THIS WEEK IN 1960:

A PARTY of seven members of the crew of the aircraft carrier Albion, led by Sub Lieutenant Anthony Baller of High Street, Pershore, returned safely on Monday after being reported missing on Japan’s sacred Mount Fuji. They had spent the night stranded by a rainstorm in woods on the 12,100 ft mountain.

The party reached the peak but had to shelter overnight in the woods and then faced big problems in their descend, encountering a 100 ft deep gorge blocking their way. Sub Lt. Baller said: “Falls of rock were crashing into the gorge all the time so I thought it was too dangerous and led my party on a much longer route round. We came to a sheer precipice and then to another and by this time we were wringing wet.

“We sheltered, lit a fire and dried out and, thankfully, we eventually found our way down through small gorges to a road.” Sub Lt.

Baller is a former pupil of Worcester Royal Grammar School.

THIS WEEK IN 1970:

THE controversial City Walls Road route in Worcester was the subject of one of the longest debates for years in the city council this week. Members decided by 27 votes to 12 to choose the Sansome Street line for the northern section of this £1 million-plus highway. But not before planning committee chairman Councillor James Croft had warned that the council would show themselves “inept and irresponsible” if they picked the Sansome Street route. They would be ignoring the advice of consulting engineers, the city architect and the Civic Society. However, public services committee chairman, ouncillor John Correll claimed far more damage would be done to the city’s architectural and historic heritage if the route preferred by opponents of the Sansome Street line was chosen. It would take the highway slightly further north through the Friends’ Meeting House graveyard and would require the purchase and demolition of the Post Office and the handsome Foregate Street railway bridge.

THIS WEEK IN 1980:

A WORCESTER police constable who prevented a young girl from leaping 50 ft to her death has won a commendation from the West Mercia Constabulary.

PC Kenneth Borthwick who only joined the force last October, was commended for his “mature and capable approach and subsequent prompt action” which prevented an emotionally disturbed girl from jumping off the roof of the Blackfriars multi-storey car park. He found the girl on the parapet with her legs dangling over the edge. He talked to gain her confidence and when her attention was distracted by the arrival of an ambulance crew, he grabbed her and pulled her back from the edge. She put up a struggle and it took the police officer and two crew men to get her into the ambulance and on to Newtown Hospital.

THIS WEEK IN 1990:

FARMERS should ensure their outdoor sows have enough “suntan lotion” if they are to avoid serious fertility problems, warns the Pig Development Company.

The “lotion” – a thick layer of wet and sticky mud – may need renewing as frequently as once an hour if its evaporation effect is to keep sows cool enough in really hot weather. Without this protective coating, light skinned sows may also suffer serious sunburn which can lead to low conception rates and abortions. An expert said: “Even in the holiday mood, sows will not allow boars to serve them, and boars too, can lose their potency.”