Happy birthday son – we’ve won the pools!
Thatcham father is so excited he forgets to buy a present, March 11, 1971
150 years ago March 23 1871
Welcome for Napoleon
ON Monday, Dover was the scene of an incident that will take a prominent place in history – the meeting, after an eight months’ separation, of the Emperor Napoleon, the Empress Eugenie, and the Prince Imperial.
The day was unusually fine, and thousands of people had assembled on the pier to witness the arrival of the illustrious exile.
The Empress Eugenie, with the Prince Imperial and a limited suite, arrived at Dover by a special train from Chiselhurst. Mr Eborall, the General
Manager of the South-Eastern Railway, and Mr Cockburn, Traffic Superintendent, accompanied Her Majesty, who at once proceeded to the “Lord Warden” Hotel, where she stayed until, at about twenty minutes to two o’clock, the special boat from Ostend was sighted.
Her Majesty and the Prince, with Prince Murat, Baron Dupret, Prince Louis Lucien Bonaparte, Prince Jerome Bonaparte, Major Dickson, MP and Lady North (who had come with the Empress from Chiselhurst), then walked down to the pier, followed by many ladies and gentleman, and stood on one of the landing stages.
125 years ago March 19 1896
Dervish threat grows
THE principal debate in the House of Commons has been on the advance of the Egyptian forces up the Nile.
The grounds given on Monday night by Mr Curzon, UnderSecretary for Foreign Affairs, for the decision which ministers have taken, are first, the advice of the military authorities both in Egypt and at home; and secondly, the hope that the advance of the Egyptians will operate as a diversion in favour of our Italian allies at Kassala.
For some weeks the Dervishes have displayed unusual activity in Upper Egypt, and their advance is looked upon as involving a menace to Kassala, which, if captured, would endanger Egypt at more points than one.
Mr Labouchere opposed the Government policy, holding that the proposed advance in the Soudan would be to practically anchor us in Egypt for the next one hundred years; while Sir Charles Dilke dilated on the imprudence and unwisdom of the expedition.
100 years ago March 17 1921
A bomb in court
JUST as the Borough magistrates were rising on Friday morning, a townsman entered the court, anxious and agitated, carrying carefully what he proceeded to explain was a live German bomb.
The JPs may not have realised that it concerned them, but at any rate they were not inclined to tarry.
The Mayor, the Clerk, the Press and the Police remained to hear the story.
The bomb had been left on a chest of drawers by a departing lodger, and as he had delivered himself of rather revolutionary ideas, the landlord feared some sinister design to blow up the street.
The police did not get excited, or drop the bomb into a bucket of water. They took possession and sought somebody with a knowledge of explosives. Fortunately, they found near at hand a legal gentleman who had acted as bombing officer during his war service.
He examined the missile, and delivered a considered judgement that it was an English bomb, that it was harmless, the charge having been extracted. Fears were allayed, and it only remained to settle whether it had been left behind as a joke or an unnecessary piece of baggage.
75 years ago March 14 1946
Housing shortage grows
AN indication of the seriousness of the housing shortage for rural workers in Berkshire is given in a report of the County Committee of the National Union of Agricultural Workers. Their figures have been collected from the rural housing authorities, and submitted to them for confirmation or correction at the end of last January.
Here is the position according to their report:
Bradfield has 400 on the waiting list, 10 condemned houses are still used, 40 temporary houses are proposed and 280 permanent homes are planned in the next two years Hungerford has a waiting list of 272; six condemned houses still used; 10 temporary homes planned, 52 permanent houses planned for the next year, 114 in the following year, and 40 in the next ten years.
Newbury’s rural waiting list is 126.
Plans provide for 16 temporary homes, 118 permanent houses in one year, and a further 100 in two.
The figures actually underestimate the position, because people do not bother to put their names down as they know the list is so long.
50 years ago March 11 1971
Family’s £13k pools win
NIGEL Lovelock’s 12th birthday yesterday helped his dad win a fortune on the football pools. And his father was so excited he forgot to get his son a present. Forty-eight-year-old chargehand Tom Lovelock was aroused from his bed yesterday morning by a pool representative to be told he had won £13,740.
Tom, of Park Avenue,
Thatcham, has hardly slept a wink since Saturday when he checked his coupon and found he had 23 points.
All the family contributed to winning the fortune.
Each week for several years, Tom has used the birth dates and ages of his family to determine his selections on the “eight from 10” perm. “I have had butterflies in my stomach ever since Saturday and was so excited that I forgot to get Nigel a birthday present or even a card,” said Tom last night.
Nigel did, at least, get a cake – but even that suffered from the excitement of the win.
His 14-year-old sister Janet was busy making it at Kennet School yesterday when her father came running in to tell her the good news.
“Gosh, I nearly passed out,” she said.
As it was, she left the cake in the oven when she went home. But it didn’t turn out too badly in the end.
25 years ago March 8 1996
The new face of Newbury
NEWBURY could undergo radical change if two ambitious town centre developments are adopted.
One plan involves demolishing the Pearl Assurance building, in Bartholomew Street, widely regarded as one of Newbury’s ugliest buildings, in a redevelopment by the Hedge Street-based investment company, the Waterbridge Group. Camp Hopson has, meanwhile, announced plans to build a 20,000 square foot furniture showroom and restaurant behind its main Northbrook Street store.
The 1960s Pearl Assurance building, which incorporates Iceland, Tandy and American Express, would be replaced with first and second floor offices the same height as neighbouring properties.
10 years ago March 17 2011
MP misses out on Downton
NEWBURY MP Richard Benyon revealed that his family’s Englefield Estate was considered as a possible location for the filming of the hit television series Downton Abbey.
Speaking at the recent launch of the Newbury Spring Festival at the Corn Exchange, Mr Benyon said that Downton Abbey writer Julian Fellowes had visited the estate with a view to using it as a possible location, before opting to shoot it at Highclere Castle.
Mr Benyon said: “I saw him a few months later at the December concert for the Newbury and District Cancer Care Trust at St Nicolas’ Church, and he said ‘Ah, yes – we loved Englefield, but we were looking for something a little bit more ...substantial’ .” Mr Benyon joked: “I decided in favour of the decision, because I am not sure I would have got much of a life at weekends if he had chosen it – and we got The King’s Speech!”
The Oscar-winning King’s Speech was partly filmed at Englefield, which has been used in several other film and television productions, including Poirot, Inspector Morse, Woody Allen’s film
Match Point and Marple.
Julian Fellowes will be in conversation with the Countess of Carnarvon about Downton Abbey at Highclere Castle as part of the Spring Festival on Monday, May 16.