December 24

The Bridlington Town Council has considered the question of the possibility of a German raid on the seafront.

Bridlington was entirely unfortified, but on the seafront gardens there were three or four dummy volunteer artillery guns, which pointed seaward. There was a general agreement that they should be removed, so that the enemy could have no excuse whatever for firing on the town.

Alderman Collins said it did not matter to the Germans whether the guns were removed or not. They would fire on any open town if they had the chance. It was decided to remove the guns.

50 years ago

It appeared to have been a record Christmas all-round - even for engagements.

There were 139 engagement announcements and congratulations in tonight's Yorkshire Evening Press, and 79 of them were announcements.

The previous year, the figure for December 24 was 37; five years before it had been 31; and in 1954 there had been 23 engagements the day before Christmas. Young couples seemed to prefer getting engaged as close to Christmas as possible.

On December 23 there had been six; the same day in 1959 there had been four; in 1954 the figure had been a meagre two.

Two out of three jewellers seen by our reporter said sales of engagement rings were well up on the previous Christmas though then they had also been good. “For the last two or three weeks it has been well above normal,” said one jeweller.

25 years ago

The Government was not too receptive to complaints about satellite dishes.

Malton Town Council had been told ministers were following a policy that “facilitates” the growth of all forms of telecommunications.

Members asked Ryedale MP John Greenway to see why the dishes and brackets in conservation areas could not be painted the same colour as adjacent brickwork.

Colin Moynihan, Under-Secretary at the Department of the environment, had replied that one antenna per house - up to 90cms in diameter - did not need planning permission, so long as it was below the roof line. But he said that did not mean the appearance of towns and the countryside should be allowed to suffer serious damage.

“It is the role of the town and country planning to reconcile these objectives,” he added.

The Department was reviewing the range of telecommunication development for which specific planning permission was not needed, in the light of major advances of the past few years.

“We hope to be able to issue a consultation paper inviting views on any proposed changes within the next two or three months,” he said.