This is the latest Batley St Mary’s one-place study update, looking at the posts added in February 2023. The update also contains links to all the posts in the study to date.
If you are new to to this one-place study and want to know what it is all about, click here. Otherwise read on to discover all the other posts, new and old, containing a wealth of parish, parishioner and wider local Batley history.
St Mary’s Church – photo by Jane Roberts
February 2023 saw the addition of six new posts, bringing the total number for the study to 218. Two others were updated.
The additions included four weekly newspaper pages for February 1917. I have accordingly updated the surname index to these During This Week newspaper pieces, so you can easily identify newspaper snippets relevant to your family.
Unfortunately, because I have been in hospital throughout most of February, there have been no new Memorial biographies. And although more men who served and survived have been identified and that page includes these new names, no new biographies were added here this month either.
The posts which were added this month are a new occupation post – that of mason’s labourer. And the 1918 Infants’ School Log Book.
Below is the full list of pages to date. I have annotated the *NEW* and *UPDATED* ones, so you can easily pick these out. Click on the link and it will take you straight to the relevant page.
Postscript: Finally a big thank you for the donations already received to keep this website going. They really do help.
The website has always been free to use, but it does cost me money to operate. In the current difficult economic climate I am considering if I can continue to afford to keep running it as a free resource, especially as I have to balance the research time against work commitments.
If you have enjoyed reading the various pieces, and would like to make a donation towards keeping the website up and running in its current open access format, it would be very much appreciated.
Please click here to be taken to the PayPal donation link. By making a donation you will be helping to keep the website online and freely available for all.
This is the latest Batley St Mary’s one-place study update, looking at the posts added in January 2023. The update also contains links to all the posts in the study to date.
If you are new to to this one-place study and want to know what it is all about, click here. Otherwise read on to discover all the other posts, new and old, containing a wealth of parish, parishioner and wider local Batley history.
St Mary’s Church – photo by Jane Roberts
January 2023 saw the addition of nine new posts, bringing the total number for the study to 212. Three other pages were updated. Two other categories, looking at statistics for Batley and the parish of St Mary’s, were renamed.
The additions included four weekly newspaper pages for January 1917. I have accordingly updated the surname index to these During This Week newspaper pieces, so you can easily identify newspaper snippets relevant to your family.
January saw the addition of two new Memorial biographies, those for Arthur William Bayldon Woodhead and Martin Gallagher,
More men who served and survived have been identified and that page includes these new names. However, no new biographies were added here this month. They will follow in due course.
And this month there is an unusual tale in the Miscellany of Information section – a post about a bizarre crime which took place in Batley cemetery under cover of black-out darkness in 1942.
As for the renamed categories, Batley Descriptions now becomes Batley Statistics and Descriptions – Population, Health, Mortality, Fertility etc. It will cover general information about Batley. This will provide an overview of the town where St Mary of the Angels is located and therefore some more context to the lives of the parishioners. Two new posts have been added here. One looks at the population of Batley between 1801 and 1939. The other looks at Batley in the 1921 census, with all the changes wrought by the war.
The other renamed category is Population, Health, Mortality and Fertility, which has been renamed Batley St Mary’s Population, Health, Mortality and Fertility Information and Comparisons. This will look at population and health issues at a parish rather than town level, and may draw on information from the town section to enable comparisons.
Below is the full list of pages to date. I have annotated the *NEW* and *UPDATED* ones, so you can easily pick these out. Click on the link and it will take you straight to the relevant page.
Postscript: Finally a big thank you for the donations already received to keep this website going. They really do help.
The website has always been free to use, but it does cost me money to operate. In the current difficult economic climate I am considering if I can continue to afford to keep running it as a free resource, especially as I have to balance the research time against work commitments.
If you have enjoyed reading the various pieces, and would like to make a donation towards keeping the website up and running in its current open access format, it would be very much appreciated.
Please click here to be taken to the PayPal donation link. By making a donation you will be helping to keep the website online and freely available for all.
At the start of January 2022 many of us were eagerly awaiting the 1921 Census release, so we could find out about our families in post-Great War England and Wales. I wrote about the background to this census and what type of information to look out for here.
One year on, I thought it time for me to note some findings relating to Batley generally. This includes the debate the 1921 census results caused locally in the months and years which followed their release. This was the type of debate happening up and down the country, so you may find this post interesting even if your ancestors did not live in Batley in this period. It may also be helpful if you want to compare the findings for your area of interest with Batley, an industrial Yorkshire town with a population of 36,137, whose growth over the previous hundred years was built on its textile industry. And it will definitely be of interest if your family lived in 1921 Batley, to compare them against the overall populace of the town.
Census night was 19 June 1921. It was delayed from its planned April date because of the state of emergency declared as a result of the coal miners’ strike. In the week after the census, Batley’s local newspapers reported that the enumerators were on the whole well-received across the district. Some difficulties did arise though. In many cases forms were not filled in ready for collection on Monday as specified (although the census instructions contained the originally intended 25 April collection date.) Instead some unfortunate enumerators were delayed in their duties, having to wait for them to be completed when they called round. In some cases enumerators were still collecting forms on Tuesday. One frustrated enumerator had to call ten times to get the return from one resident. Apparently the enumerators also encountered many amusing incidents – unfortunately for us they did not wish to repeat them to the local journalists for publication.1
Although there were few refusals to fill in the papers, errors and omissions were reported to have abounded, with many householders feeling the form was needlessly complex and one enumerator claiming “only about 4 per cent of the papers would be quite accurate.”2 It was also noted that with an absence of ink in many households, pencil was resorted to for completing the forms.3
So, what were the findings for Batley Municipal Borough in 1921?
