THE ARCHIVES

100 years ago

Dundee UF Presbytery yesterday declared its attitude on the much discussed question of the exemption of ministers of religion from obligatory military service. The Rev Crawford Smith, convener of the Emergency War Service Committee, said it was not at the request of the Presbyterian Churches that the clause in the Man-Power Bill was withdrawn. The way was open for voluntary offers and the Presbytery did not regard it as a necessity that the minister should resign his charge.

50 years ago

A detachment of the 1st Battalion the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) paraded on the North Inch at Perth as a farewell to the spot where the regiment was raised in 1794. The Cameronians are to be disbanded on May 14. Lord Provost David Thomson carried out the inspection, accompanied by Major D.E. N. Cameron. In his address Lord Provost Thomson said the men were taking part in a moment of history. “You represent all the brave men who have gone before,” he said.

25 years ago

Police are investigating an incident at a Perth secondary school which resulted in a 13-year-old boy requiring hospital attention for facial injuries including a fractured nose. It came 24 hours after Tayside’s education department welcomed the appointment by the Scottish Council for Research of an anti-bullying development officer. Mr Andrew Mellor, a teacher who has conducted a survey on bullying in Scottish seconday schools, has commenced a one-year secondment.

One year ago

Drones are being used to attempt to smuggle drugs and jail-breaking equipment into Perth Prison. The use of the technology came to light after a drone missed its target, dropping a package in a nearby garden. Police arrived at the property to discover heroin, cannabis, and equipment including cables, a screwdriver and mobile phones. Next, an officer spotted a drone with a package attached to it by a long line. Governor Fraser Munro has vowed to do everything in his power to prevent it.