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1957 news items

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Friday 18 January 1957

MITCHAM FAIR GREEN IS A DEATH TRAP
More shops mean less rates
Readers’ letters argue over Fair Green. D. F. E. Milner, Ashbourne Road, calls spending on the green a waste if it stays dangerous, while Coun. A. S. Hutchin, publicity officer of the Long Thornton and Tamworth Residents’ Association, says more shops and offices would help the rates and asks the Tory party not to treat the issue as an election stunt. Coun. P. Ash and Coun. C. A. Norris also spoke at a residents’ meeting.

Poppy Day
Fine cause
Len Jenner, of Byegrove Court, Byegrove Road, Colliers Wood, writes that Poppy Day is everyone’s job, not only that of borough treasurer H. C. Clay and the British Legion. A further letter thanks the paper for its Poppy Day coverage and hopes the publicity will bring in more support.

Appreciated
R. M. Broomfield, a patient at Wilson Hospital, thanks the Mitcham Women’s Social Guild and the parish church choir for their Sunday evening visit.

Special day
Seventy-nine-year-old Thomas Henry was met at his Bruce Road home, after his daily walk on Figge’s Marsh, by friends congratulating him and his wife Florence on their diamond wedding.

Scene in 1898
A photograph from the collection of the late Thomas Francis, now in Mitcham Public Library, shows Mitcham clock tower being opened in 1898 by Mr White, chairman of Mitcham Urban District Council, during Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee. The ceremony had been organised by a local draper.

New church will cost £45,000
Plans for a new Methodist church on a site at Cricket Green are almost complete. The building, drawn up in 1955 by Edward D. Mills and noticed in this month’s Architectural Review, will cost £45,000; the old United Methodist church and St Mary’s, a large country-style house, are to come down to make room. The minister, the Rev. Cyril Wainwright, called the design revolutionary but not ultra-modern.

Died after a Christmas fall
An 81-year-old Mitcham woman, Mrs Marney, died after a fall at home on Christmas Day. At the Sutton inquest, Dr Richard Pearce said death followed bronchial pneumonia and arm fractures after an operation; coroner Dr C. F. J. Baron recorded a verdict of death by misadventure.

School may have new science lab
J. P. Courtney, headmaster of Mitcham County Secondary Boys’ School, said £14,000 allocated by Surrey could be used for a new science laboratory.

Trades Council may wind up
Mitcham Trades Council will decide at next month’s annual meeting whether to carry on. At a meeting on Thursday last week some delegates called the council useless.

Friday 1 February 1957

Vera’s climb to fame
Mr Hewlett, who this year marks 25 years as a Granada manager after starting as an usher in 1930, invited Vera to an amateur talent contest, which began her rise.

Pascall’s record profit
James Pascall, the sweet manufacturers in Streatham Road, made a record trading profit of £484,430, against £364,831 the year before. The ordinary dividend rises from 50 per cent.

Fewer books issued
Mitcham Library issued 59,088 books, 3,361 fewer than in the same period last year. Girls from Western Road County Secondary School made two educational visits, and five books were given to the library.

Flatlets for the old people
Mitcham Council has agreed to meet any net annual loss on buying, converting and running a house in Baron Grove as flatlets for old people. The Mitcham Old People’s Housing Association will carry out the scheme.

Friday 15 February 1957

BIG SHOCK FOR INDUSTRY
Rates-up news gets a mixed reception
Shocks are coming for tenants, says MP
The Government’s plan to double industrial rates, from 25 per cent to 50 per cent of the assessment, shook Mitcham factories, which now pay on £73,589, about a quarter of the town’s rateable industry. Small firms fear lost profit; F. W. Deacon of the Acme Printing Co., London Road, said he had very definite views, while Pascall’s and Scaffolding (Great Britain) Ltd of Willow Lane were not yet ready to comment.

Cut in Council levy?
Mitcham’s borough treasurer could not yet say how shopkeepers’ one-fifth remission and the industrial increase would balance. Dick Gifford, secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, said that if both applied this year the council’s own levy of 4s. 10½d. might fall to 4s. 8d., and that Mitcham, with few shops and many factories, might benefit more than some districts. He also warned that government grants would fall and that firms paying the extra rate out of profits might put prices up.

It’s not a bomb — just a well
Every morning Mrs Q. Andrews, of Franklin Crescent, looks out of her kitchen window and wonders whether her garden path is still intact. The headline says it is not a bomb, just a well.

Later drinks application granted yesterday
District publicans were granted an extra half-hour on the new closing time.

Firm take census to back appeal
Fidelity Instrument Co. Ltd, Western Road, counted traffic after the council refused planning permission because Western Road is due to be widened to 50 ft with a 15 ft building line. The firm is to send a deputation to Mitcham’s M.P., Robert Carr.

Council turn down plan for meeting
Colliers Wood organisations were disappointed after the council refused a meeting to discuss their plan.

Friday 22 February 1957

Bond Road and Belgrave Harriers
Bond Road School are top of the Mitcham Primary Schools league (Western Section) with 11 wins. Belgrave Harriers finished third to South London Harriers and Thames Valley Harriers in the Southern senior cross-country championship at Epsom, where 54 teams and 492 runners took part; Jack Brown was the first Belgravian home, in tenth.

Surrey open table tennis
Harry Venner, of Tavistock Crescent, Mitcham, the holder, was beaten in the men’s singles final of the Surrey open championships at Mitcham Baths.

Frinton Rovers
In the Surrey Intermediate League, Frinton Rovers were held 2–2 by a Mitcham side and later drew 1–1 with Tooting and Mitcham reserves. Wally Fielder scored both Frinton goals in one second-half display.

Friday 1 March 1957

SMOKELESS ZONE FOR MITCHAM?
New housing estate may be chosen for fuel experiment
Council decide on an investigation
After a Ministry circular, the council is to investigate making part of a new housing estate Mitcham’s first smoke-control area. The Minister said the first zone should not be industrial. Councils can already vet plans for furnaces and chimneys, and a model by-law would later let them restrict heating in new buildings to smokeless appliances. Dark smoke and grit from furnaces are due to be controlled from early 1958.

No station at Grove Road before 1962
Thousands who signed a petition for a station at Grove Road were told there is no chance before 1962. Railway officials, meeting the Long Thornton and Tamworth Residents’ Association, said an extra stop of even two minutes would upset suburban timetables, and that any extra revenue would not cover the cost. The association will write again to British Railways.

No rocking round the fairground
Ald. A. C. Prestage told the council he would rather see young people rock ’n’ roll on Three Kings Piece than at the fair, which he called a business with its old traditions gone. Showmen were allowed an extra three days, paying 2d. a square foot for the extension and 1d. for the rest of the time.

Silent raider
Mr and Mrs Pickworth, who live over their fish restaurant in Christchurch Road, Colliers Wood, watched television on Sunday night while a thief took nearly £400 in cash and jewellery, including £150 saved for a holiday, from the bedroom. Their bull mastiff was not disturbed. The man got in through a kitchen fanlight; police think he also broke into an empty house next door.

Council want to take over the Common
“Barren waste … Constant complaint”
The council voted to ask the Royal Commission on Common Land to consider giving Mitcham control of the common, in place of the Common Conservators. Coun. F. E. Baker said it was right that the borough should control land inside its own boundary. One councillor warned that control would cost money.

Phipps Bridge gets go-ahead
Less reading
The Phipps Bridge redevelopment was approved, though the main work waits until the financial position eases. The first phase — a new Phipps Bridge, river works, clearance of the Homewood Road depot and preparation of Bunce’s Meadow — is expected to cost £90,000. Ald. D. W. Chalkley said council tenants might face a 5s. a week rent rise over the next few years. In December the library issued 54,934 books, 2,122 fewer than a year before.

