100 YEARS AGO

● Sensation was caused throughout the Pill Police Division when a rumour circulated that a constable had been shot through the helmet whilst carrying out his duties. A shot had indeed been fired, but he escaped unhurt.

● A Baldwin Street resident was summoned to Newport Court charged with loitering in Potter Street with the intention of betting, receiving bets and settling bets.

● The new title of Royal Gwent Hospital was granted to the institution by the King, George V.

● Local police court records revealed that there had been an epidemic of cases in which servant girls had robbed their mistresses.

The latest case was reported in St Mark’s Crescent, Newport.

50 YEARS AGO

● The Mayor of Newport speaking as the only man amongst over 70 members of the Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, said that suffragettes would be disappointed that 50 years on so few women had taken advantage of their rights.

● It was claimed that a smear test, a new technique for the early detection of cervical cancer should be made available to all women between the ages of 25 and 60.

● According to the youth employment officer for the area, there was an urgent need for industry to be brought to the Rhymney and Tredegar area. The loss of the train service in the area had contributed to the problem.

● A Monmouthshire judge said that if the wave of juvenile crime continued more stringent steps would have to be taken against parents who were forgetting their responsibility to their children.

25 YEARS AGO

● Black-magic followers were blamed for desecrating a family tomb and forcing open a child’s coffin at St Cadoc’s Church, Trevethin.

● The post office was slammed for an abysmal delivery record following a survey among businessmen.

● In spite of 3,000 new jobs created and another 3,000 in the pipeline there were jobless black spots in Newport, such as the Bettws area.

● Angry and disappointed local families were forced to abandon holiday plans amid the chaos of long flight delays at Cardiff Airport.