Brettles' Great War Memorials

Richard Pinkett recently researched the stories of the local men who are commemorated on the war memorial plaques on display here at the Mill. These stories were shared in a recent Facebook post. He has now researched the names and stories of the London plaque.

Here is the first information on the men on the WW1 Brettles Memorial. More will follow plus probable updates on these men. Second Lieutenant REGINALD BROWSE 9th Battalion Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) Killed in Action at Kemmel Hill on Thursday 25th April 1918. He was killed whilst serving in 9th Battalion Cameronians with the South African Brigade, attached to 9th (Scottish) Division during a phase of Operation Michael, the German 1918 Spring Offensive. During the Second Battle of Mount Kemmel At 02:30 hours on 25 April 1918 over 250 batteries of German guns opened up on Allied artillery positions with a mixture of gas and high explosive shells. For the next two hours they concentrated solely on destroying gun emplacements. After a short pause, at 05:00 hours the German barrage was switched from the British to the French front line. French soldiers who had survived the horrors of Verdun described it as the worst they had ever encountered. After such a furious bombardment it was considered sufficient by the Germans and at 06:00 hours they launched their infantry to the attack. By 07:10 hours Kemmel Hill was theirs and by 10:30 hours it was all over. Reginald first served as a private in 1/⁠4th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders with the number 2060 and disembarked in France on Saturday 7th November 1914. He was commissioned Wednesday 28th February 1917. 2nd Lt. R. Browse was made acting. Captain while comanding. a Company of the 9th Battalion on Sunday 7th April 1918. Reginald was Mentioned in Despatches London (Gazette Publication) -⁠ (Since killed in action.) on Tuesday 21st May 1918. Reginalds effects were sent to his mother's address given as 2 Crown Crescent, Scarborough. He has no known grave but is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial. -⁠ Corporal 200905 E J Benton 1/⁠4 Battalion Essex Regiment died 25th November 1917 aged 32 Son of Mr and Mrs. E. Benton; husband of Mrs W. Chopping (formerly Benton), of 74, Talbot Rd., East Ham, London. He is buried in the Ramleh War Cemetery Israel. Field Ambulances, and later Casualty Clearing Stations, were posted at Ramleh from 1917 onwards. The cemetery was begun by the medical units, but some graves were brought in later from the battlefields. 1/⁠4th Battalion Essex Regiment disembarked in Egypt 3rd Dec 1915, and spent until March ish 1917 on the East & West banks of the Suez canal. They were mainly defending, road, pipe & rail laying, with the odd 'Desert column' being sent out to track down 'Senussi tribsemen' on the west Bank, or Turkish outposts on the East bank. As well as heavy battle casualties, the 1/⁠4th Battalion suffered considerably influenza from during November–December 1917. -⁠-⁠ Rifleman 392691 Victor Edward Bouldstridge 1st/⁠9th Battalion London Regiment (Queen Victoria's Rifles) killed 14th April 1917 aged 25. Victor would have served at Laventie and the Fauquissart sector, where a number of the Battalions men were lost while holding three advanced posts in the German line. On March 1st 1917 they were relieved by the 6th Battalion West Yorks. On the 9th April 1917 the Battle of Arras' began. Five days later on the 14th April The First Battle of The Scarpe, part of the Arras offensive started at 0530. The attack faltered at 0600 without the objective being reached due to heavy German artillery, rifle and enfilade machine gun fire. Victor was killed within this 30 minute time frame, his body was never found indicating that it may well have been due to high explosive artillery fire. Son of Benjamin Bouldstridge and Florence Bouldstridge (nee Butcher) of 4, Strode Rd., South Tottenham, London; husband of Dora Maria Cliff, (formerly Bouldstridge), of 43, Devonshire St., Islington, London. Born in Islington, London in 1892. Before enlisting on 22nd July 1916 Victor was a Warehouseman at Brettles on Wood Street London. He is commemorated at the Arras Memorial. -⁠-⁠ Corporal 1709 William Stanley Norman 13th Kensington Battalion London Regiment killed Sunday 9th May 1915 aged 20. William's section had cleared the German first line. Advancing on the second line they came under heavy enfilading fire and Norman and three of his men were shot dead before they could take cover. William has no known grave and is comemmorated on the Ploegsteert Memorial which commemorates more than 11,000 servicemen of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in this sector . William Stanley Norman was born in Hackney, London, United Kingdom on the 10th March 1895 to Alice Amy and William John Norman. Brother: John Norman was born 1885 Brother: Frederick C Norman was born 1889 Brother: Henry Norman was born August 1900. Many thanks to Richard for starting this research. -⁠-⁠

