Our picture was taken at the end of the 1935-36 soccer season and show the Ilkley British Legion football team who were the Wharfedale League champions

125 years ago

In the hall of Ilkley College, Edward Worsdell BA, delivered a lecture on Palestine to the students attending the college and other guests. The lecturer was attired in flowing robes and turban, and would have passed muster in a crowd for an intelligent Oriental. He was further assisted in his illustrations by a large map showing the route travelled. A tall college youth, with the aid of a white tablecloth and veil, made a very presentable Eastern lady.

The long protracted business connected with the allotment and enclosure of Beamsley and Langbar moors seems to be drawing to a close. On Langbar Moor, a cricket and recreation ground covering ten acres has been staked off and drained, and on Beamsley Moor, 20 acres have been set apart for recreation and public usage.

The Memorial Cross for the late Lord F Cavendish which the Bradford Cemetery Company have for some time past been at work upon for the tenantry fo the Duke of Devonshire''s Bolton Abbey estates has now been completed, and temporarily erected in the Undercliffe Cemetery, prior to its removal to Bolton Abbey, to give the public chance to inspect it.

100 years ago

The Burley-in-Wharfedale Council claim that they have solved the motor dust problem by coating the Macadam roads with tar. They tried several stretches of road in the centre of the village during last year, and these have been favourably commented upon by many people who have inspected them.

Mr Martin Hawksworth and Trade Unions - A letter was read before the meeting of the Wharfedale Party of Guardians on Friday stating that the board room will be let to Friendly Societies, Trade Unions and other similar organisations. This led Mr Martin Hawksworth , one of Ilkley's representatives, to voice his opinion in the following terms. "I think Trades Unions are the ruination of this country. (laughter).

The Volunteer force is now defunct and in its place we have a Territorial Force. The Leeds Engineers have still existence as engineers, although destined to fulfill other duties than in the main fell to their lot under the old regime."

75 years ago

Is Addingham Show to continue? This is the question which was faced at a meeting organised in connection with the Addingham Agricultural Society, when Captain Graham Brown presided over a small attendance. The desirability of having a show this year was discussed from various angles and it was pointed out that the chief difficulty was not a financial one but the lack of workers to run the show. It was finally decided to issue a circular to every householder explaining the position.

Frances M Hutchison, 19, single, of Ossett, was summoned for stealing a diamond ring, valued at £14, the property of Mrs Vera C Lewis, by whom she had been employed at the Rose and Crown Hotel, Ilkley. PC Lawrence, of Ossett, said the defendant had made no attempt to sell the ring and, in fact, had been wearing it as an engagement ring. The defendant was bound over for 12 months.

The question in everybody's mind at the moment is whether Eastertide will repeat the beautiful weather of the past two or three weekends or whether there will be a recurrence of the cold, north easterly winds and the hail and thunderstorm which came last Eastertide. The habit of Easter-time at Ilkley still continues as an inheritance for the younger generation. When to this old-established custom is added the modern development of walking, which has been given the ugly name of hiking', the steady increase in the popularity of cycling and the growth of motor transport, there is every reason to anticipate that, given fine weather, Ilkley's Bank holiday crowds will be greater than ever.

50 years ago

Following a report by a Leeds party of hikers of a bomb nose down in the ground at Crow Well to the north of Denton village, an officer from a bomb disposal unit visited the spot on Wednesday and took the bomb away. It was a live two-inch mortar smoke bomb and it was considered that it was in the position it had originally fallen after being fired. Police searched the vicinity on Tuesday and found no trace of any other bombs.

One of the coldest Easter holiday periods within living memory, with frost and snow experienced at times, resulted in a minimum number of holidaymakers in Ilkley last weekend. There were more visitors in the town on Monday and a large number of hikers. Generally, however, there was little to indicate this was the first Bank holiday of the year. There were few people on the moor and the riverside was practically deserted. Football matches had disappointingly poor support.

A man who was partly responsible for establishing nursing organisations in Ilkley and Ben Rhydding during his 47 years' service in ambulance work, Divisional Superintendent JH Roe of the Ilkley Branch of the St John Ambulance Brigade, has been awarded the honour of a Serving Brother of the Brigade.

25 years ago

A poem by poet Cyril Riley, of Skipton Road, Ilkley, has been translated into German and published in the poetry anthology of the Regensburger Schiftstellergruppe International. The work, entitled A Spark to Light a Dying Flame' was later broadcast on German radio.

The Ilkley Area Methodist church is sponsoring a debate on nuclear disarmament at Ben Rhydding on Tuesday. The motion - That this house believes unilateralists are multilateralists who mean it' - will be proposed by Mr Colin Hunter, chairman of Bradford Peace Group and seconded by Mrs Mary Fitzherald of Ilkley Peace Action.

In recent years there has been a revolution in outdoor eating in this country. Replacing the stodgy sandwiches and pork pies of yesteryear are sumptuous salads and charcoal flavoured meat cooked over the barbecue. Duck is an excellent choice for summer entertaining.

10:36am Thursday 10th April 2008

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