Colne Valley Folk (1936) by Ernest Lockwood

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COLNE VALLEY FOLK

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COLNE VALLEY FOLK

THE ROMANCE AND ENTERPRISE OF A TEXTILE STRONGHOLD

BY

ERNEST LOCKWOOD

WITH A FOREWORD BY

THE RT. HON. THE VISCOUNT SNOWDEN

HEATH CRANTON LIMITED 6 FLEET LANE LONDON, E.C.4

1936

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First published in 1936

Printed in Great Britain for Heath Cranton Limited by Northumberland Press Limited, Newcastle on Tyne

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FOREWORD By THE Rt. Hon. THE Viscount SNOWDEN

Tue Colne Valley Folk are typically Yorkshire. I know no part of the West Riding where the sterling qualities of a moorland race have been better preserved. The old dialect still survives in spite of the efforts of a State school- ing to give speech an alien twist. The population maintain a spirit of sturdy independence of thought and action characteristic of all peoples who breathe the air which has swept over wide regions of moor and heather. I represented the constituency in Parliament for nine years. When I was invited to become a candidate for the Division I accepted the invitation because I knew I should be going among my own folk. I had a very happy time among them. Yorkshiremen are proverbially clannish. They have good reasons to regard themselves as the back- bone of England in more senses than one. The hills and valleys of the Pennine range have always been a centre of political activity. Colne Valley has a proud history of association with all the political movements of the last century. It sent its contingent to Peterloo. It led the Luddite rising. It was a hot-bed of Chartist agitation.

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6 FOREWORD

It formed its political Labour Union before the Independent Labour Party came into existence. The rise and development of the Colne Valley to the position of perhaps the largest woollen manufacturing centre in the world, is in a large measure due to the grit of its people. The Manufacturers and Spinners are a race of “* self-made men,” but they have not become a class apart from the rest of the population. It is most important, for historical reasons, that the records of such a district should be preserved, and the writer of this volume has rendered a valuable service in producing this story of its past which is within his own recollection. He has special qualifications for writing such a book. His life has been spent in roaming about the Valley picking up unconsidered trifles which make the social life of the people. The volume will be of interest to readers far

beyond the stone cottages on the bleak and rugged hill- sides of the Valley.

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AUTHOR’S PREFACE

In 1928, I ventured to place on record in the Huddersfield Examiner (on which paper I have been pleased to serve for twenty-three years) some impressions of my (then) twenty- five years’ service in journalism in the Colne Valley. I had no idea that these impressions would create the amount of interest that I was assured they did, and many influential people urged me to publish more fully my reminiscences in some more permanent form. For various reasons the task was not embarked upon until quite recently, when a valued friend and former colleague, Mr. William Linton Andrews (‘“ W.L.A.”’), Editor of the Leeds Mercury, who is well known to radio listeners for his fortnightly broadcast of ‘‘ News of the North,” urged me to undertake the work. My employers readily fell in with the suggestion and gave me full liberty to use anything which had appeared in the Examiner, a concession that I greatly appreciate. Much of the matter has had to be revised and brought down to date, and a great deal of new information has been included. The photograph of the mill scene at Milnsbridge, which appears on the wrapper, I have been able to use by the kind permission of the Leeds Mercury. Many friends have assisted me in various ways, and to them I tender my sincere

thanks.

E.L. 1936.

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CONTENTS

Page ForEworD BY ViscoUNT SNOWDEN . 5 AUTHOR’S PREFACE . 7 Chapter 1. INTRODUCTORY . SI 11. INDUsTRIAL DEVELOPMENT . . 16 (a) THE CROWTHER FAMILY . . 18 (b) JOHN EDWARD CROWTHER’S GENEROSITY I . 23 (c) STORY OF THE FIRTHS ; . 26 (7) A LONG RECORD . 31 (€) BACK TO 1793 . 33 (f) THE FIRM OF MALLINSON . 37 (g) TITUS CALVERLEY AND SONS LTD. - 40 (4) JOB BEAUMONT AND SON LTD. . . i (:) LOCKWOODS OF LINTHWAITE . . 44 (7) PEARSON BROS. LTD. . ; . 48 (k) sSHIRES’S YARN 49 (1) HOYLES’ RAPID GROWTH . 52 (m) LOCKWOODs OF GOLCAR AND MILNSBRIDGE » 55 (n) HIRST AND MALLINSON LTD, . . 57 (0) TWO PROSPEROUS FIRMS . 59 (p) SLAITHWAITE SPINNING CO. LTD. . 60 (7) GLOBE WORSTED CO. LTD. . 63 (r) POGSON AND CO. . 64 (s) BEN HALL AND SON LTD. . . 65 (¢) JOHN W. LEITCH AND CO. LTD. . . 66 (u) A CONCLUDING WORD . . 67 (v) A BIG CUSTOMER - 70

9

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IO CONTENTS

Chapter CHANGES

(a) A MEMORABLE BY-ELECTION (5) A LIBERAL REVIVAL. (c) COMING OF MR. SNOWDEN (2) VISITS OF SUFFRAGETTES (¢) RECORD OF ELECTIONS

Iv. Loca GovERNMENT (a) PROMINENT PEOPLE . (b) SEVERE LOSSES

(c) EDUCATIONAL MATTERS

v. WIDESPREAD CHANGES

(a) MARSDEN. (6) sLAITHWAITE . (c) GOLCAR (d) LINTHWAITE .

(€) MILNSBRIDGE (f) CROSLAND MOOR

(g) LONGWooD . vi. Visits . vir. NortH REGIONAL TRANSMITTER vir. AMONG THE CHURCHES

1x. War-Time Memories , x. SOME INTERESTING CHARACTERS XI. EMBARRASSING EXPERIENCES . Music AND THE DRAMA A MysTEry XIV. GREAT STORM OF 1904 XV. SPORTING REMINISCENCES .

INDEX ;

Page

105 109 Ill

116 116

11g

I2I 124

127

130 131 134 139 142 146 149 153 156 162 167 170 181

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTORY

WHEN writing about the Colne Valley we ought to be clear on what exactly the term means. As generally understood Colne Valley is that part of the district which lies on each side of the River Colne, and stretches from the top of Standedge on the Pennine Chain above Marsden, to Huddersfield, and includes the townships of Marsden, Slaithwaite, Linthwaite, Golcar, Scammonden, and the district of Milnsbridge, which is partly in Linthwaite, partly in Golcar, and partly in the borough of Hudders- field. Bordering Milnsbridge are the districts of Paddock, Longwood, and Crosland Moor, which are within the borough of Huddersfield. The population of the com- bined district at the 1931 census was 30,799, made up as follows: Marsden, 5,723, Slaithwaite, 5,181, Linthwaite, 9,689, Golcar, 9,812, Scammonden, 3094. For political purposes, however, the Colne Valley takes on a much wider meaning. The Parliamentary constitu- ency includes the area mentioned and also all the townships in the Holme Valley, the Meltham Valley, and the Tame Valley, known as Saddleworth. It is one of the largest and most widely scattered divisions in the country. The electorate at the General Election of November 1935, numbered 55,739, of which 25,560 were men, and 30,179 were women voters. The population of the adjoining town of Huddersfield in 1931 was 113,475. If

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The district is noted for its production of vast quantities of medium tweeds for the multiple shops, and is rightly regarded as one of the most important woollen manufactur- ing areas in the world. Other writers have dealt with the subject from a purely historical point of view, and I have no wish to trespass on their preserves. I hope to show, however, how the woollen textile industry has developed from small beginnings, the changes that have taken place in the political history of the division, and in local govern- ment, together with other features of the life of the people of this important area. Almost without exception, as the following pages will tell, the great captains of industry began their operations in a small way, in many cases com- bining manufacturing on the old hand-looms with farming on primitive lines. My own grandfather, William Brad- bury, of Highhouse, Linthwaite, was one of these, and I can remember watching my mother winding bobbins in readiness for the weaver. It is in such a district that I work as a journalist, and in which I first saw the light of day. I have now been in journalism for thirty-three years, for I took up my first appointment on the Colne Valley Guardian, at Slaithwaite, in January 1903. I remained there for a little more than ten years, and on May sth, 1913, I took over my present position of Colne Valley representative for the Hudders- field Examiner. But I am getting ahead of my story. Before I was eleven I was working half-time in a textile factory, going to the mill in the morning and school in the after- noon one week, and reversing the process in the following week. At the age of thirteen I went straight on as a full- time worker. My earliest recollections of schooling were that I had a burning desire, not to attend the Linthwaite Wesleyan Day School, near to which I lived, but to go to the private academy then held at Flathouse by the late William Sykes, who lived to be ninety-five! But to the

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INTRODUCTORY 13

Wesleyan School I had to go under the tutorship at various times of Mr. Bywater, Mr. Quintrell, and Mr. W. S. Reynolds. Other teachers who did their best for me, even if I did not appreciate it as I might have done, were the two Misses Eastwood, Miss Carter, and Miss Shaw. I have no idea whether any of these good people are still living, but if so, and these lines catch their eyes, I now wish to apologize for all the trouble I gave them, and to thank them for the manner in which they persevered with a not always too willing pupil. Even so far back evening school work was attempted by the day school managers, and I remember learning there the rudiments of shorthand, but for the life of me I cannot recall anything I was taught regarding woodwork, which class was held in a cottage at Causeway Side. My close pal as a boy was John Bower, son of William Bower, of Upper Clough, Linthwaite. Another school chum, Joe Stephen- son, after holding a number of important appointments, rose to the position of Director of Education in Trivandrum, India. He died with tragic suddenness on his way home in 1930, at the early age of fifty-two. School was finished for me and I was a full-time textile worker when circumstances necessitated our family removing to Milnsbridge. The idea was apparently so distasteful to me that I went from home at Linthwaite to my work at Ramsden Mill, about a mile and a half away, one morning, and thence to my new home at Milnsbridge in the evening, without previously having been to see the place! However, events proved that I was to settle down there, and if Linthwaite Methodist Church and Sunday School did me any good, Milnsbridge Methodist Church and School have had the benefit. From my earliest recollections I wanted to be a reporter, but how to attain my heart’s desire was almost beyond my comprehension. I made many friends in the factory, some of them of a lasting character. Names crowd on me as I]

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write, but I can mention only a few. I know that Joah Singleton and Oliver Singleton were the tuners, Arthur Singleton the designer, my uncle, Simeon Quarmby, was warping overlooker, Fred Schofield the chief spinner, and Fred Singleton, a brother of the others named, also worked there. The firm was Whitwam and Co., of which Arthur Whitwam was the principal, and was joined by his son, Edward, now of Spofforth. William Livesey was blender at the time, members of the Tiffany family the engine tenders, and Coopers the dyers. I worked as bobbin winder, warping clerk, and warper, and in busy times I and others used to fill in the usual meal half-hours by minding the twisting frames, so that no time was lost while the twisters were at meals, and also carry on from 5.30 to 8 p.m. We had to get our own meals while working! Overtime brought us in—how well I remember the figure—five shillings and twopence halfpenny a week, and we were passing rich on that! I used to think all this was wasted time in view of my craving for newspaper work, but my mind was set at ease when the late Jonathan Holroyd, a woollen manufacturer, of Slaithwaite, with whom I came much in contact later, pointed out how valuable the ex- perience would be to one doing journalistic work in an industrial district like the Colne Valley. Never truer words were spoken, and they gave me much encouragement. I ought to add that when I started working, before I was actually eleven years old, Fred Holroyd and John Richard Whiteley, who were a little older than myself, used to kindly call for me and escort me to the mill each morning! Before I entered journalism, however, there came an opportunity for a very valuable four years’ experience in the commercial office of Alfred Jubb and Son Ltd., printers, book-binders, and manufacturing stationers, at Albany Works, St. John’s Road, Huddersfield. That gave me an insight into the working of the printing press, familiarized

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me with trade terms, and enabled me to develop my short- hand and typewriting. The secretary and cashier, John W. G. Coombs, was a great help to me. It was there also that I met Edward French, the eminent Huddersfield entertainer, and we became firm friends. Mr. French was supposed to be learning the craft of a lithographic artist, but more often than not found himself assisting us in the office. Like myself he was destined to move on, and he made his name in a very different sphere.

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CHAPTER TWO INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT

development has been synonymous with the growth of the Colne Valley in other directions. Without the one there could hardly have been the other. The expan- sion of the woollen industry, with the building of the huge mills that we know to-day, has brought prosperity to the valley, and the former sparsely populated villages and ham- lets have become important townships in themselves. In many places there is still to be seen evidence of the old hand-loom weaving days in the homesteads with their long and narrow windows, stretching from end to end of the upper storey. Not only weaving but mending and burling the pieces was done in the homes of these early pioneers. But the story of the birth of the industry has been well told by D. F. E. Sykes in “ The History of the Colne Valley,” and it finds a place in Phyllis Bentley’s novel, “ Inheritance.” So there is no need for me to repeat it here. It may not be generally known, by the way, that Phyllis Bentley’s parents have connections with the Huddersfield district. She tells me that her mother’s uncle was Benjamin Hanson, who for many years owned Cliffe End Mills, Longwood. For the purpose of her novel, Miss Bentley visited the Colne Valley and obtained local colour at Marsden.

In succeeding chapters I propose to describe the rise of 16

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the big concerns that have had such an influence on the prosperity of the Colne Valley. All the information given has been authenticated by the firms themselves, and may therefore be taken as official. I am indebted to all those concerned for the unfailing courtesy with which I have been received, and for the ready help that has been afforded me in compiling the chapters relating to industry in the Valley. It must not be inferred that all the credit for the progress is due to the employers. The workpeople in the Colne Valley are among the best in the world, and without their co-operation the success attained could never have been reached. I have lived and worked among them all my life, and I have had every opportunity of studying them from close quarters. There are exceptions to every rule, but in this regard they are in an overwhelming minority. The workers in Colne Valley want work, not doles, and they take a real pride in their work. Their interests have been watched over by the National Union of Textile Workers, the Amalgamated Society of Dyers, Bleachers, Finishers, and Kindred Trades, and the Operative Bleachers, Dyers, and Finishers Association (Bolton Amalgamation). When these pages were in the press, a scheme for the amalgamation of all three bodies was under consideration. Sir Ben Turner, Arthur Shaw, Allen Gee, and Harris Hoyle have been prominent officials of the textile workers in Huddersfield and District, and Councillor Thomas Beattie of Linthwaite is now the secretary. The Co-operative movement has also proved of inestim- able benefit to the working classes in the district, but space will not allow of more than a mere mention of the fact. The Slaithwaite Society is the largest organization in the area, with branches in many districts. Joel Crowther, who retired in 1933, had thirty-nine years in the service of this B

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Society, and was general manager when he retired. His son, W. E. Crowther, is now the secretary, and James E. Sykes the manager. At Marsden Harry Tinker has been on the committee for thirty-five years, and a member of the com- mittee of the Huddersfield District Co-operative Association for twenty-six years. He has also been a Methodist local preacher for forty-six years. Both the Golcar and Scape- goat Hill Societies have celebrated their jubilees, and the Golcar Central Working Men’s Society is still going strong. The Milnsbridge Perseverance Society celebrated its jubilee in 1923.

(a) THE CROWTHER FAMILY

Among all the families concerned in the development of the woollen industry in Colne Valley, that of Crowther must take prominence because of the many off-shoots that have sprung from the original founder, John Crowther, a Golcar man, who started business in 1840 at Lees Mill, Golcar. There he had four sets of carding machines and mules to follow. The yarn was taken to various houses in the district to weave on the old hand-looms. In 1863 his sons, Joseph, William and Elon, were taken into the busi- ness. ‘Two years later, in 1865, John Crowther died. In 1867 the business was moved to Bank Bottom Mills, Marsden, and was carried on as John Crowther and Sons, by the three sons, until 1871, when William and Elon retired to establish the firm of W. and E. Crowther Ltd. This firm was founded at Fall Lane Mills, Marsden, but in 1874 Crimble Mills, Golcar, came into the market, and were purchased by the firm. The partnership between William and Elon was dissolved in 1881, when the latter, along with Alfred Sykes, took over the business of Joseph Sykes and Co., Rock Mills, Brockholes. William Crowther

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continued the business at Crimble Mills, which was con- verted into a private limited company in 1899. William Crowther was chairman, and associated with him were his sons Ramsden H. and W. Alfred, and his son-in-law, H. S. Walker, son of the late Charles Walker, of Lindley. In 1902 the company purchased Brook Mills, Crimble, which had previously been owned and occupied by George Haigh and Sons, and the business is still carried on at these two mills. The firm have twenty-eight carding sets, and two hundred looms, and were the first in the district to adopt electric driving for their mills. The present directors are Ramsden H. Crowther, W. Alfred Crowther, A. G. Crowther, J. M. Crowther, and H. C. Walker (son of the late H. S. Walker). Mr. W. Alfred Crowther represented the Wool Textile Industry on the British Government Trade Mission to the Far East in 1930-31, and is at present the president of the Huddersfield Royal Infirmary. Meanwhile the business of John Crowther and Sons was carried on by Joseph Crowther alone at Marsden until 1882, when the youngest brother, John Edward, was taken into partnership. In 1883 the firm acquired from E. and G. Dyson Bros. their concern at Union Mills, Milnsbridge, and from the executors of the late James Sykes the business at Stanley Mills, Milnsbridge. At Union Mills they had at first fourteen sets of carding machines and sixty looms. In 1901 Joseph and John Edward Crowther dissolved the partnership in John Crowther and Sons, Joseph Crowther taking over John Crowther and Sons, and John Edward Crowther taking over the Marsden Mill Co. Ltd. Joseph Crowther took his son, David Stoner Crowther (the present managing director) and Sir Charles Sykes into partnership. At that time the firm had twenty-eight sets of carding machines and one hundred and twenty looms. Sir Charles Sykes was, in 1917, appointed director of the Wool Textile

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Production, and chairman of the Board of Control of Worsted and Woollen Trades, and retired from the business. The business had now grown to such an extent that the firm had sixty-six carding machines and five hundred and eighty-four looms. In 1926 Sir Charles Sykes rejoined the firm as sales director. Other changes took place, and the present directors are D. Stoner Crowther, Alec S. Crowther, J. Leonard Crowther, J. Hilton Crowther—well known for his connection with Association football, first with Hudders- field Town and then with Leeds United—Sir Charles Sykes, Bart., and James Vogel, of Czechoslovakia. The factory now covers about fourteen acres, and the whole of the estate about twenty-eight acres. The total floor area is 101,000 square yards. Owing to increased eficiency the number of carding machines have been reduced to fifty-five, but the number of looms remains the same. The firm employs from one thousand eight hundred and fifty to nineteen hundred work-people. They deal solely with the wholesale trade, making tweeds and sports cloth for men’s wear, also overcoatings, and piece dyes tweeds for the ladies trade. On Wednesday, June 24th, 1931, the firm made history by setting up a record, in conjunction with Prices Ltd., Tailors, Leeds, for making a suit of clothes direct from sheep to wearer, in the remarkable time of two hours and ten minutes. I have lively recollections of the effort, for I followed the various processes through the mill. The effort was the result of a challenge thrown out by Sir Malcolm Campbell to British manufacturers to attempt to break the record of six hours and four minutes set up in Pennsylvania by Thomas Kitson, a Bradford man. In fact, a Batley firm had beaten this record a few days earlier, also in conjunction with Messrs. Prices, but their time was three hours and twenty and a half minutes. The timing at Milnsbridge was done by influential officials,

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including Lady Campbell. Among those present were D. Stoner Crowther, Alec S. Crowther, Sir Charles Sykes, and Arthur Shaw, secretary of the National Union of Textile Workers, who told me afterwards how impressed he had been with the whole-heartedness with which the operatives had entered into the spirit of the occasion. For the task twelve Southdown sheep were taken to the mill, and were shorn by seven expert shearers from Derbyshire. Great enthusiasm and excitement prevailed during the race against the clock, and there was tremendous cheering when the task was accomplished. Ninety-four work- people of the firm and forty employees of Messrs. Price handled the cloth, although only four yards were required. Various machines were speeded up for the test, but none was moved, or some minutes could have been saved. Alec Crowther paid a glowing tribute to the workers for their whole-hearted support. My own impression was that they enjoyed it as well as anybody, and I still carry a vivid im- pression of one youth whose duty it was to race from one part of the mills to another with the cloth, through cheer- ing crowds. In recognition of the success, the employees were given an outing to Blackpool, as they were at a later date, after honouring D. Stoner Crowther’s sixtieth birthday. Joseph Crowther died following a motor accident at Slaithwaite on Sunday, June 11th, 1905, and John Edward Crowther who had become recognized as the proprietor of the largest woollen manufacturing business in the world, owned and controlled by one man, died on July 4th, 1931, so that all four brothers have now passed away. John Edward Crowther made remarkable progress in his business at Marsden, and was constantly extending and enlargin his mill premises, until, when in full work, he employed nearly two thousand workers at Bank Bottom Mills, Fall Lane Mills, and Ready Carr Mills. The firm of Crowther, Bruce and Co. Ltd., New Mills, Marsden, with which

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he was also connected, and of which he had sole control at the time of his death, when fully employed, found work for seven hundred employees. He assumed this full control on the retirement of the late Edward James Bruce. Former directors of this firm also were the late Herbert Denton and the late George Crowther, the latter a nephew of J. E. Crowther. Philip D. Crowther, son of J. E. Crowther, is now the sole director of the large concern at Bank Bottom Mills, and he and Tom Whiteley are the directors of Crowther, Bruce and Co. Ltd. also of the Colne Valley Spinning Co. Ltd., Linthwaite, which was founded by J. E. Crowther. These mills were built in 1912, about the time of the sinking of the Titanic, and the mills are known locally as the Titanic. Originally W. and E. Crowther Ltd., and Crowther, Bruce and Co. Ltd., were associated with this Spinning Co., which was used as an auxiliary firm for scribbling and spinning. Their Majesties King George and Queen Mary paid a visit to Bank Bottom Mills on May 30th, 1918, and saw some of the processes of manu- facture in actual operation. Tom Whiteley, who was formerly the Overseer of the Poor for Marsden, was for a long period the confidential representative of the late John Ed. Crowther, and through him was in a position to relieve any case of genuine hardship that existed in the township. He was a member of the Marsden Urban District Council from 1914 to 1929, and was chairman in 1923-4-5. He also represented the Council on the Upper Agbrigg Assessment Committee for many years, being due to retire from the position in April 1936. It may be of interest to state that the floor space of Bank Bottom Mills covers 57,592 square yards, Fall Lane Mills 10,700 square yards, Ready Carr Mills 14,677 square yards, Crowther, Bruce and Co.’s Mills 32,087 square yards, and Colne Valley Spinning Co. 22,691 square yards.

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INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT 23 At Bank Bottom Mills, Marsden, forty-three sets of

carding machines and six hundred and eighty looms are in use, and at Crowther, Bruce and Co.’s mills, thirty-two sets of machines and two hundred and sixty looms. Thirty carding machines are in use at Fall Lane Mills, and thirty- six sets at the Colne Valley Spinning Co.’s mill at Linth- waite, making in all one hundred and forty-one sets of machines, and nine hundred and forty looms.

(b) JOHN EDWARD CROWTHER’S GENEROSITY

It is safe to say that largely through the inspiration and financial help of John Edward Crowther, backed by other public-spirited men, the whole face of Marsden was trans- formed during the past thirty years. He distributed largely of his wealth in the township, and always disdained to have his name mentioned in connection with his generous gifts. Two outstanding instances of his forethought, linked with his boundless generosity, were the founding of the magni- ficent Sports Grounds at Hemplow, on the edge of the bracing moors, which overlook the township, and the equally beautiful transformation in the centre of the village, due to what is known as the Church Lane Improvement Scheme, which latter scheme was completed in 1929. Largely at Mr. Crowther’s instigation, and with his generous financial support, a small committee of Marsden gentlemen purchased about seventy acres of land on the verge of the Wessenden Valley, a favourite spot for ramblers. Four farms and cottage property, and the Moor- cock, which was then a licensed house, were purchased, and the land was laid out as a cricket-field, golf-links, bowling- green and tennis-courts. The estate is managed by a local body known as the Marsden Recreation Trust, of which

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Mr. Crowther was president from its foundation. He was also president of the Marsden Golf Club. The licence of the Moorcock was done away with, and the place is now used as a Refreshment House. The Church Lane scheme entailed the purchase and demolition of a large hall and cottage property, and the replacement of an old, narrow, and tortuous cart road by a magnificent thoroughfare lead- ing from Station Road, through Town Gate, to the Manchester Road. Mr. Crowther gave the whole cost of this scheme and the extension of the Parish Church Burial Ground adjoining, which has given a delightful frontage to the church and the churchyard. Mr. and Mrs. Crowther also provided the Lych Gate to the churchyard, and Mr. Crowther was responsible for the largest bell when the peal was installed in the church tower. He gave the site of the new British Legion club, at Grange, and there is sufficient land in the gift for the provision of bowling-green and tennis-courts. He also gave a large contribution towards the erection of the new Congregational Church. From time to time Mr. Crowther gave various sums for the augmentation of the living of the Parish Church, and a generous gift for a similar object at Paddock Parish Church. In connection with the Church Lane Improvement Scheme, he gave the Marsden Church authorities a consider- able sum for the old infants school building, which had to be pulled down, with the suggestion that the money should go towards the provision of the new Parochial Hall. It would be well nigh impossible to tabulate a list of all Mr. Crowther’s gifts, which have been made irrespective of sect, creed, or political colour. All that he asked was to know that a real need existed. He was associated with the late E. J. Bruce, the late Samuel Firth, and the late Arthur Robinson, in the gift of the site for the pretty little public park, and that of the War

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Memorial. In 1911 he presented a motor ambulance to the township, and shared with the other gentlemen named in giving land for the improvement of Peel Street. Along with the late Arthur Robinson he bore the cost of making the new road connecting Fall Lane with Manchester Road. In him the poor had a constant friend. No one in Marsden was allowed to suffer from want. His representative had unlimited scope for relieving cases of this kind, and the local clergymen and ministers were similarly entrusted with the care of necessitous people in the township. In all these matters the same stipulation of anonymity had to be observed. He was a West Riding magistrate and a Freemason, but took no active part in local affairs. In this he differed from his brothers who were prominent in the public life of the townships in which they lived. Joseph Crowther, in spite of his extensive business com- mitments, was for twenty-five years a member of the old Marsden Local Board, and became a member of the District Council which succeeded it, but resigned soon after the change over took place. Besides his own business he was a founder of the Slaithwaite Cotton Spinning Co. Ltd., chairman of the Globe Worsted Co. Ltd., Slaithwaite, and of the old Slaithwaite Gas Co., and held directorates in many other concerns. He was president of the Colne Valley Liberal Association, and also acted as honorary treasurer. He also was a West Riding magistrate. I was brought much more into contact with Mr. William Crowther, however, in his many public offices. He also had an extensive business connection outside his own firm, for he succeeded his elder brother in the chairmanships of the Globe Worsted Co., and the Slaithwaite Gas Co. Like his brother also he was a founder of the Slaithwaite Spinning Co. The first chairman of this big concern, which owns four large mills and subsidiary buildings, was

George Haigh, and he was followed by William Crowther,

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who was one of the first members of the West Riding County Council. Mr. Crowther represented the Golcar and Longwood district from 1889 to 1902. Prior to his retirement, Longwood was taken into the county borough of Huddersfield, and the late John Whiteley succeeded Mr. Crowther as representative of the Golcar district. Besides being a West Riding magistrate, Mr. Crowther was for thirty-two years a member of the Golcar Local Board and District Council, and was first elected in 1876. He was chairman from 1881 until he resigned in 1908, except for a short interval. Throughout its existence Mr. Crowther was chairman of the Golcar School Board, and when educational affairs were transferred to the West Riding County Council, he became the first chairman of the Colne Valley District Education Sub-Committee. He succeeded his elder brother as president of the Colne Valley Liberal Association, and was one of the founders of the Slaithwaite Liberal Club. He was actively connected with Golcar Baptist Church for a long period. He was voluntary organist for thirty-one years, and president of the choir for more than thirty years. About Elon Crowther I cannot write so freely, for his activities during my time were mostly confined to the Holme Valley, but I am confident that he was just as useful there as his brothers were in my own particular part of the district.

(c) STORY OF THE FIRTHS

Like the Crowthers, the Firths of Marsden have extended their operations from small beginnings until they are repre- sented not only in Marsden, but at Slaithwaite and at Shepley. The instigator of this movement and progress was Samuel Firth, the second son of Thomas Firth of

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Gatehead, Marsden. Samuel Firth rose from a humble position to be one of the most commanding figures in the Huddersfield district. He received his early education under Richard Bamforth, at Marsden National School, and later improved himself by attending classes at the Marsden Mechanics Institute and in Huddersfeld. Then he was employed as a clerk by the Huddersfield Corporation, first at the Blackmoorfoot reservoir construction works, and later at the offices in town. He attracted the attention of Joseph Crowther, previously referred to, who engaged him as book-keeper at the Marsden Mill Co. In course of time Samuel Firth rose to be the manager of the concern, and in 1888 he entered the firm of Fisher, Firth and Co. at Cellars Clough Mills. There he was in effect the managing partner. Henry Fisher eventually retired from the business, and Cooper Firth, a younger brother of Samuel, who had been engaged as traveller, entered into partnership. ‘There they carried on for many years, also as S. and C. Firth at Holme Mills, Marsden. After the death of Samuel Firth, which occurred on February 16th, 1929, Cooper Firth severed his connection with Fisher, Firth and Co., but remained as principal of S. and C. Firth. Since that time Frank Firth, son of Samuel Firth, has been the governing director of Fisher, Firth and Co., and following the death of Cooper Firth on September 2oth, 1930, the business of S. and C. Firth at Holme Mills has been carried on by his sons, Herbert Arnold Firth and William Schofield Firth. The firm of Firth Bros., Shep- ley, is carried on by Herbert Firth and his son, S. H. Firth, and Fred Firth, another member of the family, is engaged in the work there. Firth and Fred Firth are brothers of the late Samuel, Cooper, and Frank Firth (senior). Another brother, Thomas Firth, was for a long period in business as a master plumber at Marsden, and

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the business is now carried on by his sons. David Firth, the eldest of the family, remained at the old homestead, at Gatehead, as a farmer, and the farm is now in the occupa- tion of Fred Firth, a son of Thomas Firth. Both Samuel and Cooper Firth left their mark on the public life of the district. Samuel Firth was a generous benefactor to the Colne Valley and Huddersfield. He loved music and gave unstintedly of his money to support any worthy cause in music, art, education, and public health. His work on Marsden Council, of which he was chairman for some years, on the Colne Valley Education Sub-Com- mittee, and the Marsden Evening Institute Managers, was marked by the thoroughness which he always bestowed on his own business. His benefactions to music could hardly be tabulated, but a few must be mentioned to give some indication as to how he assisted in its promotion both in the Colne Valley and in Huddersfield. The Huddersfield Choral and Glee and Madrigal Societies, the Huddersfield Vocal Union, the Marsden Choral Society, and the Milns- bridge Methodist Choral Competition, all benefited by his advice and his generous gifts. He was keenly interested in the provision of bells at Marsden Church, and was a generous contributor. The Mrs. Sunderland Music Competitions in Hudders- field had in Mr. Firth a valued worker and supporter. He was also founder of the Original Music Competition, with a sum of {900 in 1919, and in 1926 he gave a further sum of £200. He provided a shield, which is known as the “ Samuel Firth Shield,’’ for competition by elementary school choirs, and in 1924 he initiated the Huddersfield Music Library with a gift of £300. He also invested sums for the benefit of the deaf, dumb, and blind of the district, and in July 1928 he gave {450 to make the proceeds of a carnival held at Marsden into £1,000, so that a bed could be endowed at

the Huddersfield Royal Infirmary. He also founded a

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number of scholarships at the Huddersfield Technical College and installed apparatus, so that a department there is known as the Samuel Firth Dyeing Laboratory, and gave £500 to the Huddersfield Art Society to provide scholar- ships. Swings and roundabouts were provided by him at the Huddersfield Cinderella Home at a cost of {100. I One little bit of work of which Mr. Firth was very proud was the effort made locally, long before such matters were taken up by the State, to care for consump- tives. He was the moving spirit in the formation of the Colne Valley Committee which sent a number of local patients away for sanatoria treatment, and he acted as the honorary secretary until a clerk was appointed. From IgI0 to 1914 the committee dealt with forty-five patients. From my own knowledge I know how keenly anxious Mr. Firth was to help in dealing with this dread disease. Nothing could be more fitting to say of Mr. Firth than was said by his old friend, the Rev. Luke Beaumont, at the funeral service, Firth was one of God’s good men.” Cooper Firth, too, never spared himself in his public work. Like his brother he proved himself to be a shrewd administrator. From 1915 to 1920 he was chairman of Marsden District Council, and as such was head of every movement in the township that had for its object the wel- fare of the men in the forces, their relatives and depend- ents at home, and the success of the allied cause in the war period. ‘ His other public appointments were numerous, and like his brother, he was a West Riding magistrate. The Firth family are also represented in the Colne Valley Tweed Co. at Clough Road Mills, Slaithwaite. The mills are still called locally the “‘ Silk Mills,” for silk weaving was carried on there when first the mill was built. That was in 1832, and the mill, a two-storey building, was built

by Wanklin Bros. of Manchester. One of the present

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partners, Frank Firth, a brother of Samuel and Cooper Firth, tells me he has seen a beautiful silk handkerchief that was woven at the mill. About 1870, the mill was bought by Joseph Quarmby, and raised to four storeys. The bottom room was used for storing logwood, and there was also machinery installed for rasping and clipping dye- woods. The woollen industry then claimed the mill, and William Sykes and Son, Edwin Shaw and Son, Joseph Beaumont Junior, and Joseph Berry carried on manufacturing there at various times, between 1874 and 1896. The Colne Valley Tweed Co, was established in 1896, by Samuel Firth, Cooper Firth, and Frank Firth. The two first named retired in 1904, and the present partners are Frank Firth, and his son, Edward Elon Firth. There is now three and a half times the floor space there was when the Colne Valley ‘Tweed Co. was established, a sufficient illustration of the growth and development of the business. The company manufactures medium quality fancy suitings and overcoatings. There has been a remarkable change in the public taste for this class of cloth, and whereas in 1896 taste was very crude, to-day it is as cultivated as it is in regard to the better-class trade. Frank Firth, like his brothers at Marsden, has devoted much time and energy to the public service. He has been a member of the Slaithwaite District Council since 1914, and only once has been opposed during that time. He was vice-chairman in 1923-24, and chairman in the two following years. He has represented the district on the Upper Agbrigg Assessment Committee. For many years he has been one of the wardens at Slaithwaite Parish

Church.

