From our archives:

85 years ago

The Hemingbrough and district branch of the British Legion had organised a fancy dress carnival dance in the Cliffe Institute.

Attendance was good with children being catered for from 6pm to 9pm then the adults continued with the festivities until 2am.

Supper was provided by the capable hands of lady helpers and the musical entertainment was provided by the York British Legion Dance Band.

Miss Amy Johnson arrived in Cape Town on Easter Monday to recuperate from an operation for an appendicitis.

In a state of virtual nervous collapse, she had been ordered by three doctors to rest during the coming months.

York Theatre Royal was showing performances of sidesplitting humour, in The Case of the Frightened Lady by Edgar Wallace.

50 years ago

Two church leaders were both York-bound.

Mr Michael Ramsey, Archbishop of Canterbury, lunched in the city on his way to a Scarborough conference and Dr Donald Coggan, Archbishop of York, left Heathrow heading back to York after a visit overseas.

Chart bustin’ Sinatras Frank and daughter Nancy had hit the top spot with Somethin’ Stupid after Engelbert, who was making a personal appearance in Leeds, slipped into second place.

Six members of York City Police, who all joined on the same day, May 3, 1937, announced that they all planned to retire from the force, having all completed 30 years’ service.

A village pub dating back to the Elizabethan period, whose licence had lapsed in 1932 when it was let as a farmhouse during the agricultural depression, was now serving food and drink for the first time in 35 years.

The Blacksmith’s Arms, Aislaby, was now fully open for business.

20 years ago

Princess Diana was named among Britain’s richest people thanks to her £15 million divorce settlement which made her richer than her ex-husband, the Prince of Wales.

The Princess was ranked as Britain’s 916th richest person.

That put her level with TV cook Delia Smith, whose fortune had been boosted by massive sales of cookery books accompanying her TV shows.

A storm had blown up over plans to dig up a mountain of power station ash in a village near Selby.

Drax Power Station already under fire over petroleum coke, wanted to recover up to 200,000 tons a year of pulverised fuel ash from its tip at Barlow.