Frank Randle

Barney Smith, the landlord of the Black Swan in Leek, produced a series of articles reminiscing about his time as a theatrical agent in Manchester in the years immediately after the Second World War. The articles appeared in the Post and Times in early 1975 and are a roll call of post war entertainers that Barney knew. I was interested in his relationship with the legendary North Country comedian Frank Randle. In the late 40s Barney was managing  the Plaza Ballroom in Manchester and got to knew him through some of the people involved in the revue “Randle's Scandals and through this link found himself one day in 1949 on the set of Randle’s latest film “Somewhere in Politics”. Randle used the studios of Mancunian Films based in an old chapel in Rusholme- it was later used by the BBC for “Top of the Pops”, Mancunian Films were an independent film company which made very popular comic films which for a time ranked in popularity with Hollywood. Stars like Frank Randle, Jimmy James and Norman Evans worked there and it was a world into which Barney was drawn.

But first a word about Frank Randle who in 1949 was at the top of his game and easily the most popular comedian in the north. He knew his audience and rightly thought that his act would not fit well with London audiences. By the same token the Brighton based Comedian Max Miller did not do well north of Watford. Randle was difficult man. Born in 1901 in Wigan Randle in many ways was the antithesis of fellow Wiganer George Formby whilst Formby was cuddly and innocuous, Randle was abrasive and rude, but still his audience loved him and he sold out his summer shows in Blackpool.

 A combination of paranoid personality, alcohol misuse and possession of a Luger pistol made him a dangerous person to fall out with. Following a conviction for obscenity he hired a light aircraft to bomb Blackpool with toilet rolls after falling out with the puritanical Chief Constable of the town.  And if heckled, would hurl his false teeth at the offending miscreant. He would often not turn up for a venue usually being drunk and incapable. My Mother tried to see Randle who should have been appearing in Southport in 1940, but didn’t as he was sleeping it off somewhere. She did get her money back.

Barney Smith was present at a script reading at the studio while “Somewhere in Politics” was being made. One of the cast members  Tessie O’Shea encouraged him to try his luck in the film and he appeared in a minor role as a hotel manager. Also present was the Irish singer and Randle’s drinking partner Joseph Locke.

 Barney Smith’s other brush with British comedy history is that he was present when Jimmy Jewell received a letter from his long term partner straight man Ben Warris in a Manchester hotel in 1966 informing Jewell of the end of their 40 year partnership.

The Names of Moorlands Rivers

There was a documentary on BBC4 the other week on the River Trent. Writer Tom Fort took his punt down the river as far as he could before the Trent flowed into the Humber estuary. The river is 180 miles in length, is the third longest river in Britain and cuts through several Midland counties beginning, of course, as a “pathetic trickle” on Biddulph Moor. Fort also spent a little time at Knypersley before a section on how brutalised the Trent had become forced through debris strewn concrete culverts in Stoke  before emerging at Trentham as a proper waterway again.  

It is believed that the name Trent is formed from two Celtic words – ʻtrosʼ (over) and ʻhyntʼ (way) producing ʻtroshyntʼ (over-way). This is because of the river’s propensity to flood and alter its course, this has been interpreted as meaning ʻstrong floodingʼ or more directly the trespasser or wanderer.

Another possible meaning is ʻa river that is easily fordedʼ. The name ʻTrisantona Fu (Trisantona River) for the Trent first appears in ʻThe Annals’ of the Roman writer Tacitus. It has also been suggested the name is derived from the Celtic— ʻTrisantanoʼ which has been given the interpretation of ʻgreat feminine thoroughfareʼ. It might be named for a Celtic River Goddess. It was a big enough barrier to delay the Roman Legions .

 River names are among the oldest names in Britain. The first settlements in Britain were on the banks of rivers, which were easy of access by land and by water and provided drinking water and, in times of emergency, fish to eat There is a predominance of names of Celtic origins in the Moorlands although they might follow even earlier names given to rivers by Palaeolithic hunters. Locally the rivers have strong associations with these early names. The Churnet that flows through Leek origins are unknown although it is first called that in the 13th century. The Hamps is close to a Welsh word Hamphest which translates as “summer dry” and is an accurate description of a river that disappears into the limestone during those months.

