YEARS IN FOCUS
KNOTTINGLEY IN 1952
Our Years in Focus articles were researched by Maurice Haigh and are reproduced
with the kind permission of the Pontefract & Castleford Express.
4th JANUARY 1952
'APPY NEW YEAR
"New Year's resolutions is all mi
heye and Peggy Martin," said 'Erbert, "Speak the truth and shame the
devil - that's t'only resolution I ivver made."
Everyone nodded affirmatively, except 'Arry, who said "B-b-b" - but as usual, no-one took any notice.
'Erbert was on his best conversational behaviour, his nearest approach
to the bedside manner. So were 'Arry and 'Enery for that matter - they
had to be, for Judd was in that predicament described as "bad i' bed"
and they were in the sick room on sufferance.
In an effort to lower Judd's blood pressure and accelerate his recovery, Mrs Judd had disconnected the
wireless and sent away the man who brought the sports editions. Thus
also she would undoubtedly have served 'Erbert, 'Enery and 'Arry, but
they had come to let the New Year in at Judd's express behest, so she
contented herself by enjoining them not to talk football.
'Erbert's topical opening was in
deference to her instructions, but the invalid was not impressed. An air
of tension hovered around the sick bed. "Look, lads" he broke in
petulantly, "how about some news?" 'Arry coughed and edged to the door,
Judd ignored the interruption, "T'missus has taken all t'football papers
away," he complained pointedly,
At the ominous word, 'Enery arose
and shuffled, 'Arry let out a rasping cough which shook the windows, and
incoherently asked to be allowed to go downstairs. Only 'Erbert remained
calm.
"Don't be rude, 'Arry," he warned, "remember yor browtins up, What'll Judd think if his visitors go on like
hooligans? You're going to make him worse." 'Arry sat down, abashed and
nervous, but Judd is not the sort to let it go at that.
"I knaw what'd put me on mi feet as sooin as 'owt," he hinted'
"Owd 'Arry'll tell Judd," he
weedled; "nivver baulk a sick man. 'Ow many 'Arry?"
'Erbert was shaking his head in a
very obvious manner, 'Enery was frowning, 'Arry was tearing his hat to
shreds. Then he started to speak - the others waited and watched in
fascinated horror
"Th-th-th-they d-d-d-didn't win
Judd." Swift change came over the invalid; he sank back on the pillows.
"Put t'leet off as you goa' out lads." was all that he said.
As they went down the garden path,
the storm broke on 'Arry's head, 'Erbert was beside himself. "Criminal,
that's what it is, I nivver seed owt soa cowd-blooded. Here's me doin'
mi best ta make polite conversation an' head 'im off..."
A bubbling deep down in 'Arry's
quaking throat indicated that the culprit had something to say too.
"C-c-coudn't 'elp miself, 'Erbert, it's mi N-n-new Year's resolution."
'Erbert stopped in his tracks, "An'
what's that?" said 'Enery, with the voice of Nemisis. Cold and clear
came the reply, without the suspicion of a stammer; "Speak the truth and
shame the devil."
11th JANUARY 1952
OLD PEOPLES TEA AND CONCERT
Two Hundred And Fifty Old People
enjoyed the first instalment of the Knottingley and Ferrybridge Old
People's tea and concert at the Town Hall, Knottingley, on Wednesday, A
substantial meal was provided and many local people joined in the
entertainment. Before tea, Lt. Evelyn Adams, of the Knottingley
Salvation Army Corps, pronounced the blessing. Later, the oldest people
present; Mrs Jane Holden aged 90 and Mr. Sellars, aged 87, each received
an envelope containing money. The next oldest, Mr. Jest, aged 86,
received a cake, and the oldest married couple, Mr. and Mrs Ryall, of
Womersley Road, who had been married for 51 years, a basket of fruit.
These were handed to them by Councillor J. Jackson, J.P., the oldest and
longest serving member of the K.U.D.C.
There was community singing
accompanied by an orchestra, and those taking part in the concert were
Jennie Schofield, Messr's W. Brocklehurst, B. Summerton, J. Smythe and
Astbury, Mrs Branford, and Mrs Lightowler, and the 'Kopec Follies'
concert party. At the finish 'Just a song at twilight' was sung by all
the artists on stage. Mr. J. Schofield was the pianist; the compere was
Councillor W. O'Brien, and Messrs. J and A. Stanworth, and W. Swingley,
were the stage managers. Coffee and biscuits were served.
