SWINDON

1952: James Gardner and Elizabeth Acheson, director and stage manager of Swindon Repertory Company, announced that they would leave the organisation at the end of the current production at the Playhouse theatre in the Mechanics Institute. They had both come originally from London, and had decided to return to their home city. The two had given well-received performances on stage as well as working behind the scenes.

1952: Led by Aircraftsman E Stokes of Wroughton’s RAF Hospital, the Wroughton Witness Team held a Christian Endeavour Meeting at Manchester Road Methodist Church in Swindon. Speakers included Senior Aircraftsman Knight and Leading Aircraftmen Beal and Kirby. Aircraftsman Roberts sang solo and Aircraftsman Styles gave a reading. Their mission was to promote the faith throughout the area and beyond.

1962: Teams from Swindon were set to compete in an ITV quiz show called Answer Me This. In the first round of the contest, which involved about 30 towns and cities across the region, Swindon was to meet Bath at the Pavilion, with the mayor and mayoress going along to offer moral support. Each round was to consist of two competitions, one for adult teams and the other for juniors.

1962: Almost 100 babies were entered in the annual baby show at St Barnabas’ Church in Gorse Hill. They included two-and-a-half sets of twins, as one twin was unable to attend. The judges included a senior matron from the RAF Hospital in Wroughton, and the babies were assessed on various points of health and temperament. The results were due to be announced within a few days.

1972: The Swindon branch of the Tobacco Workers Union, whose members worked at the Wills cigarette factory, said it would be pressing for a 35 hour week and a £35 minimum weekly wage at the union’s conference in Scarborough the following week. The branch also called on the industry to be more generous with overtime payments.

1972: The country was in the midst of a scare involving a craze for exotic bean jewellery, as some of the beans on the imported items were discovered to be highly poisonous species. Swindon’s public health officials reported that the latest batch to be handed in by worried local people included bangles, necklaces and brooches.

THE WORLD

1793: The Reign of Terror, in which thousands went to the guillotine in the French Revolution, began.

1809: Franz Joseph Haydn, Austrian composer, died in Vienna.

1837: Joseph Grimaldi, English clown of stage and circus, died. His stage motto was “Hence, loathed melancholy” and for 14 years before he died, he was so crippled that the landlord of his local tavern had to carry him home every

night.

1859: Big Ben, in the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament in London, first began recording time.

1902: The Boer War ended with the Peace of Vereeniging.

1910: The colonies of the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, the Transvaal and the Orange River Colony united to form the Union of South Africa.

1910: Lord Baden-Powell’s sister, Agnes, announced the formation of the Girl Guides.

1916: The Battle of Jutland was fought in the North Sea.

1927: The last “Tin Lizzie” car came off the production line, almost unchanged since it was introduced as the model T Ford in 1908.

1930: Don Bradman became the first Australian to score 1,000 runs in England by the end of May.

BIRTHDAYS

Clint Eastwood, actor and director, 88; Terry Waite, Anglican emissary and author, 79; Sharon Gless, actress, 75; Tom Berenger, actor, 69; Joe Longthorne, entertainer, 63; Brooke Shields, actress, 53; Colin Farrell, actor, 42.