1973 David Prinosil Olmutz Czechoslovakia, tennis star (1995 ATP Newport)

Deaths which occurred on March 09:
1620 Aegidius Albertinus German writer (Lucifer's Kingdom), dies at 59
1913 Eberhard Nestle German biblical scholar, dies at 61
1962 Dr Howard Engstrom Boston MA, a designer of Univac computer dies at 59
1965 Anthon van der Horst Dutch organist/composer, dies at 65
1969 Richard Crane actor (Surfside 6), dies at 50
1974 Earl W Sutherland Jr US pharmacologist (Nobel 1971), dies at 58
1988 Kurt Georg Kiesinger West German chancellor (1966-69), dies at 83
1989 Robert Mapplethorpe US photographer, dies at 42
1992 Menachim Begin Israeli prime minister (1977-1983, Nobel 1979), dies at 79
1993 Bob Crosby swing-era bandleader (Bobcats), dies of cancer at 79
1994 Fernando Rey Spanish actor (French Connection), dies of cancer at 76
1994 Lawrence E Spivak journalist (Meet the Press), dies at 93
1995 Ian Ballantine publisher, dies of heart attack at 79
1997 Terry Nation writer (Dr Who, Blake 7) at 66

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 COLLINS WILLARD M.---QUINCY IL.
[KIA AT CRASH SITE 3 RECOV]
1966 FOSTER ROBERT E.---LOCKPORT NY.
[KIA AT CRASH SITE 3 RECOV]
1966 PETERSON DELBERT R.---MAPLE PLAIN MN.
[NO TRACE SUBJ 3 RECOV]
1967 GRAENING BRUCE A.---KENMORE OH.
1967 PUTNAM CHARLES L.---KEY WEST FL.
[REMAINS RETURNED NOV 3 1988]
1969 REX ROBERT F.---ODEBOLT IA.
1969 TINSLEY COY R.---CLEVELAND TN.
[11/05/69 RELEASED]
1969 WALTERS TIM L.---SOUTH BEND IN.
[REMAINS IDENTIFIED 08/11/99]
1970 COTTEN LARRY W.---NASHVILLE TN.
1970 PARCELS REX L. JR.---BERKELEY CA.
1970 ROBINSON EDWARD---KANSAS CITY MO.
1970 SCHOEPPNER LEONARD J.---CANTON OH.
1970 TERLA LOTHAR G.---SCRANTON PA.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
1452 Pope Nicolaas I crowns Frederik III Roman Catholic-German emperor
1496 Jews are expelled from Carintha Austria
1497 Nicolaus Copernicus 1st recorded astronomical observation,
1562 Kissing in public banned in Naples (punishable by death)
1617 Sweden & Russia sign Peace of Stolbowa
1697 Czar Peter the Great begins tour of West-Europe
1721 English Chancellor Exchequer John Aislabie confined in London Tower
1741 English fleet under Admiral Ogle begins assault on Cartagena
1745 Bells for 1st American carillon shipped from England to Boston
1796 Napoleon Bonaparte marries Josephine de Beauharnais
1798 Dr George Balfour becomes 1st naval surgeon in the US navy
1820 James Monroe's daughter Maria marries in the White House
1822 Charles M Graham of New York patents artificial teeth
1839 Prussian government limits work week for children to 51 hours
1841 US Supreme Court rules Negroes are free (Amistad Incident)
1842 Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Nabucco" premieres in Milan
1844 Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Hernani" premieres in Venice
1858 Albert Potts of Philadelphia patents the street mailbox
1860 1st Japanese ambassador arrives in San Francisco en route to Washington DC
1861 Confederate currency authorized-$50, $100, $500, $1,000
1862 "Monitor" (Union) & "Merrimack" (Rebel) battle in Hampton Roads
1864 Ulysses S Grant is appointed commander of Union Army
1889 Battle at Gallabat (Metema); Mahdi's beat Abyssinian emperor John IV
1889 Kansas passes 1st general antitrust law in US
1893 Congo cannibals killed 1000s of Arabs
1897 Indian fans start calling the team Indians (in 1915 becomes official)
1904 Brandon's Lester Patrick becomes 1st hockey defenseman to score a goal
1907 1st involuntary sterilization law enacted, Indiana
1914 US Senator Albert Fall (Teapot Dome) demands "Cubanisation of Mexico"
1916 General Fransisco "Pancho" Villa leads Mexican band raid on Columbus NM (17 killed)
1918 Russian Bolshevik Party becomes the Communist Party
1918 Ukrainian mobs massacre Jews of Seredino Buda
1932 Eamon De Valera becomes President of Ireland
1932 Former Chinese emperor Henry Pu-Yi installed as head of Manchuria
1933 Congress is called into special session by FDR, & began its "100 days"
1936 Babe Ruth turns down Reds to make a comeback as a player
1942 Construction of the Alaska Highway began
1943 Greek Jews of Salonika are transported to Nazi extermination camps
1945 334 US B-29 Superfortresses attack Tokyo with 120,000 fire bomb
1945 Japanese proclaim the "independence" of Indo-China
1946 Ted Williams is offered $500,000 to play in Mexican League, he refuses
1950 Willie Sutton robs Manufacturers Bank of $64,000 in New York NY
1953 Josef Stalin buried in Moscow
1954 1st local color TV commercial WNBT-TV (WNBC-TV) New York NY (Castro Decorators)
1954 Edward R Murrow criticizes Senator Joseph McCarthy (See it Now)
1956 Archbishop Makarios of Cyprus arrested & exiled to Seychelles
1957 8.1 earthquake shakes Andreanof Islands, Alaska
1959 1st known radar contact is made with Venus
1959 Barbie, the popular girls' doll, debuted, over 800 million sold
1961 1st animal returned from space, dog named Blackie aboard Sputnik 9
1962 Egyptian President Nasser declares Gaza belongs to Palestinians
1962 US advisors in South-Vietnam join the fight

