View From A Hill

George Brittain and his family - Walkley

2012-02-29T08:19:00.001Z

Last Saturday 25th February I spent a few hours at the workday at Walkley Cemetery, removing brambles, undergrowth etc in a section of the cemetery that had burials from the 1940's and 50's. Whilst doing this I uncovered this headstone which I thought was a marvellous design. The inscription was also intriguing and so with a bit of spare time on my hands I did some research and uncovered a rather interesting story that I posted to the website

Pet Care in Victorian Sheffield

2012-02-28T12:59:00.001Z

From The Sheffield and Rotherham Independent 28th August 1886

Nowadays if PC Porter had taken action like he did then, he would most likely receive a short prison sentence and be fired from the police force. And probably have to move house. Just goes to show, how times have changed

Dreams Come True - Eventually!

2012-02-15T12:29:00.000Z

A couple of days ago an old lag from the class of 65 contacted me. He was propping up the bar in the newly re-opened (yet again) Millhouses Hotel when he looked out of the pub window, and thought his dreams had come true at last, albeit 47 years too late.

Where once stood a mighty citadel of academic excellence and/or a blight on the butt of post war education (cross out where applicable) there was only a pile of rubble.

He did not contact me straight away with this great news as he prefers supping beer (a common failing amongst the 65'ers)but he let me know once he'd come round.

I of course legged it across Sheffield and saw one of the finest sites ever - photo's below

.

Whilst I sat on a wall in Hastings Road smoking a large cigar and laughing at the madness of Britain in the twenty-first century, I had "visions" which is worrying development at my time of life. The mountain of rubble that was once a bastion (I think that is the right word) of scholarly endeavour should be grassed over and at the top a sculpture/statue should be commissioned. For instance it could depict a local government officer closely clutching a bulging brown envelope or a group of mean spirited camel-coated property- developers lying prostrate at the feet of an impassive St Margaret of Thatcher or a old shabby florid-faced man filling his pipe with a pinch of ready-rub or a small bewildered schoolboy with a tear running down his face.

He's Doin' Alright!

2012-02-07T11:02:00.000Z

As I look forward to an impoverished old age, I can only stand back and admire the perpetrators of the ever deepening moral abyss that bedevills much of Britain today. Whilst I have recently been duped out of my employers pension and received yet another insulting pay-rise for the nth year running, the leader of this unprovoked assault on my living standards has been lining his already deep pockets with yet more "spending loot". The fact that many of the low paid staff that he is supposed to represent are descending at an alarming rate into poverty and future misery, he and his ilk think that this descent should be rewarded by pay AND benefit awards that are bordering on the obscene.

The Times Educational Supplement dated 2 Feb 2012 takes up the story.

"The vice-chancellor of the University of Sheffield received a bonus that increased his pay and pension package by almost 6 per cent to £311,000 last year, as the institution prepared to cut pensions for its lowest-paid staff.

Keith Burnett's 2010-11 award was condemned as "morally irresponsible" by the university's Unison branch, although his total package is still below the Russell Group average.

The rise came in a year when Professor Burnett, in his former role as chair of the Universities and Colleges Employers Association, negotiated a 0.4 per cent national pay rise that applied to the majority of the UK's higher education staff.

During 2010-11, Sheffield proposed closing its defined-benefit pension scheme for support staff and switching those on the lowest pay grades to a "cash-balance" scheme. It implemented the plans on 1 December amid continuing opposition from the Unison and Unite unions, which have mounted strikes against the changes.

The deficit in Sheffield's support staff pension scheme was £52.8 million at 31 July 2011, compared with £58.3 million a year earlier.

Unions say Sheffield's move - which closes the defined-benefit scheme to current as well as future staff - will halve the previous typical £7,500 annual pension for support staff earning £15,000 a year.

Professor Burnett's total package (up 5.8 per cent from £294,000 in 2009-10) comprised £267,000 salary, £4,000 of benefits in kind and £40,000 in employer pension contributions, Sheffield's recently published accounts reveal.

A Sheffield spokesman said that Professor Burnett "is a leading vice-chancellor" and his total remuneration package is in the "mid range" compared with his peers at comparable universities. He added that the 5.8 per cent increase was a result of "a non-consolidated performance bonus payment" in 2010-11.

Times Higher Education revealed last month that the vice-chancellors at the 18 of 20 Russell Group universities to have published their accounts by 12 January received an average pay, benefits and pension package of nearly £318,000. The average increase for Russell Group vice-chancellors was 0.4 per cent.

Cardiff University is the only Russell Group institution yet to publish its accounts online.

Under the Sheffield pension changes, unions say, workers on the higher support staff pay grades were allowed to join the defined-benefit Universities Superannuation Scheme designed for academics, while those on the lowest grades were not.

Stuart Anderson, Unison branch secretary at Sheffield, said that for Professor Burnett to receive a pay rise "taking his total remuneration to...more than 20 times the pay of the lowest-paid worker, in the same year that the university effectively tore up many people's retirement plans, is obscene".

john.morgan@tsleducation.com.

To date Professor Burnett who according to the press "is a leading vice-chancellor", has not shared his good news with his fellow employees. I wonder why??

Fit for Heroes!!

2012-02-01T10:59:00.001Z

I came across the following cutting from The Observer dated 7th July 1918

There are not many times in life where words cannot express the depth of disgust that you are feeling but this is one of them.

Of course traditionally the UK's policies towards discharged and injured members of the armed services has been patchy at best and absolutely lamentable at worst. You would hope that in the C21st matters would have vastly improved but in 2007 a report stated

"One in 10 homeless people in the UK are former members of the armed forces, a charity working with veterans says.

A survey in 1997 by the Ex-Service Action Group on Homelessness suggested that 22% of people who were "street homeless" had a military background."
This was cited as an "improving picture" and not a national disgrace. And given the current governments zeal in making people unemployed/unemployable I fear for a repeat of July 1918

Have You a Keen Nose For Value?

2012-01-30T13:09:00.000Z

As I was researching a story about the murder of a bailiff in Sheffield by a local builder I came across the following advertisement. From The Sheffield Telegraph and Daily Independent - February 1939

I had never heard of the brand but ascertained that the producer of the cigarettes were Gallaghers who marketed them under the Kensitas brand. As a matter of interest I checked what the price of the cigarettes would be today factoring inflation. The answer would be approximately £2.65. 24 cigarettes nowadays would be in the £7.00 range which illustrates the effects that successive goverments have had on the price of cigarettes in particular and tobacco in general.

And as we all know indirect taxation such as exise duty and VAT always hits the poorer paid in society. mmm....

Downfall through Racing

2012-01-30T12:09:00.002Z

When I first read this report I thought for a moment that Inspector Naylor was commenting on William Ibbotson's record of backing winners. It is only when I got to the end of the article that I realised they were commenting on his criminal convictions!!

From The Sheffield Telegraph & Daily Independent 1925

Turning down $5.1 million

2012-01-30T10:26:00.000Z

I have just received this e-mail - after reading the mail I became suspicious when he referred to the fact that he had become disheartened with the level of fraud in the world, and harked back to the days of real trust. And this is from a Nigerian accountant!

"FROM THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ACCOUNTANT
TO (ASOPADC)
ADDRESS;PLOT 45 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY ROAD,
NEW GOVERNMENT STATION LAYOUT UMUAHIA
ABIA STATE, NIGERIA
PHONE NUMBER;+234 08102427690

Dear Sir,

Basically, from the depth of my heart I want to ask you for partnership, desperately through human consciousness of understanding I have known that there is no way somebody can actualize his real aim in life without a helpful hand. Definitely, I strongly believe that if you would agree with me you will come to the oneness of mind with me.

I am the Chief Accountant to Abia State Oil Producing area development community (ASOPADC) ,THIS ministry was establish by the Government of Abia State to oversees for the welfare of all the oil producing communities in the State, and this is my six years competent experience in the office as the Chief Accountant . Really, my main purpose of writing this formative is to acquire if you will assist me to save money in your account the sum of (us$17,000,000) which I want to transfer to abroad and also needed a foreign account for the transaction.

But, the unusual thing that actually disheartened me is the heavy fraud in the world today which had intently destroyed real trust, yet I believe that there are still genuine people therefore if you are interested to assist me in this transaction just sincerely forward your name, home address, office address, phone number, and Bank account. While your percentage will be 30%, Wholly I urge you to keep it confidential.

Thanks,

Yours Sincerely,
Nwakadibia Afarata
The Chief Accountant

Mrs Smithurst's "habit of taking a dose"

2012-01-11T13:02:00.000Z

I came across the following cutting when I was researching some details on the long established Sheffield firm of Reuben Thompson who were

My grandad was manager of the firm in the 1930s and 1940's

Whilst doing this I also came across this cutting from The Sheffield and Rotherham Independent dated 12th April 1900 relating to the death of Ann Smithurst

I'd never heard of this medicine and so a quick net search revealed that it started its life as a medication used in the treatment of cholera but due to its "narcotic properties" it proved to be one of the best selling medicines of the C19th. Its principal ingredients were a mixture of laudenum (an alcoholic solution of opium), tincture of cannabis, and chloroform, and so it readily lived up to its claims of relieving pain, as a sedative, and for the treatment of diarrhea.In fact it was highly addictive hence Mrs Smithurst's "habit of taking a dose"

Sadly the mixture was diluted throughout the C20th. The cannabis was removed from the formulation, and the amount of opiates in the medicine were progressively reduced. Shame really!

As It 'Appens

2012-01-04T13:08:00.000Z

As relief at the Prince's apparent recovery floods over us at these trying times, our minds were drawn to someone who could have fixed it for him but sadly is now unable to do so

Thanks Richard

A New Year

2012-01-04T12:40:00.000Z

A Happy New Year to all my reader(s)

It hardly seems to be two minutes since we (myself and the good wife) were discussing putting one or two things aside for Christmas during our weekly shopping trip; a tin of beans one week, or a packet of OXOs another, when suddenly Christmas and the New Year was upon us. 
No doubt, like yourselves, your Christmas festivities were over shadowed by the news of dear Prince Philip's heart attack, this certainly cast a gloom over proceedings, not just in our house but everywhere I visited - The Royal, The Sheaf View T'Club etc. Thank goodness that he seems to have survived this untoward threat to his Royal life - may we both wish him many more years of happiness and good health.

Despite everything, we did our best to enjoy ourselves, a brief respite from the hard daily grind of our existence, glued, as we were to the wireless set, lest we miss the latest update regarding the recovery of our beloved Prince. Merry-making was kept to an absolute minimum (not hard when you live in the Crookes area of Sheffield) which is the correct way to conduct oneself when the Prince's life was threatened. We remained calm, dignified, and prepared, should there have been any adverse turn in our Prince's health.

Gawd bless 'im, that's what we say!

North Norfolk police are currently investigating the discovery of a female body on the Prince's Sandringham estate.

At the moment although the police are not ruling anything out, there have tentatively admitted that the death is not related in anyway to the Prince's recent illness.

PS Thanks Richard

The Hathersage Gravedigger

2011-12-20T12:52:00.003Z

From The Sheffield Star dated Saturday 12th February 1983 - it appears that security at the Lodge Moor POW camp left a bit to be desired

The sad thing is that I had never heard of Sam until I came across this cutting. I am also left wondering who made up the "notorious Sheffield gang" - if they were resorting to nicking lead off church roofs I seem to think that they may have been in the "minor leagues"

February 1939

2011-12-07T11:55:00.001Z

I was reasearching an article about a murder of a bailiff in Greenhill when I cam across the following page from the Sheffield Star in February 1939. It provoked a wry smile - at a time when gas masks were being issued and Einstein's cousin was discovering Haydn's lost symphonies, the Sheffield Magistrates were pondering why Mrs Bertha Terry of Baslow Road Totley had parked her car the wrong way round outside the City Hall. They fearlessly upheld the law and the wishes of Sheffield's Chief Constable and fined Mrs Terry £1 plus costs

The Sheffield Magistrates also took a tough line with Stanley Burrows of Ripley Street who was found guilty "of exposing himself with intent to insult a female". He was bound over, placed on probabation and ordered to pay £3 costs. Mmmm

But at least the English Amateur Draughts Championship (Sheffield section) did not suffer the attentions of Mr Burrows!

