Many of these newspapers have had articles and photographs cut out
Jan 5 1951
PAPER MISSING
Jan 5 1951
NEW YEARS HONOURS LIST: Mrs RC Coney, Mayoress of Beccles, received the MBE.
Jan 12 1951
PAPER MISSING
1951 Beccles & Bungay MAGISTRATES: Lt-Col FH Kelf and Mr GE Brown were sworn in as JPs at Ipswich.
Jan 19 1951
PAPER MISSING
Jan 26 1951
COAL STOCKS are low, Mr EW Swindells, manager of the coal depot said this week. Only 4 cwt per household can be delivered up to the end of February. Thomas Moy, Ltd, of Beccles railway station said their stocks were exhausted. The Gas works, which usually holds 6 weeks supply of coal only had sufficient for two weeks. There is also a shortage of wood. The YMCA, to which many people go for hot baths, can only offer hot baths on Fridays and Saturdays.
Jan 26 1951
INFLUENZA OUTBREAK has meant that that the Townswomen’s Guild has postponed their annual social until February.
Jan 26 1951
PLANS FOR 16 BUNGALOWS on the Rigbourne Hill Estate have been approved by the County Planning Committee.
Jan 26 1951
WASTE PAPER again required.
Jan 26 1951
BECCLES DARBY & JOAN CLUB had a New Year Party in Blyburgate Hall at which the oldest members were Mr Elijah Clarke, of 16 Queen’s Road, and Miss Emily Clarke, of Waveney Road. Both are 87 and not related. All those over 65 are entitled to attend weekly meetings. [PHOTO p 1]
Jan 26 1951
GOLDEN WEDDING: Mr & Mrs BC High, of 30 Blyburgate, who moved to Beccles 50 years ago.
Jan 26 1951
BORDER PLAYERS, a new group, produce “The Linden Tree” by Priestley. [PHOTO of rehearsal page 3]
Jan 26 1951
ELLOUGH AIRFIELD returned to life when a Meteor Jet fighter landed, which had lost its cockpit cover. The control tower remained closed, with its broken glass and the scars where valuable equipment was ripped out years ago.
Jan 26 1951
REGAL CINEMA to be redecorated. Mr C Kett, the manager, said it will not be closed except for the matinee on Wednesdays.
Jan 26 1951
DEATH of Mrs Maud St John, aged 71,wife of Mr Frank St John, of 32 Station Road.
Jan 26 1951
IN MALAYA, Miss Betty Meadows, aged 18, of Old Market, is working with the WVS at the Galloway Club, a centre for British Servicemen in Kuala Lumpur. [PHOTO page 10]
Jan 26 1951
ELECTRICITY was introduced by the East Anglian Electricity Ltd in 1919.
Jan 26 1951
GAS: The present site is remote from the main part of the town, and particularly from the new housing estates in the south. It has limited possibilities for expansion; the situation near the river was admirable in the days of wherry transport, but coal is now brought by train and as there is no railway siding to the works all freight requires double handling. [PHOTO: page 7: Mr William Etteridge, who has been in the trade for 22 years and Mr Herbert Pilcher, 6 years at work in the Gasworks.]
Feb 2 1951
PAGES MISSING
1951 Beccles & Bungay BORDER PLAYERS present “The Linden Tree” at the County Modern School.
Feb 2 1951
CIVIL DEFENCE has 75 volunteers in Beccles, 58 in the welfare section. Courses are being run in first-aid, rescue and pioneer work. More volunteers are needed
Feb 2 1951
CAR ACCIDENT: Sir Alexander & Lady Rouse, of Northgate House, collided with a telegraph pole at Rivenhall and were taken to Chelmsford Hospital. The car was driven by Sir Alexander Rouse, aged 72. He sustained cuts, abrasions and shock. His wife had a suspected rib fracture.
Sir Alexander is a former Chief Engineer of the Home Office, and a member of the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club. He has lived at Beccles for over a year.
Feb 9 1951
WATER SCHEME: Beccles applies for loan of £13,920 for its part of £329,000 scheme to provide water to the town and the rural districts of Wainford and Lothingland. (Major BW Blower said of Wainford: “Our water system can only be described as medieval”.) Bores at Barsham would provide, through a pumping house and mains to the existing reservoir in Ringsfield Road and others in the district.
Feb 9 1951
LAND FOR HOUSING ENQUIRY: Mr WS Clark (Town Clerk) Beccles Town Council wishes to buy by compulsory purchase powers 11.4 acres of Castle Farm and 2.6 acres owned by Mr J Cole adjoining for housing. It was immediately adjacent to the town’s Rigbourne Hill development. The Council still had 450 applicants for housing. The Council was building 45 houses in the first six months of the year, and the need for more houses was urgent.
On behalf of the owners it was stated that Castle Farm comprised 176 acres – 100 arable and 76 pasture land. The only three meadow usable for grazing in the winter months included two the Council were preparing to purchase.
Feb 9 1951
HOUSES TO BE LET: The Housing Tenants Selection Committee will consider the tenants for 16 houses on Black Boy Meadow and some of the 28 to be commenced on the Kemp’s Lane site.
Feb 9 1951
Z Reservists (Ex Servicemen) to be called up for 15 days training. Mr R Peachem, who works at the Caxton Press, received a letter, giving him a choice of dates. The trade for which he served from 1944 to 1948 no longer exists. He was a clerk in the Filter Room, plotting aircraft.
Feb 9 1951
TRAIN CUTS made. Only six trains a day go to London.
Feb 9 1951
PUB on Rigbourne Hill, not yet built, received a licence for Messrs Youngs, Crawshay & Youngs.
Feb 9 1951
NOT SENT TO PRISON: Mrs Barbara Joan Page, of 133 Rigbourne Hill, admitted stealing from her neighbour. She had two small children, and despite a previous conviction, for which she was sent to prison, she was placed on probation. She fainted in the dock.
Feb 9 1951
MEAT PRODUCTION: It takes three years to raise a bullock weighing 12 cwt, but a sow could produce 16 cwt of meat in 12 months. The breed that gave the best return of bacon was the Large White. This was told to the Young Farmers at Beccles by Mr David Black of Bacton.
When the programme was arranged they had no idea that the meat situation would be as serious as it was at present.
Feb 9 1951
FARM and SEA: Mr Albert Narburgh was born in 1861 at Fleggburgh, He was one of 14 children, all the 11 boys surviving infancy. As a boy he helped drive turkeys to Norwich Market. The birds gave them plenty of trouble for they showed a great desire to roost in trees.
Across the road from the house was an arm of the Broads and he earned money from eel fishing. Later he went to sea from Yarmouth in trawlers for fishing trips of sometimes six and eight weeks. At one time he was captured by the Germans. A submarine surfaced in the middle of the fleet during the First World War. The crew boarded the fishing boat, removed everything they wanted, including all the brass fittings, and then took the men for questioning. The Captain remarked, “This fighting is a nasty business”, and soon let them go. [PHOTO page 10]
Feb 9 1951
HUTS on ELLOUGH AIRFIELD: 141 families living in huts will have their rents reduced by 2s 6d a week, but they will pay for their own electricity through meters.
