Bonfire Night in England: Remember, Remember the 5th of November, Guy Fawkes head of England's first terrorist gang?

England is a strange place and its people rather quirky. At least I think they are and I was born and bred in England, and still live there.

There can be few places around the world that would still celebrate an event, such as a terrorist act meted out against the government, centuries after the event. However this is something that we English do.

In 1605 a man called Guy Fawkes, and his co conspirators, hatched a plot to blow up Parliament and whoever was there at the time. I will detail a little of this event below but would just like to ask a question first. Do you think any other country in the world would still celebrate this event 404 years later? Just as I thought. No.

So as we move into Autumn, Bonfire night approaches and families and the like are beginning to stock pile their own arsenals of fireworks.

Remember, Remember the 5th of November,

The Gunpowder, Treason and plot.

I know of no reason

Why the gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes was born in 1570 in York, England. It would seem that some of what was behind the plot, which he and others planned in 1605, was religion. Parliament in England was as grey an area back then as these days. However back then there was much more than mere expenses scandals afoot.

Robert Catesby was the head honcho of this plot but yet it is Fawkes who we remember.There were six main conspirators. I guess we remember Fawkes because he was to be the perpetrator of the actual explosion. With some knowledge of explosives and fighting he was deemed the most suitable candidate from the gang of terrorists. Such is his fame that even the word GUY for a man is part of his legacy.

The plan was to blow up Parliament when, ideally, the King and aristocracy of the day where in the building. This would have inevitably blown up noblemen of both the Protestant and Roman Catholic faith. However, as is often the case with such extremists, the cause was felt to be worth it.

Fawkes and his gang hoped to rid England of a Protestant King and return England to the Holy Roman Catholic faith. Caught in the act as he, Fawkes, behaved suspiciously, the plot was discovered in the nick of time. The plotters had managed to get 36 barrels of explosives into the building and so the King was very lucky really. As news spread, of the King's lucky escape, the people celebrated by lighting bonfires around London.

Memories of Bonfire night

As a child Bonfire night came hot on the heels of Hull Fair. This meant that for me, and other local children, it was a magical time of the year. Back then, the street where I lived, had two bomb sites left over from the 2nd World War and the German Luftwaffe. These bombies were perfect for our huge street bonfires.

Many families still had their own small bonfires in their postage stamp sized gardens or yards. Local parks also built huge organised fires and had free firework displays. Money was tight back then and my Dad, like many others, would gradually buy our fireworks over a period of time. These would be stored in a metal biscuit tin for safety. Then Dad, following all the safety precautions, would light these little treasures, one at a time. By today's standards our celebrations were meagre but we loved them.

Some children would build a Guy to be thrown onto the fire. This would usually be some sort of stuffed effigy dressed in a collection of old clothes. Traditionally some kids would stand outside of public houses and at the end of streets, asking "Penny For The Guy". We were not allowed to do this though as, in my Dad's eyes, it was begging, and I guess not safe. What fun though. Of course the streets were safer 50 years ago.

The street bonfires would be built high with unwanted furniture, wood and the like. A Guy, that is an effigy of Mr Fawkes, would be set on the top. Usually he was sat in someone's old chair that they no longer wanted. The fire would be lit and the fireworks set off.

The night before Bonfire Night is known as Mischief Night but this is celebrated more in Scotland, I think. Locally my only encounter with this event was some years ago. We had been out for the evening and returned home to find that our six foot high gate had been lifted of its hinges and leant against the frame. As we lifted the latch to open the gate the whole thing went crashing down onto the path in front of us. There was no damage to us, the gate or the path but we did feel foolish. The whole road suffered the same fate.

Still back to Guy Fawkes

Guy Fawkes is from my neck of the woods and so was pertinent to me. In fact I am sure there is some link to his plotting and one of the few very old public houses in my hometown. This pub is located along The Land of Green Ginger. Now isn't that a fabulous name for a street?

Guy Fawkes was hung, drawn and quartered. What a fate. The full list of those involved is:-

• Robert and Thomas Wintour,
  
• Thomas Percy,
  
• Christopher and John Wright,
  
• Francis Tresham,
  
• Everard Digby,
  
• Ambrose Rookwood,
  
• Thomas Bates,
  
• Robert Keyes,
  
• Hugh Owen,
  
• John Grant
  
• Robert Catesby

• Guy Fawkes

Having been caught in the act Fawkes was taken to the Tower of London and tortured. Under such duress Fawkes named his accomplices. Some were shot and killed as they tried to escape justice whilst others joined Fawkes in the Tower and shared his fate.

In January 1606 those found guilty suffered execution by being hung, drawn and quartered. Those conspirators who had already been killed had their bodies exhumed. Their heads were cut off their bodies and displayed on poles at Traitors Gate alongside the heads of those who had been executed.

Initially it was an effigy of the Pope that was used as a Guy on the bonfires. It would seem that conspiracy theories are nothing new though. Some people believed that the whole thing was a set up and the purpose was to blacken the character of Catholics and strengthen the Protestants hold on England. We shall never know the truth now.

The 5th November 2009

These days I am an old cynic. I have two dogs and so Bonfire Night is just a pain. The fireworks last longer that they used to and are much louder. These days they can be heard from any time in October until the New Year. Of course, if I was a child I would probably love this.

However, when I was a child and Bonfire night was just one day a year, it was much more special, and that's not just because I was young.