100 years ago.

THe first holiday of the year has been one of quite unalloyed success, judging from the genial nature of the weather, and the crowds that patronised our beautiful town on Monday. One could not help, as one saw the happy crowds, contrasting this Easter Monday with some of previous years, when the rain descended pitilessly and the multitude had nowhere to go, when the hills were enveloped in mist, and all was dull and dark and forbidding. Yes, it has been a glorious Bank Holiday and the Malverns have, I think, greatly benefitted from it. Easter came later this year, and consequently Nature did a great deal in revealing the manifold charms of the place, which is especially engaging in the spring. Everywhere around is natural beauty in abundance, and the trainloads of excursionists had a thoroughly enjoyable day.

Malvern Gazette, April 17, 1914.

50 years ago.

Mr John O'Sullivan, licensee of the Duke of York public house at Berrow, leapt from his bedroom window early on Monday when smoke began to billow through the door. Mr O'Sullivan was awakened at 3.45 by the smoke issuing from a fire at the upper end of the building. He tried to get to the telephone, but flames blocked his path, so he returned to the bedroom and told his wife Beatrice to put her head out of the window to avoid the smoke. He jumped out on to the roof of a lean-to, scrambled to the ground and ran for help. Mr Brian Jones a neighbour, assisted Mr O'Sullivan to rescue his wife, while Mrs Janet Jones summoned the fire brigade. The top storey of the building, a Flowers brewery House, was extensively damaged by the fire, which is believed to have started in some faulty electrical wiring under the floor near the cellar.

Malvern Gazette, April 17. 1964.

25 years ago.

Ledbury's largest employer, Viking Packaging, has been taken over in a £16.4 million deal, which Viking chairman Mr Stephen Ellis believes will lead to more jobs and expansion locally. And, he said, Bowater's acquisition of Viking will not affect the company's plans for a major new housing scheme on part of the Ledbury firm's site. The plans, for 100 new homes between the river and the Lower Road trading estate, were welcomed by town councillors last year, but have still to be decided at district council level. Mr Ellis said Viking can double the factory space at Ledbury if necessary, while retaining its commitment to the new housing project.Viking intends eventually to sell off most of the land to private developers. Viking came to Ledbury in 1979 and currently employs 360 people in the town. Its success led to profits of £1.5 million last year, Malvern Gazette, April 21, 1989.