... gunpowder, treason and plot.

A mnemonic taught to young children in the UK to help them remember the day on which Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament and the King. Commemorated annually by Britons building large bonfires, letting off fireworks and eating jacket potatoes and sausages.
..and treacle toffee :)

If memory serves, Guy Fawkes and his gang created the gunpowder plot, which was to creep into the Houses Of Parliament with large barrels of gunpowder, with the aim on assassinating King James VI (King James I of England), due to a quarrel they had with his religious beliefs (he was a Protestant, and founded the Church Of England with the British throne at the head). If they had succeeded they would have created a power vacuum in both the British Government and the church.

The story goes that they were discovered before they could light the fuse, and arrested for treason then summarily executed.

There exists two copies of Guy Fawkes signature, one normal and the other after he was placed on the rack (which I believe was the one used on his confession), which illustrates the relative brutality of "justice" in that time.

Remember, remember the fifth of November
The gunpowder treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, twas his intent
To blow up king and parliament.
Three score barrels were laid below
To prove old England's overthrow.

By God's mercy he was catched
With a dark lantern and lighted match.
Holler boys, holler boys, let the bells ring
Holler boys, holler boys, God save the King

I was fortunate to grow up spending Bonfire night in Lewes, East Sussex (UK). In Lewes, parades are held though the streets. There are 6 main societies, (Cliffe, Commercial Square, Lewes Borough, Nevill Juvenile, South Street, and Waterloo), and each of these societies have their own words for the poem, although most agree with the first two verses. Again, the poem may be different in the rest of the UK.

Death or Glory! -- www.lewesboroughbonfiresociety.com

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