NOSTALGIA: Clean-up at ancient wood
This photo was taken in April 1998 when volunteers turned out in force to take part in a litter pick at Aspal Close in Beck Row.
The 50-acre site in the centre of the village was part of an ancient woodland pasture but that had not prevented people from dumping their litter and rubbish there.
Around 20 volunteers, comprising residents and airmen from RAF Mildenhall, turned out to clear up paper, cans and car hubs among other items, as pictured.
Forest Heath District Council chose Aspal Close to launch its Go for Green campaign with the help of children from Beck Row Primary School and Countryside presenter John Craven.
HEADLINES FROM THE PAST
10 YEARS AGO
Bury St Edmunds’ giant bat-shaped landmark was nominated as ‘wackiest project’ in a national awards competition.
The ditch, dug in the shape of a natterer’s bat, formed the outline of a wild flower meadow at Natterer’s Wood, on the Moreton Hall estate.
It was built by volunteers from Woodlands Ways after a consultation with residents over what they wanted at the nature spot.
Chairman Nick Sibbbett said being nominated was a ‘fantastic reward’ for all the hard work put in by the volunteers and a ‘testament to the imagination’ of the steering group.
The bat was nominated in the Action Earth awards, run by the Environment Agency and Community Service Volunteers.
25 YEARS AGO
Worried farmers said their crops faced ruin because of a total ban on spray irrigation imposed across large areas of West Suffolk.
Unless it rained, they feared harvests would wither in the fields, losing them thousands of pounds in lost production of vulnerable crops such as carrots and fruit.
The ban included taking water from the River Lark, Linnet and the ‘Sapiston Brook’, which later becomes the Little Ouse.
Bury St Edmunds MP Sir Eldon Griffiths had written to the National Rivers Authority (NRA) about the restrictions, introduced two weeks earlier because of drought.
The NRA said, by law, it had to impose the ban equally on farmers and exemptions could not be made.
100 YEARS AGO
It is with sincere regret that we announce the death in action of Acting Sergeant Major E A Cooke, eldest son of Mrs E Cooke, of Southgate Street, Bury.
The deceased, who was well-known locally, was especially noted for his wide military knowledge, his career in the Army having been a brilliant and successful one.
He was esteemed and looked up to as a NCO of strict discipline, having a keen sense of duty.
Deceased’s company officer, in writing to his bereaved relatives, said: “He was a brave and gallant soldier, and although we were in a tight corner we sent men out to fetch his body, and gave him as full military honours as possible. We also put a cross on his grave.”
