Saddleworth Historical Society Bulletin...i SHS Bulletin Vol. 42 No. 2 Summer 2012 Bulletin of the Saddleworth Historical Society Volume 42 Number 2 Summer 2012 Friarmere Cricket Club

Saddleworth

Historical Society

Bulletin

Volume 42 Number 2 Summer 2012

i

SHS Bulletin Vol. 42 No. 2 Summer 2012

Bulletin of the Saddleworth Historical Society

Volume 42 Number 2 Summer 2012

Friarmere Cricket Club 37 Becket Whitehead and F.S. Goddard

William Bottomley 1886 - 1958 45 Alison Wild

Jimmy Cartwright 1892 - 1967 49 Phil Taylor

Frances Bradbury Bennett 1904 - 1979 51 Alison Wild

William White Wood 1887 - 1935 53 Alison Wild

Alfred Baxter 1898 - 1983 55 Neil Barrow

Colin Campbell Copeland 1903 - 2002 57 Jean Tonge

Robert Porisse 1928 - 2002 59 Dai Richards

Obituary 61 Geoffrey Woodhead

Cover Illustration: Programme cover for the Saddleworth Olympics, 1985 [Saddleworth Museum Collection M/GX/QA/15]

©2012 Saddleworth Historical Society and individual contributors

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FRIARMERE CRICKET CLUB 1 The First Fifty Years

by Becket Whitehead

THE Friarmere Cricket Club was founded in 1863 by the Rev. Thomas Openshaw, Vicar of St. Thomas's Church, Heights, and Mr. John Edward Buckley of Linfitts House, Delph. It was, at its inception, a Church Club like St. George's at Mossley and St. James' at Oldham. The original field of play was one of two meadows adjoining the lane leading from Denshaw Road at Linfitts to West View belonging to Higher Linfitts Farm, then owned by the Buckleys of Linfitts. The club is first mentioned at a Vestry meeting at Heights Church. The Rev. A. W. Headeach who succeeded the Rev. Thomas Openshaw as Vicar of Heights gives the date of formation as 1863, but we have no definite information of a match being played until July 30th, 1864 when they met Eleven of Moorside at Friarmere. Moorside scored 64 and Friarmere made 57. In those days batsmen were called ‘strikers.’ The Friarmere team in that match was Simeon Broadbent, E. Charlesworth, Richard Farrar, J. Broadbent, Hiram Lees, G. Broadbent, C. Kenworthy, G. Horsfall, Richard Gartside, John Wood and F. Hudson. Richard Farrar is said to have been the first professional at Friarmere. He came from Brighouse and was a shoemaker by trade. He settled in Delph and had a place of business in Millgate. The Richard Gartside mentioned in the Friarmere team was one of the Woodbrow Gartsides. He was a member of the club for over 50 years. Hiram Lees was connected with the club for most of his life time.

For our knowledge of the Friarmere Club and its activities during the first years of its existence we are indebted to an old score book which covers the period 1864-1869, but the old book is in poor shape, sometimes with whole pages complete-ly missing, sometimes with the names of teams set forth in a flourish of penman-ship, sometimes even in red ink, and the rest of the details in pencil which has become so faint and blurred as to be hardly decipherable. We have, however, to take it as we find it, and the way we find it leaves us wondering, not so much about the wickets a bowler took, or the runs a batsman scored, but about their personalities, and the part they took in the ordinary affairs of life. There was a time when they were frequently discussed, and spoken of, but it was just before our time (even the eldest of us) but they took to cricket, and cricket as you know is primarily an Englishman's game, and has had quite a lot to do in building up the national character.

There were, of course, no Leagues in those days, and the clubs which Friarmere played in the years 1864-1869 were Moorside, New Delph, Diggle, Lees, Wrigley Mill, Friezland, St. James (Oldham), Milnrow, Oldham Gentle-men, Springhead Independents, Dalton, Birkby and Woodsome Volunteers.

In 1869 the club still remained attached to the church, but other people were becoming interested. It is not known exactly when the change over from the

1 This article is taken from the pamphlet Frairmere Cricket Club 1864 - 1964 One Hundred Glorious Years.

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meadow in Linfitts Slack to the present and new ground took place, but in all probability it was in the middle seventies of last century. Mr. John Edward Buckley, J.P. (one of the founders of the club) died 7th May, 1874 aged 42 years. This would be a great loss to the club, and may have entailed changes. We find in the year 1879 that Mr. G. F. Buckley, J.P. of Linfitts House, was President and the Vice-Presidents were Rev. Headeach, Robert Stott, J. L. Byrom, E. J. Butterworth, W. H. Butterworth, Jonathan Clifton. C. Winterbottom, A. G. Brierley, Hiram Lees, S. Kenworthy, James Whitehead, Joseph Shaw, and J. B. Wrigley. The captain of the First Team was J. L. Byrom, who was also Treasurer and Match Secretary. The teams played at that time (still friendly games) were Oldham, Rochdale, Walsden, Littleborough, Royton, Huddersfield, Werneth, Ashton, Manchester Clifford, Bradford and Clayton, Cheetham Hill and Armitage Bridge. And thus began the second phase of the Friarmere Cricket Club with a President, Vice-Presidents, Committee of Management, and other Officials, much as the set-up is today. In the Minutes of a Meeting at this time we find that £50 was invested with the Post Office Savings Bank, and the club had the backing of some of the most influential gentlemen in the district.

In the years 1879 and 1880 Matt Burrows was the club's professional, and in 1881 William Avison of Cleckheaton was engaged in this role. At this time also the name of Walter Jebson appears. These two were the best pair of bowlers the club ever had. Avison was said by many good judges of the game to be one of the best bowlers in the world at that time, and compared him to George Lohman who played for Surrey a little later. Avison's wickets seldom cost him more than six runs each. He could move the ball in the air, and was an expert with the ‘yorker.’ Walter Jebson was a tall man 6ft. 4in. in height. He had a wonderful command of length and made the most of his height. He was wily as a fox and many good batsmen became his victims.

He and Avison made up a bowling combination that has not been surpassed in the club. It is a fact that Avison and Jebson bowled unchanged through a whole season and until late August in the next year. No wonder one finds signs of some jealousy amongst other players who did not find a chance of developing their bowling.

It is interesting to note that Avison's salary was £2 per match, the proceeds of a benefit match, and travelling expenses.

In 1882 the club met Oldham, Royton, Werneth, Lockwood, Rochdale, Moorside, Lascelles Hall, Dalton, Ashton, Ramsbottom and Stayley.

Mr. G. F. Buckley remained President of the club until he died in 1901, when Mr. J. L. Byrom took over the office. During the 1880s the Vice-Presidents were usually made up of three Byrom's, three Butterworth's, three Mallalieu’s, plus S. Kenworthy, A. G. Brierley and a few others.

