100 years ago - October 12, 1918

An ISLAND petty officer, PO Binstead, returned to IW shores from German captivity.

One of the Naval Brigade, he was captured four years previously from a train that crashed in Belgium. He was taken with 900 others to a Roman Catholic Church and he said the abuse the Germans made of the place was shameful.

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The Ministry of Food appealed to the public to exercise greater care in the consumption of bread.

It said: “The more imports that are saved, the more American troops can help win the war. The public will have itself to blame if bread is rationed.”

75 years ago - October 16, 1943

A Royal Artillery gunner died after receiving serious injuries in a road accident along Brading Down.

The 33-year-old single man was riding a motorcycle along the road at nightfall when he collided with a military truck.

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Members of the IW branch of the National Farmers’ Union proudly claimed: “What we do today, the nation does tomorrow.”

Many of the initiatives pushed by the Island branch, such as a ‘lend-lease’ scheme where the best possible use of farm machinery was made on a co-operative basis, were later mirrored by the nation.

50 years ago - October 5, 1968

The IW Townswomen’s Guilds met for a one-day school and exhibition on human rights.

Chairman of the IW Federation, Mrs Webster, reminded the group that 1968 was Human Rights Year.

Speakers from the University of Southampton’s law department talked about how it was launched to make the UN Declaration on Human Rights more widely known.

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The preliminary plans to turn Ventnor’s Royal National Hospital into a recreational and sports centre were revealed by the council’s engineer and surveyor.

Members and officials of Bognor Regis Council visited and shared ideas on development proposals.

One member told the County Press they thoroughly enjoyed their visit and the site had great potential.

25 years ago - October 8, 1993

Newport town centre ground to a halt for more than an hour when floods caused chaos on a busy Saturday afternoon.

A short, sharp spell of heavy rain took the town by surprise — cars came to a standstill along the High Street and some shops had to close.

A highways maintenance engineer said: “The level of water in the High Street was so bad at one stage, traffic could not move.”

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Princess Anne joined in the 21st anniversary celebrations of the IW Group of the Riding for the Disabled Association.

The Princess met civic dignitaries and IW group members before watching young riders from St Catherine’s School, Medina House and Watergate School.

A member said it was the biggest ever event for the association.

10 years ago - October 10, 2008

The staggering cost of the Island’s obesity epidemic was revealed.

The County Press reported it cost £41.9 million nationally to treat and deal with the overweight and obese.

Local health chiefs welcomed a national drive to make Britain healthier, pointing to the huge costs of treatment and special equipment to deal with the overweight.

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Eleven employees, including a woman who had worked for the company for nearly 30 years, were locked out of their workplace.

The IW branch of LSUK was shut down over the weekend after the chain went into administration.

Staff turned up for work to find the locks changed.