Team photograph of short-lived local rugby league team Oakworth Wanderers taken before a match held on Saturday 31st October 1981. Oakworth Wanderers’ came into being when former Hull and Bramley professional Allan Bancroft, then a coach, and Dave Ingham left Silsden and formed their own club.
Rob Grillo, ‘Trying Times: Keighley’s Amateur Rugby Teams 1876-2011’ (robgrillo.co.uk): “Initially based in Keighley, (Oakworth Wanderers) were accepted at the last minute by the Pennine League to the new division seven for the 1980-81 season as ‘The Wanderers’. The club subsequently secured the old football ground adjacent to Oakworth Cricket Club on Wide Lane, and despite initial objections from local residents began their first season there. Only a few players had actually followed Ingham and Bancroft from Silsden. In November 1980 the club registered with BARLA as ‘Oakworth Wanderers’. Their first season saw them finish at the foot of division 7, with 3 wins and a draw from their 16 fixtures… The 1981-82 campaign began with the formation of another new Keighley club… It was mooted that five clubs was one too many for the town, and that existing sides teams – might struggle to attract sufficient players. Within twelve months Oakworth had resigned from the league, although this was not due to a player shortage but a lack of committee members. Their absence was at the time hoped to be temporary, but Wanderers were never revived and died a quiet death.”
In 2021, Keighley and District Local History Society acquired an extensive collection of photograph negatives taken by the Keighley News. Groups of negatives were held in small wallets with the date and basic labelling written on the wallet. These photographs are from that collection.
There was a fatal charabanc crash at Oxenhope on Saturday 30th October 1920. The vehicle had been travelling from Hebden Bridge to a knur-and-spell match in Laneshaw Bridge. Its brakes failed on the descent towards Oxenhope and it crashed through a wall at about 35 to 40 miles per hour. Tragically five occupants of the vehicle were killed.
A similar photograph to this accompanied a rather vivid report of the crash in the Keighley News of 6th November 1920: “Several char-a-bancs left the Hebden Bridge district about noon, carrying parties of sportsmen interested in a knur-and-spell match between a Hebden Bridge man and a Keighley man, which was to take place at Laneshaw Bridge, near Colne. One vehicle, a big 32-seater char-a-bancs, owned by Messrs. Greenoff and Shaw, of Rochdale, appears to have been the last to leave. It picked up passengers mostly from Pecket Well and Wadsworth district, and all went well during the climb up to Cockhill Moor, which lies between Hebden Bridge and Keighley.
“Everything appears to have gone well until the somewhat steep decline from the moors into the village of Oxenhope. For perhaps a mile and a-half the road from the moors drops steadily, and the approach to the village itself is fraught with many dangerous turns and twists. Near a well-known public-house, popularly known as ‘Dyke Nook’, something seemed to be wrong with the motor char-a-bancs, and, instead of answering to the movements of the brake levers, the heavy vehicle, weighing almost four tons, gradually got out of hand, and dashed along the highway at an ever-increasing speed.
“The driver stuck to his post, and fortunately was able to keep to the centre of the road. The race continued for almost a mile: the way was clear of traffic. Near Oxenhope Church, however, the sharp, left-hand bend was encountered, and because of its tremendous speed and weight it was impossible the char-a-bancs could take the corner. Scarcely any turn appears to have been made, however, and the vehicle dashed straight for the wall on the right-hand side of the road and through into the field.”
John Graham, recovering afterwards at Victoria Hospital for fractured ribs and a badly damaged hand, told the Keighley News that the vehicle must have been traveling at over 30 miles an hour, with the scenery whizzing by like when travelling by express train.
John Murgatroyd of Pecket Well, the passenger who had actually organised the trip, described the moments leading up to the crash to the Keighley News: “After going down the far slope for a quarter of a mile the driver tried to check the growing speed of the char-a-bancs. He applied both the foot and hand brakes to the full without checking the vehicle. It was an awful experience, for the motor was gaining speed at every yard. The driver held on to his steering wheel, and marvellously got round a couple of sharp bends. All the passengers must have realised that they were being carried along at a break-neck speed, but they remained calm, and there was no sign of panic. As we bowled on to the last long straight stretch, the char-a-bancs must have been going at forty miles an hour, and at the end was the hair-pin bend. No man breathing could have got a motor round at the speed at which we were travelling. As we approached the end I shut my eyes and awaited the end. It was an awful shock. Practically all were hurled out of the car, and I dropped in a field about twenty yards away.”
