MONDAY, APRIL 11

1949: A majority of Westbrook House Management Committee, at Faringdon, has resigned after learning that its chairman, who is the Vicar Canon W J Dennis, has absolute power over the running of the Westbrook House Youth Centre.

1959: Janette Gayler of Urchfont Way, Swindon, tells the story of the Pinehurst Secondary School's visit to Paris. She says the party visited Versailles where they saw coaches and sedans used by Napoleon and Marie Antoinette. She said the gardens greatly impressed her and they also visited the Latin quarter in Paris.

1979: The estimated cost of building Freshbrook County Primary School for 280 children, in Swindon's Western expansion area, has gone up from £306,500 plus £36,400 professional fees to £375,500 plus £45,000 professional fees. The county council's finance management committee approved the supplementary estimate of £69,000.

TUESDAY, APRIL 12

1949: Swindon Amateur Boxing Club visited Roding, London, for a fight between P Carey and B Holland from Swindon. Holland opened strongly and only the bell saved Carey from the count, in the second round, but Holland was eventually knocked out for the count in the last round.

1959: When three youths first started to experiment with printing Gospel tracts they little dreamed of the extent that their printing empire would grow in 40 years. The youngest of the three Phillips brothers, Mr F B Phillips, is bringing his own film to the Elim Church in Swindon to show to the congregation. The brothers started with a home made press which grew to a printing business called the Emmanuel Press in the Transvaal, where Mr Phillips eldest brother had become a missionary.

1979: Former solicitor John Benham escaped from the jaws of the law to get his teeth into the most dangerous case of his life - lion taming. John left the court room for the roar of five African lions, and has since been thrilling audiences in Swindon's Austen Brothers Circus. Swindonians will get their first chance to see him in action when the circus comes to the County Ground in Swindon.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13

1949: The Army is relinquishing two portions of its land now used for training purposes on the Marlborough Downs. Each of these areas is to be 80 acres. One of them, the East portion of the training area, North of Ogbourne St Andrew, is good agricultural land. The other, a spur near Rockley, is a beauty spot.

1949: During his 30 years as secretary of the GWR Male Voice Choir, Swindon, Mr W H Billett of Bath Road, Swindon, who retires from his position at the age of 64, has organised 800 concerts which have raised more than £5,000. Mr Billett recalls the choir's first BBC broadcast in 1932. Mr Billett was one of the engine drivers and firemen who formed the choir in 1919.

1959: A novel idea for a competition was produced by Swindon RAF Association at a dance held at the McIlroys Ballroom in Swindon. Six weeks ago Mr F Hulbert grew a beard, and it was shaved off at the dance with an electric shaver in seven minutes 47 seconds, before 500 people, who had bought tickets to guess the time it would take him to shave. Proceeds go to the RAF Benevolent Fund.

1959: The Swindon-born film star Diana Dors was today delayed for two hours by photographers after her very quiet wedding to Dicky Dawson. The couple were married privately in a New York flat but masses of photographers and American show folk went to town afterwards jamming into an exclusive Harwyn Club to toast Diane and her ex bus driver husband.

1979: The dynamic duo of Maryjane Bennett and Claire Lewington are the proud winners of the Beatrice Plaum Challenge Bowl for the best all piano duet performance at Swindon Music Festival. Maryjane of Okebourne Park and Claire of Quilford Avenue, Swindon, from Lawn Junior School also won gold medals for winning their duet class.

1979: Thamesdown's decision to cut the price of a Turkish bath for pensioners has received the cold shoulder, for all the arts and recreation councils agreement to knock 50p off the new £1.50 charge, following a storm of protests. The pensioners are angered that they now have their time halved at the baths. The £1 charge was a compromise concession to the pensioners who complained to Swindon MP David Stoddart.

THURSDAY, APRIL 14

1949: A Swindon young contralto, Jeanne Lewington, won the first prize and gold medal in the open contralto class and second prize in the contralto classical air class at the Bristol Eisteddford. She was commended by the adjudicator Dr Herbert Howells.

1949: Six new magistrates, including two women, have been sworn in for the Swindon Borough Bench. One of the women, Mary Lowe, is the wife of Dr John Lowe, Medical Superintendent of Stratton St Margaret Hospital, Stratton. She is a former member of the Swindon Town Council, she is standing for election as the South Ward independent candidate in the municipal elections and is a member of the Swindon Business and Professional Women's Club.

1959: Major General G E Fanshaw, St John Ambulance Brigade Commissioner for Wiltshire, presented an enrolment certificate to Colin Ricks at the inaugural meeting and enrolment ceremony of the Walcot West St John Ambulance Brigade cadets in Walcot West Junior School.

