This week in 1957: (see picture)

Royal Visit to Worcester. Crowds packing the streets of Worcester on Tuesday night gave a tremendous welcome to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on their way to and from the Guildhall for a reception given jointly by the Mayor of Worcester, Alderman Bertram Brotherton and the chairman of Worcestershire County Council, Mr RR Adam.

The Queen turned to wave to the crowds in High Street before she entered the canvas awning sheltering the entrance to the Guildhall. During the hour and a half the Royal visitors were inside the building, the loud calls continued outside: "We want the Queen."

After spending the night in the Royal train near Leigh Court Station, Her Majesty and Prince Philip drove to the County Ground in New Road, Worcester, on Wednesday morning to inspect a guard of honour formed by the Queen's Own Worcestershire Hussars Old Comrades. The National Anthem was played by the Band of the Royal Artillery. Around the cricket ground were grouped more than 4,500 schoolchildren and about 2,600 members of uniformed youth organisations such as Scouts and Guides. They had a grand view of the Royal visitors as they toured the ground in an open Land Rover. The band entertained with gay march tunes. This was the first visit of a reigning sovereign to Worcester since that of George III and his Queen in 1788.

This week in 1967:

Worcestershire has been selected as one of the few counties to be visited this year by World Chief Guide, Olave Lady Baden-Powell. She is to attend a rally of guides from all over the county at the Three Counties Showground on July 1. After the address by the chief Guide, there will be various events in the arena involving all ages in the movement.

* Archaeologists are to carry out an excavation at a building site in Fladbury, near Pershore, after four skeletons were unearthed by workmen. The decision that a team of archaeologists from Birmingham University should carry out the dig was taken after an on-the-spot investigation strengthened the belief that what the workmen had unearthed was a pagan burial ground, probably dating from the 7th century. The skeletons were unearthed by workmen engaged on building an extension to Fladbury Workingmen's Club. The find could well be of national importance.

This week in 1977:

THE county council should be exposed for its constant refusal to face its responsibilities to Worcester's Swan Theatre, according to city councillor John Whitt. He pointed out that whatever critics might claim, the city council had contributed substantially to the building of the Swan and had kept faith with it since with increased annual grants. However, he suggested to the city council on Tuesday that the county council, by comparison, had constantly shirked its responsibilities to the theatre despite the fact that the Swan answered cultural needs over a wide area.

This week in 1987:

County vicars are being told to lock up their churches following a spate of burglaries. And the police want the clergy to take their church treasures home with them to thwart would-be burglars. A West Mercia Police spokesman explained: "Burglars are mainly after cash and items such as old crosses and silver. We would recommend that cheap copies of valuable items are kept in churches and the originals placed in the bank."

* Wychavon District Council has launched its Clean Dog Campaign with a gift of 1,000 Pooper Scoopers from the dog-loving public. The council is trying to solve the problem of dog fouling. More than 40,000 leaflets are being distributed, urging owners to train their dogs "to go at home" and to clean up after any unfortunate accidents in public places.

This week in 1992:

THE nation's favourite racehorse Desert Orchid is coming to the Three Counties Show at Malvern. The remarkable grey which won 34 steeplechases and hurdle races between 1983 and 1991 including the Cheltenham Gold Cup, will be galloping along to the show to put in a personal appearance on Wednesday, June 17.