Feb 16 1951
NEWSPAPER MISSING
1951 Beccles & Bungay CURATE of BECCLES, Rev TR Vanderbeek became Rector of Worlingham. He was given a presentation by Ingate Church in recognition of his services.
Feb 23 1951
NEWSAPER MISSING
Mar 2 1951
NEWSAPER MISSING
Mar 9 1951
FLIXTON HALL: Plan to purchase the Hall and 250 acres for development as an agricultural institute.
Mar 9 1951
NFU Secretary of Beccles branch retires: Major WJ Artis after 21 years. The Duke of Grafton said “The belief that the day of the horse was over was wrong. You will find that horses can be used a great deal in lots of ways, and they can do the job the job more economically and better than a tractor can do it. The difficulty is to get the young men to work horses.”
Mar 9 1951
ADMIRAL JOHNSON retired 14 years ago and has served Beccles well. He sets out for Australia where he will spend a long holiday with his brother Bernard Johnson who emigrated in 1902 and is sheep farming in a big way at Crochdantigh in Queensland on a farm of 13,000 acres, 300 miles inland from Brisbane.
Admiral Johnson is 69 and joined the Navy in 1900 and served for 37 years. He was in the China War of 1900 and in 1904 was appointed secretary to Admiral Sir Doveton Sturdee, Bart, until his retirement in 1921. He was at the Battle of The Falklands in December 1914 and Jutland in June 1916. In the former Sir Doveton was Commander-in-Chief of the British Force which destroyed the German Pacific Squadron under Von Spee, who went down with his flagship, the Scharnhorst.
Mar 9 1951
Admiral Johnson was awarded the DSO for his part in the Battle of Jutland. After the war he was Fleet Accountant Officer in the West Indies, China and the Mediterranean, and Resident Naval Officer at Colombo, Ceylon. He returned to England in 1934 as Port Accountant Officer at Plymouth. He moved to Meadowcroft, Beccles on retirement in 1937. He was returned at the head of the poll when he stood for the Council and became Mayor in 1945.
On his return to England Admiral Johnson will live in London.
Mar 9 1951
CHORAL SOCIETY to render Handel’s Messiah at St Michael’s Church. They gave their first performance on 20th of February 935 of Handel’s Judas Maccabeus
Mar 16 1951
NEWSPAPER MISSING
Mar 22 1951
MAYOR CHOSEN for a fourth term, Mr JE Coney. He was elected Alderman in 1949 and has been Mayor since 1947.
The rate of 23s in the pound was approved by the Council. The Allotment Holders’ Association had been warned that their premises in the old Fauconberge schoolroom at St Mary’s might be required for a Hospital Training centre, but this had been found to be unsuitable accommodation.
36 coloured engravings by George Morland offered by Captain Poyser on permanent loan to be hung in the offices of the Municipal Buildings in Kilbrack.
Mar 29 1951
NEWSPAPER MISSING
Apr 6 1951
BORDER PLAYERS produce “The Winslow Boy”.
Apr 6 1951
DEATH of Mr Charles Gardiner, aged 63, of 41 St George’s Road. He was employed by William Clowes & Sons as a compositor. He had been secretary of Beccles Caxton Amateur Athletic and Social Club for 15 years.
Apr 13 1951
GELDESTON FLOODS: Some houses were flooded in Station Road Geldeston. One house near the Bridge on Gillingham Dam had water in its kitchen.
The water separating the Locks Inn from dry land had risen to a depth of five to six feet. The landlord, Mr FAR Morris, was again using a boat.
On Wednesday, Beccles quayside resembled a lake, the road and grass both sides of it being covered with water. Water was even creeping up Fen Lane washing against the sides of Mr Bartram’s Mill.
Apr 13 1951
MEADOWCROFT, until recently the home of Admiral Johnson is to become a privately run home for old people run by Mrs Utting of Bungay.
Apr 13 1951
YMCA: “I feel there are too many clubs in Beccles for the YMCA to flourish these days,” said Mr NER Gates (the President) at the AGM of the YMCA. “The recreational classes and the Youth Club, both of which have the backing of the education authority, affect our membership.”
Apr 13 1951
TRADESMEN’S TOKENS: Death of Mr AJG Stimpson, aged 95, was probably the oldest citizen of the town. He had a collection of 2000 tradesmen’s tokens including 101 out of the 108 issued in Suffolk. The most valuable, because of its scarcity was a token struck in 1795 for Thomas Miller, a Bungay bookseller. Only about 20 had been made when the die broke and no more were produced. His was in perfect condition, being still wrapped in the paper in which it had been wrapped, by the maker.
The Beccles Halfpenny was designed by Roger Dixon and made by William Lutwych, both of Birmingham. Altogether three hundredweight were made. The total number of these coins was about 26,000 and the cost worked out at £8 a hundredweight.
Apr 20 1951
BUS STATION in OLD MARKET: A brick bus shelter is to be erected as part of the new bus station. The Council approved a plan to erect a showcase containing a pictorial street map for visitors.
Apr 20 1951
PLAN for FLIXTON HALL vetoed by the Ministry of Agriculture as being too expensive.
Apr 20 1951
GIFT of four etchings by H Davey dated 1818, of Beccles Church have been donated to the town by Mrs Cunningham-Watson.
A BECCLES COIN dated 1794 has been given by Mr PC Loftus for the proposed Beccles Museum.
Apr 20 1951
LAST TRIBUTE at Beccles to Mr JHW Woodrow: Firemen from Lowestoft and Beccles formed a guard of honour at Beccles Parish Church on Monday at the funeral of Mr James Harry William Woodrow, of 118 Rigbourne Hill, Beccles, who died, aged 42, at Beccles War Memorial Hospital.
Born in Beccles and educated at the old National School, now the fire station. Mr Woodrow was employed for 20 years by Messrs Masters and Skevens, builders’ merchants and heating engineers. In his spare time, he was a fireman and was the oldest member of Beccles brigade.
The service was conducted by the Rev WRF Hares.
Immediate morners were the widow, Mr A West, Mr & Mrs A Chapman, Mr & Mrs A Halliday, Mr S Steward, Mrs S Potter, Mr & Mrs H Lines, Mr & Mrs R Bray, Mrs B Borrett, Mrs Beryl Borrett.
1951 Beccles & Bungay AMATEUR DRAMATIC SOCIETY presents “See How They Run”
Apr 27 1951
NEWSPAPER MIISING
May 4 1951
NEWSPAPER MISSING
May 11 1951
LOCAL ELECTION: elected:
PL Hipperson C 1233
Mrs MM White C 1107
CW Betts C 1011
WC Watts Lib 937
Not elected:
EJ Hindes C 900 [who is over 90]
WE Bell Lab 811
Mrs EJ Haxley Lab 737
FH Reynolds Ind 662
Mr EJ Hindes first joined the Council in 1905.
May 11 1951
FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN: United Service at Beccles Parish Church: More than 1,000 attended. The service was taken by the Rector, Rev WRF Hares, assisted by Rev AW Poulson (Congregationalist) Rev V Bates (Methodist), Rev RB Hewitt (Baptist) and Capt TC Turner (Salvation Army).
