Goole Volunteer firemen

At long last the weather is improving and I have been able to cut the grass. I have a very old ride on mower and it is a challenge to steer it around the still green snowdrop leaves and the daffodils. But it is amazing how quickly everything is growing and I know that if  I do not cut the cow parsley now it will soon be waist high. Flowers that I am very pleased to see are my few fritillaries and cowslips. They are spreading very slowly.

On the history front we went to the York postcard fair and bought some lovely cards of Laxton, Saltmarshe, Newport and Gilberdyke which will eventually appear on the old photo section of my website. I am so far behind with updating the photo section that it is always best to ask what I have.

The fair did not seem as busy as previous years - and this year we remembered to take our own sandwiches instead of buying the very expensive ones at the venue.

I have recently been searching the Goole Times archives [ I am now their custodian] for various people who want copies of articles.  I bought a small portable scanner so that I can scan from the files without damaging them.

There are some excellent old photos reproduced in the early 1960s which I am fascinated by. The picture below shows the Goole volunteer fire  brigade. Although of course the pictures are a bit grainy they are quite clear enough to identify faces.

Goole volunteer firemen

Old photos of Howden

It is  the first day of Advent and the sun is shining brightly. Molly and I have been for a long walk and tramped our way through drifts of fallen leaves. Molly enjoys chasing after the squirrels but she is far too slow to get anywhere near them.  I then tidied up the yard, trimming off some of the dead foliage and emptying hanging baskets.

Earlier in the week I planted some daffodil and crocus bulbs where an old wooden shed stood. I thought the crocus bulbs might have more chance nearer the house as all those I have ever planted elsewhere in the garden have not survived the squirrels. Perhaps I should encourage Molly to run faster!

This has been a good week for Howden. In a previous blog post I mentioned that my friend Ken Deacon and the Howden Civic Society had put in a bid for funding for an R100 airship trail in the town. Well this Tuesday was voting day and Howden won. So the next step is to have the plaques cast so they can be embedded in the pavement.

Yesterday I took into Chappelows' paper shop in the town some mounted photos of local views to sell. Howden  has a fascinating history and is very picturesque. I hope that both local people and tourists might like a souvenir of the town and, as not everyone wants to buy everything from the internet, this is an opportunity for me to showcase and share some of my old pictures.

I am looking forward to the Howden Late Night Opening on Thursday 5th December. There is always a real Christmas atmosphere and this year I do not think that snow ploughs will be needed to clear the Market Place as happened a couple of years ago.

Goole Times - Back in Time

Readers of the Goole Times may have noticed that I have begun contributing to the newspaper's very interesting 'Back in Time' pages. These weekly pages feature articles and photographs from readers who have memories and information about the history of Goole and the wider area.

I have recently written an article in the newspaper about the great number of young goslings which were imported through Goole, arriving in crates on the decks of such ships as the SS Wharfe.

I have also contributed some of my old photographs to the 'Back in Time' pages. Many of these pictures did originally appear in the Goole Times but they have no identification on the back with regard to year or occasion.

I am putting small versions of the published pictures here on my blog. If you are interested in purchasing copies as either prints or digital images do visit my website - Howdenshire History - and fill in the contact form.

Goole Traders fancy dress

Children from Boothferry Road school with Goole's Christmas tree

Geese grazing on Victoria Street in Goole, now the site of the telephone exchange

Last night in the Steam Packet 4th March 1967 before it was demolished. Landlord Ken Rose

SS Wharfe of Goole

SS Mersey of Goole

I am writing this on the morning of 11th November, Remembrance Day and thought it would be right to include here a memorial to some of the many servicemen and women, including those who served in the Merchant Navy.

Captain William Rockett, lost on the sinking of the SS Mersey

Shown above is Captain William Rockett who was lost when the SS Mersey sank on 20th April 1940. It was believed that she had hit a mine.

The report in the Hull Mail of 22nd April 1940 follows:

'Goole Steamer Mined with Loss of 14

THREE OF SIX SURVIVORS IN HOSPITAL

GOOLE'S biggest shipping disaster since the outbreak of war occurred on Saturday, when the 1,037-ton collier Mersey sank off the south-east coast following an explosion, and 14 of her crew of 20 were lost. It is believed that she struck a mine.

