THE ARCHIVES

100 years ago

Corporal John Brebner, Black Watch, has been killed in action. Cpl Brebner enlisted in the Scottish Horse in 1914 and went through the Gallipoli campaign. He then proceeded to Egypt, and thence to the Macedonian front, where he was wounded last year. He was recently drafted to France with his battalion. Cpl Brebner received his education at Harris Academy and served his apprenticeship in the office of Messrs Thoms & Wilkie, architects. His father was a former rector of Harris.

50 years ago

A worker who never stops for tea breaks, never gets tired and does his job as skilfully at the end of the day as at the beginning was put through his paces at Hatfield (Herts) yesterday. His name is Versatran, who is claimed to be the first British-built industrial robot capable of carrying out virtually all the operations which a factory worker can do. Versatran is based on an American device which Hawker Siddeley Dynamics, Ltd, the robot’s makers, have made improvements to.

25 years ago

River Phoenix, the 23-year-old actor who got his start in the coming-of-age film Stand By Me, collapsed and died early yesterday after leaving a nightclub. He was said to have acted strangely before he collapsed but the cause of death was not known, said Deputy Bill Martin of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Detectives were called in to investigate because “it is unusual for someone of that age to die like this,” Martin said. He was rushed to hospital and died 50 minutes after arrival.

One year ago

A police sniper had murderer Robert Mone in his sights on the day of a notorious Dundee school shooting but was ordered not to kill him. Today is the 50th anniversary of soldier’s crime spree when, armed with a shotgun, he terrorised St John’s Roman Catholic High School, holding a class hostage and murdering pregnant teacher Nanette Hanson. Retired police inspector Jim Melville said a rooftop marksman had the opportunity to shoot Mone before Mrs Hanson was killed.