125 Years Ago - 1893

Considerable sorrow will be felt throughout Burley by the many friends of the late Mrs. E. Atkinson, of Rosebank Villas, Burley, who died at her residence about 10 o’clock on Friday night last, after only a short attack of bronchial pneumonia, resulting, it is supposed, from a cold caught during a railway journey on the previous Friday.

Mr William Lawson who left Yeadon for Australia in 1876, and who is now settled at Toowong, Queensland, has written the following letter to his family regarding his experiences of the great floods which recently occurred: - “Since I last wrote to you our colony has been visited with a most terrible flood, the like of which was never before known here. Hundreds of dwellings have been swept down the river, leaving thousands homeless; and destruction and distress is on every hand.

100 Years Ago - 1918

Salt for table - Remove, by scraping, every particle of dirt from a lump of salt; dry it before the fire - do not put it very close. When thoroughly dry, place it in a sheet of clean white paper, fold it in a cloth, and roll it to an impalpable powder with the rolling pin; or grate two pieces together so as to produce fine salt.

At Otley Police Court on Friday, Police-Sergeant Till was presented with the silver medal of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, for diving into the River Wharfe while it was in full flood, and rescuing a dog, in January last. Sergeant Till is a holder of the Royal Humane Society’s bronze medal, granted to him for descending a well and recovering the bodies of two men, who had been overcome with carbonic acid gas at Seacroft in June, 1910.

75 Years Ago - 1943

Some revealing facts of the difficulties with which housewives in India are faced are contained in a letter received by Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Brownfoot, of Pool, from their daughter, Mrs. A. Mallinson, who lives in Bombay. The letter was four months in transit. Suggesting that the British housewives should “thank their lucky stars” for the institution of food rationing, Mrs. Mallinson writes of the constantly rising prices and of the increasing difficulty of obtaining certain commodities. Flour, for instance, is virtually unobtainable now.

The first Otley man to return from North Africa is Gunner William Edward Kilmartin , whose wife lives at 20 Sunnydale Crescent, Otley. Gunner Kilmartin’s wife received a telegram on Saturday morning from her husband containing the welcome news “Arrived England. Home soon.” This news was officially confirmed on Monday morning when it was stated that he was in hospital in South Wales.

50 Years Ago - 1968

Damage estimated at £90 has been caused to street lamps and traffic bollards in Ilkley during the past four weeks. Lamps in Cowpasture Road have been subject to vandalism whilst the traffic bollard at the Mayfield Road/Little Lane junction has been damaged. Some lamps have been repaired four times during the past four weeks.

Sailing for Kenya tomorrow is Mrs May Yarker, of Moor Lane, Burley-in-Wharfedale.She is to spend three months there at the invitation of the Nairobi branch of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society. During that time she will be teaching Scottish dancing to the various clubs and in the schools, and adjudicating at the annual festival.

25 Years Ago - 1993

A medieval expert has written a new book in tribute to a forgotten saint. Dr Frank Bottomley has dedicated his sixth paperback book to Saint Robert of Knaresborough - a man who was one of the most famous saints in the medieval age. The Burley Woodhead author is a lecturer on medieval churches, abbeys, and castles.

The Ilkley band, the Peace Artists, will appear at a concert and social evening in Guiseley next week to raise funds for the campaign against pit closures. Pudsey and Aireborough Campaign Against Pit Closures has close links with Sharlston colliery near Wakefield, which is earmarked for closure with the loss of hundreds of jobs.