The ship was only a few miles from the shore at the time of the explosion, and it sank within a few minutes. A man walking on the cliffs at the time said: "I was looking out to sea, and there was suddenly terrific explosion. A column of water shot into the air. The ship I had been looking at a few minutes before had disappeared."

With the exception of two, who came from Hull and Bridlington, all the crew belonged to Goole. The missing men included the master, Captain W. Rockett, of 81, Adeline-street, Goole. The other members of the crew were:

Second Officer, J. A. Vickers, 717, Anlaby-road, Hull

Steward, T. W. Garner, Lime Tree-avenue, Goole

T. Nicholls, A.B., Edinburgh-street, Goole

C. E. Riggall, A.B., Gordon-street, Goole

F. Vaux, A.B., Cottingham-street Goole

T. Wilson, A.B., Estcourt-street, Goole

J. P. Leddy, A.B., Promenade, Bridlington

F. Overington, A.B., Burlington-crescent, Goole

T. Nicholls, A.B., Edinburgh-street, Goole

E. Barker, Deck boy, Chiltern-road, Goole

F. Huntington, fireman, Percy-street, Goole

H. Walton, fireman, Western-road, Goole

H. Ducheman, fireman, Gordon-street, Goole

E. W. Cox, fireman, Prospect terrace, Goole

S. E. Clark, fireman, Bell-lane, Rawcliffe

R. W. Taun, fireman, Cross Gordon-street, Goole

The survivors are:

Chief Officer, J. A. Carr, Rutland-road, Goole

Chief Engineer, W. L. Pollock, Eton-road, Goole

Second Engineer, J. A. Drury, Brough-street, Goole

F. Vaux, A.B., Cottingham-street, Goole

T. Wilson, A.B., Estcourt-street, Goole

Vickers died of his wounds after being landed. Three survivors, Drury, Vaux and Ash, were injured and are in hospital at the port where they were landed. The other three, Carr, Pollock, and Wilson, were unhurt, and returned to Goole in the early hours of Sunday.

MINED AND TORPEDOED IN LAST WAR 

Seen by a "Mail" representative, the men would make no statement beyond saying that they had had shocking experience. 

The SS Mersey, owned by the Goole Steam Shipping (L.M.S.R.) Co., served throughout the last war as a cable ship. The last ship to be lost by the company was the SS Calder, which foundered on a voyage from Hamburg to Goole on April 19 1931, nine years ago almost to the day. 

Captain Rockett, who was 47 years of age, entered the service of the company as a chief officer in 1924, and had occasional temporary commands until 1929, when he became a permanent master. He was one of the company's youngest captains, and had been in command of the Mersey for about 12 months. 

During the last war he was both mined and torpedoed. 

Two years ago his 19 year old son, Jack Rockett, was killed by falling from the mast of a ship in port at Cartagena, Spain, while adjusting the wireless aerial. 

NEARLY ALL MARRIED 

Captain Rockett was a Younger Brother of Trinity House, and a member of the Goole (Aire and Calder) Lodge of Freemasons. He leaves a wife, two sons, and two daughters. 

Garner, the steward, was a married man with four children, and most of the other missing men were married with families. Riggall was injured when the Goole trader Lowland was mined in the early days of the war, and this trip on the Mersey was his first since coming out of hospital. 

Able Seaman Joseph P. Leddy, of tbe Promenade, Bridlington, was making his first trip for 12 years. A married man with one child, he had lived at Bridlington for about eight years. He was 37 years of age and the son of the late Mr P. M. Leddy, who was senior clerk to the Customs at Goole during the early part of the last war. For some time before joining the merchant service Leddy had been unemployed. His mother, Mrs Leddy, lives at Priory-crescent, Bridlington. '

William Pollock was sadly lost in another incident in 1941

SS Mersey of Goole

Goole family history day and new Howden book

Just a reminder that there is a family history day in Goole library on Saturday 3rd November from 10am to 4pm. I shall be there, as will the Boothferry History group, the Goole First World War research group, the Marshland history Group and, I think, the Isle of Axholme family history society.

