Page 1047 - Reading Mercury

building; effect other essential alterations; re-decorate and turn the house, which was
fast becoming derelict, into an attractive and welcoming centre.
When completed the organisers expect to serve 100 meals a day and deliver a
further 100 via the Meals on Wheels service.
To use the facilities, elderly people will be asked to pay a yearly subscription of 50p
each and. a small amount, possibly l0p for a meal, which will be subsidised by the
County Borough Councils.
Since notice of the purchase of the site appeared in the Press earlier this year,
damage amounting to over £200 has been caused by vandals. A former sergeant of
Wokingham Police, Mr. Jones, agreed to become caretaker and guard of the premises.

th
Thur 18 Oct
NEW WOKINGHAM SCHOOL OPENED
Before an audience of parents, children, Managers and the Mayor and Mayoress of
Wokingham (Ald. S. Bowyer and Mrs. J. Foreman-Brown), Mr. T.D. Whitfield, the
Director of Education for Berkshire, unveiled a plaque on Tuesday to commemorate
the official opening of the new Palmer School in Norreys Avenue, Wokingham. The
original school in Palmer Road now stands empty, but its reputation for excellent
work was mentioned by the Director, who said that there had been a long recognised
need for a new school.
The old one had been structurally bad but educationally very good and he wished
the new school a continuing record of success
A display of work by former and present pupils, pictures, books, press cuttings, etc.
aroused considerable interest as did copies of a booklet compiled by the headmaster,
Mr. S. Meachen, which gave a short history of the school from l713 to 1973.
Entertainment was provided by the school choir, a recorder group and the P.T.A.
choir with special guests; Mr. and Mrs. K. Lowe.

th
Thur 25 Oct
THEY BEAT THE BOUNDS
“Beating the Bounds”, a popular item at earlier Wokingham Carnivals though
dropped recently, was the inspiration for the planners of a sponsored walk which took
place on Sunday. Twenty-three boys of the Wokingham Unit of the Army Cadet
Force, set off at 9 a.m. to walk the borough boundary--probably the last time it will be
done before the coming re-organisation of districts.
The walk served a double purpose, to mark the boundary and to raise money for
funds. Despite Saturday’s wet weather, which made the going on part of the route
very muddy, the one adult, Mrs. Brenda Dobson, wife of the Commanding Officer,
and all but two of the boys who took part finished the course.
Eleven check points were manned and there were no mishaps, except for a minor
one, when the first group of four boys misread their map and were “lost” for a while
until spotted and directed to the right road.
The three N.C.O.s of the unit started last and finished first, led by Cadet Sgt. Major
Sean Morrissey, and even two new recruits who only joined the Cadets on Thursday,
completed the distance, although suffering from blisters.
From their combined efforts, the boys stand to collect more than £80.

th
Thur 15 Nov
METHODIST’S ROSE FAYRE

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