Keighley News: “The driver was a man named Tom Hay, of Rochdale, and he escaped with a cut hand and a severe shaking. Many of the passengers suffered from shock. One passenger, more daring than the rest, when he saw an accident was unavoidable, jumped from the rapidly-moving vehicle into the road. He rolled head over heels time and time again, and another passenger who was going to jump thought the man was killed, and decided not to leap, and crouched down behind a seat. He was practically unhurt, and the man who jumped received only slight injuries to the arm.
“All the passengers and debris from the vehicle, the wall, and from a hen-house which was in the field immediately behind the wall, were thrown into an indescribable heap. Thrown on to a heap of stones and against the trees the passengers sustained shocking injuries. Two passengers were picked up dead, and others were unconscious. The noise of the collision and the screams of the injured brought the villagers to the scene, and help was quickly rendered. Dr. McCracken, of Haworth, was in the village at the time and he was soon on the spot. Policemen, members of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, and nurses were on the scene quickly, and Dr. Maggs and Dr. Wilson, of Haworth, were summoned by telephone. A motor-ambulance from the Keighley Fire Station was called, and in this, on on a motor-lorry owned by Messrs. Merrall, spinners, Haworth, a number of the serious cases were taken to the Keighley Victoria Hospital, where medical men were awaiting the arrival of the patients.
“The great force with which the motor char-a-bancs hit the wall can be judged by the appearance of the vehicle after the accident. The radiator shows the marks where the stones hit it, and one side is broken away. The front axle is broken and the steering column fractured, but it was along the right side of the body that most damage was done. The whole of the side is broken completely away, the woodwork being in splinters, and all the aluminium panelling broken and twisted in all directions. The ends of the seats are directly in view, and instead of remaining parallel they are twisted in all directions.”
Amongst those who died were William Devenport Kershaw (35), an ex-soldier living at Keighley Road, Pecket Well, and his wife Alice (27 or 37 – the Keighley News quotes both ages). William died in Victoria Hospital, while Alice was killed at the scene. The other person who died at the scene was John Drake Turner (46) of Waterloo Bank, Wadsworth. William Ogden (56) of Ivy Cottage, Pecket Well, died on arrival at the hospital. Percy Brown Roe (30), Hebden View, Wadsworth, who had been a Sergeant throughout the First World War, died at the hospital during the evening. Four of the victims were buried in the cemetery at Wainsgate, near Hebden Bridge, on the following Thursday, following a service led by Mr J. T. Greenwood at the Baptist Chapel. William Ogden had been buried in the cemetery adjoining the Baptist Church the day before. Both services were attended by hundreds of locals, including people injured in the crash, and schools, pubs and businesses were shut in the victims’ honour.
The knurr and spell match at Laneshaw Bridge was delayed by an hour, but eventually took place in ignorance of what had occurred. On Thursday 4th November 1920, Keighley’s MP, Robert Clough, asked in the House of Commons whether an inspector from the Department of Transport would attend the scene of the accident and attend any follow-up inquiry. He was assured by Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, Arthur Neal, that an inspector was already engaged. Reportedly thousands of visitors went to inspect the scene of the accident over the few days following its occurrence.
According to local historian Ian Dewhirst in his book ‘Down Memory Lane’ (Keighley News, 1993), at the inquest that followed, some expert witnesses criticised the driver for having come down the hill in top gear, but the owner of the charabanc defended his driver by saying “if he had come down in second gear the passengers would have thought that he was not a capable driver and that he was nervous”. Certainly accounts captured by the Keighley News in the days immediately following the accident, many survivors praised the driver’s attempts to control the situation.
The photograph of the crash was donated to the History Society by David Holmes. The photograph of Victoria Hospital is a detail from a Hall & Siggers postcard from the personal collection of Tim Neal. Researched and collated by Tim Neal.
