100 years ago

The possibility of the telephone seriously threatening the telegraph as a system of rapid communication had been suggested by Mr John Newlands, Controller of the Central Telegraph Office, in a circular to the members of the telegraph staff, urging them to join the London Telephone Society, an organisation which existed for the discussion of technical matters concerning telephone work.

Telegraph workers were being accepted as members of the society.

“The Telegraph service is now on its merits. It is in a state of transition, and its staff as a whole must try to readjust their ideas, not only regarding its sphere and functions, but also, if they are well advised, they should grip hold of the fact that modern inventions have so invaded their field of operations as to cause them to reconsider their whole position,” said Mr Newland.

“Our clear and obvious duty is to revise our methods, accelerate our procedure at all stages, and aim at such a combination of telegraph and telephone services as shall give full satisfaction to the public, who use either or both of the services.”


50 years ago

The system of “streaming” children in junior schools according to their ability was being questioned by teachers, according to an official report. Many heads were re-classifying pupils to allow children of the same age to work together regardless of their different abilities.

To help resolve the problem, the Minister of Education, Sir Edward Boyle, had commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research to conduct a major inquiry into the effects of streaming. The move was announced in the annual report of the Ministry of Education for England and Wales for 1962.


25 years ago

Thousands of tons of trunk road were being recycled in the £3.2 million A64 contract. By reusing material first put down more than 50 years before, the Transport Department was making an estimated saving of £20,000.

Lorry-loads of concrete taken from the dual carriageway at Whitwell were being crushed at the roadside to be used again as hardcore. The redundant road surface, which dated back to 1936, was being regraded to meet specifications and was returning as a base material.

“This represents a saving of between £10,000 and £20,000 for the department and the taxpayer,” said resident engineer Barry Mitchell.

“It also means we don’t have to bring in up to 2,000 lorry-loads of stone from quarries at Pickering and Kirkbymoorside. It must be better environmentally with that sort of traffic off the roads.”