Knowsley is 50!

A new exhibition in the Archive Exhibition Space, Kirkby Library celebrates the beginnings of the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley…

Knowsley’s Coat of Arms, designed by Mr. H. Ellis-Tomlinson, M.A., F.H.S. and presented to the Council by Sir Harold Wilson at a Special Meeting of the Council, 18 May 1977

The Borough of Knowsley as we know it today was formed under the Local Government 1972, coming into being on 1 April 1974.

It had been a long road to Local Government reorganisation: the Royal Commission on Local Government was convened in 1966 to set the criteria for the establishment of the new local authorities. The Commission reported its findings to Parliament in June 1969, including 10 general principles which underpinned the Commission’s proposals:                  

1. They must be based upon the interdependence of town and country;
2. Local Authority areas should give a sense of common purpose;
3. All environment orientated services must be contained in one authority, which must be large enough to meet the growing population needs and its residents must have a common interest because of their life pattern;
4. If possible, all local authority services should be contained in one authority;
5. All authorities should be bigger than most county boroughs and all county districts;
6. Authorities should contain at least 250,000 people;
7. Those authorities that provided personal services should not contain much more than 1,000,000 people;
8. In those parts of the country where the area required for planning and the environmental services had too large a population for the personal services, there should be a two tier system of local government. In these cases the related services should be kept in one authority;
9. The new system, wherever possible, should come from the existing system.
10. All personal services should be in the hands of one authority.

Terms of Reference for the Local Government Reorganisation Metropolitan District 11(c) Steering Group

As the relevant Unitary Authority, Lancashire County Council responded to the Royal Commission on Local Government in England. As part of the negotiations and preparations for re-organisation, a Steering Committee was set up with representatives from Huyton-with-Roby, Prescot and Kirkby Urban District Councils and Whiston Rural District Council to manage the transition to the new Borough – but what to call it?

Two names were considered: Biccford (an amalgamation of BICC and Ford, the two major employers in the district), and Knowsley, the family seat of the Earls of Derby. By a show of hands, Knowsley was the winning choice, which was duly recorded by the Secretary of State for the Environment. A borough was born!

The first elections under the Local Government Act, 1972 took place in May 1973, when Knowsley District Council was created to allow for the transition to the new arrangements.

The first meeting of the District Council on 13 June 1973 includes minutes relating to the form of a petition to Her Majesty the Queen, requesting that the District of Knowsley be granted Borough status in accordance with Section 245 of the Local Government Act, 1972.

The very first volume of Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council minutes dates from 1 April 1974 and records minutes from committee and sub-committee meetings, standing orders, terms of reference and financial regulations of the new Metropolitan Borough Council.

High on the agenda of the first meeting of the Borough Council on 1 April was the election of Mayor for the 1974-1975 cycle.

KMBC Minute book showing the minutes of the first
meeting of the new Borough Council

Cllr and Mrs J Maguire, featured on a
decorative plate

Moved by Councillor Tempest and seconded by Councillor Gleeson, it was resolved that Councillor John Maguire be elected Mayor of the Borough of Knowsley for the year 1974 -1975 and was duly invested with the Chain of Office. Councillor M. Burke was elected Deputy Mayor.

In addition to the Chain of Office, to outwardly signify their civic status, Knowsley’s Mayors traditionally wear full a robe, a hat and a fine lace stock, or jabot.

Here are examples of the robe, bicorn hat and jabot which feature in the exhibition. If the Mayor is male, the hat worn is a bicorn style, as shown here; a female would wear a tricorn, or three cornered hat:

Mayoral Robe and below, a Bicorn Hat

The Jabot, a fine lace stock

Throughout the year, there will be a rolling programme of exhibits that tell the story of the Borough of Knowsley through the lens of the Archive Collections. You’ll find us in the Archive Exhibition Space, Kirkby Library. Keep a look out for new displays, or get in touch for more information or to share your stories.

Contact Knowsley Archives Service, The ARK, 1st Floor, The Kirkby Centre, Norwich Way, Kirkby L32 8XY, call us on 0151 443 4291 or email us at infoheritage@knowsley.gov.uk.

The Season of Goodwill…

Christmas is coming and the shops are bustling with people preparing for the festive season. In Knowsley’s Archive, as we take a moment to pause and reflect on the last twelve months and to look ahead to the New Year and those impossible to keep resolutions, we’ve been having a look at some of the more seasonal items in the collections and asking, what can the Archive tell us about the season of goodwill and its celebration in our communities?

One of the collections, the Cross Heuller Archive [KA189/B], reveals how a company might reward its staff for their loyalty and hard work throughout the year whilst involving their families during the Christmas and New Year period.

The Cross Company was founded in 1898 in Detroit, Michigan. Cross International arrived at Kirkby Industrial Estate to begin its machine tool manufacturing operation in April 1969, spending a brief spell in the Ward and Goldstone factory before settling into a new plant on Randles Road, Knowsley on 29^th December 1969. The official opening of the factory took place on 20^th March 1970, with Prime Minister and local Member of Parliament Harold Wilson as guest of honour.  Much effort went into getting the plant up and running and perhaps for this reason, the Company’s Christmas party for the employees’ children was held in early January 1971. Photographs of the event, captured in a scrapbook featuring key landmarks in the company’s commercial and social development, show that the festive spirit was still very much in evidence: the children are pictured tucking into sandwiches, jelly and ice cream whilst wearing party hats and pulling Christmas crackers.

