The famous ‘Silchester Eagle’– a Roman bronze statue which was discovered at the town during excavations in 1866 – finally arrived at Reading Museum in 1980.
The iconic eagle was purchased from the Duke of Wellington’s private collection for £20,000 and was the basis for Rosemary Sutcliff’s book The Eagle of the Ninth and more recently a blockbuster Hollywood film.
An illustrated information plaque was unveiled at the Abbey Gateway in an effort to help visitors understand the historic landmark and the nearby Abbey Ruins.
The aluminium board was donated by the Reading Lions Club and the sketch plan also illustrated useful facts about the Abbey Mill and St Laurence’s Church.
The Royal Berkshire Hospital’s first ever fete was held 37 years ago and it raised over £2,000 – double what they had been hoping for.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: The RBH held its first fete
Entertainment during the afternoon included the Fire Service staging a mock rescue to save two nurses in distress and organiser Maureen Stace told the Chronicle: “We hope to get even more people involved next year.”
Three decades ago American football was all the rage and the Thames Valley Chargers team suffered their third loss of the year going down 23-7 to the Slough Silverbacks.
Bracknell was hoping to appear with a team on the iconic TV show It’s a Knockout and the News reported that the squad were ‘in with a chance’ after competing in front of huge crowds in a variety of energetic games.
After lengthy negotiations fell through to build a £12 million superstore in the heart of town, confusion surrounded just who had backed down.
The planned superstore promised to offer a whole new world opening up for Bracknell shoppers with a covered walkway, an underground car park, ‘moving pavements’ and a 500-seat restaurant.
Crowthorne as a shopping destination was in the spotlight as the Bracknell News listed all of the well known traders in the village and described the services that they offered.
Amongst the traders listed were Newman’s Shoes, Pearmains Garage, Scott DIY and Telstar Travel.
The Slough Observer reported on a Golden Wedding celebration with a difference 37 years ago when Charlie and Dorothy Harding held a party in Stoke Poges village hall.
The self-styled ‘Mr and Mrs Stoke Poges’ also showed they had a sense of humour by posing in front of their garden topiary – which was a hilarious depiction of a dog standing next to a lamppost.
GOLDEN COUPLE: Mr and Mrs Stoke Poges with their famous hedge
When Thames TV were looking for an ‘untidy building site’ they chose a corner of the Britwell Estate to film Cowboys, a new comedy show starring Roy Kinnear and Colin Welland.
But director Michael Mills was full of praise for the area and told the Observer: “It’s very easy to get to Slough and we find people are very co-operative.”
A gravel pit in Middle Green was due to be filled in and despite local objections the last chance for local wildlife was highlighted in the Observer.
The spring breeding season had produced many young birds including Canada Geese and Mute Swans whose cygnets had recently transferred to the nearby canal.
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