We all have lots of indexes and information and will try to help anyone who needs help with their family history.

I am relieved this week to have taken my new book on Howden to the printers. I hope to have it on sale by mid November.

In 1994 I wrote a book on the history of Howden [ Howden an East Riding Market Town] with my fellow local historian Ken Powls. This book told the story of Howden from its earliest beginnings to 1900. It has long been out of print and so I decided to continue the story into the twentieth century.

This new book is a pictorial history of the town and contains 88 pages of old photographs as well as a detailed text describing how Howden developed from late Victorian times.

I have been lucky to talk to many local people who have both loaned me pictures and shared their memories.

Now I can perhaps spend a bit of time in the garden before it gets too cold. The leaves are coming down fast and our lawn is a beautiful orange carpet. There are far too many to collect and so I shall just enjoy looking at them.

Front cover of new history book about Howden

Beverley local history book fair

It has been a busy week for local history. On Wednesday I attended the Howden Civic Society awards evening. The room was full as Mike Smith presented Tom Asquith awards to Howden Junior school pupils who had made superb pencil drawings of Howden's heritage.

The head teacher of the school then explained to us how the school was celebrating its  centenary in  2013 - previously I had always believed the date to be 1912, but this was when the school was being built and it did not open until April 7th 2013. She asked for our help to gather photos and memories for an exhibition. Can you help? Please do get in touch if you can.

On Friday I gave a presentation at Newport Wesleyan chapel to celebrate its opening in May 1812. I began by playing the 1812 overture and explaining how Europe was at war whilst in Newport they were peacefully opening their new and impressive chapel. I showed pictures of many of the 48 villages who had had grazing rights on the old Wallingfen Common before it was drained and the settlement which became Newport grew up where the road crossed the new canal.

I always enjoy giving talks at such community events as the atmosphere is so friendly and I often learn a lot from listening to the audience.

Don't forget that October 20th 2012 is the local and family history book fair at Beverley in the Treasure House. I shall be there with the Gilberdyke Local History stall. If you are coming and have any particular photograph requests then please do let me know in advance (you can contact me through my website) and I can have a look for you:

howdenshirehistory.co.uk

I have hundreds of old photos of the East Yorkshire, Howdenshire and Goole areas - most of which haven't made it onto my website so do ask. There will also be our Gilberdyke Remembered book on sale and my books on Eastrington and Goole.

Do come and say hello.

Men and tractors

I write a regular article in the monthly magazine Howden Matters. This usually consists of an old picture and a long caption describing the scene or people shown. Sometimes I get feedback, particularly where I have been unsure of names and by far the most popular recently has been a picture entitled simply "Men and Tractors".

I thought I would reproduce the photo here as I now have been given more information about it including the names of the men [do let me know if you think I have got it wrong!] and where the picture was taken. If you double click on the picture you should get a larger image which you can download and print.

The event was an open ploughing match held by the Goole Young Farmers in a field on Rawcliffe Road lent by Mr N G Silvester. The event was won by R A Backhouse. Date not yet known.

 Left to right:  Roger Thompson, Geoff Tune from Hensall, John Sykes, Bob   Backhouse, Geoff Tindall, Norman  Webster, Alma Wilson, Willie  Saville,  Roland Backhouse,  Robert Chantry,  Claude Brignall, Ken Tattershall , unknown,  William Bayston.               

Wressle visit

Members and friends of my WEA local history classes visited Wressle this week. We met at the brick church, built in 1799  to replace the chapel within the castle which had been destroyed by fire in 1796.

We then went on to visit Wressle Castle which is very visible from the Howden/ Selby rail line. What remains of the Percy family's magnificent castle however is now only a fraction of the original. It is on private property and our visit was specially arranged with the owners.

What remains is the south range which contained the hall and lord's tower. The rest was demolished in the mid-seventeenth century on the orders of parliament in case the Royalists occupied it. This was despite the fact that the Percy family were then supporters of Parliament.

