Brighouse and District Heritage Newseum No. 20

BRIGHOUSE & DISTRICT Heritage Newseum Issue 20 Spring 2023 Edited and Published by Chris Helme

© Christopher D. Helme (2023), Tower House, Holme Mews, Wakefield Road, Lightcliffe, Halifax, West Yorkshire HX3 8TY. This publication is copyright and apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of study, research, criticism, review or as otherwise permitted under the Copyright Act, no part including text and/or photographs and/or other images may be reproduced by any process without written permission. All enquiries and payments should be directed to the author and publisher. Frontispiece: This was taken at Ravensprings Park Miniature Railway which is operated by the Brighouse and Halifax Model Railway Engineers. The cover photograph was taken in 1999 during some refurbishment work. If you have not been before please check out their website. https://www.bhme.co.uk/ Briggate with not a car in sight. An indication what the date of this image can be worked out from the presence of the Central Methodist Church, which narrows it down to be after 1907 when the church was officially opened. The smaller building in front of the church is the Sun Dial Inn. Prior to being a hostelry it was Mary Bedford’s charity school and was run by Isaac Heaton. He was born in Dewsbury in 1787 and died in 1871. He had three children: his son David, who was born at the school, was an assistant teacher. The nearby Heaton Street is named after this family.

1 BRIGHOUSE & DISTRICT HERITAGE NEWSEUM Remember to look at our website where you can also contact the editor and you are able to purchase various local books, including some that are no longer in print, through the online shop, where PayPal is available: www.chrishelme-brighouse.org.uk Welcome to the Spring edition of the Newseum. Issue 20 Spring 2023 It is hard to believe that it is now five years since I decided to produce the magazine. Before the launch I asked myself some questions: would it work, will people be interested? Happily they are and the fifth anniversary is here. Copies of the magazine are posted to many parts of the UK and electronic copies go to the USA, New Zealand and many countries between. Thank you to all our readers, near and far, for your continued support. In this issue we have a varied, even eclectic mix of stories. We are looking back at the 1990s and at the girls at the Brighouse Grammar School in the 1950s. Then we are looking back at the 1930s and the economic storm that was brewing. When we see the present day firefighters and the sophisticated equipment at their disposal we can compare them to their predecessors and a local fire brigade which did not even have a fire engine. Brighouse seems these days to have plenty of cafés, catering for all tastes, but before the First World War there was nowhere better than Lord’s dining rooms on Bethel Street. The 1929 Brighouse Hospital charity gala and procession was the largest event between the two wars. But who were the two May Queens in attendance? After almost a four year absence the Old Rastrickians Association is holding its annual dinner again an event the members are looking forward to. Enjoy….. Chris Helme 1 Notes from the Editor. 2 What do you remember of the 1990s? 3. Ramble around Wellholme. 4 Charitable fund raising in 1929. 5. Lord’s Economic Dining Rooms. 6 A class of pirates, but who are they? 7 Birth of the 1950s youth culture. 8 In search of Lobby Lud. 9 Come and see us at Brighouse. 10 The man who was to be the first Mayor. 11 Notes from the Council Chamber 1966/67. 12 School days in Rastrick over a century ago. 13 Five budding entrepreneurs. 14 The 1930s economic storm blows in. 15 Town centre shops you may remember. 16 The unwelcomed Keystone Cop firefighters. 17 Norwood Green cat steps. 18 The children of Crow Nest, Lightcliffe. 19 Old Rastrickians Association. 20 The Brighouse Police Ball 1954. 21 Who liked school dinners? 22 Memories from 1978. 23 Whatever happened to HMS Proteus. 24 Letter to the editor.

2 What do you remember of 1990s Brighouse? Could the 1990s be any better than the 80s which had its industrial strife, social unrest and an ever growing unemployment register? The introduction of the so called Poll Tax on April 1 would see even more civil unrest, things have to get better. Brighouse has always been a town that has supported many charities both local and national, even as the Echo was coming off the presses in 1887 the annual Pig Fair, held on Black Swan Field (a large piece of open land behind the Black Swan in Briggate), was just about the largest community event in the town. With the decline in the sale of real pigs in that summer the sale of tasty parkin pigs, mostly made by the Co-op, was close to 30,000. This event would, however, gradually fade into the history books to be replaced with a procession through the town similar to that of the present day Brighouse Gala. Since the mid 60s the Brighouse Gala has been the largest community event in the town and has attracted thousands of visitors each year and is still recognised as one of the most well organised events for the size of the town in Calderdale. Each year there is a competition to find the Brighouse Gala Queen for that year. In 1994 it was Charlotte Brook. Now I wonder if Charlotte is still in the B r i g h o u s e a rea ? To change with the times since 2016 the traditional role of Gala Queen changed to become the Brighouse Charity Gala Ambassador. The 50th anniversary to mark the end of the war in Europe was celebrated with street parties with many of the veterans sharing their memories with youngsters. The weekend’s events were closed by the lighting of a beacon at Beacon Hill, Southowram, which was the signal to light the one in Wellholme Park. But 1995 will be best remembered for the water shortages when by April Yorkshire Water was asking its customers to conserve water supplies. Over a period of time the then privatised water company became a laughing stock because of a series of blunders. By the middle of summer water supplies were down to critical levels and the very thought of standpipes were a distinct possibility. What caused further outrage was the publicity stunt the managing director Trevor Newton did when he declared that he had not had a bath for over three months. It was not long after that he had to apologise when it became known he was taking his baths out of the county at relatives in Lancashire. Even the shipment of tanker loads of water up to Scammonden Dam made little impression and as it became known that almost a third of the water shortage was cause by leaks on the pipe network, potential civil unrest was a possibility. In 1996 with the turmoil at the Ridings School in Halifax it was Rastrick High School who provided a ‘white knight’ with head teacher Peter Clark to try and put the school back on track. It was well documented at the time that he was successful to a certain extent, but since those days the school has been closed. For Peter’s efforts he was awarded the CBE and his book ‘Back from the Brink: Transforming the Ridings School and the Future of Education’ - soon followed, outlining his experiences. As we almost come to the end of the 90s we will all remember switching on our televisions and watching in stunned disbelief that Diana, Princess of Wales, had been killed in a car accident in Paris: everything else seemed to pale into insignificance. For many years the neighbours to the Crow Nest Mansion area fought long and hard to prevent the whole of that area being turned into a building site the size of which had never been seen before. Local residents preferred to remain parochial rather than being all joined together which the housing

3 development would do. The land had been farmed by the Harrison family from before the 1st World War. In the summer of 1995 the Crow Nest Golf Club was opened and attracted over 700 people who took the opportunity of looking around the new course before it was officially opened in the June. As the clock was striking it out into the new millennium the big question was would the world come to an end? Why, because the world’s computer systems might crash with the so called millennium bug. Companies were paying out fortunes to protect their systems. Would aeroplanes drop out the sky, could we get our money out of the ‘hole in the wall’, with so many things relying on the computer were we all doomed…..? So what was it all about? The tension? The anxiety? Did anything actually happen on that fateful Friday night of December 31st, 1999? The millennium bug is widely regarded as being blown out of proportion. The phrase better safe than sorry might spring to mind, but the cynics might also suggest that the tech industry may have over exaggerated the problems, just a little. As the clock ticked through midnight who benefited from the potential problems? Will the December 31st so called millennium bug ever return on another day? Well you never know, I dare say some will say it will, whilst others will say not, but does anybody really know. Ramble around Wellholme A ramble around Wellholme Park more than 30 years ago. Amongst the map readers is Sir Donald Thompson. Judging from his shiny shoes I doubt whether he would be venturing on the muddy trek around the park. But as always you were assured of his support. Walks in the park, the Brighouse park runs, whatever next you might think. How about an open air cinema ? One or two readers might just be thinking 'been there, done that'. For anyone who can remember, the open air cinema in the park was tried, just the once. It was reported that 600 people turned up. In case of inclement weather the programme would continue at the Oddfellows Hall. Now, having been to the Oddfellows Hall (it was demolished c1972) I cannot imagine how all those 600 people would fit inside. No doubt a good idea at the time but not one to be repeated. Here is Wellholme Park in the 1940s where the stage is set for another of the ‘Wartime At Home’ events. Many of Brighouse’s youngsters would have trod the boards for the first time here.

