August 29, 1951

This Festival of Britain year, towns and villages have been urged to erect something that will be of lasting value and will remain a permanent reminder of the festival. Newark's week of festival celebrations opened when the mayor unlocked the new gates to the Castle grounds.

Gates were also chosen at Kirklington where the village blacksmith made new wrought-iron gates for the church yard. At Balderton a disused hall has been converted into a library.

The villagers of South Clifton put up a permanent reminder of their faith in the future 14 years ago. Entirely through their own enterprise they built their Coronation Hall in Mill Lane. On Saturday they celebrated the Festival of Britain and the 14th anniversary of the opening of the hall with a gala that raised more than £70. The money will probably go to installing a central heating system in the hall.

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Mr George Beardall, of Nottingham, whose boat Nottingham Voyager is moored at Newark, has received more than 70 replies to his invitation for "nine adventurous men" to man the boat as a trading vessel and invest £1,000 in the company to be formed.

Many of the replies do not merit serious consideration. One man offered a share of £2 million of treasure trove, and a Newark girl wrote to say that she would like to join the crew as a deck hand. Mr. Beardall told the Advertiser that the idea of including women on the boat would not be entertained.
 

August 22, 1951

Hilda Edwards, the 38-year-old Stoke Bardolph cook whose decomposed body was found in a cornfield near Southwell on Saturday was no stranger to the district.
About a year ago she worked for a fortnight as a nurse at Norwood Park, Southwell, the home of Sir and Lady Starkey.

Lady Starkey told the Advertiser yesterday: "She was a quiet girl, most efficient and kind as a nurse."

The body was found by a Maythorne farm labourer, Mr John Robert Drury, in a cornfield near the Kirklington to Southwell road.It was clothed.

Supt. R. Youngs, of the Newark Police Division, said yesterday: "We cannot rule out that there is a killer at large."

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Mr Herbert Johnson of Albert Street, Newark, has been "found" by his twin sister, Mrs Lilian Brooks of Bloxham, near Banbury, after 39 years.
They were parted as babies when Lilian was adopted. Mr Johnson knew he had a sister, but was unable to search for her as he did not know her married name.
Mrs Brooks was in her teens when she learned that her parents name was Johnson and that she had a twin brother called Herbert.

She sought the help of the Salvation Army Missing Persons Bureau and after months of patient investigation they met with success.

The reunion took place in Mrs Brooks' home. The twins recognised each other instantly, apart from the facial resemblance there was the twin affinity which parting could not break.
 

August 15th 1951

As a festival year's contribution, and with a view to bringing back the festive spirit of the old time Norwell feast, the village Women's Institute members staged an outstanding event on Saturday. Owing to unfavourable weather some of the outside events could not be carried through but even then there were enough happenings indoors to cause entertainment and fun. The programme was on carnival lines and the fancy dress with its 60 entries brought out some strikingly original and picturesque costumes.

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Geography teachers at Flintham's Robert Thoroton secondary school will have an easier task when the autumn term begins for 36 children from the school have just returned from a holiday trip to Holland. Six members of the staff, including the headmaster, Mr J. Beard, BSc, accompanied the party. After landing at the Hook of Holland the children moved to Amsterdam. A day was spent in north Holland seeing the famous old cheese market at Alkmaar and the wonderful dyke which encloses the Zuyder Zee, so that the land can be reclaimed for farming.

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Opening Newark and District Horticultural and Allotment Holders' Society Summer Show on Saturday the Mayor, Coun. J. A. Markwick, described himself as "one of the utility gardeners." He said that all his vegetables were eaten before there was time to show them. The show was held in the Town Hall. Mr G. W. Wilson, Chairman, said that the season had been a difficult one for gardeners - the spring was late and cold - but there were still some outstanding exhibits in the show.

August 8, 1951

The Lincolnshire village of Leadenham had an unexpected visitor last week, Princess Elizabeth.

She had travelled by train for Wednesday's graduation parade at the RAF College at Cranwell. But for an unfavourable weather report the princess would have flown to Cranwell in an aircraft from the Kings Flight.

Leadenham villagers had heard of the royal visitor and had taken up vantage points on the roadside more than an hour before she was due at Cranwell.

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Elaborate arrangements to prevent traffic jams in Newark on Monday night were not tested. Heavy rain sent Bank Holiday motorists hurrying inland from the coast soon after midday. At 8pm, expected to be the peak traffic period through Newark, cars were moving into the town at the rate of 550 an hour. Expecting a record number of cars on the roads a diversion was planned for Nottingham and Leicester bound traffic to eliminate Newark's Bottleneck Beaumond Cross.

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Mr Cyril Cooper, of 143 Barnbygate Newark, returned home last Wednesday with his family from a holiday in Germany. The Coopers had been visiting German ex-prisoners of war who were at Newark Sconce Hills camp for three years. Mr Cooper, a member of Newark parish church choir, met the three Germans when they attended the Christmas service in 1946.
 

August 1, 1951

Mr B.C. Dion, of Bancroft Road, Newark, and a Coventry driver and his two passengers all had miraculous escapes from injury on Friday evening when their cars collided on the Fosse Way at its junction with Gunthorpe Road.

After the crash Mr Dion's car came to rest across the road on its near side and he had to open the sunshine roof to get out. No one was taken to hospital.

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There has been a return of fowl pest to Notts and 100 birds were slaughtered at an Oxton farm yesterday. The first point of attack in the county was at Syerston where an outbreak was dealt with last week and some 50 birds killed.

Yesterday's slaughter at Oxton is not expected to be the last, depending upon the seriousness of the other suspected incidences of the disease in the county.

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Mrs Drown, the wife of the new vicar of Holy Trinity church, was the guest of honour at a garden party held on Thursday afternoon by invitation of Mr and Mrs Graham Cumberland when about 60 members of the Southwell Women's Institute were present.

The afternoon began with a whist drive under the trees and, after tea, there were games and competitions. Miss A.M. Dowse, the president, thanked Mr and Mrs Cumberland for lending their garden.