Aussie aid for town

Donations of food sent from afar are much appreciated, October 2, 1947 OLD MEMORIES REVIVED Extracts taken from past columns of the

150 years ago October 10, 1872

Travel tales

THE opening lecture of the Literary and Scientific Institution session was delivered at the Town Hall on Tuesday evening, and notwithstanding that the admission was restricted to ticket holders, the hall was densely crowded.

The engagement which this proved so successful was that of Mr BJ Malden, who gave an illustrated lecture on the route to India by Mount Cenis Tunnel and Suez Canal.

The remarks on the different places in the route were brief, descriptive, entertaining, and instructive, especially those portions relating tothe Suez Canal, the mode of the construction of which received a very lucid and interesting explanation from Mr Malden.

Added to the store of information thus conveyed, there were exhibited 40 magnificent views of the objects of interest and incidents to be met with on the route, the pictures being most brilliant and the manipulation perfect.

125 years ago October 7, 1897

Animated debate

THE fact of two Animated Photo Shows being arranged for successive days prompted the promoters to impress upon the public that there was only which was genuine and worth patronizing.

First the town was painted red and black with flaring posters, and care was taken to distinguish between Monday and Tuesday.

But then there arose a little friction as to the “slide show.”

One said “We have got the original and only Pierrots,”

but they retorted with “My dear fellows, we have no desire to be mistaken for your Pierrots; we are entirely on our own.” And as a final shaft a Latin proverb was launched “Favour populi inimicitiam generat”.

That settled it. You can’t argue with a man who quotes the classics.

100 years ago October 5, 1922

Rising costs

BELIEVE it or not, football did exist before the introduction of the Premier League in 1992.

Although not the mega-hyped spectacle it is today, thousands flocked each week to see their local team in action.

Liverpool were crowned champions of Division 1 in 1922/23, ahead of Sunderland and Huddersfield, while Stoke and Oldham were relegated, to be replaced by Notts County and West Ham.

Closer to home, this picture shows the Hungerford Council School team, who beat Newbury Council School 1-0 in 1923. n To submit an image for this page, email editor@newburynews. co.uk or send it to: Local History, Newbury Weekly News, Newspaper House, Faraday Road, Newbury, RG14 2AD.

SIR – In June last, you published a letter signed “NG Pinnock,” relating to certain figures of the excessive cost of management of some Trade Unions quoted by Col Sir Arthur Holbrook MP in a speech made at Newbury in support of the candidature of Gen. Clifton Brown. Mr Pinnock complained that the figures quoted (which were for the year 1920) were not up-to-date.

The 1921 figures are now available and the situation has gone from bad to worse. Sir Arthur Holbrook pointed out that the management expenses of the Agricultural Workers’ Union had increased from £9,200 in 1918 to £42,800 in 1920, or fourand-a-half times in two years, though there had been no substantial addition to the membership.

The next figures quoted by

Sir Arthur Holbrook were those of the National Union of Railwaymen.

In this Union, he pointed out the cost of management had increased from £107,000 in 1918 to £255,000 in 1920.

The return for 1921 shows that the membership decreased from 457,836 in

1920 to 386,115, but despite this great reduction in membership, the cost of management was £242,600 against £255,000 in the previous year.

75 years ago October 2, 1947

Empire support

NEWBURY is not often the scene of an empire demonstration of goodwill, but so touched was Australia by the plight of British people in the flood areas last winter that a generous gift of meat, vegetables and fruit was sent to the mother country. As announced last week, these welcome gifts were distributed on Wednesday of last week by the Mayor (Major AV Bradshaw) and many helpers.

Relays of recipients kept all helpers busy from 3.30pm onwards in the British Legion Hall.

It was a unique proceeding, the empire gifts making a brave array, skilfully arranged.

Following a brief introductory speech by Miss Luke, the Mayor presented tins of food to the first four people.

Following this, members of the committee and helpers took over the distribution. If assurance of the close tie between Britain and the empire was needed, an occasion such as this shows how the dominions are rallying to the mother country in these times of stress and difficulty as they did during the two world wars.

50 years ago October 5, 1972

Back to work

IT was something of a busman’s holiday for the Mayor, Coun Wilfred Cannings, when he and his wife were guests of honour at a function in Newbury.

For the Mayor, who is employed by the SEB as a meter reader, went back to work in the evening to attend the SEB’s periodic gathering for apprentices, their parents and supervisory staff. A feature of the evening was a conducted tour of the Board’s works at Hambridge Road. Extensions to the workshops have only recently been completed and the visitors were able to see some of the most up-to-date plant in the country for the handling and maintenance of large power transformers.

Mr Allan Brown, district manager, later spoke of the success of the Board’s apprenticeship training scheme and also outlined the growth of the industry and the opportunities for apprentices on completion of their training.

25 years ago October 2, 1997

What a whopper!

SWEETCORN, a washing-up liquid bottle and an 8lb hair rig were all two 12-year-old Hungerford boys needed to catch a monster carp.

Chris Brown, of Orchard Park Close, and Simon Lovelock, of Tarrants Hill, beat the Hungerford Canal Angling Association’s record when they wound in the 23lb 5oz mirror carp on Saturday. Nicknamed ‘Dumpy,’ the monster fish beat the association’s previous record, of 22lb 8oz. Chris explained it took nearly half an hour to reel ‘Dumpy’ in.

“Twenty minutes or so after we started, my washingup liquid bottle (the bite indicator) shot up and nearly pulled the rod into the water. “It felt like a brick, I was panicking like mad.”

Simon said: “I tried to get the landing net ready but my hands were shaking so much Chris had to take over for a few minutes while I got the net ready.

“We then put the net under the carp but I could not lift it so we had to do it together.” Having weighed the fish, a passer-by snapped the keen anglers with ‘Dumpy’ before they released it back into the canal.

10 years ago October 4, 2012

Radio launch

NEARLY 50 people attended the first meeting of Kennet Radio last week.

A group of local community members is planning to bid for a community radio licence under the provisional name of Kennet Radio.

During the meeting at Newbury Town Hall, people were told about the aims of the radio station, the goals, the wider community benefit, the costs and funding and how the plan would be delivered.

The leader of Newbury Town Council, Julian Swift-Hook (Lib Dem, Pyle Hill), who was one of the organisers, said: “From the feedback I got before the meeting, I was expecting it to go well, but it went better than I thought. “He added: “This is an opportunity to bring back a truly local radio station to Newbury.”