1950

A HISTORY OF FEATHERSTONE 

 1950

 

THE COUNCIL

JANUARY  The surveyor,Mr G F Adamson, told the council the plans for the new water tower were completed. Approval for the layout plans of 100 houses and 44 bungalows at North Featherstone was received from the Ministry.

FEBRUARY  The council decided to demolish the Manor House on Church Lane, North Featherstone, because of its condition and the fact it had lost all architectural value. The two houses on Wentbridge Road affected by subsidence would be examined to see if they could be made habitable. 

MARCH  There were complaints at the council meeting regarding the delay of the start of the North Featherstone council house estate. Some councillors said the 1949 programme was not yet completed. The owner of property in Chapel Street was asked to undertake sanitary conversions, and the sanitary inspector was to prepare a schedule of existing privies.

APRIL  The development plan was to be prepared for the roads and sewers for 38 houses and 12 bungalows on the Ackton Lane housing estate. The Ministry of Health would be informed work could start on the North Featherstone water tower in July, and it should not be delayed because of the post-war development in the area and the present very poor water supply.

MAY  The Ministry of Health said they were prepared to authorise private street works only where conditions were a menace to public health, and such street works should not exceed a cost of £6,000. The surveyor was to prepare a report on which should be given priority.

  Cr Darnton said he thought residents of Featherstone Square should know the council had done everything possible to alleviate the conditions, and Cr Griffiths said he had not lost all hope the National Coal Board would act in the matter. It was hoped the work would be done as soon as it was possible.

  It was agreed Yorkist fire ranges could be installed in houses on the 1914 housing scheme at the tenant's expense.  Cr Williams congratulated the surveyor on the seats provided at Cressey's Corner and hoped they would not be destroyed piecemeal as others had been. It was suggested one of the projects to commemorate the Festival of Britain 1951 be improvements to Purston Park.

  Dr Gatecliff took this photo of a seat at Cressey's Corner. The photo of a Yorkist Range is by David Forster. The tiled surround and tiled door to match were optional extras. 

  

  It was said a hen coop on the Girnhill Lane allotments was being inhabited by a man, his wife and child, when accommodation could be provided by relatives. It was agreed to report the case to the NSPCC. At the annual meeting of the council Cr A Booth was appointed chairman.

 JUNE  The council discussed the scheme for Purston Park. Cr Evans said he was amazed because the scheme was signed by the clerk and not the surveyor. He said Purston Park is moving at the present time (subsidence?) and it would be unwise to attempt to put a concrete floor in the boating pool. He suggested improvements be carried out gradually with football and cricket pitches having priority to get youths out of the children's playground. Crs Rowley and Griffiths thought the development was long overdue. Cr Darnton asked about the old bandstand and was told parts of it had probably gone to make up shortages during the war. The council then approved the scheme.

  It was agreed to take no further action in installing refrigerators in council houses, but to give favourable consideration to applicants who would bear the cost of the refrigerator and its installation.   

JULY  A tender of £10,982 8s 4d was accepted from Chester and McLauchlan Ltd of Knottingley was accepted for the erection of the concrete water tower at North Featherstone. The ambulance service had been taken over by the county council, and they had collected the two ambulances from Featherstone. Ten eight feet dinghies would be bought for the proposed Purston Park development scheme.

  A plan was approved for Dr J Duncan for a surgery and waiting room in St Thomas Road. It was agreed to press for a site in Cutsyke Road for the proposed crematorium for the area.

SEPTEMBER  Recent heavy rain had washed slurry down from the muckstack at Featherstone Square so the NCB were to be asked to build a retaining wall. Permission was given for a disused chapel in Willow Lane to be converted into two semi-detached houses.

OCTOBER  The council expressed concern about only 50 houses being allocated for 1951, and the Ministry would be asked to increase the number. The clerk reported the Ministry was still dealing with the application to erect the water tower at North Featherstone. All junior football clubs would be granted permission to play games in Purston Park. It was decided the whole allocation of houses for 1951 would be built on the North Featherstone Ackton Lane site.

NOVEMBER  Eleanor Denby who lived in Canada found out the Manor House was to be demolished. She wrote to the council saying she had lived there for many years and could she have a small fitting as a memento. The council agreed to send one. It was agreed to point out to the county council the overcrowding of schools because of the closure of Purston C of E School, and to ask for the erection of a new infants school immediately.

