Plymouth History

On the 20 February 1909, Plymouth Argyle travelled to play Derby County in the 3 rd Round of the FA Cup. It wasn't a successful trip; Argyle lost a game in which both sides played poorly to an Alf “Snobby” Bentley goal which came at the end of the final minute of play. It was virtually the only incident worthy of note for the afternoon, and was a controversial one; the Argyle players had rounded on the referee, insisting that he had blown the whistle to end the proceedings before the ball had crossed the goal line; meanwhile the crowd, made up predominantly of Derby supporters – their celebrations cut short for a brief, agonising, moment, became almost hysteric as they burst their way on to the pitch and the referee had to be escorted from the field by the police. Jubilation soon followed with the realisation that the goal and therefore the result would stand; Argyle were out of the cup. However the game would be remembered for events off rather than on the pi

One of the most interesting, and perhaps, more controversial cases in Plymouth involved the death of Plymouth Borough Police Constable, William Bennett. In the early evening of 25 July 1875, PC Bennett (collar number 45) was on beat duty in the centre of Plymouth. His route took him into Lower Lane and Palace Street, where he noticed two women, one of whom, Susan Foster, appeared in obvious distress and was bleeding from a head wound. On seeing the constable, she shouted to him, claiming she had been attacked by her common-law 'husband', and, pointing Henry Kitto out in the street demanded he be “taken in charge”.  The constable advised her to “get a cup of tea” and then gave chase as Kitto tried to make his escape, pursuing him into a nearby property at 6 Lower Lane. As PC Bennett closed on Kitto there ensued a struggle during which both men fell down the stairs. A neighbour, shoemaker Thomas Harvey, disturbed by the commotion, came out of his rooms to find Kitto kne

HMS Plymouth: Then & Now HMS Plymouth was built in Plymouth, launched by Nancy, Viscountess Astor in Plymouth, and her home port  was Plymouth. During her near three decade career in the Royal Navy, she is most remembered for her service in the Falkland Islands conflict in 1982. HMS Plymouth was one of the first of the British Fleet to arrive in the Islands following the Argentinian invasion and took part, alongside HMS Antrim, Brilliant and Endurance, in the recapture of South Georgia. Despite being badly damaged in an Argentine attack in June 1982, the eventual surrender of the Argentinian forces in South Georgia was signed in her ward room.  HMS Plymouth was eventually decommissioned out of the Royal Navy in 1988, and thanks to a campaign by a group of volunteers led by former Plymouth Devonport MP, Dr David Owen (now Baron Owen of Plymouth), she was preserved for the nation and went on display in, yep, you've  guessed it - Plymouth. After a short spell on the Clyd

"Where the bombs fell" Seven nights in late March and late April 1941 were among the worst Plymouth has ever seen . In recent nights I tried to give an "as live" account of the events of March 20th and 21st 1941 under the hash-tag #PlymBlitzLive via @PlymouthHistor1 on Twitter. It's not easy trying to convey the stories of damage, destruction and loss of life that was wrought on the city in 140 characters or less, and even less so to do justice to the bravery and heartbreak of the people who lived, and died, during the Luftwaffe attacks. I do feel that it is still a worthwhile exercise, and something that I would like to continue for the April 1941 raids. There are a wealth of published research resources available which record the Plymouth Blitz, and all are worth reading. In particular I would recommend Gerald Wasley's "Blitz" and it's big brother "Plymouth: A Shattered City", and Chris Robinson's revised edition of H.

Sir Francis Drake In a scene familiar to Plymothians and visitors alike, Sir Francis Drake stands atop Plymouth Hoe where, legend has it, he finished his game of bowls before defeating the Spanish Armada. Where now, immortalised in bronze, he looks proudly over Plymouth Sound, past the island named in his honour and on to the open seas beyond. It is impossible to visit Plymouth and not be aware of the esteem the swashbuckling, King of Spain's beard singeing Drake is held, even now, over 400 years since his death. A parliamentary constituency, an electoral ward, public houses, streets, businesses, shopping centres all bear (or have borne) his name, as well as a myriad others commemorating "his" defeat of the Spanish Armada. But what of  Drakes' cousin, Sir John Hawkins? Forever remembered and reviled for his activities as a slaver - t hat in spite of the rather inconvenient truth that Hawkins neither "invented" the slave trade, nor was he the first