When the preliminary figures came out in August 1921, there was one main headline for Batley – after decades of an increasing population, the number of inhabitants recorded on census night now stood at 36,151. This was a decrease of 238 since 1911. When the census figures were reviewed and finalised in 1923, the amended 1921 population figure was even lower – 36,137, marking a 252 decrease over 1911.4 For the remainder of this post, unless stated, I will stick with the final confirmed numbers rather than the preliminary ones released in August 1921.
This decrease was not predicted. In fact in May 1921, the month before the 1921 Census, Batley’s Medical Officer, G. H. Pearce, was finalising his 1920 annual health report for the town. In this the population for Batley as at the end of 1920 was put at 36,527 based on the Registrar General’s estimates.5 This was a small increase over the 1911 Census figure. So the 1921 figure was not really anticipated.
However, in hindsight this decrease should not have been any surprise to anyone, and that was the received wisdom once the figures did come out. You have only to take a look at the in excess of 800 names on Batley War Memorial to see the impact of the Great War locally. This was recognised in the reporting analysis.
Batley War Memorial
And it was not only this loss of a generation of men. There was also a fall in the birth rate during the war years, as a consequence of so many being away serving in the military. In 1914 Batley’s birth rate was 22.1 per thousand. By 1919 it had dropped to 16.4 per thousand, with a low point in 1917 of 15.7 per thousand.6
There had also been the flu pandemic which pushed the 1918 death rate in Batley up to 19.7 per thousand – with 104 extra deaths directly attributed to the pandemic that year, and a further 83 in 1919.7
In the opinion of Dr Pearce, the town’s medical officer, the combination of war losses, a declining birth rate and the hit of the flu pandemic largely accounted for Batley’s population decrease. The conclusion reached was, but for the war, there would have been no population decrease.8
And there was cause for optimism going forward, in that by 1920 Batley’s birth rate had bounced back, jumping to 24.3 per thousand.9
But broader factors had to be considered too. Local occupations also impacted on population growth. Batley was dominated by its textile industry. The 1921 Census once again confirmed this. A total of 7,885 people (3,842 males and 4,043 females) aged 12 and over were classed as textile workers. This equated to 296 male workers per 1,000 and 622 female workers per 1,000 occupied in this industry. To this should be added a further 599 individuals (14 males and 585 females) involved in rag, bone and bottle sorting, which fell under a different occupational classification – and a significant proportion of these would be rag sorters for the local mills. The textile industry was way ahead of Batley’s second employer, the mining and quarrying sector, which accounted for 1,688 males. I will cover Batley occupations in detail in a separate post at a later date.
In general terms in Yorkshire it was found mining-dominated districts had increased in population between 1911 and 1921, whereas those where the textile industries were paramount had remained practically stationary in population compared to 1911.10
To demonstrate the difference in population growth between 1911 and 1921 in mining and textile districts, the Yorkshire Post of 24 August 1921 compared the West Riding districts of Bingley, Elland, Golcar, Saddleworth, Shipley, Skipton and Sowerby Bridge, where textile industries were dominant, with eight West Riding mining districts of similar size – Bentley-with-Arksey, Bolton-on-Dearne, Castleford, Mexborough, Stanley, Wath-on-Dearne, Wombwell and Worsborough. These textile areas had a total population of a little over 100,000 in 1911, and by 1921 this had fallen by 19. In contrast the mining areas had a population increase of 16,566, or over 15 per cent, three times as great an increase than for the whole county.
One reason given for this difference was something said to be well-known in official circles – textile operatives had very much smaller families than many classes of working people.11
And the war even played a part in population growth in certain areas between 1911 and 1921. Wartime industries drew people into areas such as Barrow-in-Furness and other locations associated with heavy industry. Sheffield, for example, had an inrush of munitions workers. These workers boosted the population, and post-war there was no corresponding mass exodus due, it is said, to problems for these workers in moving and securing houses elsewhere. This in part was the explanation for why Sheffield had a population increase of around 30,000 between 1911 and 1921. In contrast, any new wartime industries brought to Batley though were relatively small, and the area was not a population importer during the war, focussing on what it always did – textile manufacture.12
Industrial environment also had an impact on sex distribution, with men generally outnumbering women in the mining areas. The same Yorkshire Post survey of mining/textile districts referred to earlier, showed that in the seven textile towns there were 1,202 females to 1,000 males; in mining towns only 938. This is born out when looking specifically at Batley, where this figure was 1,171 females per 1,000 males, an increase over the 1911 female/male ratio of 1,149:1,000. Essentially textile areas drew in women who could undertake the type of work offered in mills, and this also helped retain the existing female population. In mining dominated areas there was less work to draw in women, and there was a push away for local women seeking work.
Housing – or rather lack of it – brought into sharp focus another issue for Batley, where it was argued overcrowding limited population growth and was a factor in the 1921 census figures. The housing dilemma had been perceived as a problem for many years in Batley, with the levels of overcrowding described as considerable. Dr Pearce pointed out that the Registrar General’s analysis from the 1911 census was 19.3 per cent of Batley residents were living in overcrowded conditions, based on the standard of more than two people per room.13 Though this had improved – in part due to the war and men being away on military service – it was still a problem. Yet despite it, only 24 houses had been built in Batley between 1916 and 1920.14 In fact, because of the lack of progress, in November 1919 the Housing and Town Planning Committee passed a resolution that 500 houses be erected in Batley.15
There were also problems around the type of housing, as highlighted in the Medical Officer’s annual report in 1920. The town had few middle class type dwellings. Essentially the housing stock was split between working class dwellings and mansions, with the former predominating. Many of these working class houses were back-to-back, consisting of only two rooms, one above the other, and built in long rows. As for their condition, many had damp problems as a result of defective roofs, walls or absence of damp proof courses, lack of light and defective ventilation. Sanitary standards also lagged behind modern ideals, with hundreds of water closets being shared by the occupants of two dwelling houses. There were also still large numbers of brick fixed receptacles for ashes and refuse, rather than the preferred covered metal ash bins.
