A HISTORY OF FEATHERSTONE
1980
THE COUNCIL
JUNE Featherstone Town Council had requested West Yorkshire County Council to reinstate the cover over the Station Lane railway subway. The answer was it would cost £79,000 and it was unlikely such work would be considered in any future works. Cr Ernest Longley said they had been trying to get something done for years. In bad weather it was practically impossible for people, especially the old, to use the subway. The main post office was on one side and the shopping centre on the other so many people had to cross the lines. Canopies would keep the steps free from snow or rain.
Mr C J Pashley, town clerk, said the subway was the County Council's responsibility, but British Rail would be responsible for canopies. Cr Logley said the original canopies were removed by British Rail when trains stopped calling at the station. It was a disgusting state of affairs. Cr Keith Wilson said a shelter on the south side would be the chespest and best solution. On the north side there was the bridge people could shelter under until they could cross. A costly scheme would not be approved so the Featherstone Council should ask for a temporary shelter for the winter.
JULY Mrs Nora Edgar had provided a trophy for the winners of the bowls competition at the annual Gala, and it had been presented by Cr George Holt at previous Galas. Now the council said all trophies at the Galas would be presented by the Mayor of Featherstone. Cr Holt then said the trophy would not be available and the bowls would be cancelled.
Cr Longley said the bowls competition would be held, and there would be another trophy if the Edgar Tophy was not available. It was decided to write to Mrs Edgar and ask if she would make her trophy available, and if not, the Town Council would provided a trophy.
The Town Council asked Wakefield District Council to clear the land at the bottom of Post Office Road so it could be used as a playground. The district council replied they had to turn it down because of the lack of finance. Cr Harrry Livesey said when the houses in Post Office Road were modernised building material was dumped on the land, and there was no other land in that area for youngsters.
British Rail said it was considering changing the Station Lane level crossing to automatic half barriers which would reduce the time they were shut. It would cost £115,000 and could not be done until 1982. The county council was expected to pay half. Cty Cr Keith Wilson said there could be dangers which would have to be considered.
AUGUST A request by the governers of Featherstone High School for the ornamental pool to be removed was noted by Wakefield District Counci. it could not be carried out because of severe financial restrictions but would be added to a minor works waiting list.
THE ROVERS
The importance of the newly-launched lottery to the future was stressed at the half-yearly meeting held in January. Secretary Terry Jones said "The financial position of the club is still far from strong, but with the launching of the new lottery, we are again not without hope".
Regarding the new committee he said, "Their first season saw them picking up the pieces after the players' strike, the Rugby League fine and paying off the guarantors. This season has found them battling against ever rising costs to find the winning money the players so richly deserved. Supporters will have noticed that no established star has been sold for the first time for many seasons.
"With our fall into the second division has come a further fall in our membership to 636 this season compared to 739 last season. If we return to the first division we can go a long way to winning back many of these missing members."
In February it was announced the club was to buy back the social club. It would be adapted to include a multi-gym, changing and treatment rooms and a sauna. There would be players and members bars on match days. The chairman, Chris Hewison, saod "It is out intention to make the Post office Road ground a hive of activity, with the social club as the focal point. We would like to see other sports organisations make the club their headquarters and use the facilities".
Floodlights and better toilet facilities were planned. The land behind the Bullock Stand had been given to the club by the supporters organisations, and it would be made into playing fields which could be used by schools and clubs. A loan for half the cost of the social club had been obtained from the Rugby League.
In the New Featherstone Social Club in May, the Rugby league chairman, Mr Sumner Baxendale, presented the Rovers with the Second Division Championship rosebowl for winning the competition. The Riovers also received the Arrowfast Express Trophy and a £1,000 cheque for scoring the most tries in league football. Photo - the Express.
Allan Hewitt, a Pontefract business man, took over as chairman. He replaced Chris Hewison.
The annual meeting was held in July and reported a loss on the season of £31,424, mainly due to the cost of paying a winning team - players wages rose by over £10,000 compared to the previous season.
Secretary Terry Jones said the committee managed to halt the sell to survive trend which had dogged proceedings at Post Office Road. Also the ground was undergoing a facelift with new toilets being built, the junior dressing rooms and the Miller Gate being refurbished, and new fencing at the Post Office Road end.
He regretted the fall in membership, now down to 635, and hoped it would improve to over 1,000 for the coming season. He praised the players for a really tremendous all-round performance which gained promotion back to the first division, and said everything looks rosy on the playing front.
