Friday 26 July 1940
Streatham News
Cinema failed owing to war
The paper says a cinema failed because of the black-out and evacuation at Streatham.
Obstinate man broke into shop
A man who broke into a shop is reported on the same page. The rest of the story is not readable.
Only son of a rabbi
Misheon—Hydleman fund
The page carries the only son of a rabbi, with a fund figure printed as £379.
Clapham conjurer does his tricks
A short item is headed on a Clapham conjurer.
Neck burned when hair was waved
Another short report concerns a neck burned during a hair wave.
Petty pilfering
Motor driver remanded
A motor driver was remanded on a petty pilfering charge. De Laune cyclists are mentioned as catering for juniors.
Friday 20 September 1940
Streatham News
Comforts fund is still busy
And your gifts will be welcome
The comforts fund appeal says gifts are still welcome.
Bombs drop during rush hour
Presence of mind of city workers
The paper reports bombs falling in the rush hour, and the presence of mind of City workers.
Dog fight overhead
Hit by shrapnel
A dogfight overhead is reported, with a victim hit by shrapnel. A grammar-school note also refers to a member of the Streatham battalion hit by shrapnel.
A call to South London!
Turn terrorism into triumph
A leader calls on South London to turn terrorism into triumph.
Man for trial on Lloyds Bank looting charge
Alleged theft of Masonic swords
A man is for trial on a Lloyds Bank looting charge, alleged to concern Masonic swords.
Keep football going
An invitation to team secretaries
Team secretaries are invited to keep football going.
Grown in back gardens
Show of produce at South Lambeth
A produce show of food grown in back gardens is reported at South Lambeth.
Stabbed wife with dagger
A report says a wife was stabbed with a dagger.
Found mother
Woman’s collapse on leaving shelter
A woman collapsed on leaving a shelter after finding her mother.
Looting from a shop
Auxiliary firemen fined
Auxiliary firemen were fined for looting from a shop.
Lay reader marries Brown Owl
A lay reader’s marriage to a Brown Owl is reported.
Married for 64 years
A Clapham couple are reported as married for 64 years.
Young soldier killed
A young soldier is reported killed.
Thrilling stories of escapes
In South London districts Wednesday night
The paper carries stories of escapes in South London districts on Wednesday night.
Saturday 21 September 1940
Daily Express
A man the world is talking about
Robert Davies, time-bomb killer
The Express describes Lieut. Robert Davies and the Royal Engineers dealing with a German time-bomb. The paper says the bomb, removed from the grounds of the German Hospital, had threatened to bring St Paul’s down.
“Officer fired at me”
Woman tells court-martial
Queenie Alexandra Simpson, of Penzance, told a court-martial that Second Lieutenant Henry Kennedy, of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers, terrorised her with a revolver and fired as she escaped. He was found not guilty on two charges of shooting with intent to do bodily harm.
Two D.F.C. brothers killed
An Air Ministry list reports two D.F.C. brothers killed, each said to have shot down six Nazi planes. They are named as Pilot Officer Charles and Pilot Officer Patrick D. Woods-Scawen, educated at Farnborough.
R.A.F. fighters stop Nazi swarm
A further report says R.A.F. fighters stopped a Nazi swarm.
Friday 27 September 1940
Daily Express
R.A.F. cameras beat Nazi “season ticket” guns
Frank Butler, writing from Dover, says new long-range German guns on the French coast had been firing across the Channel. Four shells fell in the Dover area one afternoon, killing two and injuring sixteen. R.A.F. photographs showed guns massed between Calais and Boulogne and moved about to confuse spotting aircraft.
Woolton appoints two milk dictators
Mr Foster and Mr Baxter
Lord Woolton signed an order making the Milk Marketing Board controller of Britain’s milk supplies from the Monday, the paper naming Mr Foster and Mr Thomas Baxter.
We’ll do it again
Air Marshal Billy Bishop, V.C., is quoted saying that twenty-two years earlier they drove the enemy from the skies of Europe, and that they would do it again.
Girl strangled by silk stocking
Man on murder charge
A man is reported charged at Plymouth with murder by strangulation with a stocking.
Guernsey under German rule
Seven men and a boy who escaped to England in a 20-foot motor-boat described Guernsey under occupation, including work paid by the state.
Streatham News
Shelters, health and transport
Important points raised by Streatham M.P.
Streatham’s M.P. raised shelters, health and transport. The paper says one of his ideas had been announced as government policy.
Church saved from fire bomb
Thrown from porch by passer-by
A fire bomb at a church was thrown from the porch by a passer-by. Wardens are praised for their work.
