Back in the day: We delve into our archives to see what was going on 10 years ago, 25 years ago and 50 years ago this week
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10 years ago – October 23, 2014
Bikers reunion
Former members of the C’adora Eagles Motorcycle Club travelled from as far as Australia to be reunited last weekend – 50 years after the club was first formed.
Last year, the Newbury Weekly News ran a story in which one of the club’s founder members, Robert ‘Jock’ Fisher, appealed to other former members to get in touch for the special event.
After almost a year of phone calls, emailing and days spent searching, the reunion was held at the Shaw Social Club.
The club was formed when Mr Fisher’s friend, Jan Roberts, painted a silver eagle, taken from the comic of the same name, on the back of his black leather jacket.
From then on the number of ‘Eagles’ soon grew, with around 40 motorbike enthusiasts from Hungerford, Newbury, Thatcham and Andover joining.
Together, they could often be seen riding the streets of West Berkshire and would meet up every Sunday outside Camp Hopson in Newbury to embark on one of their many day trips.
The name ‘C’adora’ originated from the name of a café on the corner of Enborne Road, run by Terry Lanni, where the group spent much of their leisure time.
25 years ago – October 21, 1999
What’s in a name?
No-one knows for certain why the railway bridge over Bartholomew Street is called Black Boys Bridge, but the exotic name conjures up stirring images of Newbury’s rich history, when ruthless civil war generals, heroic admirals, exotic colonials, long-distance stagecoaches and then puffing steam trains decorated the local landscape.
The bridge is thought to take its name from the Black Boys Hotel, a pub which stood on the south side of the present bridge for two centuries, between 1761 and 1957.
Even now, traces of the hotel sign are just visible above The Bart Street Barbers and the Roderick Anthony hair salon, but why the pub – and hence the bridge – took on its exotic name remains a mystery.
It is possible that a pub had been on the site since the Civil War, and that Sir John Boys, a general who fought at the Second Battle of Newbury and allegedly burnt down part of Donnington, earned the nickname ‘Black Boys’ for his work.
Other possible sources of the name include the grimy youngsters who were sent up chimneys to sweep them clean until the 19th century, or the dark complexion of King Charles II, which may have earned him the name ‘Black Boy’.
The assistant curator of the West Berkshire Museum, Paul Cannon, also suggested some alternative explanations of the mystery, saying that the pub could be linked to the Andrews family, who once lived at Shaw House mansion and owned slaves in the West Indies.
50 years ago – October 24, 1974
Help the homeless
A body pledged to helping homeless people throughout Berkshire will start preparing for action next week.
The Berkshire Housing Liaison Group, formed from voluntary workers and people concerned with the housing problem, are holding its first meeting a week tomorrow.
They will study a comprehensive document compiled by Mr Andrew Larkin, co-ordinator of the Thames Valley Shelter Housing Aid Centre, and then make recommendations to the county and district councils.
In a preface to the document, called ‘Homelessness in Berkshire’, Mr Larkin hopes that the issues raised will act as a stimulus for a far-reaching campaign.
The campaign should involve, he says, voluntary organisations, local authorities and the homeless themselves to improve the housing situation for all those not adequately housed.
Mr Larkin comments that in the last year or two, housing authorities have been given 66 many extra powers to “improve the housing situation in their locality. Much of the responsibility for taking advantage of the new powers lies with the district councils”, he says.
People from the Newbury area are involved with the liaison group although, says Mr Larkin, the problems are much greater in other parts of the county, for example, Reading and Windsor.