Man killed in fall from bridge
A 66-year-old man fell to his death from the railway bridge at Sandy Lane on Wednesday. An inquest is to be held. Four malicious calls were received by Mitcham Fire Brigade in January.

“This road is an eyesore”
Phipps Bridge Road was described as an eyesore and a dumping place for refuse.

Friday 8 March 1957

LOCAL RATE GOES UP BY 1s. 9d.
17s. in the pound, but it’s still “dangerously low”
No room for margin of error
Mitcham’s rate rises from 15s. 3d. to 17s. in the pound. The finance chairman said it was still dangerously low and left no margin for error. Conservative calls for further cuts were voted down.

Baptist Church celebrates
Celebration tea for the tenth anniversary
Pollards Hill Baptist Church marked its minister’s tenth year in Mitcham. About 200 people filled the hall on Saturday; members gave the Rev. Desmond Jackson £164 for the thanksgiving fund, and the Rev. Louis E., a tutor at the Baptist College in Dublin, was guest of honour. Secretary P. H. Styles reported more than £300 given to the Baptist Missionary Society and the homework fund. The Boys’ Brigade, joined by the 8th Mitcham company, paraded before the Sunday youth service.

Eviction of family may cost Surrey over £22,000
A county court eviction of a family of ten, who were £4 in arrears with the rent, may cost Surrey between £22,000 and £23,000. Judge J. T. Pyne was told the family had complained about the house. The mother and eight children had been in Hampshire county homes for eight months, far longer than the usual period, while the county tried to rehouse them.

Nurse’s wage packet is stolen
A wage packet with £15, belonging to Wilson Hospital nurse Miss Carmen Lyttle, was stolen on Friday. The same weekend thieves took an electric drill worth £5 from a house in Grove Road while the owner, Mr Arthur Hunt, was out.

He found a human skull in the coal shed
A human skull wrapped in paper was found on Tuesday by Mr Jack Dann, London Road, while he was clearing rubbish behind the Eveline Tea Rooms. He thought the parcel was an old rugger ball until he saw teeth. The skull, which has a dent in the top, has been handed to Tooting police. Builders had stacked the rubbish in the shed while decorating a store room.

Told wife: “It’s the end” — then killed himself
A man who fell to his death from an electric train at Sandy Lane on 27 February had told his wife it was the end, the coroner’s jury heard on Friday.

Operation Capstan
Eighty-four-year-old Mrs E. Deverill, of Walpole Road, Colliers Wood, watched members of the Capstan Youth Club repaint her home, which had been blackened by a fire.

A piece of mouldy cheese fetches 3s.
At a sale where parcels were sold unopened, a piece of mouldy cheese wrapped in paper fetched 3s. A bottle of Mitcham lavender made 5s.

Friday 15 March 1957

Skull still not identified
The skull found in a coal shed by Mr Jack Dann, London Road, has still not been identified. Police said it might later be used for medical purposes or destroyed.

Hot dinners
More than 3,400 hot school meals were served every day.

Friday 22 March 1957

Signed for Surrey
David Gibson, a 20-year-old Streatham rugby full-back who lives at Galpins Road, has signed to play cricket for Surrey. He is a fast-medium bowler of the Bedser type, but National Service has limited his rugby this season.

Reader’s letter: recalling the old days
Mr J. Bald, of Lucien Road, Tooting, remembers Mitcham Wanderers’ 1928–29 side, including centre-forward Jackie Pullen, C. Johnson and T. Nightingale, and suggests a reunion. Tommy Sealey, now 48, one of the Wanderers who joined Tooting and Mitcham when the clubs combined in 1932, was still playing for Morden Park a few years ago.

Talking sport
In Alan Hubbard’s column, Frank White of Mitcham outpointed a Slough boxer, and Streatham Royals ice-hockey forward Brian Cummings was spotted on a cinema holiday-camp advertisement. Bob Shaw beat a Slough forward in 38 seconds.

Friday 29 March 1957

FAIR TO BE CUT?
Council want to charge too much for Three Kings Piece
The London section of the Showmen’s Guild met on Thursday to decide whether to pay Mitcham’s proposed charge of 2d. a square foot for Three Kings Piece, or to drop the extension. Borough engineer Mr Schofield had reported the figure, which the council confirmed last week.

Mr Farewell Jones gets railway “no”
A reader in Devon has found an 1898 letter from the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway to Mr Farewell Jones, then living near Mitcham Common, refusing a station at Grove Road. The letter reached A. S. Hutchin, of the Long Thornton and Tamworth Residents’ Association, this week. It tells the petitioners there is little comfort in the refusal.

School teams with a success story
Three netball teams from Pollards Hill County Secondary School — senior, intermediate and junior — won their sections of the Mitcham Schools Netball League. With them are headmaster Mr M. A. Dawe and games mistress Mrs S. Clarke.

Runaway boys come home
Three Mitcham schoolboys who went away “to see the world” were back early.

Friday 5 April 1957

IT’S BACK TO WORK THEY GO
With the strike over, the factories go into production again
4,000 were idle for three days
Mitcham benches were busy again on Thursday after a three-day engineering stoppage that began on Monday, when more than 4,000 people failed to report. Mullard Radio Valve Ltd had more than 2,500 out, and T. W. Palmer’s structural works in Colliers Wood, where about £12,000 of goods leave each week, shut completely, said managing director G. S. Alderman. At Marco Refrigerators, Rowan Road, pickets stopped outside lorries; works manager J. Ramsden said the strike had set back export contacts.

RENT BILL WILL MEAN MORE HOMES
Robert Carr, M.P. for Mitcham, told a local meeting the Rent Bill would widen the choice of houses and flats and was a further step towards dealing with problem families, though he said the Government did not claim it would solve the housing problem on its own.

Daylight raids on houses
Daylight raiders broke into Mitcham houses on Monday and got away with cash and clothing.

Labour choose ward candidates
Church to have new vicar
Pollards Hill Labour will fight the two council seats with Mr J. E. Reece, a local rubber-factory foreman and secretary of the ward party, and Mrs N. R. Gurney, of Galpins Road. They hope to succeed Coun. Thomas Fitzgibbons, who is resigning, and Coun. E. E. Field, whose term ends this year and who may stand again. The Rev. A. G. Duckett, for seven years vicar of St Olave’s, is to succeed the Rev. F. C. Witcomb at St Margaret’s, Streatham Hill. Mr Witcomb is moving to parishes in Norfolk.

Trades Council’s call to workers
Mitcham Trades Council called on local trade unionists to declare “black” machines and components used while factories were strike-bound.

Hurt in train window smash
A missile, thought to be from an airgun, shattered a carriage window on a Victoria train near Mitcham Junction on Monday. Mrs N. Foster, of Evelyn Way, Wallington, received slight cuts. Police searched the line.

Big jump in Liberal membership
Mitcham Liberals reported a sharp rise in membership and said they would contest seats, though not the Pollards Hill wards.

Woman living rough
Mrs Anne Murray, of no fixed address, was remanded in custody for a week at Wallington after denying that she had broken a probation order. A probation officer asked for the remand so she could have a medical examination, saying she had been living rough.

Fire at rubber factory
Fire broke out on Sunday at the Sebes rubber factory. A man at a nearby works raised the alarm and Mitcham firemen put it out; roof timbers and the electrical system were damaged.

He warned a bookie
Derek William Cottle, 27, a labourer of Berkshire Square, was fined £5 at South Western Court on Friday for obstructing P.c. E. Town by warning a street bookmaker.

New headquarters for jazz club
A Mitcham jazz club has taken a room at the White Hart after outgrowing its old meeting place. The resident band played there for the first time.

Friday 31 May 1957

RADIO SHOP RAIDED
Police dog in search on common for bandits
Television sets stolen
After Thorpe Radio on Fair Green was broken into early on Tuesday, police and tracker dog Prince searched the Common for a blood-stained man. Blood near the smashed window showed one raider had been hurt. Several television cabinets were badly scratched. The thieves threw a 3 ft wooden sign through the glass. Upstairs, Mr George Thorpe and his wife Jeanette were asleep; Mr Thorpe ran down in his pyjamas and dived through the broken window, but the raiders pulled away in a car.

