1941: On this day, 814 20-year-old city girls responded to their call-up papers - although some forgot their registration card! Many of the girls had come with their mothers, while others had their boyfriends for company. Some are described as arriving 'with an army escort on either side'. Quite a few perambulators are also recorded as being parked outside the building. (Gray, David, Peterborough at War 1939-1945, David Gray, 2011)
Taken from The Peterborough Book of Days by Brian Jones, The History Press, 2014.
1928: 'Fox and Hounds Inn Gutted by Fire' was the Peterborough & Huntingdon Standard's headline on 13 January. it contained a graphic description of the previous Friday's devastation in the village of Longthorpe - a day full of incident such as it had never experienced before. It described how, following the gale that had swept the countryside during the earlier part of the day and paid havoc with trees, roofs and chimney pots and caused general uneasiness among many householders, the inhabitants of Longthorpe were preparing to settle down to a night of calm. That calmness was shattered when the alarm was raised. The Fox & Hounds Inn, an old and picturesque stone structure with a thatched roof standing on the main Peterborough to Wansford road, was completely gutted by fire. After many strenuous hours of fighting the flames by the Peterborough brigades, only the four walls, remnants of the ceiling and centre chimney stack were left standing. Happily, the wind had dropped to a considerable degree when the outbreak occurred, but despite this, the sparks flew in all directions, which created the danger of neighbouring thatched roofs being ignited. A careful watch was kept and a supply of water in readiness in case of such an emergency.
Taken from The Peterborough Book of Days by Brian Jones, The History Press, 2014.