Tag Archives: Chadwick

Rev. Wm. Chadwick was minister at the South Durham Street United Methodist Church and is mentioned in this capacity on numerous occasions in the early part of the diaries, prior to Arthur Linfoot’s enlistment in the RAMC. Little else is known about Rev. Chadwick save that he suffered the loss of a young daughter to an unknown illness in early November 1914.

2 February 1914; Monday

February 1914, , ,

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

February 1914, , , , ,

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. ↩

25 January 1914; Sunday

January 1914, , ,

Got up about 9.50. Too late for chapel. Looked up lesson. Went to Sunday School as usual. Got on pretty well. Chapel at night. Mr Chadwick preached. Very good sermon. The 5 towns1. Cornet solo “Lost Chord”2. Sang the anthem and a man sang a solo. Very windy. Joe’s hat and mine blew off in Amberley Street3. Hilda 4 to tea. Mr & Mrs Carney here. Joe got reply to an application.

  1. The Cities of the Plain (Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Bela or Zoar), or the Five Towns of the English Potteries? ↩

  2. “[The] Lost Chord”: very popular song by Sir Arthur Sullivan, of Gilbert & Sullivan fame. ↩

  3. Amberley Street: between White House Road and Mowbray Road, parallel with Salem Street. ↩

  4. See Hilda disambiguation page. ↩

21 January 1914; Wednesday

January 1914, ,

Got up about 7.45. Mother up soon and went to Ashington to Jack Cook’s funeral. Got work up to date. Drilled a short time. At the Mission1 at night. Mr Chadwick spoke and was not so bad. Had short walk round afterwards.

  1. “The Mission”: venue for local missionary/evangelical work; also organisation for funding home and overseas missionary and charitable work. ↩

20 January 1914; Tuesday

January 1914, , , , , , , ,

Got up about 8 o’clock. Got work well up to date. Mr Jesse Collings expressed his intention to retire from Parliament at next general election1.

Finished in good time. Mother, Father and Gertie at a * lecture on Canada. I finished off some Pelman 2 papers and took them to the post. Mr Chadwick called to see about Ernie’s reply to his letter. Willie Whittaker called in and we went up the town way. Played the piano a bit. Went to bed late. Had a bath last thing. Took 2 letters for Mr Lawson and didn’t get away to dinner until late.

  1. Jesse Collings was MP for Ipswich, later for Birmingham Bordesley; best known as mover of the “three acres and a cow” amendment to the Queen’s Speech, January 1886, following which Lord Salisbury’s government fell and Gladstone became Prime Minister. ↩

  2. Pelman: See footnote on 6 January and all diary entries tagged Pelman. ↩

18 January 1914; Sunday

January 1914,

Got up rather late. At chapel and School as usual. Got new scholar in my class. Storey back and in Arthur Collinson’s class. Mr Chadwick’s sermon was good but the service and the hymns very poor. Rained heavily at night. Uncle George and Aunt Mary1 to tea.

  1. Uncle George and Aunt Mary do not appear to have been siblings of Christopher Linfoot (ALL’s father), so were presumably on ALL’s mother’s side. ↩

5 January 1914; Monday

January 1914, , ,

Got up about 7.30. Drilled a short time.1 Got on very well at work and finished about 5.30. Got hair cut. Cold night and some snow falling. Mr Aitken went to Edinburgh2. Finished about 5.30. Went to Mr Chadwick’s after I had done a bit homework and arranged about missionary business. Blaikie3 there. We stayed until pretty late.

  1. “Drill” was probably as taught in Board School PT; ALL continued to do it until middle age. ↩

  2. William Robertson Aitken, born in Dunbar on 19 March 1873, was manager and company secretary at the Hendon Paper Works. His trip to Edinburgh may have been in a personal capacity, not a business one, as he evidently had family there. His death is recorded on 20 September 1917 and his funeral took place in Edinburgh on 25 September. ↩

  3. Blaikie occurs frequently, written with or without the final vowel – so it could be “Black”; but I have assumed “Blaikie.” (DL)  ↩

4 January 1914; Sunday

January 1914, , , , , , , ,

At chapel1 as usual. Mr Chadwick preached. Charlie and Joe commenced in the School. The classes were merged. I managed pretty well. Had shorter walks than usual and were at Grandmother’s to tea and supper. Had a bit music and a pleasant time. Charlie and I saw a woman fall down in Christopher Street, and she broke a jug she was carrying. Got to bed about midnight after talking about Father and a shop2. Ernie and Hilda went to Boldon3 for the night. I said goodbye to Ernie and talked a bit about the prospects before them.

  1. “Chapel” would have been the South Durham Street Methodist church, which closed at some date between the Wars; Mr Chadwick was of course the Minister. “School” was Sunday School. ↩

  2. ALL’s father had lost two fingers in a work-place accident; many diary entries refer to his compensation claim and his re-employment, and to renting a shop to supplement income. ↩

  3. Boldon, which may have meant East B. (A), West B. (B) or B. Colliery (C), would have been where Hilda’s parents lived. ↩