Last week the Gazette reported on homeowners Hazel Bonnin and Trevor Barkham  finding a 1972 copy of the Basingstoke Gazette hidden in the walls of their new home in Oakley.

This was a strange coincidence as I have been working on the 1972 archive for this page!

In this year Richard Adams launched his novel Watership Down. The title refers to the rabbits’ destination, Watership Down, a hill in the north of Hampshire.

On TV, the first episode of a soap opera called Emmerdale Farm set in rural Yorkshire, was broadcast on ITV.

And Terry Wogan joins BBC Radio 2 to become the host of its flagship breakfast show.

Here is what was happening locally.