A Grave Concern - "digging up Uncle Charlie"

2011-12-06T12:38:00.000Z

I had a wry smile at this report that appeared in the national press just over ten years ago in July 2001.Under the title

FRIVOLOUS EXHUMATION REQUESTS CAUSE CHURCH GRAVE CONCERN

" THE Church of England is "seriously concerned" about an unprecedented rise in the number of people applying to exhume relatives' remains when they move house.

The Church says that "digging up Uncle Charlie" and reburying him near the new house has become "almost a fashion" over the past five years, with a sevenfold increase in exhumation requests in many parts of the country. The Ecclesiastical Judges Association, made up of diocesan chancellors who rule on local exhumation requests, said that there was a growing view that "exhumation on demand" was acceptable because burial had lost its "religious and moral significance" for many people.

Timothy Briden, the Chancellor of the Bath and Wells Diocese and the association's secretary, said: "We are very concerned about this trend. An alarming number of people seem to have lost the notion of the grave as the final resting place and see human remains as assets to be dug up and taken with them like any other possessions when they move house.

"This is a serious issue because, to the Anglican Church, interment is an important act that achieves finality, marking the end of the mortal life and the commitment of the soul to God."

Until as recently as five years ago, the number of exhumation requests from families was about "one or two cases per diocese", Mr Briden said. These were usually "highly exceptional cases" involving foreigners whose relatives wanted them reburied in their own country, or non-Christians whose families wanted a new funeral according to their faith.

In the past five years, however, the number of applications has risen to about 15 a year in many areas, with the biggest increases in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Chester and the Isle of Man. One application that was rejected recently came from a family who wanted a relative to be exhumed because she was next to the grave of a family they did not like.
The association has now drawn up guidelines reinforcing the Anglican view of burial and insisting that exhumation will not be allowed unless there is a strong case for it. If an exhumation is approved by the Diocesan Chancellor, a licence must then be sought from the Home Office. The grave is usually opened during the night. The coffin is disinfected and lime sprinkled around the grave to prevent the spread of disease.
Neil Cocking, the owner of Chelsea Funeral Directors, who has done several exhumations, said: "The original coffin is lifted out and put inside a larger coffin, which is sealed and transported by funeral directors to the new grave."
Clare Faulds, the Vicar-General on the Isle of Man, said that the rise was linked to increased mobility and a decline in religious faith. "People are not rooted to their local communities as much as they used to be. Far fewer people live and die in the same place, and that seems to have encouraged this sense that bodies can be moved around when people move house."

It appears that exhumations are on the increase much to the disapproval and chagrin of the Church of England. But the mere thought of increasing numbers of old corpses and cadavers being on the roads defies belief. Imagine if there was a delay, a breakdown or worse still an accident whilst the body was being transported to it's new "resting place." The consequences could be quite literally horrific!

Welcome Home Hector

2011-11-29T10:10:00.000Z

Surname     First name(s)     Spouse     District     Vol     Page
Marriages Jun 1936
Hearn    Rosina M         Murdoch    Uxbridge    3a    257
Murdoch    Hector W A        Hearn          Uxbridge    3a    257

The marriage of Hector and Rosina led to one of the most famous photographs to have come out of the Second World War. And is certainly in my opinion one of the finest ever taken

Gunner Hector Murdoch arrives at his new prefabricated house in Tulse Hill, London, — on his birthday no less - and is greeted by his wife Rosina and 9 year old son John. He has been away for four and a half years, three and a half years of which he was a prisoner of the Japanese after the fall of Singapore in 1942.

"They are virtually airborne with joy as they charge down the garden path to greet him".

There was nothing staged about this photograph which was taken by Harry Todd. Hector nearly died of cholera in Singapore. For 18 months, Rosina had no idea if he was alive or dead. Yet here, a new age dawns before them all, just as it did for a whole generation.

I wonder what happened to Hector, Rosina and John - the new prefabriacted house in Tulse Hill is no longer there. They were built to last for ten years but in some parts of the country a few have survived to this day. Ah the UK's post war housing policy!

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Author of the Sherlock Holmes detective novels

2011-11-28T12:18:00.001Z

I was not aware of the following information

Whilst sudying medicine, Arthur Conan Doyle had a brief acquaintance with Burngreave in Sheffield. In 1878 he came to Sheffield to work as an assistant to Dr Charles Sydney Richardson on Spital Hill. This was in the building on the corner of Spital Hill and Hallcar Street, which is now the New Roots Café and Burngreave Ashram. It seems that Conan Doyle did not get along with Dr Richardson or Sheffield patients as he later wrote:

'These Sheffielders would rather be poisoned by a man with a beard than saved by a man without one"

It appears that he only lasted three weeks with Dr Richardson before moving at first to Shropshire working for a Dr Elliot and then to Birmingham where he was employed by a Dr Reginald Hoare
1882: Doyle set up as a Doctor in Plymouth with a fellow student from Edinburgh Dr George Budd but it was unsuccessful and the two did not get on. Doyle then set up in Elm Grove, Southsea near Portsmouth but had very few patients and therefore little money. He subsidised his income writing detective stories. His first story was accepted by Chambers Journal in Edinburgh.

Five years later he published the first of his Sherlock Holmes story "A Study in Scarlet" in Becton's Christmas Annual and had enough money to give up medicine. Holmes was reputedly based on one of his medical school lecturers Doctor Joseph Bell.

It makes you think that if Conan Doyle had got on with Dr Richardson would Sherlock Holmes have had offices in Spital Hill Sheffield as opposed to Baker Street London mmm....

Doris Best 1896 - 1998 - Britain's First Girl Guide

2011-11-28T11:24:00.001Z

"Something Must be Done"

2011-11-15T13:27:00.000Z

One of the best photos ever taken is that of the Duke of Windsor visiting South Wales in the 1930's and being introduced to unemployed Welsh miners.

I can never understand why the miners look as though they are "on parade" and for the life of me, what are the row of wooden planks there for? It looks as though they have flattened t'tip especially for his visit. The other thing to note is that the Duke is the only person there wearing a hat. All the flat caps

belonging to the miners are held behind their backs. Very strange! Anyway after viewing the grinding poverty and hopelessness in the Valley,s the Duke was heard to say "Something must be done". Unfortunately he did not elaborate on this observation and in the light of that, nothing was done.

However this lack of action must have bothered him. A few years after the visit, a now hatless Duke and his new wife were introduced to

There is no record of the Duke asking his host to "do something" but within two years "something" did happen and the Valleys returned to full employment.

Thought for the Day

2011-11-15T11:58:00.001Z

"Philosophers do not solve problems but create them in forms ever more difficult to solve, thus perpetuating philosophy. This is not unique; economists, sociologists and politicians behave in exactly the same way with corresponding consequences"

James William Longman Beament, entomologist and biophysicist (1921-2005)

Ten Ancient Trees

2011-11-09T13:21:00.000Z

I came across the following cutting and thought it may be an idea to visit all these trees sometime in the future. Anyway reviewing the list I was puzzled about the ninth tree listed - the Big Belly Oak in the Savernake Forest. Quite why anyone wants to summon the Devil up when we already have "Old Nick" Clegg is beyond me. But I suppose each to there own.

However when I did a bit of research I found that there is a bit more than just jigging about naked in front of an old oak tree. According to legend anyone wanting to summon Old Nick up has to

"to dance naked at midnight twelve times anticlockwise around the Big Belly or Decanter Oak in Savernake Forest. "

To compound one's difficulties, the tree is reached by a short walk down a busy and quite dangerous road, the A346.Mmmmm....

Private Harry Wilkinson of the 2/Lancashire Fusiliers

2011-11-09T12:45:00.000Z

Private Harry Wilkinson of the 2/Lancashire Fusiliers. body was found in 2000, and he was reburied in 2001 with full honours.- the above cutting is from The Daily Telegraph

A cross commemorating Harry Wilkinson stands by the side of the road near to where his remains were found, 86 years after he died. This cross is not too far from Prowse Point Cemetery, and is located south of the St. Yvon craters. Private Harry Wilkinson was killed in action on the 10th of November 1914, and there is a faded picture of him next to the cross.

In the field behind this cross, the remains of three more British soldiers were found in March 2006. An identity disc was found with one, and he has been "identified" by the press as Private Richard Lancaster who, like Harry Wilkinson, served with the 2nd Lancashire Fusiliers and also died on the 10th of November 1914. Private Richard Lancaster was re-interred at Prowse Point Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery on Wednesday 4 July 2007.

Harry's Grave at Prowse Point Cemetery with its memorial stone

Notice To Quit - Sheffield 1958

2011-11-08T12:16:00.000Z

In the BMD registers there is the following entry - Deaths Mar 1958
LIGHTBROWN    Margaret    Age 79    Sheffield    Volume 2d Page 160

Lightbrown is not a common name in Sheffield - this is the entry in the 1911 Census for margaret
Name     Margaret Lightbrown
Relationship to Head of Household     Wife
Condition     Married
Gender     F
Age     30
Estimated Year of Birth     1881
Employed     N
Working at Home     N
Place of Birth     Lancashire Burnley
Enumerator Information
Address     206 Firth Park Road Sheffield
Parish     Sheffield
Town     Sheffield
Type of Building     Private House
Number of Rooms     6
Inhabited     Y
Reference     RG14PN27955 RG78PN1598 RD510 SD5 ED32 SN14
Administrative County     Yorkshire (West Riding)
Registration District     Sheffield Registration Sub District     West Brightside
Enumeration District     32

According to the census Margaret had been married less than a year to her husband James Edward Lightbrown, a 34 year old manager of a joiner's shop in a steelworks. Both originated from Lancashire, James from Accrington and Margaret from Burnley.

I know nothing else about their lives together after this point. But neither would have envisaged that Margaret would have ended her days in misery and turmoil.

The Manchester Guardian dated 19th March 1958 reported

I have come across the coroner Mr Alan Lockwood before in connection with the deaths of the Derbyshire family in 1945 and I was not very impressed with his demeanour and attitude then, and this inquest has into Margaret's death merely confirms that impressison. He was correct in his assertion that the tennancy agreeement was not within the remit of the court, but his comments with regards to a possible "future" resolution, and Mrs Lightbrown's right to consult lawyers are both vacuous and meaningless. Margaret was 79 years of age when the notice of eviction was served - did she have the wherewithal, or more importantly from the lawyers perspective, the money to contest the notice - I very much doubt it.

"It may well be that nearer the time (for the eviction) some arrangement might have been come to for her to continue living there on suitable terms". By far the more likely scenerio given the greed and avarice inherent in private landlords, is that Margaret would have been turfed out of her home. She had received "Notice to Quit" end of story, a notice that led to her be terribly upset". So upset in fact that she killed herself in a tragic manner
.

As a final note for younger readers - prior to the 1960s most domestic gas supply in the United Kingdom was coal gas aka town gas, which in its unburned form contained high levels of carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide poisoning by intentionally inhaling coal gas was a common suicide method, accounting for nearly half of all suicides in the UK in the late 1950s. After the British government phased out coal gas in favor of natural gas (which lacks carbon monoxide) in the 1960s, the suicide rate in Britain fell by almost a third and has not risen since.