The history of the cricket club and the parish and its inhabitants were all inextricably mixed up together, and it appears to have been considered an honour to have been made a member of the club, whether or not you played. In the records of the year 1884 we find ‘That the proposals of Messrs. Byrom to build a new pavilion on the ground be accepted on the following terms: “That no intoxicating liquors be sold; that it be open to all members; that players for the day have the privilege of the pavilion.”’ The clause concerning the sale of intoxicating liquors on the ground seems to have been a controversial

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topic for a long time afterwards. There was a strong feeling amongst the mem-bers that this restriction was a serious handicap to the club financially as com-pared with other clubs who had a bar and benefited considerably thereby. Accordingly, from time to time, especially in times of financial stress, a couple of delegates would be sent from the committee to interview Messrs. Byrom with a view to having the clause removed. Usually the delegates returned to report to the Committee that it was still the opinion of those who imposed the restriction, that cricket, good cricket, should live at Friarmere, even though ‘John Barleycorn’ and any acrueing profits thereby, should die. There is reason, however, to believe that these interviews with the powers that were, were not profitless in themselves, and that some financial aid or adjustment usually followed.

In 1886 we discover several outstanding names in the club's history. W. Cheetham (Bill) a fine player and a very good coach. John W. Buckley, a fine bowler who died very young after taking a professional's job at Stalybridge. Lees Whitehead who played for the Yorkshire C.C.C. and Fred Bradbury, a copy-book batsman.

In 1888 the club joined the Huddersfield Cricket Association with George Hardy as professional.

During the year 1891 it is recorded that Mr. James Hollingworth offered to give a cup to be competed for by the Saddleworth clubs, and thus we seem to be approaching the end of the pre-League and pre-Cup Competition period.

In 1889 we have evidence of what must have been Friarmere's first cup tie; against Holmfirth on 8th July of that year when Friarmere lost by one run -Holmfirth scoring 156 and Friarmere 155. The Friarmere team was F. Bradbury, Ben Hardacre, W. Jebson, J. L. Byrom, George Kinler, B. F. Byrom, Tom Winterbottom, F. Rawnsley (pro.), G. W. Byrom, F. Winterbottom and T. Goddard.

In the 1889-1890 period, matches were played against Lockwood, Meltham Mills, Royton, Marsden, Crompton, Rawtenstall, Saddleworth, Rock Ferry, Slaithwaite, Moorside, Golcar, Pudsey Britannia and Kirkheaton. They came up against such fine players as Sam Malthouse, M. Sanderson, A. Slater and W. Bates. J. W. Buckley was professional at this time, but he died late 1896 or early 1897.

About this time we find the names of Fred Cottrell and W. H. Whitehead much to the forefront. Cottrell was a bowler of great repute and William Herbert White-head a good all-rounder.

By 1899 the Saddleworth League was formed and we find in detail elsewhere in this brochure the wonderful success that Friarmere enjoyed up to the outbreak of the First World war. Two outstanding players in the Friarmere ranks round about the 1910 period were Stanley Hall - a most delightful batsman, and E. C. (Cliff) Keighley, a bowler out of the Bradford League of the very first class. Also mention should be made of the three Rhodes brothers - Walter, Alfred and Albert. Albert was to become a tip-top all-rounder and eventually left for Haslingden and Lancashire County.

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The Second Fifty Years by F.S. Goddard

FEW cricket clubs until the ‘big professional’ era have had such an illustrious record as Friarmere. Details are given elsewhere in this publication of their accomplishments since the formation of League cricket, but for a very long time prior to this they had gained renown, far and wide, not merely for their successes but for the outstanding quality of their play. Much of this skill was due to the influence of Mr. J. L. Byrom who ruled the club's destiny for over half a century. J.L.B. was to Friarmere what Lord Hawke was to the Yorkshire County C.C., and eventually it became our proud boast that Friarmere lads have worn the County caps of Yorkshire, Lancashire, Durham and Cheshire, and in one season in the early thirties a Friarmere lad headed the batting averages in the Lancashire League, the Huddersfield League and the Yorkshire Council. In those days there were few counter attractions, and in the district there was a tremendous interest in the game. Read what the Huddersfield Examiner wrote after the Sykes Cup final of 1927 when Friarmere defeated Rastrick. “At Friarmere - the club - from the back of beyond - cricket constitutes the young man's recreation, they practice hard and let nothing interfere with it - they do not bat ten minutes, bowl ten minutes, smoke cigarettes and go to the pictures or billiard saloon, but play for hours, and that is the secret of the continued success of Friarmere in the Cup and in the League. If you wish to do anything at cricket you've got to go all out - practice and keep on practising and make the bat become part of the body or the ball do exactly as you would have it. Practice hard and well, and let us find a side to ‘put paid’ to the continued success of Friarmere - it will do them no harm, it will do other clubs much good.”

I approach the job of writing on the past fifty - years with very mixed feelings - of pride in achievement, of joy in the witness and participation of so many

Friarmere Cricket Team 1911 [Saddleworth Museum M/P/QC/25]

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magnificent matches played in goodly company, and not a little sadness in the realisation that much of the glory and those who contributed to the glory have passed on.

As one writes; memory brings back so vividly scores and scores of incidents - one feels again the tension, the exhilaration, the mortification of the day. Old scenes flash before the eye - the awe and majesty of Fartown on Cup Final day, the charming grounds of Armitage Bridge, Honley, Kirkburton, the battle-fields of Marsden, Delph, or Slaithwaite, the hard blistering grounds of Broad Oak, Paddock or Kirkheaton. Players long since dead slip back on the scene in all their pomp and glory. It has indeed been a pleasure and a great privilege to have known so many lovable, fascinating characters, these many years, not only at Friarmere but players connected with all clubs in the Huddersfield and Saddle-worth Leagues: There is a mellow richness in cricket and cricketers, not known in other games.

My story begins in the year 1913 when the Friarmere team was F. Bradbury (Captain), A. Milnes, Maurice Buckley, Albert Rhodes, J. A. Meal, W. Rhodes, F. Whitehead, J. Wrigley, Alf Rhodes, P. Cheetham, and Chris. Beaumont (pro.). Like Yorkshire in the County Championship they dominated Saddleworth League cricket, and from the formation of the League in 1899 up to leaving the League in 1919 won the championship no fewer than ten times (this including the war period).

In 1920 they gained admission to the Huddersfield League, and won the Sykes Cup (the first time it was competed for). In 1921 we again won the Cup and the League Championship.

These were the days of Professional Bill Ellis (a fine player and coach from the Derbyshire C.C.C.) who did so much to put us on our feet after the first world war, of Walter Rhodes, Jack Hudson, Arthur Milnes, John Meal, Nat Hill, Albert Whitehead. Season 1921 was a lovely summer - those of us who had the pleasure of witnessing the match will never forget August Bank holiday that summer - a cup-tie semi-final on a lovely afternoon on the picturesque Honley ground v. Dalton, when, during the game we saw a most remarkable piece of wicket-keeping. Albert Rhodes was assisting us that day, and was sending the ball down at a rare pace with Jack Hudson crouching on top of the stumps. Jack took one delivery with one hand, head high - the batsman (in self defence, not aggression) moved slightly - Jack pulled the ball down and whipped off the bails and the score book read, stumped Hudson, bowled Albert Rhodes. The Friarmere team that day was A. Milnes (Captain), J. A. Meal, H. A. Tanner, Albert Rhodes, A. E. Whitehead, Nat Hill, Walter Rhodes, Jack Hudson, Ben Wood, Harold Hudson and W. Ellis (pro.).

