From our archives:

85 years ago

Easingwold was a town in mourning after the funeral of Mr Henry R Davison at the local Parish Church.

In honour of Mr Davison a lorry filled with flowers followed the cortege towards a packed service.

As the mourners entered the church Mr Allan the organist played Handel’s Largo before the esteemed Rev Richardson started the service.

An agreement had finally been reached at the Lausanne conference.

With fourteen nations and four British Dominions represented, over 300 journalists from every corner of the world was present to witness the settlement.

Mr Ramsay MacDonald, who had been elected president of the Conference, opened the proceedings with a stirring plea for bold proposals, before offering 200 million towards the war debt on behalf of Great Britain.

50 years ago

Truncheons were drawn by York police officers for self-protection during a free-for-all fight with civilians in Coppergate, Chief Inspector Noel Douglass told York magistrates.

The situation which developed could only be called “ugly.”

“There was a general free-for-all, with police officers fighting civilians in an effort to restore order.”

In all, fines totaling £125 were imposed, with suspended prison sentences in default in each case.

Sir Mortimer Wheeler spent two hours touring York Minster seeing for himself the emergency repair work carried out to the central tower, and the archaeological finds which have been made during excavations.

The man who captured war correspondent Winston Churchill during the 1899-1902 Boer War, Adolf Johannes de la Rey, died at Krugersdorp, South Africa, aged 91.

Before he died Mr de la Rey said: “My finger was on the trigger and I was ready to shoot.

The Englishman’s hands went up slowly. He said: ‘I am Churchill.’

20 years ago

York-made KitKat chocolate bars were still the nation’s favourite way to take a break, according to a new survey of the country’s top brands.

Nestle-Rowntree KitKat had been top of the chocs for 10 years and in 1996 fans had munched their way through more than £141 million worth.

Superstar Michael Jackson pulled out the stops to recover his crown as Prince of Pop at his first British concert for five years.

Fireworks, special effects and a spaceman costume all delighted the 45,000-strong audience with the Thriller spirit of old.