   The county council's proposed improvement of North Featherstone crossroads was accepted, and the council suggested making Willow Lane and Church Lane one-way streets. The council agreed to protest at a statement in the County Development Plan saying no suitable sites were available in Featherstone for industrial estates.

DECEMBER  The council discussed plans to convert Purston Hall into offices and a civic centre. The Ministry of Heath approved the erection of the water tower at North Featherstone and the work would begin as soon as the weather allowed.

  Cr A Evans age 78 had 40 years continuous years on the council, and Cr Morgan thought this should be recognised in some way. He suggested his name should be put forward for the King's New Year Honours Lists, and his photograph should be hung in the council chamber opposite that of the late Cr P Darlington. Both proposals were adopted.

  Cr Evans expressed pleasure his work had been appreciated but said he was not concerned about honours. He had worked in the pits for 56 years "and if there is any set of people I am proud of, it is the colliers". They were seen at their best in times of distress when they girded themselves up to great deeds. He had seen many strikes and many soup kitchens. He had called upon the roughest characters to help to work the soup kitchens, and never had he known a refusal. He thanked the members of the council most heartily for their sentiments.

THE CRICKET CLUB

  Mr E C Jordan, who had been chairman of the Featherstone and Purston Cricket, Tennis and Bowling Club since it was formed, and who resigned at last year's annual meeting because of advancing years, attended a meeting in February at the Junction Hotel where he was presented with a pipe by the president, Mr A E England.

  The annual meeting was held at the Junction Hotel in November. the secretary, Mr R T Dixon, said the inclement weather limited the season to 15 games of which seven were won, and the team finished 32nd in the Yorkshire Council out of 87. membership of the tennis section had increased considerably, and the bowling greens were full.

  Commenting on the resignation of Mr H Mason as groundsman he said he was a man who had lived on the job and worked always for the benefit of the club. It would be difficult for the man who tried to emulate him.

  The annual dinner was held a week later at the Junction Hotel. After the meal Arthur Booth, a former Yorkshire and Featherstone cricketer, proposed the health of the club. He hoped it would one day achieve the prominence of Rawtenstall, the home town of Mr Tattersall (the clerk to Featherstone Council who was present) whose membership was 2,500. It was always a source of amazement to him the Featherstone club had received such little support. He could never adequately repay his debt to the club which had given him the opportunity to play cricket continuously for 28 years.

   The president, Mr A E England, replied' saying the club had several promising youngsters among the membership to whom he promised every encouragement. He said the membership of 280 out of a population of 13,000 was not good, and he thought it would be better to seek more members than to increase subscriptions. He assured Mr Booth no club would be prouder than Featherstone to supply another player to the County.

  Dr J Duncan proposed The Town. He congratulated the Council on remarkable achievements in housing. He also welcomed the project to restore Purston Park to its rightful position as a playing field for young people.

  Cr A Booth responded and said the council owned 548 houses in 1938, and since 1945 another 400 had been built and next year's allocation was 51. He too welcomed the development of Purston Park, and the water supply problems created by the large new housing estates would be solved by the erection of a water tower at North Featherstone. 

   Mr Tattersall said Purston had now grown so much, another 30 houses there would probably be the last. Large scale building would be confined to North Featherstone where there was room for 350 houses. The council had a waiting list of between 700 and 800 people, but many of those were tenants now, and he thought the waiting list would disappear with the building of another 400 houses.

  He was proud the Purston Park scheme was going forward because it was his baby. He hoped it would be appreciated and looked after, for it was to cost a lot of money and much would depend on Featherstone's parents.

THE AMDRAMS

  The production for 1950 by the Featherstone and District Musical and Dramatic Society in March was The Belle of New York put on at the Miners' Welfare Hall. It had large audiences each night, and perhaps for the first time local performers took the leading parts, with Helen Jordan age 17 being the "Belle". The Express commented "In the lively, energetic treatment generally, and in the pace achieved throughout, the standard is high".

  For the closing night on the Saturday the hall was crowded to capacity, and it was said the receipts were appreciably more than last year.

 

PURSTON CHURCH FUNDS

   In the Purston Church magazine for May Revd I O Jay answered some of the grouses about the church including it is sometimes locked, and only heated at weekends in the winter. 

