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Bugthorpe War Memorial Institute
The Building of the Institute
In 1918 fund raising began to build Bugthorpe War Memorial Institute. The Halifax Estates Management Company agreed to let a piece of land on Barf Lane on a long term peppercorn rent. The lease was reconfirmed in 1997 for a further 99 years at the cost of £1.00 per year. Built by local builders, the Wests, building was finished in 1925 and the Institute was officially opened by Col. F.S. Jackson on Saturday 12th September.
At the time of construction there was still a debt of £200 so fund raising continued. Finally, in 1927 the last £48 was raised clearing the money owed. In 1929 the Institute could be hired for 2/6d (two shillings and sixpence) an hour but non-parishioners had to pay 5/- (five shillings) if they wished to use the piano. In 1933 a bowling green was added with bowls provided by Lord Irwin.
During the second World War the Institute was used to provide a place of recreation for evacuees from Hull who had come to live on the Halifax Estate. In 1939 plans were made to extend the Institute which went ahead at the end of the war.
The Institute Over the Years
Bugthorpe War Memorial Institute has been an invaluable asset to the community providing a venue for parties, dances, youth clubs, whist drives, the village shows, theatre productions and as a home to Bugthorpe Under 5s. However, most importantly it is a permanent War Memorial. It provides a special focus for the annual Remembrance Service when a wreath is placed at the hall to remember those who served.
The Heritage Lottery Fund
Through the 'First World War: then and now' programme the Heritage Lottery Fund provided grants enabling communities in the UK to explore and conserve their First World War heritage. Bugthorpe War Memorial Institute received £10,000 to fund their project led by the then secretary, Sue Scott. The project aims were:-
'Conserving and Commemorating Bugthorpe War Memorial and it's origins'
The grant was received in 2016 and used to:
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restore the foundation stone bearing the name and date of the hall's opening
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to create a carved memorial stone dedicated to the men who served in both world wars
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to research and then publish a booklet acknowledging the lives of the men who served during the First World War.
THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE
DIED IN ACTION
GEORGE ELLIOT YPRES 20.10.1914
DAVID POTTER 29.10.1914
HARTLEY SLATER 7.10.1917
DIED OF WOUNDS
JOHN HAROLD WILLIAM ALLEN 26.2.1920.
THE MEN WHO SERVED
FRED THOMPSON ALLEN
GEORGE HARRY ALLEN
SMITH BARKER
WILLIAM FRANCES LEUTY BOYES
JOHN WILLIAM ELLIOT
THOMAS HENRY FORSTER
GEORGE WILLIAM HUFFINGTON
WILLIAM COOPER HUFFINGTON
CHARLES WILLIAM LEE
JOHN WILLIAM LEE
FRANK LEE
EDWARD PARKER
JOHN PARKIN
GEORGE POTTER
ERNEST REX
JIM WATERSON
CHARLES WEST
HARRY WEST
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM
Prior to 2016 the names of those who served in both World Wars were hand written and displayed in frames above the fire place in the Institute. The Heritage Lottery Fund allowed the Bugthorpe War Memorial Institute Committee to commission a permanent memorial made of stone. Matthais Garn, stone mason living in Bugthorpe, took on the project at cost. Matthais and his team gave up their time and used their tremendous skills to create the wonderful memorial stone shown above. They also replaced the original foundation stone above the side door with an exact copy of the badly corroded original. The new stone was unveiled in September 2016. Each Remembrance Sunday, after a service at St Andrew's, a wreath is laid at the Institute in Remembrance of all who served.
GEORGE ELLIOT
George Elliot was born at Baffam Farm 1876. He lived with his mother Sarah Elliot who later married Thomas Barfe and moved to Harrogate. George Elliot remained with his grandparents and other relatives including his uncle, John William Elliot. In the UK Army Registers of Soldiers Effects 1901 - 1929 his next of kin is given as his grandfather. George Elliot became a sergeant in the 18th Hussars (Queen's Own Household Cavalry). He died in Ypres on 20th October 1914 aged 38 along with 25 others from his battalion. George Elliot is remembered on the Ploegsteert Memorial in Belgium, a memorial for the missing, grave unknown.
DAVID POTTER
David Potter was the son of John and Rosanna Potter, born in the winter of 1882 and baptised at Kirby Underdale Church in 1883. His mother died when he was 6 years old. In 1891 he was living at Woodley Farm with his father and siblings. In 1901, aged 13, he was working as a farm servant for the Brigham family at Wilberfoss. However, in December 1904 he joined the army giving his occupation as farm labourer, by 1911 he was part of the 1st West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales Own) as a drummer in India. He married Maria Oxbury from Scarborough in 1914. Private David Potter was killed in action on 29th October 1914 ages 32. He is remembered on the Ploegsteert Memorial in Belgium.