The housing shortage was even said to have prevented many from getting married.16 The housing problem was seen as a long-term brake on population growth, especially if road transport developed as was expected, which would mean some moving out from the crowded centres. Already a good many miners employed in Batley Borough lived outside the area.17 Dr Pearce was of the view that if more houses were built, more people would live in Batley.18
However, even in the years immediately after the census there was a clear lack of action. When Dr Pearce issued his Medical Report for 1924 he pointed out the 1919 Batley Town Council housing programme of 500 new houses still had not yet been fulfilled. And in the meantime the situation had worsened – Dr Pearce now estimated that Batley needed 2,000 more houses.19
There was one other major factor which many blamed for Batley’s population decline in the 1921 census – timing. As I pointed out at the beginning census night was 19 June 1921. Although attempts were made to avoid the holidays in the big industrial towns of the north, it was inevitable that some were away. One unnamed Batley official went as far as to say the whole of Batley’s decrease might be accounted for by this.20 A quick look through the Batley returns shows a raft annotated with phrases such as “not at home” or “away from house”. Official statistics show 212 Batley dwellings were vacant on census night. With 9,509 recorded as occupied, that is around a 2.2 per cent vacancy rate. In cases where the census form is annotated “not at home” etc., it is as well to also check the address page as this may give the occupier’s name. And it is true that the seaside resorts of Blackpool, Scarborough, Whitby, Filey, Hornsea, Saltburn and the like had noticeably swelled numbers when compared to 1911.
A few other interesting information snippets from the 1921 Census Batley details.
The impact of the war was reflected in some entries of men who had returned. For example 36-year-old Adam Gregory’s occupation is “an ex-soldier under treatment.”21 23-year-old John William Boot’s occupation entry reads “Disabled during the Great War.”22 Dennis Kennedy, from the Batley St Mary’s One-Place Study, has a similar occupation entry, “Disabled at war unable to work.”23 Whilst 31-year-old John Lynch, a coal miner by trade, was also unable to work. His former coal-mining occupation is scored through and replaced by “Disabled Soldier.”24
The census also included a new question around orphanhood, with entries for children under 15 having to state if both parents were alive, if the father was dead, the mother dead or both parents dead. The Great War had an impact here. In Batley of the 9,303 children in this under 15 category, 698 had dead fathers, the mother had died in 196 cases, and 34 children had lost both parents. A further 105 replied not known, or had left this section incomplete. It did mean though that 8,270 children had both parents alive. However, it was acknowledged that there were issues with how census forms were filled in for this new question.
This census also included a question for the first time around marriages dissolved by divorce, in recognition of its increased availability. 16,682 people in England and Wales declared themselves so. In Batley, according to the official figures, this amounted to three men and five women. Table 1, below, taken from the 1921 Census, shows Batley’s population by marital condition. It also shows the age splits between males and females.
Table 1 – Extracted from Table 14a of the 1921 Census, Yorkshire
Table 2 looks in graphical form at the percentage male/female age split, including the lost Great War Generation differences.
Table 2 – Extracted from Table 14a of the 1921 Census, Yorkshire
In terms of age, the average age of males in Batley was 30.5, and females 30.6.
To draw all this together here are some more Tables illustrating different Batley population aspects based on the 1921 Census, and in some cases with comparisons to 1911 to show the changes. Tip, if the font is too small to read, click on the Table to bring up a new screen with an enlarged version.
Table 3 shows the housing of private families in Batley in 1921, with a comparison to the 1911 census.
Table 3 – Extracted from Table IX of the 1921 Census, Yorkshire
In Batley there were 0.85 people per room in 1921, compared to the County average of 1.04. In Batley there was an average of 3.85 persons per family in 1921 compared to 3.97 in 1911. There was an average of 3.29 rooms per dwelling, so towards the lower number in comparison with other areas of Yorkshire – Leeds for example was 4.19, Dewsbury 3.42. Though Birstall, at 3.21, was lower. Note rooms covered the usual living rooms, including bedrooms and kitchens, but excluding sculleries, landings, lobbies, closets, bathrooms, or any warehouse, office or other shop rooms. On the plus side the percentage population living in more than 2 persons per room had dropped from 19.3 per cent in 1911 to 18.8 in 1921, and all this equated to a 27 per cent deficiency in rooms. Although not at as bad as, for example, Birstall at 22.6 per cent (room deficiency of 28.9 per cent) or Birkenshaw at 21.8 (room deficiency of 30.1 per cent), it was worse than Dewsbury’s 18 per cent (room deficiency of 24.2) or at the other extreme Ilkley with a room surplus of 27.8 per cent. And saying that Batley’s population was far higher then Birstall, Birkenshaw or Ilkley.
Table 4 shows Batley’s population in 1921, with comparisons to previous censuses. This table clearly illustrates the small decline in population between 1911 and 1921, after a growth in the 1901-1911 decade.
Table 4 – Extracted from Table 2 of the 1921 Census, Yorkshire
Table 5 shows the acreage, population, private families and dwellings statistics for Batley. Here you can clearly see the differences between the areas in Batley, with the North and Soothill Wards having a large acreage with a comparatively small population, whilst the West and East Wards have far less land, but contain a much larger population. For example the East Ward, being the most densely populated, has 33.7 people per acre, compared with the overall Batley average of 11.2.
