This year is proving to be an unusually eventful year for anniversaries.

With the General Election having taken place on May7, perhaps we take our democratic institutions for electing a parliament and government for granted.

However, it should not be forgotten that 750 years ago, in January 1265, the first meeting of the House of Commons took place as a result of a power struggle by Simon de Montfort, the Earl of Leicester and the barons with King Henry III for political reform.

This year, we also celebrated 800 years since the Magna Carta was sealed at Runnymede in 1215 — a defining moment in the establishment of the rule of law and the road to democracy.

This year, we also commemorated the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in May 1945.

However, it is also 200 years since the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, at which the Duke of Wellington won a famous battle that marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars, which was the last European war for about 50 years.

Finally, on September 9, 2015, our Queen will be the longest reigning moncarch when she will overtake Queen Victoria, who reigned for 63 years and seven months. What an achievement that will be.

I cannot remember another year when so many important historical anniversaries and events have come together in the same year.

Anthony Seymour

Marsworth Avenue, Pinner