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Spen Valley Through the Years
1915
George V is now 50, and a familiar figure in army uniform: he made many visits to the theatres of war and toured the home country to see companies and people engaged in the war effort. Mr Asquith remained Prime Minister, but of a Coalition Government. Income tax was 1s 8d but it was to double within the year. Italy joined the Allies and Colonial troops flocked to the colours. Those from Australia and New Zealand were to fight in Gallipoli in 195, with severe losses and little success. By January 1915 we had over 1000 local men in the forces and 39 officers, all of them volunteers. The 4th West Riding Regt had over 400, the Royal Navy had 44, the Royal Artillery over 100, with 63 in the K.O.Y.L.I, 99 Northumberland Fusiliers, 24 in a miners' battalion, 8 in the Royal engineers, 31 in the Medical Corps. We had, among others, a Dragoon Guardsman, a Scot's Greys Officer, 3 Scots Guardsmen, 1 Lifeguard, 8 Coldstreamers, 3 in the Highland Light Infantry and 3 nurses. The wave of patriotism was still evident.
Spen Valley 'Pals.' A special recruiting campaign on June 17th saw a huge procession in the valley made up of 'Bradford Pals' from the West Yorkshire Regt. These city units were popular, from Liverpool to Grimsby: to fight with your pals seemed attractive. Military bands were in the parade, and wounded soldiers from Mons, Ypres and Hill 60. Banners read. "Enlist with your pals, train with your pals, fight with your pals." At Cleckheaton Mr John Fenton presided over a meeting in the Market Place. He had, he said, two sons already in the army and he was not asking anyone to do something he had not done himself. (one of his sons, Lieut. D.H. Fenton later lost his life). Many local men joined the 'Pals' and we find the names of Squire Firth of Heaton Street, Sam Whitworth of The Nook, Tom Lonsdale of Prospect Street, John Bentley of Heaton Street, and these were not the only ones. (The Somme offensive of July 1st 1916 was to put paid to the formation of any more 'Pals' units, for the casualties were so frightful, that whole localities were decimated. But this was in the future. At the moment I write about, cheering crowds turned out as the colourful parade passed down the Valley).
Miners. In January 50,000 Yorkshire miners threatened to strike for a minimum wage of 7s a day. A private's wife, with one child, was allowed 23s a week, which included 3s 6d allowed from her husband's pay!
SS Lusitania. On May 7th, this ship with 2000 on board, and not a combatant among them, was sunk by two torpedoes from a German U boat, lurking off the west coast of Ireland. 1195 perished. One of the lucky ones was Miss Olive North of Heckmondwike, who was returning from a visit to relatives in Canada. In describing her ordeal, she said: "To reach the boat deck I had to climb six flights of stairs...the ship was tilted at such an angle I could hardly walk. One end was high in the air and the other dipping into the water. She began to sink and I went down with her. I lost consciousness...when I came to my head was out of the water and I managed to grasp hold of a life-boat." She was later to marry Mr Percy Hanson, the wireless operator, mentioned earlier in these notes.
Income Tax. Details for 1915 are interesting. In Mr McKenna's budget, we find a man with no children earning £2 15s a week paying £2 8s 4d for the year. A man earning £100 a week paid £1,029, which works out at 4s 1½d in the pound.
Spenborough. The amalgamation of Cleckheaton with Gomersal and Liversedge took place on April 1st. Spenborough's first chairman was Councillor John Collier.
Catholic Church. The Church of the Holy Spirit was opened on Bath Road, Heckmondwike on September 29th. The church in Darley Street, which it replaced, had been formed in 1873.
Casualties. Details were not long in reaching our Valley. Here are just a few: Pte Arthur Wood of Well Street and Pte George Gale of Beck Lane, killed in Dardanelles. Cpl Balmforth of the Cleckheaton Terriers killed bringing rations to the front line. Sapper Tom Lawton of Cater Lane was killed by a mine. Pte Wilfred Haigh of Norristhorpe was killed whilst on sentry duty. Lieut W.L. Anderton was killed by a sniper. Lieut D.H. Fenton was killed in action. Cpl Louis Ackroyd of Jeremy Lane was killed by a shell. Capt A.A. Seaton, son of Rev. J.A. Seaton, was killed in action.