Table 5 – Extracted from Table 3 of the 1921 Census, Yorkshire
Table 6 contains analyses of the buildings and structurally separate dwellings in Batley in 1921. The upper part of the table looks at the classes of buildings (split between five groups). The lower part of the table is split into two parts. The left looks in at Group V buildings. Whilst in the right-hand side the analysis according to dwellings is continued in respect of certain selected classes of private family occupation. Note 212 dwellings were vacant on census night.
Table 6 – Extracted from Table 10 of the 1921 Census, Yorkshire
Table 7 contains an analysis of the private families within Batley according to the number of persons in the family, and the number of rooms occupied by the family.
Table 7 – Extracted from Table 11 of the 1921 Census, Yorkshire.
Table 8 illustrates the number of people in Batley attending educational establishments. These are split by age, sex and whether attending school full or part time.
Table 8 – Extracted from Table 15 of the 1921 Census, Yorkshire
The final series of tables – Table 9, 10 and 11 – are different ways of displaying the previous datasets. These are as set out in the 1923 Borough of Batley Annual Report of the Medical Officer of Health, G. H. Pearce.
Table 9 – Batley Municipal Borough Buildings, Dwellings, Rooms and Families, 1921 CensusTable 10 – Batley Municipal Borough – Ward Populations, 1921 CensusTable 11 – Housing of Private Families – Batley Municipal Borough – 1921 Census
These overall statistics for Batley, and other statistics gathered as the study progresses, including the additional detail around occupation, will enable comparisons to be made for the Catholic population against the overall population of the town. For example looking at the number of people per family, the number of people per room etc., or comparing the Catholic and non-Catholic population on an individual street or two similar sized streets. Also did those who worked in the textile industry really have smaller families than those from, for example, mining families?
One final point to note for family historians looking for ancestors in Batley. There are issues with the Batley census returns. If you cannot find your family in this census it may be because some household returns were damaged and have not been indexed by Findmypast. It is worth trying workarounds to look at the images. I have had success for example searching by address – and although the writing was faint and therefore not indexed, I have been able to work out sufficient portions to confirm it was the family I was seeking and add to my knowledge of them.
Postscript: Finally a big thank you for the donations already received to keep this website going.
The website has always been free to use, but it does cost me money to operate. In the current difficult economic climate I am considering if I can continue to afford to keep running it as a free resource, especially as I have to balance the research time against work commitments.
If you have enjoyed reading the various pieces, and would like to make a donation towards keeping the website up and running in its current open access format, it would be very much appreciated.
Please click here to be taken to the PayPal donation link. By making a donation you will be helping to keep the website online and freely available for all.
Thank you.
Footnotes: 1. Batley Reporter, 24 June 1921 and Batley News, 25 June 1921. 2. Batley Reporter, 24 June 1921. 3. Batley News, 25 June 1921. 4. The official 1911 census figures for Batley’s population was 36,389. However, in several Medical Officer reports it is consistently put at 36,395. I have stuck with the official figures. 5. Borough of Batley Annual Report of the Medical Officer of Health for the Year 1920 – G. H. Pearce. 6. Borough of Batley Annual Report of the Medical Officer of Health for the Year 1919 – G. H. Pearce. 7. Ibid. 8. Batley Reporter, 26 August 1921 and Batley News, 27 August 1921. 9. Borough of Batley Annual Report of the Medical Officer of Health for the Year 1920 – G. H. Pearce. 10. Yorkshire Post, 24 August 1921. 11. Batley Reporter, 26 August 1921. 12. Ibid. 13. Batley News, 27 August 1921. 14. Borough of Batley Annual Report of the Medical Officer of Health for the Year 1920 – G. H. Pearce. 15. Borough of Batley Annual Report of the Medical Officer of Health for the Year 1919 – G. H. Pearce and Batley Reporter, 26 August 1921 16. Batley Reporter, 26 August 1921 17. Batley News, 27 August 1921 18. Ibid. 19. Borough of Batley Annual Report of the Medical Officer of Health for the Year 1924 – G. H. Pearce 20. Batley News, 27 August 1921 21. 1921 Census, The National Archives (TNA), Ref RG15/22341/30 22. 1921 Census, TNA, Ref RG15/22328/306 23. 1921 Census, TNA, Ref RG15/22346/7 24. 1921 Census, TNA, Ref RG15/22345/160
The Batley St Mary’s one-place study hit a major milestone in December 2022 – the two hundredth post was published, a little over two years after the study started. More of that later.
If you are new to to this one-place study and want to know what it is all about, click here. Otherwise read on to find out what the milestone post was, and discover all the other posts, new and old, containing a wealth of parish, parishioner and wider local Batley history.
St Mary’s Church – photo by Jane Roberts
December 2022 saw the addition of eight new posts, bringing the total number for the study to 203. Two other pages were updated.
The additions included five weekly newspaper pages for December 1916. I have accordingly updated the surname index to these During This Week newspaper pieces, so you can easily identify newspaper snippets relevant to your family.
There were also three new school log books added, for the infants’ department. These covered 1913, 1916 and 1917. And it is the 1917 log book which has the distinction of being the study’s two hundredth post.
Unfortunately, due to other work priorities, this month there were no new Memorial biographies. I hope to begin adding to them once more in the New Year, if time and work permits. And, although more men who served and survived have been identified and that page includes these new names, no new biographies were added here either.
Below is the full list of pages to date. I have annotated the *NEW* and *UPDATED* ones, so you can easily pick these out. Click on the link and it will take you straight to the relevant page.
Postscript: My website has always been free to use, but it does cost me money to operate. In the current difficult economic climate I am considering whether I can continue to afford to keep running it as a free resource, especially given the time this research takes.
