Friday, February 4, 2005

100 years ago: A storm of protest from factory girls, in response to an advertisement wanting a "lady" to work in a chemist's shop which ended "factory girls need not apply", sparked a letter from One Interested. His addition to the debate was: "I beg to state that if factory girls could conduct themselves as ladies after they leave their daily work they would be a lot better thought of. The majority as soon as they get home make up like a tin of Colman's mustard, and go flirting about with anyone they can find, or parade up and down with anyone they can find, or parade up and down Coney Street or elsewhere, instead of doing odd jobs at home, which would be useful to them in married life, if they are lucky enough to find a man to keep them all their lives. Some of them could not boil water."

50 years ago: Roger the horse, who pulled a milk float for the York Co-operative Dairy, was usually a quiet horse and had been no trouble in the seven years he had been there. But one morning, when a train near York railway station let steam off as he was delivering milk in the Holgate Road area, he decided to take exception. Roger bolted up Oxford Street, as the driver jumped on the float to try and halt the horse, but while he was crawling towards the front Roger swerved to miss a car and threw his driver off, who injured his shoulder. To finish off his chaotic run Roger crashed into a petrol station assistant, and then knocked over the petrol pump with his forefeet. After being pulled to a halt, Roger was taken to a nearby blacksmith's for treatment, then he was allowed to go home to the stables at Haxby to nurse a cut, his only injury.

25 years ago: The Lord Mayor of York announced that York was to have a new Royal Navy missile destroyer named after the city. He had received a letter from the Ministry of Defence to say that the name HMS York had been chosen for the 14th Type 42 missile destroyer, which was being built at the Swan Hunter yard at Wallsend. Type 42 were the Navy's first all-gas turbine propelled destroyers, with a displacement of 3,500 tons and a crew of 280.

Updated: 16:06 Thursday, February 03, 2005