The article continued: 'As for the newspaper, it has grown definitely with the years and now the Observer may be found in thousands of homes, not only in Bognor Regis, but in Chichester, the Manhood district, the hills to Midhurst and around the picturesque harbour country of Bosham. 'It is only the shortage of machinery facilities that precludes us from installing a newspaper machine able to expedite the printing of the increasing demand for copies and to produce an issue at a later hour without affecting the time for delivery to the newsagents. 'At our new factory off Terminus Road, Chichester, we have an otherwise fully equipped printing works, comparable in modern methods to anything than can be inspected in Sussex.' The article concludes: 'They are hoping and waiting for the day when they can offer West Sussex an Observer of larger size and of more commanding importance.' So to this backdrop let us look back to the beginning. The story goes back to Crickdale in Wiltshire where, in 1835, Henry Lovett was born and went to school. He joined the post office and travelled abroad as a courier delivering government and registered letters to America and Canada. Eventually, after 180 single trips, his job became redundant and his service record with the post office recorded his retirement on a full pension in 1870 at the age of 35 years. He moved to Bognor two years later and purchased a stationers' and printing business. This business had been owned by Mr W Oram and was situated at 61 '“ 63 High Street. While increasing his business, he realised there was no local newspaper. This also meant that there was no regular way to advertise his services, or those of other local traders. The Bognor Observer and Visitors List was published in a tabloid format at the cost of one penny, commencing in May 1872. It was distributed to visitors on their arrival in the town. The printing office was in Lennox Street in a building at the rear of the stationer's and eventually became the site of garages for W Jones. The size of this first paper was in fact eight pages and consisted of an article by the editor, reports of local meetings, items of general interest, a list of visitors and the various hotels. It was such a success that within six weeks, it was increased to 12 pages. It is reported that within the first 12 months, one copy was produced '˜in gold' to be presented to the former Emperor of France, Napoleon III, who was staying at the Royal Norfolk Hotel. The business flourished and by 1887 he decided to publish a Chichester paper, starting on June 15 as the Chichester Observer and West Sussex Recorder, working on the assumption that most people who had their name published would buy a copy, not only for themselves, but also to send copies to family and friends. It would appear that Henry Lovett was a man who had many projects on the go at the same time. He was chairman of the Bognor Laundry, chairman of the Bognor Gasworks, treasurer of the Westhamptnett Union (the workhouse), chairman of Bognor Urban Council and a Justice of the Peace based at the county court in Chichester '“ he travelled there by pony. He liked Victoria plums when they were in season and he used to fill his saddlebags with them and eat during his journey to Chichester '“ one report questions whether any plum trees survive from this journey of discarded stones. With his work as a JP, he became very interested in the poor and through his newspaper, he founded the Beef and the Boot Clubs, as charities which helped needy people in bad times. He was a supporter and considered to be the leader of the Liberal party in this area. Eventually, in 1891, Henry Lovett sold his business to his son-in-law, Mr W B S Webb, but still remained as the proprietor of the Observer until he disposed of the '˜copyright and goodwill' to Mr G W Cutts, a solicitor and at this time the printing moved from Bognor to Chichester where it was published by Acfords. Other changes took place at this time then eventually Mr Acford bought the paper in 1900 and the content was separated into two papers, one for Bognor and the other for Chichester. Henry Lovett, this influential and interesting character died on May 3, 1922, 50 years after the birth of the Bognor Observer. One of the publications from the Observer series that I miss is the '˜Yesterday' publication that covered Hampshire, Sussex and the Isle of Wight in the 1980s. There were only about 30 issues but it contained so much local history, it was interesting and a great reference source. Another missing publication is that of the celebratory publications, whether it was the 100th anniversary of a shop or trade, or a celebration issue for the clowns or the 60th anniversary of the King's visit. Cost of printing now forms a large part of newspaper production rather than the everyday local support. Throughout the years, there have been many changes not least the increase to 24 pages per week and the Observer becoming part of the Portsmouth newspaper group. In January 1969, production of the paper moved to new headquarters in Hilsea at the entrance to Portsmouth. I am sure there are people reading this article who will remember this move. Here I am only attempting to provide a backdrop to the paper that covers our area, but it is interesting to look back through the editions to see our history unfold. Portsmouth & Sunderland Newspapers Ltd, acquired the Observer in 1950 and a new office was opened in London Road, Bognor, which, of course, is still there today. The paper is now part of a much larger company, Johnston Press, and of course the paper size has increased from the original demi-quarter size '“ a quarter of today's size, and is produced on a computer, with images from digital camera, such a long way from the early production of any newspaper. I wonder how Henry Lovett would view today's newspaper, which went on-line in 1998, allowing people worldwide to read news from home. People do still buy copies to send to families and friends. The paper has changed into a different format, and consists of numerous sections and a magazine, but it is still the medium that allows people to advertise locally while allowing us to read the news on what is occurring in our locality. So we should be grateful to Henry for starting up his paper here in Bognor in 1872.