Above: The founders of Leyburn’s Dales Festival of Food & Drink with Richard Whiteley in May 2004. From the left (the late) Keith Knight, (the late) Richard Whiteley, Ann Hodgson, Margaret Knight and Gerald Hodgson. Below is a feature I wrote in April 2003 about how the festival began, followed by photographs  from 2002, 2003 and 2004.

The Festival was so successful that from 2004 until 2015 it was held in a field on the east  side of Leyburn. It was then moved back into Leyburn Market Place  but in March 2020 the partnership which organised the event issued this statement: “The event had remained popular with the public but the absence of an entry charge made it impossible to cover costs.

“The directors of the Leyburn and Mid Wensleydale Partnership wish to thank the festival’s supporters, many generous sponsors and an army of volunteers, whose efforts enabled the event to happen and to be the big success it was for many years.”

Driving into Leyburn in Wensleydale for the first day of the Dales Festival of Food & Drink in 2002 was an amazing experience. The town centre was so full of people that  one little boy commented: “It’s just like London.”  During the foot and mouth epidemic the year before Leyburn had been almost like a ghost town and a pall of smoke and depression had hung over Wensleydale. But four local people were determined to help kick start the dales economy.

Over 15,000 attended that first festival and it has become an important annual event in North Yorkshire and beyond. I interviewed Keith and Margaret Knight and Gerald and Ann Hodgson in April 2003 for their story about the founding of the festival and this was published in the Darlington and Stockton Times.  To mark the 10th anniversary here is that story:

Good friendships and the hands-on approach were major factors in the success of the first Festival of Food and Drink in Leyburn, Wensleydale, in 2002. And at the heart of the team were four people with a vision: Ann and Gerald Hodgson and Margaret and Keith Knight. It all started with Ann being irritated by the way urban politicians and planners viewed the countryside.

“I got terribly upset listening to instructions to farmers that they had to change their lives and that the countryside should be a large pleasure ground for the tourists. And all these farmers were going to have to change their way of life by applying for grants. That upset me again. Most of the farmers were born around here. They love and understand the land and how to use it, and have great animal husbandry skills. All this knowledge is so important and not to be just packaged up and changed. We have this wonderful countryside – let’s use it.

“Let’s tell everyone we are good farmers, that we provide excellent food and everyone can come to Leyburn and buy it. We should have a food festival I said. I was thinking more about the flower and wine festivals in Europe. I used Gerald as a sounding board.”

This was just after Margaret Knight started her two year stint as chairman of the Leyburn and Mid Wensleydale Business Association. So Gerald told her about Ann’s idea. They also shared it with Richard and Jacqueline Wells who told them there was an annual food festival at Ludlow. At their own expense, the Hodgsons and Knights headed for Ludlow just a few weeks later.

“We had a lovely time and were very impressed,” commented Mrs Knight. “I walked around with a pad of paper and if I saw a good idea I would make a note of it. Those notes were the foundation of our planning.”

“But we never thought we could do as well,” added her husband, Keith.

“That festival had been running for eight years and had worked up to 12,000 visitors,” said Mr Hodgson. “It had clearly had a considerable impact upon the town of Ludlow which has become a nationally renowned centre for good food. We noted good ideas and added our own. It was held in the centre of the town and that seemed very important because that created a great atmosphere. They had made only a small effort to involve the farming community but we wanted to involve the farmers in a more meaningful way.”

They also wanted to make sure that all local businesses benefited. But they never thought they would do as well as Ludlow in their first year. “We expected a total of 8,000 people and we got 15,000,” said Mr Hodgson.

Mrs Knight, as chairman of the business association, got the ball rolling by organising an open meeting. Among those invited were representatives of the local churches. “We thought we had done a fair amount of work but St Matthew’s scored four tries,” said Mrs Knight. “They suggested the band concert, flowers in the church, refreshments and that lovely cookery book. The Methodists also organised food and a pudding tasting competition.”

“The business association was a great help because they said they would bank roll it. Without that we would not have been able to go ahead,” said Mr Knight. They decided to look for funding because with that they could plan with more confidence, including ordering the marquees. In the end they received £20,000 from various agencies as they emphasised the need to counteract the devastating effects of the foot and mouth epidemic in 2001.  Even so, as Mrs Hodgson said, it was an ambitious decision to go for a three-day event. “People could not envisage what we were trying to do. They could not believe it. That was the worse moment for me. I thought it was going to fail.”

“In January and February 2002 we debated if we should pull the plug on the whole thing,” said Mr Knight. “We had no idea how many people would come. It was a leap of faith.But all were used to facing tough times.

Mr Knight had been a train control system consultant and they had lived quite a transient life before moving back to England after five years in the States. They looked at properties in the Lake District and the dales and found something suitable in Leyburn.At first they had a bread and breakfast business but this almost came to a standstill during the miners’ strike. They were facing bankruptcy when the local vicar pointed out there was a need for good quality residential care for the elderly.

“It was a complete gamble,” commented Mr Knight. But it worked well right through to their retirement in 2002. The Hodgson’s retired in 2001when they sold Copley Decor in Leyburn to their long term business colleague, Bruce Storr.

“We first came to Leyburn 25 years ago and started that business in an outbuilding beside our house,” said Mr Hodgson. When that was moved to a premises on Leyburn business estate Mrs Hodgson was busy developing a special idea of her own in those same outbuildings. She came from a textile background in Bradford but as a young woman was thoroughly frustrated that the whole wool trade only employed women as secretaries or tea makers.

In the dales she was fascinated by the Wensleydale Longwool sheep. “They have a magnificent fleece. Its probably the world’s finest  lustre wool,” she said.  At that time the breed was in decline. She said that the main way to promote it was to use the wool. And so she started the Wensleydale Longwool Sheep Shop, which is now run by Ann Bolam and Ruth Tombleson at Garriston near Leyburn. Under Ann’s guidance the shop twice won an International Quality award from the British Wool Marketing Board.

The Hodgsons and the Knights were also encouraged to keep going in 2002 by the rest of the steering committee set up to organise the festival. “David Berry, Alistair Davy and Elizabeth Hird were just great,” commented Mr Hodgson. “Another major contributor was Mavis Parry who joined the team as the representative of Leyburn Town Council.” In the end about 35 people were involved besides the small army of volunteers who helped throughout the festival.

“Ann worked immensely hard to persuade people to come,” said Mr Hodgson. “It was a very big commitment for small businesses as they had to spend three days at the festival.”

His wife added: “They had to make all the preparations beforehand and there was a lo t of clearing up afterwards. We were trying to give confidence to everyone to go ahead.  But we had to proceed with it. It was really worthwhile not just for us but for the whole area.” And all their hard work did pay off for not only was that first festival a big success but everyone who had a stand in the food hall last year returned in 2003. And more booked to join them.

