THE ARCHIVES

100 years ago

Mr Andrew Robertson, foreman shipwright at the yard of R.&W. Hawthorn, Leslie & Co., Ltd, Hebburn, holds a record probably unequalled in the shipbuilding industry. He has been responsible for the launching in this yard of 450 vessels, which, placed end to end, would measure 27 miles. Mr Robertson, a rugged, kindly Scotsman from Perth, is 82 years of age and still full of vigour. He has worked with his firm for 57 years, during which he has slept in only once.

50 years ago

Scotland, more noted as nonqualifiers than qualifiers in the World Cup business, were given a tremendous shot in the arm for Mexico in two years’ time. From Rome, where SFA secretary Willie Allan and others are attending the UEFA congress, comes news which should enhance the team’s prospects of qualifying. For Scotland, in the same section as West Germany, Austria and Cyprus have arranged dates against those countries – which means three home games in a row.

25 years ago

A BBC cameraman yesterday told how he fought for his life when a routine filming job went horribly wrong. Mr Gordon Penfold, 47, temporarily based at studios in Dundee, was engulfed in scalding, suffocating steam as he travelled through Fife in the cab of the Union of South Africa. He was one of five people taken to hospital after the terrifying ordeal aboard the classic steam locomotive, wellknown to thousands of rail enthusiasts. His condition was described as “satisfactory”.

One year ago

Theresa May’s decision to call a snap general election looked to have backfired after an exit poll predicted she would lose the Tory majority. It suggested the UK was heading for a hung parliament, with the Conservatives on 314 seats, 12 short of the 326 they need for an absolute majority. It also predicted the SNP would drop from 56 MPs to 34, with Labour on 266, and the Liberal Democrats on 14. The result indicated that Mrs May had failed in her bid to get a greater mandate for Brexit.