Celebrations turned sour for Bushey pop duo Wham! just hours after being voted Best British Group in the British Phonographic Industry awards on Monday evening.

Gold and silver discs awarded to George Michael, who has lived in Radlett for most of his life, and his Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley, from Bushey, were stolen in London on Tuesday.

The discs – awarded for the fantastic album and the singles Bad Boys, Young Guns and Club Tropicana – were in a glass-fronted presentation case which had been left for repair at the premises of Work and Art in the West End.

A man went to the workshop and helped himself to the discs, claiming he had been sent to collect them for a charity auction.

Other “locals” among the honours at the awards evening were Alison “Alf” Moyet, who recently moved to Radlett, voted Best Female Singer, and Frankie Goes to Hollywood producer Trevor Horn, from Letchmore Heath, chosen as Best British Producer.

[From the Watford Observer of February 15, 1985]

 

Fiction abounds with dirty deeds dealt by double-headed coins, but there are few stories like this one, centred around a double-tailed 1961 florin.

The two-tailed two shilling bit – genuine tail one side, reversed tail the other – was given to Mr Lionel Noel, of St George’s Drive, Carpenders Park, while he was shopping in Willesden on Saturday.

He brought it into the Observer office. “Do you think it is valuable?” he asked.
We passed the question to the Royal Mint, who make 800 million florins every year.

A spokesman said he thought the coin was probably issued by the Mint and had come about through one coin becoming stuck in the die and stamping the next with a reverse tail.

“It is a manufacturing error, and it is only the second one I have heard of in 10 or 12 years,” he said. “We take care not to let them out. The value is rather out of our field. It might have some value as a collector’s item, but you can’t compare coins with stamps. There is no human element in the making of coins.”

Further inquiries led to A.H. Baldwin and Sons Ltd, of London, who are among the country’s leading coin experts. Their verdict: “It is worth about five or 10 shillings as a curiosity.”

[From the Watford Observer of February 23, 1962]

 

A remarkable partnership between a local authority and private enterprise is shown by the new waste transfer station at Waterdale, near Garston.

The £2.5 million enterprise is expected to solve the problem of rubbish disposal for South Hertfordshire for the next 25 years.

Hertfordshire County Council has contributed £1.4 million and Four Point Hire, a Feltham company who operate the station, the remaining £1.1 million.

The station is capable of dealing with 1,000 tons of rubbish per day. Mr Ken Grethe, Four Point sales director, said: “We are trying to fill a hole more than a mile long, three-quarters of a mile wide and 60 to 80 feet deep. We have already tipped 15,000 tons and have hardly made an impression.”

[From the Watford Observer of February 25, 1983]

 

A former Scottswood Road, Bushey, resident has won a state lottery in Australia. Twice. And it has landed this shy, 37-year-old bachelor in trouble – with the girls.

In October, Ken Heywood, whose sister Mrs Doris Shelston runs the Royal Oak in Bushey with her husband, won the equivalent of £75,000 in a state lottery [more than £1 million in 2015 figures]. He had already previously won £5,000.

Since then, Ken has been forced out of his Sydney home by a stream of girls seeking a “secure” marriage.

Mrs Shelston says her brother’s first act on winning the money was to take care of his elderly parents, living in London, and send presents to the eight other members of the family still in this country (Ken has two brothers and another sister in Australia with him).

Ken, formerly employed by the Watford bulding firm of Brightman’s, went to Australia 14 years ago and has worked his way around the country, including a spell at Woomera. Since winning the money he spends his time on the beach.

About his present “troubles”, Mrs Shelston said: “I don’t think he ever will get married.” But the girls are still hoping...

[From the Watford Observer of February 26, 1965]

 

Scammell Motors, one of Watford’s biggest employers, will shut by 1988 with the loss of 650 jobs.

The shock decision came yesterday afternoon as Trade and Industry Secretary Paul Channon announced that Dutch truck giant Daf would join forces with Leyland Trucks – Scammell’s parent company – to form a new company. The Dutch will have a 60 per cent share in the new Leyland-Daf group.

Scammells will be one of the main casualties although other Leyland factories up and down the country are earmarked for closure. Watford MP Mr Tristan Garel-Jones has called it “bad news” for the town.

At the plant, workers say they know nothing about what is going on. At Leyland Trucks’ headquarters, the company line is: “No comment”.

[From the Watford Observer of February 20, 1987]

 

A detective who read prosecution evidence from an empty notebook may face criminal charges following a top level investigation.

Detective Constable RB was giving evidence against [a man] accused of stealing £200 worth of property from a car at Moor Park Golf Club. After taking the oath, the Detective Constable asked St Albans Crown Court if he could consult his pocket notebook, which he said had been filled in as soon after the incident as was possible.

But after reading his notes to the court, the notebook was discovered to be empty.

Judge John Slack immediately halted the case, the prosecution offered no evidence and the accused man was acquitted.

[From the Watford Observer of February 21, 1986]

 

More than 150 disappointed pop fans holding forged tickets were turned away from Elton John’s sell-out concert at Bailey’s Watford nightspot on Tuesday.

They had bought tickets from touts for as much as £5, but got no further than the shield of police and security officers at the doors, who had been warned to expect a flood of forgeries.

Inside the club, 2,000 lucky fans, who bought the £2.50 tickets from sponsors the Watford Observer and Watford FC Supporters Club, enjoyed a fine 80-minute show from the world’s number one pop superstar.

[From the Watford Observer of February 21, 1975]

 

Watford played their snow-delayed FA Cup tie with Rotherham at the 14th attempt at Vicarage Road on Wednesday.

They won 2-0 and visit Southampton next Wednesday in the fourth round.

[From the Watford Observer of February 22, 1963]