“I would love to see the festival being automatically included on everyone’s calendar just as the Yorkshire Show is,” said Mrs Hodgson.  To which Mrs Knight added: “We also want the local people to have a good time.” Their ultimate aim was summed up by the Hodgsons: “We want Leyburn to become nationally recognised as a centre of good food based on the wholesome production of the surrounding countryside.”

Margaret Knight spent most of the first festival wearing an apron as she was so busy making sure that the theatre marquee was clean and tidy for each demonstration. She was still cleaning up the day after the festival – and was spotted “shut in” the market shelter. Her husband and the Hodgsons all helped with tidying up afterwards – and for the Hodgsons that included moving a rather sorry looking “sheep”.

Among the special guests  in 2002 were Clarissa Dickson Wright and Johnny Scott who signed copies of their books. Derek Kettlewell of Raydale Preserves has been among those who have regularly had stalls in the main marquee. And Andrew Thwaite had his Wensleydale family there to help at his chocolate stall including his grandmother, Isabel Robinson, and his mother (right) Gillian Thwaite.

Richard Whiteley joined Andrew Thwaite in the theatre marquee during the 2003 festival for lessons in how to make chocolate much to the delight of a packed audience. “It was great fun. I’ve never made chocolates before and I thoroughly enjoyed myself,” Mr Whiteley said.

Below: Rick Stein was one of the guests at the 2003 festival where he enjoyed sampling the roast pork at the Mainsgill Farmshop stand and trying his hand at Craske’s traditional shooting gallery. Gerald Hodgson took good care of him during his visit to Leyburn.  Also pictured: Local estate agent Brian Carlisle with all those balloons, and the young four-legged star of the farming marquee.

The festival in the field east of Leyburn

After the 2003 festival it was decided to move to a field on the outskirts of Leyburn for the festival had already outgrown the town’s market square. This new site has proved to be a big success as it provides plenty of space of the large marquees as well as room (on warm, dry days) for families to sit on the grass and relax.

Also photographed in 2004: Richard Whiteley after a cookery lesson with Peter Ball of Darlington College; Gervaise Phinn book signing; and Ffion Hague tasting honey watched by her husband, William Hague MP.

To many in Wensleydale Irene Morton, who died aged 59-years on March 4, 2012, will be remembered for the way she supported so many local groups during the 30 years that she lived in that dale. But her family and friends will especially remember her bravery and great sense of humour during the time that she had motor neurone disease.

Irene was born in Clifton, York, in August 1952 and attended Queen Anne’s Grammar School before going to Farnborough College to do business studies. She then worked for three years at the office of Dunlop Tyres UK at Newcastle. In 1975 she was able to move back to York when she successfully applied to the Gofton’s accountancy firm. It was there that she met John Morton and they set up home together in April 1979.

In 1980 Gofton’s took over an accountancy firm which had offices in Leyburn and Thirsk and the Morton’s moved to Wensleydale. The links with the York office were severed a few years later and a new partnership was formed. Irene retired from the Barker Partnership in November 2010 due to the onset of motor neurone disease.

During her 30 years in Wensleydale she had not only been extremely supportive of her husband in all that he did including as a member of the local Round Table and Rotary clubs but also of all the activities that their son, Toby, was involved in such as the Beavers, the Scouts and Leyburn primary school. She served the Wensleydale Ladies Circle as secretary, treasurer and chairman at various times, and then as president for a while after she became a member of the Wensleydale Tangent Club. She was passionate about gardening and the new house they moved into at Wensley 1985 gave her ample opportunity to enjoy  creating a beautiful garden and home.

The Morton’s moved in 2010 to Leyburn into a bungalow altered to provide her with many facilities and much enjoyment and it was there that she died very peacefully on March 4. The Mortons were a couple who worked and played together. They enjoyed skiing and sailing holidays and for many years had part shares in boats, firstly on Lake Windermere and then at Menorca and finally in Greece. They also loved visiting Madeira. They were members of the National Trust which provided her with an opportunity not only to see great houses but also to explore beautiful gardens. She never lost her love of watching nature programmes on TV, nor of those about house buying and renovation.

At the funeral service at Holy Trinity church, Wensley, on March 15, the Rev Sue Whitehouse thanked, on John’s behalf, the friends and carers who had helped his wife during the past two years. Half of the collection at the service was given to the Motor Neurone Disease Association. The close family at the funeral were: John Morton (husband); Toby Morton (son); Linda and Michael Rheinberg (sister and brother-in-law); Rita Walls (sister), her daughter Lisa Walls, and grandson Denzil; and Jackie and Malcolm Coggan (sister-in-law and her husband).

John has provided some more photographs: Irene at her 55th birthday party; with her sister Linda during a sailing holiday around the Greek islands; at Catherine Ford’s wedding, l-r Ruth Biker, Joyce Sunter, David Ford (with Joan Ford behind him), Irene and John; at one of her favourite places – St Katarina’s Gardens in Madeira overlooking the port; and with friends George and Helen Bennett and Linda and David Milner. I took the photo of her in late 2011 with Jacky Warden and Jacky’s granddaughter, Keira.

A memorial service was held at St Andrew’s church, Aysgarth church on May 15 for Eileen Shuttleworth  because so many were unable to get to her funeral in December due to the very bad weather conditions. (Photo: Bill and Eileen celebrating their golden wedding anniversary.)

At the funeral service in December the Rev Penny Yeadon told those who did get there that the core of Mrs  Shuttleworth’s life had been her faith in Jesus. This has been evident in her calling to be a nurse in inner city hospitals, in the way she assisted at her husband’s medical practice, the communities she lived in, and as a homemaker.

She was born at Whitley Bay in Tyneside in 1917 but, as her son Keith explained, the family moved to Rothbury in Northumberland while she was still young because her father had to take early retirement from the ship yards due to ill health. She enjoyed the open countryside as well as taking part in sports and the Guiding movement.

During the war, after qualifying as a nurse, she transferred to the Liverpool Royal Hospital where she met Dr Bill Shuttleworth. He was born in Coventry and grew up in Wales.  “The romance soon blossomed completely contrary to hospital regulations which would not countenance such a scandal,” said Mr Shuttleworth. They were married at Rothbury in 1943 and not long after that Dr Shuttleworth joined the RAMC.

While he was away his wife moved back to Rothbury to live near her parents. On his return in 1947 he joined a medical practice at in the large mining village of Witton Park, Bishop Auckland. Mr Shuttleworth told those at the funeral:”With the establishment of the NHS in 1948 the practice grew as did the size of the twice daily surgeries. Mother helped to relieve the pressure by acting as receptionist, dispensing medicines and performing nursing tasks.”

