FIRST WORLD WAR STORIES FROM THE HOME FRONT On 4 August 1914, the last day of peace for four long years, the Yeovil Conservative and Unionist annual Fete the ‘Fete of the West’ was held at Yew Tree Close Park, and the winning tableau was ‘King, Peace, Empire’. During the following weeks, enthusiastic and patriotic crowds lined the streets as local Territorials and volunteers marched off to the war and which most people expected…
A FATAL ROW OVER WALNUTS It began with a row over walnuts and ended with a man being found dead in a water closet. Kingsdon butcher, John Williams was drinking with friends in the Market Inn, at South Street, Yeovil, during the late afternoon of Friday 2 October 1868, when he got into an argument with John Slade, over the number of walnuts he had sold at Yeovil Market. Williams claimed to have sold one million, but Slade called him…
PARACHUTES, THE PRESS AND DANNY BOY Here are three pieces, completely unrelated but, I hope, will be of interest. Firstly, on Sunday afternoon, 7 February 1926, Yeovilians flocked to Westland’s aerodrome to watch Captain A F Muir, of Surrey Flying Service, carryout a parachute drop from 600 feet above the crowd. The excitement of the occasion, and its tension, was heightened by the fact that this was the brave captain’s first jump! Flying over at 600 feet, the Avro bi-plane…
Files from the Western Gazette From The Western Gazette of Friday 20 August 1880: A MYSTERIOUS WHISTLER For several succeeding Sundays, the congregation of Holy Trinity Church, Yeovil, have been much disturbed by a noise as someone whistling, which generally commenced with the sermon, and kept up the accompaniment until the end of the service. Sunday night was no exception, for immediately the Rev. Abel Phillips had ascended the pulpit and given out his text, the whistling was again heard….
SOME MUNICIPAL MOMENTS A century ago the Yeovil Town Council became embroiled in a dispute over the purchase and type of pipe to be used for the Council’s first large sewerage scheme. The battle between the various factions on the Council rumbled on over a period of years and resulted in some incredible scenes in the Council Chamber. The following example gives a flavour of the antics of the municipal fathers during those long forgotten Council meetings. This row broke…
DRINKING AT MARTOCK In 1860, the County Petty Sessions were held in Yeovil but dealt with offences committed outside the town boundaries. On Wednesday 1 February 1860, Giles Gaylard appeared before the Bench summoned for being drunk in Martock on the previous 7 January. PC Marshman stated that he was on duty at about 1 o’clock in the morning and came up to the defendant who was with a number of friends and who was very drunk. As he passed…