Page 938 - Reading Mercury

them to be readily used en suite. The kitchen arrangements were excellent and
suitable for coping with banquets.
The specified external materials—bush-hammered concrete and high-grade blue
brindled bricks—were in sympathy with the external architectural character of the
buildings, and echoed their straightforward planning.
On the question of cost, Mr. Culpin said that the estimate of £211,600 was based on
slightly optimistic unit rates, but he considered that at the working drawing stage a
price could be obtained which would not exceed by more than ten per cent the
competitor’s estimate. The estimated cost of the second and third prize-winning
designs is £294,335 and £276,700 respectively.
Presenting the cheques for £1,750, the Mayor congratulated the winners on their
efforts, particularly Mr. Fryman, who, with a colleague, had spent the greater part of
the previous night preparing a perspective sketch of the hall. The Mayor said he was
pleased to note that the premier award had gone to an architect whose work had
already been seen in the town. The assessor, Mr. Culpin, spoke of the valuable
experience gained by competitors and said they should not worry too much about not
winning—he had recently gained second place in a similar competition, and as a
result gained a much larger job.

th
Sat 10 Dec
AMONG THOSE PRESENT
Among those present at the official opening on Wednesday of the Oakfield Hostel
for old people, in Barkham Road, Wokingham, was a lady whose home it once was.
She is now Mrs. P. Witkins, of Bournemouth, but was then Miss Mary Holmes, the
seventh in the family of eight children of Mr. James Holmes for whom the house was
originally built.

WOKINGHAM PILOT COMMENDED
Sequel to Khartoum Crash-Landing
The pilot of the B.O.A.C. Britannia which crash-landed at Khartoum last month,
Captain A.S. Powell, received a framed commendation “for outstanding qualities of
leadership and airmanship” and a silver cigarette box from the Chairman of the
Corporation, Sir Matthew Slattery, at B.O.A.C. Headquarters, London, on Thursday.
Captain Powell, of Park Avenue, Wokingham, landed the Britannia on its belly
because of an undercarriage failure. B.O.A.C. said: “Captain Powell’s calmness,
fortitude and skill enabled him to land the aircraft without injury to any of the 19
passengers or his crew, and undoubtedly averted what could have been a much more
serious occurrence.

FORMER TOWN CLERK
Dies At Wokingham
The death occurred after a short illness at his home, Allan Lodge, Broad Street,
Wokingham, on Sunday, of Mr. John Henry Elliston Clifton, who was Town Clerk of
the borough for 33 years.
Mr. Elliston Clifton came to Wokingham from Llandrindod Wells In January 1913,
to take up his duties as Town Clerk, this appointment including those of solicitor to
the Corporation and Borough Accountant. At the same time he established himself as
a solicitor in the town and continued in practice until 1953, when he acted as advisor
to his niece and adopted daughter, Miss I.J. Elliston Clifton, until the practice was
sold in 1957.

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