Donald Hunt, chairman of the floodlights committee, said good progress had been made over the past year. The fund had gone up from £2,047 a year ago and was now about £5,500.
In August the Rovers became the first professional rugby league club to be commercially sponmsored. Lin Pac Plastics (UK) Ltd and Lin Pac Corrugated Cases Ltd combined to sponsor the Rovers for the 1980-81 season. The deal was approved by the RL Council. The Name Lin Pac would be printed on the players shirts, but would be bammed from televised games.
The League's secretary David Oxley said "Jersey sponsorship is a new advent in Rugby League, and we are delighted Featherstone Rovers have shown great initiative in becoming the first club to clinch a lucrative contract in this area. They have set the standard for the rest of Rugby League.
A membership drive was set up at Ackton Hall and Prince of Wales Collieries whereby the workers would pay for their season cards over 20 weeks. This revived a similar scheme dropped some years ago.
The first game of the season brought trouble between rival Rovers and Hull fans. Over a three hours period 15 arrests were made. At a court hearing the presiding magistrate, Mr H Turner, said we are determined to stamp out such incidents, and the public had to be protected.
There were incidents between rival supporters in Pontefract before the game, during the game and after the game in the car park, Post Office Road and Station Lane. Over 40 police officers were involved. Fines of up to £200 were given to the defendents.
Before the game the Rovers had to launch a clean-up operation after vandals daubed anti-Hull slogans around the ground. White paints was used for the graffiti on the main gates, perimeter wall, and the walls in Post Office Road.
The hut used to store waste paper collected for the floodlights fund was set on fire by vandals in November. The club chairman Allen Hewitt said they had suffered vandalism since the start of the season, and were determined to put a stop to it. The photo of George Turton who organised the collections is from the Express.
THE ROVERS SOCIAL CLUB
In February it was announced the club was to buy back the social club. It would be adapted to include a multi-gym, changing and treatment rooms and a sauna. There would be players and members bars on match days. The chairman, Chris Hewison, saod "It is out intention to make the Post office Road ground a hive of activity, with the social club as the focal point. We would like to see other sports organisations make the club their headquarters and use the facilities".
By October a new club manager, Brian Weaver, had been appointed. He told the Express "We want the club to be a place where people can come for a really good evening's entertainment. There has been a bit of trouble here, fighting and such like, and the club got a bad name. Now the committee and I are striving to let the people of Featherstone know that things have changed for the better. A new programme has been drawn up and a new future planned but we need people to support us. The more support we get the more facilities and attrctions we can provide".
Modern and old-time dancing would be held in the concert room three times a week and disco dances would would be held in a special disco room for the 18-30 age group. There would also be a once weekly disco dance for the under 18s supervised by parents and the committee. Sunday lunch times would be men only with a special floor show. Membership would be only 50p a year. Mr Weaver said it was hoped to see lots of old faces back as well as some new ones. The photos are from the Express.
The Featherstone and District Amateur Musical and Dramatic Society put on Hello Dolly at the Civic Centre, Castleford, in February. The Express review called it spectacular entertainment. The 15 musical numbers were sung and danced with enthusiasm and professionalism by the large cast, using their talents to the full. The Pontefract and District Caledonian Society Pipe Band took part. The photos are from the Express.
Rehearsals for the next production, Viva Mexico, began in Pontefract in August. The society chairman, Jeni Fieldhouse, said anyone interested in joining the sociery should contact her.
DEATH OF BILLY WILLIAMS
William Wiliams age 87, always known as Billy, died suddenly in March. He had been at the Rovers ground the day before. He took up boxing and rugby league football when he was 17. Between 1911 and 1917 he fought 20 opponents and beat then all. In 1913 he won the Yorkshire Middleweight Challenge Cup and the North of England Championship.
He joined the Rovers in 1912 as a front row forward. When the Rovers joined the Northern Rugby League in 1921 he became coach. When his coaching days were over he remained as trainer and physiotherapist until succeeded by his son, James William Williams in 1962.
He was also actively involved with Purston Methodist Church which he joined about 1916, and eventually became a lay reader. After the Methodist merger he attended Featherstone Methodist Church regularly. The photo is from the Express.
THE GALA
The annual Gala was held in July in Purston Park. For the first time for eight years the Town Council decided to have a parade which would start at Cressey's Corner. The Gala Queen was Caroline Sowerby.
