September 2010

Your letters

Outdoor Adventures

Following up the editor’s advice to visit the Yorkshire Film Archive, I viewed the Fell Rescue film.

It used to be shown regularly at Dalesward Bound, an adventure course for young people based at Linton school near Grassington. The week involved rock-climbing, caving, canoeing and a twenty-four-hour camping expedition.

The courses were organised through the Bradford LEA (Jim Averis the PE Advisor) and the Youth Service (Donald Swann). The course Director was David Woodcock.

Donald (Gripper) Robinson, who was the underground leader of the UWFRA, was an instructor along with Geoff Jackson, Alan Asquith, Paul Reinsch, myself and numerous others. Rock climbing specialists who instructed included Ian Clough and Dave Cook
.
Which past students could forget the early morning runs followed by a swim in the Wharfe, or the ‘Initiative Tests’ at Linton Falls?

The films were used after the evening meal to give the students a rest and also to allow the sky to darken ready for the ‘Night Exercises’.

I wonder how many readers had their first experiences of the great outdoors through these courses?

Peter F Wilkinson, Ynys

Our stones are biggest!

In the January issue Kevin Illingworth asked for information on any large flagstones in Yorkshire, as apparently some folk in another county boast that they have the biggest in Britain.

The stone at the top of the entrance steps at St Chad’s Church, Far Headingley, Leeds, measures approx ten foot two inches by nine foot nine inches (3.1m x 3m) – the latter measurement allowing for a few centimetres invisible under the adjoining porch.
So it is larger than the reputed size of the one at Colne Town Hall.

According to a guide to the geology of the church, this flagstone is an example of Elland Flags, a fine-grained flagstone with layers of mica, and it is some 310 million years old.

Unfortunately, it may not remain in one piece for long, as the church council is seeking planning permission to raise the stone by a couple of feet to bring it to the level of the porch, an operation which many of us believe carries serious risks of splitting the stone.

Roger Davis, Leeds

Family Business

I was interested in the article in the June issue about the family of stone masons.

Digging into my father’s past for my family tree, I discovered that the Swales from Harrogate were almost all masons – stonemasons or, in at least one case, monumental stone mason.

It seems that they all lived in Harlow Hill and most of them are buried there. A lady at Harrogate Bereavement Services located them for me and the first I found was 1890, the last 1976.

I often wonder about why this occupation seemed to come to an end in this family.

Mrs M Smith, Shipley

Last post?

In the news recently there was talk
that even more post offices could be closed down.

How can this be when pressure on the existing ones is so great? Elderly people have to wait in long queues as it is in various places.

A few years ago in Reeth, Swaledale, the only bank there was closed, consequently the post office there is the only place for monetary transactions. Post offices are also a vital link to any tourists seeking out information.

Some time ago a Dalesman reader also pointed out that the size of some post boxes outside post offices can be quite small, and I agree.

Sometimes, especially leading up to Christmas, I have seen collection boxes spilling over their contents on to the pavements.

By the way, many people have also asked the question why the stamp machines outside post offices have vanished. They used to be a very handy facility to the public after post office hours.

We are supposed to live in an age when things go forward, not backward.

Bernard Wilkinson, Sheffield

Prouf of ouy Yorkshiremen

I thoroughly enjoyed Carrie-anne Crabtree’s jingoistic article promoting Yorkshire Day.

As a Yorkshireman in exile I am unable to take advantage of the Homeland events but her article spurred me on to dust off and savour again our Yorkshire heritage described in Sir Bernard Ingham’s Yorkshire Greats and Maurice Baren’s How it all began in Yorkshire books.

More personally it was good to be reminded that Joseph Priestley, a fellow Batley Grammar School Old Boy, was responsible for the early development of fizzy drinks, amongst his other scientific and theological achievements.

Also, as a Morley lad, I am proud that such worthies as the comedian Ernie Wise (Wiseman) and the talented cyclist Beryl Burton as well as Prime Minister ‘wait and see’ Asquith were all born within the old Morley Borough (now sadly gobbled up by the Leeds Unitary Authority).

Carrie-anne referred to Prime Minister ‘Henry’ Asquith. Henry was his middle name but Morley folk and most encyclopedias used his first name and referred to him as Herbert Asquith.