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(2) A LONG RECORD

One of the oldest manufacturing firms in the Colne Valley, if not in the whole of the Huddersfield district, is that ot Messrs. C. and J. Hirst and Sons Ltd., Longwood and Milnsbridge. The firm has title deeds of the property at Longwood dated 1649, and it has account books of the cloth finishing business which date back to 1815. In the early days of the trade when hand-looms were the only means of manufacture, the cloth was taken from the homes of the weavers to be finished at separate works. This was the most skilled of the various processes, and several weeks used to be taken up in the raising, cropping and pressing of the piece. This business was carried on by the Hirsts at Sunny Bank Mills, Longwood, on the same site where some of their present extensive works are situated. The original finishing-place is still in existence but is now used only as a wash-kitchen. From these small beginnings in a Longwood cottage has grown the present firm occupying five mills, with a total floor space of sixty thousand square yards. The works, which are among the largest in the district, house seventy- three sets of carding machines, forty-five thousand spindles, and four hundred and fifty looms, and find work for one thousand four hundred employees. In 1781 the great- grandfather of the present members of the firm was a cloth finisher, About 1860 it became the custom for cloth weavers to finish their own goods, and then the predecessors of the firm began to manufacture cloth in all its processes. In that year the brothers Crosland and James Hirst, fathers of the present proprietors, founded the firm which was to become known all over the world as ‘‘ C. and J’s.” The business was later carried on by the sons of Crosland and

James Hirst—Thomas, Albert, George Crowther, and Han-

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son—and under the able leadership of Thomas Hirst the company made continuous progress, Springfield Mills and other extensions were built, and Commercial Mills, Milns- bridge, and Grove Mills, Longwood, were purchased to meet the increasing demand for their productions. Even then for over twenty years before the Great War, 1914-18, the mills were working constantly day and night. Like other firms, during the war, they turned over entirely to Government work, and very large quantities of Army cloths were produced for the use of the allied armies. The huge scribbling plant was occupied to its fullest capacity, working day and night, for in addition to keeping their own looms going they supplied enormous quantities of yarn to worsted manufacturers in the district who had no means of making their own woollen yarns. They also found work for a number of small firms in Halifax, Leeds, and Bradford, who were unable to take Government con- tracts on their own account. After the war the firm made large quantities of standard cloths for discharged soldiers’ suits, and some of their own cloths were also adapted for this purpose. They were largely responsible for disposing of a huge quantity of Government surplus khaki cloth, and on one occasion they packed and shipped seven hundred thousand yards of it to a foreign market within four weeks of receiving the order. New premises for wool scouring and carbonizing have recently been erected. Thomas Hirst, who had been chair- man of the company for about twenty years, died in 1931, and his brother, George Crowther Hirst, has since been chairman. The other directors are Alderman Albert Hirst, who was Mayor of Huddersfield in 1933-34 and 1934-35, Albert Harrison, and Frank C. Hirst. In addition, four of James Hirst’s grandsons are actively engaged in the business.

George Crowther and Albert Hirst have probably had as

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great an experience of the woollen industry as have any manufacturers in the district, having been actively engaged in the business for about fifty years. Alderman Hirst has been prominently identified with public affairs. He was a member of the Golcar Urban District Council before being elected to the Huddersfield Town Council, of which he has been a member for about sixteen years. He has regularly attended the wool sales for nearly fifty years, probably as long as any buyer in the country. George Crowther Hirst has not taken any prominent part in public affairs, having devoted all his time and energies to conducting the business. He has, however, travelled extensively, principally on business, and _ has visited nearly all the countries of the world. He took a leading part in obtaining safe-guarding for the woollen trade, and was chairman of the committee formed for this purpose. As it has been with the members of the firm, so also is there a strong hereditary tradition among the workpeople. Many of them have never worked anywhere else, and quite a number are approaching fifty years’ service with the frm, There are two employees of the same family

whose father, grandfather, and great-grandfather worked for the firm all their lives.

(€) BACK TO 1793

The name of Broadbent has been a household one in the district for nearly a hundred and fifty years. The business which bears that name goes back to about the year 1793, and was founded by John Broadbent of Lindley. The family removed to Longwood Edge about the year 1822. This John Broadbent had a son bearing the same name, who married Esther Butterworth of Holm- C

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firth, and for a time they lived at Lindley, later moving to Longwood Edge. They had ten children, of whom eight reached maturity, William, Butterworth, Mary Jane, Sarah, John, Leila, Benjamin, and Arthur. The original John Broadbent was first a fuller and then a cloth merchant, and the frm of John Broadbent and Son, at Parkwood Mills, Longwood, has always been a woollen manufacturing and merchant’s business, the partners in which, previous to the business being turned into a limited company in 1917, were Benjamin and Arthur. The first warehouse was opposite to the house at Longwood Edge. Later, about 1850, the first mill of the present extensive Parkwood Mills was built, and the other six mills were added between then and 1880. Of the sons, Butterworth, who was born in 1837, and Arthur, the youngest, went into the business. Unfortun- ately Butterworth died at the early age of thirty-six on July 16th, 1873, and in consequence Benjamin, who had intended to follow a literary career, entered the business. Butterworth’s son, Arnold, joined the business, but he also died at the early age of twenty-nine in 1895. J. B. Walker, elder son of Leila (Mrs. Walker, and later the second wife of John Fisher), joined the business but he passed away in 1917, after a long illness. This brings us to the present members connected with the business, W. K. B. Broadbent, son of Benjamin, who entered the business in 1911, and Lieut.-Colonel J. T. C. Broadbent, who joined the business in 1920, after serving for twenty- one years with the Indian Army. The first directors of John Broadbent and Son, when it became a limited com- pany in 1917, were Benjamin and Arthur Broadbent, and the present directors are W. K. B. Broadbent, Lieut.- Colonel J. T. C. Broadbent, and Miss Esther Broadbent, daughter of Arthur Broadbent. The Parkwood Mills

Co. was established in 1848, and was converted into

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a limited company in 1896. This company were mill- owners, and provided room and power for various tenants who occupied different parts of the mills. Some were spinners, some manutacturers, and one a finisher. In 1887 the latter business was acquired and the com- pany now known as the Longwood Finishing Co. Ltd. was formed. The directors are Lieut.-Colonel J. T. C. Broadbent (chairman), W. K. B. Broadbent (secretary), A. E. Dickinson, and J. Hollingworth. The directors of the Parkwood Mills Co. Ltd. were Sir W. H. Broadbent, Bart., (chairman), Colonel J. E. Broadbent, Benjamin Broad- bent, and Arthur Broadbent. On Sir William’s death in 1907, Colonel J. E. Broadbent took over the chairmanship until his retirement in 1924. Sir J. F. H. Broadbent, Bart., son of Sir William, was a director from 1908 until 1932. The present directors are W. K. B. Broadbent, Lieut.-Colonel J. T. C. Broadbent, and E. A. H. Gee. Since 1933 the business of this company has been extended and they are now commission spinners and manufacturers, all the other tenants having seceded from the premises. The three firms employ from four hundred to four hundred and fifty workpeople. It is interesting to note that the first John Broadbent, great-grandfather of W. K. B. Broadbent, was marked down for shooting by the Luddites. In the “ Life of Sir William Broadbent ’’ appears the sentence, “‘ In the Luddite disturb- ances which broke out in the year 1812, his name was on the list of manufacturers who were to be shot for having introduced a frame instead of handwork in one of the pro- cesses, and the threat might have been carried out if one of his own men had not interposed.”” The Broadbent family did a great deal for Methodism in Longwood and in the district generally. Benjamin also served for a long time on the Huddersfield Town Council, and as mayor of the borough had much to

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do with the initiation of the infant welfare work that we hear so much about to-day. During his mayoralty he gave a sovereign to each baby born in Longwood which lived a year, and twenty-one years later he gave a party to all such survivors. Lieut.-Colonel J. T. C. Broadbent is the third son of Colonel J. E. Broadbent, and was born in India. He was educated in this country at Sedbergh and Woolwich. He joined the Gunners, and was drafted out to India, where he was transferred to the Indian Army and served throughout the war. He was in Burmah, and commanded his regiment in Aden. He resigned his commission in 1920. He is the president of the Huddersfield Conservative Association, and a member of the committee of the Victoria Nurses Association. He has been people’s warden at Long- wood Parish Church, and is a member of the Wakefield Diocesan Conference. Mr. W. K. B. Broadbent was born at Gatesgarth, Lindley, where he now lives. He was educated at Rugby and Oxford, where he took his B.A. degree in 1911 and his M.A. degree in 1916. For five years he was a circuit steward in the Gledholt Methodist Circuit. He has been a superin- tendent of the Lindley Methodist (formerly Wesleyan) Sunday School since 1919. He has also been a member of the board of the Huddersfield Royal Infirmary since 1929, and chairman of the House Committee since 1931. From 1927 he has been a member of the Junior Advisory Com- mittee at the Ministry of Labour in Huddersfield, and is a F.R.Econ.Soc. His uncle, the late Sir W. H. Broadbent, Bart., K.C.V.O., -was the founder of the Longwood Nursing Association, for which much good work was done by the late Arthur Broadbent, the late Thomas Hirst, and by J. Wilfrid Shaw. Sir William became Physician Extraordinary to Her Majesty

Queen Victoria, and Physician in Ordinary to His Majesty King Edward VII, and the late King George V, when he

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was Prince of Wales. The late Colonel J. E. Broadbent passed out at Woolwich and was in the Royal Engineers, spending most of his career in India. His first wife was Dora Nicholson, and his second wife the Hon. A. Fiennes, sister of the present Lord Saye and Sele. The eldest son is now Major-General E. N. Broadbent, C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O., Governor of Jersey. The second son is the Rev. H. S. Broadbent, M.A., Rector of West Tanfield, near Ripon, after serving the C.M.S. as secretary for the Diocese of Wakefield, Bradford, and Ripon, and later as northern

secretary.

(f) THE FIRM OF MALLINSON

One of the oldest established, and most progressive con- cerns in the Valley, is that of Messrs. George Mallinson and Sons Ltd., of Spring Grove Mills, Linthwaite. The founder was the late George Mallinson, who began busi- ness in a very primitive way, and at first employed people who worked in their own homes, frequently all the members of the family assisting. Even at that period, it was in 1840 at the age of twenty-two that he started business, what was known as ‘“‘ Domestic Industry ” was rife in the district, though it was beginning to decline with the advent of machinery. The introduction of machinery soon changed conditions, and after renting small premises, George Mallin- son built his first mill in 1857. The factory accommodated forty looms and eighty workpeople. Progress demanded a larger mill and it was built in 1872, this time providing work for seventy looms and a hundred and fifty workers. In 1884 came another extension with one hundred and twenty looms and two hundred and eighty operatives. The new mill was opened and the business

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soundly established when George Mallinson died, and was succeeded by his two sons, Eli and Thomas. They had grown up in the business and the firm continued to prosper. They were ably assisted in their efforts first by Herbert, the eldest son of Eli, who later became chairman of directors, and subsequently by Eli’s youngest son, Dyson. When in 1899 the business was formed into a private limited com- pany, these two sons and Arthur Sykes, who had joined the firm in the previous year, were made directors. Thomas Mallinson retired in 1903, and Eli Mallinson died in 1909. By this time the mills at Linthwaite, standing on almost the same spot as the original one, were working one hun- dred and fifty-three looms and employing five hundred workpeople. To cope with the demand for their cloths it became necessary in 1913 to take over. another Huddersheld mill and utilize their workpeople and the forty looms which the mill accommodated. At the same time another addi- tional building was in the course of erection at the main factory to accommodate the looms which were so urgently needed. In 1918 the death occurred of Arthur Sykes, and then the directors appointed as manager Reginald Platt, who had been assistant manager since 1912. Naturally since 1840 the manufactures of the firm have varied to some extent. At one time in addition to cloth a large quantity of shawls and rugs were manufactured, but for the past thirty years or so the firm have concentrated solely on cloths for men’s wear, and to-day every process in the manu- facture from the raw wool as it comes from the sheep’s back to every kind of finished cloth ready for the tailor is carried out at Spring Grove Mills. Changed also is the character of the firm’s export trade. From the termination of the war in 1918 instead of operat- ing through shippers as previously, a better system was inaugurated by means of which nearly all foreign markets

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were dealt with direct. In this sphere mention must be made of George Donald Mallinson, the son of Herbert Mallinson. Equally well known to the business men of Japan, Canada, America and other foreign markets as he is to those in Scotland or Lancashire, he has done much to cultivate the international reputation of the firm. The present factory covers many acres of land, accommodates two hundred and forty-six looms, twenty-one sets of con- densers, and all other necessary machinery, and gives employment to from eight hundred and fifty to a thousand workpeople. In the early part of 1933, Herbert Mallinson, who had been connected with the firm for more than forty years, and had been chairman of directors since 1909, retired from the business, but continued his connection with Bates and Co. (Huddersfield) Ltd. The firm was then reconstructed, and the new company registered on April 8th, 1933, with Dyson Mallinson as governing director, George Donald Mallinson and Reginald Platt as directors, and W. P. North as secretary. Donald Mallinson is the only son of Herbert Mallinson, and represents the fourth generation on the directorate. On the death of Mr. Platt on August 27th, 1933, Mr. Wilfred Wagstaft was appointed manager. Mr. William Henry North, the former secretary of the firm, and father of the present secretary, retired in May 1934, after forty-eight years’ service with the firm. Herbert Mallinson, who has lived at Neston, Cheshire, for the past eleven years, was a member of Linthwaite Urban District Council from 1904 to 1918, and was chair- man in 1910. Formerly he was prominently associated with the Linthwaite Methodist Church, like his father and grandfather before him. The chapel was built by George Mallinson at a cost of £3,000. Other sons of the late George Mallinson were the late Rev. Joel Mallinson, a Methodist minister, and the late Sir Dyson Mallinson, a

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Liverpool and Manchester cotton broker. Thomas Mallin- son still survives and lives in retirement at Harrogate. At ninety he still takes an active interest in life, and occasionally presides over County Benches of Magistrates both at Huddersfield and in his own residential district. His eldest son is the Rev. Thomas Harold Mallinson, a Methodist minister, and his other sons, Percy and Wilfred, are engaged at Spring Grove Mills.

TITUS CALVERLEY AND SONS LTD.

A very old-established firm is that of Titus Calverley and Sons Ltd., of Colne Vale Mills, Milnsbridge. It was founded in 1850 by Titus Calverley, who was a member of the Huddersfield Town Council, and Wright Mellor, a former Mayor of Huddersfield. Wright Mellor seceded from the firm about 1873, and Titus Calverley died two or three years later. For some time the business was then carried on by James Calverley and Titus Walker Calverley, two sons of the aforementioned Titus Calverley. Titus Walker Calverley died 1902. James Calverley formed the business into a limited liability company in 1920, when James Henry Mitchell Calverley and William Calverley, sons of James Calverley, were made directors. James Calverley passed away in.December, 1920, and his two sons named have carried on the business up to the present. They employ, when the mills are fully occupied, about one hundred and forty workpeople. The large mill is a five-storey building, and the smaller mill has four storeys and cellar. There are also adjoining buildings used for finishing, blending, and for storage purposes. The firm have fifty-one looms, ten sets of carding machines, and a total of four thousand three hundred spindles for spinning.

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Like many other firms named in this book, the founders of the firm used to do carding and spinning at Marsh, and then have the cloth woven on hand-looms in the homes of people at Outlane and other districts. The material had to be carried on the backs of donkeys, and as there was a toll bar near to Martin’s mill at Lindley, there were frequently some amusing incidents if drivers happened to be without the wherewithal to defray the nominal charge made for the toll. The firm are manufacturers of vicunas in black, blue and brown, dress coatings, flannels, plain and fancy suitings, overcoatings, and tweeds in medium qualities,

(4) JOB BEAUMONT AND SON LTD.

An illustration of how all the members of a family used to help in the early stages of an industry is found in the history of Job Beaumont and Son Ltd., of Woodland Mills, Longwood. The founder was Job Beaumont, who began weaving on the hand-loom at his home, New Row, Lamb Hall Road, Longwood, in 1862. The house is now occupied by his “ great-nephew,” Fred Crowther, joiner. Not far away, in Snow Lea Road, lives a niece of Job Beaumont, Mrs. William H. Crowther, who is in her ninety-first year, and recalls the early beginnings of the firm quite well. From her, Walter Beaumont, who was employed by the firm for fifty years, gleaned much informa- tion of the period from 1862 to 1882, and I am indebted to him for its use. Job Beaumont eventually got together seven hand-looms, and two of them were worked by his sons, John and Enos. The other weavers were Alfred Beaumont, Enoch Beaumont, William Henry Crowther, who married the niece referred to, and Ewart Hirst. Job

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Beaumont also obtained a ten-spindle winding machine turned by hand, and wound bobbins for the weavers. The warps were stretched and opened out in the open-air on the top of Longwood Edge, and then wound on to the beams in the house. The looms were upstairs. As business improved it was transferred to Parkwood Mills, and power looms were used there. By 1882 the plant had increased to forty-three looms, ten sets of carding machines, and six pairs of mules for spinning. The teasing room, dyehouse, and finishing plant were in different rooms at the mills. Owing to increasing age and the state of his health Job Beaumont did not take much part in the busi- ness, at this time, but during the summer workpeople from the mill used to be sent to his farm to help with the hay- making. Enos Beaumont looked after the manufacturing business. Richard Gledhill assisted when fast looms were introduced in 1883, and also his son, Walter Gledhill, who is now manufacturing at Thongsbridge. Beaming and put- ting-up was done by John Beaumont, and perching by Charles Beaumont, who also looked after the gears on the twisting-frames. Twisting and warping was done by a number of female members of the respective families. At this time work was done in the small mill on the Longwood side of the road, and material had to be put into sheets and taken on a hand-cart to the bottom of the landing, thus to be wound up by crane to the top floor on the fifth landing. Then the old looms of fifty to sixty picks were replaced by new, fast looms of eighty picks capacity. Walter Beaumont, who had begun as a twister-in, now took charge of the putting-up. When another firm failed, Enos Beaumont purchased part of the machinery, and also took over the vacated rooms, so that his machinery was more compact and much unnecessary labour eliminated. After the removal Enos Beaumont gave the employees an outing to Blackpool.

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INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT 43 About 1894 his son, Leonard H. Beaumont, finished school,

and went to the mill to learn the business, and when he came of age on April 17th, 1898, the foremen presented him with a travelling case. Enos Beaumont later gave the workpeople another trip to Blackpool. In November 1900, Enos Beaumont died, and Leonard Beaumont, who had had so little experience, had to take charge of the business, which was carried on at Parkwood Mills until 1903. Early in that year Woodland Mills were taken over, and ten additional looms, making sixty in all, were obtained, Charles Beaumont died in the same year. new engine-house was erected and a new engine started in January 1904. About three years later a new shed was built. Leonard Beaumont was married in 1912, and another outing followed. On October 29th, 1913, Percy Ainley, the present govern- ing director, was appointed manager, with James Ramsden Hall, Gibson Haigh and Leonard H. Beaumont as directors. The business developed, and the firm has never looked back since that period. With the help and loyalty of the work- people Mr. Ainley has forged ahead. Extensions to the premises, and increases in the number of employees have been much in evidence. Orders have been so numerous, in fact, that the help of other firms has had to be sought. On February ist, 1924, Mr. Ainley presented gold watches to Oliver Crowther, forty-three years’ service, W. H. Ainley, forty-four years, Joe Beaumont, forty-four years, Carrie Pearson, forty-five years, Walter Beaumont, forty-two years, Ambrose Townend, forty-one years, W. Garside, thirty-four years, A. Hellawell, thirty-four years, and C, H. Lyth, thirty-five years. When on May roth, 1930, Mr. Ainley’s daughter, Dilys, attained her majority, the employees were given an outing to Blackpool, with luncheon and tea at the Winter Gardens. Mr. Ainley provided all with free tickets. A similar outing

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marked Mr. Ainley’s twenty-one years’ connection with the firm, and presentations were made to him by the work- people. Leonard Beaumont, a grandson of the founder of the firm, died in 1933, since when Mr. Ainley has been virtually the sole proprietor of the business. Recently he took on to the board with him his daughter, Dilys, David Eli Dyson, and William Haigh, and the four of them con- stitute the present board of directors. The firm employ directly from four hundred and fifty to five hundred, and for some time the mills have been fully employed day and night. They are manufacturers of fancy woollens, suitings, overcoatings and cap cloths, and specialize in sports cloths, ladies’ costume, mantle cloths, and sports flannels. Until quite recently Mr. Ainley was also a director of the Dobroyd Mills Co, Ltd., Newmill, and of Eastwood Bros. Ltd., Honley. He is a member of the Huddersfield Town Council, and has travelled in all parts of the world on business. He isa F.R.G.S. He is a member of the British National Committee of the International Chamber of Com- merce, and represented the and Ossett Chambers of Commerce at the Federated Chambers of Commerce of the British Empire in South Africa in 1927. He was appointed by the Huddersfield Chamber of Com- merce to represent them in New Zealand in the present

year, 1936.

(2) LOCKWOODS OF LINTHWAITE

The business now known as Charles Lockwood and Sons Ltd., of Black Rock Mills, Linthwaite, had its origin some seventy-five years ago. It was founded by Charles Lock- wood under his own name in a house at Lower Clough, Linthwaite, now known as Black Rock House, and was

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carried on on the first and second storeys. The yarn used was spun on commission at mills in the Valley, and taken to Black Rock House, where warps were made. Hand- loom weavers then fetched the warps along with the wefts to their own homes on the backs of donkeys. Each weaver was responsible for producing the piece to the design given to him. When completed, the pieces were taken back by donkeys, examined, burled, and mended. Sometimes these weavers did not weave the warps to the correct design, and in one case, when the weaver was remonstrated with on the point, he replied, “ Well, it'll wear n’ waar!” The pieces were afterwards sent out to scour, mill, and finish at mills where the separate processes were carried on. The finished cloth was largely sold on market days at the Cloth Hall, Huddersfield, which has now given place to the latest and most modern cinema in the town, known as the Ritz. Incidentally this cinema was opened on February roth, 1936, on which occasion Sidney Howard, the famous Yorkshire film star, jocularly told how he kept the Colne Valley trade going by acting as interpreter to local manu- facturers when they were seeking business in London! A few buyers came from London, Manchester, Brighton, and other places, and selected pieces at the mill where the finished cloth was stored. ‘‘ Derby Tweed,” such as is now worn for riding-breeches, was the name of one cloth produced. ‘The cloth was made into complete suits, along with other kinds, such as black doeskin. This primitive method of making cloth reigned for perhaps two or three years, when room and power were taken at Lower Sunny Bank Mill, Meltham, where scribbling and spinning machinery and power looms were installed. Pieces pro- duced here were sent out to the different mills to complete the “finish.” After a lapse of three or four years another change was made and the plant was removed to Lower

Low Westwood, Golcar, and a part to Lees Mill, Golcar,

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where additional machinery was installed. About the year 1871, building operations of the present premises were begun, with Number One Shed and other bujldings for various processes, beginning with the dyeing of wool, and the woven pieces. The machinery was removed from Lower Low Westwood and Lees Mill. The same type of cloth was made, until gradually fancy tweeds were introduced. Henry, the eldest son, and Josiah, the second son, were admitted as partners. Ezra, the third son, left school and was learning the business when, unfortunately, he was drowned while bathing in the mill dam in 1874. Number Two Shed was added for additional plant. Arthur, the fourth son, commenced work at the age of sixteen in 1876. In 1878 Charles Lockwood, the founder, died at the age of fifty-eight, and his sons, Henry and Josiah, continued the business. Further extensions for plant for finishing the pieces were made, so that the firm was then able to manu- facture cloth from the raw wool to the finished piece. Number Three Shed was added for extra looms. The fifth son, Hiram Herbert, began work at the mill in 1880. At the age of twenty-one Arthur was admitted as a partner, and Hiram Herbert was admitted as a partner in 1883. At this time the whole production of the mill was fancy tweeds. For many years the mill ran night and day for making what was known as medium-priced woollens. During the Great War, which began in 1914, almost the entire plant was engaged in the making of khaki for the English Army, and blue-grey cloth: for the French Army. An additional two-storey building for spinning, and, in Waingate, wool scouring and carbonizing plants were installed, and the dye-house extended. The business was converted into a private limited company in 1895, the . four partners, Henry, Josiah, Arthur, and Hiram Herbert becoming directors. In 1916 Henry died, and in 1919 Josiah

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retired. Hiram Herbert died on December 25th, 1922, and Josiah died on August 7th, 1924. Eventually Arthur’s three sons, Charles Henry, Arthur Percival and Cecil William, and Hiram Herbert’s one son, Donald Dawson, joined the company as directors. After the war the cloth produced returned to tweeds, overcoatings, and worsteds, and that has obtained up to the present time. When work- ing to their full capacity, the mills find employment for from four hundred and fifty to five hundred workpeople. Arthur Lockwood, the present senior director, was president of the Huddersfield Chamber of Commerce in 1921, and was a delegate to the Congress of Chambers of Commerce of the Empire held in Toronto in 1920. He was placed on the Commission of the Peace for the Upper Agbrigg Division of the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1906, acting as vice-chairman for over four years, and was elected chairman in December 1935. He has had practically a life-long connection with the Colne Valley Liberal party, and in 1927 after forty years’ service, and seven years as president of the Colne Valley Liberal Association, he was presented with a grandmother clock. During the war he served on the Linthwaite Relief Committee, and the Linth- waite Military Service Tribunal. In recognition of their golden wedding in September 1935, Mr. and Mrs. Lock- wood were presented by the workpeople with two Parker Knoll easy chairs. Henry Lockwood was a past chairman of Linthwaite District Council, and for many years the popular Master of the Colne Valley Hunt, and Hiram Herbert Lockwood was interested in the Linthwaite Cricket Club and the Linthwaite Brass Band. Josiah Lockwood was formerly president of the Linth- waite Liberal Club, and frequently prevailed upon the late Colonel John Ward, known as the “ Navvy”’ M.P., who stayed at his house, to speak at the club. Colonel Ward worked as a navvy on the construction of the Blackmoor-

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foot reservoir belonging to the Huddersfield Corporation, and retained his interest in the district to the end. Charles Henry, Cecil William, and Donald Dawson Lockwood served in the Great War, and were demobilized at the close. Cecil William Lockwood was awarded the Military Cross, and shows his interest in ex-servicemen by acting as president of the Linthwaite branch of the British Legion.

(7) PEARSON BROS, LTD.

The foundation of the firm of Pearson Bros. Ltd., of Victoria Mills, Golcar, and Commercial Mills, Slaithwaite, dates back some seventy-five or eighty years. It began in the humble way of most of the big businesses referred to, when John Pearson and Joseph Pearson, two brothers, entered into partnership in Ridings Lane, Golcar, and used the old-fashioned hand-looms in their home. On July ist, 1877, the two brothers purchased a quarter share in what was then known as Golcar Mill, and a number of other firms had rooms there, notably the Taylors and Sykes’s. In those days Taylor, Pearson, and Taylor were associated in gas-making for the village, and they also had a fire brigade and fire engine, which will be readily recalled by the older generation of Golcar people. Victoria Mills were built in 1854, and the business continued to expand. In 1889 the firm of Pearsons bought Commercial Mills, Slaithwaite, from Henry Walker, father of Benjamin Henry S. Walker, well-known Slaithwaite worthies. At that time they had twenty-three looms and six sets of carding machines, but they began at Slaithwaite with thirty looms and ten sets of machines. The firm became a limited company trading as Pearson Bros. Ltd. in 1896, and two years later bought Victoria

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Mills, at Golcar. Business has been carried on at both mills since that date. The first directors of the company were Ramsden Pearson, who was chairman and managing direc- tor, Albert Pearson, Joseph Dyson Pearson, and Henry Edward Pearson, all sons of John Pearson. All those directors have now passed away and the present directors are Frank Pearson, managing director, John Edward Pear- son (sons of Albert Pearson), Ernest Pearson and Harold Pearson (sons of Ramsden Pearson), and Donald Rupert Pearson (son of Henry Edward Pearson). Another member of the family of Henry Edward Pearson was Captain and Adjutant Joseph Sykes Pearson, who died in France just before the Armistice was signed in November 1918, and lies buried in Calais. Harold Pearson and Donald R. Pearson saw active service during the war. At both mills to-day the firm have one hundred and thirty-eight looms and thirty sets of carding machines, and employ about three hundred workpeople. They have a cotton doubling plant at Golcar, and a large shed built there in 1903 covers two thousand square yards of ground. Ramsden Pearson, previously mentioned, was especially well known for his public work in Golcar. He was a member of Golcar District Council, and treasurer for the Golcar Conservative Club for a very long period, and twice acted as a churchwarden at St. John’s Church. The latter position had also been held by John Pearson and by Henry

Edward Pearson.

(Rk) SHIRES’S YARN

Another important firm which had its beginnings in a very modest way, and has never sought the limelight of publicity, but has steadily progressed throughout the years is that of Messrs. James Shires and Sons Ltd., of George D

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Street Mills, Milnsbridge. Its founder was the late James Shires, a native of Horbury, who went to work in a mill at Meltham, and found his lite partner in that “ Happy Valley.”’ He was considered an expert scribbling engineer and eventually he rented room and power at Britannia Mills, Crosland Moor, where members of the Crowther family also carried on business. About 1864 he took over a small mill on the Armitage Estate at Milnsbridge before the present George Street was constructed. The small and primitive building was known by some as Whiteley Mill, and by others as Quarmby Mill. There he concentrated on the production of carded yarns for the hosiery trade. For some time all the yarn he could produce was taken by the well-known firm of Messrs. I. and R. Morley Ltd., of London, Nottingham and other places, and goods were freely advertised in the shops as being made from “ Shires’s yarn.” From the start the business expanded and premises were erected and extended with much rapidity. Eventually Mr. Shires decided to develop the manufactur- ing side also, and the late David Mathieson came in to manage and develop the new phase of business, which has ever since been conducted alongside that of yarn spinning. As years went on the present directors of the firm were taken into the business. First there came the eldest son, the late George Henry Shires, who died on March 5th, 1926, and then the late John Edward Shires, who passed away at the untimely age of twenty-one. He was followed by William Shires and Thomas Shires, who are still direc- tors of the frm. Messrs. James Shires and Sons Ltd. was registered on November 13th, 1904, and the first three directors were George Henry, William, and Thomas Shires. Later two sons of the late George Henry Shires, J. Harold Shires and John R. Shires, and two sons of William Shires, Donald and Kenneth, entered the firm. All the named survivors are still directors.

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In 1916 the firm acquired the business of Messrs. Farnhill and Hirst at Delph, Saddleworth, and this firm was recon- structed in 1922 as the Saddleworth Woollen Co. Ltd., which specializes on the production of shirtings, flannels, and ladies’ dress goods. In December 1920, the firm also acquired the business of George Beaumont and Sons, of Dale Street Mills, Longwood, and carried on there under the style of Shires Bros. Ltd. for some time. As extensions were made at the main premises in George Street, however, that part of the business was later transferred to George Street. The premises are now among the most expansive and modern in the district. The firm are ever on the look out for the latest and most modern plant and machinery, and most of the mills are now electrically driven. The firm’s own excellent water supply is obtained on the premises by means of a large bore hole sunk in recent years. At the time of writing more extensions were in progress. The firm have bought a large tract of land at the rear of the main mill premises, formerly occupied by the firm of J. and E. Morton, chemical manufacturers, and later by the Yorkshire Tar Distilleries Ltd. Here a huge shed has been erected for storage and extension of manufacturing plant. The old Whiteley-Quarmby Mill with its water-wheel has also been demolished to make way for a new cloth finishing department. The firm find constant employment for between five hundred and six hundred workpeople, and the good feeling that exists between them and their employees found expression in December 1935, when to commemorate their Silver Wedding, Mr. and Mrs. J. Harold Shires were presented by the workpeople with a grandmother clock with chimes, and the firm presented a cheque for {50 to each of three employees who had com- pleted fitty years’ service. ‘They were Levi Lees, Herbert Lee, and Horace Senior. At an earlier period a similar gift

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was made by the firm to two other of their workpeople— Joe Sykes and Luther Armstrong. William Shires, who married a daughter of the late David Mathieson, is a magistrate, and was president of the Huddersfield Chamber of Commerce from 1927-29. Along with the late E. J. Bruce, he represented the Chamber at the British Empire Conference in Cape Town during his presidency. Prominent in Masonic circles, he was also on the first committee of the West Riding of Yorkshire Joint Industrial Council, and has held important offices with the Huddersfield Woollen Manufacturers and Spinners Associations. Alderman Thomas Shires has rendered excel- lent service to the municipality, and was Mayor of Hudders- field in 1931-32 and 1932-33, and has served continuously on the council since 1908. Mrs. Thomas Shires is a J.P. and president of the Huddersfield Women’s Liberal Association.

