125 YEARS AGO - 1892

The free meal which was provided in the Temperance Home, Yeadon, on Saturday afternoon last, for those in needy circumstances consequent upon the severe depression in trade, was partaken of by between 400 and 500 persons. All the necessaries for the meal, which consisted of soup and bread, and buns to take home afterwards, was very generously provided by Mr Wm. Murgatroyd, of Moorfield Mills, Yeadon, and the arrangements were carried out by the members of the Yeadon Friends Adults School.

In the Town Hall. Yeadon, on Friday evening last, a coloured man named Mr. Umbetiqua Shanghanghamo delivered a lecture on Africa, dealing more especially with Mandingo land, of which the lecturer is a native, and the habits and customs of the people. Mr. Shanghanghamo, who is a very fine specimen of his race, is studying medicine in this country.

100 YEARS AGO - 1917

Captain Geoffrey Fison, M.C. , of the King’s Royal Riffles, eldest son of Sir Frederick William Fison, Bart, Chairman of Messrs.W. Fison and Co., (Limited), Burley-in-Wharfedale, who was missing, is now a priosoner of war in Germany, and news has been received from him that he is well. Captain Fison was wounded on the Somme last year, and was awarded the Military Cross.

News has been received in Yeadon that Signaller Harry Sizeland Rigg, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, lost his life when his vessel was sunk by the enemy. Signaller Rigg, who was in his twentieth year, gave promise of a very successful career. When a scholar at Yeadon South View Council Schools he won a scholarship tenable at the Bradford Grammar School for three years afterwards extended to five years, and at the time of joining the naval forces he was in the employ of the Bradford District Bank. He was the second son of Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Riff, Ivegate, Yeadon.

75 Years Ago – 1942

Children taking part in Christmas plays at Ilkley Church of England Boys School were as follows: Class 1: “The Happiest Man” - Ivan Taylor, Geoffrey Cawood, Peter Makepiece, John Head, Ronald Young, James Bradbury. “The Bag Pudding” - Ronald Gale, Dennis Ruddlesden, Peter Barker, Tom Lister, George Parkinson, Walter Lupton.

The 190,000th dinner was served at the Ilkley Communal Feeding Centre. The lucky ticket was taken by Mr Bernard Lupton, who received a free dinner and a present.

50 Years Ago - 1967

The Grove Picture House is to close at the end of the year. The building has been acquired by Ilkley Urban Council and will be demolished as early as possible in the new year. The picture house passes to the Council with vacant possession at the end of January.

It was at the Grove Cinema at the beginning of 1930 that permanent equipment for the showing of the first “talkies”at Ilkley was installed.

The chances of the first white Christmas since 1938 are fading with the milder weather that had replaced the cold spell that came in at the beginning of the week. Snow at Christmas is in fact quite a rare occurrence and in the past 50 years it has happened only four times. Previous white Christmasses in that period have been in 1923, 1927, and 1916.The recent cold spell brought the lowest temperatures of the winter with 15 degrees of ground frost.

25 Years Ago – 1992

People in the North are preparing to spend more on Christmas than those in the South. This was one of the findings in the latest research for Prudential’s Family Fortunes index, which revealed that almost every family was expecting to spend at least five per cent more than the £455 they thought they would pay out a year ago.

More than eight out of ten people living in Ilkley believe the town needs a bypass. This is the long awaited finding of a public consultation questionnaire first issued by the Department of Transport in 1991. The release of the survey figures follows confirmation last week that the DoT wants to build an amended version of its Red Route A bypass through Middleton.