|
|
|
March 26th 1941 |
|
The War Damage Act received
the Royal Assent on March 26th 1941. |
|
|
July 4th 1941 |
|
On
July 4th 1941, just four months after the major
Blitz of March 1941, Lord Reith, the Government's
reconstruction chief, advised Plymouth to 'plan boldly and
plan now'. |
|
|
September 1st 1941 |
|
A tablet in
the
Civic Centre records that ~ The first act in the
rebuilding of Plymouth was the decision of the City Council made
on the 1st September 1941 -- within six months of the
destruction of the centre of the city -- that a Redevelopment
Plan should be prepared. The Plan --
"A Plan for Plymouth" -- by
James Paton Watson, CBE., the City Engineer, and
Sir Patrick Abercrombie, the Town Planning Consultant, was
completed by September 1943, and the basic principles of the
Plan were approved by the Council in August 1944. ~ |
|
|
August 6th 1942 |
|
The War Damage (Amendment)
Act received the Royal Assent on August 6th 1942. |
|
|
June 1943 |
|
In June 1943 a consolidating
War Damage Act, which replaced the previous ones, received the
Royal Assent. War Damage was defined by Section 2 of the
Act as:
-
damage directly
resulting from action taken by the enemy or from action
in fighting the enemy, (for example, bomb damage, and
damage caused by anti-aircraft fire);
-
damage directly
resulting from action taken by a public authority to
prevent spreading of damage as defined above (for
example, demolition by a local authority of a building
made unsafe by bombing);
-
accidental damage
directly resulting from certain measures taken ion
anticipation of enemy action and involving a substantial
risk to property (for example, accidental
explosion of mines in coastal areas).
|
|
|
The compensation to be paid
to the owner of the property affected was either the cost
incurred in the repair of the war damage, known as a 'cost of
works payment', or, if it was uneconomical to repair it, a 'value
payment' based on the depreciation in the value of the
property based on prices ruling on March 31st 1939. |
|
|
Notification of damage had
to be reported to the Commission on a form C.1. and the details
were then placed on a "Property Index" and a "Name Index". The
nearest office was the Regional Office at Bristol but staff from
the Commission's Technical Division (architects and surveyors)
were based in Plymouth. |
|
|
1944 |
|
The
old
Guildhall in
Whimple Street was demolished early in 1944. |
|
|
April 25th 1944 |
|
Plymouth City Council held
a special meeting on April 25th 1944 to discuss the constitution
of the new Reconstruction Committee. |
|
|
April 27th 1944 |
|
"A Plan for Plymouth" was published on April 27th 1944. |
|
|
May 12th 1944 |
|
The Plymouth Emergency
Committee was informed on May 12th 1944 that the Admiralty
intended purchasing 230 acres of Devonport for an extension to
the
Royal Dockyard. |
|
|
July 1944 |
|
In July 1944 the
Reconstruction Committee recommended to the Council their
qualified approval of the basic principles of
the Plan for Plymouth. |
|
|
December 14th 1944 |
|
Street lamps were being
re-erected in Clarence Place, Courtenay Street,
Frankfort Street, King Street and
Union Street in the first week of December 1944. They were
re-lit on Thursday December 14th 1944. |
|
|
March 16th 1945 |
|
A new club for the
NAAFI
was opened by the First Lord of the Admiralty on March 16th
1945. |
|
|
June 13th 1945 |
|
On Wednesday June 13th 1945
public pleasure services were resumed in the Hamoaze when the
"Swift" left
Phoenix Wharf for the
Royal Albert Bridge. This return to normality proved very
popular and the "Lively" was put on as a relief boat. Between
them they carried about 150 passengers. Permission had been
given to run the trips twice daily and Wednesdays and Saturdays
and it was hoped to extend the trips to Calstock, as before
the War. |
|
|
June 13th 1945 |
|
At the Plymouth City
Council Works Committee meeting on June 13th, it was agreed to
reinstate the automatic traffic signals at the corner of
Frankfort Street,
George Street and
Bedford Street and also at the corner of
Old Town Street and
Treville Street. The estimated cost of the whole scheme was
£1,160. |
|
|
July 7th 1945 |
|
This famous scene from the
film "The Way We Live", was shot on Saturday July 7th 1945.
