Each week the Advertiser's heritage writer David Borrett brings readers interesting news stories and letters from editions of the paper from years gone by.

ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FOUR YEARS AGO – FRIDAY 25 NOVEMBER 1859

ADVERTISEMENT – CHRISTMAS TOYS AND PRESENTS

Miss Godden begs to inform the inhabitants of Andover and its vicinity, that she has just returned from London with a large assortment of toys and fancy articles of every description. Also, an entire new stock of ladies’ kid boots, dress boots and shoes, as well as children’s boots of every description. Magic lanterns and games let out for hire.

 

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO – FRIDAY 25 NOVEMBER 1898

CORRESPONDENCE – A GYMNASIUM

Sir: The question may be put: What do our young men, assistants etc. do in their spare time during these long winter evenings? True, a walk or two may be beneficial but oftentimes the weather proves too severe and unpleasant to participate in an evening stroll. Could not some of our English lovers of sport – if Andover possesses any – start a gymnastic class? Surely there is someone proficient enough who would act in the capacity of instructor? Why not avail ourselves of the public hall? A more suitable place could not be found. In such a town as this it would indeed be a boon, and I have no doubt as to its success. Hoping this will meet with due recognition. Yours, BOXER.

 

ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO – FRIDAY 23 NOVEMBER 1923

CHRISTMAS

There is a general anticipation that Christmas shopping will be postponed in many cases owing to the election, and that there will be more than the usual rush. The Chamber of Trade has not lost sight of the extra difficulties this year, and the local branch is making arrangements that will meet the need of purchasers and loosen the strain on those in retail shops a little. It is proposed to revive the old time Christmas meat show on 20 December, with extra time for shopping, to keep the shops open on the afternoon of Wednesday 19 December also, and to close from the night of 24 December to the morning of 28 December, but due notice will be given when final arrangements have been made.

 

SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO – FRIDAY 26 NOVEMBER 1948

COMMUNIST LEAFLET FOUND DURING SATURDAY NIGHT’S DISPLAY

At the conclusion of the Territorial recruiting display and campaign which was held in the High Street, Andover, on Saturday, an amused pedestrian picked up a small square leaflet from the pavement and later handed it to an Advertiser reporter. The leaflet, issued by the Communist Party, says in bold type that British people should join up – against war. The pamphlet, like a recent resolution that was put forward at Andover Trades Council and overwhelmingly defeated, urges that we stop war preparations, and tests the intelligence of local residents by urging that they work out for themselves that one jet fighter could pay for ten houses. On the reverse side of the leaflet, a rather derisive caricature of what is meant to be an American general, with a wide, open mouth, looking suspiciously like the caricaturist’s idea of a sergeant major, is displayed alongside a message attributed to an American general, who is unnamed. After the message the leaflet lapses into slang, proclaiming that there should be no war for Yankee dollars. It is known now that several volunteers have joined the Territorial unit as result of the campaign, but it is not known if the Communist Party has gained any supporters as a result of its hand-out.

 

FORTY-SEVEN YEARS AGO – FRIDAY 26 NOVEMBER 1976

NOT-SO-KEEN GARDENER HAS AN £8,000 FIND!

Gardening, hated by a young Andover school-master has brought him one of his biggest-ever rewards. Mr Clive Bell (27), of Winton Lodge, Andover, was weeding a patch of crazy paving in his grandmother’s garden at Portswood, Southampton, when he pulled up a weed and entangled in the roots was a gold coin worth £8,000. It turned out to be a Carausius Aureus minted in the time of Carausius who during the Roman Empire declared unilateral independence in Britain from AD 286 to 293, when he was murdered. Only nine other similar coins discovered in Britain have survived, the last being found in Silchester in 1896. Mr Peter Seaby of the well-known coin and medal firm which has now acquired Mr Bell’s find, believes that this latest coin was probably one of the first to have been minted in London. In Mr Bell’s own words, ‘I pulled up a weed, shook it and out dropped the coin. My aunt took it into the house and gave it a scrubbing with a nylon brush. I dread to think what might have happened if it had been dirty – she might have used wire wool!’ The find was taken to Southampton Museum and provisionally valued at £60. Mr Bell’s fiancée Ulrike Loistl, who comes from Austria and is a swimming instructress for schoolchildren in Andover, thought of having it made into a pendant. But, after a London valuation, advised by a friend of Mr Bell, the money may go towards a holiday abroad to see where Caurausius originated. Clive Bell may feel differently about gardening in the future, as in his own garden at Wildhern he discovered a large, heavy silver ring that is now being worn by Ulrike and while on a camping holiday in the Outer Hebrides, he spotted an ancient coin in a rock pool.