BOB KING QUOTES FROM OGFB

[Stanley]

BOB KING QUOTES FROM OGFB
the heavy snow in 1947, I'd just been sent home from the Navy on reserve and had just got a job at Weston Engineering in Foulridge, I was living in Kelbrook. I didn't miss a day's work, I walked to Foulridge on the top of the farm walls from the Stone Trough to Foulridge and the same home at night. I suppose that nowadays everyone would either stay at home or ski to work, Eh????

I came out of the Navy in 1946 and started work at Dotcliffe Mill as an adult apprentice designer. No mention at the pittance of a salary here.

the Mill [Dotcliffe] had been bought by E.S.Sayek Ltd a firm of Manchester Merchants from JJ Duckworth in 1946 –

I was instrumental in purchasing Dotcliffe Mill in 1956 for A. Speak & Co.Ltd who were Cloth Converters in Manchester and the parent company of the Mills I managed in Earby.

To MOH, Hi Maureen, I am picking that you were Albert Nutter's daughter???? We were a very close community up the top of Dotcliffe Rd in those days weren't we???
[2004] I noted in last week's internet edition of the Barlick and Earby Times an article on a man named Stanislaw Bajkowski who dropped into Arnhem as a paratrooper. From the age quoted in the paper of 78 years he must have been only 18 years of age when they dropped him. I am sure this is the same Stan the Man who came to the Dotcliffe Mill, Kelbrook in the late 1940's to train to be a weaver and like all the 31 displaced people who came to the Mill, he proved to be a good employee. In fact I knew Stan for many years, he married a girl from Earby, and was great company to have a pint or two with in the Railway pub in Barlick. If anyone know's Stan's address I would like to renew acquaintances with him.
Without these immigrants the textile industry and the towns would have been poorer places.
Regards Bob King (Hatepe

[I gave Bob Stan’s address and phone number] Stanley,
I rang Stanislaw Bajkowski last night and you wouldn't believe it, but he recognised my voice and in a thick Polish/Yorkshire accent he said - "It's that bugger Bob King....." We swung the lamp for half an hour, he has an excellent memory and it was a pleasure to renew old acquaintances.
He is now 79 years of age, has lived in Barlick for the last 58 years - he hasn't fallen in the Beck but I think he almost qualifies to call himself a "Barlicker".
With every person there is a story - could almost be a best seller, Stan the Man dropped into Arnhem at 19 years of age as a Polish Paratrooper, he came to the Dotcliffe Mill with 31 other displaced persons and learnt to weave, he lost his first wife who took an overdose and he brought up three children as both Mum and Dad.
Married a Polish woman and he works even at this age as an interpreter in the Polish Community. His son is a doctor with a practice in Wigan and Stan is a very proud grand dad of 9 grandchildren and 3 or 4 great grand children.
So thanks for the phone number and the address, I will keep in touch with the old lad. Regards Bob King (Hatepe)

The name Thomas Nuttal who was a concreter 1896 is probably the same person who did the concreting in the new building of Spring Mill Earby 1895/6.
I also knew a man by the name of Aloysius Crew who lived in Burnlea Terrace, Gisburn Rd, B'wick when I was a lad in the 1930's, he was the caretaker of the Catholic Church - (he pronounced his name as "ALLOWISHA) I think he had a son by the name of Jesse Crew.
Regards Bob King

Dr Rankin did eventually move into the Vicarage, but he used to have a surgery and live either on Wellhouse Rd or Station Rd, so Eddy was probably right. I think it would be around about 1943 or 1944 before Dr Rankin moved into the Vicarage.
I was sent by the Dole to help to put windows in at Bankfield Shed (I was waiting for my papers to come from the Navy) when the Rover Comany came to Barlick, Chippy Greenhalgh was in charge of the "Putty Wallahs" and we had a great summer swimming in the "cut" daily and doing as little as possible for our 15/- a week. In fact when I went to Gosport to the boy's training establishment they thought I was a "half caste" I was brown from head to toe!!!
Regards Hatepe


R.W.King

[2004]  Hi Maureen,
We moved out of Auckland in June this year, we have lived there or at least had a home there for the best part of 40 years, but what with the mills that I have built in Thailand, Mexico, Australia and the South Island of NZ, there have been long periods when we were not at home.
We got fed up with the traffic, the City Council, violence on the streets and the climate in whatever order you want to place them and sold the family home.  We have moved to a small rural town of 3900 people, with an excellent climate in Central Hawkes Bay, a brand new house and the car seldom comes out of the garage. I keep records of the weather and we have only had 20 days of rain in 168 days which suits me. It does tend to get rather warm here but if you dress for the heat, you don't notice it. We are surrounded by vineyards, orchards and farms and we do have family within 50 kms from here so we are not isolated..
Nice to hear from you.
Aye Hatepe



R.W.King

I remember your mum, she and Olive Newhouse wove in the top shed at Dotcliffe and you lived in one of the Mill houses between old Madge Boocock and the Pickles Family.
I also remember you passing your scholarship and attending Skipton GHS and I also remember your accident with the Ribble Bus outside the Empire at Earby, 'cos I took the phone call and had to get your Dad from the Mill.
Hows about that for a good memory????
Aye Hatepe 



