A MIXED bag of stories this week, featuring a charabanc outing in about 1917, sanitary issues at a gypsy camp in 1911, rocking and twisting with the Nashville Teens at Pyrford Village Hall in 1962, and a wartime air raid mystery.

In September 1957, the News & Mail published a vintage photo of two motor-charabanc coaches about to depart for an outing, which it said took place “40 summers ago”.

The photo had been loaned by Mrs CG Ponsford, of Church Street, Woking, whose husband was among the passengers of this men-only outing.

It appears to have been a works outing as the photo’s caption mentions a Mr R Pain, and the occasion being the “annual outing to the coast” for his employees; he went with them. It also stated they departed from outside Mr Pain’s house in York Road, Woking.

Peeps researcher Mark Coxhead has traced Richard Pain to the 1911 census, which gives his address as Latrigg, York Road, Woking.

His occupation was employer – general engineer and metal worker and plumber. Could this business have been a competitor to Skeet & Jeffes?

There had been complaints about a gypsy camp at St John’s in 1911.

The News & Mail reported the encampment was on Mr Bayliss’ land and the sanitary inspector was informed there were 28 adults and 24 children at the camp.

Mr Slocock, the well-known garden nurseryman, had complained as the gypsies had been taking water from a spring on his land and had “worn” a path to it.

It was reported Mr Bayliss had provided three new earth closets constructed of fish boxes, while the general condition of the camp was not satisfactory.

The gypsies were living in sheds at the camp and it was stated several of the sheds had undergone some alterations.

Fireplaces had been provided, some of the walls plastered, one of the floors concreted and windows and doors provided.

Rock ‘n’ roll band the Nashville Teens were formed in 1962, and some of their members came from Woking and Addlestone.

On Saturday, April 28, 1962, they were booked to play the Arbor Youth Club at Pyrford Village Hall, and a small advertisement was placed in the News & Mail.

It was headed “Come rocking and twisting”.

Tickets were three shillings and sixpence, with a free buffet and free transport to West Byfleet.

Was the free transport to take the young people home afterwards?

In 1964, the Nashville Teens reached number six in the UK charts with the song Tobacco Road, which also reached number 14 in the American hit parade.

A reader phoned me about what appears to have been a Second World War aircraft raid he witnessed and which, to him, remains a mystery.

He was a young boy at the time, living in West Molesey, and saw two fighter aircraft fly over.

They had the French Air Force roundel marking on them.

The date, he recalls, was definitely after the fall of France to the Nazis in May 1940, but before the infamous German Luftwaffe raid on the Vickers-Armstrong factory at Brooklands on September 4, 1940.

These two aircraft appear to have been following the River Thames, heading upstream.

They were flying very low and he says he distinctly remembers one of the pilots waving.

He ran indoors to tell his mother what he had seen and suddenly there was the sound of gunfire.

Could this have also been a raid on Brooklands, or on another target nearby?

The two aircraft flew back and he wonders whether they managed to return to where they had come from.

Presumably they were piloted by Luftwaffe airmen in captured French Air Force aircraft?

If anyone knows more about this, please contact me at [email protected]