Saturday 26th October 1985 was closing night for Keighley Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society’s production of ‘Underneath the Arches’. The production starred Keith Marsden as Bud Flanagan and Geoff Rundle as Chesney Allen. The production played for a week at the Victoria Hall in Victoria Park, Keighley.
The show was previewed in the Keighley News of Friday 11th October 1985. The article revealed a connection between Marsden and the real-life characters: “Keith Marsden’s delighted to be playing Bud Flanagan in Keighley Amateurs’ production of Underneath The Arches. For his dad was apparently in at the ‘birth’ in Keighley of the famous Flanagan and Allen partnership. It all began, according to Keith, when his father, Ernest – an Amateurs stalwart – wrote a song for the golden jubilee of Keighley Gala in 1926. Florrie Ford heard it in a local pub, liked it, and wanted Ernest to write new lyrics so she could use it in her summer season at the Isle of Man.
“Negotiations were taking place in the old Kings Arms when two young downtrodden comics who were being tried out in Florrie’s revue arrived – saying they’d had enough and were going to become bookies,” Keith told me this week. “Florrie pleaded with them to change their minds – and offered to get them a few variety dates. Eventually she talked them round; was as good as her word, and a few months later Flanagan and Allen stopped the show at the old Argyll, Birkenhead. Within a year they were topping the bill at the Palladium.””
The newspaper cuttings were provided by Glenis Hey in 2020. The main photograph of Victoria Hall was taken by Roy Willoughby circa 1987. The sheet music for Ernest Marsden’s gala song is part of the John Normington Collection, donated by John’s daughter Liz Hornby in 2021.
Monday 20th October 1947 was opening night of the musical play “Rio Rita”, performed by Keighley Amateur Operatic & Dramatic Society at the Hippodrome theatre in Keighley. The music was by Harry Tierney, with words by Joseph McCarthy, from the book by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson. The original 1927 stage musical was turned into a RKO film in 1929, directed by Luther Reed.
The story is set on the US/Mexico border, where cabaret singer Rita Ferguson falls for Texas Ranger Captain Jim Stewart, while pursued by Mexican General Esteban. Meanwhile, Captain Stewart is seeking the notorious bandit Kinkajou, whose real identity is unknown (but could be Rita’s brother Roberto!). The climax is reached onboard the pirate barge owned by Esteban, which serves as a floating cabaret…
The Keighley production starred Hylda Saville Smith (1) as Rio Rita, Arthur Day (2) as Captain Jim Stewart, Eric B. Boster (3) as General Esteban, and Fred W. Pye as Roberto. Supporting roles were played by Albert E. Shepherd, Arthur Shackleton, Ernest Marsden (4), Dorothy M. Williams, Betty Phillips, Keith Marsden (5), John H. Crabtree, Pamela Fitzjohn, Victor J. Wood, Frank Hopkinson, Margaret Best and Marjorie Riley. It was produced by T. C. Wray. The cast photographs were taken by John Tobin of Keighley.
The programme was loaned to Keighley and District Local History Society for scanning by Tim Neal in April 2022. The full 48-page programme is available to view on our Flickr site.
The Keighley Amateur Lyric and Dramatic Society staged a production of W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s ‘The Yeomen of the Guard (or The Merryman and his Maid)’ at the Hippodrome theatre in Keighley from 18th to 23rd October 1909.
The story is set in the sixteenth century and revolves around Colonel Fairfax, a condemned prisoner in the Tower of London, and his attempts to secure a wife before his execution for sorcery. He manages to escape the Tower disguised as a Yeoman and much confusion ensues before all is righted by the end.
It starred Arthur Greenwood as Colonel Fairfax, with E. G. Moulding, James Pearson, Willie Boyes, J. R. Hammond, H. Connelly, John Merrall, C. A. Greenwood, J. Greenwood, B. Hardacre, H. V. Wilkinson, Miranda Sugden, Ethel Bird, Miss Lambert and Mrs Heaton. The musical director was W. S. Wilkinson and the stage manager was W. G. Bedford. Scenery was hired from the Northern Theatres Co. Ltd. and was specially painted by F. G. Venimore.
The Keighley Amateur Lyric and Dramatic Society had only formed a year previous (in 1908) and the theatre had only been renamed the Hippodrome earlier that year (in 1909). Prior to that it was known as the Queen’s Theatre, although both names remained on the front of the building, and many programmes and adverts continued to refer to the ‘Hippodrome and Queen’s Theatre’.