R.W.King

[12/12/2005] I can't realise that I am 80 years of age  -  nowt like Fred Inman's age but steadily getting there.
I think that most people retire too soon, the big 65 comes up and that is it as far as going to a job. I worked in some capacity until I was 79, the money didn't matter. , they say that a "rolling stone doesn't gather any moss"???? But some how or other I hung on to more than I can ever spend. I will always treasure the education that I received in the Textile Industry in Britain, I have always been able to hold more than my own in the rest of the world irrespective of whether it was Wool, Cotton or Synthetics  -  Weaving, Spinning, Knitting, Dyeing and Finishing. In 1986 I was elected a Fellow of the Textile Institute for what I'd done in the world of Textiles.  The Institute usually elects 21 Fellows a year somewhere in the world for exceptional services, mine was for producing an outdoor fabric to protect the Kiwi Fruit Orchards from wind burn.  I used a weave that had been lost and dormant for a couple of centuries, but it worked!!!
As far as OGFB is concerned I find the opinions of everyone stimulating, we have a good cross section of the public, most of them from generations of weavers who helped to build the town, we have lost some jewels but that is progress.  It is remarkable but I meet ex Barlickers all over the world, so the old town has exported a large number of good people to colonise other countries.
Aye Hatepe  



R.W.King

Madge Boocock might have been one of the Boococks from Barlick, she was living in Dotcliffe Rd when I came home from the Navy in 1946 and I think that she had married into the Barlick Boococks.  We also had a Tackler at Dotcliffe Mill who ran a set of coloured checks and stripes in the bottom shed  -  he was called Joe Boocock and Madge ran 6 coloured looms under Joe. Madge loved a pint or two at the local pub and quite often when I was coming home from nightschool on my bike she was weaving her way up Dotcliffe Rd and being a good samaritan, I would find her key and let her into her home. She disappeared round about 1954/1955 and my sister moved into her house.
You are right about the lovely place that we have moved to, I wake some mornings and think - "Summat must go wrong today, 'cos it can't be so perfect.......!!!" but the climate is good and the walk into town every morning for my papers just keeps the old legs going and I get to know some of the townsfolk.
Auckland had its place in my life  -  it was the base for my business and I can't complain about the contracts I got to re-organise or built mills, however, I get few phone calls today and most of them are from technicians wanting an opinion or some company or insurance company wanting a valuation of plant and machinery or some knitting company wanting me to recommend a particular type of cotton yarn for a specific cloth.
Aye Hatepe



R.W.King

By now Stanley, I generally do it for nowt.  The Textile Industry has been kind to me during my life and if you can't help a struggler, then you aren't a very good christian.
I have been doing some work for a bloke in East Auckland who has a small knitting mill, he was fed up with some of his labour turning up when they felt like it and wanted a cloth that he and his wife could knit without too much fuss, Geothermal Textiles are the new big thing in the textile world and I suggested that if he could knit a small diameter circular cloth from either polyester or poly ethylene, that drain layers could cover the latest drainage pipes that allow water to flow into them thru small perforations.  The cloth would act as a sieve and the drains would not get blocked up with dirt.
He had no knitting machines capable of doing this, so we sat down and designed a knitting head and a frame and got a company in Taiwan to produce the prototype, we were even able to alter the diameters of the cloths that we knitted. He went out and marketed it and is working twenty four hours round the clock and now has three machines knitting in his garage at home!!  A bit like hand loom knitting in the 1800's but he is making a very good living from it.
Just a case of the right yarn and a specialist machine to produce it.
Aye Hatepe



R.W.King

Ken Wilson  -  "Tug" Wilson to me and my mates when we were lads lived down Gisburn Rd and was a frequent visitor to our house.  He was always a talented artist and he was at school with me, perhaps in a higher form.  Anyway Tug if you are reading these topics  - "Hello from  Bob King in New Zealand" By gum lad who'd a'thought we'd both become Octogenarians??????
Aye Hatepe



R.W.King

Morning Stanley,
The fire bug was on everyone's mind during the epidemic of fires in 1959, since it was one of our mills that was burnt, we decided that as far as Spring Mill was concerned that we needed something more than a "nightwatchman" to cover security, so we went into Cheshire to the RAF Dog Training School to ask for a guard Dog.  We were fortunate in that they had a dog called Bruce who had come back from the Middle East due to the fact that his trainer was demobbed and he was surplus to requirements.
The conditions were that I had to go into his small cage and bring him out on a lead!!! But since I was a "Dog Man" having several gundogs, I commanded him to sit and walked out with him free gratis and for nowt.  Bruce weighted nearly 10 stone he was a German Shepherd and it took me a week to convince him to eat.
I would release Bruce into the mill and the offices at night and bring him our at 5.00 a.m. every morning of the week.  The newspapers got hold of the story and we never had any problems with the fire bug.
A policeman from Wakefield who was in charge of dog handling for the West Riding met me one night as I had release Bruce into the mill and he would insist on going in to have a look at him. I did insist that he should not go in but he was adamant.  He shone his torch and out of the corner of my eye I saw two yellow eyes gleaming at him from behind a couple of weaver's beams. I never saw Bruce but he did attack the policeman, grabbing him by the front of his uniform and tearing the front off.  I was advised that "That Bloody Dog is dangerous"  when we pulled the policeman out and allowed Bruce  to carry on doing his guard duty!!!
On another occasion I was a 5 minutes late in letting Bruce out of the mill and Hedley Bradshaw our engine man blithely opened the mill door to get in and he hadn't gone 20 yards when Bruce grabbed him by the backside of his overalls and Hedley jumped about 6 stone steps and slammed the door on him!!!  From then on Hedley wouldn't go into the Mill if my car wasn't stood at the front car park. We can laugh about it nowadays but at the time it was serious.
Aye Hatepe  
I got mail from Bob this morning. It's too interesting to keep to myself.