4 Charitable fund raising in 1929 The demonstration and gala held at the Lane Head Recreation ground on Saturday, June 22, 1929,was held to raise money for hospital causes. Over the 23 years this event had been held it had supported Huddersfield Royal Infirmary; Halifax Royal Infirmary; Bradford Royal Infirmary; Bradford Eye and Ear Hospital; The Royal Albert Institution; Lancaster, Brighouse’s Nurse Fund; Brighouse Nurse Fund (war memorial); the St John Ambulance Association; and the Lightcliffe Nurse Fund. This event was much bigger than the present day Brighouse Charity Gala. One of the main differences is the twopence for the 60 page programme which gave an interesting insight into the town all those years ago. One thing that does stand out in the programme is the presence of the Llandudno May Queen Miss Joan Wood at the event. Joan was the daughter of Herbert Wood and lived in Huddersfield Road but the family also had a home in Llandudno and spent quite a bit of time there. The reason for that was that Herbert Wood was appointed as the North Wales Sheriff of Caernarvonshire (now the county of Gwynedd) in 1937. It was agreed that Joan would attend the event with all her ‘court’ which included: three pages, two ladies in waiting, a mistress of the robes, a Queens messenger and eight attendants. It is pointed out in the programme that some of Queen Joan’s court being away at Boarding School will not be able to attend. However, she did have May Queen escort made up of the Brighouse Boy Scout Association band and a flag bearer, Laurie Command 1st Brighouse Troop, G & H Wood’s own 1st Rastrick St John’s Troop, Boothroyd 3rd Rastrick Troop, St Matthew’s 2nd Rastrick Troop, Joan Wood’s own flag bearer and her own troop, a number of Cubs on ropes attached to the Royal Car, the crown bearer, cushion bearer and the Lord Chamberlain. All were brought from North Wales at the expense of her father. The St Joseph’s School Rose Queen was Kathleen Barwick, her crown bearer was Bernard Nesden, pages Fred Garner and Maurice Stead, the train bearers were Winnie Irving and Eileen Marley, Ladies in waiting included Lucy Craghill and Mable Ellis, the Maids of Honour included Honora Clegg, Nellie Conway, Nellie Griffin and Zilpha Lawton. The dance before crowning was ’Gathering Peascods’ which is a country dance dating back to the 17th century and finally the dance after crowning ’Maze by a Cree’ which is another style of dance. The programme of events was packed from 2pm when the procession left the Town Hall in Thornton Square. By 3.15pm, the first event featuring a St John Ambulance competition was well underway. The first entertainers were Will Temple’s artistes including ’Oswald’, the equilibrist on the rolling globe; ‘Herb and Erb’ comedy acrobats; ‘Will Hartley’, a comedy juggler; the ever popular ‘Punch and Judy’; and ‘Alvis’ the sensational comedy trick skater. At 4pm the band contest started. There are no names of the competing bands, but they were battling it out for the £43.10s in prize money. The ’A’ section winner also received the Newton Brooke Trophy and the ’B’ section received the Herbert Wood trophy. There was also a special prize for the best trombone player who won a new trombone and a special medal was presented. I wonder where they are now? Looking through the programme I have of this event it must have been one if not the biggest event in Brighouse between the two wars. It even had a daylight firework display and then advertised a giant display to close the event at 10pm. It lists all those local people who were involved in the running of the event and countless advertisements from local traders who all support this wonderful cause to ensure the hospitals were all well funded.

5 Lord’s Economic Dining Rooms A very familiar name on Bethel Street is that of Direct Carpet Company at number 19, next to what is now the Brighouse DryCleaning business which surprisingly today is registered as number 13. This property started life as the new Salvation Central Hall in 1910, with no street number. This is where the street numbering becomes very confusing. Many readers will recall visiting the shop when it was owned by Michael Armitage and when he retired his shop manager Michael Hey took over the business. Next door at what is now number 21 is Aaron Wheeler’s Gunsmith shop. Some readers might remember the days this was Swankies café or even when it was another café known as ‘Apricot Square’. There will have been many other business in this property during the last 100 years. Let us leave these modern day shop fronts and go back in time to this same property. What was on the site then? It was a restaurant known as the Economic Dining Rooms, but better known as James Lord’s Dining-Rooms. Mr James Lord started his business in Brighouse in 1879 when his first premises were located in Bradford Road and then not long after he moved to new premises in Huddersfield Road. His business became so successful that, in 1889, he built new premises at what was to become 19, Bethel Street. For the purpose of opening a good medium class restaurant this was to become very popular with h i s r e g u l a r customers, who had been to his previous premises. The new property comprised of about 10 rooms, including spacious bars and dining-rooms on the ground floor, a large room for concerts, dances and teaparties. Each department was fitted up with the very latest designs in comfort. James Lord was the perfect host; it was the ideal place for an event whether it was a meeting or a celebratory tea. One of the local organisations to have their monthly meetings there was the Brighouse Tradesmen Association who had its first meeting on Monday, May 7, 1907. The elected president at that first meeting was Councillor Tom Barnett, who owned Barnett’s drapery shop in Briggate with his brother Alfred, a shop that closed c1972 when the town centre was redeveloped. Looking through the elected traders who formed the first committee it includes all the well known names on the Brighouse town centre high street of just over a century ago. Dinners, teas, breakfasts were all served daily. Bethel Street c1930 — the second building on the left with the long sign is where Lord’s Dining-Rooms were number 19 and 21. Even on this photo once it is enhanced the word restaurant can be seen.

6 The premises were almost a beacon that attracted not only the business community but also cyclists. Mr Lord even provided a special place to safe guard the cycles. The Economic Dining-Rooms were well known amongst all the travelling salesmen who visited the town. The publicity for the dining-rooms boasted that customers would find comfort, goodfare, civility and moderate charges ’rule the roast’ According to a 1915 Brighouse trade directory the diningrooms are listed as being at number 19 but there is no 21 and at number 23 is Richardson’s, a general dealers shop and there is also no number 17 shown. Whilst there is no 17 shown, the new Salvation Army Central Hall, which opened in 1910, today is number 13 - numbering that is even more confusing. No doubt the entrance to Bethel Street car park would have been created following some demolition that may have affected the numbering. On a recent visit to the gunsmith’s Aaron Wheeler the owner pointed out where the dumbwaiter was, no doubt dating back to the days of the very busy restaurant and whilst it is now enclosed, and hidden from view behind his shop fittings, it is still there. Kyle Higgins the owner of the Direct Carpet shop mentions that he had heard of a billiard room somewhere near his shop. Looking at the 1908 advertisement for Lord’s restaurant it is clear he was right, with Billy Walton’s billiard room included in the restaurant’s weekly advertising feature in the Brighouse Echo newspaper. To stand in Bethel Street today and look at the whole building and note the upstairs windows and their uniformity suggests that it did start its life in 1889 as one single building and business. Here was a business that by its reputation and the management skills of James Lord was known far and wide and very successful. Finding out when it closed down is research for another day. Over the years I have been allowed to copy hundreds, if not thousands of photographs but sadly many of them do not have any of the four ‘Ws’ - the who, what, where and when. This is a classic example. A classroom full of primary school aged children all dressed as pirates. But who are they, where was it taken and what are they all dressed as pirates for. Having given a PowerPoint presentation about pirates, both on cruise ships and on dry land, I always remind the audience that children always see pirates more as your loveable rogues rather than what they actually are. Captain Pugwash probably had something to do with that image. So, my question is: "Arrrgh, me mateys, if any ye pirates are still in town, lets be knowing yah'. You might now be in your late thirties. A class of pirates but who are they?

