1957 MONDAY NOVEMBER 19
A returning champ, flying saucers and much more made the news 61 years ago this week
Empire champion pops in to see his Gran
As soon as he got off the train at Cardiff at 4am following his defeat of Joe Bygraves for the Empire heavyweight title, a jubilant Joe Erskine went straight round to see “Gran” Erskine at Angelina Street.
“He did not stay long,” she said. “He was very tired after dancing around like he did. But he will be coming to see us later in the day when he has had a rest.”
It was Joe’s answer to the critics, she said, and this is only the beginning. “There will be no stopping him now.”
Gran, who never listens to or sees Joe’s fights, sat alone in the front room of her house while relatives and friends who packed the little house kept her informed of the fight’s progress.
“Not that the result was ever in doubt.” said Gran. “He was determined to win.”
At his home his home in Coryton Rise, Whitchurch, Joe relaxed with a cup of tea and talked of the “good time” he was going to have between now and Christmas.
But first was the pressing problem for him and his wife, Junette, of a birthday party for their younger daughter Vicky, who was two the same day. And then there’s the birth of Joe Erskine junior, now eight days old, that needs celebrating.
Golden-voiced operatic tenor dies
Golden-voiced operatic tenor Beniamino Gigli, right, died in his Rome villa aged 67. His death was caused by bronco-pneumonia.
It was reported in Rome that he had hoped to visit Britain after his last concert at Manchester on March 21, 1955.
At Victoria Station before he left, the tenor, who succeeded Caruso as head of the world’s opera, said: “This is not goodbye for ever, it is au revoir.
He became probably the world’s richest operatic star and wherever he appeared people flocked to hear his golden voice. He could command his own price anywhere in the world and he gave value for money.
Gigli, criticised for singing before Hitler and Mussolini, was loudly booed when he first sang before allies in Rome – his superb voice turned the boos into an ovation by the end of the performance.
Negligence case ongoing
Mr Justice Finnemore, accompanied by counsel, watched the trams go by at the Naval Colliery, Penygraig, Rhondda, this week.
He was there in connection with a case at the Glamorgan Assizes in Cardiff, in which a boy, David James Bees, of Rees Street, Trealaw, was claiming damages for negligence from the National Coal Board as a result of an accident which took place at the colliery in 1954.
The boy, aged eight, was playing on the mountain side when he fell backwards over a stone, and before he could get up, a colliery tram ran over his hand.
The hand was amputated and the boy also had chest injuries. The judge, examining the scene of the accident, watched the operation of a journey of trams carrying waste down the mountainside for about 40 minutes and examined fencing guarding the tram rails.
Later a settlement was announced at the Assizes. Judgement was given in favour of David James Bees, the terms of which were not announced in court.
UFO sightings in South Wales
Strange objects seen in the night sky were reported to South Wales police stations this week.
The objects were “bright-coloured”, “delta-shaped” and “three times as big as an eight-wheeler lorry”.
And the witnesses were reliable – four of them were police officers on night duty.
The reports reached Glamorgan police headquarters at Bridgend from various parts of the county were all within a few minutes of each other – around 2.30am.
Police patrols searched for crashed aircraft as a precaution, but without result.
Air Traffic Control reported that there were no known aircraft movements over the area at the time.
The first report to reach Glamorgan police headquarters came at 2.25am from two officers on motor patrol.
As Sergeant Roberts and PC Davies were approaching the village of Penllyn, near Cowbridge, they saw something in the sky. It was “a bright greenish – blue object”.
Five minutes later PC Williams, on duty at Penygraig, was startled to see a “brightly coloured object, trailing two streaks, travelling towards Aberdare at a fast speed”.
At the same time at Mardy, another officersaw an object travelling fron Neath towards Brecon.
At 2.45am, a lorry driver saw “an aircraft which appeared to crash near Storey Arms, Brecon”.
His description was an object “three times as big as an eight-wheeler vehi-
cle and bright green in colour”.
An Air Ministry spokesman said that RAF No 19 Group headquarters at Plymouth had reports at 2am of a “ball of fire” being seen over the West Country and over Brecon Beacons. It had been reported to the group by the police.
TA’s cocktail party
A cocktail party is not the best way to encourage men to join the Monmouthshire Territorials and Auxiliary Forces Association, it was decided.
The association meeting in Newport rejected a scheme to invite leading employers to cocktail parties held throughout the county. By “getting to know the bosses” it was hoped a better flow of recruits would follow.
Colonel Thompson said it would be better to spend the money on serving soldiers and not employers.
“When it comes to getting recruits it falls back on the serving men. It might encourage him to bring friends,” he said.