He forged savings withdrawal forms
Geoffrey William Longridge, 29, a labourer of Cambridge Road, admitted at Mitcham Court on Monday stealing his brother John’s Post Office savings book and forging two £5 withdrawals. Det.-sergt. Harry Louch said the book, holding a considerable sum, was kept in a drawer at their parents’ home. Longridge said he had acted on the spur of the moment and meant it as a loan. He was put on probation for two years, ordered to repay the £10, and fined £5 on each of two other charges.

Hungry, he wanted to be arrested
James Pimm, of no address, who had said at an earlier hearing that he wanted to be arrested because he was hungry, was put on probation for a year at Wallington for trying to break into a shop.

FACTORY WINS APPEAL AGAINST COUNCIL
Fidelity Instrument Co. Ltd, Western Road, won the right to build a two-storey extension. The firm told the Minister of Housing it urgently needed the space and was willing to set the building back 18 ft so Western Road could later be widened to 30 ft. The council’s 15 ft building line, imposed for 50 years, could not in any case be met on the south side, and in 1950 the firm had been allowed to keep a building over the line.

The First Citizens
His first job as the Mayor
The new Mayor and Mayoress, Coun. and Mrs T. J. Higgs, are pictured after he took office. Plans to turn part of the Baths into a creche have been shelved for the time being, the medical officer of health and the town clerk reporting that there was no pressing need and that the cost would be out of proportion to any gain.

He fought in the old fair booths
A man who fought in the booths at the old Mitcham Fair has died. He was known as “the fighting man of Mitcham”.

Street light costs go up
The council was told that the cost of street lighting is to rise.

Cadets get new badges
Mitcham Army Cadets received new badges.

Friday 7 June 1957

A LOCAL PREMIUM BOND WINNER
He glanced at the paper in the bus … the number was the same
Bought the day before the list closed
A £5 Premium Bond bought the day before the first draw closed has won £1,000 for a Mitcham family. Mrs Mabel Crook bought it at Mitcham Post Office on 29 November. Her bricklayer husband John saw the winning number in the evening paper on Monday. The bond’s number was ES 778.

Factory blazed — but workers did not know
Housewives raised the alarm when fire broke out on Thursday at the Leyens cardboard-box factory in Western Road. Staff eating in the canteen, and listening to the radio, did not realise the building was alight until part of the roof fell in. More than 200 tons of paper and cardboard were burnt. Damage was put at between £3,000 and £5,000. Two fire engines kept the blaze to the laminating room.

Neighbour smothers flames on woman, 72
Mrs Mary Ann Simpson, 72, of Church Road, was burning rubbish in her back yard on Monday when her clothes caught fire. She ran into the street and was wrapped in a blanket by her neighbour, Mrs Martha Champion. Mrs Simpson was taken to hospital with severe burns to her back and arms.

Eight refuse to take on job as curate
Eight applicants for the curacy at St Barnabas’ Church refused the post. Two were unsuitable and three did not follow up their inquiry. The vicar, the Rev. G. Cook, asked in the church magazine whether the church was doing its duty. Mr Cook has been assistant priest for two years.

Thieves raid record factory
The best attendance
Cat burglars broke into the Nixa Records factory in Western Road on Friday and took records worth nearly £250, after first trying a skylight and then a first-floor window. They are thought to have used a stolen lorry, later found abandoned in Camberwell. It was the second break-in in a few weeks. At the Mitcham Air Training Corps parade, Cadet Alan Smith received the Spitfire Trophy for attendance from Squadron Leader Simmonds.

A nine-day trip to Hengelo
Nearly 150 people from Mitcham and Carshalton left early on Friday for a nine-day visit to Hengelo, continuing the exchange run by the Anglo-Netherlands Sports and Cultural Association. They were due in the Dutch town at 10 p.m. A reporter and photographer went with them. The programme includes football, athletics, korfball, water polo and coach trips.

It played — after 100 years
A 100-year-old musical box owned by Grove Road toolmaker Mr F. S. Marshall played music-hall tunes, at a penny a time, at the St Mark’s Church fete on Saturday and helped raise more than £50. He had found it in a country inn and repaired it. The fete was opened by an alderman of Surrey County Council.

Commonwealth youth service
Mitcham Congregational Church was packed on Sunday for a Commonwealth youth service. Mrs J. Ericson, chairman of the youth committee, read the Queen’s speech.

More becoming interested in religion
Ald. C. J. Black, chairman of Surrey County Council, said the people of England were taking more interest in religion and church work. He was speaking at the St Mark’s fete.

Cadets run ferry trips in a gale
Mitcham Sea Cadets ran ferry trips in a gale.

Speeding cost him £2
A Mitcham motorist, stopped in Green Wrythe Lane, Carshalton, on 14 April, was fined £2 for speeding and had his licence endorsed.

Friday 14 June 1957

FOUR ESCAPE IN CAR CRASH
Girl unconscious twenty-four hours after by-pass collision
Sons of local licensee are injured
Two local men and two girls escaped on Sunday when their Jaguar sports car hit another car on the Sutton by-pass, skidded onto the verge and overturned. Mr Tom Drinkall, 34, swerved to avoid a car coming out of a side turning. His brother Victor Drinkall, son of Mr John Drinkall, licensee of The Star, Church Road, was badly cut on the legs, arms and chest. Nineteen-year-old Ivy Kempton, of Franciscan Road, Tooting, was knocked unconscious and did not recover for 24 hours. Miss Barbara Styles, 21, of Calbourne Road, Balham, a hairdresser’s model, was also in the car and was slightly hurt.

Couple elope, wed in Scotland
A postcard told Mr Barber that his daughter Irene, a clerk, had left home and married in Scotland. The 19-year-old R.A.F. man she married is from Mitcham. The couple had been secretly engaged.

Parish collect £155 for priest
Parishioners collected £155 for their priest.

The Hengelo visit — in pictures
Pictures from the Hengelo trip show the Mitcham party, including athletes Brian Hewson and Derek Ibbotson sightseeing with organiser Mr Cecil Dale. Mrs D. Jackson-Burton, of Commonside East, is going on to the Arctic Circle after the visit.

Woman injured on train
A woman was injured on a train.

Two P.C.s are suspended
Two police constables have been suspended.

Friday 12 July 1957

Some local tenants seek help from the Advice Bureau
Tenants were reported to be asking the Citizens’ Advice Bureau for help over increases.

Skiffle at The Canons
A skiffle group played on the lawns of The Canons on Saturday at the Red Cross fete.

Main burst at Fair Green
Many homes in central Mitcham were without water for two hours on Sunday after a main burst. A road worker at Fair Green could not shut the water off with his hydraulic tool.

Two men fined over betting
Two men who used a Mitcham public house as the headquarters of a betting business were each fined £25 and ordered to pay £5 costs at Wallington Court on Wednesday.

Inquest on John Steele
An inquest was held on John Steele of Mitcham, who was killed when he rode into a heavy lorry on 2 July.

Friday 9 August 1957

Parents and the tear-gas discovery on the common
Tear-gas capsules were found lying on the council’s tipping dump. Parents were told about the find.

Surrey cricketers at Mitcham
In their annual match on Mitcham Green on Wednesday, Surrey Club and Ground beat Mitcham by 97 runs. Surrey made 267 for 3 declared and Mitcham were all out for 170.

Schoolboy killed
A schoolboy was killed.

“Civilisation”
Mitcham Round Table heard Mr Dick Bate, of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, say the coloured races were in a transitory stage of civilisation and might not be on an equal footing with white people for 50 to 100 years. The talk followed a question at the education committee about how many school governors were recognised by the Ministry of Education.

