Saturday, December 3, 2005

100 years ago

An inquest was held at Bempton, on the body of Francis Chandler, who was killed on the beach at the foot of Bempton Cliffs the previous Saturday morning. W M Chandler, the deceased's father, said his son had previously been up and down the cliffs twice or thrice by the same path. Beilby Hodgson, age 16, a farm servant, said he had accompanied the deceased on the Saturday morning to the beach, as they had heard that a ship was ashore. They began to climb the face of the cliff, which was 200 feet high, and when half way up Chandler got hold of a wire hanging over the cliff. As soon as Chandler pulled it, a lot of stones came down, and one big one, three times the size of a turnip, hit Chandler on the head. Constable Hammond described the injuries sustained, stating that the cap, which the deceased had worn, was cut through, and his head fearfully wounded. Death had apparently been caused by a blow, and not by a fall. A verdict of accidental death was returned.

50 years ago

For Radio and Television, House and Son Limited, Blake Street, York were advertising EKCO Radio and ECKO Vision. An ECKO Receiver was available on their special hire purchase scheme where the cash price would be held for customers who settled within six months. The contemporary model retailed at 146 gns, while the 21-inch, traditional model, the most luxurious of all receivers with 21-inch aluminised tube incorporating ECKO Vision multi-channel Turret tuning for reception of alternative programmes plus VHF broadcasts of Home, Light and Third programmes was 163 gns. This luxurious large-screen model had all the refinements known to modern television and was housed in an exceedingly handsome walnut-veneered cabinet with two doors which completely covered tube and controls when not in use.

25 years ago

Radical changes in the way a husband and wife were taxed were foreshadowed by Sir Geoffrey Howe. The Chancellor published proposals under which the married man's personal allowance of £2,145 could be scrapped. It would be replaced by a single persons allowance of £1,375. The proposed change could increase the tax bill of some married couples by £4.40 a week. A main objective was to end tax discrimination against women. Sir Geoffrey said: "It is not surprising that there has been growing criticism of a tax code which proceeds on the basis originally enacted in 1806 that a woman's income chargeable to tax shall be deemed for income tax purposes to be his income and not her income. The surprise to most who study the matter lies in discovering how difficult it is to find a better system. There are no quick or easy answers."

Updated: 16:04 Friday, December 02, 2005