Sunday 11 August 1963
Is justice being served in Britain, or is there something nasty in the woodshed? Is the legal system protecting the privileged? In the Stephen Ward case, why were three key witnesses – Lord Astor, Douglas Fairbanks and John Profumo not called? There is a sense of jiggery-pokery to protect the privileged. A fairer system is needed now.
Plans to help the housewife with the cost of her weekly shopping have caused major disagreement in the Cabinet. Some want to abolish price-fixing, a system that allows big firms to take legal action against shopkeepers if they lower their prices. However, senior Tory ministers and experts are in favour of the current system, and against shopping price cuts.
A lorry found abandoned in Nottinghamshire might offer a clue to the Great Train Robbery. Local detectives believe there is a connection. However, Buckingham CID, who are investigating the robbery, said, “There’s nothing in it for us.”
Scientists at a laboratory in Leatherhead, Surrey are searching for the Perfect Sausage. Seventy scientists are employed to look into all types of food. Another example is the Problem of the Pips. Housewives like to see pips in raspberry jam because it reassures them that the jam was made from real fruit. However, the pips disintegrate in the boiling process. Also, the scientists are trying to discover if peeled potatoes can be prevented from turning brown when left out of water.
Church bells at Gotham, Notts will remain silent today because two swarms of bees have nested in the 70 foot high church steeple.
Television highlights: Robin Hood – The Charm Pedler. Sooty. Fireball XL5.
Radio highlights: Meanwhile Back at the Parthenon. Who Do Men Say That I Am?
Weather: cloudy at first, but sunny later.
Monday 12 August 1963
The £252,500 treasure train haul may be hidden within twenty miles of the ambush spot. The robber-gang might be hiding there too. Those are the theories being followed by Scotland Yard. Hundreds of phone calls have been made received by the police following the offer of a £260,000 reward. Meanwhile, detectives are checking all the buildings around Sears Crossing. There is a suspicion that the gang might be hiding in a barn or cottage.
Passengers and spectators who order meals and snacks at airports will not be called “luv” by the staff anymore. The friendly word has been blacklisted by the big catering firm Forte’s. From now on, staff must address their customers as “sir” or “madam”.
St Ives, Cornwall, the seaside town that wants to freeze-out beatniks faces a new-style counter-attack – friendliness, lots of friendliness. A beatnik spokesman said, “We’ve established a headquarters in the woods above the town. We will create no disturbance. We will do the same as other people do. The real root of this anti-beatnik business is that we don’t scatter our money around like confetti. If we did, we’d be as welcome as the flowers in May.”
Music: prediction spot – Freddie and the Dreamers will soon be top tenwards with I’m Telling You Now. Pet Clark has a new disc – Let Me Tell You. And mums will lend a an ear to Ken Dodd going serious with Still.
Tower crane erectors and lorry drivers – only first class men talking pride in themselves and their work need apply for these top-rated jobs with exceptional conditions: Record Tower Cranes, NW10.
Television highlights: Blue Peter. Tonight – series return with Cliff Michelmore. Points of View with Robert Robinson.
Radio highlights: Melody on the Move. Letter From America.
Weather: sunny spells, showers. Outlook – similar. 20c, 68f.
Tuesday 13 August 1963
The Flying Squad are receiving more than 30 phone calls an hour as they seek the mail train robbers. Also, it’s been revealed that over half of the missing £2,554,000 was in notes that can be traced.
Eire’s CID passed on vital information to Scotland Yard about the mail train gang. The Irish police believe that three Dublin crooks were involved in the robbery. A pair of police handcuffs, presumably lost, were used in the raid.
Ma Gasking has received five offers to buy her Ringlestone Inn. Ma is now receiving fan mail of over 100 letters a day. Will she sell? “I’m not saying,” she said. If she does sell, Ma insists that the 17th century pub must retain its character with oil lamps and not electricity, and water drawn from a pump.
In a match between Lancashire League club Darwen and a Commonwealth XI, West Indies fast bowler Roy Gilchrist, playing as a guest for Darwen, bowled a “bumper”, which hit Australian professional Lou Laza on the glove. Laza then hit Gilchrist with his bat. Gilchrist replied by hitting Laza with a stump. Later, the two men shook hands and had a drink.
Lord Gladwyn says that the English are the most class-conscious and snobbish nation in the world. Not the Scots, Welsh or Irish – they do not fall into this category – but for the English snobbishness is their besetting sin. He believes that class barriers should be broken down and the government should become involved in a united Western Europe.
Thieves who broke into a factory in Camden Town found no money. Instead, they stole £1-worth of the firm’s products – peanuts.
Television highlights: Comedy Playhouse – Impasse with Bernard Cribbins and Leslie Phillips. Smugglers’ Cove. How to Enjoy Jazz Without Really Trying.
Radio highlights: Sing Us the Old Songs. Family Favourites.
Weather: bright intervals. Outlook – cool, some rain. 18c, 64f.
Wednesday 14 August 1963
‘The Squealer’ gave Scotland Yard ten names. An informer, a snout in criminal slang, told the police that the railway robbers had used a remote Buckinghamshire farmhouse as their hideout, Leatherslade Farm. The police swooped on the farmhouse and discovered that the robbers had fled in a hurry.
The locals are now speaking out about their suspicions. Postman Bill Claridge said, “I was surprised to see no movement in the farmhouse. I thought the ‘new owners’ had not moved in.” John Alfred Marvis, a cattle herdsman said, “I noticed a strange man in a car coming and going in the village and driving to and from the farm.”