Lieutenant William John Clegg MC

2011-11-02T13:04:00.000Z

And yet another mail I received this week but this time I was receiving information rather than researching it

"I came across your site on the Clegg family and your appeal for information. I have some information on William John Clegg as part of research into the Great War poarticipation of the former pupils of Hazelwood Prep school at Limpsfield in Surrey and thought you might like to see it, and if you would like to, include it on your site

His entry is below and I hope you find it useful/interesting

(98) Clegg, William John Lieutenant MC

1/1^st Yorkshire Dragoons (Queens’ Own) Yeomanry

He was born in September 1897 the son of Leonard Johnson Clegg JP, a solicitor, and his second wife, Kate M (nee Turton) Clegg of Whiteley Wood, Sheffield in Yorkshire. He left Hazelwood School in the summer of 1911 for Uppingham School where he was educated from September 1911 until April 1914.

On leaving school he was articled to the firm of L.J. Clegg, solicitors of Sheffield.

He was appointed as a 2^nd Lieutenant in the Yorkshire Dragoons on the 12^th of November 1915. He was later promoted to Lieutenant and served in France, Belgium and Germany from September 1916 to May 1919.

He was awarded the Military Cross which was announced in the London Gazette of the 4^th of October 1919 and the citation read:-

"On 20th October 1918, south-west of Vichte, for conspicuous gallantry and good work whilst leading an advanced platoon. He continually came under very heavy machine-gun fire from his flank. He pressed forward, and succeeded in capturing seven field guns and over thirty prisoners. It was greatly owing to his fearless leadership that his company were able to advance about a mile and a half in front of the infantry."

After the war he returned to work as a solicitor.

He married Audrey Ivy (nee MacLaren) at Hove Parish Church on the 2^nd of September 1926 and they lived at Bay House, 1 Marine Parade, Budleigh Salterton.

During the Second World War he served with the War Claims Commission and he died in February 1969"

Needless to say I have posted this information to the site

The Hendersons Were There After All

2011-11-02T12:23:00.001Z

The other day I received the following e-mail which refered to an article that had been on the site for a few years The Hendersons Were Not There (neither was Mr Kite) - Sheffield 1848

"Found your site via google and was intrigued to read your article on John and Agnes Henderson at which I thoroughly enjoyed.

You mention that the history of John Henderson was detailed in 'King Pole' (not familiar to me) and I wondered if you had any information on his ancestry or place of birth. I am descended from a line of Hendersons from Dumfries in Scotland and would be interested in trying to trace John Hendersons ancestry if it is not already known".

Basically the article is based on the Beatles (John Lennon) song "For the Benefit of Mr Kite" which appears on the Sgt Pepper album. Pablo Fanques Fair did appear in Sheffield in 1848 but Mr Kite and the Hendersons did not.

Anyway I decided to check the UK censuses to see if I could help the correspondent out but found out that John Henderson was born in Lambeth London and not Scotland. The ODNB gives the following information

"Henderson, John (1822–1867), circus performer and proprietor, was born in London, the son of John Henderson, an actor. He was advertised as a rider with Price and Powell's circus at Bristol in 1842. After a spell with Pablo Fanque in Lancashire, he was with Powell's circus at Hammersmith in 1843, performing as a trampolinist, clown, vaulter, and somersault thrower. He married Agnes Selina (c.1825–1879), the fifth daughter of Henry Michael Hengler, the circus rope-dancer, on 2 October 1843, at Canterbury. Their only child, a daughter, died at the age of twenty-one. In 1844 Charles Hengler (Mrs Henderson's brother) took over Powell's company; Henderson and William Powell were joint ringmasters in 1845. Henderson appeared as a leaper at Astley's Amphitheatre, London, in 1847, in William Batty's time, and returned in 1850 to perform on the iron wire. He continued with Hengler's company for many years, a brilliant all-round artiste, although he occasionally appeared in other arenas.

In October 1858 Henderson left Hengler to fulfil engagements in Moscow and St Petersburg, first selling his black mare Bess. By 1859 he had become involved in circus management, probably for Hengler, ostensibly of Frowde's Cirque Modele, at Sheffield, while at the same time appearing on the slack wire. The company was then transformed into Henderson's Grand Cirque, at Chester. Although he was always associated with Hengler, Henderson always strove towards success in his own right. During 1860 his circus toured England. For the next seven years he alternated between Hengler's, other circuses, and his own temporary companies. He was manager of the Christmas circus at the Agricultural Hall, Islington, London, for three seasons from 1863 to 1864, and ran the winter 1866–7 circus at the London Music Hall, Manchester. Henderson died of pleurisy on 10 May 1867 while his circus was at Ipswich, and was buried on 13 May in Ipswich cemetery. He was a fine tall man with curly hair and a bushy moustache.
John M. Turner
Sources
J. M. Turner, ‘The excitement and romance of circus history’, King Pole, 71 (June 1986), 4ff. · T. McDonald Rendle, Swings and roundabouts (1919) · G. Van Hare, Fifty years of a showman's life, or, The life and travels of Van Hare, new edn (1893) · Boase, Mod. Eng. biog. · The Era (19 May 1867) · Suffolk Mercury (11 May 1867) · Suffolk Mercury (18 May 1867) · m. cert.

But whilst researching this information I came across the following entry from the 1861 Census

"From the 1861 UK Census
Name Agnes Henderson Age 33 Estimated Year of Birth 1828 Relationship to Head of Household Lodger Occupation ...artist Address Sidney Street District Sheffield, South Sheffield Parish Sheffield Administrative County Yorkshire (West Riding) Birth Place Canterbury Birth County Kent

Staying with Agnes was her 15 year old daughter Jane.

The word that was missing was "equestrian" Agnes was an equestrian artist and the wife of John Henderson. She was lodging with her daughter (Martha) Jane in Sydney Street in 1861, Her husband John was lodging in Soho mmmm Name John Henderson Age 37 Estimated Year of Birth 1824 Relationship to Head of Household Lodger Occupation Equestian Address 5, Spur Street District Strand, St Anne Soho Parish St Anne Administrative County London, Middlesex Birth Place London Birth County Middlesex

The Hendersons were of course "immortalised" in the Beatles (John Lennon) song "For the Benefit of Mr KIte" which appears on the Sgt Pepper album. Sadly their daughter died at the age of 21 and is buried with her father John in London's Highgate Cemetery. His body was exhumed from Ipswich Cemetery where he was first laid to rest in May 1867. His wife Agnes died on 10th October 1879, in Liverpool. She was buried in Toxteth Cemetery, Smithdown Road, with no surviving children

Frederick Nodder - A Child Murderer from Sheffield

2011-11-02T10:50:00.000Z

The other day I received the following e-mail about an article that I had written quiet a few years ago cocerning the abduction and murder of Mona Tinsley in Nottinghamshire

"I have just read your excellent article on the murder of Mona Tilsley but I am unable to agree with your opening statement that ‘Frederick Nodder’s case is a rarity in British legal history because he was convicted on separate charges, at two trials, in different towns of the SAME offence’

He was firstly convicted of ‘child stealing’ under S.56 of the OAP 1961 then, following the discovery of Mona Tilsleys body, murder at common law. Clearly, these are two separate offences though both convictions resulted from his actions!"

Initially I was sceptical but after reviewing the article and sentence I agreed with the writer and replied

"Having reviewed the sentence and the wording I can see where you are coming from - they were indeed two offences. I have altered the wording to reflect this."

But I also got around to thinking that I knew very little about Nodder's early life. I tried to find material when I posted the article but was unsuccessful. The newspaper reports did not give much background but they all stated that Nodder was 45 years of age at the time of his execution. and so I based my checks on this fact but to no avail. But I should have checked the BMD register. Free BMD gives the following information
Deaths December 1937
Nodder Frederick Age 50 Lincoln Volume 7a Page 603
Nodder was 50 years old when he was hung and not 45 as stated in the press. Based on this new information there is a corresponding entry for his birth
Births September 1887 Nodder Frederick Sheffield Volume 9c Page 440.

After that I was up and running and had enough material to post a supplement to the main article - my research did show that Nodder and his family were from Sheffield and that they lived for quite some time in the Crookes/Walkley area. But given the horrendous nature of his crime it is not something that is likely to be publicised

Elijah Moor (1867- 1961) - Over 60 years with Millwall FC

2011-10-19T11:29:00.001+01:00

I came across the following cutting which was in the ever growing "to do" pile. The cutting relates to my family history.

Elijah was my second cousin's Barbara's great grandfather or to put it another way, Elijah's daughter Agnes was my grandfather's sister in law. Elijah can be see on the team photo of Millwall FC that was taken in the 1905 - 06 season. He is on the back row wearing a flat cap

I also have a photo of Elijah that was taken with my great grandmother Elizabeth Hobbs that was from an old photograph album that my gran had. The photo may have been taken in New Cross London in the late 1930's

"Hold on Blanche, we are in for it here"

2011-10-12T10:20:00.003+01:00

On the useful FreeBMD site there are the following entries for the following people who were from Walkley in Sheffield

Surname     First name(s)     Mother     District Vol Page

Births Dec 1915
Mountain    Blanche    Egginton    Ecclesall B    9c    830
Births Dec 1912
Glossop    Frederick W    Green    Ecclesall B. 9c    813
Deaths Dec 1932
Glossop    Frederick W    20    Ecclesall B.       9c    343

And this cutting from The Manchester Guardian dated 23rd November 1932 reports on how it ended

Unusually the report does not state where the accident took place.

But three years later the same FreeBMD has the following entry for Blanche
Marriages Sep 1935
Burton    Joseph C    Mountain    Sheffield    9c    1151
Mountain    Blanche    Burton    Sheffield       9c    1151

and then these two entries

Births Sep 1937
Burton    Brian J    Mountain    Sheffield    9c    694
Births Mar 1939
Burton    Beatrice RMountain    Sheffield    9c    542

And so with at least two children to bring up Blanche had over 30 years of married life to Joseph before she too died

Name     Blanche Burton
Year of Registration     1967
Quarter of Registration     Jan-Feb-Mar
Registration District     Sheffield Registration County     Yorkshire
Age at Death:     51 Volume Number     2D Volume Page     202

I wonder if she ever thought of Fred Glossop or told her children of what happened in November 1932?

Getting Worried

2011-10-04T13:33:00.001+01:00

When I woke up this morning, I turned the radio on and started listening to "Wake Up to Money" on Radio 5 Live. Anyway I was shocked and dismayed. They were interviewing a man about the UK economy and what he would like the Coalition government to do in the future. He managed to get through the whole interview without any mention of the working classes which is de-rigeur amongst politicians nowadays, and espoused a series of measures that would in effect pander to the "haves". But the shock I experienced was when he started making references on more than one occassion to the "broad sunlit uplands".

Taking his cue from Churchill's "Finest Hour" speech in 1940, he inferred that if the Coalition government take heed of his advice in the coming years then the "sunlit uplands" beckon. Unfortunately there was nothing in his advice that would advance the standard of living for the working classes - in fact most of it was actively hostile to them and would ensure that they remained forever in the "narrow dark valleys".

Anyway after the interview finished I was told that this "Churchillian rhetoric" was uttered by John Longworth the Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce speaking from the 2011 Conservative Party Conference in Manchester. When these leaders of industry and defenders of the banks start using the language of 1940 you know you are in deep deep trouble.

His fellow traveller David Cameron has also made references to the "uplands" in the past when he stated that a better world that awaits us on the other side of our current fiscal ordeal. When this will happen he is not saying at the moment which is just very worrying.

It would be far better if they just told the truth but that would be even more worrying!

As a final point Churchill did refer to the likes of David Cameron and John Longworth in one of his quotes

"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire."