This souvenir programme was a collaboration between photographer H. Charlton of Lawkholme Crescent, and the printers Wadsworth & Co. of The Rydal Press, Russell Street. The programme was donated to the Keighley and District Local History Society by Tim Neal in 2022. A second copy was received by the History Society from an anonymous donor later in 2022. Both copies are held in the History Society’s physical archive. The full document can be viewed on the History Society’s Flickr site.
The Keighley Division of the Liberal Association held a Bazaar in the Municipal Hall (Mechanics’ Institute) from Wednesday 17th to Saturday 20th October 1928. The purposes of the Bazaar were “1. To free the Association from debt, 2. To provide the means of conducting Active Political Work throughout the (Keighley) Division, 3. To combine the workers throughout the Division in one common object for the benefit of the Party”.
Stalls within the Bazaar included plain and fancy needlework stalls, a fruit, flower and basket stall, a fancy stall, a sweet stall, a mystery parcels stall, a china and glass stall, a home produce and pound stall, a perfumery and toilet requisites stall, a men’s miscellaneous stall, and a cigarettes and tobacco stall.
On the first day, the Bazaar was officially opened by Lady Carey Evans at 2.30pm. Thursday was opened by Lady Bain, Friday by Lady Fisher Smith and Saturday by Sir Charles Starmer. Music across all four days was provided by G. S. Sugden’s Orchestra. Refreshments were supplied by Mr W. Day (who had a confectionary shop on North Street).
Entertainment and events went on well into the evening on each day. These included The Trocadero Dance Band, a Cabaret Show by members of the Keighley Amateur Operatic Society, picture shows, Knuts Komedy Koncert Party, performances by the Clifton, Devonshire and Orpheus Quartettes, Andrew Beaver giving dramatic and humorous recitals, and even ‘Baby Cinema’ organised by local photographer W. Bruce Johnston.
The cover of the souvenir programme included a design by Miss Mary Haggas of Park Lane, Keighley. It showed “the gracious figure of Liberalism giving the Bread of Sustenance to the old and the Torch of Knowledge to the young”. It was chosen in a competition by the Bazaar Publicity Committee.
The President of the Keighley Division at this time was H. S. Clough and the Chairman was Councillor David Rhodes. Keighley first elected its own MP in 1885. For over thirty years, between 1885 and 1918, it had elected Members from the Liberal Party (Sir Isaac Holden, Sir John Brigg, Stanley O. Buckmaster, Sir Swire Smith, and William H. Somervell). The most recent election by 1928 had been in 1924 when the Liberals came third in Keighley. The next general election was to be held in May 1929 for which David Rhodes had already been selected as the Liberal candidate (in the event he came second).
The Keighley Liberal Club at this time was situated at the junction of Devonshire Street with Scott Street (having originally been on High Street). Members had access to a newspaper reading room, a billiard room and private members rooms. The building included Devonshire Hall, available to hire for wedding parties, luncheons, dances and so on. (This hall was later converted to a theatre space and became Keighley Little Theatre.)
The souvenir booklet was donated and scanned by Tim Neal in 2019 and is held in the Keighley and District Local History Society physical archive. The image was created by Tim Neal in 2022. The full booklet is available to view on the History Society’s Flickr site.
Francis Butterfield was appointed as the first President of the Keighley Industrial Co-operative Society, at the society’s second meeting held on 15th October 1860. Butterfield was a blacksmith on Beckside at the time.
Also shown, a sketch from memory of the first Co-Op shop on Church Green, Keighley, by Thomas Heaps, drawn in 1910. The shop, in which the Keighley Industrial Co-operative Society began its business life, was one of a block of three in Church Green between the Commercial Inn and the Devonshire Hotel. The shop was run by John Farrar Pickles, Benjamin Morrell and Joseph Moorhouse (Society Treasurer). Customers had to ascend two or three steps on entering the shop. The shop was originally occupied by Mr Cockshott, who remained as landlord of the site. The shop opened in October/November 1860. The original shop closed in March 1862 when Cockshott wanted to change the details of the rent, and the shop relocated to premises on New Bridge Street.
