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Revellers herald a new decade at the White Hart at Thatcham in 1990.
10 years ago – January 1, 2014
Warehouse blaze
The usual calm of Boxing Day was shattered for one West Berkshire business after a blaze tore through its Hermitage warehouse, causing explosions and casting a plume of thick smoke, which could be seen as far as Didcot.
Eight crews from the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) attended the fire at the Pattern Imprinted Concrete Supplies (PICS) warehouse in Sawmill Road, on the Red Shute industrial estate, last Friday.
The emergency services were first alerted to the blaze shortly after 9am.
The incident worsened when canisters of hazardous chemicals on site exploded.
It took several hours for the flames to be brought under control, and the site was still smouldering on Monday.
Mike and Janice Schofield, who live opposite the industrial estate and just yards from the PICS warehouse, said the explosions could be felt through their home.
Kelly Burbage-Dean, who was visiting her grandparents in Chieveley at the time of the explosions, said: “We heard what we thought was someone banging around up stairs.
“My granddad came in from lighting a bonfire and said that there was a lot of dark smoke coming from Hermitage way, so we went to investigate as many people did.”
25 years ago – December 30, 1999
Beating the bugs
Millennium bugs, thugs or drugs should not disrupt West Berkshire’s peace or essential services when 1999 becomes the year 2000 this weekend, experts predicted this week.
West Berkshire Council, said it had made careful plans to ensure essential services were maintained should there be problems with the ‘millennium bug’, while local police maintained that they were ready for any problems that might arise.
Insp Paul Hayles, of West Berkshire Police, said the force had no idea how many people would congregate in Newbury Market Place as the new millennium dawned.
He said: “We’re not really worried about it because we deal with this type of ambiguity every day.
“This is just on a wider scale at the moment. We are not apprehensive but ready.”
Insp Hayles added that most local officers would be on duty on Millennium eve and that the police would also be able to call on reinforcements from elsewhere if necessary.
“We are going to be highly visible and flexible,” he said, adding that the police had done as much preparation for the event as possible.
50 years ago – January 3, 1975
Hanging tough
A 37-year-old market gardener made history over the Newbury area on Monday when he glided for seven miles without an aeroplane or parachute.
Ken Messenger, of Marlborough, is a “bird man” and he hung from a frail structure of poles and nylon to set up two British records for hang-gliding.
Ken was was cut adrift from beneath a hot-air balloon piloted by Newbury farmer David Liddiard which had taken him to 8,500 feet for the record flight.
He and David Liddiard had waited seven months for an opportunity to make the flight, and it nearly went wrong at the last minute.
Wind at David’s Ashmansworth farm made the take-off “hairy” and then, with Ken ready to start his flight at 8,100 ft, the release mechanism on the rope which had held him 20 ft below the balloon’s basket failed to work and David had to cut him free with a knife.
Ken, who is not only an expert at flying the delta wing gliders but also makes them for sale, was released over the Whitchurch-Overton area and flew for seven miles before making a safe landing near the Basingstoke Kingsclere road.
“It was the best flight I have ever had,” he told David who anxiously telephoned him afterwards to see how he had got on.
David said “I think he is very brave. You would not catch me doing it. I can think of easier ways of killing oneself.”