MEMBERS and friends of Bromsgrove Rovers Football Club attended the annual supper at the club room of the Boat Inn to hear about the team's progress.

100 years ago

May 18, 1901

MEMBERS and friends of Bromsgrove Rovers Football Club attended the annual supper at the club room of the Boat Inn to hear about the team's progress. Assistant secretary JA Crumpton announced their record of eight wins, two draws and three games lost out of 13 matches played that season. The club's finances were healthy and the evening was rounded off with songs.

A DROITWICH Spa coal dealer was fined 5s (25p) and ordered to pay 20s (£1) costs after he was found guilty of mistreating his horse. Thomas Mason, the younger, was seen by police making his horse work although it was lame in all its legs and had several wounds, some of which were bleeding. Mr Gabb, defending, said there was no evidence of deliberate neglect but magistrates at Droitwich Borough Petty Sessions convicted Mr Mason.

ANIMAL lovers' heartstrings were tugged by the tale of a Sidemoor man's duck and its lucky escape. The duck went missing for 12 days and was eventually found trapped in a drain under the road. It was believed the bird squeezed through a pipe which emptied into the brook and then became stuck because it could not turn around. Its weight had fallen from 4lbs to 1lb by the time it was rescued. The Messenger added that the episode showed the drains were being kept very clear.

A DISPUTE over building a memorial to Queen Victoria in Bromsgrove showed no signs of reaching a conclusion. Town vicar, the Rev E Vine Hall, supported the idea in a letter to the Messenger and suggested a fountain or a bust of the queen under a canopy. He said: "It seems to me that we, as inhabitants of Bromsgrove, should seize every opportunity of making this little town as fair and attractive as possible." There were so many conflicting views at a public meeting that no agreement could be reached.

50 years ago

May 17, 1951

A WOMEN'S football match was the highlight of the North West Ward Association's annual fete in Catshill. Belbroughton played Catshill at the Meadow Road venue in a match that provided "endless amusement" for spectators. "Honest endeavours were made to keep to the rules but one or two seemed, in the excitement of the moment, to think they were playing netball," the Messenger said. A late goal for Catshill secured the 1-0 victory.

THE chain of office for the Bromsgrove Court Leet bailiff was becoming so large as to be unmanageable because former bailiffs kept donating badges to be added to it. As 25 more were received from past bailiffs from as far back as 1921, Court Leet members suggested the donated badges should be kept in a store.

A STEAM engine which had given 40 years' service as transport in Coventry and in farm work in Belbroughton and Bournheath was towed into retirement. Conqueror, as the engine was called, was used as a threshing machine at Hilltop Farm, in Bournheath.

25 years ago

May 14, 1976

THE Conservatives on Bromsgrove District Council came out the clear winners in the elections. Their majority of eight rose to 22 and they made notable gains in the Labour stronghold of Catshill.

IN the parish council elections, a husband defeated his wife by just one vote to take a seat in Romsley. Joseph Deakin polled 204 votes, while his wife, Margaret, polled 203. In Stoke Prior, a father and son duo both won seats on the parish council. Chairman David George Hughes retained his place with 267 votes, while his son, also called David, joined the council with 208 votes.

A BROMSGROVE woman and her step-daughter failed in their bid to become Midlands Scrabble champions. Hilda Goodenough and 16-year-old Margaret, from Old Station Road, were knocked out of the regional finals, in Birmingham.