Berwick Advertiser – 100 years ago

BERWICK ADVERTISER, 17TH FEBRUARY 1922

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CAPTAIN COWAN’S TESTIMONIAL

TO THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE

EXPERIENCES AND SUGGESTIONS

(To the Editor)

Sir, – Having been one of the unfortunates who has had foot-and-mouth disease on his farm lately, I wish to state my experiences and conclusions.

I bought home 16 stirks from the local market on January 28, two of which showed signs of distress about mid-day January 30, and that afternoon the disease was confirmed by the local authorities, who communicated with headquarters. I had previously given instructions that these cattle should be completely isolated from all other stock for seven days after their arrival. Thus from the moment they came home they were never in contact with any other animals. The net result was that only that bunch of 16 were slaughtered on the morning of the third day after confirmation of the disease, thirteen of which were then affected – not wholesale slaughter of all the other cattle, sheep and pigs on the place as many of my neighbours thought.

The shed in which the animals were isolated was within 50 yards of the main cattle pens where there were 63 other cattle and 29 pigs. It is now eight days since the affected cattle were slaughtered, and there has been no further outbreak here, and I trust there will not be. On January 31 the Inspector of the Ministry of Agriculture took full charge of operations, and all his instructions were most carefully carried out and have so far been successful in checking the progress of the trouble.

I should like to contradict most emphatically what I have heard said in many quarters, namely, that the Ministry’s officials help to spread the disease through carelessness in moving from infected cattle to uninfected ones without proper disinfection. This is a libellous statement as far as my experience has gone, as the two officials I had the pleasure of dealing with in these distressing circumstances here, were most particularly careful, and did not enter uninfected areas after having been into the infected area, and whenever they came out of such places they washed their hands, oilskins coats and rubber boots most particularly all over in very strong Jeyes’ fluid.

I consider that if all cases are treated similarly the Ministry are doing the very best thing for the country in view of out great export trade in stock. Stock owners must co-operate and help officials to the utmost ability in fulfilling instructions to stamp out the disease.

My suggestion is – only import cattle from countries which can show a clean bill of health for a certain period of time, say, two years at least.

What about the Canadian embargo now? Put Ireland and Canada on the same basis. I hope our inspectors at ports and markets will use more care and discretion when performing their duties, as I am afraid somebody blundered at Newcastle, as apparently the bunch I bought on 28th January were watered and fed there, a then infected area. – Yours etc., JAMES R. C. COWAN. Shidlaw, Cornhill-on-Tweed, February 10.

LOCAL NEWS

A curious incident happened on the Old Bridge on Friday morning. A flock of sheep refused to pass a large motor lorry on the narrow thoroughfare at the high arch. Evidently with the intention of taking them off the Bridge,

Berwick upon Tweed, Old Bridge

the shepherd signalled to his dog. Not realising where it was, the animal cleared the parapet in a bound and landed in the Tweed. For some time it swam round the pillar in an endeavour to get out, and eventually, in response to a further signal, swam up stream and reached terra firma at the Boathouse.

For some weeks large quantities of crude rubber have been washed ashore on the coast between Bamburgh and Boulmer. Where the rubber has come from a mystery, as no shipping casualty has been reported off this part of the coast. The rubber is on slabs and appears to have been baled. It is just possible that it may have formed part of the deck cargo of some vessel caught in the recent heavy weather.

Bamburgh Castle, c.1930’s Ref: BRO 426/0927

Fishermen at Craster, Dunstanborough, Newton and Ross Links, as well as at Boulmer and Bamburgh, have been salving large quantities.

Craster, c.1930. Ref: NRO 2064/6

A hen met with a curious death at an East Lothian farm the other day. The steading has lately been brought up to date with labour saving machinery, one of the most interesting of which is a threshing-mill having conveyers for straw and grain, and blow-pipes through which a powerful draught of air draws away the chaff, and ejects it into the chaff-house. The hen selected an unfortunate position for egg-laying purposes. It was close to the intake of the blow-pipe, and when the machinery was set in motion, she was irresistibly carried away by the force of the draught and killed.

