1. The Fighting Forties…
Life in and around Brighouse over
70 years ago
…a presentation given by Chris Helme BEM…

2. The 1940s were marked by a sense of unity and
patriotism, even as thousands found themselves
dispersed around the globe, serving their country
with honour and distinction. When the war
ended, these heroes returned home to their
sweethearts, jobs, farms, and family. Although some
of the old stories from the 1940s are somewhat
"heavy," many are encouraging, light-hearted and
rich with life lessons learned.
Through this presentation I hope to capture some of
those moments from yesteryear…
Thank you

3. The history books tell us that the morning of Sunday the 3rd September
1939 was bright and sunny. At ten o’clock the BBC told its listeners to
standby for an announcement of national importance. Every fifteen
minutes listeners were told that the Prime Minister would make an
announcement at eleven-fifteen.
Music and a talk on "How to make the most of tinned foods" was
broadcast in between, and then came the Prime minister's announcement:
TRACK ONE

4. Some Local Response to the
Announcement

5. The realisation of a Second World War getting
even closer to Brighouse had drawn nearer in
July 1938 when a Home Office van drove up
Clifton Common and into Clifton. The time had
come for the folks at Clifton to be shown how to
fit and try their new gas masks.
Whether it was a random choice or for some
particular reason Brighouse along with the rest of
the Calder Valley had been selected as one of a
number of areas in the West Riding to implement
Air Raid precautions, we don‟t know..
Why Brighouse what did it mean? This was the
question many people were asking. Was
Brighouse on Hitler's master plan as an area to
be bombed first; was it the local industry that
could be a possible target? These were just some
of the reported comments and rumours doing the
rounds.

6. Austere times were ahead little did people know then for just how long
Two advertisements that would become very familiar
during the war years – particularly when rationing began on the
8th January 1940

7. Parades through the
town centre were going
to be held quite often
throughout the war
years.
This parade is in Market
Street in 1940 and is
winding its way to the
open space where the
town centre market was
held and in later years
was the site of the bus
station and is now
occupied by the
Wellington Arcade
properties

8. Crowds gathering for open air
public meetings during times
of national interest.
(Left) Market Street c1940
(Right) Thornton Square c1915

9. Brighouse Police Station 1950s – this
was opened in 1865
PC 747 Tom Denny was promoted to be
the Sergeant at Hipperholme Police
section during the war years

10. The Police Station in Police
Street in an obvious state of
readiness and the same
scene in 1969 when it was
demolished . This street was
re-named Lawson Road after
it was re-developed, named
after Alderman Gilbert
Lawson MBE who was on
Brighouse Borough Council
from 1929 to 1969

11. The Police Station is ready – the fast response vehicle is on
standby – note all the war time notices

12. The Special Constabulary
During the Second World War members of the Special Constabulary
were trained to deal with a range of eventualities such as first aid, the
initial co-ordination of the security at aircraft crash sites, clearing
people from the vicinity of unexploded bombs, handling of unignited
incendiary bombs and checking compliance with lighting regulations.

13. 1949 – a presentation ceremony at the Brighouse cricket club for
the members of the Special Constabulary in Brighouse

14. Blakeborough‟s Home Guard c1940

15. Hipperholme & Lightcliffe
Home Guard c1940

16. Blakeborough‟s Home Guard on
Parade c1940

17. The Brighouse Air Training
Corps 1943
This group of young men are
members of the Brighouse ATC
(Air Training Corps) with those
members that are still around
will now be well in to their 80s
and they all played a part in
bringing the Second War to an
end. It was in 1938 when the Air
Defence Cadet Corps was
formed. Towards the end of
1940, the government realised
the value of this cadet force and
took control of the ADCC. It was
reorganised and then renamed
and on the 5th February 1941
the ATC (Air Training Corps) was
officially established with King
George VI as the Air
Commodore-in-Chief.

18. 1942 – the boys of the 394 (Brighouse) Squadron Air Training Corps which did
such wonderful work in preparing enthusiastic young men for the RAF. The
commanding officer was Capt George Turner MC, the adjutant was Mr
Houseman (head master at Hipperholme Grammar School) and engineering
officer was Sam Warhurst. Second from the right on this photograph is John
Short who was the photography officer and was a specialist photograph at
A.H.Leach photography at the time.

19. New recruits and officers for the Air Training Corps c1943

20. Auxiliary Wartime Fire Brigade
The Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) was first formed in 1938 in Great Britain as part of Civil
Defence Air Raid precautions. Its role was to supplement the work of brigades at local
level. In this job it was hampered severely by the incompatibility of equipment used by
these different brigades - most importantly the lack of a standard size of hydrant valve.
The Auxiliary Fire Service and the local brigades were superseded in August 1941 by the
National Fire Service. Members of the AFS were unpaid part-time volunteers, but could be
called up for whole-time paid service if necessary.

