Obituaries H - Q

Recently added obituaries appear on the Obituaries Home Page and will be transferred to the page relevant to their surname when newer ones are added.

HALEY, Jonas (1836-1914)
Publication: Bradford Daily Telegraph - Monday 30 November 1914
The death took place on Saturday of Mr. Jonas Haley, of Gladstone House, Cleckheaton, head of the firm Samuel Haley and Sons, Ltd., cardmakers, Pyenot Hall Mills. Mr. Haley, who was in his 79th year, had been ill only a few weeks. He was the eldest son of the late Mr. Samuel Haley, founder of the firm, and leaves a son and two daughters.
(features on a gravestone at Cleckheaton Old Cemetery. His father, Samuel, was one of two fatalities resulting from a train crash on a trip from Cleckheaton to Blackpool)

HARDILL, Joseph (1851-1928)
Publication: Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer - Saturday 20 October 1928
The death has taken place of Mr Joseph Hardill of Westcliffe Road, Cleckheaton, a former member of the local Council, a well-known supporter and official of the Wesleyan Church and a member of the Zetland Lodge of Freemasons. Mr Hardill, who was 77 years of age, founded The Lion Confectionery Co.
(to set up his business, Joseph Hardill was financially assisted by John Wesley Hillard (also featured on this page), who was founder of the Lion Stores in Cleckheaton. He stipulated that the name "Lion" should be included in the company name. He features on a gravestone at Cleckheaton Old Cemetery)

HILLARD, John Wesley (1856-1935)
Publication: Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer - Thursday 3 January 1935
The death took place yesterday, at the age of 78, of Mr J W Hillard, of Barrington House, Gomersal, a member of Spenborough District Council and Chairman of directors of Messrs J W Hillard Ltd., and Messrs Jubb (Grocers) Ltd., and also a director of the Lion Confectionery Co.
Mr Hillard was a native of Somerset, and left there at an early age to enter the tea trade in London. About 50 years ago he began business in Cleckheaton and founded the Lion Stores. He leaves a widow, two sons and a daughter.
(features on a gravestone at Cleckheaton Old Cemetery)

HIRST, Charles (1833-1911)
Publication: Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer- Tuesday 22 August 1911
The death took place at noon yesterday of Mr Charles Hirst, of Exchange House, Cleckheaton, head of the firm of Charles Hirst and Sons (Limited), Exchange Wire Mills.
Mr Hirst had been incapacitated for a number of years as the result of partial paralysis. Up to afternoon on Sunday, he was quite bright and cheerful. During the afternoon, however, he had a fresh seizure and from this he never rallied.
He was a native of Clifton, near Brighouse, but had carried on business in Cleckheaton for many years. In December 1908, he and Mrs Hirst celebrated their golden wedding anniversary, on which occasion all the employees of the firm, who number over 300, were handsomely entertained in Cleckheaton Town Hall.
Mrs Hirst and one son have since died, but two sons and two daughters survive.

HIRST, Eli (1863-1938)
Publication: Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer - Thursday 9 June 1938
Mr Eli Hirst of Braemoor, Westville Road, Ilkley, collapsed and died yesterday when having tea at his home. He was 75.
Throughout his working life he was associated with the production of the "Cleckheaton Guardian," of which, with his son Mr John Hirst, he was proprietor.
He was the son of Mr John Hirst, a builder and contractor, but was adopted as a youth by his uncle, Mr John Firth, who was then proprietor of the "Cleckheaton Guardian."
He went through various departments of newspaper production and in 1903, on the death of Mr Firth, he took over the management of the paper. He became proprietor on the death of Mrs Firth in 1913 and after the War he took into partnership his son, Mr John Hirst.
He made his home at Ilkley about seven years ago, but continued to take a practical interest in his newspaper property. He was one of the oldest members of the Newspaper Society and a member of Ilkley Constitutional Club, Ilkley Cricket Club and Ilkley Bowling Club.
Mr and Mrs Hirst celebrated their golden wedding last August.
(features on a gravestone at Cleckheaton Old Cemetery)