FASHIONABLE MARRIAGE

HOLDSWORTH-HODGKIN

The marriage took place on Monday at the Friends’ Meeting House, Truro, of Mr John Holdsworth, of Swartmoor, Havelock, North New Zealand, son of the late Mr and Mrs J. Holdsworth, of Eccles, and Miss Lucy Violet Hodgkin, of Truro and The Constable Tower, Bamburgh Castle, eldest daughter of the late Mr Thos. Hodgkin, D.C.L., of Newcastle, and Mrs Hodgkin, of Treworgan, Falmouth. The bride, who entered the Meeting House leaning on the arm of her brother, Mr Robert Hodgkin, of Oxford, wore a beautiful gown of grey chiffon velvet, with soft lace fichu clasped with a spray of real orange blossom grown at Glendurgan. She wore her mother’s wedding veil and carried a bunch of violets, with sprays of white heather, myrtle, and the New Zealand Manuka. The niece of the bride, Miss Violet Frances Bosanquet, eldest daughter of Professor R. C. Bosanquet, of Rock, attended the bride, wearing deep violet velvet with trimmings of grey fur. Grey shoes and stockings and a grey hat completed the toilet and a posy of violets was carried. She wore a circlet of pearls in the form of a brooch, the gift of the bridegroom. Mr J. Oliver Holdsworth, of Bolton, cousin of the bridegroom, acted as best man.

The wedding was very quiet and no reception was held at Treworgan; but Mrs Hodgkin entertained near relatives, and a few intimate friends in a room adjoining the old oak panelled meeting house. Later, the bride and bridegroom left to spend their honeymoon at Highcliff, Lyme Regis, Dorset, kindly lent by the Misses Lister. Mrs Holdsworth travelled in a suit of Parma violet faced cloth, with vest embroidered in silver threads, a hat of slightly darker shade of panne. The bride and bridegroom had expressed a wish not to be given wedding presents, but that these might take the form of contributions to the Russian Famine Fund or to the recently-formed Friends’ School at Wanganui, New Zealand. Many cheques were received for both objects, and in addition some useful and beautiful personal gifts.

BERWICK ADVERTISER, 3RD FEBRUARY 1922

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BERWICK PETTY SESSIONS

ANNUAL LICENSING SESSIONS

Dates for Transfer Sessions were arranged as follows:- Thursdays, 23rd March, 11 May, 22nd June, 3rd August, 28th September, 9th November, 21st December, and 25th January, 1923.

A plan from Messrs Johnson and Darling for alterations at the Corporation Arms was approved by the bench, the police having no objections.

Mr H. R. Peters made an application for a transfer of the license of the Salmon Hotel, High Street, Berwick, from Mr John Evans, the present owner, to Mr John Sharp, 26 Station Road, Whitley Bay, Granted.

Supt. Halliday’s annual report was as follows:- There are in the Borough, 44 full licenses, 1 beer on, 4 beer and wine off, and 2 beer off; making a total of 51, and showing an average of one license to about 255 inhabitants- the population (1921Census) of the borough being 12,994. On full licensed house was closed during the year 1921, viz.:- The Sun Inn, Woolmarket, having been found to be structurally deficient and unsuitable. There are four registered Clubs in the Borough with a membership ranging from 108 to 250. During the year 1921, proceedings for drunkenness were taken in 121 cases and 117 convictions resulted, being an increase of eight proceedings and thirteen convictions when compared with the number similarly dealt with during the year 1920. The figures for 1921 are equivalent to 9 convictions per 1000 population as compared with 7.95 convictions per 1000 in 1920. Since last Brewster Sessions one license holder was proceeded against and the case was dismissed on payment of costs. I have served notices of objection on the licensees of the Free Trade Inn, Castlegate, the Old Angel Inn, Marygate, the Brewers Arms, Marygate, and the Berwick Arms, Marygate. These premises I consider are structurally deficient and unsuitable for licensed premises. There are noapplications for new licenses.

