Historical legend tells us that on the 21^st September 1327, King Edward II was brutally murdered at Berkeley Castle, by receiving a red-hot poker to the bottom, yikes!

Though the story may merely be fable (theories from historians differ as to the method of his murder, or indeed whether he was murdered at all!), we thought we’d recount the circumstances of his death, and take look at three other nasty ways historical monarchs supposedly met their end…

A brief round-up of his reign

Strong-leadership and ruling capability were sadly two key qualities that Edward II of England lacked. Within the first few years of his reign, he’d angered the powerful barons of England by gifting high offices to his father’s (Edward I) opponents, and to his own favourites; most notably his close friend (and supposed lover) Piers Gaveston. This poor decision making in the eyes of the barons, led to a series of Ordinances put in place against the king, restricting his powers and banishing his favourites into exile. If this wasn’t bad enough, the barons also blamed Edward for gifting Scotland its independence from England, after he lost badly to Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. On top of that, his tumultuous relationship with his wife, Isabella of France, resulted in her invading Britain from France in 1326 with her exiled lover, Roger Mortimer (another powerful opponent to the king). This led ultimately to Edward’s deposition as king and imprisonment in 1327. Phew, are you keeping up?

A gruesome death?

Edward was imprisoned for many months, constantly moved from prison to prison to keep him out of reach of supporters who would free him. He was placed in permanent captivity at Berkeley Castle in the summer of 1327, where legend tells us he was brutally murdered by a red-hot poker inserted into his rear – the method suggested to be in reference to his supposed homosexual relations with his past favourite, Gaveston. Whether this was his actual fate or not, Edward was not heard from again after this date. Most historians believe that he did indeed die at the castle by some means or other, his demise simplifying the political situation for his captors. However, the rumours of this method of death only began to circulate after the execution of his rival Roger Mortimer in 1330, likely as deliberate propaganda spread against Mortimer’s faction. Whether Edward did indeed meet with such a grisly fate, then, remains a mystery.

Edmund Ironside

Another monarch who supposedly met a similar fate to Edward was Edmund Ironside, who ruled England briefly in 1016AD. He’d been forced to divide the ruler-ship of England with the Danish King Cnut after losing to him in battle. The terms of this agreement stipulated that it would remain in force until the death of one of the participants, at which time all lands would revert to the survivor. A term that was just asking for trouble!

According to Henry of Huntingdon, and other royal sources, Edmund was staying at the house of Eadric Streona of Mercia, the duke who had cost him his defeat to Cnut by fleeing the battle field. When Edmund got up in the night “to do the duty of nature”, Eadric’s son, hiding in the pit beneath the toilet seat, reportedly “pierced the king among his private parts twice with a sharp dagger”. Nasty! Though Cnut was not implicated directly in the assassination, it was suggested that he might just have had a hand in Edmund’s unfortunate demise.

Henry I

Henry I, who granted important royal privileges to St Neots priory in the 12^th century, was the youngest son of William the Conqueror, and ruled England from 1100-1135AD. He had a fairly successful reign, achieving domestic peace in England, as well as English territories in Normandy. In 1135, despite ill-health, the ageing Henry took a trip to Normandy to see his two grandsons. Once there he fell iller still, and according to ‘trusty’ chronicler Henry of Huntingdon, once again, died from a terrible case of food poising after over indulging in “a surfeit of” lampreys, which his doctors had forbidden him to eat. We don’t blame them, have you ever seen a lamprey? Yikes!

Henry II of France

Henry II was a keen hunter and jouster, both notoriously dangerous sports! In June 1559 a tournament was held in Paris to celebrate a peace treaty between France and Spain, and King Henry entered the lists. Halfway through the tournament it was reported that Henry had started suffering dizziness after his physical efforts, and was almost unseated from him horse in a jousting match against the Count of Montgomery. After this, his wife, Queen Catherine de Medici, tried to persuade the king to call it a day, but Henry was having none of it, and insisted on another contest with Montgomery. This time, Montgomery’s lance struck the king’s helmet, and a long splinter pierced Henry’s eye and penetrated his brain *winces*. Bleeding and almost unconscious, Henry was carried back to his royal apartments, where surgeons removed the splinters from his head and neck. Amazingly Henry survived in an unconscious state until the 9^th July, when he passed away with Queen Catherine at his bedside.

So, there we have it! Whether it was death by sharp object or eel (with sharp teeth!), the life of a monarch could end in some rather nasty ways!

The 15th September 2020 marks the 80^th anniversary of the ‘Battle of Britain’, the title awarded by Churchill to the fight by the British to prevent Nazi Germany invading and conquering Britain in the summer and autumn of 1940.

On 1st September 1939 Germany started the Second World War by invading Poland; as a result, on the 3rd September, Britain and France were forced to declare war on Germany. Immediately following the declaration, however, a quiet period of war (sometimes known as the ‘phoney war’) ensued, as Hitler was unable to advance any of his military plans due to bad weather.

In the Spring 1940, however, the German ‘Blitzkrieg’ or ‘Lightening War’ plans swung into action, when Hitler invaded France.  On the 10^th May, as the attack began, the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned, and Churchill became the new Prime Minister. The speed of the German advance into France forced the British, French and Belgian troops back to Dunkirk where they used the ‘little ships’ to help evacuate over 338,000 men from the harbour and beaches. Although a retreat, the rescuing of so many experienced troops was a boost for the Allies.

The impact of war in St Neots

In St Neots, the town Council had been busy preparing for war for many months, and by Spring 1940 evacuees from London had arrived, the Black-Out was in place, food rationing had begun, and men had been called up to fight.  Victor Ekins, who lived in New Street, St Neots and whose family ran the cattle market and auction yard, had signed up as a RAF Volunteer Reserve and was already training to be a Spitfire pilot. In June 1940, Víctor was awarded his ‘wings’ as a qualified pilot, just in time to take part in the Battle of Britain which began on the 10^th July 1940 when Hitler launched ‘Operation Sea Lion’. Victor flew with Squadron 501, flying with many of the most famous Battle of Britain pilots, including ‘Ginger’ Lacey, Bob Dafforn and Anthony Palmer Tomkinson. He later became the leader of RAF Squadron 19 based at Duxford.

Their finest hour

As the Germans planned their aerial bombardment of Britain, it was on 18^th June 1940 that Churchill delivered one of his most famous speeches to the British People. He called this phase of the war the ‘Battle of Britain’ and said ‘Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war’… ‘If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free’ … ‘let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and the Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will say : ‘This was their finest hour.’

People all over St Neots listened intently to the radio once the Battle of Britain began, hoping no harm would come to local men. However, Victor’s plane was eventually shot down and he was hit by a German bullet. Very luckily, he was able to parachute out of the plane and was rescued when he landed. He survived and was awarded the DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross). Soon he was flying again and was later awarded the MBE (Member of the British Empire) for his outstanding service to his country.

On the 15th September 2020, a commemorative plaque was placed on Victor’s old home at 28 New Street, St Neots.