100 years ago - November 23, 1918

THE Ryde mayor and mayoress entertained the dependents of those serving in the war and the widows and children of those who had died.

The pair fed 1,700 people and the halls were decorated with flags and patriotic symbols.

One person said this showed the mayor instinctively did the right thing at the right moment.

***

Among the recipients of OBEs at Buckingham Palace was the distinguished scientist, Mr Arthur Fleming.

Mr Fleming, originally of Yarmouth, was the manager of the Research and Education Department at the British Westinghouse Company and author of several learned technical works.

75 years ago - November 27, 1943

Three young Island girls, Lynette and Sheila Pitman and Audrey Harding, of Calbourne, raised money for the Red Cross fund.

The girls raised £1 by making an effigy of Guy Fawkes they then took round and made a collection.

The secretary of the fund said it would provide two parcels for prisoners in Germany.

***

Carisbrooke residents mourned the death of a local prison steward.

Mr Arthur Odell, churchwarden at Carisbrooke and steward at Parkhurst Prison, was 63 when he suddenly passed away.

He collapsed while waiting for a bus outside his home. Islanders travelled from all corners to attend his funeral at Carisbrooke church.

50 years ago - November 16, 1968

A new community initiative allowed elderly Islanders to attend their first Remembrance Service in many years.

A mini-bus made its first trip and took people from the Polars Home for the Blind and from Russell House flats for the aged to the service at Newport War Memorial.

***

Police Sergeant Groves told a meeting of doctors, pharmacists, police and prison officers that for the first time, the IW had a drug problem.

PS Groves said members of the regional drug squad had found evidence of the misuse of drugs.

He said: “Out of eight arrests made, seven of them were made on the IW and more than half were Islanders.”

25 years ago - November 12, 1993

Government figures showed the success rate of Island GCSE pupils to be the worst in the south – even though the country’s rate was up.

The average number of pupils on the Island gaining five or more A-C grades was 35.2 per cent.

It was well below the national average of 41.1 per cent.

***

Wightlink staff took three days to circumnavigate the Island – not on board a ferry, but pulling a boat along the roads.

A team of nine staff pulled the half-ton boat from Fishbourne on a 60-mile circular route around the IW to raise money for Children in Need.

They raised more than £800.

10 years ago - November 21, 2008

Services for elderly and disabled people at the Riverside Centre were at risk of a 50 per cent funding cut, according to the centre’s directors.

Members heard the IW Council was planning to give vulnerable people their own pot of cash to pay for chosen services.

It was feared this would lead to severe funding cuts for the centre and the services it provided.

***

Winning Rotary Young Chef of the Year was the icing on the cake for Jack Young and his dad, Mark.

Jack’s win came just 24 hours after Mark, head chef at the St Helens Restaurant, scooped Chef of the Year at the IW food awards.

Mark said: “Jack really pulled it out the bag. I don’t think he wants to be a chef but he loves cooking.”