Arthur Milnes was our captain at this time. A grand chap was Arthur, a finer sportsman on or off the field one never met. Always wearing a smile, inevitably trying, he was a typical Yorkshireman which naturally means one of the best. He was loved on all grounds down Colne Valley, Tame Valley and Holme Valley alike and gave countless pleasure to thousands during his long career.

Seasons 1922, 1923 and 1924 were lean years compared with previous ones, but in Season 1925 Harry Morris and Percy Sharples joined us and they were destined to play an historic part in our future fortunes.

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The year 1925 was the year that we lost in the Cup final by one run in one of the most remarkable and memorable matches on record. Huddersfield, batting first, scored 294 and Friarmere made 293 - the last man being run out. The Friarmere team that day was H. Morris (Captain), N. Hill, J. A. Meal, A. E. Whitehead, G. Winterbottom, C. Bradbury, W. Rhodes, A. Brierley, A. Rhodes, H. Swann and P. Sharples (pro.). In 1926 we lost the championship play-off by seven runs only, but in 1927 we won both the League Championship and the Sykes Cup, and in 1928 the League Championship. We had a fine, all-round side at that time - every man worth his place in any League team. Percy Sharples, always brim-full of confidence, proved to be a very fine cricketer indeed - a wonderful performer in every aspect of the game. Albert Whitehead and John Meal left-handed batsmen of county standard, Harry Morris and Arthur Milnes hard hitting batsmen, Nat Hill a real copy-book at the wicket, fine all rounders in Gordon Winterbottom, Clarence Bradbury and Arthur Brierley and Jack Hudson a wicket-keeper (and comedian) of out-standing merit.

In 1931, after being in indifferent health for some time, we had to report the passing of our President, and on a memorable Saturday morning we laid him to rest in the little church yard overlooking the ground he had loved so well.

With the passing of Mr. Byrom we felt that the burden of competing in the Hudders-field League was more than we could carry, and also we felt that perhaps we could draw more local interest in our native Saddleworth, so at the end of season 1932 we said a sad good-bye to our Huddersfield friends.

In our first season back in the Saddleworth League we were runners-up and in the following season we won the championship. At this time we had an excellent professional in Norman Elliott - a charming fellow and a bowler of the very highest order. After leaving us he took 1,000 wickets in twelve seasons in the Bolton League.

In 1937 we again won the championship with an all amateur team - the team was handled in a masterly manner by Harry Morris and Gordon Winterbottom and Sid Whitehead had excellent returns.

The year 1939 brought an interruption, once again, to our activities, and during the war years we wondered if cricket would ever be played at Friarmere again. The ground was badly neglected, and when hostilities ceased in 1945 it was indeed in an appalling state.

At a public meeting held in the autumn of 1945 it was decided to re-start the club, and when our ‘Pioneer’ Corps stepped on the ground all hearts must have shrunk at the ghastly sight - one long stretch of inhospitable moorland - a veritable wilderness. Almost every week-end during the winter months saw at least one brave soul, with shears, scythe or rake, tackling the arduous, monoto-nous task of getting rid of five years' growth. In the early spring we were fortunate to get the services of a full time groundsman who carried on with the good work, and by Easter the miracle had been wrought, and we knew that cricket would be played at Friarmere again. Many who had seen the ground at the end of the war marvelled that in so short a time it could have been brought back to any shape at all.

It was no easy task to get players together again, but in 1946 we finished third from the top of the League and in 1947 we were runners-up. By 1949, however,

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we had got a real sound side together again. We had Frank Molyneux as professional, and such players as Herbert Rhodes, A. Swann, Frank Kinder, D. A. Rhodes, E. Shackleton, G. Winterbottom, Clarence Bradbury, H. Morris (Jnr.), and K. Blakeman. We won the championship of the Saddleworth League that year. Frank Molyneux and Herbert Rhodes were an opening pair of batsmen of the very highest class, and compared very favour-ably with ‘masters’ of the past. Herbert is still batting as well as ever and last year (1963) played many skilful innings.

Spotlight on 1950 recorded the retirement from the game of Gordon Winterbot-tom. He had been a tower of strength to the Friarmere team for thirty years. To say that he captured, in our name, in the region of 1,000 wickets, that he bowled hundreds and hundreds of maiden overs, that he scored several thou-sands runs, and made a host of catches would not be to say enough. It was in a high level of consistency, match after match, season after season, that was a remarkable characteristic of the play of this outstanding player. Few players, anywhere, at any time have rendered greater service to a cricket club than Gordon has to ours.

Few honours have come our way since 1950, but we have held our own, and are proud to be able to still carry on in spite of many and increasing difficulties. We are indeed grateful to all who continue to support us.

May the glorious traditions gathered round the club be further strengthened in the second hundred years, and long may cricket be played on our lovely green.

A Toast THE FRIARMERE CRICKET CLUB

Here my friends is a toast tonight, To the game we love and the lads in white, To the Friarmere club and its field of green, And all the games that we've played and seen; To the shining names that have now passed on, From a golden age that has long since gone. And all the things that our hearts hold dear, In the annals bright of the club Friarmere. May we play the game as we've always done, With a good straight bat for a well-judged run; May we take no part in the cheap and mean, But to stand for all that is fair and clean, And when we win, may we win with pride, But to give respect to the beaten side; That all may say where there's bats and pads, "It's grand to meet those Friarmere lads."

H. B. Whitehead (our very own Friarmere poet)

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William Bottomley as an Oldham Athletic player c1906.

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WILLIAM BOTTOMLEY 1886 - 1958 PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLER Alison Wild1

William Bottomley was born at Lorne Street, Mossley on the June 4th 1886, the son of William and Jane (nee Battye) Bottomley. He had six sisters and two brothers.

William commenced his footballing career at the age of 14 years when he played for Greenfield in the Mossley and Saddleworth League, then with Edge Hill, Delph, in the Oldham League, and numerous other amateur teams including Roaches F.C., St. Mary's Juniors, Greenfield Athletic and Mossley Britannia before he became a professional footballer, playing for Oldham Athletic and Manchester City.

On Saturday 14th April 1906 the Mossley and Saddleworth Reporter gave the fol-lowing report:

“There was any amount of excitement at Crookbottom on Saturday, when the final tie of the Ashton Charity cup (junior section) was decided. The contesting teams were Mossley Britannia (last season’s runners-up) and Greenfield Athletic, champi-ons of the Stalybridge and District League. The Britannia have been disbanded for fully three months, the team being got together for the cup ties, and Greenfield were expected to carry off the cup, but they were doomed to disappointment. Bottomley, the Oldham Athletic-cum-Failsworth centre forward, was in great form for Mossley, and his dash practically gave his side the victory, all three goals to them being from his foot, whilst the Athletic could only score once. After the match the cup was pre-sented to the captain of the winning team by Mr Lees, and on reaching Mossley the event was duly celebrated.”