Friday, 17^th December 1971 was the occasion of Cross International’s first employees’ dinner dance, set at Allerton Hall, Clarke Gardens with entertainment provided by the Barry Noble Discotheque. The menu included iced melon as a starter (a running theme in later celebration menus) and a traditional turkey roast with all the trimmings, followed by plum pudding and plum sauce.  Again, the Children’s Christmas Party was held in the early New Year. This was a very lively affair, with Father Christmas making a popular appearance to distribute gifts amongst the children. Entertainment included musicians, a clown and a film show. A letter of thanks, written by 3 of the children to the ‘Dear ladies and gentleman’, voiced their appreciation of the film show and the entertainers in particular.

The Cross International factory was cutting edge, with all the latest technologies incorporated into the machines and building design. Even the staff canteen was modern and streamlined, with an automated system for heating frozen ready meals in microwave ovens and vending machines to dispense drinks. Technology was likewise applied to Christmas: the scrap book contains a wonderful example of word processor art, with a seasonal greeting to overseas colleagues at Fraser and Crew created using the word ‘Cross’ repeatedly. The message seems quite primitive by today’s standards, but in 1971, this was the stuff of tomorrow’s world.

The first Christmas Dinner Dance in 1971 was organised by the Committee of the Sports and Social Club, a growing sense of community, identity and social awareness developing within the company. This gathering was held at Allerton Hall, Clarke Gardens, where guests danced to the Barry Noble Discotheque and enjoyed a traditional turkey roast (with iced melon for starters).

Such attention to the workforce, with an apprentice scheme and favourable conditions of employment – plus an investment in the factory of around £2 million – certainly seemed to be paying off for Cross International. In November 1975, the Managing Director, Ralph E. Cross Jr., reported a turnover of over £3 million and an enviable expansion programme, all at a time of recession for the machine tool industry.

Sending season’s greetings to friends, family and colleagues is another way of showing goodwill at Christmas. Christmas cards first appeared in the UK in 1834 and were devised by Sir Henry Cole [1808-1882] who, in his early career as a civil servant, was involved in the development of the Penny Post. Coincidentally, he commissioned his artist friend, J.C. Horsley, to design the first commercial Christmas card. This featured a traditional family enjoying seasonal fare flanked by portrayals of charitable works and retailed for 1 shilling.

Designs have varied over the years, but the sentiment remains constant. One example from the Archive collections was sent by a Huyton father to his young daughter in 1918. He had served in the Royal Flying Corps throughout the Great War: a previous card sent whilst he was on active service had been far more austere in its design, showing fighter planes in drab monochrome. That design was appropriately far more restrained than the whimsical depiction of three robins nestling in a bouquet of festive holly leaves that adorned the first card sent from father to daughter in the post war era.

Another of our collections, the Margaret Whitaker née Hodge collection, documents the experiences of the young Miss Hodge, a tutor at Kirkby’s Malayan Teachers’ Training College in the mid-1950s. She built a strong bond with her students, who kept in touch with her for many years after they had all left Kirkby. Amongst her correspondence we find some beautiful international examples of Christmas cards from across the decades. The first, a Chinese design depicting a beautiful pagoda resplendent with bright colours and glitter, dates from around 1954:

Our next example from the 1960s features poinsettias and holly tied up in red ribbon:

Our final card dates from 1996. Created by Miss Hodge’s former student, Hanna-Cheriyan Varghese for the Council of Churches of Malaysia and in contrast to the other cards featured, it illustrates a contemporary Nativity scene – a timely reminder of the reason Christmas is celebrated.

Whilst each generation adapts and develops new trends that reflect the times in which we live, re-enacting the traditions that have come down through the decades offers our communities touchstones that mark the passing years and strengthen those bonds that tie our families and communities together.

Under the Hammer: Estate Sales in Knowsley

Who was it said, ‘An Englishman’s home is his castle’? Whether purchased or rented, the biggest financial commitment made by most people throughout their lives is probably their home. Turn on the television and there are countless programmes telling us how and where to buy, how to avoid the pitfalls of buying and renting, how to give our homes a makeover and even how (or how not!) to build a house…

It is possible to pick up a property bargain at auction. This is not a new development, as shown by one of the collections in Knowsley’s Archive. The Estate Sales Catalogue Collection is made up of a number of auctioneers’ catalogues which offer us a different perspective on life in the early to mid-20^th century. During the 1920s and 1930s, some of the larger private estates in the area, such as the Tarbock Estate and the Halsnead Estate in Whiston were dispersed. These sales included the sale of land and property and the catalogues set out in detail the particulars and conditions of sale for each lot.

The Tarbock Estate sale took place at 1:00pm on Tuesday 1^st June 1926, at the Hare and Hounds Hotel, Tarbock with auctioneers John D. Wood & Co. and Boult, Son & Maples wielding the gavel. The estate covered about 2,272 acres, comprising of 20 corn and potato growing farms, 10 small houses which were ‘nicely situated in Good Gardens, suitable for week-end or permanent occupation of business men’, 40 good detached and semi-detached cottages, small holdings and market gardening land. Ripe building plots from three quarters of an acre were advertised, with water, gas and drainage available. In all, a total of 135 lots were on offer.      