Friday 16 August 1957

UNDERGROUND STREAM HERE?
The cellar of a shop is flooded and the owner is asking —
Butcher calls firemen to help him bale
A mystery underground stream is believed to have flooded the cellar of a butcher’s shop in Western Road on Tuesday. Firemen and a C.I.D. pump baled it out while customers queued in the shop. The cellar had also been waterlogged in summer rain in other years.

It’s here again — the centuries-old Mitcham Fair
Mitcham Fair has returned.

Friday 6 September 1957

Phipps Bridge people say: “It’s an insult”
Residents called an insult a remark by borough engineer Riley Schofield, who, answering complaints about Rock Terrace recreation ground, said it had been like that for 30 years and he could not see why there was a sudden uproar. Petition organiser G. Blake, of Phipps Bridge Road, said the council had had numerous complaints and that people had a right to expect something to be done. Schofield had hoped the borough would not rest on its laurels after prosecuting people who grazed horses on the ground.

Former mayor taken ill
Mr W. Dalton, 79, president of the Mitcham Liberal Association and a former mayor, was brought home by ambulance from Chelmsford on Friday after a coronary thrombosis while on holiday with his wife. Mrs Dalton, 77, who rode in the ambulance with him, said later there had been no further attacks.

Coach ride with a difference
Fifty years ago on Tuesday a young couple drove from an Upper Norwood church to Paddington by coach-and-pair at the start of their honeymoon in Wales. On Sunday Mr and Mrs B. Lewis — he is 74 and rose from milkman to depot manager for United Dairies in Valley Road — were to take another coach ride, this time by motor coach with nearly 30 relatives, and celebrate at a Windsor hotel.

Police find two boys on roof
Police on duty at Tooting Bec Common on Friday found two boys in a roof space.

Appeal to the Sewage Board
A last-minute appeal was made to the Sewage Board, with a warning not to assume that local protests had fizzled out.

Friday 13 September 1957

Brightening up Fair Green
Fair Green is living up to its name: the flowers are at their peak.

Boy still in coma
Kenneth, a 17-year-old Mitcham youth, was still in a coma after falling from a motor-cycle.

Friday 20 September 1957

A sailor’s grave
Now they call it Carter Bay
Rear-Admiral H. F. Pullen has written to the Mayor, Coun. T. J. Higgs, to say that in late July H.M.C.S. Jonquiere put a plaque and a cairn on the grave of Able Seaman John Carter, who was born in Mitcham. Carter, of Captain George Vancouver’s ship Discovery, died on 16 June 1793, five hours after eating poisonous mussels on the British Columbia coast. His shipmates buried him ashore and named the place Poison Bay; it is now Carter Bay.

She died with the novel unfinished
Eighty-seven-year-old Mrs Emily was sitting reading in the front room of her home when she died, the book still unfinished. She had lived in the same district for more than 60 years and had been chairman of a Conservative association.

No salvation in Liberalism, he says
Mr Jeffrey Hann, a member of Sir Oswald Mosley’s Union Movement and a former Blackshirt, told North Mitcham Conservatives there was no salvation in Liberalism. He had been a Labour assembly candidate and said he turned to the Union Movement after four years “in the wilderness”.

Tenants’ association may be disbanded
The tenants’ association on a large Mitcham housing estate is in danger of collapsing and may be disbanded.

Friday 27 September 1957

FATHER FIGHTS A BLAZE
Family escape, but the cat, linnet and budgie die
Plays hose on flames until brigade arrive
A family of five escaped when fire swept through the dining-room of their home in Heaton Road in the early hours of Sunday. Mr William John Rondeau had locked up at 11.30 p.m.; he woke to smoke, got his wife, two sons and 15-year-old daughter Irene out, and with next-door neighbour Mr Arthur Morton played a garden hose on the flames until Mitcham firemen took over. The fire burnt for nearly an hour. The family tabby, Timmie, a linnet and a budgie died. The family were afraid the house might blow up.

“You can’t drift any longer”
Robert Carr, M.P. for Mitcham, said it was not the Government’s intention to solve the country’s problems by creating more unemployment. He said measures against inflation might cause temporary dislocation, but that to shirk them would be worse. He was speaking in Mitcham.

“Remove pill-box — quickly”
Mitcham Trades Council hope a road-widening scheme will get rid of the pill-box at Cranmer Road, which they say is dangerous to children. Letters have gone to borough engineer Riley Schofield.

Fewer fires, but one in three a serious one
The fire brigade reported fewer calls, but said that in one case in three the fire was serious. Mitcham firemen also dealt with a run of malicious calls.

Woman stole when the beer ran out
A woman who stole after the beer ran out was before the court. She took goods when she had no money left for more drink.

Friday 25 October 1957

MAN FOILS RAIDER
He struck her. “If you scream, I’ll —” threat
A Mitcham man interrupted a raider. The attacker struck a woman and threatened her if she screamed.

Man on strike hit car with hammer
Peter Major, a de Havilland draughtsman of Mitcham who was on strike during the firm’s recent stoppage, pleaded guilty at court on Monday to damaging a non-striker’s car with a hammer. The car, owned by Dixon Parker, was at the works car park at Hatfield. Major later told Hatfield police: “As it passed me I struck it.” He was fined £1.

New Cricketers
Architects for the new Cricketers public house on Cricket Green have had the walls, roof, veranda and interior rooms built since the first sod was cut on the site of the pub blitzed in the war. The brewers, Young and Co., have still to fix the opening. It is almost a year since work began.

The Guild present “The Young Queen”
Mitcham Townswomen’s Guild staged “The Young Queen”.

Orange-juice resolution
Delegates at the Surrey Federation of Trades Councils pressed a resolution on orange juice for children.

Three remanded
Three people were remanded at Wimbledon magistrates’ court.

Friday 15 November 1957

No overtime, say hospital officers
“It will not hit the aged”
Hospital administrative and clerical staff are refusing overtime. They say a recent 3 per cent Whitley Council pay award, and the Minister’s decision on it, is an unwarranted interference, and that their ban need not harm elderly patients.

Tommy, the pony friend of hundreds of children, has died
Tommy, the pony known to children in Mitcham and Tooting, has died at 34. For 28 years he pulled a scrap-metal cart for Mr Jack Sparrowhawk, of Hallowell Place. Mr Sparrowhawk said there was no pain and that Tommy died in his sleep. During the war the pony had an important job and “retired” last December.

Former May Queen dies
Pat Warren, 20, a typist with a Mitcham firm and a former May Queen, died in hospital on Friday after being admitted on Thursday. She first took part in the May Queen celebrations in 1941 as a lavender girl, and kept taking part. She was an only child. The funeral is to be in London.

Story-tellers’ evening
Lower Mitcham Young Conservatives held a story-tellers’ evening. Members told favourite tales.

Highlander remanded
Pte. Ian Hunt, an Argyll and Sutherland Highlander, was remanded for a week.

Friday 22 November 1957

LAND OWNER FIGHTS COUNCIL
Compulsory purchase order is “unjust and unfair”
He stands to lose £900
A 75-year-old man fought Mitcham Council on Wednesday over a compulsory purchase order for a small plot, now allotments, at the junction of Tonstall Road. Under the Housing Act 1957 the council want the land for old people’s housing. He bought it in 1934 hoping to build, tried to sell to a Tolworth contractor, and was served with the order on 18 July. He says the order is unjust and that he may lose about £900 of his savings. Borough engineer Riley Schofield told the Ministry the site is one of the few left near the amenities old people need.

Robert Carr on unemployment, wages and the Bank Rate
The Mayor, Coun. T. J. Higgs, was present when Mr Robert Carr spoke on unemployment, wage agreements and the Bank Rate. He also said there was some good news: vacancies for shorthand-typists in Mitcham were particularly hard to fill.