Six people saved by police and wardens
Police and wardens are credited with saving six people.
To look after the bombed families of local soldiers
A comforts-fund appeal asks for help for the bombed families of local soldiers.
Streatham shopping
The Streatham and District Chamber of Commerce asks members to keep ordinary hours, and suggests a lookout arrangement with neighbouring traders so that shoppers still have protection during alerts.
Four killed
A report is headed that four people were killed. Names printed nearby include Mrs Irene Godfrey and Mr W. A. Newberry, but the scan does not make the link certain.
Friday 25 October 1940
Streatham News
Mr H. S. Kingdon
Years with the Boys’ Brigade
Mr H. S. Kingdon’s long service with the Boys’ Brigade is reported, including his part in planning the new Streatham Hill development.
Pilot officer killed
Few days after he returned to duty
A pilot officer is reported killed a few days after returning to duty.
Long service of Mr J. A. Godfrey
The long service of Mr J. A. Godfrey is noted on the same page.
Peter P. Glenny killed as the result of an accident
Peter P. Glenny is reported killed as the result of an accident.
Five members of one family killed in air raid
Five members of one family are reported killed in an air raid.
A little mother
One killed last week in bombed house
A child is described as a little mother to one killed the previous week in a bombed house.
Air-raid repairs worker sentenced
An air-raid repairs worker was sentenced in a stealing case.
Friday 15 November 1940
Streatham News
Impressive scenes at A.F.S. funeral
Nine men and a woman who died while serving
The paper describes the funeral of nine men and a woman of the Auxiliary Fire Service who died while serving.
Tragic death
Medical officer of health at Mitcham
A death report names the medical officer of health at Mitcham. The body of the story is only partly legible.
Haldane shelters needed
To be considered by the council
Haldane shelters are said to be needed and to be going before the council.
A musician’s tribute
Henry F. Hall
A musician’s tribute concerns Henry F. Hall.
Councillor for 24 years
Twenty-four years of public service by a councillor are noted.
Blast wrecks three houses
Blast is reported to have wrecked three houses.
Friday 29 November 1940
Streatham News
Home Guards as pall bearers
Military funeral of Mr C. S. Oxenburgh
Home Guards acted as pall bearers at the military funeral of Mr C. S. Oxenburgh, a founder member of a Balham club.
The last straw
Tragedy of P. W. Lester
A tragedy concerning P. W. Lester is headed “The last straw.”
Rotarians are well ahead
Welfare work for the troops
Rotarians are reported well ahead with welfare work for the troops.
Mrs Ball came to Balham nearly 40 years ago
Mrs Ball, who came to Balham nearly forty years earlier, is the subject of a short memoir. The same column says she was fined after offering to make restitution.
Mr A. J. Hopper takes on full-time duties
Mr A. J. Hopper is reported to have taken on full-time duties.
Friday 13 June 1941
Streatham News
The first electric tram car
Reminiscence of an experiment at Thornton Heath
A reminiscence recalls an experiment with the first electric tram car at Thornton Heath.
Sergt. R. W. Yarwood killed over Germany
Sergt. R. W. Yarwood, described as secretary of a rhythm club, is reported killed over Germany.
Mr G. M. Bennett and Miss N. A. Abbott
A notice names Mr G. M. Bennett and Miss N. A. Abbott.
Theft from the church
Trusted employee
A theft, the headline says from a saint’s church whose name is cut off, involved a trusted employee.
Saturday 5 July 1941
Mitcham and Colliers Wood Gazette
Tooting Parish Church garden party
Opened by the Mayoress
The Mayor of Wandsworth, Councillor Wm. C. Bonney, and the Mayoress attended a sale of work and garden party in the Rectory gardens. The rector, the Rev. R. R. Neill, said that the year before they had wondered whether to hold it because of alerts. The Mayor told the crowd, “We keep smiling in Tooting.”
The Morden Hall Estate
Park of 105 acres for the public
Mitcham Borough Council and Merton and Morden Council agreed to back the National Trust in keeping Morden Hall Estate open. The late Mr Gilliat E. Hatfeild’s executors had offered the park, mansion, cottages and adjoining land, about 105 acres, 50 in Merton and Morden and 55 in Mitcham. A draft budget showed a probable deficit of £175 a year, which the councils were asked to share if the park stayed free to the public.
New Mitcham councillor
Mr S. E. Birch
Mr S. E. Birch, butcher, of London Road, Mitcham, was appointed a councillor to fill the vacancy caused by the election of Councillor East as an alderman. Alderman Dalton said the Longthornton ward ratepayers’ committee had agreed unanimously.