The Halsnead Estate dated back to the 13^th century and was in the continued possession of the Willis family from 1684, when Liverpool merchant Thomas Willis purchased the Hall and estate, until its sale by Charles Rodolph D’Anyers Willis in 1929. The auctioneers, Osborn & Mercer of Albermarle Street, London, held the auction, coincidentally, at the Hare and Hounds, Tarbock at 2:00pm on Thursday 27^th June 1929.  At that time, the freehold estate extended to some 1,540 acres split into 78 lots. These included 12 compact dairy, corn and potato farms, various small holdings, 80 cottages, building and accommodation land and woodlands. The Hall itself was offered as ‘a fine old commodious residence, well adapted for use as a School or Institution or in conjunction with a Golf Course which can be formed in the undulating Park’. Such ambitions were not realised, however: the Hall was demolished in 1932.

Not all auctions involve the sale of land and property: some of the sales represented in the Archive were dispersal sales of an individual’s household effects. One such auction was taken by Brown and Brown of Liverpool at Dumbreeze House, Knowsley Park on the instructions of the executors of W.H. Crook Esq., deceased.

Walter Harris Crook was born in 1849, the son of Thomas, a tailor and draper, and Charlotte. The 1851 Census indicates that he was the youngest of 7 children living at Pleasant Street, Liverpool and in 1861, Joseph and his youngest children, including Walter, are listed at an address on Everton Valley. By 1871, a 21 year old Walter, who is employed as a clerk, is found living with his oldest brother George in Clarence Grove, Everton. The following year, on 17^th October 1872, Walter marries Mary Ann Barker in Doncaster, before setting up home at 5 Poplar Terrace, Tarbock Road, Huyton.

By 1881, Walter and Mary have a daughter, Ethel Mary and the family seem to be living comfortably off Walter’s business as a wine merchant based in Liverpool: they are served by a cook and a housemaid. By 1889, the business, wine merchants Daniel Wilson & Sons, has vaults at Gilbert Street, Liverpool and a counting house and warehouse in Campbell Street. The 1891 census reveals that the Crook family, supported by 2 maids and a cook, is living on Tarbock Road and in 1896, Ethel marries William Glasier. Walter and Mary’s home address is listed in the 1899 Gore’s Directory of Liverpool as ‘Brooklands, Tarbock Road’ and by 1914, they have moved their household to Dumbreeze House in Knowsley Park.

Walter Harris Crook passed away on 1^st November 1922 and probate records place a value of £38, 989 6s 22d on his effects and estate – around £1,875,259 at today’s prices! Probate was granted to Ethel, John Edward Willis Crook and Frederick Stanley Morris (Chartered Accountant) in London and the executors proceeded to order the sale of the valuable household appointments of Dumbreeze House by auction.

The sale took place at the property over a period of 2 days – Monday and Tuesday, 4^th and 5^th December 1922. Everything, from the beautifully grained pollard oak dining room suite, Axminster carpets, works of art and porcelain to a lawn mowing machine, stacks of hay and 2 jersey cows was open to bids. The catalogue itself is set out by room with a brief description of each item for sale within that space, taking the prospective purchaser on a virtual guided tour of the property. Day 1 started in the Maid’s Room No. 1 and proceeded through the servants’ quarters to the bedrooms, then on to the Drawing Room with its mahogany furniture and antique tall pedestal clock, made by A. Timer, Wellington. The 1^st day’s sale ended with a selection of water colour drawings and the mainly leather bound books in the library, including Shaw’s Zoology in 29 volumes, published in 1811.

Day 2 began in the Kitchen, where furniture, carpets and equipment were for sale: even the Axminster runner in the passage to the Dining Room was to be bid on. Next, bidding moved to the Butler’s Pantry and the Back Hall, where a bronze gong and beater could be purchased. On then to the Hall, where there were 5 stags’ heads and antlers amongst the furniture, grandfather clock and artists’ proof etchings and engravings. The furniture and fittings in the Library were dealt with on this 2^nd day, as were items of glass and china, silver and electroplate.

The Dining Room presented a quality oak extendable dinner table with 10 single chairs and a pair of carver chairs, and amongst other items, a bronze statue of a horse and a number of oil paintings, including 2 attributed to the Victorian equestrian artist, J. K. Herring. Other items for sale included a 12-bore double barrel hammerless sporting gun made by W. Richards of Liverpool and, in a nod to Walter Crook’s trade, a selection of fine wines and spirits.

The contents of the outbuildings were also up for auction, with various tools, gardening equipment and bicycles on offer – not forgetting the 2 Jersey cows and approximately 70 head of poultry and 800 eggs preserved in lime and stored in a wooden tub… In all, there were 633 lots up for auction.