(7) HOYLES’ RAPID GROWTH

A firm that produced fourteen million yards of cloth to clothe the allied armies during the war, merits recognition in these pages. Such a firm is that of Joseph Hoyle and Son Ltd., of Prospect and Quarmby Clough Mills, Long- wood, which began in just the same modest way as other firms already mentioned. The governing director is Sir Emmanuel Hoyle, Bart, J.P., whose father, Joseph Hoyle, founded the business in 1866, when, as I have shown, the woollen trade was largely a home industry, and Longwood, as other districts, resounded with the clang of the hand- loom. Joseph Hoyle was quick to see the possibilities of manufacturing cloth by power-loom, and installed such machinery at Prospect Mills, a very modest property com- pared to the extensive factory seen there to-day.

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The small factory of the ’seventies employed between twenty and thirty operatives. But the history of the firm has been one of continued growth, until to-day the employees number over twelve hundred. The constancy of work has attracted a good class of operative to the district, and many of them have been in the employ of the firm for forty or fifty years. ‘The premises used by the founder at the start soon became inadequate, and extension after exten- sion took place. Many years ago also Quarmby Clough Mills, and Gledholt Mills, were acquired and modernized, and to-day the mills of the firm are among the most modern and best equipped in the district. They cover a floor space of over forty thousand yards. The boiler power required to run the concerns is two thousand horse-power, with seven large boilers. The maximum power now being generated not being sufficient for recent extensions, and further extensions which it is intended to make, a new scheme has to be put in hand for increasing the power. Considerable thought has been given to the various systems, and it has been decided to replace all the present power plant with electric current supplied by the Huddersfield Corporation. This has necessitated making an agreement with the public authority, and it will be the largest supply of its kind in the neighbourhood. Every week over one hundred and fifty thousand pounds of raw material are required to keep the machinery running. During the war the firm placed their whole resources at the command of the Government, and their war achieve- ment was very gratifying. They produced cloth for all the allied armies, and the grand total output for the various Governments exceeded fourteen million yards. In the pro- duction of that cloth a small army of operatives were engaged, and the position was not improved by the fact that twenty-five per cent. of the male operatives had to join the forces; as a result of which a quantity of labour had to be

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imported, and, having to find accommodation for them, the firm opened a hostel to afford a temporary home for a large number of girls. In addition to cloth for suits and overcoats, the firm made a large quantity of grey angola shirtings, and cloth for curtains to cover the port-holes of ships. The latter was made of a special colour so as to render the ships invisible to the enemy. They also manu- factured over a million blankets, although they had not previously been engaged in this class of work. This enormous output of cloth meant the utilization of every inch of the firm’s extensive premises and the adoption of labour-saving devices. One of the most important of these is a huge travelling crane, such as is seen in use at some of the large railway stations. By means of heavy supports and girders the rail- way is fastened in some places to the side of the mills, and in other places it passes over viaducts. In this way loads of half a ton weight are carried from one portion of the premises to the other, and the distance covered by the crane is between seven hundred and eight hundred yards. Not only does this save time and monéy, but it does away with the congestion in the mill which would follow if such large quantities of material were transported by the usual slow methods. This is an idea of Lieut.-Colonel Sir Emmanuel Hoyle, Bart, J.P., the governing director, who is considered an expert on transport work and labour-saving devices. In addition to the tremendous strain borne by him during the war, Sir Emmanuel took a full share in the extra duties which devolved upon all true citizens at that time. He was the Commander of the West Riding Royal Army Service Corps, M.T. (V), which had units in several West Riding towns and cities. He served on several Government Trade Committees, and also as a member of the Huddersfield Town Council, but could not have devoted so much time

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and energy outside his business without the valued help of J. W. Taylor, his manager, and other sub-managers, who ably stepped into the breach and rendered valuable assistance. The same spirit of enterprise continues, and the firm make continual progress by adapting themselves to the requirements of the markets of the world. Hanging in the board-room at Prospect Mills is a large oil-painting depicting the ship Joseph Hoyle, which was presented to them by a firm from whom they had purchased their raw material for a long period, and a member of the firm travelled thousands of miles to make the presentation. The incident tells its own story of the happy relationships of the firm and its customers. In additien to Sir Emmanuel, the other directors of the firm are J. W. Taylor, G. W. Newton, T. E. Ackroyd, J. G. Roebuck, W. H. Rawcliffe, and W. N. Dawson.

(m) LOCKWOODS OF GOLCAR AND MILNSBRIDGE

Another link with the days of the old hand-loom is pro- vided by the experience of the firm of John Lockwood and Sons Ltd., now carrying on business at Scarbottom Mills, Milnsbridge, and at Holme Mills, Golcar. John Lockwood, the founder of the firm, began business about 1874 as a linsey manufacturer, at Leys, Longwood, by engaging hand-loom weavers, and having yarn spun on commission. The business was carried on in a small way at the address given for about a year, when carding and spinning mach- inery and looms were installed at Hirst Mill, Longwood. There the business was carried on for two or three years, after which the plant was removed to Dale Street Mills,

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Longwood, where additional machinery was obtained and the business further extended. About 1881 another move was made, this time to Park- wood Mills, Longwood, and again extensions were made. Then in 1891 Scarbottom Mills, which were formerly occupied by a firm of Fieldings, were purchased. Up to this time all the goods were dried on outside tenters in a field at Leys, and the finished pieces were made up and sent away from there. Following the purchase of Scarbottom Mills, the outside tenters were discarded, and all the goods were dried and finished at the mill, where the full process from beginning to end was carried through. The business increased so quickly that building extensions had to be made and additional machinery installed about the year 1895. On February roth, 1899, the company was incorporated and John Lockwood with his sons, Wilkinson, Hanson, and Fred, were the first directors. Still the business flourished, and in 1903 the company took a further important step forward when they purchased Holme Mills, Golcar, formerly occupied by the old firm of Robert Taylor and Co. A few years later further additions had to be made to this second mill. On December roth, the founder of the firm, John Lockwood, passed away, and on April 29th, 1916, Hanson Lockwood also died. The present directors have continued their progressive policy. They are Wilkinson Lockwood, Fred Lockwood, sons of John Lockwood (the founder), John Beaumont Lockwood and Harry Lockwood, sons of Wilkinson Lockwood, and G. Kenneth Lockwood, son of the late Hanson Lockwood. In 1934 the company installed a turbine, and from early in 1935 both mills have been electrically driven. Wilkinson Lockwood has taken a share in the public life of the district in addition to assisting in the business. For twenty-two years he served as a member of the Colne Valley District Education Sub-Committee, and for all the

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period of the war he served on the various distress com- mittees in the Golcar township. For seven years also he was an Overseer of the Poor for Golcar, serving with the late Fred Calverley, and with Richard Chappell, M.B.E., J.P. Wilkinson Lockwood was added to the Commission of the Peace for the West Riding of Yorkshire on October 15th, 1923. Practically all his life he has been connected with Salendine Nook Baptist Church, the mother of the baptist churches of the Huddersfield district. He has been a steward for about twenty-five years, and on September gth, 1935, he had the honour of opening the organ after it had

been overhauled and reconstructed.

(7) HIRST AND MALLINSON LTD.

Like many other businesses that of Hirst and Mallinson Ltd., of Cliffe End Mills, Longwood, and Bottom Hall Mills, Milnsbridge, began on modest lines. It was founded by the late Stead Hirst, who rented rooms at Bottom Hall Mills, and employed about twenty people in 1887. Two years later Mr. Hirst was joined by Alexander Mallinson. Bottom Hall Mills were then owned by the Bottom Hall Mills Co. Rooms were also rented there by Learoyd Bros., the Huddersfield firm. The Sykes family also used to occupy the mills or part of them. In 1895 Hirst and Mallinson purchased the Cliffe End Mills, but at first occupied only a portion of the premises while rooms were let off to John Hirst, father of Stead Hirst, T. Hall and Co., W. H. Kaye, Cliffe and Co., J. B. Hogley, Sidney Carter (blacksmith), William Moorhouse (cotton spinner), Mellor and Son, Edward Howarth, and Jonathan Illingworth. Early in rg01 Bottom Hall Mills were purchased, and in these premises Crowther and Nicholson, who for many

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years have been at Ashbrow Mills, Huddersfield, had rooms, as also had Ernest S. Cooper, dyer, and Ephraim Wood and Sons, waste pullers. Gradually all these firms moved away and Hirst and Mallinson have occupied the whole of the premises at both mills for many years. The firm was formed into a limited company on July 27th, 1910, Mr. Mallinson having left the business, but his son Roy Mallinson was a director for a short time. The first directors were Stead Hirst, chair- man, Roy Mallinson, and William Hirst, son of Stead Hirst, with John T. Crowe as secretary. Mr. Crowe has now been with the firm for forty-seven years. Roy Mallin- son left the company in 1911. The present directors are William Hirst and his younger brother, John Alexander Hirst. For many years the firm has been exceptionally busy, and employ about eight hundred workpeople. They are engaged in cloth manufacture wholly for the men’s trade. During the war, of course, they made huge quantities of cloth for the allied forces. Stead Hirst died at the Lodore Hotel, Keswick, where he had gone for a holiday, on June 3rd, 1926. It is interest- ing to note that in July 1924, following a monster excursion given by the firm to the employees to the exhibition at Wembley, Mr. Hirst was presented by them with an eight- day clock, with chimes, “for the kindness and generosity shown to his workpeople during past years.” Mr. Hirst took no part in public work, but was known to be a generous supporter of certain good causes, though this was always done without any publicity. Fred Calverley and Co. Ltd. used to occupy part of Com- mercial Mills.

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(0) TWO PROSPEROUS FIRMS

Heath House, from which the Heath House Mills of T. W. Thorpe Ltd., Golcar, take their name, was formerly a country residence occupied by a family named Wood. The mills, much smaller than they are to-day, were occupied at various times by firms of Newtons, Ainleys, Whiteleys (Wright Whiteley and his son, Joseph Whiteley), and Andrew Beaumont. Originally the mills were driven by a water-wheel, and were used only for shoddy and waste cleaning and for fulling. Later carding and spin- ning were added. Manufacturing began there when Wright Whiteley had the business. Many people will recall that the chimney of the mills was blown down during a gale on December 22nd, 1894, during the occupancy of Joseph Whiteley. Much damage was done to the old premises, and one man lost his life in the accident. Thomas William Thorpe, who with George Quarmby had been a partner in the firm of Robert Taylor and Co., Holme Mills, Golcar, bought the Heath House business from Andrew Beaumont in February 1897. The business flourished and extensions to the mill were made from time to time. Elon Crowther, mentioned later, and who is not to be confused with the Elon Crowther of Joseph Sykes and Co., Brockholes, was at Heath House Mills for thirty years. He began there when Joseph Whiteley had charge of the business) He became mill manager for Mr. Thorpe, and, along with Fred Thorpe, son of Thomas William Thorpe, was made a director when the company was registered as a limited liability company in 1905. Harold Thorpe, younger brother of Fred Thorpe, entered the business later, and the two brothers are now the directors of the company. Crowther severed his connection with the firm in

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March 1924, and in the following month started the business of Elon Crowther and Sons Ltd. at Upper Mill, Slaithwaite. This mill was originally built as a cotton mill, and previous to Messrs. Crowther taking over the business it was conducted by James Holroyd and Son, who were formerly at Bank Bottom Mills, Marsden. Jonathan Holroyd was the principal of this firm until his death. He was a prominent Methodist, both at Slaithwaite, in the Gledholt Circuit, and in Methodist circles generally. Elon Crowther has associated with him as directors his two sons, Arnold and Alfred Crowther. Father and sons are musically inclined, and at Westwood Church have found opportunities for giving much valued voluntary service. Elon Crowther was voluntary organist there from 1882 to 1888, and after a break of eleven years, during which he was organist at Linthwaite Wesleyan Church, resumed the duties in 1899, and has continued them ever since. He is now frequently assisted by his son, Arnold. Alfred Crowther is a violinist, and a member of the Slaithwaite Philharmonic Society. It should be added that each firm

under notice employs about two hundred workpeople.

(p) SLAITHWAITE SPINNING CO. LTD.

Many of the present generation may be surprised to learn that the Slaithwaite Spinning Co. Ltd., who own four large mills, and a smaller one adjoining, began opera- tions as a Land and Building Society, but such was the case. The story of its inception has been well told by one of the originators, John Sugden, in his “‘ Slaithwaite Notes.” It is therein stated that at a meeting held on April 26th, 1876, presided over by Mr. Sugden, it was unanimously

agreed that a Land and Building Society be formed, with a

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capital of {20,000, and that the following be the directors : George Haigh, Joseph Crowther, William Crowther, Joseph Brierley, John Sugden, George Henry Walker, and David Eagland. The Society erected a number of cottages on the site of which now stands the large shed of the Spinning Co. Only a few months elapsed before the operations of the Society widened so as to permit of the building of a cotton spinning mill. The change was made on September 27th, 1876, at the first general meeting of the Land and Build- ing Society. After a favourable balance sheet had been presented, it was decided that the capital be increased to £50,000 in one pound shares, so as to be able to erect. the mill, and the name was changed to that of the Slaith- waite Spinning Co. ‘The directors remained the same, and George Haigh, by instruction, bought land from Lord Dartmouth at two shillings and sixpence a yard. Plans were obtained immediately, and as the firm of Eaglands secured the contract, David Eagland retired from the board, and Elon Crowther took his place. John Wood Beaumont was on for a short time. George Haigh, the first chairman, died early, and William Crowther succeeded to the chair. Alfred Sykes succeeded Joseph Brierley on the latter’s death. The building of No. one mill began in 1877, No. two followed in 1882, and No. three in 1887. Spa Mill was purchased in 1902, and No. four mill was erected adjoining Spa Mill in 1906. David Stoner Crowther acquired a controlling interest in the company in March 1920. The shareholders were then given the option of selling their shares to Mr. Crowther at the price of {20 per five pounds fully paid share. The circular which was issued to shareholders at the time stated that the following directors, William Crowther, Elon Crowther, John Edward Crowther, Rams- den H. Crowther, and Arthur Robinson, had agreed

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to dispose of their respective holdings in the company to David Stoner Crowther at the price stated, and that when the transaction was completed the purchaser would hold in his own right more than half of the total share capital of the company. ‘The directors then retired, and the pur- chaser, with two nominees, Thomas Paton and William A. Roebuck, were elected directors in place of those retiring. One of the present directors, Sam Haigh, known to every man, woman and child in Slaithwaite, has been con- nected with the company since 1879, when he began work in the warehouse. <A few years later he was appointed assistant secretary to Thomas Varley, on the death of whose father, William Varley (the first manager), in 1893, Mr. Haigh was appointed secretary. Thomas Varley succeeded his father as manager. A prominent Freemason, Mr. Haigh has held many positions in the craft, and is a past president of the Huddersfield and District Installed Masters Association. For many years he was treasurer to the Slaithwaite Musical Festival, and the Slaithwaite Old Folks’ Treat Committee. He has also been president, secretary, and treasurer of the Slaithwaite Liberal Club, and a member of the executive of the Colne Valley Liberal Association for a long period. When he had completed fifty years’ service with the company Mr. Haigh was presented with a silver loving cup by the directors, and on his retirement from the position of secretary in 1933 he received from his colleagues a mahogany English made case with Granny clock, finished with brass dial, and fitted with eight days Westminster chimes. The clock bears the inscription, “ Presented to Mr. Sam Haigh by the Slaith- waite Spinning Company Ltd., upon his retirement, March 31, 1933, as a token of esteem and appreciation of faithful Mr. Haigh was succeeded as secretary of the Spinning Co. by Fred D. Hayes. The present manager, William Gerrard, of Bolton, was

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appointed on the retirement of Thomas Varley in 1920. Thomas Varley designed all the mills of the company except the first. He was a member of Slaithwaite Council for nearly thirty years, and was three times chairman. He rendered great service to Providence Baptist Chapel, Slaithwaite, and held many public offices. He had been chairman of the Slaithwaite School Board, a prominent Liberal, and was created a West Riding magistrate in 1915. Ernest Varley Haigh, son of Sam Haigh, is chairman of Horrockses, Crewdson and Co. Ltd., of Preston and Manchester.

(q) GLOBE WORSTED CO. LTD.

Another important concern which has played a prominent part in the prosperity of the Colne Valley, is the Globe Worsted Co. Ltd., of Slaithwaite. The company was formed in December, 1886, and began business in 1888. The first subscribers and directors were Joseph Crowther, Frank W. Taylor, William Crowther, Joah Lodge, Elon Crowther, Joseph Brierley, and Josiah France. Changes in the directorate were made from time to time owing to death, and among those who served later were Alfred Sykes, John Edward Crowther, Joseph Taylor, Joseph Dyson Crowther, and Ramsden H. Crowther. ‘The first chairman was Joseph Crowther, and he was suc- ceeded on his death by his brother, William Crowther, who held the position until 1923, when changes were made in the financial arrangements of the company, whereby the company became part of the Illingworth, Morris and Co. Ltd. combine. When the transfer took place on June 25th, 1923, the then directors concerned, William Crowther, Elon

Crowther, John Edward Crowther, Joseph Dyson Crowther,

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and Ramsden H. Crowther, retired from the board, by arrangement with the purchasers, whose nominees then were elected in place of those retiring. James W. Matthewman, the managing director, remained on the board, and the management of the company has continued exactly as before. The present directors are James W. Matthewman, chairman and managing director, John P. Harrop, O. L. Anders, Sir J. Donald Horsfall, Bart., J.P., and Sir Arthur H. Marshall, K.B.E. The last-named was formerly Member of Parliament for Huddersfield. The company own two large ‘mills in Bridge Street, Slaithwaite, and the estate covers over two acres. One mill is five storeys high, and the warehouse is six storeys high. The staple trade is worsted spinning, and the firm also do their own wool combing. They employ about five hundred and fifty workpeople, and the combing department is fully occupied night and day. Their products are chiefly for the home cloth manufacturers, and they also do a fair export trade.

_ (7) POGSON AND CO.

The firm of Pogson and Co., yarn spinners, at Bridge Street Mills, Slaithwaite, was founded by Joe Pogson, who began business in rooms at Brook Mills, Crimble, in 1896, with four sets of carding machines. Later he pur- eight more sets of machines. About rgor Mr. Pogson took over the Bridge Street Mills, which were destroyed by fire in 1902, and rebuilt in 1903. The firm then was composed of John Crowther and Sons, Crowther, Bruce and Co., and Mr. Pogson. At subsequent dates these associate firms were paid out, and for about fourteen years up to the time of writing, the business had been entirely in the hands of Mr. Pogson and his sons Norman

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Greenwood Pogson and William Cecil Pogson. They employ about one hundred and sixty workpeople. Joe Pogson has done a great amount of public work in the district. He was a member of Slaithwaite District Council from 1909 to 1936, and was chairman in 1915-16-17. During the war he was chairman of the Local Military Service Tribunal, and worked wholeheartedly in every local war- time effort. He was chairman of the Council again in 1932-33. For several years he represented the Council on the Upper Agbrigg Assessment Committee. He was added to the Commission of the Peace for the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1919, has been a live president of the Slaith- waite Conservative Club, for when he had held the position for twenty-one years the members presented him with a silver cup on an ebony stand. The Conservative Party in the Colne Valley Division has also had in Mr. Pogson a valued worker. For a number of years he was chairman of the Colne Valley Conservative Association.

(s) BEN HALL AND SON LTD.

The firm of Ben Hall and Son Ltd. of Spring Garden Mills, Milnsbridge, originated from a business conducted by Law Heppenstall at Spring Mill, Milnsbridge. After the death of Law Heppenstall, his son, John Edward, went into partnership with a relative, Ben Hall, and they traded as Heppenstall and Hall for some time. Then the partner- ship was dissolved, and Ben Hall began business on his own account at Bridge Croft Mills, Milnsbridge, with three sets of carding machines and sixteen looms. The business prospered, and the present mills were acquired. There, at the time of writing, the firm operated sixteen sets of machines, and about one hundred and thirty looms, E

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66 COLNE VALLEY FOLK I employing about four hundred and fifty workpeople. The

firm was known as Ben Hall and Son, before the principal died, and it was afterwards continued by his son, James Ramsden Hall, until the latter’s illness. Later the firm amalgamated with that of Sam Hirst, cloth finisher, who used to do the finishing for Halls, and was registered as a limited company. ‘The directors are Edward Ramsden Hall, son of James Ramsden Hall, and Herbert William Hirst, son of Sam Hirst. FE. R. Hall is the well-known racing motorist. Henry Wilkinson, a former chairman of the Colne Valley District Education Sub-Committee, the cashier, was with the frm for more than forty-two years. He began as a clerk, and later was commercial traveller when the firm dealt in the men’s trade. At present they deal entirely with the ladies’ trade, and are working day and night. Unhappily Mr. Wilkinson passed away a few days atter giving me this information from his sick-bed.

(t) JOHN W. LEITCH AND CO. LTD.

The firm of John W. Leitch and Co. Ltd., Aniline Dye and Chemical Manufacturers, Milnsbridge, was founded in the year 1890 by the late John Walker Leitch, B.Sc., who commenced business in one of the sheds previously form- ing part of the works of Dan Dawson Bros. Ltd. Rapid strides were made by Mr. Leitch, and eventually most of the works in Colne Vale Road previously occupied by Dan Dawson Bros. Ltd. were taken over, and, together with additional buildings, equipped with plant for the manu- facture of Coal Tar Derivatives for the preparation of Aniline Dyes and Explosives. Messrs. Leitch were the first makers of T.N.T. in this

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country, having commenced the manufacture in 1902, and when the Great War broke out, the output was increased enormously. Many people will remember the serious fire which broke out in the Benzol Department in 1915, causing a number of explosions which caused much alarm in the district. Since the middle of 1917, the firm has concentrated its energies on the manufacture of Intermediate Products for Aniline Dye making, and has also extended its range of Aniline Dyes. It has also introduced a fine range of pig- ment colours and fast bases for ice colours, for which it has established a world-wide reputation. The firm was converted into a private limited liability company in 1921, under the style of John W. Leitch and Co. Ltd., and the present directors are Donald J. Leitch

and Dr. A. E. Everest.

(4) A CONCLUDING WORD

This development of the woollen textile industry is a fascinating subject, but I must finish somewhere, and many worthy concerns will have to be satisfied with brief men- tion. The late Frederick William Mallalieu, who was formerly Member of Parliament for the division, was con- nected with the firm of D. and H. Mallalieu, of Delph. The family claim to have descended from the Huguenots, a nickname given to the Protestants of France about the middle of the sixteenth century. At all events the family bears an honoured name in the Colne Valley, and both father and son (Edward Lancelot) have represented the division in Parliament. Frederick William Mallalieu died while on a visit to South Africa, and his ashes were brought to Saddleworth

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for interment. His work in Parliament, and on the West Riding County Council, of which he was ‘“ Chancellor of the Exchequer ” for many years, is still remembered. His wife, Ann Mallalieu, who was president of the Colne Valley Women’s Liberal Association, and a West Riding magistrate, died in January 1936. She was a delightful lady to meet, and leaves behind a treasured memory. To the great regret of hosts of people, and especially to their three hundred employees, the firm of Armitage Bros. (Huddersfield) Ltd., of Burdett Mills, Milnsbridge, went out of business in 1930, after an existence of more than a hundred years. The Armitage family followed the Rad- cliffes to Milnsbridge House, formerly one of the stately homes of the district, now a mass of ruins, They were generous benefactors to Milnsbridge Parish Church. Similarly, the passing of time saw the extinction of another old-established firm in that of Robinson Bros. of Clough Lee Mills, Marsden, a firm that had been in existence since 1860. One of the founders, John Bower Robinson, was a great force in the district in local affairs, as well as in business, and his son, Arthur, took a prom- inent part in public life. The business was sold in 1903 to another firm which did not continue very long, and the mills were standing idle until they were taken over by Bailly-Ancion Ltd., a foreign firm which was registered in March 1934, and carries on business as wool scourers, dyers, bleachers, and woollen and worsted manufacturers. They have found work for about two hundred workpeople. The secretary of the company is Frank Phillips, who was formerly cashier for Robinson Bros. at the same mills, and filled in the interim as Rate Collector to the Marsden District Council. He has gained more than a local reputa- tion as a comedian in amateur operatics. Other businesses at Slaithwaite which claim attention

are those of Edwin Shaw and Son, Clough House Mills,

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Wilkinson), William Brook and Sons, dyers, W. E. Cotton and Sons Ltd., cotton waste merchants, Godfrey Woodhead and Son Ltd., chemical manufacturers, which was founded by Godfrey Woodhead and John Sugden, and joined later by James Woodhead, son of Godfrey Wood- head. The present directors are Major James Holden Crossley, a member of the Marsden District Council and of the West Riding County Council, and his son, with the sons of a former director, Joe Bamforth of Linthwaite. James Bailey, engineer and machinist, of Howgate Road, Slaithwaite, has had a long connection with the trade. At Ramsden Mill, Linthwaite, Taylor, Livesey and Co. Ltd. have succeeded Whitwam and Co., and Crabtree and Sons (Linthwaite) Ltd. are at Ramsden Mill, Golcar, formerly occupied by a firm of Whiteleys. B. and J. Whit- wan and Sons Ltd. have had a long history at Stanley Mills, Golcar. James Sykes and Sons Ltd., Stafford Mills, Milnsbridge, and B. Taylor and Son (Milnsbridge) Ltd., yarn spinners, Bank House Mill, Milnsbridge, are old-estab- lished concerns. In the dyeing industry there are the well- known firms of George Cock Ltd., Linthwaite, and James Dyson and Sons, wool and cotton dyers, cotton hank mercerisers, dyers and winders, of Hoyle Ing Dyeworks, Linthwaite, and Fish Pond Dyeworks, Milnsbridge; also the Bridge Croft Dyeing Co. Ltd., Milnsbridge, of which the late Walter Edmund Sykes Lunn was governing direc- tor. Shaw and Shaw, cotton spinners, Britannia Mills, Milnsbridge, have also a long record. John W. Leitch and Co. Ltd, Milnsbridge, is an old- established firm of chemical manufacturers, who made high explosives during the war, and Thornton and Ross Ltd., with which Nathan Thornton, a former chairman of Golcar District Council, is connected, and the Colne Vale Dye and Chemical Co. are in the same district. F. W. Taylor and Co., electrical engineers, of Milnsbridge, and France

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and Brook, iron founders, Slaithwaite, have played, and are still playing, a prominent part in the business life of the district. James France, of the latter firm, has recently held the position of president of the Commercial Motor Users Association with distinction. The large Huddersfield firms of Crowther and Nicholson Ltd., Ashbrow Mills, and Middlemost Bros. and Co. Ltd., Clough House Mills, used to operate at Milnsbridge, and the Moorhouse family of Moorhouse and Brook Ltd., Newmill and Huddersfield, had early associations with Linthwaite. Likewise William Haigh, of the Dobroyd Mill Co. Ltd., New Mill, Holmfirth, was formerly engaged with Job Beaumont and Son Ltd., Longwood, and is now chairman of New Mill District Council, and president of the Colne Valley Liberal Association. The development of the firm of Joseph Hanson and Son Ltd., and of Hanson’s Buses Ltd., of Milnsbridge and Huddersfield, “‘ carriers since the days of the pack-horses,”’ is one of the romances of the district. Joseph Wimpenny and Co., builders and contractors, have erected some of the most important mills and other public buildings, and W. H. Robinson Ltd., metal merchants, of Milnsbridge, is a subsidiary firm that has made wide and rapid development. Councillor J. H. Heywood, proprietor of a big stores, with cafe, in Huddersfield, started in a small shop, which is still carried on in Market Street, Milnsbridge.

(v) A BIG CUSTOMER

The firm of Montague Burton Ltd., of Leeds, who have shops in all parts of the country, make a big demand of the Colne Valley manufacturers, Mr. N. Fairfoot, private secretary to Sir Montague, tells me that during the last fifteen years the firm has been the largest single customer

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that the Colne Valley has had. It has bought the highest class of goods made in the Huddersfield district, from Taylor and Lodge Ltd., Martin, Sons and Co. Ltd., Thompson and Sons, Learoyd Bros. and Co, Ltd., Sykes and Co., and large orders have also been placed with firms making popular lines, such as John Crowther and Sons Ltd., W. and E, Crowther Ltd., and Hirst and Mallinson Ltd. The firm, Mr. Fairfoot says, has never bought a single yard of cloth and trimmings outside Great Britain and the Irish Free State. One or two details of this remarkable firm will not be out of place. Sir Montague began business in 1900 with a capital of {100. Now-the factory estate covers one hundred acres, and finds employment for ten thousand employees. The capital is now eight millions, and the firm claim to have one hundred thousand indirect employees. In twelve months they use fifty million buttons, six and a half million yards of cloth, and ten million yards of linings. They employ eleven hundred cutters and make thirty-five thousand suits to measure every week, exclusive of raincoats, sports jackets, and flannel trousers. Nowhere else in the world, it is claimed, are so many people gathered under one roof,

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CHAPTER THREE

POLITICAL CHANGES

In all the changes that have taken place in the last thirty years, perhaps none have been more striking than those in the political arena. When I entered journalism, for instance, I found that the Colne Valley was represented by that stately and sturdy Liberal, Sir James Kitson, Bart., who a few years afterwards was to become Lord Airedale. Sir James had been a Member from 1892, when he defeated the late John Sugden, with whom I had many happy associa- tions. He used to write regularly for the Colne Valley Guardian and, while I was there, published his ‘‘ Slaithwaite Notes,’’ which give a lively account of the doings of an even earlier period. In 1895, Sir James Kitson held the seat against the challenge of Harold Thomas and Tom Mann (Labour), and in 1900 he succeeded when opposed by Captain W. G. Bagnall, who, at the General Election in November 1935, again contested the division. I took no more than a passing interest in these elections, not being in journalism at the time, though I well remember how we youngsters used to wear our blue and yellow favours, and what lively doings there were at election times. But I have vivid memories of the time when Sir James Kitson held undisputed sway as Member for the division. Things went on much more serenely than they were destined to do later. It was but seldom that the Member

72

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was expected to visit the division in those days, and when he did so it was quite an event. The annual meetings of the Colne Valley Liberal Association were great affairs, beginning always with a meat tea, and then followed the speeches while the members still remained seated. An influential deputation invariably met Sir James at the station at Slaithwaite—it was in the days before motor-cars had come into their own—and there was a stately procession through the room to the head table, the while the members stood and cheered as they would do for Royalty. Such a hold had Sir James on the affections of his supporters. His annual speech was usually long, and to-day would be considered too “‘ heavy” for normal consumption. But the late W. H. Wolstenholme, who was then chief reporter for the Huddersfield Examiner used to report him at length, the account running to three or four columns. And I believe every word was read by the stalwart politicians of those days! But as will have been gathered from my reference to Tom Mann, the Socialists had begun to sow the seeds of their creed in the division, and they were soon to bear fruit, for at a by-election in July 1907— which gave me my first experience of this class of work as a reporter—the seat was won by Albert Victor Grayson, about whom I shall have more to say. The by-election was caused by the elevation of Sir James Kitson to the Peerage, and the result dumbfounded every- body, more especially the Liberals, who imagined that their candidate, Philip Bright, son of the illustrious statesman, John Bright, would be safely returned. The late Granville C. H. Wheler, who later sat for a southern constituency, was the Conservative candidate. But let us consider for a moment how the Socialists had prepared the way for their success. The Colne Valley Labour Union was formed in 1891 before the candidature of Tom Mann. The first club-rooms, which were situated

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in a backyard in Nabbs Lane, soon became too small, and premises were rented in Varley Fold. There much valuable educational work was done, and most of the prominent Socialist speakers in the country addressed meetings from time to time. Candidates were run for local governing bodies, and in March 1892, their nominee, the late George Garside, gained a seat on the West Riding County Council, defeating the late Godfrey Woodhead. ‘This stimulated them to further efforts, and in 1895, as stated, they had Tom Mann as Parliamentary candidate. He received only 1,245 votes, but it must be remembered that the franchise had not then been extended to women and young people, and Sir James Kitson, who won the election, received but 4,276, very few when compared with the figures at subsequent elections. George Garside held the seat on the County Council from 1892 until his death in 1907. Indeed he was returned unopposed only a few days before his death, which occurred on March 14th of that year. How “ George’ would have rejoiced had he lived until the following July, and been able to take part in the sensational victory of Victor Grayson! The Colne Valley Labour Union subsequently became the Colne Valley Socialist League, under whose banner Victor Grayson was successful in winning the seat, while in more recent years, about 1917, it became known as the Colne Valley Divisional Labour Party. It has its clubs in various parts of the division, with handsome headquar- ters at the Slaithwaite Socialist Club, which was opened by H. M. Hyndman, the veteran Socialist, in 1914. In the pioneer days before the 1907 by-election it was part of my duty to report meetings of the party at which not more than twenty or thirty people were present at times to hear such speakers as Keir Hardie, Philip Snowden, Bruce

Glasier, Mrs. Bruce Glasier, J. Ramsay MacDonald, T.