21. The Auxiliary Fire Service – Hove Edge style
Note the ingenuity when it came to locating a suitable vehicle as a fire
engine. The HQ for the Hove Edge wartime fire service was in the barn
which used to be behind The Pond public house.

22. Brighouse Volunteer First Aiders
The Brighouse volunteers were connected to the
St John’s Ambulance Brigade

23. Hipperholme and Lightcliffe Voluntary First Aiders
The HQ for these volunteers was in the cellar of the Hipperholme Library.
It was also from this cellar where local residents collected their gas masks.
The air raid siren for Hipperholme was on the library roof.

24. No one was buying carpets
during the war years so many of
the girls at T.F.Firth’s were moved
into the six storey cotton mill at
Bailiff Bridge after it was taken
over by G.E.C to make kit bags
and other important equipment.
This is the canteen that fed and
watered these ladies during the
war years.
Some of the ladies were brought
in from Coventry to manage and
supervise the local girls.

25. Brighouse Town Centre of the 1940s

26. The Astoria Ballroom opened 16 February
1945 and a reported 1500 people attended.
The Mayor John V. F. Bottomley C.B.E., J.P
held a ‘Victory in Europe Ball’ on the 2nd of
July 1945 and as far as available research
shows this was held at the Astoria and went
on to show a profit of just over £29.
It was temporarily closed in 1949 but was
finally closed in 1956

27. The Albert Cinema 1948

28. Aspects of Commercial Street
Before and After 1943

29. Inside and outside
Taylor’s Chemist
, Commercial Street -
1943

30. Tate’s Corner at the junction of Bradford Road and King Street.
A corner that was for many years occupied by the Co-op
Menswear Department and is now the M&Co clothing store.

31. The first Take-Away in Brighouse
The Bow Window was in Briggate and
first opened as what we would term
today as a Take-Away in 1864. It was
originally opened by a lady known
locally as „Sausage Sarah‟.
In 1895 it was taken over by the Stake
family and quickly became a place
well known throughout the Borough of
Brighouse particularly during the war
years.

32. Rationing in Britain
During World War II all sorts of essential
and non-essential foods were rationed, as
well as clothing, furniture and petrol.
Why was rationing introduced?
To make the British weak, the Germans
tried to cut off supplies of food and other
goods. German submarines attacked many
of the ships that brought food to Britain.
Before the war, Britain imported 55 million
tons of food, a month after the war had
started this figure had dropped to 12
million
National Registration Day
On National Registration Day on 29 September 1939, every householder had to fill in a form
giving details of the people who lived in their house.
How did rationing work?
Using the information gathered on National Registration Day, the government issued every one
with an identity card and ration book.
Register with local shops
Each family or individual had to register with a local supplier from whom the ration would be
bought. These details were stamped in the book and you could only buy your ration from that
supplier.
Coupons
The books contained coupons that had to be handed to or signed by the shopkeeper every time
rationed goods were bought. This meant that people could only buy the amount they were
allowed.

33. Those Were The Days
July 1938: A Home Office van
came to Clifton so residents could
try on gas masks.
Summer 1938: Trenches dug in
Wellholme Park, The Stray and in
Bramston Street Recreation
Ground.
September 1938: Air Raid
precautions described as a
shambles.
July 1939: Practice in Wellholme
Park for ARP volunteers.
3rd September 1939: Declaration of
War
January 1940: Rationing of
Butter, sugar, bacon, meat and tea.
16th May to 4th June 1940: The
evacuation of Dunkirk and
occupation of the Channel Islands
resulted in a resulted in 300
refugees and soldiers arrive in the
town.
Potato Pancake
Cooking time: 10 – 15 minutes: 4 helpings
1 lb cooked potatoes
¼ lb sausage meat
1 dessertspoon mint and parsley chopped together
1 dessertspoon mixed herbs
Salt and Pepper
½ oz Dripping
Method: Mash the potato with the sausage meat, add herbs, seasoning
and milk to make a soft mixture. Heat dripping and spread potato
mixture to cover the bottom of the pan. Fry until brown and crisp.
RATIONED RECIPES
The Radio Doctor Charles Hill says:
You may have heard what the
greengrocer said when a critical
customer asked if his vegetables
contained vitamins, “If they do” he
said, “They can easily be washed off”.
“Well they can‟t be washed off, but they
can be cooked out and that‟s a form of
wastage”.
After 14 years rationing finally came to an end at midnight Sunday 4th July 1954

