Tag Archives: Roll of Honour

St Mary of the Angels, Batley: One-Place Study Update – 1 to 31 December 2025 Additions

Posted on January 1, 2026 | Leave a comment

The Batley St. Mary of the Angels One-Place Study ended 2025 on a total of 421 posts, with two new posts being published in December.

The first post of the month was all about the 1953 May Queen ceremony (photograph on the left), which was added to the May Queen section. Mary O’Connor took the starring role, but the piece includes names of many others involved in the procession that day.

The final post of 2025 was the parish history snippets piece for December. These snippets cover a variety of events and people from the parish from years gone by, and can be found in the Bulletin for Batley St Mary of the Angels and Birstall St Patrick section. Even if you have seen them on the Bulletin, it is worth checking them here as some have links to more detailed pieces I have written.

Below is the full list of pages to date. I have annotated the *NEW* posts, so you can easily pick these out. Click on the link and it will take you straight to the relevant page.

If you want to know the background, and what is involved in a one-place study, click here. Otherwise read on, to discover a wealth of parish, parishioner and wider local Batley history.

Finally, I’d like to end with a thank you for reading my Batley St. Mary of the Angels one-place study posts in 2025. Your support, additional information, photographs and many lovely comments throughout the year have all really been appreciated. I look forward to what 2026 will bring to this parish history collection. Hopefully the first of these will be published next week.

Postscript:
I may not be able to thank you personally because of your contact detail confidentiality, but I do want to say how much I appreciate the donations already received to keep this website going. They really and truly do help. Thank you.

The website has always been free to use, and I want to continue this policy in the future. However, it does cost me money to operate – from undertaking the research to website hosting costs. In the current difficult economic climate I do have to regularly consider if I can afford to continue 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👈🏽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.

As a professionally qualified genealogist, if you would like me to undertake any family, local or house history research for you do please get in touch. More information can be found on my research services page.

Finally, if you do have any information about, or photos of, parishioners from the period of the First World War please do get in touch. It does not have to be War Memorial men. It could be those who served and survived, or indeed any other men, women and children from the parish.

I would also be interested in information about, and photos of, those parishioners who were killed in World War Two, or others from the parish who undertook any war service and survived. This can be as broad as serving in the military, or work in munitions factories, the Land Army, even taking in refugees. This is an area I’m looking to develop in the future.

I can be contacted at: pasttopresentgenealogy@btinternet.com

1. About my St Mary of the Angels Catholic Church War Memorial One-Place Study;

Batley’s Public Buildings and Institutions
2. Batley Hospital: The First 50 Years – 1878 to 1928
3. The Early History of Batley’s Public Baths

Batley St Mary’s Population, Health, Mortality and Fertility Information and Comparisons
4. 1914: The Health of Batley School Children Generally, with a Particular Focus on St Mary’s School Children

Batley Statistics and Descriptions – Population, Health, Mortality, Fertility etc.
5. 1914: Borough of Batley – Town Information from the Annual Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
6. Batley and the 1921 Census
7. Batley Population Statistics 1801-1939

Biographies: Men Associated with St Mary’s Who Died but Who Are Not on the Memorial
8. Thomas Gannon
9. Reginald Roberts
10. William Frederick Townsend

Biographies: The War Memorial Men
11. Edward Barber
12. William Barber (Memorial name spelling)
13. Herbert Booth
14. Edmund Battye
15. Dominick (aka George) Brannan
16. Michael Brannan
17. John Brooks
18. Michael Cafferty
19. Patrick Cafferty
20. John William Callaghan
21. Lawrence Carney
22. Martin Carney
23. Thomas William Chappell
24. William Colbeck
25. Michael Cunningham
26. Thomas Curley
27. Peter Doherty
28. Thomas Dolan
29. Thomas Donlan
30. James Edwards
31. John W. Enright
32. Mathew Farrer
33. Thomas Finneran
34. Michael Flynn
35. Thomas Foley D.C.M.
36. Martin Gallagher
37. James Garner
38. Harold Gaunt
39. James Gavaghan
40. Peter Gavaghan
41. Thomas Gavaghan
42. Henry Groark
43. James Groark
44. Michael Groark (also known as Rourke)
45. James Griffin
46. William Hargreaves
47. Michael Hopkins
48. Patrick Hopkins
49. Michael Horan
50. James Hughes
51. Lawrence Judge
52. John Leech
53. Michael Lydon
54. John Thomas Lynch
55. Patrick Lyons
William McManus – See William Townsend below
56. Thomas McNamara
57. Clement Manning
58. Patrick Naifsey
59. Austin Nolan
60. Robert Randerson
61. James Rush
62. Moses Stubley
63. William Townsend, also known as McManus
64. James Trainor
65. Richard Carroll Walsh
66. Arthur William Bayldon Woodhead

Biographies: Those who Served and Survived (this includes a list of those identified to date and who will later have dedicated biographical pages)
67. Patrick Cassidy
68. James Delaney
69. Thomas Donlan (senior)
70. Thomas Gannon
71. Michael Rush

Burials, Cemeteries, Headstones and MIs
72. Cemetery and Memorial Details
73. War Memorial Chronology of Deaths .