Before the guests left they sang
'Auld Lang Syne' Members of the St. John's Ambulance were in attendance
and about a score of disabled people were brought and taken home by
private car. Mr. W. Schofield gave four pounds towards the gifts for the
old people. Another 250 people were to have been given similar
entertainment yesterday. The arrangements were made by the Knottingley
and Ferrybridge Old People's Entertainment Committee under the
chairmanship of Mr. B. Summerton.
15th FEBRUARY 1952
BRISTOL BOUND
The 'Wandale H', a motor tanker
launched from the Knottingley shipyard of John Harker Ltd., on Tuesday
will be the second vessel built by the firm within a year to make a sea
trip halfway round the English coast. She is for the firm's service in
the Bristol Channel area, and will be able to go up the River Severn as
far as Worcester. In a few weeks she will leave on her long maiden
voyage.Accommodating a crew of four in modern style, the 'Wandale'
measures 135 feet by nine feet, carries a lifeboat and has a loading
line which will enable her to ply between Bristol and Swansea.
The launching ceremony was
performed before a large crowd, which included many school children, by
Miss Bagley, daughter of Dr. S.B. Bagley, C.B.E. J.P., who later
received a commemorative powder compact from the Managing Director of
John Harker, Ltd., Mr. G.L. Lyon. The 'Wandale' is the largest
type of vessel which can trade to Worcester, She has a 390 tons carrying
capacity, Of two sister ships to be built by the firm, one is already
well advanced.
15th FEBRUARY 1952
THE KING
At all the Churches in
Knottingley appropriate references were made to the death of the King
and prayers said for the Royal Family. The Vicar, the Reverend W.
Musgrave, preaching at St. Botolph's, emphasised the example of family
unity expressed in the King's life and made a plea for more
consideration for family ties and loyalties.
The Rev J. Gee, Pastor of
the Foursquare Methodist Church, who at one time lived in the Windsor
district, drew attention to the consistent example the king had set in
church going. The Reverend R.B. Hyde, preaching at the Ropewalk
Methodist Church, also made special references. At the Ropewalk Senior
Modern School, the pupils were assembled in the hall immediately after
the news of the King's death was received and the Headmaster, Mr. S. S.
Roebuck, conducted a service. Today, Friday, there is to be a Requiem at
St. Botolph's, and on Sunday a civic memorial service attended by the
Chairman, Councillor C. Burdin, and members of the K.U.D.C.
14th MARCH 1952
MOVE OF HISTORIC CHURCH
The first sod was lifted on Monday
to lay the foundations on the new site of St. Andrew's Church,
Ferrybridge.As already reported in 'The Express', the Norman Church is
to be taken down and rebuilt in the field adjoining the Vicarage, in
Pontefract Road. The ceremony was performed by the oldest parishioner,
Miss Ada Hartley, who is 86. Introducing her, the Vicar of Ferrybridge,
the Reverend C.H. Branch, declared that for 40 years there had been a
pressing need for a more central church, and the past ten years had
intensified that need. Since the last war, over 200 more houses had been
built in the village. He described the lifting of the first sod as the
"initial climax" of 40 years work.
As if to augur success for the
scheme, the sun shone on a gathering of about 30 people mainly women,
who had taken time off from their morning tasks to see an event the like
of which has not occurred in the village since about 1160. And this was
not to be the building of a new church, but the bodily removal of an
ancient one. Mr. J.C.S. Wood, of Messrs. R.A. Easdale and Son,
Castleford, the architects for the project, also spoke of the need for a
church nearer the heart of the village and expressed hope that
everything would go smoothly in "these days of difficulties." After
performing the ceremony, Miss Hartley was thanked by the Vicar's Warden,
Mr. J. Briggs, and the people's Warden, Mr. W.H. Lund.
21st MARCH 1952
LOSS TO KNOTTINGLEY - INDUSTRIALIST AND WORKER
A man young in spirit was a
description given to Mr. Henry Gregg, of Knottingley, who died in a
Leeds nursing home on Monday, aged 75. Affable and engaging, and
possessing boundless energy, Mr. Gregg was "hail fellow well met" with
the majority of Knottingley people and many in the surrounding
districts. He leaves many friends. The Senior Director and Chairman of
the glass bottle manufacturing firm of Gregg and Co Knottingley Ltd.,
Mr. Gregg entered the business which was started by his father, the late
Mr. Jabez Gregg and the late Mr. W. Chadwick, when he was thirteen. He
began as an operative and worked his way through the departments. He
lived to see the firm, which was established in 1902, reach its fiftieth
year. When his father died Mr. Gregg became the senior partner, along
with his brother, Mr. Alfred Gregg, and the late Mr. Chadwick. He took
an active part in public life and was for seventeen years, until 1946, a
member of the K.U.D.C. of which he served as chairman. His interest in
education also took an active form and he was a member of the Pontefract
Education Executive from its formation; Chairman of the Governors of the
Knottingley Ropewalk Secondary School and of the managing body of the
Knottingley Primary Schools and a governor of the Pontefract and
District Girls High School. He was also a former member of the
Knottingley Youth Council.
