From our archives:

80 years ago

Four miles north of Pickering, Newton-on-Rawcliffe was experiencing a water famine. All the wells and water cisterns and village ponds were empty, and housewives had resorted to washing in farmers water butts. According to the oldest inhabitant of the village, “There isn’t a drop of water for man or beast, and the situation is an absolute scandal.” In an attempt to alleviate the famine situation a village engineer, Mr Alfred Russell, connected 1,700 yards of iron piping to a spring in the valley near Levisham Station on the Whitby-Pickering railway. With no rain, the drought was also making it difficult for fishing. Local rivers were running low and the sun on the shallow waters was making anglers visible to the shy trout. And Ripon playwright, Mr George Jackson, had held the first drama festival in the history of Coverdale, in its village hall.

50 years ago

The Conservative crunch had hit York during its recent municipal elections with every one of the 13 seats contested. Not only had the Conservatives retained the eight seats they were defending, they also snatched five from Labour, including the traditional Acomb stronghold for Labour. Kray twins, Ronald and Reginald, and their elder brother Charles, were among nine men remanded in custody until Friday at Bow Street, London, facing a variety of charges, including two allegations of conspiracy to murder, demanding money and causing grievous bodily harm. The hearing had lasted only 26 minutes and all applications for bail been rejected by the magistrate. And peace talks were under way in Vietnam as the United States and North Vietnam met for a procedural discussion to prepare their preliminary statements.

20 years ago

Young people in a village near Selby were jumping for joy after the installation of a new basketball court costing £2,800. Measuring 10ft by 5ft the basketball court in Camblesforth park was large enough for youngsters to play attack and defence and practice shooting at goal. Railway child Sally Thompsett helped York’s glittering Great Railway Ball get up steam by officially naming a Virgin train which had carried a train full of revellers from London for the grand event. And campaigners fighting for a 50-mile stretch of giant pylons through North Yorkshire had been urged to buy shares in the National Grid, so they could lobby shareholders.