  He wrote "To maintain Purston Church as it should be maintained would cost at least £12 a week, all of which has to be raised from the parish. Of course we do not raise that sum, so sometimes the church is cold for a wedding, or hymn books do not get renewed; lighting has to be cut down; the church may not look as tidy as you would like. But when these things happen, do not grumble at the church, for the church has to depend for these things on you, and by grumbling at the church you are really complaining about yourselves. Our average collection is about £5". 

PURSTON PARK

  In July the clerk to the council, Mr H Tattersall, submitted a plan for the development of Purston Park. He said the value of any park was in its ability to provide interest to all sections of the community young and old, and to cater for widely differing tastes.

  The main entrance would be moved 30 feet nearer Wentbridge Road, and the area between the bowling green and the children's playground would have a deep herbaceous border and a fountain with a spout in the centre, plus an aviary.

  From the south-west corner a path would run to a rose garden, boating pool, tennis courts and a miniature golf course. The pool would be 80 yards by 60 yards and fed by natural drainage through existing land drains. The estimated cost of the pool was ££1,525, but if a concrete floor was unnecessary this could be reduced by £640. There would be a ticket office for the collection of fees for boating, golf and tennis, and ten snub-nosed dinghies would be provided at a cost of £12 each.

  The miniature golf course would be formed from the pool excavation and the only expense would be £35 for playing equipment. The rose garden would be at the northern end of the pool and would be enclosed by a low wall, with steps from the garden to the pool. There would be a bandstand and enclosure with seats provided, either fixed or of the deck chair type which could be let out when not required for a band. A full size football pitch would be laid out at the southern end of the park, and the remaining southern area would be left as natural parkland. 

  The total estimated cost of the scheme was £3,033, or £2,393 if a concrete floor to the pool was not necessary. It concluded "The proposals are admittedly ambitious, but not unreasonably so, and I am sure that no one could complain at the return which would be obtained from the expenditure".

THE ROVERS

  The Rovers annual meeting was held at the Junction Hotel in June. The auditor, Mr E Holstead, said the overdraft had been reduced only through a loan of £500 from the Joint Ground Improvement Scheme, and a careful watch must be kept on expenditure.

  The secretary, Mr F Mountain, said a remarkable thing was no income was received from the transfer of players. "Our policy next year will be to play good, open and, we hope, winning football, to improve our position in the table, and ensure more attractive fixtures".

  By a large margin the members rejected a proposal to reduce the number of guarantors on the committee to six from 12, and to increase the elected members from six to 12. Mr A Berry, who had opposed the proposal, looked forward to the day when the club could dispense with guarantors, but without them there would be no football club at Featherstone. The chairman, Mr R H Jackson, said he had always maintained the committee was too big but the proposal did nothing to decrease it. In one week last season the club did not have enough money to pay the players' wages, and one guarantor loaned the money.

  It was agreed in future the meeting would be held in unlicensed premises. It was said many members including women stayed away because it was on licensed premises.

  In the election for the committee, Messrs Jepson and Woodcock were re-elected, and Mr A Haigh replaced Mr Caulfield. Mr A Bullock was unopposed as president. At their first meeting the new committee elected Mr A Berry as chairman.

PURSTON SCHOOL

   A defective roof beam was discovered in the 90 years old Purston Church of England School in February and the school was closed for the structure to be investigated by the West Riding Education Committee's architects' department. After a week off school the juniors were accommodated at George Street School, and the infants at South Featherstone Secondary Modern School, and were taught by their own teachers.

   The architects report said the building had moved four inches towards the road, and only one room in the whole building was safe. They said £125 might be sufficient to enable this room and one other to be made fit for the infants to return.

  In September at the meeting of the Pontefract Divisional Education Executive it was revealed to put the whole building into good repair would cost £5,000, which did not include renewal of services, heating and lighting.

  Cr H Woodcock said it was an alarming state of affairs, but realised the heads of other schools were doing everything possible to accommodate the children. Priority should be given to enable the displaced children to have a school of their own. 

  The county council had suggested the children should be accommodated in the county schools (Regent Street and George Street). The executive agreed to support this proposal but would ask for priority for a new school at Featherstone.

ESCAPED PRISONERS IN PURSTON

  Four prisoners escaped from Wakefield Prison in October. Two were quickly recaptured but the other two disappeared. Mr G Mounty lived at Holmfield, Pontefract Road, and a bungalow was being built alongside. Mrs Mounty was retiring for the night and she looked out of her bedroom window and saw a man crouching in the hedge bottom near the bungalow. A second man appeared to be examining a lorry parked at the bungalow.

