All posts by Arthur Linfoot

5 February 1914; Thursday

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Got up about 7.15. At work as usual. Joe went to Leeds in the afternoon. Received letter from Manchester asking him to set a salary. I telephoned to him and then wired it to Manchester. Father very bad at night. Aunt Esther1, Bella Spain, and Uncle George in. I got the fiddle music and tried it through. Fred Wells called for Joe, and I talked to him a long time down stairs. Joe didn’t get back until 11 o’clock. Dorothy2 unwell and sick. Aunt Esther caused the water to run over and through the ceiling down stairs. I wrote to Ernie. The “Sack” murderer3 condemned. Appeal from Sumner. Eltoft 4 years. At Liverpool.

  1. Aunt Esther: Father’s sister, b. 1862; married to John Lindsay Wilkinson – possibly Mother’s brother, and possibly the source of ALL’s middle name, which is otherwise unexplained. ↩

  2. Dorothy: only child of Marmie and Joe Wiseman (b. 07.09.1912.)  ↩

  3. The “Sack” murder was a case in Liverpool, December 1913. The principal culprit, apparently George Sumner was hanged; Samuel Angeles Eltoft, mentioned by ALL, was aged 18. ↩

4 February 1914; Wednesday

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[In shorthand above printed date -­ ] Wrote to New Zealand.

Got <up> at 4 o’clock and watched Father while Mother rested a bit. Dr Blair admits it to be pneumonia. Went to Band of Hope1 meeting at night and stayed to Mr Chadwick’s meeting. Mr Chadwick down. I played for the meeting. Felt pretty jaded at night. Joe got a reply from a Leeds firm asking him to go and see them. A good deal of anxiety caused by Father’s illness. Pneumonia. Wrote to New Zealand first thing and posted it.

  1. Band of Hope: See footnote on 13 January. ↩

3 February 1914; Tuesday

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Got up about 8 o’clock. Father pretty bad1 in the morning. Read a bit and played a bit at night. Went down literary† meeting, but Mr Chadwick was not there. Came up with Blaikie and talked a bit. Jim Wilkinson went to talk to Misses Galloway and Hunter at the top of Vine Place. Father seriously ill.

  1. “Bad” is North-Eastern English vernacular for “unwell”. ↩

2 February 1914; Monday

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Got up about 7.45. At work in decent time. Got work well up to date. Fine and windy. Busy all day. Father better, but became worse towards late night. Went out with Charlie and called at Mr Chadwick’s. Talked with him until after 10 o’clock. He told us about Wee Georgie Wood1 calling at their house, and we talked about theatres etcetera for a bit. Went to bed rather late.

  1. Wee Georgie Wood (b. Jarrow 17.12.1894, OBE June 1946, d. 19.02.1979) was a music-­hall, pantomime and later a film artist, usually appearing as a child on account of his height (1.45m). Wrote a weekly column in The Stage, was a member of the Savage Club. Coincidentally, was a 2nd or 3rd cousin of the Thatcher (ALL’s wife’s) family. ↩

1 February 1914; Sunday

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Got up about 9 o’clock. At chapel and School. Mr Chadwick off and Mr Mullens preached in the morning and Mr Lawson at night. I had Esther Mullens’s class as well as my own and managed all right. Didn’t stay to the sacrament at night. Had usual walks. Willie stayed off at night on account of Lawson preaching. Father about the same. Dr Blair had talk with Mother with regard to compensation1. Commenced to write to New Zealand.

  1. “Compensation” refers to ALL’s father’s loss of the first two fingers of his right hand in a workplace accident on an unrecorded date, probably in late 1913. ↩

31 January 1914; Saturday

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Got up about 8 o’clock. Father not at all well. I telephoned for Dr Blair and he said Father has influenza. Hurried over to the cup tie game and Sunderland won Plymouth Argyle 2 – 1. Went to lecture at Trinity1 by Mr Catto on Israel before the Exile. Had walk to Roker with Willie at night. Received birthday card2 from Hilda.

  1. “Trinity”: possibly Holy Trinity Church, Bishopwearmouth. ↩

  2. This card, especially as it was 14 days late (and see also the entries for 1 and 4 February), was presumably from Hilda Linfoot in New Zealand, the fourth daughter of ALL’s uncle Charles Poulter Linfoot, who with another uncle, William Gaylard Linfoot, and their families, had emigrated on 25 July 1912 ↩

30 January 1914; Friday

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Got up about 8 o’clock. Busy all day. Mr Deakin found some buff copies in the waiting room which had been put there accidentally a night before through a row with the lads. It nearly ended in a row between George and me1. Finished in good time. Called for Willie and went to the organ. Got on pretty well. By-election in N.W. Durham Division. The Liberal, Mr Aneurin Williams returned2.

  1. George: probably George Crawford, colleague at Hendon Paper Works from before 1914 to the 1950’s; his only son Geoffrey was lost in the evacuee ship City of Benares, torpedoed 17.09.1940 in the Atlantic. ↩

  2. The North West Durham by-election of 30 January 1914 was triggered by the resignation of Llewellyn Atherley-Jones, Liberal. Aneurin Williams, also Liberal, was returned with a reduced majority after the Labour party fielded a candidate for the first time. ↩

28 January 1914; Wednesday

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Got up about 7.45. Drilled a bit. Fine morning. Busy all day. Finished in good time. Called for Willie and went to Bethany1. Only a few there. German funny man. Natty played as usual. Beresford, Reg Davis and Miss Brown sang, not so badly. Father in low spirits all day. Sat up until after 12 talking. Labour Leaders of South African Strike2 deported about this time.

  1. Bethany: presumably an evangelical chapel. ↩

  2. Mahatma Gandhi returned (or was returned) from South Africa to India in 1914. ↩

27 January 1914; Tuesday

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Got up about 8 o’clock. Rather dull. Fine cold day. Had a bit toothache. Finished in good time at night. Went down to class meeting at night1. Received club money and banked £1. Talked to Charlie, Willie, Jim Wilkinson2 and Blaikie after the choir practice. Went to bed about 11.30.

  1. The “class meeting”: the regular congregation at Chapel were allocated to ‘classes’ which met at intervals, generally mid-­week, for prayer and discussion. Each class had a respected ‘leader’ who was expected to exercise some level of general pastoral care. ↩

  2. Jim Wilkinson: not identified, but possibly a relative of Mother (née Wilkinson.)  ↩