Sir, Risking being more boring than usual, can I continue the saga of Wantage jubilee celebrations of 1897? Some readers say they found previous letters enlightening and interesting.

More than 200 over-60 residents enjoyed a dinner in the Corn Exchange (later the VC Gallery) “through the instrumentality of Mr John Whiting”. Mr W Jackson provided the meat and “the fare was unlimited” with roast and boiled beef, roast mutton, new potatoes, rich plum puddings, pastry, beer, stout, with snuff and tobacco given by Mr C D Adkin’s father in London.

Later, about 1,000 children from the Baptist, Wesleyan and the National Schools followed Fawley Brass Band and Charlton Drum and Fife Band to Mr John Simmons’ meadows near Stirlings House, for sports and tea — “a large affair” requiring upwards of four cwt of cake, 40 gallons of bread, 50 pounds of butter, ten pounds of tea and over one cwt of sugar.

Then old and young gathered in the Market Place for dancing, kiss-in-the-ring (how daring!) and a parade of decorated cycles by Wantage Cycling Club.

Sadly, the celebrations were marred when Mr Charles Page, 50, principal carpenter at St Mary’s Home (the Convent) fell from the roof while attempting to erect a large flag on a tall chimney and died “when he alighted on asphalt; death was instantaneous”.

Moving on to living memory events, I believe that Mr Victor Brown and Mr Kenneth Leach (secretary) are the only surviving members of the Wantage committee which organised the town’s rain-sodden Coronation celebrations in 1952, when Miss Helga Andersen, of East Challow, was the Queen and Misses Ruby Kent, Wendy Lovegrove and Margery Foster, of Wantage and Millie Cheshire, of Letcombe Regis, were her attendants, with a master Eustace as page.

Jack Loftin Charlton Village Road Wantage