If you have enjoyed reading the various pieces, and would like to make a donation towards keeping the website up and running in its current open access format, it would be very much appreciated.
Please click here to be taken to the PayPal donation link. By making a donation you will be helping to keep the website online and freely available for all.
This is the latest Batley St Mary’s one-place study update. If you want to know more about the background to this one-place study click here. Otherwise read on to discover all the posts, new and old, containing a wealth of parish, parishioner and wider local Batley history.
St Mary’s Church – photo by Jane Roberts
November 2022 saw the addition of six new posts, bringing the total number for the study to 195. Two other pages were updated.
The additions included four weekly newspaper pages for November 1916. I have accordingly updated the surname index to these During This Week newspaper pieces, so you can easily identify newspaper snippets relevant to your family.
I have written two new War Memorial biographies, those of Thomas William Chappell and Henry Groark.
More men who served and survived have been identified. I have updated that page accordingly. No new biographies were added here in November, but they will follow in due course.
Below is the full list of pages to date. I have annotated the *NEW* and *UPDATED* ones, so you can easily pick these out. Click on the link and it will take you straight to the relevant page.
Postscript: My website has always been free to use, but it does cost me money to operate. In the current difficult economic climate I’m having to consider whether I can continue to afford to keep running it as a free resource.
If you have enjoyed reading the various pieces, and would like to make a donation towards keeping the website up and running in its current open access format, it would be very much appreciated.
Please click here to be taken to the PayPal donation link. By making a donation you will be helping to keep the website online and freely available for all.
This is the latest Batley St Mary’s one-place study update. If you want to know more about the background to this one-place study click here. Otherwise read on to discover all the posts, new and old, containing a wealth of parish, parishioner and wider local Batley history.
St Mary’s Church – photo by Jane Roberts
October 2022 saw the addition of seven new posts, bringing the total number for the study to 189. Two other pages were updated.
The additions included four weekly newspaper pages for October 1916. I have accordingly updated the surname index to these During This Week newspaper pieces, so you can easily identify newspaper snippets relevant to your family.
I have written one new War Memorial biography, that of Patrick Hopkins.
More men who served and survived have been identified. I have updated that page accordingly. No new biographies were added here in October.
The Infant School log book for 1915 has been added to the School Log Books section.
Finally for this month there is one new piece in the Miscellany of Information section, about the Batley Peace Medal. Although written from a St Mary’s perspective, this is of far wider Batley local history interest.
Below is the full list of pages to date. I have annotated the *NEW* and *UPDATED* ones, so you can easily pick these out. Click on the link and it will take you straight to the relevant page.
Postscript: My website has always been free to use, but it does cost me money to operate. In the current difficult economic climate I’m having to consider whether I can continue to afford to keep running it as a free resource.
If you have enjoyed reading the various pieces, and would like to make a donation towards keeping the website up and running in its current open access format, it would be very much appreciated.
Please click here to be taken to the PayPal donation link. By making a donation you will be helping to keep the website online and freely available for all.
One side indicates why the medal was produced. It says it is:
TO COMMEMORATE THE VICTORIOUS CONCLUSION OF THE GREAT WAR
The other side, with the town’s coat of arms, gives the date of presentation and by whom, with the words
PRESENTED BY ALD. D. STUBLEY MAYOR OF BATLEY • 1919 •
The reason for the medal is therefore clear – to commemorate the ending of the First World War.
But who was the medal presented to? How many were presented? And when was the presentation made?
This piece will answer these questions, and more.
In the weeks and months after the Armistice, thoughts at a national level were turning to how to mark the signing of the final peace treaty. It was a difficult issue given many families up and down the country were grieving, or had loved ones permanently maimed, and discharged veterans were flooding home to face uncertain futures. Celebrations would be hard for many. Which in part explains why the Government decision was delayed for several months.
In early April 1919 the Batley Corporation Town Clerk, Joseph Hanson Craik, wrote to the local MP, Gerald France, to see if the Government had any timing information on the likely signing of “Peace.” Also to find out when there would be any indication of the lead from London about the nature of celebrations to mark it. The answer came back that it was all still pending.1
But the Corporation recognised they needed to get on with preparations in advance of this final decision from government. It proved a wise move. It was not until the beginning of July 1919, after the 28 June 1919 signing of the Treaty of Versailles, that the Government made the formal announcement that 19 July 1919 would be designated National Peace Day, and a Bank Holiday.
It meant July was a frenetic period of activity for Batley Corporation and the Peace Celebration Committee. They designated the Batley Borough peace celebrations were to be held between 17 and 22 July 1919, with – in addition to the 19 July national Bank Holiday – the 21 and 22 July designated as general holidays locally. A series of events were planned. These included schools’ events scheduled for 17 July, as this was the day the elementary schools broke up for the summer holiday.
As far back as March 1919 Town Clerk Craik was setting wheels in motion for these school events, compiling estimates of the number of scholars on the roll in Batley.
The schools in the Borough were:
Batley Parish C.E.
Brownhill C.E.
Carlinghow.
Field Lane.
Healey.
Park Road.
Purlwell.
St Mary’s R.C.
Staincliffe C.E.
Warwick Road.
Gregory Street.
Hanging Heaton.
Mill Lane.
Boys’ Grammar.
Girls’ Grammar.
On 23 March Batley Corporation calculated numbers on the roll stood at 5,610, split between 5,200 elementary scholars, 190 at the Boys Grammar School and 220 at the Girls Grammar School. There was also an estimated 210 teachers, of which 187 were at Elementary Schools. The Education Committee Returns of School Attendance for the month of April 1919 supported the Elementary roll figure.
