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 – March 12, 2015
Hero’s award
A soldier from Aldermaston who rescued a disorientated colleague and performed first aid on another while being peppered by enemy fire in Afghanistan has received the Military Cross.
Captain William Hall, of the 16th Royal Regiment of Artillery, was ambushed by insurgents in the village of Kakaran while on his second mission with the Brigade Reconnaissance Force.
As the soldiers withdrew to a ditch under machine gun fire, a bullet struck a non-commissioned officer in the head.
Another soldier became overwhelmed with shock and, oblivious to the fire fight around him, walked back into the line of fire.
Reacting instantly, Capt Hall, aged 32, crawled back through the intense fire and pulled the soldier to safety.
The former Aldermaston Primary, Theale Green and Bradfield College pupil said he recalled delivering a ‘few choice words ’ to his comrade to snap him out of his shock.
Then, under sustained enemy rounds, Capt Hall crawled 20 metres to the fallen NCO and for more than a minute, in full view of the enemy, performed emergency first aid before pulling his comrade into cover.
And with rounds peppering the ground within five feet of his position, Capt Hall exposed his head above the ditch to identify the enemy position, calling for artillery fire and withdrawing only when ordered to.
25 years ago – March 9, 2000
Garden bonanza
A homeowner in the Newbury area has been offered £1m by a housing developer for less than an acre of overgrown vegetable garden.
Newbury property agents said that the remarkable price was a sign of the times, as prime sites ripe for development become more and more scarce.
Ms Mette Jensen of Newbury estate agent Downer and Co said that the land was part of a larger garden to a house in the Newbury area, but declined to give details of the location or the company that wanted to buy the land.
“It is a genuine offer,” she said, “and we are very optimistic it will be taken up.
“We thought ourselves it was fairly amazing but there is a huge demand for land at the moment.”
The million-pound deal is the latest in a series of offers put in for land in the Newbury area.
She said: “There is no land for development, so people are paying extraordinary prices.”
50 years ago – March 13, 1975
Girls’ coach scare
Forty-five schoolgirls and their teachers fled through choking smoke when the coach taking them to Saturday’s international hockey match at Wembley caught fire on the M4 near Membury service area.
All the girls escaped unhurt but the driver, who fought the blaze with fire extinguishers, was taken to hospital for treatment for shock and the effects of smoke.
Badly shaken by the incident, the girls were led sobbing along a motorway slip road to the service area about 200 yards away where they were comforted with cups of tea.
Ambulancemen treated several for shock and stood by until a replacement coach arrived.
The girls were half of a party of 90 from Malmesbury Comprehensive School who were travelling to Wembley in two coaches.
Just as the second coach was passing the service area smoke started streaming from the engine cover and the driver immediately flashed his lights to catch the attention of the driver of the leading coach.
One of the girls, 15-year-old Amanda Plume described what happened. She said: “There was a rubbery smell and we thought it was a tyre but then there was a sudden pop, the bus stopped smoke rose from the front.
“The coach soon filled with smoke and we quickly got out but there was so much smoke that the last ones out could not see where the steps were and had to jump.”
All the girls had to pass the flames and smoke to get out at the front of the coach because they were not strong enough to open the emergency door at the rear.