Great stuff. I'll put it on the site as well as index it. Send as much as you like. Glad you like the tapes, that's why I made them.

You're right about the old textile men, mention anything to do with the trade and they're like old fire horses who have heard the bell. I once asked an old manager what the attraction was and he looked at me and said 'It's the cloth Stanley, the cloth!'

Best, Stanley.
----- Original Message -----
From: Bob King
To: stanley@barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk
Sent: Thursday, September 30, 2004 4:54 AM
Subject: John Sayers Metcalfe


Hi Stanley,

I enjoyed your tape done with John Sayers Metcalfe from the Clough Mill. I knew John quite well, his eldest son Norman went to school with me and he ended up as a violinist with a top orchestra. His other son John went to Nelson and Colne Tech with me in the early 1950s, he took Final City and Guilds and I took both that and Higher National Certificate in Cotton Weaving. I was a night student and John went during the day. Old John was quite upset that young John was not awarded a HNC, but the rules were that you had to do it over a number of years, with little and no absenteeism and get thru. without a failure. It took me 5 years and young John, who was a brilliant student tried to do it in 2 years and the Textile Institute would not look at him. Young John went to work for Courtaulds and I believe that he did end up as a director of that firm.

When I was Mill Managing at Victoria Mill, Clough Mill was in difficulties and I persuaded our Manchester Office to give them some commission weaving in 1955/1957, they had run down their weaving shed and although we got some good cloth from them, they didn’t seem to be able to weave some of our heavier double three shaft Jeans 45” cloth, 96 ends per inch and 62 pick per inch of 24s/24s. 3 ends in a 62 Stockport reed. Yes a right old banger when you got enough in a weaving shed, like the brass band coming down the street with the big drum going. Most of our clients wanted this cloth and you couldn’t put more than one into a set of 8 or 10 looms..

John Sayers Metcalfe would be the last of the old time mill managers, he watched every penny, was a stickler for time keeping and knew his stuff. Like us all we suffered with old looms, modern looms with an electric motor per loom picking 450/500 picks per minute would have eaten some of the cloths that we wove, BUT and the word is BUT you would have needed the best of twist in the warps and cones of weft yarn with no knots in them and all joins welded. I have used some longer staple Indian Yarns in NZ which both knitted and wove well and our looms were Sultzers 18ft wide in the reed space and picking over 300 picks per minute. The weaver needed roller skates on on a set of 6 looms!!!! There are air jet and water jet looms capable of 800/900 picks per minute but everything must be right for them, I had 24 water jet Nissan Looms in Christchurch weaving Polypropylene fertilizer bag material and they could fly, one weaver looking after all 24 looms. We kept 2 spare looms and when one wanted repairing, we took it out with a fork hoist and slipped the spare in place. I even developed them to weave lenos (cross weave) for the manufacture of onion bags, so they were versatile.

The trouble with this textile game, Stanley is that we veterans are like the old war horses smelling a battle, open a subject like weaving or taping and we go on for ever and think of nowt else, even though our memories are getting dimmer and dimmer.

I also like the tapes with Horace Thornton, we had no end of trouble at Victoria Mill with warps being under sized and wouldn’t weave, we were on the third floor of the Mill. I borrowed a starch refractor meter from Shirley Institute and we tested every half beam over a period and we found that our sow box was varying from 10% size on the first beam or so down to under 5% on the last ones,

even though the taper was topping up, Newton Pickles got into the act and there was no doubt about it we were getting as much water with the steam as we were steam. He sat down with a piece of chalk and drew a water/steam separator on the tape room floor, and I commissioned him to build it and install it. My taper (from Nelson) took the huff and left, but I was lucky and got the best taper I’ve ever had - a man from Barlick called Alf Hartley. We got a good tape labourer from Kelbrook called Rennie Fitchett to help him with the heavy work and once we got mobile and started taping again, you could almost guarantee the Starch Refractor Meter readings through the whole set of beams, I bought Alf a starch refractor meter for his own use. Believe me in a short period of time we revolutionized the weaving shed - weavers patrolled their looms and had smiles on their faces. A combination of science, good engineering and a good taper. We used nothing else but triple dressed sago flour and either NZ or Australian Tallow and the best of soft soap ,

Better shut up and think about going home, I have to get the tea ready for the missus, Bye BobK (Hatepe)


LEEDS AND LIVERPOOL CANAL (continued)

[This short piece which is an account of Salterforth quarries and their relationship to the canal was sent to me by Bob King from Auckland. I do not know the original source but it is an interesting account which I have not seen before. Posted by SCG 21 September 2004]

In 1851 we find that there were employed around the canal one boatman William Peckover; two coal dealers Levi Widdup and John Widdup; blacksmith Richard Widdup; plate layer John Driver; stone mason Stephen Broughton and seven labourers Thomas Widdup, Harry Crabtree, James Crabtree, Richard Simpson, Edmund Widdup, Edmund Widdup junior and Matthew Sutcliffe. Also employed at that time was Constable William Edmondson and Superintendent Constable Abraham Beanland, plus lawyer James Duckworth from Lothersdale.

