100 years ago

WF Wailes-Fairbairn, Askham Grange, Askham Richard, wrote: “There are heaps of young fellows hanging about doing nothing but amuse themselves, who are to outward appearance fit to fight; I wish the women and girls would make a point of ostracising all such, and for very shame they would have to do their duty.

It is the duty of every unmarried man of right age and medically fit, to fight for his country; if he won’t do this, he is no man, and his neighbours should shun him and the women look down upon him. To any man in my employ who enlists for active service abroad for the period of the war I will give a bounty of £5, and keep his place open for him on his return. To any man in my employ who enlists for home defence, I will give a bounty of £2, and keep his place open for him.”

 

50 years ago

A bumper day for traffic - a bumper-to-bumper day. That was how an Automobile Association spokesman in York described the situation. As vehicles headed for the coast from the West Riding at the rate of 1,300 an hour on the A64, they faced queues of up to two miles at Tadcaster and Malton. The return journey was no better with waits of up to 45 minutes in Malton.

 

25 years ago

York-based confectionery giant Rowntree had unveiled plans for a new think-tank in the city which could rank among world leaders in research.

The development laboratory and pilot plant, an extension of the company’s research and development department, was expected to help spearhead confectionery research for Nestlé, Rowntree’s Swiss parent company. Plans had already been submitted to the city council for the high-tech part single-story, part two-storey extension to be built at the northern end of the Haxby Road site.