General

James White was born in 1916 son of William James White and Mary Jane Chrisp of 113 Rosalind Street, Ashington.  He was baptised on 4^th January 1917 at Seaton Hirst St. John and went on to work at Woodhorn Colliery before joining the Army on the outbreak of the Second World War.

James enlisted in the 1^st Battalion Tyneside Scottish (Black Watch) where he became Private James White, 4459525, and found himself in France during the retreat to Dunkirk in May 1940.  It seems that the 1^st Battalion had deployed as part of the British Expeditionary Force [BEF], and were tasked with the construction of airfields

[see http://www.tynesidescottish.org/history/ts-ww2].  As the German army advanced, the 1^st Battalion formed a blocking position at Ficheux, near Arras, which they held for several hours, enabling many men to reach the Dunkirk beaches, before withdrawing themselves.

James didn’t make it home on the retreat and subsequent evacuation.  He was reported as missing, and it wasn’t until 1942 that he was officially declared ‘Killed in Action’.

He died on 20^th May 1940, aged 23 years, and was buried in Bucquoy Road Cemetery, Ficheux.  His grave is one of 39 within the cemetery whose location could not be properly identified, so is marked ‘Buried Near This Spot’.  The verse that was put on the gravestone is heartbreakingly apt:

A grave unknown

Across the sea

Is where our thoughts

Will always be

Sadly, James’ parents and siblings were never able to visit the grave, and the story of his service and subsequent death were shrouded in mystery.  It wasn’t until his great niece searched for his name on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website that the family finally began to unravel the stories that had been told.  Although no-one in the family is alive who knew him, he is still remembered amongst the current generation who visit his grave regularly.

“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.”

Laurence Binyon, 1914

Life inside the workhouse was designed to be difficult in order to act as a deterrent and ensure that only the truly destitute would apply. The common image portrayed is of inmates having bread and gruel, wearing uncomfortable coarse uniforms and doing heavy manual labour such as stone breaking. The Minute Books for Morpeth and Hexham Workhouses reinforce that life was hard but they also provide evidence that staff and patrons were often kind and provided treats and entertainment for paupers and were concerned about their health and welfare.

Public holidays were declared for the Coronation of Edward VII and inmates at Morpeth Workhouse were given a roast beef dinner and tarts on the 26th June 1902 and a tea on the following day. In conjunction with the Coronation, children at Hexham workhouse were given mugs as a souvenir. The mugs were gifted by Sir John Swinburne and a vote of thanks to him is documented in the Minute Book on 8th July 1902.

The Minute Book entries below prove that Christmas and New Years Day dinners were given to pauper inmates and that other treats were allowed to be brought into the workhouse. Rich patrons often donated gifts of beer, biscuits and mince pies which were gratefully excepted. This was advantageous as it meant that paupers were provided with treats that did not have to come out of Union funds.

 

This Minute Book entry from December 1903 records a cheque being received at Morpeth Workhouse from a Mr Anderson for the purpose of providing some ‘creature comforts’ on New Years Day.

 

Workhouse inmates were also given treats at Easter. One such instance is recorded in the Hexham Guardian Minute book on 18th March 1902 when it is recommended that paupers have the usual outing on Easter Monday afternoon from 1pm to 5.30pm. Unfortunately it does not state where they were going to. Inmates received entertainment within the workhouse as an entry in the Hexham Minute Book on 11th December 1900 shows that paupers were treated to a magic lantern entertainment show by Mr James, Mr Shield and their assistants.

 

There were many children living in the workhouse. If an able-bodied man was admitted then his whole family had to join him. Orphans and abandoned children often ended up in the workhouse and many were in ill health. Children were also placed in homes which often provided a more comfortable environment for them to live in. The extract below shows an entry from December 1904. The Medical officer at a home in Cullercoats recommends that a child named Rose Foster, aged 6, should have a change of air at Rothbury for a month or two. Although the child is resident in Cullercoats, the Guardians of Morpeth Union contributed to her maintenance so needed to give their permission for her to reside in another area. The Guardians must have been concerned about her state of health as they agreed to the request. Care for inmates is also evident at Hexham workhouse as an entry for December 1900 records a request to give the old and sick women tea and provide oranges for children. The request was later approved.

 

Since the medieval period relief to the poor has played an important part in the development of society. It was not until the time of Elizabeth I that it was governed by a legal statute which determined who was eligible for relief and under what circumstances they would receive it. The surviving records can provide a fascinating insight into how ordinary people lived and the general movement of the population historically. Over a series of posts we will highlight some of the most commonly used poor law documents in our collection.

 

 

Poor Rate

Money was raised to support the poor of the parish by the charging of a local parish rate, or tax. The money raised was used by the Overseers to support the poor. This example is a copy of the first page from the Alnwick Poor Rate register of 1768.

 

 

It lists the names of those Alnwick residents eligible to pay poor rate. It provides some detail about their property and notes the rent and rates payable on the property. This information is then used to calculate how much poor rate is payable – the figure in the last column.

 

 

 

 

Overseers Accounts

The Overseer kept accounts of how money collected was spent. This page from an Account Book of 1786-1816 shows one of several references to Ann Mack within the volume. It would be possible to work through the volume and discover when Ann first received payment and then when payment was ceased.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes it is possible to locate vouchers or receipts relating to particular cases dealt with by the Overseers. Below is a copy of a receipt found in the Ellingham parish records recording expenses incurred in the delivery of a child to Ann Mack in 1802.

 

 

 

Removal Orders

The removal system was one way of ensuring that large numbers of the poor did not become dependent upon the parish and their ratepayers. Everyone was expected to have a legal parish of settlement. If the place where you lived was not your legal place of settlement and you were unable to support yourself and your family, you could be removed to your own parish. This is a copy of the removal order relating to Ann Mack in 1802.

 

 

 

On the date that the order was issued Ann was resident in Alnwick parish. The document states that Ann’s legal parish of settlement was Ellingham, an adjoining parish to Alnwick. Sometimes after a person was removed, they returned to where they had lived. Within our collection of removal orders there is a second one for Ann Mack issued in 1806, four years after this order was issued. Both request that Ann should be physically removed from Alnwick to Ellingham.

 

 

 

 

 

Bastardy Bonds

If a mother was unable to provide for her illegitimate child, the parish had to take financial responsibility for supporting it.  The mother was expected to reveal under oath to the Overseers the name of the child’s father. A bond was then drawn up and the father of the child was meant to agree to provide the ’lying in’ expenses of the mother as well as maintenance for the child in the future. In this way the Overseers tried to avoid yet more financial demands being placed on the parish. Below is a copy of the Bastardy Bond issued by the Overseers of Ellingham parish in relation to the illegitimate child of John Ridley and Ann Mack.

 

The child was unborn at the date the bond was issued and is therefore not named.  (In some bonds the child has been born and a name can be discovered.)  The father of the child is named as John Ridley, a labourer, of Westgate, near Newcastle Upon Tyne.

The names of two other men are given in the document – Richard Smart, farmer, of Westgate, Newcastle Upon Tyne and Joseph Hall, Blacksmith, of Newcastle Upon Tyne. These men stood as sureties to the bond so were responsible for supporting the mother and child if the father ran away or failed to pay support. Sometimes the bondsmen were relatives of the father of the child. Using Bastardy Bonds is one way to try and trace an illegitimate ancestor in a family, however not all bastardy cases resulted in the drawing up of a bond. Sometimes the case was settled without the involvement of the parish. Even when the parish was involved, many Bastardy Bonds have not survived.