The south range survived and was occupied as a farm house until it was destroyed by a fire. We walked around the outside first and I had a good audience of both people and cattle as I talked about the castle.

We then looked inside the castle which is open to the elements - no floors or windows are left and the stonework is badly cracked. But it was still possible to imagine what it had been like when there were over 200 servants and Henry VII visited.

We then enjoyed tea and scones at the farmhouse and were lucky enough to avoid this week's rain.

Wressle Castle around 1905

Not much to say about the rain except that I wish it would stop. Yesterday was a deluge and my garden pond which takes the water from the house roof is over its banks and overflowing into the woodland. Molly has enjoyed jumping in and swimming in it, coming out covered with duckweed.

Samuel Shirtcliffe/Shetliffe

Well, I did go to Eastrington show yesterday but as the field was so wet the horse and cattle classes had been cancelled. It was not actually raining when I was there and there was a good entry in the handicraft section in the village hall but it must have been disappointing for the organisers who had put so much work in.

On a completely different topic I have been contacted by David Shetliffe from Australia whose ancestors came from Goole. He is hoping to visit Goole later this year and would be delighted to meet any relatives. He has sent me details of his ancestor Samuel Shirtcliffe/ Shetliffe which have been passed down through the family and is happy for them to appear on my blog in the hope that he can find some Yorkshire relatives!

Samuel was born on 29th September 1816, one of five children of Thomas Shirtcliffe (the 'e' on the end of the name comes and goes) and Grace Clayton. Thomas was originally from Deptford in Kent and Grace was from Cowick.

Samuel married Ellen Rimmington at Snaith on July 14th 1838. Samuel was a seaman and  on one occasion brought his wife Ellen a silk shawl home from China in 1840 after a voyage on the Alexander Baring. He afterwards captained local vessels Bessie and Margaret and Sarah. 

Samuel and Ellen's first son, another Samuel, was born in 1846. In 1848 Samuel and the Margaret and Sarah were caught in a terrible storm in the North Sea and afterwards Samuel decided to stay nearer home and worked as a river pilot.

Their second son Joseph was born on December 1848 at Selby. The following year in September 25th 1849 the family sailed on the barque the Douglas for Australia and arrived at Port Adelaide on January 11th 1850. They then travelled by bullock dray to Burra Burra where Samuel worked in the copper mines. In February 1852 they moved to Goolwa where Samuel had heard news of shipping developments. Initially they lived in a tent.

Samuel worked for a time building the horse drawn railway between Goolwa and Port Elliott. Around this time the Shirtcliffe name began to be written as Shetliff[e] as this was in line with the way that it was pronounced by Samuel's workmates.

On March 6th 1854 Samuel and Ellen's daughter Amelia was born, the first white girl born in Goolwa.

Samuel put his shipping background to good use and went into business building ships, particularly paddle steamers which sailed along the River Murray. One wonders if he ever returned to Goole to get a few ideas!

If you can trace your ancestry back to the Shirtcliffes and Rimmingtons David would like to know. We do know that there is a connection with the Goole Hopley family. Robert Hopley married Mary Rimmington in 1827 at Hook.

Ellen Shirtcliffe

Samuel Shirtcliffe

Samuel [jnr] and Joseph Shirtcliffe/Shetliffe

Henry Bell Thorp, Goole architect

Members of the Goole Civic Society have recently been compiling a list of 'local heritage assets' - buildings which are an important part of the town's heritage and which planners  should therefore be aware of.

It became clear that several of these buildings were designed by Henry Bell Thorp, a local architect. So far we have found that he designed Bank Chambers (now the council offices) opened in 1892; the Clifton Gardens Methodist schoolroom [1890] and the adjacent Trinity Methodist church [1898] as well as the new Half Moon in Howden (now the Co-op shop) in 1890. I am sure that further research will add more buildings to this list. However no-one seemed to know much about Mr Thorp.

As I have  a lifelong interest in, and have written about, the Eastrington and Portington area I wondered whether there was a connection with Henry Bell of Portington Hall (see my recently published Eastrington history book).

