Robert Robinson - Butcher - 16 Dale Street

Robert Robinson - Butchers - 16 Dale Street, Milnrow

I posted the picture above some time ago Facebook, research into Robert Robinson has yielded some interesting results.

Robert Robinson was born in 1873, the son of John and Elizabeth, the census of 1881 tells us the family were living at 19 Equitable Street in Milnrow, Johns occupation was given as woollen weaver, the couple had 7 children, the youngest being Robert who was destined to follow in his older brother and become a butcher.

By 1901 the family had moved to 22 Harbour Lane, John had also had a career change as he was now listed as being a grocer, 18 year old Robert, as predicted, was now a butcher working alongside his brother.

John Robinson died in 1892 at the age of 67, he was buried in St James churchyard, Milnrow, 3 years later Robert was married at St. Thomas', his bride being Eleanor Smith.

When the 1901 census was taken 6 years later, Robert had his own shop - 16 Dale Street, the couple also had a son, Claude Smith Robinson who had been born 4 years earlier on June 24th 1896.

By the time the next census was taken in 1911 the family had grown by one by the addition of a daughter  - Evelyn Smith Robinson who was born in 1908.

An article in the Rochdale Observer dated November 26th 1910 made for disturbing reading. Eleanor had been found above the butchers shop with her throat cut, she had been found mid morning by her 14 year old son Claude. Seeing his mother bleeding badly and in a state of distress he quickly raised the alarm, two doctors were quickly at the premises and managed to clean her up and stitched the wound.

The report continued that Eleanor had been in low spirits for a number of weeks, she had told Dr Malim that her husband had also been very run down of late, Dr. Malim had no reason to suspect that Eleanor would come to any harm, although the wounds to her neck were superficial she was very weak from loss of blood. It was determined that the wound to her neck was self inflicted.

Roberts business was flourishing, in addition to the shop at Dale Street, he also had butchers shops in New Hey at 28 Huddersfield Road and Firgrove at 226 Rochdale Road.

World War One was looming, whilst Robert was above the recruiting age, teenager Claude wasn't. In the early years of the war he managed to avoid the call, but with the way the war was going and the vast numbers of young men being killed and seriously injured more young men were required to fill the voids.

In early May 1916 the call came for Claude to do his duty for King and Country, Robert put Claudes name forward to the authorities stating that he was in a reserved occupation, meaning he wouldn't have to join up.

The tribunal was held at Milnrow council offices, Councillor J Smith presided over the tribunal which heard pleas on behalf of 18 young men, one being Claude Robinson.

His father, Robert addressed the tribunal stating that he had 3 shops and a farm to look after and that his son was his only help, the plea was successful in that Claude was granted an exemption - but only until May 31st 1916.

Any further appeals on behalf of Claude went unheeded, he was called up for service and initially joined the Royal Field Artillery before being drafted into the 15th Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers.

The 15th were involved in heavy fighting during the third Battle of Ypres, more commonly known as Passchendaele which began at 3.50am on July 31st 1917, Claudes battalion were involved in the fighting at Pilckem Ridge.

The 15th Royal Welsh Fusiliers were part of Welsh Division which suffered over 3000 casualties alone - including Claude Robinson.

Soldiers Of The 15th Battalion. RWF

Claudes body was never recovered from the battlefield, his name is one of 54606 names of the missing that adorn the Menin Gate memorial in Ypres, Belgium.

The telegram informing of their sons death would have dropped through the door at 16 Dale Street, one of countless telegrams to frantic parents, wives, brothers and sisters bringing the very worst news imaginable.

In 1923 Robert and Eleanor sold their businesses in Milnrow and moved to the seaside, Morecambe to be exact. Eleanor died in 1934 whilst living at 18 Regent Road she was 58, following the death of his wife Robert moved to Ulverston in Cumbria where 12 years later Robert died.

Although he hadn't lived in Milnrow for a good number of years, the Rochdale Observer of 24th December 1944 carried a short obituary.

