11 July 1908 A police constable dives into the Regent s Canal, without hesitation and attired in his full uniform, to rescue a child as it is sinking for the second time. He

JULY 1908: Heroic policeman cheered as he saves drowning child

100 years ago

11 July 1908

A police constable dives into the Regent's Canal, without hesitation and attired in his full uniform, to rescue a child as it is sinking for the second time. He gets the child out of the water, renders first aid to restore it to consciousness, then carries it to the hospital. He is loudly cheered by a considerable crowd who witnessed his brave act.

A Hampstead lady writes to make known to the women of Hampstead who are not in sympathy with the retrograde Votes for Women movement that a national women's Anti-Suffrage Association has been formed.

A correspondent makes an appeal on behalf of the 700 poor children of Rosemary Ragged Schools, situated in a terribly poor district where most families occupy but one room. Extra donations are urgently needed for excursions to the country, their only opportunity of breathing fresh air.

A 56-year-old well dressed Holloway man, no occupation, is charged with begging from passers-by in Highgate. The police inspector said there were two previous convictions against the prisoner and numerous complaints had been made against him. He is sentenced to 14 days' imprisonment.

A correspondent enquires why Cannon Place, Hampstead, has old cannons for street posts. A former resident of Cannon Place, Sir James Cosmo Melville, a secretary of the East India Company, probably brought them to the spot, captives from some East Indian possession. Two pieces are dated 1640 and the other 1646.

50 years ago

11 July 1958

An attempt by a tobacco corporation to get control of Golders Green Crematorium is being resisted by directors. The chairman said: "We do not think that a company formed to deal with tobacco is a suitable body to own, and therefore control, any crematorium, still less the premier crematorium of England."

Police take action to "clean up" parts of Hampstead village where there have been complaints about late-night rowdyism by teenagers leaving coffee bars. Seven youths appear in court on charges of wilfully obstructing the police and using insulting behaviour likely to cause a breach of the peace.

Workmen with pickaxes demolish the 120-year-old buildings of St Columba's Hospital in Avenue Road, Swiss Cottage, to make way for Hampstead council's proposed new civic centre. The old Blind School has already gone from the site. The hospital has moved to The Elms, off Spaniards Road, Hampstead Heath.

A 28-year-old unemployed homeless man is described as an "incorrigible rogue" by the Clerkenwell magistrate. He has done no work for five years and was seen by two police officers trying the windows of a house in Highgate West Hill.

A white-haired man with 19 previous convictions, who has spent 21 of his 55 years in prison, stood in the dock at Hampstead and pleaded not to be given a long sentence as he is getting on in years. He admitted stealing money from his landlady and is placed on probation for two years.

25 years ago

8 July 1983

A fire which swept through an old lift shaft at Hampstead Underground station is believed to have been started by maintenance engineers using cutting equipment. They apparently accidentally set fire to accumulated rubbish at the bottom of the shaft and the suction effect in the shaft - the deepest in London - swept the smoke up into the street, choking passers-by.

A Tory councillor tells Camden's women's committee that their decision to run a women's bus, as a mobile information and drop-in centre, was "patronising in the extreme". He said he could not understand how a bus solely for women could help to integrate them into society.

Business should be booming this month at the Robert Dyas branch in Finchley Road. Customers there, and at the company's other 28 stores in the South East, stand to collect £3.5 million in a voucher scheme allowing 20 per cent discounts. This is their way of saying "thank you" to the customers who helped it win the 1983 Hardware and DIY Retailer of the Year award.

The Metropolitan Police's clear-up rate is twice as bad as that of the next worst police force in Britain, says Frank Dobson, Labour MP for Holborn and St Pancras. He described a report by the Met chief as "very complacent indeed".

10 years ago

10 July 1998

The industrial tribunal dispute between Camden's deputy chief executive Amanda Kelly and her boss Steve Bundred is on the verge of being settled. It is understand she will drop her case of sex discrimination and victimisation against the council in return for a £80,000 payout. Furious councillors have demanded an inquiry into how the affair has been handled, after dominating the town hall for the past nine months and bringing "the whole of local government into disrepute". The hearing has already cost the taxpayer nearly £500,000.

Denton House, a Camden Council sheltered housing accommodation block in Prince of Wales Road, has its first window cleaning in five years thanks to the abseiling skills of a former Royal Marine commando. He set up High Vision Rope Access to bring his abseiling and climbing techniques to the domestic and industrial window cleaning business.

A Royal Free patient, a 37-year-old Kentish Town man, who walked out of the hospital in June wearing only pyjamas, died after being found in nearby woods two days later suffering from hypothermia.

The Kenwood classical concert season starts after a lengthy dispute over the events. A magistrate ruled that percussive fireworks can be used for just three events, the volume of the music must be turned down, and rehearsal times should be kept to a maximum of one and a half hours.

Compiled by Anne Rowe