The parade was led by the Band of the Saint John's Cadets. The
film was under the direction of Miss Jill Craigie (later Mrs
Michael Foot) and produced by Mr William MacQuitty.
|
|
|
September 25th 1945 |
|
On
September 25th 1945 the Council approved the erection of
temporary shops in
Tavistock Road and
Glanville Street, opposite
the
City Library. 22,000 feet of space would be provided at a
cost of £10,000. Also approved were similar shops in Princess
Square, where 9,000 feet would be provided at a cost of £4,500. |
|
|
September 29th 1945 |
|
Plymouth's
last tram ran on September 29th 1945. |
|
|
October 1st 1945 |
|
On Monday October 1st 1945
the
Great Western Railway
Company re-started the Royal Mail Postal
special trains from London Paddington to
Plymouth and Penzance. The service had been suspended on
Saturday September 21st 1940. The inaugural train was headed by
6019 "King Henry V" and the Guard was a Plymouth man, Mr B J
Yate, who lived at Long Rowden, Peverell. |
|
|
November 1945 |
|
The Labour Party took over
control of Plymouth City Council in November 1945. |
|
|
December 1945 |
|
Work
started in December 1955 on the new
housing estate at Efford. |
|
|
February 4th1 946 |
|
On or about
February 4th 1946 approval was given for the Declaratory Order
No. 1 for the shopping centre, covering some 173 acres. This
was the first such Order to be granted in England. |
|
|
March 25th 1946 |
|
On March
25th 1946 an application from Messrs F W Woolworth Limited to redevelop the
Royal Hotel site in
Fore Street, Devonport, was discussed by the Reconstruction
Committee. The views of the Admiralty were to be sought. |
|
|
April 12th 1946 |
|
On April
12th 1946 officials from the Ministry of Civil Aviation visited
the Harrowbeer airfield and recommended that it should be
retained for civilian use. |
|
|
April 15th 1946 |
|
After a break of three and
a half years, the Royal Blue express coach service from Plymouth
to London recommenced on Monday April 15th 1946. At exactly 8am
the 'brightly cleaned' departed from outside Sherwell
Arcade, Tavistock Road, with ten passengers on board bound for
London. The return fare was £1 15s. Stop were made at Honiton
for morning coffee, at Yeovil for lunch, and at Oakley, near
Basingstoke, for tea. The vehicle that made that first post-war
journey to London was DR8806, a Leyland TS1 with Beadle
32-seater bodywork, owned by the
Western National Omnibus Company
Limited. |
|
|
April 29th 1946 |
|
A public
inquiry into the first compulsory purchase order started on
April 29th 1946. The chairman was Mr H G Warren from the
Ministry of Town and Country Planning. The main opposition came
from the Chamber of Commerce and the Order was Order was taken
to the Court of Appeal. This was the first such public inquiry
in England. |
|
|
May 1946 |
|
In May 1946
it was decided that
Saint Catherine's Church in Lockyer Street should not be
demolished until
Saint Andrew's Church had been rebuilt. |
|
|
July 15th 1946 |
|
Bush Radio Limited applied for
a site for a new factory at Ernesettle on July 15th 1946. |
|
|
On the same
date approval was given by the Council for the erection of 25
temporary shops in
George Street and
Westwell Street, at a cost of £20,000. |
|
|
July 15th 1946 |
|
Also on
July 15th 1946, it was decided to acquire 197 acres of the
Derriford Estate. |
|
|
July 21st 1946 |
|
Bread rationing was introduced
on July 21st 1946, which created an outrage as the reason behind it was to
help starving Germans. |
|
|
September/October 1946 |
|
The Leigham Manor Estate
was acquired before it went for auction in September/October
1946. |
|
|
November 1946 |
|
In November
1946 the 1,000th prefabricated house was occupied and the
Government approved Plymouth's Declaratory Order No. 1. This
was the first such Order in England to win Government approval.
However, it was challenged in both the High Court and the
Court of Appeal but the Council won both cases. |
|
|
Christmas 1946 |
|
Although the Minister of Food,
Mr John Strachey, had promised that iced Christmas cakes would be available
for Christmas 1946, he omitted to make any allocation of two essential
ingredients, fruit and fat, so the Plymouth bakers decided that he had to
ban the making of iced cakes. As mincemeat was also being rationed, to just
sevens pounds for every 100 pounds of jam, the manufacture of mince pies in
the City would be greatly reduced. |
|
|
1946 |
|
Labour to
push forward the reconstruction work in 1946 was in extremely
short supply. On one occasion Plymouth City Council called for
100 men for a particular project. It did not matter if they
were disabled. Only fifty turned up and of those 38 men 'presented
some excuse for not working' which left only 12 men to be
taken on. By the end of the week there were only three of the
men left. The provision of new houses and shops might not have
progressed very far had it not been for the use of prisoners of
war.
