10 years ago

Family’s shock: The family of a Stocksfield woman who died in a car crash in Spain were devastated after discovering that someone else’s body was cremated in her place. A police investigation was launched to find out who was cremated in place of Heather Brierly.

radio silence: Local community radio station, Tynedale FM, was struggling to make ends meet as staff were struggling to raise the £6,000 needed for a month-long radio fee. They transmitted over the internet in the meantime.

super success: Corbridge’s Holly Brown lived the dream when she thundered past the finishing post in front of thousands of spectators at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool. She finished fourth aboard Some Touch in the John Smith’s People’s Race.

Tynedale tram: Hexham was considering installing a cable-driven tramway to transport visitors up the steep slope from the Wentworth car park to the town centre.

Dining out: Prudhoe DJ Wayne Allen scooped a £1,000 prize after winning the popular TV show Come Dine With Me.

25 years ago

no show: A flop play about a gay teenager was slammed by Tynedale councillors after it was cancelled by the Queen’s Hall in Hexham. The performance of Boy was called off after only one person bought a ticket – and then telephoned to say they couldn’t make it.

casualty closure: Fears that the casualty department at Hexham General Hospital would be shut down overnight were dismissed by a hospital chief. The hospital was rumoured to be considering closing the doors from 9pm to 9am.

famous finds: Trustees of the world famous Roman site of Vindolanda were set to inject £25,000 into an ambitious project aimed at boosting visitor figures.

council continues: County councillors agreed for there to be no change in the way local government was administered in Northumberland. At an extraordinary meeting of the council to consider the local government review, members voted in favour of an improved two-tier system with greater liaison between district councils.

50 years ago

Bigwigs’ banquet: Hexham MP Geoffrey Rippon represented the Conservative opposition at a NATO ceremony in Whitehall, attended by ministers and the Liberal leader, Jeremy Thorpe.

India summer: Mr Edmund Rutter, from Hexham left his job as a foundry foreman to work at the Moral Re-armament Assembly Centre in India, following an invitation from Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson.

Royal message: A Newbrough couple, Mr and Mrs Anthony Nicholson, received a congratulatory telegraph from the Queen on their 70th wedding anniversary.

75 years ago

Time’s Up: Coun, J.A. Hare resigned from Hexham Urban Council because, at “well over three score years and ten, he felt too old.

Homes horror: House prices in Hexham were reaching “monstrous” levels like £3,250, a councillor claimed.

such flair: The newly formed Bellingham concert party, ‘Flares and Flashes’, made its debut at Falstone Village Hall in aid of the local Welcome Home Fund.

100 years ago

No action: The turn out for elections to Hexham Urban Council was so low that the Hexham Courant commented it was hardly noticeable.

Coal goal: Prudhoe miners welcomed a report that appeared to pave the way for nationalisation, claiming it would create many industrial and social advances.

European reunion: A Belgian refugee, the Rev. Father De Konickx, returned to Antwerp after the end of the First World War. During his time in England, he had conducted services at Hexham, Sandhoe and Corbridge.

125 years ago

Woof justice: A Prudhoe man who had taken in a stray dog was jailed for seven days for not buying a licence for it.

loose limb: The Hexham Courant reported that an electrician in Corbridge whose finger had been blown off had suffered a “shocking accident.”

toughen up: A call to Hexham Urban Council to “stiffen its civic backbone” was made by a councillor after a surge of vandalism in the town. Councillors heard that a seat had been chopped in half, a stile thrown over a hedge, and fittings stolen from air raid shelters.

150 years ago

Distanced travellers: An Allendale councillor spoke about the wide distance there was between the polling booths in the district. He said it was impossible for some of the electorate to reach the polling booth in bad weather. A council meeting heard some people had to walk five or six miles to record their vote.