March 25, 1953

Mr E. G. Cade, Newark's first traffic warden, has this week been escorting schoolchildren over the busy Great North Road at Beaumond Cross, Newark.

The introduction of a traffic warden follows a protest by parents who objected to their children crossing the Great North Road unescorted on the way to school.

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Volunteers who will staff Newark's 16 post-air-raid rest centres if the town or district is bombed were told on Monday to look upon joining the Civil Defence Corps as an insurance policy against war.

Mrs A. Craig, the WVS organiser for Nottinghamshire, told the 80 potential rest centre leaders and helpers at a meeting in Newark Town Hall: "If you take out an insurance policy you have to pay premiums. Will you regard your short period of training as a premium towards peace?"

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Newark Cameronian Juvenile Band recently played at a midweek football match, and the children had an unauthorised half-day away from school.

Alderman J. A. Markwick, presiding at a meeting of Newark district education committee, said letters had been sent to parents expressing the committee's disapproval.

Mr R. G. Hamilton said: "There are far too many adults leaving their work to go to football matches and it should not be encouraged in children before they have even left school."

Telling the committee of the circular to the parents, Mr Markwick said: "Without passing any opinion on the Cameronian Band, I think it is very wrong for children to be away from school to go to and play at football matches in midweek."
 

March 18, 1953

While ex-Service associations in Newark have all recently reported decreasing membership and lack of interest among younger people, the Newark branch of the British Legion is enrolling new members constantly, a high proportion of them young ex-Service personnel.

The secretary, Mr L. Hordle, thinks the explanation lies in the fact that whereas the associations cater for only their own regiments, the all-embracing legion receives applications from all ex-Service people.

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Newark will be a town of flowers this coronation year. More than 3,000 red, white and blue blooms will be laid out in the borough's gardens by the parks department.

Parks Superintendent Mr Roland Upton has calculated just how many plants he will need.

The north churchyard will take 5,200 plants and the Fountain Gardens 4,800.

The newly laid out garden at Beaumond Cross will have a coronation motif with a centre-piece of four dozen scarlet roses and 6,840 other plants, and the Municipal Offices, Baldertongate, 2,400.

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After a warm spring day you do not expect a snow plough to rescue a stranded lorry, but that is what happened in Newark on Sunday.

Without moving out of its yard, a Nottinghamshire County Council snow-plough helped a lorry on its way.

Now the police are looking for the lorry driver - and for the wheel he took from the snow-plough when one of his front tyres burst just outside Newark.

The county council's assistant divisional surveyor, Mr William Tombs, who lives at the depot at the junction of Kelham Road and Great North Road, noticed the nearside front wheel was missing from the snow plough nearest the road and the axle was jacked up on a pile of bricks.
 

March 11, 1953

A pageant was staged at Barnbygate to raise money towards Newark's contribution to the Sunday School Union's birthday fund that aims to raise £50,000 for forwarding Sunday School work. Proceeds from the two performances totalled £20.

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Work has started on the foundations of a new out-patients department for Newark Hospital that will cost between £4,000 and £5,000.

Other work being done at the hospital including the fitting of curtained-off cubicles in the Branston (men's) ward to improve privacy.

New floors are being laid in the Branston and Ossington (women's) ward.

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If the practice of home drinking continues what will happen to the old, most honourable and esteemed profession, that of the innkeeper? asked Mr Bert Belfield, secretary of the Newark branch of the Licensed Victuallers' Association on Thursday.

He was opposing on behalf of the 83 members of the association an application at the Newark Borough Licensing Sessions by C. Pratt and Sons (Lincoln) Ltd for a beer and cider off-licence for their wines and spirits shop in Kirkgate.

Mr Belfield said that half Newark's licensees were supplementing their incomes with other work. 'Any further competition to our already depleted trade will put us further into the mire,' he said.

The branch granted a licence for the sale of cider only.
 

March 4, 1953

The sixth birthday party of the North Muskham Women's Institute was held in the Church Hall.

Mrs Staniforth welcomed visitors from Balderton, Coddington, East Stoke, Farndon, Norwell and Sutton-on-Trent. Mrs Simey of Thurgarton was the guest of honour and cut the birthday cake.

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To safeguard Newark Castle, the town council decided on Monday to allow an estimated £5,000 to be spent on strengthening the river bank.

Coun L. Heaton said experts had warned there was a possibility of some parts of the wall collapsing into the river if nothing was done.

Coun Heaton said there were several contributory cases to the weakening of the bank. It had been said that the new lock was one. Old age was another.

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A shelter in Beaumond Gardens, London Road, Newark, erected by Newark builders free of cost to the ratepayers, could be the industry's coronation year effort, suggested Coun R. A. Hurst, president of the Newark and District Association of Building Trade Employers.

"This scheme can go ahead if the operative side of the industry would be willing to contribute the labour necessary to erect the shelter. This, I feel, would be forthcoming," he said.

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More Newark teenagers are going to Sunday School, and more young people are in the congregations at Newark Parish Church services, said the vicar of Newark, Canon G. W. Clarkson, in his annual report to the Parochial Church Council.