Monday, March 28

1949: A petition with more than 2,000 signatures against Swindon Town Council's decision to build houses on The Park, Moredon, is being handed in at the Civic Offices. The Park is a well known beauty spot.

1958: About 350 Jehovah's Witnesses from 15 congregations in Wiltshire, Berkshire and Hampshire were at the opening of an assembly at Headlands School, Swindon. At a Ministry School which followed, one of the student speakers was Mrs D Churchill of Swindon, a former school teacher.

1979: Swindon stores clerk, Eric Arnold, had to walk home from work when he was told of his £50,200 win on the pools. He was so in shock he left his wallet behind. Eric from Berrington Road, Park South, didn't even have the 12p bus fare.

Tuesday March 29

1949: The Mayor of Swindon, Alderman W J Davis, was accompanied by Mr Compton Mackenzie, when walking from the Town Hall to perform the opening ceremony of the new public library in Swindon.

1958: Tagg's Island on the River Thames at Hampton Court has been bought for about £100,000 by Robert Rennie of Twatley Manor, Malmesbury. He intends to develop it as a holiday centre for Londoners. He also bought a casino.

1979: The World Development Movement which fights for the rights of the developing Third world countries, will be in Swindon this weekend. About 50 South West members will attend a training conference including information about local elections. The chief speaker in the Friends Meeting House, Eastcott Hill, in Swindon, is John Tanner, chairman of the World Development Movement's Europe committee.

Wednesday March 30

1949: More than £2,000 worth of stock was destroyed in a fire that gutted the Henry Street Bakery. Five horses from an adjoining stables were saved by retired employees who live near the premises. Three fire engines from Swindon fought the blaze, and all 12 employees who work in the bakery have been transferred to the Stratton Road premises.

1949: Prompt action has prevented the closure of the Swindon Swimming Bath. The Great Western Railway Medical Fund Society ceased to function and it looked as if the baths might close. The County Council had entered into negotiations to buy the entire block of property but it was recommended that Swindon Town Council should carry on the baths.

1959: The fine afternoon drew a large number of visitors to Coate Water in Swindon for Easter fun. Several hundred people turned up and all 12 rowing boats were hired out. A children's Easter tea dance showcased a display of dancing from Walcot Juveniles, led by Margaret Townsend in the Walcot Common Room.

1959: Roy Norman Sellars, 26, whose parents still live at Pinehurst Road, Swindon, has passed an audition at the Wigmore Hall Studios in London and is now awaiting another audition for a show on ATV television. He previously worked in the Swindon Railway Factory.

1979: A serious outbreak of whooping cough is sweeping through Swindon exposing children to dangerous lung damage. The outbreak has alarmed Thamesdown district community physician, Dr Desmond Steede, who blamed the high rise of cases on parents failing to have their children vaccinated.

1979: Singer/dancer Steve Whatley from Maidstone Road, Swindon, has landed himself a part in the award-winning musical The Canterbury Tales, which opens at the Shaftsbury Theatre in London. Steve has also appeared on the Marti Caine TV show and has done filming for TV in Spain as well as playing panto in Swansea.

Thursday, March 31

1949: Wroughton has more than £100 it cannot give away, and the annual parish meeting was told it forms part of the charity which pays ten shillings and six pence to girls entering domestic service on leaving school. The council fear if the girls do not apply for the money it would be lost to the parish.

1949: Swindon Community House Fencing Club's return match with Farnham Royal Club at Swindon resulted in a draw, the men losing 11 bouts to five and the women winning 11 bouts to five.

1959: Trained by her sister Marlene, who at 15 is one of the youngest teachers of dance in the country, six-year-old Beryl Wexler of Staverton Way, Penhill, Swindon has passed, with honours, the Royal Academy of Dance's primary ballet examination.

1959: Swindon Town broke even from their trio of Easter matches with three points, with any satisfaction over the 2-0 win over Colchester being wiped out by a bottom grade goalless draw with Doncaster Rovers.

1979: Bayonets fixed, drums beating and standards flowing, servicemen from RAF Lyneham will march through the streets of Swindon to mark the 15th anniversary of the servicemen's freedom of the borough. Mayor Ashley Roberts will take the salute.

1979: A petition of 1001 signatures was handed in at a parish meeting, bulging with angry residents in Chiseldon. About 300 people voted overwhelmingly to reject a move to establish a gipsy camp on the site of the old army camp.

Friday, April 1

1949: For the second time in a week Swindon fireman have turned out to rescue a cat. Passers-by called the fire brigade when a cat was spotted stranded on the roof of the Post Office in Gorse Hill. The Wiltshire County Fire Brigade Swindon used a 30ft extension ladder to bring it down.

1949: The moment Britain has awaited for 10 years, when the lights go up again, arrives at 7pm tomorrow. Electric neon signs and brilliant fluorescent illuminations of every hue will be switched on all over the country. Public buildings all over the West will be lit including town halls like Swindon.

1959: Bugler Trevor Ellison, 20, of Hook Street, Wootton Bassett, a regular soldier, has sounded the general salute when the Duke of Gloucester visited the 3rd Green Jackets, the Rifle Brigade, who are stationed in Germany, in his role as Commander In Chief.

1959: About 300 square yards of grass behind Westlecot Road in Swindon caught fire. Sparks from a passing train caused the blaze. Swindon Fire Brigade quickly had the fire under control.

1979: Robert Stredder is no April Fool. Robert, of Groundwell Farm, Swindon, set off on a sponsored bike ride from London to Bath in aid of the Sport's Council's London to Brighton Bike ride.

1979: There were 100 entrants from Swindon school children in the poster competition, organised by the British Dental Health Foundation. Swindon Town players coach John Trollope presented the winners with their awards at a ceremony in Boots, Swindon.

Saturday, April 2

1949: Battle of Britain Week arrangements were discussed by a committee of members of the RAFA, and representatives of Swindon firms. Last year the week raised £600. This year there will be an evening concert and the Western Players will perform a grand play. There will be dances and a commemorative service.

1949: When an Evening Advertiser journalist visited Longleat House, the young Marquess of Bath told of days gone by when England's mansions would wash their stairs in ale, to make them white. "Longleat stairs were as white as snow,'' she said. "One would have no qualms about eating off them.''

1959: Park North's Tenant Association at Walcot, Swindon, has started an Over 21s club. The opening was held at the Peploe's Farm, the old farm is loaned out by the Corporation to local organisations. At the first meeting 50 tenants attended and chatted over tea and sandwiches before playing table tennis and board games.

1959: Swindon's own Spiritualist Church and Healing Sanctuary, formerly a private house in Devizes Road, which was purchased and converted by the Spiritualist National Union, was dedicated last night, when about 150 members of the Swindon Church and representatives of other spiritualist churches in the South West attended.

1979: Swindon Robins collected their first victory of the season, exacting full revenge for their 43-35 defeat at the hands of Poole, when they pulverised the Dorset club. Star of this return match was Bob Kilby who became the first Swindon rider to score a maximum this season.

1979: Rumours of a British Leyland Japanese connection looks like becoming fact. If a tie-up between the British car giant and the Honda company is concluded, Swindon's Pressed Steel plant is likely to land slap in the middle of the deal.