May 18 1951
NEWSPAPER MISSING
May 25 1951
NEWSPAPER MISSING
Jun 1 1951
NEWSPAPER MISSING
1951 Beccles & Bungay MARSHAL of the ROYAL AIR FORCE, Lord Tedder, was the principal guest at the Mayor’s Banquet on 1 June
Jun 8 1951
NEWSPAPER MISSING
1951 Beccles & Bungay FESTIVAL WEEK opened woth a Fete.
1951 Beccles & Bungay BIRTHDAY HONOURS LIST: Miss Olive Turney, of Barsham, awarded MBE for work in connection with National savings.
Jun 15 1951
NEWSPAPER MISSING
1951 Beccles & Bungay FESTIVAL CARNIVAL NIGHT: A crowd of 3,000 thronged New Market. The highlight was a burlesque in which Beccles Town Councillors were locked in stocks and “held to ransom”
1951 Beccles & Bungay LIVE BROADCAST from Beccles Public Hall for the Midland Region of the BBC programme “Town Forum”.
Jun 22 1951
HOLIDAYS ABROAD popular: Peter Bowen, of Ringsfied Road?, a heavily laden hiker with a Union Jack tied across his pack and innumerable youth hostel badges adorning the shirt, who recently gained his BSc degree was setting out on a 10 week tour of the Continent. He was intending to travel through the Netherlands to Germany and go subsequently to Italy and Switzerland. Half way through his tour he hopes to meet his parents at a Continental railway station, for they too are taking a holiday abroad.
Mr PL Hipperson, the Beccles builder, is on a tour of Sweden with the Eastern Federation of Building Trades Employers.
Jun 22 1951
PROPERTY SALES
LOT 1.) 42 Frederick’s Road, semi-detached house. Purchased by Mr HR Warner at £1,750
LOT 2) 18 Ballygate, house and office, Withdrawn at £975.
LOT 3) London Road: freehold garden and orchard, about an acre, part of The Lions. Purchaed Mr Pye at £480.
Jun 22 1951
ASSISTED YACHT: Inspector J Weaver of the AA, whose home is Methersgate, Upper Grange Road, helped a yacht in difficulties at Southwold.
Jun 29 1951
NEWSPAPER MISSING:
Jul 6 1951
WAVENEY VALLEY RAIL LINE: British Railways letter: “In view of the high cost of operations and the relatively small patronage of the rail service between Beccles and Tivetshall consideration is being given to the closure of the line to passengers.” Buses would run on the route instead. The line would continue to be used for goods traffic. Protests against the closure were passed by Wainford Rural District Council, Bungay and Loddon Rural District Council.
Jul 6 1951
METHODIST CHURCH in Station Road reopened after decoration.
Jul 6 1951
BECCLES PROTEST against the Council’s decision to repair the wall which flanks the gardens of the Municipal Offices in Blyburgate. “Pull down the Wall. Open the garden to the public to whom it belongs” were the slogans on placards carried by 30 to 40 protesters.
Jul 6 1951
SURVEYOR: Mr RWP Piper of Blythburgh, who was educated at the Sir John Leman School has passed his finals exams of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and is senior assistant in the firm of Meen and Collis.
Jul 6 1951
WILL of Miss KERRICH, aged 91, of 27 Kemp’s Lanr, daughter of the late Capt WF Kerrich, of Geldeston Hall, and great-niece of Edward Fitgerald, left £5526 gross.
Jul 13 1951
KEMP’S LANE HOUSING ESTATE: No gas mains to be laid, all houses should be provided with electric cooking stoves and electric wash boilers.
Jul 11 1951
PARISH CHURCH FETE held in the grounds of the White House, Ashman’s Road, by permission of Dr and Mrs SF Smith, raised £225. It was opened by Mrs Harold L Birch, the wife of a former Rector, who was also present. [PHOTO page 1]
Jul 11 1951
BECCLES CHURCHES: At the 299th anniversary celebration of the Congregational Church, Rev AW Poulson stated how good the relationship between the churches in Beccles was. All denominations were present (including Fr JR Brookes of St Benet’s) at the tea before the Service. Fr Brookes said he was proud and delighted to be present and spoke appreciatively of the help he had received from Mr Poulson since he had come to Beccles
Jul 11 1951
BAPTIST MINISTER LEAVING: Rev RB Hewitt is leaving after six and a half years. He is going to the Stowmarket District where he lived in the Great War at Rattlesden, where his father was Baptist Minister. Mr Hewitt is to be Minister of the Baptist Church at Stowmarket.
During his time at Beccles his church has faced big financial problems. The manse was bought in 1945 with a debt of £1,800, but this has been reduced to £400. In the school hall electric lighting and gas heaters have been installed.
Jul 11 1951
WEDDING of Mr Arthur Skeels of Leigh–on-Sea and Miss Maureen CM Elliott, daughter of Mr Maurice E Elliott, (a director of Elliott and Garrood) of Hope Villa, Fair Close. She is an old girl of the Sir John Leman School where she played for the 1st hockey XI and 1st tennis Vi. After leaving school she took a secretarial course at St Peter’s Business College, Ipswich, and was on the staff of a London engineering firm. When she was 17 in 1949 she accompanied her father on a two months’ visit to America.
Jul 20 1951
COUNCIL: It was agreed to produce plans for laying out Municipal Gardens in the gardens of the Municipal Offices in Blyburgate.
Jul 20 1951
SPORTS DAY at the Sir John Leman School: New records were set for the 80 yards hurdles and the high jump for boys aged 13 to 15. The winner of both was John Firth. Other records were set by by Michael Yaxley and Pamela Bedser. [PHOTOS page 1]‘
Jul 27 1951
SIR JOHN LEMAN SCHOOL visit of 48 boys to Southwold to make a tour of HMS Solebay, which had been lying off the town this week. They were accompanied by two masters, Messrs N Simpson and R White.
Jul 27 1951
GUARD OF HONOUR: Lt-Cmdr JA Holmes, son of Mr and Mrs H Holmes of 44 Frederick’s Road, was guard commander when the Queen inspected the Guard of Honour from HMS Truelove at King’s Lynn Festival.
Jul 27 1951
BARSHAM VILLAGE HALL FUND to provide a hall, supported by second annual fruit show.
Aug 3 1951
VISIT FROM CANADA: Mrs Joan Severin who while serving in the WAAF met and married a Canadian airman, who she followed to Canada in 1946 and moved to Sudbury, a city about 1,000 miles from the sea. She, and her four-year-old son, are spending a holiday with her parents, Mr and Mrs B Payne of London Road. She spoke of her new home, where “cars are like bicycles there – everyone owns one and thinks nothing of it. Everyone seems to have a better chance there. There are no shortages.”
Aug 3 1951
NORTHGATE: One of the few modern buildings is Home Port, the home of Mr W Jenner. On the front of the house now hangs a frame carrying three statuettes (two Roman soldiers and a fisherman) and a ship’s bell. On the bell is the legend “Cutty Sark 1869”. He bought it in a shop in Polpero in 1932 with no readable name on it. He soaked it in caustic soda for a month scrubbed it and the name appeared. Mr Jenner came to Beccles in 1945 from Whitlingham where the bell hung on his cruiser the Silver Crest. He has recently hung it outside his house. [PHOTO page 3]
Aug 3 1951
PUPILS of PNEU School, Leman House, presented 5 scenes from “Alice in Wonderland.” Taking part were: Jennifer Brumfitt, Ann Nicholson, Anthony Underwood, Sally Philps, Elizabeth Bunn, Wendy Gore, Judith Hewitt, Sally Hewitt, Tessa Philips, Richard Vinces, Rita Hart, David Meadows, George Rouse, Jeremy Simpson, Karen Wylam, Paul Johnson, Timothy Hunt, Peter Huggett, John Buck, Patricia Thurston, Patricia Goodwyn and Timothy Arnold.
