In the later years of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th, most employment was provided by the very many local mills.

The loss of two mills in Farnhill at the end of 1905 and early in 1906 had a devastating effect on local people: they no longer had work on their doorstep and had to bicycle or walk to work; some chose to move to other townships.

One of the nearby mills that continued to provide work was Woodrow’s at Junction.

Charles Alexander Hargreaves, known as Alec, left school at the age of 13, in 1906, and – apart from serving abroad during WW1 – was at Woodrow’s Mill for all his working life, a total of 49 years.

Towards the end of this time he wrote a memoir of his period there: A working life at Woodrow’s Mill.

In recent years the local knitting group has produced some wonderful display pieces for the Kildwick Summer Fair – there was a knitted canal in 2016, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal; and a knitted meadow in 2017.

This year, to commemorate the centenary of the end of World War 1, the group produced their most ambitious and architectural piece yet – a “weeping poppies” display, in wool.

Here are some photographs of the magnificent display.

On Friday 13th April 2018 a group of people from the project visited the Bankfield Museum, Halifax, the home of the Duke of Wellington’s Regimental Museum.

Many of the Farnhill WW1 Volunteers served in the Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding) Regiment and we spent about two hours looking at the displays dedicated to the regiment’s history and a special exhibition entitled “For King and Country”, about the First World War, which runs until 22 December 2018.  We were shown round by John Spencer, Curator of Military History, who was kind enough to spend all morning with us.

There was also time afterwards to see other parts of the museum including textile displays and the library, and to take in the historic surroundings of the former Victorian mansion in which it is housed.

A visit, not just for the regimental display but to see the museum as a whole, is highly recommended.

Going by the feedback received afterwards it was a very enjoyable and informative experience.

Feedback & Photographs

Below are some photographs taken during our visit and people’s opinions on the museum and the WW1 displays.  (Note that the views expressed are not necessarily those of the people shown in the photograph next to them.)

The displays were interesting

“The special WW1 display was exceptional.”

“Items were well laid out in easily viewed cases, items hung on walls were at a good height and signage was well written and informative.  It provided a very good overview of the war.”

“Displays were interesting and informative being well laid out and well-lit so easy to see.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were shown round by John Spencer, Curator of Military History (on the right)

“John added tremendous value to the visit.”

“He was knowledgeable, open to questions, acknowledged those areas where his knowledge was imperfect or where our knowledge of a topic might exceed his.”

“What a great curator. So knowledgeable and obviously passionate about history.”

 

 

 

The visit was interesting and informative

“It was interesting to discover more about the history of the Regiment from how it got its name to the conflicts it was involved in.”

“I have visited this museum several times in the past.  The Duke of Wellington’s display area is of particular interest although, until my involvement with our project, I didn’t really appreciate the local connection.”

“Seeing the collections of personal artefacts and uniforms made everything more real, more personal.”

 

There was time for reflection …

“…the tragedy of so many young men losing their lives, often in the most horrendous circumstances…”

“It makes me thankful that most men from our village survived active service but no wonder many chose not to talk about it.”

 

 … and for recommendation

“I would certainly recommend anyone interested in Military history and the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment to visit Bankfield”

“I think it is very likely that I will visit Bankfield museum again.”

“Besides the military history there are other exhibits and the building itself is impressive.”

 

Bankfield Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm.  Admission is free
The WW1 exhibition, “For King and Country”, runs until 22 December 2018.  

The Farnhill WW1 Volunteers project is hosting an illustrated talk by Kath Dowthwaite entitled “A Year in the Life of a Tommy” – at 7pm on July 6th in the Kildwick and Farnhill Institute, Main Street, Farnhill. Admission will be FREE and refreshments will be available.

The talk is based on the 1918 diary of 18 year old Private William Leeming Marsden of the 12th Kings Liverpool Regiment.

After a few months of training in England, William was sent to Northern France where he served in the trenches until the end of the war – returning to England late January 1919. In his pencil-written diary, William gives graphic details of what life was like for a teenager in the trenches.

Hope you can join us !

Sometimes it is the smallest pieces of trivia that bring the lives of the people we are researching into sharp focus.

The project has recently been put in contact with the daughter of Farnhill WW1 Volunteer Thomas Edward Sugden.  She was able to confirm key pieces of our research — that her mother divorced Sugden, remarried, and then emigrated with her children and her second husband to Canada in 1947.

She has loaned us this photograph of Carl and Marjorie Walker (formerly Sugden), taken in the early 1950s at their home in British Columbia.

We’ve even been told the name of the dog — Corby !  He was the family’s first pet in Canada and, typically for a Labrador, he seems to be taking things easy.