Cricket was his chief sporting
interest and he was for many years President of the K.T.C.C. and a
familiar guest at the dinners of the West Riding league, His gifts to
local cricket include, the Jubilee Cup and a set of medals for the
Knottingley 11 which completed the League double in 1951. Mr. Gregg
leaves a widow and one son, Mr. W.H. Gregg, who, with Mr. A. Schofield,
will carry on the business.
28th MARCH 1952
RETURNS TO RATIONING FROM WEST
INDIES
From a land where petrol is 1/8d a
gallon and sea bathing a chief recreation comes Mr. William J.
Middleton, formerly of Sunny Bank, Knottingley. Although it is not two
years since he went to Trinidad, where he is works manager of a glass
factory, he renews with a shock his acquaintance with rationing and
prices in this country.
There is food and fruit in abundance
where he is, and working conditions are not quite what might be imagined
in a glass trade in a semi-tropical land. There is much less of a
contrast for the men coming away from the furnaces into the colder air
and at the same time the trade winds keep the atmosphere fairly fresh.
With the exception of Mr. Middleton, the general manager, and
maintenance engineer and the electrician, the personnel of the factory
are drawn from the island. Mr. Middleton's former colleagues will be
interested to hear that the factory uses the Monish bottle-making
machines, well known locally.
Mr. Middleton has been around quite
a lot since he left his employment at Bagley's Knottingley, some years
ago. He worked for two firms in London; then with four other men,
operated a glass works at Bishop's Stortford. When he began in the West
Indies he did not forget the days when he played for Bagley's Recreation
football and cricket teams. Almost every kind of sport known in this
country is played on the island including Rugby Union. Mr. Middleton
soon had a works team of West Indians playing 'soccer' and they won the
district cup. He has not touched cricket yet but there seems to be no
need of coaching in that sport. "They seem to be born with a bat in
their hands out there," he says.
Mr. Middleton followed another
Knottingley man, Mr. David Skelton, who is now working at Mombasa, to
the works at Trinidad. His father died recently, but his mother still
lives at Knottingley.
4th APRIL 1952
STAGE SET FOR CARPET BOWLS
As in most places in this
wide world, there are Knottingley Scots 'wha hae wi sassenach's dwelt'.
And to the lasting glory of their begs and bens, so they remain. Over a
period of years, contact with the natives might have brought some
Anglicising influence, at least on their sporting pursuits; and in a
centre such as Knottingley, their conversion to Rugby League football,
or pigeon racing, could scarcely be held to constitute a flaw in Scots
character. But diamond has cut diamond, and Knottingley must acclaim the
tougher gem. So, far from succumbing to the lure of Sassenach's sport,
the Scots have implanted their own and with such effect that
Knottingley, without knowing it, may now have an international
reputation.
For what? The question is answered
in a hut in Jackson Lane, where the stage is now set for the game of
carpet bowls. A little while ago some twenty Knottingley people would
have acknowledged lamentable ignorance of a Scots institution. Now they
are wiser, happier and considerably more skilful people. They are also
members of the Rose and Thistle Recreation Club and Anglo-Scots - or,
more intimately, Knottla-Scots - a body devoted to the pursuit of carpet
bowls. This thing has possibilities; it is only three years since the
first players in Knottingley got together at the home of Mr. M.
McLauchlan and used his carpet. Now they tread one of their own at
Jackson Lane. Mr. McLauchlan and another Scot, Mr. J.G. Baird, are the
founder members of the club. The secretary is an Englishman, Mr. B.J.
Reeves.
The carpet is 24 feet long and you
bowl through an iron hoop towards a ring. There is no bias on the woods
and those who finish nearest the centre count most The game is about 100
years old, and was invented by the Scots for something to do when they
were not curling or playing golf. There are 198 clubs in Scotland and
something over 50 in England, mostly in the Bolton and Manchester
districts. Mr. McLauchlan says the game is strongly established among
miners in Scotland and hopes to introduce it to Featherstone. Meanwhile,
Knottingley remains one of the only two clubs in Yorkshire.
Years in Focus was researched by
Maurice Haigh and is reproduced here
with the permission of the Pontefract & Castleford Express.