After some research I found that there was.


Henry Bell of Portington [1729- 1816] was a landowner and farmer, lord of the manor of Portington and a friend and supporter of John Wesley. He and his wife, the former Mary Guy, had three sons and a daughter. Their eldest son Henry [1768- 1839] married Eleanor Wade and they had at least nine children.

One of their daughters, Maria [born 1800], married Robert Thorp at Eastrington in 1820. The couple lived at [Monken] Hadley in Middlesex (now part of Greater London) where their children were born. Their eldest son was Robert Hayton Thorp [b 1821], followed by Ellen Maria [1824], Henry Bell [1826] and Mary Ann [1828]. Both daughters died young - Mary Ann in 1843 aged 14 and Ellen aged 20 in 1844 and are commemorated in Eastrington church.

Robert also died and in 1841 Maria had married again to James Adcock, a linen draper. They lived in Wellingborough and their daughter Ellen Bell Adcock was born in 1844. Presumably she was named Ellen in memory of her sister.

By 1851 James too had died and Maria and Ellen were living at Temple Hirst with Maria's eldest son Robert, where he was farming. Robert's brother Henry Bell Thorp was living in York with his aunt and uncle.

Maria's younger sister Helen had married William Leak from Goole, a draper. Later uncle and nephew went into partnership as well known York drapers Leak and Thorp.

Meanwhile Robert married Ellen Acroyd in 1853. They had six children including another Henry Bell Thorp who was born in 1861 at Temple Hirst.

By 1881 the 20 year old Henry Bell Thorp described himself as an architect and was  lodging in London. I can find nothing about his training.

Although we know that he was designing local buildings by 1890/91, he also found time to make a trip to Canada. On 26th August 1891 at Toronto he married Emily Georgina  Hanning. They arrived in England aboard The Etruria on 12th September, having made the passage from New York to Liverpool.

Their son Henry Guy Hanning Thorp was born in 1895 at Goole. It is possible that he was born in a house in Clifton Gardens as it is known that Mr Thorp owned much of the land there.

The rest of Henry Bell Thorp's family had moved to Moorfields Farm on Goole Fields in the 1880s. His father died in 1890 and his mother in 1908 at Clifton Gardens.

His brother Robert Hayton Thorp lived at Willerby and another brother, Robert Justis Thorp, emigrated to Canada and lived at Telkwa in British Columbia.

Mrs Emily Georgina Thorp died in 1911 at Belle Vue House Doncaster. Henry Guy Hanning Thorp attended Haileybury School and was killed in France in 1915 whilst serving as a second lieutenant with 3rd battalion KOYLI. He was 19.

I believe Henry Bell Thorp died in 1953 but as yet have found no further details of his life.

If anyone can add further details to this account I would be pleased to include more about Henry Bell Thorp, who provided Goole with some of its impressive Victorian buildings.

Bank Chambers, Goole. Now East Riding Council offices.

Goole Old Boys rugby

I recently saw in the Goole Times a picture of a Goole Old Boys rugby team but unfortunately no names were given.

I immediately recognised it as I have a copy of the same picture. It was loaned to me by Ernest Butler, former editor of the Goole Times, who is one of the team members and who, before his death, was able not only to identify most of the team members but also to remember the exact occasion the picture was taken. Here is the picture with caption.

Pictured at the Victoria Pleasure Ground are the winning members of the Goole Old Boys team of 1932/3 who beat a Hull University team 19 points to 18 in February 1933.

From the left, Back row: Ken Powls, Tommy Waterland, Bill Bateman, Sherwood.

Next row down : H J Olphin [history master], Greensitt, Ron Boddy, Fred Cooke, unknown, White, Dick Flower.

Third row down: Ernest Butler, Ron Houghton [captain], Ted Willmott.

Front: Roy Charlesworth, Fred Amery, Bill Flower.

If anyone can add any further information about the team members I would be pleased to  add it in here.
For example those who are interested in Howden's history will be pleased to see local historian Ken Powls on the back row. Ken is still an enthusiastic writer of pieces about the history of the town.