Letters from the Front. Sgt Stirzaker of 4th WR Reserves, of Crown Street, Cleckheaton, talked of the rats! "There are thousands of them, some as big as cats. And no wonder, as they have any amount of stuff to eat!" Pte John Caine of Roberttown, "The Germans sent up gas, which got into the cellars. A shell dropped on a roof with 60 men inside. 11 were killed and 29 wounded, most with lost arms and legs. We have to bury the dead, six feet deep, three in a grave. We could hardly recognise them.." Pte Thomas Cave of Broom Street, Cleckheaton (Mr and Mrs Arthur Parkin brought him up), "I am in the pink and going on champion. Plenty of good ads are getting shot, and we can't tell when it's going to be our turn." (His turn came. He was killed on March 12th). Sgt Norman Rymer of Heaton Street, the first member of our Cleckheaton contingent to give his life, was 24, and was a sincere and active member of Central and the Cleckheaton Brotherhood. On May 7th he wrote: "I always think of you when I get down to a bit of rest in the dug-out...tell the Brotherhood that I am in the pink." It was his last letter. Captain A.L. Mowat, recuperating after a head wound, said in the Market Place: "It is a red letter day when the Guardian gets to us in the trenches, but we have gone out to fight and we do not like to read of the young men playing cricket on a Saturday afternoon at Spen.."
Gas Attack. In December our local lads were caught in a gas attack near Ypres. News was reaching home that casualties were somewhat heavy. What a bit of news to help our folks here at home at Christmas!
Patriotism. But in spite of the worries, and the casualties, and all the tears, a new song became popular in 1915. "Your King and Country Want You," It went like this:
Oh, we don't want to lose you,
But we think you ought to go.
For your King and your Country,
Both need you so.
We shall love you, and miss you,
But with all our might and main,
We shall cheer you, thank you, kiss you,
When you come home again.
1916
In January 1916 the Military Service Act brought compulsory military service to all single men of military age, 19 to 35. Two million of our men had volunteered during 1914 and 1915, but casualties had been heavy, and it was realised that this was not to be a quick war. Stories from the front had an effect on more volunteers: conscription brought everyone into the picture. On average every household in our valley had someone in the forces.
January saw our evacuation of Gallipoli. February brought the long French Battle of Verdun. April we had a Sinn Fein rising in Ireland, with Sir Roger Casement found guilty of treason. But the most catastrophic event of 1916 was the Battle of the Somme, which started on July 1st, with British losses on the first day of 19,240 dead and 57,470 wounded or missing (three times our losses in the whole of the Boer War).
Military Tribunal. It was to be expected that conscription would not please everyone. A 19 year old brass moulder in our valley claimed exemption. As a member of the British Socialist Party he had no quarrel with the working men of Germany. "I prefer the cry of Karl Marx," he said. "Workers of the world unite." There were others like him in our area, including Quakers who, however, served as non-combatants in the overseas threatres of war. It was reported that one man was exempted because he could kill a fowl and pluck it ready for market in 2 minutes. He had once skinned 1,200 rabbits overnight!
Low Moor Explosion. On Monday August 21st, there was a series of explosions at the Low Moor Chemical Works. 39 were killed and 60 injured, including some firemen, and much local damage. The explosive was picric acid, a yellow powder like sulphur. Some of it ignited, as two workmen were rolling a barrel of it. The flames penetrated the open door of No. 1 magazine, igniting the dust laden air. All the people working near Moorend were sent home, and the Bradford Road was full of hurrying and distracted people, all running towards the town centre. Rumour soon spread that "there was worse to come."
Scandinavia Mills. Looms had been converted to make khaki webbing for the troops. 18s a week plus bonus was offered to women, provided they stayed three months.
Prices. Morrow & Co., gunmakers, Halifax. Double-barrelled guns for £3 10s, smokeless cartridges 7s per 100 and shot 5s 6d per 28lb bag. Awmacks, Bradford - 26 piece "Brighton" dinner service 14s 6d; Heckmondwike Co-op - pheasants 5s 6d a couple. You could send your soldier or sailor 1000 Woodbines for 8s. Stead at Heckmondwike had 2500 tins of salmon at 6½d. J & B's "Huge Snap Sale" a £12 natural musquash coat was offered for £6. Lion stores had 2lb tins of rabbit for 1s 6d.
