A curious and alarming accident happened to the Irish Mail train which left Euston at 7.15 on Wednesday morning.

The train, which included a dining car, had travelled to a point a few hundred yards north of Watford Junction, where breakfast was about to be served, when the heating apparatus in the dining car exploded with a loud report.

Nobody was seriously injured, although several people received burns. The train was half-an-hour late on arriving at Rugby.

[From the Watford Observer of January 11,1896]

An automatic machine in the ladies’ cloakroom at Watford Town Hall dispensing perfume at 6d a time has been approved, with the council receiving 25 per cent of the proceeds.

[From the Watford Observer of January 3, 1958]

Proceedings under the Boy Scouts Association Protection Order of 1927 were taken for the first time at Watford Police Court on Tuesday, when a labourer was charged with falsely representing himself to be a Scoutmaster. The man was fined £10 or in default two months’ imprisonment, and on a charge of obtaining money from a Scoutmaster by false pretences was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment.

[From the Watford Observer of January 20, 1934]

Birds suffered severely from the frost and snow last weekend. The number of chaffinches, larks and sparrows who sought for possible grubs on the turf of the Vicarage Road football ground after the snow had been removed on Saturday, was remarkable. So persistent were these hungry little searchers that they continued their efforts during the course of the game, despite the rapid movements of the players.

[From the Watford Observer of January 23, 1926]

Whether “The Wicked Lady” is to be or not to be Mr James Mason’s last film, either British or American, is a matter for conjecture.

Mr Mason, who lives at Sarratt, has had a rapid rise to stardom in British films. By his portrayals of embittered and villainous characters he has ousted the heroes from the hearts of picture-goers. Now he is reported to be tired of film-making and the way films are made.

It would indeed be a pity if Mr Mason were to forsake the industry which made him famous. Film fans all over the country will await his ultimate decision with interest, particularly those in West Herts in view of his local connections.

[From the Watford Observer of January 25, 1946]

NOSTALGIA NOTE: The Watford Observer needn’t have worried. Mason went on to make dozens more memorable movies including The Desert Fox (1951), A Star Is Born (1954), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), North by Northwest (1959), Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1959), Lolita (1962), Georgy Girl (1966), The Boys from Brazil (1978) and The Verdict (1982). He was nominated for three Academy Awards and three Golden Globes (winning the Golden Globe in 1955 for A Star is Born). He died in July 1984, aged 75.

 

These stories conclude the Nostalgia column first published in the Watford Observer on January 17, 2014. The next Nostalgia column – with information on football, toads and sausages, among many other things – can be found in this week’s Watford Observer (dated January 24, 2014 and available in newsagents now, priced just 90p) or read online here from 4pm on Thursday.

If you have anything to add – or would like to tell us anything you think our readers may enjoy about Watford’s history – we are always pleased to hear from you. Contact Nostalgia, by clicking here watfordnostalgia@london.newsquest.co.uk