Friday 29 November 1957

FIRE SWEEPS THROUGH FACTORY
40 ft-high flames in rubber blaze: staff have narrow escape
Roof collapses, part of floor caves in
Firemen from Mitcham and Wallington went to Sebes Ltd on the Wandle Trading Estate after flames rose about 40 ft. The alarm was raised by Mr Dennis Smythe, of Coulsdon. Nine jets were used; the fire was under control in two hours, but the roof collapsed and half the floor caved in. Staff got out. A spokesman said most of the highly inflammable material and chemicals had already been moved. Crowds watched the floor joists burn.

Rate appeals
Most rating appeals were dismissed. Mr Pettitt, for the valuation officer, defended the assessments; one ratepayer said his rateable value had risen sharply.

Man arrested at Pollards Hill
A man who was staying with Mr Ronald Bailey at Southampton Gardens, Pollards Hill, was overpowered and arrested. Det.-insp. Lewis asked for a remand.

Friday 6 December 1957

COUNTY RATE MAY GO UP
The county rate may rise. A figure in the pound was being discussed, but the scan does not show the final amount clearly.

A tree as a memorial
The Mayor of Mitcham, Coun. T. J. Higgs, planted the first of a line of memorial trees, a purple-leafed maple.

Mystery fire
A mystery fire damaged furniture. The premises were kept locked at night.

Mitcham Common news items 1910 to 1919

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These news items are not complete, and will be added to when more are found.

Contents

1910
1911
1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919

1910

Croydon Guardian and Surrey County Gazette, Saturday 26 March 1910, page 9

MITCHAM PARISH COUNCIL AND THE FAIR.
Showmen’s Guild Manifesto.

In view of the Parish Council Election we have been asked by the Rev. T. Horne, chaplain and lecturer to the Showmen’s Guild, to publish the following manifesto signed by himself on behalf of the Guild Executive Committee:—

“Certain efforts have been made during the past four years to abolish your ancient Charter Fair. Up to now these efforts have failed. Why they have failed is owing to the strong protest you, people of Mitcham, have made against the loss of your rights and liberties, that the abolition of the fair would inevitably bring. The enemies of the fair try to confuse the real issues by asserting that it is a showmen’s question, and that the showmen are merely interfering in your local affairs for selfish purposes.

BUT IS THAT THE TRUTH?

It is not. It is true that the showmen follow their lawful calling as entertainers for profit, and with the laudable ambition of earning an honest living thereby, like all other people who work. That is no argument against the reasonableness of their claim to be heard, and to have just treatment. Showmen are as much entitled to fair play and straight dealing as any other class in the community, and the Guild exists to vindicate and uphold that claim.

LET US CLEAR THE GROUND OF CANT.

The showman, like every other man, has his rights of citizenship. He does not seek preferential treatment. He demands justice, and justice means the right to pursue his lawful calling, with the liberty of all workers, and free from the malign and vituperative utterances of Christian faddists and reformers, who regard him as a material for their reforming zeal. When mistaken zealots attack the showman as a man, the showman shows fight.

THE SHOWMAN FIGHTS FAIR.

He does not attempt to overrule the Home Secretary’s decisions properly given. He does not seek by expensive processes of law (impossible save to the rich) to obtain his own way by other means where the statute of the land gives him no power. He refuses to enter into the debate of fine points of legal intricacy, or to waste his money on their solution. The showman is ever content with ‘tainted!’ in the dock.

THE TRIBUNAL OF THE PEOPLE.

Without the people he cannot live, and it is to the people that he goes for his verdict. Why complicate the issues by fine-spun arguments, as to when a charter is, or when it is not? The obvious truth is good enough for him. Here is a fair—the people want my show—when they do not want me it will then be time enough to close down my business.

WHAT MITCHAM MAY GAIN.

The ratepayers have already paid £400 towards the purchase of the Fair Franchise. Why should not the people of Mitcham get some return for their money? If the fair is removed, with consent of all parties interested, to a more convenient and salubrious site, the Council acting jointly with the Board of Conservators could relieve the rates by the tolls collected year by year from the shows, etc. Mitcham would thus get a sensible and adequate return for its invested money. You will at the same time retain control over the fair, and can co-operate with the showmen in the betterment of the site. The Guild has pledged itself to the reasonable scheme of removing the fair to a better site.

WHAT THE ELECTORS CAN DO AT THIS ELECTION.

They can take care to vote for men who are known to be the friends of the people’s fair. The electors have no direct vote for the Mitcham Conservators, but they have the power to vote for the councillors who do select and elect the Conservators. Here is the situation before the electors. Let it be well understood that no known enemy of the people’s fair shall have the people’s vote. Parish meetings, properly convened, expressing by unanimous vote the people’s will on the fair question, have been scorned and repudiated by the Mitcham Conservators. Public meetings equally enthusiastic have also been treated with contempt. Negotiations of the most persevering and moderate character have been fruitless of good result. The champions of the people’s rights at all crucial moments have been outvoted on the Parish Council.

IT IS FOR THE ELECTORS TO TAKE CARE THAT THEIR WILL SHALL PREVAIL.

Why should the people be despised, denied and flouted by the men who are sent to the Council as their representatives? Upon the question of the fair rights of the people the time has come for distinct pledges. Let the electors of Mitcham see that they are obtained. The Showmen’s Guild will take care that this clear issue is kept before the people. No clouding the issue—no intrusion of side issues to confuse the question—will be allowed to pass without exposure, and the Guild (in the exercise of its legitimate and constitutional rights) will support all the candidates pledged to the maintenance of the People’s right to have and to hold their ancient Charter Fair.”

Daily Mirror, Tuesday 9 August 1910, page 5

FIGHT FOR FAIR.
Mitcham Conservators Post Notices Forbidding Showmen to Take Up Pitches.

Mitcham Common is again to be the scene of a battle between the conservators and the showmen, who are already gathering for the fair. The conservators have opened hostilities by posting notices saying that no spaces will be let for show purposes on the fair green, and enumerating dread pains and penalties which will be incurred by erecting swings and roundabouts on the forbidden ground.

But the Showmen’s Guild is quite ready for war. Not only, they say, will Mitcham Fair open this week as usual, but it will be held on a larger scale than ever. They say that the fair is a legal fair, founded by royal charter, and that until the Home Secretary signs an order for its abolition all its rights and privileges remain. London showmen will meet to consider the situation to-morrow.

Daily Mirror, Wednesday 10 August 1910, page 5

BATTLE OF MITCHAM FAIR.
Showmen Excluded from Historic Green Say They Will “Pitch” There as Usual.

“Notice is hereby given that no sites for the creation of shows, roundabouts or other similar amusements on the fair green will be let for the present year, and proprietors of such shows, etc., are warned that they must not pitch on the land of the fair green.—By order of the Conservators of Mitcham Common.”

The above notice was exhibited yesterday in reference to Mitcham Fair, which begins on Friday, and which has been held on the fair green ever since the days of Queen Elizabeth. Of late, however, the site has been declared unsuitable. In spite of this prohibition, the showmen, several of whom have already arrived at Mitcham, declare that they will pitch on the fair green, as usual, and that they are quite prepared to incur any legal proceedings that may follow.

Daily Mirror, Thursday 11 August 1910, page 5

SITE OF MITCHAM FAIR.
Showmen to Co-operate with Authorities for Removal to Better Place.

The question as to where this year’s Mitcham Fair is to be held came before a meeting of the London committee of the Showmen’s Guild yesterday, held in the show tent of Mr. Alfred Balls on Mitcham Fair ground. Mitcham Common Conservators had forbidden the holding of the fair on the old Fair Green, declaring the site unsuitable. The committee yesterday, while resolving to safeguard the trading interests of the travelling showmen, reaffirmed their readiness to co-operate with the local movement for the removal of the fair to a better site.

Music Hall and Theatre Review, Thursday 1 September 1910, page 12

Guns at Mitcham.

