Back Through The Pages: Andover Advertisers from the past

ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FOUR YEARS AGO – FRIDAY 30 MARCH 1860

EXTENSION OF WINE LICENCES

A meeting was held last evening in the Town Hall for the purposes of petitioning Parliament against the proposed extension of wine licences. The meeting was but thinly attended and composed almost entirely of the Teetotal party, by whom it was convened. Mr H J Bracher took the chair, and in opening the proceedings animadverted in strong terms on the proposed extension, which, he contended, would aggravate the already existing evil of intemperance to a great extent. After several speakers, resolutions were proposed and carried, and a petition was signed by the chairman which was transmitted to the Home Secretary, to the effect that the extension of the licences will produce intemperance and that local ratepayers should be given the power to prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages after the manner of the ‘Permissive Bill’ of the United Kingdom Alliance.

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO – FRIDAY 31 MARCH 1899

BOYS NATIONAL SCHOOL

The attendance in this school has been so remarkably good lately that the Vicar challenged the boys to produce what bellringers call, a date touch; that is to have an attendance of 99 per cent. This has been carried out by 86 boys in the large room, but some of the smaller boys (of 7 and 8 years of age) have been ill, which brought the average of the whole school down to 98. This however, is so excellent as to be worth recording and is most creditable to teachers, boys and parents alike. Averages of 96 and 97 per cent have not been unusual.

ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO – FRIDAY 28 MARCH 1924

FUN IN THE AIR

Harold Lloyd, so different from Charlie Chaplin, will probably never surpass the latter gentleman in the public’s favour, but his big pictures are proving a very great draw wherever they are booked. ‘Safety Last’ has been showing at the Picture Hall during the first three days of this week with most of the houses full, the crowd waiting for the evening second house being entertained by the screams of laughter from inside the building. It also required a degree of nerve to watch the comedian climbing the outside of a 12-storey building, his adventures through doing this being of a hair-raising type, saving himself from falling from time to time after toppling over the edge of projections and almost tumbling to the street below, where the cars looked like perambulators from such a great height.

Willis & Son’s first shop in Winchester Street, c1954 (Image: David Howard collection)

SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO – FRIDAY 1 APRIL 1949

OLD ‘TIMES’ DISCOVERED

Several copies of The Times, some dated 1827, came to light on Monday when Mr J H Yandell, who was decorating a storeroom in the premises of Willis & Son, 4 Winchester Street, discovered them stuck on the wall as a backing for the wallpaper. Among the news items were several crime cases – a young girl of 10 setting fire to the Portugal Family Hotel, and the shooting of a police constable at Ballymoney. The society news was that Princess Victoria gave final sitting to Mr Fowler, the portrait to be hung in the ensuing exhibition at the Royal Academy. Houses were plentiful and a housekeeper’s wages, according to advertisements, were 25/- a month, but in 1829 the newspaper cost sevenpence. Apparently the ‘good old days’ had their drawbacks!

FORTY-SEVEN YEARS AGO – FRIDAY 1 APRIL 1977

THE BOYS OF THE ‘CONTEMPTIBLE LITTLE ARMY’ S FINAL PARADE.

The sad ringing notes of the ‘Last Post’ throbbed out in a silent church on Sunday. Nine old soldiers straightened their backs and proudly puffed out their chests displaying their hard-earned ribbons and medals. And faded eyes gleamed again with the hint of hastily-brushed- away tears as the long-treasured Standard of the Andover branch of the Old Contemptibles was laid for the last time.  St Mary’s church was packed to capacity as soldiers and civilians alike turned out to honour the nine men whose gallantry during the dark months of 1914 helped to save England. The Old Contemptibles are the men who survived the battles in the trenches between 4 November and 15 November 1914. They were dubbed ‘General French’s contemptible little army’ by the Kaiser – but it was their gallantry in the delaying battles they fought that forestalled the German troops. And after the war the term of contempt became a source of pride to those who had survived the terrors of trench warfare. Old Contemptibles’ Associations sprang up throughout the country and the men who were eligible to join were still young. But time has taken its ruthless toll and the ranks of these men has now been decimated. So yesterday the Association ceased to exist and branches will no longer be allowed to parade their Standards in public. The Chums who were together in dreadful adversity united again in pride to lead the parade of military units and members of civilian organisations through the High Street to the church. The Standard was borne by Chum Fred Goulding, together with Chums Arthur Green and Paddy Burke. Chum Vic Basey, chairman of the Andover branch led the way, accompanied by Alfred Kennedy, Albert Smith, Jim Newbury, Johnny Lawes and Roland Parfitt. At the end, the words of the Lawrence Binyon’s Exhortation must have been in the minds of many: ‘At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them.’