Guest Contributions
306. Memories of Skelsey Row – by Brian Foley

Maps and Photographs
307. A Description of the Parish Boundaries
308. Aerial View of St Mary’s Church and the Surrounding Streets
309. Batley St Mary’s – Map Published in 1894
310. Batley St Mary’s – Map Published in 1907
311. Batley St Mary’s – Map Published in 1922
312. Batley St Mary’s – Map Published in 1933

Miscellany of Information
313. A Bitter-Sweet Remarriage
314. A Colliery Accident with Tragic Consequences
315. A Description of the Parish of St Mary of the Angels in 1950
316. A Grave Disturbance in Batley
317. A Part of St Mary of the Angels in Batley Cemetery
318. A “Peace” of Batley History
319. An Appeal to Ireland to Build a Catholic Church in Batley
320. A Potted Early History of the Irish in Batley, the Building of St Mary of the Angels Church, and the Parish Priest’s Fatal Accident
321. A St Mary’s Parishioner in the Holy Land
322. A St Mary’s School Sensation
323. A St Mary’s School Trip Souvenir
324. Batley’s Secret Irish Society and the Ammunition Seizure
325. Batley St Mary’s First Torchlight Procession
326. Batley St Mary’s Second Torchlight Procession
327. Buffalo Bill and A Right Royal Celebration for Batley’s Schoolchildren
328. “Daddy’s Death and then Triplets”
329. Heritage Impact Assessment: St Mary’s Catholic Primary School and Convent, Batley
330. Hot-Cross Buns and the Yorkshire Tea-Cake Dilemma. Plus A Suggested Meal Planner for Batley Families in 1917
331. Into the Valley of Death – One of the Six Hundred
332. “I’ve Done it for Love” – A Batley Murder
333. St Mary of the Angels Catholic Church – 1929 Consecration Service
334. The Consequences of a Refusal to Work in 1918
335. The Controversial Role Played by St Mary’s Schoolchildren in the 1907 Batley Pageant
336. The Deaths of the Smallpox Hospital Caretakers
337. The Debate Over Grave-Diggers’ Holidays
338. The Earliest Published Account of Batley St Mary’s Church and Schools
339. The Great War: A Brief Overview of What Led Britain into the War
340. The Unholy row between St Mary’s Church and the Batley and Birstall Irish Clubs
341. Thomas Ate My Rat
342. William Berry – A Beautiful Voice Stilled
343. Willie and Edward Barber – Poems

Occupations and Employment Information
344. Occupations: Colliery Byeworker/Byeworkman/Byworker/Bye-Worker/By-Worker
345. Occupations: Confidential Clerk
346. Occupations: Lamp Cleaner
347. Occupations: Limelight Operator
348. Occupations: Mason’s Labourer
349. Occupations: Office Boy/Girl
350. Occupations: Piecer/Piecener
351. Occupations: Rag Grinder
352. Occupations: Willeyer

The Families
399. A Death in the Church
400. St Mary’s Schoolboys Wreak Havoc in a Batley Graveyard

St Mary of the Angels, Batley: One-Place Study Update – 1 to 31 October 2022 Additions

Posted on November 1, 2022 | Leave a comment

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.

1. About my St Mary of the Angels Catholic Church War Memorial One-Place Study;

Batley Descriptions – Directories etc.
2. 1914: Borough of Batley – Town Information from the Annual Report of the Medical Officer of Health.

Biographies: Men Associated with St Mary’s Who Died but Who Are Not on the Memorial
3. Thomas Gannon
4. Reginald Roberts
5. William Frederick Townsend

Biographies: The War Memorial Men
6. Edward Barber
7. Herbert Booth
8. Edmund Battye
9. Dominick (aka George) Brannan
10. Michael Brannan
11. John Brooks
12. Michael Cafferty
13. Patrick Cafferty
14. Lawrence Carney
15. Martin Carney
16. Thomas Curley
17. Peter Doherty
18. Thomas Donlan
19. Thomas Finneran
20. Michael Flynn
21. Thomas Foley D.C.M.
22. James Garner
23. Thomas Gavaghan
24. Michael Groark (also known as Rourke)
25. James Griffin
26. Patrick Hopkins *NEW*
27. Michael Horan
William McManus – See William Townsend below
28. Thomas McNamara
29. Patrick Naifsey
30. Austin Nolan
31. Robert Randerson
32. James Rush
33. Moses Stubley
34. William Townsend, also known as McManus
35. James Trainor
36. Richard Carroll Walsh

Biographies: Those who Served and Survived (this includes a list of those identified to date and who will later have dedicated biographical pages) *UPDATED*
37. Patrick Cassidy
38. James Delaney
39. Thomas Donlan (senior)
40. Thomas Gannon
41. Michael Rush

Burials, Cemeteries, Headstones and MIs
42. Cemetery and Memorial Details
43. War Memorial Chronology of Deaths