7 Are you amongst these girls at Brighouse Girls Grammar School in the early 1950s? It’s almost 70 years ago and life has certainly changed since then. Back in those days we did not have computers, DVDs or game consoles. Entertainment was very much down to us, which usually meant playing outside in the woods and climbing trees from morning till night, with not a sign of any health and safety considerations. Playing out for hours, that was until the familiar and often embarrassing ‘You Ooooo’ from your mother shouting from the front doorstep that it was time to come in. These were the days when all our toys would fit under our bed and there was no need for a separate bedroom. Inside home the bay window we would make into the corner shop, and then in the garden we made the Indian wigwam from mum’s clothes horse, we rowed across the English Channel in an upturned wheelbarrow and put together the best show in town, well in our street, for Mum and Dad, Gran and as many aunties and uncles we could muster. The TV was certainly a bit primitive back then, but one of my favourite programmes was Robin Hood with Richard Green. This programme ran from 1955 to 1958 with 143 programmes. The programme was filmed at Nettlefold Studios, Walton-on-Thames. Robin Hood pioneered a new method of TV film-making which enabled the studio to turn out a complete 26- minute programme every four and a half days. The well tried and tested method of film making involved the studio technicians building huge sets on which the cameras were lined-up for each sequence. To cut out delay and speed up production, these kinds of sets were swept aside. Instead they used stock items of scenery such as a baronial fireplace, the serf's hut, a staircase, entrance hall and a corridor. All these items were mounted on wheels so they could be quickly moved into position. The fireplace could be turned upside down and hey presto now you have a pulpit! The result was that the viewing audience were given the illusion of many different corridors, rooms, archways, when in fact they were seeing the same pieces of scenery each time. Another gimmick used was a real hollow treetrunk, 20 feet high, "planted" on a fake mossy bank. The trunk was also on wheels which meant it could be used again and again in the Robin Hood stories. But of course like the rest of the scenery it had to be moved around to fool the audience. How did they manage to create a woodland scene? That was easy the studio technicians created another tree made out of wood and plaster then giving it an overhanging branch. Both trees were then wheeled into the right position, and for the short time it was on screen it provided a most realistic impression of a forest glade. These were the early days of TV and, looking back, as corny as the scenery was we all enjoyed these programmes week after week. After the programme the following day we would all re-enact it out at school in the playground or school field. All the lads would of course be Robin Hood and his band of merry men whilst the girls would have played the part of Maid Marion. But by the time these girls arrived at the Girls Grammar School they didn’t play such games anymore. They were all about to become members of something called the 1950s youth culture, when the life of, what did they call it, ‘a teenager’, was about to change the lives of young people for ever. Some say children grow up too fast today compared to what was considered the more innocent days of the 50s when childhood seemed to last longer. Birth of the 1950s youth culture Do you recognise any of these girls from Brighouse Girls Grammar School of the 1950s? May be you can see yourself.

8 In search of Lobby Lud Organisations have to use many different ways of raising money and maintaining peoples interest. As each year goes by new ideas are always wanted and can become quite difficult, particularly if your organisation is one of the old and well established ones. A popular idea many years ago was having to challenge and identify someone who was walking around the Brighouse Gala field as the mystery Mr Brighouse. If you saw someone who you thought, well it might be him, you had to make the challe n g e and verbally identify the person as Mr Brighouse. If correctly identified the person won a prize. It was hoped this would create new interest and encouragement for people to attend. The origins of that will remind seaside revellers of yesteryear with the mysterious fictional character called Lobby Lud. He was someone who was created in 1927 by the Westminster Gazette, a now defunct newspaper. The character was used in readers' prize competitions during the summer period. Anonymous employees visited seaside resorts and afterwards wrote down a detailed description of the town they visited, without giving away its name. They also described a person they happened to see that day and declared him to be the Lobby Lud of that issue. Readers were given a pass phrase and had to try and guess both the location and the person described by the reporters. Anyone carrying the newspaper could challenge Lobby Lud with the phrase and receive £5, which today would be worth just over £380. The competition was created knowing that local people whilst on holiday would not be buying their local newspaper, although some local newspapers were taken to popular resorts and sold to the holiday makers from that town who might see its availability. Some towns and large factories had holiday periods when large numbers from the town or works would all decamp at the same time. Circulation could drop considerably in the summer and proprietors hoped prizes would increase it. The character's name is derived from the Gazette’s telegraphic address, "Lobby Ludgate". The phrase "You are (name) and I claim my £5" is often associated with Lobby Lud, despite being a similar idea thought up by a different paper or organisation. This week's featured photograph would hardly qualify as a possible four legged version of Lobby Lud. However, the guessing the correct weight of this bullock for what were good cash prizes for June 23, 1923, would have been something a little different. The men in this photograph taken in Thornton Square outside the Town Hall include: (from left) G. Fairburn; D. Sugden; J.A.Booth; J. Pilling; C.Denham and unknown. All the proceeds from this competition went to the local hospitals fund, another fine example of Brighouse people supporting a local charity. Lobby did not have it all his own way. When an un -named West Croydon woman complained that it was quite scary for a woman on her own to approach strange men in the street and declaring he was Lobby Lud the editor agreed, which saw the introduction of Mrs Lobby Lud, a competition for women only. Mr and Mrs Lobby Lud were not the only members of the Lud family to be involved. A child was introduced as Lobby’s cousin Little Bobby Bud. At seaside resorts Bobby would hand out £10 notes to those holiday-makers successful in identifying him before the pre-announced cut off time.

9 The trick was a huge success. Following Lobby’s tour of seaside towns it was followed by a tour of industrial towns, and then by regions of London day by day. By 1935 the Lobby Lud phenomenon gradually came to an end. The Gazette launched him on the world in its July 30, 1927, edition, renaming its reporter Willy Chinn after the telegraph address used by its Lobby correspondents at Ludgate Circus. It does appear from available research that the idea came from the report of the missing crime writer A g a t h a Christie, who eventually turned up unharmed in a Harrogate hotel in December 1927 some 10 days after her disappearance. The paper printed Lobby's trademark photograph and gave a brief description of his appearance and listed the clothes he'd been wearing when last seen. He'd be touring Britain's seaside resorts throughout the summer, it announced, starting with a Bank Holiday visit to Great Yarmouth on Monday, August 1. It took 14 days to track down Lobby Lud the first time and 19 days for the second time. The average was about nine days and getting less by the day. It was time to shake things up. The newspaper introduced Mrs Lobby Lud for the first time. In 1973, the Daily Mirror organised a similar competition, involving a mystery man named Chalkie White. On one occasion near Brent Cross Chalkie was identified by a nine year old school boy and duly received his £50. The name Lobby Lud came to be the name given to any mystery person attending local festivities such as church fêtes, galas and other summer activity which would attract a crowd and could challenge and try to identify. Or they could take the Lobby Lud concept and change it to suit their own town or community gathering such as our own Mr Brighouse. Here is a postcard with a difference, dating back to over 60 years ago - Come and See us at Brighouse. This title sits alongside the town's coat of arms and it is interesting to see just what was on offer in and around the town all those years ago. Whilst many of the things shown on the postcard are still with us many have long since disappeared. It still shows for example that we had two cinemas and the GPO box which of course represents the post office building in Park Street. Brighouse Cricket Club is clearly shown but has since been replaced by Tesco's Supermarket and the cricket club is now on Bradford Road on its new purpose built site. Below the cricket club it shows the Brighouse and Rastrick Band which still thrives and is known far beyond the Brighouse boundary. The old priory with its Robin Hood connections, a story that still lives on: the railway track running alongside it shows the Brighouse railway station. This was the old one that was closed in 1970 not to be confused with the current one. Regular users say it was one of the best things to happen in Brighouse, when we entered the new millennium and in 2000 the new station was opened. Bradley Wood is still used by the scout movement and cricket is still played in Rastrick. Moving along the bottom of the postcard Rastrick Grammar School has long since gone. The buildings are still there and now stand empty, just what will happen to it:. that once proud place of educational excellence. Looking closely at this postcard and you will see a number of other drawings representing other aspects of the town that are still with us and some that are not and have been confined to the history books. Come and see us at Brighouse