|
|
|
1947 |
|
There was a fuel crisis in 1947 which brought
about rationing. |
|
|
March 21st 1947 |
|
In the paving of Derry's
Cross roundabout, opposite the entrance to Raleigh Street, is a
kerbstone engraved 21-3-47. It commemorates the start of the
reconstruction of Plymouth after the
Second World War. The work actually started at 8.15am on
Monday March 17th 1947 when Mr Henry Pascoe swung the first
pick-axe at the ground in Raleigh Lane prior to laying a new
drainpipe. The foreman of the gang was Mr Gordon Harris, who
was killed in November 1947 during the demolition of the old
Westminster Bank in
Bedford Street. Other members were Mr Herbert Lavers, Mr
Cornelius Hayes and Mr Alfred Waters. The stone was placed here
in 1948 and buried beneath it is a lead box containing items
connected with the reconstruction, such as an aerial photograph
of
Royal Parade before the visit of HM King George VI in
October 1947 and Council minutes and correspondence relating to
the work. |
|
|
March 21st 1947 |
|
A special service was held
at
Saint Andrew's Church on March 21st 1947 to commemorate the
bombing of 1941 'and to afford an opportunity to the Council
to dedicate itself to the task of the re-building of the City.' |
|
|
May 2nd 1947 |
|
As part of the enlargement
of the City, parts of the parishes of Bickleigh and
Tamerton Foliot were absorbed into Plymouth from May 2nd
1947. |
|
|
May 12th 1947 |
|
On May 12th 1947 the Court
of Appeal allowed the Minister of Town and Country Planning to
issue a Compulsory Purchase Order approval to Plymouth City
Council. |
|
|
June 2nd 1947 |
|
On June 2nd 1947 the
Council accepted a grant of £30,000 from the London Air Raid
Distress Fund for the erection of bungalows for the elderly. |
|
|
June 16th 1947 |
|
Acquisition of 193½ acres of Derriford Estate was completed on June 16th 1947. The cost was
£32,500 plus fees. |
|
|
June 17th 1947 |
|
The first of 96 Cornish
Unit council houses was opened on June 17th 1947. |
|
|
July 3rd 1947 |
|
'When supplies are
available and restrictions removed, VIMTO -- the unequalled
fruit drink -- will be back and the long deferred expectation of
its countless friends joyfully realised. The Popular
Non-Alcoholic Bracing Beverage. J N Nichols & Co., Ltd.,
Manchester 16.' -- Advert in
Western Evening Herald for July 3rd 1947. |
|
|
July 9th 1947 |
|
On July 9th 1947 it was
announced that the Government were going to acquire the old
Harrowbeer airfield to serve Plymouth when air services were
restored. |
|
|
August 4th 1947 |
|
Road construction in the
Centre apparently started on August 4th 1947. |
|
|
August 6th 1947 |
|
On August 6th 1947 the Town
and Country Planning Act 1947 was passed by the Government. This
transformed the financial outlook by lifting from the shoulders
of the Plymouth ratepayers nine-tenths of the financial burden
of the reconstruction of the City for the first five to eight
years and half the burden for the following fifty-two years
(i.e. to the end of 1999). |
|
|
Saturday August 30th 1947 |
|
On Saturday August 30th
1947 it was once again possible to treat your girlfriend to some chocolates
during picture shows at
Gaumont Palace cinemas. They had been withdrawn in 1943. |
|
|
September 15th 1947 |
|
The use of Derriford Estate
as a hospital was nearly put in jeopardy when the War Department
announced on September 15th 1947 their proposal to extend the
adjacent Seaton anti-aircraft gun site. |
|
|
October 20th 1947 |
|
On October 20th 1947 the
Council approved the demolition of the old
Municipal Offices in Guildhall Square. |
|
|
October 29th 1947 |
|
His Majesty King George VI
declared
Royal Parade open on October 29th 1947 even though only the
section from Westwell Street to Courtenay Street was finished. |
|
|
November 1947 |
|
The
Westminster Bank premises in
Bedford Street were demolished during November 1947. It was
one of the few buildings to survive the
Blitz, probably due to its stronger construction. |
|
|
March 1948 |
|
Clothes were the first to be de-rationed, in March 1948.
|
|
|
March 3rd 1948 |
|
On Wednesday March 3rd 1948 the site allocations
in Plymouth's new shopping centre were published. |
|
|
Friday May 7th 1948 |
|
The last German prisoners of war left the camp at Chaddlewood, Plympton, on
Friday May 7th 1948, bound for a repatriation camp in Suffolk.
|
|
|
July 1948 |
|
Bread
was de-rationed in July 1948.
|
|
|
September 27th 1948 |
|
The
remainder of
Royal Parade was opened to traffic on Monday September 27th
1948. |
|
|
September 29th 1948 |
|
The plans
for some of the buildings in
Royal Parade were announced on Wednesday September 29th
1948.