Aug 10 1951
BECCLES GUIDE: Three years ago the East Anglian Magazine Ltd first published an attractive guide to Beccles. The new edition, which has just appeared, has excellent illustrations, especially the one on the cover, which shows the Church Tower and the Town Hall. Among other new pictures are those of the Kilbrack, Municipal Offices and the town sign.
The town’s churches are described by Mr W Fowler, now living in retirement in New Zealand.
Aug 10 1951
HOLIDAY STORMS drive people homeward. Cricket stopped, cinemas full in Waveney Valley.
Aug 10 1951
BECCLES calls for Waveney Valley line to be kept open. Deputation from towns and Rural Districts hope to meet the Minister of Transport.
Aug 17 1951
REGATTA watched by record crowds of between 12,000 and 15,000
Aug 17 1951
PAINTING by Mr WA Aldous, son of the manager of the local branch of the International Stores taken from a print of the town as it was in 1811. He has produced other paintings of Waveney scenes in the Beccles area.
Aug 17 1951
SMALLGATE WELLS: Mr George West, cycle repairer, of 10 Smallgate has a well a few yards from his back door which has been filled in. In the kitchen under a rug is a second well. There is another at the rear of his house on the premises of Bon Marche. Yet a fourth is under one of Mr West’s sheds. Why are there so many wells close together?
Aug 17 1951
MISS WAVENEY chosen: [PHOTO page 5] Miss Shemelia Soanes, aged 16, of Gillingham first, Miss Ena Payne of Beccles, was second and Miss Thelma Soanes, an elder sister of the winner third.
They are all employed in the bindery department of William Clowes & Sons, Ltd.
Aug 17 1951
BECCLES ARCHIVES under the care of the archivist, Mr Eugene Ulph, will be displayed in the Beccles Public Library where two small showcases have been installed, because of a lack of suitable premises for a museum. The contents will be changed regularly. New additions will be shown, including the collection of fossils unearthed at Beccles, which Mr GA Dunn, a former Beccles man, now living in Norwich, has just presented.
The first selection of exhibits, which is now on show, includes a minute book of the Beccles branch of the Bible Society, dated 1816, open at the following resolution: “That a Bible or testament is given to any prisoner confined in Beccles Bridewell on application from Mr Drury, the Governor and with the approbation of the Magstrates.”
Aug 24 1951
NEWSPAPER MISSING
Aug 31 1951
HOLIDAY for ten Beccles County School boys and girls aged 14 and 15 at a Holiday Camp at Filey, Yorkshire. Tey were accompanied by the Headmaster, Mr George Odam and his wife [PHOTO page 1]. They did not pay for their month’s holiday, but in return did three hours work a day. Some were mployed in the administrative offices, others in helping the gardner and others in keeping the camp tidy.
Aug 31 1951
SALVATION ARMY GARDEN PARTY in the grounds of Homefield [PHOTO page 1]
Aug 31 1951
ODD FELLOWS, Temple of Friendship Lodge of the Manchester Unity: Resignation of Edward Johnson Hindes, Provincial Grand Master, the senior trustee. In 1878 he first took office and he had held one position or another since that date. For many years he was treasurer of the Lodge. He was descended from a family of Friendly Society members, his father and six brothers all belonged to Beccles lodge. He became Provincial Grand Master in 1901. For 40 years he was a member of Beccles Town Council, serving as Mayor for seven years including the Great War, and again after the Second World War. For many years he had been a member of the East Suffolk County Council, latterly as an Alderman and for 36 years was a magistrate for Suffolk, sitting on the Beccles Bench.
Aug 31 1951
STATIONMASTER leaving after four years and moving to be stationmaster at West Hartlepool. He has been in the railway service for 37 years, mainly in his native Scotland. He is a Deacon of the Congregational Church and a member of the Choir. He was one of the fonder members of Beccles Rotary Club also a member of Beccles Choral Society. [PHOTO 14 Sep 1951 page 8, with Beccles engine-driver EJ Eady]
Aug 31 1951
VISIT TO VANCOUVER: Mr and Mrs RA Nursey, of Hillcrest, Upper Grange Road, have visited his two brothers who emigrated to Canada 41 years ago when they were 16 and 20, a third brother lives in Sydney, Australia. They come from a Lowestoft family.
They left England on 29th of May on the Empress of Canada, reaching Montreal on 24th of June. Their land trip across Canada took three days and four nights on the Canadian-Pacific Railway. They found wages and the cost of living high in Canada. Tradesmen earn two dollars – about 13 shillings an hour. Meat costs 6 or 7 shillings a pound.
Peple from all over Canada were flocking to Alberta for the oil boom, which appears to be the 1951 equivalent of a “Gold Rush”.
Aug 31 1951
SWIMMING CLUB ended their season when they lost to Lowestoft. Beccles is hampered by having no swimming pool. Some time will pass before Beccles has a pool. The site has yet to be determined.
aug 31 1951
ROYAL NORFOLK REGIMENT First Battalion leaves for Korea.
Aug 31 1951
DEMOLITION of Sudbourne Hall, a late 18th century mansion, once the centre of 11,000 acre estate. The owner is Sir Pete Greenwell, Bart. There are 6 reception rooms and 36 bedrooms. During the war it was taken over by the military, but the cost of repairs is many times the compensation given.
Sep 7 1951
ELECTRIFICATION SETBACK for rural districts, no capital available. Wainford Rural District heard that there was no chance of getting electricity supplies to Spexhall, Liketshall St Lawrence, South Elmham, St Cross, St Margaret and St James at present. “I do not think there is anything we can do at present.” Said Major BW Blower, the Chairman.
Seven additional Telephone Kiosks were available for the whole of East Suffolk. Nine villages in the District required one. Spexhall was nominated to receive the one in the District.
Sep 7 1951
METHODIST ASSEMBLY at Loddon: Rev EB Wright of Beccles, the new Superintendent minister welcomed. [PHOTO page 1]
Sep 7 1951
LEAVING Elliott & Garrood machine shop for Easley South Carolina in the USA are Mr Percy Elliott aged 59 and his wife, who is 58. They live at Sunny Dene Toft Monks. Mr Elliott was born in Beccles and has worked at Elliott & Garrood for eleven years, before which he was in business at Wheatacre as a blacksmith. He has been a local preacher for the Methodists for 25 years. Their only daughter married a US airman at Burgh St Peter Methodist Church in 1945 and lives at Easley.
Sep 7 1951
BECCLES CADET BATTERY was presented with two silver cups by Col RW Brooks, the former commondant. He was present at the hall in April 1904, when about 60 youngsters joined the Cadet Battery. That was the first cadet battery in Suffolk. Since then he has always been connected with the Territorial Army and the Cadet Force.