  Mr Mounty telephoned the police and two officer were sent in a patrol car. On seeing the car the two men leapt over the hedge and legged it across the field at the back. Mr Mounty's son met the police and pointed out where the men had gone. The police gave chase and overpowered one of the men but the other one escaped. Reinforcements were called and the whole Featherstone area was searched on foot and by car, but the escapee could not be found. 

1950 NEWS ITEMS

JANUARY  Miss Jane Alexander MBE performed the opening of a rest room for old people in Purston Park. Cr R Chilton on behalf of the Featherstone Old Age Pensioners' Association expressed thanks to the council for their help in providing the room. It quickly became known as Cosy Corner.

 

  John Burnell BEM age 77 of Halfpenny Lane had to discontinue cleaning the lectern at Purston Parish Church because of failing eyesight. Revd I O Jay, in the Parish Church magazine, said many years ago the Church of England Men's Society undertook to clean the church brasswork. One by one they gave up but Mr Burnell remained constant. 

 

  The Benevolent Fund, previously the Hospital Efforts Fund, gave £15 to Ackton Hospital, and £9 each to the old folks' room in the park, the St John Ambulance Brigade, the Social Service Centre, and the United Charities. The money was largely from last year's annual dance. 

 

FEBRUARY  The Purston Church of England School was about to be "controlled" ie mainly run by the local authority (the West Riding County Council). As this would bar its use by the church for social activities, the vicar (Revd I O Jay) said they were considering erecting a building as close to the church as possible to seat 200 people and costing about £2,000.

  There were 400 people at the annual celebrity concert of the Featherstone and District Choral Society in the Miners' Welfare Hall in aid of the Cancer Research Fund. 

 

  Mr James Bullock and his son were returning down the Great North Road from a journey to Edinburgh in their empty furniture van when they were forced into a ditch by a 60 mph gale. The van was damaged but back in action a week later.

 

  In the latest revision of parliamentary boundaries Featherstone was moved from Normanton to Pontefract. In the General Election the voting was:

G O Sylvester (Labour)  35,432

M Grant (Liberal-Conservative)  11,431 

 

  The Girls' Life Brigade at Featherstone Lane Methodist Church put on their annual pantomime for a week of appearances to large and appreciative audiences. This year it was Sleeping Beauty.  The photo was uploaded to Featherstone Bygone Days by Philip Dixon and shows Joan Dixon as the Prince and Marjorie Williams as Sleeping Beauty. 

MARCH  The West Riding County Council approved the expenditure of £920 to carry out road improvements at North Featherstone crossroads.

APRIL  Alice May Fennell, the widow of John Benjamin Fennell who was killed by a fall of roof at Ackton Hall Colliery in January 1949, was awarded £2,318 damages at Leeds Assizes. The judge decided Mr Fennell was 5% responsible for the accident and reduced the amount accordingly. He said the award would be £290 for three partially dependent children, £228 to the widow, and the remainder to be paid into the Pontefract County Court for administration.

  A lorry carrying bales of cotton yarn from Lancashire shed its load in Wakefield Road when rounding a bend. A lamp standard was knocked down but no one was injured although the road was blocked until the bales were reloaded.

  The Home Guard Home Comrades' Association decided to disband because of a lack of interest. The balance of £12 in the funds was divided equally between the Featherstone Parish Church Restoration Fund and the Purston Parish Church Organ Fund.

 

   St George's Day was observed by a parade of Scouts and Cubs from the vicarage to St Peter's Church where the Group Scoutmaster, the Vicar of Featherstone, Revd H R Haworth conducted the service.

MAY  A Church Army cinema van toured the district for six days and among the places visited were Ackton Hall Colliery, a clothing factory and the schools. The missioners conducted the Sunday services at Featherstone Parish Church and then showed their films to a large company in the vicarage field.

  The stewards at the Green Lane Club fought a fire in the bar which was discovered at 6.30am. It damaged some upholstered seating and was thought to have been caused by a cigarette end left burning by a customer the previous night. Fire brigades from Featherstone and Castleford took over and extinguished the flames. 