Messrs E Dingle and Company Limited proposed to build a
four-storey block, faced with Portland stone, on the eastern
junction with what at that time was to be called Phoenix Way
(later Armada Way). The architect was Mr T S Tait FRIBA of Sir
John Burnett, Tait, and Partners, of London. It would have a
frontage of 225 feet on both
Royal Parade and New George Street and 290 feet on Phoenix
Way. |
|
|
On the
opposite corner from
Dingle's would be the five stories of Pearl Assurance House,
again faced with Portland stone. This was designed by Mr Alec F
French FRIBA, of Plymouth and Bristol, who had worked in
conjunction with Mr Tait. The two buildings were designed so
that the corner features balanced each other. The Pearl
Assurance building would have a frontage on
Royal Parade of about 250 feet and on Phoenix Way of 145
feet. |
|
|
December 1948 |
|
Jam was de-rationed in December 1948.
|
|
|
1949 |
|
During 1949
Messrs Tecalemit Limited opened new premises at Marsh Mills. |
|
|
January 1st 1949 |
|
The National Service Act 1948 became effective on January 1st 1949
and fixed the period of military service to eighteen months.
This was followed by four years in the reserve forces. The
Korean War of 1950 led to an increase in the period of service to
two years but the time in the reserves was reduced by six months. |
|
|
January 3rd 1949 |
|
Plymouth's
first self-service grocery store opened on Monday January 3rd
1949 at the
Plymouth Co-operative Society's
headquarters in Courtenay Street. |
|
|
January 15th 1949 |
|
The Tory opposition on
Plymouth City Council announced on January 15th 1949 that they
scrap the parts of "A Plan for Plymouth" relating to areas outside of the City
Centre. |
|
|
February 15th 1949 |
|
On February
15th 1949 the
Bank of England closed its branch in Bank of England Place,
Plymouth. |
|
|
March 21st 1949 |
|
The
go-ahead for a new
General Post Office at Saint Andrew's Cross was given on March
21st 1949. |
|
|
March 21st 1949 |
|
Also on
March 21st 1949 it was stated that the
Bank of England premises, vacated in March, had been
acquired for £44,300 plus fees. |
|
|
April 19th 1949 |
|
On April
19th 1949 the first purchase was made under the terms of the
Devonport Compulsory Purchase Order obtained in 1947. The
property was number 43
King Street, Devonport, for which £60 was
paid. |
|
|
April 27th 1949 |
|
During a
visit to Plymouth on April 27th 1949 the Minister of Education
opened two schools, Plym View Primary and Keyham College Road
Primary, and visited the sites of Trelawny Primary and King's
Tamerton Secondary Modern Schools. |
|
|
May 25th 1949 |
|
May 25th
1949 saw the announcement that a gun-mounting shop was to be
the first building to be erected in the old
Fore Street area of
Devonport as part of the
Royal Dockyard extension. |
|
|
June 13th 1949 |
|
It was
announced on June 13th 1949 that the Admiralty planned to
acquire 154 acres of land in Devonport over the next 12 years. |
|
|
June 28th 1949 |
|
On June
28th 1949
Lady Astor opened the new factory at Ernesettle for the Bush
Radio Company. |
|
|
July 1949 |
|
In July 1949 the City Engineer requested
instructions from the Council on re-erecting the
Saint Andrew's Cross but it was decided not to rebuild it
but to make a War Damage claim instead. |
|
|
October 22nd 1949 |
|
A new foundation stone was
laid at
Saint Andrew's Church on October 22nd 1949. |
|
|
November 3rd 1949 |
|
Preliminary
work on the new
Dingle's department store started on November 3rd 1949.
This was the first store to be started. It was not to be the
first to re-open, however. A few days later, on November 9th
1949, work started on a new store for Messrs F W Woolworth's. |
|
|
1950 |
|
Four new
schools were to be opened after the Easter school holidays.
They were South Crownhill Juniors, West Efford Infants,
Montpelier Infants and a temporary school on the new Ernesettle
estate. Work was expected to start on two schools at Ernesettle,
one for juniors and infants and the other for juniors only. New
schools were also promised for Barne Barton and Whitleigh. |
|
|
May 1950 |
|
Petrol was de-rationed in May 1950, when a low-octane
unbranded fuel became available.
|
|
|
June 2nd 1950 |
|
On June 2nd
1950 a £2 million hospital scheme for the Derriford Estate was
announced. |
|
|
July 3rd 1950 |
|
The
Admiralty put their proposals to the Council on July 3rd 1950. |
|
|
July 22nd 1950 |
|
During a
visit to Plymouth on July 22nd the Minister of Works suggested
that the
Guildhall should be demolished.
