"May we all live to have some happy times together in dear old Addingham"

We have repeatedly been told that much of the Otley market butter is of so unequal a quality that it has got into disrepute. If 80 per cent, of margarine, and only 20 per cent of genuine butter, is occasionally sold as the pure, unadulterated article, there is no wonder that the general reputation has to suffer. If Otley market is to sustain a reputation, which it would be most unwise to lose - for in the past, at any rate, it stood in very high regard for its delicious butter - some method ought to be adopted for safeguarding it.

Death of the Duke of Clarence - The news was broken to the Queen at Osborne as gently as possible, and it is satisfactory to know that the great shock Her Majesty experienced has not affected her health. The Queen is deeply stricken with grief at the loss of her favourite grandson.

100 Years Ago - 1917

Sergeant Horace Hustwick, in a letter to Mr C Flint, Addingham, says:-"I am pleased to say I am quite well and hope that all are the same at Addingham. It does feel grand to say that after the shock you all got about me getting killed. It came about this way. Unfortunately we had a sergeant killed on that date, and the lieutenant put the information onto my letters in a mistake. I have seen Tom Throup twice since he came back, and Patsy McShee, Teddy Lister and Wilf Ettenfield, and all are in the pink. Give my best wishes to all at Addingham and may we all live to have some happy times together in dear old Addingham. There isn't a village in France like it. Let us keep smiling and hope for the best."

Frank Atkinson, of Addingham, who is serving on H.M.S. Astrea, writing to Mr C. Flint, from East Africa, says:-"We are having a hot, but rather quiet time out here; we are not far from the Equator, so you will have an idea how hot it is. In spite of this, on the mountain tops there is sometimes snow to be seen, and you ought to see the longing look some of us have as we as we gaze at the top, wishing we were up there.

75 Years Ago - 1942

The death of sheep on the moors at Ilkley during severe wintry weather was the subject of discussion at a meeting of the Ilkley Auxiliary of the R.S.P.C.A. Canon R. W. Harris, the Chairman said he did not understand why farmers did not in their own interests see to it that the sheep were properly fed in severe weather rather than lose sheep by death.

The Rev. W. K. Still, Pastor of Ilkley Baptist Church for 11 years, announced his retirement on completion of 40 years in the Ministry.

50 Years Ago - 1967

Otley has two of the first policewomen in the West Riding to be employed on traffic patrol duties. W.P.c. Glenis Ward and W.P.c. Anne Burton. Otley and Shipley are the two sections chosen by the West Riding Constabulary for the first four Policewomen to be employed on traffic patrol duties. Although policewomen have for many years undertaken specialised duties, including work among women and children and detective duties, they have not, in the West Riding at least, been employed on traffic patrol until this week.

There are many of the older residents who still regret the policy of a past Council in replacing forest type trees in the Ilkley streets by the smaller flowering variety. In the old days, they say, there was some pleasure in seeing these larger trees come into bud and first leaf in the spring time, and watching their fresh green appearance and provision of shade in the summer, and their changing colours in the autumn. The loss of those seasonal changes hardly has been replaced by these piddling trees in the Grove and elsewhere with their few days splash of blossom.

25 Years Ago - 1992

Wharfedale General Hospital is about to introduce keyhole surgery. The new technique enables doctors to perform certain operations using equipment small enough to pass through a small cut in the body. The £40,000 equipment is on order and as soon as it arrives it will be used on suitable patients.

With work experience in the minds of many senior pupils at present, Guiseley School is hoping to be one of the first in the area to make this an international event. Following the lead of "into Europe in 1992" arrangements are already underway for a group of sixth form students to take part in a work experience programme based in Beauvais, France, later this year.