100 years ago

The situation at Potsdam had been described by Miss Kirby who had been for four years in the household of a prominent military official in Potsdam.

“When I came away, it was practically impossible to get oranges or bananas, whilst paraffin was very scarce. Gold is exceedingly scarce and only military officers are allowed to carry it. Consequently paper money is universal.”

Referring to the rumours of Zeppelin raids Miss Kirby had peculiar opportunities of justifying them, for the head of the household with whom she was engaged was financially interested in Zeppelins. Miss Kirby said she knew for a fact that over a hundred Zeppelins were built. She gathered that the latest Zeppelins were intended for a raid of destruction upon England. They were built so as to be capable of firing projectiles from the sides, top, or bottom of the ship.

As to the military situation hundreds of young Germans were sleeping in the streets at night. These were men who were really not due to be called upon for months, and the great enthusiasm still prevailed.

 

50 years ago

ABC Television had achieved a memorable milestone this weekend with its 1000th outside broadcast. ABC had the largest outside broadcast fleet in the whole of the ITV network, and for this occasion the company returned to the Midlands, as it was from that region that the very first ABC outside broadcast had been transmitted in February, 1956.

The event that would notch up the 1000th would be a service from Lichfield Cathedral. ABC units were on duty every weekend covering a wide range of sports on Saturday afternoon and presenting church services on Sunday mornings. Apart from these items, the department had been responsible for other productions, such as Holiday Town Parade.

 

25 years ago

Cardboard cut-out police patrol cars could, it was suggested, be on the way in a bid to improve the standard of driving on North Yorkshire’s roads.

The Chief Constable, Mr David Burke, had not ruled out the possibility of adopting the French police tactic of using cardboard cars as a deterrent to motorists. His comments came only a month after a North Yorkshire traffic policeman claimed the rapid rise in deaths on county roads was directly linked to cutbacks in traffic patrols. Councillors believed that a more visible presence had a dramatic effect on driver behaviour.

Mr Burke said: “The French police use cardboard cut-out cars stationed at the side of roads and I wouldn’t be averse to using them here if I thought it would improve driver behaviour. I already use cardboard policemen to deter shoplifters.”