100 years ago

A letter received at Cleveland, Ohio, from Montevideo related a remarkable incident in connection with the battle of the Falkland Islands.

It was stated that when completely disabled by the British fire the German cruiser Leipzig was prepared to surrender.

The vessel was badly on fire, and it was considered useless to attempt to continue the action; but she was unable to signal her surrender because it was found impossible to haul down her ensign, the halyard having been severed by a shot from the British cruiser.

The crew had massed on the afterdeck, while the guns of the Glasgow simply mowed them down, the British, of course, having no reason to suppose that the Leipzig was willing to abandon the fight.

One member of her crew actually volunteered to climb the mast with a view to pulling down the ensign, but he was burned to death in the attempt.


50 years ago

All pre-packed food should be dated to protect the buyer, decided the North Riding Rural Councils' Association.

Members adopted a proposal that the National Association should be asked to press for legislation.

Councillor Mrs WG Evans, who submitted the proposal, spoke of the changed shopping habits and said much more pre-packed food was being bought.

The number of prosecutions for selling food that was not fresh was no true indication of the amount sold. The housewife would loathe to make trouble, particularly when dealing with smaller shops, where they were well-known. Dating food would only penalise the inefficient retailer.

Most housewives would be willing to pay a little extra to ensure fresh food.

After hearing about the problem of disposing of abandoned cars, the Association decided to call a meeting of technical officers to discuss the whole problem of disposing of modern waste, including cars, cookers and washing machines.


25 years ago

Warner Bros today warned people without tickets to stay away from previews at their new multiplex cinema at Clifton Moor.

The call came after traffic queues built up several hundred yards on to the A1237 Outer Ring Road and visitors faced lengthy waits inside the 12-screen cinema.

The company wanted to avoid a repetition of the chaos of the previous evening at another ticket-only preview day today.

Press officer Sally Beckett blamed people who had turned up without tickets for the problems.

Chief Inspector Jim Boam said he was concerned about possible problems the next day, when TV celebrity Phillip Schofield would be attending the official opening of the cinema.