(Note: Crookbottom was just off Wakefield Road, Stalybridge and the football ground of Stalybridge Rovers F.C.)

In February 1906 William had trials with Oldham Athletic and he signed as a profes-sional in October 1907 during the Oldham Athletic’s first season as a Football League club. William Bottomley made his first appearance on the October 26th 1907 at home against Barnsley: Oldham won 1-0. He played at centre-half, as depu-ty for club captain David Walders. Despite his size, (he was 5ft 8ins tall and weighed 10st 8lb) the flame-haired defender's best position was at centre-half and his ability in this role caught the eye of the international selectors.

William signed for Manchester City on the 12th May 1908 and his first match was on the 17th October 1908 against Notts County at Hyde Road: Manchester City won 1-0. Manager Harry Newbould had signed William Bottomley after receiving good reports of his progress with neighbours Oldham Athletic where the player had won a Lancashire Senior Cup winner's medal and also been awarded trials for the North versus the South of England in 1908. In the 1908-09 season William, then twenty-two years old, came in for a League game when wing-halves Bill Eadie and Tom Holford, were both injured, it was his only one for that season. However the follow-ing seasons he appeared with some regularity, the most outings coming in 1912-13 1 I would like to thank William’s grandson, Phillip Bottomley and Sarah Simms (née Bottomley) his

great-granddaughter for their help in writing this article, and for providing family photographs.

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(33). He recorded 103 League and Cup appearances and won a Division Two cham-pionship medal in 1909-10, having appeared in 14 matches during the season. Dur-ing the First World War he played in 31 matches before retiring in September 1919.

William married his first wife Elizabeth Radcliffe on the October 27th 1909 at Mount Olivet Chapel, Stalybridge. In 1911 their twin sons Eric and William were born, sadly a few months after their birth Elizabeth died, she was only twenty-two years old.

William married his second wife May Bottomley on the April 27th 1915 and it was reported in the Reporter on the 8th May 1915.

“Wedding in Ashton - The marriage of Councillor William Bottomley, of Mossley, to Miss May Bottomley, daughter of the late Mr and Mrs Miles Bottomley, of Ashton, took place on Tuesday last week by special licence, at St James's Church, Ashton. Councillor Bottomley is a son of the late Mr. Wm. Bottomley and Mrs Bottomley, of Roaches. He is a member of the firm of W. Bottomley and Sons, cotton doublers, Roaches, Mossley. He is a well known figure in the football world, having played in the English League for Oldham Athletic and Manchester City, and having been se-lected to play with the North of England v. the South. The wedding was very quiet. Miss Mary Bottomley [sister of the bride] acted as bridesmaid and Mr Edgar Bot-tomley [brother of the bridegroom] was best man. Mr and Mrs Bottomley have taken up residence at Grasscroft Greenfield.”

William and May had five sons, Miles, Jack, Philip, Roy and Brian.

In the First World War William served with the Army Service Corp and in the Se-cond World War he was a member of the home guard.

William died on the May 8th 1958 and his death was reported in the Mossley and Saddleworth Reporter on the 16th May.

“Death of Mr W. Bottomley – Former noted footballer

One of the most outstanding footballers Mossley and Saddleworth has ever known, Mr William Bottomley, of Briansdale, Lower Dacres, Greenfield, died on Thursday last week. He was in his 72nd year and had not been well for some time. A native of Mossley, he was brother of the late J. A. Bottomley, of Prospect House, who was sev-eral times Mayor of Mossley.

At one time Mr Bottomley had business interests with his brother in Mossley, and he formerly lived at Dacres Hall before he built Briansdale.

He played with the Manchester F.C. and Oldham Athletic teams with success.

In February 1917, when Manchester City beat Burnley by one goal to nil “Pilgrim” in The Athletic News, says: “No part of the team worked better or with greater effect than the half back line, and were I asked to nominate the best man on the field I should unhesitatingly declare Bottomley, whose craftsmanship was only equalled by his industry and his nippiness. His legs seemed as a magnet to the ball and no matter how difficult the position he generally got it, and when he did he played it with dis-cretion”.

The committal took place at Dukinfield Crematorium on Monday.”

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William Bottomley - photograph taken during WWII.

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From the 1911 census it is possible to definitely identify eight of the players and seven officials. Greenfield was very much a local team. Thirteen of those identified lived in Greenfield and eleven were Saddleworth born. Most had working class jobs being mill workers, apprentices or clerks. The exceptions were Joe Bennett and Percy Taylor. Bennett was publican of the King William IV at Road End, presumably the team’s headquarters and changing rooms. Taylor was assistant man-ager to his father at the dyeworks at Halls and had been appointed club president.4 They lived at nearby at Brooklyn, on Wellington Road and employed a maidservant.

The team attracted strong local support, a crowd of 4,000 seeing them win the Harrison Cup in a second replay against Haughton Road at Seel Park, Mossley. Cartwright scored three goals before being sent off with two of his opponents. After scoring ‘he was jumped on and struck and he retaliated’. A fracas followed, then a pitch invasion and the Haughton players were only persuaded to continue by the intervention of two J.P.’s.5

Greenfield AFC 1913 - 14 Back row: John Godley, Jack Robinson, Fearnley Bennett, Milton Walton, Joe Bennett, ‘Pongo’ Ben Buckley, Ben Hill, ?, Stanley Moore, Archie Hopkinson. Middle row: Thias Nowell, Jack Parkin, Walter Shaw, Percy Taylor, Charlie Mills, Frank Morris, Jimmy Cartwright. Front row: Sykes Mellor (first or second), Harold ‘Chatty’ Lawton, Harry Wood.

[Saddleworth Museum M/P/QF/26]

4 Ashton Reporter, 23rd August 1919.

5 Ashton Reporter, 2nd May 1914.

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JIMMY CARTWRIGHT 1892-1967 Phil Taylor

Jimmy Cartwright was one of nine children of John and Eliza Cartwright. His father died aged forty-five when he was only six years old.1 He lived most of his life at Tunstead in Greenfield and ended his working career as an overlooker at Kinders Woollen Mill in Greenfield. Although he was listed in a pre-season squad of players for Uppermill A.F.C., he never did play for the local team. Had he actually played for Uppermill, it would have been a massive signing but the fact is, he had signed for Cheshire County League team, Ashton National A.F.C.

One of the best footballers ever to come out of Saddleworth, he had previously played for Greenfield Amateurs one of the crack teams playing in the Ashton Amateur League in the 1919-20 season. Following a trial in the pre-season practice matches for Ashton National, he was immediately signed to begin the following season.