HIRST, Herbert (1873-1936)
Publication: Bradford Observer - Monday 23 March 1936
Mr Herbert Hirst, whose death took place on Saturday evening in a Harrogate nursing home, after a comparatively short illness, was governing director of the extensive wire firm of Charles Hirst and Sons Ltd., Exchange Mills, Cleckheaton.
A native of Cleckheaton, where he used to live at Turnsteads, he had for many years lived at Holly Court, Harrogate. Aged 63, he leaves a widow and four daughters.
Mr Hirst was one of the leading figures in the national wire industry. When in Cleckheaton he rendered public and other service of outstanding distinction to the whole district and, along with his firm, was a generous subscriber to various institutions.
As well as being a Justice of the Peace, he was for a long period chairman and leader of the Spen Valley Conservative Party, to which he previously acted as treasurer. He was also president of the Cleckheaton and Central Conservative Club for a record number of years, a member and former chairman of the Spenborough District Council, chairman of the Spenborough Forget-Me-Not Committee and was actively associated with the Chamber of Commerce and golf club, as well as educational other institutions almost too numerous to mention.
(Herbert was a well-known athlete of his day. In 1894 he won the Belgian National Championship 100 metres race. He features on a gravestone at Cleckheaton New Cemetery)

JEWISON, Christopher (1786-1870)
Publication: Dewsbury Chronicle - Saturday 12 Mar 1870
Our obituary today announces the death of Mr. Christopher Jewison, the coroner for the district of the West Riding in which Heckmondwike, Cleckheaton, Liversedge and a large portion of the Dewsbury district was situated.
He had attained the age of 84 years, and had filled the office of coroner for 53 years. He was highly respected for his private and public virtues.
He was remarkably careful and painstaking in the discharge of his official duties - painfully so, sometimes, when the cause of injury was trivial or notorious: but he would see for himself the evidence upon which the verdict of the jury must rest, and therefore he conscientiously resisted the demands of impatient jurymen, and sorrowing friends who for different reasons wished to bring the inquiry to a speedy end, and patiently listened to all the witnesses that offered. He then summed up with great care and minuteness, and generally directed the jury to the right conclusion.
He was one of the oldest coroners in England.

LAW, Alfred (1832-1908)
Publication: Shipley Times and Express - Friday 6 November 1908
The death took place yesterday (Thursday), in his 77th year, of Mr Alfred Law, of the Grange, Cleckheaton, eldest surviving partner in the firm of Messrs. Samuel Law and Sons, Ltd., card makers, Moorland Mills, Cleckheaton. He was the oldest magistrate in the town, and formerly took a very active part in public affairs.
For ten years he served on the old Local Board, and was associated with the purchase of the gasworks of the town - an undertaking that has turned out a most profitable public investment. He also served for several years on the North Bierley Board of Guardians, was one of the founders and second president of the Cleckheaton Chamber of Commerce, was also chairman of the Liberal Association and the Liberal Club Building Co., and one of the leading representatives on the Liberal Executive for the Spen Valley. He leaves two daughters.
(had twin sons who died in infancy. His two surviving daughters both married John Gunn Mowat who also features on this page. He features on a gravestone at Whitechapel church)

LAW, Fred (1863-1904)
Publication: Bradford Daily Telegraph - Friday 4 March 1904
At noon today, a telegram was received at Cleckheaton announcing the death at Moscow, of Mr Fred Law, son of Mr Joseph Law, of Messrs. Samuel Law and Sons, Limited, card makers of Cleckheaton, and the only male descendant of the three brothers at the head of the firm. Death is attributed to a sudden attack of pneumonia.
For some years he has travelled much for the firm on the Continent, and especially in Russia. He was very popular in Cleckheaton. He was one of the founders of the Cleckheaton Company of Volunteers, and succeeded Mr Mowat in the captaincy, but resigned a short time after.
He was President of the Cleckheaton Cricket and Bowling Club, and very generous in support of this and other local institutions. He married Miss Marie Hunter, of Bedale, who only survived the marriage a few years, and there are no children.
(buried at Whitechapel where he is also remembered on a monument there)

