Prison protests continue and a prince tragically dies in a light plane crash
This week in 1972 and 95 inmates at Camp Hill Prison, Isle of Wight, scrambled onto the roof of the jail. They joined the 24 prisoners who had been on the roof of Parkhurst Prison a few hundred yards away and the seven men who had climbed onto the roof of Chelmsford Jail in Essex. The Parkhurst prisoners spent the morning sunbathing and singing and they were still on the roof late into the night, comforted by blankets and food smuggled up by fellow inmates. On roads around both island prisons, police mobile patrols and guard dogs were active. The night before trouble had also flared at Albany Prison (also on the Isle of Wight) as burning bedding was thrown from windows and firemen were pelted with bedding when they arrived to douse the burning material.
In other news and Prince William of Gloucester (30) was killed at Halfpenny Green, Wolverhampton, when his light plane crashed in flames after taking off in the 90 miles Goodyear Air Race. Three boys rushed to the blazing Piper Cherolee and tried to rip off the tailplane in an attempt to rescue Prince William and his co-pilot Mr Vyrell Mitchell (42), but the heat beat the boys back. Because of the tragedy, the Queen and Princess Anne, who were on holiday with other members of the Royal Family, did not travel to Munich for the Olympic Games. Family mourning was ordered until the Prince’s funeral. Prince William was the grandson of King George V and the paternal cousin of the Queen. At the time of his birth he was fourth in line to the throne.
Also this week and Mr Frank Searle, a former paratroop sergeant from London, claimed that he had photographed the Loch Ness Monster. Mr Searle had been keeping watch on the loch from the village of Dores for three years and said that he had seen the monster 17 times and photographed on several occasions. The month prior in July he got his best shots of the monster and the pictures showed two long connected humps.