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Russell Williams, Edward Hartley, Ernest Marklew, Owen Balmforth and others. Following the Grayson success it was the custom to hold demonstrations of the party, at one of which I remember Robert Blatchford, the veteran writer, formerly ‘ Nun- quam” of the Sunday Chronicle and the Clarion presided at the Spa Hall, Slaithwaite. The building was packed to suffocation almost, and I had to sit on the plat- form near to the speakers. From time to time Charles Whitwam, H. Greaves, Ernest Quarmby, and George Garside acted as secretaries to the party, but the present secretary and agent, Sam Eastwood, was secretary from 1903 to 1912, and resumed the duties in 1916, to be engaged in a full-time capacity in 1918. During the war France Little- wood took on secretarial duties for a time, and S. Longley filled in the interval when Mr. Eastwood retired in 1912. Charles Whitwam was the first president of the Colne Valley Divisional Labour Party in 1917, and held the position up to and including 1924. Ephraim Potter and S. North were in office for a short period, and E. J. Hey- wood was president from 1927 until 1936, when he was succeeded by Councillor T. Beattie. Harking back to the early days before the sensational by-election of 1907, it should be stated that Wilson Brook, recently deceased, was president in 1904-5-6, and John Iredale Swallow in 1907. France Littlewood followed in 1908 and i909, and then Mr. Swallow held the position from 1g10 to 1914, so that he was in office during both the elections in which Victor Grayson was concerned. John Dixon preceded Charles Whitwam for a short term. Other prominent workers were Harris Hoyle, Fred Worth, and Martin Farrington (formerly on the County Council), and Joel Marsden Firth gave sound service on the trade union side, besides being president of the Slaithwaite Socialist Club. Tom Bamforth and Joe Mellor, the latter a former

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member of the Slaithwaite District Council, and treasurer of the Labour Party for some years, should also be men- tioned, but many others worked hard under difficult conditions.

It will not be out of place to mention Mr. and Mrs. Richard Walker, and Mr. and Mrs. Miles Pickles, who used to entertain Victor Grayson when he was in the division. Mrs. Mellor, a member of the latter family, still finds hospitality for Mr. and Mrs. Marklew when they are in the Colne Valley. The result of all this spade work was seen in the victory of 1907. It did not surprise those of us who had been in close touch with the movement as much as it did some others who would not be seen going to a Socialist meeting. It certainly stirred the older parties to renewed activity. Among Mr. Grayson’s helpers were the Rev. W. B. Graham, a curate of Thongsbridge, and the Rev. F. R. Swan, Congregational minister of Marsden.

(a) A MEMORABLE BY-ELECTION

There could be no mistaking the magnetic influence which Victor Grayson personally exerted over the electorate at the famous by-election of July 1907. Born in Liverpool on September 4th, 1882, the precocious youth ran away from school, and went to sea as a stowaway. He was discovered by the captain of the ship, and placed ashore at the first port of call. He suffered great privation on the way home. Later he was indentured as an apprentice engineer, and became interested in politics. Then he studied for the Unitarian ministry in Liverpool, and later at Owen’s College, Manchester. As a student, I believe he preached in Huddersfield. But he left the Church for politics, and lived in the Ancoats district of

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Manchester, earning a precarious living by writing and lecturing. It was while lecturing in the Colne Valley, that he came under the notice of the Colne Valley Socialist League as a likely candidate, and before long he became the candidate, although there was trouble with the I.L.P. over the choice. Therefore, Mr. Grayson fought the campaign without official help from London, and the only Labour Member to speak on his behalf was Mr. Snowden. His agent was Edgar Whiteley of Huddersfield. Mr. Grayson had an amazing gift of eloquence, and was a ready speaker without the aid of notes. He had a striking appearance and a powerful voice. People flocked from far and near to his meetings. No room in the Colne Valley was large enough to hold all who desired to hear him. Consequently many meetings were held in the open air, and Mr. Grayson was able to command the largest gather- ing by his personality and his eloquence. He could be very sarcastic with his opponents, though for the most part he was distinctly humorous, if at times unconsciously so. Once at Meltham he delighted his followers by his reply to a heckler, who had put what Mr. Grayson considered a personal question. Quick as lightning came his retort that he would answer the question if the questioner would meet him under a railway arch on a dark night! In spite of his progress in the campaign those of the two older parties never dreamed that Mr. Grayson would win the seat, and I believe Mr. Bright was assured on the eve of the count that he would retain the seat for Liberalism by about five hundred majority. Mr. Granville Wheler fought magnificently for the Conservatives. He was of a quiet, retiring disposition, and a gentleman in every sense of the word. But the electorate were thrown into a state almost of panic when the result was declared and Mr. Grayson had won the seat as an out-and-out Socialist. Shouting, cheering, and singing by his supporters made it impossible

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almost to hear the result announced from the Slaithwaite Town Hall. The Socialists seemed to imagine the mil- lennium had arrived, but the Liberals might have heard the crack of doom! Yet neither of these things had happened. But the sensational impression created all over the country, if not over the world, by this Colne Valley result was reflected in an article written at the time by the late W. T. Stead in the Review of Reviews, of which he was the Fditor. ‘“‘ No event in English politics since the General Election,” wrote Mr. Stead, ‘“‘ created so profound an im- pression as the return of Mr. Victor Grayson to Parliament as Member for the Colne Valley Division of Yorkshire. The appearance at Westminster of this young man of twenty- five, whose existence previously was entirely unknown save in his own circle, caused something very like a panic among the orthodox adherents of the existing political parties. They saw in him a menacing portent, the precise signi- ficance of which it is difficult to estimate. It was as if on the walls of Parliament House an unknown hand had written up, ‘Ye have been weighed in the balance and found wanting.’ That is a rude shock to self-complacency in whatever party it is to be found. It is a warning that a policy of rest-and-be-thankful is not one that will com- mend itself to the earnest workers of the land.” If that was Mr. Stead’s estimate of the position nationally, it will be granted that my picture of the situation locally, was not overdrawn.

(6) A LIBERAL REVIVAL

The Liberals, I have stated, were dumbfounded by the result, more so from the fact that the seat had been held by

them ever since Colne Valley was constituted a separate division prior to the General Election of 1885. But they

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had learned their lesson not to take things for granted, and they quickly recovered from the shock. No time was lost in setting their house in order for the next election when- ever it might come. The organization was thoroughly overhauled and it was obvious that the party had made a fixed determination to wipe out the reproach of 1907 at the earliest opportunity. Inside twelve months they had a new candidate in Dr. Charles Leach, a native of Halifax, who had been a Free Church minister. Intense propaganda work was done by the members of the Liberal Association, under the presidency of William Crowther, by the Women Liberals, organized by Mrs. Josiah Lockwood, and the Young Liberals who had as their chairman Joah Heap, and as secretary Harry Schofield. Other prominent workers were Frederick W. Mallalieu, who later became member for the division, Arthur Lockwood, Samuel Firth, Edgar W. Crabtree, John Furniss, T. Warhurst, A. Wilde, George Sykes, William Shaw, Sam Haigh, James William Hanson (who died suddenly very soon after Dr. Leach had wrested the seat from Victor Grayson in 1910) and others. A. W. Knott was the agent, and when he was taken ill before the 1918 election his place was taken by the late James Sykes, solicitor, of Honley. In the same year Joah Heap succeeded Mr. Knott as secretary and agent, and held the position until his retire- ment three years ago. Ernest Bennison held the office for two years, and was succeeded previous to the 1935 election by Albert Ingham. Edward Crabtree, who died suddenly on March 25th, 1936, was the honorary secretary for twenty years. The position of treasurer has been held by Thomas Varley, and by three brothers in succession, Lawrence Crowther, O.B.E. (now a prominent Huddersfield citizen, who has just been appointed honorary treasurer to the Yorkshire Union of Y.M.C.A.’s, in succession to the late Sir James Hamilton, of York), Herbert Crowther, and

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now County Alderman Percy Crowther. Arthur Lockwood and Fred Brook have held the office of president, and now William Haigh, of New Mill, is the president of the Association. Mrs. Mallalieu, Miss O’May, and Miss Furniss have ably represented the women. But to return to the election of January 1910. The Conservatives had a new candidate in Captain (as he was then) Archibald B. Boyd-Carpenter, a son of the late Bishop of Ripon, who put up a magnificent fight. Captain Boyd- Carpenter also spoke with great fluency, and was a difficult man to follow, but he was courteous to a degree, and always ready to help one out of a difficulty. The party had fine leaders in John Arthur Brooke, William P. Hellawell, Dr. A. G. Webster, Thomas Brooke, Joe Pogson, William Henry Varley, Herbert Denton, Edgar Sykes, Richard Chappell, Dr. Bruzaud, and others whose names do not come readily to one’s mind. Since then, of course, fine service has been rendered by John H. Fletcher, Colonel Gilbert Tanner, the present president, Fred Thorpe, who has been the candidate, E. P. Apperley, Frank H. Sykes, Mrs. J. J. Booth, Miss M. E. Booth, Mrs. H. G. Armitage, and Mrs. J. P. Haigh, in addition to the young people who have come into the movement. Of agents I have had happy associations with Robert Boardman, Henry Gill, J. W. Penistone, Captain Stebbings, H. G. Graham, and now George Rush. It was an exciting contest and Dr. Leach regained the seat for the Liberals, amid great enthusiasm from that party. Victor Grayson was at the bottom of the poll, for besides the revival of the two other parties there came a falling off in his support. In the House of Commons he had defied the Speaker and had been suspended. But he certainly carried out his pledge to the electors that he would champion the cause of the unemployed whatever happened. He annoyed some of his own supporters by his mode of living, and

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when he turned up in evening clothes to debate with Sir Wiliam Joynson-Hicks in Manchester, it caused much heart-searching among his friends. I always found him gentlemanly, and I have often regretted that such an able man should so soon pass out of public life, though many people hold that he frittered a golden opportunity away. I have suggested he was able. One illustration will suffice. After his defeat in 1910 he went to America, and on his return again visited Colne Valley, for it was generally understood that he would again fight the division. He readily acceded to my request for an interview on his trip, and at the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Iredale Swallow, he dictated to me over a newspaper column of interesting matter, practically ready for the paper, without much need for correcting for the Press. That was early in 1914, and he then declared his intention to contest the next election, and spoke hopefully of success. In the May of 1915, however, Mr. Grayson resigned his position as prospective candidate, giving as his reason the state of his health. Just before the war he married Ruth Nigntinga’e, an actress, and they went to New Zealand on a lecturing tour. When war broke out he joined the New Zealand forces and went to France, where he was wounded. Later he did propaganda work along with Havelock Wilson against submarine outrages. Sometime about 1920 he was reported to have left Liverpool to go to Hull, but apparently never arrived there, and has not since been heard of. The death of his wife and an infant was reported in London some years ago. As an illustration of how a question can have a boomerang effect, a story of the 1910 election will not be out of place. Dr. Leach had stated that the poor, or the unemployed—whom Mr. Grayson claimed to champion— should never starve as long as he had a crust to spare. Mr. Grayson fastened on to the remark, and, at his instigation, F

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his supporters asked Dr. Leach where he got his crusts from! Dr. Leach was indignant. Suiting the action to the word he dramatically replied, “‘ These hands, this brain. I have never eaten the bread of The effect was electrical. He was cheered to the echo and the questioner subsided. If I may give away a secret the question played a prominent part for the rest of the campaign, for it kept cropping up at meeting after meeting. Evidently it was not always sent up by opponents of Dr. Leach! At the end of the election it was the Liberals turn to do the rejoicing, and there was a repetition of the scenes of 1907. There was another election in December 1910—two in one year—but the Socialists did not put forward a candi- date. Captain Boyd-Carpenter was again the Conservative candidate, but unfortunately, owing to ill-health, he was unable to take any part in the campaign. The Liberals contended that many Socialists voted for the Conservatives in order to keep the Liberals out, but Dr. Leach was again returned, and he represented the division until August 1916, when, owing to his serious breakdown in health, the seat was declared vacant, and Frederick William Mallalieu, of Delph, a stalwart worker for the Liberal Party, was returned unopposed as a Liberal Member.

(¢) COMING OF MR. SNOWDEN

In 1918 Mr. Mallalieu was again returned, this time as a Coalition Member, against Wilfrid Whiteley, a local man, who represented the Socialists. ‘The electorate had grown considerably with the advent of Women’s Franchise, and it was something of a problem, even with only two candi- dates, to foretell with any degree of certainty how things would turn out. Mr. Mallalieu held the seat all right, receiving 13,451 votes, but the fact that Mr. Whiteley polled

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9,473 votes was further evidence of the progress made by the Labour and Socialist Party. For the next election in November 1922, they had secured as candidate Philip Snowden, now Lord Snowden, who has kindly written an introduction to this little volume. Mr. Snowden had had a period in the wilderness after a heavy defeat at Blackburn, but he soon caught the affections of the Colne Valley electorate, and members of all parties became proud of the fact that during his representation of the division, which extended from 1922 to 1931, he became Chancellor of the Exchequer in two Labour Governments. At his first election here Mr. Snowden had as opponents the retiring member, F. W. Mallalieu and Major Thomas Brooke, of Healey House, a member of an illustrious local family. It was a keen contest, and Mr. Snowden, after his experience at Blackburn, was naturally anxious as to the result. I well remember how, on the eve of the poll, Mr. and Mrs. Snowden brought me down in their car from the final meetings, and discussed with me the position. They both asked me what I thought about the contest, and how I thought it would go, telling me that I was in a better position to judge, having been round the constituency with all the candidates, while they had seen only their own meetings. I weighed up the position as I saw it and told them that I had no doubt that Mr. Snowden would be elected with a majority of at least a thousand. Mr. Snow- den was elected and his majority was, in fact, 1,399. Major Brooke was second, and Mr. Mallalieu was at the bottom of the poll. Another election followed in December 1923, and this time Mr. Snowden had as Liberal opponent Percy H. Heffer, while Major Brooke again championed the cause of the Conservatives. The order of the parties remained the same, and Mr. Snowden increased his majority to 1,804. Still another appeal to the country was

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made in October 1924, when Mr. Snowden held the seat against the challenge of Fred Thorpe, Conservative, and Ronald F. Walker, Liberal. Again Mr. Snowden increased his majority, showing what a hold he had obtained over the electorate, to 3,243. Then on May 320th, 1929, he was opposed by R. B. Carrow, for the Conservatives, a gentle- man who afterwards joined the Fabian Socialists, and Fred Brook, a local candidate, championed the Liberal cause. Once more the old order remained, and Mr. Snowden’s majority rose to 9,135. No wonder people began to say that the seat was his as long as he cared to hold it. That election, as it proved, was his last in Colne Valley, and any- where else for that matter, for he did not seek re-election in October 1931, and subsequently was created a Peer of the Realm. In view of his success it is interesting to read Lord Snowden’s references to the division, in his autobiography. He writes: “Colne Valley is a very hard constituency to work. ‘To reach the electors a candidate must be prepared to travel long distances for comparatively small meetings, and to address three or four of these each night during the Election. My first experience in the Division as a Parlia- mentary candidate would have driven me from the con- stituency if I had not known the people. My preliminary tour of the division, a year before the Election, was most depressing. I found the electors sunk in appalling political apathy. ‘The meetings were sparsely attended and wholly devoid of enthusiasm. There was only one place in the Division where any political propaganda had been done for years. When I complained about the deadness of the electorate I was told, ‘ It'll be all reight when t’ Election comes; they'll wakken up then; they doan’t think it worth bothering naah; they say, “ We sall ’ev plenty chances of hearing him at t’ Election.” ’ “| knew there was a good deal of truth in this, and that

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induced me to stick to it. When the Election came they ‘wakkened up,’ though they never were roused to wild enthusiasm, ‘This reticence in expressing opinions or feel- ings in public is a trait in the character of the people in this part of the West Riding. My friend, Sir Ben Turner, who is a native of Holmfirth, relates in his Reminiscences that when the King and Queen visited Colne Valley in 1912, one of the staff officers who accompanied them remarked to Ben upon the slack reception that was being given to [heir Majesties. He asked why there was so little cheering. I am sure that this was not due to any lack of loyalty, but was due to the habit of the people in restraining the exhibition of their feelings in public. I, myself, had the same experience. At my first Election, after the declara- tion of the poll announcing my success had been made, I left the Town Hall at Slaithwaite to drive to the Socialist Hall. I passed through the street. There were numbers of people about, half of whom must have voted for me, but there was not a single cheer! It might have been a funeral procession |! “ There was a particular reason why many of the electors hesitated to make known their support of the Labour Party. There had been some persecution of active Socialists by employers in the early days, and the recollection of this still lingered. However, ‘ it was all reight’’ when the Election came in November 1922. I was returned by a comfortable majority. This result was due in a large measure to the help of my wife, who had worked like a Trojan in the contest and had made a great impression on the electors, particularly upon the women. “I fought three Elections in Colne Valley in three years —four altogether including the Election of 1929—and at each successive Election I increased my majority and raised the enthusiasm of the electors, until in 1929 my meetings were enormous and the enthusiasm equal to the memorable

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Election meetings in Blackburn. But they had been a difficult lot to move! ” I have no desire to enter into the happenings that led to the formation of the National Government in 1931, in which Lord Snowden took a prominent part. There was a tremendous amount of heart-burning in the division on the question of who should be the National candidate. The Conservatives claimed that title for Colonel E. ff. Lascelles, and Michael Franklin was sent up from London as a National Labour candidate, the seat being claimed as a Labour seat on account of Mr. Snowden’s occupancy of it. Edward Lancelot Mallalieu, a son of the former Member, had been in the field as Liberal candidate for some time, and Councillor Ernest Marklew, the present Member, was the Socialist nominee. Lord Snowden, of course, was backing the National Government. Negotiations took place between the Liberal and Conservative Parties regarding the suggested withdrawal of their candidates in favour of Mr. Franklin, but agreement could not be reached. It was stated that Mr. Mallalieu had offered to retire provided Colonel Lascelles did the same, and this view was evidently accepted in London, for the upshot of it all was that Mr. Franklin was withdrawn, after his name had been printed on the voting papers, and Lord Snowden gave his support to Mr. Mallalieu as the official National Liberal candidate. Even the Yorkshire Tory Press took the same attitude, and both the Yorkshire Post and the Leeds

Mercury urged voters to support Mr. Mallalieu. The result

was that Mr. Mallalieu won the seat with a majority of 2,385 over Councillor Marklew, and Colonel Lascelles was third. Although notice was given in the Press that Mr. Franklin had been withdrawn, that gentleman received 202 votes. The most recent election on November 14th, 1935, was remarkable for the victory once more of the Labour and

NN

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Socialist Party. Councillor Marklew was again their candi- date, and his three opponents, E. L. Mallalieu, Morgan George Crofton, and Captain Walter George Bagnall, of Hawthorpe Hall, Uppermill, Saddleworth, all claimed support on the grounds that they were “‘ National” candi- dates. Mr. Mallalieu, who had crossed the floor of the House with Sir Herbert Samuel and other Liberals, owing to the National Government’s attitude in regard to tariffs, claimed that he was the ‘“‘ most”? National candidate, because he would support the Government when he con- sidered that its actions were for the good of the country, but also claimed the right to oppose the Government if it proposed to do things that were not purely National. Mr, Crofton was an out-and-out National candidate, and Captain Bagnall, who at last satisfied his long-claimed right to contest the seat, said he was the “ real National ” candidate. Councillor Marklew, who it will have been noted in an earlier chapter, had been championing the cause for which he stood in the Colne Valley for more than thirty years, remained steadfast to his Socialistic principles, and gained the reward for his unwavering persistency. He headed the poll with a majority of 3,779 over Mr. Mallalieu, the retiring member, with Mr. Crofton third, and Captain Bagnall at the bottom of the poll. Throughout the whole period of these contests my rela- tionship with candidates and officials have been of the happiest, and the difficult task of following three, and some- times four, candidates has been made the easier by their co-operation. In winter time especially, the job is no sinecure. JI remember on one occasion travelling with Mr. and Mrs. Snowden by motor over the Standedge cutting on the main moorland road between Yorkshire and Lanca- shire, on a very foggy night, when the lights on the motor- car became very troublesome. Matters were made the more difficult because the road was under repair in two portions,

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one on one side of the road, and the other a little farther along, on the opposite side. Red lights on barrels pointed the way, but in a fog they were not too helpful, and I am afraid we ‘“‘ touched” more than one barrel on the trip, without, however, coming to any harm. It was suggested to me that it would make a good story if the car ran off the road on to the moorland, with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on board! It must have been assumed that the hand of Providence would watch over the Press if its representatives were allowed to survive to write the account!! But I had no desire for the job, and happily my services were not required in that connec- tion. Mr. Snowden was one of the most able speakers it has been my lot to report, and took little trouble to ‘“ write up,’’ as his matter and his facts were so cleverly marshalled. He invariably spoke without notes, and I have marvelled at the way in which, when he has been dealing with financial matters, figures have simply rolled off the tongue. He was also able to adapt himself at a moment’s notice to the requirements of the situation. On one occasion I had reported him at a meeting at Dobcross, and he told me, for my convenience, that he proposed to make the same speech at Diggle, a little later the same evening, so that if I wanted to get away to write up my copy I could do so. I thanked him for the tip, but agreed to accompany him down to Diggle, and catch my train there. I went into the Diggle meeting to spend the time writing, while waiting for my train, and found that a chance remark of the chair- man, heard by Mr. Snowden as we entered the room, led the Chancellor to make an entirely different speech. F. W. Mallalieu was also a really good speaker so far as the Press is concerned. He sounded “heavy ’’ to listen to at times, but he “ read”? extremely well. Neither of these gentle- men were what is termed “ racy,”” but they were akin to

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POLITICAL CHANGES 89 Mr. Asquith and Mr. Lloyd George, both of whom I have

reported in my time, measured and effective. Although the Examiner is an acknowledged Liberal newspaper, we reporters have definite instructions that we have to be quite impartial in our reporting. Bearing this in mind, therefore, it was a great pleasure to me to receive a letter from Wilfrid Whiteley, the defeated Socialist candi- date, after the 1918 election. From the Labour Committee Rooms at Slaithwaite, under date December 23rd, 1918,

Mr. Whiteley wrote:

Kindly allow me to say a jolly big THANKS for the very fair treatment you have accorded me in your official capacity as Examiner reporter, during the recent election campaign. If we are ever to make anything worth while of our National life, the spirit of honesty and fairness must prevail, and I hope it will be of some satisfaction to you to know that we believe you have done your work in this spirit during the Colne Valley contest. ‘Yours sincerely, “WILFRID WHITELEY.”’

During the 1924 election I had a similar verbal com- pliment from Mr. Snowden, who was then Chancellor of the Exchequer. I had reported a meeting of his at Green- field, where Mr. Snowden first unfolded a scheme of elec- trification which the Labour Government proposed to take in hand if they were again returned to office. Mr. Snowden told me the report was very well done, and that the import- ant points were clearly set out. In each case I claim no personal credit. I merely did my duty, and the Exam- iner did not interfere with my “ copy.”

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(d) VISITS OF SUFFRAGETTES

The younger generation will know little of the women’s movement to obtain the power to vote, and of the extreme measures which the militant section of the women took to force their claims on the country. But in pre-war days the militant suffragettes, as they were called, caused consider- able disturbance in all parts of England, and many of them went to prison for acts of violence which were committed. These women even invaded the sacred precincts of the Houses of Parliament, and wormed their way into all sorts of unlikely places. Sensation followed sensation as they went about the country, and plenty of “ copy’ was pro- vided for the newspapers. We were not greatly troubled by these militant ladies in the Colne Valley, but we had some experience of them. Several notable leaders of the movement were seen here during the by-election of 1907, and again at later dates. They included Mrs. Pankhurst, and her daughters, Christabel and Sylvia, and I recall they were subjected to some good-natured banter whenever they addressed meetings. Generally, however, they could hold their own with hecklers. Once, when speaking from a lorry near the Corn Mill, in Britannia Road, Slaithwaite, they had things thrown at them by irresponsible young people of the district, but they stood their ground, and made a brave defence of their position. Other members of the fraternity visited the Colne Valley, but I do not recall their names. One incident, however, stands out in my memory. It was in the depth of winter in 1909, when a great Liberal meeting was held at Golcar Baptist School. ‘The occasion was a meeting of the Colne Valley League of Young Liberals, and Mr. (as he then was) Herbert Samuel, attended to make his presi-

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POLITICAL CHANGES gi

dential address. It was a sort of open secret that suffragettes were in the vicinity, for it was their practice to follow the party leaders about and disturb their meetings. Thus pre- cautions were taken to prevent the admission of any suspicious-looking individuals into the meeting. And yet one of these persistent ladies not only got into the room, but on to the platform! Mr. Joah Heap, the former secretary and agent of the Colne Valley Liberal Association, was the chairman of the Young Liberals’ League, and in that capacity presided over this particular meeting. The room was crowded to its capacity, and the platform also was packed with prominent members of the party. Just when Mr. Samuel had got nicely under way with his speech, there came the shrill cry of a female voice from the right-hand corner of the platform as we faced it from the Press table. We just caught the words, “‘ How ridicu- lous!’ But the sentence remained unfinished. There was instantly a general hub-bub, and for a moment or two it was difficult to tell what was happening. The audience shouted ‘‘ Chuck her out! ’’, but before the words could have reached his ears, Detective Robotham, who at that time was attached to the West Riding Police Office at Huddersfield, and who was stationed on the platform, had one hand over the lady’s mouth to prevent her saying any- thing else, and he literally did “ chuck her out,” or at any rate we saw her disappear rather unceremoniously through the door, and the meeting proceeded in peace. Mention of Sir Herbert Samuel reminds me that he paid a visit to the Colne Valley during the by-election of 1907, when he addressed a large meeting on behalf of Mr. Philip Bright. ‘That meeting was held in a room of one of the Slaithwaite Spinning Co.’s mills, which had just been erected. So far as I remember it was not disturbed in any way. Of course all this seems strange in view of the extension

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of the franchise not only to women, but to young people of twenty-one. It makes one wonder what all the bother was about, for no one will now suggest that it has been a bad thing for politics that women have entered that realm of public life. No more striking illustration of the change that has come over public opinion can be imagined than the inclusion of Christabel Pankhurst in the recent New Year’s Honour’s list, while it is known, of course, that her mother, Mrs. Pankhurst, had her statue unveiled by Mr. Baldwin in the Embankment Gardens next to the House

of Lords,

(€) RECORD OF ELECTIONS

The following is a complete record of all Parliamentary Elections since Colne Valley was created a separate division:

1885 H. F. Beaumont, Liberal, 5,398.

Thomas Brooke, Conservative, 4,541.

1886 H. F. Beaumont, unopposed.

1892 Sir James Kitson, Liberal, 4,987. John Sugden, Liberal-Unionist, 4,281.

1895 Sir James Kitson, Liberal, 4,276. Harold Thomas, Conservative, 3,737. Tom Mann, Labour, 1,245.

1900 Sir James Kitson, Liberal, 4,699. Walter George Bagnall, Conservative, 4,176.

1906 Sir James Kitson, Liberal, unopposed.

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1907 By-election, Albert Victor Grayson, Socialist, 3,684. Philip Bright, Liberal, 3,495. G. C. H. Wheler, Conservative, 3,227.

1910 (Jan.) Charles Leach, Liberal, 4,741. A. B. Boyd-Carpenter, Conservative, 2,750. A. Victor Grayson, Socialist, 3,149.

1910 (Dec.) Charles Leach, Liberal, 5,147. A. B. Boyd-Carpenter, Conservative, 4,347.

1916 Frederick William Mallalieu, Liberal, unopposed.

1918 F. W. Mallalieu, Coalition-Liberal, 13,451. Wilfrid Whiteley, Socialist, 9,473.

1922 Philip Snowden, Socialist, 12,614 Thomas Brooke, Conservative, 11,215

F. W. Mallalieu, Liberal, 8,223

1923 Philip Snowden, Socialist, 13,136. Thomas Brooke, Conservative, 11,332.

Percy H. Heffer, Liberal, 8,402.

1924 Philip Snowden, Socialist, 14,215. Fred Thorpe, Conservative, 10,972. Ronald F. Walker, Liberal, 7,651.

1929 Philip Snowden, Socialist, 21,667. R. B. Carrow, Conservative, 12,522.

Fred Brook, Liberal, 10,630. 1931 Edward Lancelot Mallalieu, National-Liberal,

17,119. Ernest Marklew, Socialist, 13,734. Colonel E. ff. Lascelles, Conservative, 12,587. Michael Franklin, National-Labour, 202.

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1935 Ernest Marklew, Socialist, 16,725. FE. L. Mallalieu, Liberal, 12,946. Morgan George Crofton, Conservative, 10,917. W. G. Bagnall, Independent, 1,754.

