100 years ago

The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company had entered into a three year agreement with various grades of their workpeople; this being the outcome of the application of the men for improved conditions of labour.

The grades included employees in the goods department comprised in grade group No. 5 of the conciliation scheme, carters, enginemen, guards, porters, loco men, and carriage and wagon men.

The advances included increases of the minimum wage, and in many cases increases of the maximum also. Some grades, including the low-paid grades, benefited more than others. There had also been a reduction of hours.

At all the important stations, and at others of the scale of Mirfield, and Heywood, the hours of duty in the goods department would be 54 a week, exclusive of meals; at other stations 57, exclusive of meals.

Wages at Manchester and Liverpool depots were advanced 1s 6d a week. The hours of the majority of the carters had been reduced from 57½ to 54 a week.

50 years ago

Patients who took transistor radios into York County Hospital with them would have to “face the music,” because the pocket-sized receivers were to be banned by York “A” and Tadcaster Hospital Management Committee.

The only exceptions would be those receivers which had no loudspeaker built in, and which had earphones provided so that other patients were not disturbed.

In future, when patients were admitted to York County Hospital they would receive a printed slip telling them of the ban. It followed a complaint earlier in the year from a patient.

The Management Committee was told that after the complaint, inquiries were made and it appeared that transistor sets taken to the wards by patients caused some annoyance, despite the efforts of ward sisters to keep noise to a minimum.

Mr F A Milnes (Group Secretary) said it was unreasonable to expect ward sisters to keep effective control over a number of transistor sets in a ward.

25 years ago

Seven-year-old Kaye Johnson officially opened the new Hamleys toy store in Coney Street, York, helped by Donald Duck and Goofy.

Children gathered in the rain from 6.30am to be first through the doors as the ribbon was cut.

And pandemonium reigned in Coney Street, as the Valley Sound Drum and Bugle Corps led a parade through the streets followed by York's town crier and a host of life-sized cartoon characters.

The Lord Mayor of York, Councillor Malcolm Heppell, was presented with a pair of Hamley Bears by the store's sales director, Mr Rod Green.

Outside, children joined the young at heart eagerly awaiting the moment when they would get their first glimpse of York's new paradise of toys.