Read about former Miller Roy Massey and his life in football in his new book

 

Howard Wilkinson and Roy Massey set for Hillsborough appearance

 

Come along to the launch of the BREAD NOT BAYONETS documentary film on Friday 20 October

 

Calderdale Trades Council

Come along to the launch of the BREAD NOT BAYONETS documentary film

Screening to start 6.45pm prompt on Friday 20 October at the Calderdale Industrial Museum, 6 Square Road, HX1 1QG

The story of Halifax in August 1842 when local workers downed tools to join a nationwide general strike for better pay and extended voting rights and found themselves ruthlessly suppressed with many killed and injured.

32 minutes long

Directed and edited by Francesca Platt and produced by Mark Metcalf.

There should be a plaque in Halifax to honour the first black football international: Andrew Watson

 Andrew Watson Halifax's Black Footballing Pioneer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvYf6kZn_7A

More details on Suffragette and trade unionist Julia Varley to be honoured by Bradford Civic Society plaque unveiling on 19 December in Centenary Square

 

 

Suffragette and trade unionist Julia Varley to be honoured by Bradford Civic Society plaque unveiling on 19 December in Centenary Square

Bradford will honour one its greats on Tuesday 19th December at 1.30pm when a plaque to suffragette and trade unionist Julia Varley will be unveiled in Centenary Square by retired bus driver Mohammad Taj of Unite the union who was TUC President in 2013-14. 

The funds for the Bradford Civic Society plaque have been donated by UNITE NEYH region and the union is republishing the booklet Julia Varley - trade union organiser and fighter for women's rights booklet by Mark Metcalf.

Joining Mohammed Taj will be Bradford City councillor Sinead Engel, Simon Cunningham of Bradford Civic Society, Sheila Coleman of the Hillsborough Justice Campaign and councillor Taj Salam, a Unite workplace rep for bus drivers.

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The date of the event marks the 133^rdanniversary of the start of the Manningham Mills Strike in which Varley, a teenage mill worker, was an active participant.

Varley was to go on to lead a remarkable life in which as a leading representative of the General Union of Textile Workers (GUTW) she helped organise numerous workplaces in her home city and was active on Bradford Trades Council. In 1907 she was as a radical suffragette twice arrested and imprisoned for fighting for the, ultimately successful, fight for the rights of women to vote.

She later moved to Birmingham and organised many successful strikes across the West Midlands and the Black Country. She was key to the Clayworkers Strike in Cornwall in 1913-14 that paved the way for trade unions in the county. She suffered violence from the police for standing up for all workers and especially women.

When she was appointed as an officer for the Workers’ Union, she became one of the first women to be an officer in a mixed sex union.

In the 1920s, Varley was one of the first women to be elected onto the TUC General Council.  When the WU amalgamated with the Transport and General Workers Union (which later became Unite in 2007) Varley was appointed Chief Women’s Officer.

Varley later retired to Bradford and died in November 1952. In 2013 a plaque was unveiled on her Birmingham home. Now she will be rightly honoured in her home city. If this is something you’d like to be involved with then see you on December 19^th.

The words for the plaque are: -

Bradford Civic Society

Julia Varley OBE

Suffragette and pioneer of the trade union movement, daughter of Bradford.

Julia devoted more than 50 years to achieve a living wage and improve conditions for generations of workers.

1871-1952 

More details from Mark Metcalf on metcalfmc@outlook.com 07392 852561

Simon Cunningham on 07891 913197  si-cunningham@live.com

 

To listen to the Julia Varley booklet go to:- https://markwritecouk.files.wordpress.com/2022/10/julia-varley-trade-union-organiser-and-fighter-for-womens-rights.mp3

The scorer of the first ever league hat-trick today in 1888 celebrated so wildly afterwards he was dropped from the Burnley team and later transferred.

 

 

The scorer of the first ever league hat-trick today in 1888 celebrated so wildly afterwards he was dropped from the Burnley team and later transferred.

FIRST LEAGUE HAT-TRICK -15 September 1888

Bolton 3 (Brogan, Davenport, Cooper) v. Burnley 4 (Tait 3, Poland)

Just like the previous weekend, Bolton, wearing white shirts, dark-blue shorts and socks, were to race into a three-goal lead before ultimately losing a thrilling encounter.

Barbour set Wanderers rolling with a first minute effort that flashed just wide. Tyrer then shot just over and on five minutes some lovely play by Roberts set up Brogan for the opening goal.

The scorer shortly after barged Bill Smith over the line as he collected a high cross, but had done so from an offside position and Burnley, wearing striped blue-and-white shirts, dark-blue shorts and socks, escaped. It was Davenport who ‘registered the second point’, arriving ‘like a steam train’to hit ‘a splendid shot’, reported the Accrington Times.