Family history day

I spent yesterday at the family history day at Goole Waterways Museum. Sadly we did not have many visitors. Some people, who had come for a boat ride round the docks, wandered around the stalls but, along with the Boothferry History group, the Isle of Axholme family history group and the Marshland history group, I was in a room down a short corridor and so few general visitors  found us.

This, we all felt, was a pity as there was a lot of information on display and we were all there keen to help family historians but there had not been much publicity for the event and I do not think local people knew it was taking place.

Those of us manning the stalls in the main already knew each other and so we had some pleasant conversation but looking out at the sunshine I felt I might have been more profitably been doing some gardening!!

I had my new DVDs on display - 5 compilations of Goole pictures [ about 30 on each disc] covering the shipyard and launches, ships visiting Goole, the docks, the railways and the town. I shall be putting more information about them on my website.

Below is  one of the more 'modern' pictures from the ship disc showing the paddle steamer Lincoln Castle visiting Goole in, I think, 1976. I remember going on the trip and looking at the engines as they thudded their way along the Ouse.

Lincoln Castle visiting Goole

Goole boxing pictures

I was contacted by a friend who had read my previous post about the Smithson family of Goole. She was particularly interested in the fact that at least two of the family were well-known boxers and has sent two pictures of Sam Smithson.

She has also sent me some  other pictures of local boxers which were taken by Goole photographers but as yet we do not know who they all are. The only other Goole boxer I have any knowledge of was called Joe Carroll  but I would not know whether he is pictured here.

Tommy Gilchrist on the right and officials

Goole boxer

Another Goole boxer

Sam Smithson

Lance Corporal Eric Lawton KOYLI

Sam Smithson and man in suit

 If you can help identify any of these men do please get in touch.

Old postcards

This weekend I visited a postcard fair at York racecourse. There must have been thousands of old postcards to look through and it was sometimes quite difficult to find which boxes to search. Goole, for example, is now in the East Riding of Yorkshire but for most of its existence it was in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Some stallholders put all Yorkshire postcards together and I now feel an expert on pictures of obscure North and West Yorkshire villages.

But I managed to find and buy some nice pictures of Howden, Bubwith, Blacktoft and Snaith. I was particularly pleased with an advertising card from Joshua Barrett who moved to Snaith in the 1890s. He sold embrocations and tonics under the name of Mandrake and his house is still known as Mandrake House. His trade mark was a strange amalgam of man and drake, the man supposedly being Joshua himself.

Of course, Mandrake root has long had associations with fertility and witchcraft and JK Rowling in her Harry Potter books makes use of the belief that the root screams as it is dug up.

Joshua was a farmer's son from Bluntisham near St Ives who had formerly lived in London. One wonders why he settled at Snaith.

[The motto beneath the Mandrake logo is a Latin phrase which translates as "Life is more than merely staying alive".]

Goole Grammar school 1909-1959

I have been reading my copy of  the Goole Grammar school booklet which was produced in 1959 to celebrate the fifty years of the school's life from 1909.

It is a fascinating read with recollections from both old pupils and staff. Some of the  old pupil contributors were Beatrice Hopley [pupil from1909-1913], Eric Arnold [1909- 13], Frank Schofield [1909-14] Annie Maud [1909-14], T H Hewson [1912-17], J E Jenkinson [1921-27], George Fish[ 1920-4] and Arnold Dufton[1943-47].

The former headmasters and staff also write and without exception they have fond memories of the school. I suppose the school memories page on www.goole-on-the-web.org.uk/ now provides a similar function.

The booklet includes pictures of early hockey and rugby teams wearing, particularly in the case of the girls, some very cumbersome outfits. And I thought the square-necked blouse with my name embroidered across it in large blue [for Norman house] letters was bad enough.

I gave a talk on Tuesday to the Selby Family History society about how to present your family tree. It was, I thought, a well-planned Powerpoint presentation with various shapes of tree and ways of writing up one's family history.

Unfortunately the cable which should have linked my laptop to the society's projector was faulty and I had to give the talk without any slides at all. Perhaps we rely too much on computers these days. But I think the question and answer session on family research which I resorted to [have you ever tried to give a slide show without slides?] went quite well.

