From our archives:

80 years ago

Fright occasioned by a runaway cow was believed to have been responsible for the death of a lorry driver's wife from Beverley. Standing outside her house the Yorkshire mother received such a shock after an escaped cow managed to get into her yard via the back of the house. A nurse was sent for immediately, but it was too late, as the lady had sadly passed away. Mr Jennings, of Muston, near Filey, had caught a Death’s Head moth in the local village. Beautifully marked and measuring 5.5 inches from wing to tip, it was the first one seen in the district and was to be kept alive for preservation. And movie legend Gracie Fields was at her best in “Looking on the Bright Side,” showing at Easingwold Cinema. The British musical comedy directed by Graham Cutts and Basil Dean had York’s moviegoers singing in the aisles.

50 years ago

At least 71 football fans had been killed and 130 injured in a stampede after a match at a stadium in Buenos Aires. According to Reuters, hundreds of spectators from the crowd were trampled underfoot or crushed as they fought to exit the gates of the River Plate Stadium. Police said it was not known exactly what caused the tragedy, which had been classed the worst in the history of Argentine football at the time. Some eyewitnesses said some of the stadium turnstiles did not open and people pushing against them were crushed. British Rail passengers at York station were confronted with this notice, “The management of British Railways regrets any delay or inconvenience caused to passengers by the labour dispute.” The disruptive effect of the NUR work-to-rule, and ban on overtime, was only expected to get worse over the next few weeks.

20 years ago

An exhibition of the very best of student talent kicked off at the Grand Assembly Rooms in York. The free end-of-year show, by students from York College of Further and Higher Education, featured everything from sculpture and graphic design to furniture and stonemasonry. And workers at York’s Nestle Rowntree factory were to be paid the same rate for the job regardless of age, thanks to a deal worked out with the union GMB. The move came after the Government announced plans to introduce a two-tier minimum wage, with different rates for people aged under 21.