For more information about Knowsley Archives Service or to find out about the archive, visit: http://archives.knowsley.gov.uk/ email infoheritage@knowsley.gov.uk or call 0151 443 4291

Underneath the Hazels: Unravelling the Past of C.F. Mott College

With the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Knowsley Archives have been busy cataloguing, conserving and preserving the archives of C.F. Mott College that are stored in the ARK. This remarkable and innovative college had a campus that straddled the Huyton and Prescot border and at its heart was the Hazels, a stately 18^th century building that had been owned by, amongst others, members of the Pilkington family and is still standing. The college was named after a distinguished former Director of Education for the City of Liverpool, Charles Francis Mott.

The Hazels

Founded in 1946 in response to the national shortage of teachers following the end of the Second World War, C.F. Mott College would eventually go on to become one of the largest and most successful teacher training colleges in the country with a reputation for academic innovation. By the 1970s, the college was also offering degree courses in the arts, humanities, social sciences and science, before finally merging with Liverpool Polytechnic (which later became Liverpool John Moores University) in 1983.

Three students in a halls of residence bedroom, 1952

At first, the college was women-only and relatively small. In 1951 Dr. D.M. Farr replaced Miss Whiting as Principal and she would lead a rapid expansion of the campus, with additional buildings, sports and leisure facilities, as well as accommodation for students and staff. As the campus developed, student numbers increased and the social life of the students evolved. Dr. Farr would later write proudly of the “acquisition of a good dance floor [that] changed the whole outlook of college life.” She was keen to ensure that students from the University of Liverpool were invited to take part in activities at the college (and vice versa) so that social events received a new impetus. This enthusiastic encouragement of the students’ social and leisure life was regarded by Dr. Farr as “a welcome prevention of the ‘cosiness’ which can overtake a small women’s college.”

The student choir rehearsing, circa 1966

In 1959 the college became a mixed college and male students were admitted for the first time. This was another period of rapid expansion for the college, with new postgraduate courses being added to the curriculum and a surge in staff and student numbers.

As innovative as Dr. Farr appears to have been, college life during the 1950s and 1960s can seem strangely archaic to our modern eyes. Among the college archives are House Committee minute books that reveal the very serious and lengthy debates the staff would have about aspects of the students’ lives. Over the course of several years, from the mid-1950s to the early 1960s, the use of gramophones was a hot topic at House Committee meetings: how loud should they be (not very)? Should students be allowed them in their own bedrooms (can’t they just make do with the wireless and gramophones in the common rooms?)?

Even sunbathing was raised at the House Committee meetings. The sight of female students catching a few rays was resulting in “visitors being embarrassed” in 1956 and students were instructed to sunbathe only where there was no risk of them being spotted! Who these visitors were and why they were looking in the first place is never mentioned!

A student teacher with pupils, circa 1976

Another common debate that pops up time and time again in the House Committee minutes concerns the clothing students were allowed to wear. It is worth bearing in mind that, for much of its history, the college was purely a teacher training college, so students will have been working on placements in schools. For the college staff it was important that trainee teachers were perceived as smartly dressed and positive role models for children. However, it may come as a surprise to learn that this extended to what clothing was acceptable for students to wear at any time. In summer 1956, staff were reminded that no one should be wearing jeans. However, “special permission would be given to cyclists if they asked for it.” This debate would rumble on for the next few years with change only coming in 1960, when it was decided that new or clean jeans could be “presentable,” although old ones looked “scruffy and untidy.” It was agreed that smart jeans would, for the first time, be officially allowed…sort of: this change would only apply to male students!

Students playing pool, circa early 1980s

For female students, clothing restrictions would be more stringently applied for several more years. While men were strolling around campus sporting their smart new jeans, the female students were fighting for the right to wear slacks in the TV room. This was eventually allowed in 1960, but there remained a great concern about how female students were presenting themselves to the outside world and “apart from hiking and college expeditions, women students must not wear slacks outside college.”

Of course, the times they were a-changin’ and the college would become more and more liberal in its approach to student life, with late 1960s, 70s and 80s photographs in the archive showing both male and female students in jeans, slacks and all manner of clothing that would probably have appalled the House Committee of a generation before.

The traditions of constant evolution, expansion and adaptation that Dr. Farr had begun would continue with her replacements, Mr. Clarke (1965-1974) and Mr. Cane (1974-1983). The college had a number of minor name changes during its history and, following the addition of degree courses validated by the University of Lancaster, it became the C.F. Mott campus of the City of Liverpool College of Higher Education (COLCHE) in 1978. Within a few years, the college merged with Liverpool Polytechnic and the campus closed, but its expertise in arts and humanities would make a significant contribution to the Polytechnic’s fine reputation in these areas, maintained by the current Liverpool John Moores University.

Get in touch! We’re keen to hear from former college students and staff who would be interested in having their memories recorded for future generations or would like to deposit any mementos of the college with the archive.

Students relaxing on campus, circa early 1980s

An exhibition about the college will be at Kirkby Library from 14^th November 2019 – 31^st January 2020. A private view event will take place at Kirkby Library on Wednesday 13th November 2019, 6-8pm, and will be a chance to see the exhibition first and hear a short talk about the archive collection. Please note, this is an RSVP-only event. Please reserve your place by emailing daniel.copley@knowsley.gov.uk or calling Knowsley Archives on 0151 443 4291.

