THE Monmouthshire Beacon from 50 years ago was a significantly different newspaper than the one seen today.

Like most other other newspapers from 1970 the Beacon’s size was physically around twice the size of what it is today, with the whole paper only being around six pages at the grand price of fourpence.

The March 13 edition writes that Cllr Ronald Wilcox was announced as Monmouth’s next mayor succeeding Cllr John Lewis.

Monmouth police were expressing frustration as motorists approaching the Dixton roundabout from Ross are not slowing down appropriately, or correctly using their indicators.

The ’Freedom of the Borough’ was given to a retiring councillor his wife, affectionately known as Mr and Mrs Monmouth. Mr Bowen and his wife were made Freemen to honour his 43 years on the town council. Elected in 1976, he was the youngest person on the council at that time.

The letters section saw some heated debate with Mr Curtis - responding to a letter by Mr Groves - passionately condemning the practice of hanging criminals on the basis that a jury ’can never be truly certain of a guilty verdict and citing several examples of cases where executed men were later found to be innocent of their crimes’.

KC Smith and Co of Redbrook Road were looking to hire a ’Young Woman Assistant’ with ’neat writing’ and ’some ability with figures’.