Records that show in 1861 there were five boatmen James Waddington, Henry Shutt, William Crabtree, Henry King and John Starkie. The crew on board the coal boat "Fox" of 50 tons included Captain William Austin aged 49 from Habergham Eaves and the mate James Austin aged 18. The boat was delivering to Rainhall Rocks. At the same time there were employed locally seven quarrymen including William Mitchell a stone grinder born in Crawshawbooth, James Rawsthorne a stone cutter from Slaidburn, Edmund Broughton, William King and Aaron Whiteoak from Thornton in Craven and William Peckover and Henry Wormwell from Kelbrook.

Slowly the quarry workers were becoming used to using the canal.. The quarries up Moor Lane were opening up and stone being brought down to the canal by cart. Transport down the hill was with the use of a winch and rail track. One set of lines came down to the canal between the Anchor and the new bridge going towards Barnoldswick but unfortunately signs of this have since been erased by the farmer tidying up the land. The second incline came down to the boat yard at Burdock and by 1891 there were 23 Salterforth men working in the quarries and nine further men working as boatmen and leggers.

The work brought families from places such as Bentham, Bingley, Tatham, Lothersdale Burnley and Somerset. The Reeves family came from Norfolk and lived at Wanless Cottages on the right hand side of the road leading up Moor Lane. These cottages have since been demolished. Later came the Sayers family from Settle and Ellis who was a legger twice caught pneumonia, surprisingly surviving.

Mrs. Esther Redman (nee Thackeray) can remember her family coming to Higher Park Farm from Middlemoor to live with uncle Horner Dolphin, who was a quarryman like her father. When in the first world war her Dad was killed her mother used to take her and her brother up to the top of the lane at 6am every Monday morning. One of the quarrymen would give them a bag of sweets. Years later Esther met Jacky Grimes in Skipton and was able to thank him warmly. Mrs. Rachel Peel (nee Windle) also has memories of being told how her great, great grandparents used to harness themselves together to pull boats along the canal in both directions.

Times were hard and not without tragedy for on 1st July 1882, the steamboat "Weaver" went through Foulridge tunnel and emerged at the Barrowford end. The boat "Robin", transporting stone and manned by James Hartley Widdup and assisted by William Smith, a legger, followed the "Weaver" into the tunnel. Sadly through neglect the flyboat ‘Dee’ was not told that a second boat was coming through and thus entered the tunnel from Barrowford. Meeting "Robin" halfway through the "Dee" pushed "Robin" back to Foulridge. An argument arose and James Widdup and William Smith were each paid two shillings to compensate for loss of time. Shortly after 9pm the "Robin" set off again into the tunnel towards Barrowford. At 3am on the Saturday morning Richard Petty, the captain of "Robin" went to the Barrowford end of the tunnel expecting to find his boat there and continue to Burnley. After finding the boat had not passed through Barrowford locks he returned to the tunnel and shouted. He heard William Smith reply. At 6am. he entered the tunnel at the Foulridge end with a tug and found "Robin". Smith, was alive but confused and sick.

Widdup, a tall strong man of 25 of good character for steadiness and reliability was found prone down with his head leaning over the side, quite dead. He bore discolourations on his chest and lower part of his neck at the back. No medical examination was given and at the inquest at the home of William and Elizabeth Widdup (nee King) - Anchor Inn, the jury returned a verdict that Mr. James Widdup has suffocated while in charge of a boat passing through Foulridge tunnel. A recommendation was passed that greater care be paid to the ventilation of the tunnel and the passing in and out of boats. James was buried in Salterforth Quaker burial ground and recently his stone has been moved with other Quaker stones to Salterforth Cemetery near the top at each side of the path.

SPRING MILL, EARBY, YORKSHIRE

THE BEGINNING. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BUILDING OF THE MILL.

BY R.W.KING C.TEXT.F.T.I.

FOREWORD: THE BUILDING OF A MILL. BAILEY,WATSON &BERRY LIMITED.

[Bob King sent this to me on 21 September 2004 and I have scanned it for inclusion on the Oneguy site. There is a manuscript extract from the minutes and I have inserted this in Italics]

First meeting held Nov. 29th 1889. Resolved:
1. That Mr Thomas Bailey be appointed chairman of the company.
2. That Mr W N Berry be appointed secretary of the company.
3. That the value of the shares shall be fixed at £25 per share.

Meeting held December 4th 1889.
1. That Mr Thomas Bailey be appointed to see Mr William Gill and try to arrange about price of rent to be paid for 72 looms for three years or six and a half years at the company’s option and that Messrs Jas(?) and Charles Watson go and measure the room and see how much warehouse room is allowed.
2. That £130 be offered to Mr William Gill for the 12 looms and beaming frames which he has to sell.
3. That as the standard price for a 40 inch reed space loom is 38/- per loom per annum we offer 36/- for a 36 inch reed space loom.
4. That Mr Thomas Bailey Messrs Jas and Chas Watson form a deputation to see Mr William Gill tomorrow morning.
5. That the name of the company be Bailey, Watson and Berry Ltd.


It was a cold November evening, the year was 1889, the house was that of Thomas Bailey of Earby. the fire was lit, the wicks were trimmed and the lamps shone on the polished mahogany table. those present were:

Thomas Bailey, James Smith Watson, Charles Watson, Nathan Watson, Charles Watson Bailey, Albert Bailey, Wm. Nehemiah Berry.