The parade had nine floats, and others included were Normanton Majorettes, bygone bikes, Airedale Eagles Jazz Band and Tetleys horses and dray. They were all headed by the Ackton Hall Colliery Band. Among the attractions in the park were a balloon race, piano smashing and a fairground. The photos of the crowning of the Queen by Town Mayor Cr Ernest Longley, and the Tetley horses are from the Express.
MORE KNITTING RECORDS
Mrs Gwen Matthewman attended the October opening of Phildar's new wool shop in Leeds. At her first attempt at beating her own record she knitted 109 stitches in one minute, one more than her previous best. Later in the day she had another go and upped her record to 111.
Her 1979 output of over 11,000 ozs of wool (915 garments) was also ratified by the Guinness Book of Records, beating her previous world best. Photo - the Express.
SNYDALE PITHEAD BATHS
The firm of McLauchlan (Knottingley) bought the pithead baths and canteen plus the surrounding land from the NCB in 1970. They put in various planning applications to use the site, but all were turned down by Wakefield District Council, who wanted to return the land to agricultural use.
The two sided could not agree so the council made a compulsory purchase order. McLauchlans appealed so a public inquiry was held in October. For the council it was said it was felt the appropriate use for the land was pastoral or arable.
For McLauchlan it was said apparently the council did not think Mr McLauchlan was the sort of person to tidy up the site. If a decision were made on that basis it would be flying in the face, not only of the evidence, but of commonsense. The garden centre would bring local employment at no cost to the local authority.
The Secretary of State was to make his decision in due course.
1980 NEWS ITEMS
JANUARY A group of members and officals from Humberside County Council were on a fact finding tour of coal fired school boilerhouses. They included Featherstone High School in their visits. Photo - Express.
Whisky bottles were thrown through two shop windows in Station Lane which would cost nearly £1,000 to replace. In Girnhill Lane a building under construction had paint thrown on the walls and fitments broken. On the same night in Girnhill Lane three bicycles were stolen.
FEBRUARY Strand Motor Auctions on Wakefield Road put in a planning application to have a public market. The council's planning authority was inclined to refuse, but decided to have an on site meeting. The reason given was "A public market on the site, located outside the recognised Featherstone shopping centre, would prejudice the policy on the district planning authority in securing well planned development".
At a meeting of the Road Safety Committee it was announced there were 52 accidents last year of which seven were fatal. Mr K Roberts, the county road safety officer said compared with other districts the statistics were good.
MARCH The children at North Featherstone First School in Gordon Street sold calenders in aid of the Royal National Institute for the Blind and raised £170. Photo - Express.
A children's disco was held at the Jubilee Hotel in aid of the David Ward Appeal Fund. About 250 children attended. The room was provided free as were the services of Rocking Revival Disco.
Sarah Moon of Friars Close (on the right) and Kate Austin of Hall Street received their swimming awards for personal survival. They did their training at Rothwell Sports Centre. Photo - Express.
APRIL As a prelude to Job Week, 50 scouts and cubs were invited to spruce up Featherstone Fire Station by sweeping up, and washing windows and paintwork. The Fire Brigade's Social Club made a donation to the group. The message to local people was you supply the job and we'll supply the tools. They were already sponsored to clear out the Went Beck, and hoped to raise £200. The Express photo shows from the left, Andrew Northern age 10, Dean Morgan 12, and Nicholas Frankland 8 polishing antique brass fire helmets.
A chocolate vending machine containing 30 bars was stolen from outside a shop in Station Lane, and a quarter of a ton of coal was stolen in Priory Road.
An Easter egg competition in aid of the David Ward Appeal Fund and the Spastics Society was won by Mrs M Cookson on the left and Mrs P Hyman. They received their prizes from the Mayor of Featherstone, Cr Jack Everson. Photo - the Express.
MAY Mark Kirby age 10 of Ackworth Road became the first member of the 1st Purston Cubs to receive his Gold Arrow award for proficiency in personal survival, Photo - Express.
Featherstone Mail Voice Choir gained second place at the Wharfedale Music Festival being only one point behind the winners. The conductor was Mr G Trigg.
David Ward of Pontefract suffered a brain tumour when he was 13 and became totally dependent on his family. A fund was set up to give him a trip to Disneyland. Featherstone folk joined in and his dream was realised this month.
JUNE Brothers Richard age 10 (left) and Andrew Emery 9 of Green Acres, Purston, were the next members of the 1st Purston Cubs to receive their gold awards for swimming proficiency in personal survival. Photo - Express.
JULY Jonah-man-jazz, a musical version of the Bible story of Jonah and the whale was performed by pupils aged between 10 and 12 of St Thomas's Middle School for their parents. Photo - the Express.
