This week in history 17/07/1899

  • Charles hedges is summoned to the Magistrates Court for a serious assault on a policeman, where he stabbed the officer with a knife.
  • A rifle shooting match between army units is held in Wiveliscombe. A spokesperson said it was a 'social and private affair not intended for publication.'
  • Typhoid fever breaks out among a number of farm animals, leading to an order to slaughter seven pigs being issued.

22/07/1908

  • John Douglas, 23, is charged with having driven a motor car in a manner dangerous to the public after crashing into a coach and injuring a horse in Eastreach, Taunton. He was fined £14.
  • A reader writes that poor church attendance might be owed to the duration of sermons, which carry on for forty or fifty minutes even on a hot summer day.
  • A cottage in Milverton belonging to a 'respected labourer' is burgled of cash.
  • Frederick Rossiter, of Rockwell Green, pleads guilty to being drunk in a licensed premises, the London Inn.

20/07/1939

  • A cartoon lambasts Hitler on the eve of war.
  • Engineers begin work to supply water to Sampford Hill and Holywell Lake ahead of the building of new council houses.
  • Mr F Gillard of Wellington appears on a radio broadcast on the topic of the Blackdown Hills.
  • The women's section of the British Legion are hosted at a Milverton garden party. Mrs Moberley Bell presides over events, and declares the August meeting is cancelled on account of members being on holiday.

22/07/1997

  • Gilliam Hodds, 65, a glider crash victim, takes to the skies again. Mr Hodds returned to the pilot's seat while still using crutches, and not long after he miraculously escaped a serious crash with minor injuries.
  • Wellington schools are said to be bracing for a 'cash squeeze' in advance of an expected slashing of the education budget to conform to the government's fiscal rules.
  • Wiveliscombe skateboarders launch a bid to build a £10,000 skatepark in the town.
  • Kingsmead students take up work experience and undertake a variety of roles, from working with the BBC to helping out at an equestrian centre.