Thomas Bailey addressed the meeting:

"Gentlemen, we are met tonight to discuss the forming of a company to weave cotton piece goods. There is an opportunity to buy some looms and beaming machines from Wm. Gill of the Grove Mill Earby and that we buy 30 new plain looms from Cooper Bros Ltd and 30 six shuttle revolving box looms from Geo. Hattersley & Sons. This equipment to be located at Grove Mill under room and power at an average cost of 37/- per 40 inch reed space loom per annum"


This resolution was passed and Thomas Bailey was elected chairman and W N Berry was appointed secretary.

The share capital to be 240 shares at a price of 25 pounds per share - a total of 6000 pounds.

February 3rd. 1890, Messrs Thomas Bailey, J S Watson and W N Berry be appointed to manage the general business of the company.

December 5th. 1892 a request to the landlord Wm. Gill for more space to accommodate 80 more looms.

August 9th. 1894 a request to Wm. Gill for enough space to accommodate 352 looms, the same reed width as the present looms.

January 22nd. 1895 it was proposed by Charles Watson and seconded by James Watson that a new shed be built for the company. That an offer to James Shuttleworth be made for an acre of land in Ireland meadow for this new shed.

February 19th. 1895 an offer of land by John Bailey at 1/6d per square yard was finally accepted to build a shed to accommodate 432 looms.


THE NEW SHED.

Architect. Mr. Atkinson of Colne. clerk of works. Mr. Atkinson of Colne. Cost:- one hundred and twenty two pounds ten shillings.

Conveyancing of the land: Wright, Charlesworth and Wilson of Skipton.

Mason's work:- Cowgill and Wilkinson. cost:- one thousand, five hundred and sixty pounds.

Joiners:- Charles Watson. Cost:- five hundred and fifty five pounds.

Engine:- Burnley Iron Co. cost:- seven hundred and twenty five pounds.

Boiler:- Adamson and Co. Cost:- two hundred and sixty pounds.

Slating:- Wm. Stanworth. Cost:- three hundred and ninety five pounds.

Plumbing:- Wm. Varley and Sons. Cost:- one hundred and fifty pounds.

Plastering:- Heap and Thornton. Cost:- one hundred and forty eight pounds.

Millwright and iron:- Ellison and Co. Cost:- one thousand and eighty eight pounds.

The mason's contract does not include the flagging.
Flagging:- Siddall of Stacksteads. Three inch machine faced Rossendale flags. Each flag 6 super feet upwards.

Concreting of the warehouse:- Nutalls of Barnoldswick at 2/10d per yard.

Installation of a power main by Earby and Thornton Gas and Lighting Co.

Electric lighting:- Keighley Electrical Eng. Co. Cost:- two hundred and thirty pounds. The lamps to be "high efficiency” and the dynamo to have the slide rail for tightening the strap" at a cost of three pounds, ten shillings extra.

An agreement was made between the company and John Edmondson to supply water to the shed by a stream in the land called Nicky Laithe.

J S Watson to investigate the best stokers for the boiler and also whether to install Green's Economisers.

The architect to investigate the best means of fencing off the new shed.

Driving ropes:- Harts. Cost:- twenty pounds thirteen shillings. but they must supply the labour to install.

September 11th 1895 it was decided to call the new shed "Park Shed". however this was rescinded on November 18th. 1895 that the new shed be named "Spring Mill".

November 25th. 1895. Cowgill and Wilkinson were requested by the architect to excavate the lodge for the water supply and for the new road to the warehouse at the same rate as other excavating work already done.

November 25th. 1895 at an extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders5 the following resolution was confirmed:

"that the nominal capital of the company be increased from six thousand pounds to fifteen thousand pounds by the creation of 360 shares of twenty five pounds each.

April 13 . 1896. It was confirmed that the new shed at Spring Mill be opened on Saturday 25th. April 1896. To have a knife and fork tea to christen the engine “Alice Ann”. The starting of the new engine by the chairman of the company Mr. Thomas Bailey. W N Berry and Charles Bailey to arrange a programme of entertainment. The wives of the directors to "get up a tea committee”. The engine to be started in the presence of the members of the company and their families with the architect and the engineers. The engine to start at 3.30 p.m. the tea to start at 4.30 p.m. The entertainment to start at 6.30 p.m. if possible but not later than 7.00 p.m.


COMMENTS BY THE AUTHOR.

I have in my possession the original minute book of the company. This was found in the room where the reeds and some of the healds were kept in 1960. I have kept this hoping one day to write a story round the town, the mill and the families who worked there.

I have had to try to condense 7 years into a few pages and I hope this is of interest to people who are involved with the history of Earby. Many local names were involved in the building of the new shed.

I was unable to ascertain who built the mill chimney and what the cost was, but I was told that the two steeplejacks from a firm called O’Mara from Burnley, spent as much time in the White Lion as they did erecting the chimney and that it had a definite lean on it at the top, which had to be rectified!!!

Bailey, Watson and Berry Limited looked well to the future, they not only wove plain grey fabric but they also had a coloured section (which eventually became W N Berry Ltd of Foulridge) this meant that they employed weavers, tacklers, beamers and winders all with different skills.

There is no mention of a tape sizing machine in the early days, so I can only assume that they had their grey warps sized at a commission sizer and that they bought their coloured yarn as ball warps and scotch dressed them on site.

Bob King.

