50 years ago

HENLEY Royal Regatta’s plans to develop Fawley Meadows as a housing estate may well have been scotched by the Government’s plans to nationalise development land, announced this week in the Queen’s Speech. Regatta secretary Anthony Hannen said: “We got in touch with the ministry and it does look as if we won’t go any further with this.”

Siblings Sean and Sharen Cayless, who are pupils at Henley Grammar School, won their respective sections in the first Thames canoe race to be organised by the Riverside Boat Club on Sunday. The pair, from Highmoor, are members of the club, which meets every Tuesday at its Wargrave Road premises, near Thamesfield Youth Centre.

A new rowing boat costing about £760 was named and launched on Sunday. It is called Ronnie Eagling after last year’s captain of Henley Rowing Club and was christened with champagne by Mr Eagling’s wife. The shell was taken for its first outing on the river by a coxed four comprising Tim Thomas, Roy Spatcher, Geoff Mason, Lea Brown and Gary Phillips (cox).