10 The man who was to be the first Mayor of Brighouse Brighouse became a borough in 1893, which lasted for 81 years, until the amalgamation into what was to become Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council in 1974. The old borough had elected 285 Councillors, 66 Aldermen, 42 Mayors and 11 of the great and the good who had been honoured with the Freedom of the Borough. It is now almost 50 years since the late Councillor Stanley Womersley completed his term of office as the last Mayor of Brighouse. I am sure some readers would have known that, but how many can say who the first Mayor of Brighouse was. I am sure some readers will know it was William Smith and will have seen the large, framed paintings in the library. I have written about him many times and the gifts he gave to the town that still stand as a permanent memory of him today. But how many knew that William Smith was not actually the first choice for Mayor? The Local Board, the fore-runner to the Borough Council came into being in 1865 following the formal separation of the Hipperholme cum Brighouse Township. The new Local Board was under the chairmanship of Kaye Aspinall and from its inception there were only five other chairmen up to the incorporation of the borough. They were: Kaye Aspinall 1865 - 1870; Thomas Blackburn 1870 - 1872; John Carr Bottomley 1872 - 1884; Henry Sugden 1884 - 1887; Richard Kershaw 1887 - 1891 and Frederick Laxton 1891 - 1893. Kaye Aspinall was a local businessman and along with his wife supported many local causes. Mrs Aspinall, in her own right was no stranger when it came to subscribing to the town’s worthy causes. In July of 1903 she was asked to lay the memorial stone at the Parish Church’s new Chancel. In October 1892 Brighouse solicitor Chambers drafted the new Borough Charter and it was agreed that Frederick Laxton, as Board Chairman, would be the provisional Mayor for the new Borough. On Saturday, August 19, the following year the Charter arrived in Brighouse having been legally accepted and completed by the Home Office. This was the most important day in the history of Brighouse and it was decided a Charter celebration day would be held on September 30. Following a long procession through the town culminating at the Town Pump in Thornton Square, the Town Clerk Mr James Parkinson read out the Charter in its entirety to one of the largest crowds ever gathered in the town centre. Once the initial excitement was over the ad-hoc committees from the Local Board set about nominating the town's first councillors. The initial list of 49 nominations would all have to fight it out for the 24 places on the new council. Sadly, during the elections Frederick Laxton died which inevitably left a cloud over the whole proceedings. As it was traditionally the job of the Mayor to be the Returning Officer on these occasions, Alexander Oldfield Stocks had to stand in for Frederick Laxton. The 24 members of the new Borough Council met for the first time on November 9, 1893, when they elected the first eight Aldermen and the first Mayor, who following the death of Frederick Laxton was William Smith a name that was universally accepted. William Smith was Mayor from 1893 to 1895, but in 1904 he had to step in once again following the death of the sitting Mayor Samuel Edgar Hirst who died on January 16, 1904. Smith carried on as the town's first citizen through to 1907. Frederick Laxton

11 Flashes In the Brighouse Echo of January 26, 1917, a report highlighted some of the names given to wartime babies. Names such as Anzac , Mons and Wipers — (Soldiers in the British Army quickly turned the name of Ypres into a much easier word to pronounce. They called it “Wipers”. These names were not quite popular. But one name which caused some am us ement wa s highlighted by the local officials in the Abruzzi mountain area of central Italy. A name given to babies as their first name was Firmato. However, one parent did some research into the origins of the name. It transpired that when General Luigi Cadorna had to place his signature on a document, the word Firmato appeared in brackets. Many people with new babies took this to mean he was a national hero. However, it is well documented that Cadorna is often considered one of the worst generals of World War I. ...and Firmato in brackets simply means when translated to English is the Italian word for sign. As in Firmato (sign) the document here. Flashes On January 2, 1914, the Parks and Cemeteries Committee held their monthly meeting at the Town Hall. Before the minutes of the meeting were voted on Councillor Arthur Blackburn said that he wished to state that some evil disposed person or persons had broken into the automatic slot at the WC in the Lane Head Recreation ground and stolen all the money. He wanted it recording as a warning to future offenders they would be punished if caught. Councillor Henry Prince Metcalfe seconded the motion and the minutes were approved. On Sunday, 1, December 1915, at Crowtrees Methodist Church, Rastrick a ceremony took place to unveil a beautifully worked roll of honour, containing the names of 30 past and present scholars in the presence of a large congregation. The work of Mr C.J.Vickers was unveiled by the preacher the Rev. J.W.Wolstenholme. Special mention was made of Pte C. Bray who had been missing in action nine months and LanceCorpl Fred Henson who died from the wounds he received in the Dardanelles on August 9, 1915.Both had been scholars at the church. Notes from the Council Chamber 1966/67 On the 21st June 1966, the Housing Committee met to decide two new street names for a housing development off Smith House Lane which was known as Little Smith House. The committee decided that the new streets will be known as Sycamore Drive and Poplar View. On the 4th July 1966, the Parliamentary and Town Planning Sub-Committee held a meeting to consider numerous planning applications. No. 606 on the list was from Drs Marshall, Heseltine and Fanelli for permission to erect a Doctors’ Surgery in Church Lane, Brighouse. This was approved subject to the area designated for car parking being drained and surfaced to the satisfaction of the planning authority. Yet more street names: The Highways Committee met on the 12th December 1966, when the Borough Engineer submitted two names for consideration - Healey Wood Road and Healey Wood Crescent in Rastrick. There were no objections and there was a unanimous vote for them. 23rd February 1967, the Parliamentary Town Planning Standing Sub-Committee met at the Town Hall. Item number 2240 was an application to build a retail shop on Devonway, Bailiff Bridge. The application was refused on the grounds of traffic volumes, road safety and would be prejudicial to the amenity of the adjoining dwelling houses. On the 26th January 1967, the Finance and Establishment Committee met at Brighouse Town Hall. The Town Clerk reported the receipt of a circular from the Local and Public Authorities Computer Panel, regarding a series of computer courses in all parts of the country. There would be two-day courses for senior officers (section heads and above) and one-day courses for members of local authorities which Chief Officers may wish to attend. It was approved that the committee chairman and the Borough Treasurer be authorised to attend and the necessary expenses be paid. The only computers many of us would have heard of at that time would be those on a new TV sci-fi series called Star Trek that was first aired on September 1966 .Computers they won’t catch on! This was the view of many local people 57 years ago.

12 School days in Rastrick over a century ago There have been many changes in the education of our children over the last hundred or so years. The Education Act of 1870 saw dramatic changes and was set out to complement the existing educational facilities by the establishment of School Boards which were to build schools in those areas where the voluntary societies were not able to. The Act said that the whole country was to be divided into 2,500 school districts and each area had to have an elected School Board and those standing for election were to be elected by the Ratepayers. This Act however did not make attending school compulsory, that did not come until six years later when every child had to attend school up to the age of 12 with certain exceptions between the ages of 10 and 12 years of age. In Rastrick there were the Victoria Central School in Aire Street, Rastrick Common and Longroyd Board School built by the Rastrick School Board. It was after schooling became compulsory that a new name was to be heard on the lips of many families for the first and for many families not the last time either and that was ‘The Boardman’. Today this role is largely carried out by the council’s Education Welfare Officers who have many other tasks that just chasing up non-attenders. Parents were regularly taken to court because their off-spring were not attending school as they should. Here are some examples and excuses given for not attending over a hundred years ago - on the 7 th June 1884 one father was taken to court because his eight years son rarely attended Longroyd School. The excuse given at this court hearing was that he did not like Longroyd School, his father was duly fined six shillings with four and sixpence costs. One woman who was employed as a Charwoman in Rastrick was fined the same sum because her ten year old daughter Miriam was left to mind the house whilst her mother went out to work. Other reasons given by parents included their children had no clothes to go in, no shoes, the child could not talk so well. One 12 year old was said to be half timing in a quarry but his mother Sarah never ensured he attended school the other half – she was fined six shillings, plus costs. Many others would be missing simply because they were carrying out errands at home. Back in those days you had to pay a small fee but even if you did attend school but failed to pay the fee through hardship the child was deemed as being absent – a truant and the parents had to attend court again. The Rastrick School Board was established in July 1881 under the Chairmanship of Arthur Travis Clay. In 1883 a report by the school inspectors did not speak very highly of the School Board and forced the board to take urgent action and by November 1883 had opened Longroyd School. Since then thousands of local children have walked through the school gates and have then gone on to the ‘big’ school whether it was Victoria Central School (1892-1972); Rastrick Grammar School/Rastrick High School or the old Rastrick Common. The Longroyd School of today still maintains its proud reputation for ensuring the best for all its students just as it has done since the children of over a hundred years ago took their first tentative steps through the big gates. I am sure if that young lad who did not like the school all those years ago could see it today he would be receiving prizes for attendance. For many families the annual summer holiday will be over for another year and moving up to the new ‘big school’ for many children is now getting even closer. The earliest known photograph of Longroyd Board School which was built by the Rastrick School Board and opened in November 1884. It was built originally to accommodate 318 boys and girls.

