100 years ago

September 14, 1918

The chairman of Newport Town Council’s sanitary committee reported the man in charge of the sewage disposal works had met with a serious accident by falling into a sludge tank and being overcome by gas. Although he was retrieved quickly by colleagues, his arm was injured and poisoning set in, leaving him seriously ill. At the age of 76, he said had no wish to return to his duties on his recovery.

75 years ago

September 11, 1943

Tightening up of by-laws, which required ferry passengers to produce their tickets on embarkation, caused consternation with some regular travellers, who said the staff knew they already had tickets so they didn’t need to show them. One man appeared at the County Petty Sessions for refusing to show his ticket on the Cowes to East Cowes floating bridge, despite having a period ticket. The defendant was fined £2 and told he had caused a lot of unnecessary trouble.

50 years ago

September 7, 1968

Apprehension about The Great South Coast Bank Holiday Pop Festivity, as the organiser styled it, proved unnecessary. The event, held at Hell Field, Ford Farm, Godshill, throughout Saturday night, passed off almost without incident. An estimated 9,000 fans made their way to the remote field. The only damage of note was caused by fans who wandered through a field of barley belonging to Holden Farm, Roud, and caused up to £40 worth of damage.

25 years ago

September 10, 1993

A Bonchurch cottage was sold to an advertising executive, who saw it advertised while he was 7,000 miles away in Hong Kong. He purchased Grange Cottage for £84,000 without visiting it. Once he did get to his new home, he reported he was pleased with his acquisition.

10 years ago

September 12, 2008

The IW County Press announced it was switching to tabloid format after 124 years as a broadsheet. Research found 87 per cent of readers wanted a smaller format, instead of having to spread the paper out on the floor or across the dining table.