THE ARCHIVES

100 years ago

Tonight’s official communiqué from Paris says: “There has been marked activity on the Haillesvillers Bretonneux front. An enemy surprise attack south of Hartmannsweilerkopf broke down. There is nothing to report on the rest of the front. Yesterday four German aeroplanes were brought down by our pilots in air fights and 10 were seen to fall damaged in their own lines. In the course of the day our bombarding machines dropped 4,500kg of projectiles on various stations.”

50 years ago

A spring blizzard brought a heavy snowfall to the Scottish mountains yesterday and the Cairngorms are almost as deeply snow-covered as they were in mid-winter. Sunshine followed overnight frost and snow. As snowploughs cleared the ski road into the Cairngorms, skiers, enjoying the unexpected bounty, said conditions were excellent. Three English holidaymakers from Bristol, who only packed their skis as an afterthought, said they were delighted at the uncrowded runs.

25 years ago

A defiant Arthur Scargill pledged yesterday that the fight against pit closures would continue. The National Union of Mineworkers’ president was speaking after an executive meeting at the union’s headquarters in Sheffield in the wake of the announcement that miners at another Yorkshire pit had opted to accept British Coal’s enhanced redundancy payment. Miners at Grimethorpe Colliery near Barnsley decide this week to take redundancy and see their colliery closed down.

One year ago

Two Mearns men who have battled cancer have taken to the catwalk in a new men-only modelling event for charity. Richard Haugh, 54, from Laurencekirk and Stonehaven man Aaron Wilson, 43, answered the call to be Brave models for the day. Brave, arranged by the Friends of ANCHOR, saw 24 men who have faced diagnosis become models during the charity show. “It’s been fantastic meeting the other men taking part in Brave,” Aaron said. “We’ve all been having such a laugh.”