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CHAPTER FOUR LocaL GOVERNMENT

GovERNMENT as we understand it to-day, is a creation of comparatively modern times. Up to the middle of last century (according to D. F. E. Sykes), the government of the manors and parishes comprised in the Colne Valley was vested in the Courts Leet of the manors and in the vestries. Both of these bodies have been shorn of their powers, the latter having now jurisdiction only in matters touching the Church. The former was mainly a historical survival. The Court Leet was a formidable body. It was a Court of Record, and its chief function was to conduct what was called ‘“‘ The View of Frankpledge.”” By an ordinance of Alfred the Great every resident in a manor was bound to find some other resident who would pledge himself for his good behaviour, and be responsible for his delinquencies. The Court Leet had to see to the due observance of this law, in other words to view the pledges of the Franks or Freemen. The Court Leet was entrusted with the preserva- tion of peace and the punishment of minor offences. It might, and did appoint a constable, who was armed with a truncheon or staff, on which was emblazoned the royal crown, and a pinder, whose symbol of office resembled a shepherd’s crook, and whose duty it was to “pin” or “impound ” stray cattle. It had further to deal with all public nuisances, eavesdropping, waifs, and to present by jury all crimes in the manor. All freeholders

95

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were bound to attend the Court Leet, which was to be held once in a year before the steward of the lord of the manor. A single statute practically reduced the Court Leet to a mere shadow of its former self. By an act of Edward III the office of Justice of the Peace was created, and the criminal jurisdiction of the Court Leet was vested in the Justices. The Court Leet existed at Marsden until quite recent years. In its later days its chief function was to supervise the transfer of copyhold land in the manor. All the property which changed hands during the year came under review, and the Court levied heriots and fines on the new copyholders. The pinder rendered a statement of the number of sheep pinned during the year, to whom they belonged, and by whom they were found straying. All copyholders had to attend the Court under penalty of a fine, and there was no escaping the fines, for if they were not paid they accumulated as a charge on the estate, and must be settled before the lord of the manor would sanction a transfer. The churchwardens’ staves of office are still in existence at Marsden, though they have not been effectively used since the days when the wardens were also constables, and used to visit the public-houses on Sunday, in search of those “rogues and vagabonds’’ who, for being absent from church, were liable to be fined two shillings and sixpence, and confined in the stocks for twenty-four hours. The law which prescribes that punishment has not been repealed! The stocks are still in existence in Town Gate, in close proximity to Church Lane. The creation of Justices is held to have done more than anything else to break up the feudal system in this country. The chief officers of the Vestry were the churchwardens and a surveyor, appointed by the Vestry, to maintain those roads that were not highways under the Turnpike Com-

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missioners. The power of these bodies to lay rates for public purposes was of the most undefined character, and to that tact must be ascribed the narrow and tortuous roads and alleys which obtained in the villages, such as existed especially at places like “* The Planks” and the old Church Lane at Marsden. The Local Government Act of 1858 constituted Local Boards, and these were in 1895 superseded by the present District Councils. Such bodies were set up in due course in most districts, and when I began journalism I found Urban District Councils in full working order in the area which came under my supervision. The five urban districts of Marsden, Slaithwaite, Linthwaite, Golcar, and Scammonden are combined for the purposes of the appoint- ment of a Medical Officer of Health, and the constituent body is known as the Colne Valley Combined Sanitary Authority. They are also associated with other authorities as the Colne and Holme Joint Isolation Hospital Com- mittee, with a large hospital at Moor Top, Meltham, and a smallpox hospital a little distance away at Mill Moor, Meltham. The care of blind persons is undertaken by the Colne and Holme Blind Persons Committee. ‘There are Old Age Pensions committees at Slaithwaite and Golcar, and the Slaithwaite, Linthwaite and Golcar Councils are concerned in the management of the public baths at Slaith- waite. During the war (1914-18) many other duties were placed upon the Councils, such as War Savings, Food Control, Fuel Control, Belgian Refugees; and Military Service Tribunals were also fixed up under the supervision of the Councils. During that hectic period and since the work of the local authorities and their officials has increased out of all knowledge, and the clerks to the various Councils have had to become almost walking encyclopedias to keep pace with the amount of work and responsibilities that have been thrust upon them. A return issued in 1932 by the G

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National Association of Local Government Officers stated that during the tweive years preceding that year, there had been enacted or issued concerning local authorities: 116 Public Acts of Parliament, 579 statutory rules, orders, and regulations, 762 circulars, 180 memoranda, 65 orders in council, four treasury minutes, five schemes, thirteen instruc- tions, five leaflets, all dealing with the welfare of this country. That list will have been added to considerably since the date I have quoted. From 1929 all local authorities have been considering the proposals made to them by the County Councils under the Local Government Act of 1929. Section forty-six of that Act provides that the County Councils review the constit- uent authorities in every area. If it is considered that an urban district, say of the type of Scammonden, which as will have been seen, has only a small population, would be better as a rural district, it would bring an alteration in the basis of exchequer grants, and the roads would be repairable by the County Council. In making new authorities the County Councils had to consult neighbouring county boroughs. In the case of Colne Valley, the West Riding County Council consulted the Huddersfield County Borough, and as a result the County Council proposed that portions of Golcar and Linthwaite, at the east end of the Valley, should be transferred to the borough of Huddersfield, and the other portions of Golcar and Linthwaite should be amalga- mated with the townships of Marsden, Slaithwaite, and Scammonden to form one united authority. Previous to the passing of the Act, the administrative area of the West Riding was divided into one hundred and forty- seven separate local authorities, as follows: eleven municipal boroughs, one hundred and eight urban councils, and twenty-eight rural district councils. The effect of the West Riding proposals if carried out would be to reduce the numbers as follows: Total, from one hundred and forty-

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seven to seventy-six. Municipal boroughs to remain as before. Urban districts reduced from one hundred and eight to forty-eight, and rural districts reduced from twenty- eight to seventeen. It will be well to show how the Colne Valley, and especi- ally Golcar and Linthwaite, would be affected by the proposals. It was proposed to transfer to the borough of Huddersfield from Golcar, 151 acres, with a rateable value of £12,505, and 1,850 of the population. From Linthwaite, 324 acres, {22,480 rateable value, and 4,589 of the popula- tion. ‘This would reduce the area of Golcar to 1,442 acres, the rateable value to £26,992, and the population to 7,962; Linthwaite to 999 acres, £21,373, and the population to 5,099. The Colne Valley would be reduced as follows: area, from 16,528 acres to 16,053 acres; rateable value from £144,578 to £109,593; and population from 30,800 to 24,361. The proposals created tremendous controversy in the district, and were strongly opposed by the five Councils con- cerned, but unfortunately the Councils lacked unanimity, as I shall show. The proposals were sent to the Ministry of Health in January 1935, and a Ministry of Health Inquiry followed on Wednesday, November 27th, 1935. The decision of the Ministry was not known when this was prepared for publication. It should be stated, however, that so long ago as July and December 1931, there were conferences between the West Riding County Council and the five Colne Valley Councils. Subsequently the County Council intimated that they were prepared to give favourable consideration to the proposals for the amalgamation of the five urban districts in the Colne Valley. The County Council held that the combination of those areas would “ seemingly form an efficient unit of administration, with a population of over thirty thousand persons, and a rateable value (re- duced) of £139,805.” Negotiations of a private nature

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also took place with the Huddersfield Corporation, as the five Councils expressed a preference at that time for in- clusion in the county borough of Huddersfield. As this did not prove feasible, the five Councils decided to strenuously oppose the new proposals of the County Council, and to press for the amalgamation of the five districts as at present constituted into one authority. Eventually Linthwaite broke away from the other Councils, and decided on a policy of their own. In the autumn of 1934 they even took a post-card plebiscite of their rate- payers. Three questions were down on the voting cards, and the voting was as follows: (1) For the proposals of the County Council that valuable portions of Golcar and Linthwaite townships should be incorporated with Hudders- field, and the remainder of the Colne Valley amalgamated into one authority, 123; against, 1,372. (2) For the amalga- mation of the five Colne Valley townships as at present constituted, 257; against, 1,659. (3) For the Council’s policy of incorporation in the borough of Huddersfield, 1,708; against, 288. One hundred and forty-four electors altered their voting cards so that they read in favour of the whole of the township being incorporated in the borough of Huddersfield. Out of 5,117 local government electors, 2,183 persons voted. There were eleven “ spoilt ” cards. At an earlier date, Linthwaite declined to appoint repre- sentatives to confer with representatives of the other four Councils to suggest, at the request of the West Riding Re- view Committee, a new division of wards for the proposed Colne Vallev amalgamated district. Representatives of the other four Councils formulated the following proposals: North Ward, the present Scammonden district, with 190 local government electors, one councillor; West Ward, the present Marsden district, 2,886 electors, six councillors; Central Ward, the present Slaithwaite district, with the

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addition of the West Ward of Golcar up to Wat Royd Lane, Westwood Edge, and Pinfold Lane, 3,621 electors, six councillors; North-West Ward, all the Golcar district east of Wat Royd Lane, Westwood Edge, and Pinfold Lane, 3,408 electors, six councillors; South-East Ward, the Linthwaite district, 2,791 electors, six councillors; making twenty-five councillors on the new authority. At present there are twelve members at Marsden, twelve at Slaithwaite, twelve at Golcar, and nine each at Scam- monden and Linthwaite. Later, Linthwaite suggested to Golcar the union of Golcar and Linthwaite into one authority, and the rest of the Valley as another authority. Golcar rejected the proposal, but at the eleventh hour, almost on the eve of the Ministry of Health Inquiry, Gol- car, too, broke away from the other Councils, and decided on a policy somewhat similar to that of Linthwaite. Briefly, the desire of Linthwaite and Golcar, as expressed at the Inquiry, was to remain as they were, shorn of none of their territory. Alternatively they asked that (1) they should be taken wholly into Huddersfield, or (2) a larger proportion than that proposed by the County Council should be transferred to the borough of Huddersfield. The three remaining Colne Valley Councils—those of Marsden, Slaithwaite, and Scammonden—asked for the union of all the five areas as constituted at present, in one local government area. It should be added that the portions of Golcar and Linthwaite which it was proposed to transfer to Huddersfield con- stituted the village of Milnsbridge, which was to form a new ward of the county borough, with three councillors and one Alderman. Throughout the negotiations Mr. Edgar Freeman, clerk to the Slaithwaite and Scammonden Councils, acted as clerk to the Joint Committee of the five Councils. At the Inquiry, Mr. J. M. Thorpe, K. C. instructed by Mr. J.

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D. Eaton Smith, appeared for the Golcar Council. Dr. H. S. Holdsworth, instructed by Mr. S, D. Lister, clerk, for the Linthwaite Council, and Mr. G. Raymond Hinch- cliffe, instructed by Mr. Edgar Freeman, for the Slaith- waite, Marsden and Scammonden Councils. As a matter of record I give the following list of happen- ings in connection with the matter, as officially compiled by Mr. Edgar Freeman:

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT, 1929 REARRANGEMENT OF COUNTY DISTRICTS

COLNE VALLEY AREA

17th January, 1929.—Letter from the Linthwaite Urban District Council to the other four Councils suggesting a conference of the five Councils to discuss ‘‘ The general question of the amalgamation of the Colne Valley Urban District into one Urban District” in view of the Local Government Bill then before Parliament. 18th July, 1929.—First meeting of the members of the five Councils when it was decided to form a Joint Committee of three members from each authority. 29th July, 1929.—First meeting of the Joint Committee when it was decided to approach the County and the Corporation. 8th October, 1929.—First conference with the Hudders- field Corporation. 18th July, 1930.—First conference with the County Council at Wakefield when on behalf of the five Councils their representative (Mr. E. Freeman) stressed the unity of the five Colne Valley districts and asked that they should be treated as one unit, reserving

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liberty to consider the position of the Valley as a whole so far as concerned their attitude to Huddersfield Corporation. 17th June, 1931.—Letter from Huddersfield Town Clerk stating that the Town Council had adopted the recom- mendation of their Sub-Committee that the matter of amalgamation be not proceeded with further at present but stand adjourned. 29th September, 1931.—Five delegates from the Joint Committee interviewed the Wages Sub-Committee of the Corporation, when the latter said they would be prepared to go back to their Council and ask for a decision if the delegates thought that their Councils would be prepared to bear such a differential rating for a period of ten years as would impose no extra burden in respect of their district upon the Hudders- field ratepayers. 31st October, 1931.—Huddersheld Town Council ap- proved the statement from the Wages Sub-Committee and authorized the latter to continue their negotiations with the representatives of the Colne Valley author- ities. 19th November, 1931.—Letter from the West Riding County Council stating that they are prepared to assent to the formation of the five districts into one united district if the latter are agreed. 2nd December, 1931.—Conference at Wakefield when the District Councils asked for further time to con- sider and the conference was adjourned. 7th December, 1931.—The Joint Committee authorized letter to be sent to the Huddersfield Corporation to the effect that the Joint Committee were favourably disposed to the principle of incorporation with Hud- dersheld, and authorized the continuance of negotia- tions with a view to ascertaining the amount of differ-

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ential rating likely to be imposed by the Corporation. gth May, 1932.—Linthwaite Council wrote the County Council asking if in the event of Linthwaite applying to be permitted to continue as a separate unit of local government as heretofore the County would agree and amend their proposals accordingly. December 1932.—The County Council published their proposals to transfer the easterly parts of Golcar and Linthwaite to Huddersfield and to form the rest of the Valley into one combined district. 14th December, 1932.—Conference at Wakefield when the Councils objected to the proposals. 16th January, 1933.—Combined meeting of the members of the five Councils (convened by Golcar) protesting against the proposals to incorporate parts of Golcar and Linthwaite in Huddersfield and pledging itself to support amalgamation of the five districts as hitherto constituted into one united authority and appointing a Sub-Committee to interview the County Review Committee. 14th July, 193}3.—United meeting of members of five Councils protesting against the proposals to transfer parts of the Colne Valley to Huddersfield. 14th February, 1934.—Proposals of the County Review Committee approved by the County Council. 2nd May, 1934.—Combined meeting of members of the five Councils when it was decided by majority to prepare a scheme as to wards, and number of council- lors of proposed new authority for submission to the County without prejudice to their opposition to the scheme in its present form. July, 1934.—Linthwaite suggested to Golcar the union of Golcar and Linthwaite into one authority and the rest of the Valley as another authority. 22nd August, 19}34.—Combined meeting of the five

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Councils to consider Linthwaite’s proposals for two authorities. 30th August, 1934.—Golcar rejected Linthwaite’s pro- osals. lanuary 1935.—Publication by West Riding County Council of their proposals (in final form). March 1935.—Objection by Linthwaite, who ask (1) to continue as at present, (2) or in default, that the whole of the district be incorporated in Huddersfield, (3) in further default that a larger part of Linthwaite than proposed be incorporated in Huddersfield. The other four Councils ask that the whole of the five districts as at present constituted be formed into one urban district. 21-26 September, 1935.—Tour of the Valley by the Ministry's Inspector. 3rd October, 1935.—Change of policy by Golcar, who decide to press (1) for district to remain as it is, (2) in default, for the whole of the district to be incorporated in Huddersfield, (3) in further default for a larger part of the district to be incorporated in Huddersfield. 27th November, 1935.—Ministry of Health Inquiry held

at the County Hall, Wakefield, by Mr. G. H. Thistle- ton-Dyer.

(a) PROMINENT PEOPLE

Since I began to report the meetings of the various:local authorities in 1903 a new generation has arisen and taken root. Places formerly occupied by men and women whom I knew well, have been taken by their sons and daughters, who, in turn, have children of their own to follow in natural succession. Sometimes we bemoan the fact that young people to-day are not taking their share in public

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and social work, but the charge is not wholly true. One striking instance is found in the fact that the present chair- man of the Slaithwaite Urban District Council is the third member of the family to hold that exalted position. Thomas William Varley, the gentleman in question, was preceded in the office by his father, the late Thomas Varley, and his grandfather, the late William Varley. The latter’s term of service was on the old Local Board. Glancing over the constitution of the Local Councils and other bodies, I find that only James Woodhead of Slaithwaite, of any authority in the area, is still serving in that capacity. He is a member of the Slaithwaite Council, to which he was first elected in 1898. He was chairman so long ago as 1908-9. The only official with anything like that length of service is Albert Mallinson, the Linthwaite road surveyor, who was appointed to the post on September 7th, 1905, and curiously enough, followed his late father, George Mallinson, in the post. I have known the following chairmen of the Marsden ‘Council: Edward J. Bruce, Samuel Firth, Arthur Robin- son, Cooper Firth, Tom Whiteley, John Bagley, Walter Sheldon, Stanley Ellam, and the present occupant of the chair, Joe Crosland Mellor. There have been three clerks, John W. Piercy, W. E. L. Wattam, and the present official, Henry Greenwood, who has held the position for about fourteen years. The assistant clerk, Arthur Curtis, has been at Marsden since 1924. The Gas Works manager, John Edward Buckley, has been there for sixteen years, and was preceded by Robert H. Nuttall and Arthur Halli- well. Rate collectors have been Benjamin Holroyd, John W. Dyson, Frank Phillips, and now Norman White- head. Surveyors have been James Dearnley, J. Greenwood, T. Grime, W. T. Hogben, and John Smith, who combines the duties of sanitary inspector, He has been surveyor since June 1924.

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For six years in succession at the outset of my reporting career, the late Dr. Edwin Dean exercised an able and jovial chairmanship at Slaithwaite. In those days much more was made of the vote of thanks to the chairman at the end of the year than we seem to have time for in these busy days, and Dr. Dean was always anxious that he should ‘“ read well’ on such occasions. I well re- member how the worthy doctor, with his dignified pres- ence, on one occasion beckoned me to the chairman’s rostrum, and whispered, “‘ Tha’ll just straighten it up for me, lad, wilt’a?’’ Of course I “ straightened it up”’ for him, as I have done for scores of people ever since. Dr. Dean was followed in the chair by James Wood- head, and others who have held the position have been John Furniss, who was secretary and manager of the Slaith- waite Gas Co. before it was acquired by the Hud- dersfield Corporation, Thomas Varley, John Bailey, John Bamforth, Herbert Denton, William Henry Varley, and Joe Mellor—all of whom have passed into the great beyond —Joe Pogson, James Cotton, Frank Firth, John Wiles Woffindin, James Gartside, Hubert Bamforth, and Thomas William Varley, the present chairman. The clerk, Edgar Freeman, M.A., was preceded by Edwin Gledhill. Sur- veyors have been Hiram Sykes, Charles Hinchliffe, and Frank Smith, and collectors and sanitary inspectors, Frank Bamforth, George Long Varley, and Denis Sutcliffe. Evelyn Haigh is the assistant collector, J. E. Schofield the electrical engineer, David Horan the electrician, and Willie Hirst the cemetery registrar. At Golcar, William Crowther was followed by William Midgley, who occupied the chair from 1907 to 1909, and again from 1914 to 1922, when he retired after twenty-one years on the Council, and went to live at Camblesforth, near Selby. Edgar Sykes was chairman in 1910, and again in 1912-13, and William Lockwood in 1911. Successive

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chairmen have been Richard Chappell, who has a distin- guished record of public service, and is not only a magis- trate, but a M.B.E., John Allen Bradley, John William Kenworthy, Allick Robert Hollingworth, Albert Shaw, Nathan Thornton, and Eli Fielding Garside. Other members who served for some time without attaining to the chairmanship were Ramsden Pearson, William Eastwood, Andrew Taylor, Arthur Sykes, Henry Wilkinson, Dr. Charles Callow, and Harry Brook. Members still serving include Ambrose Crowther, James Wilkinson, Arthur E. Whiteley, Leonard Day, Eli Carter, and John Walker. Of the clerks Alfred J. Slocombe acted in that capacity for over thirty-one years, and retired in 1919 on being appointed magistrates’ clerk for the borough of Hudders- field. He was succeeded by Levi Lunn, who retired in 1933 after fourteen years’ service, and now Alfred Henry Whitwam holds office, with Norman Tate and Leslie Bates as assistants. Fred Hirst, surveyor, was preceded in the office by David Hill and Simeon Sykes. John William Tate, who died in 1928, served the Council as collector and sanitary inspector for thirty years, and Harold Morgan is the sanitary inspector. Arthur Whiteley and John Henry Whiteley were formerly rate collectors, a position now filled by Irving Goodyear. John William Freer, head master of Linthwaite Church School for over thirty-three years, presided over the delibera- tions of the Linthwaite Council, when I first made its acquaintance. He was followed by Thomas Mallinson, Henry Lockwood, John Milnes, Herbert Mallinson, Henry Lockwood again, Mr. Freer again, James Lodge, Mr. Freer, Dan Taylor, Mr. Freer, Hervey Haigh, Mr. Freer, Hervey Haigh, Joe Dyson, Wilson Knight, John Schofield, Albert Jagger Haigh, John Arthur Cock, James Richard Baxter, and William Henry Robinson. For twenty-three years David James Bailey, J.P. acted as clerk to the Council,

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succeeding the late E. IT. Woodhead in 1904, and retiring in 1927. D. P. Sewell was clerk for two years, and S. D. Lister has held the position from 1930, with G. C. Wood as accountant and chief financial officer. Rate collectors I have seen in office were Wilson Wood, Edwin Hoyle, and now Stanley Sykes. Albert Mallinson has been surveyor since 1905, and both he and the late Wilson Wood acted for short periods as sanitary inspector. The present inspector, George Long Varley, was appointed on August roth, 1925. He used to hold a similar position at Slaithwaite. The late James Howarth and G. L. Varley have been rents collectors, and now Percy Eastwood holds that office. For the combined area there have been only three medical officers, the late Dr. Alfred George Webster, of Golcar, who was appointed in 1894, and died on April 7th, 1924, Dr. J. A. Smith, Slaithwaite, from 1924-29, and is now at Mirfield, and the present officer, Dr. R. T. E. Naismith, of Slaithwaite.

(5) SEVERE LOSSES

In an incredibly short space of time the Colne Valley lost by death five great “ captains of industry,’ and in every case they had been almost inseparably linked up with the welfare of the district for many years. All were concerned in the building up of the textile industry and their passing was a tremendous blow to the Colne Valley in general, and Marsden in particular. Samuel Firth was the first to go, on February 16th, 1929, at the age of seventy. He was followed by Arthur Robin- son on March Ist, 1930, at the age of seventy-one. Cooper Firth, younger brother of Samuel Firth, died with tragic suddenness in his garden, on September 20th, 1930, at the

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early age of sixty-three. E. J. Bruce, who had removed to Huddersfield some years before, passed away on June 4th, 1931, at the age of seventy-four, and J. E. Crowther died on July 4th, 1931, in his seventieth year. In addition to those named, Marsden has lost by death such men as Francis Goodall, John Thomas Whitehead, Matthew Waterhouse, Joseph Kershaw, Arthur Armitage, C, Adolph Goodall, James Schofield, Ben Shaw, Samuel Walker, Ernest Beardsall, and John E. Newman, and Linthwaite has lost Alfred Hanson, Enoch Taylor, Henry Lockwood, John Milnes, William Hayes, Walter William Dawson, Joshua Booth, Henry Shaw Weatherby, Hervey Haigh, William Schofield, William Cock, James Beaumont, Harry Pearce, Albert Jagger Haigh, and Walter E. S. Lunn. Golcar has seen the passing of William Crowther, William Lockwood, Ramsden Pearson, Henry Wilkinson, William Eastwood, and Arthur Sykes. At Slaithwaite, death has removed John Furniss, Edwin Dean, Albert E. Cotton, Thomas Varley, James Garside, Henry Hirst, Joe Mellor, Herbert Denton, William Henry Varley, William Walker, J. B. Freeman, George Henry Walker, John Bailey, George Garside, Miles Pickles, Frank Coates, Tom Bamforth, and John Bamforth. Other gentlemen who have rendered good service and are happily still living include Harris Hoyle, Edgar W. Crab- tree, J. Moorhouse, F. Russell, J. W. Pinder, Charles Harold Fisher, Harry Tinker, A. Lodge, F. C. Wilkinson, Albert Schofield, and John T. Wrigley at Marsden; Sam East- wood, John Edward Pearson, Thomas George Wood, and Hermon Beaumont at Slaithwaite; Willie Bamforth, Thomas Mallinson, Herbert Mallinson, Dan Taylor, John William Iredale, Joe Dyson, James William Thorp, and A. Woodhead at Linthwaite, and William Midgley, Edgar Sykes, and Andrew Taylor at Golcar. The work done for education by William Crowther, Samuel Firth, John White-

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ley, James William Hanson, and William Livesey will long be remembered—although they are gone—and in no less

degree the services of Wood Crabtree counted tor much.

(Cc) EDUCATIONAL MATTERS

I had only a few months’ experience of the old School Boards, for the Education Act of 1902 transferred their powers to the County Councils, and in the West Riding the School Boards were dissolved in April 1904. The administration was then taken over by the County Council, and Local Sub-Committees, as they are officially called, were formed. When one looks at the constitution of the Colne Valley District Education Sub-Committee, the same process of change is evident. Not a single member who was on the first Committee is serving to-day. Here are the names of the original members, many of whom have since passed away: William Crowther, William Midgley, David James Bailey, William Lockwood, James William Hanson, Edgar W. Crabtree, John Iredale Swallow, John Milnes, Alfred Hanson, Thomas Mallinson, William Livesey, Enoch Taylor, Francis Goodall (who is repre- sented on the present Committee by his daughter, Mrs. Arthur Armitage), John S. Bower, James Woodhead, Tom Bamforth, John Furniss, John Whiteley, Mrs. Hall, Mrs. Davenport, and the Rev. H. Collins, who was Vicar of Deanhead, Scammonden. The clerk was the late Edgar T. Woodhead, of Huddersfield. Others who came on to the Committee later and took a deep interest in the work included Mrs. Hudson, of Slaith- waite, Samuel Firth, Henry Wilkinson, Hervey Haigh, the Rev. Canon W. H. Verity, who is the present chairman, and who recently completed twenty-two years’ service as

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Vicar of Slaithwaite, Sam Holroyd, Wilkinson Lockwood, County-Councillor Joe Crowther (now followed by his son, County-Alderman Percy Crowther, J.P.), Mrs. W. H. Varley, Mrs. J. P. Haigh, Miss Beatrice Hirst, Mrs. Townend, and Mrs. Morley, while Richard Chappell, after retiring from active work as head master at Golcar Church of England School, joined in the administrative work of the Committee, and is one of the most valued members. All the ladies and gentlemen who have served or are still serving on the Committee have had or still have the best interests of the children at heart. But there is another side to the question. ‘This was often emphasized during the Colne Valley Education Week held in September 1925, on the Committee of which I had the honour to be co- opted. It is that any scheme of education to be fully successful must have co-operation between the local authority, the parents, and the teachers. I believe that co- Operation exists in the Colne Valley. Until recent years the facilities for Secondary Education in the Colne Valley were very meagre. For generations Longwood Grammar School (of which John Edwin Bottom was head master for fifty-three years) was the only place available, but the number of scholars there was rarely more than a hundred. The school went out of existence in 1921, in which year the West Riding Education Committee, who had realized the poverty of such provision, joined with the Huddersfield Education Committee in opening a new Secondary School at Royds Hall, near Paddock Head. The place was formerly a private residence, and during the war was used as a military hospital. Half the places in this new school were to be reserved for West Riding children, The rapid growth of the school has proved that it was very badly needed. A small number of Colne Valley scholars have always attended Almondbury Gram- mar School.

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Long service by head masters in the Colne Valley has always been in evidence, But during the period to which these pages are devoted, a number of changes took place owing to several retirements coming close together. At Marsden, the late William Griffiths was head of the Council School from 1885 to 1913, when he was succeeded by the present head, H. Collins. Alfred Hirst (a worthy public servant), who was appointed head of Marsden National School in 1880, was succeeded by H. Whitehead in 1920. Slaithwaite National School had John Quinn as head from 1886 until the present master, John Dalby, was appointed in 1923. John T. Ferrior was in office at Slaithwaite Nields Council School from 1896 to 1919, and was followed by E. C. Cook, who later went to Bletchley, and was succeeded by W. Sutherst. Like Mr. Cook, how- ever, Mr, Sutherst did not stay long, and the present head master, Frank Piper, took up the appointment on September Ist, 1931. W. Falconer went from the old Mechanics School to Wilberlee in 1909, and remained there until his retirement in 1923. The post has been held since that year by Fred Lockwood. W. G. Greenwood followed R. A. D. Lyddon at Milnsbridge Council School, New Street, in 1924, Mr. Lyddon having held the position since 1887. Mr. Lyddon was head master of the old Undenominational School begun in 1884 in the Baptist Sunday School. The managers were representatives of all the dissenting bodies in Milnsbridge. In 1893 the Linthwaite School Board took the school in hand, and in rgor the staff and scholars were transferred to the new school at New Street. Mr. Greenwood left New Street for Brinsworth, near Shefhield early in 1935, and was succeeded by Lawrence Hinchliffe. Unfortunately Mr. Greenwood passed away in the prime of life on November 26th, 1935, a few months after taking up his new appointment. He was buried at H

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114 COLNE VALLEY FOLK Wellhouse, Golcar, on November 29th, 1935. John William

Freer was at Linthwaite National School from 1890 to 1924, and was followed by Lawrence Perry, who in 1928 was succeeded by the present head, Arthur Woodhead. William S. Reynolds was at the old Linthwaite Wesleyan Day School, and at the Linthwaite Council School, for twenty-nine years, and J. W. Wright has been at the latter school since 1919. Richard Chappell went to Golcar National School in 1889, and was succeeded in 1925 by L. G. Gardner, now at Skipton. W. L. Jones, the present head master at Golcar National, succeeded Mr. Gardner after a short period at Wellhouse. John Griffiths was at Golcar Knowl Bank Council School from 1890 until his retirement in 1928. His successor is Norman Taylor, who was at Scapegoat Hill Council School for a short period after the retirement of Andrew Taylor, who was there from 1877 to 1920. J. Lodge was at Wellhouse from 1891 to 1922, George Rouse Hoyle at Crow Lane Council School, Milnsbridge, from its opening in 1897 to 1923, and Henry Wilkinson at Clough Head, Golcar, from 1883 to 1923. George C. Payne is now at Scapegoat Hill, T. Vardy at Wellhouse, G. Addy at West Slaithwaite Church School, Alfred Livesey at Clough Head (since 1923), and H. Pickles at Crow Lane since 1925. The late Fred Brook was there from 1923 to 1925, when he went to Hillhouse Central School, Huddersfield. The late Edgar T. Woodhead was the first clerk, and he was: followed by William Heeley. The present clerk, A. Beilby, was formerly an assistant clerk, and then went to take charge of the Sowerby Bridge division. A. J. Dempster, now divisional clerk at Doncaster, followed Mr. Beilby as assistant, and the present assistant is P. H. Swire. School attendance officers I have known either

under the School Boards or the Colne Valley- District Sub-

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Committee were Havelock Shaw, William Hayes, Ben Schofield, Nathan Haigh (first appointed in 1907 and still in office), David Smith, Reuben Ward, Thomas Walter Hoyle, Fred Weavill, who died two years ago after about twelve months’ service in the Sheffield area. Mr. Haigh

now has charge of the whole area, and is called School Inguiry Officer.

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CHAPTER FIVE

WIDESPREAD CHANGES (4) MARSDEN

Ir is true to say that the physical appearance of the various districts in the Colne Valley has changed almost beyond recognition in the past thirty or forty years. Again I shall begin at Marsden, for there the changes have been the most striking, as will have been gathered from previous reference to John Edward Crowther’s beneficence. The old Marsden is passing away, and a new Marsden is spring- ing up out of the ruins. From being the most old-world village in the Valley, Marsden has quickly become the most modern. Even the famous “ Planks,” a group of old dwellings in a congested part of the district, where the lane between the houses was so narrow that the occupants on the opposite sides could shake hands from their own door- ways, so to speak, is having to make way for progress under recent Housing Acts. Clearance Orders have been secured by the District Council for this old property, which took us back through the centuries, and the residents are being transferred to another part of the township. Just a little to the west, another link with the past was removed to make way for the new Church Lane already mentioned. An old hall, where John Wesley and Dr. 116

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Carlyle are reputed to have slept, the old Parish Room, the old Ram Inn—a relic of the old coaching days where halts were made by the coaches before passing over into Lancashire—and a number of cottages have disappeared. Years ago the District Council had visions of widening Church Lane from the opposite side. This meant acquiring a portion of the old churchyard, and the disturbance of certain remains interred there. here was a stout opposi- tion to the proposal, and the churchyard still remains, with the outline of the old church preserved by means of privet trees. ‘This old church was in use for about a hun- dred and fifty years, and when it was superseded by the present handsome edifice, which is not without some justi- fication called the ‘“‘ Cathedral of the Wakefield diocese,”’ it was sold to Francis Goodall for {60 and demolished. The transformation made by the new Church Lane and at Hemplow Sports Grounds have been referred to, and the changes in the centre of the township have been none the less striking. Peel Street, the main shopping centre, is hardly recog- nizable from the days when the building line on the east side was conspicuous by its constant intrusion into the street. I remember the little cobbler’s shop in which I had many chats with that interesting old man, Thomas Fielding, and his nephew Joseph Arthur. Many other road improvements have been carried out, but there still remains a blot on Peel Street owing to the abutment of the frontage of the Mechanics Hall, which makes an awkward angle at a busy cross-roads. The pretty little park near the tram terminus gives dignity and not a little importance to Mars- den, for it has proved a great boon to residents and visitors alike. Tennis and bowls are available, and music is discoursed from the bandstand during the summer months The park and its surroundings invariably present a delight- ful picture, and are a silent tribute to the care and attention

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118 COLNE VALLEY FOLK given to the grounds by Gordon Micklethwaite, the park-

keeper and ambulance-driver. Here is a bust memorial of Samuel Laycock, the “ Lancashire ” poet, who was born in Marsden! In 1903 the District Council erected a number of houses and stables at Woodbottom, and a year later a mortuary was provided. Keeping pace with the times, in a steady march of progress, the Council extended their Gas Works, built a fire station, and received the gift of a motor ambu- lance from John Edward Crowther, in 1911. The motor ambulance shed and the refuse destructor were erected in 1915, and since 1922 the Council have gone on steadily building houses to meet the working people’s requirements. The handsome War Memorial was unveiled in the park by Miss Robinson on August 19th, 1922, A new motor ambu- lance was purchased in 1930. It is surprising, in view of such a magnificent record, that not until October 1914 was there a tram service to Marsden! ‘The opening out of the track from the old terminus at the Star Hotel, Slaithwaite, was begun in June of the same year. Since then has come the advent of buses, and the probability of trolley buses in the not very distant future, while electricity has also become a competitor with gas. Even so, a new gasholder with a capacity of 200,000 cubic feet was completed in 1925. The late E. J. Bruce and the late James Whitehead, the Jatter an Oldham contractor, who was a native of Mars- den, left substantial legacies to the district. Mr. Bruce left £8,500, which brings in about £250 a year, from which necessitous cases are relieved by a local committee as they arise during the year. Special consideration is given to applicants at Christmas time, when local families receive gifts of groceries, boots and shoes, coal and clothing. The Whitehead charity, which is administered by local trustees, is an investment of £2,000, the income from

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which is now about £70 per annum, This also is dis- tributed in kind at Christmas, Not many districts of the size are in such a happy position as Marsden, where no deserving case of need goes unsatisfied. The District Nursing Association, with John Bagley as secretary, does splendid work in the township.

(6) SLAITHWAITE

Slaithwaite appears to have changed least of any of the districts in the Valley, but it has made one very important mark on the roll of history, in providing the site for the North Regional Transmitting Station of the British Broad- casting Corporation, about which I shall have more to say. It was the first township to have its own Town Hall, the building standing in its own grounds at the junction of Station Road and Lewisham Road. For years Slaithwaite possessed, if it did not nurture as it might have done, its Spa, with its curative springs, its baths, and its pleasure grounds. Slaithwaite also has its own cemetery, formerly managed by the Burial Board, whose powers and duties were so recently as 1917 taken over by the District Council. It was well served by trams, provided by the Huddersfield Corporation and the Linthwaite Urban Council, for the old terminus was at the junction of the Linthwaite and Slaithwaite townships. The main shopping street, Britannia Road, with its continuation on Carr Lane, has never been a thing of beauty, but in recent years Carr Lane has been improved considerably through the District Council’s pur- chase of old property for road improvement purposes. The road was reconstructed, and modern shops built along- side have given the place a much better appearance.