34. Those Were The Days
1940: Three Spitfires appeared in
the skies over Brighouse as part of
fund raising for ‘Buy a Spitfire’.
1940: Bombs dropped in the
Walterclough Valley, no one was
injured except one elderly lady who
broke her leg with the shock of the
explosions and fell down her stairs.
1941: Women between the ages of
20 and 30 called-up.
1941: To help food rations go a bit
further the first British Restaurant
was opened in Park Row.
1942: Two more British Restaurants
open in New Road Sunday School
and Boothroyde at Rastrick.
1942: Warship Week.
1942: Blakeborough’s Male Voice
Choir formed
1943: ‘Wings for Victory’ appeal
raised over £500,000. More and
more women were working to
release more men for the war.
1944: £370,000 raised for ‘Salute a
Soldier’.
On Parade in Thornton Square

35. Those Were The Days
September 1944: Compulsory fire
watching and black-out restrictions
were lifted.
December 1944: Home Guard
stood down.
7th May 1945: Germany surrenders
– prisoners of war begin to return
home. The Channel Islanders also
begin returning home.
1946: Worked started on the new
housing development at Stoney
Lane and this was just the start of
new housing programmes in the
Borough.
1946: The British Legion branch
decides it is time to begin raising
funds for a new headquarters in
the town. It would be 1957 before
this was opened.
March 1946: The last meals at the
three British Restaurants were
served.
8th June 1946: Victory Parade
through Brighouse to celebrate the
end of the war. This was followed
by entertainments in Wellholme
Park and at The Stray.
Members of the Auxiliary Territorial Service
(ATS), later superseded by the Women‟s
Royal Army Corps, seen here on parade in
Thornton Square

36. Those Were The Days
9th June 1946: Procession through
Brighouse to Wellholme Park for a
short Service of Praise.
1946: The Brewster Sessions
reported there were 77 licensed
premises in the Borough and 18
‘Off’ licences. Gradually many were
closed.
1946: Brighouse and Rastrick Band
won National Brass Band finals at
the Royal Albert Hall London to
become the Champion Brass Band
of Great Britain – the band marched
through the town to Thornton
Square to be greeted by the Mayor
and hundreds of supporters.
June 1946: Brighouse Business and
Professional Women’s Club formed.
February 1947: Before the war the
focal point for the community was
the church and chapel a new spirit
of community with the introduction
of Community Associations one of
the first being at Smith House
Estate. After the war Waring Green
Chapel was in the hands of the
WRCC saw it converted into a
community centre.
The Ambassador Radio Company
Where did people hear about war news ? – newsreels at the
cinema or on the wireless. Robert Noel Fitton was building
and dabbling with radio sets in his attic at the age
nineteen, once he had the confidence and felt it was time to
try his hand at business he opened and began his first
company under his own name R. N. Fitton. His first business
was in a property in Bramston Street on the site of the old
Ramsden Baths. In those early days he had help from his
father Robert Stanley Fitton, Jack Booth who in later years
went on to be in charge of the assembly department and
Leonard Riach. Many will recall the company when it became
The Ambassador Radio Company.

37. Those Were The Days
1948: A number of local
companies decided to take a
greater interest in their retired
employees – Blakeborough’s being
one of the early ones. With
T.F.Firth’s soon to follow suit.
1948: With advancement of health
developments people were now
living longer which inevitably
created an even high aging
community. A rest room and
shelter was opened in
Southowram for the aged men of
the community. Other
organisations and facilities soon
followed this new trend.
1948: A number of local
companies decided to look after
the interests of their retired
employees
June 1948: Brighouse Civic Week –
Brighouse Accident Prevention
Council awarded the inaugural title
of Miss Marie Coates (Brighouse
Girls Grammar School) the Safety
First Queen. She was crowned by
the Rose Queen Miss Margaret
Richards.
1949: Waring Green Community
Centre reported to be thriving..
By 1943 the war dominated
everything, but following both
Russia and America joining the
fight against Hitler‟s „war
machine‟, the tide was
beginning to turn.
In that same year a Wings for
Victory appeal raised over
£500,000 and in 1944 £370,000
was raised for the Salute the
Soldier campaign. And then in
1945 it was all over Germany
signed the unconditional
surrender.

