The difficult worldwide economic circumstances, and resultant trade depression in Batley, meant the 1931 ceremony was very low key. Money was so tight that the decision was made later in the month not to hold the usual Whitsuntide pageantry.
The general gloom seemed to seep into the newspaper coverage, so much so that the name of the May Queen was incorrectly reported in the Batley News – with her being named as Josephine Judge.
As confirmed in the report of the 1932 ceremony, the 1931 May Queen was, in fact, (Marie) Theresa Judge. She was the daughter of Patrick and Ann Judge (formerly Mullins), and the 1931 ceremony took place only four days before her 13th birthday.
This was how the ceremony, held on Sunday 3 May, was reported:
FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
Sunday, the first in May, was celebrated by Batley Catholics as the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The May Queen, Miss Josephine Judge, crowned the statue of the Virgin Mary, and Rev. Father P. McBride preached, emphasising Catholic tenets.
There was no description of her dress, no mention of the ex-Queen, no mention of attendants or the wider entourage, and no photograph. Not only was the May Queen’s name incorrect, neither was it the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, that being in December.
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