Page 918 - Reading Mercury

Southern Electricity Board workers who were employed on an all-night repair job at
the booster station in Denton Road were among those who were first aware of the fire.
While the fire was at its worst the first employees arrived. On Monday Mayor Herd
said that none of the employees—the labour strength varies about the hundred mark—
had been discharged. The women were advised to return home, and the men set about
salvage and demolition work. The main wall running alongside the cinema car park
was badly cracked, and had to be shored up prior to its eventual demolition.
A tribute to the Wokingham industrialists who had offered to help by making
storage space available was paid on Monday by Major Herd. He also said that
employees had been generous with their offers of help, and praised the telephone and
electricity services.
One of the greatest losses to the company was of their moulds—made in their own
workshops. During the war the firm made parts for Hurricanes and Spitfires—now
their production ranges from lamp fittings to components for television sets, and they
also have Government contracts.
On Saturday morning hundreds of children arrived at the Ritz Cinema for the
matinee, and despite the fact that the fire was still burning, it was sufficiently under
control for the show to be given—although one of the exits was out of use. Paintwork
on the cinema was damaged, as was one of the flat roofs, and a number of windows
were cracked by the heat. The car park was extensively damaged, and the company
estimate the total damage at £300.

th
Sat 12 Dec
THE FIRE SIREN
Mr. Bill van Straubenzee has been approached in recent weeks by a number of
inhabitants in Rose Street and other nearby streets in connection with the noise caused
by the fire siren in Rose Street. After considerable correspondence, helped by one of
the local councillors, the Chief Fire Officer has arranged to try the fitting of a baffle to
the siren in order to try to reduce its unpleasant effect. It has been pointed out that the
exceptionally hot and dry weather of this summer gave rise to an enormous increase
in the number of fire calls at Wokingham, and with the return to normal weather
conditions the number of calls has been greatly reduced. Mr. van Straubenzee has
been assured that when the new fire station has been erected at Wokingham the siren
will be removed from its present position without delay.

“MIRROR ON THE WALL”
Recently there has been trouble caused by the objects at each end of the Town Hall.
At first it was suggested that the Roll of Honour should be moved from the annexe to
the Memorial Clinic, but I am glad to note that this will now be restored to its former
position.
The Council are currently faced with the problem of the mirror. In committee the
council agreed not to replace this overbearing antique—but at open council a plea for
further consideration of the matter, and an offer of £25 towards the cost of the repairs,
were actually accepted and it will be another month before the fate of the mirror is
known. At Thursday’s meeting of the council only one member spoke emphatically
against the mirror—Dr. P. P. Pigott—and the brevity of her speech might have
resulted in the point being missed. Cllr. Dr. Pigott pointed out that the mirror
obscured the chimney breast and destroyed the illusion of narrowness created by it.
I wholeheartedly support any scheme for the removal of the mirror for I am not one
of those people who revere objects merely on account of their age. The mirror

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