1964 1st Ford Mustang produced

1964 Supreme Court issues New York Times vs Sullivan decision, public officials must prove malice to claim libel & recover damages
1967 Svetlana Allilueva, Stalin's daughter, defected to the West
1974 Last Japanese soldier, a guerrilla operating in Philippines, surrenders, 29 years after World War II ended
1976 1st female cadets accepted to West Point Military Academy
1977 Admiral Stansfield Turner, USN (Ret), becomes 12th director of CIA replacing acting director Knoche
1977 Hanafi Moslems invade 3 buildings in Washington DC, siege ended March 11th
1979 Bowie Kuhn orders baseball to give equal access to female reporters
1979 France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island
1980 Flemish/Walloon battles in Belgium, 40 injured
1981 Dan Rather becomes primary anchorman of CBS-TV News
1986 NASA announces searchers found remains of Challenger astronauts
1986 Soviet probe Vega 2 flies by Halley's Comet at 8,030 km
1987 Chrysler Corp offered to buy American Motors Corp for $1 billion
1989 Senate rejects Bush's nomination of John Tower as Defense Secretary
1990 Dr Antonia Novello sworn-in as 1st hispanic/female US surgeon general
1993 Rodney King in court says he thinks he heard cops yell racial slurs
1994 IRA launch 1st of 3 mortar attacks on London's Heathrow Airport

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"
Belize : Baron Bliss Day
Ukraine : Taras Shevchenko (Ukrainian poet) Day (1814)
World : Amerigo Vespucci Day (1451)
Memphis TN : Cotton Carnival (held for 5 days) (Tuesday)
New Mexico : Arbor Day (Friday)
US : Federal Employees Recognition Week (Day 3)
US : Iditarod Race Week (Day 3)
American Woman's History month

Religious Observances
Anglican, Roman Catholic : Commemoration of Gregory, bishop of Nyssa
Roman Catholic : Memorial of St Frances of Rome, patron of motorists, housewives

Religious History
1839 Birth of Phoebe Palmer Knapp, American Methodist hymnwriter. She published more than 500 hymn tunes during her lifetime; her most famous melody comprises the tune to Fanny Crosby's hymn, "Blessed Assurance."
1843 Scottish clergyman Robert Murray McCheyne wrote in a letter: 'You will never find Jesus so precious as when the world is one vast howling wilderness. Then he is like a rose blooming in the midst of the desolation, a rock rising above the storm.'
1930 Pioneer linguist Frank Laubach wrote in a letter: 'It seems to me...that the very Bible cannot be read as a substitute for meeting God soul to soul and face to face.'
1931 The World Radio Missionary Fellowship (WRMF) was incorporated in Lima, Ohio, by co_founders Clarence W. Jones and Reuben Larson. Today, this interdenominational mission agency broadcasts the Gospel in 15 languages to South America and throughout Europe.
1965 Three white Unitarian ministers, including the Rev. James J. Reeb, were attacked with clubs on the streets of Selma, Alabama, while participating in a civil rights demonstration. Reeb later died in a Birmingham, Alabama hospital.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
"If you always postpone pleasure you will never have it."

Rules For Diet...
Food use for medicinal purposes never count, such as hot chocolate, brandy, toast, and Sara Lee Cheesecake.

New State Slogans
Hawaii: Haka Tiki Mou Sha'ami Leeki Toru (Death To Mainland Scum, But Leave Your Money)

A Time Honored Truth...
One nice thing about egotists: They don't talk about other people.