100 years ago

“Fair Play” wrote: “Will you please allow us a space in your column as regards the shop assistants, and all whom it may concern.

There are many men who are medically fit who could take part in helping to serve their country if they would only go. Why don’t they go and let the girls do their work? There are plenty of girls who have been thrown out of employment through the war, and who are quite capable, I am sure, of doing men’s duty as regards office and counter work, if they would only be men and go and serve their country, the same as other brave chaps are doing.

It would look better. Theirs is work that girls could easily do if they were only given the chance. They cannot join the Army, but they can do the work at home, when men are so badly needed. Why don’t they go and do their duty, the girls will do theirs. ‘Hurry up, lads, play the part of a man.’”

 

50 years ago

The State funeral of Sir Winston Churchill had cost £48,000. This had just been disclosed in Supplementary Civil Estimates for 1964-65.

The total was made up as follows: Earl Marshal’s office (expenses connected with the funeral arrangements, including the cost of the service at St Paul’s Cathedral) - £15,000. Ministry of Defence (travelling and other expenses of naval, military and Royal Air Force Personnel) - £19,000.

Travelling and other expenses of representatives of the Fire, Police and Civil Defence services - £2000. Ministry of Public Building and Works (expenses in connection with the lying-in-state at Westminster Hall and works services along the route of the funeral procession) - £7000. The Stationery Office (printing, etc.) - £3000. Expenses of departments of the Queen’s household - £1000. Other expenses - £1080.

The supplementary estimates totalled £1,687,000, most of the extra money being needed for the Inland Revenue transport, the National Assistance Board and the Ministry of Public Building and Works.

 

25 years ago

Women who bought Britain’s chunkiest chocolate bar preferred tradesmen to toyboys, a Rowntree competition had revealed.

Housewives who entered a Win a Man competition, with family size Yorkie and Aero bars, asked for carpenters and plumbers. Only a fraction asked for a “Yorkie man” said a Rowntree spokesman. “Deep down they are a sensible, practical lot,” he added. Thousands of entries tossed up requests for everything from a plastic surgeon to a sheep shearer, a stockbroker or a vicar.

One woman was even happy to settle for a taxman. “Win a Man is a very unusual concept which we believed would get the housewife to pick the bar up. The effect was shown in the response we got.”