{"id":34033,"date":"2025-07-28T23:56:29","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T22:56:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abingdonblog.co.uk\/?p=34033"},"modified":"2025-07-28T23:56:29","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T22:56:29","slug":"abingdon-100-years-ago-july-1925","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/?p=34033","title":{"rendered":"Abingdon 100 Years Ago \u2013 July 1925"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nFound Drowned Near the Rookery<\/strong>
\nA shadow was cast over the town on Thursday when four-year-old Esther Harper, of 22 The Abbey, drowned near the Rookery. She had gone out to play in the afternoon and did not return. Her brother Edward, aged 13, on arriving home from school, went in search and found her body floating by the riverbank. Despite efforts by passers-by and the police to revive her, life was declared extinct by Dr H. S. Challenor. At Friday\u2019s inquest, the jury returned a verdict of “Found Drowned.”<\/p>\n

Motor Fatality at Lodge Hill<\/strong>
\nAn inquest was also held for Miss Diana Sybil Seal, a 21-year-old Oxford dancer, who died when a car skidded at Lodge Hill. The driver, an undergraduate from Christ Church, was cleared of blame. Evidence suggested that a Ford van coming the other way, poor visibility due to an elm tree, and a burst tyre led to the skid. The car toppled over and back and all the cars passengers except the driver were thrown from the car. The deceased suffered a severe head injury. A fellow passenger confirmed the car was going no faster than 25 miles per hour and that the driver was not intoxicated. They had drunk a bottle of wine between them in Abingdon. The elm tree has since been removed to improve safety at the brow of the hill. Sympathy was send to the family of the deceased.
\n
\nMr Joe James Passes Away<\/strong>
\nMr Joe James, one of the oldest bricklayers in the town, of 44 West St Helen Street, passed away on Tuesday aged 76. A lifelong Abingdonian, he married at St Helen’s Church in 1870 and had been a member of the Amalgamated Union of Building Trade Workers for three decades. He was laid to rest on Thursday at the Cemetery.<\/p>\n

Concerns Over Refuse Collection<\/strong>
\nA letter sent to the Herald signed by about thirty local ratepayers protested recent changes to refuse collection. The signatories warned that with already poor housing conditions, the reduction in collection frequency would expose families \u2014 especially those with young children \u2014 to further health risks. They urged a return to at least twice-weekly removal, especially in the heat.<\/p>\n

Court Fines and Local Offences<\/strong>
\nAt the Borough Court, Margaret Couldrey of Ock House and Charles J. Douglas of Oxford Road were each fined 5 shillings for keeping a dog without a licence. Roy Gilbert of Bath Street was fined \u00a31 for failing to produce his motor licence when summoned.
\n
\nA Day Out for the Infants School<\/strong>
\nAround 106 children from the Church of England Infants School, led by Miss Ingram and her staff, enjoyed an outing to Sheepstead House. They played games and were served tea on the lawn. Rain cut the afternoon short, but the children returned home tired and content.<\/p>\n

Garden Party at Northcourt House<\/strong>
\nMr and Mrs Tatham hosted seventy residents from the Institution at a garden party in the grounds of Northcourt House. Games were played, prizes awarded, and tea served on the lawn. In response to their hospitality, the guests gave three hearty cheers on the proposals of the Master of the Institution.<\/p>\n

Bathing Place Open to Women<\/strong>
\nIn light of the hot weather, the Borough Highways Committee has approved opening the bathing place to women on Sunday mornings from 9:45 to noon.
\n
\nFounder’s Day at Roysse’s School<\/strong>
\nToday, Roysse’s School marked Founder\u2019s Day with a service at St Helen\u2019s Church and prize-giving at the Corn Exchange. Yesterday\u2019s regatta on the Wilsham Reach preceded tomorrow\u2019s cricket match between the School and the Old Abingdonians.<\/p>\n

Fascists Hold Garden F\u00eate<\/strong>
\nA garden f\u00eate organised by the British Fascists (North Berks area) took place at Square House, lent by Mr T. Skurray. There were side-shows, folk dancing, music by Rowlinson\u2019s Band, and in the evening dancing on the lawn. The President, Brigadier R.D.B. Blakeney, addressed the gathering, claiming the movement was misunderstood and stood for law, order, and anti-communism. He defended the group\u2019s adoption of a “foreign name,” likening it to enjoying macaroni or riding in a charabanc.<\/p>\n

Service at the United Free Church<\/strong>
\nAt the United Free Church, Pastor E. Newell from Longworth Mission preached from the words: \u201cSeekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not.\u201d He reminded the congregation that true greatness lies not in self-seeking but in service, as shown by their Master.
\n
\nLocal Platoon Prepares for Camp<\/strong>
\nThe local platoon of the 4th Royal Berkshire Regiment will depart for camp in Weymouth on Sunday, August 2nd. A strong turnout of all ranks is urged for next week’s parades in preparation for a marching demonstration, building on the platoon\u2019s fine reputation.<\/p>\n

Thanks to the North Berks Herald<\/em> microfilm in the library and the Oxford Chronicle and Reading Gazette<\/em> from the British Newspaper Archive. The picture of the fireman is from the Oxford Journal<\/em>. The adverts are from the North Berks Herald<\/em> and the Oxford Chronicle and Reading Gazette<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Found Drowned Near the Rookery A shadow was cast over the town on Thursday when four-year-old Esther Harper, of 22 The Abbey, drowned near the Rookery. She had gone out to play in the afternoon and did not return. Her brother Edward, aged 13, on arriving home from school, went in search and found her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-heritage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34033\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}