As a result of this damage, the
Guildhall
was very nearly demolished. In fact when the Minister of Works, Mr R R Stokes, visited the site on Saturday July 22nd 1950, he
said that: 'the whole building should be knocked down and a
fresh start made.' He did acknowledge, however, that
Plymouth 'is further forward than any other of the badly
blitzed cities I have yet visited.' |
|
|
September 1950 |
|
The new
West Efford Junior School was due to be opened in September
1950. |
|
|
October 1st 1950 |
|
Work
started on Sunday October 1st 1950 on a new store for the
Plymouth Co-operative Society. |
|
|
October 2nd 1950 |
|
On Monday
October 2nd 1950 the Admiralty authorised the Council to start
purchasing land in
Devonport. |
|
|
October 16th 1950 |
|
The owners
of the old
Grand Theatre
in East
Stonehouse were given permission on Monday October 16th
1950 to restore their building. |
|
|
November 24th 1950 |
|
F W
Woolworth's became the first department store to re-open in the
reconstruction programme, when it opened on Friday November 24th
1950. |
|
|
December 6th 1950 |
|
On Wednesday December 6th
1950 it was announced that the reconstruction work was to claim
one of Plymouth's most significant landmarks -- the
Prudential Building. In the new City Centre of straight
roads there was to be no room for buildings that got in the way
so demolition would start in January 1951 and the site was due
to be handed over to the contractors working on the new Pearl
Assurance House in March 1951. |
|
|
1951 |
|
New schools
expected to be opened during 1951 included
Honicknowle Secondary Modern,
Efford Secondary Modern, and a primary school at Knowle
Fort. New schools were also promised for
Pennycross, Burleigh House,
Saint Budeaux and Lipson. |
|
|
January 22nd 1951 |
|
Demolition
work on the old Prudential Insurance building started on Monday
January 22nd 1951. |
|
|
September 1st 1951 |
|
Dingle's
department store opened its doors on Saturday September 1st
1951, and 40,000 people visited it on the first day. Included
in the design by Sir John Burnett was Plymouth's first example
of an escalator. |
|
|
September 20th 1951 |
|
On Thursday
September 20th 1951 the first major slum clearance scheme in
England since the end of the War was announced. The demolition
of the
Pembroke Street area of Devonport was to start in twelve
months. |
|
|
September 24th 1951 |
|
On
September 24th 1951 it was stated that while the old
General Post Office in
Westwell Street had been acquired for £40,000 plus fees, the
new one at
Saint Andrew's Cross was to be leased to the Post Office for
99 years at a ground rent of £3,500 per annum. |
|
|
October 16th 1951 |
|
The
foundation stone of the partially completed Pearl Assurance
House was laid on Tuesday October 16th 1951. The building was
to cost £600,000. |
|
|
November 6th 1951 |
|
Norwich
Union House, on the corner of
Old Town Street and
Royal Parade, was opened on Tuesday November 6th 1951, only
15 months after receiving the building licence. |
|
|
November 11th 1951 |
|
The plans
for the new
North Road Plymouth Station were announced on Sunday
November 11th 1951. |
|
|
1951 |
|
During 1951
the
Plymouth Register Office moved from its war-time
accommodation at 13 Thorn Park, Mannamead, to a concrete fronted
Nissan hut at 7 Belle Vue Place, North Road. |
|
|
1951 |
|
Also during
the year the first part of the
Whitleigh housing estate was occupied and the footbridge
linking it with Honicknowle was opened. Its 362 foot span was
the longest of its kind in the country at the time and it
underwent vigorous testing before it was brought into use. |
|
|
1952 |
|
Armada Way,
Cornwall Street and New George Street were all under
construction in 1952. |
|
|
January 1952 |
|
Market Buildings in
East Street were demolished in January 1952. This included
the premises of
Messrs Fernley Wallis (Chemists) Limited, next to the gates of the
Meat Market, Battershill's the newsagents, and Swiss's toy
shop. Two stalls within the
Meat Market were also removed. New George Street was
extended eastwards over part of the site and the new premises
for
Messrs John Yeo and Company covered the other part.