38. The War is over –
Germany signs the
unconditional surrender
on Monday
7th May 1945

39. Brighouse in Celebratory Mood

40. Brighouse in Celebratory Mood

41. Brighouse Home Guard Band in celebratory mood at the back
of the Prince of Wales (now The Ship) public house in Back
Bethel Street (now West Park Street)

42. Residents in Back William Street
off Gooder Lane, Rastrick also
get in the mood to celebrate

43. Victory at Last – the celebratory flags are out in Larkhill Terrace
off Church Lane – this street along with a section of Barton
Street was demolished many years later to create the
Parish Church area car park

44. Some of the folks from Hipperholme seen here at the side of the Dominion
Machine Tool Company, Denholmegate Road. Like many others they too
have a celebratory and commemorative photograph taken.
‘…The war is over at last…’

45. Victory in Europe – VE Day – on May 8th 1945, a day that was declared as a public
holiday and although it was not the best of weather for outside celebration it did
not stop the victory celebrations. VE Day was marked in Brighouse by a parade five
days later with a procession from the Town Hall to Wellholme Park for a
thanksgiving service this was followed by a march past outside the Ritz Cinema.
The salute was taken by the Mayor Alderman J. V. F. Bottomley and Mrs
Bottomley, and the senior military officer in the area Colonel R. H. Goldthorp. The
celebrations were marred by the wet weather and the failure of some local
organisations to take part. This photograph was taken outside the Ritz Cinema.

46. The Victory Follies –
started in Clifton by Ernest
Hudson
This concert party was to be
seen on stage many times
at Sunny Vale during the
war years

47. Mildred Crossley
Sunny Vale was very
popular throughout
the war years

48. It was now time to rebuild broken communities, with many local families
loosing loved ones. The sense of loss that families had experienced
between 1914 – 1918 was once again felt by another generation of
Brighouse residents.
The town had like everywhere else
to make a new start

49. The 1946 / 47 Floods
(Above) Wood Street
(Right) Millroyd Street

50. Post War Weather

51. Just as before the war when family life was very
much centred around the local church or chapel so it
was in the early years after the war. Then with many
of the old communities beginning to disappeared
following the new housing developments society
and its needs were beginning to change.

52. The Prefabs arrived in Crowtrees Rastrick in 1946

53. The early changes to housing came in the form of the Prefabricated
Houses or ‘Prefabs’ as they were known. The first ones arrived at
Chapel Croft, Rastrick in 1946 and more soon followed at Whinney Hill
Park.

54. Housing fit for heroes - green
field sites were picked out for
new housing development -
Stoney Lane at Lightcliffe
being one of the first .

55. People were encouraged to
look at this model of the
houses to be built
The real thing –
Fairless Avenue junction
with Heathcliffe Grove

56. Houses of the Future
Junction of Aysgarth
Avenue looking up
Fairless Avenue

57. Gradually the new
housing estate began to
take shape
The top and bottom of
Fairless Avenue

58. Nunnery Farm was swept aside for the land to
be re-developed for housing

59. The vast open green
spaces were also to be
developed into what is
now the Field Lane Estate
Highfield Road with
Smith Crescent
Smith Crescent

60. As more an more people
began to move into their new
homes on the estates this
inevitably saw the break-up of
long standing communities
2nd Rastrick Girl Guides 1948
Most children who moved
into their new community
soon made new friends

61. Smith House and District Residents Association
In the early post-war era the old communities that once thrived in the
myriad of back to back streets were gradually being replaced with the new
estates. The new residents were now being encouraged to form community
associations.
Smith House Estate was built between 1919 & 1921 and led the way with its
community association. Seen here with the estate gala procession in 1948

62. Brighouse and Rastrick Band awarded the title of Champion
Brass Band of Great Britain on Saturday 19th October 1946 and
returned to a civic reception.
…and some of the band’s best days were yet to come…

63. The successful 1946 band included a
16 year old Brighouse born cornet
player Derek Garside. At the age of
17 he was appointed as the principal
cornet of the CWS (Manchester)
Band and developed into one of, if
not the greatest player of his
generation . Derek now aged 83 lives
in the Bingley area but has not
forgotten his family’s roots which are
entrenched in Brighouse. I am sure
that if you look amongst the crowds
at this year’s Hymn and March brass
band competition you will see Derek
sat amongst his old friends, watching
and reflecting on contesting days of
the past.

64. The New Generation
The war is over, whilst many have lost friends, relatives and loved
ones. These are just some of the first generation of Brighouse
children born after the war – a new start….

65. If you would like to
read a little bit of
Brighouse history I
have a selection of
my books available
for purchase here
today

66. The End
The Fighting Forties – a period in history
when everyone in our town and
communities pulled together to over come
adversity