By 1954 she also had four sons to care for but all that did not stop her having her own interests. She joined the Women’s Institute and the St John’s Ambulance as well as helping with Meals on Wheels. But her main interest was the church at which she was a Sunday school teacher and a member of the Mothers’ Union and the choir. She also occasionally played the organ.

Dr Shuttleworth’s annual two weeks leave gave them the opportunity to take caravan holidays in Scotland, Ireland and Scandinavia – and also in Walden near Leyburn. This led to their buying a house in West Burton in the 1960s and to which they retired in 1975. They joined Aysgarth church and became choir members. Mrs Shuttleworth was the choir leader for 16 years and especially encouraged the junior members. She was the church organist for a few years after Madge Blades retired.

Retirement provided them with an opportunity to expand their love of classical music by learning to play the violin and cello and they joined the Wensleydale Philarmonic Orchestra. They sang with Aysgarth Choral Society for many years and were instrumental in the formation of a local recorded music club. Her continuing love of sport led to her becoming a lady member of the Yorkshire County Cricket Club, and to buying a wide-screen plasma TV recently so she could enjoy watching cricket, tennis and snooker matches.

Mr Shuttleworth thanked all the neighbours and friends who had helped his parents in the past few years, and had supported his mother after Dr Shuttleworth died in 2009. He also thanked those who had cleared the driveway to the church on the day of the funeral.

EXCERPTS FROM THE REV SUE WHITEHOUSE’S ADDRESS ON MAY 15:  She began by reading the pilgrim journey of the Church as described in a prayer by George Appleton, one time Bishop of Jerusalem.

“For over 90 years the church’s (pilgrim) journey was also Eileen’s, and for a good part of that time within the fellowship of St Andrew’s church.

“The early Christians devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers. Eileen’s own spirituality was sustained by receiving communion and by her daily prayers and Bible reading. Gathering together for worship was important to her – she was faithful in her attendance at Sunday and weekday services. There was a steely determination about Eileen. It was because of Eileen that the midnight Christmas communion service about 12 years ago actually took place. It was a night of dreadful storms. She and Bill had had to negotiate a fallen tree on their way out of West Burton. They arrived to find no electricity at church. Eileen made her way in the pitch black to the vestry to find some candles. When I arrived from Redmire the church was in candlelight and ready for what was to be a memorable service.

“Hospitality – reflecting God’s welcome to each of us – has always been a hallmark of Christianity. Eileen and Bill’s home was a place of welcome. Meals with friends; larger gatherings to celebrate important birthdays or anniversaries; choir parties – especially enjoyed by the younger members with their good old-fashioned party games; and shared meals for Christmas and Easter. It was generous and sensitive hospitality.

“And there were the glad hearts in the early church – and I think that above all Eileen’s life showed such a gladness and gratitude to God for all his faithfulness and his gifts to her. She rejoiced in her family – Bill, their four sons, their daughters-in-law, grandchildren and great grandchildren. ”

She said that Eileen accepted the gift of life from God and lived it to the full – enjoying the opportunities presented to her and sharing with others her gifts and interests. And continued:

“When someone dies we look back over past years with mixed emotions – gratitude, grief, regret, laughter, nostalgia – thoughts too deep for words. But then (we remember) we are a pilgrim people – a pilgrim church. Eileen, in her earthly life, showed how following the good shepherd led to growth and development in her relationship with God and in her understanding of Him. Jesus’ promise is now fulfilled in her: that He came to live, to die and rise again, that we might have life and have it abundantly. As we as individuals and as His church continue on our earthly journey we pray that we may hear the Good Shepherd call us, by name, and be ready to follow him wherever he leads that we too may grow and develop as people and as His church.”

The memorial service  provided an opportunity to remember both Eileen and Bill Shuttleworth (Left: at their diamond wedding celebration) The following is from my report about the Shuttleworth’s  Golden wedding celebrations in September 2003:

Dr Shuttleworth told all those who attended the celebration at West Burton village hall that so much in his life, including his 25 years as a GP in Barnard Castle, would not have been possible without Eileen. Along with raising their four sons (Keith, Hugh, Philip and Paul) she had been the general practice nurse, receptionist and dispenser at that surgery. She was also the nursing officer with the local St John’s Ambulance Brigade for many years.

It was when she was working as a probationer nurse at a hospital in Liverpool that they met. Their eyes twinkled mischievously as they spoke of their clandestine romance. “The nurses weren’t supposed to fraternise with the doctors. We were very discreet but we did get teased,” she said. They spent their honeymoon in Scotland “feasting on the fat of the land” as Dr Shuttleworth recalled. “We ate grouse, venison and salmon and then had to go back to strict rationing.”

In 1945 he joined the Royal Army Medical Corp for two years seeing his wife only occasionally in her small cottage near Rothbury. “There was no electricity. There were oil lamps and an outside toilet,” she recalled. Her father sent in a snow plough to get her out during the winter of 1947, just two weeks before her second son was born. So she was very pleased when Captain Shuttleworth was demobbed.

It was in 1965 that they bought a holiday home in West Burton and began singing with Aysgarth church choir. By the time they retired and moved to West Burton they had been singing with the church choir in Witton Park for 25 years. They said their love of classical music and working together had kept them close. “It has been a very satisfying and happy marriage,” commented Mrs Shuttleworth.  Her husband added: “We just hit it off together and we helped one another. We needed each other.” Both had a deep Christian faith but in all their years of attending church services they  rarely sat together because of their choir duties. They notched up another 25 years of choir singing with Aysgarth church choir!

Click on the picture to see photos of the pavilion project from laying the foundations to the football match with Peter Crouch in January 2011.

It was all hands on deck at Carperby’s new sports pavilion in the first week in January as members of the village’s football team and over 90 residents and friends worked together to make sure it was ready for the completion date (January 7) set by the confectionery company, Mars Ltd.

When William Hague MP took part in the foundation stone ceremony on October 22,2010, the local builders who had won the contract in a blind tender thought it would be several years before the community had raised sufficient funds to complete the project.

The village of  223 residents had raised £40,000 by holding various events and by obtaining grants since the project was launched in 2004. The pavilion team, which consisted of three members each from Carperby Playing Fields Association, Carperby Football Team and Carperby cum Thoresby parish council, thought it might take another five years to complete.

But then Mars Ltd and the FA became involved with the former offering a grant of £125,000 to cover the cost of completing the 11m by 21m pavilion as long as it was completed by January 8, 2011, so that the company’s advert could be filmed and edited to be shown on TV by February 2.