13 Whilst some will be looking forward to their new school after the summer break inevitably others may not for many different reasons. Memories of school days are rarely recalled until years later or following the chance meeting with an old school friend. Leaving behind teachers many of whom at times the children will have loved to hate, and those friends they have known since that first day all those years earlier – from being the big fish in a small sea they are about to become a small fish in an ocean. We all say we will keep in touch with school friends but in most cases rarely do – life does move on. Perhaps we should not really see it as the end of something but more the beginning of something. Children take their memories and experiences with them - all those memorable happy events, sports days when they nearly won, having their school photograph taken and then getting into trouble at home because they didn’t have a tie or jumper on or the cardinal sin of not combing their hair. Standing outside the head teachers’ room, being picked for the school team or nearly being picked are just some of the treasured memories we will back on in later life. Children will carry through their adult lives one or two lasting memories from their school days - the name of their favourite teacher. I am sure the older readers will be able to remember their favourite even after all these years. The other lasting memory is the old school photograph – where are they now, I do mean both the photographs and your old classmates? This photograph is a class from Longroyd School taken during a trip to Liverpool c1960. These children would be in their late 60s early 70s now. Did you go on this trip? Five local entrepreneurs Five budding entrepreneurs and all in a good cause. These five students at Woodhouse School, Brighouse, are all doing their bit in this Blue Peter Bring and Buy Sale. This was taken on December 5, 1994, at school and from the left are: Mr Peter Johnson, Nicholas Moulds, Adam Mydlowski, Thomas Johnson, Andrew Filby, Richard Martin and Mrs Shirley Johnson. Where are these boys now, did they take these entrepreneurial skills into the real world of business? Having visited Ward Court retirement sheltered properties at Chapel Croft, Rastrick, many times over the years I had taken it very much for granted they had been around for much longer than they have been. Ward Court was opened in 1981and is comprised of 29 flats which are a combination of studio and one bedroomed flats. This photograph was taken in 1979 at the ceremonial cutting of the first sod before the builders moved on to the site. Cutting the first sod

14 The 1930s economic storm blows in The 1930s opened with an economic storm that saw even more people out of work than in the 1920s. The unemployment figure soon grew to 936 who were wholly unemployed and a further 1,414 who were on short time. The jobless figures grew even higher the following year peaking at 2,905. In 1932 the number of unemployed in the Borough stood at 27% of the total labour force. However, believing the worst was now over at the beginning of 1933 the figure began to climb even higher and soon broke the 3,000 mark. But this was the turning point and by the end of 1933 the figure had plummeted to 1,392 and was now on a downward trend. With the prospect of a Royal Silver Jubilee in 1936 there seemed to be an air of optimism around the Borough. A branch of the Huddersfield Trustee Savings Bank opened in May. The Brighouse Co-op, a business that touched most people’s daily lives, also felt the rise in optimism, so much so that it announced it was to open a new emporium on King Street, which was formally opened in November 1937. Another sign that the social life in the town centre was changing was when the Mayor formally opened the new Kendall’s Milk Bar in Commercial Street in 1936. The first of this week’s featured photographs shows the residents of Back William Street, off Gooder Lane, Rastrick, posing for the photographer at their celebrations for the Silver Jubilee Sunny Vale was now 50 years old and even in the difficult times saw large crowds attending, many having gone on their Sunday school Annual Summer Treat. The Echo was still the way Brighouse residents received their news, and by the 1930s they were beginning to see more and more photographs, not only as part of the news item but as news in their own right. Transport was going through another major change; trams which had changed the lives of people before the First World War were now making way for a more conventional bus service. In 1904 the Halifax to Brighouse tram route that had been a revelation, particularly for working people, but it was closed in 1931 with motor buses taking over. Not only were the tram routes closing, the railways were also beginning to feel the pinch with so many people now taking to using motor buses. From originally having six railway stations in the Borough plus the one at Cooper Bridge the first to close was Clifton Road, in 1931 and it was demolished in 1934.Gradually over the years, one by one all these stations would disappear, including the Brighouse station, although through the efforts of many people it was brought back years later. This was also the era of the charabanc with many more people beginning to have ‘outings into the Dales. Older readers may recall the days when Brighouse born Percy Garside drove the family charabanc out on mystery trips. Percy was to become a professional singer, and the scary villain at many pantomimes at the Bradford Alhambra. 1930 was also the year his son Derek was born, a young man who was to become one of the finest cornet players of his generation. Derek is now 92 and lives quietly in the Eldwick area of Bradford. The Housing Act of 1930 brought changes to house building programmes but it was slow progress – 20 houses and two bungalows were built at the bottom of Crowtrees Lane in 1937. Celebration time in Back William Street, Rastrick when everyone turned out for a street photograph celebrating the Royal Silver Jubilee.

15 One name from this period whose actions I certainly feel we have to be thankful for today is that of Councillor Gilbert Lawson. It was he who ensured there were no high rise blocks of flats in Brighouse. In later years, to recognise his work on the council particularly in the field of housing Police Street was renamed Lawson Road. Many readers will I am sure be able to pin point just where they were at 11am, Sunday, 3 September, 1939. This was when Mr Chamberlain made the radio broadcast that we were at war with Germany. The Friday before had seen blackout restrictions in Brighouse, cinemas were closed as from the Monday. Workshop cricket matches were cancelled, there were no enrolments for evening classes, rugby fixtures were all cancelled until further notice, a bowling merit match was also cancelled. Times were changing. Food and coal control committees were set up and everyone was now seen to be carrying their gasmasks. Was the world about to come to an end was the cry from some quarters. Everyone was expecting the worst, with thoughts that Hitler’s Luftwaffe would be heading for Brighouse. But it did not happen. The cinemas re-opened, football fixtures were re-started by mid-September – life had to go on. Brighouse town centre high street shops have changed many times over the years. How many of these can you remember. The YEB showroom at the corner of Commercial Street and Park Street; on the opposite corner in 1995 when this photo was taken was the Lunn Poly travel agency. This was a travel business started by Sir Henry Simpson Lunn and in 1965 it merged with the Polytechnic Touring Association (POLY) and renamed Lunn Poly. In 2004 it merged with Thompson’s and rebranded. Today it is part of Tui. This inevitably saw Lunn Poly travel agency branches close. This had been one of the UKs largest travel companies. A ladies outfitters shop. It is called ‘Helen’s, with the name Hedley Crabtree also on the signage. It was demolished in 1973 as part of the town centre redevelopment. Today this building on what is part of the Wilkinson store site, in Briggate. Magic Dragon babywear, Bethel Street - 1990s. Today it is Ryecorn health food shop. Town centre shops you may remember Outside the Police Station in Police Street (now Lawson Road) c1940. Gradually everyone was preparing for what might come. Ration Books - Rationing was started on January 8, 1940 and was to finally come to an end on July 4, 1954.

16 The unwelcomed Keystone Cops style fire fighters Here is a rare photograph taken during the 1920s of the Brighouse Co-op Fire Brigade, who were often described as big-hearted amateurs. Looking back over the history of the town’s fire service it is inconceivable how the fire fighters during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries could attempt to tackle a fire raging through one of the town’s many large textile mills without the benefits of the modern day sophisticated firefighting equipment today. During the 1850s Samuel Baines, the Brighouse entrepreneur, was developing much of the property between Mill Lane and the Canal area. Being a man of forethought and having seen many of the town’s buildings burn to the ground, He bought the town’s fire engine, initially to protect his own property. Being the only fire engine in the town, it was often called on to help Samuel’s neighbours when they were struck by fire. For 40 years the Samuel Baines ’Neptune’ steam engine, as he affectionately christened it, was the only serious fire-fighting force in the town - led by John Hopkinson and his brave band of volunteers who became known as the Victoria Mills Brigade. A turning point came in 1895 after the Sugden’s Flour Mill fire. The extent of the damage highlighted how much old ’Neptune’ and the volunteers had outgrown their usefulness had become totally inadequate to the then modern day needs. This resulted in the birth of the Corporation Fire Bridge in 1897, complete with retained and paid fire fighters and a new steam fire engine. Advertising for new recruits to this dangerous and often hazardous job initially attracted 45 applicants, many of them coming from the old volunteers. Looking through t h e o r i g i n a l documentation which I have it is interesting to see why some were deemed unsuitable. But a final list of 12 were selected. Within the next 10 years these men tackled some of the biggest mill fires in the town's history, with the loss of three men. I am compiling a list of many of these fires and these will appear on my website in due course. With the high cost of horses to pull the engine it was decided to buy a motor engine fire appliance. This cost £1000. It was baptised by the Mayor Robert Thornton in 1911 by breaking a bottle of wine across the bonnet. This event started a tradition that was to last for many years when the new engine would be named after the Mayor of the day. Larger local firms had retained their own private fire-brigades and often helped out the corporation engine when necessary. The firms included Firth’s Carpets, Bailiff Bridge; Blakeborough’s; and of course the Co-op. Brighouse Co-op volunteer fire fighters photographed in the Co-op Yard on Police Street (now Lawson Road). Mayor Robert Thornton at the christening of the new ‘Thornton’ fire engine in 1911.

