Monday, February 20

1951: Stanley D Jones of Oxford Street, Swindon, who was a Wiltshire finalist in an all Britain film discoveries contest, made a miraculous recovery from an operation to remove a tumour on his spine. Best known on stage as an impersonator, Mr Jones was once a member of the creed telegraphy staff of the Evening Advertiser. He was married in Swindon to Beryl Prince of Morris Street.

1961: About £10 was raised for the Dr Barnado Homes by means of a dance at the Goddard Arms in Swindon. More than 150 people attended the dance which was organised by Mr S Macpherson. Music for dancing was provided by Don Jones and his music.

1971: Housing schemes for Swindon's old people costing £700,000 were approved by the Borough's Council House and Health Committee. There was also approval to step up the hunt for sites in Old Town.

Tuesday, February 21

1951: All West Country branches of the ASLE and F decided on weekend strike action. The Swindon branch, with some 500 men, elected a delegation to attend the meeting in Taunton between representatives of all West Country depots.

1961: Faringdon, an average, peaceful English country town, was the scene of a murder! The murder was the theme of the first novel published by Evelyn Healey, who for many years was the geography mistress at Faringdon Girls Grammar School.

1971: Exactly a year after watching a sister guide receive her Queen's Guide Award, Janet Baxter, 13, a girl guide from the 14th Swindon Company Methodist Central Hall, received the highest honour in the guide movement herself. She had promised her captain she would do it. She was presented with the award by the Divisional Commissioner Miss J McQueeney at the annual Thinking Day Service.

Wednesday February 22

1951: The Mayor of Swindon Ald J Bond and the mayoress opened the Islington Furnishings Co Ltd new showroom at Regent Circus. The firm was celebrating its 70th anniversary at its new premises, which previously had been the Corporation's electricity showroom before rationalisation.

1951: Wiltshire pilot, Sqd Leader A E Callard RAF, test pilot at the Supply Ministry established at Boscombe Down, broke all trans-Atlantic airspeed records with a 2,100 mile flight in four hours 40 minutes and an average speed of 439.64 mph.

1961: Charles Yankanskas of Country Road, Swindon, was a present day Robin Hood. He was a champion archer and disdained using artificial aids to help markmanship such as sights. He won his trophies through instinctive shooting, and scooped the coverted Armada Plate Luttrell trophy for British Open Field Archery championships two years running.

1961: The opening of a branch office in Swindon of the Woolworth Equitable Building Society in Commercial Road was marked by the society with a lunch at the Goddard Arms Hotel, attended by the president of the society, 70 local businessmen and civic representatives.

1971: An army driver, Kenneth Cowdery of East Street, Lacock, flew out of Lyneham with more than 30 letters from Wiltshire people. He took the letters, that would otherwise have been held up by the postal strike, as he rejoined his unit, the Royal Company of Transport, in Hong Kong. He was returning from leave in the UK and volunteered to carry the letters.

1971: Three friars, who took part in the Wootton Bassett Family Fortnight Mission, appeared on BBC TV's Viewpoint programme called Free To Be Free. The friars gave their views on how the Franciscan way of life can lead to personal freedom. They have already visited Wootton Bassett several times and are known in the town.

Thursday, February 23

1951: During the BBC broadcast, Take Your Partners, a square dance was featured which had been danced in Swindon for the last 60 years, but had not been widely known elsewhere. A set of eight old time dancers from Swindon attended the broadcast to demonstrate the correct figures in the dance called The Nationale.

1951: About 130 dancers were present at the East Street Co-operative Hall at the New Swindon Co-operative Society dance, organised by the Employees' Council. Music was played by a trio of employees: Mr Joe Smith, Mrs Williams and Mr B Mason. During the evening Mr H Baker, chairman of the Employees Council presented a gift of a fireside chair to Mr C Thompson, who retired as president of the New Swindon Society.

1961: It was a proud day for two Wroughton airmen, Flt Lt Maxwell Sparks and W O J A Rolleson when they visited Buckingham Palace with their wives. They received the Air Force Cross and an MBE from the Queen Mother.

