Here is this week’s round-up of pieces from the Batley News relating to the parish of St Mary’s. As ever, the spelling and punctuation matches that of the newspaper.
Following on from last week, there was a further Tribunal update about military service exemptions:
BATLEY TRIBUNAL
Combing Out Men Under 31 From Woollen Factories….Co-operative Wholesale Society, Ltd, —
James Munns, 27, m., Bi, scourer. —Grace to April 15th
Bi was his military service medical fitness classification. ‘B’ meant he was free from serious organic diseases, able to stand on lines of communications in France or undertaking garrison duties in the tropics. The ‘i’ meant he was able to march five miles, see, shoot with glasses and hear well.
The Family Notices contained one parish death:
MAGUIRE. —On the 21st inst., Helen, infant daughter of Thomas R. Maguire, 22, Wilton Street.
There was some school news relevant to St Mary’s arising from the Batley Education Committee.
BATLEY EDUCATION COMMITTEE.
Appointments of Teachers and Increases of Salaries.Three minutes sufficed to transact the business at this monthly meeting of Batley Education Committee on Monday….
The following Committee minutes were approved:-
SCHOOL MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE.—
….That Miss Margaret L. Scanlon be recognised as an untrained certified teacher at St. Mary’s R.C. Girls’ School at a salary of £65 per annum…
That the following increases of salary to supplementary teachers as from January 1st, 1917, be approved….Miss Mary Bickley, St Mary’s R.C. Girls’; Miss Alice Maher, St. Mary’s R.C. Infants’; Miss Rose Ryder, St. Mary’s R.C. Infants;…£45 to £50 each.
The final piece of news this week concerns a successful Flag Day for Irish soldiers:
£104 FOR IRISH SOLDIERS
Batley’s Splendid Flag Day Effort for Prisoners-of-WarBatley’s Flag Day in aid of a fund organised by the Irish Women’s Association for sending parcels to prisoners of war belonging to Irish regiments was a great success, over £104 being raised last Saturday. The local arrangements were in the hands of the Batley Branch of the United Irish League, with Mr. J. Deasy as chairman and Mr. James Brennan as secretary.
On Saturday evening a huge crowd gathered in front of Batley Town Hall eager to know the result and at the anouncement [sic] by Mr. Deasy of the day’s proceeds loud cheers proclaimed the satisfaction and delight of all who had worked to bring about this splendid result.
Mr. Deasy, in thanking the Mayor (Alderman J. W. Blackburn), the Town Clerk (Mr. J. H. Craik), and others who had helped to make the day a success, referred particularly to the great assistance given by Mr. Arthur Western, who had had experience in similar affairs. In congratulating the committee and flag sellers, Mr. Deasy said that when the Irish and Catholics were asked to do anything they generally did it well, because they went into it with all their heart and soul. The old and much-discussed question of Home Rule was again before the British public, and there were all kinds of excuses and reasons why a form of self-government should not be given to Ireland. One reason used by some people against granting Home Rule to all Ireland was that the Catholics in the south and west would persecute the Protestants of Ulster, but the answer to that base charge was that Catholic Ireland herself had suffered too much from persecution to ever inflict it on others. The fact that they had been working that day to provide comforts for prisoners-of-war, never asking or caring whether they were Catholic or Protestant, proved that the question of religion was only used as an excuse by some in order to prevent justice being done to Ireland.
Councillor Ben Turner, speaking on behalf of the Mayor, thanked the flag sellers and the people of Batley for the generous way they had supported the Irish Flag Day. It was the first thing of the kind organised and carried out solely by the Irish people of Batley, and the financial success was a great tribute to the organisers. Batley people had subscribed well, but more ought to be done for the dependents of those who were fighting their country’s battle. By their success that day the Irish people of Batley and other places had proved they were capable of doing great things, and he hoped before long the British people would insist on Home Rule being granted to Ireland. Then we could look forward to a happy and prosperous time for that much-persecuted island, and, when times of peace came, could all sing that grand old song of T. D. Sullivan’s, “God Save Ireland.”
Past To Present Genealogy 