Nicky Barr (1915–2006) was a member of the Australian national rugby union team who became a fighter ace in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. Selected to play for Australia against the United Kingdom in 1939, he had just arrived in England when war broke out and the tour was cancelled. He joined the RAAF in 1940 and was posted to North Africa with No. 3 Squadron in September 1941. Barr's achievements as a combat pilot earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar. Shortly after taking command of No. 3 Squadron in May 1942, he was shot down and captured by Axis forces, and incarcerated in Italy. He escaped and assisted other Allied fugitives to safety, receiving for his efforts the Military Cross, a rare honour for an RAAF pilot. Repatriated to England in 1944, he saw action during the invasion of Normandy before returning to Australia as chief instructor with No. 2 Operational Training Unit. He rejoined the RAAF as an active reserve officer from 1951 to 1953. After his subsequent success for many years in the oilseed industry, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1983.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicky_Barr

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1508:

The Papal States, France, Aragon and the Holy Roman Empire formed the League of Cambrai, an alliance against the Republic of Venice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_League_of_Cambrai

1884:

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by American author Mark Twain was first published in the United Kingdom and Canada. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventures_of_Huckleberry_Finn

1907:

During the Brown Dog affair, about 1,000 protesters marched through London and then clashed with 400 police officers in Trafalgar Square over the existence of a memorial for animals which had been vivisected. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Dog_affair

1979:

The Kuomintang (KMT) dictatorship of Taiwan arrested a large number of opposition leaders who had organized pro-democracy demonstrations, an incident credited with ending the KMT's rule in 2000. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaohsiung_Incident

1983:

Raúl Alfonsín became the first democratically elected President of Argentina to take office after the fall of the military dictatorship. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra%C3%BAl_Alfons%C3%ADn

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

chronique scandaleuse: A journalistic account of a love affair, crime, or other sensational event. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chronique_scandaleuse

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Who has not found the heaven below Will fail of it above. God’s residence is next to mine, His furniture is love.   --Emily Dickinson https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emily_Dickinson