When the icy and snowy weather became a problem in late November Mars provided a 15m x 30m tent which completely covered the building site. This enabled the builders (Scott with Steve Harrison and Chris Peacock, along with Trevor Gilham, Jonathon Wood, Stuart Hunter, Tim Peacock and his father, Alan) to carry on working.

Even then they had problems with the cement freezing before they could use it. Scott said that on occasions the weather had been unbearable.

“The construction would have ground to a halt without the tent and we were indebted to Mars for all their help and support with the project,” said Nick Oliver, who was a member of the sports pavilion project team.

Once the building was complete the community – young and old – mucked in to clean and paint the interior. “The community has been brilliant – fantastic,” said Scott.

“Many in the village have been invited to take part in the filming, which has been great fun for all those connected with the project,” added Mr Oliver. A great community spirit had developed with the camera crew during that winter.

To be ready for the final filming session on Thursday, January 27 the villagers also wanted to make sure that children’s play area and the dugouts beside the football pitch were spick and span. This meant scrubbing, painting and treating woodwork in freezing conditions.

There was a tremendous sense of anticipation as residents, friends, local footballers and the camera crew awaited the arrival of England star footballer, Peter Crouch.

And no matter how cold it was, or how many takes the camera crew’s director requested, Peter was the perfect role model for the youngsters who were there. He was always cheerful and approachable – so willing to share with the community the joy of finally having a modern, well-equipped sports pavilion.

Aysgarth church is the first in Richmondshire to start re-erecting gravestones. Richmondshire District Council regularly sends its topple testers to check on gravestones in churchyards and cemeteries to ensure they are safe and won’t topple over and maybe kill children. But in 2009 Carperby farmer Alastair Dinsdale  asked Aysgarth Parochial Church Council (PCC) to consider re-erecting some of those which had been laid flat.

When, in early 2010, the PCC contacted the district council’s head of open spaces, Gary Hudson, he happily came along with David Lodge, the ground maintenance supervisor, to explain how it could be done. Alastair  then  raised the gravestone of one of his ancestors to test the suggested method (see below).

To his surprise he found fragments of an 18th century gravestone had been used as a foundation for that erected about a century later.  Beside another toppled gravestone the carved sides of a casket grave were found. As there are few 18th century stones remaining in the churchyard it is possible that many were recycled in the 1800s. (Photographs below)

For those researching their family history the churchyard (one of the largest in the country) is a useful source of information about those buried there since the 19th century. Alastair is particularly keen to raise gravestones so that the inscriptions can be protected from water and ice.

Even some of the upright stones have deteriorated since Evelyn Abraham and Marian Kirby listed them in 1992. Without that list it would not have been possible to locate the grave of John and Margaret Fawcett  “of Cote near West Burton”. He died in 1836 and his wife in 1846. Dianne Powell in Australia had asked if we could send photographs of the gravestone which we did.

Some of those who attended the Gravestone Coffee Morning on June 26 had also been researching their family history. Relatives of one family had come from New Zealand a few years ago and had been saddened to find that the gravestone of their great grandparents (Edward and Elizabeth Graham) had been toppled. This was one of the gravestones re-erected during the community work day in September.  Nine gravestones were successfully raised that day including those of Thomas and Emily Shannon of Carperby  which has a a memorial to  their son John who was killed in action in France during the First World War.

Aysgarth Parochial Church Council (PCC) decided to publicise details of these so that the families would know about the work day. This led to descendants of the Shannon family making contact (one from Inverness) and those of Jane Hammond, including one who lives in Bowness in Windermere.  An Aysgarth family has also asked for that of Catherine Wood to be added to the list. She died during the Spanish flu epidemic in 1918.

If anyone wants information about gravestones in Aysgarth churchyard they can leave a comment on this post.

At the Quaker memorial meeting for John ‘Peter’ Leyland at Bainbridge on June 22, 2010, there was very little silence  as  so many wanted to share their happy and very special memories of him.

“This is a celebration of his life and everyone is encouraged to share their memories about Peter. I feel extremely blessed and privileged to have known him,” said Quaker elder, Judith Bromley.

When he was born in Bainbridge in January 1920 his parents dutifully gave him the family name of John but then always called him Peter. He was proud of the fact that all his grandparents were from mid Wensleydale but, after he was articled as an accountant to a London firm when he was 16-years-old he did not return to live in the dale until he retired as finance director of the Scott Bader Commonwealth in 1982.

“He was a gentleman and a gentle man,” wrote one friend. Throughout his life he was renowned for his integrity, honesty and probity, as well as his quiet bravery. Several at the memorial meeting spoke of his time with the “China Convoy” for the Friends Ambulance Unit (FAU) during the Second World War. (Oral history recordings are at the Dales Countryside Museum at Hawes.)

His widow, the artist Janet Rawlins (Parfitt) read an email from Godric Bader who commented: “His concern for the truth of a situation was deep and clarifyingly perceptive, often salutary, but always expressed helpfully… the same qualities… undoubtedly were behind his clearly heroic work in the Friends Ambulance Unit in China  – or possibly they were nurtured there in those tough and exposed days in the inhospitable mountain fastnesses.”

Another friend had written: “He was one of those exceptional people on earth who sought always to do the best for others and to create peace where there was lack of harmony. He was a man who stood by his principles and his deep Christian faith shone through him.” At the memorial meeting one said that Peter had shown how being guided by the Spirit did produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self control (Gal:5.22-23).

Janet commented: “He was a quiet man but he was a wonderful character. And he was fun.”  They married in 1982 and became very involved in the local and Quaker communities as well as restoring what had been his mother’s family home in Askrigg. Later they were able to buy back the house his wife had had built in Bainbridge.

For many years he was treasurer of the Askrigg Foundation, Askrigg Millennium Fund, Friends of the Dales Countryside Museum, the Bainbridge (Quaker) Meeting, and Bainside Arts as well as of the Laurie Baker Society and Ackworth School. He attended Ackworth School from the age of 10 to 16.  Peter was one of the first to buy shares in the River Bain Hydro project this year investing the £1,415 that his mother had received as compensation from the National Grid in 1953 when it took over Bainbridge’s electricity company that his grandfather had co-founded.