17 Our main featured photograph is the Brighouse Co-operative Society volunteer fire fighters. The photograph was taken in the Co-op yard in Police Street (Lawson Road). Those pictured are, from the left: Unknown; George Eccles, who lived on Manley Street and worked at the Co-op most of his working life; Harry Kershaw who lived at Half House Lane, Hove Edge; unknown; Gaythorne Fielding from Smithy Carr Lane; Wright Shaw who was in charge of the brigade and for many years worked as the warehouse manager, and Arthur Schofield who in 1892 was appointed as the Co-op Secretary and in overall charge of the firefighters. Front: Willie Wood, who was from Bailiff Bridge and worked in the warehouse in the Central stores; Harry Littlewood, who was one of the Co-op drivers; and William Eccles, who also worked in the Central store warehouse for many years and served in the fire brigade with his father George Eccles. They were often the butt of amusement in the town, mainly it would seem because they had no fire engine and carried what appliances they had on a wooden cart. On one occasion one particular fire that was well alight was at Lister’s wirer works. The Co-op lads were first there and doing their best but when the regulars arrived they just told to clear off. I remember the late William Eccles telling me that even though they got an extra ’bob’ (five pence in today’s money) a week, it was not worth being called the ’Keystone Cops’, with ill-fitting uniforms, duff equipment and being laughed at. Eventually, he packed it in but always said, “Even though I suppose we were well intended amateurs we always did our best. I say you could ask for no better, that someone’s best. The Co-op Fire Brigade itself packed up just as the Second World War was getting under way when many of the lads joined up and the older ones went fire watching.” Another dip into the online website eBay has revealed some interesting photographs of Norwood Green. This one is dated c1920 and shows what are described as the cat steps, Norwood Green. I am sure many readers will have heard the term cat steps but what does it mean and what are its origins. Some research carried out by the Calderdale Local Studies Department concluded that cat steps, sometimes written catsteps, are a man-made set of steps, usually made of stone, that create a shortcut on a steep hill. It is a defining characteristic that cat steps are short cuts that take you from one distinct area to another. Some cat steps are partly made of boarded soil but this is probably because the stone has been lost over time or the steps have been extended. The term cat steps is similar to snicket or ginnel. Snickets and ginnels are Northern terms for what Southerners call alleyways. Similarly, cat steps are an East Lancashire and West Yorkshire term for a type of stone made short cut on a steep hill. Another example of some cat steps are at the side of the former Star Inn at Bridge End, Brighouse. To c o nf u s e t h ing s e ve n mo r e t he s e we r e sometimes referred to as Treacle Steps and they too were a short cut. Woodvale Mill fire December 27, 1985. This huge fire involved 20 fire appliances coming from Leeds, Bradford, as well as Kirklees and Calderdale. There were also specialist appliances such as turntable ladders and hydraulic platforms, water tankers and control units. The Co-op brigade could never have done anything to tackle this huge mill fire. Photo taken by Jim Moran Norwood Green cat steps

18 The Crow Nest children It is almost 45 years ago that I became interested in the history of Crow Nest mansion at Lightcliffe. I can recall visiting the ruins of the mansion in the early 1960s and whilst being mindful not to get caught it was a real adventure for young schoolboys. In later years I was invited to take school-children to the mansion site, give them some history enroute and then at the house site get them all to stand in a position that would outline the house. Having given them the measurements of the house they could then work out how much bigger it was than their own home. This was long before ’Gentleman Jack’ the popular television series, a programme that introduced a much wider audience to the history of Crow Nest. Whilst growing up local history was becoming a passion - I wanted to know more. One thing I was interested in was the Walker (owners of Crow Nest) family, but a family tree, not going back in time but coming forward from 1867. This is the key date in Lightcliffe when the Crow Nest Estate was sold at public auction by Evan Charles Sutherland Walker. Evan Charles Sutherland Walker was born October 12, 1835 - he married Alice Sophia Tudor on February 3, 1859 in London. He died in London on July 24, 1913. His wife died in 1918, aged 80. They had eight children: William Sutherland Walker (b: 17.6.1861 d: 1862); William Tudor Walker; Alic Walker; Alice Sutherland Walker (b:2.4.1865 d:18.9.1872); Ewen McKay Sutherland Walker (b:21.2.1867 d: 1907 in Montreal, Canada); Kenneth Sutherland; Marion Sutherland Walker; and Reay MacKay Sutherland, (b:1875 d: 20.1.1910 - died in Basutoland which is now part of Lesotho, South Africa. William Tudor Sutherland b: 11.12.1862 d: 29. 8. 1915. In his will he left everything that may have belonged to his forbears to his daughter Aileen Mary. He was born at Crow Nest. He married Ethel Mary Garrard. Her family owned Garrard & Co Crown jewellers. They had two daughters Aileen Mary and Eveline Betty. Eveline married Lieut Arthur Walter Forbes DSO, RN, on 28.6.1896.They had one son Arthur. Following the death of Lieut Forbes she married John Gordon Aitchison, parents of Alastair and Timothy who married Dame June Whitfield, the television actor. William Tudor Sutherland-Walker dropped the name Walker by deed poll on October 13, 1883. Marion Sutherland Walker b: 28.11.1972. d: 1951. She married the Rev Lawrence Gee in Hemel Hempstead in 1897. Kenneth Sutherland Walker b: 25.1.1869 d: 1930. He was disabled and lived at Inverness where he died. Alic Sutherland Walker b: 20.9.1863 d: 1947. He attended Eton College in Berkshire, which was considered to be the best public school in England. Alic could not avoid the fall-out of the financial chaos caused by his father's poor management of the family estates. From 1883 Alic had served as an officer in the 3rd Militia Battalion 93rd (Argyll and Sutherland) Highlanders. However, in 1892 he became a regular officer within the Regiment. In his father’s will in 1910, he owed Alic £672.14.3 but was never paid. These images are the copyright of Chris Helme