“National Gas have secured the signature of J. Cartwright of Greenfield A.F.C. who has the reputation of being one of the best centre forwards in the Ashton Amateur League. Cartwright who has assisted Hyde and Hurst in the Lancashire Combination is a prolific goal scorer and several times this season has accomplished a hat-trick.” 2

Although now a ‘National’ player he still turned out for Greenfield

“Jimmy Cartwright, still playing for Ashton National, did not forget his old team (Greenfield). He helped them to a 6-1 victory in February (1920) in a round of the Lady Beaverbrook Cup”.3

In fact, Cartwright had occasionally played for National before, when they played in the Manchester Amateur League. He started at centre forward, later moving to centre half but in fact, his versatility enabled him to play in several positions including inside right and right full-back.

ASHTON NATIONAL A.F.C.

Ashton National A.F.C. was formed in 1918 during the First World War, funded by the Ashton National Gas Engine Company, playing in the Manchester Amateur League. In their first season, they finished third in the final league table and in the 1919-20 season, not only won the league championship but also won the annual knock-out competition, the Manchester Amateur Cup and the Ashton Charity Cup.

After two years, they decided to go professional and joined the newly formed Cheshire County League for the start of the 1920-21 season. A new ground was constructed which earned a reputation as the finest ground in the area.4 The stadium, National Park, which had cost £2,500 up to the start of the season, with

1 Census 1911 and BMD June 1898 http://www.freebmd.org.uk.

2 Ashton Reporter, 21st February 1920

3 Sir Max Aiken, created Lord Beaverbrook in 1917, was MP for Ashton-under-Lyne 1910-16.

4 National Park was, until 2005, the home ground of Curzon Ashton, a team formed in the 1963.

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improvements still ongoing, could accommodate an estimated 8,000 spectators. It was expected that when the banking on the railway and works sides were completed, the spectator capacity would be doubled. The main entrance was opposite William Street where four turnstiles had been erected.

National Park was officially opened in August, 1920 by Mr. Henry Neild Bickerton, the Managing Director of Ashton National Gas Engine Company at a Reds v Greens match. The match followed a practice match the previous Saturday and would be a decider from which the team would be selected to begin the league programme. The ninth battalion Lancashire Regimental band was in attendance playing a selection of music throughout the afternoon. At the interval, the players were presented with medals won the previous season in the Manchester Amateur League. Proceeds from the match realised £25, which were donated to the Ashton War Memorial Fund.

At the start of the season, 300 season tickets had been sold and a new influx of players had signed to play: Brooks, a goalkeeper, previously with Mossley arrived; Hargreaves and Bibby from Norman Athletic; and Nobbs from Redpath Brown. Nobbs had actually signed for Stoke City but had agreed to assist National until Stoke required his services. It was decided that for the first season in the Cheshire League, the team would be an all amateur eleven but if it proved the team was not strong enough to compete then it would follow the rest of the league teams and offer professional terms to attract new players.

The league programme began with a win on the last Saturday in August 1920 in a home fixture against Crichtons Athletic, a team based near Chester. They had finished the previous season fifth in the final table so a 2-1 win got National off to a good start.

‘National’ also won their second game, another home match against Connahs Quay. Two draws followed against Monks Hall and Tranmere Rovers before, in the fifth match, they suffered their first defeat against Chester. In the next game Cartwright was brought in for his first match. They finished twelfth at the end of the season. The following season they finished third.

In the next match, the seventh of the 1920-21 season, Jimmy Drinkwater arrived from Manchester City and Jimmy Cartwright moved to centre forward for the match against Macclesfield. Cartwright’s name was rarely missing from the score-sheet. Although it didn’t appear in a mid-November away match against Monks Hall, Warrington and the reason for this was “Cartwight missed the match due to fog on the Yorkshire Hills around Greenfield which made the train late and he missed the connection.”

Jimmy Cartwright stayed for five seasons after which, following a benefit match, he left and signed for Mossley for the start of the 1926-27 season. On the last Saturday in November, he played his last ever match when, less than seven minutes into the game, an old injury finally caught up with him in an away match against Port Vale Reserves which Mossley lost 6-0 and he hobbled on to the left wing for the rest of the match.

As a tribute to a forgotten hero, Harry Dennison, Stalybridge Celtic centre forward said of Jimmy Cartwright in the 1923-24 season, “He is not only the best centre-half in the league but he is the most gentlemanly I have faced this season”. The Ashton Reporter continued, “This is a splendid compliment and a fine tribute to the ability of the ex-Greenfield player who has rendered Ashton National great service. It is only a few months ago that he was given the position of centre-half.”

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FRANCIS BRADBURY BENNETT 1904 – 1979 Alison Wild1

Francis (Frank) Bradbury Bennett was born on the 6th February 1904 at Bill’s O’Jacks, the only son of Joseph and Mary Jane (née Bradbury) Bennett. In 1911 the family were living at The King William Hotel in Greenfield. When Frank started school he attended Boarshurst School (Greenfield Wesleyan Day School) but he transferred to Greenfield Council School on Shaw Street when that opened in 1912. Frank signed for Mossley Football Club, then playing in the Cheshire County League, as a centre half or full back in August 1925 and made forty-one appearances that season having made his Mossley debut v Ellesmere Port on 29th August 1925. The following season 1926-27 he made twenty-five appearances but in 1926-27 he played on only three occasions. His final Mossley appearance was away to Nantwich on 3rd September 1927. He made a total of sixty-nine appearances but didn't score any goals (not uncommon for a defender in those days). Saddleworth

1 I would like to thank Eileen Woods (née Bennett) daughter of Francis Bradbury Bennett for help

in writing this article.

Mossley Football Club - Frank Bennett is third from the left on the back row.

Francis Bennett [Enlargement from team photograph below]

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and District took part in a match at Greenfield Cricket ground with the Yorkshire County team who were invited by Councillor H. A. Tanner. The Yorkshire players included Herbert Sutcliffe, P. Holmes, W. Rhodes, M. Leyland, G. G. Macauley, E Robinson, A. Mitchell and T. Birtles, all famous cricketers of the time. Rain delayed the start of the game until 3.10 p.m. and the county side, captained by Mr J .E. Tanner, opened on a soft wicket, the venture closing at 197 for seven. The Saddleworth team made a very gallant response. The players and visitors were afterwards entertained to tea at the King William Hotel.

Saddleworth and District cricket team – 21st September 1924 Frank B. Bennett is third from the right on the back row.

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WILLIAM WHITE WOOD 1887 – 1935 PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLER Alison Wild

William White Wood was born on the 17th August 1887 at Frenches Greenfield the son of Robert R. a cotton spinner and Mary (nee White) Wood.

William first learned to play football with the Greenfield A.F.C. on the ‘flats’. In 1904 at the age of seventeen he was playing centre forward for Oldham Athletic. He was still with the team, (then in the Lancashire Combination) when they won the Division One championship of that league in 1906-07. In the 1911 census he is shown still living at the family home on Wellington Terrace, Greenfield and working as a cotton spinner.