LAW, Henry (1836-1892)
Publication: Leeds Mercury - Wednesday 28 December 1892
The death of Mr Henry Law, of Cleckheaton, is announced. This gentleman, a member of the firm of Messrs. Samuel Law and Sons Limited, Moorland Mills, Cleckheaton, card makers, died on Monday evening at his residence, Stanley Villa, after a protracted and sever affliction.
Mr Law at the time of his death was a member of the Local Board and devoted considerable time in the furtherance of the Town Hall scheme, to the funds of which he contributed generously. For several months he had been confined to his home.
The deceased gentleman was an energetic man of business, and was much attached to any movement having for its object the advancement of his native town. He was a generous supporter of the United Methodist Free Church (Central Chapel).
He leaves a widow, but no family. Aged 56 years. The funeral is fixed for tomorrow forenoon at the Old White Chapel. The flag at the Town Hall yesterday was placed at half-mast.
(buried at Whitechapel where he is also remembered on a monument there)

LEATHER, Charles Walter Ikin (1873-1939)
Publication: Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer - Friday 8 September 1939
Mr Charles Walter Leather who has died at Ilkley, resided for many years at Goodwood, Middleton, Ilkley. He was the eldest son of the late Mr J H Leather of Cleckheaton and Minehead (Somerset).
For over 40 years Mr Leather was connected with P and C Garnett Ltd., textile machinery makers, Wharfe Works, Cleckheaton, a firm specialising in all sorts of waste opening machinery. He was chairman and managing director for nearly 30 years. During his connection with the firm Messrs Garnett instituted a scheme of profit sharing, which was one of the earliest schemes in the country. This has now been in operation for 35 years and considerable sums of money are paid out each year to the employees. Mr Leather was also chairman of William Bywater ltd., of Leeds.
During the last war he was a very active member of the committee responsible for the Ministry of Munitions factory in Shipley. At the beginning of 1919 he was appointed by the Government a member of the small commission which went out to Northern France to report on the condition of the mills in that area and to ascertain damage done by the Germans.
He was recognised as an authority on machinery dealing with all descriptions of waste materials. He was a member of Bradford Wool Exchange for more than 40 years, being well known to a large circle in the textile trade. He was also actively associated with the work of the Wool Research Association at Torridon and at Bradford Technical School, and he wrote frequently on textile and economic questions. For a number of years he was a member of the committee of the Ilkley Golf Club.
Mr Leather leaves a widow, who is a daughter of the late Sir Charles Scarth, of Morley; two sons Mr C I and Mr R W Leather, who are associated with P and C Garnett Ltd., and one daughter, Mrs J Scott of Boston Spa. The funeral takes place this morning at Ilkley Parish Church.

LUMB, Nathan (1793-1886)
Publication: Dewsbury Chronicle - Saturday 11 December 1886
Nathan Lumb of Woodlands, Oakenshaw, locally known as the "Oakenshaw Patriarch," died on Tuesday afternoon at the advanced age of ninety-three years. Deceased enjoyed remarkably good health almost up to the time of his death, and being in possession of all his faculties, had been in the habit of regularly patrolling the district, attended generally by an octogenarian friend.
He was naturally a well-known character in the district, for which there are reasons other than that of his ripe old age. Although he worked some time as a miner and as a quarryman, his life's vocation was that of a hand loom weaver. In the small cottage at Oakenshaw - which he occupied for sixty nine years - he had as many as five looms in operation, and employed as many hands.
For nearly twenty years he worked for Messrs. Akroyd of Halifax, carrying his materials and finished pieces from and to Low Moor Station. Latterly he wove flannel for Mr John Gill, of Cleckheaton, conveying the warps, wefts and pieces to and fro in a barrow.
Several years ago he put aside his shuttle and ceased to work his looms, and his landlord, Mr George Butler, with commendable generosity, told him that he had paid rent long enough, and that he might live in the house till the end of his days without further payment.
His wife died four years ago, at the age of eighty-five years. He attended a funeral on Saturday and it is thought that the illness which has proved fatal was occasioned through riding in a cab.

