100 years ago

THE Admiralty had issued the following announcement: “Parcels and packages of books, periodicals and clothing intended for the use of His Majesty’s Fleet will be conveyed free of charge over the British railways to naval ports provided they are dispatched and consigned direct by a properly-constituted and recognised organisation such as secretaries of branches of the Navy League and kindred bodies, recognised charitable organisations, or urban or parish councils.

Societies are desired to send only recent periodicals etc and to send chiefly the following articles of clothing: woollen comforters, woollen drawers, thick stockings, thick socks, mitts, woollen caps and body belts. Parcels should be clearly marked on the outside thus: ‘Periodicals, clothing etc for the Fleet, from ---’, the name of the society sending them being stated.

Arrangements had already been made by the London Chamber of Commerce to supply the Fleet with the current daily and weekly newspapers, and the supply they were at present receiving from the public was ample.”

 

50 years ago

THE baking of the world’s biggest meat-and-potato pie had just been completed on schedule, just before noon at the Yorkshire village of Denby Dale. As the six-tonner sizzled on a giant hot plate in a special food factory, there were early indications that the pie committee’s estimate of 250,000 visitors might be too optimistic.

In brilliant sunshine, people flocked into the village by train, car and coach — but by midday there were only 5,000 to 6,000 visitors. The 24-hour pie-bake had got under way at noon the previous day, when three tons of beef were sliced into 1,500,000 cubes and put into 25 ten-gallon boilers. By 4am, the last of the meat had been stewed and transferred to the 18ft steel dish, which had been put in a glass-covered oven made specially by a local firm.

Afterwards, 1.5 tonnes of potatoes were cut and mixed in with the meat, with 0.5 tonnes of gravy. The proceeds from the pie’s sale would go towards a new village hall and the National Playing Fields Association.

 

25 years ago

IT was feared that motorists might be driving with dangerously under-inflated tyres as more garages in North Yorkshire started charging for air. It was suggested that many motorists were being deterred from checking their tyres because of these charges.

There was a “disturbing trend” towards charges at petrol filling stations, with many large garages in the county currently expecting customers to pay to use air. A garage spokesman said: “We started charging because the equipment kept getting vandalised and every time we had to call somebody out it cost us money.”