From our archives:

85 years ago

Field-Marshall Sir William Robertson had died suddenly in bed at his London residence in Westbourne Terrace, Paddington.

Sir William who was 73 years of age, had been under the care of a doctor for some time.

The cause of death had been recorded as heart failure.

Sir William was one of the most famous figures of the war when he was Chief of the Imperial General Staff.

During the war he had many conflicts with statesmen, whose ideas of strategy did not conform to those of the soldier.

A letter from Manchester, with an address of over 60 words written all over the envelope front, had been delivered near Bridlington.

According to a Post Office official the letter was delivered without delay, as the address described its location as a farm, and there was only one farm in that district near the edge of the sea.

And York had overwhelmed Barrow Hornets in the first round of the Rugby League Challenge Cup at Clarence Street.

50 years ago

Violet Carson, Ena Sharples of TV’s Coronation Street, and her sister Mrs Nellie Kelly left their London hotel to drive to Southampton where they were due to board the liner Oriana for Australia, for Ena’s coast-to-coast personal appearance.

In York, thieves had used the Bar Walls for a “leg up” during the night after stealing lead from the roof of a Goodramgate shop.

Eighteen feet of 18-inch wide lead flashing had been removed from the roof of the Monk Bar Model Shop, which adjoined the walls.

And Kirkgate, the most famous street in York’s Castle Museum, had been turned into a film set by students of Leeds University, who were shooting costume sequences for a 20-minute film.

20 years ago

Oscar-nominated Dame Judi Dench arrived with actor Ian Holm at the Theatre Museum in London after being named best actress in the London Theatre Critics’ Awards for her performance in Amy’s View at the Royal National Theatre.

York film star Mark Addy was also still stripping at cinemas across the country in the Oscar nominated The Full Monty.

The former York Theatre Royal stagehand earned just £15,000 for his part as the overweight and newly impotent Dave.

And Dolly the sheep, the world’s first clone of an adult animal, had been transformed again, this time into a woolly jumper.