Indoor shelters
London Civil Defence Region told local authorities not to refuse an indoor shelter because a household had more people than the shelter could hold.
Stole while fire-watching
Youth fined
Terence Edward Breen, a binder of Ettringham Street, Wandsworth, was charged at Western Police Court with stealing stationery worth 10s. from his employers while fire-watching. A second youth, James Tranckle of Trevelyan Road, was also before the court.
“I bought it from my father-in-law”
A short court item is headed with that claim. The rest of the charge is cut off on the scan.
Friday 18 July 1941
Streatham News
Work for the W.V.S. after the war
“Valuable organisation which must be used”
A report argues that the W.V.S. should still be used after the war.
Merry mood at the comforts fund
Try to improve on the year’s total
The comforts fund is urged to beat the previous year’s total.
Street shelters are a danger
Coroner’s comment at inquest on boy cyclist
At an inquest on a boy cyclist the coroner called street shelters a danger.
Bigamist goes back to wife
A magistrate’s comment accompanies a report that a bigamist went back to his wife.
Bought himself drinks with the firm’s money
A man is reported to have bought himself drinks with his firm’s money.
A.T.C. beat A.B.S.
Mitcham successful at Rowan Road
Mitcham A.T.C. beat A.B.S. at Rowan Road.
Friday 1 September 1944
Mitcham News & Mercury
Missing airman rescued
In hospital in Normandy
Comes to England by air ambulance
Sergt.-Navigator Peter Heal, of 65 Greenwood Road, Mitcham, reported missing on D-Day, was alive in hospital in England. His aircraft was shot down over northern France on his first operation; American troops found him when they took the hospital on 4 August, and he was flown home by air ambulance. His father, Mr J. C. Heal, wrote to the officer commanding 1807 Squadron A.T.C.
Lost hand in saving his friend
Mitcham man’s gallantry
Immediate award of the M.M.
Pte Roy Coates, Rifle Brigade, eldest son of Mr and Mrs S. Coates of Poplar Avenue, Mitcham, carried a wounded friend back under fire on an Italian battlefield and lost his left hand. He was recommended for the immediate award of the Military Medal.
Bdr. Hawkins won’t care if it rains
Few words over a few pears
News of Bombardier I. C. V. Hawkins, of Prashaw Crescent, Lower Green West, after four years with the R.A.F. in the Middle East, sits beside a South-Western court case in which Francis Walter Bennett admitted taking pears worth 1s. 6d. from a branch overhanging a neighbour’s garden.
Overdrawn on his points
Error by man with grocery round
George Lilly, a grocery roundsman, admitted at South-Western Police Court overdrawing points on a customer’s ration book.
Rations for a canteen
Returns alleged to be false
A canteen rationing case, with returns alleged to be false, concerns a Wimbledon co-operative canteen at a Mitcham works.
Volunteer repair squads
Because the council would not form them, the local Communist Party said it would organise volunteer repair squads and asked helpers to come forward.
“Mercury” on battlefields
Keeps our men in touch
The paper describes the Mercury as a link with home for men serving abroad. “Augur” and the sports news are named among the features they asked for.
In a plane crash
A Mitcham works engineer is reported in a plane crash. The name is unclear on the scan.
New minister at Mitcham
Begins his duties on Sunday
A new minister at Mitcham was to begin his duties on Sunday.
Sudden death of Major Gillett
Clerk of the local court until his retirement in February
Major Gillett, clerk of the local court until he retired in February, has died.
Royal road to the R.A.F.
A.T.C. renews training with increased vigour
1807 Squadron A.T.C. was renewing training after the recess.
A family of fighters
Leslie killed in Italy
A Mitcham family of fighters is reported, with Leslie killed in Italy.
Gave himself up to police
A corporal gave himself up to the police.
Death of several old residents
The deaths of several old residents are noted.
Friday 8 September 1944
Mitcham News & Mercury
Wildcat pilot does his stuff
Released bombs with a watch-strap buckle
A naval fighter pilot released bombs using a watch-strap buckle after his release gear failed. The same page has P/O King visiting the Mercury.
Former scout dies at sea
Seaman lost in torpedoed ship
Leslie Ball, eldest son of P.c. Ball and Mrs Ball, educated at Broadwater Road School and Elliott Central, is presumed killed after his ship was torpedoed off Norway in an attack on the Tirpitz. A.B. Eddie Norris of Coteford Street, who joined the Navy with him, brought the news home.
