100 Years Ago - December 16, 1911
A FIERCE gale caused widespread damage across the Island, particularly in seaside towns.
In Ryde, 80mph winds caused 30ft waves, which broke over the Esplanade, damaging the sea wall, ripping away benches and pulling down trees.
Cowes and East Cowes were hit with heavy flooding, while boats were sunk and the wall around Northwood Cemetery collapsed from the rain water.
Rough seas crashed on to the Albion Hotel in Freshwater and hundreds of tons of chalk fell at Watchmen Bay.
Waves broke over the pier in Ventnor, where timber staging, put up by construction workers, was washed away.
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A report by the executive committee under the Disease of Animals Act revealed the Island was free from swine fever.
Island farmers had been concerned about the disease, particularly in regard to the cleansing and disinfection of vehicles used to transport animals to Newport Market.
Farmers were told they could clean their animals in Newport to protect them from contracting the disease.
75 Years Ago - December 19, 1936
Union Flags fluttered in the wind at Newport’s Guildhall in honour of the accession and 41st birthday of King George VI.
Large crowds braved the wind and rain to celebrate the occasion, which included a performance by the 2nd Battalion Queen’s Royal Regiment.
The mayor of Newport read the proclamation, before the National Anthem was played, which was followed by a hearty cheer for the King.
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The Island was set to benefit from a new electric railway line between Portsmouth and London.
It was hoped the electrification of the line would provide Islanders more opportunities to visit London and increase tourism on the IW.
More trains would be added to the service and the journey time would be reduced by 20 minutes.
50 Years Ago - December 16, 1961
A new £6,000 laboratory was set to be built at Ryde School.
Speaking at the school’s Speech Day, the headmaster, Mr R. McIssaac, said plans were in hand to build the new laboratory, which would be twice the size of the woodwork room.
The laboratory would cater for physics and chemistry and it would include a preparation room and facilities for sixth form students.
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A block of eight bed-sitter flats for the elderly, the first of their kind, were opened in Freshwater.
Opening the flats in Sunset Close, High Street, chairman of the Rural District Council, Mr F. Hollis, said there was a great need for homes for the elderly.
He said 30 of the 90 applicants for housing in West Wight were from elderly residents and there were plans to add more properties to the site.
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A dangerous wreck was causing concern in Whitecliff Bay. Pieces of the wreck, believed to be the remains of a naval patrol vessel, which had beached in the bay sometime between 1914 and 1918, were moving about the beach.
Most of the wreck was below the water at high tide but a number of visitors had been injured while looking at it.
25 Years Ago - December 19, 1986
A ten-acre theme park and a conference centre featured in £15 million plans to develop a 116-acre site around Westridge Leisure Centre.
Revealing details of the theme park, Robert Ball, director of Westridge Estates Ltd, said the scheme would feature a series of pavilions, each with a different theme, all connected by walkways.
It was hoped the park would offer a range of all-year-round activities, while the conference centre would be purpose-built for functions of all types.
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Structural faults in one of the main cell blocks at Albany Prison resulted in 68 prisoners being transferred to jails on the mainland.
A spokesman for the Home Office said the faults in D Wing made it impossible for prisoners to remain, as the block was unfit for use.
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The accident and emergency department at St Mary’s Hospital had to be closed due to a shortage of doctors. The hospital was unable to fill the vacancy of full-time emergency doctor and Islanders were advised to use the hospital at Ryde instead.
10 Years Ago - December 21, 2001
The Island’s economy and scores of workers were dealt a further shattering blow with news another major employer had run into serious problems.
Teknacron went into administrative receivership with its operation at the IW Airport, Sandown, shutting down with the loss of around 60 jobs.
It followed the announcement of 650 redundancies at GKN Aerospace Services.
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A woman was left devastated when two classic cars she was looking after were destroyed by fire.
Charlotte Trzebski, of Brading, and her four-year-old son had a lucky escape from a Ford Fiesta, which caught fire in a garage after she started it up.
But the Fiesta was parked next to a 40-year-old Wolseley and a classic white VW camper van, both worth thousands of pounds, which she was looking after over the winter.
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Long-serving lollipop lady Isabel Saban called it a day after 32 years of seeing youngsters cross the road safely in Brading.
Mrs Saban, 72, began patrol crossing in 1969, shortly after her youngest son, Douglas, started at the primary school.
She became a familiar figure at the school and a number of the children she knew as pupils had become parents themselves.