WARTIME issues dominated the paper but the mood was surprisingly chipper considering at this point Britain stood alone against Nazi Germany, with America and the USSR yet to join the war.

Mr Hoyle from the chamber of commerce was already making a speech about post-war reconstruction in the front-page story.

And in the juvenile court, an unnamed youth aged 13 was charged with hitchhiking to London to try and join the Merchant navy - despite almost daily sinkings on the Atlantic convoys.

Sarah Clarke of the Parr Arms hotel in Grappenhall was fined £2 for letting light show from one of her 16 windows during the strict blackout.

And the most intriguing headline was Camoflauge for Carrots'. The story was sadly unreadable due to the quality of the microfilm.

Today's Stockton Heath residents might be amused to one headline. It was for the village's magistrates court and looked at crimes over Friday and Saturday night - and reported Almost Total Sobriety'.