At Croydon Police Court on Friday Henry Harris was committed for trial at the next Guildford Assizes, having been charged with the attempted murder of Frederick Gray, aged fifty, of Wandsworth-road, and Henry Gray, aged twenty-six, of Kensal-rise, by shooting them with a revolver at Mitcham-green on August 12. The injured men attended the court. Mr. A. A. Strong said it was customary for the showmen to take up their positions on the Thursday before the fair, and the members of the Showmen’s Guild had their places allotted by the Guild, so that everything should be done in order. This year, on reaching Mitcham the showmen found that, owing to the notoriety the fair had gained through the action of the local conservators, the ground was occupied by gipsies. On the Wednesday before the fair the Grays found the site they usually occupied was in Harris’s possession. The prisoner, said counsel, was not a showman. Showmen did not carry revolvers, and were a most orderly and law-abiding folk.

Harris carried on a small coal business at Battersea. Occasionally he had gone with shows, and the Grays had helped him. The elder Gray, knowing he had no legal claim to the site, offered Harris £5. On the first day of the fair they had not yet come to an agreement. Frederick Gray was under the impression on Thursday night that Harris had agreed to accept £6 and a use of a portion of the ground. Accordingly instructions were given for the roundabouts to be erected on Friday, but he found Harris was still in possession. About mid-day prisoner asked witness what he was going to do, and witness said, “I’ve finished,” and Harris then said, “I haven’t finished with you.” Between 1.30 and 2 o’clock as witness and his son were walking round the fair ground, Harris ran in front of them, and without a word pointed a revolver at them from a distance of eight or nine paces, and fired several shots.

After being treated by a local doctor witness and his son were taken to Guy’s Hospital, remaining until Wednesday last. A bullet was extracted from his chest, and a doctor told him that if it had been half an inch further to the left, the wound would have been fatal.

Harry Gray, the son, denied that he struck prisoner, or that his father threatened him.

1911

Daily Express, Thursday 13 April 1911, page 5

REMARKABLE QUESTIONS RAISED IN COURT.
“GRANT OF PITCHES.”

Questions of wide importance to the sporting public of London were raised before a Divisional Court, yesterday, when the Conservators of Mitcham Common appealed against a decision of the Croydon Bench in the case of Messrs. Walter Cox and John Cole, members of the Mitcham Village Golf Club. They were:—

Can the conservators of a common grant to a single club the sole right to play golf on the common on one day a week?

If not, can the London County Council assign to a cricket club the use of a pitch in a park for a whole season?

Mr. Justice Phillimore remarked that a golf course laid down on a common was laid down on public ground, but Mr. Justice Scrutton pointed out that if the exclusive use of public ground was illegal in the case of golf it was also illegal in the case of cricket. “And if pitches cannot be granted,” he added, “the clubs will be destroyed, for no one would join a club that could not guarantee a game.”

Mr. Cox played golf on Mitcham Common on a Saturday and Mr. Cole played on a Friday without a caddy, in defiance of rules made by the Conservators that only members of the Prince’s Golf Club shall play over the course on Saturday, and that no one shall play on any day unless accompanied by a caddy. They were summoned by the Conservators for breaking the by-laws, but the cases were dismissed by the Croydon magistrates on the ground that the by-laws were unreasonable and ultra vires.

WORKING MAN’S PLAY DAY.

In opening the appeal of the Conservators against this decision Mr. Danckwerts, K.C., mentioned that a women’s golf club had also been granted a licence to use the common.

Mr. MacMorran, K.C., for Mr. Cox and Mr. Cole, contended that the public should have free access to the common for recreation, and that Saturday was the only day the working man had for such recreation.

“I know,” stated Mr. Justice Scrutton, “that at Blackheath cricket clubs have the same pitch Saturday after Saturday, and spend a good deal of money in improving it. If it is ultra vires for the Conservators to grant permission to the Prince’s Club, all the cricket clubs in London will be affected. They are poor men’s clubs, and they will be deprived of this privilege.”

“Clubs are assigned pitches for the season in Battersea Park,” said Mr. Justice Phillimore. “I have helped some of these clubs, and I know.”

“Mr. Cox and Mr. Cole might as well have played in the Law Courts,” argued Mr. Danckwerts.

“That is not exactly the same,” replied Mr. Justice Phillimore. “If you lay down a nice pavement in front of your house for your children to roller-skate on, you cannot grumble if all the little urchins in your neighbourhood use it too.”

Judgment was reserved.

Daily Mirror, Wednesday 31 May 1911, page 4

GOLFERS ON MITCHAM COMMON.
Judges Refer Case of Players Without Caddies to Magistrates.

The Divisional Court gave its decision yesterday with regard to golf-playing on Mitcham Common. Two players, named Cox and Cole, had been summoned, the one for having played golf on Prince’s Golf Club course on a Saturday, when by regulation members only can play, and without a caddie, the other for playing without a permit or caddie.

The Croydon magistrates had refused to convict.

This decision Mr. Justice Phillimore and Mr. Justice Hamilton further upheld, regarding the regulations that it was sought to enforce as being too much in favour of one class of users of the common. Their Lordships, however, directed that the case should go back to the magistrates on the caddie point.

1913

The Advertiser, Friday 1 August 1913, page 8

MITCHAM COMMON CONSERVATORS.
SHALL THE FAIR BE ABOLISHED OR REMOVED?

A meeting of the Conservators of Mitcham Common was held at the Vestry Hall, Mitcham, on Wednesday evening. Mr. Mallaby presided, and there were also present Ald. G. J. Allen, Messrs. Roberts, Willcocks, A. Mizen, E. Mizen, and J. M. Leather, with the Clerk (Dr. Newnham).

BATHING POND.
With regard to the bathing pond at Marsh, it was said they wanted a keeper who could swim to look after the bathers.
Mr. A. Mizen—It wants someone with a considerable amount of pluck to swim in that lake now.
[Discussion of weeds; all weeds except in one deep place.]

ALLOTMENT OF FOOTBALL PITCHES.
The Clerk said football pitches had been allotted and they were practically the same as last year. Two new applications had been received since the list was made up, but he was afraid he had no room for them. The Chairman remarked that there were altogether nine new applications.
Mr. Willcocks suggested that the senior club, Mill Green Rovers, should have the choice of a pitch on the green opposite the Goat.
It was thought such a matter should be left to the Chairman and Clerk to arrange.