His close family at the memorial meeting included: Janet Rawlins (wife); Sarah and Stephen Morgan (daughter and son-in-law) with Nat and Jonas and representing Noah; Joanna and Patrick Morris (daughter and son-in-law) with Rebecca and Victoria; James and Samantha Parfitt (step son and daughter-in-law) with Jake and Alex; Dennis Leyland, Wendy and John Doig, and Dennis and Margaret Mudd (cousins). The collection at the memorial meeting amounted to £400 and was donated to the Friends of Friary Hospital, Richmond, where he was cared for so well during the last week or his life. His widow has also donated one of her collages to the Friary. The photograph above was taken by Peter’s grandson, Noah Morgan.  (See also the obituary I wrote which was published in the Yorkshire Post )

……………

At the annual meeting of the Friends of the Dales Countryside Museum in October 2007 Peter told the remarkable story of his family’s involvement in providing a shop and the electricity supply for Bainbridge  until the mid 20th century. He explained how his great great grandfather, Alexander Tiplady, had returned from the battle of Waterloo and opened the first shop in Bainbridge. Alexander’s grand daughter married John Leyland who gave up being a travelling salesman and joined her in running the family business.

It was he who with Richard Cockbone in 1912 set up Bainbridge Electric Lighting Company based on a water mill on the River Bain. The turbines were installed by William Handley Burton of Askrigg. His great grandson, William Burton of Maxwells Electrical in Northallerton, was invited to the annual meeting and enjoyed discussing the various historical documents with Peter. (Right: Peter on right with William Burton.) During his talk Peter described how his mother had carried on with the shop and running the electricity supply in Bainbridge, Wensleydale, even after her husband died in 1942.

At that time John ‘Peter’ Leyland was still in China with the Friends Ambulance Unit.  As a Quaker he had chosen to serve others that way rather than be conscripted into the armed forces during the Second World War. See also Memories of war time China. 

Eco-friendly living with geothermal heating can be fun as Rosi Keatinge found when she helped to transform a small barn in Wensleydale into a dwelling with the smallest carbon footprint possible. The barn at Garriston near Leyburn with its panoramic views of Lower Wensleydale was almost derelict when she had her husband, Dr Dyno Keatinge, decided to turn it into a two-bedroom home. Above: As the barn is  now with its French doors facing south to collect heat from the sun. Below: Mary Farnell’s painting of part of the barn when it was derelict.

The most eco-friendly feature about the barn conversion is the geothermal under-floor heating installed by IceEnergy of Whitney. With a considerable amount of insulation the temperature inside was 22 degrees C throughout the winter, without ever using the multi fuel stove. “This place is so warm- I cant believe it,” commented Rosi.“My late father, a civil engineer, was convinced that geothermal energy was the way forward and particularly for things as we have done at the barn, for under floor heating and hot water production. You have got to get your heat from renewable sources. We are running out of oil, gas and coal.”

Dr Keatinge was the director general of the World Vegetable Centre in Taiwan and spent a lot of his time trying to convince people throughout the world of the importance of growing their own vegetables and having a balanced diet. So Rosi had the job of searching for local products for the barn conversion when not teaching music. They have named the dwelling Rufus Barn after a golden retriever who was a much loved family pet.

She is delighted that most of the oak used for the bespoke kitchen and the roof trusses travelled only a few miles from where the tree was felled via Wensley saw mill and Calvert’s  workshop in Leyburn. To make the best use of natural light there are French windows in the kitchen, sitting room and main bedroom, and  glass has been inserted between the traditional roof trusses.

The sitting room as seen from the storage space above the second bedroom.

“The trusses are so wonderful. There is a bolt through the middle and that’s it. Then there are pegs and so every year or so you will knock the pegs in a bit more. Oh – and a few makers marks,” said Rosi.

Calvert’s craftsmen also produced the kitchen counter tops made from the fossil-filled stone from Leyburn’s Shawl Quarry. And, before Rufus Barn was let to a tenant, Rosi loved standing in the kitchen and looking across Wensleydale to Jervaulx where the stone for the floor was quarried. “It’s the same stone as was used to build Jervaulx Abbey,” she explained.

She is especially pleased with  the tiles handmade by Caroline Hudson. Rosi spotted those at an arts and crafts fair at The Station in Richmond (North Yorkshire) and has integrated them into the design of the bathroom, toilet and kitchen.

She was very careful to make sure that the bath and toilet were just right! “I sat in many baths and on many lavatories to make sure that they were comfortable,” she said with a laugh. In the end she chose an ideal standard bath at Homebase.

Some of the walls have not been plastered so that original features can be seen. These include the original outer wall now in the kitchen complete with lichens, and the clamp bricks in the sitting room. These would have been baked in small kilns in the late 19th and early 20th century and were used to make the animal stalls. “There’s a patina to those bricks which is very attractive,” she said.

They have been careful to retain the integrity of the barn and its rural charm. “It’s an amazing part of the world – we have got everything. The sunrises are beautiful and there are wonderful trees, the wild flowers are super, and there are resident hedgehogs, stoats, little voles and many birds.”    Her tenants won’t be allowed to keep cats because she is so keen to protect the small birds that flock to her garden next door to Rufus Barn. Below: Rosi just making sure that the bath still feels right!

Rosi and Dyno may consider retiring to the eco-friendly barn they have created, with its geothermal under-floor heating, and its great views across Wensleydale.

Keywords: eco-friendly, geothermal heating, low carbon footprint, Wensleydale

What a treat it was to visit Wensleydale’s ancient coppice wood near Carperby in late May and to find that the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) had cleared away many of the Genguards and brambles. When I was researching the article I wrote about Freeholders Wood for the January issue of the Dalesman I was shocked to see that many Genguards (mesh guards) had been left around coppice plots for so long that the hazel was growing through them along with a lot of brambles and thistles.  Below left: an overgrown Genguard. On the right – after the Genguards were removed.

The Genguards are placed around the newly coppiced plots to protect the young shoots from rabbits and deer. But even though in 2009 the YDNPA was publicising its reintroduction of dormice to the wood a large swathe looked a very sorry sight.

The wood got its name from the Freeholders of Carperby who, for centuries,  “put up a smoke” in the village and so had the right to collect fallen wood (estover) and cut sticks and poles. Hazel has been coppiced in this semi-natural area of woodland for about 400 years.

After the YDNPA bought the wood in 1982 it instituted a long term coppicing cycle similar to that in many other parts of the country and which was approved by English Nature and then Natural England.  This cycle takes 14 to 16 years with about a hectare of hazel plots or coupes being cut each year. The wood is now a local nature reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. But older Freeholders have been far from impressed by the way the wood has been managed by the YDNPA. Late last year one commented:  “It’s horrible now.”

By the 1960s there were few exercising their rights to collect pea sticks but those who did never cut a whole hazel plot. “They would take different parts of a particular hazel root and tree in different years – at different stages,” said Mr Roger Dinsdale. The first to be taken was the pea sticks, then the poles for hurdles and fence panels, and later the heavier wood for fuel. They also left some areas open for grazing animals.

