Monday 19th October 1914

The arrival of the previous week's edition of the West Yorkshire Pioneer clearly created quite a stir among some of Tunstill's Men stationed at Frensham. A letter written by Tom Pickles of Barnoldswick had been published (see 16th October) commenting on some of the hardships faced in camp by the men. The letter elicited a firm riposte from a number of other local recruits from who were serving with various Companies of 10th Battalion:

With reference to the extracts from a letter from Mr. Tom Pickles, re. Frensham Camp, published in the Pioneer, we shall be obliged if you will publish the following remarks:-

1. We have shown the paper to an officer here, and he says that the statements published are quite untrue. 

2. The case of seeing a man brought to the mortuary must be imaginary, firstly because there is not a mortuary here and secondly that the only case of death in connection with this camp took place in Cambridge Hospital, Aldershot, last week. Surely this is a small death rate out of about 10,000 troops.

3. As regards the 'sick', some men will go to the doctor if they have a headache and so try to escape drill, etc., but they get put on police duty and cleaning up the camp. The real cases of sickness are treated as they should be.

4. The statement that no smoking is allowed at camp is also untrue; we can smoke as much as we like, but we cannot buy cigarettes in camp. We can, however, buy as many cigarettes and as much tobacco as we require in the village.

The reason we write the above is because I think it only right that the parents and friends of soldiers from Barnoldswick and Craven district should be allowed to hear the truth, and because we think that the statements as have been published are detrimental to recruiting.

 

Yours truly.

T. PATRICK, Barnoldswick
W.D. STOCKDALE, Thornton
W. ROBINSON, Thornton
T.L. LANG, Barnoldswick
C. LEIGH, Barnoldswick
ROBERT HUNTER, Barnoldswick
R.P. WALKER, Gargrave
J. WOLFENDEN, Earby
W.H. DOVER, Earby
W.B. HOLMES, Kildwick
J. KNIGHT, Earby
M.D. SMITH, Earby
C.G. CHURCH, Crosshills
WRIGHT FIRTH, Earby
ALLAN WHARTON, Earby
JAMES WALKER, Earby

All attached to the 10th West Riding Regiment.

Frensham Camp, Surrey

October 19th 1914


Of these men, two, Allan Wharton and James Walker, were attached to Tunstill's Company, having been among the eight men from Earby who had enlisted and joined up with the Company on 21st September.

Allan Wharton was 27 years old and had been living with his father, Michael, mother, Elizabeth, sister, Mary, and younger brothers, Richard and Percy. Four older children had already set up homes of their own. Michael worked as a carter at the local gas works and all the children were weavers in the local mills. The family came originally from Aberford, near Leeds, and had also lived for some years in Gargrave, before moving to Earby in the late 1890s. Not only had Allan enlisted but so too had Richard; he had been posted to 9th Battalion Duke of Wellington's.

James Walker was 23 years old worked as a 'mule room piecer' in a local spinning mill. He was a very recent arrival in Earby (within the last year); the family (father, Edwin; mother, Elizabeth and elder brother, Hebden) having previously lived in Gargrave. They were now living at South View Cottage, Earby.

None of the others were in Tunstill's Company but were members of other Companies of 10th Battalion, having enlisted around the same time as Tunstill's Men.