Category: Community (Warminster)

Topics about organisations and activities in Warminster.

Dances And Social Events In Warminster, 1971

Information gleaned from a Warminster Town Guide, 1971:

Dances and other social events are held from time to time at the Youth Centre and the Longleat Restaurant, Old Bell and Bath Arms hotels. Plays and concerts are presented by the Warminster Amateur Dramatic Society and the Revue Group of the Warminster Youth Club.

Everything Was A Penny A Slab At Sergeant Oborn’s Shop, Warminster

An anecdote by Mary Hatton; from her recollections Sights, Sounds And Smells Of Bygone Days, penned in September 1970:

An appetising smell I have overlooked was from the shop which was part of what is now Heading Mitchell [at the High Street, Warminster]. It must have been a very old shop indeed because my mother knew it when she was a child. It was a very small, dark shop and one had to go down two or three steps to enter. It was kept by Sergeant Oborn and he was a huge man, well over six feet tall. He only sold slabs of rice, peas and bread puddings (all like rocks), and faggots. Everything was a penny a slab. How he made a living I cannot think. You could not buy sliced cooked meat in those days.

The Tinkle Of The Bells

A recollection from her childhood in Warminster, by Mary Hatton (born Mary Christine Butler in 1881), which she penned in September 1970:

I can still remember the peculiar smell of Doctor Willcox’s surgery, presided over by Mr. Charlie King, who prescribed for people, especially children, if the Doctor was on a long journey or very busy. I never heard of him making a wrong diagnosis; we all had great faith in him, and he was very nice to everyone. He wore a very high crowned hat and a “tail’ coat.

In the winter we heard the tinkle of the bells on Doctor Willcox’s sleigh. We had very severe winters in those days and the roads were shocking. The roads in wet weather were a sea of mud, unbelievable now, they were only Macadamized a few years after the First World War, and what a difference it made. If the Doctor had to go to one of the villages, such as Imber, the whole town knew and everyone used to anxiously wait for the tinkle of the bells and heave a sigh of relief when they knew the Doctor was safely back; a pleasant memory.

When the Doctor was on a long journey and was later than expected, Mrs. Willcox used to have fresh chops cooked every ten minutes so that he should not have a dried-up meal or have to wait. It must have taken the Doctor nearly all day if he had to drive to Chitterne or any other out-of-the-way place. There were two other doctors in the town but everybody wanted Doctor Willcox.

An Election Flyer From John Wall, 1969

An election flyer from John Wall. 1969.

Warminster Urban District Council Election.
Saturday next, 10th May 1969.

To The Electors of Warminster
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am a candidate for the Urban Election being held on Saturday next and before asking for your vote I feel I should give some information on myself.

I am aged 44, and run the Garage in East Street which was founded by my father in 1921, and except for War Service I have lived in Warminster all my life. I have served on the Council for 18 years as an Independent, was Chairman in 1957 and have been Chairman of various Committees of the Council. Although, naturally, I support a political party in my private life, I feel strongly that our level of Local Government all decisions should be made with local considerations foremost and one should not be biased by preconceived views.

It is not really possible to sum up one’s outlook and aims in a few words but in my years on the Council I have always tried to view things with the well being and prosperity of the Town and people of Warminster uppermost in my mind and to judge all problems with that as a yardstick. As the subject of a By-Pass is so much in our minds I have endeavoured to set forth my views on the back of this sheet.

I very much hope that you will use your vote next Saturday and that you will feel able to give me your support.

John Wall.

The By-Pass
It is not easy to condense the subject of this By-Pass, but Mr. Beaven and I composed and moved at the special Council Meeting on April 21st, the following amendment:-

“That the Outline Proposal for the provision of an Inner By-Pass be disapproved but the County Council be informed that this Council would support the construction of an Outer By-Pass . . . . to a more modest standard than hitherto envisaged, on the clear understanding that every effort will be made to include it in the next preparation pool of the M. of T. Furthermore, this Council calls upon the County Council and the M. of T. to prepare comprehensive plans without delay to enable traffic flow to be maintained in the interim period, and, if necessary, this Council will be prepared to employ professional Traffic Management Consultants to advise how these two objectives may best be achieved.”

I feel strongly that this would have been a much better basis for negotiation than that which was eventually adopted, and that all our energies should be directed to bringing forward the Outer By-Pass. I am convinced, as I have been since the start, that in spite of the very negative attitude of the County Council, the changing circumstances together with strong pressure from the Town could make the Outer By-Pass a reality in the reasonably near future. This is the only proper answer to our difficulties.

(Flyer) published by J. Wall.

error: Content is protected !!