The Bedfordshire County Day was chosen by popular vote.
The other nominations also offer particularly appropriate dates for flying the Bedfordshire flag.
They include:
19 January – Earldom (later Dukedom) of Bedford recreated, 1550
12 April – Bedfordshire County Council officially granted coat-of-arms, 1951
20 June – Siege of Bedford Castle begins, 1224
13 August – Blenheim Day: the Bedfordshire Regiment and its successors celebrate the anniversary of the battle, 1704
2 September – Birth of prison reformer John Howard, 1726
14 October – First flight of the airship R101 from Cardington, 1929
6 November – 1st and 2nd Battalions Bedfordshire Regiment meet at Bailleul en route to Ypres, 1914
15 November – First High Sheriff of Bedfordshire appointed, 1575
25 November – Feast of St Catherine, patron saint of spinners, weavers and lacemakers
15 December – Birth of Olympic athlete Harold Abrahams, 1899
The date commemorates the founding of Josiah Wedgwood and Sons which took place in 1759. This was chosen as part of a public vote, the other candidates remain other significant dates for flying the county flag:
July 5 – the anniversary of the discovery of the Staffordshire Hoard, which was uncovered in 2009;
September 6 – on that day in 1651 King Charles II hid in an oak tree in South Staffordshire;
September 18 – this was the birth date of Doctor Samuel Johnson who was born on this date in Lichfield in 1709;
September 27 – renowned engineer James Brindley, who lived in Leek, passed away on this date in 1772