Struck by a lorry after alighting from a tram
Accidental death
An inquest returned accidental death on a man struck by a lorry after getting off a tram in Mitcham.
Fireman saved a family of four
A fireman is reported to have saved a family of four.
Fifty years on the railway
Mr Crockford of London Road, Mitcham, a sectional bridge inspector and repairs supervisor on the Southern Railway, looked back on fifty years, from signal lad and porter through electrification, King Edward VII’s funeral and the Unknown Warrior. He had just been given a diploma, with a medal to follow.
Transfer of food registrations
Readers are told about transferring food registrations through the Ministry of Food.
Friday 15 September 1944
Mitcham News & Mercury
They returned too soon
Woman killed in shelter: others were injured
Evacuees who had come home were among those made homeless when a flying bomb fell on a row of houses already blasted in an earlier raid. Mrs Ellen Gertrude Bond was killed in the shelter with her husband. Among the injured were Mr and Mrs A. Day and Mrs Richies. The bomb fell only fifty yards from a previous one.
Changed her mind
Mrs Washington, who had come home on Thursday, wanted to leave again on Tuesday after a second hit on her house. Neighbours described seventy-year-old Mrs Cotton and Miss Watson hanging out clothes at four in the morning.
Mayor tells of visit to Yorkshire
Mitcham evacuees are having a happy time
The Mayor and Mayoress reported on a visit to Mitcham evacuees in Yorkshire, and he warned others “Don’t come back yet.”
Road across the Common
Unsafe to drive on at night
Driving across the Common at night is called unsafe. The Common Conservators had been consulted.
Air cadets fly
Return from annual camp
1807 Squadron (Mitcham), back from annual camp in Hampshire, had flown in an Oxford, a Dominie and other aircraft, including hedge-hopping.
Mr and Mrs Porter
Fifty years married
Mr and Mrs Arthur Porter of Tamworth Park marked fifty years of marriage. He had lately retired after 51 years on the railway, starting as a signal boy at Wandsworth Road, and remembered being fireman on the train that brought Queen Wilhelmina to this country.
Youth council brains trust
Mitcham Youth Club held a brains trust. The youth council was also asked to think of elderly people.
Friday 22 September 1944
Mitcham News & Mercury
Church Road area as a factory site
Town clerk gives an explanation
At Friday’s council the Town Clerk, S. Chart, said people away from the district who did not answer when told a repaired home could be requisitioned might find someone else living in it. Church Road, Century Road, Hawthorn Cottages, Benedict Terrace, Belgrave Walk, Homefield and Chapel Road were discussed as a possible factory zone. Alderman E. J. D. Field said the area had been badly damaged and this was a chance to stop a slum forming.
Houses on the Common?
The paper understood that Mitcham’s housing authorities were thinking of asking to put temporary houses on the Common, which could be cleared more easily when no longer needed.
Preference for the worst blitzed
A Ministry of Health letter said factory-made houses would go first to towns with exceptional bomb damage. Mitcham stood 13th among the worst blitzed boroughs, with more than 13,000 houses damaged.
Death of Sir Isaac Wilson
Regarded wealth as an endowment
Sir Isaac Wilson died on Tuesday in the hospital he gave to Mitcham. He was 82.
W.V.S. to the fore
The W.V.S. is reported to the fore in local welfare work.
Residents’ fine spirit
The spirit of residents after the bombing is praised.
Thursday 28 September 1944
Mitcham and Tooting Advertiser
Tribute to Civil Defence
“Mitcham has been well served”
Col. Stephen Chart, town clerk and Civil Defence controller, told workers in the Baths Hall on Saturday that Mitcham had been well served. He recalled the first daylight raid at Phipps Bridge on 16 August 1940, and said 48 flying bombs fell on the borough between 18 June and 11 August 1944. The Mayor, Coun. W. Jeffery, and Ald. E. J. D. Field also spoke, and there was a presentation to Chief Warden H. C. Roos.
The press got it first
Mitcham councillor shocked by news of the mayor
A Mitcham councillor is said to have been shocked by news of the mayor which the press had first.
Mitcham’s greatest benefactor
A tribute headed to Mitcham’s greatest benefactor runs beside the Civil Defence report.
Friday 29 September 1944
Mitcham News & Mercury
Homes for all at low rents
A letter sets out a post-war programme of government controls, public ownership of services, the Barlow, Scott and Uthwatt reports, full employment and a 40-hour week, in the name of the Amalgamated Engineering Union.
