100 years ago

Berlin telegrams on the subject of the sinking of the three British cruisers in the North Sea made remarkable reading reporting on the German newspaper writers’ flights of fancy.

The consternation and dismay of the whole British people was depicted with vivid colouring. In certain political circles in London, it was said, the resignation of Mr Winston Churchill was expected. The Commander-in-Chief of the British Fleet was to be tried for incapacity.

The organ of the Labour party demanded that the whole Cabinet should be impeached for participation in the war. These Berlin telegrams went on to cite the supposed statements from a London paper described as the “Evening Post.” This paper was represented to have cried: “We have lost our courage which means that we have lost all.”

 

50 years ago

Canon CR Forder, Archdeacon of York, had urged that all Christians pray for guidance before voting in the General Election. He was preaching at Holy Trinity Church York, at a service attended by the three Parliamentary candidates, Mr C Longbottom, Mr AW Lyon, and Mr D Lloyd.

All should share in exercising their vote, said Canon Forder, but they should think before doing so. In the weeks before the election Christians should pray that they would be rightly guided.

 

25 years ago

The hazards of horse-drawn carriages in York were to be reviewed after complaints that the horses trotted too fast and fouled the city’s footstreets. The horses, which offered visitors one of the most popular tours of York, were said to be a double menace to pedestrians.

The elderly and infirm were intimidated by the speed at which they travelled, while horse droppings could lie on the road for up to two and a half hours, according to a council report.