The Dude Comes to Kirkby

“I can see us in for some lively times…”

– Jack Pulman’s diary, December 1915

Last December we wrote on here about Jack Pulman’s incredible First World War diary and photographs. Since then, thanks to a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, we have been able to continue with the conservation, preservation, cataloguing, transcription and digitisation of the collection. In addition, we wanted to introduce people to Jack, his diary and photographs and we’ve done this through talks, workshops and a soon-to-open exhibition.

Huyton U3A members with the diary

Huyton and Halewood’s U3A (University of the Third Age) groups have been marking the centenary anniversary of the First World War through a series of events and research undertaken by their members. Some of this had already involved coming to Knowsley Archives to hear about and see our collections, but this project has provided us with the opportunity to introduce a new aspect to their research and knowledge of local people’s wartime experiences. We delivered a specially-tailored talk for U3A members about the diary, which included an opportunity to see the diary up close. Another tailored talk was presented to residents of Priory Court retirement properties, generating a lot of animated discussion and excitement about Jack’s diary.

One of the most exciting aspects of this project has been working with Comics Youth

CIC, a youth-led organisation who support marginalised and disadvantaged children and young people to express themselves through creating and publishing comics and zines. Almost 20 children and young people have been learning about Jack’s life during wartime and inspired by portions of Jack’s diary and his photographs to create some spectacular and beautiful artworks.

One of the Comics Youth artwork sessions

Our exhibition, Diary of a Dude: Bringing Jack Pulman’s First World War Diary to Life, brings together extracts and photographs from the diary with the new artwork, demonstrating the work that has been undertaken as part of this project, as well as introducing Jack and his diary to new audiences. The original diary and many original photographs will be on display and there will be opportunities to find out about where Jack travelled during the War, the kinds of social activities he took part in (including the unique games of donkey football!), and the members of his musical group, the Deolali Dudes.

“1914, October 30^th Hong Kong. Volunteers wanted for Royal Navy to complete various ships company…Enquired terms of service and finding them satisfactory, volunteered.”

With this very matter of fact entry, Jack Pulman began writing his diary over 100 years ago. It’s a tone of grounded realism that continues throughout the 129 pages of the diary. There are no dramatic flourishes or flights of fancy. It’s rare that he stretches a description of a remarkable event – such as a battle, the death of a colleague or a new development in the War – over more than a few sentences. And so I wonder what this seemingly reserved man, who would go on to drive Liverpool trams for 40 years and raise a small family, would make of our celebration of his diary, photographs and life? How would he react to finding himself the subject of talks; being drawn and painted as a comic book figure; and being the subject of an exhibition 130 years after he was born? It’s been a privilege to see the excitement and interest generated by sharing Jack’s diary and the world he saw and captured through his photography. These may not be the “lively times” Jack was foreseeing in 1915, but it seems a good description of the project he has inspired.

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The ‘Diary of the Dude’ exhibition is in Kirkby Library from 23rd April – 4th June 2019. Please check Library opening times before visiting.

Family History Help Desks 2019

As previous blogs have described, Knowsley Archives provide a series of Family History Help Desks in libraries across the borough every month. If you are new to family history research, or are trying to find your way through the maze of information and resources, expert advice and guidance is available to help you on your way.

If you would like support with your family history research, staff at the ARK – Knowsley Archives’ base in Kirkby Library – are available to help during our opening hours (see sidebar on the right), but the Family History Help Desks are an opportunity to get support at a time and location that may be more convenient for you.

There is no charge for sessions and they are run on a drop-in basis. We will do our best to answer your questions on the day, but more complicated queries may need to be followed up after your visit or require an additional appointment.

Sessions for 2019 are as follows:

PRESCOT LIBRARY Tuesday 10am-1pm	STOCKBRIDGE LIBRARY Tuesday 2pm-5pm	KIRKBY LIBRARY Thursday 10am-1pm	HALEWOOD LIBRARY Friday 2pm-5pm	HUYTON LIBRARY Saturday 10am-1pm
22nd January	22nd January	24th January	25th January	26th January
19th February	19th February	21st February	22nd February	23rd February
19th March	19th March	21st March	22nd March	23rd March
23rd April	23rd April	25th April	26th April	27th April
28th May	28th May	30th May	31st May	1st June
25th June	25th June	27th June	28th June	29th June
23rd July	23rd July	25th July	26th July	27th July
20th August	20th August	22nd August	23rd August	24th August
17th September	17th September	19th September	20th September	21st September
15th October	15th October	17th October	18th October	19th October
12th November	12th November	14th November	15th November	16th November
10th December	10th December	12th December	13th December	14th December

 

Discovering the Dude

Fans of the classic Coen Brothers film, The Big Lebowski, will remember Jeff Bridges’ brilliant performance as the Dude. However, let me introduce you to a much earlier – and very different! – Dude. Our Dude is called John (or Jack) Pulman and served in the British Navy during the First World War.