Morning Stevie,
Don't be put off by the wiseacres, they'll have you related to old Mother Demdyke next!!!
As I said - the small amount of fish meal will bring the hens back into lay, a bit earlier, don't put a shovel full in, just a small handful depending on how big your mash bucket is,
Unfortunately some of your hens are almost "past the used by date" and they are getting nearly "Pot boilers" by now, so it is time to introduce a few pullets and get rid of the old chucks, One problem you might get with fish meal, besides the taste is that the hens lay some double yolkers, but quite seriously I have never tasted fish meal in any of the eggs that my chucks have produced. Mind you give me a dozen duck eggs for a bit of flavour - when I lived at the Stone Trough at Kelbrook, one of the customers (Fred Stern) used to come in and ask me for a pint of Guinness and he knew we had some ducks, so he bought a couple of duck eggs and cracked them raw into his Guinness, he reckoned it was the greatest "pick-me-up" that he knew after a day's hard graft!!!!!
You don't "keep" hens Stevie, they are supposed to "keep" you in eggs???
Byeee Hatepe


R.W.King

Afternoon Sue,
The actual rhyme came from the story of the three little pigs and in it's original form went summat like this:-
Once upon a time when pigs spoke rhyme
And monkeys chewed tobacco,
And hens took snuff to make them tough,
And ducks went quack, quack, quack, O.

But schoolboys being schoolboys they corrupted it to read:-
Once upon a time when birds shit lime
and monkeys chewed tobacco.
Little piggies run with their fingers up their
bum,
To see what was the matter.

Hope this is what you was looking for.
Regards
Hatepe (Bob King)


R.W.King

Sure is a marvellous site, I have enjoyed missen for hours with it.
We have a lot of Barlickers living here in NZ, and from time to time we do get together and have a ball. Mind you after 40 years Barlick/Earby/Kelbrook are just not the places that I left, but there is always a thread hanging there. I learnt my trade in the Mills and the lessons have stood me in good steady in a number of countries in the world and culminated in 1986 when I was one of 21 people in the world elected a Fellow of the Textile Institute (Manchester).
Harry Widdup and I were lads together and meet from time to time out here.
Bye for now Bob King


R.W.King

Strange that your dad, Richard should make an observation about the fires could have been started by someone other than a local - for insurance purposes. I do think in the beginning there was a lunatic abroad who did torch some of the mills and farms, but when the Dotcliffe Mill was set on fire, it left a number of questions to be answered. It was almost impossible to get into the mill without a key, no windows broken, no doors forced, why didn't the New Shed get burnt??? All the warps and weft were stored in the older building and there was only 127 looms in the bottom shed, many of which were only smoke damaged.
The engine driver lived on the site and was always either in the mill or the engine workshop and he saw no-one but heard a car pull out of the car park that night. (Don't forget this was way out in the country)
For weeks afterwards the police plus re-inforcements were in the area and the firebug disappeared into thin air. No more fires????
Stranger than fiction in'it?????
Hatepe

Watson Toothill [local bobby] was on site from time to time - I think he was keeping the sightseers at bay, but the West Riding had a team in the area from Wakefield and they did a pretty thorough job. The fire was in the old three storey building, it burnt out the weft cellar, the cloth looking room, the winding room and the looming room. The engine and the boiler house were unharmed and as I have said before the problem with the 127 looms in the fancy shed (bottom shed) were smoke damaged - at least the yarn in them and any cloth on the cloth rollers were.
I did the insurance claim for the company and it was fairly substantial, the assessor agreeing with most of my figures, but we were not allowed into the burnt out building until forensic had had their two penn'orth.
Somewhere in my files I have some photos, which I will try to dig out and send to you Stanley, but like all old stuff I haven't a clue where to start.
Regards Bob King "Hatepe"


R.W.King

You don't have to travel to Clitheroe to see pollution and filth, I travelled on the train from Preston to Colne in August this year and the railway stations were broken down, drab, filthy and the railway carriages were no different - in fact the one we travelled in had the remains of someone's drunken spree on the floor, plus drink cans and old newspapers. The lovely old railway station at Colne was nothing more than a concrete strip, with over grown grass and about 40 steps to climb down with two suit cases. Welcome home Bob???!!! Of course it rained as we stood in the deserted car park and we couldn't get into the phone booth to ring for a taxi because of someone sheltering from the storm..
What with filthy Feltham, littered London and cluttered Colne, I wondered where the pride had gone in the English countryside and cities.????
40 years in the colonies looking at beautiful greenery, clean towns, blue skies without any smog and factories not belching out their effluent made me realise that I was blessed with being a New Zealander. regards Hatepe


R.W.King

Morning Stevie,
Some good points in your screed, but like a number of Commonwealth Countries we had an "open door" policy in the late 1940's/1950's it was known as the 10 pound scheme, whereby people could emmigrate for that amount - fares paid.
We got some good, bad and indifferent immigrants, plus some real "Union Stirrers" who became very unpopular with the average KIWI Bloke.
We now have a points system - depending on how you are qualified in your job and having a clean bill of health and no criminal convictions. Which I think is fair - nowadays you also pay your own fares unless an employer is prepared to stand the cost.
We need doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers, IT engineers plus people who can bring capital and start their own business and employ New Zealanders.
We can offer a quality life, a more temperate climate, cheaper living, a more laid back existence, good housing - such as a detached home on a large section, wonderful beaches, cheaper motoring and possibly a better education for your children (University is open to all who can make the grade).
We are isolated, but the shores of Australia are only a 3 hour flight away and I still think that there is opportunity for he or she who will grasp it with both hands.
For example - my youngest son got a BSc in Computer Science in the early 90's - he worked for HONDA and then a firm of IT Engineers as a technical manager - came home one night and said that he would like to work for himself. Dad did help with some capital and our family company became fact in 1995. Today we employ 28 engineers and sales persons, we work on both sides of the Tasman, we are a multi million dollar turnover company and growing each year - now that is in 9 years. Can you still do that in the UK????? Our premises sit right on the side of the beach and today the skies are blue and no sign of rain (thank God).
If you have any questions about this Garden of Eden, please ask - personally I have brought about 100 families out here thru. careful selection and had very few hiccups - mainly in the Textile and Engineering fields.
Regards Bob King (Hatepe).
P.S. The Hatepe bit is the name of a small settlement 24 miles below the township of Taupo where I own a cottage on a third of an acre of land, I won't give you too many details - but the finest trout fishing in the world, water ski-ing and the ski fields in the mountains are only about 40 minutes drive away.
Byeee Hatepe