Oldham began playing professionally in 1904 as they moved into the Lancashire Combination B Division and were immediately promoted to the A Division by fin-ishing as runners up. After two seasons in the Lancashire Combination the club gained acceptance into the Football League in June 1907 when Burslem Port Vale resigned from the League. Unlike many clubs, Oldham Athletic gained early success in the league as they finished in third place in the Football League Second Division.

William White Wood married Rose Alice Vinca Taylor on the 9th September 1916 at St Chad’s Church, Saddleworth. Rose was born at Belmont, Lancashire in 1889.

William and Rose had five children but it proved to be a sad outcome for the family. Their first daughter Mary was born at Greenfield in March 1917, she died on the 24th January 1920. Their first son Kenneth was born in 1920 at Greenfield; he died from tuberculosis in July 1929 aged eighteen. Their second daughter Joyce was born in 1924 at Greenfield; she died in March 1926 aged two. In 1926 William and Rose had twin boys Derrick and Gerald, sadly Gerald died in February 1929 aged two years.

Rose died in May 1934 aged just forty-five; and William died in March 1935 aged only forty-seven.

William Wood [The Mossley and Saddleworth Reporter,

Saturday 9th March 1935]

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By 1935 only son Derrick was left from the family but sadly he died on the 4th June 1945 aged just nineteen. Derrick Wood was a guardsman in the Grenadier Guards; he had enrolled in the army in January 1945 before which he was an apprentice toolmaker at Measurements Ltd. Dobcross. Derrick was killed during a battle course in Windsor Great Park. The verdict was death by misadventure due to a sten gun bullet ricocheting backwards, hitting him in throat and killing him. He was buried at St Chad's Church, Saddleworth with full military honours.

During WWI William served as a corporal in the forces overseas. He also played football with crack army teams, assisting the 43rd Reserve Battery, Royal Field Artillery to win the Swanage Garrison Football Competition in 1917. William had joined up at Newcastle on the 18th October 1916. He was demobbed on the 5th December 1919.

William White Wood - Royal Field Artillery WWI [Ivan and Pat Foster Family collection]

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ALFRED BAXTER 1898 - 1983 Neil Barrow

Samuel Baxter, Alfred’s father had arrived in Saddleworth with his wife Elisabeth and young family to work on the reservoirs at Denshaw as a navvy. Alfred, born in 1898, was the eleventh of twelve children.1

Baxter took up weightlifting at the age of sixteen. After serving in World War I he became the British featherweight champion in 1920. As a featherweight he represented Britain in two Olympic games. At Paris in 1924 he came seventh, the best result amongst the team. At Amsterdam in 1928 he came nineteenth and was the leading British competitor at his weight.

1 Censuses 1881-1911 and BMD http://www.freebmd.org.uk/

Alfred Baxter with his medals [Baxter Family collection]

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Colin Copeland with his trophies. [Family collection & Saddleworth Museum M/P/QCop003]

Colin Copeland with members of the National Workers’ Sports Asociation team . [Family collection & Saddleworth Museum M/P/QCop005]

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COLIN CAMPBELL COPELAND 1903 - 2002 Jean Tonge

My father Colin Campbell Copeland was born in 1903, the eldest son of John and Eliza née Stancliffe. He lived most of his life in Delph and learned to ride a bicycle in order to travel between Delph and Oldham to go to work.

He was a member of Royton Harriers where he competed in sprint events with his brothers, Harold and Maurice. They were all trained by their father, Jack Copeland, a window cleaner, mainly on Lark Hill and in the Castleshaw Valley, but in the late 1920s Colin decided to concentrate on cycling instead of running. He began his racing career when he was asked to enter the annual sports at the Clarion Club, where he met with some success. Soon afterwards he won a second prize in a half-mile race at Salford Dock Police Sports.

He continued to ride at many well-known racing tracks throughout the country, where he won many medals, cups and prizes. He also competed in ‘Hill Climbs’ at which he was quite successful.

At that time there was an alternative to the ‘bourgeois’ Olympic Games organised by the Socialist Workers’ Sport International. In 1931 he was chosen to be a part of the cycling team of six, for the 2nd Workers Interna-tional Olympiad in Vienna which attracted twenty-one teams and more spectators than the Los Angeles Olympics in the following year. There he won the 20k road race, came second in the 3k hill climb up a pretty village called Cobenzl, having competed in the 31-mile team race in the same morning and second in the 1k sprint final.

In 1934 he was chosen to be part of the cycling team for the 3rd Czechoslo-vakian Workers Olympiad held in Prague, where he came fourth in the 38-mile road race.

In the following years he continued winning races around the country. In 1934 he was 1st in the Hill climb at Dorsetshire Labourers Centenary, also 2nd in the 440yd. Race and 3rd in the 880yd. Race He came 1st in the 5 miles Clarion Championship. He won the Doghill Open Hill Climb at Shaw for 3 years in succession. He was 1st in the hill climbs at Preston, Redhill and Harwich.

He continued to race until around 1938 when he married my mother.

He remained interested in cycling and continued to support the Clarion Cycling Club until his death in 2002 at the age of ninety-nine years and three months.

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Cutting from unknown newspaper. [Porisse Family collection]

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ROBERT PORISSE 1928 - 2002 Dai Richards1

Bob Porisse was one of the great rugby characters of the 1950s. During a rugby career spanning a dozen years he entertained the crowds following Sale or Yorkshire with his typical front row exploits. He had a typical fiery Latin temperament and this together with a formidable competitive streak ensured that whenever 'burly' Bob Porisse (he was 6ft. 1in.) took the field, the rugby was never going to be dull.

Bob was born in 1928, in the French town of Lille, the son of a French father and Belgian mother. When he was three years old Bob's father, Raphael, moved to Mossley when the ‘French firm’, the Mossley Wool Combing and Spinning Company, was established.2 The family followed Porisse senior and set up their new home just over the border at

Oaklands, Greenfield in Saddleworth. Bob's early school days were spent at Hulme Grammar School, Oldham but it was at Ratcliffe College in Leicestershire where Porisse junior had his first taste of rugby. As a regular in the first team at college Bob welcomed the opportunity to mix it with the other boys and, as his confidence grew, so did his ability on the field.

On leaving college it was into the family business for Bob. Weekends however, were a different story. Bob's elder brother Julien was at the time commanding a regular spot with Manchester side Sale. Ever on the look out for some adventure, Porisse joined his brother on the trips to Manchester for training and matches and soon he forced his way into the Sale first XV. Regarded as a mobile prop forward in the true French tradition, Bob often found himself crossing the line in his early seasons at the Brooklands ground, scoring a try in the corner or bursting through several tackles to touchdown. He was also a great place kicker and when the regular out-half was unavailable he took over the kicking duties, winning many games for the team. The Porisse 'speciality' was to land a penalty goal or conversion with the last kick of the match.

1 This article is taken from the World Rugby Museum website www.rugbyrelics.com/museum/

biogs/porisse-bob.htm, which also shows a collection of Bob’s memorabilia. Additional information has been provided by Marie-Thérèse Porisse of Greenfield.