Illustrations from ‘Half a Century of Co-operation in Keighley – 1860-1910’ by Joseph Rhodes, published by the Keighley Industrial Co-operative Society Ltd. in 1911. Image created by Tim Neal in 2022.
Keighley Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society’s production of “Annie Get Your Gun” played at the Hippodrome Theatre in Keighley for six nights (and a Saturday matinee) from Monday 13th October 1952. The musical had lyrics and music by Irving Berlin, with book by Herbert and Dorothy Fields. The audience were probably familiar with the musical as the MGM film version had only come out in the UK almost exactly two years earlier. The KAODS production was produced and directed by Douglas T. Bailey, with musical director R. Lewis Scargill.
The story is loosely based on the life of real-life sharpshooter Annie Oakley. Annie (played by Marian Walker) and her brother Jake (Dennis Crocker) meet up with ‘Buffalo Bill’ (Frederic W. Pye) and his Wild West Show when it visits Cincinnati. Annie’s sharpshooting skills attract Bill’s attention and he signs her up for the show. Annie falls in love with fellow performer Frank Butler (Edwin Smith), whose position in the show she is inadvertently usurping, leading Frank to leave the show. Indian Chief Sitting Bull (Leonard M. Stockdale) finances the show on a European tour (which, in the real world, included Keighley in its itinerary!) which is a financial disaster. Ultimately Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show combines with the show of Pawnee Bill (John H. Crabtree), which has recruited Frank. Annie and Frank settle their professional rivalry and reunite.
The show also starred Alan Shuttleworth, Frank Hopkinson, Norman Raistrick, Geoffrey Rundle, Marjorie J. Riley, Elsie Greenwell, Keith Marsden, Jean Sellars, Jesse G. Hamshaw, Anne Irving, Mary Wade, F. Bottomley, J. Street, L. Waite, J. D. Lee, A. Ridding, Janet Ogden, Eric S. Butterfield, Arthur Hague, N. Moulding, J. Derek Lee and Gwenda Binns. The dancing mistress was Irene Ogden.
The programme was part of an anonymous donation given in 2022. The cast portraits within the programme were taken by N. K. (Keith) Howarth of K. C. P. Studio on East Parade. This collage was created from images in the programme by Tim Neal in 2022.
12th October 1981 was the opening night of Keighley Playhouse’s production of ‘One for the Road’ by Willy Russell. The play was produced by Geoff Whitley and starred Pauline Cain, Dennis Cain, Roger Fuller and Jane Fuller.
These press photographs were taken during rehearsals on 28th September 1981. In July 2021, Keighley and District Local History Society acquired an extensive collection of photograph negatives taken by the Keighley News in the early 1980s.
The Trans-Pennine March for Jobs from Sheffield to Blackpool passed through Keighley on Sunday 11th October 1981. 100 members of the People’s Campaign for Jobs marched into the town and joined a rally in Town Hall Square. There were cries of “Maggie, Maggie, Maggie, out, out, out!” The crowd gathered in Town Hall Square were addressed by Steve Davison, chairman of Keighley Trades Council, by Frank Brammah of Keighley Unemployed Workers Association, and by the town’s MP, Bob Cryer. A Keighley News photographer captured the event and the story was covered in the newspaper the following Friday.
Keighley News, 16th October 1981: “Left-wing Labour MP Mr Bob Cryer said the march was part of the struggle against Thatcher policies and with unity and determination they would win. He claimed the Prime Minister was using unemployment as a weapon against the organised trade union movement. Mr Cryer condemned government cuts in welfare benefits, social services and education while they were spending six or seven billion pounds on Trident and Cruise missiles.”
The marchers were given tea by St. Anne’s Justice and Peace Group followed by a service at St. Anne’s Roman Catholic Church. There was a civic reception from the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Councillor Danny Coughlin, and free entertainment in the evening at the Victoria Hotel. Marchers spent the night in private homes or at Keighley Central Youth Club.
In 2021, Keighley and District Local History Society acquired an extensive collection of photograph negatives taken by the Keighley News. Groups of negatives were held in small wallets with the date and basic labelling written on the wallet. These photographs are from that collection.
