100 years ago

Stories of heroism displayed by British troops were reported in the news.

On one occasion, the Germans in considerable force, had tried to enter a town occupied by British troops. A Scottish detachment was entrusted with the task of checking the advancing Germans till the other British troops succeeded in retiring in good order.

During the lull a Scottish sergeant who occupied a grocery shop discovered on the shelves several packets of chocolate, and, turning to his men, told them: “I will give a bar of chocolate to every man who kills a German.” When the attack was resumed the sergeant gravely proceeded to distribute the promised reward to the men who brought down a German soldier.

 

50 years ago

Push-button telephone dialling was on the way, announced the Postmaster General, Mr Reginald Bevins. He said he would speed up the introduction of new and improved apparatus for telephone subscribers which would include a push-button telephone on which numbers could be obtained more easily and more rapidly.

Mr Bevins was speaking at a ceremony to bring Liverpool and Manchester in direct telephone dialling touch with the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Western Germany and Switzerland, when he inaugurated the north’s new international subscriber dialling service by dialling the first call to the Netherlands Minister of Transport, Meneer J Van Aartsen, at The Hague.

 

25 years ago

Yorkshire Water ran an advertisement reminding us “To use water sparingly!” It advised how you could help to conserve water.

“Continuing drought conditions have led to reduced river and reservoir levels across the region and there is now a greater need to conserve water stocks and that’s why it is important for all our customers to use water sparingly.