Streatham’s member criticised
Another letter criticises Streatham’s M.P., and a reply says many in the borough had reason to be grateful to him.
Friday 6 October 1944
Mitcham News & Mercury
A very gallant deed
Was promoted on the field
A Mitcham serviceman was promoted in the field for a gallant deed. The citation on the crop is only partly legible.
Wins the D.F.M.
A Distinguished Flying Medal is reported.
One hand
A Mitcham man living with one hand is pictured. The caption does not give a name that can be read with certainty.
The blacksmith
A photograph shows a blacksmith at work.
New school
Notes for a new school appear on these pages.
Funeral of Sir Isaac Wilson
The funeral of Sir Isaac Wilson is reported, a fortnight after his death.
Friday 13 October 1944
Mitcham News & Mercury
Normal life with no hands
Wants to return
A Mitcham man who lost both hands is reported wanting an ordinary life again.
Pte Lee
Gives comfort to friends
Pte Lee, writing from abroad, tries to comfort friends at home.
Airman hurt
An airman is reported hurt.
“Jerry is on the run”
Germans slow and badly clothed
A serving man’s letter says the Germans are slow, badly clothed, and on the run.
Trades Council
Unique meeting at the Town Hall
Mitcham Trades Council met at the Town Hall. Ald. J. R. Beasant is named in the report.
Friday 20 October 1944
Mitcham News & Mercury
Out of Arnhem
F/O Charles G. W. Kenyon
Flying Officer Charles G. W. Kenyon is reported safely out of Arnhem. A friend is said to have had a last crack at the enemy.
Peter Pushman
A portrait note concerns Peter Pushman.
Mitcham has a big gulf, says the surveyor
The borough surveyor reviewed the gap in housing and in building repairs.
Religion in Germany
The Rev. Dr Hubery
The Rev. Dr Hubery spoke on religion in Germany.
Friday 27 October 1944
Mitcham News & Mercury
Make it a home for Mitcham’s homeless
A scheme to house Mitcham’s homeless is reported.
The bomb-damage men love a cup of tea
The repair gangs are written up around their tea break.
Rowed down the Rhine
C. Curtis Wakeford
C. Curtis Wakeford, described as a member of Mitcham, rowed down the Rhine.
The last out of Arnhem
A further Arnhem story, the last man out, is in this issue.
Crawled through to the American forces
A man crawled through to the American lines.
Friday 3 November 1944
Mitcham News & Mercury
Drastic action necessary
Mr Shute has an idea
A hostel for Mitcham’s homeless
Mr Shute put up a scheme for a hostel for Mitcham’s homeless. Ceilings were called the chief trouble, and a street-by-street survey is mentioned. Mitcham W.V.S. were among those at work on it.
Killed on a stretcher
Plane crash
A man is reported killed on a stretcher after a plane crash.
Bombed
London Road, Lower Mitcham
Bomb damage in London Road, Lower Mitcham, is reported.
Friday 10 November 1944
Mitcham News & Mercury
No houses on the Common
The paper reports that houses will not be built on the Common.
A new call to youth
A new call to youth is published.
130 entries
A show or competition with 130 entries is reported as something to celebrate.
The Mayor marches
The Mayor is pictured marching. A second crop from the same issue is captioned with the name Milne.
Friday 17 November 1944
Mitcham News & Mercury
More than 300 in Mitcham
“Never lacked courage”
More than 300 people in Mitcham are counted on the front page, under the line that they never lacked courage. The story is split across several crops.
They admire Mitcham
Visitors are quoted as admiring Mitcham.
Peter Pushman
Peter Pushman appears again, in a portrait crop.
Formation of a local battalion
The formation of a local battalion is reported.
Why people are leaving
A piece asks why people are leaving the district.
Friday 24 November 1944
Mitcham News & Mercury
Bath Road condemned but still inhabited
When will the huts come?
A reporter found Bath Road condemned and still lived in: wet rooms, Anderson shelters, and drains blocked since July. Mrs Gibbs, Mrs Smith and her four children, Mrs Clark, Charles Clark, 72-year-old Mrs Rachel Smith and her daughter Mrs Penfold, and Mr Honey were among those asking when the huts would arrive. Borough surveyor Mr Riley Schofield had said it was unlikely any would be available before Christmas. Sir Malcolm Trustram Eve had been to the Town Hall, not to Bath Road. Chapel Road and Century Road were in a similar state. Miss B. Thrupp’s plan to use the Baths Hall as a hostel had little support.
Storm at housing
Died after the second bar
A housing row on the same issue includes a death headed “after the second bar.” The name is not clear.
