THE ARCHIVES

100 years ago

One of the most tragic affairs to have occurred in the Vale of Leven took place yesterday in the Public Park, Alexandria, which is situated near to the Vale of Leven Football Club’s ground. It seems that a number of youths had been engaged in a game of football. An apprentice riveter Hugh McKenna came along and asked to get a game. As the sides had been picked, he was not allowed to join in. McKenna struck a youth who was felled by the blow and who died on arrival at hospital.

50 years ago

Computers dream just like human beings, Dr Christopher Evans, one of Britain’s leading research workers into human psychology and computer behaviour, told the Hospital Physicists Association conference yesterday. Dr Evans showed on a screen the questions which he had put to a specially designed computer and its answers. At first the computer gave accurate answers, but the more information that was loaded on it, the more confused the answers became.

25 years ago

Marks and Spencer are set to undertake a massive £5 million investment in Dundee through the expansion and improvement of their existing store in the city’s Murraygate. The floorspace in the store will increase by more than 50% in the upgrading, which will see substantial improvements in customer facilities. Store manager Robert Winter said: “The improvements will start this week but they will be kept very much backstage just now and the customer will not actually see any of the work until after Christmas .”

One year ago

The expansion of an Angus landfill site to take ash waste from Dundee’s DERL incinerator has been given the go-ahead in the face of opposition from two community councils. Angus development standards committee members unanimously approved the bid by Carnoustie firm DJ Laing for the extension to the existing Petterden waste management and recycling site, east of the A90 Dundee to Aberdeen dual carriageway.