 It is perfectly reasonable to assume that the picture at the beginning that inspired this short tale actually shows Robert, Claude and Eleanor. 

Milnrow War Memorial

Every village, town and city was touched in some way by the Great War, there are however 53 parishes in England and Wales where all the men that served came home, they are known as "thankful or blessed" villages. Milnrow and Newhey sadly are not among that number.

The need for a War Memorial in Milnrow was first discussed at a meeting held in the lecture room of the Carnegie Library, Newhey Road on February 4th 1919.

Milnrow "Carnegie" Library 

A packed crowd were present as Councillor JT Whitehead, the chairman of the council chaired the meeting. Various differing opinions were raised, some said a public swimming baths should be built in memory of the men, others suggested a park or playground, some even said they didn't want any form of memorial erecting.

It was eventually decided that a statue of a soldier would be the most fitting tribute to the fallen of the village.

The next issue to be discussed was the potential siting of the memorial. 

The Cliffe House estate was thought to be the most suitable location, owned by the local businessman Emmanuel Clegg, two members of the committee were dispatched to go and speak to Clegg and attempt to buy a plot of land, they failed to convince him to relinquish any of his land.

The committee then decided on a an area at the bottom of Kiln Lane for the memorial, the cost was estimated to in the region of £2500, not a small amount which today would equate to over £75000.  

The committee met again in March 1921, the sculptor chosen to make the statue, George Thomas, attended with models of 2 possible statues, he estimated the statues to cost around £1800, the statue would be cast in bronze, weighing in at over 1 ton, standing between 7'6" and 8' high it would be mounted on a Bollington sandstone plinth, 12 feet high. 

The cost of the memorial also included the provision of bronze tablets upon which the names of each fallen soldier would be added at the cost of £1 per name.

George Thomas set about creating the memorial, when finished it was brought to the village and the proposed site, an area near the bottom of Kiln Lane roughly where the car park stands today.

Original Site of Milnrow War Memorial

Sunday 4th august 1924 was the date set for the unveiling, almost four and a half years after the initial meeting.

Major-General Arthur Solly-Flood conducted the unveiling, he had been General Officer Commanding the 42nd East Lancashire Division during the latter stages of WW1 and would have commanded many of the men the memorial remembered.

Thousand lined the streets to witness the unveiling, of the statue and the brass tablets containing the names of 168 local men who perished.

Milnrow War Memorial In Its Original Location

The memorial was moved to its current location on 1951 after the widening of Dale Street and Bridge Street. The memorial has also been granted Grade II listing status.

Ironically it was moved to the site of where Cliffe House once stood - the house owned by Emmanuel Clegg, in what is now known as Milnrow Memorial Park.

The original bronze plaques were stolen from the memorial and were replaced with slate tablets onto which the names of the fallen were carved, many names were omitted from whatever reason and it wasn't until 2009 that the names of over 70 men were added.

Henry Butterworth - Hero of Waterloo

Henry Butterworth was born on 18th March 1783, the son of Edmund Butterworth, Edmund was a yeoman and had fought in Flanders under the Duke of Cumberland (also known as butcher Cumberland after the Battle of Culloden).

During his early years Henry was sent to the West Indies where he because an assistant superintendent on a sugar plantation, a job which he didn't like. He yearned to be a military man.

His elder brother, also Edmund, held a commission in the 3rd Lancashire Militia, Henry pestered his brother to try and obtain a commission which was duly done, Henry became an ensign in the 1st Lancashire Militia. It wasn't long before Henry volunteered for foreign service and together with 50 other Lancashire lads they embarked on a military career.

It wasn't long before Henry was appointed to the 32nd Cornwall Regiment of Foot, he also took 32 men from the Lancashire Militia with him, he saw active service during the Peninsular Wars, the war raged  from 1807 - 1814 and saw Napoleon's empire fight against Bourbon Spain, Great Britain fought as allies of the Kingdom of Portugal in order to gain control of the Iberian Penisular.

