This week's pictures from the past

Here are some Shropshire beauty queens at Shrewsbury Castle 45 years ago. In the foreground, with blonde hair and wearing an impressive robe, is Miss Shropshire 1964 Joan Taylor. The other ladies will be local beauty queens who were also contestants for the Shropshire title. From left, front, we have Miss Rushbury (? – it's difficult to read the sash), Miss Sansaw, Miss Whitchurch, Miss Shropshire, Miss Hadley (? – again, we can't quite read the sash), and Miss Diddlebury.

The picture was loaned to us by Joan, who is now Mrs Joan Sandford.

Normally in this spot we feature pictures going back decades, but just for a change we're going to flashback just over a year with this view. These are buildings at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital South site, pictured on Monday March 17, 2008. Some demolition was already under way. Since this was taken, the site has been virtually cleared.

Meet the children of Cound School in 1936.

Perhaps there is some reader who can put some names to faces.

This photo was loaned to us by Mr Bill Harvey, of Sutton Grove, Shrewsbury. He thinks his cousin was one of the children, although he can't pick her out.

"How was your flight, sir?"

"Have you ever flown yourself?"

"Yes."

"Well, it was like that."

That's a well-known anecdote about Prince Philip, but no doubt Group Captain T. H. Blackham, commanding officer of RAF Shawbury, got a less grumpy response when he greeted the Duke of Edinburgh as he stepped off an Andover of the Queen's Flight almost exactly 40 years ago. The Duke strode across to a waiting helicopter, climbed in and flew himself out of the Shropshire air base, en route for an engagement at Keele University on April 13, 1969.

"Oakley Manor, Shrewsbury, once the home of Vincent Greenhous, before moving to Shoot Hill, Ford."

Those details are from Shrewsbury transport historian Roy Pilsbury, who loaned us this photograph, which is undated.

Most people will probably know Oakley Manor as the place where the recently defunct Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council held meetings over many years.