How Grove Road got its name
A note explains the name of Grove Road.
Thursday 4 January 1945
Daily Worker
British Army uncovers a Nazi “inquisition” camp
Tortured at Breendonk
A report released at 21st Army Group described torture at the Gestapo camp at Breendonk in occupied Belgium. Prisoners, mostly Jews and members of underground movements, were handcuffed and stripped; a Brussels woman described being hung by a rope from the ceiling.
London will soon have one
A factory of houses
The Ministry of Works was putting up London’s first prefabricated house, a Uni-Seco type, and the L.C.C. had taken the first sites towards 20,000 prefabs.
Youngsters told they have a job to do
Sir Charles Reilly told a London conference on education in world citizenship that young people should set about making towns decent places to live.
Friday 5 January 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
Lieut. Albert Simpson
Flew “a big cheese”
Old folks at home
Lieut. Albert Simpson is reported to have flown “a big cheese,” in a fragment also headed with old folks at home.
Friday 12 January 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
Director in the R.A.F. explains
No knowledge of the regulations
Surprised at the profits
This is the opening of the Board of Trade case against Kempat Ltd of Western Road, Mitcham, for overcharging on brassieres. Counsel said that for six months of the 1943 accounts profits were 63 per cent instead of 7½ per cent. Managing director Vivian Fitch-Kemp was in the R.A.F. in Lincolnshire but still in touch with the firm. Major Henderson-Scott said he had no part in the costing.
Friday 19 January 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
£3,435 in fines for overcharging for brassieres
At Mitcham Court, Kempat Ltd was fined £200 on each of 15 summonses. Vivian Fitch-Kemp, of All Saints Road, Sutton, was fined £20 on each of 15; Major Walter Maxwell Henderson-Scott, of Burley, Hampshire, £10 on each of nine; and Mrs Ruby Olive Knobel, of Gibsons Hill, Norbury, £5 on each of nine. Fifty guineas costs went against the firm. Ald. S. L. Gaston called the case flagrant. The overcharge on those 15 sales was £14 5s. 5½d.
Friday 2 February 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
Chuter Ede recalls his teaching days
A true son of Surrey
Chuter Ede, speaking in Mitcham, recalled his teaching days and was described as a true son of Surrey and as another link with an older Mitcham.
Friday 9 February 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
Mrs M. A. Siviour
Mrs Mary Ann Siviour, of St John’s Place, Church Road, was buried in the parish churchyard on Friday. She was 81, had lived in the same house for fifty years, and was the mother of Sub-Divisional George Siviour. Her husband had worked at Rutter’s Mitcham Shag mill on the Wandle. The house was blasted in the flying-bomb attacks, and she had only lately come back from evacuation.
Friday 16 February 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
Shuttles made at the workshops
Historic experiments hastened peace
Workshops, including one at Balham, had been making shuttles. The paper links the work with experiments that hastened peace.
Streatham News
The man who made the first mooring buoy
South Norwood
A South Norwood man is credited with making the first mooring buoy.
Friday 23 February 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
“Jolly good show”
Much better for the children
A visit connected with the new housing is summed up as a jolly good show and much better for the children.
Rent 10s. a week
Others to have Nissens
Rents of 10s. a week are mentioned, and other families were to have Nissen huts.
For Sir Malcolm
The Mayor sees the M.P.
The Mayor saw the M.P. about a matter for Sir Malcolm, following the complaints over bombed housing.
Friday 2 March 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
Lady Worsfold’s will
Lady Louisa Worsfold, of the White House, Cricket Green, widow of Sir Thomas Cato Worsfold, left £28,580 12s. 5d. gross. The silver coffee pot and the Armada chest went to her husband’s nephew Ivor Worsfold, and £400 to Lizzie Palmer, her cook-housekeeper. The residue went to her niece Marjory E. Osman. Verger A. E. Champion was sent a candlestick and matchbox holder from the White House.
Lady Worsfold memorial fund
A memorial fund in Lady Worsfold’s name is also reported.
Serves 250 daily but loses £150 a month
A kitchen serving 250 people a day was losing £150 a month. Three reasons are given; not all of them can be read.
Friday 16 March 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
Nissen huts
They’re all pleased
Families in the new Nissen huts said they were pleased. The curved walls and the kitchens are described, and a plot of ground was still wanted.
Sailors want pen-friends
Sailors asked for pen-friends.
Circled the minefield
A sailor’s account of circling a minefield is reported.
Parcel from New Zealand
A parcel from New Zealand is acknowledged.