FREE TRADE INN – Supt. Halliday said the bar was 35ft by 12ft, a sitting room 15ft x 12ft, upstairs sitting room 12x 12. Inside the house there was a urinal and a W.C. near to the sitting room door. There was a very objectionable smell, especially in the summer time. The ceilings of the house are low and with a crowded house objectionable.

OLD ANGEL INN – Supt. Halliday said the bar was 12 x 15, sitting room 5 ½ x9, both with low ceilings. The building was old, damp and bad repair. There was also an outside passage with a side entrance in to the public house, which was an objection, as it facilitated secret drinking, especially amongst women. The outside passage was dark and not lit at nights. The accommodation was altogether inadequate, the bar, and one small sitting room being all there was. The place was called an inn, and therefore was supposed to accommodate travellers. There was no accommodation of that sort.

The Old Angel, Berwick-upon-Tweed, 1950’s Ref: BRO 1250/85

BREWER’S ARMS, MARYGATE- Supt. Halliday said the bar was 15th x21ft, sitting room 9f x 8ft, and another sitting room 21ft x 12ft. It was an old building and in very bad repair. The ceilings of the rooms were low. There was an outside passage with a side entrance, which encouraged secret drinking amongst women. There was no dwelling house in connection with this house.

Brewers Arms, Berwick-upon-Tweed, 1950’s. Ref: BRO 1250/18

BERWICK ARMS, MARYGATE – Supt. Halliday said the bar was 15ft by 12ft, and had a large window. There was a sitting room 15ft. by 12ft., and a kitchen 9ft by 12ft, which was sometimes used for drinking purposes. There was also a sitting room upstairs, 15ft by 12ft., also sometimes used for drinking purposes. The building was old, damp, and in very bad repair. There was an outside passage with a side entrance.

Berwick Arms, Berwick-upon-Tweed, 1950’s. Ref: BRO 1250/97

By Mr Henderson – There were no complaints against the conduct of the house. He thought Mr Wheeler did his best, but a side entrance was against proper supervision. Sometimes things were done in these dark passages which neither Mr Wheeler nor anyone else could see.

THE CASE FOR THE DEFENCE

Regarding the Free Trade Inn, Mr Steven, of the Border Brewery, in answer to Mr Henderson, said this was believed to be ante-1869 license. Alterations (including convenience) were made in 1904 to meet the wishes of the magistrates. The Border Brewery did not consider any further alterations necessary. They had had no objections from the tenant or his customers.

Mr Henderson said that, if the objection was upheld, this being an ante-1869 license, must be referred for compensation. If the house had a later license, and was objected to as structurally unsound, it could be closed without compensation.

In regard to the Old Angel Inn, Mr Henderson said Messrs Johnson & Darling would do their best to meet the wishes of the Superintendent. The plan handed in related to alterations passed by the Justices in 1920, but was not now approved by Supt. Halliday. That could be altered if the Justices thought necessary.

Mr Henderson, in connection with the Brewers’ Arms, appeared for Mrs Renton, the present owner. The conveyance to Messrs T. & J. Bernard, the recent purchasers, was not yet complete, and so legally they had no locus standi. The house was sols as an ante-1869 beer house, and he believed that that was the case, but the vendor had not yet had time to produce evidence to the Magistrates, and there seemed to be no Justices’ register available. The new owners when they bought the house intended to make a thoroughly respectable place of it, and they held to that intention.

The Berwick Arms, said Mr Henderson, was in the occupation of Mrs Howe, who was a life tenant, and Messrs Johnson & Darling leased from her. Mrs Howe had just had the notice served on her and had not had time to come to any decisions.

The Magistrates retired, and when they came back the Mayor announced that they had decided to adjourn the consideration of the four cases till Thursday, March 2nd.

BERWICK ADVERTISER, 20TH JANUARY 1922

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MYSTERY AIRMAN

MAN SUDDENLY FINDS HIMSELF IN BERWICK,

IS LATER IDENTIFIED BY HIS MOTHER,

A BELFAST LADY.

