From April 6, 1990 A mercy mission to Romania dedicated to the late Dr Geraldine Jolly returned to Kingston 25 years ago having distributed 80 tonnes of vital medical supplies.

The team, including Kingston Hospital midwife Val Russell, drove right through Romania to Constanta, a town on the Black Sea where supplies were scarce.

They chose to dedicate their journey to the memory of Dr Jolly, of Kingston, who would have gone with them, but died in a car crash just days before the expedition left.

A gynaecologist and drug specialist, Dr Jolly had been particularly concerned with the Aids epidemic hitting infants throughout the country.

Dr Jolly, 73, had spent time at Great Ormond Street Hospital to gain experience of treating children. Her role on the trip was to identify and order the drugs needed.

The nine-strong team decided to go ahead with the relief mission, as requested by Dr Jolly’s family.

They drove across Europe to Romania in two 38-tonne juggernauts and stopped in Bucharest before heading further east to Constanta.

The group visited an Aids hospital, where 150 tiny babies had contracted the virus and were considered doomed to die.

Mrs Russell also contacted a premature baby ward, similar to Kingston’s Born Too Soon unit, but far more basic.

Their goods had to be unloaded under armed guard for fear that desperate Romanians might strip the lorries of their life-saving cargo.

As it was, a small van was broken into and a bag of medical supplies destined for Glodeanu Silistea, the village adopted by Kingston Council, was stolen.

Despite appeals in the local newspaper the bag was not returned.

In total, the team delivered the following: 22 tonnes of baby food; 100 cases of powdered baby milk; £6,000-worth of surgical dressings; 5,000 disposable syringes; four tonnes of clothes; countless packages of swabs, dressings, cotton wool, antibiotics and toys for children.

50 YEARS AGO: June 3, 1964 The happiest workplace in Surbiton was Bell Accordions in Ewell Road after 18 staff learned they had scooped a Littlewoods Pools jackpot.

The syndicate shared winnings of £23,341 and 5s. Organiser Ivy Allwork, 64, a cleaner, said she was “thrilled” to win.

25 YEARS AGO: April 6, 1990 Nine Kingston police officers were injured when they were drafted in to help push back anti-poll tax rioters in Trafalgar Square.

Unaware of the violence developing in central London, the team travelled in two vans without protective riot clothing.

10 YEARS AGO: April 6, 2005 Sir David Attenborough opened a new BBC shop in Fife Road, Kingston.

The store, which opened seven days a week, stocked copies of some 3,500 BBC books, videos, DVDs, magazines and merchandise items.