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Yorkshire Diary: Leeds maps and mysteries
One man's search for his family history led to the discovery of an old Leeds map, which led to the airing of a family secret, the story of which is now a novel.
Leeds-born Trevor Raistrick, 65, who began researching his family tree while living in Stoke-on-Trent, unearthed a proverbial skeleton in the family closet.
He said: "My brother and I were born in Pudsey and lived our early years there with my father and mother, Harry and Elsie Raistrick (nee Denton). Marriage and my job forced me to move away. When my mother and father died in 2001, I was left with a box of old photographs and like many before me I started searching for my roots.
"Help was at hand from two redoubtable single ladies, my mother's cousins Mary Ward, who had moved many years before to Morecambe, and Mary Chapman, who still lived in Pudsey.
"Mary gave me the family tree of my great grandfather Joseph Ward, who ran a fishmongers in Pudsey. When Mary died in 2008 she left no family and I agreed to accept from her executors some photographs.
Surprise
"To my surprise with these came the Ward family Bible and a giant map on wooden rollers which she had kept for over 50 years..
"It was an 1845 map of Pudsey, paper on linen, in good condition. It showed every hamlet that made up Pudsey. I donated it to West Yorkshire Archive Service.
"Before she died, Mary asked if I could trace the life of her maternal grandfather, Walter Muff of Bradford, who vanished in Morecambe Bay in 1898 in strange circumstances.
"The episode was cloaked in mystery. There was no death certificate or trace of his name thereafter, yet one or two clues hinted to his whereabouts. I concluded he did not die accidentally nor was it a suicide but an attempt to leave his family and past behind.
"When I looked at my notes I realised I had the bones of a novel. I had always wanted to write a book and here was the perfect opportunity.
"Two years later, after a great deal of toil, it was published."
The Crooked Sea, published by Bank House Books at 8.99, tells the story of Walter Clough, a young travelling salesman, who sets out across the perilous Morecambe Bay sands in the summer of 1899.
Mr Raistrick added: "Isn't it amazing where tracing my Pudsey ancestors led?
Copies of the Pudsey map priced 2 are available from frfred@tiscali.co.uk; or www.thecrookedsea.com.
The last tram to Rothwell
Your Letters...
Regarding Fred Bosworth's letter (Yorkshire Diary, (September 19), the answer to his question 'When did the trams in Rothwell cease operation?' is Tuesday May 31, 1932, on which date the Leeds to Rothwell and Leeds to Wakefield tram services both ceased, to be replaced by motor buses from June 1.
See pages 164-165 of The Tramways of Dewsbury and Wakefield by W Pickles, published by the Light Rail Transit Association, 1980.
Philip Good, Leeds, email: philipgood@globalnet.co.uk
Dave Johnson, Leeds, submitted the same answer, but added: 'The old West Riding tram depot still stands at the junction of Wood Lane and Wakefield Road and I believe still has the tracks inside.'
Mel Reuben, Area Organiser of the Leeds branch of The Light Rapid Transit Association, also agreed on the May 31 date, adding: 'The Rothwell route was a branch of the Leeds Wakefield line It was owned by the West Riding Tramway Co, but was operated by Leeds cars as a part of the complicated receipts and balancing mileage agreement, whereby West Riding Trams could have access to Leeds for a through service from Corn Exchange to Wakefield (Sandal Magna). The tram service was cut back to Hunslet Thwaite Gate just within the old Leeds city boundary and abandoned on April 18, 1959.'
I was intrigued by the picture of the German fighter plane sitting in a field near Doncaster (Yorkshire Diary, September 12). It is a Messerchmitt BF 109, the standard German fighter at the time of the Battle of Britain. It had a limited range which restricted it to use over the south of England only. So what it was doing so far north is a mystery. Did the pilot get lost and run out of fuel, or did he decide that he preferred life as a prisoner of the British rather than been shot at?
David Hanson, Copgrove Road, Leeds, email: dhanson9@supanet.com
The picture published in last week's Yorkshire Diary of the Victoria Inn was in Hunslet at 3 Victoria Street, which I believe is still there today (the street, not the pub). The landlord's name was Albert Edwin Charlesworth.
Michael White, Leeds
Guess the year
Giant trees shook as old maps were torn up in the UK, while in the USA, torn does not cover it. What year are we refering to? Answer next week.
Last week's question: The bear (Russia) dug in (formally announced the creation of East Germany), a sleeping giant stirred (The People's Republic of China officially came into existence and was recognised by several Western powers), as did two others one at either end of the calendar. (Two volcanos erupted, Mount Lamington in New Guinea on January 3 and Mount Etna, Sicily, on December 3.) Answer: All this happened in 1950.
Did you know?
In 1951, the Yorkshire Evening Post ran a dancing competition, the finals of which took place at the Spa Hotel, Bridlington on Thursday September 20.
The winning couple were Mr D Bygate, of Revill Close, Rotherham and Miss V H Beber, of Canklow Road, Rotherham.
But both were injured after the competition when, as they travelled home, their taxi crashed into a wall at Thybergh, near Rotherham.
Fortunately, they suffered only minor injuries.
Appeared in EP 3 Oct 2009
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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