Looking Back, Friday, September 7, 2012

By Jamie White

Friday, September 7, 2012

 

100 Years Ago - September 7, 1912

A Ryde man was summoned for obstructing passengers on the Esplanade by touting.

PC Swan said he saw the defendant stop ten people on the footpath, forcing several people to walk in the dirty road.

He was trying to convince people to ride in one of his carriages rather than walk.

The bench fined him 2s 6d with 8s 6d costs.

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A special dinner was held to celebrate the opening of the new head office and printing works of the IW County Press.

The directors of the company entertained the builders and their staff, along with staff from the CP.

The new building was in Newport High Street, opposite the Guildhall.

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A former Cowes apprentice was charged with burglary.

At a court in Portsmouth, the 18 year old, who until recently lived at Cowes, was charged with entering a property in Southsea and stealing a pair of binoculars, valued at £4.

The teenager had gained entrance to the property by cutting a hole in the glass.

75 Years Ago - September 11, 1937

The sailing master of Shanklin Sailing Club, Bert Kemp, was notified of an unmanned vessel drifting in The Channel.

The master of a Belgian trawler noticed the 11ft dinghy drifting and raised the alarm.

It was thought to belong to a member of the club’s Lymington Scows, which had broken free from the shore, three weeks earlier.

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Tragedy struck when an aeroplane crashed into a boat.

When deck landings were being practised on the HMS Furious, the aircraft carrier, anchored between Portsmouth and Ryde, an aeroplane crashed on the deck and went overboard.

The pilot was killed and the plane lost and the boat suffered some damage.

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The annual swim from Southsea to Ryde attracted 19 entrants.

Though overhead conditions were bad for spectators, those for competitors were good and some excellent times were recorded.

The finishing line was off the eastern Esplanade at Ryde, with Mr E. R.G Jones, from Bristol, coming first, in two hours.

50 Years Ago - September 8, 1962

A Birmingham family of four, on holiday at St Lawrence, were among eight people injured in a car crash in fog on Blackgang Road, Niton.

The accident involved two cars and a gas delivery vehicle and all were severely damaged.

The seven occupants of the cars were taken to St Mary’s Hospital.

The driver of the gas vehicle was shaken.

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A Ventnor man devised a novel indoor table game featuring the Island.

It was a board with a map of the Island, and on the throw of a dice, players progressed, on the snakes and ladders principle, from three ferry points, Ryde, Yarmouth and Cowes to the centre of the Island.

Some of the squares were linked with treasure chest and pot luck features and landmarks included Parkhurst Prison and Sandown Airport.

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Residents in Brading had a lucky escape after a car rolled down a hill.

The unoccupied vehicle careered down the grass on Brading Down and plunged into a chalk pit.

No-one was injured but the car was extensively damaged.

25 Years Ago - September 11, 1987

Islanders were involved an attempt to break the world land yachting speed record in the Falkland Islands, on Christmas Day.

Captain Alan Collins was the manager of a team from the Royal Engineers, whose aim was to become the first to do more than 100mph on a land yacht.

The record was held by a Frenchman and stood at 87mph, but the Island team was hopeful of breaking it.

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A holiday camp sailing instructor and his two visiting students were rescued off Yarmouth.

The man was taken to hospital in Ryde after he hurt his back.

Their Wayfarer capsized in rough seas and the three occupants were thrown overboard, two of whom were slightly injured.

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An East Cowes man was revived by firemen after collapsing in the road following a fire at his home.

Mr Baxter was taken to the Royal IW County Hospital, Ryde, where he was treated for shock and discharged.

Flames flared up into the eaves and set the roof on fire, causing damage to roof supports, rafters and ceiling joists.

10 Years Ago - September 6, 2002

The public were warned not to play with a dolphin that delighted bathers at Island beaches.

The nine-foot bottle-nosed dolphin was seen in Compton Bay and off Ventnor, playing with swimmers.

However, the RSPCA warned people to be careful when playing with the dolphin as its behaviour could often reflect that of a wild animal.

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A farmer who erected a giant bull in his field looked likely to need the skills of a matador to fend off planners.

The nine-foot Rill bull was located near Chillerton and attracted a lot of attention after it was put there to liven up the countryside.

The Island’s chief planning officer, Chris Hougham, said he believed the bull would need planning permission for it to stay.

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The troubled scheme to pedestrianise Newport appeared to have been dropped in the face of a public outcry over its consequences for residents.

The sixth proposal by the IW Council did not include pedestrianisation but residents at a public meeting were warned they would chip away at the new option at their peril.

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