Memory Lane

AT Bromsgrove Petty Sessions, Rose Cooke, of St John Street, appeared to answer a charge of using indecent language within the hearing of St John Street.

PC Shayler said the defendant committed the offence at 12.30pm in the evening, and used bad language again when approached.

Cooke argued she may have said something but not the nasty words he attributed to her, and it was because she wanted a separation from her husband who had knocked her about terribly. 

In fining her 10s, the chairman of the bench said her conduct had been disgraceful.

THE Worcestershire and the War section reported on the death of Private Walter Court of the 2nd Worcesters, who lived in Meadow Road, Catshill.

The 22-year-old had been killed in action in France. He had seen a lot of fighting, twice being wounded including once with a bullet to the head.

The Messenger reported on the death of Private George Ernest Blunn, of the 3rd Coldstream Guards, The Lickey.

The 33-year-old had died in France.

There was also a report on Private Albert Hall, of Blackwell Street.

The 29-year-old was a member of the 4th Worcesters and had died of wounds received in action, leaving a wife and a child.

October 29, 1965.

THE village of Fairfield was in danger of ‘dying on its feet’ – a barrister suggested at a local inquiry at Bromsgrove Rural Council House. 

Geoffrey Green spoke on the diminishing number of children attending the local school, the increasing elderly population in the village, and dwindling support for communal activities in the village.

Mr Green suggested more houses should be built in the village at the inquiry into the council’s refusal to permit the use of the site of Yew Tree House for housing development.

THE Messenger included a picture of a huge concrete pipe being unloaded onto the site of the new Bromsgrove Fire Station in Windsor Street.

The building was expected to be completed by February, 1967.

October 25, 1990.

OFFICIALS at a Bromsgrove football club claimed it was at the centre of a vicious vendetta that had resulted in a catalogue of vandalism and arson.

In the latest vandalism, a mystery message reading “November 5, 1990” was hacked into the turf at Fairfield Villa’s Recreation Ground.

The club’s owners were concerned about the future for the club, and the vandalism had followed the unpopular plans of the club to extend facilities at the site.

The first incident had happened in 1988, when the trainer’s dugouts were burned to the ground.

IT had been announced Jacqui Smith had been selected as the prospective Labour candidate for the Mid-Worcestershire constituency – including Droitwich.

If she managed to win the seat she would be the first woman MP in Hereford and Worcester, and at 27 the youngest.

The Redditch resident said: “My age and being a woman are an advantage because the majority of voters are not middle class men dressed in suits.”

COUNCIL tenants living in flats in roads in Charford and Catshill looked set to be able to soon receive an extra 10 new television channels.

Although council policy did not allow satellite dishes to be erected on council flat blocks, the housing and health committee had given the go-ahead for a mini-cable system to be installed at the flats.

Cable television could also soon be added to council flats in Sidemoor.

A DROITWICH man was brought back to life by a friend after his canoe capsized.

Paul Chadwick was helping to supervise a week long course for children at a quarry in Malvern, when his boat got into difficulty.

He fell into the cold water, and was rescued by instructor Mike Forecast.

Mr Forecast resuscitated him on the quarry bank, then took him to hospital when he recovered after two days.

Memory Lane is compiled from the papers dating back to the Messenger's first edition in 1860. The papers are free to view at Bromsgrove Library, in Stratford Road.

For more information call the library on 01905 822722.