From our archives:

85 years ago

A former employee of the Yorkshire Herald Newspaper Company, Mr Harry Nicholson of Kyme Street, York, celebrated his golden wedding anniversary by receiving a host of good wishes and congratulations from a wide circle of friends. Starting his career as a compositor, Mr Nicholson was instrumental in setting up the type used during the printing of the first issue of the “Yorkshire Evening Press,” on October 2, 1882. York City Fire Brigade had been called to investigate reports of smoke coming from the basement of a shop in Stonegate. When they arrived, they found that the cause of the problem was an electric cable that had fused, and the smoke had found its way into the silk and draper shop of Mr Collinson. And frocks which gave the impression of simplicity were once again the fashion of the season. With their kimono shaped sleeves, and intricate cut, the apparent simplicity of the frock was not easily achieved.

50 years ago

The Soviet cosmonaut Georgi Beregovoi had ridden the Soviet spaceship Soyuz 3 to a safe landing in the USSR, according to the official Tass news agency. A day and half short of the Soviet manned space flight Endurance, Mr Beregovoi said he “felt well” and “looked forward to maybe one day taking the Soyuz craft to the moon.” An escaped prisoner from Durham’s top-security jail was still on the run after removing brickwork from a shower room, enabling them to climb on to the roof of the courthouse. One of the most exciting R and B shows in the country, Root and Jenny Jackson, hailing from Huddersfield and not from the States, had now released their first discotheque record, Lean On Me with Beacon Records. And still topping the charts at No 1 was Mary Hopkin, with Those Were The Days.

20 years ago

The battle to save York’s army HQ had been lost after Armed Forces Minister Doug Henderson announced that a new combined army command for Scotland and the North of England would now be based in Edinburgh. The decision to close the 2nd Division HQ at Imphal Barracks would cost more than 200 civilian and army jobs. And the film Exorcist, considered by many of those brave enough to watch it as the scariest film ever made, was re-released in cinemas across the country after 25 years.