100 years ago The election of the Lord Mayor of York had taken place in the Guildhall. There was a very large gathering, practically the whole of the members of the Council being present, together with many ladies and gentlemen.

The retiring Lord Mayor (Councillor Henry Rhodes Brown) was preceded to the chair by the Town Clerk, the Sword Bearer and Mace Bearer, and accompanied by the retiring Sheriff (Mr R Newbald Kay), the Lord Mayor elect (Councillor JB Morrell), and the City Sheriff-elect (Councillor Oscar F Rowntree).

Alderman Sir Joseph Sykes Rymer, proposing his election as the 526th Lord Mayor of York, said that Mr Morrell was a gentleman in every way qualified to hold the office, and came from a well-known family in the city.

 

50 years ago

Hundreds of crates of whisky, worth about £29,000, had been stolen in two separate raids in London earlier in the day.

Raid number one was at Roman Way, Islington, where a lorry loaded with 750 cases, worth nearly £19,000, was stolen from outside a transport cafe. The lorry, painted pillar box red, was owned by Sutton and Sons, of St Helens, Lancashire.

Raid number two was at a bonded warehouse in St James’s Road, Bermondsey, where a gang stole between 400 and 500 cases, worth about £10,000. An official of the firm said: “They got in by tunnelling through a 3 to 4 feet thick wall from a railway arch next door.”

 

25 years ago

Harrogate’s dogs now had their own toilet areas in the district. The move was for the convenience of all thoughtful dog owners - such as Harrogate’s assistant director of parks Chris Beard who wanted to keep the district’s public areas a cleaner place for all.

Councillor Bob Cooper, chairman of the dog control working party, opened the new lavatorial area in Valley Gardens.