THIS WEEK IN 1961:

THE chief constable of Worcester, Eric Abbott has called in Scotland Yard to assist in inquiries in connection with the murder of 22-year-old Patrick Mulligan who was found lying stabbed on the footpath in Sidbury, last Saturday night.

Det Supt Hawkins of the murder squad is expected to arrive in Worcester tomorrow. Chief Inspector William Paterson said that at 11.40pm on Saturday, police were called to Sidbury where they saw Mulligan lying on the footpath bleeding. A trail of blood led to a public convenience in Commandery Road. Mulligan died in the Royal Infirmary shortly after midnight. The police are appealing to anyone who was in Sidbury or High Street between 11pm and midnight on Saturday to contact the police headquarters at Deansway. They are also asking for all owners of shops and houses between Sidbury and Sansome Street to search their premises for a longbladed knife.

THIS WEEK IN 1971:

INFORMATION leaflets are starting to drop through letterboxes in Worcestershire and throughout the country as part of careful preliminaries for a massive £10 million census of Britain. About 800 tons of paperwork will be involved in this mammoth 10-year survey of the 18 million homes in this country and the people who live in them. Whitehall describes the census form as “a big document with a big job to do – to help shape the Britain of the 1970s.” Filling up the forms is compulsory by law but the answers will be treated as confidential.

Once all the statistics have been fed to computer and the vital information gleaned, all the census forms will be locked away in cold storage for exactly 100 years, but will then be made available to historians wanting to know precisely what life was like in the 1970s.

THIS WEEK IN 1981:

THE heart of the Faithful City went out to Prince Charles on Tuesday evening as he laughed and joked with the thousands lining the streets for his official unveiling of the £30,000 Elgar Statue. He found time to stop and chat every few yards along the High Street and fans responded with shouts and cheers for the Royal man-of-the-moment.

Union Jacks were waved as a carnival atmosphere took over the darkening streets and Prince Charles told the crowds he was “enormously touched by the warm and friendly welcome”. A mention of his forthcoming wedding to Lady Diana Spencer brought even more applause. The prince richly praised the hard work and fund-raising success of the Elgar Statue Appeal Committee, of which he is president, and said he was proud to be able to unveil the statue on the anniversary of Elgar’s birth in 1857. A civic reception followed at the Guildhall where the prince met descendants of Elgar. The Post Office produced a special handstamped postmark to commemorate the event.

THIS WEEK IN 1991:

THE Friends of Worcester Cathedral will be celebrating their 60th anniversary next Sunday with a day of worship and eating. The Friends organisation was founded by Dean Moore Ede in 1931 and since then, members have helped significantly in fund-raising for and staffing within the Cathedral. In recent years the Friends have paid for the restoration of the crypt and several monuments and also staff the cloister tea bar. The Friends’ chairman Mrs Nada Wilkin said: “We are so pleased to have reached our 60th birthday. Our next aim is to double membership.”