100 Years Ago – 1918

Bradford West Riding Court had fined a grocer from Cleckheaton £50 for baking with white flour. Summoned for breach of the Manufacture of Flour Order 1917, Mr. Hillard and two members his staff, were reprimanded by the court for depriving the rest of the community of their proper proportion of white flour, which was only sold to those who were ill under a doctor’s certificate. Ten thousand grey-haired men and women had been given the opportunity of a lifetime without any cost to themselves, thanks to the free distribution of 1,000,000 bottles of Astol. Scientifically discovered by a well-known London hair specialist Astol was neither a dye of a stain, but a liquid which had the ability to make hair re-grow its own natural colour. And Mr. W. M. Jackson manager of the Bradford Conditioning House had resigned after been offered the position of managing director of a cotton mills in Bolton, Lancashire. (152)

85 Years Ago – 1933

In view of the outstanding success of the recent Bingley Music Festival, there was a likelihood it may become a permanent event for the residents of Bingley. The festival which originally marked the opening of Bingley civic week and shopping festival would now be extended over two Saturdays as it possessed a perfect convenient geographical position for holding such competitions. East Riddlesden Hall and adjacent lands, near Keighley, which had been on the market for over 20 years, had now been disposed of privately to Mr. Harry Emmott, a well-known Keighley man. A builder and contractor by trade Mr. Emmott intended to divide up the estate for building purposes and development but was not averse to considering an offer by which the halls and the five acres may be retained for preservation or historic interest.

60 Years Ago – 1958

Two boys from Thorpe Edge, had been detained in Bradford Children’s Hospital with severe burns after two pounds gunpowder had exploded whilst the boys were making homemade fireworks in their back garden. Not only had the explosion injured the boys but it had also blown out the Kitchen and back bedroom window of their home in Faltis Square. And Bradford City Police were investigating a daring robbery in Heaton, where thieves had stolen £1,500 worth gems. The raid which took place at the home of Miss Fattorini, a large semi-detached house next door to the Bishop of Bradford, had attracted a wide scale police presence including the use of tracker dogs.

50 Years Ago - 1968

Hitting the headlines, October 18, 1968, was the Minister of Transport Mr. Richard Marsh who had officially opened the last link of the M1 using a specially-made pair of Sheffield steel scissors. Jacqueline Kennedy, the 39-year-old widow of the assassinated U.S. President joined billionaire Aristotle Onassis, as they hurried off to his private island in the Ionian seas for their forthcoming marriage and honeymoon. And Beatle John Lennon and Yoko had both been charged with possessing cannabis and obstructing police in the execution of a search warrant.

35 Years Ago – 1983

Despite torrential rain a thousand campaigners had joined a march to show their support for keeping Shipley Hospital open. Greeting the protest march outside Shipley Hospital was Shipley MP Marcus Fox, who was also backing the campaign. According to police reports the protestors had conducted themselves in a peaceful manner. And a full investigation had been launched to discover how Bradford City had crashed into bankruptcy with debts of nearly £400,000. Every aspect of the original 1908 club’s handling would be put under the microscope for detailed scrutiny.

In 1983, paper boy Mark Barrett made a long-distance delivery taking a copy of the Telegraph & Argus to Mrs. Thatcher at 10 Downing Street. Mark, 14, of Martin Road, Bradford, was the local winner in the Local Newspaper Week’s news deliveries’ competition. According to the Telegraph & Argus, his bravery and sense of duty in completing his paper round, despite been hit in the eye by a stone from a passing car won him the prize.