2 They had located in Mossley, buying the Border and Milton mills when the imposition of a 7½% import duty had threatened their exports to Britain: Dupont-Lhotelain, Hubert, The Story of the Mossley Combing and Spinning Co. Ltd., 1982.

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Although playing for a Cheshire side, he caught the eye of the Yorkshire selectors and was chosen to play for the white rose county against Durham on 18th November 1950. Once again a regular place beckoned and Bob became the first Yorkshire forward to reach fifty appearances. Amongst these were two County Championship finals, a victory over East Midlands in 1953 and defeat against a strong Devon side in 1957. Other representative honours came when Bob was chosen in the North Eastern Counties (Yorkshire, Northumberland & Durham) side to face the 1953/4 New Zealand All Blacks at Bradford. Before a crowd of 17,500, despite icy conditions, the match was described by Vivian Jenkins in ‘The Manchester Guardian’ as “…the most spectacular and enjoyable of the whole All Blacks tour”. Although losing 16-0 the match was not as one sided as the score line suggests: "On the evidence of the score, two goals and two tries to nil it might seem that the All Blacks had a fairly easy passage, but that was far from being the case. For a long time the counties held their own in every particular phase of the game. Their forwards, far from being awed by their opponents' reputation bundled into them wholeheartedly and I saw for the first time a number of players who, I am surprised have not attracted the attention from national selectors. … for instance Prisse [sic!] a Frenchman who plays for Sale at prop forward..." 3

Although international honours did escape this great player, perhaps the fact that he always regarded himself as a Frenchman first and foremost contributed to this. Had he thought of himself as an Englishman then a cap would have surely been his. At Sale, playing alongside Eric Evans, a regular English international hooker of the 1950s and captain of the 1957 English Grand Slam team, would surely have given him many an opportunity to impress the selectors. Alas, the fact that Bob did not play regular rugby in France meant that in the days before televised rugby he was seldom, if ever, seen by the French selectors and was therefore never given the opportunity to represent his beloved tricolours.

A dozen happy years were spent playing for Sale. During this time Bob captained the club for two seasons, 1956/7 & 1957/8. A season later, he dislocated his hip during a game and was prematurely forced to retire. After such a long, enjoyable career Porisse was unable to hang up his boots. Playing again was out of the question so the likable Frenchman ran the line as touch judge for the club he had so proudly represented.

Shortly after his retirement from the game, Bob met Judith Sankey and following their marriage they were blessed with two girls Suzanne & Nicole. Bob devoted himself to the family. He stayed with the family business, as sales manager, until his retirement in 1976. They continued to live in the family home in Saddleworth.

Bob passed away in 2002.

3 Manchester Guardian, 8 February 1954.

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OBITUARY Geoffrey Woodhead 1922 - 2011

Geoff was the last remaining member of his generation of the Woodhead family and he led a fulfilling and enjoyable life. He was born on the 19th February, 1922 in Springhead, the son of Fred and Ellen, one of seven children. He attended Springhead school and subsequently won a scholarship to Hulme Grammar School in Oldham, where he was a star pupil and progressed through his education more quickly than others. In 1934, whilst he was still at Hulme, the family moved to Rock Villas, on Shaw Hall Bank Road, Greenfield and this was his home for seventy-seven years.

Whilst at Hulme he also developed his interest in sport and played cricket and football, and surprisingly, boxing for which he won three medals. He maintained his interest in sport throughout his life, taking part in it for as long as he could and then in the last few years watching it avidly on television.

In 1938, Geoff started work for Lancashire Cotton Corporation, and this led to a life-long career in the textile industry. There were however, breaks in his career, firstly due to War Service and then a period of eighteen months in an open-air hospital, in Wharfedale, when he had part of one lung removed to cure TB.

Geoff’s War Service was very interesting and it is one of several topics that Geoff, in his later life, spent time writing up and then published as a booklet Recollections of War Service. He was nineteen when he volunteered for the RAF and he eventually attained the rank of Flight Sergeant. However, due to eyesight problems he was not

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Saddleworth Cricket Club, joint winners Tanner Cup 1951. [Saddleworth Museum M/P/QC/11]

Back: Sis Belshaw, Ron Jakeman, Stan Buckley, Cecil Mattinson, Arthur Mattinson, Jim Tennant Front: Jim Jones, Walter Greenwood, Eric Nulley, John Brook (capt.), John Bodkin, Geoff Woodhead

Geoff Woodhead during a Pilot Balloon Observation sketched by Alec Crombie

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part of the aircrew, and he was attached to the artillery survey regiment where he did meteorological work for the gunners. He went on to spend three and a half years fighting the Japanese in Burma and for this he was awarded an impressive set of campaign medals. It seems that he had some privileges whilst in Burma as he had a boy servant to do his laundry and he had a pet monkey called Jackson. On the other hand he ate so much rice that he vowed never to eat it again.

For a short period before his war service, from September 1940, Geoff was in the Home Guard based at the Springhead Drill Hall and I recall how he used to comment that the scenes depicted in the TV series ‘Dad’s Army’ were actually true to life. He used to recount the story of being on guard duty at Scouthead when a message came through that there were two men in the area with a ‘foreign accent’. He and others were sent as a search party and they found two men near Scouthead Church. They fixed bayonets and marched the pair back to the Guard House, and called the police who took them away. It later transpired that the two men were not foreigners but Geordies walking across country to Liverpool to try and get work on a ship!

Geoff was de-mobbed in 1946 and he then resumed his textile training. He was elected as a Fellow of the Textile Institute in 1966. He rose to become Head of Lancashire Cotton Corporation’s Technology Department and later was a consultant with Courtaulds Ltd.. He spent periods of time in Jordan, Russia and Australia re-organising their textile industries. He also was a college lecturer in Textile Technology and then, in 1981, had the honour of being awarded an MBE for his services to the Textile Industry. However, I am told by Geoff’s longstanding friend, Alan Dunn, that Geoff always claimed, in the forces idiom, that the MBE was for ‘long service in poor stations’!

In 1994 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.

Geoff was a longstanding member of the Freemasons and in 2006 achieved fifty years membership of the Stalybridge Lodge. He was Worshipful Master in 1966/7 and served as their representative on the District Committee for over thirty years.

As I said earlier, Geoff was a keen sportsman and he kept wicket for Saddleworth Cricket Club’s first team and maintained his membership for over seventy-five years. He was captain of Saddleworth tennis club and played rugby for Saddleworth Rangers. He also played football and badminton for local clubs. Taking up golf he joined Saddleworth Golf Club in 1956 and served for over fifty-five years as Secretary, Captain, President and Council Member. He was made an honorary Life Member of the club in 1997. He regretted that he never quite achieved a single figure handicap, although he has been fortunate to have had six holes-in-one. In 2004 he wrote an excellent centenary history of the Golf Club.