MOWAT, Sir John Gunn (1859-1935)
Publication: Yorkshire Evening Post - Tuesday 1 January 1935
The death took place today at the age of 75, of Sir John Gunn Mowat, Bart., J.P., of Kenmore, Cleckheaton. Sir John, who was well-known for his benefactions to West Riding institutions had been in indifferent health for nearly a year.
Two months ago he was so much better that he could attend to business affairs for a short time and on Christmas Day attended a family reunion at the residence  of his son, Lieutenant Col. A. L. Mowat, of Oldfield Nook, Scholes.
In addition to his large benefactions to the Bradford Infirmary and the University of Leeds, Sir John quietly helped a great number of deserving institutions. His crowning gift so far as Spenborough is concerned was the splendidly equipped free library opposite his residence in Whitcliffe. It is said on good authority, although Sir John would never let the extent of his monetary gifts be made public, the library alone represented a gift of between £20,000 and £25,000.
A native of Glasgow, Mr Mowat, as he then was, came to Cleckheaton as a young man and became associated with the card making firm of Messrs. S. Law and Sons, Moorland Mills, of which he later became chairman of directors. He was also connected with the firm in its larger association with the English Card Clothing Co.
He founded and was the first commanding officer of the old Cleckheaton Volunteer Company, and entered into every form of useful and beneficent activity over a very wide area.
Sir John was chairman of the West Riding bench of magistrates at Bradford, and was identified in an official position with many spheres of public life in the Spenborough district and further afield.
Lieut. Col. A. L. Mowat, who succeeds to the baronetcy, which was created in June 1932, is president of the Spen Valley Liberal Association, and takes a great part in public and other works, especially on behalf of ex-servicemen. Miss Marcia Mowat is one of the most active of Yorkshire Girl Guide officials.
(prior to moving to Cleckheaton, John Gunn Mowat was a keen rugby player and received two caps playing for the Scotland international team. His first marriage was to Mary Jane Law, daughter of Alfred Law, who also features on this page. After Mary Jane died, he then married her sister Lucy Ann Law in 1912. He and his family feature on a gravestone at Cleckheaton New Cemetery)

PATCHETT, Malcolm Sewell (1911-1937)
Publication: Bradford Observer - Saturday 1 May 1937
Rugby Union footballers all over the West Riding will regret to learn of the death, in the Duke of York Nursing Home, Bradford, of Mr Malcolm Patchett (25), only son of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Patchett of Quinton Hill, Cleckheaton.
From boyhood he had played for the Cleckheaton Rugby Club. He had won a "flying" scholarship at the Sherburn Aerodrome and he had taken part in amateur dramatic and operatic performances.
Mr Patchett, sen., is secretary of the Spen Valley Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Spen Valley Employment Committee and headmaster of the South Parade modern school.

PHELON, Joah Carver (1859-1928)
Publication: Leeds Mercury - Tuesday 27 November 1928
Pioneer of Motor Cycles: Mr Joseph C Phelon, of Westfield Road, Cleckheaton, whose death was announced this morning, at the age of 69 years, was of such a reserved nature that few of the present generation living in the district realised the romance of industry that surrounded his achievements.
During his spare time as an engineer, in a modest workshop at Moorend, Mr Phelon evolved and developed what is claimed to be the first British motorcycle.
His early struggles were akin to those of many pioneers - innumerable difficulties to overcome and no little amount of ridicule to bear.
It was in 1900 that Mr Phelon, after considerable experiments over a long period, built a motorcar, the engine of which had a single cylinder, with a bore of approximately three inches, and a stroke of three and a half inches, it's capacity being about 3.5 HP. Electric ignition was employed.
It was a breach of the regulations at that period to travel in such a machine on the highway, but setting out at midnight, with the authorities "showing the blind eye," Mr Phelon appeared to be making an auspicious start until he had a violent collision with a wall!
That brief but eventful trial had taught Mr Phelon many things, and in 1901 he had constructed the first British motorcycle, on which he travelled hundreds of miles, including a visit to Coventry, where his arrival caused a mild sensation.
The engine of his machine, not being equipped with any system of lubrication, Mr Phelon had to carry a supply of oil in a medicine bottle, together with a measuring device. Every twenty miles or so it was necessary to dismount and inject a dose of oil into the crank case.
It was in 1904 that Mr Richard Moore entered into partnership with Mr Phelon, and this started the now well-known firm of "P and M." Their total capital was only £250.
(features on a gravestone at Cleckheaton New Cemetery)