100 years ago

An official communiqué issued in Brussels said: “The story is going the round of the soldiers in the carbineers who have already made quite a lot of German prisoners, I do not like my rifle with me now, I go out with a slice of bread and butter, and they follow me.”

One German prisoner said they had received formal orders to go on or be shot. The prisoner added: “If they do not give us some rest both men and horses will be knocked up.” The prisoner also declared that he was put on the train at Danzig and only knew on August 13th that there was a war and that the French had invaded Alsace-Lorraine.”

 

50 years ago

The Norwegian Government was reported in Oslo to have refused to allow Crown Prince Harald to marry a commoner he loved.

It had been reported that King Olav was believed to be sympathetic to the marriage, but that the Government had decided against it. The newspaper said Prince Harald, 27, had decided never to marry if he was denied the right to marry the girl he loved. He was the only male heir to the throne.

The report said that King Olav still hoped the Government would change its mind. It was believed that the Government’s refusal to allow the marriage dated back about two years, and had just been revealed to provoke public debate on Prince Harald’s right to marry a commoner.

 

25 years ago

Women would wear the trousers in York by the year 2000, according to a new study. Women would dominate the work scene by then, making up more than 50 per cent of the city’s employees and taking the lion’s share of work for the first time.

The study, carried out by the Henley Centre for Forecasting, concluded the trend did not signal the demise of the family with women rejecting their traditional role. “Our study shows quite clearly that people’s main source of satisfaction and pride is found through their families, and we will see a steady increase in the number of families throughout the next decade,” said the reports editor Fiona Stewart.

But the report did reveal women delaying having children until they were older and returning to work before children reached school age. The report also showed women were motivated by a need to channel their individual talents and to increase their personal purchasing power. Another factor shaping the employment market was the rising number of single-parent families, which was set to increase fivefold by 1995. Divorce and more illegitimate births also meant pressure was on single women to work to provide for their families.