1961: Awards won by pupils of The Tanwood School of Dancing, Swindon, were presented by Dr H Craig, headmaster of Commonweal School, Swindon. The senior trophy given by Miss Mollie Tanner, the principal, was presented to Barbara Richmond and the junior to Diane Hicks During the last year pupils won 159 awards from the Royal Academy of Dancing and the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance.

1971: Axes and shovels were wielded by young people from all parts of Wiltshire in Savernake Forest for Operation Challenge, organised by Wiltshire Association of Youth Clubs, helping out the Forestry Commission by clearing brush wood and undergrowth and digging trenches to carry water.

1971: During a meeting of the Swindon and District Playgroups Association at the Holy Family Infants School, Mr Ray Dagger, sales representative of a firm of art materials manufacturers, gave a demonstration of his company's products. The 30 members present were then given the chance of trying out paint, glues and mosaics.

Friday, February 24

1951: Swindon's Youth Centres got together and produced an 11 feature concert at the Arts Centre that provided variety and entertainment. Four choirs, an orchestra, a physical culture team, two drama groups and soloists all contributed. With only two days notice the Sanford Youth Centre Drama Group stepped in to perform when members of the Bath Road Methodist Drama group pulled out through illness.

1951: Swindon's Orpheus Choir were selected to represent the West of England at the Bristol studios of the BBC. They were to make a special recording for the London transmission service. The recording was at the request of Empire countries wanting examples of English choral singing to transmit from their own studios.

1961: The social studies group of the Swindon Central Townswomen's Guild visited the Pelham Puppets Factory in Marlborough. Their biggest surprise was meeting two giant puppets which were being prepared for the British Trades Fair in Moscow.

1961: Three young men in search of adventure left Swindon for a weekend of hitchhiking in France. Noel Trinner, 21, Fred Hillier, 20 and John Doggett, 21, colleagues at the Technical Publications office at Vickers Armstrong at South Marston were walking and hitching for 30 miles a day.

1971: Mayor of Swindon Ald John Pass tried his hand with one of the large machines during his tour of C Building at the Austin Morris and Manufacturing Group Body and Assembly Division at Pressed Steel Fisher Plant, in Stratton St Margaret The mayor accompanied by Mr A Hunt and Mr Charles Linton general manager, then watched the professionals at work.

1971: Three widely contrasting plays were presented before a small but appreciative audience at the opening of the Swindon One Act Play Festival at the Arts Centre. Mrs Rosemary Hoget was the adjudicator, judging the three entries from Walcot Drama Club, Royal Military College of Science in Shrivenham and the Lyneham Stage Club.

Saturday, February 25

1951: A congregation of more than 250 Girl Guides, Rangers and Brownies of the North Wiltshire Girl Guide Association attended a Division Association church service at the Wesley Church, Faringdon Road, Swindon. It was conducted by the Rev N Richardson.

1951: A Swindon Women's team won the country dancing (Advanced) class during the final day of the Wiltshire Folk Dance Festival at Devizes. The festival was held at The Corn Exchange and more than 300 people danced to the music of the Moonrakers Orchestra. One of the judges, Mr S A Nibs Matthews was the caller from the BBC's Dance Them Round series.

1961: The Chilean ambassador to Britain, Senor Victor Santa Cruz presented a citation and Air Force wings to Flt Lt Geoffrey Shipway of Wootton Bassett at the Chilean Embassy in London. Flt Lt Shipway was one of four RAF men who were made honourary members of the Chilean Air Force for their part in the relief of earthquake victims in Chile.

1961: A married couple from Swindon, dancing with different partners were winners at a the Wiltshire and Somerset Amateur Old Time Dancing Championships. The dance partners were Maureen Hedges and Mr S Rooke and Eva Rooke and Mr G Timms. The championships were held at Chippenham's Neeld Hall and the music was by Billy Cannon and his orchestra.

1971: Wootton Bassett County Secondary School broke with tradition and cast a boy, David Belcher, as Aladdin in their production. Last year David played the Dame and this year he took the leading role in a cast of 150, including the chorus of 130, that presented the pantomime.

1971: Swindon lead table tennis girl player, Margaret Wolff, had her first recognition with the Wiltshire Table Tennis Association Senior rankings. The Swindon player was recorded at number five.