THE ARCHIVES

100 years ago

American Army, France – Reports from one end of the battle zone to the other say that, except for a few minor localities, the German offensive so far is a complete failure. New prisoners say that they are convinced that the Germans are beaten. We shot down an enemy carrier pigeon east of Chateau Thierry carrying a message from a German division saying that the situation was serious and no chance was seen of making any further progress in that locality for that division.

50 years ago

Mr Jack Ashley, MP for Stoke-onTrent South, had an unusually attentive and crowded chamber when he introduced his Disablement Income Commission Bill in the Commons. It was his first speech in the House since an illness which left him totally deaf. He learned to lip-read and proved yesterday that he has mastered the tehnique successfully. Mr Ashley said there was an urgent need to establish a commission which could investigate immediately the problems of the disabled.

25 years ago

Flooding chaos reigned throughout the east of Scotland due to an unfortunate combination of incessant rain and high tides. Business premises and houses fell victim to the flood waters as hours of rain swamped towns throughout the region. Drivers were also hit as roads were blocked and conditions worsened. Police and fire services battled to contain the chaos and were called in to relieve the worst of the flooding. The army was put on stand-by in Dundee as the situation neared crisis point.

One year ago

A global investigation has accused a Muslim convert from Tayside of teaching insurgents how to use deadly improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The report by London-based charity Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) was undertaken with assistance from the Nato Counter-IED Centre of Excellence. Dundee-born James McLintock – known as the ‘Tartan Taliban’ – has been included in the dossier by AOAV into the “regional and transnational networks that facilitate IED use”.