In August 1914, 350 men were mobilised at Beccles – for their battery, for the 5th Suffolks and for the 5th Yeomanry. It was a little disappointing that their present strength was only 35. [PHOTO page 1]
Col Brooks said the earliest mention he could find was in 1880. [see first ? mention 25 August 1868]. The present Drill Hall was built on the site of a former ironworks in 1901. In 1908 they became a field artillery unit under the Territorial Act, and in 1914 when mobilised from Lowestoft and Beccles and known as the “1st Suffolk Battery, 3rd East Anglian Howitzer Brigade.” They had horse-drawn five-inch howitzers. The battery went to France in 1915 being equipped with 4.5 howitzers, and after serving in France and Belgium went to Egypt and saw service in Palestine and Syria. In 1927 the guns were drawn by tractors, but officers continued to be horse-mounted until 1930, when the Brigade was split, and the 409 Battery 103 (Suffolks) Field Brigade, which the unit had become in 1920 after the war – with 90% of its members who had seen war service – became an antiaircraft unit and so remained for 20 years.
Sep 7 1951
COACH DRIVER FINED for going through the crossing gates at the London Road, and then driving through the other gates. There were 31 other people on the coach – members of staff at Raveningham Hall on an outing to Margate.
The crossing keeper, Percy Hall, of 32 Peddar’s Lane, said he closed the gates at 6.15 am and at 6.16 saw a motor coach coming from Beccles at a very fast speed.The gates were closed and the coach went through them to the other side. The train was 450 yards away. Railwaymen ran on the line trying to stop it.
Sep 7 1951
MAN FINED FOR THEFT: Albert Mervin Evans, 11 Blackboy Meadow pleaded guilty of stealing timber, copper piping, bricks, cement wire netting and other materials from Beccles Corporation.
Sep 7 1951
ROYAL OAK CELEBRATIONS: Charles II fleeing after the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651 hid in a great tree at Boscobel in Shropshire 300 years ago. There are over 700 pubs in the country by the name of the Royal Oak, many are hanging ale-garlands of oak leaves or oak boughs outside the inns to celebrate his escape. They will remain in position until the eve of his embarkation from Shoreham in Sussex on 14th of October. Some innkeepers are giving their customers oak sprays for buttonholes. There are 11 Royal Oak pubs in Suffolk. Beccles has a Royal Oak in Ravensmere.
Sep 14 1951
SANITARY INSPECTOR’S REPORT highlights a problem for owners of rented property. While the rents have been pegged to pre-war prices (in some cases 5s or 6s a week), the cost of repairs has trebled. Many owners cannot afford the costs, but unless the repairs are done, the houses will deteriorate into slums.
Sep 14 1951
PART OF NEWSPAPER MISSING on page 1
Sep 14 1951
WOOD-HILL MEMORIAL HOMES for the aged being built. [PHOTO page 3
Sep 14 1951
MEMORIES of the BATTLE OF BRITAIN 11 years ago: A colleague remembered visiting an unfamiliar part of the district and asking a farm worker his way back to Fakenham, for by that time the direction signs had been taken down and the name of towns and villages obliterated from shop fronts. The farm worker, a stolid cautious Norfolk type, declined to help him: “If you knew the way,” he said, “you wouldn’t ask me; and if you don’t know it, well I’m not going to tell you. You know we’re not supposed to.”
A reporter in Beccles kept a day-to day diary. By day and night the “alert” was sounded in the town 111 times during August and 129 times in September.
Here is a typical note: “Early on Saturday, September 14th 1940, a middle-aged couple living in Worlingham were awakened by a rattle on the roof of their bungalow. Thinking it was caused by the high wind they went to sleep again. A little later they were again disturbed and then found that red-hot plaster from the ceiling was lying on the floorboards, which were smouldering. The house was filled with fumes; an incendiary bomb was burning in the rafters.”
This colleague also remembered an incident reflecting the spirit of the people in those exciting days … It was a Wednesday afternoon in August, and the Harleston cattle market was in progress. Suddenly the attention of the crowd round the auctioneer was diverted by a battle above their heads between a German bomber, which had just attacked the Pulham airfield and two British fighters. “Never mind that,” said the auctioneer, “lets get on with the market.” But he appealed to the inattentive ears of folk revelling in an unusual spectacle, and it was not until these people had the satisfaction of seeing the bomber crippled (it crashed near Starston church) that they again turned their attention to the business on hand.
Sep 21 1951
NEWSPAPER MISSING
Sep 28 1951
NEWSPAPER MISSING
Oct 5 1951
LIBERALS WILL NOT CONTEST seat.
Oct 5 1951
TRADES EXHIBITION put on by the local Chamber of Trade opened by Lady Somerleyton. Afterwards they visited Nightingale Coach Depot, Ravensmere, where an agricultural exhibition was staged by engineering firms from Loddon and Wrentham.
Traders have transformed the Public Hall. A dying craft is represented in the basket making stand of Mr Frederick Markwell aged 72, who saits all day manufacturing his wares from three varieties of willow he grows specially in Beccles. He has been engaged in this occupation for 60 years, but when he retires there will be nobody in the town to take his place.
The millers, Walter Green & Sons Ltd, have won 4 cups and 55 medals in national competitions, have an exhibit of bread made with their flour, fashioned in the form of five loaves and two fishes.
Messrs Nobbs & Goate display the first notice notifying that they were extending their activities from Loddon to Beccles in April 1896.
Messrs Siddall & Kirby has ballet as its theme with oil paintings of ballet dancers and a pair of ballet shoes worn and autographed by Margot Fonteyn.
Bon Marche use subdued lighting to demonstrate some delightful shades of fabric [PHOTOS page 1]
Oct 5 1951
MARRIAGE of Sgt Charles Bates, eldest son of Mr & Mrs A Bates of 58 Frederick’s Road and Miss Joye Wilkins of Birmingham in Kuala Lumpur. Sgt Bates has served with the 1st Battalion Suffolk Regiment, in Malaya since June 1949. The unit recently celebrated the capture of their hundredth bandit, which is a record for any unit according to the length of time served in Malaya. Since then twenty more have been added.
Lt-Col Morcambe, the commanding officer, gave away the bride. [PHOTO page 1]
Oct 5 1951
ALDERMAN of East Suffolk County Council: Mr JS Beddows of Eastleigh, who takes the place of Mr EJ Hindes, who has resigned.
Oct 5 1951
POLICE CONSTABLE, Mr Hugh Andrews, of the Metropolitan Police, son of Mr & Mrs H Andrews of 64 Ellough Road, who at Easter was married to Miss Kathleen Devereux of Blyburgate, was off duty when he saw two men running from a burglary in Hackney, caught one of them, who attacked the Constable, but after a considerable and violent struggle, overpowered him.
Oct 5 1951
CAXTON SOCIAL CLUB’S NEW BUILDING in Gaol Lane, is taking shape [PHOTO page 8]
Oct 12 1951
St MICHAEL’S CHURCH: The transfer of the Curate to take full charge of Worlingham meant that the Rector, Rev WRF Hares, was responsible not only the Parish Church, but also for the Ingate and Ravensmere Mission churches at opposite ends of the town. The Rector said that a Curate would be a very definite asset.
