Wednesday, June 16, 2004

100 years ago: The boy trumpeter of the 18th Hussars mistakenly rode from York to Welbeck, the camp of the Yorkshire Dragoons, instead of to Harrogate, where the Yorkshire Hussars had been under training, earning himself the nickname of Dick Turpin. The lad had been misdirected on the road, and possibly thought all Yeomanry were the same, and was quite shocked to not only end up in the wrong camp but to be brought up before his own Colonel, who, as it chanced, was engaged in inspecting the Welbeck camp when he rode in.

50 years ago: A seagull swooped down on to the 11th green at Flamborough Head golf course during a match, picked up a golf ball and swallowed it as it flew over the green. The two players had both reached the green in two, and they had not been able to find anything in the rules about seagulls swallowing golf balls, so they agreed another ball could be dropped without penalty. The player affected holed out in four for a birdie three, wining the hole, and, later, the match. The same gull hovered over the next green, but was driven away by the irate golfers. The golf course was on the top of a cliff where seabirds were nesting at the time, and it was thought that the gull was of a species that ate other birds' eggs, and ate the ball by mistake.

25 years ago: Yorkshire and Humberside had regained its reputation as the cheapest region in Britain, according to the latest cost of living survey, having slipped into second place behind the East Midlands four months previously. A Yorkshire family buying a three-bedroom semi-detached house on a 70 per cent mortgage, and with commitments including a 1100cc car, needed £6,476 a year to maintain their lifestyle, against a national average of £7,196. For a family in a five or six-bedroom detached house with matching lifestyle, the amount needed per annum was £35,624, the national average being £42,135.

Updated: 10:58 Wednesday, June 16, 2004