“A lot of us felt (in 1982) that the wood really did want some serious management,” explained Mr Dinsdale.  He thought the YDNPA would start by cleaning out the invasive black thorn, brambles, bracken and thistles. He and other Freeholders are saddened that the YDNPA has not conferred that much with them. They feel they have become peripheral to the management of this ancient woodland and that their rights have been whittled away.

The YDNPA’s senior wildlife conservation officer, Tim Thom, assured me that they would seek to rectify that this year. At least this year the wood does look far more attractive and there is no better time to visit than May when the spring flowers are in bloom. By late May the bluebells, wood sorrel, wood anemones, violets, marsh marigolds, primroses, cowslips, and early purple orchids were all in flower. Even more surprising was the big patch of toothwort near the lower falls – probably late due to the cold weather earlier in Spring.

Many visitors enjoy visiting the upper falls and use the excellent path through the wood created by the YDNPA to provide access to the middle and lower falls. But few take time to explore Freeholders Wood. Parking is available at the YDNPA’s visitors’ centre on the north side of the river, and at The Falls on the south side.  There are cafes and restaurants at the visitors’ centre, by the bridge over the river and at The Falls, as well as the Palmer Flatt inn and an excellent gift shop. And while you are in the area why not visit St Andrew’s church.

Below: left – primroses and early purple orchids; right – a box for dormice among the bluebells.

About 450 people filled Aysgarth church on Thursday, September 24, 2009 to remember an unforgettable friend and character: 68-years-old Reg Harrison of Thornton Rust.  As Canon Sue Whitehouse said at the memorial service:

“For all of us there was sense of shock and disbelief at the suddenness of Reg’s death – but we comfort ourselves that he died as he wishes, with his boots on, on the moors when going to tend his sheep that he loved so much.

Right: “Turbo Reg” David Pointon’s prize-winning photograph of Reg driving through Thornton Rust, sporting one of his Panama hats.

Reg died on Thursday, September 17, in his own field (Gibson’s Lotment) above the Outgang at Thornton Rust. Those who attended the memorial service came not only from the Dales and throughout Yorkshire but also from Cumbria, Lancaster, Kent, Bedfordshire and Scotland. He was especially well known at the various auction marts for, as Vicar Sue explained:

“He was in his element wheeling and dealing at markets – and his cheerful banter and smiling presence will be missed in many places.” She said he seemed to naturally and unwittingly transfer his qualities as a shepherd to the way he related to people. He did enjoy being with people, treated everyone equally, and especially had time for the children in the village.

“Thornton Rust will not be the same without his cheery smiling face, his taking time to stop and talk,” she added.

Reg was born in Coverdale into a farming family. He worked on the Bolton Estate, at Howe Hills in Wensley, and on the Clifton Castle estate until he retired in early September.

He and his wife, Julia, his constant companion and friend for 42 years, had then gone on holiday to Italy, where, as usual he had been the life and soul of the party.

He adored his grandchildren (Michael, Lee, Chloe and Charlotte) and was proud that his grandsons were following in his footsteps by working on the Bolton Estate.  Julia said he would also have been very proud of Annabel and James (his great niece and nephew) who read their own tributes to him during the memorial service.

At the service the donations amounted to £1,440 which will be shared between Thornton Rust Institute, of which he was a trustee, and Aysgarth church.

Close family, friends and neighbours had attended the service at Darlington crematorium before the memorial service. His ashes will be scattered among the trees he planted at Gibson’s Lotment.

Below: Reg – the life and soul of the party. Almost every household in Thornton Rust was represented at his memorial service as all knew how much they would miss him.

The producer of The Department Store, Richard Macer (sitting on the floor) enjoying a joke during filming with David Milner (beside him) and customers at a fashion show at Milners of Leyburn.

THE dynamics of a family-run shop in Leyburn were turned into a humourous and very entertaining TV programme in late 2008 – and has been shown in various parts of the world since.

There were film crews at Milners of Leyburn for six months until April that year and they caught every aspect of life there for The Department Store. 

“I think this is one of the most entertaining films I have made partly because they were so open and honest in front of the camera,” said Richard Macer, the producer. He added:

“They are a remarkable family in many ways. I was also attracted by the family dynamic which was so interesting. And so the film is more about a family. They have all got strong personalities and a good sense of humour and we show some of the funny situations they got into.”

Central to the film is David Milner and his struggle to accept retirement and hand over to his daughter and son-in-law, Leonie and Keith Garrard. Keith believes that this makes the film one that many can relate to. He commented:

“It is difficult when you are so used to being busy and when you know that things are changing as others are coming in with different ideas. That makes the film very interesting.”

He agreed that the film was very funny because it did portray him and his wife, and David and Linda Milner as they are.

“The film crews really came to understand our characters and portrayed them very well. And we didn’t hold back.”

That period at the store was a watershed for the family. Although David has now retired he does support Leonie and Keith. But he has time now to be more active in the community, particularly through the Rotary Club of Wensleydale and Leyburn Methodist church.

FIVE GENERATIONS

David Milner is proud of the fact that Leyburn in Wensleydale has one of those now rare British institutions – the independent family-run department store.  Five generations have now kept it going since the business was started by David’s great grandfather, Christopher.

Christopher’s father, George, settled in Wensleydale in the 1840s, where, as a master stonemason, he worked on the construction of the railway, supervising the Irish navvies and overseeing the building of the bridge and railway stations.

But Christopher, the sixth of his eight children, decided on a different trade. At 14-years-old, he was apprenticed to James Wheldon and Sons in Northallerton. During his seven years at the large mercers and drapers store he had to promise not to “commit fornication or contract matrimony” or to “haunt taverns or playhouses or absent himself from his master’s service day or night unlawfully.”

It was probably a relief to reach the grand age of 21 and go back to his parents in Bainbridge.  He started to go round all the villages with a handcart and a backpack, calling on people to show them clothing and fabrics and seeking orders.

“Manufacturing wasn’t that big in those days and so he had people who made things for him like working trousers,” explained David.

Then, 10 years later, in May 1882, Christopher settled his business in Bridge Street, Hawes, as a general drapers and milliners. He did, however, continue to visit his customers, as well as travelling regularly to Leeds or Manchester by train to buy supplies, thus setting a pattern which his descendants would follow for many years.

His sons carried on the tradition in the 20th century with Percy in charge of the Hawes shop while Cyril opened Milners stores in Leyburn, Appleby and Bentham. Harry took on the shop in Kirkby Stephen. Between them they covered the dales from Barnard Castle to Skipton and Kirkby Lonsdale.

Percy’s sons, Raymond and Carl, later joined him in Hawes, with the latter being in charge of the ironmongers. David’s father, Raymond, returned to the family business after being demobbed from the RAF after World War II.

He shared his knowledge of electrical and mechanical engineering with David. So when David left school at 16 and was offered the choice of selling ladies’ clothing alongside his father and grandfather, or working with his uncle Carl he chose the ironmongery.

