Way we were

100 years ago: A noteworthy experiment in regard to the Dogger Bank had been made by British naturalists, who conveyed small plaice from other North Sea grounds, which acted as nurseries, to the famous fishing grounds, in order to discover whether they would grow and mature rapidly there, in view of the fact that it was a rich feeding ground. The experiment, which was intended to show whether this artificial migration could be accomplished, had been proved to be most successful. The marked plaice dumped on the Dogger had been recaptured in many instances, and it had been established from their growth that the Dogger Bank could be converted into an excellent forcing bed for these fish. Trawler owners on the East Coast of England, including from this area, had been invited to consider a suggestion to engage tank steamers specifically fitted to convey small plaice from areas where they were plentiful, but of small and unmarketable size, to turn them out on the Dogger Bank, where they would quickly improve in size and value.

50 years ago: A rumour sweeping the city led to the statement being made that "whatever the result of to-morrow's Cup semi-final replay at Sunderland, the bells of York Minster will ring out for a quarter-of-an-hour to-morrow evening". The Minster authorities wanted to make it clear that the peal had nothing to do with the possible success of the York City Cup heroes. The bells were being rung for the benefit of BBC engineers who were recording their sound for the record library of the BBC Overseas Service.

25 years ago: British Rail laid on an extra 155 trains on Eastern Region over Easter. Thirty-six of them ran on the East Coast line, linking York with King's Cross, and the same number of main line trains served Yorkshire, Lancashire, the Midlands and the West Country. Of the 12 excursion trains laid on, one ran to York, and four to the seaside resorts, including Scarborough and Blackpool. A modified service ran on Good Friday, with a few extra relief trains, although some early morning and afternoon trains were withdrawn. On Saturday an extra train ran from York to Hull via Scarborough and Bridlington, with almost a normal service on Easter Day. On Easter Monday a few extra trains ran on the East Coast line, including from York to Leeds via Knaresborough and Harrogate, and extra trains would run on the Tuesday for returning holiday makers.

Updated: 11:12 Saturday, March 26, 2005