NOSTALGIA: This week in 1918 and 1998
* The sole survivor of a German submarine attack on two Boston fishing trawlers had returned home after more than a year at the Brandenburg Prisoner of War camp.
Joseph Mason, 31, of St John’s Road, Boston, was third hand on the Dalmation, which along with the Brothertoft was lost by enemy action 14 months earlier – leading to the death on 19 crew members.
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Hide AdThe married man and father-of-two was one of 118 arriving in Boston in the latest round of British prisoner repatriations.
Joseph owed his freedom to his condition, having suffered frostbite to his hands while he and the rest of the Dalmation crew drifted in a lifeboat for six days and five nights following the attack.
“One after another they all died from cold and exhaustion,” the Standard wrote.
A barely conscious Joseph would ultimately by taken off the boat when a second German submarine approached the vessel.
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Hide AdHis return was unannounced and his family were not aware of it until he got to the dock.
“How were you treated at Brandenburg?” The Standard asked.
“Rotten,” he replied emphatically.
This week in 1998 ...
* Eternal, All Saints, Zoë Ball, and Denise Van Outen were guests alongside a ‘gobsmacked’ Boston venture scout at a special reception held at Buckingham Palace.
Simon Mitcham, 21, of Grand Sluice Lane, had been nominated for a young achiever award earlier that year and as a result was invited to the reception, along with about 900 exceptional young adults from around the UK.
The reception was given by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to celebrate young adults who had excelled in their particular field, from professional to voluntary, academic to sporting, in service to the community, or in overcoming adverse personal circumstances.
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Hide AdSimon had recently gained the Queen’s Scout Award, part of the reason he had been nominated for the award.
* The former home of Boston quilt and pillow makers Fogarty was set for a new lease of life.
Work to convert the warehouse in Trinity Street, with its huge swan on its roof, into rented accommodation was set to be completed in August.
To mark National Housing Week, a special ceremony was to be held to officially name the building as Swan House.