HARTLEY SLATER
Hartley Slater was born in Bishop Wilton in 1884, son of William and Elizabeth Slater. The census showed he lived in Bugthorpe by 1911, where he worked as a farm labourer. He had married Agnes Abel in Bishop Wilton in 1908 and was father to Henry, born 29th January 1909 and Violet Maud born 5th June 1911. According to the 1911 census he was also guardian to Ernest William born 3rd May 1907. Private Hartley Slater served with the East Yorkshire Regiment and the 2nd Battalion Duke of Wellington's West Riding Regiment. Hartley Slater was killed in action on 7th October 1917 and is remembered at the Tyne Cot Memorial in Belgium.
JOHN HAROLD WILLIAM ALLEN
John Harold William Allen was born in Bugthorpe on 26th April 1881, the son of gardener/labourer Charles Richard Allen and Charlotte Allen. He was baptised at St Andrew's Church 5th June 1881. As an adult he moved to Oldham where he met and married Mary Hannah Nicholls in August 1909, they had two children, Charles (15.5.10.) and Hannah (14.10.12.). John Allen worked as a groom and later as a Railway Carter. In 1914 he enlisted with the Royal Irish Fusiliers and went on to serve in France, Gallipoli and Salonika. Sadly, he suffered from gas poisoning and was brought back to England where he received treatment at the Cheltenham Racecourse Hospital before returning to the battle fields. He died from from his wounds in February 1920 aged 39 and is buried in Oldham Cemetery.
FRED THOMPSON ALLEN
Fred Thompson Allen was born in Bugthorpe on 30th August 1885 to Charles Richard Allen and Charlotte Allen. Church records show he was baptised at St Andrew's Church Bugthorpe on 11th October 1885. Fred followed his elder brother, John, to Oldham where he met and married a Welsh woman, Margaret Lloyd, on 24th March 1913. As a young man Fred was a farm labourer but went on to be an iron dresser. He enlisted on 9th November 1914 aged 29, his son Frederick Richard Allen was born later the same month. He belonged to the 24th Manchester Regiment (Oldham Comrades), Oldham Pals A Company. where he was a transport driver for the duration of the war. He was discharged in 1918 suffering from TB. Eventually, the Allens returned to live in Bugthorpe living at Greenacres, Beck Row.
Fred Thompson Allen died in 1972, his wife Margaret died in 1979.
GEORGE HARRY ALLEN
Younger brother of John and Fred, George Harry Allan was born on 23 April 1888 and baptised at Bugthorpe Church on 27th May 1888. By the time he was 13 he was living at Brickyard Buildings, Bugthorpe and for some time was a groom for Lord Middleton of Birdsall Estates. He enlisted aged 27 as a mechanical driver in the Mechanical Transport 52nd Army Service Corps. He was discharged in December 1915 as no longer physically fit.
SMITH BARKER
The Barker family were the blacksmiths in Bugthorpe, Smith was born to Wilson and Harriet Barker in 1899. He enlisted on 22nd March 1916 and became part of the 2/7th Duke of Wellington's West Yorkshire Regiment. Smith Barker served overseas sustaining a number of wounds, he returned home in June 1918.
WILLIAM FRANCIS LEUTY BOYES
William Francis Leuty Boyes was born in Bugthorpe in 1890 and baptised at St Andrew's on 18th October 1890. By 1911 he was living with his sister at The Market Place, Wetherby and working as a butcher's assistant. In the war he was a gunner in the Royal Garrison Artillery. In 1923 he married Winnifred Helen Farrar, by 1939 they had moved to Brickyard Farm Camblesforth, Selby.
JOHN WILLIAM ELLIOT
John William Elliot was the son of John and Mary Hannah Elliot and was baptised at Kirby Underdale Church in 1883. In the 1891 census John was living at Cheesecake House, Garrowby and by 1901 was a waggoner on a farm in Uncleby. In 1907 John married Louisa Hutchinson and later that year their daughter Annie Louise Elliot was born. They went on to live on Cattal Lane Tockwith with John working as a farm labourer. In died inn 1968 and is buried in Patley Bridge Cemetery. No surviving war records have been found.
THOMAS HENRY FOSTER
Thomas Henry Foster was born in Bishop Wilton and baptised at St Edith's Church on 30th June 1886. His parents were Frederick and Annie Foster. War records show his occupation as ' horseman'. He enlisted on 7th December 1915 with the Northumberland Fusiliers. Thomas received a gunshot wound on 15th September 1916 and was transferred to the Agr. Labour Corps. In 1918 he married Elizabeth Huffington. It is thought they moved to Bugthorpe where he worked at the wood yard.
GEORGE WILLIAM HUFFINGTON
George William Huffington's birth was registered in Malton in 1882. He married Kate Emmett in 1918 (1893 - 1956), the marriage was registered in the district of Helmsley. George William Huffington was a sergeant with A Company 21st Battalion Kings Royal Rifles.