The Hill Top part of the district has grown out of all

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recognition. It now resembles a village on its own. The Slaithwaite Cricket and Bowling Club’s handsome premises are situated in this lofty part of the township, and here also the Slaithwaite Silver Prize Band erected very worthy club-rrooms. Houses were built by the District Council, and the advent of the motor buses saw the district flourish exceedingly. The Council did not see fit to purchase the Slaithwaite Gas Works, and these have now passed into the control of the Huddersfield Corporation. Instead the Council, having obtained Parliamentary powers, now pro- vide electricity for the township, by purchasing a supply in bulk from the Yorkshire Electric Power Co. The service was inaugurated in 1924, and is now extensively used. In 1921 the War Memorial was erected near to the Town Hall, and as part of the Memorial scheme, a motor ambulance was presented to the Council by the local com- mittee. An interesting experiment made in 1926 was the formation of the Colne Valley Joint Baths Com- mittee. For some years the baths had not been self-sup- porting, and the Slaithwaite Council, to whom they belonged, induced the Linthwaite and Golcar Councils to take a share in the management and upkeep of them, because, as they contended, the baths were situated near the boundary of each township, and were used by people from all the three districts. Slaithwaite has for long had its own public abattoir, and its sewage disposal works. It is also interesting to note that Slaithwaite is not so dependent on Huddersfield for its water supply as some other Colne Valley districts. Houses, shops, mills, and workshops to the number of nine hundred and seventy-one draw upon the supplies of the lord of the manor, Lord Dartmouth, the local agent for whom is Edgar E. Eagland, against three hundred and sixty-one who take Huddersfield sup- plies. If there is now no Nursing Association at Slaith-

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waite, the St. John Ambulance Association, with George Austwick an inspiring leader, does splendid service.

(c) GOLCAR

One of the most important schemes carried out by the Golcar Council in my time is the introduction, under the direction of Harold Morgan, the sanitary inspector, of a new system of tipping refuse in what is known as Scar Wood, a long stretch of rough moorland running along- side the railway. ‘The tip used to be the cause of much serious criticism, but under the new system complaints have been reduced to a minimum. Now the refuse is buried immediately it is tipped, and the result is that over it there is a natural growth, with the addition of shrubs, and the place is no longer a revolting nuisance in the township. Great progress has been made in acquiring electric light and power from the Huddersfield Corporation, and even the remotest parts of this straggling township have now amenities of which former inhabitants dared not dream. Credit is due to Andrew Taylor and the late William East- wood for their strong advocacy of many improvements, especially the provision of motor buses. Owing to the hilly nature of the district—Scapegoat Hill is over a thousand feet above sea level—much good-natured banter was showered on the proposals when first made. Even the clerk to the Council received expert opinion to the effect that during severe frost the motor buses would “ slither down from one side of Golcar to the other! ” A gossip writer in a local paper had his little dig by facetiously suggesting that in the circumstances Golcar might make money out of the proposal, by turning the buses into sleighs, advertising Golcar as a winter resort, and thus

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save people going to Switzerland for their sports! But the advocates had their way, and as Mr. Taylor said later, “the buses are slithering down from Scapegoat Hill,”’ if not in exactly the manner in which the gossip writer suggested, Postal facilities have also improved, for in the not long distant past people had to walk from Scapegoat Hill to Golcar, a distance of about a mile, and back, if they wanted a postage stamp! Young folks to-day will probably think such a thing impossible, but there it was. Playing fields? Well, there was Scar Wood, with its offensive tip just referred to, but there was little else in those days. Now the district has several such playgrounds. One of these, near to the Liberal Club, was presented to the Council for public use in 1909 by John Fisher and Edward Fisher, and is known as the Two Furrows Recreation Ground. This was followed by a similar gift by the Savile Estate at Royd Street and Lindley Street in 1927. The old work- house property—relic of a bygone age—was taken over from the old Huddersfield Board of Guardians in 1913, and converted into cottages. Old property was secured in Scar Lane near the Royal Hotel, Milnsbridge, in 1919, and demolished for road widening schemes. Church Street has been improved, but a comparatively recent attempt to effect a much greater improvement here ended in failure. It was proposed by the District Council to take away a large portion of the churchyard, which would have meant the disturbance of many graves, but this aroused much feeling and great opposition in the district. The upshot was that the application of the Council, heard by Harry Bevir Vaisey, K.C., the Chancellor for the diocese of Wakefield, in the Parish Church, on May 5th, 1935, was not allowed. Many houses have been built by the Council in various parts of the district. In 1932 Scar Wood and Botham Hall Farm Estate were purchased by the Council,

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and on the latter site an important town planning scheme was evolved, with a through road leading from Scar Lane to Leymoor Road. Half of this has already been constructed. In 1919 A. J. Slocombe, who had been the clerk to the Council for thirty-one and a half years, resigned, on his appointment as Borough Magistrates’ clerk at Huddersfield, and he was succeeded by Levi Lunn, who held the post until 1933, a period of fourteen and a half years. Mr. Lunn was in turn succeeded by Alfred Henry Whitwam, who had served under him, and later had a period of service with the West Riding County Council at Wakefield. John William Tate, a servant of the Council for thirty years, retired in 1928. In 1930 the Council accepted, on behalf of the township, the gift of the Town Hall from Mrs. Edward Whitwam, of Ashfield, Golcar. The Town Hall had been in possession of the Council since 1926, and an Infant Welfare Centre annex was erected by the donor, the whole gift being in memory of her son, John. The scheme was not completed in Mrs. Whitwam’s lifetime, but her daughter, Mrs. Herbert Ainley, of the same address, carried out her mother’s wishes. The clinic was opened on November 4th, 1930, by Miss Gabrielle T. Hall Whit- wam, niece of Mrs. Ainley, and the Deeds of the Town Hall were handed to the Council at the same time. Meet- ings were previously held at Knowl Bank Council School and then in a house at Arthur Street! Mrs. Ainley is the enthusiastic secretary of the Golcar District Nursing As- sociation, which lost heavily by the recent deaths of Frank

Herbert Sykes, treasurer, and Fred Whiteley, the assistant secretary.

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(2) LINTHWAITE

Linthwaite is one of the most progressive townships in the Valley, and yet it is not easy to write of the district in which one was born, without exposing oneself to the charge of bias. In this case there is another reason, for just previous to my entering journalism, but still well with- in my recollections, there was a serious clash of local Opinion on a certain matter which I have no desire to reopen. Two definite sides were created on the Council, with a spirit of bitterness that exceeded the keenest politi- cal fight. These parties fought each other furiously on the Council for more years than I care to remember, and it was only in recent times that the feeling appears to have been rele- gated to its proper place in the limbo of the past. It was into this troubled arena that I was pitchforked at the outset of my journalistic career, and that is why I found it diffi- cult to keep an even keel in my reports. I tried to be scrupulously fair to both sides, but this was at times no mean task, for it is not always possible to give as much newspaper space to one side as another. The simple reason is that spokesmen are not invariably equal in their abilities to produce readable ‘“ copy.” However, I shall always treasure a letter sent to me by John William Freer, of Rillington, Malton, on April gth, 1926, after his retirement from Linthwaite Council on which he served for thirty years, several years as chair- man, “ As my term of office on the Linthwaite Council is at an end,” Mr. Freer wrote, ‘‘ I cannot let the occasion pass without a word of great appreciation of your kindness for so many years. You appear almost one of us. ... I am writing to the chairman by this post, but felt I must write you individually. We have had some rare old times,

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hard hitting, and squabbling, but I suppose it was all to the good, I’d rather be doing this than attending a chap’s funeral. I must also express my appreciation of the abso- lute fairness of the Examiner at all times, in no small measure due to your faithful reports.”’ For some obscure reason there are only nine members on the Linthwaite Council, compared with twelve at Mars- den, Golcar, and Slaithwaite, although Linthwaite has nearly twice the population of either Marsden or Slaith- waite. Consequently there was always much striving at the local elections for a majority on the Council, for the party which secured five seats had the additional advantage of being able to control the chairmanship. As Mr. Freer says in his letter there were “‘ some rare old times,” and I have frequently seen a chairman elected by such remarkable voting as three “‘ for’ and two “ against,” and so on. I always contend, however, allowing for the spirit handed down from that earlier period, that the members were doing what each one thought to be the best for the township. After all, it is no crime to take one’s work seriously, and I wish sometimes that some other members of local authori- ties took as much interest in their work as they have done, and still do, at Linthwaite. In more recent years the Council had another heated controversy over the question of building houses of stone or concrete blocks. This also has now died down and I have no wish to revive it. The fact remains that whether of stone or concrete, Linthwaite provided houses while other Councils were thinking or talking about doing so, and they certainly did much to relieve the shortage which existed in the township. Before the war, the Council did a good stroke of business when they purchased at a cheap rate the Storth Estate at Cowlersley, where a large number of their houses were built. How the appearance of this part of the district has been changed in the last thirty

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years! From green fields to a great colony of houses. The Council’s first scheme of sixteen houses was completed here in 1914-15. The war put a stop to this sort of activity, but in the post-war period Linthwaite have forged ahead in this matter, though their later proclivities were in the direction of building houses for’sale rather than to let. Some people may be surprised to know that up to July 14th, 1910, the tramway track through Linthwaite, from the Huddersfield Borough boundary at Pinfold, to the Slaithwaite boundary at the Star Hotel, a distance of about three miles, belonged to the Linthwaite Council. But such is the fact, for the Council entered into an agreement with the Huddersfield Corporation for the construction of the track in 1899, and for working the same at a rental of 41,125 a year. The tramway was sold to the Corporation in 1910, as stated, and was subsequently reconstructed. Since 1900 the Council have had an agreement with the West Riding County Council for the repair of the main Manchester Road, and some years ago the road was paved throughout the township. Improvements have been carried out at many places on the road, notably at Hoylehouse, where at one time a very dangerous corner existed. The demolition of the old Smithy—where as a lad I used to watch with interest the work of the Brook family of Black- moorfoot, as they shod the horses in those days—and the little shop close to the corner, paved the way for a much- needed widening scheme at this point. In 1923, the Council were able to purchase Hillfield House, on the Manchester Road, and convert it into a Town Hall, with Council Chamber, and offices complete, so that all the four townships in the Valley are now adequately provided for in this connection. Previously the Council meetings were held at the Council School. On August 13th, 1923, the Town Hall was formally opened by John William

Freer, who was then the chairman of the Council. In

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1927, David James Bailey retired from the position of clerk to the Council after twenty-three years’ service. The present clerk, Stephen Douglas Lister, was appointed in 1930, and in the same year George Challand Wood was appointed Accountant and Chief Financial Officer.

(¢) MILNSBRIDGE

Milnsbridge, as would be gathered from my survey of local government proposals, has no standing as a focal governing authority. It is a sort of no-man’s-land, for it is—unless incorporation has been accomplished while these pages are in the press—partly in Linthwaite, partly in Gol- car, and partly in Huddersfield. And yet it is a most im- portant part of the Colne Valley manufacturing district. It has no claims to physical beauty, for it is crowded with houses, shops, and factories so that its people have little room in which to breathe! To stand in Market Street when the great hives of industry are pouring forth their great crowds of workers at the end of the day would con- vince the casual visitor that here indeed was a miniature town. It was not always thus, for a few months before he died John Milnes, the veteran sub-post-master of the village told me he had seen peaches and nectarines growing in the open air in the grounds of Milnsbridge House, the one- time country home of the Radcliffes and later of the Armi- tage families, and now a pile of ruins. There were very few mills in the neighbourhood in Mr. Milnes’s early days, and they were not to be compared with the gigantic con- cerns which flourish there to-day. The grounds of Milns- bridge House were very extensive and were bounded by a

high wall. A large lake in the grounds was a popular

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resort for boating, and in winter for parties of skaters. Where now stands Market Street, the chief shopping centre, was crowded with trees, and the gardeners at Milns- bridge House lived at the foot of Station Road. The Milnsbridge Rugby Football team used to play near to Milnsbridge House, and there also were held the annual shows of the old Milnsbridge Floral and Horticultural Society, long since defunct. Athletic sports were also held there. Only a few old houses were to be seen anywhere near, and there was a primitive sort of bridge over the River Colne. Shades of the past! The glory of Milnsbridge House and its gardens has departed, one more result of the march of progress! Efforts were made years ago to provide an open space before the whole of the district was built upon. A representative local committee at Miulnsbridge was formed to consider the celebration of the Coronation of Their Majesties King George V and Queen Mary, in 1911. Sam Hirst, who died some years ago at Colwyn Bay, was the chairman, the late Mellor Addy the treasurer, and Stead Walker and Willie J. Firth the secretaries. It was decided to secure a plot of land to be used as a public recreation ground and park, and to have general rejoicings in the district. One plot of land at Pymroyd was given by Sir Joseph E. Radcliffe, Bart., and an adjoining plot was partially given by a Miss Eastwood. A nominal sum of £50 was paid to Miss Eastwood for her plot. It was estimated that the Recreation Ground scheme would cost £200 to place in proper order, and the rejoicings £70. A public appeal was launched, and thirty-nine subscriptions amounted to 11s. 6d., while five hundred and sixty-eight people con- tributed £44 ros. 8d. in sums of under five shillings. The rejoicings, which included a procession, sports, a bonfire, and the roasting of a sheep in the park, took

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place on Thursday, June 22nd, 1911. After all expenses had been paid, including the £50 to Miss Eastwood, the committee tormally handed over the land to the Linthwaite District Council, together with a balance of £165 in cash. Except that a number of trees have been planted, and walks constructed, with seats for the convenience of the public, there is little to indicate that Coronation Park, as it is called, is, in fact, a park. Still it is an open public space, and that is something in such a congested district. Earlier still, thirty-three years ago in fact, public-spirited men and women in Milnsbridge had launched a District Nursing Association which is still flourishing, largely owing, I think, to the magnificent work done by Willie J. Firth, who was secretary from 1903 to 1908, and Robert H. Wilkinson, who succeeded Mr. Firth, and carried on for twenty-two years. John Walkden and George E. Beaumont rendered good service as treasurers, and many others have done their part during all the years. In the early stages the house-to-house collections were augmented by an annual Fete, which proved a successful social event in the district, but this has fallen out of fashion. It was succeeded on a few occasions by similar efforts on behalf of the Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, and these too proved exceedingly popular and financially helpful. The annual Old Folks’ Gathering, promoted by a repre- sentative committee, is another much-anticipated institution. Walter Crowther succeeded to the secretaryship which was held with distinction for twenty-four years by James Clap- pison. Other public-spirited men in Milnsbridge were the late Alderman S. Stephens and Councillor J. E. Lunn, who is still in active service.

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({) CROSLAND MOOR

I have very pleasant memories of meeting numerous friends at Crosland Moor during my early days in journa- ism. If I were asked what were the staple industry of this pleasant suburb of Huddersfield, I should be inclined to say—music, The Crosland Moor Wesleyan (as it then was) Choir made history on the contest platform, under the able direction of Robert Henry Dyson, who is still carrying on the good work as choirmaster, and has con- ducted well over fifty Sunday School anniversaries at his church. The Crosland Hill Wesleyan Choir, under his brother, Hezikiah Dyson, also achieved fame in the same direction. Then the village possessed two teams of hand- bell ringers which used to give delight to audiences over a wide area, and both teams gained considerable notoriety for their successful competition work. The older organiza- tion had a very successful tour in Australia some years ago. I well remember the painstaking work of the two con- ductors, Albert Townend and James H. Fllis. It would be impossible to overestimate the influence of such men as John Sykes in religious and civic life, or of George Henry Shires and other members of the family at the United Methodist Church. The two churches, by the way, are now known as Park Road Methodist (Wesleyan), and Blackmoorfoot Road Methodist (United Methodist) Churches. Fred Thorp, Lewis Brook, George Henry ‘Taylor, Walter Taylor, Joe Lockwood, Allen Thompson, J. D. Priestley (the Church Schoolmaster), and the family of John W. S. Peel, who are now in Cleveland, Ohio, were among the choicest of friends I met in that district. In my time a new Parish Church, and a new Wesleyan (Park Road) Church have been built, and the one at Cros- land Hill has been greatly extended. Both the Liberals and

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Conservatives have found new homes, and the working men are well served in that direction. ‘Trams and buses have brought prosperity here as elsewhere, and building operations have transtormed the whole countryside. Here

also are situated the Crosland Heath Golf Links, the club having grown out of the old Cowlersley club in 1914.

(g) LONGWOOD

Longwood has moved with the times, and has been helped by a progressive Huddersfield Corporation, who, some years ago, extended their tramways from the old terminus, near the foot of the village, to Dod Lea, a con- siderable distance, which previously had to be walked by residents in the higher parts. Close to the old terminus was erected the handsome War Memorial, which can be seen by all users of the trams, which pass close by. The new Methodist Church stands at the head of this valley, a mag- nificent pile, in beautiful surroundings, a monument to the Broadbent family and other devoted workers. The new tower on the Parish Church, provided by Thomas Hirst in memory of his father and mother, Crosland and Eliza- beth Hirst, and the splendid peal of bells added later have enhanced the beauty of this important part of the district. Half the cost of the bells, £500, was defrayed by Messrs. C. and J. Hirst and Sons Ltd., in memory of the founders of the firm, Crosland and James Hirst. Other bells were given by Sir Emmanuel and Lady Hoyle in memory of Joseph Hoyle, by Kathleen Ramsden Hall in memory of her father, Enos Beaumont, and the family of Mr. and Mrs. William Livesey, who then lived at Fernleigh, Longwood, but later removed to Morecambe. The District Nursing Association, now afhliated with the

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Victoria Nurses’ Association, Huddersfield, has rendered magnificent service in the township. Longwood, indeed, must have been the first district to have such facilities, through the instigation of the late Sir William Broadbent, who established a district nurse in Longwood, and her ser- vices were so much appreciated that the work has never ceased. Great work on behalf of the Association was done by Thomas Hirst, Arthur Broadbent, and J. Wilfrid Shaw. The Musical Festival held annually at Nab End Tower in aid of the Huddersfield Royal Infirmary is known as “‘ The Mother of Sings,’’ and has certainly reason to be proud of its numerous offspring, for such work (like that of the annual treats to old people) is now carried on in practically every village in the Huddersfield area. Jabez Iredale, Charles Whitwam, Crowther Brearley, and John Andrew Dyson had very long associations with this bit of work. The Rev, J. E. Roberts, who was vicar during the time I used to “ cover ’”’ the district for local news, Mellor Addy, and Tom Senior, the veteran sexton, together with John Andrew Dyson, who was organist and choirmaster for a long period were close friends of mine, as I can say of Sam Brearley, a charming personality who served local Methodism, and the Huddersfield Town Council very faith- fully, Joe Brearley, and George Brearley. The little cobbler’s shop in which Sam and George carried on business was the haunt of many local worthies, and I spent some happy times there. Harold Brook also rendered long and valued service as organist at the Methodist Church, and Eli Brearley used to have a very fine orchestra, called the Longwood Phil- harmonic Society. For a short time Eli Brearley was chotr- master at Milnsbridge Methodist Church, and I came into close personal contact with him there, for I was a member of the choir for two years. Actually I was taken in for a month on trial, but at the end of that time no one said anything, so I continued without molestation until Mr.

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Brearley retired. I then slipped out quietly, and—as I tell my friends—no one has ever missed me, for I was never questioned on the matter! What an impression I must have made! !

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/ CHAPTER SIX

ROYAL VISITS

visits to the Colne Valley have been few, but on two occasions it has been my duty to place on record the proceedings in connection with such important functions. Those were the visits of King George V and Queen Mary, on Thursday, July rith, 1912, and on Thursday, May 3oth, 1918. But the district had an earlier association, if not an actual visit, with Royalty, on Wednesday, July 8th, 1908, when the Royal Train, conveying the late King Edward and Queen Alexandra, Princess Victoria and others through the Colne Valley from Leeds to Bristol, was very graciously slowed down by the King’s instructions, in order that school children at Milnsbridge might have an opportunity of catching a glimpse of Their Majesties. To the late George Rouse Hoyle, who was then head master at Crow Lane Council School, Milnsbridge, belonged the credit for securing such a valued concession. On the previous day, Their Majesties had been in Leeds, where the King opened a new wing of the University. Crow Lane School, now the Senior School for Milnsbridge, is situated in close proximity to the railway, a little to the west of the Longwood and Milnsbridge station. The rail- way embankment runs down to the boundary of the school playground, Mr. Hoyle wrote to Lord Knollys, the King’s private secretary, pointing out that it would be a gracious

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act if His Majesty would show himself to the school children as the train passed by the school. When a telegram was received by Mr. Hoyle that the King would be happy to comply with his request, the news spread like wildfire. The school was decorated, and so was the railway station. On the school building, facing the railway, was displayed the loyal message in white letters on a red background, “‘ God save the King and Queen.” All that was needed was Royal weather, but alas, rain fell from early forenoon until late in the day, and the outlook was dismal. It was arranged to close the school at 11-30 so that the scholars could have their midday meal before the arrival of the train, which was due to pass through Huddersfield at 1-14 p.m. Many of the children took their lunch to school in order to be on the spot. Scholars from the New Street School, and the Milns- bridge National School, were also present. They were lined up in the field on the west side of the school, and the Crow Lane children congregated in the playground. Workpeople and the general public, undeterred by the unpleasant weather, helped to swell the crowd to about three thousand persons. The three head masters had charge of the children, Mr. Hoyle, Mr. R. A. D. Lyddon (New Street), and Mr. L. Orton (National), Happily both Mr. Lyddon and Mr. Orton are still living on the retired list. John William Downs, stationmaster at Longwood for 26 years, was on duty and several railway officials and police officers were on the railway embankment, including Police-constables W. Payne and Bramley. A pilot engine passed the spot, and then at 1-20 p.m. Superintendent Birkhead, who was in charge of the West Riding Police at Huddersfield, gave the signal that the train was approaching. It was drawn by the engines “Alaska ” and “* Princess May,” and immediately speed was reduced for the train to pass the place very slowly. The King, who was in the second car, put his head out of the window,

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and continually waved his hand in response to the cheering and waving of flags and handkerchiefs by the children. The curtains of the Queen’s apartment were drawn aside, and Her Majesty also waved her hand to the people. It was a delightfully pleasing incident. Many people assembled at various points in the Colne Valley to catch a glimpse of the train, and the scholars of Nields Council School, Slaith- waite, were taken by their head master, the late J. T. Ferrior, up the railway side to Shaw Carr Wood, where they obtained a good view. The 1912 visit of King George and Queen Mary was noteworthy for the fact that Their Majesties paid surprise calls on local people. All the schools and places of busi- ness were closed, and if there was little to be seen in the way of decorations, there could be no mistaking the hearty welcome given to the Royal party. They travelled by road from Huddersfield, and scholars of the Milnsbridge National School were lined up in their playground, which runs alongside the main Manchester Road, and thus had an excellent view of the King and Queen. At Jovil, Lin- thwaite, about 2,500 school children were assembled in a sloping field on the south side of the road, and cheered Their Majesties heartily. Territorials, school children, and members of the Slaithwaite District Council, and officials, congregated near the Drill Hall, Slaithwaite, to greet the visitors. To the great surprise of everybody the Royal car was drawn up in front of a cottage at Wood Top, opposite the Slaithwaite Police Station. The occupant was Matthew Shaw, an old retired gaswork’s labourer, of seventy-two years of age. Mr. Shaw was standing at the door to watch the Royal party pass, when the King and Queen alighted and walked up to him. His Majesty extended his hand to Mr. Shaw, and asked if they might enter the house. Inside was Mr. Sam Sykes, a neighbour, Mrs, Thomas

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Gledhill, the wife of an adopted son of Mr. Shaw, and her little boy of eight. The King and Queen looked over the living-room and said it was quite a comfortable apart- ment. In answer to questions Mr. Shaw told the King he began work at the gasworks in 1865, and retired seven years before the visit. The Royal guests were in the house for several minutes, and when they left they shook hands with all who were in the house. Later Mr. Shaw told the reporters that when the King went up to him he said, ‘“ Have I your permission to and, remarked Mr. Shaw, “I gave him permission in a crack!’ Mr, Sykes said the King stood with his back to the fire like a real old Englishman. Their Majesties also called at Springhead Farm, on the heights between Slaithwaite and Meltham. The occupants were Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Eastwood. The King and Queen walked up to the farm greatly to the amazement of Mrs. Eastwood, whose husband was at work a short distance away at the time. Mr. Eastwood quickly returned to the house when he heard the news. Mrs. Eastwood pressed the Queen to have a cup of tea, and Her Majesty said, ‘‘I shall be very pleased indeed to do so, Mrs. East- wood,”’ and forthwith she had a cup of tea, and some of Mrs. Eastwood’s home-made “ fat-cake.” The Royal party went forward to Meltham and thence to Northgate Mount, Honley, the home of the late William Brooke. The latest visit of the King and Queen to the Colne Valley was on Thursday, May 30th, 1918, during their tour of the industrial areas just before the end of the war. They travelled by train from Heckmondwike, and were conducted over the Bank Bottom Mills by the late John Edward Crowther. Marsden was gaily decorated for the visit. As the Royal car travelled down from the station a halt was called near the Conservative Club where the scholars of the three schools were assembled. The

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Marsden Brass Band was also present, and accompanied the singing by the children of the National Anthem. Mr. Tom Eastwood conducted. Miss Gweneth Hill, selected by a vote of the scholars, handed a bouquet to the Queen, which Her Majesty acknowledged. Mr. Crowther presented the following to the King: Mrs. J. E. Crowther, Miss Constance Crowther, Mrs. George Crowther, Cooper Firth, chairman of the District Council, Mrs. Cooper Firth, William Crowther, Elon Crowther, Edward J. Bruce, Arthur Robinson, Samuel Firth, Herbert Denton, and J. D. Crowther. As the party went through a portion of the mills, Mr. J. E. Crowther explained things to the King and Sir Charles Sykes kept the Queen similarly informed. As the party emerged from the mill and proceeded down the entrance yard, some of the older workers were presented to them. These included Frank Carter, the warehouseman, John Bolton, head of the twisting department, who had forty-two years’ service with the firm, James Bentley, a weaver, who had worked at the mill for forty-seven years, and John Miller, designer and weaving manager. An old lady, Mrs. Eastwood, who was in a bath-chair, in the yard, was also pointed out to Their Majesties. The Queen was presented with a bouquet by Mavis Wilkinson, daughter of Frank Crowther Wilkin- son, and Her Majesty shook hands with the little girl. The “little girl”? is now Mrs. F. Schofield. Returning by road to Huddersfield the King acknowledged a salute from fifty-two discharged soldiers who were congregated

near to Green Bower. Crowds witnessed the Royal pro- cession down the valley.

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CHAPTER SEVEN

NORTH REGIONAL TRANSMITTER

To the Colne Valley in general, and to Slaithwaite in particular, belongs the honour of housing the North Regional Transmitting Station of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The station was inaugurated with a twin service on Sunday, July 12th, 1931, but I had the privilege, along with members of Slaithwaite District Council, their officials, and lady friends, of going over the station on Saturday, May 3oth, of the same year. On March 22rd test transmissions outside the normal programme hours were started on the North Regional wavelength (479 metres), and on April 2oth this transmitter took over part of the North Regional programme service. A full single pro- gramme service, consisting partly of national and partly of regional items, began to be radiated by the North Regional transmitter on May 17th. Then on June 8th the North National transmitter began to radiate test trans- missions, to be followed, as stated, by the full service on July 12th. The site is eleven hundred feet above sea level and each of the three masts is five hundred feet high. Great interest was aroused throughout the district when it became known that the B.B.C. engineers were making tests for a site in the district, and I was able from time to time to report progress through the kindly offices of Edgar E, Eagland, local agent for Lord Dartmouth, from whom the site was purchased. Tests were made in many places

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before the site was decided upon in 1929. The name, Moorside Edge, is known to all listeners, but it is an interesting fact that such a name was practically unknown to local residents until the B.B.C. came on to the scene. On the occasion of the visit to the station I have mentioned, James Woodhead, the oldest member of the District Council, asked why the station had been called Moorside Edge instead of Slaithwaite. ‘I don’t think any inhabi- tant in Slaithwaite knew there was a Moorside Edge until the B.B.C. told us about it,” he said. ‘I got quarrel- some about it until a six-inch ordnance map was shown to me, and Moorside Edge was indicated in very small letters, while Slaithwaite was all over the place.” Mr. Woodhead was seconding a vote of thanks to Mr. E. G. D. Liveing, the North Regional director, Mr. E. F. Wheeler, engineer in charge, and the staff for the interest- ing and instructive time given to the party. The resolu- tion was moved by James Gartside, who was chairman of the District Council at the time. Thousands of people visited the place during the build- ing Operations. Thirty acres of land were required for the station. Up to a hundred years ago it was probably open moorland, and is reputed to have been the retreat of the Burnplatters, a class of semi-barbarous people, possibly of gipsy origin. They lived in hovels, and were the terror of the countryside. They lived by hunting and whisky making, and if these failed, by depredation. There used to be a pilgrimage to Cupwith reservoir and other places in the vicinity of the station on the first Sunday in May, which was locally observed as “Spa Sunday.” Young people used to turn out early in the morning, taking breakfast with them, and would drink the “ cura- tive’ waters of the moors. There were no modern amusements in those days and Spa Sunday was an event eagerly anticipated.

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There is also a reminder of the Crimean War, in the existence of Crimea Road, which bounds a part of the site of the station, and was constructed to provide employment for men during a time of distress. A Roman road prob- ably crossed the plateau to link Yorkshire with Lancashire, so the site has historic associations combined with the most modern science of broadcasting.

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CHAPTER EIGHT

AMONG THE CHURCHES

Circumstances during the past thirty odd years have con- spired to make the work of the Christian Churches even more difficult than their work usually is. It was one of the arguments used against Victor Grayson by many people, that he unjustly and unnecessarily criticized the Churches as being antagonistic to the working-class movement. I have been a Church worker during most, if not all of that period, and I know the difficulty that has been created by such a notion being created in the minds of young people. Victor Grayson openly stated “ that the Capitalists owned and controlled the pulpits of their churches, and were the financiers behind the spiritual appeals of their parsons.” There is no question about it, many young people were disturbed in their faith, and the Churches suffered severely at that time. Then dissension was caused by the attitude of the Churches to the war, and in all the circumstances religious work became infinitely more difficult. The Churches also suffered grievous losses through the war itself. Those losses have never been made good. No wonder recovery has been slow. Indeed the wonder is that the Churches have been able to maintain their position as well as they have done. Heroic work has been done by clergy, ministers, and loyal laymen in all parts of the district, and things are beginning to show some signs of recovery. It is impossible in a work of this character to give a 142

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history of all that has been done in the churches in the past thirty years, but that the work goes on is shown by the many Centenary and Jubilee celebrations that have taken place, and the improvements and extensions that have been effected during the period under review. ‘These can only be touched upon with the utmost brevity. Again Marsden looms large in the picture, as becomes the town- ship at the head of the Valley. During the past twenty- eight years, with Frederick Russell as secretary for the whole of the time, Marsden Parish Church has been trans- formed. The church tower has been erected at a cost of £4,000, the memorial to the Rev. R. Buller, a former vicar, in the form of a window and chapel screen provided at a cost of { 100, the peal of bells installed costing £2,000, the Parochial Hall erected for £3,900, electric light installed for £270, new heating provided for £525, and many im- provements round the church provided by Miss Whitehead of Oldham, including the gift of the organ, the reredos, screen, and endowment for the organ. James Whitehead of Oldham gave the large west stained glass window and four others in the south aisle, the alabaster War Memorial containing all the names of the fallen on the south wall, an oak communion rail, service books, and a valuable legacy. His brother Samuel Whitehead of South- port gave the clock in the tower at a cost of {500, also a stained window in the north aisle in memory of his wife. The seating of the church was given in memory of his wife by James Whitehead, senior partner in S. and J. Whitehead, the builders of the church, and the father of the aforementioned James and Samuel and Miss White- head. Mr. Russel] acted as agent for the Whitehead family in all this work. The cost of the bells, £2,000, was raised in seven months, with Samuel Firth, a Nonconformist, as chairman of the committee. Mr. Firth gave a subscription of {100 and set

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the scheme definitely on the move. The most active period was during the vicariate of the Rev. C. E. G. Spencer, and the Church life of the parish was said to be never so high as during that time. Mr. Spencer saw the installation of the new organ, the dedication of the reredos, the installa- tion of the bells, the Parochial Hall erected, the War Memorial installed, much stained glass put in, and numer- ous other improvements carried out. Marsden, also, has seen a new Congregational Church erected, the old having been demolished to make room for the new. The new church was opened in 1932, by Mrs. S. Whitehead, whose name came first on the membership roll. The venture was helped along considerably by gifts of £3,000 by John Edward Crowther, {500 by Edward J. Bruce, and a three manual organ by Mrs. Firth, Crow Hill, Frank Firth, and Mrs. F, R. Armitage, in memory of Samuel Firth. Among other extensions have been those at Carr Lane Methodist Church, Slaithwaite, in 1924, the prime mover in which was the late Albert Hoyle, who had been Trust secretary from 1894, the provision of a Covered Way from school to church at Golcar Baptist Church by the family of the late Mr. and Mrs. William Crowther, in memory of their parents, and new premises for Sunday school pur- poses by the Milnsbridge Methodist Church in 1932. This church celebrated its Jubilee in 19209. I have known only two vicars at Slaithwaite Parish Church, the Rev. H. H. Rose, now of Cambridge, and the present vicar, the Rev. Canon W. H. Verity, who has been there for twenty-two years. Linthwaite Parish Church celebrated its Centenary in 1928, when Joel Crowther, one of the most prominent laymen in the Wakefield diocese, wrote an interesting history of the church. Golcar Parish Church Centenary came in 1930, when John Sykes com- piled a history. The Rev. John Leech was vicar here for

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twenty-four years, and was succeeded by the Rev. Albert Scott. Golcar Baptists also celebrated their Centenary in 1935, Hervey Tate writing the historical notes. Golcar Providence Methodists had their Jubilee in 1926, and Well- house Methodists in 1931. Marsden, Slaithwaite Centenary, and Linthwaite Methodist Churches, all formerly Wesleyan, are much older. Milnsbridge Baptist Sunday School Centenary was celebrated in 1930. In Slaithwaite Parish Church are memorial tablets to three organists who gave long and devoted service. John Schofield served voluntarily for nearly fifty-four years, Henry Pearson, of Golcar, held the post from 1851 to 1881, and John Allen Holroyd Eagland for nearly forty years from 1881. Long service in another direction may be noted in connection with Golcar Parish Church. Iredale Hanson was clerk and sexton for forty-six years, and was followed by his son Thomas, who had a long record, and the office is now held by John Henry Hanson, a member of the third generation, and nephew of Thomas Hanson. J. Guthrie Shaw was organist at Marsden Methodist Church for over forty years, David Bamforth had a long spell at Linthwaite Church, and John Andrew Dyson over fifty years at Longwood Church. ‘Tom Cotton has a long record at Milnsbridge Baptist Church, H. L. Dyson at Milnsbridge Parish Church, and J. H. Alston at Linthwaite Methodist Church. Joseph Wilkinson, over eighty years old, has kept the Sunny Bank Baptist Band of Hope going for the past sixty

years.

