THE ARCHIVES

100 years ago

The fighting in the Baltic Provinces continues and Riga has been bombarded by the German artillery, many civilians being killed. There is no confirmation of the report that Riga has fallen, although fighting is actually proceeding in the suburbs of the town. Estonian troops, with armoured trains, have gone to the assistance of the hard-pressed Letts and the Estonian Fleet is also out. British warships are engaged in landing Lettish and Estonian forces on the Gulf of Riga shore, the object being to launch a flank attack.

50 years ago

Two Perth boys trapped on a sandbank in the Tay by the tide yesterday climbed a tree for safety until rescued by police boat. The boys were Peter Goldie (11) and his pal Ian Ruthven (13). They were playing on the sandbank located just south of the Queen’s Bridge towards the Bridgend bank of the river. They did not notice the incoming tide until they were cut off from the bank. A passer-by noticed that the boys had climbed one the trees and alerted the police. The boys were helped to a rescue boat– with their feet dry.

25 years ago

A public meeting is to be held in St Andrews next month to discuss the development of closed circuit TV (CCTV) to monitor certain areas of the town. Street surveys are to be conducted and a leaflet drop has been organised to find out what people think of proposals to have TV cameras in the streets. The move is part of a fact-finding initiative launched by the St Andrews CCTV steering committee which was set up to look into what is becoming an increasingly popular method of crime prevention.

One year ago

A surge in the number of wild beavers in Perthshire is damaging the agricultural economy, farmers say. The number of the rodents descended from illegally released animals living on Tayside is three times the number found six years ago, according to a new report. The Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) study says around 430 creatures are now living in the river catchment. Adrian Ivory, who farms at Strathisla near Meigle, said his land has been plagued by dams that cause flooding in his fields at a cost of up to £5,000 a year.

55,000

The number of pink-footed geese appearing at Montrose.