|
|
|
January 1952 |
|
Milehouse
Hill became a dual-carriageway in January 1952 when the tram
tracks in the centre of the road were removed. |
|
|
February 6th 1952 |
|
Following the
death of her father, His Majesty King George VI, Princess Elizabeth
succeeded to the Throne as Queen Elizabeth II. |
|
|
February 11th 1952 |
|
Work on demolishing
"Tin Pan Alley" started on Monday February 11th
1952. |
|
|
February 25th 1952 |
|
Plymouth
was advised on February 25th 1952 to re-design its new buildings
to dispense with the use of steel as far as possible, due to a
national shortage. |
|
|
February 28th 1952 |
|
On February
28th 1952 it was announced that although 8,500 homes had been
built since 1945 a further 10,000 were still needed. |
|
|
March 10th 1952 |
|
The cost of
the reconstruction work so far was announced on March 10th 1952
as being £4,750,000. |
|
|
April 12th 1952 |
|
A new
abattoir for the City was opened at Prince Rock on Saturday
April 12th 1952. |
|
|
1952 |
|
To help the
flow of traffic, a new roundabout was installed at the junction
of
Mutley Plain, Alexandra Road and Greenbank Hill. It was
replaced by traffic lights in 1964. |
|
|
July 18th 1952 |
|
On Friday
July 18th 1952 HRH the Princess Margaret opened the new
NAAFI building in Notte Street. |
|
|
August 8th 1952 |
|
On August
8th 1952 it was revealed that Plymouth had built 31½% more
houses per 1,000 population than its leading rival county
borough. |
|
|
September 1952 |
|
John
Yeo's new store was opened in September 1952. |
|
|
September 10th 1952 |
|
On
Wednesday September 10th 1952 the new Boy Scout headquarters at
Blindman's Wood was inaugurated. |
|
|
September 15th 1952 |
|
Work
started on Monday September 15th 1952 on extending the
Naval Memorial on the Hoe. |
|
|
October 1952 |
|
Tea was de-rationed in October 1952. |
|
|
In October
1952 work started on the new
Market. |
|
|
October 10th 1952 |
|
Barclay's Bank opened their new premises in Armada Way on
Friday October 10th 1952. |
|
|
October 20th 1952 |
|
On October
20th 1952 the City Engineer announced he was to spend
£78,000,000 over the next 20 years on reconstruction works. |
|
|
October 24th 1952 |
|
The
foundation stone of the Royal Insurance Building at Saint
Andrew's Cross was laid on Friday October 24th 1952. It was
completed in 1954. |
|
|
|
|
"Fine
Chance to Speed Rebuilding" ran the headline on the
Western Evening Herald when the chairman of the Works
Committee, Councillor W A Miller, launched a drive to make
available to the steel industry as many tons of scrap metal as
possible. The reconstruction of the City Centre required 2,200
tons per annum and the increased demand and decreasing imports
of steel had led to a shortage. The target for Plymouth was to
collect 450 tons or 20 lbs per household. This was equated to
two iron pans and an old fireplace or a pair of bed-ends. It
was to be collected on normal refuse rounds but extra vehicles
would be employed. 'If the collectors should miss any
household.. telephone 2821 extension 302'.
The publicity
lorry for the Plymouth Scrap Metal Week.
© City of Plymouth Museum and Art Gallery. |
|
|
November 1st 1952 |
|
Sadly, on
November 1st 1952 it was announced that the scrap collection had
yielded only 232 tons and so the drive would be extended for
another week. When it finally came to an end on Saturday
November 8th 1952, only 280 tons had been collected. |
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November 17th 1952 |
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Three
Building Licenses, worth £65,000, were granted on November 17th
1952, in an effort to relieve unemployment in the local building
industry. |
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November 20th 1952 |
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On November
20th 1952 it was announced that 1,017 Council houses and 138
private developer houses had been completed. |
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December 27th 1952 |
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The new
Co-operative House opened its doors on Saturday December 27th
1952.
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1953 |
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At a public
inquiry into the "A Plan
for Plymouth" held at the
Devonport Guildhall, a question was asked about the need to
demolish 22 public houses in
East Stonehouse, to which
Mr Paton Watson replied: 'I do not think the public houses
are open when the men have their tea breaks. It is tea they
drink nowadays.' |
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January 1953 |
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In January 1953 work
started to clear the rubble from the
Guildhall. |
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January 9th 1953 |
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Pearl
Assurance House was opened on Friday January 9th 1953. |
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February 1953 |
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Sweets were de-rationed in February 1953. |
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March 1953 |
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Eggs were de-rationed in March 1953. |
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More than 1,000 tons of
debris had been cleared from the
Plymouth Guildhall by March 1953 in preparation for its
reconstruction. |
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March 18th 1953 |
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Her
Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, opened the new
YWCA building in Lockyer Street on Wednesday March 18th
1953. |
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March 20th 1953 |
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On March
20th plans were approved for the last department store to be
built on
Royal Parade, which was Popham's. |
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April 1953 |
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Cream was de-rationed in April 1953. |
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April 10th 1953 |
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On Friday
April 10th 1953 the Junior Chamber of Commerce announced a
scheme to build a low-level bridge across the River Tamar at
Saltash. It would cost less than £500,000. |
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April 13th 1953 |
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Forty
people started building their own houses at
Crownhill on Monday April 13th 1953. |
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June 1953 |
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In June
1953 a new Bus Station was opened on waste ground in
Union Street. |
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June 2nd 1953 |
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The Coronation in
Westminster Abbey, London, of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Great celebrations on Plymouth Hoe. |
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June 15th 1953 |
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New
Building Licenses amounting to £216, 450 were granted on June
15th 1953. |
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June 19th 1953 |
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On Friday
June 19th 1953 the Lord Mayor of Plymouth, Alderman Sir Clifford
Tozer, opened the new branch of Boot's the Chemist at the
junction of
Old Town Street and New George Street. The original
premises in
George Street had been destroyed in the
Second World War some twelve years before. The manager was Mr G H Levett. |
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September 1953 |
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Sugar was de-rationed in September 1953. |
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September 8th 1953 |
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The new
store for
Messrs John Yeo and Company Limited was opened by 13-years-old
Master David Beckly, son of the managing director, on Tuesday
September 8th 1953. |
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November 1953 |
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In November
1953 the new store of Messrs Timothy White's was opened, just 7
months after the first shovel of earth had been dug on April
19th. |
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November 16th 1953 |
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The
demolition of Colonial House in Millbay Road at a cost of £180
was authorised on November 16th 1953. |
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1954 |
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One wartime measure continued:
the collection of kitchen waste. This was processed into pig food as part
of the war effort and was an extremely successful municipal operation,
raising a lot of money.
