May 5, 1866

A WEEK before, the D&S had reported on how Middleton One Row parish clerk Humphrey Lee had become the latest victim of the rabies epidemic sweeping the district. He had passed away foaming at the mouth, raving and occasionally barking six weeks after being bitten by an infected dog. Durham magistrates ordered that all strays should be rounded up and destroyed within 24 hours, and Darlington police were now "hunting up four footed offenders".

The D&S said: "They may appropriately by characterised as being impartial in the discharge of this portion of their duties, for bloodhound and terrier, retriever and messit, share a like fate. After 24 hours, the victims are taken to the tan pits and drowned.

"Between 25 and 30 have thus been destroyed. All owners of dogs should be careful now and keep their animals under proper control."

May 6, 1916

ONE hundred years ago, the D&S reported on a "Northallerton hero" who had twice been awarded a bravery medal by the Royal Humane Society.

Cpl David Wray had been born in Kirby Wiske and had joined the Royal Marines at the age of 14. Six years later he joined the North Riding Constabulary, and "one cold frosty night" in March 1914, he had been on duty in Whitby when he heard a splash and a commotion near the swing bridge. Realising the nature of the emergency, he took off his outer clothes and dived in to the harbour, soon discovering in the darkness an old man clinging to a pontoon for dear life.

Swimming on his back, Cpl Wray dragged him to safety, and won his first medal.

War then broke out, and Cpl Wray rejoined the Marines and sailed to China on HMS Triumph, where he was involved in a bombardment and captured several German ships before sailing for the Dardanelles. There, Triumph was torpedoed, and Cpl Wray was rescued from the sea by a dreadnought.

A few months later, said the D&S, he was on a beach when he saw a coble containing four sailors capsize 250 yards from an island in the Aegean Sea. He waded and swam to their rescue, and despite being thrown by the waves onto the rocks, managed to save at least one life, for which he was awarded his second medal.

The D&S reported that he was briefly back in Northallerton to marry his sweetheart, Edith Watson, at the Methodist chapel. They were to embark on a quick honeymoon in Whitby before he returned to active service.

May 7, 1966

THE D&S reported that Fred Carter had been awarded an Imperial Service Medal for his 43 years' service as a postman. He had joined at Hutton Rudby in 1923, and for the last 18 years had been delivering at Swainby, where he had walked 4,940 miles a year. Therefore, said the paper, in his 18 years at the foot of the Cleveland Hills, he had covered 88,920 miles. Despite having just turned 60 and retired, he was still doing his rounds in a temporary capacity. "He's just like Felix," said the paper. "He keeps on walking."