100 years ago

MR and Mrs Smith of Bridge Street, Steeton, received the sad news of the death of their son, private Arthur Smith, of the 1st Battalion Duke of Wellington's West Riding Regiment. He had been killed in the fighting near Mons in August.

The Belgian refugees domiciled at Bolton Hall attended early morning service at St Mary's RC Church in Addingham. A large crowd waited to see them leave and they were presented with a quantity of fruit.

The formal opening of the Embsay Rifle Club took place under very auspicious conditions. The range was on the ground floor of the old Burnside mill.

50 years ago

THE swimming club at Rolls Royce, Barnoldswick, with a membership of 380, continued to go from strength to strength with its annual gala at Colne.

The Skipton firm of Ledgard and Wynn extended its premises. They had ten departments with a variety of goods, ranging from men's clothing to the finest china.

After raging in the Clapham area for several months, myxomatosis had spread to the fells round Austwick, much to the distaste of local families, who had developed an interest in rabbit pies.

25 years ago

SOUTH Craven School was about to lose one of its longest serving teachers. Senior deputy head Sidney Gell announced he was to retire at the end of term. He had joined the school in 1957 as head of English. At that time there were 200 pupils and 13 members of staff. When he retired, the school numbers were 1,627 pupils and 108 staff. “I have been fortunately to have been part of a growing and exciting school and I have very much enjoyed my time here.”

Poisonous, foul smelling sewage gas was making life miserable for residents of Bark Lane, Addingham. Now, after months of letter writing and pressing for action, Bradford Council had replaced a manhole cover in the hope of stopping the leak. Resident Stanley Graham said the problem started after a pipe was installed to pump sewage and waste water from a septic tank at the High Mill development. “It was a foul, daily intrusion into our life,” he said. “The gas is highly poisonous and definitely unhygienic. It is also explosive and very flammable.”

Eleven-year-old Katharine Duckett was riding high after becoming the national side-saddle champion. Katharine, of Gargrave, beat off competition from all over Britain to win the junior novice championship at Newark. She also took the award for the highest place newcomer. A pupil at Aireville School, Skipton, she devised her own dressage programme just a few days before the competition. One of the judges awarded her full marks for its content and execution.

10 years ago

TELEVISION crews were in Barnoldswick to film a new drama. And excitement was in the air when residents caught a glimpse of well-known actor s Michael Kitchen and Penelope Wilton. They were at Greenberfield Locks for a scene out of ITV’s The Falling, based on the novel by Elizabeth Jane Howard. Filming also took place at J&J News in Earby. Penelope, who starred in the Calendar Girls movie, said she was hoping to catch up with some of the original WI members while she was in the area.

A Grassington poet won a national award. Talented Ken Baldwin beat off stiff competition to win the Leslie Richardson Award in the Yorkshire Open Poetry Competition. The grandfather, who was a pilot in World War Two, had been writing poetry since he was a child. “I write about things people understand immediately, not something they have to read over and over again.”

A redundant school was set to get a new lease of life as a community hub. West Craven Together had been offered a 99-year lease on the former Rainhall Road School in Barnoldswick by Lancashire County Council with a 100 per cent grant to cover the £18,000 yearly rent. The project was part of the Market Towns Initiative. Coun David Whipp said: “I am really encouraged that we have got to the stage where we can see something coming out of it.”