Patriotic Guild. The Heckmondwike Women's Patriotic League organised a "Penny Bandage Day." Wounded were arriving in large numbers, and a penny would buy a bandage. A collecting bowl was placed outside Mr Carpenter's flower shop.
Rationing. By the end of the year, although we had no general rationing, diners in restaurants were limited to 3 courses between 6pm and 9.30pm. At other times 2 courses only were allowed.
The Somme. July 1st was a significant date of 1916. The drawn out battle ended mid November with 1¼ million casualties. Many local men had seen bitter fighting at Mons, Marne, Aisne and Ypres in 1914, and Dardanelles, Neuve Chapelle and Ypres in 1915. Casualties had been heavy, but the Somme offensive of July was to see our local regulars (what was left of them), our Territorials and our Kitchener's Volunteers, including our "pals" Battalions, all engaged in a maximum effort. Zero hour was 7.30am when 66,000 British soldiers of the first wave advanced into no-man's land. Before the day's end, one in every two was a casualty. It was not warfare, it was slaughter. Whole battalions were wiped out, including "pals" units. The West Yorkshire 10th had 710 casualties from 1000 men. From that day no more "pals" battalions were formed! The Somme situation can be summed up in what Pte. A.V. Pearson of the Leeds Pals had to say, "The memories of that day will stay engraved on our hearts. Our "Pals" were a grand crowd of chaps. We were two years in the making, and ten minutes in the destroying."
September 3rd. German airship L21 with a crew of 16 was brought down near Enfield by Lieut Wm Robinson. He was the first soldier to receive the VC, to be won in Britain. Our valley saw the odd zeppelin and the east coast had a share of shelling from the sea.
Co-op wages were revised. Male shop assistants got 30s at 22, 22s at 23 and 35s at 24. Grocery managers' pay varied with turnover. Weekly sales of £75 meant 38s pay. £100 40s pay, and £300 62s 6d. Vanmen with two horses got 33s and with one horse 30s.
Boy house-breakers. William Henry Boocock (12), Benjamin Boocock (11) and Harry Buckley Nelson (14) were charged with entering the house of Mr Walter Mann, carrier, of Sykes Street, Cleckheaton, and stealing 3s 6d, a clasp knife and 2 money boxes. Mrs Mann had gone off to bed early and had left the key on the window ledge so that her husband could get in. The lads also sat down and ate his supper!! The Chairman asked him what he found when he got in at 11.15pm. "It's what I didn't find," he said, "only an empty pie dish!!" The 12 year old boy got six strokes of the birch rod, the others to the Reformatory. The Chairman said these lads were on the high road to ruin! They began to shed copious tears, says the report. Nowadays lads like these burgle a house not once, but twice! And when we catch them, (a rare occasion), we let them off and blame the Government!
Queen Alexandra did not forget our soldiers. Sapper James Willie Fox wrote home: "I have received a parcel from the Queen Mother...a towel, a pipe, tobacco, socks, laces, writing pad, a candle, matches and a handkerchief..."
Oh, and by the way...daylight saving time started, and we still have it!
1917
Our King George is now 52, and Lloyd-George led the Coalition Government. Unrestricted submarine warfare began. Names such as Arras, Vimy Ridge and Messines Ridge were in the news, with Passchendaele (3rd Ypres) overshadowing all. On November 8th the Balfour Declaration recognised Palestine as a "National Home for the Jews." Income tax was 5s and bobbed hair swept the country as a ladies' fashion.
Rationing. January 4th 1917 saw the Cleckheaton Co-op issuing sugar cards to its members, with an allocation of ½ib per head, per week. Up to now there was no restriction on food supplies, although there were shortages, which meant queuing, and some hoarding. By April, a Food Hoarding Order made it unlawful to acquire food in quantities more than needed for normal use.
Allotments, but no rhubarb!! More council land was made available. Plots could be rented at 2s 6d per annum for a piece 200 sq yds. At Gomersal ¾ of an acre was released at the sewage works. At Moorend, half of the recreation field was pegged out for plots. The other half was to be ploughed, and put down, possibly oats. But it was clearly laid down that potatoes and cabbages were the thing, and no rhubarb, which needed sugar! It stood to the credit of our folks that available supplies of commodities were shared amicably. Sugarless jam, made from dates, was made, and a cream substitute made from something or other. Even "three pounds of butter for one pound" was advertised. And a local recipe for "war buns"...6oz oatmeal, 2oz flour, 3oz margarine, 1 teaspoon carbonate of soda, ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg, 3oz chopped dates and a pinch of salt.