1959: Mr K Knapp of Manor House, Rodbourne Cheney, Swindon gave a talk to the Rodbourne Cheney Townswomen's Guild meeting, on the history of Rodbourne Cheney over more than 1,000 years. He told the ladies of the origins of the name and showed them a copy of the entry referring to Rodbourne Cheney in the Domesday Book and a picture of the church 100 years ago.

1979: Swindon's furious gas men have predicted a major escalation of their industrial action, unless they are given a fair deal from their union and the gas board. The town's 80 gas men are disgusted with the 9.5 per cent pay offer from British Gas. But they are even more annoyed with the union negotiations as they feel they have been sold down the river. The prospect of a walkout across the whole of the gas board in the South West is now growing.

1979: The Mayor of Swindon, Ashley Roberts, presented a clock to Joe Selwood, who is retiring after 51 years with the Queenstown Club, Swindon. Mr Selwood is treasurer of the club and he also received a framed certificate from John Knox, secretary of the Wiltshire and Western Counties Branch of the Workingmen's Club and Institute Union.

FRIDAY, APRIL 15

1949: Home on leave after taking part in a recent naval expedition in the Arctic, is electrician's mate Royston Cockram, of the aircraft carrier Vengeance. For him the trip was full of interest and excitement. Roy's parents live at the Stanley Club, Victoria Road, Swindon. Roy was on board when the Vengeance was holed by one of the ice-floes and major repairs had to be carried out.

1949: Swindon Liberal Candidate Doreen Gorsky challenged her opponents to get up on a platform with her for a four-party brains trust, to be held anywhere in Swindon, for a charitable purpose. She threw out the challenge at an open air meeting on the corner of Tennyson Street and Maxwell Street in the town.

1959: It is going to be a swell party at the Conservative Hall in Swindon when Mikell Allison, eight and his sister Alma, six, say a rousing farewell to all their friends in Swindon, before they leave with their parents for America. 40 guests have been invited by Staff Sgt Bennie Allison, who is baker at Burderop USAF Hospital. He is making a three tiered cake especially for the party.

1959: The Advertiser Cup final rehearsal between Highworth Town and Ferndale Football Club resulted in an 8-1 win for Town. Victory puts them one point ahead of their victims and 12 points behind Lambourn, the leaders, with nine games in hand in the Premier Division of the Swindon and District League.

1979: A mystery boy caused a major alarm at Wroughton's Barbary Castle when he found an unexploded bomb. The boy, thought to be about 12, found the mortar bomb in a tree, a few yards from the beauty spot. Instead of leaving the dangerous 1939 to 1945 war shell alone he put it on a footpath just yards from hundreds of sightseers. Bill Gibbs of Deacon Street, Swindon, saw what happened and rang the police who called in the Army bomb squad and they removed the bomb.

1979: Green fingered thieves have got away with this year's most unusual haul in Swindon - a giant umbrella plant. The 6ft plant complete with huge pot was stolen from outside a pensioners's flat in Welcombe Avenue. It has been on the first floor outside the flat for three years.

SATURDAY, APRIL 16

1949: More than 40 years ago Tommy Titcombe threw up his job at the Swindon rail works to become a missionary among the cannibals of the Sudan. He has come back to Swindon, spending a few days holiday with his niece, Mrs J Comley, of Wiltshire Avenue, and he will preach at the Railway Mission. Rev Thomas Titcombe went to the Sudan in 1906 and joined one of only two missionaries in the country.

1949: A high standard is reached in the Royal West of England Academy's 96th annual exhibition which begins its three weeks showing at the Arts Centre in Swindon today. The 69 works, all orthodox, include oils, water colours and drawings. Paintings of particular interest are by artists known to Swindonians, such as Hubert Cook and Mervyn Levy.

1959: Lechlade Parish Council has decided to ask Cirencester Rural Council to hand back the old fire station, with the undertaking that the parish council will put it into a reasonably safe state of repair or demolish it completely. The decision was taken at a meeting of the council, presided over by Mr H P Harrison, who has been a member for 30 years and has now decided not to seek re-election as chairman.

1959: Wendy Reed, 15, of Limes Avenue, Swindon, appeared on Carroll Lewis' Junior Discovery TV programme this week. Wendy has one great ambition, to gain a place on the senior version of the show. Wendy has just left Pinehurst Secondary School. She can tap dance, ballet dance, sing and she does a whistling act. She has won 18 talent contests already.

1979: Swindon's school children may face more classroom chaos as the town's biggest teachers' union started a major pay battle. The National Union of Teachers is planning to plunge the town's 53 schools into a new crisis by stopping all voluntary activities. Teachers are furious with local authorities for refusing to meet their demands for a 36.5 per cent pay increase.

1979: Swindon Town's biggest League crowd of more than seven years saw their side outwitted and out manoeuvred by slick Swansea at the County Ground. The Town battled manfully but lost by 1 goal to 0, in this Easter holidays clash of the promotion rivals.