AUGUST Shaun Keenan of Ravensmead age 13 won the under 13 novices final of the Viking Challenge Cup National Schools Cycling Competition Home Internationals Finals at Newsham Park, Liverpool. He had to beat 28 other youngsters over ten laps (seven miles) of a closed circuit. He received a trophy, a t-shirt and sash, and a new bycyle to be custom made. Photo - the Express.
Featherstone firemen organised a bed push from Featherstone Fire Station to the West Yorkshire Fire Service headquarters at Birkenshaw, near Bradford, a distance of 20 miles. Firemen from Normanton and Hemsworth joined in to give a hand. The bed was given by Ackton Hospital, and the event raised £686.78 for the National Fire Service Benevolent Fund. A cheque for that amount was presented to Divisional Commander A E Upton by Station Officer Ian Dransfield. Photo - the Express.
SEPTEMBER Mrs Julie Robinson of Market Street found a mongrel puppy in a coal house. It was in a basket with a blanket and a food dish. She took care of it for several days and it was eventually given a new home by a woman in Cutsyke. Photo - the Express.
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Colin Johnson of Post Office Road was aiming to cycle to Glasgow - 280 miles - in a day, stay at his wife Grace's relatives for a few days and then cycle back; all in aid of the Dr Jackson Cancer Fund. Photo - the Express.
Long service medals for 20 years service were presented to station officer Ian Dransfield of Nunns Lane and sub-officer Brian Harper of Priory Road at West Yorkshire Fire Service headquarters at Birkenshaw. Photo - the Express.
OCTOBER A harvest festival held at New Purston WMC raised £200 for the Featherstone Hospital Comforts Fund.
Trophy winners at Featherstone High School were (from the left) David Potter and John Beresford, joints winners of the Norman Longbottom Trophy for all round ability in academic work; and Lyndsay Millard and Paul Lyman, joint winners of the George Young Memorial Trophy for sporting achievement. Photo - the Express.
Virginla Malpass was crowned Sunday School Queen at a family service in the Methodist Church. She then presented prizes to Sunday School scholars.
A raffle at the Green Lane WMC raised £214 for the Hospital Comforts Fund. A harvest festival and a pile of pennies at the Bradley Arms raised £153.16.
Mr Alex Thomson, manager of Featherstone Sports Centre said he had four times as many applications for the centre as it could accommodate, and the floodlit training area was fully booked until the end of March.
The old Purston First School was described as being in a dangerous condition and it would be replaced by adding three classrooms to the nearby new school. The cost was estimated at £120,000.
NOVEMBER Two more winners of Golden Arrow Awards by 1st Purston Cubs were Simon Thomson (left) age 10 of Town Hall Cottage, Purston, and David Thomas, also 10, of Bedford Close, Purston. Photo - the Express.
The remembrance parade set off from the old Miners' Welfare and visited the memorial in Ackton Hall Colliery yard. It then continued to Purston Parish Church for a Remembrance Day service. Wreaths were laid at the War Memorial and the Last Post and Reveille were played by Kevin Belcher, Diane Sanderson, Mark Harrison and Paul Lyons, all members of the Ackton Hall Colliery Band. The Poppy Day collection raised £524.02.
At a meeting of the governors of St Thomas's Middle School the headmaster, Mr R Barstead, gave his view on the wearing of earrings in school, particularly by boys. The governors gave their support to any measures he might need to take in discouraging the wearing of earrings by boys in school.
Shaun Keenan was presented with his custom made bicycle by professional cyclist Jock Kerr at Hargreaves Cycles, Wakefield. Photo - the Express.
DECEMBER The Secretary of State for Energy gave the NCB permission to start the Springfield opencast mine south of Ackton. The council's area planning officer said the site would operate for six years and would absorb spoil from Ackton Hall Colliery. It would only be worked between 7am and 7pm on weekdays, and 8am and 1pm on Saturdays.
Adam Hudson age 10 (on the left) of St Thomas's Middle School won a third round prize of £5 in a painting competition run by the Bookmark Shop, Ackworth. The other two children in this Express photo were not Featherstone pupils.
Ackton Hall Colliery Band played Christmas carols in the pit yard and then in the control room over the telephone system to the men underground. They also did the same at Ackworth Pit.
On Boxing Day the committee of the Hospital Comforts Fund visited Ackton Hospital and distributed gifts to all the patients. Gospel Hall members went with them to sing carols.