Page 1131 - Reading Mercury

A former chairman of the international biscuit company Huntley and Palmer’s has
left an estate valued at £971,878 gross. £964,939 net. The Rt. Hon Raymond Cecil,
3rd Baron Palmer, OBE, died on June 26th at the age of 74. His home was at Farley
Hill House, Farley Hill.

th
Thur 11 Oct
A GLIMPSE OF WOKINGHAM AS OLD FOLK REMEMBER IT
There’s a new book about Wokingham, just over the horizon, containing scores of
old photographs of the town. John and Rosemary Lea, who live in Oxford Road, are
members of the History Group of the Wokingham Society. Together with their fellow-
members they have collected 163 old photographs and written an easy-flowing
narrative about the town, the personalities and the changes that took place in the town
between the 1890s and the 1950s. Wokingham—A Pictorial History will be published
at the end of October.

th
Thur 15 Nov
THE DREAM COMES TRUE
Dedicated charity workers saw their dream finally realised when Wokingham’s new
cancer day centre was officially opened on Tuesday. Residents whose fund-raising
helped pay for building costs joined local dignitaries to celebrate the opening of the
centre in the grounds of Wokingham Hospital.
The centre has the capacity to help up to 18 cancer care patients a day. It is named
British Airways Macmillan House in recognition of the company’s £200,000 donation
towards the company’s £350,000 building costs. The remaining £150,000 was raised
by local people in a massive fund-raising effort launched in the Wokingham Times
and coordinated by the Wokingham and Crowthorne Macmillan Support Group.
Fund-raisers looked on as the British Airways chairman Lord King of Wartnaby
unveiled a plaque to mark the opening of the centre. He paid tribute to Major Douglas
Goddard and Margaret Hawkins whose hard work helped raise thousands for the
appeal. And he thanked the TIMES for its publicity and support.
The new centre includes a treatment room, a day room where patients can meet, and
a purpose-built kitchen where patients can be assessed to see if they can cope at home.
It will open for three days a week at first, increasing as more funds become available.
It has £36,000 to pay for running costs until the next budget in March. The fund-
raising will continue. Money is still needed for the Dellwood unit at Reading.

1991

Thur 14th Feb
WOKINGHAM IS GRIPPED BY THE BIG FREEZE
Rail commuters stranded schools shut refuse collection services abandoned and
hospital casualty units working at full stretch treating an army of victims of the ice.
This was the scene as heavy snow and arctic temperatures extended their freezing grip
across the country, leaving Wokingham shivering beneath an icy white blanket.
To date, it is estimated the Arctic conditions have already cost £250,000 to keep the
roads usable. Traffic came to a standstill on impassable roads and gritters and
snowploughs worked through the night to clear a route for the travellers determined to
beat the elements. Temperatures reached a low of –9 degrees C with freezing wind
chill factors taking the total into double figures in Wokingham—making this the
coldest winter since 1987.

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