  Ackton Hospital, now run by the the Leeds Regional Hospital Board of the NHS, was part used for general medical cases from Castleford and Pontefract hospitals. The board were planning to use the rest as a maternity home in spite of objections from the council of it ceasing to be an infectious diseases hospital. The plan was subject to the Ministry of Health's financial help.

JUNE  The Express reported on a rumour about a merger between the West Riding and B & S bus companies. Mr G H Hargrave, general manager of the West Riding Automobile Company said there was something in the rumour but nothing definite yet at all. Mr James Bullock, joint managing director of J Bullock and Sons (1928) Ltd. declined to comment.

  Maureen Harvey age 13 was selected to be queen of the Leatham Park Estate carnival to be held in August.

  Purston Church received a gift of £1,000 from the Bishop of Wakefield's Appeal Fund towards the cost of a church hall which would cost £2,000 plus £500 to furnish it. It was hoped to borrow part of the outstanding sum so a start could be made as soon as permits were obtained.

JULY  The West Riding Automobile Company planned to take over the J Bullock and Sons (1928) Ltd bus company and applied to the Transport Commissioners to transfer the licences. The B & S was reputed to be the largest privately owned bus company in the country, and the takeover price was said to be more than half a million pounds. 

 

  Pat Wilson of Wentbridge Road was first in the Manchester Semi-final of the All England Sunshine Dancing Competitions. She was fourth in the final in London.

  A fire in an air raid shelter in Featherstone Lane was put out by Pontefract Fire Brigade. It was thought to have been started by children burning rubbish.

 

  Mavis Baddeley was the queen for the North Featherstone and Ackton children and old folk's treat. The procession headed by the Ackton Hall and Snydale Collieries Workmen's Band toured the district and visited Ackton Hospital. Tea was served at Messrs Copley's field and the entertainment included a Punch and Judy show, a ventriloquist and a comic band from Harrogate.

  Richard Maxwell age two was playing near his home in Brookway when he was knocked down and killed by an electric milk float. Evidence was given at the inquest saying the driver could not have seen the boy, and the jury exonerated him from blame and gave a verdict of death by misadventure.

AUGUST  Tenants of The Green and Wellgarth Road held their 18th annual carnival and sports. Jean Westerman was crowned Carnival Queen and had a procession through the estate followed by sports. Tea was served outdoors, and there was dancing on The Green until midnight, to music provided by Mr R H Jackson.

  The second annual sports and carnival by the Leatham Park Estate Children's Fund was held on the green. There was a procession by the queen, Maureen Harvey, headed by the Ackton Hall and Snydale Collieries Workmen's Band. In the interval of the sports, tea, sweets and ice cream was served to the children, and the old people took tea in a marquee.

  The band played selections, and there was a Punch and Judy, roundabouts, wagonette trips, swings, a miniature railway, a treasure hunt, and a mystery man. In the evening the green was floodlit for dancing.

  The main sewer from Purston to the sewage works became blocked on a Saturday afternoon, and cellars at Purston Post Office and the Travellers' Inn had to be pumped out. The blockage was cleared by rods, but then it blocked again so the road had to be dug up. Workmen were engaged in shifts throughout the night until noon on Sunday. It was decided to build two manholes between the two hotels to avoid future trouble.

SEPTEMBER  John William Lawrence age 34 of Normanton, an undermanager at Ackton Hall Colliery, was cycling down Station Lane when a swinging rear door on a van parked outside Darnton's knocked him into the path of a following bus. The inquest jury decided neither the van driver or the bus driver was to blame and returned a verdict of death by misadventure.

OCTOBER  Purston Church received a grant of  £1,500 and a loan of £1,000 from the Bishop of Wakefield's Appeal Fund towards the cost of a Purston Parish Church Hall. An application for a building licence was turned down by the Ministry of Works, but the matter was to be reopened. 

  The Purston Parish Church magazine congratulated Elizabeth Mann, Sheila Adey, Eileen Bennett and Christine Goalby for their 100% attendance at the Purston C of E School during the past school year. Elizabeth Mann maintained her record for the whole of her four years at the school.

  At the annual meeting of the British Legion the secretary of the benevolent committee, Mr D Cameron, said over 200 cases had been dealt with during the year, and the amount received by Featherstone ex-servicemen exceeded by £250 the £150 sent by the branch to the Legion's Poppy Fund. They must either increase the Poppy Day donations or make fewer claims for assistance. 

