Tag Archives: Joe

Joe Wiseman was a close friend of Arthur Linfoot and was married to his elder sister, Mary, known to the family as “Marmie“. See Family page.

19 January 1914; Monday

Got up about 8 o’clock. At work as usual. A bit off form. Finished in good time. Typed some copies of references for Joe. Soled and heeled my own boots. Under Father’s instructions. Took all the night over it. Went to the post office last thing with Joe. Played a bit. Went to bed by midnight.

16 January 1914; Friday

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.


  1. Mrs Wiseman: presumably Joe Wiseman’s mother. 

8 January 1914; Thursday

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.


  1. “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. 

  2. 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. 

4 January 1914; Sunday

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. 

3 January 1914; Saturday

Got up late and was late for work1. Finished about 1.30. Met Ernie and we went to the match2. Went into the bob stand. Sunderland 1 v. Liverpool 2. A fair game. Liverpool goalie was very clever. He was laid out, and off for about 10 minutes. Ernie didn’t care much about it. Ernie and Hilda went to the pantomime at night. Willie, Charlie and I went round the town and afterwards Charlie and Joe and I played ping pong at home. Went to bed rather late.


  1. Saturday morning working was of course normal – as it remained until the 1960s. 

  2. The football match was at the old Roker Park; admission to the stand: one shilling (= 5p; a “bob”). 

1 January 1914; Thursday

Shook hands with Joe1 first. George Bagley2 second. Polly Abigales † 3rd. Had an invitation to Jenny Arkleby’s †3 but didn’t go. We all went to bed about 2 o’clock. Charlie4 slept the year out. He started at 5 in the morning. Ernie5 and Hilda arrived about 12 o’clock. We had turkey for dinner. Had short walk in the afternoon. Arranged a ping pong table down stairs and played a bit. Company arrived about 7 o’clock. The Whittaker family6. Willie Marshall. The Christopher Street people7, Ernie and Hilda. Had jolly time and supped about midnight.
Our Party.


  1. Joe Wiseman was the husband of ALL’s elder sister Marmie; he had moved to Lincoln in 1905, date of return to Sunderland not recorded. 

  2. There was an extensive Bagley family in the 1930-­‐40’s, but their relationship with George B. is not recorded. 

  3. P. Abigales and J. Arkleby (if correct) are unidentified; hereinafter, identified names are annotated (if at all) on first appearance, and names not identified receive no annotation. 

  4. Charlie was ALL’s younger brother, working in the Post Office. 

  5. Ernie was ALL’s elder brother, married to Hilda (née Tulip), at this time living in St Andrew’s. 

  6. The Whittaker family were members of the South Durham Street Methodist Church, and included a son Willie, whom ALL quite often mentions; he mentions Willie Marshall probably more often, but as he commonly omits their surname, it is sometimes hard to be sure which of the two he means. Willie Whittaker shared his middle name Gaylard with All’s uncle William Gaylard Linfoot (who had emigrated to New Zealand in 1912), which suggests a possible family connection; all the people mentioned in the diary would have known (which is doubtless why ALL never refers to it) that Willie Marshall, mentioned in this 1 January entry, had visited New Zealand at some time in 1913, for reasons which will become apparent to readers by mid-1914. 

  7. See the Family page for an explanation of “Christopher Street people”. Christopher Street is just W. of the S. end of Hendon Road.