FROM OUR ARCHIVE: The new starters at Marwood Church of England School, Great Ayton, in September 2001. This generation should now be at university or have started work. Where are they now? Let From Our Archive know at dst@nne.co.uk.

 

From this newspaper 150 years ago. – The annual Darlington Horse Fair which extends over two days, commenced on Tuesday, in the Market Place, and was this year held somewhat earlier than on previous occasions. Owing probably to this circumstance and to the fact that the Northallerton horse fair, which is generally considered the greatest equine show of the year in this district, will take place on the 18th of next month, the display of first-class animals this year showed signs of deterioration. There was, however, a pretty fair number of horses exhibited for sale, the aggregate would probably be 300. There were some really excellent hunters shown, a few of which fetched £100 each. Horses for agricultural purposes sold from £20 to £40, ponies being exchanged for £10 and sums ranging to £25. There were not, however, many sales effected, and where sellers did meet with buyers they did not consider the prices obtained remunerative. Several animals were take home unsold. Amongst the equines offered for sale were the horses belonging to the Darlington Street Railway Company. The attendance of purchasers was limited, and with the exception of a few dealers from Leeds and Newcastle, they were chiefly local men.

From this newspaper 100 years ago. – On and after tonight the licensed houses in the borough of Stockton will close at 9pm, instead of 10pm and will re-open at the same hour, viz., 8am. An order to this effect was made by the licensing justices on Thursday, and they thus bring Stockton into conformity with the neighbouring towns of Middlesbrough and Thornaby, where the reduction of the hours from 10pm to 9pm, has been made by order of the military. The order in regard to North Yorkshire, although it was applicable to towns within three miles of the places affected, was ruled not to include Stockton, which was in a separate military command. The Chairman of the Stockton Licensing Magistrates (Sir Frank Brown) said on Thursday that he knew an order similar to that obtaining in North Yorkshire was to be made for the counties of Durham and Northumberland, and under the circumstances the magistrates felt they would only be conforming to the wishes of the military by further reducing the hours. Sir Frank went on to say that bona-fida residents in hotels would not be interfered with, but would retain their right to be supplied with reasonable refreshment. The order, however, would apply to clubs, and also to shops having licenses to sell liquor. Of course, shops would not be affected in regard to the sale of other articles. Had it not been for the wishes of the military, Sir Frank made it quite clear that there had been no evidence before the magistrates as to the necessity for a further reduction of hours. In fact, statistics laid before them showed that the licensed houses had been well conducted. In October the cases of drunkenness decreased from 66 to 52, as compared with last year, in November there was a further reduction from 65 to 47, and in December the number was as low as 28, as against 68 in 1913.

From this newspaper 50 years ago. – "It's a pretty tough course. By the end of their training, we expect them to know everything about the job." That was what Mr Bryan Forrester, area sales manager for the Northern-based airline, BKS, had to say on Wednesday about the training scheme for air hostesses which the company is inaugurating at Teesside (Middleton) Airport in March. The course, which is in two parts will be taken by 30 girls. The first part is due to begin on March 1, with 14 girls. The second will follow on March 15 with 16 girls. The girls' initial training will consist of 14 days' concentrated training. They will become familiar with the Customs and Immigration facilities in the countries served by BKS, and will earn geography and currency conversion - something an air hostess cannot very well do without. They will also be taught how to cope with emergencies in mid-flight. "By an emergency," said Mr Forrester, "we mean a sudden birth on board the aircraft, or a person who has to have oxygen quickly." In addition thee girls will hear lectures on how the aircraft is loaded and how it flies, and will be taught the structure of fares. An examination comes at the end of the initial training. If they are successful the girls fly as "third" hostesses until they have completed 14 days' supernumerary training, when they become "second" hostesses. It then takes another month for them to work their way up to the rank of "first" hostess. "In all the course will take about two months," said Mr Forrester. "The girls will attend lectures from 9am until 5.30pm and will be given questions to answer in their spare time. When they come back here the next morning, we expect them to have answered the set questions and know all about that particular subject." No fees are payable. The training is free and the girls will stay in hotels close to the airport." What qualifications does the prospective air hostess need? Two GCE "O" level passes in English and Maths are essential and it is advantageous if the girl has had some nursing experience.