  The membership was 401, a decline of 30 on last year, but there was a balance on the general account of about £200 and it was again intended to give a Christmas treat to members' children.

   A meeting was held in the Featherstone Hotel to organise The Station T'Beck Children's Treat Fund which was intended to cater for children who lived between the railway lines and the beck on Featherstone Lane which was the unofficial boundary between North Featherstone and Featherstone. The names of 600 eligible children were quickly submitted.

NOVEMBER  In the November issue of the Purston Parish Magazine the vicar, Revd I O Jay, announced they had received a building licence for the proposed church hall from the Ministry of Works and now awaited consent from the Diocesan  Chancellor, Featherstone Council, and the Town and Country planning officer.

  The annual sale of work by supporters of Purston Parish Church was held in South Featherstone Modern Secondary School which was crowded and raised about £300 for the church hall fund. There was another large company for the evening concert.

  The North Featherstone and Ackton Treat Committee held a bonfire treat for the children in their area. They feasted on roast potatoes, parkin and bonfire toffee. The evening ended with a fireworks display and community singing.

  Some surface workers at Ackton Hall Colliery came out on strike on a Monday over a new minimum pay award which they said only gave them 5d a shift extra giving them a new minimum wage of £5 5s a week. The next day out of 85 pit hill workers only 52 turned up, and 30 of them went back home. A union meeting was held in the Welfare Hall on the Tuesday evening at which it was agreed to return to work. Other miners in South Wales, Durham and parts of Yorkshire had already accepted the deal.

  On Remembrance Sunday there was a parade from Cressey's Corner to the War Memorial where the service was conducted by the Vicar of Featherstone, Revd H R Haworth. After the two minutes silence Drum Sergeant A S Bearns T A sounded The Last Post and Reveille. The Poppy Day collection realised £109 10s.

 

  The Welfare Hall was completely filled for a concert in aid of the Cresswell Colliery Disaster Fund. The artistes were all local and included the Ackton Hall and Snydale Collieries Workmen's Band, the Featherstone Lane Male Voice Choir, the Linden Choir and others from the working men's clubs. The proceeds for the fund were about £40.

 

DECEMBER  Over 600 people crowded the Hippodrome for a concert in aid of the disaster fund. The artistes included the Collieries Band conducted by Mt T Sellers, Norman Longbottom and his Band, Albert and Ken Watson piano duets, and Jack Windmill comedian. Running the fund were the local NUM, Featherstone Rovers, the local working men's clubs and the cricket club.

  Harold Derbyshire was selling goods from his horse and cart in Wentbridge Road, Purston, when his horse lost the use of its back legs and could not move. It had to be shot.

   

  Mrs Dunn of Dickinson Street was walking home from her mother's house in Moor Road along the footpath between the Rovers' ground and the cricket field. As she passed a man walking the other way he stabbed her with a knife which broke. She found about two inches of the knife blade in her clothing, a thick coat and a woollen dress which protected her from serious injury.

  She met Toby Mason on his bicycle and told him what had happened and after making sure she was not wounded he rode off as far as the Jubilee Steps but there was no trace of the man. The police were informed and she gave them the piece of the blade and said it was a man about 20 years old who looked at her a bit silly. The police did an intensive search but there was no trace of the man.

  Featherstone Lane Methodist Church celebrated its 50th anniversary with renovations to the building and the installation of an organ transferred from a Methodist Church in Shipley which had to close for road improvements. The church began in 1900 when a small group of stalwarts from the South Featherstone Primitive Methodists decided it was time to move "up north" to serve the growing population there.

   A winding up meeting was held in the North Featherstone Lane WMC at which it was announced the final total for the Cresswell Colliery Disaster Fund, from two concerts and a collection at a Rovers game, was £96 12s 10d.

   A party at the Social Service Centre by the Child Welfare Clinic was attended by 100 mothers with their babies and toddlers. An electricity cut meant candles and gas lighting had to be used for part of the time. After tea the Elaine School of Dancing provided entertainment.

 

  The British Legion held their party for 240 children of members at the Miners' Welfare Hall. After tea there was a film show including Charlie Chaplin, and a conjurer. Each child received a Christmas gift, a bag of sweets and fruit.

  There was a company of about 600 at the Rovers' Boxing Day dance in the Lister Baths which was considered a great success. The attendance at the cricket club's New Year's Eve dance was below expectations at 400, probably because the day fell mid-week.