By Saul Cooke-Black

SNJ reporter Saul Cooke-Black delves into the archives.

1965

NEW signs were unveiled as a one way traffic scheme came into force in the centre of Stroud.

In a bid to ease traffic congestion, new rules allowed traffic to go up Gloucester Street and along King Street in one direction only.

TWO sisters were keeping alive a long family tradition by learning the art of bellringing.

Sara and Suzanne Williams were learning the practice at St Mary’s Church, Woodchester, after their grandfather and his grandfather were ringers before them.

THOUSANDS flocked to see Coco the clown, appearing on behalf of the Stonehouse Association for Mentally Handicapped Children, at the West Country Fair in Taunton.

The popular Coco raised more than £81 from the sale of his autograph.

A record breaking crowd of 22,000 attended the fair over three days.

1975

TWENTY-SIX print workers from Burroughs Machines Ltd were made redundant after a fall in orders.

It left 30 workers at the factory in Slad Road, but despite the cutback the company did not plan to close the Stroud plant.

The decision came after 15 clerical workers had lost their jobs at the factory three months earlier.

A 20 PER CENT increase in the cost of parking in Stroud was announced.

The move took the price of parking from 5p to 6p per half day and from 10p to 12p per day.

Cheapside, however, remained at 6p per day.

1985

HUNDREDS crowded into Stroud Subscription Rooms to see the African Children’s Choir.

The 31-strong choir, whose ages ranged from six to 13, were touring Britain to raise funds to build an orphanage and school in Luwero, Uganda.

They arrived in Stroud having recently appeared on breakfast television and on BBC radio’s Woman’s Hour, with their next stop the Edinburgh Festival.

THREE more victims of a meningitis outbreak in Stroud were recovering in Gloucester Hospital.

The total number of cases in the area from June, 1981 to September, 1985 stood at 66.

1995

A TEENAGE inventor from a village near Stroud made it through to two engineering contest finals in London.

Jeremy Mills, from Burleigh, took his Helical Rotary Actuator to the final of the Young Engineer competition, and then raced across London to the Engineering Federation finals.

His invention beat thousands of entries in both competitions and also won a contest run by Rolls Royce.

A GREEN fingered pensioner who was in hospital for ten days received just the tonic he needed when he was awarded three top prizes in a gardening competition.

Bob Hopkins, from Westrip, was delighted when his wife and co-gardener Gwen brought him two first prizes and one runners up prize from the district council tenants garden competition.

His garden featured an aviary, a pond, fountains and waterfalls alongside a feast of flowers.

2005

FOUR readers called the SNJ claiming to have seen revolving ‘alien’ lights over the district, with one woman claiming they followed her home from Bristol.

A suggested explanation was lights from a party or event reflecting from the clouds.

The lights were seen hovering around the Five Valleys on the same evening that a concert was held at Berkeley Castle.

A TALENTED footballer from Stroud was snapped up by top women’s side Bristol Rovers.

Jess Rudge-Hamblin, a former Thomas Keble pupil, was spotted playing for Forest Green by county scouts before being invited to train with Rovers, who were at the elite of the women’s game.

The 16-year-old would combine playing for Rovers with a sports studies course for a National Diploma at Filton College.

PRINCE’S Trust volunteers helped to revitalise an old scout hut in Stroud.

A team of 16 to 25-year-olds painted Jungle Book wall murals on three of the walls at the hut in Chapel Street, which was used by disabled children twice each week.

The group did a number of fundraising activities to come up with the money including packing bags at Waitrose, a charity cake sale and tombolas.