The breakdown of numbers for St Mary’s, the school I am particularly interested in and which forms part of my one-place study, was as follows:
St Mary’s RC
Accommodation
Number on Roll
Actual Attendance
Average Attendance
Per Cent Attendance
Boys
96
110
108
101
91.4
Mixed
310
241
241
224
92.8
Infants
169
125
119
97
80.1
Total
575
476
468
422
89.2
Batley Education Committee – Returns of School Attendance for the Month of April, 1919 for St Mary’s RC School
You will need to scroll across if you cannot see the full table on your screen.
Part of the reason for collating school children numbers was the decision that each school child would be presented with a token to mark peace. Options investigated included children’s Peace Celebration commemoration cards, and the Educational Publishing Company’s ‘Victory’ peace souvenir books, of which they produced three versions tailored to age. But in the end Batley Borough went with a commemorative Peace Medal.
In April 1919 medal and badge makers, including J.R. Gaunt and Son of London and Birmingham’s Meer Jones & Co., were contacted about their Peace Medal designs, with quotes being sought for a tentative quantity of between 5,500 to 6,000 medals. In the end the order went to Fattorini, and for two designs – one for schoolchildren and the other for teachers. The medal is one those presented to a Batley schoolchild.
Charles Holt, Market Inspector and Town Hall Keeper, had the unenviable task of counting the medals once they arrived in early July. On 12 July 1919 the Town Clerk confirmed to the Mayor:
Mr. Holt has counted up and checked the Scholars Medals (white metal) and has returned the number delivered by Messrs. Fattorini as 6006. I have since received a further box from Fattorini containing Bronze Oxydized Medals with silk cord suspenders. The number of these has been checked by Mr. Holt and he returns same as 255. From a Return furnished to me this morning by Mr. Elliott there would appear to be including the 2 Grammar Schools, 5950 scholars on the Register and 191 Teachers.2
The final July 1919 tally for medals for St Mary’s was 112 boys and three teachers, 145 infants and four teachers, and 244 mixed with eight teachers.
By 11 July Batley Education Committee were able to finalise the 17 July Peace Celebration for schools. The schools were given a timetable for the Thursday morning mayoral Commemorative Peace Medal visit, with the times firmed up in a further letter on 13 July.
In a precise schedule, St Mary’s children had a five-minute slot for their mayoral visit between 11.19 and 11.24, sandwiched between Carlinghow and Batley Parish schools. The children were to be assembled in the school yard ready and waiting at the appointed time wearing their medals. So no personal medal presentation by the mayor to each child.
In the afternoon of 17 July a tea was provided across the schools, capped at one shilling per head. As it was thought unlikely Infants Departments would reach that sum, they were also provided with sweets amounting to around 3d per child. For Senior Departments it was recommended after tea an additional bun should be given to each child. And in a period of post-war shortages, in order to obtain sugar for the tea, teachers made applications to the local Food Controller with details of numbers and the retailer from which the school wanted to purchase their supply.
Afterwards a Children’s Sports event was held at Mount Pleasant, commencing at 5.45.
It was decreed:
The children of each Department should be arranged four abreast according to height, the smaller children in advance, and marched through the main entrance to the Football Ground in time to be in their places on the Ground at 5.50 p.m. prompt…Please request the children to bring their hand flags.3
Verses from the hymn “O God, our help in ages past” were then to be sung, before the children took up their places in school groups round the field.
The Children’s’ Peace Sports programme of events schedule was:
Flat Race. 100 yards. Boys. 15 and over. 1 heat run as final.
Flat Race. 100 yards. Girls. 15 and over. 1 heat run as final.
Flat Race. 80 yards. Boys. 7 to 9 years. 3 heats.
Running Skipping Race. 60 yards. Girls. Under 10. Heats.
Tug of War – Team of 8 boys per school. Those age 13 and over prior to 1 May 1919 could not complete. Heats 1 and 2. Lots were drawn and Brownhill, St Mary’s and Carlinghow had byes.
Plant Pot Race. 15 yards. Girls. Age over 13. 3 heats and finals.
Wheelbarrow Race. 35 yards. Boys. Open age. 3 heats.
Potato Race . 60 yards. Girls. Under 10. 3 heats. 6 potatoes to be collected, spaced two yards apart.
Flat Race. 100 yards. Boys. 12 and over. 3 heats.
Charlie Chaplin Competition – Judging of Competitors.
Potato Race. 80 yards. Girls. 10 to 13. 3 heats.
Tug-of-War semi-final.
Pillow Fight on Poles. Boys. Ages between 13 and 14. Rounds 1 and 2. Semi-final and final.
Obstacle Races. Boys. Open age. 3 heats and final.
Egg and Spoon Race. 100 yards. Girls. Open age. 3 heats. Desert spoons and pot eggs to be provided by the competitors.
Flat Race. 100 yards. Boys. 13 to 15. 3 heats.
Flat Race. 100 yards. Girls. 13 to 15. 3 heats.
Wheelbarrow Race. 35 yards. Boys. Open age. Final.
Week-End Race. 60 yards. Girls. Open age. 3 heats.
Sack Race. Boys. Open age. 3 heats.
Flat Race. 80 yards. Boys. 7 to 9. Final.
Running Skipping Race. 60 yards. Girls. Under 10. Final.
Tug-of-War. Boys. Final.
Week-End Race. 60 yards. Girls. Open age. Final.
Flat Race. Boys. 100 yards. 9 to 12. Final.
Running Skipping Races. 80 yards. Girls. 10 to 13. Final.
Potato Race. 60 yards. Girls. Under 10. Final.
Potato Race. 80 yards. Girls. 10 to 13. Final.
