June 19, 1970

CORSHAM: A 999 emergency call was received by Calne and Chippenham Rural Council in October 1958 and it posed a problem that has taken nearly 12 years to resolve. The end of the emergency will come at 10am on Monday when Mr and Mrs LW Hutchings, of Clutterbuck Road, Corsham, pack their furniture into a removal van and make a journey of no more than a quarter of a mile to the new home at Arnolds Mead. They are the last tenants to be rehoused from the last of the 999 prefabricated bungalows built in Corsham during the war to accommodate war workers and their families. And they will leave behind a scene of desolation and more reminiscent of a battleground than a housing estate in which theirs was the final habitable home. They leave behind a huddle of crumbling dwellings and an area scattered with debris. The bungalows went up during the war and were intended originally to provide temporary accommodation for workers to build underground factories in the disused stone quarries but these people have stayed to make Corsham their permanent home.

CORSHAM: The navy of today acted as hosts to veterans of two world wars and many other campaigns on Sunday when the Wiltshire British Legion county rally was held at HMS Royal Arthur, Corsham. Hundreds of members from branches in all parts of the county were present and the march past, headed by the two county standards, included the standards of 44 men's branches and 20 women's sections. The inspecting officer, Admiral Sir William O'Brien, Commander-in-Chief of the Western Fleet, delivered the first-ever lecture in the establishment when it was opened as a petty officers' school. "Now in the same place, I am making my first public speech as C-in-C Home Fleet." He said that one of his fellow officers 24 years ago was a certain Lieut Philip Mountbatten, and he added amid laughter: "He has also done fairly well for himself." The navy proved efficient and hospitable hosts. After a parade which was one of the most successful for some years, they offered a varied programme of entertainment for both members and guests. Helicopters from RNAS Culdrose gave a display which included an air sea rescue operation but possibly the most popular attraction on a sunny afternoon was the crossing-the-line ceremony. Willing victims were ceremoniously shaved and ducked in the traditional tribute to King Neptune.

June 22, 1990

BRADFORD ON AVON: Charlie the polecat who has roamed the streets of Bradford on Avon is looking for a home. Animal-lover Mr Joe Almadi of Westwood took Charlie in last month. No one knows how long the four-year-old sandy and black ferret-like animal was at large in Bradford. Now Joe wants to give Charlie to his rightful owner or anyone able to give it a good home. "He would make a beautiful pet, like a cat. In the wild a polecat would catch rabbits and anything moving, to kill it to eat or just to kill it. This polecat's a stupid one - it sees a rabbit and runs away," Joe said. Charlie eats a tin and a half of dog food a day, and milk. He is adamant that the polecat, which is wild in Scotland and Wales, does not smell if it is kept clean. Joe is thinking of holding ferret races down tubes later in the year for charity.

June 17, 2005

TROWBRIDGE: A major revamp of a shopping centre has moved a step closer to becoming a reality but there are fears it will add to parking problems in the county town. Developer Thiyan Investments has submitted a planning application to refurbish and extend the Castle Place precinct in Trowbridge and to build a new multi-storey car park. For the scheme to go ahead West Wiltshire District Council would have to hand over the existing multi-storey car park to be demolished to make way for the new one. Several storeys of the car park offer free 24-hour parking but if the development is approved the owner will have the right to impose car parking charges as they wish. District councillor Graham Payne said: "It is realistic to predict that any developer will not want any more than short term car parking to be available on any replacement provision, thereby maximising the through-put of visitors to the new complex, so where will the displaced long term parkers be accommodated?"