March 1 to March 8, 2010 (From Worcester News)

March 1 to March 8, 2010

3:39pm Monday 1st March 2010 in

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THIS WEEK IN 1990:

DAY after day this week, storm force winds, some gusting at hurricane speeds, battered the county. On two consecutive days, the winds blasted at more than 80 mph and in Worcester the Tote building on the racecourse at Pitchcroft was totally demolished, resulting in about £10,000 worth of damage. Several trees were blown down across roads in the Worcester and Malvern areas, and a couple had a narrow escape when the two tall chimneys of their house at Malvern came crashing down through the roof.

THIS WEEK IN 1980:

A NEW face for Worcester’s fire-ravaged Woolworth store has won the unanimous approval of city councillors.

The former “eyesore” frontage of dark green cladding and expanses of glass is to be replaced this spring by a new design of reinforced plastic materials in matt brown and warm bronze, with windows of dark “smoked” glass. Planning chairman Councillor Arthur Sage said there could be no question of “a fake Georgian façade” because the existing framework of the store could not carry a brick frontage.

He was convinced the proposed design would be “a good feature in High Street.”

THIS WEEK IN 1970:

A CHAPTER in the history of the British Army closed on Saturday when the colours of the Worcestershire Regiment were lowered for the last time. Flurries of snow swept across the barrack square at Bulford Camp in Wiltshire where more than 2,000 people had gathered to watch the Worcesters amalgamate with the Sherwood Foresters as part of the Army’s streamlining policy. The historic amalgamation ceremony took place before Princess Anne who is Colonel-in- Chief of the new Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment (29th/45th Foot).

Some 280 officers and men were on parade for the colourful ceremony.

Princess Anne told the parade: “This amalgamation brings together two regiments with very distinguished pasts. I feel sure this will be a particularly happy and successful union.” The headquarters of the new regiment is to be Norton Barracks at Worcester which was built between 1874 and 1878.

THIS WEEK IN 1960:

A BRONZE tablet was unveiled formally at Norton Barracks this week by Brigadier DH Nott. It is fixed at the entrance to the Keep and commemorates 78 years of the occupation of Norton Barracks by the Depot of the Worcestershire Regiment.

The plaque reads: “From 1881 to 1959 many thousands of soldiers of the Worcestershire Regiment marched through this Keep in the service of their country in peace and war.”

● After several wartime years as a US military hospital of 1,000 beds and, since 1960, as a TB hospital, St Wulstan’s at Malvern Wells is now to become a further care hospital of 240 beds for chronic psychiatric patients undergoing treatment. The change was approved without discussion at Wednesday’s meeting of the Birmingham Regional Hospital Board. It is estimated that building alterations and new furniture and fittings will cost a total of £33,000.