IN 1971, York staged a major celebration to mark its 1900th birthday - 1900 years since the founding of the Roman city of Eboracum in 71 AD, that is.

It was essentially an excuse for a year-long birthday party, and a chance for people to dress up in silly costumes - especially at the grand gala in the grounds of Bootham Park Hospital and the subsequent Lord Mayor's Parade, both in June.

But talks, lectures, balls, concerts - and even an archery tournament - were staged throughout the year. The Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, paid a visit, arriving at Micklegate Bar in an open horse-drawn carriage accompanied by members of the Household Cavalry. There was a military tattoo at Knavesmire - and the Royal Mail even produced a special York 1900th anniversary stamp.

The Yorkshire Evening Press (as this newspaper was then known) published a special anniversary souvenir.

"This supplement tells the story of York," the newspaper explained in a short introduction. "It is obviously not a complete record because, in the royal phrase, the history of York is the history of England and many volumes would be needed to embrace that saga. But we have tried... to capture the highlights of the city's 1900 years - years of violence and destruction, but also years of developing culture, prosperity and commerce.

"Th celebrations throughout 1971 ... are designed as a prolonged birthday party for citizens of York. It is a party to which everyone is invited..."

And so it was, as we hope the photos on these pages - all from our own archives - illustrate.

Many of our readers will no doubt remember the celebrations of that year - some may even recognise themselves in some of the photos we reproduce here.

Sadly, over the years, we lost our only surviving copies of the 1971 supplement we produced to celebrate the anniversary.

So thank you to reader Carolyn Bean, from Flamborough, who supplied us with a replacement copy.

Carolyn, who grew up in York and spent much of her adult life here (she once worked at JJ Fashion in Blake Street) before retiring to Flamborough, found the supplement at the bottom of a wicker basket in which she keeps old programmes and magazine cuttings.

She sometimes used to act as a volunteer, handing out copies of Press supplements at major events like the Mystery Plays and, obviously, the 1900th celebrations - which is how she came to have this one. She found it while having a clear-out, and thought it ought to be returned homer.

So thank you, Carolyn.

Over 20 pages, the supplement takes a look at some of the key periods in York's history. We might revisit some of these in Yesterday Once More in the weeks to come, quoting from the articles Press journalists Vivien Brookes, Quentin Gray, John Potts and Ronald Willis wrote then.

For this week, however, we'll content ourselves with just looking back at the fun the city had in that anniversary year of 1971.

We've never seen a Roman Legion portrayed in quite the way it was by the girls (and one bloke) who manned the Royal British Legion float at the Lord Mayor's parade. And as for the Yorkshire Evening Press float - well, we did say it was a chance to dress up in silly costumes...

Stephen Lewis