Jack Pulman, 1917

Thanks to funding from the Heritage Lottery, we are currently undertaking a project, called Diary of a Dude, revolving around Jack’s incredible First World War diary and the many photographs he took during the War. Having been a merchant seaman, Liverpool-born Jack signed up for the Navy in October 1914 whilst working in the Hong Kong area, which is when his journal entries begin. His first two entries read:

“October 30^th,1914. Hong Kong. Volunteers wanted for Royal Navy to complete various ships company. Enquired terms of service and finding them satisfactory, volunteered. October  31^st, accepted and signed on for the period of the war.”

All very interesting, you may be thinking, but why the ‘Diary of a Dude’ title? As we first looked through the diary, we were delighted to find that – as well as a seriously talented photographer – Jack was a musician and he formed a band with a few fellow sailors, calling themselves the Deolali Dudes and performing at various entertainment concerts the men would put on for each other. The Deolali part of their name comes from one of the army camps that Jack and some his fellow sailors went to for rest and recuperation. The Deolali transit camp was in the Nashik district of Maharashtra, India and had been a British camp since 1849. It continued to be used by the British during the First and Second World Wars and became a camp notorious for both being unpleasant and for the psychological problems of the many service personnel that passed through it. This latter part of its reputation gave birth to the phrase ‘gone doolally’ (a derivation of Deolali). Whatever Jack made of the camp, he and his friends performed under the band name at various social events there and elsewhere. Included in the diary are copies of hand-drawn (possibly by Jack) programmes for concerts, where we can find out exactly what tunes the Dudes played and what other entertainment the evening offered.

The Deolali Dudes, c. 1916, with Jack back row, far right

As you can imagine, whenever we have something like Jack’s diary donated to the archive, we’re desperate to look inside and find out more about the people associated with the document. However, the first priority has to be making sure we can preserve the document as well as possible and make it available to the public for research and study. In the case of Jack’s diary, it was clear that a lot of work was needed before making it available for research.

An example of a badly damaged photograph from the diary

The journal was in a poor state, with extensive water damage (appropriately for a naval diary!) and the spine of the volume was very weak, meaning that the diary could not be opened fully without causing further damage. Included with the diary are almost 150 photographs and images. The majority of these have been glued directly onto pages of the diary and many of these were also in poor condition. Over time, most adhesives cause damage to paper and, combined with water damage, this had added to the condition problems we now faced. Where photographs had been glued to opposite pages, many of them had stuck to each other and then someone had tried to prise them apart, leaving images with portions missing or torn.

We knew that we needed to bring in a professional conservator to make sure that the diary and its remarkable contents could be repaired as best as possible. Thanks to the Heritage Lottery funding we were able to do this and it was a joy to have the diary return looking fantastic and to be able to open it (thanks to a new spine!) and discover more about Jack and his experiences during the War.

Jack also seems to have played a role in inventing a new sport to keep people entertained during shore leave: donkey football! The diary comes with a set of rules for the sport that include: “donkeys must not charge the goalkeeper” and “should one donkey mount another, a foul is given against the mounting donkey”! Who knows what the donkeys made of this, although the rules do state that “no sticks [are] to be used against donkeys, or cruelty of any kind.”

A game of donkey football underway! c. 1917

As we’re into the Christmas season, it’s worth highlighting Christmas 1915 on board Jack’s ship, as what Jack calls a “catastrophe” had happened: they’d run out of spuds. “Pity our Christmas dinner,” Jack writes. The dinner ended up being:

“a proper scrape up…a little bit of tough mutton and a few half cooked marrowfat peas…while the sweets consisted of a bit of workhouse duff that we had managed to knock up. The wines (don’t skit): one whole bottle of bulldog beer per man.” 

Of course, the majority of the diary is concerned with Jack’s time on board ship and is filled with descriptions of skirmishes and battles, as well as their daily routine of stopping and searching local shipping traffic in the Red Sea and off the east coast of Africa. His photographs include images of enemy ships, prisoners and local boats being searched, as well as weaponry and serious-looking officers. Jack also demonstrates that his artistic skills extended to watercolours and he includes a couple of paintings in the diary. One of these is a map showing the North Africa and the Suez Canal area, with ports Jack visited, and another shows how a skirmish with enemy forces played out, with the positions of the combatants marked on a painting of the coastline.

A watercolour map of the North African coast and the Suez Canal, painted by Jack Pulman, c. 1915

As the diary continues through the War, Jack’s descriptions of daily activity become more and more brief, perhaps reflecting how normal and mundane these extraordinary circumstances were becoming to him. The emphasis in his entries shifts from describing naval activity to taking more pleasure in describing places they pass through or the free time that he and his colleagues clearly relished. His photographs also begin to reflect this, with some beautiful landscape and architecture photography, images of local people he encounters on his travels, and an increasing number of images showing colleagues relaxing and enjoying themselves. Jack even shares his camera with colleagues, resulting in his friend Kerrison providing an early example of the selfie: photographing himself looking in a mirror!

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Of course, as much as we find Jack’s descriptions of the War fascinating, he will have spent much of his time wanting to get home to his wife and young child. This sense of frustration is made plain by an entry that reflects on the three years he has been with the Navy:

“October 31^st 1914 to November 14^th 1917: 3 years of wasted time.”

If you would like to read more extracts from the Diary and follow Jack’s journeys, we have a dedicated Twitter page where we are posting extracts and images on a regular basis: Diary of the Dude

Find Out More About Knowsley’s Incredible History!