Berwick residents found themselves face to face with as sensational a “Mystery Story” as ever could be found in the Sunday papers last week when it became known that a man who had fallen down in Castlegate the week previously and had been taken to the Infirmary had suffered from loss of memory since 1917.

Engraving of Berwick Infirmary HB1-68 late 19th Century

Such was the statement made by a tall, refined and well-groomed young man giving the name Bert Templeton King, an ex-U.S.A. Airman. King was found in Castlegate by a man named Conway, suffering it was thought from a fit. He was taken to the Infirmary, where he was seen by Dr W. B. Mackay and others, who formed the opinion that he was suffering from lost memory. The matter was brought to the notice of Supt. Halliday, who had several interviews with King in all of which, while he talked intelligently, he professed to know nothing about himself since 1917.

KING’S STORY

His story was to the effect that his father was on the shipping line, a citizen of New Jersey, U.S.A., and he himself had been an artist prior to joining the American Air Force in 1917. He stated that he could remember events clearly up to that year and amongst other things he said he had been trained at Mineola Aerodrome, New York, and had taken his pilot’s certificate. This was found in his possession, along with an American Registration Card. He had two kit bags full of clothing with him and a number of letters, but no money, and the Police set out to see if anything could be done to lead to identification.

THE POLICE “HAE THEIR DOOTS.”

In passing, it may be said the police were suspicious of the medical theory of lost memory; at least, not from such a distant period as 1917, it being contended that no man could wander across the Atlantic and travel up and down the country for nearly four years without showing some abnormal traits, consistent with loss of memory. Subsequent events seemed to prove that the police theory was very near the mark.

Inquiries instituted proved beyond doubt that King had been employed as a chauffeur with a gentleman in Sussex more than a year ago, and had then travelled north to take up a similar position with a gentleman living at Davidson’s Mains, East Lothian. King had been normal enough to carry on an intelligent correspondence with a young Edinburgh lady with whom he was on friendly terms. He seems to have told her quite a different story to that which he had told to the police.

His father was a motor car manufacturer in New Jersey, he is alleged to have said, and he was across in this country acting as agent for his father’s cars.

After having kept company for some six months with this young lady, King seems to have announced his intention of going south to Southampton, it was believed with the intention of returning to America. How he expected to get there without money is not clear, but it is a fact that he had none when he was picked up in Castlegate on Wednesday week.

BRO 2103-4-2-71 Castlegate looking North mid 1900’s

It was explained to King by the police that he had told a different story to the girl in Edinburgh to that which he had given in Berwick, and he replied, “ What girl! I know no girl there, and cannot remember having said that.” Superintendent Halliday then showed him the girl’s photo. To this he replied, “I have never seen her before.”

THE MYSTERY MAN ADOPTED

Full publicity having been given to the “Mystery Man” in the daily Press, the police had several inquiries for people in different parts of the Kingdom who had lost touch with a relative of their own. On Saturday three ladies arrived in Berwick, one of whom proved to be King’s mother, who had travelled from Belfast, and the others were his aunts. They identified him without difficulty, and though King contended he did not know them, he said he would go with them.

It transpires that King’s parents read of the “Mystery Man” in the “Daily Mail” and immediately recognised that it referred to their son, who they had been in touch with up to two years ago. The parents are well-to-do people, the father holding an important position in Harland Wollfs’s shipyard, Belfast. They are of Scotch extraction, which does not tally with King’s story of being a native of New Jersey. It happens; however, he was in America prior to 1917 and did serve, as he says, in the American Air Force. His parents, with whom he had been in touch from 1917 to 1919, know of no period when he suffered from loss of memory, and his movements up to two weeks ago seem to show him to have been normal, and his lapse of memory can only be traced from the time he arrived in Berwick.

During his stay in the Infirmary he has been very popular with the medical men, staff and convalescents, and has been going messages from one ward to another evidently quite normally. Mrs King is staying on in Berwick until the medical men give permission for her son to travel home.

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