Great coverage in this week’s Keighley News of next week’s History Society meeting (on Wednesday 8th October). The meeting will feature a talk by textile experts Pam Brook and Helen Farrar on the work of various local firms who specialised in silk and artificial silk weaving, and how the output of these firms contributed to the war effort during the Second World War.
The meeting starts at 7.15pm in the Civic Centre on North Street (and will finish around 8.45pm). Anyone is welcome to attend. Entry is £3.50 (free to History Society members – History Society members can also join via Zoom). The meeting is in the main hall on the first floor and there is a lift for those who need it.
If you wish to join the History Society, membership costs £15 for the calendar year, and taking out membership this month gets you the rest of 2025 plus all of 2026.
A massive thank you to Karl-Heinz Wustner who spoke to the History Society at the Local Studies Library yesterday (Wednesday 1st October). His talk was entitled ‘Meeting the Meat Demand’ and told the story of how many German families came over to Keighley and West Yorkshire in the 19th century and successfully set themselves up as pork butchers in the town.
Over forty society members and visitors were present in the Library, several being the descendants of these families. The event was a great success, and our thanks to the staff of the Library who made us so welcome.
The History Society’s next talk is ‘Parachutes, Escape Maps and Wedding Dresses’, on artificial silk weaving in the area, to be given by textile experts Pam Brook and Helen Farrar on Wednesday 8th October at 7.15pm in the Civic Centre on North Street.
Next Wednesday’s talk (Meating the Meat Demand, Keighley Local Studies Library, 2.30pm Wednesday 1st October 2025, £2 entry) gets a great spread in this week’s Keighley News…
October’s History Society meeting is on Wednesday 8th October 2025 and will include the talk “Parachutes, Escape Maps, and Wedding Dresses: Keighley Weavers’ Contribution to the War Effort”.
Silsden was recognised as a major contributor to the silk and artificial silk industry through companies such as Driver Brothers, John Knox and others. In Keighley, Driver, Hartley & Co. Ltd. were also at the front of experimental weaving with silk and artificial silk. In 1937 they started manufacturing fabrics for parachutes and later, escape maps for commandos. Textile experts Pam Brook and Helen Farrar will discuss the areas’ expertise in the manufacture of silk, in particular artificial silk, and its contribution to the war effort.
The meeting will be held in the Main Hall, upstairs in Keighley Civic Centre. Doors open at 7.15pm. There is a lift to access the first floor. Entry is free to History Society members and is £3.50 to anyone else (pay on the door – cash only) – all are welcome to attend. The meeting is scheduled to finish around 8.45pm. Members of the History Society also have the option of joining the meeting online via Zoom.
Membership of the History Society costs £15 for the calendar year. You can join at any of our meetings in the Library (cash only please) or online via the society’s website. If you join at this meeting you get membership for the remainder of 2025 plus all of 2026.
The History Society has arranged a bonus talk for October, with a visit from Karl-Heinz Wustner, coming to talk about German immigration to West Yorkshire in the 19th century. The talk is called ‘Meeting the Meat Demand’ and will take place in Keighley Local Studies Library on Wednesday 1st October at 2.30pm. There is a £2 entry charge.
This presentation is a joint event between the History Society and Keighley Local Studies Library.
History Society committee member Tim Neal will be giving his talk “Lilywhite Postcards: Then & Now” at Keighley Local Studies Library on Saturday 20th September from 2pm. Entry is free and no need to pre-book.
Tim has an extensive collection of postcards of the town and surrounding areas, and uses some of those produced by the company Lilywhite Ltd. in the 1910s to 1950s to compare the view from back then to the same view today in the 21st century.
The presentation is a joint event between the History Society and the Local Studies Library, and is being given as part of the Heritage Open Days season. There will also be photographs and plans of various major buildings in Keighley on display for visitors to browse.
Keighley Local Studies Library is hosting a special afternoon with musicians Bruce and Linda Russell on Saturday 4th October 2025. The pair were seen as Keighley’s rock’n’roll pioneers – from skiffle to the town’s first rock’n’roll group, The Presidents. They recorded their music and performed on the northern club circuit, at foreign air bases and Butlin’s holiday camps, and had a residency at Batley Variety Club.
This is the chance to hear tales about the top stars of the day – Shirley Bassey, Des O’Connor, Louis Armstrong, The Hollies, The Walker Brothers, Dusty Springfield, Cilla Black, Gene Pitney, Robert Plant – and Frankie Howerd!
Tickets (only £2) are selling fast and places are limited so get in touch with the Library soon to book your place.
Keighley Walking Festival 2025 launches this Saturday (13th September) and amongst the dozens of walks on offer, there are several with a history-focus that might be of interest. For more information pick up the festival booklet (available in the Civic Centre, Library and other public venues) or check out the Town Council website.
Saturday 13th September – Joyce and Melissa from the History Society are leading a town centre walk looking at some of the landmarks and how they have changed over the centuries. Starts at 1.45pm from the war memorial in Town Hall Square.
Sunday 14th September – Andy Wade from the Men of Worth Project is leading a walk up to the Wellington Bomber Crash Site above Oakworth. Starts at 12.30pm from the Golden Fleece Pub in Oakworth.
Sunday 14th and Wednesday 17th September – Andrew Heaton and Jean Sugden from the Dockroyd Graveyard Trust are giving a guided tour of the Graveyard, focussing on the headstones. Meet at Dockroyd Graveyard in Oakworth at 3pm (Sunday) or 6.30pm (Wednesday).
Monday 15th September – David Earnshaw and Joyce Newton from Keighley Civic Society are exploring the legacy of George Hattersley. Start at Towngate (near the Bus Station) at 10.30am.
Sunday 21st September – Andy Wade from the Men of Worth Project is leading a history walk around Holden Park in Oakworth. Start at the park entrance at 12.30pm.
Tuesday 23rd September – Tim and Steve from the History Society are leading an illustrated talk along a short stretch of the Leeds-Liverpool canal, reflecting on its history. Start at East Riddlesden Hall (in front of the barn) at 10.30am.
Wednesday 24th September – David Earnshaw and Joyce Newton from Keighley Civic Society are exploring the town’s transport heritage. Start at Towngate (near the Bus Station) at 10.30am.
A massive thank you to Philippa McHugh who delivered an engaging and informative talk last night on how the glaciers, lakes and rivers affected, and were affected by, the local landscape during the last ice age 18,000 years ago. Thanks also to Alan Pearson who pulled most of the imagery and information together and was in the audience. Huge thanks too to the record number of society members and visitors who attended in person or on Zoom.
The talk was part of the History Society’s monthly meeting, in the Civic Centre on North Street, held on Wednesday 10th September 2025. Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 8th October and will include a talk by Pam Brook and Helen Farrar on “Parachutes, Escape Maps and Wedding Dresses: Keighley Silk and Artificial Silk Weavers’ Contribution to the War Effort”.
We’ve just uploaded a couple of new albums of images to our Flickr site.
The first is an eclectic collection of postcards, tickets and other ephemera, covering Keighley, Oakworth, Silsden, Haworth and the area, between the 1860s and the 1960s. Have a browse!
The second is a collection of photographs of classes from local schools from the 1940s and 1950s. Anyone you recognise?