When Burnley did escape their own half, Harrison and full-back Parkinson combined to keep Bolton’s goal intact and, on twenty-five minutes, the home side made it three when Couper dashed past Daniel Friel to finish from 10 yards out.

With the interval beckoning, Burnley got back into the match when, from a long Pat Gallacher free-kick, Bill Tait drove home to make it 3-1.

When the game restarted, Smith kept his side’s deficit to two goals with a brilliant save, and shortly afterwards Friel went close to halving it with a long shot that passed narrowly wide.

On fifty-four minutes, Fred Poland made it 3-2 and it should have been 3-3 soon after but Tait missed from just a few yards out on fifty-six minutes. The Burnley inside-right, though, didn’t have to wait too long for his second of the match, lashing the ball home from a scrimmage in front of goal.

With fifteen minutes to go, Burnley took the lead for the first time when, following some fine passing, Tait ran through to finish and complete a hat-trick, the first ever by any player in the Football League.

A clearly deflated Bolton side tried hard to push forward in search of an equaliser but, with full-backs Bill Bury and Billy McFetteridge in a determined mood, Wanderers rarely looked like scoring a fourth. At the end Burnley had won for the first time in the Football League.

 

Tait, William (5/5)

William Tait was signed by Burnley during the first week of August 1888 from Newton Heath. He made his League debut at inside-right in Burnley’s first-ever Football League match on 8 September 1888, in a 5-2 defeat against Preston at Deepdale. In Burnley’s second League match the following week, William wrote his own page of football history when he scored three of Burnley’s goals as the Turfites came from 3-0 down to beat Bolton 4-3. It was the first-ever

hat-trick in League football.

There were then reports of ‘certain excesses’ by a number of Burnley players following the game at Bolton. A few days later, the Burnley Committee met and William Tait was suspended for a week, along with teammates William Bury and Jack Abrahams (both defenders) for ‘imbibing intoxicants too freely’.

All three players missed the following game as the Turfites crashed 4-1 at Wolves, and Tait played his next game for Burnley on 29 September at West Brom. He scored the first ever League goal at West Brom’s Stoney Lane ground, their base in those days, and Burnley led 2-0 and 3-2 before going down 4-3 to the Baggies.

He played again (and scored again) in Burnley’s next League game, a 4-1 win in the return fixture against Bolton at Turf Moor, the first-ever Football League game to be played at Turf Moor. He played his final League game for Burnley on 13 October at Turf Moor as the Turfites crashed 4-0 to Wolves.

The following Saturday (20 October), he simply didn’t turn up for a game at Stoke and Burnley had to play a reserve (Tom Midgley) in his place. The following week there was a comment in the local paper to the effect that ‘William Tait had now ceased to be a member of the Burnley team’.

The following season he played in Newton Heath’s very first game in the Football Alliance, a 4-1 win against Sunderland Albion on 21 September 1889 at North Road, Monsall. He played in seven Alliance games that season for Newton Heath, scoring once. He later played for West Manchester (Lancashire League) and later Ardwick, the forerunners of Manchester City.

 

Pikes Lane

In 1888, Bolton’s home games were played at Pikes Lane. Bolton had moved there in 1881 after wandering around seeking a permanent pitch since being formed seven years earlier. This was a notoriously muddy ground situated at the foot of a hill. Then a cotton-manufacturing town, the population of Bolton was just over 90,000, making it big enough to support a successful Football League team.

The first season of League football saw dressing rooms installed at Pikes Lane, which was last used at the end of the 1894/95 season.

The ground hosted the first Inter-League game on 11 April 1892 when Football League drew 2-2 with Scottish League. Pikes Lane is now covered by housing.

Julia Varley plaque to be unveiled in Bradford Centenary Square on 19th December

Bradford will honour one its greatest citizens on Tuesday 19th December at 1.30pm when a plaque to Julia Varley will be unveiled in Centenary Square by retired bus driver Mohammad Taj of Unite the union and who was TUC President in 2013-14. 

The funds for the Bradford Civic Society plaque have been donated by UNITE NEYH region and the union has also agreed to republish copies of the booklet Julia Varley - trade union organiser and fighter for women's rights booklet written by myself.

Amongst those speaking at the ceremony will be councillor Taj Salam. a Unite member and bus driver, Simon Cunningham of Bradford Civic Society, Sheila Coleman of the Hillsborough Justice Campaign plus a female local councillor. 

The date of the event has been chosen as it marks the 132nd anniversary of the start of the Manningham Mills strike during which Varley was an active participant.

The words for the plaque are as follows:-

Bradford Civic Society

Julia Varley OBE

Suffragette and pioneer of the trade union movement, daughter of Bradford.

Julia devoted more than 50 years to achieve a living wage and improve conditions for generations of workers.

1871-1952