Friday 23 March 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
Death of Ald. S. L. Gaston
Judgment and good humour
Ald. S. L. Gaston, chairman of the Mitcham bench, has died. The paper writes of his judgment and good humour.
A playground complaint
A complaint about a playground is reported.
Straying horses
Horses, a rope and a brick
A case concerns straying horses, a rope and a brick.
Council estimates
The council estimates are before this issue.
Friday 30 March 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
This week’s pages
The surviving scan of 30 March is almost entirely a cinema list. No news story on it could be read.
Friday 6 April 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
Why the council scheme was opposed at the inquiry
A council scheme was opposed at a public inquiry. The scan does not name the scheme clearly enough to repeat it.
Ex-prisoner of war and a happy reunion
The lance-bombardier brought a neighbour with him
A lance-bombardier who had been a prisoner came home and brought a neighbour with him.
Friday 20 April 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
Western Road school football team
The paper prints a photograph of the Western Road school football team.
Friday 27 April 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
This week’s pages
Several crops from 27 April are in the set, but the headlines are too broken to summarise without guessing.
Friday 4 May 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
T. Francis
A portrait or note of T. Francis is among the 4 May crops. The caption is not readable.
Friday 11 May 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
Victory is ours
Bonfires blaze the light of peace
A spirit of thanksgiving on the Green
Flags went up in the streets and bonfires were lit on the Green. The revels lasted past midnight.
The Mayor pays tribute
The Mayor paid tribute at the thanksgiving.
We remember them
A remembrance of the dead sits beside the victory headlines.
Casualty of war: the Cricketers
The Cricketers is described as a casualty of the war.
Mitcham Labour Party at 484
The Mitcham Labour Party gathering at 484 is pictured.
How Mitcham won through
A serial history of the borough at war starts in this issue: evacuation rehearsals and gas masks in the summer of 1939, the last Mitcham Fair that August, and the emergency committee under Controller S. Chart, with Aldermen East, Gaston, Field, Fitch and Dalton, on 3 September. It follows the “phoney” months, Hall Place opened as a soldiers’ club, the Fair Green raid that destroyed the Methodist church, the Home Guard’s loss of eleven men at a platoon post at the Creameries, and the blitz. Flight-Sgt Frank Petts, a former Mitcham County School boy, is named among early local airmen mentioned in dispatches.
Mr G. A. Isaacs, M.P.
Mr G. A. Isaacs, M.P., was announced to speak on the Saturday.
Friday 18 May 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
All jolly at the victory parties
VE-day for the kiddies
Street teas went on. In Edmund Street the oldest inhabitant took victory tea with the Mayor and Mayoress, Ald. and Mrs A. H. Bailey. Other captions show Caithness Road, a “Welcome Home” in Lessingham Avenue, camera-shy toddlers in Burtop Road, Balham Park Road, New Barnes Road, “stout fellows” in Raleigh Gardens, the spread in Trevelyan Road, sunshine in Louisville Road, and the Mayor and Mayoress at Steers Mead. In Tunley Road, Tooting, the Mayor and Mayoress of Wandsworth, Ald. and Mrs W. C. Bonney, joined the tea.
The political home front
Mr Greenwood
Mr Greenwood is reported on the political home front, on the same page as the Edmund Street picture.
Labour’s headquarters
A photograph shows Labour’s headquarters.
Friday 25 May 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
More victory parties
Further photographs: a sunny time in Manship Road, Rodney Road’s own V-signal, happy faces in Carshalton Road, and children at Bordergate puzzled by the camera.
Friday 1 June 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
Cranmer Estate’s victory party
Flags went up again on the Cranmer estate the night before. Heavy rain just before tea drove everyone indoors; about twenty minutes later the cloths and food were back outside. Games followed, and later a bonfire.
Pear Tree Close
The children of Pear Tree Close, Mitcham, were photographed at their victory tea.
Friday 8 June 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
Deer Park Gardens
There was iced cake for the guests at the victory party in Deer Park Gardens, Mitcham, at the week-end.
Almond Way
A photograph shows a group of children at Almond Way’s victory party.
Friday 15 June 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
Dearn Gardens
The Mayor of Mitcham opened the proceedings at a party in Dearn Gardens.
Sir Robertson
Meetings for electors
Sir Robertson was to speak at meetings, including Plough Lane, Beddington and Long Thornton. All electors were invited.
Friday 22 June 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
Tamworth Lane has its party
Tamworth Lane’s victory party is photographed.