Oct 12 1951
HOUSING: Since the War the Town Council have completed 290 houses, and a further 33 under construction and a further 15 about to be started.
William Clowes Housing Society Ltd have built 56 houses and in addition William Clowes themselves have built ten houses, and neither of these have anything to do with the Labour Government. [Mr Evans the Labour MP had claimed credit for having completed 350 houses in Beccles]
Oct 12 1951
WOOD CRAFTSMAN, Mr James Fisk of Wangford, aged 87, is still at work. Before being apprenticed to joinery, Mr Fisk worked on Mr Merrill’s farm at Barsham where he was born, doing odd jobs such as gathering up the eggs and cutting hay for the horses. Just before he was 14, he was apprenticed to Arthur Pells, of Puddingmoor, at his joiner’s shop down by the water’s edge. His indentures stipulate that he should not marry or visit a public house while apprenticed, and for 1s a week in the first year, rising to 5s a week in the 5th, the apprentice “served his master night and day.” He did better than average, andhis master rewarded him for his skill by giving him an extra 1s a week in his fifth year. After his apprenticeship he moved to various jobs, getting work wherever he could in a difficult time when wages were low and there was little work.
At the beginning of the First World War he moved to the Henham Estate as estate carpenter.
Oct 19 1951
TOWN COUNCIL: SWIMMING POOL: Mr Pye said a Swimming Pool would cost the rates 3½d, not the 11d suggested.
We are not proposing to go in for a pool immediately. The scheme has been approved in principle by the Ministry, but there will be no approval of a grant for some time during the present financial crisis.
HOUSING: The first pair of 28 Council houses being erected at Kemp’s Lane were to be handed over on 26 October and other pairs completed every ten days.
SLAUGHTER HOUSE: 851 animals were slaughtered in September, compared with 434 in July and 890 in August.
HOUSING: The Wood-Hill Memorial Homes Housing Society applied for two sites owned by the Council on which to build houses for elderly people of limited means; One at Grove Road, which forms part of the Municipal Offices’ garden and at St Mary’s Paddock, Ballygate.
Oct 19 1951
DEAN OF SALISBURY, Rev Henry C Robins resigns: He was a Beccles boy, the son of Henry & Mary Robins, in Station Road. Mr Robins was a coal-merchant whose office and coal depot was that occupied by the Co-Op. The Dean was born in Beccles in 1882. He was educated at the Fauconberge School under Mr Raven and became a foundation scholar of Winchester College. In 1915 he married Dorothy, daughter of Sampson Lloyd of Anely Hall, Worcs. He had a rapid and distinguished ecclesiastical career.
Oct 19 1951
250 years ago the first provincial newspaper was printed at Norwich – the Norwich Post – in 1701.
Oct 19 1951
BECCLES CLAY PIPE INDUSTRY
DESTRUCTION of ZEPPELIN in First World War
Oct 19 1951
BEECLES LIBERALS DEBATE which way to vote in General election, there being no Liberal candidate. It was agreed by two votes that Liberals should vote for one of the two parties. Mr R Jones said that tremendous advances had been made in social services. He never heard of children being kept away from school nowadays while their one pair of shoes was being repaired. He could quite understand a Liberal voting for Labour, in spite of excesses in nationalisation, which he felt would settle down in time.
Oct 26 1951
CONSERVATIVE CLUB BOWLING GREEN extended [PHOTO page 1]
Oct 26 1951
DEPARTURE: Mr Walter Jones, of St Withburge’s, Ballygate, has left, after the death of his wife, to live with one of his daughters, Mrs Money of Dumfries, Scotland. He has been a member of St Benet’s Church congregation and was particularly interested in the activities of the Guild of Corpus Christi. Both his sons are Catholic Parish Priests: Rev Kevin Jones, in Norwich and Rev Basil Jones at Thetford.
Oct 26 1951
APPOINTMENT: Mr Graham Murray, only son of Mr & Mrs JM Murray, of Inglenook, London Road, has taken an appointment with the highways and planning department of Hertfordshire County Council. After leaving Sir John Leman School he was an articled pupil of Mr CL Hamby, Borough Surveyor.
Oct 26 1951
DEATH of Mrs Crisp, of 30 Peddar’s Lane, one of the oldest residents of the borough. Her husband, Mr William Crisp, was a railwayman at Beccles, but died some years ago. Her son, Mr Alfred Crisp is the driver of the St John ambulance.
Oct 26 1951
FORMER BAPTIST MINISTER, Rev RB Hewitt, has recently moved to Stowmarket Baptist Church
Oct 26 1951
DEATH of Mr Frederick J Meen, aged 66, of Lyngate, Grange Road. He came from St Olaves, was educated at Lowestoft, and became a pupil of Mr Arthur Pells. He was senior partner in the firm of Meen & Collis. He was responsible for the William Clowes Society’s estate including Merrylees and for housing estates for Wainford and Loddon Rural District Councils.
A member of Beccles Parish Church, he had been a church councillor for many years, and for the last 18 months had been People’s Warden. For nearly 20 years he had been secretary of the Apollo Lodge of Freemasons. Commissioned in the First World war, he served in in France and Galllipoli and was discharged after being wounded. Throughout the Second World War he was Chief Air Raid Warden for the District. He was a member of Beccles sailing Club and was sailing secretary for the Regatta. He was a member of Rotary and a Feoffee. His wife died several years ago.
Nov 2 1951
LABOUR WIN in General Election in Lowestoft :
E Evans (Labour) 23,591,
AH Willets (Conservative) 22,744
Labour Majority 847
In East Anglia there were returned:
4 Labour members, and 9 Conservatives and their allies.
3 Labour members and 1 Liberal lost seats to the Conservatives.
Only one Liberal stood and he was defeated by 2,183 at Eye
Nov 2 1951
DEATH of Miss Edith Hunter in Ipswich, aged 62, formerly of 39 Fair Close, which she shared with Miss Rachel Robinson. She was born in Beccles and was educated at St Mary’s School Bungay. She taught at the old National Schools in Ravensmere and then at Ravensmere Primary School for over 40 years until her retirement in 1948. On Sunday she taught in the Parish Church Sunday School.
Nov 2 1951
NEW STATIONMASTER: Mr EC Purslow, of Woodhouse Mill, has been appointed to succeed Mr F Dickson, who has been appointed Staionmaster at West Hartlepool.
Nov 2 1951
94th BIRTHDAY of Mrs Louise A Killick of Sotterley, who was a housemaid for four years to the Conservative Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Disraeli. She was at Hughenden Manor, Bucks, when Disraeli died and remembers the scenes of mourning. Her husband, who died in 1937, was for many years a liveried footman on Queen Victoria’s staff at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. [PHOTO 9 Nov page 1]
Nov 2 1951
SIR JOHN LEMAN SCHOOL extensions are making good progress with the new school hall, which occupies the site of the former tennis courts. Glass has now been fitted to the tall windows.
Nov 2 1951
BISHOP OF KOREA: Rt Rev Mark Napier Trollope died in 1930. He was a former curate of Yarmouth and was the brother of te late Mr C G Napier Trollope, three times Mayor of Beccles.
Nov 2 1951
RIVER WALL IMPROVEMENT: Work has been taking place for some time to strengthen the Norfolk bank opposite the Corporation Quay and the neighbouring stretch of the river wall. Piling is being undertaken.
