Page 418 - Reading Mercury

1885, and served continuously till 1903, when, owing to ill-health, he retired. He was
Mayor in 1893-4. As Secretary of the Starr-Bowkett Societies of Wokingham and
Bracknell, he was still more widely known. For many years in succession, he was
chosen Rector’s Warden of All Saints’, which position he relinquished at Easter,
1909, on account of illness. He was twice married. He leaves a widow, a son (Mr.
Frank Mower), and two daughters Mrs. J.H. Byard (Wokingham), and Mrs. Slade
(Caversham), for whom general sympathy has been expressed. The funeral took place
at All Saints’ Church on Monday, the Rector (the Rev. B. Long) officiating. The
Mayor (Alderman D.N. Heron), with members and officials of the Corporation,
attended.

th
Sat 16 April
SIDNEY HALL
Mr. Sidney Hall, second son of H.E. Hall, Wokingham, an officer in the Royal Mail
steamship, Corinthia, of the White Star line has been appointed sub-lieut. of the Royal
Naval Reserve.

TOWN HALL TOILET
The town council surveyor submitted a plan for the installation of a public toilet in a
municipal building.

Sat 23rd April
A VERY STRANGE AFFAIR
An extraordinary occurrence, resulting in serious injury to one man, a slight damage
to another is reported from “The Rifle Volunteer,” an inn about a mile from
Wokingham. On Wednesday evening, a man named John Thomas Baker, employed at
a travelling Show located at Hurst, entered the “Rifle Volunteer” with a companion,
also engaged at the same Show, and called for drinks. The landlord was executing the
order when he was startled by a loud explosion. Baker exclaimed “that was something
I had in my hand.” The landlord saw that Baker’s hand was injured, and it was found
that one finger was blown away and the tips of the others, while the thumb and palm
of the hand were badly torn. The injuries were caused by some explosive which Baker
had held in his hand. Dr. Bokenham was summoned by the landlord, and the injured
man was sent to the Royal Berkshire Hospital, while the police were also informed of
the occurrence. Baker declined to make any explanation as to what caused the
explosion, and his companion professed ignorance. There were several persons in the
house at the time and a good deal of consternation was caused.

THUNDERSTORM
A very heavy thunderstorm passed over Wokingham and the district around on
Saturday, between 12 and one o’clock. A peculiar darkness overspread the district-just
previous to the storm, when an unusually severe hailstorm also swept over the district,
accompanied by very vivid flashes of lightning and deafening peals of thunder. The
peculiarity of the hail-storm was that the hail-stones were softer than those in ordinary
winter hail-storms and more resembled pellets of frozen snow, many of which were
almost as large as marbles. Had they been of the usual hardness much damage would
have been done to glass houses. So intense was the storm that in a few minutes the
ground was white with the hail-stones. In the district around some trees were struck
and considerable alarm was caused. The storm lasted about an hour, and the afternoon
was wet and stormy.

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