Time for Work

I am a member of the White Peak Writers group and recently some of us went on a visit to the museum. It was a very interesting visit and I was motivated to write the following. I tried to imagine what it would be like for someone born and bred in the country, who had worked on a farm, to suddenly move into Belper and start work at the Mill. What about that situation would they find strange and maybe disorientating. I hope you enjoy it. Errol Butcher. Time For Work. Before I came to work at the Mill in Belper I used to live with my extended family near the village of Windley. When I was fifteen I moved to Belper with my parents and three sisters as we did not have much money. We’d heard that Mr Strutt looked after his workers and treated them well. I started work at the Mill in June but it took me a while to get used to it. I was used to being in the country with only a few people about but in Belper there were so many people crowded together. The Mill was strange at first too, there was dust everywhere, it got in the eyes, blocked the nose, coated the back of my mouth and made my hair feel dirty. We couldn’t take time to drink much, though, ‘cos that would have stopped us working. Another bad thing at the start was we had to walk around barefoot and the floor was covered with oil and dust that got ground into the feet. Also, it smelt horrible, though you got used to it quite quick. There were also loads of rats about. The hardest thing I found to get used to was how to keep time. The shift started at 6am and if I wasn’t on time the gates would clang shut and I would have my wages docked. We then worked ‘til lunch and the afternoon session went on ‘til 7pm. I was used to long days on the farm so hard work wasn’t a problem but keeping time was. When I worked on the farm time was fluid. If the weather was bad I would wait and start work later. When I finished a particular task I could stop, have a drink or some food. I judged time by the Sun and the seasons. Time was imprecise; all that mattered was getting your jobs done. Not at the Mill, Being on time and working to time was very important. When I first started I was often late, particularly if it was raining as I would hang around waiting for it to stop before going to work. I often had my wages docked early on. It also took a while to get used to having lunch at the same time every day and finishing every day at 7pm. Also, I used to be able to mess around with my sisters on the farm but things were much more serious at the Mill. I often had to pay small fines, or forfeits, for doing things like, ’looking out of the window,’ or ‘riding on someone’s back,’ or ’neglecting my work to talk to someone’. I don’t think I was a very good worker to start with but as I got used to things, especially the new version of time, I became a better worker, seldom late, used to set times and being less frivolous.

Our Marvellous Mill Maintenance Team

Colin Williamson and Ian Longden are members of the fantastic maintenance team, who do so much valuable work at the Mill. They met up with Sid Ellicott three years ago at a Volunteers' meeting and discovered a shared love of the practical and a wealth of relevant experience between them. Sadly Sid is no longer able to work as part of the team due to ill health, but his hard work is still very much in evidence and appreciated. Colin comes from a textile industry background. He worked for the Sir Richard Arkwright Company, Spinning Division, English Sewing from 1966 until 1980. He was Works Manager at the West Mill where they produced industrial thread. He also volunteers as a guide. Ian volunteers on reception, but with his working background he realised he had something practical to offer too. He has worked in aircraft and vehicle engineering as well as running his own model engineering business for twenty years. He then went into teaching, running BTEC building and construction courses for nineteen years. Sid comes from a knitting technician background, so between the three of them they cover a wide range of skills and experience invaluable to the Mill museum. Not only did their skills and backgrounds add up to a greater sum of the parts, but their sense of humour also gelled, creating a fantastic team. There's a real sense of pride and achievement in the work they do for the Mill, not least because they are able to do the work that falls within their remit at a low cost, offering their considerable skills, experience and labour for free. Volunteers at the Mill really are worth their weight in gold!

A new recruit

Over the next few months we are hoping to share some of the stories of the wonderful people who volunteer here and keep the museum going. We are always looking for new recruits and if you are interested contact us at the Mill by phone or email, 01773 880474 or manager@belpernorthmill.org.uk. Patricia is one of the most recent volunteers to join the team and she has written this piece to set off this new topic for the blog. My name is Patricia Mayborne and I am a new volunteer at the museum at Belper North Mill. For the last 8 years I was running a property business while living in Portugal and prior to that I worked in Support for Learning at a secondary school on Orkney, in Scotland. I am also a qualified homoeopath. On my recent return to England I have become a lady of relative leisure with the time and good fortune to be able to indulge my interests, and l am enjoying exploring the many opportunities that are opening up to me. I moved to Belper in the summer of 2015, knowing very little about the area. I always like to find out about the history of the place I'm living in, and in the Derwent Valley the history leaps out at you at every turn. I started just by talking to people about the distinctive streets and buildings of the town and reading anything that came my way, then in October I heard about the Discovery Days and spent a wonderful Sunday participating in guided tours around the town and visiting as many sites as I could fit in. After that I was hooked and wanted to get involved in some way -⁠ so I did a quick internet search and was delighted to find that volunteers were needed at the museum at Belper North Mill. My email enquiry was responded to warmly and immediately, and a few days later I was down at the museum meeting Tom over a cup of tea as he explained how everything works, and we discussed what part I could play. My initial interest is in working on reception, building up to giving guided tours round the museum as I learn more about it, so it was agreed that I would come down for a number of sessions to shadow the regular volunteers as I learn the ropes. I am now included in the volunteers' monthly meetings and have several training and information sessions coming up. Everyone I have met has been remarkably friendly and welcoming, and I am learning so much about this fascinating part of the world and its historical and cultural significance. For me it is particularly the impact of working practices on people's daily lives and thinking that I find most interesting, and I hope I can contribute to ensuring that future generations value the role that industry here in the Derwent Valley has played in shaping the world.

