Tuesday 15th September 1914

Recruitment Meeting at Gisburn

On Tuesday evening, at 7.30pm, Tunstill held a further meeting, this time at the council school in Gisburn. Here he had the endorsement of Lord Ribblesdale (owner of Gisburne Park) who presided over the meeting, with the support of Rev. J. Heslop, the Rev. Lister-Denny, Mr. A.L. Ormrod and Mr. C.A. Milford. Two local reservists had already joined their units and five other men from the village had also enlisted but Tunstill did secure two further recruits. The total number of volunteers had now risen to 85.

The two Gisburn recruits were:

John Robinson; was 19 years old. He had worked for a number of years as a gardener at Gisburne Park but had more recently been working with his father who was head gamekeeper on the estate.

Anthony Lofthouse;  was 20 years old. He was the only son (though he did have four daugthers) of widower John Thornber Lofthouse of Paa Farm, Paythorne.

Gisburne Park, the home of Lord Ribblesdale and now (2014) a private hospital

 Attestations at Settle

The volunteers from the previous evening's meeting in Bolton-by-Bowland were ferried in a fleet of motor cars to Settle to sign their papers and undertake their primary medical examinations. A considerable crowd gathered to wave them off and "loud cheers were given as the recruits went out of the village". In the event, six of the men (Bland, Brotherton, Carey, Howell, Parkinson and Wilkinson) failed to pass their medical examinations and were not accepted for service.

At least two other men presented themselves at Settle on the same evening and successfully completed their attestation papers and passed their medical examinations.

John William Thistlethwaite; was 19 years old. He was originally from Austwick but had been living away from home and working as a farm labourer. His younger brother, George, had enlisted (under-age) with other men from Austwick on 8th September.

William Rawlinson (known as 'Billy'); was 21 years old. His parents lived at Stockbridge Farm, near Bentham, but Billy had been working as chauffeur for Mr. G. Charnley of Brooklands, Long Preston.

While Tunstill continued his campaign in the Settle District, similar efforts were underway in other areas, which would yield volunteers who were eventually to become ‘adopted’ members of Tunstill’s Company. One such was the recruitment meeting held in the Cowling Liberal Club. The details as to who made speeches are not recorded but Mr. H.T. Newman served as the local secretary and Mr. Henry King and the Rev. John Wood (curate of All Saints, Keighley) were in attendance to receive the names. More than twenty young men volunteered at the meeting and several more were reported to have followed them in the next few days.