Henry was awarded the Military General Service Medal for his services during the conflict, he was awarded 6 bars to the medal for action in the battles of Rolera, Vimiera, Salamanca, Talavera, Pyrenees and Nivelle, he was listed as sick during the final battles of Nive and Orthes and so wasn't awarded the bars for these actions.

Lieutenant Henry Butterworth in the uniform of the 32nd Regiment of Foot wearing his campaign medals

During the Battle of Salamanca on July 22nd 1812, Henry was seriously wounded by a musket ball that passed straight through his body, one of his men named Ashworth, from Smallbridge, lifted his wounded officer onto his back and carried him 3 miles to the rear of the army lines so he could receive treatment for his wounds. Once recovered Henry again took to the battle.

In 1815, he was present at the Battle of Waterloo, he was wounded 3 times during the fierce fighting with Thomas Pictons division, he never quit the field of battle. 

After 1815 Henry retired back to Rochdale, during his 12 years as Lieutenant in the 32nd Regiment of Foot, he spent 9 of them on active service, he was wounded seven times, 3 of them being classed as severe injuries.

He retired from the military on half pay in 1820 due to ill health, he was transferred to the 35th Regiment of Foot.

On returning to Rochdale Henry Butterworth was appointed a county magistrate and a deputy-lieutenant. 

In early 1860 he became sick and died on June 8th of the same year aged 77.

He was laid to rest at St. Johns, Smallbridge, his coffin carried by 8 Waterloo veterans.

Henry Butterworth (seated) with a. group of other Waterloo veterans

Sgt Percy Kershaw - Border Regiment - KIA July 1st 1916

23 year old Sergeant Percy Kershaw was killed in action on the first day of the Battle of the Somme (July 1st 1916).

Sgt Percy Kershaw, 1/Border Regiment

Percy was the middle of five children born to John James and Esther Kershaw, born in Middleton in 1893, by 1901 the family had moved to 54 Kilworth Street, Brimrod, John James was employed as a guard on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, 10 years later in 1911, the family had moved over Smithy Bridge to No. 1 Moss Cottages.

John James was still working for the L&Y Railway in 1911, 18 year old Percy was listed as being a groom, he later became an assistant coachman for Doctor MacGill.

Percy enlisted into the Border Regiment, serving with the 1st Battalion, enlisting early on the war, he entered France on October 5th 1914.

Percy was one of over 21,000 British soldiers to lose their lives on July 1st 1916, tens of thousands more were injured.

Percy's body was recovered from the battlefield, he was laid to rest in Hawthorn Ridge Cemetery No.2 Beaumont-Hamel, the cemetery is located within the Newfoundland Memorial park.

Private John Long - Australian Infantry

On a recent trip to the battlefields and cemeteries of Northern France I came across a headstone to Private John Long, he had served with the 4th Battalion, Australian Infantry, his story is worthy of telling.

Born in 1894, John wasn't going to stay at home and join the rest of his mates going to work in the mills and mines. At the age of 16 John signed up for a life on the ocean waves as a merchant seaman.

In August 1915 John was a crew member on board the merchant streamer "Diomed", she was heading from Liverpool to Shanghai, when she was 57 miles west north west of the Scilly Isles, German U-Boat, U38, captained by Max Valentiner attacked with torpedoes. Once she was hit the U-Boat turned her guns on the stricken vessel.

Reports were made that the Captain of the Diomed was killed by shells from the submarine, the Quartermaster had his head shot off and the chief officer was shot through the thigh.

John Long together with other crew members managed to get into a lifeboat, shortly after pulling away from their ship it was sunk by Valentiner.

Not giving up, the U-Boat continued to shell the lifeboat eventually holing it, the occupants including John were thrown into the cold waters.

It was three and half hours before rescue came in the form of a Royal Navy warship.

John had visited many countries during his sea-faring days including the Far East, China, Japan and Australia.

In 1915 he landed once again in Australia and responded to the call to arms and joined the Commonwealth armies, he enlisted into the 4th Battalion, Australian Infantry at Casula, New South Wales on December 15th 1915.

