Got up about 9 o’clock. Warm damp day. Got on very well at work. Finished in good time. Marmie’s party at night. Charlie bad and went to bed soon. Mr and Mrs Wells, Mr and Mrs Grey. Willie and Lizzie Whittaker. Willie Marshall. Mrs Wiseman.1 Kit † and Rosses †. Father didn’t go down there. And Willie Peake and Mrs. Rather slow at times. Played a few games and danced a bit. Finished about 2 o’clock. <I> played for the dances.
Marmie’s Party.
Mrs Wiseman: presumably Joe Wiseman’s mother. ↩
Got up about 7.45. Drilled a bit. Left work shortly after 11 o’clock and went to the County Court in the car1. Managed the business all right. Had to make a 4th copy of the agreement for the Rechabites2. Old Mr Robson buried. Finished very late at night, nearly 7 o’clock. Did a bit Pelman3. Finished reading “Hypatia”4 and took it in. Went to Jack’s last thing and told him I had done the necessary. Called at the post with Ernie’s paper. Went to bed about 11.30. Charlie got heavy cold. Read newspaper about Strike in Johannesburg5, and also Volcanic disaster in Japan6. Mr Jos. Chamberlain7 expressed his intention of retiring from Parliament.
In England at least, “car” in the diary usually means “tram-car”, though later, especially in France, ALL evidently used it for other, usually unspecified sorts of conveyance. ALL also occasionally used the noun “car” as a verb – “carred” meaning “I (or we, depending on the context) rode on the car.” ↩
The Independent Order of Rechabites (rather oddly referred to in Roy Hattersley’s biography of Lloyd George as the “Antediluvian Order of Rakebites”; the name “Rechabites” was presumably adopted from Jeremiah ch.35 v.2 ff.) was a temperance Friendly Society, set up in 1835 and still in existence, providing insurance, death benefits etc, to which ALL continued contributing a few (old) pence a week, until some date after WWII. ↩
“Hypatia”: Charles Kingsley’s novel; “took it in”: presumably to the public library. See also: Arthur Linfoot’s Library ↩
A strike of white railway workers in Pretoria led to a general strike throughout South Africa, with martial law. ↩
Sakurajima: former island in a caldera off the southern tip of Kyushu; worst Japanese volcanic eruption in 20th century. ↩
Joseph Chamberlain (1836 – 02.07.1914): father of the half-brother MPs, Austen and Neville Chamberlain, Birmingham industrialist, Mayor of B’ham, MP for B’ham 1876 as radical Liberal; resigned as Pres. of Board of Trade 1886 because he opposed Irish Home Rule, became ‘Liberal Unionist’; Sec. of State for Colonies 1895 – 1903 (covering the Boer War); driving force of B’ham University after its creation (1900) from Mason College, led its removal from Edmund Street to Edgbaston campus; campanile there named after him. ↩
Frank still off. Busy at work. Jack in at night. He and Hilda1 stayed to supper. We played ping-pong between 10 - 11 o’clock.
Got Swan Fountain Pen for birthday present. Ernie sent 4 on to choose from. I wrote to him at night and returned 3. Father, mother and Charlie buying it. Jack and I tried them at night. Charlie working late. Played the piano a bit. Went to boss. Jack gave me the forms duly drawn out, and full instructions what to do.
Presumbly wife of Jack (probably son of Uncle Jack and Aunt Esther - but see fn. on 12 January); had child, 4 April 1914. See Hilda disambiguation page. ↩
At work as usual. Frank1 off in the afternoon with a cold. Went down to Band of Hope2 annual general meeting after boxing with Charlie for a bit. Went into choir practice. Fairly good practice for anthem on Sunday. Hurried home and met Jack. He had the forms drawn up and we arranged for him to see his boss about them.
Row with Okie3
Had called for Father’s money and he wouldn’t give it to me. There was a man at the mill taking photographs of the machine4.
Frank: little is known about ALL’s office colleagues at the Paper Mill, except George Crawford. ↩
“Band of Hope”: Victorian temperance organisation which still exists as Hope UK. ↩
Okie: a representative of Robson’s Saw Mill? “Father’s money”: probably arrears of wages – there is more about compensation money later. ↩
Presumably the moulding machine in which Father had lost his two fingers. ↩
At work as usual. Pretty busy all day. Went to organ with Willie. Had to wait for him until 8 o’clock, left again at nine and called for Jack1 and discussed the form to be filled in2.
Old Mr Robson3 died.
Jack: apparently son of Uncle Jack, but which? – cf. 8 February: probably of John Wilkinson and Esther (father’s sister), but could be of Uncle Jack and Bella – was this John Linfoot, b.1866, or was this Jack or Bella a sibling of ALL’s mother? ↩
The “form/s” may have been to do with Father’s accident; but maybe not. ↩
Mr Robson: a Jno. T Robson is on record as joint “Superintendent” at the South Durham Street United Methodist Free Church, in April 1905; alternatively, or also, he might have been owner of Robson’s Saw Mill, where ALL’s father worked. ↩
Got up about 9.30. At chapel and School as usual. Our turn for children’s service and had rather a rough time. Mr Hardy preaching in the morning and Mr Lawson at night1. I managed pretty well in Sunday School and had a big class. Mr Blaikie in trying the boys for the choir and we were in late. Had shorter walks than usual.
Messrs Hardy and Lawson: not identified, probably local (ie un-ordained amateur) preachers. ↩
Finished about 2.15. Went up town in the afternoon. Shaved and went to Trinity1 and heard a good lecture on the Buddha. Met Willie and went to Memorial Hall2 and heard Mr Barnard† recite. He was not so good as before. Had walk round town last thing and looked closely at shops and considered dressing of windows.
“Trinity”: possibly Holy Trinity Church, Bishopwearmouth. ↩
“Memorial Hall” (also referred to as “Victoria Hall”): the Victoria Memorial Hall, where 183 children died in a stampede on 16.06.1883; demolished by a German bomb in 1941 ↩
Got up about 8 o’clock. Late for work. A bit dull all day. Finished early. Played a bit and then went round to Whittaker’s. Talked over the compensation business.1
Joe gave in his notice2 about this time.
“Compensation” refers to his father’s loss of the first two fingers of his right hand in a workplace accident on an unrecorded date, probably in late 1913. ↩
Joe: Joe Wiseman. ALL would occasionally go back to an earlier date to make a note of events not yet known to him at the date in question. This is apparently one of ALL’s retrospective diary entries. It is not recorded where Joe Wiseman had worked. ↩
Got up at 8 o’clock. Fine day. Felt pretty fresh. Finished in good time. Went along to Willie’s about 7.30. Willie Whittaker called for me. Charlie followed us. A good number there including Chris Beresford, Misses Boyce, Dick and May, Billy Rawson and Miss Douglas, Willie Peake and Edie, Natty and his girl, a Mr Bannister and his wife. Stayed until Nearly 2 o’clock. I got the booby prize. Charlie sang 2 songs. I played for one. Chris Beresford sang, and Miss Boyce. Natty and Willie played. Charlie and I set Edie Hunter along home. Went to bed about 2.30. Enjoyed it pretty well.
Marshall’s Party.