THE ARCHIVES

100 years ago

“You pretended you were an officer instead of the convicted thief that you are, and got this poor girl to marry you and then robbed her in a most heartless manner,” said Mr D’Eyncourt, magistrate, who passed a sentence of six months’ hard labour on George Alderson , 26, a private in the Cheshire Regiment, charged with stealing £13 6s belonging to his wife Lily Anderson. The girl was employed as a waitress in a music hall. Anderson posed as an army captain and induced her to marry him.

50 years ago

About 500 chanting, gaudily-dressed teenagers stood outside the US Embassy in London protesting against the call-up of Davy Jones, the Manchester-born member of the pop group The Monkees, into the American Army. An Embassy spokesman said that the demonstration was orderly. Two girls were allowed inside to present a petition with 672 names to officials protesting against Jones’ call-up. The teenagers converged on the Embassy after marching from Marble Arch.

25 years ago

Sooty, the loveable glove puppet has been protected from toy pirates – by being trademarked around the world. The little yellow bear, favourite with generations of British children, is set to become big in Japan and America. Marketing chiefs expect him to take on the likes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Bart Simpson in the lucrative children’s merchandising field. Sooty was “born” in 1948 when Yorkshire engineer Harry Corbett created the character to entertain his family.

One year ago

A 103-year-old from Dundee who puts her long life down to a love of spicy dishes has been crowned a curry queen. Margaret Phillips, a resident at Balcarres care home in Broughty Ferry, was dubbed the ‘nan who loves naan’, thanks to her passion for Indian cuisine. Margaret, who has 16 great-grandchildren, was born in Dundee in 1912, but spent almost 15 years in India with her second husband. She was named the 2016 Curry Lover of the Year at the Scottish Curry Awards in Glasgow.