Nov 2 1951
CHURCHWARDEN: the late Mr FJ Meen gave professional attention to the re-roofing of the Parish Church and to new interior lighting.
Nov 2 1951
INGATE CHURCH services are to be conducted by Mr GA Wright, of Gartlands, Worlingham Road, a licensed lay reader in place of Rev NH Cox, a former Vicar of Bramfield of London Road.
Nov 2 1951
CONSERVATIVE re-elected for Oswestry: Hon David Ormsby-Gore, son of Lord Harlech, who as Hon WGA Ormsby-Gore, came to Beccles with the Shropshire Light Infantry in the First World War and had his Headquarters at Loreto, Ringsfield Road.
Nov 2 1951
MISS LORNA PYE, daughter of Mr & Mrs Arthur Pye, a former Mayor and Mayoress of Beccles, has just completed her first year as Headmistress of a school at Edmonton in North London. The school has a staff of seven and about 240 pupils. She was a member of the staff before she received the appointment. Mr Pye now lives at Palmer’s Green, North London.
Nov 9 1951
BORDER PLAYERS put on “Before the Party” by Rodney Ackland at Beccles Modern School. “Ida Trevitt, playing the part of Mrs Skinner, undoubtedly steals the show [playing the part of] a feather-brained upper class matron. She is one of several newcomers to the cast.” Other parts were played by Bridget Howlett, Joyce Briggs, Gillian Hipperson, Grace Woolner and Brian Patrick “affords further evidence of his versatility.” [PHOTO 16th Nov page 3]
Nov 9 1951
NEW SCHOOL: [CROWFOOT SCHOOL]: The main entrance and tower have now been completed. The whole building is due to be completed in February at a cost of £76,000. There will be accommodation for 350 children.
“There is nothing about this school to suggest that we are living in an age of austerity. The rooms are being decorated in charming pastel shades, the cloakrooms have drinking fountains, one corridor extends 48 yards, the kitchens where the school meals will be cooked are a housewife’s dream, there is an assembly hall with a warm cork floor, a music room, an ornamental water tower, and accotile flooring everywhere except in the assembly hall. Rooms for a headmaster, a Headmistress and a secretary are other features. Everything seems perfect, but I was surprised at the relatively small number of classrooms. There are only six, plus two ‘practical’ rooms.”
The builders are Day & Sons of Norwich and the number of staff employed on the site is 39. Local labour has been employed where possible. [PHOTO page 1]
Nov 9 1951
DEATH of Mr Sanders Neech, aged 68, of 25 Blyburgate. He had a fish merchant’s business in the town for many years and had been engaged in the trade all his life, until a serious illness two years ago.
Nov 9 1951
APPOINTMENT: Mr WB Everett, the Beccles Town Councillor and Football League referee has been appointed Headmaster of Burwell Secondary School in Cambridgeshire. He has been a member of Beccles Town Council for three years as the representative of the Tenants’ Association. [PHOTO page 3]
Nov 9 1951
FUEL SHORTAGE: Coal stocks in the town are alarmingly low. There are likely to be power cuts as a result of factories, geared for a rearmament drive, consuming more electricity.
Nov 9 1951
ACCIDENT: Lt Col Granville Bake, of the Cage St Mary’s Road, was involved in an accident at Gillingham Dam. He was taken to Beccles Hospital. The other car was being driven by Mr Geffrey Sweetman, a grain buyer, of Essex.
Nov 9 1951
NEW RECTOR of WESTON: Rev HS Verrells instituted as the new Rector by the Bishop of St Edmundsbury (Dr Richard Brook). Mr Verrells has been Rector of Ringsfield and Ellough for the past 18 years. The previous Rector was
CANON CLOWES who was Rector of Weston for more than 36 years, and was killed instantly by an express train while wheeling his bicycle across the main line at Wickham Market station on the way to a service in 1947.
He and his father before him had served the Parish for nearly 80 years. He was a member of the East Suffolk County Council
Nov 16 1951
NEW STATIONMASTER: Mr E Purslow has been Stationmaster of four other Stations: Woodhouse Mill, Sheffield, his last station, Waterhouse, Staffordshire, Royston, Yorkshire and Bolsover, Derbyshire. He has spent 37 years on the Railway. He is married and has one son. He has been a licensed lay reader for the past three years. [PHOTO page 3]
Nov 16 1951
CHORAL SOCIETY PATRONS: Benjamin Britten has joined Dr Martin Shaw as a Patron of Beccles & District Choral Society.
Nov 16 1951
NEW HEADMISTRESS of the new Junior School in Ellough Road [Crowfoot School] Miss AM Wrigley, who moves from Ravensmere School.
RAVENSMERE SCHOOL: Mrs L Chaplin, a qualified assistant teacher at Gillingham, has been appointed Headmistress at Ravensmere School, which will now cater for children up to the age of eight. Peddars Lane School will also cater for children up to the age of eight.
Nov 16 1951
THEFT of LEAD from various places including some belonging to Clarence W Betts of Beccles by six men, two of whom were sent to Prison, was proved in the Magistrates Court. One of the men Alfred Smith, lived in Beccles at Hut 24, Site 3, Ellough Airfield and was fined £10. He was an employee of the owner of the lead and showed the other men where the lead was kept.
Nov 23 1951
SIR JOHN LEMAN SCHOOL performance of the Merchant of Venice, with the Headmaster, Mr RA Bowman as Shylock and Mr E Goodwyn as Bassanio. [PHOTO 30th Nov page 5]
Nov 23 1951
TOWN COUNCIL: SWIMMING POOL: The Surveyor to prepare a revised scheme for laying out a section of the marshes with allowance for the site of the new pool to be constructed on a site adjoining the Avenue.
There would be no undue construction difficulty, as water and sewerage services existed and washout drainage facilities were convenient. The site was central with good transport facilities, and would be an asset on the nearby games pitches. There was a convenient approach from Station Road over the railway bridge and traffic could reach it via Common Lane, where there were parking facilities.
Nov 23 1951
DOROTHY HODGKIN was guest speaker at the Speech Day of the Sir John Leman School held at the Regal Cinema. [PHOTO page 6 and page 1]
Nov 30 1951
HOUSING: New Kemp’s Lane Estate houses show an improvement on previous ones which have cost more. There are no bay windows in the front, but large windows throughout the house which create an airy atmosphere. There are two well-sized rooms downstairs in addition to the kitchen, and three bedrooms include a well-shaped boxroom. There is no lack of cupboard space throughout the house and the bathroom is divided from the lavatory. There is an outside lavatory and a coal house, both being under cover in a direct line from the kitchen. Just behind them is a neat brick outhouse. There is ample garden space. [PHOTOS page 1]
Nov 30 1951
COUNTY PLAN EXHIBITION was held at the Town Hall and opened by Col Sir Robert Gooch (Chairman of the East Suffolk Planning Committee) who said: “In Beccles there were some wonderful buildings which should be preserved, and they would take care to see that development went on in such a way that it was not detrimental to the character of the town. They had a wonderful record in Beccles of preserving ancient monuments, but they had to realise the importance of planning.”