The Dane has nothing to do with Vikings, but is related, it is thought, to the Welsh “dafnu” to trickle or flow. It first appears as Daan in documents from the 15^th century. Incidentally the Danube comes from the same root.

 The Dove is derived from the Celtic word “Dubo” meaning black or dark which incidentally where the origins of the place name “Dublin” or black pool stems. It has also been suggested that it might be linked to an early word for “deer” The Dove has been traced back under this name to the Saxon period. A tributary of the Dove the Tean which rises near Dilhorne is called after the Brythonic word “taen” a sprinkling

Turning to the Manifold this is unusual as it simply means a river with many folds or bends and is derived from the Middle English. Perhaps the most charming is the Blithe which is so named after the Saxon word for “gentle” or “merry” a word still used in everyday language.

The genius of China

I have a booklet which I acquired 40 years ago this week- 3^rd December 1973.  I was 18 and a member of Stoke Archaeological Society. We were visiting the “Genius of China” exhibition at the Royal Academy. It was a ground breaking show as, for the first time; Westerners were able to see artefacts excavated during the Communist rule of China. It demonstrated a thaw in relationships between the People’s Republic and the West. It had only been a few years since the chaos of the Cultural Revolution, but the arrival of order and the need for China to build alliances required, in this case, diplomacy through archaeology. The “Genius of China” exhibition was a manifestation of a better relationship with Britain.

The program illustrates what a magnificent exhibition it was with pottery, bronzes, and silks dating back thousands of years. The centre piece of the exhibition was the Jade Funeral suit of Princess Tou Wan dating from the Han dynasty (about the same age as the Romans). It was built by Taoist craftsmen who believed that Jade had magical qualities which arrested decay.

This began a life long interest in China. At University I studied Chinese History. I got to understand something of the philosophy of the country through terms such as “Mandate of Heaven” the legitimacy conferred on the Emperor, the sophistication of the country compared to Europe, the voyages of Admiral Zheng who may have made it to America years before Columbus. Many of the elements that make up the foundation of the modern world originated in China, including paper, gunpowder, credit banking, the compass and paper money.  Then there was the decline beginning in the 18^th century when Europeans over took the Chinese whose leaders were contemptuous of Western “Barbarians”. Later European powers would endeavour to weaken China to satisfy their craving for Empire. Hong Kong was acquired as booty following the British victory in the disgraceful 1840 Opium war.

 China  also exerted an influence on the artistic imagination of the West and examples exist close to hand from the ersatz Chinese sculptures at Biddulph Grange, the silk industry of Leek and the porcelain of Wedgwood.

Since 1973 China has been transformed. The leader of the Chinese Revolution Chairman Mao died in 1976. Demand for political and economic liberalisation led to the Tiananmen Square disturbances in 1989 and since then China has been the work shop of the world with growth, even in a bad year, of over 8%. The country surpassed Japan as the second most powerful economy  in March 2011. It is likely that China will become the leading power of the 21^st century.

What does it mean for the Staffordshire Moorlands? Certainly the need for understanding of the history and culture of a country with 1.3 billion people. Will local schools be eventually teaching Mandarin, if only to assist the two Chinese tourists seen in Derby Street recently? 

The last wolf in England

Earlier this year there was a news report that the body of a wolf was found beside a road in Holland.  It was the first time such an animal, outside zoos, had been seen in the Netherlands for approaching 150 years. Commentators suggest the bringing down of the Iron Curtain has led to the wolf leaving its East European habitat and moving westwards. There has also been talk that this magnificent member of the canine family might be re-introduced to the Scottish Highlands to help keep down the Deer population.

Wolves, many years ago, were a creature that had a long presence in the Staffordshire Moorlands. Bones of the animal have been found at a Neolithic rock shelter above Wetton Mill. The Saxon Saint Bertram lost members of his family to a wolf attack near Ilam. Wolfscote Dale on the Staffordshire/ Derbyshire border indicates that it had a presence in Dovedale. It seems to be the case that wolves represented a serious threat to live stock in the area and during the early medieval period criminals were allowed remittance on their sentence if they killed a number. The Wolf has always had a presence in popular culture for instance in fairy tales such as “Little Red Riding Hood”. A number of English proverbs mention it “A wolf in sheep’s clothing” being a good example. It was also used in personal names in Old Norse Ulfr, in Old English Aethelwulf and Cuthwulf and so it frequently turns up in place names of which Wolstanton (Wulfstan’s tun) is a good local example.