19 Old Rastrickians Association It was in 2020 when John Howarth, the association secretary had to cancel the Old Rastrickians Association annual dinner, which was planned for the April, with no one knowing if or when events like the annual dinner would be back on the calendar. Finally that day has arrived and once again it is almost time for the old boys of Rastrick Grammar School to meet for another annual Old Rastrickians Association dinner. Members must have been thinking if they would ever meet up again. Even after so many of these annual gatherings missed it will is still an occasion to look forward to. This year's event will be very special, catching up on what they had been doing through the Covid years. The gathering will also have many of the usual nostalg ic ingredients, ensuring it will be a wonderful evening. It will give the members of the association another opportunity to catch up with old school mates, share memories and no doubt tell a few well-worn tall stories. This is a wonderful annual tradition, and long may it continue. The guest speaker for this years' annual dinner is Iain Robertshaw, who was to have been at the last dinner in 2020. He is very pleased that he has been asked to be the guest speaker once again. Iain was born in 1968 in Halifax. The family moved to the Carr Green area of Rastrick, where he attended the local junior and infant school. In 1980, he left the comfort of his junior school to walk through the gates at Rastrick Grammar School, to join the new intake of students. Those early days at Rastrick would have been very daunting, with new teachers and older students. With several of his old classmates from Carr Green also attending, he had moral support. In 1988, Iain left the grammar school and for a short time he worked at Sugden’s Flour Mill in Brighouse, as a Flour Grader. This work was to cover the time whilst his application to join the Royal Navy as an apprentice was being processed. His first posting was on HMS Collingwood in Fareham, where he trained as a Weapon Engineer. He went on to serve on HMS Bristol, Brilliant and Battleaxe b e f o r e h e w a s commissioned as a Weapon Engineer Officer. Following his commission, he served in submarines as a Weapon Engineer Officer, on HMS Talent, Triumph, Trafalgar and Swiftsure. It was during this service that he spent some time in Procurement and Support, which involved the fitting of the Tomahawk Missile system to the submarines. He retired from the Royal Navy as a Lieutenant Commander, his last posting saw him in Torpedo Tactical Development and Intelligence. He left the service in 2006 having served for 19-years. Iain has since worked in an industry that is closely aligned to the military, designing and developing power electronic equipment for the UK submarine programme. Iain and his wife Pamela have been married for 20-years and have twin children Alexander and Philippa, both are now aged 11. Living in the rural area in north Lichfield in the Midlands gives him the time to enjoy Iain’s two means of relaxing, game shooting and hot-air ballooning. Iain has his own balloon which he always insists his family join him. This year's annual event is being held at the Crow Nest Park Golf Club, Hove Edge, 7pm for 7.30pm, on Friday, April 21, 2023. Former students, of the Rastrick Grammar School who wish to attend, are asked to contact John Howarth on email: [email protected] or 0034 635 980655 John says: “It would be good to see any of the 1980 contemporaries of guest speaker by joining the members on the night and as every year the event is open to former students of Rastrick Grammar School from all eras”. Hot Air Ballooning is a real family affair.

20 The Brighouse Police Ball - 1950s There was a time when certain social events were the highlight of the Brighouse social calendar and getting an invitation or being given tickets was a must. Some of these events included the inauguration of the new Mayor; events linked to the Licensed Victuallers Association: and of course the Brighouse Police Ball. In this photograph tak e n at t he Brighouse Police Ball which for that year was held at the Assembly Rooms includes a few familiar faces. The presence of the Mayor would have added a little bit extra to the event, and would have been one of many similar events he would have attended. Looking at the youthful faces you may spot Reginald and Mona Mitchell, the man with the handlebar moustache is Inspector Tom Aves, who I remember visiting at his home in Bracken Road. The man to the right of him is Chief Inspector Tom Lawrence. As yet I am unable to put names to the rest of this group dressed in their finest for this annual soiree. Chief Inspector Tom Lawrence in later life, when I got to know him, lived in Mayfield Grove, Bailiff Bridge, and I often saw him calling into the village Post Office wearing his trademark trilby hat. Even in his late 80s to me he was always Mr Lawrence, I could never dream of calling him by his first name, I suppose it was the way we were brought up as children – respect. Tom Lawrence retired from the police in 1955 as the Brighouse Chief Inspector, and to all his young officers stationed at Brighouse Police Station at that time he was the nearest thing to the almighty. To one officer in particular, his name will be forever linked with and that was PC John William Wainwright. John William Wainwright was a rear gunner in World War II, after which he spent 20 years as a police officer in Yorkshire and worked at Brighouse for quite a number of years. He wrote 80 crime novels between 1965 and 1992, to many people, including me, he will be best remembered for his book ‘Wainwright’s Beat’. This book gives an insight into his 20- year police career with the West Riding Police and in particular, the time he spent at Brighouse Police section, under the watchful eye of Chief Inspector Lawrence. This book is long out of print but can be found on the internet second hand book website www.abebooks.com and is certainly worth looking at. Throughout his Brighouse service the name ‘Tosh’ is mentioned many times in the book. Little did Chief Inspector Lawrence know back in those early 1950s it was he who was the famous ‘Tosh’. On a number of visits to Tom’s house he reflected on the old days at Brighouse and could well remember John. It was one night whilst they were on patrol together in the town centre that he made a suggestion to him it was probably about time he made a decision to either concentrate on being a police man or a writer and if he took his advice, stick to writing. I never got to meet John Wainwright but I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall watching him meeting up with his old boss ‘Tosh’ just for one last time. Tom could remember those dances at the Assembly Rooms but I doubt whether many of his young officers could believe that even Mr Lawrence let his hair down once in a while. Towards the end of his life he often told me about his visits to the Borough Band Club where many of All dressed up in their finery for the annual Brighouse Police Ball. This was photographed at the Assembly Rooms in Briggate.

21 the young lads would buy him a drink. I queried that comment on one occasion and asked him who does he mean ‘young lads’. Once he had explained – the penny dropped, if you are 90 plus as he was the young lads were those who were all 65 years old. The same young lads that he used to chase round town some 50 to 60 years earlier. Can you remember the local police officers when you were a kid? The ones you remember might include PCs John Lawton; Al Davison; Jim Murphy; Jack Butcher; Jim Stansfield, who joined in 1953 and in later years went back to Brighouse as an Inspector; Tommy Bracken; Geoff Kilvington; Hanson Binns; Horace Calvert; Bill Ley and Tom Stennett. Perhaps you can remember the local Sergeant Alan Lunn; Tom Denny and Albert Chester, the list can go on and on. Not to be left out when it came to the annual dance. Hipperholme Police Section held an annual dance as well. This photograph was taken in 1955 – but who are they? All dressed up, and where did they hold the dance – the Lightcliffe Conservative Club perhaps. Were you ever invited to the annual Policeman’s Ball whether it was at Brighouse or Hipperholme I would be interested to hear a bit more about it and who some of these un-named revelers are. Image courtesy of Barry Falls Who liked school dinners ? ‘How we used to live’, is the title of a Powerpoint presentation I have given to local groups many times over the years. At a certain point in my story the question of school dinners comes up. I will ask for a show of hands who liked them and who didn’t. Interestingly it is usually 50-50. I personally always enjoyed them. Especially when I was a dinner time server. As I am sure many readers will recall being a server meant you got extra mash if there was any left. During my years as the community constable for the Lightcliffe area I would often visit Cliffe Hill, my old junior school. A rare event was when I was invited to stay for a school dinner, I was pleased to accept and joined the queue behind the youngest of children. It was usually at this point when there was a heated discussion where and whose table I would sit at. Once having settled where I was sitting down I reminded my lunch time diners that on my table everyone eats their peas and carrots. It was obvious no one liked peas or carrots. Begrudgingly they tried but with mixed results. Most of them cleared their plates with delight when we had semolina pudding with the traditional blob of jam in the middle. As I bid them farewell, almost in chorus style they all asked me next time go and sit somewhere else. Cliffe Hill School and dinner is served February 2, 1989. We have saved you a seat PC Helme….!

22 Memories from 1978 The "Winter of Discontent" is an phrase, which referred to the winter of 1978 – 79 when there were widespread strikes by local authority trade unions demanding larger pay rises for their members. The weather turned very cold in the early months of 1979 with blizzards and deep snow and for three Clifton lads a few hours excitement and a resulting good deed. Back in my policing days of those years I can remember the rare occasions I had to cover the office and front counter at the police station and particularly all the well intended calls from the public. Calls that included for example, the caller having had premonitions about offenders who were responsible for particular unpleasant crimes. Then I had other callers who had just seen unidentified flying objects. On the evening of Sunday December 31, 1978, we had a few calls about sightings of UFOs travelling over Sefton Avenue with a vapour trail travelling at very high speed towards Wyke. Within a few minutes other calls came in from householders saying they had seen similar objects in the night sky which were again travelling at high speed, this time towards Mirfield. Earlier that evening the three lads from Clifton were playing a big part in helping to rescue the driver, of a snow gritter in Grange Lane at Clifton. Geoff Sykes the driver was trapped when his vehicle skidded backwards, hitting the pavement and tipping over. Thanks to the prompt action of the lads who had been playing in nearby fields, they climbed onto the side of the cab and with a passer-by were able to help to release the driver from his vehicle. Once the driver was free they ran to a nearby house to call the police. The lads, Robert and Alan Smith and their friend Philip Smith, were all from the Towngate area. The driver was released from hospital the same day and was back at work the following day. Some other young people in the news that first week in January 1979 were this group of pool players. The Brighouse Youth and Community Centre based at the former Victoria School and known to the youngsters as ‘Vic Youth Club’, opened its doors to the public and in particularly former pupils to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the school being closed. The club leader back in those days was Damien McCrink who I am sure many former club members will remember. I am sure when the lads in this featured photograph see themselves, particularly those who could be in their early 50s, wonder like the rest of us, where have all the years gone. In 2019 the Vic Youth Club was closed and two years later the council placed the buildings on the market for £325,000. The building was being sold with outline planning permission to demolish the site and re-develop with a number of new apartments with some carparking underneath. At present the building is still standing with no specific date when work will start. With the youth club having closed down in 2019 and having been a youth centre for 40 years, some will still be able go back further in time to remember it as the Victoria Central School. Here are members of form 1A in 1955. Perhaps you are one of these children who posed for the photographer on that day.