In the late 1950s David went to Darlington to serve a five-year apprenticeship and then worked as a Hoover engineer. Just as he was contemplating emigrating to Canada his father offered him a partnership which he accepted.

They decided to leave Uncle Carl in charge at Hawes and bought a business which had shops in Leyburn and Middleham. The original Milners’ shop in Leyburn had closed in 1945 and that premises is now owned by the Co-op.

David learned his trade in the stores for about six months before his father introduced him to the suitcases – ten in total, each bound in leather, double-sided and very heavy as they contained clothes and household goods for all.

It was David’s job to travel around the dales with those suitcases. He chuckled at the memories of the number of times he had opened them in lonely farmsteads and had all the children peering in asking: “What’s in here Mr Milner?”  “If it was a big family sometimes the kids’ cases came out first and the parents would not bother about themselves,” he commented.

Even so he carried a wide selection of clothing for women, including corsets, and the essentials for men like corduroy trousers and working clothes.

In some villages it could take him several days to go door to door before finally returning to the shop with his order book full. He remembers: “In the sixties people didn’t go out as much as they do now so they were pleased to see you. It was a nice way to do business.

“They were all locals, mostly farmers, farmers’ wives or farm workers. Sometimes I would take sandwiches but if I was going to a particular house I knew that there would be a dinner arranged.”

When he delivered the goods a week later he would usually receive payment, unlike in earlier years when the store gave its customers six months credit.

In time the shop attracted more customers and so David packed away his suitcases for good. He did not remain in the shop for long however. Leaving his father in charge, he toured the area measuring floors and fitting carpets.

As more dales folk bought cars change was inevitable. “The locals are getting older and the young ones are moving away and they don’t deal in the same way at all. It’s a complete change from my early days,” David commented.

In the 1990s, as the only descendant of the founding member who wished to continue with the Milners’ family business and with most of the other shops closed, he chose to extend the store in Leyburn and sell that in Middleham.

David has diversified into fitting blinds and providing soft furnishings and said: “I am still offering a service – I am still going out to see customers but only on request now.”

Their wares have changed considerably since Christopher’s day. Gone are the flannels (in scarlet, white and grey), the corsets, the tweed dress material, the all-wool shirting and cloth hearth rugs.
But Milners still have a reputation for fulfilling special orders whether for men’s long johns or providing a woman in Australia with the same patterned carpet as was used on the Titanic.

David did consider selling the business a year or two ago but thankfully his daughter, Leonie, and her husband, Keith, decided to take it on. Now David can look forward to retirement in April and know that Milners is in the capable hands of the fifth generation.

It has not been easy handing over to Leonie and Keith, however, and some of that trauma has been captured by the TV crews. As Milners is small compared with the other two department stores being filmed the crews didn’t miss anything in Leyburn.

Luckily though, the problems are always resolved because, as Keith said, the family shares the same principals.  “Family values are important to Milners and we want to maintain its good reputation. We enjoy serving the community.”

UPDATE 2010

David Milner retired in 2009 and Leonie and Keith began transforming the department store so that by January 2010 it was very different to the one seen in the BBC documentary series.

They brought in their very own “Mary Queen of Shops”, Sarah Harbour, who had worked in the fashion retail business for over 20 years. She helped the Garrard’s revamp Milners of Leyburn. One of their big successes in 2010 was buying in organic cotton clothes by Seasalt. “We have sold out twice since we started bringing in Seasalt – it’s gone fantastically well,” said Leonie.

In the autumn of 2010 they introduced clothes by another organic cotton company Jackpot. “We are going down the line that people are thinking more of what they are wearing rather just wanting cheap and cheerful. They are thinking is it good for them and is it good for the environment. So we have found these two products which have really nice vibrant colours.  We are definitely appealing to a wider age range. It’s not like in The Department Store – a shop for 60 to 70-year-olds. We are getting a lot younger people coming through the door now, whether it is because we are getting the product right or dressing the window differently.”

Sarah was involved with changing things around in the shop and bringing in new ideas.  The lingerie and underwear have been moved to the basement from the lower ground floor to make room for an extended range of accessories. All the bed linen and towels are now on the first floor where the Garrards made new shelving to accommodate it. They have de-cluttered that floor to make the most of their best selling carpets  and have built two mock beds so that bed linen can be better displayed.

The children’s clothing section was moved into the lower ground floor, replacing it with the accessories, and then introduced “smellavision”. “We are buying into smellies,” explained Leonie. “We have been to other places which have done that. There are a lot of shops likes ours which have a bit of fashion but have the smellies as well. You come in through the door and you can smell it. If a shop smells nice it’s inviting.”

In 2010 Leonie was also been busy raising funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London which helped them when their daughter Eleanor was ill. “I cycled the coast to coast route from Workington to Tynemouth and raised nearly £2,000 for Great Ormond Street. It was an amazing experience. And we did a fashion show at the store in April and made about £900 for the hospital.”

But when her parents took advantage of their retired status and go off on a two-month touring holiday in France with their caravan she did miss them. “I am finding it a struggle at the moment because with Mum and Dad away I am having to collect the kids from school every day. It makes the day very disjointed. When both Eleanor and Annabel are here (in the store) it is a riot!”

David and Linda do occasionally help out at the shop when they are not on holiday. “They have both stepped back from the business,” said Leonie. David has been doing a lot of gardening and painting. “He cleared out the loft in their house, rewired it all and made himself a little painting studio – that’s his little hidey hole,” she added. Early in 2010 David was also able to take part in a charity trip to the Gambia to deliver equipment to the only school for the blind in that country.

They were grateful for the television coverage especially during a time of economic depression.  “The Department Store has helped to put us back on the map,” said Leonie.

Footnote: Linda Milner died in May 2019

A FEATURE I wrote for the ‘Darlington and Stockton Times’ in June led to two people reminiscing about the life of Darlington born Doug Hardy who died in China in June 1942. After reading the feature Wendy Acres of Darlington contacted me because she so wanted to meet someone who had known Mr Hardy who was, she explained, her first cousin once removed.

(Above) Wendy Acres with Peter Leyland

“There are very few of my family left now and I was very small when Doug left England,” she said. So she was delighted to have an opportunity to visit Peter Leyland at his home in Bainbridge in Wensleydale.

Mr Leyland and Mr Hardy became friends at the Quaker College at Ackworth, shared a berth on the voyage to India and to Burma, and worked together with the Friends’ Ambulance Unit (FAU) in China.