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CHAPTER NINE

WAR-TIME MEMORIES

In common with the experience of most districts in this and other lands, the flower of the youth of the Colne Valley perished in the Great War which raged from August 4th, 1914, to November 11th, 1918. There were many other casualties during and since that time that might be attributed directly or indirectly to the same cause. Fathers and mothers and other near and dear relatives passed away under the strain of those terrible years. It is a period which people can never forget, and I have no wish to harrow anyone’s feelings by dwelling upon it at undue length here. I can only say that in moving in and out among the people when they were in the midst of their poignant grief, I marvelled at the wonderful way in which they bore up in such awful circumstances. I had to pay many personal calls to collect information regarding local casualties, a work that required not a little delicacy, but I am thankful to know that, even when I was the first to bear the terrible news of some bereavement, I was received, almost invariably, with the utmost courtesy, and at times was able to render some little assis- tance to those in sore need on such occasions. All the local mills were at full stretch on war work, and other factories were engaged in various processes such as the making of high explosives, so that everyone was at high pressure in that nerve-racking time. A vast amount of

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work was done in social service, in caring for the sick and afHicted, and for the wounded when they arrived in the district. Everybody almost was engaged in sending out comforts to the troops, in organizing and serving on Relief Committees of one kind or another. Hospitality was shown to many Belgian refugees, and in ways too numer- ous to mention people were supporting the National cause. An original and valuable bit of work was done at Mars- den which must be placed on record. To help local people to send parcels to their boys on war service, Fred- erick Russell built up a wonderful voluntary organization at his newsagent’s shop in the market-place, whereby all that local folk had to do was to take their parcels to the shop, where they were weighed and stamped ready for the post free of cost to the sender. The scheme grew to a remarkable degree and Mr. Russell was besieged almost all day long by people passing in and out of the shop, and then taking their parcels forward to the post office. Over £600 was raised by a huge Jumble Sale held on November 4th, 1916, when everything almost from live stock to old Family Bibles were offered by auction by William Sykes and Son, auctioneers, of Holmfirth. Eventually a com- mittee had to be appointed to deal with the tremendous business created, and Percy Milsom acted as treasurer with Mr. Russell as secretary. Briefly the fund was started in July 1915, with £13 8s. 2d. collected in the Parish Church. It eventually attained a total of £1,186 gs. 1d., out of which sum the postage was paid on 17,015 parcels to sailors and soldiers. These parcels weighed over forty-five and a half tons, and were handled and recorded by Mr. Russell. A donation of £50 was given to the Comforts Fund in 1916, and there was a small balance for transfer on the winding- up of the Parcels Fund. Another War Charity, which is still in existence, is the

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Colne Valley Soldiers’ Fund, which originated in the gift of a loom by the well-known firm of Hutchinson, Holl- ingworth and Co. Ltd., of Dobcross Loom Works, Saddle- worth, It was put up for auction, and by sales and successive re-sales it realized a sum of about £2,000. This amount was set aside as a fund from which assistance is given to resi- dents of the Colne Valley who had served in the war and who should fall on evil times. For a few years the demands on the fund were small and the capital began to increase. In- deed for a year or two grants were made to the Huddersfield British Legion. In recent years, however, there have been a fair number of applications for assistance from the Colne Valley. Those eligible for assistance should make their application to the honorary secretary, Councillor John Bagley, of East Lea, Marsden. The fund is administered without expense other than a few shillings for postage, and it is proving very useful in relieving cases of real distress. Ex-servicemen are looked after by strong branches of the British Legion at Marsden, Slaithwaite, Linthwaite, and Golcar. Three of their clubs, Marsden, Linthwaite, and Golcar were opened by Lord Harewood in person, and 1 recall being present at ‘‘ Pots and Pans,” a lofty eminence at Saddleworth, when His Lordship unveiled the War Memorial there on a terribly wet day. I remember during the holding of the Military Service Tribunals that the office of military representative was held at various times by Captain A. H. Mallalieu, Colonel G. Tanner, Captain G. R. G. Bradbury, and Sir John S. Quarmby. Buckley Hanson of Botham Hall Farm, Long-

wood, used to act as agricultural representative.

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CHAPTER TEN

SOME INTERESTING CHARACTERS

ONE cannot move about among all sorts of people for thirty or forty years without meeting some interesting characters, who stand out from their fellows by reason of their sturdy independence, their quaint ideas, and their old-fashioned way of thinking. Many of these people are, indeed, the life and soul of the district in which they live, and manage to keep everyone in great good humour. Quite a number of such people cross my memory as I write. In the early part of 1914, I was commissioned to interview a veteran of ninety-five years old, who lived at a farmstead called ‘‘ Fairbanks’? on the hill-sides of the Saddleworth area. He was Thomas Bradbury, a typical representative of the old yeoman farmers who inhabited those same hill-sides for four hundred years. He was of the same name as my grandfather on my mother’s side, but not, so far as I know, in any way related. When I reached the farm in the early forenoon of a dismal, misty, rainy day in January, my quest was not at home! I was told he was out of doors every morning between eight and nine o’clock, no matter what the weather was like. When he returned from a visit to a neighbouring farm I found him to be a hale and hearty mortal, vigorous in mind and body. Mr. Bradbury told me his family had occupied “ Fair- banks ” for four hundred years, and he inherited the old

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homestead and farm in 1849 from his father, whose Chris- tian name also was Thomas. It is on record that when his great-grandfather died in 1814, “in him the King lost a loyal subject and the poor a sympathizing friend.” What a tale he told me of the days when, as a sheep and cattle dealer, he had to “ walk” sheep from Falkirk in Scotland to Saddleworth, a distance of about two hundred miles. There were no railways, of course. He had some strenuous times driving the sheep over the Cumberland hills and at night-time turning them into any sort of waste land, while he slept among the heather. He told me he had attended the Marsden cattle fair for over eighty years. When I mentioned politics I touched a quaint and lively chord in his make-up. “ Politics! ” he ejaculated, with a jerk of his head. “‘ Politics! Throw ’em into t’ fire! What has the present Government done? We want a Cromwell to come and punce ’em all out.” And so he went on, indicating to me that he was a “ Rump Tory,” whatever the term may mean. “Socialism! No Socialism for me. No. I shan’t say a word about the Suffragettes. I have my mind, but I will keep it to myself. I would sooner fight men than women.” He admitted that he played a little football and did some shooting in his young days, but never saw a cricket match, and never went to a picture house. Only once did he visit a theatre, and that was in Liverpool, where he was staying overnight. “T did not,” he added, “spend much of my father’s money in that way.” Of quite a different type was William Sykes, of Linth- waite, who died in January 1915, at the age of ninety-five. With his finely chiselled features, high-cut collar, silk hat, black bow tie, and frock coat, he was a typical Dickensian character. The essence of politeness in manner and speech, he was probably the last of his kind in the district.

Mr. Sykes was one of the old private schoolmasters, who

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carried on his profession for many years at Flathouse, Linthwaite, the school for which I had my early predilec- tions. I always had the utmost respect, amounting almost to reverence, for Mr. Sykes, who was a frequent visitor to my home. We keenly anticipated his coming and the opportunity of a chat with one who was exceedingly well- informed, and who so strikingly typified the old English aristocracy. At one time he was a prolific writer of verse, and many hymns written by him were used at local anni- versaries. His hand-writing was a delight to behold. Another old Linthwaite character was Joseph Shaw, of Smithriding, who was better known, according to the local designation, as “ Joah o’ Little Hannah’s.” It is quite a common thing in these parts for people to be recognized in this manner. One might have spent a day searching for Joseph Shaw without success, but mention the sobriquet and you would be instantly directed aright. Mr. Shaw was a mill worker, and was known as an expert at his particular job. But he was better known as a humorist, unconscious maybe, but still a humorist. He had some of the most original expressions to his credit, and was never at a loss how to get out of a difficulty. At one factory he developed a habit of arriving late at work. When asked by his employer if he knew what time they started work at the mill, Mr. Shaw replied in that quaint manner of his, ‘‘I’m sure I don’t, for your allis (always) agate when I come, and I leeave you agate when I go away! ”? Once when dismissed he turned up at the same mill as usual the following morning and asked “if he could have a loom?” The employer looked at him and said severely, ‘‘ Didn’t I tell you we had parted for ever? ” Ready as ever, Mr. Shaw replied, Yus, you did, but you see I allis let bygones be bygones.” He got the loom! On another occasion when dismissed he coolly said, “I suppose I can start where I like on Monday?” The em-

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ployer said, “Certainly, we have nothing to do with that.” Mr. Shaw turned up at the same mill on the Monday, and when questioned said ‘‘ he thought he might as well start at th’ owd shop.”

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CHAPTER ELEVEN

EMBARRASSING EXPERIENCES

In my time as a journalist I have had some amusing and embarrassing experiences. Evidently I have had more than one “ double,’’ for at various times I have been taken quite seriously as an official of the Corporation Gas Depart- ment, an architect, and an insurance superintendent! I was greatly surprised when a contractor stopped me in the street, and blandly asked me what I was doing about some plans which I was supposed to have promised for that particular week, I looked at him in amazement, and put counter questions to him, with the result that I found he imagined I was a local architect. On more than one occa- sion I have been accosted and conversation has been opened with me on insurance business, and not always by the same person. My “double” in this case had also been asked to take information for the paper which I represent. But the incident which puzzled me most was when a medical man held me up in the street and began a long tirade about a gas meter. He spoke volubly and before I could explain, he referred me to certain promises which I was supposed to have made to exchange him a “ wet ” meter for a “dry ’’ one, or vice versa. When I had the chance I had to explain to him as politely as possible that I had nothing to do with that particular gas department he had in mind, though I could tell him something about

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“gas ”’ producing meetings of another kind! He had no time to stay! ! These experiences might be embarrassing at the time, but to the journalist worth his salt they give him an in- sight into life, and he can in this way make new friends, and tap new sources of information which is all to the good, Many temptations are placed in the way of the young reporters in the nature of bribes to keep something out of the paper. I have seen silver coins slipped on to the Press table in the police courts, with this object in view. I wonder what these people would really think if a reporter could be so easily drawn from the path of duty? Needless to say, it cannot be done with any self-respecting journalist, and it is very unfair for anyone to tempt a young reporter in this way. On one occasion, however, I did quite innocently accept a consideration, not to keep some- thing out of the paper but to get something in. It was a comic singing competition held at Marsden Mechanics Hall many years ago now. I was seated near the platform, when one of the competitors hastily beckoned me to the side curtain, from behind which he thrust something into my hand with the remark, “ Give us a good word,” or something to that effect. He disappeared before I had time to say “Jack Robinson.” I found that along with his card he had given me sixpence! Evidently he knew the virtues of advertisement, but had a poor conception of its value. I am sorry I did not keep the card, for I have a shrewd idea that that comedian has since prospered in his profession, and has been heard in Huddersfield on more than one occasion. I hasten to disclaim any credit for his suc- cess by what I wrote about him for the sixpence I Twice have I served on juries at inquests, in order to oblige the police-officers in charge. Each time it was because one of the “ good men and true ” had not put in an appearance. After I had been sworn in with the rest

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of the jury, I went on with my work as usual. I also drew the King’s shilling! Three of them, for one was a double inquest, on man and wife, concerned in a war-time tragedy. Mention of inquests reminds me that I have attended an enormous number of such inquiries, and I have always found the police courteous and helpful to relatives and others who have to give evidence.

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CHAPTER TWELVE

MUSIC AND THE DRAMA

Cotne Valley has long enjoyed an enviable reputation as a centre of good music, and in recent years the drama and amateur operatics have entered more and more into the life of its people. Residents in this bleak and hilly district appear to find compensation for the physical effort needed to negotiate its hills and valleys, in the invigorating character of its climate. Incomers find these conditions trying, but to the native they act as a tonic, and develop his lung power. From time immemorial almost, music has formed an important part of the social life of the people, and now that it is a recognized part of the Day School and Evening Institute curriculum, children and young people have an excellent opportunity of learning to develop their native talent. At the same time, alongside the progress of local amateur Operatic and dramatic societies, there has been a decline in the recognized musical organizations which used to fill such an important part of the life of the district. Many reasons are offered as possible explanations. Pictures, wire- less, and gramophones take their share of criticism. Whatever the reason, there it is, such organizations as the Golcar Choral Society, the Marsden Choral Society, the Slaithwaite Glee and Madrigal Society, and the Colne Valley Vocal Union, have passed out of existence. The Slaithwaite Philharmonic Society, which gained a big repu-

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tation on the contest platform in various parts of the country before the war, under the late Arthur Armitage, remains, and is now under the direction of Lewis H. Eagland, who is choirmaster and organist at Marsden Parish Church. The Colne Valley Male Voice Choir, under George E. Stead, choirmaster of Golcar Baptist Church, and con- ductor of the Huddersfield Vocal Union, has risen to fame in recent years and gained wide distinction by beating, on two successive Saturdays in 1935, the famous Holme Valley Male Voice Choir, under Irving Silverwood, at Shefheld and Blackpool. The Golcar Conservative Male Voice Choir had a successful but all too short existence, under Hervey Haigh. Successful amateur operatic societies exist in connection with Marsden Parish Church, Marsden Congregational Church, and Milnsbridge Baptist Choir, and at Longwood. The Golcar Operatic Society did good work for some years but succumbed in the end. Amateur drama is undertaken by the young Liberals at Slaithwaite, the young people of Slaithwaite Conservative Club, and the Slaithwaite Carr Lane Methodist Church. Many other places of worship and clubs have undertaken work of this kind at intervals, and reference should be made in this connection to the excellent work done some years ago by Elvyn Wood’s Shakespearean Players. Mention of the work done in the schools reminds me of the splendid success gained by the Golcar Knowl Bank School Choir, under the head master, John Griffiths, who more than once invaded his native Wales and took the first prize with his choir at the Eisteddfod. ‘The Holme Valley Male Voice Choir won the big prize there on one occasion, as did the Huddersfield Vocal Union, under John Fletcher Sykes. Coming to individuals who have made names for them- selves in various parts of the country, and even farther

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afield, I may mention the Wood family, who hailed from Slaithwaite, the father, Clement Wood, formerly holding the licence of the Lewisham Hotel, where his musical family was born. Haydn Wood is perhaps the most famous, known as he is both as a violinist and composer. Haydn Wood toured the world as solo violinist with Madame Albani. Harry Wood has been at Douglas for more than fifty years, and is well known as Director of Music at the principal entertainment houses in that holiday town. Daniel S. Wood, who has passed away, became the King’s flautist. A sister, Mrs. Walter John Gledhill, is an accomplished pianist. There is also the Pearson family at Golcar. Henry Pearson, J. H. Pearson, Arthur Pearson (formerly Huddersfield Borough organist), and John Field- ing Pearson have distinguished themselves on the instru- ment of their choice. The last named, with over fifty years’ service to his credit, is still the choirmaster and organist at Golcar Parish Church. Fred Walker Baxter, of Linthwaite, and George Barrett, of Milnsbridge, earned fame as organists in Scotland, and the late John Arthur Meale, born at Slaithwaite, became the idol of worshippers and others as organist and Director of Music at the Methodist Headquarters at the Westminster Central Hall, London, where he was for a long period associated with the Rev. Dr. Dinsdale Young. Samuel Dyson, of Marsden, is a member of the Wireless Singers, and takes part in the B.B.C.’s morning service and the Sunday evening epilogue, a fine bass singer, who has forged ahead largely by his own efforts. His brother, Edgar, has for a long period been in the choir at Salisbury Cathedral. Lewis H. Eagland has been referred to, and I must not omit the late Dr. T. E. Pearson of Slaithwaite, a prominent conductor, and organist at Halifax Parish Church. Willie Wilkinson, of Slaithwaite, was principal tenor at York Minster for many years, and Bertie Halstead,

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of Milnsbridge, held an appointment at Oxford. ‘Tom Henry Clay, a Slaithwaite violinist, has for some time been established at Carlisle, and Alfred S. Frost, of Slaithwaite, is organist and choirmaster at the Huddersfield Methodist Mission. Another Golcar man, James H. Sykes, used to be borough organist at Huddersfield. Reginald Stead, a Milnsbridge violinist, has frequently broadcast, and has been leader of the Whitby Orchestra, is a member of the Hirsch Quartet, and other organizations. In seasons 1934-35 he was the conductor of the Colwyn Bay Pier Orchestra. George E. Stead, previously mentioned, is one of the younger musicians who has early gained distinction. He gained the Mrs. Sunderland Competition medal at Hudders- field, for both bass vocalists, and for pianoforte, and also won the Rose Bowl as the best of four winning soloists. Now he is taking all before him as a conductor. Whiteley Singleton, of Golcar, is organist at Brighouse Parish Church, and Ronald Townend, ’cellist, and John Henry Hanson, double bass, have had experience with seaside orchestras. James Stott, organist and pianist, who is a native of Linthwaite, is a director of Peter Conacher and Co., organ builders, Huddersheld. Thirty or forty years ago Linthwaite Brass Band was a force in the country, but if they have fallen from their high estate, some excellent work has been done in recent years by Slaithwaite, Scapegoat Hill, and Milnsbridge Socialist Brass Bands. In recent years a Boys’ Brass Band has been formed in connection with Marsden Senior Coun- cil School, with H. Collins, head master, as organizer, and Tom Eastwood as conductor. Mr. Eastwood has had a long career as a conductor and adjudicator, which latter duties take him to all parts of the country. The boys have made splendid progress under his tuition, and have already broadcast and scored successes on the contest platform.

Earlier on, Edwin Swift and Richard Stead (father of

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George E. Stead) earned fame in various directions. Both became famous as brass band adjudicators, Mr. Stead actually journeying to Australia to judge a series of com- petitions in the Antipodes. Mr. Swift was one of the most brilliant men of his day, both as trainer of bands and as adjudicator. I knew both gentlemen intimately and learned from them something of their early struggles. Edwin Swift joined a drum and fife band before the formation of the Linthwaite Brass Band, a famous contest- ing band in the old days. His enthusiasm at a very early age was so great that he used to get up early in the morn- ing and practise playing the cornet for hours on the top of an out-building near his home. His brother Sam was a cornet player, and Edwin was fond of snatching a little practice on Sam’s instrument. This was not appreciated by Sam, who remonstrated with his brother. The mother of the two boys heard their little argument, and quickly retorted, “‘ Nah, Sam, if aw wor thee aw’d neer play that thing ageean, because yar Edwin can beeat thi heead off.” A writer in the Brass Band News said of him, when he passed away in 1904, “ Mr. Swift had no advantages. In his early life it was work from six o’clock to six o’clock daily in the mill. Courage, work, faith. Those were the three things that made Edwin Swift one of the greatest band trainers the world has ever seen. Work, perpetual hard work, work in the mill all day, band practice until ten at night, and then three hours’ writing and study.” Richard Stead, who died in 1915, was choirmaster at Golcar Baptist Church, the position now held by his son George, for a long period. He was a chorister at the age of seven. He told me how he got his first music lesson ** knocked into him,” as he described it. He had learned to “ tootle ’’ some of the organ music, and at an annivers- ary rehearsal at Meltham Mills, the organist suddenly

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stopped playing, but the “ tootling ’ went on. As the result of the organist’s inquiry for the culprit, the other choristers shouted in chorus, “ Dick Stead,’? and Dick Stead got a severe drubbing! At the age of fourteen he joined two brothers in the Meltham Mills Brass Band, then under the professional care of John Gladney. He was connected with many societies, and when he played the euphonium at the Huddersfield Theatre Royal he had to walk home to Meltham, a matter of five or six miles, and had to be at work at six o’clock the following morn- ing. Such men as these never counted the cost. They pursued the art they loved so well no matter what the rice. ° Among a number of other men who while not holding executive positions in all cases yet rendered great service to the cause of music, may be cited John Taylor Tweed, of Slaithwaite, who was a familiar figure at every musical festival in the district, and could sing through Handel’s ‘Messiah ” without looking at a copy, David Meal, of Linthwaite, with a long record with the Huddersfield Choral Society, John Thomas Collinge, who devoted the greater part of his life to music at Slaithwaite Methodist Church, George Edward Beaumont, of Marsden, a noted member of Slaithwaite Philharmonic Society and other orchestras, Clement Armitage of Golcar and John Herbert Taylor, of Slaithwaite, who were members of the Slaithwaite Philharmonic Society.

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

A MOORLAND MYSTERY

CriME is not one of the most palatable subjects for public discussion, but the journalist is brought closely into con- tact with it in the course of his professional duties. There- fore the matter can hardly be obliterated from one’s memories. Immediately anything of the sort is known, not only is the information in the hands of every police- officer in the country, but a horde of newspaper men take up the quest. Often enough their investigations help very materially in bringing the criminal, or criminals, to justice. In this way the newspaper renders valuable service to the community, though it is obvious that tact is required in handling such stories. Many of the older people in the Colne Valley and Huddersfield will readily recall the wave of horror which swept over the country, when in September 1903, the news spread abroad that two gamekeepers had been shot dead on the wild stretch of moorland above Marsden, between Huddersfield and Oldham. The tragedy took place at a point between the Great Western Inn, and Buckstones, two well-known places on the main roads to Oldham and Manchester, but widely separated by the undulating moors. Here the moors rise to a height of fifteen hundred feet above sea level, and in winter-time especially are bleak and desolate. Sheep and grouse are the chief tenants of the

moors. 162

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At the time of the tragedy the shooting rights were held by Joseph Crowther, John Edward Crowther, and Thomas Henry Ramsden. The murdered men were William Henry Uttley, gamekeeper, aged fifty-eight, and known locally as Bill o’ Marks, and his nephew, Robert Kenyon, aged twenty-seven, son of William Kenyon, aged seventy, who was the head-gamekeeper for Messrs. Crowther and Ramsden. Uttley lived in a small cottage on the moors, and was a man of powerful physique. Kenyon was of rather slender build. He had been a soldier in India, and was employed by Platt and Co., of Oldham, as a teamer. At this time he was on a visit to his father’s home at Buck- stones, and helped his father on the moors. Buckstones was once the Buck Inn, a secret meeting-place of the Luddites, but was now partly used as a shooting-box. To-day, evidence of the modernization of the roads and traffic is seen in the existence of a petrol station, and refreshments are supplied at the house. In 1903, however, the road was not nearly so much used as to-day. A man named Henry Buckley, who was about forty years old, a small farmer of Sholver, near Oldham, was arrested and charged with the crime, but after a pro- tracted police-court hearing at Huddersfield, he was dis- charged. All the interested parties have now passed away, and with them lies buried the secret of the grim tragedy, for to this day the criminal has not been brought to justice. It was presumed that the crime was committed on Wed- nesday, September gth, but it was not actually discovered until the following day. Uttley was then found shot dead near a gully known as Ben Clough, about six yards on the Lancashire side of the boundary which divides Marsden and Friarmere. Young Kenyon was found dead at a place about a mile and a half nearer Marsden. His body was buried under a heap of stones, earth, sods, and heather, with

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only the toes of his clogs protruding. © To this latter fact must be ascribed the finding of the body. For the most part it was a terribly depressing day, with rain and mist enveloping the moors, but there was an occa- sional gleam of sunshine, and as it glittered on a small part of Kenyon’s clog irons, the discovery was made. At first it was thought that Uttley had been shot by young Kenyon, and at the time his body was found, police were actually looking for him in Liverpool! Matters were immediately complicated. According to the story of the elder Kenyon, father and son set out on the Wednesday afternoon watching the game, and saw a man on the moors. Robert gave his gun to his father, and went to intercept the man. He was soon lost to sight on the undulating moors. His father remained there until about six o’clock, when he returned home. About midnight, when Robert had not returned, the old man returned to the moors to look for his son. The search proved unavailing, and on the following day search-parties were organized. But instead of finding young Kenyon, the searchers first came across the body of Uttley, lying on his right side on the heather. The cloth of his coat was burned as though he had been shot at close quarters. Near him was his faithful dog, which apparently had remained by his side from the time he was shot. That was at 9.40 a.m. In- formation was at once sent to Uttley’s home, and it trans- pired that he left there at 2.30 on the Wednesday afternoon. The search continued and shortly before noon, the other body was found. Uttley’s body was removed to his home, and Kenyon’s to Buckstones. Henry Buckley, the suspected man, was arrested as the result of his name being written on a piece of paper by old Kenyon, and handed to the police at the inquest on the two murdered men, at the Marsden Mechanics Institute.

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Buckley was said to be a poacher, but he was also a Salva- tion Army leader, and a temperance worker. In his younger days he had been a wrestler in the Lancashire style, and it was stated that he had been a policeman and a lamp- lighter at Oldham. He was married and had four children. When his friends heard of his arrest, they at once rallied round him to pay for his defence. He was in custody for about a month, and appeared before the West Riding magistrates in all about five times. I was present at each sitting and remember the tremen- dous interest that was taken in the case. On each occasion the court-room was crowded. J. H. Turner, the present magistrates’ clerk, prosecuted at first, and then, on his instructions, Harold Thomas, barrister, took over the pro- secution. Buckley was defended by G. P. Fripp, an Oldham solicitor, who won the sympathy of all by his conduct of the case. Old Kenyon was the chief witness for the prosecution, and in court maintained that he knew Buckley was the man he had seen on the moors on the day of the murders, although he had previously told reporters that the man was too far away to identify. Buckley never denied being on the moors that day, but said he never went beyond Friarmere Moor, where he had a right to be. This was a part of the moor which had never been enclosed, and was known as a Free Moor. Mr. Fripp’s contention was that young Kenyon was buried at night in order that it might be supposed that he had murdered Uttley and fled. If the body had been buried during the day the murderer would not have left the clogs exposed. Buckley, it was shown, was far from the place before dark. On October 16th, the Bench considered their verdict in private for over an hour, and on returning into court, the chairman, William Brooke, said, ‘‘ The Bench are of opinion that the evidence adduced does not justify us in committing this man.”

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There was a great outburst of cheering in court, show- ing that Buckley had the sympathy of the public, and he was warmly congratulated on all hands. He was again cheered as his train left the station at Huddersfield. It is interesting to recall that one of the witnesses was the late William Henry Wolstenholme, who was then chief reporter of the Huddersfield Examiner, who had interviewed William Kenyon in the course of his inquiries in connection with the murder. Buckley later addressed a number of meetings, one of which I attended at Milnsbridge Baptist School, at which he protested his innocence, and collections were taken for his defence fund. Some time afterwards Harry Tinker, of Marsden, was in Buckley’s company, with others, at Blake Lea Guest House, when it was in charge of James Henry Firth, an old temperance advocate. Mr. Tinker tells me that the question of the murder was discussed, and he particularly watched the effect on Buckley’s face. There was not the slightest movement to cause suspicion, and Buckley remarked, quite calmly, ‘‘ Well, my con- science is clear.”’ It was estimated at the time that seven thousand people watched the funeral of Uttley in Marsden churchyard. It may be of interest to give the names of the jury who served at the inquest on the two bodies: James Dyson, foreman, William Richards, Joseph Beighton, Fred Barker, Walter Mettrick, Tom Boothroyd, Albert Wilkinson, John W. Marsden, John E. Pinder, Thomas Whitehead, John Lees,

and James Carter.

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN GREAT STORM OF 1904

WE are very prone to grumble about the weather in the Colne Valley, but for the most part we seem to escape very well compared with some other districts in the country. But on Sunday, July 24th, 1904, the lower parts of the district experienced a real rain-storm, which will never be erased from the memory. What was then considered an enormous amount of damage was done, particularly at Golcar, where the amount was estimated by the District Council at over £5,000. Glorious weather had _ been enjoyed for some weeks and people had begun to yearn for the sight of rain once again, when the deluge came, with little warning. ‘The storm began, apparently, midway between Marsden and Slaithwaite, and conse- quently Marsden people escaped its fury, and could be forgiven if they imagined that they were the chosen people. Slaithwaite, Linthwaite, Golcar, Milnsbridge, and to some extent, Longwood, were not so fortunate. The storm broke just about the time that local churches and chapels were closing their evening services, and it was so severe, so rapid in its development, that many worshippers were unable to leave for home until close on midnight. Rain fell in torrents until about eleven o’clock, and quickly turned the streets into rivers. The Colne rose by several feet in a very short time, and there was much flood- ing in the lower areas. At most churches and chapels the

167

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congregations remained singing hymns, but there was con- siderable anxiety felt by those at home for the safety of young and old. Market Street, the main shopping centre at Milnsbridge, was three feet deep, and the water surged down George Street making both impassable almost. Huge logs of timber and other objects floated down the valley. The entrance to the Baptist Church was several feet deep in water. Here the service closed early and most people got away, but about fifty were confined in the premises for some considerable time. The late Rev. E. R. Lewis, pastor, in his Baptismal vestments, waded through the waters at 10.30 p.m. in order to notify relatives of the safety of those in the church. Even in the church walk he found himself knee-deep in a strong current of water which was rushing across the burial ground into the river. Matters were worse in Bridge Croft and at the bottom of Whiteley Street, and Mr. Lewis was driven back into Chapel Lane. Eventually the people were taken home in cabs. Food and tea were taken to those at the Wesleyan Church who were confined there, and late in the evening the late James William Hanson conveyed several to their homes on a wagon ! Cabs were also used to take home worshippers at the Parish Church. Nearly all the shops in Market Street were flooded, and damage was done to the foundations of the building now used as a Salvation Army Meeting Hall in Armitage Road. A piano and other articles were deposited into a culvert which runs under the building. Many private houses also were flooded, and considerable damage was done. Built as it is on a side of the valley, Golcar with its sharp declivities, discharged the rain water almost as quickly as it received it, but besides contributing to the incon- venience of Milnsbridge, the rush of water did an enormous amount of damage in the township of Golcar. The foot- paths in Scar Lane and Savile Street were ripped up in

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places two or three feet deep. The most serious damage occurred in the track of the Heath House brook. This passes through a culvert near the railway viaducts. The great rush of water broke down a wall and tore up the road. Bales of wool and other articles were carried away from Albion Mills, and lower down a main sewer was laid bare although it was several feet below the surface of the road. Consequently the Appleyard culvert was unable to take all the water and debris, and burst, carrying with it one of the settling tanks at the Golcar Council’s Sewerage Works. The canal below was blocked for a distance of sixty yards, and lower down, near to Ramsden Mill, several yards of the canal embankment was carried away, the water pouring into the dam adjoining the mill. The footpath alongside the London, Midland and Scottish railway, between Wellhouse and Lowestwood, known as “ Lovers’ Walk,” was seriously damaged, and for a time I remember trains on the up south line were run at a slower speed as a precautionary measure. At some of the woollen mills at Longwood and Milnsbridge work was not possible on the following day, owing to the effects of the storm, and crowds of people visited the district to inspect the damage done. Official records showed that between 8.10 p.m. and 11.15 p.m. the rainfall measured three point sixty-nine inches, and in one hour, 8.10 to 9.10 the measurement was actually two point thirty-six inches.