Miscellany of Information
162. The Controversial Role Played by St Mary’s Schoolchildren in the 1907 Batley Pageant
163. The Great War: A Brief Overview of What Led Britain into the War
164. Willie and Edward Barber – Poems
165. A St Mary’s School Sensation
166. St Mary of the Angels Catholic Church – 1929 Consecration Service
167. A “Peace” of Batley History *NEW*

Occupations and Employment Information
168. Occupations: Confidential Clerk
169. Occupations: Lamp Cleaner
170. Occupations: Limelight Operator
171. Occupations: Office Boy/Girl
172. Occupations: Piecer/Piecener
173. Occupations: Rag Grinder
174. Occupations: Willeyer

The Families
175. A Death in the Church

School Log Books
176. Boys’ School – Log Book, 1913
177. Boys’ School – Log Book, 1914
178. Boys’ School – Log Book, 1915
179. Boys’ School – Log Book, 1916
180. Boys’ School – Log Book, 1917
181. Boys’ School – Log Book, 1918
182. Boys’ School – Log Book, 1919
183. Boys’ School – Log Book, 1920
184. Infant School – Log Book 1914
185. Infant School – Log Book 1915 *NEW*

Population, Health, Mortality and Fertility
186. 1914: The Health of Batley School Children Generally, with a Particular Focus on St Mary’s School Children

World War Two
187. World War Two Chronology of Deaths
188. Michael Flatley
189. William Smith

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.

Thank you.

Published: The Greatest Sacrifice – Fallen Heroes of the Northern Union

Posted on October 8, 2018 | 6 comments

On Saturday I saw my book for the first time. The finished product looks amazing.

As the publisher said:

What began as an idea in the press box at Huddersfield is now one of the definitive history books about rugby league. Scratching Shed Publishing is honoured to publish a tribute to the 69 men who fell in WWI by Chris & Jane Roberts….

Chris and I echo these sentiments. It has been a real privilege to be able to research the lives of these men.

The publishers have done a fantastic job, supporting us throughout the process of writing this long overdue and important rugby league history book. But above all this is more than a rugby league book, a sporting history book, or a World War One book. It is the story of the impact of war on individual men and their families from across Great Britain.

I hope we’ve done them justice.

The book is available from Scratching Shed Publishing at £14.99.

I also have copies for sale, which can be signed if required. I can also drop off locally. If so the cost is £13.50. Post within the UK increases the cost to £14.50. Payment can either be via cheque (UK) or bank transfer. My contact email is pasttopresentgenealogy@btinternet.com.

The book will also shortly be available from the usual book retailers.

If any family history, rugby league or local history groups would like Chris and I to do a talk, please contact me on the above email address.

6 Comments

Posted in Books, Great War, History, Roll of Honour, Rugby League, Sporting History, WW1

Tagged Books, family history, Great War, Local History, Roll of Honour, Rugby League, Sporting History, WW1

WW1 Remembrance in Verse: “In Memoriam” and “Roll of Honour” Newspaper Columns

Posted on November 8, 2015 | 1 comment

This is the last of my three blog posts in this period of Remembrance. It focuses on the WW1 period.

Batley War Memorial

As the Great War progressed and the anniversaries of the Fallen came and went, the local newspaper “In Memoriam” and, later, dedicated “Roll of Honour” columns were increasingly filled with moving tributes to lost husbands, sons, fathers, brothers and fiancées. Although less frequent in late 1915 and throughout 1916, this phenomenon became particularly notable from 1917 onwards and endured in the years beyond the end of the conflict.

Many were recurrent standard verses, or variations on standard themes: grief; absence; young lives cut short; a mother’s pain; religious sentiments; Remembrance; doing one’s duty; sacrifice; wooden crosses; graves overseas far from home, or no known grave; not being present in their loved one’s dying moments; occasionally the difficulty of seeing others return; and even reproach for those who caused the war.

Although not war poetry, they are powerful representations of family grief and loss which echo across the ages.

My mother’s brother died in Aden whilst on National Service in 1955. These family tributes from another era are the ones which, in all my St Mary’s War Memorial research, left the greatest impression on her, resonating with her emotions 60 years later.

These “In Memoriam” and “Roll of Honour” notices provide an accessible window into this aspect of the War, the emotions of those left behind. They are also a continuing legacy for family historians. They can provide service details, place and even circumstances of death, names and addresses of family members (including married sisters) and details of fiancées all of which can aid research.

Here is a selection from the local Batley newspapers[1].

Sources:

Batley News – various dates
Batley War Memorial photo by Jane Roberts

[1] These are not confined to those servicemen on the St Mary’s War Memorial

1 Comment

Posted in Ancestry, Batley, Birstall, Dewsbury, Family History, Genealogy, In Memoriam, Newspapers, Remembrance, Roll of Honour, WW1

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Tag Archives: Roll of Honour

St Mary of the Angels, Batley: One-Place Study Update – 1 to 31 December 2025 Additions

St Mary of the Angels, Batley: One-Place Study Update – 1 to 31 October 2022 Additions

Published: The Greatest Sacrifice – Fallen Heroes of the Northern Union

WW1 Remembrance in Verse: “In Memoriam” and “Roll of Honour” Newspaper Columns

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