Philip Duffin OBE, Horsham

Sunny Vale memories

I was delighted to see that a book has been written about Sunny Vale at Brighouse.

It has many happy memories for me. During the war our Sunday school summer trips to the Dales had to be curtailed due to transport problems.

Instead, we would all pile into a trolley bus from Huddersfield town centre to the terminus at Brighouse. From there we would walk with our teachers and parents to Hipperholme, where the Pleasure Gardens were.

What fun we had on the lake and the rides, which seemed fabulous to us. We took sandwiches for a picnic in the gardens because of rationing. It never seemed to rain on our annual outing.

After the war finished we went back to our annual day out in the Dales on a minibus, usually to Malham Tarn, but that’s another story.

In the early 1950s the outings stopped and so I went back on a trolley bus. Sadly, the gardens were not the same and looked very shabby.

Shortly after that they closed and became derelict.
I shall always remember, though, the brightness they brought into the dark days of the war years and look forward to reading the book.

Mrs Joan Morton, Retford

Grocer's shop goings-on

The article about Roy Goggs’ shop near Huddersfield (July) reminded me of my first job leaving school at fourteen when there were not many jobs apart from in the cotton mills.

That did not appeal to me so I found myself work as an errand boy at a grocer’s shop.

My wage to start with was £1 a week, I also had about the same amount in tips. This was for delivering orders on a ‘Granville’ style shop bike.

The winter of 1946-1947 was exceptionally harsh with deep snow and icy roads – none-the-less I never had any bad crashes.

Two years on I graduated to the ‘back hole’, putting up orders which were then delivered free in a Jowett van. Much of the time was spent weighing up various commodities – sugar, flour, dates, raisins etc – and we even used to bottle vinegar which came in huge barrels.

Butter too came in hundredweight barrels from Denmark. We knocked off the rungs and put the butter onto a plate. This could be a dodgy job in summer when the butter was very slippery.

A while back we visited a flour mill in the New Forest where they were bagging up flour and sealing the bags with sticky tape. I demonstrated how we used to do it with adhesive – the miller was amazed.

The man said he would keep that bag to show the schoolchildren just how it was done in times past.

Francis A Forrest, Earby

Don't lose your hair

Ian McMillan’s excellent article on combovers in the July issue reminded me of something I experienced.

I was playing a kick-about game of football with my grandson Isaac (age ten) and his friend Max. A sudden gust of wind blew my combover down the side of my head.

Max’s quick reaction was for him to shout, “Isaac’s granddad, your hair has fallen off!”

Richard F Sagar

Family Quest

Through your magazine could I please thank all the people who have sent me information re my Family Quest.

I have tried to answer all your emails, but being in a rural area in New Zealand we are only on dial-up connection and this causes a few problems at times.

If I have not answered your emails please forgive me, but be assured that I am very appreciative of your time and efforts.

George Hare

The Dalesman website contains a comprehensive alphabetical section on people searching for their Yorkshire roots. Please click here.

Can you help?

A few months ago I stayed at the wonderful Fox and Hounds Inn at Sinnington near Pickering, and one day I was looking through the window of my room overlooking the High Street when I noticed the following engraved in the most beautiful copper-plate writing on one of the panes: Wm Robinson Jnr Sinnington, 1792. ‘Give me a witty woman in my arms. A witty woman has ten thousand charms’.

I wonder if anyone can throw any light on this little quotation or, indeed, on the writer of it?

The window was original and I was told that the room had been the kitchen when it was a coaching inn. But who was the writer? Obviously someone who could read and write – not too common in those days. It would be fascinating to find out.

Lorna B Young, Sheffield

I travelled through the Yorkshire Dales recently – Hawes, Leyburn, etc – and I noticed that the stone walls are built in a particular way i.e. a few random stones and then a tier of projecting slab-shaped stones, then another few random stones, then another layer of projecting slab-shaped stones.

I have never seen walls like this anywhere else.

Is there a particular reason for this style of construction?

Mrs H Anderson, Ludlow

We welcome readers' letters, which should be sent to:
Dalesman, The Water Mill, Broughton Hall, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 3AG
Or email: paul@dalesman.co.uk

The editor reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity.