Shiraz became first baby born at St Mark’s for four decades
Welcome to Remember When, our weekly delve into the Advertiser archives to see what was making headlines 25, 30, 35, 40 and 50 years ago this week. You can also take a look into the past by visiting our online archives at baylismediaarchive.co.uk
1971: A group of 20 boys from the 18th Maidenhead venture scout unit had been felling trees and painting in the town to raise £900 for a Norwegian expedition.
To mark the 30th anniversary of the Maidenhead Grammar School scout troop’s formation, the group was hoping to spend two weeks crossing a glacier and climbing the 8,090ft Galdhopiggen mountain.
1971: Children in River Gardens, Bray, were getting ready to see Humphrey the Guy go up in flames for Bonfire Night.
Humphrey came complete with with a boy scout cap and a wild silk scarf.
1976: Scrap wood and offcuts were used to create 20 sturdy rocking horses to boost the Thames Valley Toy Lending Library funds.
They were created by Haydn Booth, who had made more than 500 toys and pieces of special equipment for disabled children over the previous two years.
The rocking horses went on sale in the toy library, in Pinder Hall in
Cookham. 1986: A lorry carrying drums of sulphuric acid spilled its load in Maidenhead.
Police sealed off Oldfield Road for four hours as firefighters wearing breathing apparatus and protective clothing washed away 500 litres of acid.
They were called back again in the evening when residents spotted diluted acid bubbling in the gutter.
The road surface was blasted with water before the firefighters finally let the scene.
1996: Shiraz Hafeez became the first baby to be born in Maidenhead’s St Mark’s Hospital since the 1950s.
Shiraz would have been born at Slough’s Wexham Park Hospital if it hadn’t been for the rush-hour traffic on Bath Road.
Dad Mohammed instead drove to St Mark’s, where luckily a midwife was on the scene and mum Saira gave birth to their third child, a bouncing boy.
1996: Children in Bisham were getting ready for their primary school’s bid for National Lottery cash to build a sports hall.
Headteacher Jim Cooke had been told by Berkshire County Council that it will give £130,000 to help the school build a new hall and classroom.
This enabled Bisham to ask the lottery for a major contribution to a £450,000 joint community/school sports hall venture.