SANTA was not short of fans when he arrived in Oxford.

Crowds flocked to welcome him as he took his place in the grotto at the Co-op store in Cornmarket Street in 1981.

The Oxford Mail reported: “Proof that winter is finally here arrived in Oxford – in the jolly shape of Santa Claus.

“Lacking such a seasonal necessity as Snow, Santa was forced to settle for a horse-drawn carriage for his trip into the city centre, where the Co-op grotto awaited his arrival.

“Santa, pictured with Snow Queen Lisa Liddell, aged 10, of Oxford, will be greeting children in the store until Christmas Eve.”

The man with the white beard this time, we can reveal, was one of Oxford’s busiest Santas – Bill Herbert, of Barton.

Mr Herbert worked as a coalman for many years and during the Second World War served with the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and the Royal Worcestershire Regiment, before being taken prisoner by the Germans.

In his later years, he was in great demand as Father Christmas.

Apart from working at city centre stores, he often donned his Santa outfit to help at events for schools and charities.

His horse-drawn carriage did not have an easy ride to the Co-op that year – it had to fight its way through busy traffic.

Although closed to cars, Cornmarket Street then was still a major bus route for cross-city services.

  • Thank you to all Memory Lane readers and contributors for their support during 2010.

Best wishes to you all for Christmas and the New Year.

Memory Lane and the Oxford Mail will not be published next Monday, December 27, but will be back on Monday, January 3.