Page 1017 - Reading Mercury

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Thur 3 Dec
ALD. CHAPMAN MOVING TO DEVONSHIRE
Ald. John Chapman who was Mayor of Wokingham in 1964 and 1965, and his wife,
Rose, are leaving Wokingham soon for a small house at Ottery St. Mary in Devon.
The Chapman moved to Wokingham 16 years ago from Cheshire. Although they are
both Londoners, Mr. Chapman’s 30-year stint as a civil servant in the Stationery
Office necessitated moving around the country quite a bit.
Public work
Mr. Chapman, who is 66, has served on the council for the past 15 years. During
that period he has been involved in every committee. He is at present chairman of the
Organisations and Establishments Committee.
Since he retired from the Civil Service in 1964, he has devoted himself entirely to
public work, taking a particular interest in local government reorganisation. As a
founder of Wokingham Literary Society, a former chairman of Wokingham Players,
an official visitor to Dr. Barnardo’s and Governor of St. Crispin’s School, Mr.
Chapman’s 16 years in Wokingham have been “full and interesting.”
Mrs. Chapman has also been active. She started West Forest Townswomen’s Guild
and organised Cancer Campaign and Dr. Barnardo collections, as well as being a
member of the W.R.V.S.
The Chapman’s live at 43 Simons Lane, Wokingham.

OFFICIAL OPENING OF LIBRARY EXTENSION
A former missionary in Japan, Mr. F. Staniland, founder editor of the Wokingham,
Bracknell and Ascot Times came to Wokingham and started the paper, then the
Berkshire Gazette, in 1903. There was, he though, a lot to put right in Wokingham
and thereabouts, but it was not until 1924 that he got round to the idea of a library in
the town.
He failed to get the borough council interested so he turned his attention to the
county council and managed to persuade it to open a branch of the county library
service.
It started in one room and at the end of the first year made the substantial
contribution to the ratepayers’ funds of 3s. 4½d. in fines.
The first voluntary librarian was Miss M. Haswood who remained in the post until
1949. She was helped latterly by Mr. T S. C. Hawkins who took over as librarian-in-
charge on her death.
There was a slight delay in opening the library because the then county librarian had
broken his arm, but eventually 250 books in five boxes were despatched by carrier to
th
the Town Hall and the library was opened on Friday, 5 September 1924.

Thur 10 Dec
th
THREAT OF BUILDING’S COLLAPSE LEADS TO TRAFFIC DIVERSION
Market Place, Wokingham was blocked on Tuesday after the authorities feared that
the former Working Men’s Club, a three storey Georgian building, was on the verge
of collapse. The entry to Denmark Street from Peach and Broad Streets was
barricaded resulting in a big traffic diversion which added to the usual evening rush
hour congestion.
The working men’s Club is being pulled down with the exception of the frontage
which is scheduled for retention and it was discovered that a fractured had developed
running the Market Place facade. Concrete was poured into the foundations to
strengthen the very weak right end of the building. Yesterday afternoon the face of the

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