Results tagged “Dr Reg Yorke” from Formby Times - Past

TIMES Past has become aware of a wonderful reunion between the founding members of the civic society and a former editor of the Formby Times.
Pat O'Neill, who edited the paper in the 1950s, recently chanced upon the Formby Civic Society's website and e-mailed Dr Reg Yorke and his wife Barbara.
Mr O'Neill remembered the Yorke's well, and the series of meetings that led to birth of Formby Civic Society. He also recalls Muriel Sibley and her sketches of village life.
And the Yorke's remember Mr O'Neill, particularly his attendance at one meeting in their Brows Lane home in the late '50s, when they "reformed the Formby Labour Party."
The former editor also recounts the Royal Visit of 1956, when the Queen Mum presented a new set of colours to the Manchester Regiment at Harington Barracks.
And it seems this special occasion was captured on film. Staff from the University of Liverpool arrived on the scene with a movie camera, and the fascinating footage was screened in Formby later that year.
If any of our readers have information on that film, please get in touch.

IN light of last week's stormy parish council meeting, this week Times Past will cast its eye over the history of local government in Formby.
Local government appears to have arrived in 1894, when Formby was run by West Lancashire Rural District Council. And controversy was not far away, even then. Councillor Sean Brady, who attended last week's meeting, has posted an entry on his blog about Formby's first parish council on his blog.
He describes the tensions between the council and the Formby Times, which was critical of the bodies performance. Cllr Brady writes:"The local newspaper of the day, The Formby Times, was full of constantly critical reports as the new members struggled to come to terms with the requirements of the law. Week after week in early 1895 the equivalent of the editorial complained of the lack of competence and compared the Council unfavourably with the newly established Parish Council in Ainsdale."
However, Formby people were less than happy with remote rule from Ormskirk, and a groundswell of opinion led to the formation of the Urban District Council in 1905.However, as Formby's population began to boom during the mid 20th century, this body became less able to serve the needs of the people it was meant to represent.
In 1997 a Local Government Commission for England survey discovered that many Formby people began to feel marginalised and frustrated with the quality of council services. This report led to the emergence of Formby Area Committee, which is currently chaired by Councillor Vincent Sedgley Platt.
However, by 2001, Formby Civic Society and Claire Curtis - Thomas MP joined forces to press for the establishment of a parish council. A public meeting was held, at which 75% of the audience agreed that there should be a submission to the Deputy Prime Minister's Office.
The first Formby Parish Council elections were held in January 2004, and the rest, as they say, is history.