MITCHAM FAIR: A HARDY ANNUAL.
The Clerk reported that Mr. A. Mizen had written to the effect that he had met Mr. Chart and Mr. Cubison as to the transfer of the franchise. They were anxious for it to be completed on the terms previously agreed. They did not think they were safe without a clause stating that the Conservators would use their best endeavours to have the fair abolished. Mr. Harding told him he would be quite content if the fair was removed to Three Kings’ Green. According to a letter from Mr. Harding’s solicitors he did not mind so long as they moved it from Fair Green.
Mr. Willcocks—That simplifies the whole question. In that case Messrs. Chart and Cubison will give way.
The Clerk said the Home Office, they had been informed, were against abolishing the fair. If they had entered into the covenant prepared it would have precluded them from removing.
Mr. A. Mizen suggested that the words “abolition or removal” should be inserted in the covenant.
The Clerk—I would advise the Board to agree to that at once.
The Chairman said the Home Office would [not?] abolish the fair.
Mr. A. Mizen said Dr. Fegen told Mr. Samuels when the deputation waited upon him at the Home Office that it was a delicate matter. Mr. Samuels told them they had to be very careful how they interfered with the amusements of the people.
The Chairman—Suppose the words were inserted—“abolition or removal”—and the conveyance was made, what would be the next move on the part of the Conservators?
Mr. A. Mizen said if opportunity offered he thought they should try to get the fair abolished.
Mr. Leather thought it was a pity they could not put the fair on the Common.
The Chairman said two years ago Mitcham Parish Council would not support the proposal to remove the fair—they wanted it abolished. If they signed this deed to make them use their best endeavours to get the fair abolished or removed they were exactly in the same position as two years ago. The Showmen’s Guild agreed; it was Mitcham Parish Council that refused to consent.
Mr. Willcocks said at a parish meeting the matter was dealt with in a constitutional manner, and by an overwhelming majority the electors of Mitcham decided that they did not want the abolition of the fair. The meeting was called especially to consider this question.
Mr. Leather—I don’t attach much importance to such meetings.
Mr. Willcocks—It is the only constitutional way of getting the views of the electors of the parish.
Mr. E. Mizen—If a public meeting were called it would even move the Golf Club tomorrow. (Laughter.)
Ald. Allen—If Mitcham Parish Council would agree we could move it to Three Kings’ Green at once.
The Chairman—The Home Office do not recognise Mitcham Parish Council in this matter at all.
Mr. A. Mizen said as a trustee he was willing to have those words inserted in the deeds, but, personally, he should always fight for abolition.
Mr. Willcocks pointed out that the fair in its present position was a positive danger and a death trap.
The Chairman—This is a very hardy annual, and I have not the slightest doubt that this time next year it will come up again.
On the motion of Mr. Willcocks the Clerk was requested to write to Mr. Cubison to see if the trustees would agree to the insertion of words to the effect that the Conservators would use their best endeavours to [abolish the fair or procure its removal from] Fair Green to a more suitable site.

A DANGEROUS PRACTICE.
A letter from Mr. Chart on behalf of Mrs. Simpson, of The Birches, was read. It complained cricket was played on the Tower green close to her residence, and on one occasion four balls struck windows in her house within a few minutes.
The Common-keeper was instructed to pay attention to this matter.

1914

Daily Express, Thursday 22 January 1914, page 1

It was decided by the Croydon magistrates that golf on Mitcham Common cannot be restricted to the members of certain clubs.—(Page 5.)

Daily Mirror, Thursday 22 January 1914, page 4

EVERYBODY’S COURSE?

An important decision regarding the rights of the golfing public on Mitcham Common was given yesterday at Croydon, when Frederick Harris, the caddy master of the Prince’s Club, was fined 5s. for obstruction. He had refused to supply a caddy to a non-member.

The Conservators of the common have laid down that no person but a member of the Prince’s Club (of which Mr. Mallaby Deeley is chairman) or the Prince’s Ladies’ Club shall play on Wednesday or Saturday between certain hours. Counsel for the complainant, Mr. A. C. Harrison, of West Norwood, asserted, however, that Mr. Justice Phillimore had decided that whether a person lived at Mitcham or at Kensington, he had an inherent right to play golf upon the course.

The Bench were of the opinion that the regulation giving preferential treatment to a class, distinguishing between the members of the golf club and those who were not, was ultra vires. The Bench agreed to state a case.

Daily Mirror, Thursday 29 January 1914, page 14

GOLF ON COMMONS.
The Growth of the Public Course Movement and Its Sequel.

It is good to hear that no tinge of bitter feeling exists between the members of the Prince’s Club and the residents of Mitcham and district as a result of the recent test case, in which the Croydon Bench decided that the local people had the right to play over the Mitcham Common course at other than certain restricted hours.

The residents are playing in considerable numbers, but it is said that they are tacitly acknowledging the right of members to priority in the matter of starting. As the subscriptions to the club enable the course to be preserved in first-class order (an advantage for which the non-members pay nothing), a simple sense of justice suggests that, whatever the legal aspect of the situation may be, the members ought to enjoy some sort of privilege.

Whether the matter will be left where it now stands remains to be seen. Possibly it will be taken to a higher tribunal, and the question there decided as to whether the conservators of the common are justified in introducing a by-law allotting certain hours to persons who wish to use the course, but who are not members.

Perhaps the happiest solution to the bother might be obtained if the Prince’s Club were to confer with the residents, put before them a proposal to assist them in the raising of their own club to a position of prosperity. Experience shows that where a private organisation uses public land for the purpose of golf, the line of least resistance is obtained by making friends of the local population and offering it encouragement and facilities for the pursuit of the game.

Daily Mirror, Friday 24 April 1914, page 13

Fire In Smoke-room.

The smoking and billiard rooms in the Tooting Bec Golf Club House, Mitcham Common, have been burnt out by a fire as yet unexplained.

The Times, Monday 11 May 1914

GOLF ON MITCHAM COMMON.
RIGHTS OF PLAY OVER THE PRINCE’S COURSE.
DECISION OF THE HIGH COURT.

The Divisional Court, composed of Mr. Justice Ridley, Mr. Justice Darling, and Mr. Justice Rowlatt, heard on Saturday an appeal (Harris v. Harrison) of interest to golfers who are members of clubs on commons. The justices of Croydon convicted the appellant of obstructing the respondent when he was about to play on the Prince’s Golf Course, a part of Mitcham Common, under a permit from the Mitcham Common Conservators. The obstruction alleged was the refusal of the appellant, a caddie master of the club, to supply the respondent, who was not a member of the club, with a caddie during certain hours. It was contended that this was a breach of a regulation made by the Conservators in pursuance of a by-law under the Metropolitan Commons (Mitcham) Supplemental Act, 1891. No caddie master had been appointed by the Conservators, and play without a caddie was forbidden.

The justices were of opinion that the regulation made by the club restricting the rights of the public to play was ultra vires, but their Lordships now took a different view and allowed the appeal and quashed the conviction. Mr. Justice Rowlatt said that there was no duty imposed on the appellant to supply caddies to the public. Mr. Justice Darling held that the club should be allowed some privileges as consideration for spending money on the Common. If the regulation had amounted to total exclusion of the public or had left them without opportunity of play it would have been another matter.

On January 21, 1914, the appellant appeared before the justices to answer a complaint made by the respondent that in the parish of Mitcham on December 6, 1913, he did obstruct and interfere with the respondent, who had made preparations for playing golf on the Prince’s golf course—a part of Mitcham Common set apart for playing golf—and who had a permit from the Mitcham Common Conservators to play golf thereon, by refusing to supply him with a caddie though requested to supply one, contrary to regulation 2 made in pursuance of the by-law 14 by the said Conservators under the Metropolitan Commons (Mitcham) Supplemental Act, 1891. That the appellant was caddie master of the Prince’s Golf Club, and that no caddie master had been appointed and no caddie had been licensed by the Conservators of Mitcham Common.

1915

Mitcham local cutting (Urban District Council election candidates), 1915

EAST WARD.

LAING, W. F.—Unsuccessfully contested North Ward at the last election, and now goes in for the East unopposed.

CHART, J. R.—Undertaker and corn dealer. A member of an old Mitcham family, and at the first Parish Council election was returned at the head of the poll. A trustee of several of the local charities, and hard evangelistic worker.

DENDY, A.—Motor engineer, of London-road, and an old member of the Parish Council.

MIZEN, A., E. E., and E. J.—Members of the well-known firm of market gardeners who have long taken interest in the public affairs of Mitcham. Messrs. A. and E. J. are Common Conservators. The former is a member of the Surrey County Council. Mr. E. J. Mizen is the Chairman of the Croydon Rural District Council.

Mitcham local cutting (Urban District Council election candidates), 1915

WEST WARD.

PARSLOW, W. H.—Builder and house decorator. Has always been popular in the West Ward, where he has headed the poll once. On several occasions has organised a Christmas dinner for the aged poor of Mitcham. Mr. Parslow is also a Poor Law Guardian, and is again offering himself for re-election.

SNOWSILL, E. E.—A gardener by trade, who entered the Parish Council at the last election as a nominee of the Ratepayers’ Association. Has proved himself a most useful and businesslike man, and particularly was this so during his chairmanship of the No. 2 Fire Brigade Committee. More recently he was given a seat on the Board of Common Conservators.

