100 years ago

Captain Robert Falcon Scott, RN, the gallant commander of the South Polar expedition, and the four selected men who accompanied him in the last stage of his heroic march to the South Pole had perished.

The bare facts of this catastrophe with the dates, which were just emerging, were set out: January 18, 1912 - The Pole reached. February 17 - Seaman Edgar Evans died from concussion of the brain. March 17 - Captain LEG Oates died from exposure.

March 29 - Captain Scott, Dr EA Wilson, and Lieutenant HR Bowers perished from exposure and want.

The tragedy was all the more poignant from the fact that the party had actually reached the Pole, and were on their way back, and were, indeed, only a few miles from a depot when they were overwhelmed.

They reached the Pole on January 18, and the first death, apparently from an accident, took place a month afterwards, short of one day. The British party had reached the Pole 35 days later than the Norwegian Captain Amundsen, but, unlike Amundsen, the Englishman again had to fight his way against the tempestuous forces of the Polar circle, and it was in one of these snow-laden blizzards that the explorer and his companions perished.

At the Pole, the party discovered Amundsen’s flag and thus substantiated his claim to have reached the goal of their own endeavour.


50 years ago

An announcement was expected in the House of Commons that Britain was to build a nuclear-powered merchant ship, or ships.

Shipbuilding interests had been pressing the Government to build a prototype nuclear merchant ship for some time. Vickers Armstrong officials thought they stood a very good chance of getting some of the work.

RM Nicholson, general manager of Vickers (Shipbuilders) Barrow, said: “With the technical knowledge we have gained with regard to atomic submarines, Barrow would be the natural home for a nuclear-propelled surface vessel.”


25 years ago

British Rail announced an £18 million scheme to put North Yorkshire on line for the electrification of services to London and Edinburgh.

Track and signal modernisation at York Station would straighten tracks, increase train speeds, modernise the city's freight yards, and cut the platforms from 14 to ten.

Work would begin soon on remodelling the freight yards as the first step towards electrification which would, it was hoped, be completed by May 1991.

In February 1989 the Holgate Road Iron Bridge would be raised to allow electric wires underneath – the work would be carried out at night and would last about a week.