A SIDEMOOR man was charged twice with drunkenness on consecutive days, after 47 previous court appearances for the same crime.

100 years ago

November 17, 1900

A SIDEMOOR man was charged twice with drunkenness on consecutive days, after 47 previous court appearances for the same crime. George Butler had not appeared before Bromsgrove magistrates since January 1899, but was fined 5s (25p) and costs on one day and 7s 6d (37.5p) the next. He faced 14 days' hard labour if he did not pay.

TWO boys aged 12 were fined 5s (25p) and 5s 6d (27.5p) costs for throwing stones over the railway line in Droitwich with intent to cause wilful damage.

George Sparkes and William Harrison faced seven days in prison if they did not pay within a fortnight.

SCHOOLS remained closed in Wychbold following a diphtheria epidemic which killed a young girl. The medical officer proposed to reopen them on November 19, but children who had been exposed to the disease would only be allowed back if they were examined for the bacteria at the County Laboratory.

AN elderly man suffered a broken leg and a crushed knee when his horse, which he had just bought in Bromsgrove, trampled him after

being startled by a vehicle near Rubery post office. He was taken to a nearby house and his leg was set by Dr Suffern.

THE school board in Bromsgrove voted to raise the fine for poor attendance from 5s (25p) to 20s (£1), in line with the Education Act 1900. It was thought that magistrates would only use the higher fine for repeat offenders to discourage parents from making their children go to work instead of school.

LONG-SERVING Bromsgrove postman Joseph Sanders retired after 33 years owing to ill health. He had suffered sunstroke during the previous year's exceptional heat and he had never returned to full strength. He was not eligible for a pension.

50 years ago

November 18, 1950

SPEAKING at a Remembrance Day service in Bromsgrove Parish Church, the Archdeacon of Dudley said the greatest danger people faced was the "ghastly materialistic utilitarian outlook of today." He said that if allowed to run its course, it would result in the terrors of communism.

A MEMORIAL to the 103 Old Bromsgrovians who died in the Second World War was unveiled at Bromsgrove School. Tablets of Hopton stone recorded the names of the casualties and were placed in the chapel next to the memorial for the 89 who died in the 1914-18 war.

A SPECTATOR at a Bromsgrove Rovers match "died of excitement" when the team clinched a third goal through a penalty. James Day, aged 57, from Stoney Hill, suffered a heart attack during the Rovers victory at Victoria Road. He was taken to the cottage hospital in an ambulance but died before he arrived.

A MAN died at Bromsgrove railway station when he lay down on the tracks and was run over by a goods train, an inquest jury decided. Herbert Rowe, aged 57, a railway inspector from Northfield, died on the day he was due to appear before Bromsgrove magistrates. A witness said: "He removed his hat, went down on his knees, stretched out his arms and lay down along the track." The jury returned a verdict of "suicide while the balance of his mind was disturbed".

25 years ago

November 14, 1974

RESIDENTS of Cofton Hackett were up in arms calling for a "local bobby" who could check the tide of vandalism, burglaries, assaults and other disturbances. West Mercia police met 140 people who said that crime had increased since the local officer retired and was not replaced.

"SHOCKING" new statistics showed that some people in Bromsgrove were waiting up to two years for operations. The report by the secretary of Bromsgrove and Redditch Community Health Council was said to highlight the need for a new hospital, mired in debate over its location.

FOR the first time in more than 50 years the march-past on Remembrance Day was cancelled because of traffic problems. The parade normally started in St John Street.