The collection of kitchen
waste for processing in to pig food.
© City of Plymouth Museum and Art Gallery.
However, the demand for the waste began to drop off
in 1954 and the Council began losing money on the operation so in 1959 they
started to close it down. |
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March 1st 1954 |
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The old
Sugar Refinery in Mill Street had to be vacated by March 1st
1954, in preparation for demolition. |
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May 1954 |
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Butter, cheese, margarine and other cooking fats were de-rationed in
May 1954. |
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May 20th 1954 |
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On Thursday
May 20th 1954 HRH the Princess Margaret laid a stone marking the
commencement of the reconstruction of the
Central Library. |
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June 22nd 1954 |
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Sir Thomas
Sheepshanks, KCB, KBE, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry
of Housing and Local Government, opened the 10,000th post-war
municipal dwelling to be built by Plymouth City Council on
Tuesday June 22nd 1954. |
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July 1954 |
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In July
1954 work started on reconstructing the
Guildhall. |
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July 2nd 1954 |
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Rationing
formally ended on July 2nd 1954, when meat products became freely
available.
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July 3rd 1954 |
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A large crowd gathered in Trafalgar Square in
central London to ceremonially tear up their ration books in celebration.
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July 24th 1954 |
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"Time Gentlemen, please"
was called for the last time at Picken's Bar in
Whimple Street at 10.30pm on Saturday July 24th 1954 prior
to its demolition. |
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June 1955 |
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In was
announced in June 1955 that
Charles Church was to become a war memorial to the civilians
who lost their lives in the
Second World War. |
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July 1955 |
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Contractors
Messrs Richard Costain Limited started work on the new store for
Messrs Popham's in July 1955. |
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1956 |
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14,374
Council houses and 2,283 private houses had been completed since
the end of the War, along with 18 primary and 6 secondary modern
schools.
The cost of
land acquisition and clearance had been £4,500,000. the cost of
new roads, drains and sewers had amounted to £432,000 and the
cost of new buildings had been £6 million.
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January 8th 1956 |
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On Sunday
January 8th 1956 the congregation of the blitzed
King Street
Wesleyan Methodist Chapel held the first service in their
new, temporary home at number 5
George Street, one of the former temporary shops erected
during the 1940s in the devastated City Centre. |
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February22nd 1956 |
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The
reconstructed
Central Library was reopened on Wednesday February 22nd
1956. |
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May 1956 |
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Though not
a matter of "reconstruction" it might be important to mention
that in May 1956 the last of the buses with wooden seats was
withdrawn. They left their impression on many Plymothians. |
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May 1956 |
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The new
premises of
Messrs Spooner and Company Limited were completed in May 1956. |
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October 11th 1956 |
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On Thursday October 11th
1956 the new premises of
Messrs Moon & Sons (Pianos) Ltd was opened in New George
Street. |
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January 1957 |
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The public
house, "The Old Ring of Bells", in
Woolster Street was
demolished in January 1957. |
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May 1957 |
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In May 1957
Messrs Brown and Sharpe opened a new factory at Ernesettle. |
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July and October 1957 |
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On
Wednesday July 31st 1957 the Tamar Bridge Act was passed by
Parliament. The
Tamar Bridge Joint Committee was set up on Wednesday October
9th 1957.
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November 30th 1957 |
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The rebuilt
Saint Andrew's Church was reconsecrated on Saturday November
30th 1957.
