Looking back at 1963 - What was going on in Reading at the time?

During that time, many people were seen taking part in the ever popular Reading Wheels event which saw cyclists cycle throughout Wokefield Common.

Several people took part in the race

The annual fun day attracted bike enthusiasts from all over the country as people from the Midlands, the capital and even the West Country visited Berkshire 56 years ago to try their luck in winning the yearly race.

However, the 1963 edition was slightly different.

People from all over the country took part

Why was it different? Because a huge and unexpected snowstorm hit the south of England and caused major disruptions.

One of the people who took part had a fall

The race still went ahead but due to the dangerous and icy conditions, the 10 mile challenge was reduced to six and out of the 28 cyclists who took part, only eight failed to finished.

The photos from the time show how difficult it was to ride a bike in such challenging scenarios, as many of the cyclists decided to hold their bikes and run the course of the race.

One of the cyclists

It was also reported that despite a few falls, not one of the cyclists suffered any major injuries.

The winner of the race was a man called John Barnes, who finished the trek with a time of 32 minutes and 40 seconds.

John Barnes won the race

Away from cycling and moving onto cricket, some other news from the time saw the official scorer of the Berkshire County Cricket Club and the Berkshire Gentleman Club, Jack Hinton, retire after 16 years.

Mr Hinton was a popular figure at both clubs and totted up the figures at every Berkshire county match since 1946, both home and away, and only missed the occasional fixture when his duties as a chorister at Queen’s Road Methodist Church were needed.

Jack Hinton

Jack, who celebrated his golden wedding anniversary in 1961, said: “I shall miss the cricket, but it is time a younger man took over.”

The month also saw several officials see how plastic piping was used in gas fitting devices in Berkshire.

People were shown how plastic piping was used for gas fitters

Finally, in February 1963, and eagled-eyed photographer took a photo of some several birds which consisted of swans, ducks and gulls, walking and swimming around ‘an old landing stage’ in Henley.

A forklift was also on show

According to the report at the time, the place had now became a ‘recognised feeding spot’ for locals to feed the birds.

The birds on the bridge