Nov 30 1951
ROAD WIDENING on the Beccles Bungay road to ease a bad bend on top of the hillnear Mettingham Church, about two miles from Bungay. [PHOTO page 1]
Nov 30 1951
FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE: There were no fewer than seven in the immediate area of the town, including the AI Centre at Beccles, which has 4,000 members. The loss of the 37 pedigree bulls there will be a big blow.
Nov 30 1951
TRANSFER OF LICENCE of the Red Lion from Mr FW Colman to Mr BA Roper.
Nov 30 1951
BELLRINGERS WELCOME says Mr Edwin R Goate, (head of the printing firm Nobbs & Goate of Beccles and Loddon) of 51 Grove Road. He is captain of St Michael’s ringers and has been a bellringer for 30 years. He succeeded his father, Mr Rupert Goate, of Crowfoot Gardens, as captain. There are only about three active members in the town itself, but we have to rely on outside help and with the help of ringers from surrounding villages it is possible to man them all.
Veteran member is Mr James Spalding, an octagenarian, who still walks from his home at Dowe’s Cottage, Ringsfield, to and from church to ring at the Wednesday evening practices and before Sunday morning services. Most of the others come from Norfolk parishes between the town and Loddon.
Norfolk and Suffolk towers are full of good bells, and the Beccles peal is one of the best. When the wind is favourable our bells can be heard for five or six miles over the marshes. They are described as “sweet-toned”
Dec 7 1951
CHORAL SOCIETY perform “The Tales of Hoffman” conducted by Mr RH Firth in the Public Hall. [PHOTO page 1]
Dec 14 1951
BECCLES “CRAZY GANG”, a group of Beccles businessmen, who staged a masked ball and cabaret at the Public Hall, raised £60 for the Christmas Appeal for the sick, aged and infirm.
Dec 14 1951
PANTOMIME “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” was presented by the County Modern School. [PHOTO page 5]
Dec 14 1951
WOOD-HILL MEMORIAL HOMES are being built in Blyburgate. The first tenants: for the two- bedroomed dwellings: Mr H Elsey (Hulver) and Mr EA Torbell (Beccles). The two one-bedroomed dwellings Mrs E Mobbs (Beccles) and Mrs FL Snowling (Toft Monks). The house in the centre of the block for the district nurses will be let to the East Suffolk County Council.
Mr AW Denney, who had given the site in Blyburgate, had now made a generous offer of another in Grove Road.
The Management Committee had also approached the Town Council asking them to make available land at the rear of the Municipal Offices on Grove Road and surplus land in Ballygate forming part of St Mary’s Estate.
The Memorial Fund is still in urgent need of money, although £3,000 has been raised by Mr JA Scettrino, the secretary of the fund, £4,500 has had to be borrowed.
Dec 21 1951
HENHAM HALL to be demolished. Messrs Gaze of Diss, Estate Agents wrote to the County Planning Committee saying “It was too large for modern uses” and “the vast reserves” of building material which could be used for other purposes. Briefly you will be aware that this is a very large mansion and although erected to the designs of Wyatt, it was so largely reconstructed in Victorian times that it is not representative of any particular period of architecture. Internally it is very badly planned for occupation, even for industrial or institutional purposes; further it has suffered considerable damage during requisition
Mr RA Mellanby, proposing that authority be given for demolition sauid: “We can only regret the passing of these fine old buildings, but in modern conditions I think we have no alternative.”
Dec 21 1951
CHILDREN at RAVENSMERE SCHOOL prepare for their Christmas party. [PHOTO page 1]
Dec 21 1951
SALE: by Messrs Francis Horner at the Public Hall, St Withburge’s, No 49 Ballygate.
It was purchased by Mr Haverson for £2,200.
Dec 21 1951
PRESENTATION to RAILWAYMAN Mr Eley A Haxley, of Caxton Road, with a gold medal for 15 years first-aid in the railway section of the St John Ambulance Brigade.
He has been a permanent way inspector for nine years. His area comprises the track from Beccles to Tivetshall, from Beccles to Lowestoft, Lowestoft to Reedham and Beccles to Belton. It includes the Harbour Docks and Fish Market and lines to factories. Under his supervision he has 89 men in 16 gangs, and the length of the track is at least 120 miles, and he has to walk the whole length once a fortnight – or 60 miles a week. Each gang is responsible for its own stretch of line.
Floods can undermine the foundations. Mr Haxley recalls one night in 1947 when there was a gale. He got up from bed and went to Beccles Railway Station. After walking the track a little way, he found a signal post across the Lowestoft line, which might have caused an accident. There was hay a foot thick covering the line near Beccles swingbridge. At Worlingham a haystack had been blown across the road adjoining the railway.
Dec 21 1951
COUNCIL has bought land between Beccles Quay and the bridge dividing Norfolk from Suffolk. John Crisp & Son Ltd have accepted £1,000 for the land, cottage garage and other buildings there, and the Council will now apply to the Ministry of Housing to borrow £1,100 for the project.
Dec 21 1951
BECCLES AI CENTRE to be restocked by the Milk Marketing Board after 37 bulls were slaughtered on account of the foot and mouth disease. 13 Friesian bulls, 4 Ayreshires, 4 Dairy Shorthorns and 4 Jerseys are to be transferred to Beccles.
Dec 28 1951
CHRISTMAS TURKEY LUNCH disrupted by electricity failure for two and a half hours on Christmas Day in the Beccles area. A transformer at Stoneham caught fire and the excessive load made it impossible to restore the power for some time.
Dec 28 1951
GOLDEN WEDDING of Mr & Mrs HH Culley, of 3 Pleasant Place. They were married at North Cove Church when he was 23 and she was 24. Mr Culley was born at Pleasant Place, and has lived all his life in the same row of cottages.
A blacksmith by trade, he started work as a newspaper boy, working from 6am to 9 pm for 2s 6d a week. Later he worked for Charles Horsley, coachbuilder, and later for SF Field, agricultural engineers, who at that time had premises in Hungate. For 26 years he worked for Messrs Wigg & Son at Barnby.
Mrs Culley was in service before her marriage, receiving a shilling a week pay and her keep. She recalls a Christmas Eve about 60 years ago when a train crash at Barnby killed several people. Mrs Culley should have been on the train, but she missed it. [PHOTO page 1]
Dec 28 1951
APPOINTMENT of Mr GH Lawson as Editor of the Beccles and Bungay Journal”. For the past two years he has been assistant editor of the Norwich Mercury Series. Mr Lawson was at Becles for nearly 16 years before joining the head office staff in Norwich in August 1945.
Mr DJ Newby is resigning to take up another appointment in the North.
Dec 28 1951
RONNIE RONALDE, the whistler, who spends a great deal of his time in Beccles, both in summer and winter, decided this year to spend Christmas in Beccles, where he held a party at the King’s Head Hotel. His manager, Mr Arturo Steffani, was present, as was his brother, Mr “Nick” Wisker.
Ronnie Ronalde has been booked to appear at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool, in the summer at a recor-breaking fee for a British artist of £1,000 a week.
Dec 28 1951
DEATH of Mrs Ellen P Garrood, aged 84, wife of Mr F Garrood, managing director of Elliott and Garrood Ltd, at Ingate Lodge. She had been a keen worker for the Methodist cause.