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1957 |
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During 1957
new premises were completed for Popham's,
Lloyd's Bank and
Barclay's Bank Chambers. |
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January 1958 |
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Early in
January 1958 a start was made on the demolition of the shops
that remained isolated in the centre of Derry's Cross
roundabout. |
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February 1958 |
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The eastern
end of King Street, Plymouth, from the railway arch towards the
City Centre, was demolished in February 1958. |
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February7th 1958 |
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On Friday February 7th 1958 the
so-called "Viaduct" or Eastern Approach road was officially opened. |
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February 27th 1958 |
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On Thursday
February 27th 1958 the new Popham's store was opened in
Royal Parade. It had been housed in some 22 different
buildings around Plymouth since the original premises in
Bedford Street were bombed in March 1941. |
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March 30th 1958 |
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This was a
few weeks ahead of
Bretonside Bus Station, beneath the Viaduct, which was
opened quietly on Sunday March 30th 1958. The first passenger
to board a bus was Mr Eric Watson of 7 The Esplanade, The Hoe,
who used the 5.05am
Western National service to Ivybridge in
order to start his duty at
Moorhaven Hospital. |
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May 14th 1958 |
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The new
YMCA in
Cobourg Street was opened on Wednesday May 14th
1958. |
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May 23rd 1958 |
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Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Onslow, Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth,
laid the foundation stone for the new
Royal Sailors' Rest at Devonport on Friday May 23rd 1958. |
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May 31st 1958 |
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Mr Chuter Ede opened the
new
Unitarian Chapel in Notte Street on Saturday May 31st 1958.
It replaced the
Treville Street
Unitarian Chapel that was destroyed during
the War. |
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June 6th 1958 |
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The
Drake Cinema was opened on Friday June 6th 1958. |
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October 1958 |
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HRH the
Duchess of Kent opened the Miles Mitchell Village for elderly
people in October 1958. |
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June 1st 1959 |
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As from Monday June 1st 1959
Fore Street, Devonport,
was closed to all road traffic. Buses on routes 6 and 27 to
Saint Budeaux were diverted from
Chapel Street to the new Granby Way.
Fore Street was then taken inside the
Royal Dockyard. |
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July 1959 |
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It was
reported in July 1959 that since 1947 the Reconstruction
Committee of the City Council had spent £8,602,301 on land
acquisition. |
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August 1959 |
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The communal kitchen
waste bins were withdrawn by August 1959. |
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September 7th 1959 |
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The new
Plymouth Pannier Market was opened on Monday September 7th
1959. |
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September 24th 1959 |
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Lord
Montgomery re-opened the
Guildhall on Thursday September 24th 1959. |
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October 3rd 1959 |
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A major
event in the provision of fresh water to Plymouth came with the
official opening of the River Tavy Water Scheme at
Crownhill Water Treatment Works on Saturday October 3rd
1959. The opening was carried out by Dame Evelyn Sharp. |
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October 19th 1959 |
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The last collections
of kitchen waste from homes and factories started on October 19th
1959. |
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November 1959 |
Work
started on a new
Laira Bridge in November 1959. |
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February 1960 |
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William Street in Devonport was closed
to traffic in February 1960 prior to it being taken inside the extension of
the
Royal Dockyard. |
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May 1960 |
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In May 1960 a new
Royal Sailors' Rest was opened in Albert Road, Devonport. |
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September 1st 1960 |
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On September 1st 1960 Messrs F W
Woolworth's opened their new store in Marlborough Street. |
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November 26th 1960 |
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The
railway network in Plymouth moved over to colour-light signalling on
November 26th 1960, when the new power signal box was opened. |
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December 31st 1960 |
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National Service came to an end on December 31st 1960.
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October 23rd 1961 |
|
Two means of transport ceased this
year, with the imminent opening of the
Tamar Road Bridge: the last steam hauled Saltash "Motor" ran on June
12th 1961 and the last
Saltash Ferry on October 23rd 1961. |
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March 26th 1962 |
|
Doctor Beeching, the chairman of the British Railways
Board, opened the new
Plymouth Station on March 26th 1962. |
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April 26th 1962 |
|
This was followed on April 26th 1962 by the opening of
the
Tamar Bridge by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. |
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June 1st 1962 |
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Finally, on June 1st 1962 the new
Laira Bridge was officially opened by Lord Chesham. |
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July 26th 1962 |
|
The reconstruction of Plymouth, commenced in March
1947, finally came to an end with the opening of the new
Civic Centre on July 26th 1962. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
performed the opening ceremony. This brought together under one roof
various civic departments that had been scattered throughout the City since
the destruction of the old Municipal Office building in Guildhall Square. |
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May 13th 1963 |
|
The last
National Service man, Lieutenant Richard Vaughan, was discharged from the Royal Army Pay
Corps on May 13th 1963.
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|
All building work that took place after this date is
regarded as normal development work and not part of the City's rebirth after
the devastation of the
Second World War. |
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RESIDUAL INFORMATION
It might be mentioned here that the War Damage
Commission was dissolved on October 1st 1964 as a result of the War Damage
Act 1964. Most of its residual work was transferred to the War Damage
office at the Board of Inland Revenue and from October 1st 1974 the right to
any claims or payments ceased except where such damage might be caused by an
unexploded
Second World War bomb.
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