Bygones: Prime Minister is heckled in town

Over zealous ‘security stewards’ pounced on anyone who deigned to heckle the Prime Minister, but he made it clear to the staff involved that he disapproved of their strong-arm methods.

Three or four stewards began to drag a young man out of his seat as he shouted his opposition to the war in Vietnam, but Mr. Wilson would have none of it, ordering them to: “Leave him alone, put him down.”

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Actor Richard Briers found himself ‘dazed and confused’ when driving in Reading town centre 56 years ago, he got lost in the maize of streets on his way to receive a cheque for his branch of the Muscular Dystrophy charity.

GOOD LIFE: Richard Briers got lost in Reading’s town centre

Mr. Briers, who later went on to star as Tom Good in BBC comedy “The Good Life”, was invited to a special coffee morning with the Mayor of Reading, but was late arriving.

He later admitted that it was the first time he had driven to Reading, but the effort was worth it: “This will go towards a very worthy cause, muscular dystrophy is not a well-known disease.”

When Reading’s nurses held their annual prize-giving in 1965, the main speaker, Mr. F. Aitken Walker (Chairman of the Hospital Management Committee), revealed that despite the rising number of admissions, the nursing staff had only increased by 12.

Mr. Walker added that he hoped the Ministry of Health would speed up the promised building extensions to both the Battle and Royal Berkshire sites, but admitted the recruitment had been “steady but not good enough”.

Praising the nurses he said: “Sheer hard work and efficiency has coped with the increase in patients and it is a tribute to everyone who has worked in both hospitals.”

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A century-old department store, E. Hill and Sons placed an ‘advertorial’ in the Chronicle to celebrate everything that had made it one of the go-to shopping venues in Reading in the 1960’s.

ARE YOU BEING SERVED?: E.Hill & Sons was in Broad Street

Originally the Hill family had been leather merchants and tanners, deciding to move to Reading from Uxbridge in 1861, opening their new store after a family member visited the town.

By the mid-sixties the family run business was offering a ‘remarkable’ range of leather goods, rainwear, handbags and had just opened the largest children’s toy department in the South of England.

Teenage music fans were catered for in the Chronicle’s “Meet the Groups” feature in 1965 and one of Reading’s newest combo’s, “Count Mee and the Squares”, introduced themselves.

An amateur band who were hoping to turn professional, the Squares lead singer ‘Count Mee’ (Barrie Angell) explained that they were waiting for a new electric organ to add to their sound and hoped to be touring in the summer.