BRACKNELL’S new Metrological Office’s building was taking shape in 1960, in preparation for its official opening the following year.

As part of a series of aerial photos of Bracknell, the Met Office was pictured showing some of the surrounding buildings that were soon to disappear with the subsequent widening of the adjacent London Road.

In 1999, it was announced that Bracknell, and four other weather centres, were to close and by September 2003 the Met Office had moved its headquarters to Exeter.

Despite a torrential rain shower, King Mahendra of Nepal, managed to inspect 700 senior and junior officer cadets at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

The King walked 100 yards along King’s Ride to the dais, took the salute alongside the RMA commandant Major-General George Gordon.

Eight cadets from Nepal, including three who will join the famed Ghurkha Brigade, met the royal visitor and chatted with him on the steps of the Academy.

Easthampstead Rural District Council gave their approval to Bracknell’s £100,000 sports centre, 60 years ago, but it was only the second hurdle in the planning process.

The next step was for the whole council to vote its approval and then pass the plans to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government.

An artist’s impression of the new complex was published in the Bracknell News, complete with its dome-shaped ‘Games Hall’, which would account for half of the buildings cost.

Bracknell’s Young Conservatives were aiming to double their membership with a novel recruiting campaign in 1960, by walking around wearing ‘sandwich boards’, complete with a mix of slogans.

As part of a national campaign, the Wokingham branch had also toured the area in a caravan and had just announced they will be holding a mock Parliament.

Sandwich boards first became popular in the 19th century, but became less popular than roadside billboards, as more journeys are made by car than on foot.

Crowthorne’s new £2 million Road Research Laboratory, called a press event in 1960, to highlight an example of the work it will be doing in the years to come.

The pop music section of the Bracknell News was singing the praises of a new star in 1960, announcing that she: “Will always have a market of ardent fans and never really needs to have a hit record.”

The legendary lady in question was none other than Shirley Bassey (she was made a Dame in 2000), who had just released her single “As Long As He Needs Me”.

Two cars went ‘head to head’ in a tyre demonstration, one fitted with ordinary ‘boots’ and the other using four new revolutionary tyres, that would stop quickly on a hard, slippery surface.

Although the TRL was founded in 1933, the site was not officially opened until 1967, bringing together all into one location.