Letter of the Day

2011-10-04T12:18:00.001+01:00

Just came across this newspaper cutting I had saved from an "Agony Aunt" dated July 2007. It was sent from a Mrs B in Essex

George Arthur Buckley 1889 - 1935

2011-09-20T14:34:00.000+01:00

In the 1911 Census there is the following entry for a elementary school teaching assistant

Name     George Arthur Buckley
Relationship to Head of Household     Son
Condition     Single Gender     Male
Age     22 Estimated Year of Birth     1889
Occupation     Elementary School Teacher Assistant
Employed Yes Working at Home     No
Place of Birth     Nottinghamshire Meden Bank
Enumerator Information Address     65 Church St Elsecar Near Barnsley Town     Elsecar Near Barnsley
Type of Building     Private House Number of Rooms     5 Rooms
Reference     RG14PN27625 RG78PN1579 RD507 SD3 ED23 SN217
Administrative County     Yorkshire (West Riding) Registration District     Barnsley
Registration Sub District     Darfield Enumeration District     23




Fast forward 24 years and this entry appeared in The Guardian dated 2nd December 1935


	It seems as though did extremely well for himself in the period after 1911 - a headmaster,captain of Sheffield United CC,director of Sheffield United FC but it all ended at a church service. I am not sure about Mrs Buckley's request that "the service must go on" - I am sure that the congregation would not have be able to focus on the Communion Service. The church in the Norton Less district of Sheffield is still there but is much changed in the interior

Sgt Graham Leslie PARISH RAFVR

2011-09-19T13:18:00.000+01:00

I've just posted this artcle to the site. George was awarded the George Cross posthumously for his actions at Khartoum airfield in 1942. His father Stephen was killed in Alexandria in Egypt on 4th November 1918 (seven days before the war ended) However it is a strange co-incidence that both father and son died for their country in separate wars and yet are buried on the same continent. Their graves are separated by nearly 1,100 miles.

George's grave is in the immaculately kept Khartoum's Military Cemetery in the Sudan - a country that I'm unlikely to visit in the forseeable future

Wifrid Steel 1882 - 1915

2011-09-19T11:12:00.000+01:00

Just posted an article to the website that came about purely by chance. I was trying to find information about the anti-German riots in Sheffield in May 1915 (after the sinking of the Lusitania) when I came across the obituary for Wilfrid in The Sheffield Daily Telegraph. A fellow researcher sent me a photo of Wilfrid

I would like to find out what happened to his widow Evelyn and their four children.

Up For The Cup!

2011-08-23T13:23:00.000+01:00

Following on from the previous blog there is a classic photo from the 1959-60 season showing Abbeydale Boys Grammar School Under 14 football team. It may give you an indication as to why the fortunes of the two Sheffield clubs have been so abject over the years. Still I'd like to see Chris Morgan in those boots the team are wearing - they would literally be banned!

Down In The Old Schoolyard

2011-08-23T13:03:00.003+01:00

Just posted some photos and recollections of a former inmate at Abbeydale Boys Grammar School who was sent down in 1958  



I probably did not stress it enough on the pages when I posted them, but the views I give are very much personal ones and in part are based on that wonderful commodity hindsight.



What really started me off were the articles in The Guardian which portrayed ABGS in the 1960's has some sort of educational idyll - an idyll that was destroyed by the imposition of comprehensive education. Well I certainly did not find ABGS idyllic,far from it. For many years I could not place my finger on why I was unhappy there but when you are a parent yourself you get a different perspective.



I came to the conclusion that it was not me that was at fault (you were always made to feel you were) but the system that existed. There were just too many teachers who should never have been let near a classroom in the sixties, they were just "unfit for purpose".



Maybe I am too critical of the school but for seven years they dominated my

life and the end product was not something they could have been proud of.

Perhaps I failed them but they certainly failed me.



Since I posted the pages quite a few years back - there was a paucity of material on ABGS online - quite a number of "old lags" have contacted me. Some have disagreed strongly with my views and said their time at the school was the best days of their lives, and even intimated that I was ungrateful for the opportunity I had been given. One even suggested that if I had found God all these troubles would have gone away!! . Well yes for certain people ABGS did work and provided them with a sound basis for their future careers and life.The majority to be fair have ambivalent feelings towards the school - yes there were faults but it could have been worse is the general line. But what has suprised me is the sizeable minority who demonstrate a real and lasting hatred for the place 40+ years on.



To quote



" Lousy, patronising bastards weren't they ,those tossers who pretended to teach us ? Not fit to look after my dog let alone children."



As for me I have no respect or fondness for ABGS as an institution at all, which is not how it should be. My children had a pleasant time at school and remember it

fondly and so perhaps things are improving in one sense.



Final thought a photograph of the teaching and secretarial staff from the summer of 1959 - spot the odd two out

The Crookes Trout

2011-08-16T17:16:00.002+01:00

Taken from The Sheffield Telegraph - 1925

The strange death of Margaret Davies - December 2002

2011-08-11T17:03:00.001+01:00

This cutting is from the Daily Telegraph dated 11th December 2002 - I never knew places like this existed in the British Isles but apparently they do. The link above is to a Guardian report dated 18th December 2002 which I have only just found. I firmly believe that her death was due more to mis-judgement and isolation rather than other causes that were touted about at the time

Kenneth Steel (1906-1970) Sheffield Artist

2011-08-03T10:31:00.001+01:00

I've just posted an article to the site about another artist, Kenneth Steele who lived in Crookes for a time (Conduit Road), and whose works are now being sought after by collectors. To say that he had an "interesting" life is an understatement.

One of Kenneth's BR poster from the 1950's

"Painter in watercolour, engraver & lithographer of landscapes & street scenes; poster designer. Born Sheffield 9/7/1906, son of G.T.Steel, an artist and silver engraver. Studied at Sheffield College of Art under Anthony Betts. Represented in several public collections. Achieved a prolific output of artwork for the railways. Based in Crookes, Sheffield for years. Produced artwork for LNER Post-War, LMR Railway Architecture, Scottish Region series".

Roman Catholic Mortuary Chapel at City Road Cemetery, Sheffield

2011-08-03T10:02:00.001+01:00

A week last Monday, I spent a couple of hours at City Road Cemetery like you do when you are on holiday. It had been a couple of years since I last went there and I was pleasantly surprised about the general condition of the Cemetery. It looks as though it is being cared for once again

However there was one exception to this general state of well-being and that is the Roman Catholic Mortuary Chapel which is situated inside the Cemetery. It is now in a state of severe disrepair and surrounded with security fencing that is in places toppling over.

Whhen I got home I checked it up and found that it had been listed as a grade 2 building in 1995. How it was allowed to get in this state is just beyond me. From what I can gather from the Sheffield City Council website it was last used in 1980 and since then it has been to deteriorating in an alarming fashion. As the photos show the Chapel is now totally derelict and neglected. In fact it can now be termed a dangerous strucure. It is a disgrace that such a striking and historic building should have been allowed to reach such a state. Sheffield is not over-endowed with Grade 2 listed buildings and so why was this chapel allowed to get in this state?

HORATIO BRIGHT - THE MAUSOLEUM AT MOSCAR SHEFFIELD

2011-07-21T10:11:00.001+01:00

And talking of graves I have also posted an update on Horatio Bright and the Mausoleum at Moscar Sheffield. Horatio Bright was was of the first people I researched for the site as he lived "on the Hill" in 1861. He lived next door to our house, before moving on to Townend Street and then to Lydgate Hall in Crosspool. He led what can only be called "an interesting life" but the circumstances of his death (his funeral was positively gothic) and internment have also attracted a good deal of attention over the years

Joseph Haslam Hawksworth and Joseph Senior

2011-07-21T10:00:00.001+01:00

Just posted one article and updated another article to my website that concern past residents of Crookes and Crookesmoor. In both cases I suppose you could say that they were the greatest artist and poet respectively that Crookes ever produced but in both cases there was very little about either of them on-line or in print.

The artist Joseph Haslam Hawksworth was unusual inasmuch as that he supported himself and his family throughout his life on his earnings from being an artist-painter..He was according to critics "a highly accomplished English landscape painter" of the period

Joseph Senior on the other hand was a pen blade forger by trade and his poetry was purely for pleasure.Nevertheless he was widely known and respected in the district and in Sheffield - see the list of subscribers to his book "Smithy Rhymes and Stithy Chimes: Or the Short and Simple Annals of the Poor, Spelt by the Unlettered Muse of Your Humble Bard" .

My next task in to try and locate the graves of the two Joseph's and see if any mention is made of their talents

"Which Britons make our country truly great?"

2011-07-11T10:40:00.001+01:00

Whilst all the media and politicians are getting lathered up about a phone hacking "scandal" that was initiated by staff at the now defunct "News of the World" I thought readers of this Blog might enjoy this litle gem from the Daily Telegraph dated October 2007. In a way it speaks even greater volumes about the parlous state of the press in this country,

"Britishness and the state of the union dominate the political agenda. But which Britons make our country truly great? Here Telegraph writers choose their favourites from this year across seven categories as the search begins for the Morgan Stanley Great Britons of 2007

· Morgan Stanley Great Briton of 2007: Who gets your vote?

· Great Britons of 2007: Telegraph writers' picks

BUSINESS

Our candidates in the business category have successfully flown the flag for Britain in the global economy, from banking to retailing and engineering to telecoms.

Sir Fred Goodwin is the leading British banker of his generation, having transformed Royal Bank of Scotland from a mid-sized provincial player into the world's fifth largest bank.

Seven years ago, he steered the bank through a successful £21billion hostile takeover of NatWest, a bank three times its size.

This year he surpassed that as Royal Bank led a consortium of Belgium's Fortis and Spain's Santander, beating competition from Barclays to buy Dutch bank ABN Amro for £49billion in the largest takeover in banking history."

Nick Clegg - A Man for All Sports

2011-07-06T13:35:00.000+01:00

I am starting to wonder if Nick Clegg is hankering after sporting greatness. I caught a glimpse of him at the Champions League Final in May sitting in the best seats next to Mugabe's dear friend Sepp Blatter. And then blow me whilst Prime Minister Cameron was preparing to do his bit in Helmand province (Afghanistan), his deputy and wife were presiding over Centre Court at Wimledon for the Men's semi-finals. They were naturally in some of the best seats! In fact he is starting to look imperious, and aloof, something that the people of his constituency are starting to find vexing but I'm sure that he was at these venues "fighting for Britain"

You can see how far he has travelled in the last 18 months by reading the contents of this letter

I wonder where he and his family was lucky in obtaining tickets for the 2012 Olympics - many British people did not get any even though they are funding it!

A Crookes Artist - Joseph Haslam Hawksworth (1827-1908)

2011-07-06T13:12:00.000+01:00

Just posted an article to the website that I have been working on in the last couple of days. It is the first time that I've posted an article that pertains to the arts but I have just stuck to the facts of Joseph's life. No opinions, criticisms etc on his painting and art as I feel that I am not qualified in that respect. The only point I did make and this really applies to a lot of Victorian Art, is that it is not my "cup of tea"

Nevertheless Joseph spent his whole life as an artist and he certainly had some status and success in such circles. But oddly enough he moved very few times in his life. In fact during the last fifty years of his life he remained firmly in the Crookes/Crookesmoor area of Sheffield and so I suppose he could be called Crookes' Greatest Artist!

Herbert W Thomas (1895 - 1916) - A Soldier from Spring Hill Sheffield

2011-06-30T09:45:00.000+01:00

I've just posted the first new article to the website for nearly two months. In the interim I have been updating earlier articles and content with information from the 1911 Census.

I came across Herbert and his family through the Census - the family were living on "the Hill" one hundred years ago and continued to do so until the mid 1950's and possibly longer. I am now determined to find out all I can about the family and so if anyone can add anything I would be grateful

The Diary of Corporal John William Ballinger

2011-06-29T09:53:00.003+01:00

Having access to the 1911 Census is proving to be a great asset. For instance I have had this newspaper cutting from the Daily Telegraph since 2007 but have never been able to incorporate it into the website
I came across it again when I was compiling the article on Walter Hutchinson and his diary and have now found John in 1911

(click on image to read text)

Name John William Ballinger

Condition     Single
Gender Male
Age 21 Estimated Year of Birth 1890
Occupation Nil
Employed No
Working at Home No
Place of Birth     Forest Gate Essex
Military Rank     Private 1st Bn Manchester Regiment
Enumerator Information
Address     Kamptee Town     Kamptee Inhabited     Y
Reference     RG14PN34980 RD641 SD5 ED1 SN9999 Administrative County     Overseas Military

Enumeration District 1

Like Walter Hutchinson, John's diary makes for sobering reading

Page Woodcocks Wind Pills - "this most excellent medicine"

2011-06-28T12:27:00.007+01:00

This appeared in The Sheffield & Rotherham Independent (Sheffield, England), Friday, June 23, 1899; pg. 7; Issue 13920 as an advertisement. And it started me wondering why these pills are no longer available because they seem to be a cure for those scourges of modern day life - wind, indigestion, liver complaints and biliousness

Sadly a Google search revealed that Page Woodcock was in fact a purveyor of quack medicine but if that was the case why were his wind pills so successful over many years. Surely if they failed to resolve the symptoms, the patient/user would know about it

Are You Happy With The Way Things Are In Britain Today?

