On this day from Monday, October 31, 2016

1960: Swindon's Ray River jazz Band took the stand for the Students Association Halloween Dance at the Swindon Technical College. The dance was held in the Burkhardt Hall, decorated with a wide variety of the witchcraft symbols associated with Halloween. About 160 people attended. Each number was introduced by the band leader and trumpeter John Cole.

1970: The new Swindon Technical College at North Star Avenue, was topped out. The workshop and link block have not been occupied and the lower tower block and communal sports hall should be ready by August. Costing £1m the college has been designed by Charles Pike and Partners.

Tuesday, November 1
1950: Six charities have benefited from the latest production of the Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan, presented by the Swindon Musical Society. £150 was given to the charities as part of the Swindon Jubilee celebrations.

1960: Back in his Selarang (Malaya) barracks after a Military exercise in Borneo, where he keeps in close contact with the United States Marines, is Cpl Dennis Dodson, son of Mr S Dodson, of Gladstone Road, Swindon. Cpl Dodson joined the Army as a Regular in 1955 and three years later went with his battalion to Malaya. He spent three months fighting Communist terrorists in the jungle before spending time at the School of Jungle warfare.

1970: A team of Swindon Young Socialists, from the Labour Party, represented the South West in the Finals of the Young Socialists Speaking Contest, held at Yeovil. The team, with Mr Martin Walter as chairman, chose Comprehensive Education as their subject. The main speaker was Miss Janet Angell. It was the first time the Swindon Young Socialists had taken part but they were beaten by Exeter.

Wednesday November 2
1950: Swindon still has a waiting list of 2,150 applicants who are in need of housing, but more than half of them can not expect to be housed for over a year. There are 291 houses being built, contracts have been accepted for a further 112, and tenders will shortly be invited for another 34 at Moredon. Of the proposed 1,500 houses in Penhill the first 300 will start next year.

1950: Daughter of former Swindon Town footballer, Jack Johnson, Mrs Dorothy Maskell of the Duke of Edinburgh, Cricklade Street, Swindon, has been appointed secretary of the North Western Women's Branch of the Swindon Conservative Association. During the war she served in Swindon as a member of the Women's Auxiliary Police Corps.

1960: Staying with his cousin, Bobby Tanner, David Kingswell, 14, thought he would have one last look at the chemical set, which had so interested them both since he came down from London to stay at Corsham Road, Penhill. David was waiting for the car to take him to London when he started mixing chemicals in the built-in cupboard of a bedroom. Suddenly there was an explosion! David's jacket was scorched and a window cracked but he was unhurt when the Swindon Fire Brigade arrived. 

1960: A local crew is to take part in the 300-mile British Automobile Racing Club car rally. The rally entrants are Ken Hemmings of Cricklade Road, Swindon, a representative of a Swindon engineering firm, who will drive the car, and his navigators Master Engineer Bill Ross and Staff Sergeant Mike Gantley of RAF Lyneham. The 300-mile rally will take 12 hours. Ashley Higgs of Cumberland Road, Swindon is one of the rally marshals.

1970: The wicked witch of the west opened the grand Halloween Bazaar held by the NSPCC at the Moose Hall, Swindon. All the produce on sale had been made by members. The bazaar raised £100 for the charity funds.

1970: The Swindon Head Teachers Association annual dinner was held at The College within the catering restaurant. The meal was prepared and served by the catering students. The guest of honour was M D W Robson National President of the National Association of Head Teachers.

Thursday November 3
1950: A record entry of 564 of all kinds of breeds from a Miniature Poodle to a Great Dane had made it necessary for the committee to hire a marquee for the judging of the larger breeds at Swindon's largest post war dog show at Church Place Drill Hall.

1950: A member of Swindon Townswomen's Guild, Mrs Dorothy Nettlefold of Cricklade Road, Swindon, has left on the first stage of her journey to Malta, where she will join her husband who is an officer in the RAF. She was accompanied by her two sons, Michael, who has been a pupil at Headlands School in Swindon, and Roger. They are expected to stay for two years.

1960: The hunt for Lady Chatterley was on in Swindon as local booksellers reported one of their most fantastic mornings ever. Would-be readers besieged large book shops to plead for copies of the much publicised D H Lawrence novel. Most of them telephoned lodging their orders from a distance!

1960: The Swindon Artists Society exhibition went on show lighting up the gloom of a rain-soaked Swindon. The display, in the foyer of the Central Library included a diversity of styles and colour in the works of art, the majority of paintings were in oils and among them were landscapes by Mabel Burton. There was portraits by Mr B Rigg and small sculptures from Norah Edington and many more pictures for sale.

