A Quick Reminder: Looking back through the archives of The Keswick Reminder from around this week 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago.
20 years ago
Zero tolerance to traffic offending
Allerdale Borough Council is set to implement a new “zero tolerance” policy in order to stop unauthorised vehicles entering Keswick’s Market Square pedestrian area illegally.
A number of vehicles have continued to flout the regulations in the town centre ever since the pedestrian scheme was introduced last year, and Borough traffic wardens have recently carried out a series of checks on vehicles travelling up and down the Market Square. Currently just two types of vehicle are allowed on the Market Square — orange badge holders and green badge vehicles allowed access for one-off purposes such as shop refits.
Enforcement procedures will begin “as soon as possible” in order to stop drivers entering the Market Square illegally, including delivery vehicles who try to deliver outside the permitted hours of before 10am and after 4pm. Keswick Town Council is being asked to give its backing to the new crackdown by informing local shops that deliveries should only be made outside the core hours and anyone not adhering to this policy will be penalised.
30 years ago
Plane crash
One of the largest rescue operations mounted in the Lake District for some time took place on Monday night after a local farmer heard a light aircraft crash just before six o’clock.
Mark Cornthwaite, who was working at Ashness Farm, said he saw the Cessna plane flying towards him across Derwentwater. As it passed overhead the sound of the engine changed. He said: “It came from the Keswick end of the Lake. It was just before six o’clock. The plane had a light on and seemed quite high up.”
He added: “I was getting some cows in and I don’t know what made me look up. As soon as the aircraft went out of sight the noise of the engine changed and I immediately suspected something was not right. Moments later I heard it come down with a thump.”
At one stage over a hundred searchers were sent out from the headquarters of Keswick Mountain Rescue Team at Central car Park. Assistance was given by neighbouring rescue teams from Ambleside, Cockermouth and RAF Leeming, while an RAF helicopter from Boulmer in the North East swept the area, Cumbria Fire Service rendezvoused with the helicopter near Braithwaite to provide thermal image-grabbing equipment to help with the search for the plane.
The crashed aircraft was located by a member of the RAF search squad and members of Keswick Mountain Rescue Team who were conducting a line search across the fellside near the 2,000 ft. summit of High Seat at Thirlmere. The body of the pilot, 64 year old Dennis Cresswell from Aldershot, was lying near the wreckage.
Mr Cresswell, who had many years experience as a flyer, ran an aerial photography business in Hampshire and he was flying from Cumbernauld in Scotland to London. Air traffic controllers confirmed Mr. Cornthwaite’s worst fears when they said the aircraft had disappeared from their radar in the area between Keswick and Thirlmere.
More than thirty search dog handlers were also on the fells taking part in the search, drawn from the Lake District and the national Search and Rescue Dog Associations. Several of the handlers were on an assessment course based in Keswick carrying out a series of simulated rescue operations when the real thing happened and they were asked to help.
An inquest into Mr Cresswell’s death has been opened and adjourned. An investigation will be carried out by experts to try to piece together the last flight of the Cessna and discover why it plunged into the fellside. Earlier this week investigators visited the scene to examine parts of the plane which will eventually be taken away for further checks.
Mrs Isobel Oglethorpe
One of Keswick’s best known ladies, Mrs. Isobel Oglethorpe, died on Monday at the home of her daughter, Dorothy, 19 Kishorn, Ross-shire, She would have celebrated her 100th birthday on February 4th.
The youngest daughter of John Gardiner, a cabinet maker, and his wife, Mary, Isobel was brought up at their home in Main Street, Keswick. She attended Keswick School where she was Head Girl and a keen member of the hockey team. On leaving school she joined the Post Office telegraph section, working not only in Keswick but also being seconded at various times to the Spring Gardens office in Manchester and to Chorlton. Her knowledge of the Morse Code, learnt some eighty years ago, remained throughout her life.
In 1924 she married another Old Keswickian, J. A. Oglethorpe, who had served throughout the Great War in the army and was then a solicitor in the town. Both Jack and Isobel Oglethorpe took great interest in all aspects of life in the town and the area, and their homes, first at Acorn House and, later, at Markholme, were always places where friends and colleagues were made welcome.
After her husband’s death in 1962, Isobel continued with her interests in local organisations. She was an Honorary Member of Keswick Lecture Society, an honour given to her after many years of service on the committee, and she served for a long period as secretary of the Church of England Children’s
Society in Crosthwaite parish. A founder member of the Inner Wheel Club of Keswick, she was also a Past President, and her interest in sport, begun as a pupil at Keswick School, continued with her selection for the County Hockey team and her support as a committee member of the former Derwentwater Bathing and Swimming Club.
Mrs. Oglethorpe helped with the Meals on Wheels service for many years, continuing this work until quite late in her life. She supported her husband in his work as chairman of the United Nations Association in the town branch. She was a Past President of the O.K. Association and she was always a popular and regular attender at reunions until the last few years of her life.
Jack and Isobel Oglethorpe had three children — Mary, who now lives in Perth, Australia; Frank, who was also a solicitor in the family firm and who, sadly, died nearly seven years ago; and Dorothy, who lives in Scotland. Mrs. Oglethorpe’s great interest in, and love for her children and grandchildren was returned in the love and care shown to her in her later years by her daughter-in-law Margaret, and her daughter Dorothy with whom she has lived for the past three years.
One hundred years in Keswick and her deep interest in the town brought Mrs. Oglethorpe the love of a great many local people to whom she was a kind, gentle and loyal friend.
40 years ago
Winter arrives with a vengeance
Winter finally broke on the Lake District with a vengeance at the week-end, bringing with it a trail of damage, havoc on the roads and tragedy on the fells.
One of the worst mountain tragedies in recent years took place nearly 3,000 feet up Helvellyn on Saturday when three young climbers were killed and three other members of their party seriously injured.
Five of the six were members of the First Wolviston Venture Scout Troop from Cleveland. It is thought that their fall was caused by an avalanche of snow.
Mountain Rescue Teams from many parts of Cumbria were called in and at one time about ninety rescuers from six teams were involved in the operation of bringing down the dead and injured from the blizzard-swept mountain.
The alarm was raised by two climbers who reported finding six people who had fallen 200 feet in Nethermost Cove on the eastern flanks of the mountain.
An effort to bring in an R.A.F. helicopter was foiled by bad weather over the Pennines. A rescue spokesman said later that the climbers had been well clothed, but apparently were inadequately equipped.
On Sunday two people died in a fifteen vehicle pile up on the M.6 motorway near Shap. Two coaches and two lorries were among the vehicles involved in the accident which took place in a blizzard.
50 years ago
Storm damage
Keswick police were inundated with calls on Saturday morning after a night of gales which brought down trees and caused damage throughout the county.
Trees were reported across many roads in the area, including Whinlatter Pass, which was blocked, and the Keswick-Bothel road which was also blocked for a while, and in Tithebarn Street there were reports of corrugated metal from a nearby building being lifted through the air.
An 80ft. spruce tree fell on the home of Mr. Gerald W. Lacey, C.B.E., The How, Rosthwaite, knocking off the chimney stack and putting a hole in the roof, and a tree fell against the home of Mrs. J. Tickell, Fernside, Portinscale, which meant she had to leave the house for most of Saturday. One of the trees which was blown down was one of the attractive pair of yews at the entrance to Crosthwaite Church.
