THE ARCHIVES

100 years ago

Farm butter was on sale in Dundee yesterday at 5s per lb. The control in the price of butter was removed yesterday and the price immediately rose from the control price of 2s 8d per lb to 5s. A prominent merchant stated to The Courier that he would not be at all surprised if the price reached 6s per lb. This enormous advance was due to the fact that the control price was fixed at an absurdly low rate, but he did not think that butter would get any cheaper while the price of milk remained at its present height.

50 years ago

Scotland will roll out the tartan carpet for the competitors and officials arriving for the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in July. When the teams arrive at the major airports, rail stations and bus terminals, they will be greeted by pipe bands and will be handed an airline-type holdall containing Scottish souvenirs such as tartan scarves and shortbread. One truly Scottish item will be missing however. It has been decided not to include a miniature bottle of whisky as some of the competitors will be under age.

25 years ago

A squadron at RAF Leuchars is to be withdrawn from the base next week after a 20 year association with Fife. The 27 Squadron RAF Regiment, a Rapier missile unit, is being relocated in England. It will become a part regular/part auxiliary force, based at RAF Scampton and later RAF Waddington, near Lincoln. The move, to be officially marked by a parade, will mean around 100 personnel leaving Fife. They will be joined in the new squadron by personnel from other RAF Regiment units.

One year ago

Tayside suffered another jobs blow as building contractor McGill and Co went into administration with the loss of 374 jobs. Staff were summoned to a hotel in Dundee for administrators to deliver the bombshell. Administrators told 374 of the company’s 429 staff they were redundant “with immediate effect”. Workers said they had feared the worst after suppliers stopped providing materials to the company. The redundancies come just three months after Michelin announced plans to end tyre production in Dundee.