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CHAPTER FIFTEEN SPORTING REMINISCENCES

No work of this character would be complete without some reference to the sporting proclivities of the Colne Valley. As in industry, politics, and local government, there have been great changes in sport in my time. While cricket and football may attract the greater number of players and supporters, there can be no denying the re- markable advance made in the last thirty years in bowls and tennis. Bowls used to be considered a game for elderly gentlemen of leisure, while tennis was for ladies and effeminate gentlemen! Now the participants of both are almost legion, and ladies are as proficient as gentle- men at bowls, a thing undreamt of thirty years ago. All the youths of my day were potential County or Inter- national cricketers. ‘They played cricket, they read cricket, and they talked cricket in the summer time, and in winter they were just as keen on football. In our young minds there never were such cricketers as Lord Hawke, George Ullyett, “F. S.” Jackson, Bob ” Moorhouse, J. T. Brown, Frank Mitchell, David Hunter, J. Tunnicliffe, and the three famous Huddersfield men, George Herbert Hirst, Wilfred Rhodes, and Schofield Haigh. Alonzo Drake, Major Booth, Herbert Sutcliffe, ‘ Bill ”? Bowes, and Percy Holmes had not then arrived. Every village green was crowded with cricket teams on 170

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an evening and on Saturday afternoons. We were not afraid of having to walk a mile or two in order to gratify our wish. Some of us played cricket on the top of the “Brow ” at Blackmoorfoot when we ought to have been at music lessons. We used to “toss up” for cricket or music outside the house of our tutor, Dan Shaw Meal, and it was surprising how often cricket won|! Early in life I lived next door to three brothers who were destined to play a big part in local cricket, and in one case much farther afield. They were “ Jimmy ” Shaw, also a noted bass singer, Willie Shaw, and John Shaw, and next door on the other side was Joe Willie Walker, and all the four played for Linthwaite Club. “Jimmy ” Shaw was professional for many clubs, such as Bacup, Brig- house, Wakefield, Scarborough, and Bridlington. He played for Yorkshire Second Eleven in 1895-96, and for the County First Eleven against Cambridge, Leicester, and Essex in 1896. I can recall Jack Redfearn, of Broad Oak Club, calling for ‘Jimmy ” when both played for York- shire Colts. For many years Jack has been the esteemed servant, first as professional and still as groundsman of the Harrogate Club. Other prominent players at Linthwaite in those days were Squire Dawson, Harry Schofield, Joe Walker, Thomas Lockwood, William Bower, and the professional, Dan Bottom, who later went to the neighbouring club at Slaithwaite. Bottom recommended another professional in “‘ Bill’ Ellis, who created a big sensation by his mag- nificent displays in Huddersfield League cricket. People used to flock from far and near to see Ellis in action, as they did earlier when Bottom was the professional. I actually saw Bottom bowled in one match by an under- hand delivery all along the ground, the opposing players having despaired of ever getting him out! Marsden had some noted players including Joe Quarmby, who was

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captain when the team won the Lumb Cup, and who was followed by three sons, Harold, John, and Arthur. John died at Bournemouth some years ago, but Harold and Arthur still live in that town. who is in the teaching profession, concentrates in teaching the young idea both cricket and Association football in these days, but Arthur keeps up his form with the Bournemouth Corinthians Club, with which Hubert Whiteley, another Colne Valley man, of Golcar, has often distinguished himself. ‘Bill’ Hampson and George Goulder were fine pro- fessionals at Marsden, and local players who gained some reputation included Walter Firth, Harry Senior, Jimmy Wrigley and Joe Buckley. Three brothers who attained fame at Slaithwaite were ‘‘ Will,” Tom, and Harry Eag- land, all of whom were equally famous at Rugby football. “Will”? was a great full-back in his day, and many people deemed him worthy of an English “cap.” He gained County honours. Harry also became a full-back and played both for Huddersfield and Oldham. He was also a professional cricketer in Staffordshire. George Bam- forth, Amos Arthur Wood, Johnny Sykes, Thomas Bur- rows, Roger Sykes, and Frank Noble were other names that come to mind, and, as a professional, no one had a more successful or such a long maintained career than Sam Fletcher, who served a number of local clubs. At Broad Oak, which club has shown a recent fancy for carrying off chief honours in the Huddersfield area, I can remember in addition to Jack Redfearn such enthusi- astic players as “ Bill’? Lofthouse, Arthur Iredale, the Dyson family, “ Bill” Priestley, John Dunning, and a number of professionals, of whom J. T. Hainsworth was considered the fastest bowler of his time. Bradley Thorn- ton gave unstinted service for a long period. Walter Stubbings was another noted local professional. Fred C.

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Whiteley carried on the splendid tradition with 21 years service as an amateur. When Hainsworth was bowling, Arthur Iredale, the wicket-keeper, used to wear two pairs of pads, and “ Bill’ Lofthouse wore pads also as long- stop! Arthur Shaw was a great worker for the Golcar Club, and was also the founder of the Huddersfield and District League. Prominent players were Thomas Han- son, “ Tommy ” Ashton, David Hartley, Wilson Knight, Dan Priestley, W. W. Lancaster, Arthur Milnes, John Allen Meal (the two latter later rendering conspicuous service to the Friarmere Club in which district they were employed), Percy Holmes, the former Yorkshire cricketer also played for Golcar at one time, and the professionals, Peter Pullan and Peter Hall, will never be forgotten in Golcar. There used to be another local cricket club at Linth- waite Hall, but many years ago the club turned over to the growing claims of bowls. Players who used to give good service here included Edwin Heap, Fred Quarmby, Ben Kaye, George Cotton, Ben Langfield, the Buckleys, and C. Kennedy. I remember Edwin Alletson, who later was a member of the Notts County Eleven, and was noted for sensational hitting, being the professional at Linthwaite Hall, also Sam Fletcher, Walter Stubbings, and Bill” Ellis. I once saw the team dismissed for seven runs in the final for the championship of the Huddersfield and District Alliance at Armitage Bridge. Kirkburton made sixty-eight runs and the match looked a safe thing for Linthwaite Hall, but the unexpected happened, and I have a lively recollection of the scenes of delirium when the side were all out for such a small total. Hats, sticks, and umbrellas—for it was none too good a day—were thrown indiscriminately into the air by the Kirkburton supporters. More recent happenings in local cricket are fresh in peoples’ minds, but many may appreciate the

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reference to the men who were prominent in a former generation. Long before I began work as a journalist I followed the Huddersfield Rugby team, watching them both on their own well-appointed ground at Fartown, and travel- ling to many other towns in my keenness and enthusiasm for the game. We used to have to walk from Linthwaite to Fartown in those days, for there were no trams or buses, and the distance would be from three to four miles. James Henry Parkin, who still follows the Colne Valley Hounds at the age of eighty, used to run a horse wagonette to Huddersfield, but not many people could get into one wagonette! And so football enthusiasts had to walk. Those were the days before the breakaway of Northern clubs from the Rugby Union, and the formation of the Northern Union, now called the Rugby League. Many good village teams were in existence then, in- cluding Kirkburton, Shepley, Primrose Hill, Paddock, Lockwood, Milnsbridge, Linthwaite, Crosland Moor, Hor- bury, Nortonthorpe, with their famous “Jud ” Perkins, Skelmanthorpe, and others. Prominent among all workers for the game at that time was Tom G. Kilner, of Milns- bridge, who was secretary of the Huddersfield and District Rugby Union for a long period, and also officiated as a referee. Players eventually began to seek recognition at Fartown, and the Association game, which then was non- existent in the district, began to creep in. The late Rev. William Turner, then a curate at Linthwaite Parish Church, was one of the pioneers of the sister code, and got together a fine team at the church. John Thomas Trainer was a famous three-quarter for Milnsbridge, and but for the fact that he was rather hard at hearing must have made a name for himself in better- class football. ‘“‘ Tiny ” Netherwood, who hailed from Netheroyd Hill, and who I believe is now serving on the

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Huddersfield Committee, was a splendid full-back, and I remember such players as Hubert Dyson, ‘‘ Bob ”’ Haggas, Law Taylor, Herbert Taylor, Herbert Eastwood, Joe Ainley, Jimmy Haigh, George Pearson, Lincoln Walton, Harry Ricketts, who later played for Huddersheld, Stock- port, and Broughton Rangers, Fred Ollerenshaw, George Lucas, Ezra Knight, John H. Ainley, Ben Calvert, Norman Micklethwaite, and Crosland Baxter, whose son_ later played for Huddersfield and Batley. At one time Milns- bridge had three forwards whose collective weight was nearly fifty stones! They were George Senior, now an enthusiastic follower of Huddersfield Town Association club, A. W. Stocks, and Joe Sykes. Paddock players of note were Joe Elliott, who had a ponderous kick, Sam Livesey, D. Hirst, A. Wilson, ‘‘ Nap ” Coldwell, Tom Else, J. A. Senior. I well remember watch- ing Paddock play Manningham, then one of the leading senior clubs, at Paddock, in a cup-tie. George Lorrimer, the Yorkshire County full-back, was in the visiting team, and some powerful forwards included two well-known players in Barraclough and Clegg. Milnsbridge also had the privilege of entertaining in a cup-tie, a senior club, in Leeds Parish Church. The game was played on the George Street Ground, which used to have the lake of the Milns- bridge Pleasure Gardens up one side. Now the whole area is covered with industrial works. Milnsbridge held their opponents for a time, but class told in the end and the visitors won by one goal, six tries, twenty-three points, to one goal, five points. Ben Calvert scored the try. I also saw Lockwood play Keighley at Lockwood, in a cup-tie. Linthwaite Club dates back to an earlier period, but I remember watching players such as Willie Shaw, the cricketer, Willie Bray, who later played for Huddersfield, Joe Quarmby, Tom Sykes, who is now in the railway service in the Stockport area, and who was the

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eldest son of the late George Sykes, a well-known Methodist lay preacher, and an ardent Liberal politician. Fred Dodson and Ned Bailey were prominent Slaithwaite players, and later Joe Eastwood and Walter Bailey played for the Slaithwaite Juniors’ team. Tommy Ricketts and Willie Shires were noted members of the Crosland Moor team. In addition to the Eaglands, of Slaithwaite, I remember that Edgar Pearson and Fred Hirst of Golcar, Willie Bray, Linthwaite, Wilfred Ainley, Sam Wilson, and Norman Micklethwaite, of Milnsbridge, Frank Pyke, of Marsden, Tom Else, of Paddock, played for Huddersfield, and Lin- coln Walton also had trials, Some details of the formation of the old Milnsbridge Club supplied to me by one of the founders, William Avison, are worth placing on record. Mr. Avison told me that while he and James Walter Sykes, a local solicitor, were talking in the old Conservative Club, now the Christa- delphian Hall, they saw some youngsters kicking a home-made football about in the street. This set them thinking. Both of them and Joe Wallace had played foot- ball with the old Huddersfield St. Paul’s team in the old Rifle Field, together with Bob Welsh, Ernest Woodhead, Frank Woodhead, Wright Moorhouse, and a Mr. Sharples, _ who was the master at Spring Grove School. The Wood- heads, by the way, are directors of the Huddersfield Exam- wner. Mr. Ernest is proud of the fact that he played for England in 1881, while for many years Frank Wood- head has recorded the doings of the Huddersfield Rugby team for the Examiner under the pen-name of Rouge.” Mr. Sykes said he would pay for the printing if Mr. Avi- son would call a meeting to consider the formation of a club at Milnsbridge, and it was done. The committee was elected at the first meeting and they succeeded in obtain- ing a field behind Casson’s Buildings, now, by the way,

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completely covered by dwelling houses. The first team included Sykes, Avison, Wallace, Alfred Ainley, Alfred Cliffe, Walter Garside, W. W. Dawson, Thomas H. Daw- son (secretary), Frank Dawson, Edgar Dawson, Dick Oxley, Jim Oxley, John Edward Taylor, Graham, better known as “ Little Waxie,” and James Beaumont, from whose father they rented the field. Last but not least Jesse Whitehead acted as baggage carrier. They played their first match at Lowerhouses, near Castle Hill with frost and snow on the ground. They also played Cumberworth on about six inches of snow, but Mr. Avison says it didn’t trouble them much if they got a game in those days. ‘That was in 1883. J. T. Trainer and “Jim ”’ Howarth joined later, after a period with Pad- dock Nelson. The teams “ changed ” for a few weeks at the “ Armitage Arms,” Milnsbridge, and then went to the “ Horse and Groom,” which was then kept by Ben Whiteley. Mr. Avison recalled to me that in that year, 1883, occurred a Weavers’ Strike in the district. It also saw the opening of Beaumont Park, and Somerset Bridge, Hudders- field, and the Hoyle Ing Working Men’s Club at Linth- waite. The Linthwaite Brass Band, with which he had a long connection, played at each of these opening functions. Since these early days, of course, the Association game has taken root, and the Huddersfield Town Club is famous throughout the world. Of their activities I cannot write so freely, as my duties have largely been in other direc- tions. But the club has brought considerable fame to the town. Little did I think in the days I have been describing that I should one day sit in the Press Box and write news- paper reports of cricket and football matches as they are proceeding. But for several years now besides ‘‘ covering ” M

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cricket I have followed in a professional capacity the fortunes of the Huddersfield Old Boys’ Rugby Union Foot- ball Club, and a few lines about this organization will not be out of place. The club was formed in 1909 be- cause of the need felt in the town for an amateur organi- zation, following the “ split”? when many clubs in the North severed their connection with the English Rugby Union and formed the Northern Union, now known as the Rugby League. The Old Boys celebrated -their com- ing-of-age in 1930, with a dinner in the Town Hall, at which I was present. In a hot bed of professional Rugby and Association football, the amateurs have had a terrific struggle, but now they are established as one of the strongest clubs in York- shire. Always well served by an enthusiastic body of workers, it is pleasing to note how some of the founders are still giving their services. The founders were Walter A. Scott, who is still the general secretary, Norman Tay- lor, of Golcar, and C. Edgar Brierley, of Slaithwaite, so the Colne Valley was well represented at the start, as it has been by a number of players since. Lewis Clifford, who was president of the Yorkshire Rugby Union in the club’s coming-of-age year, is another stalwart, and J. A. Bottomley, J. C. V. Grundy, H. S. Netherwood, M. R. Hughes, H. Dawson, W. H. S. Ainley, Frank Crosland, and F. L. Thornton are among other good workers for the club. Just when the club had become established the war came and put an end to its activities. More than forty members joined the forces, and eight of them made the supreme sacrifice: R. H. Owen, the first player from the club to play for Yorkshire, J. A. Hartley, F. Thornton, B. S. Beadon, W. Rae, W. Wildblood, T. Riley, and N. Rippon. H. Blakey also died very suddenly during the

War.

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After the war there was a revival of Rugby football in Yorkshire, and the club again got on to its feet. R. F. Oakes, the Yorkshire County secretary, took a County side to play the Old Boys on their old ground at Salendine Nook, and this helped things along. Since then the club has gone on from strength to strength, and now has a capital fixture list with the leading clubs in Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cheshire. In 1919-20 the team reached the semi-final of the Yorkshire Cup competition. In the coming-of-age year, and the two following seasons they also reached the semi-final, going forward to the final in 1932, when they were defeated by Morley at Lidget Green, Bradford, in the presence of six thousand spectators. Several players have gained County honours since the club was re-formed after the war. H.S. Netherwood and T’. Bletcher played several times and also went forward into the North of England team against the South. Lewis Clifford, Kenneth Cotton, Harry Ducksbury, and James L. Pott all played in a “friendly ” fixture with Derbyshire (not all at the same time), but were left far behind by “Tubby ” Smith, Jack Mellor, and “‘ Ted” Sykes, three sterling forwards who each qualified for a County cap and blazer. A player has to play in three County games in one season for a cap, and ten games altogether for a blazer. Smith played in all twenty-six times for Yorkshire and in an England trial game, and Mellor took part in twenty- five County games, and in September 1935, was included in the combined Yorkshire and Cumberland team against the All Blacks at Lidget Green, Bradford. Sykes played in fifteen County games, and against the South Africans for the combined Yorkshire and Cumberland Fifteen in 1931-32. J. M. J. Quarmby had four County games in 1933-34, and J. H. Scott one game in the same season. On November 7th, 1931, Smith, Mellor, and Sykes played together for Yorkshire against Durham. Hubert Lock-

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wood, the Halifax Rugby League full-back, and captain, graduated with the Old Boys. The club has now one of the best equipped grounds, with dressing-rooms, baths and pavilion at Waterloo, Huddersfield, and a covered stand will accommodate five hundred people.

Page 183

INDEX

Acxkroyp, T. E., 55 Addy, G., 114 ——, Mellor, 128, 132 Ainley, Dilys, 43-4 ——, Percy, 43-4 —, W. H., 43 Airedale, Lord, 72 Alston, J. H., 145 Anders, O. L., 64 Andrews, W. L., 7 Apperley, E. P., 80 Armitage, Arthur, r10, 157 Bros. Ltd., 68 ——-, Clement, 161 ——, Mrs. Arthur, 111 ——, Mrs. F. R., 144 , Mrs. H. G., 80 Armstrong, Luther, 52 Austwick, George, 121

BaGLey, JOHN, 106, 119, 148 Bagnall, Capt. W. G., 72, 87, 92, 94 Bailey, D. J., 108, rrz, 127 ——, James, 69 ——, John, 107, 110 Bailly-Ancion Ltd., 68 Balmforth, Owen, 75

Bamforth, David, 145 ——, Frank, 107

{ ——, Hubert, 107

» Joe, 69 ——, John, 107, 110 » Richard, 27 ——, Tom, 75, 110, III , Willie, 110 Barrett, George, 158 Bates, Leslie, 108 Baxter, F. W., 158 , J. R., 108 Beardsall, E., 110 Beattie, Thomas, 17, 75 Beaumont, Alfred, 41 ——, Charles, 42-3 ——, Enoch, 41 ——, Enos, 41-3, 131 ——, Geo. Ed., 161 ——, Geo. Ernest, 129 ——, Hermon, 110 ——, H. F., 92 ——, James, I10 ——, Job, 41-2 Joe, 43 -——, John, 41-2 ——, Leonard H., 43-4 ——, Rev. L., 29

181

Page 184

182 INDEX

Beaumont, Walter, 42-3 Beilby, A., 114 Bennison, Ernest, 79 Bentley, Phyllis, 16 Birkhead, Supt., 135 Blatchford, Robert, 75 Boardman, Robt., 80 Booth, Joshua, 110 —, Miss M. E., 80 » Mrs. J. J., 80 Bottom, J. E., 112 Bower, John, 13 , J. S., 111 ——, William, 13 Boyd-Carpenter, Capt., 80, 93 Bradbury, Captain G. R. G., 148 , Thomas, 149 ——, William, 12 Bramley, P.C., 135 Bradley, J. A., 108 Brearley, Crowther, 132 , Eli, 132 ——, George, 132 , Joe, 132 , sam, 132 Brierley, J., 61, 63 Bright, John, 73 , Philip, 73, 77, 91; 93 Broadbent family, 34-7, 132 Brooke, John A., 80 , Sir T., 92 ——, Thomas, 80, 83, 93 » William, 137, 165 Brook, Fred, 80, 84, 93, 114 , Harold, 132 ——, Harry, 108 —, Lewis, 130 ——, Wilson, 75

I Brook’s Smithy, 126

Bruce, Edward J., 22, 24, 52, 106, 118, 138, 144 Bruce-Glasier, Mr. and Mrs., 74 Bruzaud, Dr., 80 Buckley, Henry, 163-6 Buckstones, 162-4 Buller, Rev. R., 143 Burnplatters, the, 140 Burton, Sir Montague, 70

Ca.tow, Dr. C., 108

; Calverley, Fred, 57, 58

, James, 40 —, J. H. M,, 4o , Titus, 4o —, Titus W., 40 —, William, 40 Campbell, Lady, 21 , sir Malcolm, 20 Carlyle, Dr., 116-17 Carrow, R. B., 84, 93 Carter, Eli, 108 , Miss, 12 Chappell, R., M.B.E., 57, 80, 108, 112, 114 Clappison, James, 129 Clay, Tom H., 159 Cock, John A., 108 ——, William, r1o Collinge, J. T., 161 Collins, H., 113, 159 , Rev. H., 111 Cotton, Albert E., rro , James, 107 —, Tom, 145 Cook, E. C., 113 Colne Valley Soldiers’ Fund, 148

Page 185

INDEX

Court Leet, 95 Crabtree, Edgar W., 79, I10-II _——, Edward, 79 Crimea Road, 141 Crofton, Morgan G., 87, 94 Crossley, Major J. H., 69 Crowe, J. T., 58 Crowther, Alfred, 60 , Ambrose, 108 ——, Arnold, 60 ——, Elon, Westwood, 59-60 family, 18, 163 ——, Fred, 41 ——, Herbert, 79 ——, Joe, C.C., 112 ——, Joel, 17 ——, L., O.B.E., 79 ——, Oliver, 43 ——, Percy, C.A., 80, 112 ——, Wm. Henry, 41 Curtis, Arthur, 106

JOHN, I13 Dartmouth, Lord, 120, 139 Davenport, Mrs., I11 Dawson, Dan, Bros. Ltd., 66 —~, W.N., 55 ——, W. W., I10 Day, L., 108 Dean, Dr. E., 107, 110 Dearnley, J., 106 Dempster, A. J., 114 Denton, Herbert, 22, 80, 107, 110, 138 Dickinson, A. E., 35 Downs, J. W., 135 Dyson, David Eli, 44 ——, Edgar, 158

183

Dyson, Hezekiah, 130 ——, H. L., 145 , Joe, 108, I10 , John Andrew, 132, 145 ——, J. W., 106 ——, R. H., 130 ——, Samuel, 158

EaGLanpb, Davip, 61 ——, E. E., 120, 139 ——, J. A. H., 145 ——, L. H., 157, 158 Eastwood, Miss, 128-9 ——, Misses, 13 ——, Mr. and Mrs. Joe, 137 ——, Percy, 109 ——, Sam, 75, I10 —, Tom, 138, 159 , William, 108, 110, 121 Ellam, Stanley, 106 Ellis, J. H., 130

FarrFooT, N., 70-1 Falconer, W., 113 Farrington, M., 75

' Ferrior, J. T., 113, 136

Fielding, J. A., 117 , Lhos., 117 Firth family, 24, 144 Firth, J. H., 166 , Joel M., 75 ——, W. J., 128, 129 Fisher, C. H., 110 ——, Edward, 122 ——, Henry, 27 ——, John, 122 Fletcher, John H., 80

I France, James, 70

Page 186

184 Franklin, Michael, 86, 93

Freeman, Edgar, ro1-2, 107 Freer, J. W., 108, 114, 124-5, 126 French, Edward, I5 Fripp, G. P., 165 Frost, A. S., 159

Furniss, John, 79, 107, 110, 111 , Miss, 80

GarDNkER, L. G., 114 Garside, Eli F., 108 , George, 74, 75, II0 , James, 110 —, W., 43 Gartside, James, 107, 140 Gee, Allen, 17 , E. A. H., 35 Gerrard, Wm., 62 Gill, Henry, 80 Gledhill, Edwin, 107 ——, Mrs. T., 137 ——, Mrs. W. J., 158 —, Richard, 42 Golcar Fire Brigade, 48 Golcar Gas Co., 48 Golcar Town Hall, 123 Goodall, C. A., 110 , F., 110, 111, 117 Goodyear, Irving, 108 Graham, H. G., 80 , Rev. W. B., 76 Grayson, Victor, 75, 142 Greaves, H., 75 Greenwood, H., 106 , J-, 106 Griffiths, John, 114, 157 , William, 113 Grime, T., 106

INDEX

Haran, A. J., 108, 110 ——, E. V., 63 ——, Evelyn, 107 ——, George, 19, 25, 61 ———, Hervey, 108, 110, 111 ——, Mrs. J. P., 112 ——, Nathan, 115 ——, Sam, 62, 63, 79 ——, William, 44 ——, Wm. (New Mill), 70, 80 Hall, Ben, 65 —, E. R., 66 ——, J. R., 66 Halliwell, A., 106 Hamilton, Sir James, 79 Hanson, Alfred, 110, 111 ——, Buckley, 148 ——, Iredale, 145 ——, James W., 79, 111, 168 ——, J. H., 145 , Thomas, 145 Hardie, Keir, 74 Harewood, Lord, 148 Hayes, F. D., 62 ——, W., II0, 115 Heap, Joah, 79, 91 Heeley, William, 114 Heffer, P. H., 83, 93 Hellawell, W. P., 80 Heppenstall, J. E., 65 ——, Law, 65 Heywood, Coun. J. H., 70 ——, E. J., 75 Hill, David, 108 Hinchliffe, C., 107 ——, G. R., 102 —, L., 113 Hirst, Alfred, 113

Page 187

Hirst, Elizabeth, 131 —— family, 31, 132 ——, Fred, 108 ———, Henry, 110 ——, H. W., 66 ——, John A., 58 ——, Miss B., 112 ——, Sam, 66, 128 ——, Willie, 107 —, Wm., 58 Hogben, W. T., 106 Hogley, J. B., 57 Hollingworth, A. R., 108 8 J., 35 Holroyd, B., 106 ——, Fred, 14 ——, Jonathan, 14, 60 , II2 Horan, D., 107 Horsfall, Sir J. D., Bart., 64 Howard, Sydney, 45 Howarth, Edward, 57 rs J., I0Q Hoyle, Edwin, 109 —, G.R., 134-5 ——, Harris, 17, 75, 110 —, T. W., 115

ILLINGWORTH, J., 57 Ingham, Albert, 79 Iredale, Jabez, 132 ——, J. W., I10

Jones, W. L., 114 Joynson-Hicks, Sir W., 81

Kaye, W. H., 57 Kenworthy, J. W., 108

INDEX 185 I Kenyon, Robert, 163

» William, 163 Kershaw, Joseph, 110 Kitson, Sir James, Bart., 72, 73, 74 92 ——, Thomas, 20 Knight, Wilson, 108 Knott, A. W., 79

LascELLEs, Cot., 86, 93 Laycock, Samuel, 118

_ Leach, Charles, M.P., 79, 93

Leech, Rev. John, 144 Lee, Herbert, 51 Lees, Levi, 51 Lewis, Rev. E. R., 168 Linthwaite Town Hall, 126 Lister, S. D., 102, 127 Littlewood, France, 75 Liveing, E. G. D., 140 Livesey, Alfred, 114 » William, 14, 111, 131 Lockwood, F. (Wilberlee), 113 , Joe, 130 ——, William, 107, 110, 111 Lockwoods-Linthwaite, 44, 110 Lockwoods-Golcar, 55, 112 Lodge, Arthur, 110 ——, James, 108 ——, Joah, 63 » Joe, 114 Longley, S., 75 Lunn, Coun. J. E., 129 —, Levi, 108, 123 —, W. E. S., 69, r1o0 Lyddon, R. A. D., 113, 135 Lyth, C. H., 43

Page 188

186 INDEX

MacDonaLp, J. Ramsay, 74 Mallalieu, Capt. A. H., 148 , D. and H., 67 ——, E. L., 67, 94 ——, F. W., 67, 93 , Mrs. Ann, 68, 80 Mallinson, A., 106, 109 , Alex, 57, 58 family, 37, 111 —, G., 106 , Roy, 58 Mann, Tom, 72, 92 Marklew, Ernest, M.P., 75, 94 Marshall, Sir A., 64 Mathieson, D., 50, 52 Matthewman, J. W., 64 Meal, David, 161 , D.S., 171 Meale, J. A., 158 Mellor, J. C., 106 , Joe, 75, 107, 110 ——, Mrs., 76 —, Wright, 40 Micklethwaite, Gordon, 118 Midgley, W., 107, I10, III Miller, John, 138 Milnes, John, 108, 110, 111, 127 Milsom, Percy, 147 Moorhouse, John, 110 Moorside Edge, 119, 139, 140 Morgan, H., 108, 121 Morley, Mrs., 112

NatsMiTH, Dr. R. T. E., 109 Newman, J. E., 110 Newton, G. W., 55 Nightingale, Ruth, 81 North, S., 75

I North, W. H., 39

—, W. P., 39 Nuttall, R. H., 106

O’May, Miss, 80 Operatic societies, 157 Orton, L., 135

PaNKHursT, Mrs. and MissgEs, 90,

92 Paton, Thomas, 62

Payne, G. C., 114

, P.C., 135 Pearce, H., 110 Pearson, Carrie, 43 Pearsons, Manufacturers, 48, 110 , Musicians, 145, 158 Peel, J. W. S., 130 Penistone, J. W., 80 Perry, L., 114 Phillips, Frank, 68, 106 Pickles, H., 114 ——, Mr. and Mrs. M., 76, 110 Piercy, J. W., 106 Pinder, J. W., 110 Piper, Frank, 113 Platt, Reginald, 38, 39 Pogson, Joe, 64, 65, 80, 107 ——, Norman G., 65 —, W. C., 65 Potter, Eph., 75 Priestley, J. D., 130

QuaRMBY, ERNEST, 75 ——, George, 59 ——, Joseph, 30

——, Simeon, 14

I ——, Sir John S., 148

Page 189

INDEX 187

Quinn, John, 113 Quintrell, Mr., 13

RapcuiFFE, Sir J. E., Bart., 128 Ramsden, T. H., 163 Rawcliffe, W. H., 55 Reynolds, W. S., 13, 114 Roberts, Rev. J. E., 132 Robinson, A., 24, 138 —, J. B., 68 ——, Miss, 118 —, W. H., 108 Robotham, Detective, 91 Roebuck, J. G., 55 , W. A., 62 Rose, Rev. H. H., 144 Rush, G., 80

SAMUEL, SIR HERBERT, 87, QI Schofield, Albert, 110 —, Ben, 115 ——, Harry, 79 ——, J. E., 107 — +, John, 108 , John (Organist), 145 ——, Wm., II0 Scott, Rev. A., 145 Senior, Horace, 51 ——, Tom, 132 Shaw, Albert, 108 ——, Arthur, 17, 21 —, Ben, 110 ——, Havelock, 115 —, J. G, 145 ——, Joseph, 151 ——, J. Wilfrid, 36, 132 ——, Matthew, 136-7 ——, Miss, 13

Shaw, William, 79 Sheldon, W., 106 Silverwood, Irving, 157 Singleton, Arthur, 14 ——, Fred, 14 —, Joah, 14 —, Oliver, 14 ——, Whiteley, 159 Slocombe, A. J., 108, 123 Smith, David, 115 , Frank, 107 ——, John, 106 Snowden, Viscount, 74, 93 Spencer, Rev. C. E. G., 144 Sportsmen, prominent, 170-80 Stead, G. E., 157, 159, 160 » Reginald, 159 —., Richard, 159, 160, 161 ——, W. T., 78 Stephens, Ald. S., 129 Stephenson, Joe, 13 Stott, James, 159 Sugden, John, 60, 92 Sutcliffe, Denis, 107 Sutherst, W., 113

I Swallow, J. I., 75, 81, 111

Swan, Rev. F. R., 76 Swift, Edwin, 159, 160 , Sam, 160 Swire, P. H., 114 Sykes, Alfred, 18, 61, 62 ——, Arthur, 38, 108, r1ro ——, D. F. E., 16, 95 ——, Edgar, 80, 107, r10 ——, Frank H., 80, 123 ——, George, 79, 176 ——, Hiram, 107 ——, James, 19, 79

Page 190

188

Sykes, James E., 18 , James H., 159 ——, J. Fletcher, 157 , John, 144 ——, Simeon, 108 ——, Sir Charles, 19, 20, 21, 138 ——, Stanley, 109 ——, William, 12, 150

TANNER, Cot. G., 80, 148 Tate, Hervey, 108 , J. W., 108, 123 ——, Norman, 108 Taylor, Andrew, 108, 121 ——, Dan, J.P., 108, 110 ——, Enoch, 110, 111 —, Frank W., 63 ——, G. H., 130 ——, J. H., 161 —, Joseph, 63 —, J. W., 55 ——, Norman, 114 —, Walter, 130 Thistleton-Dyer, G. H., 105 Thomas, H., 72, 92, 165 Thompson, Allen, 130 Thornton, Nathan, 69, 108 Thorpe, Fred, 59 ——, Fred (Saddleworth), 80, 84, 93 —, Harold, 59 ——, J. M., K.C., ror , 1. W., 59 Thorp, Fred, 130 , J. W., 110 Tinker, Harry, 18, 110, 166 Townend, Albert, 130 ——, Ambrose, 43

INDEX

Townend, Mrs., 112 » Ronald, 159 Turner, J. H., 165 , Sir Ben, 17, 85 Tweed, J. T., 161

Urtiey, W. H., 163

ValisEY, H. Bevir, K.C., 122 Vardy, T., 114 Varley, G. L., 107, 109 , Mrs. W. H., 112 ——, Thomas, 62, 110 ——, T. W., 106, 107 ——, W. H., 80, 110 , William, 62, 106 Verity, Rev. Canon W. H., 111,

144 Vogel, James, 20

WALKDEN, JOHN, 129 Walker, G. H., 61, 110 ——, John, 108 ——, Ronald F., 84, 93 , Samuel, 110 Ward, Col. John, M.P., 47 Waterhouse, Matthew, 110 Wattam, W. E. L., 106 Weavill, Fred, 115 Webster, Dr. A. G., 80, 109 Wesley, John, 116 Wheeler, E. F., 140 Wheler, G. C. H., 73, 77, 93 Whitehead, H., 113 ——, J. T., 110 ——, Norman, 106 Whiteley, A. E., 108 ——, Edgar, 77

Page 191

INDEX

Whiteley, Fred, 123 ——, John, 26, 110, III ——. John Richard, 14 ——, Tom, 22, 106 ——, Wilfrid, 82, 89, 93 Whitwam, A. H., 108, 123 ——, Arthur, 14 ——, Charles, 75, 132 , Edward, 14 Wilkinson, F. C., 110, 138 ——, Henry (Golcar), 108, 114 ——, Henry (Milnsbridge), 66, Ill ——, James, 108 ——, Joe, 69 ——, Joseph, 145 —, R. H., 129

189

Woffindin, J. W., 107 Wolstenholme, W. H., 72, 166 Wood, Clement, 158 , Daniel S., 158 ——, Elvyn, 157 , G. C., 109, 127 ——, Harry, 158 —, Haydn, 158 , -. G., IIo ——, Wilson, 109 Woodhead, A., I10, 114 ——, E. T., 109, 111, 114 ——, Godfrey, 69, 74 ——, James, 69, 140 Wright, J. W., 114

Young, Rev. Dr. Dinspatez, 158