Rewind...to February 3-8, 1968

One was the semi-derelict station, while the other has since passed into local legend.

It was 18 months since the water feature known as The Cube was put up in The Parade at a cost of £3,500 – or roughly £55,000 at today’s prices.

The work of respected if obscure sculptor Geoffrey Wickham, it was seven feet to an edge, cast in concrete sections and had internal lighting and water pumps. It stood in the middle of a large square pool.

Unpopular from the outset, by the beginning of 1968 it was already becoming the beslimed vandal-magnet that would be removed in the late 1970s.

In response to a single reader writing to criticise the edifice, we invited other comments and were deluged with venomous words. We printed some of the best.

A reader called B Walker wrote: “It would be very fitting if the characters who voted to squander our money could be chained to the Thing for a few hours on a Saturday.

“That would improve the scenery.”

MC Coleman of Wanborough said: “I suggest that it should be moved to the gardens in front of the Civic Offices where we can at least be sure the poor thing will be appreciated – if only by those responsible for its existence.”

Mrs L Beckhelling extended the ire to sculptor Wickham: “The fee claimed by whoever designed it should be given back to the town to be used for much better purposes. Let’s have it filled in and leave it for walking space.”

Then there was LS Weatherley, who noted: “When it was new it was not even an example of good workmanship.

“The various layers did not register, and the corners we chipped. Anyone who had any dealings with concrete could have predicted the horrible sight the Thing now presents.”

Geoffrey Wickham died in 2005, aged 85. Some of his obituaries mentioned his work appearing in Swindon but none gave details.

Also under attack that week was a much older structure. The decrepit Swindon station building awaited replacement by the modern structure on the site today.

Dusting off our soapbox, we wrote: “One despairs of what visitors, especially foreigners, must think if their first impressions of Swindon are formed at the station with its dirty walls and peeling paint.

“One man incensed at the conditions he found there is Mr WA Kendall of Kenleigh, Shaw, a lecturer at The College, Swindon.

“Last week, waiting for an early train to London, he took refuge from the cold in the platform waiting room.

“At 8.30am he found the floor was filthy and uncleaned, he said. Three chairs had been torn and the stuffing was bulging out. The lino was in a shocking state, dirty, torn and patchy.”

Following a visit of our own we added: “The tunnel which leads from the ticket control post to the platforms resembles a medieval dungeon with paint cracked and peeling.

“Long fingers of slime caused by water seeping down from the platforms above periodically decorate the discoloured walls.”

Swindon MP Francis Noel-Baker chose that week to announce his decision to step down in the near future.

The occasion was Swindon Labour Party’s annual dinner, and members greeted the news in shocked silence.

The MP said: “For personal reasons I must now leave politics at least for the next few years.

“I should like to thank my Swindon friends in all political parties and in industry, for their co-operation and kindness throughout my time as MP here and to wish you, Mr Chairman, and all your guests a very happy and successful future.”

Mr Noel-Baker went on to manage his family estate on the Greek island of Euboea.

He died in 2009, aged 89.

Another Adver story that week was headlined: “Mrs Swindon fears the price of meat.”

Our ‘Mrs Swindon’ was housewife Priscilla Bennett, of Cranmore Avenue. We’d recruited her to help us with a series of pieces on the cost of living.

We’d love to hear what she’s doing now, but back in early 1968 she was running a household with a total weekly income of £19.

Her weekly grocery bill came to a little over £3, but she was worried by the rising price of meat. Bacon, for example, was now six shillings – 30p in today’s money – per pound.

IN OTHER NEWS...

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1968: “TO the 1,000 youngsters who packed the Locarno ballroom, Swindon, on Saturday night, The Human Instinct were a rave pop group. But there was more to them than that. The group were playing with an unusual attachment, the brainchild of bass guitarist David Greer. Attached to the guitars is a small microphone, which allows them to move about freely during their performance. David recently made an appearance on BBC1 television programme Tomorrow’s World which looks at new inventions.”

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1968: “SWINDON is now receiving a good colour picture on BBC2 since the opening of the new transmitter at Beckley, Oxford. The station has been in operation since Saturday and will be putting out test programmes until February 17 when it will start full transmission. An Advertiser reporter was unable to find any fault with the Oxford picture.”

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1968: “A COUPLE whose hobby has really paid off are Jim Yates and his wife, for on Saturday they will be Swindon’s only dog breeders in the famed Cruft’s show in London. Mr and Mrs Yates, of Eastcott Hill, are entering their champion chihuahua – pet name Jennie Wren, pedigree title Pentre Bach Pip Emma from Weslon. Three-year-old Jennie Wren is a sable-coloured smooth-haired bitch and is worth about £250. It qualified for Cruft’s by winning several championships up and down the country.”

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1968: “A CONSIGNMENT of 4,900 stand tickets for Swindon Town’s FA Cup (fourth round) tie against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough next week is ‘missing in the post.’ The tickets were sent off by the Sheffield club on Tuesday morning by registered post but have so far failed to turn up in Swindon. ‘It is all most embarrassing,’ said Mr RA Morse, the Swindon secretary. ‘We were assured by the Sheffield club that we would receive the tickets on Wednesday morning and announced our intention to start selling at 2pm. The only thing we have been able to do is take the money and the season tickets from the people who turned up with season tickets, and promise them that we will send their tickets as soon as they arrive.”

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1968: “PROBLEM teenagers affect Australia just as much as they affect England, Mr John Huston told Swindon Rotarians yesterday. Mr Huston, a young Australian journalist who is now a sub-editor on the Advertiser, was talking about ‘Young Australia’ at the Rotary Lunch at the Goddard Arms. He pointed out that in Australia young people also had plenty of money to spend on cars, drinks and clubs, and this could lead to trouble.”