Photo credit: John Wakefield

It’s that special time of year again! No, not quite Christmas, but it is coming up to the Explore Your Archives Launch Week (18-26 November 2017).

Explore Your Archives is a campaign coordinated jointly by the National Archives and the Archives and Records Association to promote awareness of the fantastic treasures and remarkable histories housed within archives across the UK. Many archives take the opportunity to promote different aspects of their collections and encourage people to come and find out more about their local repositories – and we’re no exception!

This year, visitors can find out more about Knowsley Archives and some of the amazing things we look after by coming along to a few different activities at our base, the ARK, in Kirkby and across the Knowsley borough. See below for a list of what’s on offer, with times and locations.

• Our popular Family History Help Desks will be visiting each of Knowsley’s Libraries. No appointment is necessary, you can just call in during the times and venues below and get some expert advice on exploring your family tree. Whether you’re just starting out, have reached a particularly tricky point in your research, or want to talk over your findings, our expert, Rob, will be able to help you out!

Tuesday 21st November: 

10am-1pm – PRESCOT LIBRARY                2pm-5pm – STOCKBRIDGE LIBRARY

Thursday 23rd November:

10am-1pm – KIRKBY LIBRARY                2pm-5pm – HALEWOOD LIBRARY

Friday 24th November:

2pm-5pm – HALEWOOD LIBRARY

Saturday 25th November:

10am-1pm – HUYTON LIBRARY

• If you’d like to find out more about the ARK and the wonderful archive collections we hold there, why not come along to a guided introduction, where you will have the chance to explore some of our most interesting items!

Tuesday 21st November:

10am-1pm or 2pm-4pm at the ARK, KIRKBY LIBRARY in the Kirkby Centre

• If sitting down and watching films is more your thing, we’ll be showing a selection of Knowsley-themed films from our collections, including some of the films made as part of our Heritage Lottery funded community projects that explore our borough’s rich and varied history with local communities. We’ll also be sharing some rarely-seen archive footage from across the borough.

Friday 24th November:

10am-1pm or 2pm-4pm at the ARK, KIRKBY LIBRARY in the Kirkby Centre

We hope you’ll be able to join us at some point during the week, but if you can’t make it and want to come and visit the ARK another time, just get in touch! If you’re not local to the ARK and are wondering what is going on for Explore Your Archives closer to home, take a look at the Explore Your Archive website.

Test your Knowsley Sports Knowledge!

As part of the Knowsley Sports and Culture Awards, which were held on Friday October 13th, 2017, Knowsley Archives put together a sports quiz based on items from our archive collections. Thanks in particular should go to our super volunteer, Michael, who has been scouring our newspaper cuttings to find interesting sports-themed stories.

Huyton Cricket Club, 1955

We’ll be exploring some of those stories, and looking for people’s memories, memorabilia and experiences, as part of our Heritage Lottery funded sports project. Look our for more information about that project in the local press and on our social media pages – and we’ll be adding another blog here all about the sports project very soon.

In the meantime, follow the link below to have a go at our quiz!

Take Our Sports Quiz!

 

The Malayan Connection

“The most important thing about your stay in England must be the development of yourself as a more mature and far-seeing person. When you go home, as a graduate, you will be expected to work miracles – and only you may be aware how little you really do know – but you will have the means and the initiative to study further on your own and to adapt yourself.”

There’s a word I’ve removed from that statement above. Without it, many readers could assume the author was talking about graduates of a prestigious University, an Oxbridge one perhaps, or maybe an elite private school that churns out leaders of the future.

Margaret Hodge (right) with some of her students, 1953

The quote is taken from a notebook that belonged to Miss Margaret Hodge, an art tutor at the educational institution in question during the 1950s. The students she was preparing this address for had travelled to study in England from Malaya (which would later, in 1963, become Malaysia). During a ten year period, from 1952 to 1962, something like 1900 Malayans arrived to study a broad range of subjects. The students represented the multi-ethnic diversity of their country and many, like the products of England’s famous private schools, would indeed go on to be leaders of the future; as politicians, royalty, lawyers, and numerous esteemed professions that would mark them as pillars of their communities.

It’s the location of this remarkable, ground-breaking establishment that is missing from the extract above. The place that became a temporary home to some of Malaya’s brightest and best was the Malayan Teacher Training College in Kirkby, near Liverpool. It may still not be an internationally famous town, but to alumni of the college, Kirkby was the centre of a life-changing experience that would resonate across the world and ensure that the town would remain a symbol of innovation, transformation and hope. At the time the Malayan College was first opened, Kirkby was a small town, much of it still rural; a relatively small Lancashire community that few outside of the region would have been aware of. After the Blitz of the Second World War devastated so much of Liverpool, Kirkby would become one of the ‘overspill’ areas for the city as it embarked on a programme of slum housing clearance and establishing new out-of-city housing estates. The lifetime of the Malayan College coincides with the beginning of Kirkby’s rapid expansion into an urban town when the Lancashire accent would be edged out to be replaced by the very different scouse twang. You can hear some of the memories we hold in the ARK about this period on our Soundcloud page, including memories of rural Kirkby and interviews conducted as part of our Heritage Lottery funded work with Kirkby residents about the 1940s-60s in the town.

