Tuesday, November 2, 2004

100 years ago: The death was reported of David Topham - the oldest Freeman of York, the oldest typographer, the oldest Congregationalist, and probably the oldest man in the city, at the venerable age of 96. Interviewed shortly before his death, he had recalled the Highland Regiment marching back victoriously to Scotland after the glorious part they took in the Battle of Waterloo, he could remember the present Ouse Bridge being built, and the last public hanging in York. He had been a bound apprentice as a compositor at the Yorkshire Chronicle, and while working there he was involved with the printing of handbills offering a reward of £100 for the arrest of Jonathan Martin, after he set light to York Minster. When the compositor arrived at the meeting to pick up the copy, there was heated discussion still in progress as to whether the bill should be headed York Minster or York Cathedral, the Minster side eventually winning the day.

50 years ago: The annual report from the inspectors of explosives was printed as a warning to anybody who was thinking of making their own fireworks this year. The previous year, 16 people were injured and one killed in accidents caused by experimenting with explosive mixtures and contraptions. The fatality was a boy who had been injured on a previous occasion making his own fireworks. On this occasion he was assisting another boy to charge and pack a long tube with several chemicals, the resulting explosion killing him and injuring the other boy. A further 13 people were injured and three deaths were caused by people playing and tampering with commercial and service explosives, and one was killed and seven were injured at accidents in shops stocking fireworks.

25 years ago: A total of 222 people in York claimed they were homeless in the 12 months which ended in April of this year, the city council was told. A councillor heard there were 1,000 homeless people in the city, something which he wanted to check with the Housing Services Committee. They got back to him via a meeting to say that only 69 of the 222 applicants were accepted as being homeless, many of the original number "disappeared during the course of inquiries. It seems there is a floating population who present themselves as homeless when they haven't anywhere to sleep."

Updated: 15:54 Monday, November 01, 2004