This week 10, 20, 30 years ago
10 years ago
Streets will come to a standstill to mark the passing of a woman whose mistaken shooting sparked a riot.
Cherry Groce’s last journey through Brixton takes place this morning.
The mum of seven was left paralysed from the waist down by a bullet fired by a police officer at dawn on September 28, 1985.
The shooting, for which officers later apologised, sparked what became know as the 1985 Brixton Riot.
She spent years recovering from the injuries she sustained that day but passed away on April 24 at King’s College Hospital in Denmark Hill.
A procession is planned this morning to remember Mrs Groce’s passing.
It begins in Normandy Road, the scene of the 1985 shooting, at 9am.
The route follows Brixton Road then continues into Acre Lane.
The march is expected to take two hours and local road closures have been put in place.
It ends at the Brixton Seventh Day Adventist Church in Santley Street.
A town hall facing a £40million roads crisis has refused to fill in potholes under an inch-and-a-half deep to save cash.
Labour-run Lambeth council used to fix treacherous potholes that were 0.98in (2.5cm) deep.
But now the authority says filling in shallower holes will cost too much.
Only those deeper than around 1.5in will now be mended.
Shadow roads minister John Woodcock said yesterday that fixing them all would cost the taxpayer more than £13billion.
20 years ago
One of South London’s most historic sites reopened to the public after Southwark council and Heritage Lottery-funded restoration work.
The ruins of the Anglican chapel and 50 monuments in Nunhead Cemetery in Lindon Grove were renovated.
The 1840 cemetery, which was the second largest Victorian cemetery in London, was no longer open for new burials.
But it was a popular walking spot for South Londoners and an official celebration to mark the work’s completion was organised by the Friends of Nunhead Cemetery.
Steve Claridge insisted he would not be bullied out of a transfer to Millwall.
The veteran striker was keen on a permanent move to The Den, but was worried the £250,000 fee demanded by Portsmouth would put the Lions off.
Claridge was so angry at the decision that he had vowed to stand his ground until Pompey allowed him to leave on a free transfer.
He said: “I was told I was on a free transfer and then all of a sudden Portsmouth want money for me.”
There might not have been any silverware to put in the trophy cabinet, but the 2000/01 season was one to savour for Charlton fans.
The objective before the season started was to keep the club in the Premiership.
The Addicks did that in style with their best top-flight finish for 47 years.
They finished ninth in the table under manager Alan Curbishley, who had been in charge of the team for more than 500 games.
Charlton’s season included a 3-3 draw with Manchester United, where the Addicks battled back from 3-1 down against the champions to snatch a point.
30 years ago
Teachers were to be able to live “on the job” in school buildings under radical plans to use empty classrooms.
Two schools in Wandsworth had been earmarked for the scheme under a primary school review aimed at making schools more financially efficient.
Tory-run Wandsworth council was planning to rent out space in converted classrooms at Wix School in Clapham Common and Eardley School in Blegborough Road, Streatham.
Staff and patients said a “sad but necessary” farewell to a 120-year-old children’s hospital in Sydenham.
The hospital in Sydenham Road had closed its doors and moved into a new, more modern centre in Lewisham.
Hospital central services manager Carol Roberts said: “It’s sad to see an end to Sydenham Hospital. But new technology and growing medical demands outstripped the resources available at Sydenham Hospital.”
The recession was biting deep in Southwark, throwing thousands out of work, according to North Southwark and Bermondsey Lib Dem MP Simon Hughes.
He said: “More people have been made redundant this year and more businesses have folded than in any other year since 1983. We are now in a position where one in four people in the borough are out of work.”
Do you have any memories of stories in the South London Press from the past 10, 20 or 30 years that you would like to see reprinted again? If so, drop Alexandra Warren a line with details. Email her at alexandra@slpmedia.co.uk
Main Pic: Cherry Groce, who passed this week ten years ago, was left paralysed from the waist down by a bullet fired by a police officer at dawn on September 28, 1985