Bert Webb
Arnhem
A separate cutting mentions Bert Webb and also Arnhem. The paragraph is too broken for a fuller summary.
Friday 29 June 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
Col. Stephen Chart
Two notable honours
Two honours had come to Lt.-Col. Stephen Chart, for thirty years clerk to the urban council and then town clerk, who was shortly to retire.
Fusilier killed in Italy
Fusilier Jack Standish, aged 22, of Pitcairn Road, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, was killed in Italy a fortnight before VE-Day. A year earlier the paper had told how he helped fool the Germans while another platoon took prisoners. Before the war he worked at the Stock Exchange, was educated at Gorringe Park School, and was a Mitcham Boy Scout.
Star turn on Mitcham’s platform
Professor Laski spoke in a crowded Mitcham hall, with an overflow in the yard, for what the report calls a socialised Britain.
Lifeboat Day
Mitcham’s Lifeboat Day collection for the R.N.L.I. is reported, with E. M. Blackwell among the organisers.
Streatham News
Quarrel over a coal cellar
Landlady summonsed by her lodger
A landlady was summonsed by her lodger after a quarrel over a coal cellar.
The war not won by one man
Col. Wintle
Col. Wintle argued that the war was not won by one man.
“No room for compromise”
Mr Sandys hits at the Socialists
Mr Sandys said there was no room for compromise, in an attack on the Socialists.
Friday 20 July 1945
North London Press
More VE parties
Still celebrating in Islington
The Press reports further VE parties in Islington, with the mayor among the children and an open-air theatre in Finsbury Park. This cutting is not a Mitcham paper.
Friday 27 July 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
Lavender Avenue children’s party
Children at the Lavender Avenue, Mitcham, victory party on Saturday included the entrants in a race. The ground’s name is cut off on the scan.
Wednesday 8 August 1945
The Tatler and Bystander
Mash—Benn
Mr A. E. L. Mash, director of public relations at the Ministry of Aircraft Production, of The Wield, Betchworth, son of Mrs A. Mash of 96 Manor Road, Mitcham, married Miss Julia W. Benn, younger daughter of Sir Ernest and Lady Benn of Morven, Oxted, at Tandridge.
Friday 10 August 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
A charabanc outing
Gladstone Mission
Thirty-two members of the sisterhood of old folks at Gladstone Mission, Mitcham, took their first post-war charabanc outing on August Monday, to Windsor. They picnicked at Runnymede, saw the castle, had tea by the river and a boat trip, and sang all the way home.
Friday 17 August 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
Holiday in a mansion
Thirty-three Mitcham children went with the Mayor, Ald. A. H. Bailey, on Tuesday for a fortnight at a mansion at Worplesdon, near Guildford, paid for by the Lord Mayor’s Air-Raid Distress Fund. He went back the next day with seven more children.
A cheque for seven years’ service
Mr Val Hall presented a cheque to Mr J. Gibbs for seven years’ service at Willow Lane, Mitcham.
Betting in the public bar
In a Mitcham public house a man was watched taking a slip and coins. Callaghan was alleged to have looked at the paper and said, “It’s not in the first race, is it?”
Friday 24 August 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
Fernlea Road
Ninety-four-year-old Mrs Amelia Frost took tea with the victory party in Fernlea Road, Mitcham.
Friday 7 September 1945
Mitcham News & Mercury
Love Lane
A photograph shows some of the young merrymakers at the Love Lane, Mitcham, victory party.
Thursday 11 October 1945
Mitcham and Tooting Advertiser
Fifty years on the railway
Golden wedding memories of old Mitcham
Mr Arthur G. Funnell, of 32a Mitcham Garden Village, and Mrs Funnell kept their golden wedding. Forty of his fifty years on the Southern Railway were in signal boxes about Mitcham Junction. He signalled Queen Victoria’s funeral train, and the branch-line royal train that carried the Prince of Wales and the Kaiser after a review on Wimbledon Common. They were married at the parish church by Canon Wilson on the same day, and in the same carriage, as Tom Richardson at Beddington. Their Love Lane house, home for forty years, was bombed.
The first two home
The first two Mitcham prisoners home from the Far East were Gunner H. A. Dalton, R.A., son of Ald. and Mrs W. Dalton of 205 Commonside East, and L/Cpl Walls, Royal Corps of Signals, son of Mr and Mrs Walls, of 2 King’s… (the rest of the address is cut off). Mr C. H. Selwood of the Mitcham Prisoners of War Association met them at Waterloo, and Mrs Poole, of the garage in Western Road, drove them home. Twenty local owners had offered cars.