Students and staff at the Emergency Teacher Training College, 1948

Prior to the college taking over the site, the buildings which would accommodate the college had been used as the location for an Emergency Teacher Training College (a location which included the repurposing of a former hostel for the Royal Ordnance Factory during the Second World War). Like others set up around the country after the close of the War, Kirkby’s Emergency College, which opened in 1948, was a response to a national shortage of teachers and a much-needed way of providing men returning from the War with a qualification and career. By 1951, the college was closing down and the Malayan Government were invited to take over the site for their own Teacher Training College.

The impact of Kirkby’s Malayan College is truly remarkable. For students, it offered a high quality education, an international perspective and a sense of cultural awareness, with the reality of studying, living and socialising with Malayans of many different backgrounds seen as an ”opportunity to view and study the Malayan political and social scene with at least some degree of detachment.” (Panduan, the college magazine, July 1953). For the Kirkby residents and the schoolchildren and teachers who came into contact with the students, the college provided a rare chance to meet people from abroad and share in their culture; an experience that the students recognised as mutually beneficial. Perhaps the most significant thing about the college is its importance in international history. Regarded as a flagship example of Malaya’s ambitions for a harmonious society, it was fitting that, on 7th February 1956, Malaya’s Chief Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, chose the college, rather than a government building in London or Kuala Lumpur, as the venue to make the momentous announcement that the British colony was being granted independence.

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Former students of the Malayan College return to Kirkby, August 2017

Thanks to our Heritage Lottery funding, we have been able to explore the history of this fascinating, and often overlooked, part of Knowsley’s history. Staff and volunteers are busily gathering memories and memorabilia from local people who remember the college; many of whom have wonderful memories of being taught by the students from the college as part of their teaching placements. In addition, we have been extremely fortunate to develop strong links with the alumni association of the college – who refer to themselves as ‘Kirkbyites’ – and they have been very generous with their time and with donations of a wealth of superb documents, photographs, magazines and films relating to the history of the Malayan College. A highpoint of the project was a visit to Kirkby by almost 40 of the Kirkbyites and their families, travelling from all over the world, to help us commemorate the college with the unveiling of a plaque to mark the original location (now an area known as Granbourne Chase). The alumni, who were all septuagenarians and octogenarians, were fantastically energetic and their enthusiasm and affection for the college and Kirkby was infectious for everyone who was lucky enough to meet them. Whilst in Kirkby, they were also able to be the first to see our new exhibition, in Kirkby Library where the ARK is based, about the Malayan College. We were relieved that they gave it their seal of approval! The exhibition was at Kirkby Library until 31st October 2017. In this blog, I’ll give a very brief overview of our collections relating to the Malayan College and an idea of our exhibition for those of you unable to visit. You can also see the exclusive film we made to mark this project and the visit of the Kirkbyites at the bottom of this post.

The Malayan Connection exhibition in Kirkby Library

One of the largest collections relating to the Malayan College is the personal archive of Margaret Hodge. This includes lots of photographs and college-related documents, along with her own lovely artwork. Here you can find portraits of college students and her beautiful illustrations for a Malayan government commissioned children’s book, Tijah, Mat Dan Nor. Also amongst her papers are her notebooks that include draft lesson plans and points for discussion with students. Miss Hodge’s archive, alongside the many donations and memories we are gathering from local people and college alumni, help us to gain a much clearer understanding of life at the college and the huge impact that Kirkby and the college had. Some of Margaret Hodge’s photographs can be see in the galleries in this blog and you can see more on our Flickr site.

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The first group of 149 Malayan students arrived at the college on 2 January 1952. For many students, this wasn’t just a place to gain a teaching qualification; it was also an opportunity to bring the many Malayan cultures, races, languages and religions together, looking towards the vision of a multi-ethnic, diverse and tolerant Malaya that they hoped for. Panduan embraced this optimism as a “challenge to work for a united, progressive and harmonious Malaya, having its roots in and drawing its sustenance from the [country’s] several diversities.”

The Malayan students had a busy social life. We know from the memories of former students and articles in Panduan that many of them would regularly visit local towns and cities and very much enjoyed eating fish and chips and to Kirkby’s pubs! Within the college, students were able to become part of a wide variety of clubs and societies, organising a packed calendar of dances, film nights, sporting and charity fund-raising activities. Drama and musical productions were also a fixture of college life, as well as celebrations of religious festivals that brought all of the students together to recognise and enjoy the many different faiths represented within the college.

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During the two year course, the students were expected to study a broad range of subjects, including English, Education and Mathematics. Alongside their studies, students also had to gain teaching experience and would be placed with schools across the region to develop their classroom skills. We are delighted that we have been contacted by people with childhood memories of meeting the young, Malayan teachers and being introduced to new cultures and even foods (one gentleman remembered seeing a pineapple for the first time!).

This project has helped us to learn so much more about the history of the college, the lives of the Malaysians who studied there and their impact on local communities. The exhibition is an opportunity for us to share this extraordinary history and remind people of Kirkby’s international significance and why it is held in such high affection by alumni of an exceptional and distinct college.