25 years ago RICHMOND and Barnes Conservatives were in jubilant mood at Thursday night's annual general meeting at the Sheen Lane centre following the government's defeat in the House of Commons on Wednesday. But Sir Anthony Royle's opponents in the forthcoming election have responded with their own predictions as to the outcome of the general election on May 3. This time Alan Watson, the Liberal candidate, is confident that the poll of 1974 can be reversed. Sir Anthony said: "I am looking forward to the campaign and am confident that I shall be returned on the 20th anniversary of my first election success in Richmond and Barnes."

IN the worst conditions ever experienced, last Saturday's Head of the River race saw the sinking of 15 of the record number of 405 starters in a storm force south westerly gale. Five of the crews went down in front of the boathouses at Putney, within 300 yards of the finish of the gruelling four and quarter mile race from Chiswick to Putney Bridge.

50 years ago Dressed in his Sunday best' and wearing a silver watch and chain presented to him by the former Southern Railway for saving a passenger's life, Mr Fred Blundy of Albert Road, Twickenham, got up early last Sunday to see the opening of Twickenham's new railway station. About 200 other people had the same idea as, by nine o' clock, the platforms were crowded with people waiting to see the arrival of the first trains. Throughout Sunday people visited the new station and 500 platform tickets were issued compared with the dozen or so issued on a normal Sunday.

There will be no alcoholic drinks at the dance which the Ham and Petersham British Legion will hold this evening at Petersham village hall. For some time, these dances have come in for local criticism. It is said that the bar attracts the wrong sort of people to many of the dances and there is too much drinking. Members hope that people who really want to dance will attend and drinkers will stop away.

100 years ago A Liberal meeting was held at the Boathouse, Kew, on Monday night, when Mr Robert Whyte, the prospective candidate for the Kingston Division, was the principal speaker. The meeting was very orderly, and beyond one or two interruptions nothing unseemly took place. The chairman said it was not a mass meeting, but a meeting of Kew, and a satisfactory one. They must remember that Liberalism had never been given a chance in Kew.

AT the Richmond Petty Sessions, George Brooks was charged with refractory conduct while an inmate of the casual ward of the Richmond Workhouse and refusing to perform his allotted task. The labour master said he had his breakfast, a pint of gruel and a six ounce loaf, in the morning and was set to break six hundredweight of stone, but refused to do so since he had not received supper the previous evening. Councillor Hilditch commented that this was an outrageous abuse of the public provision made for men like the prisoner and he would have one month's hard labour.