2011-06-23T12:08:00.000+01:00

A letter from Nick Clegg that was sent to me just over a year ago when he was just the leader of the Liberal Democrat party. If there is a reason why people have no confidence in politicians in general and Nick Clegg in particular this letter surely shows you why

"Rich bankers, millionaires and polluters will all finally be made to pay their fair share" is just breathtaking in its naivety. Rich bankers, millionaires and polluters have never paid their fair share and never will - it is a fact of life and the sooner Nick Clegg grasps hold of this the sooner he and his party can "move" on.

PS I'm still paying tax on my first £10,000 I earn Nick - as it is at the heart of your plans, can you ensure that I don't otherwise you and your party will be seen as heartless!

Cameron - The Supreme Commander

2011-06-21T13:19:00.000+01:00

"David Cameron criticises comments over Libya mission

The prime minister has criticised military chiefs who have spoken out in public about the UK's role in Libya.

It comes after the RAF's second-in-command said "huge" demands were being placed on equipment and personnel.

David Cameron said: "There are moments when I wake up and read the newspapers and think: 'I tell you what, you do the fighting and I'll do the talking'."

He said military leaders were "absolutely clear" the mission could be kept going for as long as necessary.

"Time is on our side, not on Gaddafi's side," he said in a news conference.

Last week, the First Sea Lord, Sir Mark Stanhope, warned that continuing operations in Libya beyond September would mean taking ships away from other tasks".

I know all British Prime Ministers see themselves as re-incarnations of Churchill, the most noticeable examples being Thatcher and Blair, and I think that Cameron and his deputy Clegg are heading that way.

Still if the military do become over-stretched in Libya and are unable to fulfill their "fighting" role, Cameron does have a back-up strategy - "he'll do the talking." Gaddafi you have been warned!!

The War Graves Photographic Project

2011-06-21T12:58:00.001+01:00

As readers of the blog have noticed the last couple of months I have been occupied with "grave matters" and more specifically WW1 graves. Whilst researching articles I came across the following site-The War Graves Photographic Project

and to quote

"The aim of The War Graves Photographic Project is to photograph every war grave, individual memorial, MoD grave, and family memorial of serving military personnel from WWI to the present day and make these available within a searchable database.

Now working as a joint venture with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, this will enable families, scholars and researchers to obtain, via the CWGC or TWGPP websites, a copy of the photograph of a grave or memorial which for many is impossible to visit due to the location".

But if you want a photograph of a grave or memorial that has been taken by a VOLUNTEER you have to make a donation of AT LEAST £3.00 for an e-mailed print or AT LEAST £5.00 for a 7x5" photograph. The Projects justification for the charges can be found on this link

Two things spring to mind - one is that I think the charges are very excessive especially for the e-mail print. A volunteer takes the photo at his own time and expense, sends the photo to the project who promply claim copyright, and then they sell it on to third parties.

And secondly all the photos on the site are watermarked and copyrighted - to quote

"Small print - Copyright remains with the CWGC/TWGPP/Donor. Those wishing to use photographs for publishing purposes should contact TWGPP for appropriate permission"

This site is a commercial venture that will undoubtedly make livelihood(s) and profits for those that run it.But it leaves a slightly bittter taste in my mouth for some reason. In the introduction they state
"make these available within a searchable database". when they should say "make these available at a cost to the user within a searchable database".

I find content and material from my website all over the place - sometimes people place an acknowledgement and sometimes they don't.But the one thing I will never do on my site is start charging for content and material.(not that anyone would pay me!) If I did that I would be on par with Rupert Murdoch and that would be hard to stomach

The Sad Death of Nellie Murfin

2011-06-21T12:04:00.000+01:00

The cutting is from the Sheffield and Rotherham Independent dated 20th October 1899. It looks as though Nellie age 3 went on her own to the shop to buy a shuttlecock and on the way back was killed by a dray carrying mineral water.

The two elements of the report that are surprising from a modern day point of view is that young Nellie went to the shop on her own. If that happened nowadays the parents and/or guardians would be prosecuted for severe child neglect as an absolute minimum, and quite possibly manslaughter. And the second element is the mineral water dray. Attercliffe and district in the late C19th could hardly be described as "spa destinations." and so bottling and distributing the local spring water is a non -starter. It is far more likely that the district had to import water given that the local supplies would be heavily polluted by industry

As for young Nellie she was buried six days later in Sheffield's Burngreave Cemetery

MURFIN, Nellie (Daughter of A Murfin, age 3). Died at 15-4 Attercliffe Road; Buried on October 25, 1889 in Consecrated ground; Grave Number 15, Section K2 of Burngreave Cemetery, Sheffield.

The grave contains 12 other bodies

Harry Poole 1916

2011-06-21T10:15:00.001+01:00

I've just posted an article about Harry Poole to the site.

Harry was the eighth soldier that I have identified from Sheffield who enlisted in the British Army in WW1 and was executed for desertion. Harry was working class, just like the other seven soldiers from Sheffield who were executed by the British Army in the Great War. In fact it is now looking a distinct possibility that The British Army was harbouring some deep seated prjudices about the working classes in general, and particularly those who came from the industrial towns in the North.

Harry's grave is at the front and to the right

I have also posted some information on William Randle who was executed two weeks prior to Harry. He occupies the grave directly behind Harry

George Orwell's Grave

2011-06-01T13:23:00.001+01:00

Many years ago I visited the grave of one of the few writers that I would call a "literary hero" - George Orwell (Eric Blair). The grave is situated in the churchyard of All Saints Church in Sutton Courtenay in Berkshire. Photos were taken and then promptly lost by Tripleprint which meant that I did not have no photographic record of the visit. And since then the other point that has troubled me is why George was buried in Sutton Courtenay as he had, as far as I knew, no significant connection with the village.

However due to Wikipedia I now have both a photo of the grave. I should add that when I visited the grave I was rather dismayed about its general condition and neglect - the rose bush then was a rather a poor specimen to say the least!

His memorial bears the simple epitaph: "Here lies Eric Arthur Blair, born 25 June 1903, died 21 January 1950

AND I also ascertained from the same article why George was buried in Sutton Courtenay in the first place.

"The churchyard is notable as the location of the burial place of Eric Arthur Blair, better known by his pen name, George Orwell. As a child he fished in a local stream. He wanted to be buried in the churchyard of whichever was the nearest church to where he died. However he died in London and none of the local churches had any space in their graveyards. Thinking that he might have to be cremated against his wishes, his widow asked her friends whether they knew of a church that had space for him. David Astor, a friend of Orwell's who lived in Sutton Courtenay, explained the problem to his local vicar, and arrangements were made".

I have also found George in the 1911 Census as a 7 year old schoolboy


Name Eric Blair Relationship to Head of Household Son Gender Male Age 7 Estimated Year of Birth 1904 Occupation School Place of Birth Rotilesri Bengal India Nationality British Subject Enumerator Information Address 22 Western Road Henley Parish Henley Upon Thames Town Henley Type of Building Private House Number of Rooms 9 Inhabited Yes Reference RG14PN8046 RG78PN406 RD150 SD1 ED12 SN88 Administrative County Oxfordshire Registration District Henley Registration Sub District Henley Enumeration District 12

The Last Day in May

2011-05-31T13:19:00.000+01:00

My mum passed away this morning in Sheffield's Northern General Hospital - God Bless Her

Life at the moment

2011-05-16T13:35:00.002+01:00

Photo from the local press. Mrs Hobbs has just come to remind me that my team Sheffield United have been relegated this season. It began woefully and went downhill from there. Some of the worst football that has been seen in Sheffield 2 since Wednesday last visited. North of the border Clyde my "banker" for the Scottish Third Division Championship managed to come LAST with 32 points, a full 34 points behind Abroath. they did manage to win 8 out of their 36 games.

And to cap it all Saamidd my ante-post bet for the Epsom Derby in June (a horse that Dettori said was like Pegasus) injured himself in the 2000 Guineas and now will not run for the forseeable future.

Oh and Nick Clegg has embraced the concept of "muscular liberalism"

No wonder I look so happy!

George Roe 1894 - 1915

2011-04-27T11:02:00.002+01:00

Rather pleased that I have been able to add some further detail to the article
http://www.chrishobbs.com/georgeroe1915.htm
George was the first soldier from Sheffield to be executed by the British Army in the First World War, but it has been difficult to aquire further details of his life. Thankfully access to the 1911 Census and then the 1901 Census has meant that I have been able to trace his family. The fuller story can be found by following the link.
George was definitely born in 1894 and not 1896 as stated by the CWGC

But just after I posted this blog I discovered yet another soldier from Sheffield that had been executed by the British Army. His details are as follows

Private Harry Poole, 8534. 7th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment. Son of Mr. A. Poole, of 9, Bernard St., Park, Sheffield. Killed 9 December 1916.
Buried CAVILLON COMMUNAL CEMETERY.

Name:     POOLE, HARRY
Nationality:           United Kingdom
Rank:                   Rifleman
Regiment/Service:Yorkshire Regiment
Unit Text:             7th Bn.
Date of Death:     09/12/1916
Service No:       8534
Additional information:     Son of Mr. A. Poole, of 9, Bernard St., Park, Sheffield.
Grave/Memorial Reference:     Near North-West corner.Cemetery:     CAVILLON COMMUNAL CEMETERY.

This discovery now brings the total executed who came from Sheffield to eight.

George Ainley (1898 - 1918)

2011-04-19T11:06:00.000+01:00

For a number of years I have had articles on my website that concern the execution of people from Sheffield by the British army. It has been a matter of adding bits of information and content to the articles as and when it becomes available. It is the one great advantage the web has over traditional printed matter. If you need to update a book you have to reprint it in its entirity.

The access to the 1911 census mentioned in my previous blog has made a harrowing article even more tragic if that is possible. The article in question is

http://www.chrishobbs.com/georgeainley1918.htm

It takes some believing - it is like "Saving Private Ryan" in reverse. "I know you have lost three sons Mrs Ainley, and that George is your only son that has survived childhood, but he is going to be executed because his military character is not good". It could only happen in Britain!

The Tyler Family

2011-04-19T08:53:00.001+01:00

After a lot of prevaracation on my part, I have eventually decided to subscribe for access to the 1911 Census. I have strong feelings about public-governement bodies charging for information and material that was provided freely by our ancestors. They never received any payment for the information, and neither have their descendents, and so why should the state profit!. They will of course point to the various costs involved but these costs have been more that recouped by the value of the information they have received.