Flat Race. 100 yards. Boys. 12 and over. Final.
Egg and Spoon Races. 100 yards. Girls. Open age. Final.
Flat Race. 100 Yards. Boys. 13 to 15. Final.
Flat Race. 100 Yards. Girls. 13 to 15. Final.
Sack Race. Boys. Final.
Although distances are in imperial measurements, many of the events are similar to those of a 21st century school sports days. But others were of the time, for example the reference to Charlie Chaplin.
The plant-pot race is an unfamiliar one today. The entrants had to bring two earthenware plant pots, size optional. They had to travel the race distance standing on these pots. If competitors fell off their pots, or touched the ground with their feet, they had to commence again from the starting point.
The Week-End race is another which may need explanation. For this each competitor had to bring a hat and jacket in a parcel. This was laid in-field 20 yards from the starting point. The competitor had to run to the parcel, put on the clothes, run a further 20 yards, disrobe and tie the hat and jacket back up in the parcel, then run the final 20 yards as a flat race.
The child age limits for the races were age as of 1 May. Each school was to send two competitors for each event, (excluding the Tug of War and Grammar School designated events). Grammar school events were essentially those for ages 15 and over, and to some extent 13-15 – though Elementary School children fulfilling this latter age criteria could enter. Prizes were awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. Perhaps the books and commemorative cards looked into earlier by the Corporation ended up forming these prizes.
The Batley Old Band were booked to provide musical entertainment. Morris dancers and other side-shows, including a Punch and Judy show, a ventriloquist and a conjurer, were laid on. These moved about the ground so all the children could view the performances. The general public were be welcomed to join the festivities after 6pm. Thousands took up the offer, with “not a dull moment from start to finish.”4
The Batley News of 19 July 1919 gives some brief details about the schoool’s events of 17 July. The piece reads:
Yesterday some six thousand school children enjoyed the Mayor’s hospitality. His Worship visited the schools in the morning and addressed the scholars, and commemoration medals were given teachers and children. In the afternoon the elder scholars proceeded to the football field at Mount Pleasant, where sports were enjoyed and an interesting gala, with fire balloons and a band concert. The junior scholars were entertained on their own school premises.
The Batley Reporter provided more information:
The children have been excitedly anticipating the event for many days and they had a right royal time. In the morning the Mayor (Alderman D. Stubley), accompanied by the Mayoress (Mrs. John Stubley)….visited every school in the borough, and at each school there was was an interesting and picturesque ceremony. The children, wearing the neat commemorative medal presented to each scholar by the Mayor, were marshalled in the playground, and they greeted most enthusiastically the arrival of the Mayor and Mayoress. There was flag-waving, singing and cheers, and many other interesting incidents at many of the schools, but as the Mayor and Mayoress were only able to spend five minutes at each place the proceedings were necessarily short. The Mayor personally presented a commemorative medal to each teacher and addressed a few appropriate words to the assembled scholars. The Mayoress received quite a number of beautiful bouquets, and before the end of the tour the Mayor’s motor-car was lavishly adorned with lovely flowers.
In the afternoon the children re-assembled at their respective schools, where they were regaled with tea, as the guests of the Mayor. Afterwards the scholars of the upper schools, including the pupils at the two Grammar schools, marched in procession to the football field at Mount Pleasant, where they assembled en masse for the singing, under the conductorship of Mr. J. Chapman, of three verses of “O God, our Help in ages past” and the National Anthem. Afterwards, the children simply revelled in the sports, for which prizes were provided by the Mayor.5
The complete list of children participating in the sports day does not feature in either newspaper. I do however have names of some of the participants, provided to the Education Committee in advance of the event. Unfortunately, because it was a preliminary list, it is very sketchy. Focusing on my one-place study, these are the St Mary’s names submitted:
Flat Race – Boys – 7-9: St Mary’s names not provided.
Running Skipping Race – Girls – Under 10: St Mary’s names not provided.
Plant Pot Race – Girls – St Mary’s names not provided.
Flat Race – Boys – 9-12: T. Carrey [I suspect this is a mis-spelling of Carney] and J. W. Levvitt.
Running Skipping Race – Girls – Over 10 – St Mary’s names not provided.
Wheelbarrow Race – Boys – Open Age – R. Dewhirst/T. Judge and H. Hardy/E. Power.
Potato Race – Girls – Under 10 – St Mary’s names not provided.
Flat Race – Boys – 12 and over – G. Delaney and J. Lumb.
Charlie Chaplin – P. Howley.
Potato Race – Girls – Over 10 – St Mary’s names not provided.
Pillow Fight on Poles – Boys – L. Cassidy.
Obstacle Races – Boys – Open Age – J. Maloney and N. Gavaghan.
Egg and Spoon Race – Girls – St Mary’s names not provided.
Flat Race – Boys – 13 to 15 – J. Lyons and M. Howley.
Flat Race – Girls – 13 to 15 – No St Mary’s entry.
Week-End Races – Girls – Open Age – St Mary’s names not provided.
Sack Race – Boys – Open Age – W. Bottomley and T. Kilkenny.
And the Batley Reporter and Guardian did provide a full list of the winners of the various events.6 It is rather lengthy, so again I will focus on my St Mary’s one-place study. In the Girls’ races:
T. Murphy was amongst the Under 10 Skipping Race heat qualifiers, finishing 3rd in the final.
M. Hopkins and N. Moran were amongst the heat qualifiers in the Plant Pot Race, but did not finish in the final first three.
