100 years ago

The German Secretary of State of the Interior had written, in reply to Professor Sering, of the Berlin University: “The present war is, to an unprecedented extent, an economic war, namely, a war of half the world waged by England against German economic life.

"Germany has unshaken confidence in a complete military victory, and the resistance of German economic life will make her economically invincible also.

"Unfortunately, in spite of warnings and regulations, wide circles of the population are insufficiently careful. We must save and live simply, always economising not only supplies, but the scraps which we are accustomed to throw away.

"Now is the time if it is not to be too late. Every household should be put in a state of war. Let every woman be a soldier in this economic war. It is a sacred duty to carry out the regulations regarding the use of food.”
 

50 years ago

Posters used to advertise the film Carry On Cleo had been banned by a High Court judge in London, pending trial of a copyright action.

The posters showed Amanda Barrie as Cleopatra, Sid James as Mark Anthony and Kenneth Williams as Caesar. The order was sought by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, of New York, who had made the film Cleopatra.

It was made against Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors Ltd, who had produced Carry on Cleo, and Warner Pathe Distributors Ltd. Mr Justice Plowman said the defendants' poster reproduced a substantial part of a painting showing Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and Rex Harrison in Cleopatra.

Cleopatra would not be generally released until autumn. Carry on Cleo, said to be a parody of Cleopatra, had just been released.

“The defendants' general release comes first and the impact of the plaintiff's publicity is in danger of being ruined in advance,” said the judge.
 

25 years ago

A fire chief urged landowners to monitor controlled burning of heather at all times during the current spell of strong, but unpredictable, south-westerly winds.

Over the weekend North Yorkshire firefighters had fought two battles - one lasting six hours - after heather burning had got out of hand in the strong winds when left unattended.

The bigger blaze, at a remote spot near Kildale, destroyed several acres of moorland vegetation.

During the battle to put out the blaze, another unattended patch of controlled burning got out of hand at nearby Commondale Moor and two acres of moorland were affected.

Scarborough-based divisional officer David Hall said that both fires were caused by the unpredictable winds fanning the flames. He urged landowners burning heather to monitor their fires at all times.