Anyway I digress. When you are researching any census you are struck by the stories that lay behind the document. Take for instance the Tyler family. They are living for want of a better term in a two room back to back hovel in the heavily industrialised east end of Sheffield. The details are as follows

Enumerator Information
Address	2 Court 5 H Lovell St Sheffield
Parish	Sheffield
Town	Sheffield
Type of Building	Private House
Number of Rooms	2 Rooms
Inhabited	Y
Reference	RG14PN27971 RG78PN1599 RD510 SD6 ED12 SN85
Administrative County	Yorkshire (West Riding)
Registration District	Sheffield
Registration Sub District	East Brightside
Enumeration District	12

The census was taken on 2nd April 1911 but if anyone had told them that before the next five and a half years are up, they would be all killed by a bomb dropped by a German Zeppelin, they would have just looked at you with sheer incredulity. And yet that is exactly what happened. On 25th September 1916 the Tyler family now living in nearby Corby Street were wiped out by a bomb dropped by a Zeppelin

"In Corby Street (now Fred Mulley Road) a high explosive bomb demolished No 142 killing Selina (41) and Joseph Tyler (45) and their five children Joseph Henry (14),Ernest (11), Albert (8), Amelia (5) and John (2). The same bomb also killed 11 year old Richard Brewington of 134 Corby Street and fatally injured Martha Shakespeare of 143 Corby Street, who died later in the day in the Royal Infirmary, Infirmary Road".

It makes you reflect that no-one knows what life has got in store for them - never in a million years would the Tylers have thought in 1911 that they would all die together in an explosion the likes of which Sheffield had never seen before.

As a sad postscript the Tyler family were buried together on Saturday 30th September 1915 in Burngreave Cemetery Sheffield - the grave reference is E3 093 (Gen)

"The Times They Are a-Changin'"

2011-04-14T14:21:00.000+01:00

I am now getting seriously worried. When people write, and then publish articles,books, pamphlets etc there is an expectation by the reader that the material in the narrative will at least bear some approximation to the truth. Unless of course there is a disclaimer at the end of the article which states that you, the reader, have just read a load of old baloney and you should not believe a word you have just read. Personally I would not be very happy at all about being "taken for a ride" and would in all probability let the writer know what I think of their lies, deceit and misrepresentation.

An example of what I mean can be seen in the following posters that were delivered to the Hill in April 2010

I was fervently hoping that "(liberal democrat) politicians would work for the people" and bringabout "change that works for you" but I am once again astounded by the duplicity and dishonesty of the politicians. But I suppose I could of misread the poster. When they said "We need a change" they were in one respect correct - we now have two parties in government and not just one.

"It was the worst day that I had ever witnessed"

2011-04-06T11:34:00.001+01:00

To put a bit of perspective on our current plight, I have just posted an article on my website that recounts Walter Hutchinson's life in June-July 1916. The term "unimaginable" comes to mind.

Who Do You Know?

2011-04-06T11:21:00.001+01:00

I am getting rather worried now. My previous "musings" have mentioned Deputy Prime Minister Clegg on more than one occassion, the most recent being his "hawkish" stance in the NATO bombing of Libya. I would like to move onto different topics and areas of concern, but everytime I contemplate this, DPM Clegg delivers some more of his thoughts about the country and it's plight.

Yesterday it was his views on social mobility. This is the gist of what he said

"Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg says he wants to stop people getting on in life purely because of "who they know". As he launches the government's social mobility strategy, Mr Clegg said no-one should get an unfair advantage because their parents have "met somebody at the tennis club or the golf club".
He told the BBC: "Sadly, we still live in a country where, invariably, if you're born poor, you die poor. Just as if you go to a low-achieving school, you tend to end up in a low-achieving job."

Of course what DPM does not recognise is that his Conservative coalition partners have no interest whatsoever in improving social mobility, and never have had. A succession of Tory initiatives since 1979 have focused on ensuring that the "old order" is restored and then maintained. Even in the last few months the Coalition government have gleefully announced draconian increases in tuition fees and and scrapping the Education Maintenance Allowance. These measures have in effect erected major financial barriers for those people from low and average-income backgrounds who would aspire to "improve" their station in life. They act as a brake on social mobility rather than enhancing it.

Of course the people of Crookes (Sheffield) have no chance as the Crookes Golf Club and the Crookes Tennis Centre have still to make an appearance. And so we are stumped according to DPM Clegg's analysis.

In my belief, one of the bedrocks of British society is class. It permeates every strata and section of society and is deeply etched in the nation's psyche. The Tory party is above all a party built on class and the "natural order" and believe me it has no intentions of initiating radical and far reaching measures to improve social mobility. If fact it will do its damnest to ensure that this country will remain "a land fit for toffs to live in"

As the noted French political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville once said t
The surface of society is covered with a layer of democratic paint, but from time to time one can see the old aristocratic colors breaking through."

Given the scale and the vehemence of this coalition's attack on the "ordinary people" of this country, I feel the "paint "will become thinner and more worn within a matter of months rather than years.

Photo taken in London May 2015

Note It is a fact that although just 7% of people attend private/independent schools, they account for 70% of High Court Judges and 54% of CEOs of FTSE 100 companies. Perhaps DPM Clegg would like to analyse how this situation has arisen, and what is he going to do about it. Anyone for Tennis!!

Update on the situation in Libya

2011-03-29T11:03:00.003+01:00

I received an e-mail from on Saturday from Deputy Leader Clegg who is sounding a bit too much "Churchillian" for my liking.

Subject:	Update on the situation in Libya
From:	"Nick Clegg MP" <LIBDEMSFEDERAL@emarketing.etelligent.uk.com>
Date:	Sat, March 19, 2011 2:28 am
To:	chrishl@chrishobbs.com

Dear friend,

As you will have seen in the news our coalition government has successfully led
efforts in the UN Security Council to agree a ‘no-fly zone’ across Libya.

Colonel Gaddafi’s treatment of his own people has been brutal, savage and wholly
unacceptable. We have worked with Libya’s regional neighbours, especially the Arab
League, and countries across the globe, to secure a resolution in UN Security
Council. This resolution will allow us to act lawfully in deploying our forces to
up-hold a ‘no-fly zone’ in Libya.

The Prime Minister gave a statement yesterday, which you can read here
http://www.etelligent.uk.com/etelligent/mp-getURL.asp?SOID=545&CC=LIBDEMSFEDERAL&CID=163319&CEMAIL=chrishl@chrishobbs.com&LID=4413&SEID=2056&T=0&FRM=2 And on Monday we will have a full debate in the House of Commons, followed by a vote. In addition we will be publishing a summary of the legal advice of the Attorney-General. That is the right approach. This is a coalition government that will act decisively to protect innocent lives and uphold universal human rights. But one which will do so working with, not against, international law and the international community. Best wishes, Nick Clegg MP Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Liberal Democrats

But apart from the tone of this mail, what worries me most is that he calls "Gaddafi’s treatment of his own people has been brutal, savage and wholly unacceptable". Well you can say that about half the countries in this world of ours, but it seems that only Libya warrants the attentions of the Coalition - I wonder why?
And also I don't know where he gets this notion that his "government that will act decisively to protect innocent lives and uphold universal human rights". Judging by the repeated actions of his government, the protection and security of its citizens,and their human rights come a poor second to the demands of pursuing draconian economic policies that succor the rich and wealthy,and punish the poor and dispossessed. It is a shame that I can't get a UN resolution to impose a "no-bluster zone" on the outpourings of this coalition government of ours. I am sure it would be welcomed by all shades of opinion, both at home and abroad

A NEW BRITAIN

2011-03-25T15:58:00.000Z

The Conservatives are not alone in the field of announcements and promises. In the interests of balance (and apologies once again for the poster) I have attached on from 1997 and the NEW Labour Party. This announcement by Tony Blair is also rich in vision and promise - "to build a nation with pride in itself, rich in economic prosperity, secure in social justice, confident in political change"

Thirteen years later I think we can safely say that paradise has definitely been put on hold. - those who are looking for jam tomorrow are getting perturbed In many respects you could argue that New Labour achieved the opposite of what it set out to do - a bitterly divided and corrupt nation, economic meltdown, social injustice and a stagnant political system that is long past its sell-by date. But that is the nature of life, you set out with good intentions but someone/something always comes along and scuppers it - in my case I had the double whammy of Thatcher and Blair.

Sheffield loses another of her sturdy citizens

2011-03-25T15:00:00.000Z

I came across this obituary the other month dated 23rd July 1895 for a Mr John Watts, What struck me was the language employed by the writer
"Sheffield loses another of her sturdy citizens - men who by their enterprise, integrity and business aptitude have helped to build up the prosperity of the city and the character of its inhabitants. Mr Watts was a typical Sheffielder. He had a generous hand and a kindly heart, and his genial personality and hospitality were known to many" .
The language bears a strong resemblance to that being uttered by members of the Coalition government, In fact their "growth strategy" is based around enterprise, integrity and business acumen, The only problem is that this type of person has been on the "endangered species" for many years. In fact you can argue he is heading for extinction. (as is the "typical Sheffielder" mentioned in the article).
According to the writer, it was people like John Watts who helped to build the prosperity of the city and the character of its inhabitants.but these are just a few of the incidents that were taking place in Sheffield towards the end of John's life

http://www.chrishobbs.com/sheffield2/distress1878.htm
http://www.chrishobbs.com/sheffield/arthurcoleman.htm
http://www.chrishobbs.com/smallpoxsheffield1887.htm
If this is prosperity the writer talks about I would want no part of it - late nineteenth century Britain for the majority of people was a living hell where squalor, poverty, disease and cruelty were commonplace. I hope that the current Coalition government are not hankering for a return to the good old days! .

Too Much Sun is Bad For You

2011-03-23T09:34:00.002Z

At these times of national crisis, when the Coalition government is doing all that it can to promote the security and prosperity of its people, it comes as a bit of a surprise to find out that this is not the first time a Coalition has grappled with the vagaries of "the dismal science". I came across the following poster for the Conservative party in 1929 which pointed towards a new world for those who had suffered so much in the Great War and the ensuing depression of the 1920's

Of course these ideals, principles and policices that were proudly announced by the Conservative Party proved to be just that, announcements. In fact, the Conservative led Coalition or "National" governments of the 1930's did just about the opposite of what they announced in 1929. War. The 'Giant Evils' of Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor and Idleness which William Bevridge alluded to in 1942 report enjoyed full reign in the 1930's, evils which the national government of the time positively encouraged with its narrow and insular outlook. Their justification for the policies they pursued was that there was no alternative after the financial crash of 1929.

The current coalition are also making a series of announcements similar to those uttered in 1929 but their policies and principles are more or less in line with those of the National governemts of the 1930's - I wonder if history will repeat itself. mm...

The Liberal Democrats at Play

2011-03-09T10:01:00.002Z

I have just received an e-mail this morning that has really "hacked me off". Not satisfied with burdening this country with a bunch of reactionaries, the Liberal Democrats seem to be utilizing the very public services they are decimating, to promote the policies of a Tory government that just cannot be trusted

The mail is

" The Liberal Democrats’ conference runs in Sheffield from Friday 11 – Sunday 13 March 2011 and may affect your journey to the University and back home.

An area around the City Hall will be fenced off and there will be extra police officers within the city centre. Planned protests may take place near the conference venue.(probably Ringinglow Moors if SYPD have there way)

Public transport

Buses will be diverted to avoid the city centre (Pinstone Street/Leopold Street) on all three days. Full details are on the Travel South Yorkshire website www.travelsouthyorkshire.com and on notices displayed on bus stops. The Traveline number is 01709 515151.

Road closures

Some roads in the immediate vicinity of the City Hall and Barker’s Pool area will be closed in the day time on all three days (7am to 7pm but

times may vary). Further temporary closures may be made.

Parking restrictions

A number of on street parking bays will be out of use. Please check signage as this will be enforced. There will be no parking throughout the weekend on Surrey Street, Trippet Lane and Carver Street.

Hackney Cabs

During the day time, the taxi rank in Barkers Pool will be relocated to the bus stops on Pinstone Street.

More details are available at

(http://www.southyorks.police.uk/news/08032011/5023/public-information-for-sheffield-residents-for-11-13-march) and www.sheffield.gov.uk

Live updates will also be on the South Yorkshire Police Facebook page, on Twitter @syptweet and on local radio stations.

