FROM OUR ARCHIVE: It is March 1998 and these youngsters who were students at Northallerton College were getting into swing of things at Romanby Golf Club as part of an initiative to draw more young people to the sport. Who were they and how many of them took up golf in later life? Let From Our Archive know at dst@nne.co.uk

From this newspaper 150 years ago. – Northern Counties Fat Cattle Show. – The annual exhibition of this flourishing society will be held on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, next week, and it promises to be in every respect a most successful one, and probably one of the best that the society has had since its formation. The sheds for the housing of the cattle in the Market-place will be completed today (Saturday). Amongst the many liberal supporters of the society, we may mention the name of Mr Sussex Milbanke, of Barningham Hall, a true and consistent friend to agriculture and everything that tends to promote its prosperity. This gentleman, who has kindly consented to act as croupier at the annual dinner, (which will take place at the Sun Inn, at two o'clock in the afternoon of Thursday, under the presidency of the Hon. W E Duncombe, MP) has, with a spirit that does him every credit, sent a donation of £5 to the funds of the society. The railway companies will run cheap trains on each of the three days of the show, bills announcing which have been extensively circulated. The poultry will be exhibited in the large new covered market, and the cattle, sheep, pigs, &c., in the shed in the Market-place, the erection of which, as we have already stated, will be finished today. At an early hour on Wednesday morning the judges will commence their onerous duties, and at two o'clock on the same day the exhibition will open and continue open until six o'clock in the evening, the charge for admission being 2s 6d.

From this newspaper 100 years ago. – A public meeting was held in the Town Hall, Northallerton, on Monday evening, for the purpose of founding a Volunteer Training Corps in affiliation with the Central Association of Voluntary Training Corps, London. The chairman, Mr John Hutton, said they were met on the occasion of the gravest period which this country had passed through since that great war in the 18th century which terminated with Waterloo in 1815. This was suddenly declared at the beginning of August, and he thought that we should be most truly thankful that we had at the head of military affairs of this country men experienced in the Boer War – Sir John French, the General who succeeded him at Aldershot, and the Generals of the War Office and on the Army Council, who trained our soldiers in the very highest forms of modern military details, teaching them everything that could be known in scientific warfare. The consequence was that when our Army went into France they were able by the lessons which had been taught them, by the discipline which they had learnt, not only to face the enemy with great bravery and skill, but to endure without flinching the terrible retirement from Mons, which was done in a manner worthy of the very finest troops in the world. Since that time they have proved themselves indeed worthy of the best traditions of the British Army. Never in any part of their history had British troops behaved with greater bravery, greater discipline, and greater endurance than the Army under Sir John French during the present war. (Applause). When the war was declared the whole country rose like one man, absolutely united, round the King and his Ministers. All party feeling in politics was set to one side, and personal animosities disappeared. They were all united to resist the enemy. In a way that he did not believe had been seen in any country in the world, certainly not in this country, the whole nation and Empire banded itself together without hesitation to resist those who were attacking us. It was not only in England that they found this great unanimity. Our Colonies, Canada, Australia, and the others, and India itself had rallied round the Mother Country, and supported her in her just rights. This was, he thought, a grand testimonial to the methods of England's rule during the past centuries. Instead of our Colonies revolting from us, we had such an affectionate hold upon them that in time of trouble they stood by us, and would fight for us to the end. When the call was made to the young men of the country to the extent of a million and a half they joined the fighting forces of the King, and set the world to be trained in order to reinforce the Army in France.

From this newspaper 50 years ago. – The "second wave" of Northallerton water rebels, those from the rural area went to court to Wednesday to answer summons for non-payment of their water rates withheld deliberately as a protest against increased charges. A total of 27 people owing about £100 in all were summoned and all were ordered by the chairman Mr J T Weighell to pay their outstanding rates within 14 days. In October over 60 people from the Northallerton urban area were summoned for withholding part of their water rate as a protest against the charges imposed by the newly formed Northallerton and Dales Water Board. The new rate had doubled to one of 2s 9d in the £. One of the "rebels" Mr C T B Wilson of Osmotherley told the court on Wednesday that when he had moved to Osmotherley with a young family and was using a lot of water his water rate for the year was 21s 10d. This year, with his family grown up and his consumption of water much less his water rate was £18 17s 4d. Mr Wilson said that if the water was being sold as a business undertaking he could take his custom elsewhere and would do so. "The new Board at Richmond has wage bill of £10,000 and the area it covers cannot finance this amount. The Minister of Housing and Local Government who thinks it can, should be the one before this court," Mr Wilson said. Mr D M Willoughby one of the original members of the "action group" formed to campaign against the new Board's charges was at court to represent most of those summoned and said in a statement. "I do not think that the rate levied by the Northallerton and Dales Water Board is valid. I maintain that they have contravened the 1945 Water Act where it states that if a rate is fixed it should not be altered unless there are exceptional circumstances, for five years."