Local historian and collector of memorabilia, John Bean of New Mill, purchased at auction in September 2013 a box of secondhand history books all connected with the Huddersfield area. Amongst this collection was a handwritten notebook almost 200 pages long. It was written by a George Sykes between 1916 and 1919. Its title is “Reminiscences” and it covers George Sykes’ s life in Holmfirth from 1841 until 1872. It has been transcribed and edited by David Cockman of the Holmfirth Local !History Group.! ! ! ! Introduction! George Sykes was born at Lane End, Wooldale in 1838. By the 1851 census the Sykes family had moved to Cliff when George was 13 years old. George was still living with his parents at Cliff at the time of the 1861 census, although his father, John, now describes himself as a “farmer with 6 acres” rather than as a weaver, as in the earlier two censuses. At some time after 1872 George married and moved to the Colne Valley, first to Linthwaite, then Golcar, and the 1911 census finds him living at 23 Lindley Street, Longwood. George died in December 1922 at the age of !84 and is buried in the Methodist churchyard next to Linthwaite Methodist church.! George started to write his Reminiscences in 1916 and signed them off on June 17th 1919, at which time he would have been 81 years old. He makes no reference to World War One, and indeed says next to nothing about his married life in the Colne !Valley after 1872.! It is clear from George’s writing that he was an intelligent, thoughtful and perhaps rather introspective child, concerned early on with the big questions of Life and its purpose. And early on he found answers in the Sunday schools and sermons of the local Methodist preachers. We know from his obituary (Appendix A) that Wesleyan Methodism was central to his life as an adult and for over fifty years he was a lay preacher and leading figure in the Methodist church in both the Colne and Holme Valleys. In his narrative he describes personalities in Holmfirth either as “good churchmen” (or not!) and effective preachers as “good platform men.” I suspect hat !George himself was a “good platform man.”)! In his “Reminiscences” George several times makes angry reference to the fact that his elementary education was cut short by his father who made him leave school at the age of nine to work with him in Butterworth’s Upperbridge mill. This was, of course, not such an uncommon fate for children in the Holme Valley in the middle of the 19th century. The census returns for this period show many children, even under the age of nine, employed in the mills and mines of the valley. For many families their wages was an important contribution to the family income. But one senses that the rest of George’s life was very much bound up with filling the gaps in his education, a life time of self-improvement through the Mechanics Institution in Holmfirth and reading as widely as possible. In his writing he demonstrates a wide vocabulary and familiarity with the works of Shakespeare, the poet Cowper and authors like Sir Walter Scott and Addison. From his obituary we also know that he was interested in history and poetry and that he gave a talk to local groups called !“An Evening with Burns”! "1 The thirty years of George’s early life in Holmfirth cover several momentous events for the community which he refers to in some detail, for example, the great and catastrophic flood of February 4/5th 1852, when he was about 14 years old, the arrival of the railway in 1850 and the development of Methodism and the tensions that this caused with various factions of the church. He deals with local politics and the regular fights between the “Blues” (Conservatives) and the “Yellows” (Liberals).He also voices some considerable scorn for the “Radicals”. (George was a loyal supporter of the Liberals all his life.) He talks, too, about music making in the valley and names many of the singers and musicians involved during that 30 year period. He also describes several citizens whom he describes as “characters”,i.e their behaviour, in George’s eyes, did not subscribe to the accepted !norms of the day.! In following these memoirs readers will find Michael Day’s “Wool and Worsit” a valuable reference book, especially where George deals with the various mill owners and their mills. Michael’s book adds a great deal of valuable information to !flesh out George’s story.! Considering that George was in his early 80s when he penned these memories they demonstrate his considerable powers of recall, both for names and events that happened over 60 years previously. But as his obituary makes clear, he retained his physical and intellectual vigour until a few days before his death in his 85th year. I think George would be delighted that his thoughts have survived and are of interest !to readers and local historians over a century later.! In transcribing his hand-written text I have corrected George’s minor spelling mistakes but have tried to leave his syntax very much as written, even where his !meaning is not always clear, since the style reflects the man.! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! "2 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Reminiscences! ! My earliest recollections are vague and indistinct. Something like the sun breaking through the morning mist. It was the beginning of consciousness to the things about me. Many of these things are of trivial importance, but they made an impression upon my youthful mind. One thing I would mention is that my oldest brother took me with him on his back after the hounds. This may be one reason why I always liked hunting, I began early. Another thing I have in my recollection is of riots in Town Gate. It was during the election of 1841 when Morpeth and Milton Dennison and Wortley contested the constituency of the West Riding of Yorkshire. A neighbour of ours named Henry Seddon kept a variety shop at Lane End selling fruit and sweets. He was also a barber and umbrella maker and mender. He being in the midst of the riot was so frightened that he ran home and just put up the shutters !and closed his shop and kept himself within until the riot was over.! Next thing I can remember is going to school. There were not many schools in the district at that time. I refer to the one at Cliff. This was the National School just begun, and there was one at Upperbridge taught by Mr Wiley, also the Academy kept by Mr.John Burton. There was also one in Underbank at the bottom of Wortley Hill what was then called Gully Hole taught by a very old man of the name of Joseph Holmes. This man as a teacher turned out some very good scholars. Mr Holmes’s scholars where to be found in the Sunday schools of the district distinguished by their ability as good readers. I remember being taken to the school by my brother who attended there. I only went for a short time to this school and once for a short time to Cliff school which was then taught by a man of the name of Edward Hoyle. I was afterwards sent to a Dame school at Hey Gap kept in a small cottage house by Mrs Hallas. I went to this school until a new one was built by the Wesleyans and opened near the chapel. The school is still in existence at the present time (1916), !although it has been considerably altered.! The first master of the school was a Mr William Sugden. He did not continue there long. He afterwards became principal at the Westminster training institution. Mr Sugden was succeeded by Mr Hunter, but only for short time. Then came Mr James Kerr who greatly endeared himself to the scholars and who afterwards greatly distinguished himself as a doctor of medicine. After Mr Kerr came in Mr Pashley "3 as the teacher, who remained only for a short time. Mr Pashley was succeeded by Mr Henry Brooks, a West Country man and a fine cultured young man, one who worked the school up into a finished state. Mr Brooks remained in the district a good number of years, producing excellent scholars. He introduced new modes of conveying knowledge to the youthful mind and to the children he made the acquisition of knowledge easy and pleasant. He gave great prominence to singing. He taught them the rudiments of music and in many ways he endeared himself to the children generally. The new practice of having pupil teachers began in his day and a good many of his pupils have taken good positions as schoolmasters in various parts of the country. After many years of successful work he left the district and opened a boarding school at Darlington where he spent the remainder of his !days. ! I am sorry to say that I had to leave school very soon after Mr Brooks came to be the schoolmaster. My elementary education ceased when I was about nine years of age. My father was more intent of making something out of his children than of giving them a good education. I had to go to work. In my school days I learnt to read and to write but very little about arithmetic, the loss I have felt all my life since. If we could only make the eyes of the young to see as the eyes of the old and embrace the golden opportunities.