9:40am Saturday 13th March 2010
The half-yearly ordinary meeting of the Yorkshire Dales Railway was held at the Black Horse Hotel, Skipton. There had been a decrease in passenger traffic, but that was accounted for because of the unusually wet summer, which had spoiled the holiday traffic. There was, however, an increase in traffic from minerals as the Swinden limeworks were well-established.
A lecture on mosquitoes and tropical diseases was held by the Craven Naturalists Association. A large audience heard an interesting lecture which showed how improved drainage systems had, to a great extent, done away with the breeding places of mosquitoes and had lessened the number of deaths.
One of the most successful functions ever was held at the Olympia Skating Rink, Skipton, the occasion being a summer dress carnival. The climatic conditions favoured the event and the attendance was put at 230.
All Saints’ Parish Church, Earby, was badly damaged by fire. The choir vestry was gutted, the organ destroyed and part of the chancel was scorched. The whole interior was blackened by smoke, but grave though the damage was, it could have been much worse had it not been for the actions of Mr S Lawson, who raised the alarm, and the initiative shown by Earby Fire Brigade.
Mr J Aldred, Barnoldswick’s entrant in the John O Groats to Lands End walk, said he was feeling fine in a phone call to the Craven Herald. Mr Aldred, 69, was the second-oldest competitor in the race.
West Marton Dairies was to be taken over by Leeds firm Associated Dairies and Farm Stores Ltd in a £150,000 deal. The dairy was started in 1900 in West Marton by the Roundell family, then owners of the Gledstone estate. A member of the family, Col R F Roundell, was for several years Conservative MP for the Skipton division. In 1920, the estate, including the dairy, was purchased by Sir Amos Nelson. About 50 people were employed at West Marton.
Well-known Skipton doctor Michael Sweet-Escott retired after practising in the town for more than 30 years. The Dorset-born GP started his working life in the RAF and took advantage of one of the first post-war grants to ex-servicemen to switch career. He qualified at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London in 1951 and did his GP training with Dr Eric Townsend in Cornwall. Dr Townsend was from Skipton and when he heard of the death of Dr Annesley Fisher in Skipton, he suggested Dr Sweet-Escott apply to the Otley Street surgery, where he spent the rest of his working life.
MP John Watson was demanding answers from Transport Minister Lynda Chalker about Skipton’s Driving Test Centre, where the waiting list for tests had reached 20 weeks. Mr Watson said the solution was to have two examiners permanently based in the town.
A West Craven company laid off its entire workforce and went into voluntary liquidation. Despite a healthy order book, Kelbrook Metal Products closed its doors to its 24 employees. The rainwater goods manufacturer, which was established in 1946, blamed the move on the recession in the building trade and the non-payment of a £35,000 order.
Craven College’s plans for a £900,000 purpose-built art, design and media centre were given a boost when the district’s planners granted planning permission. The new two-storey building – at the Aireville campus in Skipton – would have 21 rooms, including TV studio, video editing suite and a recording studio.
One of the first men to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal for bravery was to be honoured in his former home village. Gunner and wireless operator John Tippett, who lived in Sutton in the 1930s, was hailed a hero after shooting down a German Messerschmidt and damaging another during a skirmish over the North Sea in World War Two. John, who had died several years before, always refused to talk about his war exploits. But now members of Sutton Parish Council were considering erecting a stone monument to him in the village’s peace garden.
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