Here is this week’s round-up of pieces from the Batley News relating to the parish of St Mary’s. As usual I have put in bold the names of those connected to the parish who served with the military. And, as ever, the spelling and punctuation matches that of the newspaper.
The wife of serving soldier Michael McHale appeared in court:
At Batley Court on Monday Annie McHale, married woman, No 1 Court, 3, Taylor Street, Batley, whose husband is serving in France, was charged with using obscene language. The circumstances were that a woman of the name of Mrs. Caroline Heaton went into the yard where Mrs. McHale lived, and found her using bad language in the presence of children. She made a complaint.
The Magistrates dismissed the woman, the Mayor (Councillor Ben Turner) remarking they were sorry there had been this quarrel, as the present was not the time for quarrelling. If they could not talk friendly they should not talk at all.
Although the funeral was not conducted by Catholic priests, the Death Notices included the sister of St Mary’s War Memorial man Edward Leonard:
LEONARD. —On the 21st inst., aged 24 years, Ann Leonard, 31, North Bank Road.
The paper covered Ann’s death, along with anxiety about the whereabouts of her brother Edward, in more detail:
SON AND DAUGHTER GONE
Sympathy For a Batley FamilyFrom Mr. and Mrs. Leonard, of North Bank Road, Carlinghow, Batley, whose daughter Annie died from toxic poisoning on the same day that their son Edward was reported “missing in France,” we have received the following letter:—
Mr. and Mrs. Leonard and family desire to take this opportunity to offer their deepest thanks, and express our most heartfelt gratitude to our neighbours, friends and relations for their kindness and consideration and most of all for the help and sympathy extended to us in this our hour of double trouble. We also send our thanks and sincerest gratitude to the compatriots of our late daughter Annie, working in the Barnbow Munition Factory, for the way in which they have shown their love for one who was only amongst them for such a brief time.
We earnestly desire our neighbours, who have shown such a love as is seldom found even in one’s own family, to accept these brief words of appreciation, inasmuch as it is impossible to express our deep feelings at such unassuming love, help and friendship shewn [sic] by all. We therefore ask all to again accept our thanks.
The inquest on Miss Leonard has been held this week with closed doors.
Finally for this week news filtered through about Edward Barber:
A BATLEY LAD MISSING
Believed to Have Been Killed With Bradford PalsPrivate Edward Barber, who was 18 on July 31st last, went into action on July 1st with [the] Bradford Pals, and, as he has not been seen since, the authorities conclude he is dead.
The son of Mr. Wm. Thos. Barber, a miner at West End Colliery, residing at Devon Street, Caledonia Road, Batley, he was educated at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic School, Cross Bank, and afterwards went to West End Colliery, where he was employed in the lamp department.
PastToPresentGenealogy 