1898: Captain Hore-Ruthven went to the aid of an Egyptian officer who had fallen wounded during an action against dervishes in the Sudan. Hore-Ruthven carried the man back towards the British lines, regularly having to stop to drive back pursuing dervishes. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1914: The Royal Navy suffered its first disastrous attack from a U-boat, when U-9 torpedoed three armoured cruisers, HM Ships Aboukir, Cressy and Hogue, with heavy loss of life in the North Sea. Aboukir was the first to be hit, and her sisters stopped to pick up survivors, only to fall victim themselves.

Four RNAS aircraft of the Eastchurch Squadron attacked Zeppelin sheds at Dusseldorf and Cologne. Flight Lieutenant Collet scored direct hits on a shed at Dusseldorf, but the primitive bombs failed to explode.

1940: Luftwaffe activity during the day was fairly sporadic. During the night, London remained the main target.

1943: Royal Navy midget submarines of the X-class attacked the German battleship Tirpitz in Altenfjord, Norway. Six X-boats were towed to the area by conventional submarines. Two were lost en route, and a third had to be scuttled after failing to penetrate the defences. X-6, commanded by Lieutenant Cameron, suffered damage to her periscope, which left her blind, but nevertheless managed to lay her two mines under the Tirpitz. X-7, commanded by Lieutenant Place, managed to work her way free after being caught in defensive nets and also laid her charges under the Tirpitz. X-10, commanded by Lieutenant Hudspeth,was sunk with the loss of all four crew whilst making her attack. Both X-6 and X-7 had to be scuttled, and six of their eight crew survived to be taken prisoner.

The charges exploded and caused severe damage to the Tirpitz, disabling her for at least six months. Lieutenants Cameron and Place were awarded the Victoria Cross.

1944: North of Nijmegen, Allied forces continued their efforts to push north to reach the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade at Driel, and, across the Rhine, 1st British Airborne Division at Oosterbeek. At dawn, armoured cars from the Household Cavalry made contact with the Poles, but the main thrusts by 43rdand Guards Armoured Divisions at Oosterhout and Elst struggled to make progress in the face of German defences reinforced by SS panzer units. Oosterhout finally fell in the late afternoon, and the 5th Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, supported by tanks of the Dragoon Guards, broke through to Driel. However, improvised attempts to ferry supplies across the Rhine failed when the Germans detected the operation and brought machine-guns and mortars to bear.