J L Latimer, headmaster of GGS when I began as a new pupil.

Holiday cottages at Saltmarshe near Howden

Last night I was the speaker at the Laxton WI and had a very enjoyable time. The meeting was thrown open to any interested villagers and around 50 attended. I had gathered together around 150 old pictures of Laxton, Saltmarshe, Sandhall and Skelton and put them together into a Powerpoint presentation.

There was a mixture of scenery and familiar faces but of course the most popular were the old school pictures. The noise rose to a crescendo as those who were infants in 1955 saw themselves in short trousers or corduroy pinafores.

Afterwards we all ate butterfly buns and fruit loaf and cheese [the latter a traditional Yorkshire pairing]  and drank cups of tea.

I was talking to my neighbour who has two holiday cottages and provides bed and breakfast on the family farm. In fact she was a few minutes late as she was settling in some guests.

I met some  of her American guests last year who combined a UK holiday with researching their family history. It is only a short walk along the riverbank to where I live and I was able to find them some information on their family from my resources as well as suggesting what they should look for in the archives at Beverley and York.

I have added a link to Appletree Cottages and can recommend them to anyone wanting a peaceful break with stunning views of the River Ouse.

Here is a picture of the village shop in Front Street, Laxton which I showed last night.

Goole around 1900

Amongst my collection of old photos are several which were taken from around 1900 - 1903 by members of the Wadsworth family.

These small snapshots show the visits of Barnum and Bailey's and Sangers' circuses to Goole as well as processions to celebrate Mafeking Day and some of the Snaith Commando.

I am making digital copies of them and repairing some of the scratches and creases. But they are lovely pictures as they show the people of Goole in an informal way.

Here is a picture of Boothferry Road on Whit Monday 1901. I wonder what happened to these two little boys.

Laxton history

I have been looking at the history of Laxton [Yorkshire] in preparation for giving a talk to the local WI in February. On the internet it is often confused with Laxton in Nottinghamshire where strip farming survives.

Our Laxton is agricultural but the fields are large and arable and very flat. Until the death of the last Philip Saltmarshe of nearby Saltmarshe much of the village was owned by the Saltmarshe estate and still within living memory villagers had to tip their hat to the 'squire'.

The village has a church, a village hall [the Victory Hall], a pub and a garage but no longer has a shop and post office and sadly too there is no longer the village blacksmith.

Herbert Martin was the last smith and I can remember him shoeing a horse in the road. He also made gates, weather vanes and other ornamental ironwork as well as repairing farm machinery.

His blacksmith's shop, outside which there was often a gathering  of men, putting the world to rights, now stands empty.

Mystery picture - Williamson family of Marske and Watson family of Eastrington

Christmas is over, the duck has been eaten, presents exchanged and we have had a traditional long Boxing Day walk.

I have a new computer and am spending some time sorting out my old photos. It is wonderful to be able to see them all in an organised way but there are some which I need help with.

This lovely old photo was loaned to me by the family of Tom Watson of Eastrington who was killed in the Second World War. He was the son of Maud Watson of Eastrington who was, for many years, the Eastrington post lady.

The information I have about this photo is that it is the Williamson family of Marske and that the lady was Tom's great aunt. Does anyone know any more about the Williamson  family? I have more about the Eastrington  end of the family but hope the picture may help someone with family in Marske.

Howden junior school

The  junior school in Hailgate was built as Howden Council school and opened in 1912. Next year will therefore be the school centenary and my local history class which meets in Howden hopes to gather some memories and pictures.

We  hope then to pass any information on to the school. I write a regular piece in the local Howden magazine Howden Matters and this month have included a picture of pupils from the school singing. I am not sure of either the teacher or the date so any help in identifying the people would be appreciated.

When the school opened the Wesleyan school on the corner of Flatgate and Hailgate, opposite the Cross Keys, closed. Howden's other schools - the National School on Pinfold Street, the Catholic School and the Grammar School in the church - remained open.

Do you recognise anyone on this picture?