The day Prince Philip put his oar in

It begins: “Cohabiting couples will not be accepted on Three Rivers Council’s waiting list for accommodation, and applicants will be required to produce marriage certifiates.”

It continues: “But where there is a definite common law relationship with children, that has to be recognised as an identifiable family unit, the case will be treated on its merits.”

The story was prompted by an occasion when the housing committee housed a couple in a two-bedroomed flat on the assumption they were married because they had the same surname.

“But,” the report states somewhat sinisterly, “information from an independent source revealed they were unmarried.”

Whether they were booted out and banished from the kingdom is unrecorded. But the council was clearly upset that such a dreadful situation had occurred.

At the time, even engaged couples were not accepted onto the waiting list but individuals aged 18 and over were. So the council wanted to prevent the intolerable situation of an individual getting onto the list, getting a house – and then moving his or her partner in.

Others, however, were concerned about the precise reverse – that cohabiting couples would get on the list and then go their separate ways but remain on the list.

As Councillor Ron Groves put it: “I think we have to recognise where there is an identifiable family unit as against a couple just getting together to get a house.”

At the end of the meeting it was agreed, as reported, that applicants should be asked to produce marriage certificates, with the provision that special cases should come before the committee.

As L.P. Hartley wrote in The Go-Between: “The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.” Ain’t that the truth.

John Timpson – John Harry Robert Timpson OBE, to give him his full name – was a popular voice on BBC radio, and one which many of us will remember.

John, who died in November 2005, had been a pupil at Merchant Taylors’ in Northwood, before moving into journalism. After a spell on various local papers, he moved to BBC News in the late 1950s, working in various capacities including, from 1964, presenting Newsroom on BBC2, which has the distinction of being the first British TV news programme to make the switch to colour in 1967.

But it’s for co-presenting the Radio 4 programme Today from 1970 to 1976 and again from 1978 to 1986, that he’ll be most remembered, certainly by me, working alongside Robert Robinson and, most famously, Brian Redhead.

Now, you may wonder why I’m telling you all this. Well, John for some years lived in Croxley Green, and 48 years ago this month gave a talk (no doubt one of many) to Bushey Heath Townswomen’s Guild which was reported in the Watford Observer of February 11, 1966. It made me laugh so much, I had to share it with you. The first paragraph alone is worthy of some sort of award.

It reads: “Oh, Mr Timpson. Did you really try to charm Goldie from his Regent’s Park tree with your Ethiopian bird-charming flute, having been assured that a note from one pipe would make a bird lift the left leg and a note from the other, the right leg?

“And, of course, a note from both pipes together and the bird would fall at your feet.

“By the time the members of Bushey Heath Townswomen’s Guild had finished wiping the tears of laughter from their eyes at their February meeting, they had ceased to wonder if their legs were being very slightly pulled as Mr John Timpson of Croxley Green spoke of his work for the BBC.

“His first live broadcast had been to describe the firework display in honour of President de Gaulle, and how the minutes seemed to drag with nothing happening, everything in sight being minutely described before at long last the first rocket exploded, so near at hand that a bellow of surprise came from the new commentator’s throat.

“An insight into the royal tour of Australia and New Zealand gave some idea of the enormous amount of work involved, for the planners and pressmen as well as for the royal couple.

“Travel was often uncomfortable, to say the least, for the press, squashed in small aircraft so closely that knees had to be interlocked, and again and again the rain poured down just when a display had been arranged.

“On one occasion, the canopy above the Queen sagged ominously with the ever-increasing weight of water, until Prince Philip, seizing an oar being carried in the parade, thrust upwards and dispersed the lake in a drenching shower over the cameramen standing expectantly around.”

Winners of the Name The Hall competition, jointly sponsored by Three Rivers Council and the Watford Observer, received their cash prizes before the Three Rivers Council meeting on Wednesday.

Mr Ron Crockett, chairman of the council, awarded a £20 cheque to Mrs Olive Moore, of Uxbridge Road, Rickmansworth, for selecting the name Watersmeet, which has now been adopted.

Runners-up cheques were presented by the Editor of the Watford Observer, Mr E.A. Foster. Second prize of £5 went to Mr Richard Goates, of Arnett Close, Rickmansworth, who suggested the name Three Rivers Hall.

Third prize, £3, for the name Pannacre went to Mrs Jacqueline Iredale, of Highfield Way, Rickmansworth.

Fourth prize (£2) went to Mr Frank Jackson of Yorke Road, Croxley Green, who chose the name Basing.

Seen in our picture, left to right, are Mr Jackson, Councillor Stanley Butcher, Mrs Iredale, Mr Foster, Councillor Crockett, Mrs Moore, Councillor Leslie Reason and Mr Goates.

[From the Watford Observer of February 21, 1975]

These stories formed part of the Nostalgia column first published in the Watford Observer on February 21, 2014. The next Nostalgia column – with information about Sunday opening for cinemas, the opening of Garston rail station and a picture of R2-D2 actor Kenny Baker at the Watford Odeon to see Star Wars with his family – can be found in tomorrow’s Watford Observer (dated February 28, 2014) or read online here from 4pm next 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