GEORGE WILLIAM HUFFINGTON is on the right of the photograph
WILLIAM COOPER HUFFINGTON
William Cooper Huffington was born in 1895, son of John and Mary Huffington. John was a butcher and the family lived in the Shambles in York. By the time William was 16 he was working and living as a horse boy on a farm at Hanging Grimston. He enlisted on 6th December 1915 giving his occupation as farm servant in Bugthorpe and his next of kin as his sister Gladys Huffington of Barton-on- Humber. William Cooper Huffington was a driver in the Machine Gun Corps 35th Battalion, Regiment number 88415. He served until 15th February 1919. He died in 1979.
CHARLES WILLIAM LEE
Charles William Lee was born in Bugthorpe on 28th February 1897, son of John and Sarah Ann Lee. The 1901 census records him living with his grandmother, Mary Lee, on Village Street, Bugthorpe. By 1911 the census shows he is living with his parents in Bugthorpe employed as a labourer. His war record is unknown. Charles William Lee died in 1984.
JOHN WILLIAM LEE
John William Lee was born on 22nd August 1887 to William and Mary Lee, he was a cousin of Charles William Lee. The 1891 census shows he was living next door to the Allen family in Bugthorpe Ten years later he was working as an agricultural boy at Primrose Hill Farm. His war record is unknown.
JOHN WILLIAM LEE worked as an agricultural boy at Primrose Hill Farm. The photograph shows the farm as he would have known it. The farm and buildings were demolished in 1975 and the current farm house built.
FRANK LEE
It is thought Frank Lee was born in Bugthorpe around 1896. The 1911 census reports he was working as a farm lad aged 15 at Bugthorpe Grange. No other information was found.
EDWIN PARKIN
Edward Parkin was born on 14th December 1898, the son of William George Parkin (Bill) and Florence Hannah Parkin. He was known to most as 'Ted' and lived behind the church. There is a story that he ran away to join the army during the First World War and that during the Second Word War he organised Bugthorpe Home Guard. He married Laura in 1931 and by 1958 was the Estate joiner. He was very much involved in the work of the Institute. Ted died in 1974.
JOHN PARKIN
John Parkin is though to be a relative of Edward Parkin but but further evidence has not been found.
GEORGE POTTER
George Potter is the older brother of David Potter who was killed in action in 1914 (See earlier entry). He was born at Breckenholme Farm, Kirby Underdale in 1881, his mother died in 1889 when he was 8 years old. By the time he was 10 years old he and his family were living at Woodley Farm He went on to become a farm labourer at Grange Farm Bugthorpe. George Potter's war record is unclear.
ERNEST REX
Earnest Rex was born in Rudston in 1895 the son of Tom Rex, a woodman. Ernest grew up at Minningdale Farm Warter. He enlisted in Warter in 1913 as a Wolds Waggoner, his brother enlisting at the same time. On 5th June 1915 he joined C Squadron, Remount Squadron Army Service Corps as a strapper - someone who puts the saddles, bridles, harness straps etc. on horses. He had worked as a carter, groom and farm hand and went on to spend his war at Romsey preparing horses for dispatch. By June 1919 he was living in Bugthorpe before marrying a local woman, Margaret E Boyes, in 1921. Ernest Rex died in 1988 and is buried in St Andrew's churchyard.
JIM WATERSON
Jim Waterson was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Waterson, he was baptised in Bugthorpe on 29th January 1881. Jim Waterson moved to Oldham and lodged with another man from Bugthorpe, John Harold William Allen (see earlier entry) whilst, working as a railway carter. In August 1902 he married Clara Kershaw and then went on to work as a stoker at the gas works. Jim and Clara went on to have six children, Clara, John, George, Tom, Ethel and Queenie. They lived at 115, Radcliffe Street Oldham. On 15th December 1914, aged 33, Jim enlisted and joined C Company, X1 platoon in the 24th Manchester Regiment (Oldham Comrades). Jim died in 1958.
CHARLES WEST
Charles West, know to many as Charlie, was born in Bugthorpe on 7th July 1889 the son of Alfred and Sarah West and was baptised at Bugthorpe on 11th August of 1889. Charles worked as joiner and married Sophia Oliver later moving to Kirby Underdale. It is thought that Charles and his brother Harry (see below) enlisted together, however his war history is uncertain.
HARRY WEST
Harry West was born in Bugthorpe on 20th July 1895 to Alfred and Sarah West. He started his working life working on a farm at Skirpenbeck House but later became a builder. Harold West was a private with 1/5th 26th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers. He was wounded in the left arm and thigh at Passchendaele. On return to Bugthorpe he married Gladys Needham on 7th February 1921. The couple had five children, James, Arthur, Phyllis, Mary and John. Harry West sadly died in 1935 in a motor bike accident at Grimston Bar, York.
HARRY WEST 1895 - 1935
ERNEST REX 1895 - 1988
EXPRESSION OF THANKS
SUE SCOTT SECRETARY BUGTHORPE WAR MEMORIAL INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCHING AND EXECUTING THE PROJECT
BUGTHORPE WAR MEMORIAL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
STONE MASON MATTHIAS GARN AND HIS TEAM
THE HERITAGE LOTTERY FUND