100 years ago

At a special meeting of the Council of the Grand Yorkshire Gala it was decided not to hold the Gala this year.

Mr TG Hodgson (vice-chairman) presided over the meeting.

The Secretary, Mr Arey, reported that he had been in communication with a great many people concerning the Gala, and had received letters on the subject from the fireworks company, the firm who had in the past given balloon ascents, and other amusements, and also with the North-Eastern Railway Company with regard to the conveyance of plants to and from the Gala, and the running of excursion trains.

From the information that had been supplied it was apparent that it was quite impossible to hold the Gala this year.

The committee unanimously decided that the Gala should not be held this year, and expressed their deep regret that it was necessary to make a break in the succession of years in which the Gala had been held - 57 years in all.
 

50 years ago

It had been estimated that about 100,000 illegal abortions were performed in Britain each year, said Mrs Margaret Spooner.

On behalf of the Howden Constituency Labour Party, Mrs Spooner moved a resolution at the annual meeting of the Yorkshire Regional Council of the Labour Party.

It called on individual members and “our representatives in Parliament,” to take every opportunity to support the aims of the Abortion Law Reform Association.

Each year, 1500 abortions were performed legally, with virtually no risk to the mother, through increasing medical knowledge.

“Many more could he performed if doctors were more sure of their legal position,” she said. Referring to the estimated 100,000 illegal abortions each year, she said: “Where a law is broken so frequently, it is usually seen to be a bad law.”


25 years ago

A plea on behalf of more than one million listeners who faced being cut off from the 'jolly music' of Radio 2 had been launched in the Commons.

The Tory MP, Mr Jerry Wiggin, protested at plans to switch the station from medium wave to the VHF band.

Mr Wiggin said more than a million out of 15,000,000 people who listened to Radio 2 each week did not have sets to receive the new frequency. Many would be without light music programmes.

A junior Home Office Minister, Mr Peter Lloyd, said the BBC's output was a matter for the corporation and added that a recent survey showed 90 per cent of listeners had access to a FM radio.