23 What ever happened to HMS Proteus? What ever happened to HMS Proteus? I suppose we should start the story at the beginning. The Royal Navy had a terrible year in 1941 when it lost a number of its ships and many smaller warships resulting in the loss of lives which stunned not only the Navy and naval ports, but the nation as a whole. Whilst sailors as individual people could, if lost, be replaced but when the ship went down it could only be replaced with money and that meant lots of it. At the end of 1941 and into 1942 each area in the UK was given a saving target. This target was related to the population of the area. These events became known as ‘Warship Weeks’. The number of warships adopted throughout the UK was more than 1200, and this covered everything from the huge warships right down to the smallest trawlers which had been co-opted by the Navy, and some were used as minesweepers protecting our coast line. The list of who adopted a warship and other vessels are too many for our story. But looking through a list there are warships, minesweepers, destroyers, cruisers, trawlers, motor torpedo boats and many others including submarines. Brighouse was adopted to HMS Proteus, a submarine which was built at Vickers shipyard in Barrow in Furness and launched on 22 August 1929. It was commissioned into service in 1930 and decommissioned in 1944 and was finally scrapped at Troon, Scotland, in 1946. When in service it had a complement of 53 and was 284ft (88m) in length. It patrolled mainly in the Mediterranean. Warship Week nationally was in March 1942 when every community actively raised money in what ever way possible to support the war effort. One of the more unusual fundraising efforts in Brighouse involved the Mayor Herbert Womersley JP (1940 – 1942) as an auctioneer. From what was described as brisk bidding he got a buyer for a pendant made out of a stalagmite which was said to have originated from beneath Niagara Falls. Here in Brighouse a massive £507,006 was raised and if you consider that in 2023 a 1942 £1 was worth £60.28, which after working out the total figure in the modern day valuation it is an incredible feat for such a small town. In this photograph is Ralph Blakeborough who was the Chairman of the Warship Week Committee, speaking to the gathered throng and on Tuesday, 24 March standing on the platform outside the Town Hall that he said “… The figure we have to announce today is £430,306, so we have attained our original objective and passed it. But a submarine is of no use without torpedoes and they cost £2,000 each, and we have decided to equip this submarine with 50 torpedoes. That will entail raising another £100,000, we hope to attain that before the week is finished….” Commemorative plaque to thank the people of Brighouse for their huge efforts during Warship Week 14th - 21st March 1942.

24 Money came in from many sources, including – the Halifax Building Society £15,000; Brighouse Co-op £12,000; Brighouse Corporation £10,000; Hipperholme Grammar School £2,250; Brighouse Echo £500 and many others. I wonder if the two small Brighouse girls Pauline Blackburn and Joan Ainsworth can remember donating their 3/11d in farthings to the effort as well. This photograph shows Ralph Blakeborough arriving in Thornton Square in style on a tank and then being surrounded by children as it came to halt outside the Town Hall. I wonder if the little boy sat on the tank and looking unperturbed by the whole experienced is still around. If he was about four years old then he could be just about ready to draw his pension. Or the small girl behind him, if she is still around she may also be close to 60 years old, and who is the smiling Granny in the bottom left corner? Brighouse was presented with the plaque on the preceding page but its current whereabouts is unknown. If it is housed somewhere it should be on display in a secure cabinet in the central library. Thanks to Ian Philp, a member of the Friends of St Matthew’s Churchyard, Lightcliffe, we can up date the situation with regards to the William Walker, of Crow Nest charitable bequest of £10 he made in the 1770s to help the poor of the parish. A local charity revived. In the tower of the old church in Lightcliffe is a large oak panel with gold lettering commemorating the bequests to charity given by local landowners. Some were mentioned in the previous edition of the magazine, Michael Gibson, James Gledhill and the Rev Rich Sutcliffe. Also mentioned is a bequest from William Walker of Crow Nest of £10 annually to help the poor of the parish. William was the son of the William Walker who had Crow Nest, Cliffe Hill and old St Matthew’s re-built in the 1770s. He was Ann Walker’s uncle. In Ann’s will she had money set aside to ensure that her uncle’s bequest continued. This money was distributed for many years at Christmas time. However inflation had drastically reduced its value so that in the 1970s this charity (and many other charities both locally and nationally) were wound up. Three years ago a group known as ‘In Search of Ann Walker’, who have found out a great deal about Ann, her friends and relatives, decided to revive the charity. They set themselves a target of raising the equivalent of the original bequest in today’s value. That would be around £1,200 with the money going to local food banks. This year, with donations from all over the world, the sum of over £2,600 has been raised for the Brighouse Central Food Bank. Brighouse has always been a charitable town when it comes to giving for a worth while or needy cause and long may it continue. Ian Philp Friends of St Matthew’s Churchyard, Lightcliffe. Letter to the Editor Part of the Brighouse Warship Week letter headed note paper. Chairman Ralph Blakeborough; Treasurer Councillor Filby; Secretary E. Nettleship; Publicity Committee Chairman Councillor E.A.Leach and the secretary T.L.Charnock.

Brighouse at Work - From a small hamlet and a bridge, the town of Brighouse in Calderdale grew rapidly with the building of the Calder and Hebble Navigation in the late eighteenth century. This led to the development of the town’s successful textile industries. This is a book where almost a few lines will tell the reader something about the industrial heritage of Brighouse and its surrounding communities. The book is £14.99 + £3 postage packaging, for overseas orders please contact the author. PayPal is available as are cheques. Brighouse Through Time - 96 pages of both black and white and coloured images of aspects with views of Brighouse and its surrounding communities. Fascinating scenes displayed in a of 'then and now' format. £12.99 + £3. All in a Day’s Work — During the 1950s, Chris Helme was often asked by relatives: 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' A policeman was always his answer. A child of the Fifties, he was brought up to respect the local police who seemed to know everyone. All in a Day's Work: 30 Years as Brighouse Bobby is his journey to achieving that ambition culminating with being awarded the British Empire Medal for services to his community in 1990. A local bobby had to deal with everything that happened on his 'patch'. This book takes the reader through a catalogue of sad, humorous, and almost unbelievable incidents in the life of a local policeman. £12.00 + £3 p/p. This is now also available as an audiobook at Calderdale Library Service and other audiobook sources on the internet. Sunny Vale Pleasure Gardens, near Brighouse, opened as a garden in 1880 but with the inclusion of amusements in 1883 it became a hugely popular venue for Sunday strollers, local Sunday School groups and day trippers from around the north of England for the next seventy-five years. This collection of more than 180 images, complemented by detailed captions and reminiscences of the Gardens throughout their long history, will delight all who remember visiting as a child and provide a fascinating insight into this vanished, but not-forgotten, institution. £12.00 + £3 p/p. All these books can be purchased through www.chrishelme-brighouse.org.uk from the on-line shop or by contacting Chris Helme email: [email protected] — or by telephone 07854-755756 and Harrison Lords, Bradford Road Brighouse. If you wish to advertise your book on the website or in this magazine please contact the publisher. A new book has been commission and will be finished in November 2023 and then available in early Spring 2024. Back page outer cover: This was taken in the grounds of Crow Nest Mansion, Lightcliffe in 1932. The owners of the estate, the Brooke, family gave permission annually for the nearby St Matthew’s Church to hold its annual garden party at the front of the house. This event would attract about 100 local people which is a far cry from the 3,000 people who attended the first of St Titus Salt’s, the then owner, 50th birthday party treat for his employees and friends in 1850. He topped that for his 70th birthday when it is documented 5,000 people attended.