N. Monaghan was amongst the Under 10 Potato Race qualifiers, but for some reason the final was not run.
In the Boys’ events:
J. W. Lev[v]itt qualified for the final of the 100 yards Flat Race.
J. Lyons came third in the 100 yards Flat Race for ages 13 to 15.
W. Bottomley was amongst the Sack Race qualifiers, finishing second in the final.
Finally school log books give more clues of the day’s events. Although there was no reference to it in the St Mary’s Infant School log book, the St Mary’s Boys’ Department entry for 17 July 1919 read:
Peace celebrations in school. Visit of the Mayor and Mayoress and presentation to the schoolchildren of medals to commemorate Peace. School closed at noon for the Midsummer Holidays.7
The Mixed Department log book gave more details:
School closes this day at noon for the Midsummer holidays. School visited this morning by the Mayor and Mayoress of Batley. Medals were given to the children in commemoration of the Victorious conclusion of the Great War.
A tea party will be given in the afternoon, and sports will be held in the cricket field.8
As I said, the school’s event was only one part of the celebrations. Other events included a parade, entertainment and fireworks, a military sports afternoon, a mayoral function for discharged and disabled sailors and soldiers and repatriated prisoner of war, an “Old Folks Tea” hosted by the Mayoress, and a similar one for the mothers of the Batley Maternity and Child Welfare Centre. All these events were finalised within days of the government’s Peace Day confirmation. And in the pre-computer and internet era, and with even telephone in its early years, the co-ordination, pace and organisation on display by Batley Corporation is something to admire.
To conclude, if you have one of the medals illustrated it was one of 5,950 presented to the school children of Batley on 17 July 1919 to commemorate the signing of the Treaty of Versailles marking the official end of the Great War. Or possibly one of the 56 spare medals.
Finally, if anyone has one of the medal presented to teachers, I would love to be able to add an image of it to this post.
Postscript: If you have enjoyed reading this post and would like to make a donation towards ensuring the continued running of this website, it would be very much appreciated.
Please click here to be taken to the PayPal donation link.
Thank you.
Footnotes: 1. Exchange of letters between Joseph H. Craik and Gerald A. France, M.P., dated 4 and 7 April 1919. 2. Draft of letter from Batley Town Clerk, Joseph H. Craik, to the Mayor, dated 12 July 1919. 3. Batley Education Committee letter to schools, dated 11 July 1919. 4. Batley Reporter and Guardian, 25 July 1919. 5. Batley Reporter and Guardian, 18 July 1919. 6. Batley Reporter and Guardian, 25 July 1919. 7. St Mary’s Boys’ School log book. 8. St Mary’s School Mixed Department log book.
This is the latest update of the pages relating to my Batley St Mary’s one-place study. If you want to know more about the background to my one-place study click here. Otherwise read on to discover all the posts, new and old, containing a wealth of parish, parishioner and wider local Batley history.
St Mary’s Church – photo by Jane Roberts
September 2022 saw the addition of 10 new posts, bringing the total number for the study to 182. Two other pages were updated.
The additions included five weekly newspaper pages for September 1916. I have accordingly updated the surname index to these During This Week newspaper pieces, so you can easily identify newspaper snippets relevant to your family.
I have written two new biographies for War Memorial men – Michael and Patrick Cafferty. There is also a new biography for a parishioner who died but is not on the Memorial – Thomas Gannon
More men who served and survived have been identified. I have updated that page accordingly. One new biography has been added to this section in September – that of another Thomas Gannon.
Finally for this month there is one new piece in the Miscellany of Information section, about the 1929 service of consecration of the church and the new altar.
Below is the full list of pages to date. I have annotated the *NEW* ones, plus the *UPDATED* pages, so you can easily pick these out. Click on the link and it will take you straight to the relevant page.
Postscript: If you have enjoyed reading this post and would like to make a donation towards ensuring the continued running of this website, it would be very much appreciated.
Please click here to be taken to the PayPal donation link.
This is the latest update of the pages relating to my Batley St Mary’s one-place study. If you want to know the background and what this one-place study involves click here. Otherwise, read on and dive right into the latest monthly update.
St Mary’s Church, the old school and convent – photo by Jane Roberts
August 2022 saw the addition of eight new posts, bringing the total number to 172. Two others were updated.
The additions included four weekly newspaper pages for August 1916. I have accordingly updated the surname index to these During This Week newspaper pieces, so you can easily identify newspaper snippets relevant to your family.
I have written two new biographies for a War Memorial man – those of James Garner and James Trainor.
More men who served and survived have been identified. I have updated that page accordingly. No new biographies for these men have been added this month. They will follow in due course.
Finally for this month there are two new school log books. These are for the Boys’ Department in 1920 and the Infant School in 1914.
Below is the full list of pages to date. I have annotated the *NEW* ones, plus the *UPDATED* pages, so you can easily pick these out. Click on the link and it will take you straight to the relevant page.
Postscript: If you have enjoyed reading this post and would like to make a donation towards ensuring the continued running of this website, it would be very much appreciated.
Please click here to be taken to the PayPal donation link.
This is the latest update of the pages relating to my Batley St Mary’s one-place study, the details of which I announced here.
July saw the addition of seven new posts, bringing the total number of posts to 164. Three others were updated.
The additions included five weekly newspaper pages for July 1916. I have accordingly updated the surname index to these During This Week newspaper pieces, so you can easily identify newspaper snippets relevant to your family.
I have written a new biography for a War Memorial man – that of Edward Barber.
More men who served and survived have been identified. I have updated that page accordingly. No new biographies for these men have been added this month. They will follow in due course.
Finally for this month there is one new school log book. This is for the Boys’ Department in 1919.
Below is the full list of pages to date. I have annotated the *NEW* ones, plus the *UPDATED* pages, so you can easily pick these out. Click on the link and it will take you straight to the relevant page.
Past To Present Genealogy 