THE ARCHIVES

100 years ago

In many churches in Dundee thanksgiving services were held for the victory of the Allied cause. There were large congregations and sermons, prayer and praise were appropriate to the event, a feature of the praise in a number of churches being the “Te Deum.” Rev A.W. Ferguson, in St Mary’s Parish Church, said that last Monday was a day to live for . It was a day for which millions had died. Rev Wm Nicolson of the UF Church, said Germany’s tyranny had received its death blow.

50 years ago

Two elderly sisters barricaded themselves in their Stirlingshire farmhouse at the weekend as men, armed with a shotgun, tried to shoot their way in. Yesterday police throughout Scotland were on the look-out for a number of men who are believed to have made off in a car following the incident. The siege of West Wallacestone Cottage, near Falkirk, began as darkness fell. Christina Binnie (67) and her sister Margaret (63) were alone in the cottage when the dog barking alerted them.

25 years ago

A painting discovered in the back of a cupboard is expected to fetch more than £30,000 at auction. For 60 years it lay unnoticed in an old house in Scotland. It was inherited in the 1960s by its present owner, an opera singer. A dealer offered him £5 for it – so he decided to keep it. And for the next 30 years it travelled the world with him. The singer moved recently and asked Sotheby’s to value the picture. Astonished experts said it was by Italian artist Guiseppe Castiglione, who settled in China.

One year ago

Perth’s police chief is demanding action to control the sale of drones and laser pens to children. Chief Inspector Ian Scott hit out after a series of incidents in which the devices – which can be bought for as little as £5 online – were put to potentially dangerous use. He is urging parents to highlight the dangers in the run-up to Christmas when they may be given as gifts. He said a laser pen was shone at a military plane over Perth recently and there have been attempts to fly drones into Perth Prison.