But when was the last wolf in the area killed? Edward I who reigned from 1272 to 1307 ordered the total extermination of all wolves in his kingdom and personally employed one Peter Corbet, with instructions to destroy wolves in the counties of Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire and Shropshire where they were more common than in the southern areas of England. In the Peak District wolf keepers were employed to control the vast numbers of wolves which roamed the area. John de Wolfehunt, who died around 1309, was given a dwelling house and land, but everyone was encouraged to trap and kill wolves. Wolf pits were scattered around the moors and woods to trap them. The Wolfehunt family, who resided in Peak Forest, would hunt in March and December and during the dry summers would enter the forest to destroy cubs.

 Their actions over time removed the threat of the wolf and by 1586 William Camden wrote ‘There’s no danger of wolves now in these places, tho’ infested by them heretofore”. There is a tradition that the last wolf in England was killed at Wormhill near Buxton in the 15^th century.

Ben Britten and Dovedale

November 23^rd  is St Cecilia’s Day, the patron saint of music, it will also mark the 100^th anniversary of the British composer Benjamin Britten, arguably the greatest composer of the 20^th century. Britten is usually associated with Suffolk and the concert hall at  Snape Maltings close to Aldeburgh is a project which he devoted many years of his life, but there is a link with Dovedale at a particularly crucial juncture of his life.

This year also marks the 70^th anniversary of the first performance of Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, a work that holds its place in the classical repertoire. It was written shortly after he returned from the United States where he had spent several years collaborating with the poet WH Auden. (Auden has a Staffordshire Moorlands connection as he wrote poems as a young man following a visit to the area in 1925 on Froghall Wharf and Waterhouses Railway Station). The most notable result of their collaboration was the 1938 short film promoting the GPO “Night Mail” with its opening line “This is the night mail crossing the border, bringing the cheque and the postal order”

The Serenade opens with “Pastoral” a poem by the 17^th century poet Charles Cotton of Beresford Hall near Dovedale. He was very much a lover of the Staffordshire countryside and passionate about the local landscape. Sadly, the old hall was demolished in the 1850s and very little remains apart from gateposts visible from the road. He took his public duties seriously and was a local Magistrate and a Revenue Commissioner from 1665. He was widely recognised as an authority on the county and it seems that Dr Robert Plot who wrote the first history of Staffordshire in the 1680s consulted him.

In 1681 Cotton published the “Wonders of the Peak”, the first travel book of the area, which is a poetic description of several sights including in 1681 the newly built Chatsworth, St Anne’s Well, the Caves near Castleton as well as his beloved Dove.

He died of a fever while on a visit to London in 1687. He is buried far from his beloved Dove in a wall tomb in St James Church in Piccadilly in the middle of the bustle of the West End.

Interest in Cotton began to decline during the Victorian period as polite society found his poetry too ribald for polite society. A revival of sorts began following the use of his poetry in “Serenade”. Britten took considerable care with the text. No doubt he was helped by his close friendship with Auden. “Pastoral” describes a June evening in Dovedale with the lengthening shadows making objects appears far larger than they are:” brambles like tall cedars show” and ending as the light fails.

And now on benches all are sat

In the cool air to sit and chat

Till Phoebus dipping in the west,

Shall lead the world the way to rest.

The ancient rocks of Leek

I was showing my daughter the prominent bands of Sandstone rock that lies at the bottom of Broad Street and on the road to Cheddleton. They are noticeable by pebbles stuck in the rock like currants in a cake. The quartzite pebbles are very smooth and suggest that they were once part of a fast flowing river system. It must have been a formidable obstacle to the 19^th century road builders blasting their way through the town.

I was right. The Sandstone dates from the Triassic period of around 250 million years ago at a time when life on Earth nearly came to an end. Other rocks around Leek are older; the grit stones of the Roaches are from the Carboniferous period of 380 million and the limestone of the White Peak marking the one time existence of tropical coral sea date from 340 million years.