Geoffrey maintained an interest in local history, both through the Saddleworth Museum where he was the secretary and a Trustee, and his own researches. This interest led him to research and publish pamphlets on Peterloo, Annie Kenny, a suffragette of Springhead and Major Ivan Hirst of Grasscroft who helped in the post-war reconstruction of the Volkswagen Factory in Germany. His research papers have been given to the museum as a lasting legacy of his researches.

Geoff was probably a ‘man about town’ in his heyday and I always remember him as being immaculately dressed. I also remember how exciting it was to be allowed to sit in his open-top Sunbeam sports car, which was pretty impressive at the time and

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Jim Bowers, another of Geoff’s life-long friends, remembers a holiday to Cornwall in this car and the great times they had as young men. They would go back to Rock Villas after nights out and irrespective of the time, Geoff’s mother would always make them welcome and get them something to eat. At that stage Geoff must have lived a very cosseted life, as Jim tells me that Geoff was even allowed to flick cigarette ash on the floor! This made me smile as I can remember Geoff with long lengths of ash on the end of his cigarette and I always used to wonder how long it would be before it dropped off!

Geoff led a very active life, and he also enjoyed attending ‘Woodhead’ style family parties. He has been a fairly frequent visitor to our house for meals to celebrate birthdays, family anniversaries and at Christmas. He also used to join us every Wednesday at my mother’s house for tea. A least it saved him making one meal a week and my mother, as his eldest sister, could carry on her role of ‘mothering’ him.

Although he remained a bachelor and liked his independence, Geoff was for a short while engaged to be married, but this was broken off in 1953. Geoff then met Hilary Dawson in 1983 and they developed a close and special relationship over the following twenty-eight years. Hilary’s family welcomed Geoff as a friend whom they respected and held in very high regard. He was both supportive and generous with his time whenever asked and was greatly appreciated. A more secret side to Geoff was revealed to me when I opened a file marked ‘GW – Very Personal’ and in it was a list, with dates, of what he called ‘Females in my Life’. There were fifteen of them but no entries after 1963. He seems to have had a file for everything!

Geoff was also the life and soul of the family parties held at Rock Villas when I was a child. An incredible number of people would be catered for at Christmas with a fantastic spread of food, cakes and chocolate biscuits, and I recall the table centre-pieces that Geoff would make, and in particular a revolving mirror with model skaters on to represent an ice rink and we all had a tape to pull to reveal a present hidden in a box underneath. After the meal there would be the inevitable game of ‘Beetle’ in the lounge and then singing round the piano. Geoffrey’s niece, Lesley, also recalls these parties, and holidays in Deganwy. More importantly, she was paid two shillings to clean Geoff’s golfing trophies, but the amount never went up even when there were more of them to clean!

Geoff was forthright in his views but was very well respected in the organizations he was associated with and was fondly regarded by his relatives and friends. He was generous during his life and he has continued this after death by providing legacies to relatives and friends and financial help to his selected organizations. He obviously knew that his affairs would not be straight forward and his poignant final message in the notes he left for me were: ‘Best of Luck’! Looking at all the files in his house, I think I might need it!

Kevin Lawton

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SADDLEWORTH HISTORICAL SOCIETY PUBLICATIONS

BOOKS Mapping Saddleworth Volume I Edited by Mike Buckley, David J.W. Harrison and Alan Petford et al. Printed maps of the Parish 1771 - 1894. £19.95

Mapping Saddleworth Volume II Edited by Mike Buckley, David J.W. Harrison , Victor Khadem, Alan Petford and John Widdall. Manuscript maps of the Parish 1625 - 1822. £19.95

A History and Description of the Parochial Chapelry of Saddleworth by James Butterworth, with introduction by Robert Poole. A facsimile, hardback reprint of the original edition of 1828. £13.95

Saddleworth 1914-1919 by K.W. Mitchinson. The Experience of a Pennine Community during the Great War. £10.00

Cherry Valley Chronicles Edited by Maurice Dennett. Letters from Thomas Buckley of Millbury, Massachusetts, USA, to Ralph Buckley, his son of Dobcross, Saddleworth 1845-1875. £10.00

Passage through Time by Bernard Barnes. Saddleworth Roads and Trackways - A History. £6.95

With Ammon Wrigley in Saddleworth by Sam Seville, edited by Bernard Barnes. £5.95

Saddleworth from the Air Edited by Barri Jones. £5.00

The Huddersfield Narrow Canal A compilation of essays on the construction and history of the canal. £5.95

The Saddleworth-America Connection by Anne Parry. Reprint of the original 1979 Saddleworth Festival Publication. £5.00

SADDLEWORTH LOCAL INTEREST TRAILS Ten walks around Saddleworth illustrated with sketches and notes on local history & landscape. each £1.20

MAPS & PLANS Churchyard Plan: St Chad’s Church, the old graveyard £1.20 Churchyard Plan: St Chad’s Church, the lower graveyard £3.00 Ordnance Survey 25” Godfrey reprint - Lydgate £1.95

ORDERS Graham Griffiths, 6 Slackcote, Delph OL3 5TW. Please add 20% for post & packing. Cheques should be made out to Saddleworth Historical Society.

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SADDLEWORTH HISTORICAL SOCIETY Registered Charity No. 505074

Chairman Mike Buckley 01457 820015 [email protected]

Hon. Secretary vacant

Hon. Treasurer Neil Barrow 01457 876381 Carr Farm Cottage, Diggle, Saddleworth OL3 5ND [email protected]

Hon. Archivist Alan Petford 01422 202758 [email protected]

Hon. Membership Secretary Alison Wild 01457 834579 25 Moorlands Drive, Mossley, OL5 9DB [email protected]

Newsletter Editor vacant

Publications Officer Graham Griffiths 01457 870159 [email protected]

Publicity Officer Charles Baumann 01457 876858 [email protected]

Family History Group Alison Wild 01457 834579 [email protected]

Archaeology Group Jim Carr 01457 873612

Projects Co-ordinator Ivan Foster 01457 838098 [email protected]

Internet Site Manager Alan Hague [email protected]

Family History Mailing List Cheryl Westlotorn [email protected]

The Bulletin aims to reflect and encourage interest in all aspects of the history of Saddleworth. It relies on a regular supply of articles, letters, short reviews, etc. from members and others. Fresh material is required constantly, and should be sent to the Acting Editor Neil Barrow, who will be happy to discuss ideas for articles (or shorter contributions). These need not be confined to subjects within Saddleworth’s borders, but should have some connection with the district.

The Society’s Website is at: http://www.saddleworth-historical-society.org.uk

This has full details of the Society’s activities, publications, library and archives, and there is a facility to contact the Society by e-mail . An index to Saddleworth place names, a reference map of Saddleworth and a bibliography of Saddleworth publications are included. There are links to other relevant websites.

Documents

Saddleworth Historical Society Bulletin...i SHS Bulletin Vol. 42 No. 2 Summer 2012 Bulletin of the Saddleworth Historical Society Volume 42 Number 2 Summer 2012 Friarmere Cricket Club