BAKER, P.—A well-known florist of Merton terminus, who, after more than one unsuccessful attempt, returns to the local governing body.

POULSON, H.—A builder by trade, and enters the new Council under the auspices of the Ratepayers’ Association.

1916

Sutton Advertiser (local Advertiser), Friday 21 July 1916

MITCHAM FLOWER SHOW.

The annual summer show of the Tooting, Balham, Merton and Mitcham Horticultural Society was held in the Vestry Hall on Wednesday in glorious weather. There was a good attendance at the opening ceremony, which was performed by Mrs. G. J. Poston, Mr. Poston, as President of the society, occupying the chair, and amongst those present were Dr. T. Cato Worsfold, Ald. R. M. and Mrs. Chart, Mrs. Upton, Messrs. Edward Mizen, Cove, J. R. Chart, W. C. Webb, J. D. Drewett, J.P., C.C., C. Lack (hon. treasurer), W. C. Stratton (hon. secretary), etc.

Mrs. Poston having formally declared the show open, Mr. Lack said there was a membership of 89, and, in spite of many difficulties, the prize money was being paid in full. The Committee decided on the Vestry Hall this year in order to save from £15 to £20 on the tents, etc., but next year, if the war was over, they hoped, by the kindness of Mr. and Mrs. Poston, to again hold the show at Bishopsford.

Mr. Mizen, proposing a vote of thanks to Mrs. Poston, said he very much regretted that the Conservators refused to allow them to have the usual sports on the Common. The Mitcham members of the Board of Conservators did not know anything about the application. He would not then say anything more about the matter, which would be taken further.

The show was the most successful yet held, as not only was there a record number of entries, but the exhibits reached a degree of excellence not very frequently attained. The children’s classes brought some keen competition, though the youngsters were naturally disappointed that there were no sports. In refusing consent to hold the sports, the Clerk to the Conservators offered no reason but merely “regretted” in the usual formal manner. During the afternoon and evening the Misses Barnard, Callegan and Florence Howse played selections on the piano. The prizes were presented in the evening by Mrs. Poston.

Local cutting (Advertiser series), c. July 1916

BOY’S ADVENTUROUS CAREER.

Arrested on Mitcham Common on Wednesday by Det. McMullin, William Henry Harris (16), of 50, Marion-road, Lonesome, admitted rifling a gas meter of 2s. 6d. and a French penny. He was charged with stealing 2s. 3d., which the indicator had shown as missing, and with doing damage to the meter to the extent of 10s. Before the County Magistrates on Thursday he pleaded guilty. His mother said she left home on July 17th with her son for Streatham. He parted from her saying he was going to look for a job. When she returned she found the cupboard door open, and the gas meter in a battered condition on the floor, with the money missing. Mrs. Lewis, a next-door neighbour, spoke to hearing a noise like money being rattled in a tin. Looking up she saw the prisoner with the gas meter in his hands. William Jonas, a South Metropolitan Gas Company inspector, said the prisoner left the gas on. Det. McMullin said the boy was convicted last September of embezzling £1 2s. 1d., and was bound over on probation for 12 months. At 15, by giving his age as 19, he joined the Royal Marines. He was rejected after two months’ service and then joined the East Surrey Regiment, in which he served eight months. He left after 47 days’ punishment for a breach of discipline. Mrs. Harris said her husband had been eight months in the trenches. When her boy left the Royal Marines the chaplain gave him the highest character: his one desire was to go to sea. Prisoner was remanded for a week to see what could be done towards getting him to sea.

1917

Mitcham and Tooting Mercury, Friday 2 February 1917

MITCHAM COMMON FIRES.
Volunteers to the Rescue.

Apparently not content with the sport afforded by the frozen ponds on Mitcham Common some youngsters set fire to the gorse growing near Mitcham Junction Station. The flames spread and quickly reached serious proportions, the wind taking them in the direction of the station. Some attempts to beat them down failed. The Mitcham Company of Volunteers, just finishing their strenuous day’s work on the defences, was rushed back to the scene of the conflagration, and under Lieut. Chas. Poston, fell in to the task of extinguishing the fire, which was eventually accomplished. A word of praise is certainly due to the Volunteers for their timely assistance, rendered when all were thoroughly tired after labouring for many hours on the Defences of London.

At the same time another fire commenced some distance away and some difficulty was experienced in putting it out.

Mitcham and Tooting Mercury, Friday 20 April 1917, page 3

MITCHAM URBAN COUNCIL.
Counc. Hill the New Chairman — Prince’s Golf Club Rent.

NEW CONSERVATORS.

There was a contest for the four positions as representatives on the Board of Conservators. Counc. J. M. Leather declined to be nominated again. The Councillors nominated were A. Mizen, E. E. Mizen, and E. E. Snowsill (old members), and G. Farewell Jones, and W. F. Laing. On the first poll the brothers Mizen and Counc. Laing led, while Councillors Farewell Jones and Snowsill tied with 10 votes each. The result of the second ballot was Counc. Farewell Jones 15, Counc. Snowsill 6.

AN EXPLANATION.

At the end of the election Counc. Ernest Mizen said he wished to say a few words with regard to what took place after the ordinary meeting of the Conservators at the Vestry Hall last Wednesday. Owing to the action of the Chairman in taking the question of the Golf Club rent in private, the public did not know what was transacted there. But they ought to know, as it was of public importance.

The Chairman, who was also Chairman of Prince’s Golf Club, desired that the rent payable by the Club to the Conservators should remain in abeyance during the war. At the beginning of the war the rent was reduced from £250 a year to £150, and at the last meeting another proposal was made that the club should be excused from paying any rent while the war lasted. On the proposition of Mr. Hill-Locks, of the Wallington Council, it was decided that he and, he believed, Mr. Allen, of Croydon, should go through the books of the Club and report to the next meeting as to the state of affairs. Well, he could almost say what the result would be. (Laughter). He had been informed that it was not legitimate to call the heath “Mitcham Common.” It was no more Mitcham Common, declared the Chairman, than London or Croydon Common. Mr. Mizen concluded with the remark, “I know you are still interested in the Common though you must not call it the Mitcham Common, and that is why I have spoken.” (Hear, hear.)

Mitcham and Tooting Mercury (local cutting), c. Friday 5 October 1917

TAKEN TO COVER.—During the air raid on Saturday evening S.C. Sergt. Stanley Dale and S.C. William Holloway came across a man lying asleep on Mitcham Fair Green. Moreover, he was drunk and quite oblivious to danger. “We thought we had better take charge of him for his own sake,” explained the sergeant to the magistrates at Croydon on Monday. So they took him to Mitcham Police Station. He was Charles Halford, aged 52 years, a labourer, of Portland-road, Mitcham. At the station he denied being drunk, but the doctor came and confirmed the diagnosis of the “Specials.” Halford was fined 5s., doctor’s fee 7s. 6d., and 5s. each to the Specials (for their expenses), total 22s. 6d. “Yes,” soliloquised the Clerk (Mr Creak), “it’s a luxury to get drunk in war time.”

1918

1919

Mitcham and Tooting Mercury, Friday 21 February 1919, page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.
To the Editor of the Mercury.

THE OLD CROCK.

Sir,—There seems to be a strong undercurrent of opinion amongst the boys of the old brigade who would like a little help … that the brotherly feeling engendered by forming a friendly rambling community … [OCR fragmentary amid advertising columns] … learned to think of taking a ramble over to Mitcham Common, across the fields to the Wrythe, Carshalton, up the gallop to Banstead Downs and home via Belmont and Sutton, leaving, say, Crusoe-road, 9.15 a.m., bottom of Mitcham-lane, 9.25, Cricket Green, 9.30, returning to Mitcham Green, 1.15 p.m.

Yours faithfully,
THE OLD CROCK.