I have always been interested in the age of the Earth, which irrespective of what Creationists might think, is about 4 billion years old. Recently, I bought a book on a history of the Earth and I looked up the early Triassic period and how the area might have looked.

During this period there was only one Continent called Pangea. Britain lay near to the ocean that circled Pangea called Tethys and was closer to the equator. The Leek deposit is part of a larger group called Sherwood Sandstone covering areas out to Cheshire and eastwards towards Nottinghamshire.

 Weather conditions during the early Triassic were monsoon- like in this time which accounts for the pebbles worked smooth by the deluge and indicate a delta type area similar to the Nile today. Temperatures were high and a desert climate existed.  It was a forbidding landscape with little life. Few fossils exist in the local rocks. Later in this epoch however the first dinosaur made their impression on the landscape.

 Chirotherium, a crocodile-like ancestor of the dinosaurs, left five fingered hand-prints behind in the sand which were found millions of years later by fossil hunters. A fine example can be seen in the World Museum in Liverpool found in a sandstone quarry on the Wirral.

The Triassic period saw a long process of re-birth after the calamitous previous era- the Permian- when the planet saw a Mass Extinction event with increasing volcanic activity, methane release and acidification of the seas resulting in raised temperatures and the extinction of around 90% of all species on the Earth. It was called the Great Dying. It took the planet millions of years to recover and the rocks in the south of the town bear witness to a period when the Earth was recovering from this cataclysm. It was the greatest Mass Extinction event of which there have been five. Scientists think that the current global warming might result in the sixth Mass Extinction event now.

Local women serving in the World Wars

A friend’s mother was wounded while serving on an anti aircraft battery near Hull during World War 2. This Remembrance week I would like to write about the many women who served in both World Wars. I have decided to concentrate of the Second War as the Post and Times has bound volumes of the period. During the war it carried features on the local men and women whom served.

 The largest organisation Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) which had by the end of the war over 190,000 serving women carrying out a variety of tasks such as manning anti aircraft batteries through to clerical, telephonists and radar operators. It was work that carried risks as over 700 were killed.

 Typical was Leek woman Isabel Williams who was 22 in 1943 and was attached with the Royal Corps of Signals as a wireless operator having joined the services from Leek Moorlands Building Society. Most local women joined the ATS which was followed in numbers by the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force- the WAAF. Evelyn Mee of Wellington St felt the call of patriotic duty and joined the WAAF working at an aircraft base in the South of England. Many WAAF’s were based at Fighter Command bases which put them in great danger as bases, such as Biggin Hill , were  targets in the first raids by the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain. Many WAAF’s served as the eyes of Fighter Command as they plotted the movements of incoming enemy aircraft. There were 183,000 women, who joined the WAAF at its height in 1943, 191 were killed in combat.

 The Women’s Royal Navy Service was popularly known as the Wrens and had originally been set up in 1917, at the outbreak of the Second they were reformed and at their peak numbered 75,000. 100 died in the conflict. Again a Wren’s duties mirrored that of women in the other services working as cooks, wireless operators and clerical support.

 Among Leek women was Joan Aggas of Daisy Bank whose father had fought in the First War and was the Secretary of the local British Legion. Another Wren whose family will have particular memories of Victory in Europe day was May Goldstraw of West St who married Petty Officer Trowell of Cambridge in that week and left to live in East Anglia.

Women were engaged in all areas and not just in the Services. Isobel Ede of Longsdon served as a Queen Alexandria Nurse having trained at a local hospital. Women also worked in munitions including my Auntie Ethel at Swynerton following another relative who had cleaned out gas shells at a factory in Hanley during the First War.

 War inevitably brings casualties and sadly one local woman was killed working in the Land Army in May 1944. Nancy Meredith aged 21 of Park Road worked with the Timber Corps and died in a road accident. The newspaper report of her death said that she liked the outdoor life.

On a lighter note other women were doing their bit to help the war effort as in 1943 two young Macclesfield women were caught trying to break into the American camp at Blackshaw Moor and as the war progressed other women were stopped by the Police trying to fraternise with our war time allies.