After going through his initial training he embarked for Alexandria, Egypt on March 7th 1916, he arrived in Marseilles on April 4th re-joining the 4th Battalion on July 27th.

The 4th Battalion were involved in heavy fighting in the Somme sector and on August 15th 1916 John was wounded. He received a gunshot wound and compound fracture to his right thigh, take to the No. 13 Australian Field Hospital he died three days later from his injuries.

Notification was sent to his mother, Isabella Long who lived at 120 Molesworth Street, she later received his effects which included 2 rosaries, 1 of which was damaged (John was Roman Catholic), his pipe - also damaged, a prayer book, brush, knives, tobacco pouch, photos, postcards, match box cover and other items.

Isabella acknowledged receipt of her sons belongings

John was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War and Victory Medals

The memorial scroll and plaque (also known as dead means penny) were also awarded

John was laid to rest in Warloy-Baillon Communal Cemetery, Somme , France.

Bent House, Newhey

Bent House stands at the junction on Newhey Road and Bentgate Street, Newhey.

A large stone house in its own grounds, surrounded by a stone wall, it was built in the mid 1800's in a Georgian style by the Berry family.

Samuel Berry was born in Castleton in 1802, he became a very succesful, and very wealthy, flannel manufacturer, in 1851 the records tell us that he was lliving with his family at Stonepitfield in Milnrow, sadly it doesnt narrow down which property he was living in.

It does tell us through that he employed 97 males and 83 females at New Hey Mill.

During the next 10 years it seems that he had Bent House built as the 1861 census records show that he was now living there with his wife Alice and their five children, Mary, Jane, Elizabeth, Jame and Samuel. 

Business was clearly going well for Samuel as he was now employing over 300 people in the village.

Samuel Berry died on October 17th 1869 at the age of 68, his widow Alice continued to live at Bent House with her children, by 1871 the occupants were Alice, Jane

Elizabeth and Samuel.

Samuel (junior) took over the family business and contnued to make it thrive, he died at the relatively young age of 68 in 1921, just 7 months after his wife Jane passed away.
 In his will he left effects to the value of £7299 16s 5d.

The Berry family eventually left Bent House, by 1939 the new occupants were Josiah Greenhalgh, he came from a family of textile machinists who had premises at Vulcan Ironworks in Oldham.

Josiah was the youngest son of Richard Greenhlagh of Thorncliffe, Royton, he came to Newhey when he married Martha. in 1934 he was returned unopposed as the Conservative member for Haugh ward in the Urban District Council.

The 1939 register tells us that he was born in 1883 and was living there with his wife Martha and their daughter Nancy.

Josiah died the following year on October 12th 1940, he was very involved with St. Thomas' Church, he was a vicars warden and the manager of the St. Thomas' day school.

The house still stands, if the walls could talk what tales they could tell.....

Another Milnrow Mill Tragedy

Robert Sutcliffe was born 1843, according to the 1851 census return he was living with his Grandparents, William and Betty Schofield at Stonepitfield, Roberts to elder brothers, James and William were also living there.

All three lads were working in the local mills at the time the census was taken, 15 year old James was a mill jobber, 11 year old William a mule piecer and 8 year old Robert a short time mule piecer (on account of his age he only did short time).

In July 1857 Robert was working in the woollen mill belonging to Messrs. Schofield (no relation), Robert had hold of a strap that was connected to a driving shaft , another worker was piecing it. 

Robert was stood on top of the machinery, the shaft was turning as he was holding the strap, to steady it whilst it was pieced.

The mill management had given instruction that this practice was not to be carried out, it is thought that Robert and others had ignored the instruction and continued with the dangerous practice.

Robert was caught on the driveshaft and was rotated numerous times around the shaft receiving catastrophic injuries to his head and upper body - he died within 25 minutes of the accident happening.

An inquest was held into his death at the Commercial Inn (now the Moonspinners in the village), the verdict returned was one of accidental death.