On this day...... 15 August

1416: Sir Walter Hungerford and the Duke of Bedford fought a French and Genoese fleet off Harfleur, saving the English garrison there.

1645: Fairfax's New Model Army, following its decisive victory over Charles I's field army at Naseby, stormed Sherborne Castle as Parliament proceeded to mop up Royalist garrisons.

1917: In France, at the notorious Hill 60, Private O'Rourke, a stretcher-bearer with the British Columbia Regiment, commenced what proved a marathon three-day effort tending to the wounded and recsuing casualties from No Man's Land, despite several times being blown from his feet or buried by artillery explosions.  He received the Victoria Cross.

Out in the North Sea, an armed fishing boat, Nelson, was busy stowing her catch when a U-boat surfaced alongside and raked her with gunfire.  The skipper, Mr Crisp, Royal Naval Reserve, was at work below deck and received a severe wound.  Nevertheless, he returned to the deck and fought back until Nelson sank.  The rest of the crew got off safely and were rescued, but Crisp was too badly wounded to be moved and went down with the boat.  Crisp was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

1940: The Luftwaffe launched its heaviest attacks thus far of the Battle of Britain, concentrating on RAF airfields and radar sites.  The air defences claimed some 161 victories, although the real figure proved to be closer to 75; 34 RAF fighters were destroyed.  The day's events are recorded on the RAF's Battle of Britain website.

1942: The tanker Ohio, hit five times, under tow, and almost sinking, arrived in Malta with her priceless cargo of fuel at the end of Operation Pedestal.  Fourteen merchantmen had set out to run the gauntlet of submarine and air attack to resupply the island, escorted by the Royal Navy's two most powerful battleships and four aircraft carriers.  Without supplies, the island would have had to surrender in early September.  In three days of constant attacks, nine of the fourteen merchantmen were sunk, along with the carrier Eagle, two cruisers and a destroyer.  But four merchantmen plus the Ohio survived to deliver their cargo.  Ohio's Master, Captain Dudley Mason, was awarded the George Cross for his heroism.  More details, and photographs, can be found here.

1944: Royal Navy and Royal Air Force units provided cover during the landing of US and Free French troops in southern France - Operation Dragoon.

1945: Following the drop of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August, Emperor Hirohito broadcast to the Japanese people while the Allies celebrated Japan's unconditional surrender and the conclusion of the Second World War.