2011 Census - More Misery from the ONSS

2011-03-08T11:59:00.002Z

On the same day as I read about Sgt John Broadley, I received from the Office of National Statistics a large booklet to complete for inclusion in the UK's 2011 Census.
Whilst researching my family history and articles on my website, I have made extensive use of the C19th UK Census's. In fact they have proved invaluable.
I worked as an Assitant Census Officer on the 1991 Census and it proved to be a fascinating insight into the fag-end of "Thatchers Brave New World". Certainly an eye-opening experience!
I do not have any real objection to completeing the current form, but I was greatly disheartened to see that the ONS once again could not resist threats and coercion against people who have genuine objections to divulging information

"The fine for not completing and returning a 2011 Census questionnaire is up to £1,000.You may also have to pay costs.
The amount of the fine for not completing the 2011 Census questionnaire will be determined in each individual case by the magistrate. The fine is subject to level 3 on the standard scale under the Criminal Justice Act.
Any revision to the Criminal Justice Act could change the fine for an offence under the Census Act 1920"

The "freedom fighters" of our coalition government appear to be rather "tardy" in revoking this crass pece of legislation. In the absence of any meaningful action on the part of the coalition , the only course of action left open to people who object to the 2011 Census questions is to take a leaf out of the Con-Lib manifesto and LIE!!!

John Duncan Broadley - WW2 grave in England

2011-03-08T11:29:00.001Z

This weekend I was contacted by a TV documentary maker who is proposing to produce a documentary on the 1944 Amiens Prison raid by RAF Mosquito's led by Group Captain P.C. 'Pick' Pickard, DSO, DFC, CzMC

His navigator "Bill" Broadley accompanied "Pick" on the raid, and as it was a few months since I had looked at the article I though I would check and see if I could find any addirional information.

Sadly I did not, but did come across the following letter from the OTAGO DAILY TIMES that concerned a Sgt. John Duncan Broadley who was from New Zealand

WW2 grave in England
Thursday, 30 Jul 2009 - OTAGO DAILY TIMES
Hello, I am writing from a small village in rural Suffolk, England.
In our churchyard we have a number of WW2 Commonwealth graves. One is of a Sgt.
John Duncan Broadley. He served with the New Zealand Air Force and was killed on 29/09/1941 aged 23.
I believe he came from the Dunedin area. I am wondering if there are any relatives or
friends that would like me to send them some photos of the grave, I would be more than
happy to do so.
I often put flowers on his grave, as I feel sorry that he is so far from home and has
no-one to look after him.
Regards, Sally Higgins
On a very rainy summers day in Ringshall, Suffolk, England.
I can be contacted on my e- mail address - dsln.higgins4@tesco.net

A few details related to the above newspaper story.
28-29th September 1941
99 Squadron - Wellington IC Z8869 LN- Op: Frankfurt
Took off 1911 hrs from RAF Waterbeach. Collided with a line of trees and exploded and
crashed 0055 hrs at Stone Farm Great Finborough, 2 miles south west of Stowmarket,
Suffolk.

Sgt. J S F. Watt +
Sgt. J D. Broadley RNZAF +
Sgt. J W. Humphrey RCAF +
Sgt. H. Martin +
Sgt. J K. Whitfield +
Sgt. D. Richardson +
BCL Vol.2 - W R. Chorley.

Frankfurt 28-29 September 1941
30 Hampdens and 14 Wellingtons. 1 Hampden and 1 Wellington lost. 5 aircraft crashed
in England.
Source: Bomber Command War Diaries - Middlebrook / Everitt

Cemetery: Ringshall (St. Catherine) Churchyard, Suffolk, England
Rank: Sergeant (Pilot)
Official Number: 403937
Unit: 99 (RAF) Squadron Royal New Zealand Air Force
Nationality: New Zealand
Details: 29th September 1941 Age 23 Son of George and Alice Manwell Broadley; husband of Agnes J Broadley of Port Chalmers Otago New Zealand Row?B

And so after some 70 years people still care, and honour those who lost their lives in the war against nazism.

There is a photo of John's grave in St. Catherine's Churchyard on-line but the people who host the photo have decided to watermark it with a copyright logo, and charge people a excessive fee for a non-watermarked copy.

I will leave my comments on their actions unrecorded, but they are in a marked contrast to my admiration for Sally Higgins

Sheffield Man marries Doris Day after Swearing

2011-03-01T12:22:00.000Z

I came across an entry in the FreeBMD index which is like thousands of others

Marriages Sep 1928 quarter Hayes William E married a Miss Day Sheffield Volume 9c Page 1256

On the face of it a straightforward marriage but prior to the Marriage Mr Hayes encountered a bit of trouble. The Guardian dated 20th September 1928 reported that Mr Hayes was prone to giving false oaths so that he could marry Doris Day!!!

84 Years in the same house

2011-03-01T09:13:00.003Z

From The Sun dated Tuesday 22nd February 2011

I'm not an avid reader of The Sun but my son does read it despite my warnings about what may befall him if he believes half the tripe that they publish. Anyway like it or not The Sun is the UK's biggest selling daily newspaper which speaks volumes for the newspaper industry in particular, and British society as a whole.

But once in awhile, they publish a report that I find fascinating and thought provoking. And Freda O'Briens life in Thornhill, West Yorkshire is certainly that!

The text is as follows

"PROUD Freda O'Brien's home is where her heart is - after living in the same house for 84 YEARS.

Freda fell in love with the three-bed council semi as a seven-year-old, when she first
moved in with her parents.Now aged 91, she has stayed there ever since through eight decades of huge change including four monarchs, several wars and the rise and decline of industries.

And the widowed mum-of-two said: "It's a happy home. I've never wanted to live anywhere else."

The house has modern windows and doors but retains many original features including cupboards and a wooden clothes airer on a pulley. Freda first came to the semi in Thornhill, West Yorks, in 1927 with her parents, brother and three sisters

The family had never had electricity or an indoor toilet before.Freda said: "It was luxury. We couldn't stop switching the lights on and running the hot water!" She left school at 14 and went to work six days a week in a woollen mill, earning the equivalent of 57p.

In 1944 she wed Danny O'Brien and the couple set up home with her parents. Their daughters Margaret, 58, and Catherine, 57, were raised in the house and Freda and Danny bought it from the council in the 1980s. Danny died in 1994 but Freda still does her own cooking and cleaning and gets out regularly.

While she has been there England have won the World Cup, man has stood on the Moon and the internet has arrived. But asked the biggest change in her street, Freda replied: "The number of cars. When
we moved in, nobody had one."

London women prepare for the worst with a stiff upper lip

2011-02-17T15:59:00.000Z

One of my most favourite images. It is said that it was "staged" but I have my doubts. I would love to know what happened to Mrs Rowe and Mrs Treadwell.

Obituary for Mr Common Sense

2011-02-07T10:40:00.000Z

I came across the following obituary that was sent to me in 2008. His passing was and still is remembered by those who live on the Hill

London Times Obituary of Mr. Common Sense

'Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Elastoplast to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to
have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realise that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; along with his daughter and son, Responsibility and Reason. He is survived by his four stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realised he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this obituary on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

The Story That Got Away

2011-02-02T14:49:00.001Z

I received the following e- mail the other day in response to an article I posted some years ago regarding the Civilian War Dead of Pitsmoor, (Sheffield). I have now obtained Alan's permission to publish it and add it to the web-site. It is a story that you can't really add to

Hi, my name is Alan Simpson,also born 1953,also went to Abbeydale Grammar School. Whilst browsing your site I found a link to the Pitsmoor Roll of Honour to those who perished in the Sheffield blitz.
My father was Arthur Simpson,rear gunner in a Halifax bomber during the war. On the night of the 13th December 1940 he lost his mother,Mary Simpson,youngest sister Margaret Simpson,together with his niece Patricia Hutchinson(8),nephew Barrie Hutchinson (5mths),eldest sister Doris Heeley, brother in law Percy Heeley and niece Barbera Heeley (10). His eldest sister Mary Hutchinson survived the blast on Bressingham Rd,even though her son Barrie was being nursed on her lap at the time.
Mary,or Nellie as she preferred had a daughter later in life which she named Barbera. Barbera had a successful life as a ballet dancer in the Saddlers Wells ballet company and to this day teaches worldwide. Nellie died last year (2010) at the ripe age of 101 having received a letter from H.R.H.
Some six months after loosing virtually his entire family,my father was shot down over France and parachuted out of a burning Halifax bomber to be captured and spent the next 3 years in a prisoner of war camp in various places,finally in Poland. On the forced march into Germany,the much reported "Death Marches", he and his Canadian friend escaped into the forest and finally after many days hiding and running,met up with an American patrol. He was awarded the "Caterpillar Tie" and membership of the "Caterpillar Club",an exclusive club for airmen shot down and parachuting to earth.
Sadly like his father,Arthur died at an early age but not without leaving a wife,Gladys who is still with us at 89 years old. Happily they had four children. Myself Alan,my brother John and sisters Anita and Joanne. Many more grandchildren and great grandchildren have sadly missed the company of my Father whom I regard as a true hero.
Dad rarely spoke of the war. He did mention being in a camp in Poland,close to Auschwitz and being able to smell the funeral pyres as bodies were burned in the open as the Russian and American soldiers advanced.
He was a loyal family man,proud and with strict morals,loved and missed by all. His ashes lay in a Crematorium in Carleton near Blackpool where we lived after leaving Totley in 1966. I hope this story is of interest to you and others.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words!

2011-01-27T14:46:00.000Z

And I only asked him what his thoughts were on the Treasury's growth forecast for the coming year!

An Old Dog and New Tricks

2011-01-25T12:45:00.000Z

I have just come across and scanned one of my favourite posters from yesteryear. As each year passes, I become more acutely aware of Rex's dilema!

Vauxhall - A Warning From History

2011-01-21T15:14:00.000Z

The "exhaust emission light" lit up on the dashboard of car this morning. Out came the service manual, and sure enough I was referred to my local Vauxhall dealer which in my book is akin to being mugged. But if you are mugged you can use "reasonable force" against you assailant and report the matter to the police. With a Vauxhall dealer you just stand there whilst they fleece you for as much as they can, And it is legal!!

I also fear that this will be the start of many faults. Once a car hits 60,000 miles I always seem to get a clutch of faults and problems - but this time may be the last because the way things are going the car is going to become an expensive luxury for the working man. I wonder if the ever increasing costs of motoring are a conscious policy decision by the Con-Lib Coalition to drive the lower orders of the road so they will have more room to swan around. mmmm

"They can be smoked all day without affecting the throat in the slightest"

2011-01-20T17:20:00.001Z

^{At the same time as I came across the previous report I saw this advertisement. It is now obvious that if all tobacco companies "toasted" their tobacco there would be no throat irritations and coughs.}

^{Incidentally Viscount Castlerosse died at the age of 51 but at least he did not have a smokers cough!}

^{Valentine Edward Charles Browne, 6th Earl of Kenmare (29 May 1891 – 20 September 1943), styled Viscount Castlerosse from 1905 to 1941, was the Earl of Kenmare and the son of Valentine Browne, 5th Earl of Kenmare. He was a journalist for The Sunday Express.[1] He had no children.[2]}

A Miserable Hovel

2011-01-20T10:36:00.002Z

I came across the following cutting the other day purely by accident. It is from The Sheffield Daily Telegraph dated 18th January 1864 and it is a verbatim account of a death in Cumberland as reported by the Carlise Journal.

It is a desperately sad account of a life and death. And it is a timely reminder of what can occur when people are left to fend for themselves. It is also rather macabre in a way. In 1860, a £100.00 would be the equivalent of roughly £60,000 today, and so at today's prices, Mr Weales annual income of £20 would be in the region of £12,000 per annum or to put it more succinctly on par with today's minimum wage.Not a great deal of money but enough to subsist on. Mr Wheales seemed to live or "exist" at poverty level which is strange given his income.

