In April 1917, at the height of World War I, a group of villagers embarked on what they termed “a bit of war work”. They organised a sale, presumably in the school rooms (although the press report does not mention a venue) in aid of the Red Cross. There was some disappointment when a Red Cross nurse failed to appear to open the sale, but the Head Teacher Mr. Royston stepped in… Read more
The Band of Hope was an organisation formed within the Methodist Church in Leeds in 1847 to promote temperance. It soon became a national movement, and indeed spread to New Zealand and the USA. It also spread to Haslingfield, which with its seven pubs in the early part of the twentieth century would have been regarded as a ripe recruitment area. The Band met regularly in the old Primitive Methodist Chapel which still stands just off the High Street, where it put on entertainments to attract the young to “sign the pledge”. One such entertainment took place on March 14th, 1913. Read more
From deep in the 19th century the Haslingfield United Charities had given annual scholarships to pupils at Haslingfield School who passed an exam to enter either to the Perse or the Cambridge and County High Schools …… Read more
I’ve started to transcribe news items relating to the village between 1901 and 1945, with a view to publishing a follow-up to ‘The Haslingfield Chronicle’ later this year. In the meantime I will try to find stories occurring in each of the months of the year. Read More below. Read more
The Cambridge Chronicle posted a reassuring view of life in the trenches:
“Tommy at War – They lie in the slush of the trench bottom and discuss the merits of football players at home and argue which is the better team, and make bets which club will be at the top of the League and – and then they have a shot at the Germans and the Germans have a shot at them”. (Please click ‘Read More’ below for more information). Read more
It is still a matter of some debate on how much the Great War impacted on life in a rural community like Haslingfield. John Beynon, in his ‘The Call to Arms’, outlines the impact on individual families whose menfolk either enlisted or who sought, through exemption, not to enlist. But was there a collective impact? Click Read More below for more info. Read more
Unsurprisingly, Cambridge businesses were keen to stress their patriotic credentials during the First World War. In the month that the Expeditionary Force landed in France, August 1914, Horniman’s announced no increase in the price of their tea. A month later Eaden Lilley, conscious perhaps of some customer grumbling, placed an ad in the Cambridge Chronicle, as follows: Read more
Two features published in The Cambridge Chronicle in the early months of 1915 provide a sharp contrast between life at home and at the front. The first is a letter from ‘A Cambridge Lady:
“Sir – While the streets are so dark I think perambulators should not be allowed on the pavements after sunset, as they add considerably to the danger. I myself nearly had a fall owing to them, and several other ladies have had the same experience. There is, in addition, the risk of the perambulator being upset and the child seriously injured. When there are no lights every care ought to be taken to prevent accidents. Yours, etc.” Read more
The outbreak of war in late 1914 seems to have had an immediate impact upon employment patterns in the town. An article in the Cambridge Chronicle of 6th November reported ‘How Cambridge is affected by the War’: Read more
Scouring the pages of the ‘Cambridge Chronicle’ for material for the Village Society’s November 11 presentation, I came across a letter written in September 1914, just after the outbreak of war, extolling the virtues of flannelette as opposed to flannel underwear for the troops. Read more
J.G. Watson’s account ends with the connection to the sewer built to accommodate the council estate built opposite. The ‘hut’ was lined with plaster-board and painted by the Youth Club, under the direction of Ken Knight. Plans were in hand to resurface the hard tennis court, and to re-turf the goalmouths of the football pitch.
That was in 1961, and now the Rec enjoys a permanent building used for a variety of activities, including full theatrical presentations. I’m sure Henry Badcock and the Chivers family would be proud of how the Rec has developed.
After Chivers had donated another field to expand the recreation ground, the Badcock Trustees had enough money to build a cricket pavilion (on the site of the present one). It soon became obvious that this was a facility that many organisations in the village wanted to use, and a Village Concerts Committee was formed, which eventually raised sufficient funds for a billiard room and kitchen. Read more
The Archives have just acquired a copy of an article written by J.G. Watson of Pate’s Farm in 1961 about the creation of the Rec. My next two postings will reproduce extracts.
‘It is many years ago now since Mr. Henry Badcock looked vainly round the village for a field for the children and young people to play on without being chased off by an irate farmer or landowner. Read more
Eliza’s great-uncle, Reuben, married into a prosperous local farming family in 1814, when he took the hand of Phoebe Willmott. Tragically, all their four children died – Thomas died of tuberculosis in 1826, Elizabeth of the same disease in the following year, and Reuben junior and Daniel similarly in 1828. In 1831 Reuben senior died, also of TB, leaving Phoebe desolate and without a family. Read more