1970: Songs of Praise, the BBC's hymn singing programme, is being televised at Swindon Baptist Tabernacle. The singing will be led by the Swindon Citadel Corps of the Salvation Army. Geoffrey Wheeler will introduce the hymns. About 1,000 people will take part including choirs from other churches.

1970: The first of six pelican pedestrian crossings in Swindon have come into operation and the town's road safety officer, Ted Beachamp, is faced with the task of explaining them to 24,000 children. By the end of the month he will have visited all the schools with a half scale model of one of the crossings, talked to the children and conducted practice sessions outside.

Friday November 4
1950: Swindon got no hints as to its future from Aneurin Beaven, Minister of Health, who opened a local government exhibition at Swindon Town Hall. Mr Bevan discoursed on the town's history emphasising that it was a town made by the ordinary men and women and not one that had grown under the influence of a castle. It was, he said, a product of the Industrial Revolution.The exhibition gives an insight into the growth of Swindon from 1900 to 1950.

1950: An exhibition of heirlooms were an interesting and unusual feature of the monthly meeting of the Wroughton Women's Institute. Among the exhibits was an embroidered silk waistcoat, 150 years old, a pair of Jacobean gloves, a hand-worked christening robe, calendar for 1944 measuring an inch square in a leather case. New members were welcomed and the speaker was the Wiltshire County Drama Adviser Mr Crawhall.

1960: Swindon Oriental Jazz Club re-opened at McIlroys Ballroom with a return visit by the Sims-Wheeler Vintage Jazz Band. They were introduced by Uncle Bonny, the promoter, and Tony Bowd the club manager. The drummer's solo proved most popular.

1960: Keith Baker, 22, sailed off for the United States expecting to be away for a year but now his parents, Mr and Mrs R E Baker of Upham Road, Swindon are expecting him home for New Year by way of Moscow and Leningrad. He was chosen after an audition from the Cornell University Glee Club to make the annual Christmas tour, which includes Russia and a five day stay in London.

1970: Man's future depends on whether people can control population,'' said the naturalist, Peter Scott, when he spoke to pupils and parents at Hreod Burma School in Moredon. Each form year chooses a famous person after which it is named, and the present fifth year chose Peter Scott, renowned for his work with the World Wildlife Fund. Melanie Turner presented a bouquet to Mrs Scott and Roy Dicker gave a donation from the whole fifth form. Peter Scott stayed for a Question and Answer session.

1970: When the Burmah Oil Company moves its headquarters to Swindon it will save the firm £500,000, Mr B Storrar, general manager of the Swindon project, told the Wiltshire Branch of the Institution of Works Managers. The move is planned for 1973 and about 50 per cent of staff were expected to move with the company. There was a programme of trips to Swindon to show them the area.

Saturday November 5
1950: Ever since she was a tiny tot Shirley Randall has been mad on dancing. She studied at Mrs Cull's Victoria School of Dancing, gained footlights experience in Mrs Townsend's Juveniles and appeared in Mother Goose at Swindon's Empire Theatre. Now at 15 she is rehearsing for her part in Beauty and the Beast at Watford Theatre. She is the daughter of Mr and Mrs H Randall of Upper Stratton.

1950: A former students of Sanford Street School, Cyril John Bradfield, from Ferndale Road, Swindon has just gained a degree as a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery. After leaving Sanford Street School he attended Euclid Street and then King's College, London.

1960: A realistic accident involving two drunks and a moped driver, staged by the Make-Up Casualty Union of Newbury, was the highlight of a team event, when joint St John Ambulance and nursing teams from Pressed Steel factories in Swindon and Cowley competed for the Cockhead Trophy.

1960: A 21-year-old Hungarian refugee Pal Lendvay, who cam to live in Wroughton two years ago, has built himself a sports car. Before he was evacuated in 1956 Pal thought cars were for the idol rich only. Now after three months hard work he has his own smart red sports car.

1970: The Toy Box has opened in time for Christmas shoppers in Swindon's Old Town. It is situated in one of the triangular-shaped shops in Queen Victoria House at the top of Victoria Hill. Proprietor Frank Munns said he was not selling fireworks, instead his brightly coloured goods included amusements, books, dolls, games and educational aids for children from birth to 13-year-olds.

1970: A talk on arts and crafts in the West Country was given at a meeting of the Wroughton Afternoon Women's Institute by Mr W Cruse. West Country scenes were shown on film and crafts ranged from basket weaving to water mills, hedging to lobster pots. The Institute choir was complimented on winning the Barbara Summers Silver Cup at Devizes.