ON THIS DAY

1297: Scottish hero William Wallace defeated the English army at Stirling Bridge.

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1777: The British, under General Howe, beat the Americans, commanded by George Washington, at the Battle of Brandywine Creek in the United States War of Independence.

1841: The commuter age began for the southeast of England when the London to Brighton commuter express train started a regular service, taking just 105 minutes.

1885: DH Lawrence, poet and novelist, was born in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire.

1895: The FA Cup was stolen from football outfitters William Shillock in Birmingham - 68 years later, an 83-year-old man confessed that he had melted it down to make counterfeit half-crown coins.