A small boy of 11, named Bertie Tolcher, was engaged in the pastime of fishing on Whit Tuesday at Croxley locks, but unfortunately fell into the water. A lad named William Nobbs, aged 14, of Scots Hill, who was contemplating a bathe, instantly threw off part of his clothing and plunged in to the the rescue. The lock was at low water level at the time, but Nobbs surmounted the difficulty and brought the younger boy safely to the bank.

[From the Watford Observer of June 8, 1901]

 

Hundreds of thousands of people in the Watford and Rickmansworth areas are consuming illegally-high levels of weedkiller in their water.

A major survey by environment group Friends of the Earth has revealed local water could be contaminated with amounts of pesticides exceeding EC limits.

It found all the areas supplied by Colne Valley and Rickmansworth Water Company, which pipe water to 1,100,000 people, were affected by at least two pesticides.

A spokesman for Friends of the Earth said the pesticides identified were mostly widely-used weedkillers some of which are approved for household use.

It is thought the pesticides got into the water supply after being sprayed on roads by local authorities and onto railway tracks by British Rail. They are also used in farming and could have seeped through the soil into the water supply.
Colne Valley and Rickmansworth Water Company, part of Three Valleys, have been given a 1997 deadline by the Government to bring their water up to standard.

[From the Watford Observer of June 14, 1991]

 

Watford Borough Library records department is anxious to hear from anyone who has an old picture of the Lodge in Oxhey Park which has just been demolished. So would the Borough Engineer’s Department of Watford Town Council.

Work on the demolition started, by order of the town council, who were advised a few weeks ago preserving the building would cost too much.

Little is known about the history of the lodge but the library confirmed there was no preservation order attached to it and that it was not an ancient building.

Several of our readers have written or telephoned complaining about the demolition which they say is unwarranted.

It is rather surprising, however, that so little is known about this mock Tudor building and that nobody at the Town Hall thought of photographing it before knocking it down.

[From the Watford Observer of June 5, 1970]


Sherlock Holmes is about to enter the world of new technology.

The great detective always got his man with the help of an old-fashioned magnifying glass and Herts Police are about to follow in his footsteps with their own Holmes – a computer system expected to keep pace with Conan Doyle’s fictional detective’s detection rate.

The Herts Police Committee is expected to decide today whether to spend £150,000 on the computer system which is aimed at increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of police information systems by replacing tens of thousands of index cards.

A report to be presented to the committee states that Holmes – Home Office Large Major Enquiry System – will be used not only in cross-referencing important information on major investigations such as murder hunts, but also in day to day crimes such as car theft and burglary.

[From the Watford Observer of June 6, 1986]