100 years ago

Considerable excitement had been caused at Selby by the reported appearance of a Taube machine in the district.

An aeroplane flew at a great height over the town at about 11 o'clock in the morning, on Saturday, and was afterwards seen at Wistow, whence it flew in the direction of York, and actually appeared over the city.

It had since been officially reported that the aircraft was British and not German. The York headquarters staff had notified the police authorities that a British aeroplane might be expected to arrive in accordance with instructions which it was executing.

There was no truth in a rumour that a Zeppelin was seen over Scarborough either on Saturday night or Sunday morning. A report had reached Scarborough that an aircraft had been seen over Hartlepool, and in consequence many lights were lowered, but nothing was seen of a hostile craft.


50 years ago

A British "pop" group, the Ricochets had cultivated their hair for nearly a year before they arrived for an engagement at the American airbase in Madrid.

But the base commander, unappreciative of British "pop" fashion, greeted them at the end of their 1000-mile drive from London with: "This isn't the monkey house at the zoo. Get your hair cut... or get out." "We had no choice," said Tommy Bishop, a 21-year-old Londoner, singer and leader of the Ricochets.

The group had signed a contract with the servicemen's night club, and needed the money to buy new instruments.

Tommy Bishop, a former hairdresser, clipped the shoulder-length tresses of his five companions.

"I wouldn't want those Yanks to cut my hair," he said. "Can you imagine an Englishman with a brushcut?"


25 years ago

The Girl Guides unveiled a brand-new image when they launched their new modern uniforms.

The uniforms had been designed by Jeff Banks of the BBC Clothes Show, based on ideas from the movement's four million members.

The design of the new uniforms had been a closely guarded secret and around 100 girls queued for more than two hours for their first glimpse of the future at the launch at the Merchant Adventurers' Hall in York.

The movement's spokeswoman, Penny Blackburn, said she was certain the new designs would be a huge success. "We wanted an up-to-date approach that fits the girls' interests," she said.

"We held a competition and the ideas for the designs have come from the girls themselves."

The new uniforms included shirts and trousers for the first time and were designed to "mix and match", giving around 100 different combinations.