Description

This new DVD presents a fascinating look back at bygone Basingstoke. It takes us back to the days when Winchester Street and the old Market Place echoed with the clatter of stagecoach wheels; when Basingstoke celebrated the coming of the railway; when horse racing took place on the Common; and when barges were a common sight in the town centre.

We also discover why the Salvation Army were the cause of a full scale riot in Church Square; why the town’s lost railway became one of the most famous lines in the land; and what happened when a local Home Guard commander was revealed as a supporter of Hitler. In a special feature on Basingstoke at war, the DVD recalls the heavy price paid by the town in World War I, and provides a unique insight into life in Basingstoke during World War II. This remarkable period in Basingstoke’s past is brought to life with a selection of old photos and a unique collection of archive film, which captures many aspects of old Basingstoke, including the heyday of the Thorneycroft works, the Festival of Britain pageant in War Memorial Park, and many views of the town before and during the widespread changes of the 1960s. Many of the events featured in the DVD are described using first-hand accounts from the archives of the Basingstoke Gazette.

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