The Bear's Tale

Thanks to Christine Smith for this piece on how the Mill worker bears became a very exclusive souvenir in our gift shop.

What makes a good souvenir? That was the problem faced by volunteers trying to raise money for Belper's North Mill. A group visit to Statford-on-Avon gave the answer: everybody loves a bear! However, our souvenir bears had to be something special. Our museum, Strutt’s North Mill Museum, is housed in the first fireproof cotton mill in the world. It is part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site in Belper, UK. It tells the story of the Strutt family and how their enterprise and vision changed the town and the lives of their mill workers. It was this proud tradition that we wanted to celebrate and promote. The first task was to find suitable bears to use, so the project leader, Christine Smith, set about careful research. The bears would have to look traditional, be a sensible size and price and most importantly, look attractive. Then we had to decide on the costumes. Each male bear would have an open-necked shirt, scarf or neckerchief, waistcoat and butcherboy cap. Each female would have a skirt, apron, shawl and cap. Most importantly, they would have names and personalities. Christine researched the local census records from the 1840s to 1860s and found the names and ages of real people who had lived in Belper and worked in the Mill. These were the people who were to be remembered.

Our main costume specialist was Jean Bellaby, who had made theatrical outfits for many productions in the town over the years. Other needlewomen pressed into service were Dorothy Griffin, who produced costumes by the score on her sewing machine, Liz Bolton and Ann Martin who made dozens of shawls and scarves, Pam Lloyd who worked on aprons, and many other volunteers who searched out materials. Christine assembled the items and created labels, as well as sewing many shirts, skirts and aprons. We made a point of using recycled fabric such as old shirts and cut off pieces from other craft projects. Cotton was of course our material of choice. We looked for small checks and floral patterns, thick cotton Oxford for shirts, and even silk from old ties to form neckerchiefs. Many local people gave generously from their patch bags to help us get started. We took personalisation seriously: bears representing older widows might have a black button to secure their shawl, following the Victorian tradition of mourning jewellery. Bears which represented teenage girls might have a jaunty bow in their cap. Small children were commemorated with shorter skirts or outsize caps. As the project developed a new link to past skills was included. To recognise the craft of chevening, or embroidery on stockings, which had been a cottage industry in the town, many of the female bears had an embroidered motif in one corner of the apron, usually with a floral or leaf theme. This allowed many of us to revive our old skills and use some artistic freedom. At last the bears were ready to go, to be launched at a winter craft fair. They sold well, with some being sent off to friends and family as Christmas gifts. We know some bears have ‘emigrated’ as far as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada. The bears are on sale in the gift shop all year round, and will also be available at local craft fairs this Christmas.

The geese are getting fat

Christmas is coming... the geese may not be getting fat, but the shops are full of gifts, the adverts are on the TV and thoughts turn to those special gifts. The gift shop at the Mill has some exclusive presents - from tea towels and mugs to the specially dressed millworker bears.

There's a great range of local books too, including this one, now out of print - just a few copies left!

And there are some lovely traditional toys - perfect stocking fillers.

The mill is open at weekends between now and Christmas. Just call in. And look out for our pop up shop at Christmas events and fairs in Belper. We'll be at the Christmas light switch on on the 27th November and both the Strutts and Christ Church fairs on the 28th. We will also be at the Food Festival on December 6th.

Wakes Weeks

Back in the day there were traditional holiday times. As the pumpkins are sold off cheap, Christmas decorations begin to fill the shops and Father Christmas scales Masson Mill it's interesting to think about holidays. Wakes Weeks were - and sometimes still are - a significant time in the calendar year. Originally connected to religious feast days they became associated with fairs and carnivals, a time to let your hair down and take a break from routine. In mill towns Wakes Weeks were also a time when the mills could be shut down for maintenance, the workforce laid off on an enforced holiday. The mill towns of Lancashire headed for Blackpool, filling the guest houses week after week as different towns took their breaks. Even school holidays were altered to fit in with the mills' working pattern. I know Belper has had a Wakes Day in recent years, and well dressings and sports days were all part of the festivities. I don't know of any Wakes Weeks in November, though of course we have just celebrated Halloween and the fair has been to Belper. In spite of the lack of a Wakes Week, I am about to go on holiday, so there will be no post from the North Mill next week. When I come back I am hoping to share some of the stories and experiences of our great team of volunteers. See you soon!