R.W.King

Neither turn "Green" nor be "sick" Bazshar - each to his own. There is a reason why each and everyone of us does what we do in our lives.
The temperate climate here is not a scorching hot day each day - we do get a winter - driving rain and cool days, but in the Auckland area no snow.
I have got my roots in NZ - an ever extending family and of course the family has done well in both education and in life generally. But we have grasped the opportunities when they came. I also did well in the UK - GM of a number of Textile Mills and I was recognised by the Textile Institute in Manchester by being a elected a Fellow in 1986.
My wife and I have just spent three weeks in the UK - it was so expensive that I might as well have shovelled the little gold pound pieces out of my poke. The weather was dismal, the town of Barnoldswick impressed with the cleanliness of the streets, but Oh, some towns and cities were filthy. You can keep your traffic problems, I refused to hire a car, that gold liquid called "Gasoline" was beyond my means and the main line trains were much pleasanter and quicker to travel on.
I am a Yorkshireman by birth and will remain so all my living days, but successive Governments have deserted the Broad Acres, too many families on the bread line, too many young people without jobs and no intention of getting one. We can go on for ever. The problem with Poms who have left for fairer climes is that when they return to their native heath it is like looking into a goldfish bowl - you just don't belong there any more, you become more critical, kind of - "It wasn't like this when I lived here sort of thing.....???"
Malham was one of my stamping grounds - the Lister's Arms was my watering hole, but on our return I couldn't whip up any enthuisiasm for the beautiful place anymore.
So Barrie old lad, we are all different and all entitled to our own views on life, but please ask anyone who has been to New Zealand what they think of it and would they come back and I'll bet you'd get a 95% "Yes".
There are a number of Barlickers in NZ, we do get together as a group from time to time. We do help each other, we do swing the lamp a bit and reminisce about folk like Rag Albert, Duke Slater, Billy Fryer, John Edward Aldersley, Niff Naff (I'll bet that one's got thi' mystified, Eh??.) Tommy Rabbit, the Majestic, and why Barlick was called "Brush Town"!! But all those things are in the past.
Kia Ora Barrie Sharples Bob King (Hatepe)


R.W.King

Stevis mi old flower - I am 79 years young, totally relaxed with life, got no problems and I suppose that is contentment. Left Barlick the first time when I was very young to join the Navy as a Boy Seaman, so I made the break a long time ago.
What is "family"?? My immediate family and extended family (brought up two step children who I love as much as my own kids) are the ones I put first. Yes, I have a brother and a sister, but they are only a call away either by email or the phone. Stanley might agree with me when I say, I have had more communication with my siblings in this modern age than I did when we tried to write letters to each other.
Britain was called "Great" Britain when our lads and lasses went out into the big wide world to climb mountains, sail the seas and break in new lands and funny enough they made their stamp on the Colonies. Especially the British Justice System.
My Kiwi wife is a 5th generation New Zealander, both ancestors on each side of her parents came to NZ in 1847 by sailing ship - 112 days at sea, 12 pounds a family fare and bring your own staples.
Dropped off in one instance at Kaikoura and the others at Herbertsville in Hawkes Bay. Given a tract of land each of 40 acres which was 70 miles inland and covered by native bush. The one at Herbertville built a handcart and he and his family dragged their possessions the full distance by hand power with no recognised roads.
They survived, raised large families and sent their men to the Boer War, WW 1 and WW 11 - in both instances their descendents still farm the land that they broke in and have added hundreds of acres to their holdings. Why did they come this far?? The answer lies in the great potato famine in Ireland - an exodus of Paddies went all over the world looking for summat better.
When the cotton industry fell apart, I was left with no choices - either offer my services abroad or get a job as a clerk somewhere. I was given nowt on a plate, paid our own fares to NZ (one way so that I had to succeed.) The first 3 or 4 years were hard - had to prove myself but I realised the opportunities and took them with both hands. Never looked back Stevie.
Thanks for replying to my burble - I respect both Barrie and yourself for your views and love of your families, Byeee Bob King (Hatepe)




