Monday, May 15, 2006

100 years ago

Following a balloon accident, six boys and one man were lying in hospital. After a trip, which had been without incident, the owner, Mr Rider Cook, decided to descend at a spot suitable for emptying and packing up the aerostat. Attracted by the unfamiliar sight of the huge sphere slowly nearing the ground, a large crowd followed it into a field. With the help of willing volunteers the car was safely anchored. Mr Cook descended and opened the safety valve wide to deflate the balloon. As he did so he called out to the men of the crowd, "Please do not smoke; It's dangerous." Unfortunately, however, one of the men, not realising that the danger was a real one, lit a match for his pipe, and threw it near the escaping gas. A loud explosion followed, a sheet of flame burst out all around the balloon and when the dazed spectators had recovered from the shock it was seen that a number of bodies were lying on the ground, most of them boys who had pressed to the front.

50 years ago

In joint Synod the Convocation of Canterbury discussed the report of a committee set up to inquire into the differences between the provinces of Canterbury and York in their arrangements for allowing women to take an active part in Church services, other than Holy Communion. In the Northern Province women could be licensed to participate and give addresses, but no such general permission existed in the Canterbury Province. The majority of the committee, two members dissenting, reached the following conclusion: "The appeal to Scripture is so inconclusive as not, of itself, to bar the possibility of women, with the Church's authorisation, conducting morning and evening prayer and preaching in case of need."

25 years ago

Management and union officials were to meet the following month to discuss the future of York Carriageworks and other British Rail Engineering plants. A multi-million pound contract, announced the previous December, was said to secure jobs at the York works for the next two years. Reports that BR's 35,000 engineering workers now faced short-time or the threat of redundancy were dismissed today as "purely speculative." "There is no disputing a reduction in our workload," said a BR Engineering spokesman. "But we do not want our staff to take it as gospel that means there will be massive redundancies and short-time working," The previous year, 580 men at works other than York were listed as "surplus to requirements." A programme of re-training was offered to many of those not needed in the streamlining. York had a full order book, according to the spokesman, as had a number of other workshops.

Updated: 09:09 Monday, May 15, 2006