One of the severest summer thunderstorms to hit Southern England in 1960 didn’t spare the Bracknell area from lightning strikes and heavy downpours of rain.

Two houses were damaged, and a power transformer at Amen Corner, Binfield, “exploded” cutting off electricity supplies to dozens of local homes and businesses.

Many trees were destroyed, one at Lilly Hill was split down the middle and another at Ascot collapsed on to the subway to the railway station, causing damage to its structure.

Eyewitnesses to the strike told the Bracknell News it was like “a knife-blade of fire”, several people living nearby turned a garden hose on to the flames until the fire brigade arrived.

The firefighters at Bracknell Fire Station proudly posed for a special “News” photo 59 years ago, as they had recently entered the County Fire Brigade’s competition at Palmer Park, Reading.

In the foreground of the team photograph were two silver cups which they had won, the N.V.S.B. for water-tender drill, and the Batchford Cup for major pump drill.

The first “experimental” garden fete to be held in the grounds of the Binfield Hospital for Handicapped Boys took place in the summer of 1960.

Hundreds of parents’ friends and well-wishers crowded the picturesque lawns and enjoyed the many stalls and side-shows.

The fete, opened by Capt. Armitage, chairman of the Windsor Group Hospital Committee announced it was “a great success,” adding that the Hospital’s intention was to “try to get the people of Binfield interested, some of them don’t even know we are here.”

Despite the atrocious weather, members of the Coopers Hill Youth Centre’s staff managed to start a barbecue outside their building.

But “Chief Cook”, Brain Hanniford had to give in to the elements eventually, as everyone was driven indoors, to make use of a more conventional kitchen.

Members of the Binfield Youth Club visited Bracknell Post Office to get a behind the scenes view of the various functions operating under its roof. By 1960, the “G.P.O” at Bracknell were responsible for a major telephone switchboard and a postal service sorting and dispatching centre.

When the News published the photo of a typical summer scene at Bracknell Cricket Club 59 years ago, they would have no idea how historic this view would become.

Eagle-eyed Bygones fans may have already spotted that this skyline was due to change dramatically in the following years, going from a village-like scene, to a skyline dominated by high rise offices, multi-storey car parks and hotels.