R.W.King

You have to experience a move like MPorter and the King family did to appreciate what you have done.
Yes at times you day dream about your past life, yes, you still yearn for some of the Yorkshire delicacies ( Stew and Hard, real black puddings, stand pork pies, haddock and chips with mushy peas) but the weather makes up for it - the kids soon assimilate into their schools, they become more Aussie or Kiwi than their counterparts - they enjoy the easy way of life.
But Britain becomes more distant as the years go by.
Throw another prawn on the Barbie - Margaret, Eh???
We do enjoy this cookup on our BBQs - you can buy best steak, lamb chops and chicken pieces so cheap, plus prawns, all types of fish ( my best piece of fish I have ever eaten came off a BBQ - about 2 inches thick - a steak of Hapuka (gropper) - the juices are still running down my chin!!!)
Like Margaret - we have local vineyards, so a glass of Chardonnay or red wine is readily available.
Like Stanley the roots from our trees are rock hard and no doubt in the next generation or so our descendents will say - "The old Fellah came from England and he never lost his accent or spoke like a Kiwi all the time he was alive"!!!
But we are here, we have made our mark and this is where we will be staying.
However, it is wonderful to be part of this oneguyfrombarlick scene, it kinda keeps the band in the nick dunnit????
Byeee Bob King (Hatepe)



R.W.King

Morning Stevie,
I do believe that the Irish Potato Famine was caused by a blight that turned the new potatoes to mush in the ground. The old English system of "Fallow" - leaving so many acres of land to rest and recuperate was not done in the small farms in Ireland they kept on growing spuds on spuds.
My father-in-law in NZ (gone at the age of 90 years of age, God Bless him) who had never been to Ireland but was as Irish as the Pigs in May (Now where did that saying come from, Stanley???), did a lot of research on his family who originally came from Bushmills and had a holding. We were always led to believe that the original Archibald Curry was a man of means with a large family.
Some 20 years ago my wife and I went to Northern Ireland to try to find any long lost Currys and went to the local cop shop for directions. They did send us on foot up a long winding lane and eventually we came to this small whitewashed cottage, it stood in about 2 acres of walled land.
There was another Archibald Curry in residence and he and his wife made us very welcome. The smallholding was as it was for the last 200 years, so nowt had altered - I have seen bigger hen pens down the Butts in my time. So imagination does play a part in one's memory. When you realise that the original Currys looked after and tried to feed 9 or 10 children on such a small farm - a disaster like a potato failure was obvious. I suppose that they did some work on the larger estates around them such as harvesting, or hay making and the women would work as servants in the big houses. But their staple diet of spuds not being available would leave many clammed bellies.
The Currys have prospered in New Zealand - hard working Irish stock, most of them farmers, drovers or owning transport companies. At least three or four All Blacks in the family including my nephew Xavier Rush who is current and could come to England this next tour.
Hope that this small dissertation helps you. Regards BobKing (Hatepe)


R.W.King

SPRING MILL EARBY. MAIL FROM BOB KING.
15 September 2004

Afternoon Stanley, I did enjoy your tapes with Fred Inman, I knew Fred for many years and his wife Marjorie worked for me at Spring Mill from 1958 until 1965 as a weaver. Just a couple of small corrections to his tapes. 1 I bought Spring Mill for a company called A Speak & Co.Ltd in 1958 but it was run as C.W.Bailey and Co.Ltd until 1961 when the looms were broken up under the Cotton re-organisation scheme. All the looms were broken and moved out for scrap. 2 Booth and Speak was formed by a Mr Job Booth and a Mr Geoffrey Speak (the son of the owner of A Speak & Co.Ltd) They had bought a mixed collection of Lancashire looms from around Lancashire, the good ones went into Albion Mill Earby (some new W B White Looms included)to weave Viscose Linings and the other 420 looms came into Spring Mill to weave Twills, Sateens, 3 shaft Jeans and pocket linings. Because neither Booth nor Speak knew the front of a loom from the back they didn’t understand what they’d bought, the spare part situation was a disaster, the take up motions were not all standard so the calculation of the pick wheels was a job in itself, and the looms were in a parlous state. I must say that the 7 tacklers, the ancillary staff like the trappers, the sweepers and oilers and the weavers did a marvellous job in bringing the looms into production. I think Bob Taylor the Blacksmith at Earby thought all his birthdays had come at once with the work that we gave him and I was almost permanently at Rushworth’s at Colne looking for spare parts. By 1964 I had had enough and right out of the blue I was offered a Mill Manager’s job in New Zealand, so I severed my connections with Booth and Speak and emigrated. The Cotton Re-organisation scheme did not serve it’s purpose. The manufacturers received 100 pounds per loom to scrap them,(They didn’t reinvest the money in new industries) most of the looms were over 60 years of age. They also got the buildings to sell which was a bonus. The workers got peanuts - a small pittance for the years they’d been in the industry. This one stroke of the pen, flattened Blackburn, Burnley, Nelson, Colne, Barlick and Earby. No wonder the district even now looks like a disaster has hit it.

Regards Bob King

[Stanley]

I've had a cry for help. I got this mail this morning:

Hi Stanley,
I'm Sam King and I'm Bob Kings grandson.
I was just wondering if you knew anyway for me to get in contact with his side of the family as I haven't seen them for many years.
Thanks.

I have no direct contact with the family. Any suggestions that Sam could pursue?

[Wendyf]

There was another grandson who registered on the old site. There is a link to his posthere

[Moh]

Poor Bob - this does bring back memories of him and his family. Shame he did not get to enjoy his new home for long.

[Stanley]

Bob was a good man and one good thing is that we have made sure that his name and contributions are remembered. He pops up in so many places if you put his name in the search engine. I told Sam to keep his eye on the topic.
One thought Sam if you are reading this. Go to BT website and search for Kings in the area and then do some cold-calling. You might get lucky. Any relation to the Kings at Salterforth?

[Moh]

There were also King's in Foulridge. Bob's parents lived near the level crossing in Earby.