On 24 January 1907 William Whiteley was shot dead outside the office of his own store by 29-year-old Horace George Raynor, who then turned the gun on himself. Raynor, who survived, claimed to be the illegitimate son of the store’s owner by his Whiteley’s long-term mistress, former shop girl, Louie Turner. Raynor’s death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. He was released in 1919 on licence.
On 24 January 1965 Winston Churchill following a stroke died at his home at Hyde Park Gate aged 90, he ordered his coffin leave London from Waterloo just to annoy General de Gaulle
Acid Bath Murderer Haigh dissolved his victims in a house now occupied by the Kentucky Fried Chicken Gloucester Road
On 24 January 1956 plans were unveiled for homes in Barbican a public inquiry considered plans to build in the area left devastated by war
During the plague of 1665 Londoners lived on huge rafts floating on the Thames in an attempt to escape the pestilence
The howitzer sculpture at Hyde Park Corner is pointed at the Somme – but if it was a real, its range would mean it would hit Crystal Palace
The Travellers Club in Pall Mall is the fictional start to Jules Verne’s story Around The World In Eighty Days
Hidden under the Ministry of Defence are Cardinal Wolsey’s wine cellars from the Whitehall Palace which burned down in 1698
The Racing Driver’s Handbook on how to behave on a racetrack is called The Blue Book the same as the Knowledge book of runs for cabbies
Only five Underground stations have ‘X’ in their names: Uxbridge, Brixton, Oxford Circus, Vauxhall and Croxley
The Bowler Hat is named after Mr Bowler who made it but Locks the Hatters call it the Coke after Mr Coke who ordered it
London cabbie George King founded the Aetherius Society to prevent the annihilation of Earth by improving cooperation with alien species
Trivial Matter: London in 140 characters is taken from the daily Twitter feed @cabbieblog.
A guide to the symbols used here and source material can be found on the Trivial Matter page.
I believe Around the World in 80 Days began in the Reform Club, Pall Mall. Next door to the Travellers.
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Yes, you are absolutely right, my mistake!
Incidentally I’ve recently been talking to a trustee of the Cabbie’s Green Shelters. He promises information soon on the Chelsea Embankment Shelter. He also has been involved in their renovation, he probably had a hand in the Russell Square Shelter.
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