Getting Facts Wrong

2011-01-10T10:54:00.002Z

On Sheffield City Councils website there is the following information regarding the opening of Sheffield's City Road Crematorium in 1905

"City Road Crematorium opened on 5 April 1905 by the Lord Mayor, Joseph Jones and was the tenth crematorium to be built in the UK. The first cremation took place on 24 April 1905 and to date over 195,000 cremations have been carried out."

But in the Manchester Guardian the following day, this report appeared

If you read the article you would assume that Sir Charles Cameron was the Lord Mayor but he wasn't according to the Council. But neither was Joseph Jones. the Lord Mayor of Sheffield in April 1905.

The Lord Mayor who performed the ceremony was in fact Sir Joseph Jonas who was, during his business career, a major industrialist in the city and a generous benefactor to many causes. However his career and indeed his life ended in controversy that still leaves a nasty taste in the mouth today.

And just for trivia's sake, the following paragraph iss taken from the Cremation Society's webpage and refers to the UK's first official cremation. Sir Charles cameron appears to have been a leading proponent of cremation hence his speech at the opening ceremony

"Meanwhile, on 26th March, 1885 the first official cremation at Woking took place. Mrs. Pickersgill, a well-known figure in literary and scientific circles, was the first of three cremations that year. Mr. Charles William Carpenter was cremated on 19th October and in December the third cremation, even though the body of a fourteen stone woman, was again successfully performed in only 11/2 hours. In 1886 ten bodies were cremated."

Happy New Year

2011-01-05T10:35:00.001Z

I received the following e-mail from the Deputy Prime Minister

Subject:       Happy New Year
From:       "Nick Clegg" <LIBDEMSFEDERAL@emarketing.etelligent.uk.com>
Date:       Wed, December 29, 2010 7:14 am
To:       chrishl@chrishobbs.com

Dear friend,

Well what a year! A white-knuckle election; a new coalition government; Liberals in
power for the first time in 70 years.

I've recorded a short message reflecting on the events of 2010 and looking forward
to what Liberal Democrats will deliver in Government in 2011. Click on the link
below to watch it:

http://www.etelligent.uk.com/etelligent/mp-getURL.asp?SOID=474&CC=LIBDEMSFEDERAL&CID=163319&CEMAIL=chrishl@chrishobbs.com&LID=3445&SEID=1637&T=0&FRM=2

Some people will continue to predict the worst for our Party - the same people who
have been underestimating the Liberal Democrats for as long as we have existed.

But we prove them wrong at every single turn. The next twelve months will be no
different, because we will continue to build the liberal, fairer, greener Britain
that we all believe in.

Happy New Year!

Nick Clegg
Liberal Democrat leader

I'm a bit puzzled about the mail because when I think of Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrtic Party, happiness is probably the last emotion I feel :-((. I am also perturbed to note that they are continuing to build a "liberal, fairer, greener Britain that we all believe in". Since their return to power after 70 years, their actions seem to point towards a more repressive Britain where injustice and unfairness are the norm, and where ordinary, decent people are just lied to by their elected representatives.

Sgt Boardman and The Red Baron

2010-12-24T15:14:00.001Z

This entry is really what the Blog is all about. I have had an article on my site for a number of years about those civilians who died in the Second World War as a result of German bombing in the Pitsmoor district of Sheffield. It was heavily bombed the night of Dec 12-13th 1940, and the casualities and damage were some of the worst the city experienced

A few of the descendents of those killed that night have contacted me, and one in particular had a unusual twist to it. The first mail I received was from Neil in Ontario Canada last month - November 2010

"Hi , my name is Neil Noble and the Neales were my grandparents. My mother Dorothy Edna Neale was born Aug 27 1937, she told me was sick and was not allowed near her younger brother Tony ,and was at her Aunts on the night of Dec 12 1940. Eventually she was adopted by her aunt who she assumed was her mum until they told her differently when she was 16. Her dads family wanted her and her mothers sister adopted her. Caused all kinds of problems !! Anyway she lost her mum , dad, brother and her granma's family all in a short space of time. She decided to name me Neil to remember the family name , all be it slightly different"

In subsequent mails I answered the best I could some questions Neil had raised regarding the Sheffield Blitz,during which he disclosed that he and his family had emigrated to Canada from Manchester in the mid seventies.

Then last week I received a mail from Neil's brother Derek who asked me for help in tracing the descendents of a Sgt Boardman

Back in 1976 when I was 14 my family emigrated from Manchester England to Canada. I was only allowed to bring what I could get into my one suit case. I had to down size! I had a bomb sight from a Lancaster bomber that was fairly big. I swapped this to a friend (Colin Boardman) from school (Littlemoss Boys Secondary) that had also gotten me interested in the Air Cadets (430 Sqd. Droylsden ) for an artillery case. Not just any old one but one that was engraved by his granddad. Engraved by a bayonet “Sgt Boardman
Somme 1916” and it has a brass R.A.C button soldered to the front of it. > (The R.A.F. prior to 1918 were the R.A.C.)

Now the story I was told by Colin and his brother Kevin was that their granddad had been shot down by “ The Red Barron” after which he made it to the allied trenches. Here he made this piece of trench art with a button from his ruined uniform and an artillary case he got from the French who were in the trenches.
I have been trying to find the family to give this back too. Any ideas? "

A second mail had corrections - "The button has no letters on it just a crown with a bird flying below it. After trying to find the Boardmans for several years I decided that maybe I could find them by tacking their granddad, Sgt. Boardman, It was my mistake calling the button a "R.A.C" button. I did mean R.F.C. Other markings on the Case 37-85 P.D.P.s 85 1.17 and what looks like a little bomb."

Any way I placed the information Derek provided on the excellent Great War Forum and to date I've had two responses!

http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=157255
which sort of confirm my initial reservations about young Colin Boardman's story.

Any further information would be welcome

885,138 to 1

2010-12-17T14:43:00.001Z

The only person I can find in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database with the same initials and surname as myself is the following soldier

In Memory of

C G HOBBS

Private
37841
1st Bn., Hampshire Regiment
who died on
Monday, 4th November 1918. Age 28.

Additional Information:

Son of William and Anne Hobbs, of 43, Mays St., Buckland, Portsmouth.

Commemorative Information

Cemetery:	CAMBRAI EAST MILITARY CEMETERY, Nord, France
Grave Reference/Panel No	II. A. 26.

I know nothing about him or the circumstances of his death but have reflected on the fact that he died just seven days before the war ended. I wonder what life he would have had if he had survived?

Only a Pauper

2010-12-15T12:57:00.000Z

A few years ago I posted on my website, an article on the"revolting proceedings in a Sheffield Burial Ground"

After reflecting on the previous post - wooden crosses in Burngreave Cemtery - I remembered that I had an article that appeared in the newspaper at the same time as the report on the "revolting proceedings". Dated the 23rd April 1865 it was reported in Lloyds Weekly News and concerned the death from pneumonia of a MARY HILL in Somerset.

I did not place it on my site as there was no "Sheffield Connection" but I doubt if I would have anyway - it is instructive in the way that the poor were treated in the C19th by the "authorities", a treatment that seems to have lasted well into the C20th. I should warn you the article is quite gruesome in its description of Mary Hill's body

A more disgusting spectacle would be hard to imagine!!

Wooden Crosses - Burngreave Cemetery

2010-12-09T16:01:00.001Z

I came across the following report in The Guardian dated 23rd October 1930. Sheffield suffered greatly in the aftermath of the Great War as it was called then, The "land fit for heroes" never materialized and Sheffield spent most of the inter-war period battling high levels of unemployment, starvation wages and poverty in the true sense of the word. It is only by putting aside coppers over the years in "burial clubs" that poor people could even manage to get buried. The stigma of a paupers grave was still prevalent then as it is now.

The authorities at the Cemetery obviously saw the installation of wooden crosses by poor people as being prejudicial to the general interests of the cemetery and took corrective action by refusing to allow the practice to continue. I am hazarding a guess that the "authorities" are revealing class prejudices in their actions, but hounding the poor after their death is taking it a bit too far,

"There won't be mail in Crookes this Xmas..."

2010-12-07T11:45:00.001Z

Posting letters at Xmas - we should be so lucky!

I just realised last night that we have not received a mail delivery for over a week. In fact we have not seen a postman anywhere on the Hill. Whilst I acknowledge that conditions were a little grim towards the end of last week, it is now six days since we last had significant snowfall but still no sign of the Royal Mail, or any explanation of what the current situation is. It is though they have packed up their mailbags and gone home .

Given that the Royal Mail is a UK monopoly for standard mail there is nothing I can do about it. As I understand it Royal Mail is technically still owned by the government, (it owns 100% of the shares) but it has "devolved" the day to day running of the company to its management. What is apparent is that under this arrangement the postal service has deteriorated markedly in the last few years and the "owners" of the business i.e. the government, are not showing any concern whatsoever.

In fact the ill-fated Labour governments headed by Blair and Brown were instrumental in ensuring that the UK postal service ceased to be a public service and became just another business where the "chosen few" can make a few bob when it is eventually privatised. Public service is no longer an option

Media Reporting

2010-11-30T09:38:00.001Z

The view from the hill is a trifle obscured this morning as we have had the first real snowfall of the winter in Sheffield. According to the "forecasts" we were to expect heavy snowfalls throughout the night, but 1-2 inch of snow hardly constitutes a heavy snowfall. Still more is "forecast" and so there is still a chance.

I have just finished reading The Silent State: Secrets, Surveillance and the Myth of British Democracy by Heather Brooke - "The most important and entertaining political book you’ll read this year, by the journalist who exposed the MPs' expenses and changed C21st Britain"

I thought the book was a bit patchy in parts, but was enlightening. The chapter on the UK's judicial system made for some pretty grim reading. Many of the articles on my website rely quite heavily on the newspaper reports of the time. Many of these reports are both detailed and informative - in some cases they are basically verbatim accounts of events and testimony. We as a society owe a huge debt to the unamed journalists (and printers) who filed these stories for future posterity.

Sadly over the last twenty to thirty years the standard of reporting has plumetted. Nowadays in all types of media we tend to get a brief summary of events, and a lot of comment, opinion and analysis.And in many cases, information is either "amended" or witheld from the public on a variety of spurious grounds. How anyone can form sound opinions without accurate and detailed information is a mystery to me. But that is Britain in the C21st - give the public inadequate and inaccurate information and you are going to get inadequate and inaccurate opinion.

A Greater View from The Hill

2010-11-19T15:14:00.000Z

I've just spent a bit of time updated the article about war graves in Walkley Cemetery. According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission there are 44 graves in the Cemetery, and so I'm still got a few to trace.
http://www.chrishobbs.com/sheffield/walkleycemeterywardead.htm

On a different matter last night as I walked out of the house for a couple of pints down the road, I was surprised to find that the "View From A Hill" was a bit clearer, The reason for this greater clarity was that local Council workers, no doubt on the orders of superiors, had hacked the main spar of my magnolia.off and tossed it back into my garden.

First of all I admit that the Council were acting totally in accordance with the law - it is right that they take robust action on overhanging branches that threaten seven foot tall people. But it is the way that they conducted themselves that leaves the usual bitter taste. Totally arbitrary with no notification at all to the householder - they just came, hacked a branch off, tossed it into the garden and left.

The spar had been there many years and never caused any problems and was really nice in spring when it flowered. The tree itself is over thirty years old, and a present from my mother. It does have a strong sentimental value. But to the Council none of this matters - they have decided that overhanging branches are a menace and are to be hacked off. And in hacking off the branch, they have hacked me off!!

View From A Hill

2010-11-17T12:53:00.001Z

Over the last ten years or so I have "ran" for want of a better word THE CHRIS HOBBS SITE

It has expanded in that period, as I have added more and more articles that have a "Sheffield Connection". I am also always looking to add additional material/content to exsisting articles.

Until now I also really did not have a suitable mechanism for notifying readers of additions to the site, and commenting on these additions. This blog will hopefully rectify this shortcoming.

And I also want to comment on more general matters relating to Sheffield and its people and I hope that this blog will provide me with just such a platform.