She was also very pleased that Mr Leyland said he would ask if the certificate Mr Hardy had been awarded could be deposited later in the archives of the Society of Friends (Quakers). (above: Ms Acres and Mr Leyland with the certificate)

Mr Leyland said that the Executive Yuan of the Chinese Republic during the war had only issued the illuminated certificates to the two members of the FAU who had died while serving there. Both John Briggs from Horsforth near Leeds and Mr Hardy died from typhus.

Mr Hardy had joined the FAU because he was a conscientious objector like the rest of his family. He and his parents had attended a Methodist church in Darlington. (right) Doug Hardy

During her visit on Monday afternoon Ms Acres showed Mr Leyland photographs of Mr Hardy and the letters which had been sent by a doctor and a nurse who had nursed him at the mission hospital until his death. The nurse had written that even when very distressed “his manner was always just beautiful”.

“I’ve enjoyed reminiscing this afternoon even if about a sad time. I was very cut up when Doug died,” said Mr Leyland.

……..

I have been working with Mr Leyland, who is known to many by his given name of John, on an oral history record of his interesting life. From that I produced the feature that caught Ms Acres attention. Here it is:

THE earthquake in China has brought back memories for Peter Leyland of Bainbridge in Wensleydale of transporting medical aid to Sichuan Province during the Second World War.

(Right) Peter and Janet Leyland studying his China diary and photographs.

One month remains particularly unforgettable and that was June 1942. First he lost a very close friend and then he heard that his father, John, had died. As he was a volunteer with the Friends Ambulance Unit in China, and the Japanese had cut off the road link to Burma, there was no way he could get to his father’s funeral in Bainbridge. (See In Remembrance)

Peter was articled as an accountant in London when the Second World War broke out. He served with the FAU  in London during the Blitz and then joined the “China Convoy” as it became known. After lessons in Chinese, mechanics and first aid he and about 40 others headed for Burma late in 1941. Ten months later, on  June 10, when in West China, he wrote in his diary that the unit was at its lowest ebb in morale – and that was before he heard of the death of his friend, Douglas Hardy. Doug, from Darlington, had attended the Society of Friends school at Ackworth with Peter.

They had shared a cabin in the City of Baroda when it sailed from Glasgow in September 1941 during the height of the U-boat war in the Atlantic. During the journey they had gone sight seeing together in South Africa and India and in China had met each other regularly.

On Saturday,  June 13 ,1942 he wrote: “Doug died on Thursday. It seems he developed typhus and with the dysentery just hadn’t the resistance. Poor Doug – I suppose he is the last of us I should have wished to go, having known him since school and being such great friends during our time together in this convoy. He has been buried at Anshun. I am gathering Doug’s things together.” For the China Convoy this was the second death from typhus for John Briggs had died on June 9. John was from Horsforth near Leeds and his parents built almshouses there in his memory.

While Peter was mainly confined to an office as the unit’s accountant John and Doug were convoy drivers and mechanics. Doug and Peter had been at sea between Calcutta and Rangoon when news of the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbour broke. Most of the coolies left Rangoon after the Japanese bombed the city and Peter and other FAU team members themselves loaded valuable hospital equipment straight from the docks onto their trucks ready for the drive over the Burma Road to China. Some of the FAU team were almost trapped in Rangoon when the Japanese invaded but managed to get out with their valuable lorries and cargoes. (Photo: A convoy on its way to Kunming.)

Peter helped with the drive north to Lashio and on into China. On January 2, 1942, the scenery was so awe inspiring that he almost forgot it was his 22nd birthday. The day before they had driven up Maymyo Hill, a rise of 3,000 feet in six miles in a series of 22 hairpin bends.

(For photos of the China convoy and others of FAU in China click here )

He wrote in his diary: “Rather like a long stretch of Kidstones Pass, Wharfedale side, at the top. The view from the top across the plain with the Irrawaddy meandering in the distance was striking.” (The Kidstones Pass is in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.)

The following day they headed towards the Goktech Gorge. “We came over a hill and saw this steep narrow gorge down below , with mist hanging in its depths.  In the distance we could see the railway viaduct, which crosses 1,000 ft above the river. We drove down into the gorge, having to reverse on some of the bends in order to get round them.  My hand brake behaved very badly.  Crossing the bridge at the bottom we climbed very steeply by means of another series of hairpins.  This time I had to reverse on just one, but having to back towards the edge is not  pleasant.  I believe that some chaps had to reverse on three or four of these bends.” He said later “That was the first time I experienced hairpin bends on mountainous roads. The Salween gorge was even more awesome!”

It was not long before the Burma Road was closed by the Japanese and the FAU made its headquarters near Kunming in China. There was a desperate shortage of petrol and so most of their lorries were converted to run on charcoal. Doug had been one of the pioneers of using such adapted lorries.

(Left) Checking a charcoal burner on a truck.

Peter explained:“Our job was mainly to transport these medical supplies with our charcoal burners throughout west China to the various hospitals. The Government of China was established in Chongqing and we were transporting these medical supplies brought in over the Hump throughout this west China region mainly Yunnan, Guizhou and farther north Sichuan.  Chongqing was in the middle of Sichuan on the Yangtze.” The Hump was the name given to the air supply route over the Himalayas from India to Kunming over the Himalayas.

As an accountant his main problem was the level of inflation which was often at 20 per cent per month. Foreign currency for the China Convoy was sent to the British Embassy in Chungking and was only converted into Chinese dollars as and when needed. When drawing Chinese dollars from the bank Peter had to take a rucksack because he received the money  in huge wads of notes. “We when we paid wages to our Chinese staff they would immediately rush round to the market. They converted it as soon as they could into goods, rice and food – it was really quite extraordinary,” he said.

In November 1945 as he came to the end of his time with the FAU he was asked to travel home via North America to talk to some of the donors about inflation accounting. But then he got a telegram informing him that his only brother, Derrik, had died.

He headed home to support his mother but was held up in India for three months waiting for a berth on a ship. Within days of his reaching Bainbridge she introduced him to her fiancé, Anthony Pim, who was a master at Bootham School in York where Derrik had also been teaching. So he went back to London to complete his accountancy training. He went on to become the finance director  of the Scott Bader Commonwealth.

It wasn’t until 1992 that he and a fellow China Convoy man, Theo Willis, who grew up in Carperby in Wensleydale, went back to China with their wives. The tourist group they were with was taken to see the house in Chongqing where Chou En-lai, had lived during the war. Chou En-lai was later the Chinese premier. “When inside Theo looked to the right and said – ‘that’s where Duncan Wood and I sat with Mao Tse-tung and Chou En-lai who had organised a meeting to thank the FAU for the help we had given by getting medical supplies to them in Yenan. All of our group was quite overcome with surprise at this – a bit of living history and several afterwards said it was the best bit of their whole trip.”