100 years ago — March 19, 1910
A HORSE attached to a milk float bolted in Park Lane, Ventnor.
The animal broke free and collided with a private carriage, belonging to a Bonchurch resident.
The occupants of the carriage were shaken but not seriously hurt.
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A party of revellers trying to make their way home from a dance in East Cowes were thrown overboard when their boat hit the floating bridge.
The bridge had stopped running for the night but the group managed to get a lift onboard another vessel.
They had not travelled far, when the boat hit the bridge and several people were thrown into the River Medina.
One of the group managed to pull the others to safety and the boat continued en route to Cowes.
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A Newport labourer was involved in an accident while working at West Medina Cement Hills.
The man had been steering a wheelbarrow along a plank, when it slipped underneath him, causing him to break his ankle.
He was put on a stretcher and taken by train to Newport, before being taken home by his mates.
75 years ago — March 23, 1935
A couple who married in Brixton, London, went on a tandem honeymoon to the Island.
Mr and Mrs A. J. Lang wanted to travel the Island by bike to take in the scenery.
The bike they travelled on was made by the bridegroom, who was a cycle dealer.
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Anti-aircraft gunners from the 219th IW Battery of the 57th Wessex Brigade gave a demonstration on Eastern Esplanade, Ryde.
A Jersey service plane played the part of the enemy craft and the gunners pretended to shoot down the plane.
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A lorry driver from Whitwell was fined for driving a motorcycle without lights on.
The court heard the man was driving from Godshill towards to Ventnor, accompanied by a pillion passenger.
The driver blamed a faulty generator for the problem. He was fined 5s.
50 years ago — March 19, 1960
The first of three air and sea rescue vessels being built for the Ministry of Aviation, by Groves and Gutteridge Ltd, East Cowes, successfully completed trials in The Solent.
The vessels included a target-towing winch, so a fast-moving target could be used for gunnery practice.
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Work started on British Railway’s flamboyant scheme for improving the car ferry service between the Island and Portsmouth.
A dredger began widening the channel at Fishbourne, so a new slipway would create enough room for two new car ferries.
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Two boys were charged with the larceny of a loose leaf album of stamps, wortg £200, as well as miscellaneous stamps and covers. There was also damage to a chalet in Gurnard.
After guilty pleas, both the parents and boys were fined.
25 years ago — March 22, 1985
There was a reported sighting of the Island’s mysterious big cat at Baring Road, Cowes.
The Gurnard woman said she saw a labrador-sized, leopard-like animal in a garden opposite Solent Middle School.
It was her second sighting of the creature in as many months.
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The rate of unemployment on the Island rose again, pushing it to more than three-and-a-half per cent above the national level.
The total number of jobless people, at 7,435, was considerably higher than the 6,814 for the same period last year.
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Requests for a gas supply to be installed in Rookley were turned down by Southern Gas.
A letter from the company said the nearest suitable supply was three-and-a-half km away, at Arreton.
Southern Gas said it could not afford the £160,000 to install a supply.
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The Island’s new High Sheriff was Victor Gordon Walker, a retired consultant surgeon, of Binstead Road, Ryde.
Mr Walker was born in Australia and came to England in 1943 as an air force medical officer, before moving to the Island in 1954.
10 years ago — March 17, 2000
An eleventh hour objection by English Nature ruined the IW Council hopes of preventing Military Road from being severed.
Coastal manager Robin McInnes said: "We were very surprised to get this late representation from English Nature.
"If the Military Road is severed, traffic will have to be diverted into Brook Village, where the roads are not capable of taking two-way traffic."
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A new Red Funnel pontoon, costing £500,000, was opened in Cowes.
Commuters were given a breakfast of coffee and croissants to celebrate.
The pontoon marked the start of major regeneration work on Cowes waterfront, to open up the whole area to the public.