Police are now taking Leatherslade Farm ‘to pieces’, searching for clues. Scotland Yard have practically transferred the Yard to the farm site. For the first time, the whole of the forensic laboratory staff – the Yard’s scientists – have moved to the scene of the hunt, together with fingerprint men and photographers.
Secret plans are being drawn up by the council in Chudleigh, Devon to thwart teenagers who are using phone boxes to comb their hair, paint their faces, and meet their boyfriends. There have been reports of “shocking behaviour”. A police spokesman said, “If we are called in, we shall act immediately.”
A sculpture of a nude man apparently trying to do the Twist was unveiled in Eastbourne. A year ago, town councillors invited sculptors to submit designs, and this was the only one submitted. The sculpture was created by bearded Bernard Davis of Hayward’s Heath, Sussex. His figure is called Idiene.
Television highlights: International Athletics – England v Italy. Stars and Garters with George Melly. Zero One – air security series.
Radio highlights: Yes, It’s Great Yarmouth. Play – Big Bertha.
Weather: sunny intervals and scattered showers. Outlook – little change. 20c, 68f.
Thursday 15 August 1963
In their search for the mail train robbers, the police have found a clue – a loaf of bread. They are looking to track the man from “Banknote Farm” who bought the bread at a local store. Meanwhile, the police are continuing to search the farm for more clues.
A boy in Oakley, near “Banknote Farm”, collects car numbers. He has shown his notebook, which contains 47 numbers recently recorded, to the police. Ace detectives, Tom Butler and Peter Vibart – the “Terrible Twins” are also on the case. They are among the most successful detectives Scotland Yard has ever known.
A survey classifies 1,700,000 old people as lonely. Of these, 400,000 are “very lonely”. The loneliest people of all are those no longer visited by their children – the lack of visits makes them feel unwanted.
Accidents, poisonings and violence send more people to hospital than any other cause. The next largest cause is tuberculosis. Men stay in hospital, on average, nineteen days, women eighteen days. Of 1,400,000 major operations, twenty-six percent were for stomach troubles.
Seven of the discs in this week’s top ten are British – two are American, the other Japanese. Nineteen of the top thirty are British. The main reason – the current crazy for beat music. Of the top fifty, twenty-five are beat songs. Britain is getting into the beat groove, and I think that groove is going to stay with us for some time.
Television highlights: It’s My Opinion – people from Port Talbot air their views. Pinky and Perky. True Adventure – the search for the brown walrus.
Radio highlights: Star Parade – Hank and Hannah. All Together – community singing.
Weather: showers, cool. Outlook – drier, warmer. 20c, 68f.
Friday 16 August 1963
A Bournemouth woman is in hiding after tipping-off the police about the train robbers. She is frightened that other members of the gang might try to reach her. Police hurriedly drove her away to a secret location.
In their search for the mail train robbers, the police have put a blackout on their next moves. However, it is clear they are poised for big developments. Five people have been arrested, including two women. The police also found £100,000 in two £50,000 bundles.
Henry John Burnett, 21, was hanged at Aberdeen Prison yesterday for the shotgun killing of a merchant seaman. It was the first execution in the city for more than a century.
A breadline menu for the unemployed: Breakfast – stewed fruit; egg, bread and tea – 3s 2d. Dinner – cold meat left over from Sunday, or hotpot, or shepherd’s pie, potatoes and vegetables; blancmange – 2s 3d. Tea – macaroni cheese, bread and tea – 2s 6d. Supper – bread, jam and tea – 1s 3d.
Three footballers – Keith Williams and Esmond Million of Bristol Rovers, and Brian Phillips of Mansfield, have been banned for life after accepting bribes to fix the result of the Bradford v Bristol Rovers game, played on 20 April. “Other matters” regarding corruption in football are being investigated.
Agony Aunt: Question – should a wife be suspicious if her husband arrives home reeking of perfume? Jane Adams’ reply – not if he works in a perfume factory.
Television highlights: The Marriage Lines – new comedy series with Richard Briers and Prunella Scales. Ready, Steady, Go! – pop show. Tales of the Riverbank.
Radio highlights: Golden Treasury of Music and Song. Non Stop Pop.
Weather: rain. Outlook – sunny periods. 17c, 63f.
Saturday 17 August 1963
Navy ships are keeping a look-out for a motor-yacht, which might be carrying a part of the Great Train Robbery loot. Meanwhile, £100,900 of the haul has been found abandoned in a Surrey wood. The official total for the amount stolen – £2,631,784. Of that amount, police have recovered £243,107.
The police are working on the theory that members of the train robbery gang have bought cheap cars and are storing these cars, along with the loot, in lock-up garages. Detectives believe that the big share-out among the gang took place on Sunday, before they fled their hideout at Leatherslade Farm.
The Chief Constable of Exeter said that all weekend-drivers should take a refresher course because they are not as safe as motorists who drive all the year round.
Meat prices have rocketed again with pork the only meat selling at a steady price. Potatoes and salad items are plentiful while herrings offer the best deal on fish. Crab meat is now available in cartons – ideal for picnics.
Miss Hannah Ede of Helham Green is 105 today.
Harlequins RFC will break with tradition and play their first evening mid-week match at Twickenham. Their opponents will be Italian club Roma.
Television highlights: Summer Grandstand featuring the second half of the Charity Shield match, Everton v Manchester United. Juke Box Jury with Carol Ann Ford. Eric Sykes.
Radio highlights: A Century of Soccer. Geoffrey Chaucer – talk.
Weather: showers and sunny spells. Outlook – similar. 16c, 61f.
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