From Our Files: Memorial hall dedication... lovestruck driver... pony cruelty row
75 YEARS AGO
A QUESTION regarding the alleged use of nearly £4,700 worth of electricity by the tenants of Holmsley, which had to be paid for by the Christchurch Council, was asked by Mr St Claire Byrne at Highcliffe Citizens’ meeting.
Mr G. Palmer said that the tenants were only paying 12. 6d a week rent for their dwellings and had apparently been using electricity without any check from the chairman of the Housing Committee.
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OVER 400 people, including relations of those who gave their lives in the two world wars, were present at the simple but impressive service of dedication of the New Milton British Legion War Memorial Hall, held on Sunday afternoon.
The Committee responsible for the organisation are to be congratulated on the arrangements made, for the service was carried through with the full dignity which the occasion demanded.
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THE Council has taken up with the County Health Department the establishment of a Child Welfare Centre at Highcliffe, as for this growing area there is no nearer clinic than New Milton. The Senior Assistant County Medical Office in charge of maternity and child welfare is going into the question, and it is understood there is some prospect of a successful conclusion.
50 YEARS AGO
PANCAKE races have now become a feature of Shrove Tuesday in the New Forest, and though this year there were high winds on the day of the performance and slippery conditions underfoot, a merry time was enjoyed by participants and spectators. At Milford there were eight races, organised on behalf of the Milford Church Wives’ Group by Sally Reed. Sophie Reed (5) won the children’s race and her father, Mr M. Reed, won the race for men.
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THE removal of the proposed Highcliffe relief road from the national preparation list is to be sought by the Highcliffe Citizens’ Association.
It is requested the road be deleted from the programme of the County Council and the Department of the Environment and further request that the A35 (Christchurch-Lyndhurst road) be officially recognised as a bypass for Highcliffe.
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A GIRLFRIEND in Lymington was the magnet which drew a boy of 12 from Cornwall last week – and there might not have been anything particularly unusual about that, if he had not chosen to make the 200-mile journey by taking his father’s car and driving it all the way, eluding a police net thrown across five counties for two days in the hope of catching him before he reached his destination.
25 YEARS AGO
THE Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) is set to take over responsibility for coast protection in the New Forest, much to the distress of New Forest District Council.
MAFF’s claims that the system causes widely dispersed responsibilities, a duplication of funding and too loose a boundary between coast protection and flood defence.
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NEW Forest MPs are calling for an end to the cruelty suffered by New Forest ponies sent on a 1,000-mile journey to escape export regulations.
Dr Julian Lewis, New Forest East, is backing Dorset MP Robert Syms' demand for the Ministry of Agriculture to crack down on unscrupulous dealers.
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AS of 1st May, it will be an offence to let your dog foul certain areas of the New Forest, carrying with it an on-the-spot fixed penalty of £25.
NFDC say the order, brought under the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996, will be of immediate benefit to the local environment, with enforcement more straightforward and within existing budgets.
