THIS week saw the 100th anniversary of the first Armistice Day. At 11am on November 11, 1919, Craven observed a two minutes silence as requested by King George V.

JUST before 11am on November 11, 1919, a fire buzzer in Skipton signalled the approach of what was to be a two minute’s silence.

King George V had called for the observance at the very moment in 1918 when hostilities ceased , ending the First World War.

Work in the majority of mills and workshops across Craven stopped for the full two minutes. At Skipton Parish Church, as well as many other churches across the district, people gathered to honour and to pay respect to the thousands who had died.

A service of Holy Communion at Holy Trinity Church, Skipton was held, followed by a silent gathering. At the town’s Christ Church, Holy Communion was moved forward to allow for a special ten minute service at 11am given by the Vicar, the Rev R Thorman.

At St Stephen’s Catholic Church, school children, convent students and elder members of the congregation ‘who could spare the time’ to see Father Bethel invoke the divine blessing on those who had died ‘so we might live’, while on the stroke of 11, there followed two minutes silence , passed in reflection and silent prayer.

The Wesleyan Chapel in Water Street was opened for half an hour with a number of people going in at 11am for silent devotion. The pulpit was adorned with a wreath of laurels bearing the names of 22 young men connected to the church who had fallen in the war. The Baptist Church in Otley Street was also the scene ofr silent meditation by a large number of people.

Most schools carried out some sort of commemoration. At Brougham Street, the children were assembled in the hall and addressed by the headmaster, Mr Townsend, who spoke of the significance of the occasion and to observe the silence. Afterwards, he explained to the children the importance of the League of Nations before leading the school in the singing of hymns.

At the Parish Church schools in Otley Street, there was a children’s service including the reading of portions of scripture. The service was followed by lessons explaining the objects and aims of the League of Nations. At 11am, the children gathered together to hear all he names of old pupils, the fathers and relatives of present pupils and all their relatives who had died in the war. A large number of their photographs were displayed on a Union Jack and surrounded by a laurel wreath. There was then a two minute silence after which the children performed the American flag drill and the singing of the National Anthem.

At Christ Church School, teachers talked to the children about the sacrifices of soldiers and sailors and the cause for which they had died, also pointing out that the League of Nations was a hopeful means for the maintenance of peace. The King’s letter, asking for the country to observe the two minutes silence, was read out, before the children all bowed their heads and sang hymns before returning to lessons.

In the afternoon, lessons were suspended, and the children were allowed to do what they liked to commemorate the ending of the war. The children put together a short play, using costumes and props with little input from teachers. An opening scene, ‘off to the war’ had several lads, dressed in khaki, with rifles and full kit, followed by Red Cross nurses, stretcher bearers and boy scouts. After a few exercises, they marched off. This was followed by a representation of a ‘Front line trench’ , made of planks and sacks filled with paper and rags. There followed an attack, after which the ‘injured’ soldiers were transported to a ‘dressing station’ where girls ‘prettily dressed’ in Red Cross uniforms attended to the wants of the wounded. The sufferings in the homes of the bereaved and villages of devastated Belgium were also presented by the scenes ‘the casualty list’ and ‘children of the ruins’.

The second half of the play was devoted to peace with flags and bunting and a recreation of the singing of the peace treaty, with several boys gathered around a large piece of parchment paper which included a seal at the bottom. The tableaux finished with the singing of carols, and was a ‘most enjoyable afternoon’ reported the Herald.

In High Bentham, the two minutes silence was observed. Wenning Mills ceased work at 10.55 am and the King’s wish was ‘solemnly and fittingly’ observed. At St Margaret’s Church, at 11am, the church bell was rung by the Vicar, followed by the two minutes silence. There followed a special service, with reference to the dead, and a collection of the 28 who attended raised 19 shillings and two pennies, for the church war memorial. The silence was also observed at the council school where the headmaster, Mr Birchall, read the King’s message to the children, and the the names of the 17 old scholars who had died in the war.