Work for ladies. In may a National appeal for 10,000 women to help grow and harvest Victory Crops was announced. 18s a week was the wage, with free outfit, high boots, breeches, overall and hat. Some foods were readily available. English honey at 1s 2½d ib. Fish was plentiful with salted herring at 4¾d lb, or whole barrels of them for 58s. Fresh salmon was 3s 3d lb, cod 1s 11½d lb and mackerel 9d.
Wages. 1917 saw some of the local job vacancies using the qualification "if ineligible for military service." R.B. Steads of Heckmondwike offered plumbers 9½d an hour. An experienced motorman could earn 45s.
Russia. March 12th brought revolution in Russia, and in the same month the United States declared war on Germany. One ally lost and one gained! The Independent Labour party's annual conference was held in Leeds, with Ramsay MacDonald MP and Miss Margaret Bondfield. Mr Philip Snowden MP sent a telegram of congratulations to Russia! "There are signs," he said, "that the Red Flag would soon be floating over the Kaiser's palace, and it would then remain for the people of this country to overthrow our equally despotic government."
Local Patriotism, in our valley, however, did not flag. Spen Valley was behind the war effort, supporting it with every kind of money-raising activity designed to provide some comfort to our many serving soldiers and sailors.
Forget-Me-Not fund. The accounts give some indication of the casualties. In Cleckheaton alone, (and the figures could be multiplied by three), 80 men had been killed in action, 597 were serving abroad, 407 at home and 7 prisoners. In October 1917 hundreds of parcels were sent out. Since the beginning of the war, 200 Spen Valley men had been killed, 1400 were serving abroad, 1000 at home and 30 were prisoners.
Base Hospital. At Staincliffe, the Poor Law Union undertook to provide a base hospital for 550 wounded. It was a remarkable offer and they did just that!
Superstition. The Rev. G.A. Studdart-Kennedy, "Woodbine Willie" as he was nick-named, said there was a general and regular run upon the Bank of God, Churches were thronged with people waving cheques for protection duly endorsed "Through Jesus Christ our Lord." There was a brisk trade in talismans. One was "Touchwood," a sparkling imp with crossed legs and with a khaki cap. Made of wood, it stemmed from the custom of touching wood, (i.e. touching the wood of the cross). Old soldiers in the valley have told me of the custom amongst the Irish to twist their rosaries around the barrels of their rifles. I have seen a Touchwood Imp myself: it had shining green eyes!
Spen Valley Leather Curriers & Straphangers Union (beat that for a name!) asked for a 5s increase on their standard wage of 35s. Theirs was a trade, they said, which was not only skilled, but very hard work. They got their five bob!
Passchendaele. July 1917 was to see the start of another long drawn out campaign, the Third Battle of Ypres, not to end until November 6th. There were 244,897 British casualties and 300,000 German. Many Spen Valley men were among the casualties.
Advert in Local Press. "Eat less Bread!!!" I am a slice of bread 3"x2½"x½" thick. I weigh one ounce...I am wasted once a day by 48 million people in Britain...if collected for one week, it would equal nine shiploads of bread, as much as 20 subs can sink...When you throw me away, you are adding 20 submarines to the German Navy! Save me and I will save you!! The "Herald" office in Heckmondwike ran this advert: "Strong, thin, sanitary toilet paper...6d per pad of 250 sheets." Life had to go on, even if there was a war on!
Army Songs. What songs were the lads at the front singing in 1917? Here are two!
"We are Fred Karno's Army,
The rag-time infantry:
We cannot fight, we cannot shoot,
What bleedin' use are we?
And when we get to Berlin,
The Kaiser he will say
Hoch! Hoch, mein Gott
What a bloody rotten lot
Are the rag-time infantry."
"I want to go home, I want to go home,
I don't want to go to the trenches no more,
Where whizzbangs and shrapnel they whistle and roar.Take me over the sea, where the Alleyman can't get at me.
Oh! My! I don't want to die,
I want to go home!"
(PS "Allemand"---French for "German".
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