Sunday 1st November 1914

Although the precise date cannot be confirmed it seems that it was around the first week in November that 2Lt. Dick Bolton wrote up, in his personal note book, a list of all the current members of number 4 platoon, ‘A’ Company. The list ran to 62 names. Of the 62, 16 were men from Grassington who had joined Tunstill’s Company on 21^st September; a further 14 were volunteers from Cowling who had joined at the same time; 15 were men from the Keighley area who had joined the Company on arrival in Keighley; while four were among the original Settle volunteers. Of the remaining 13, at least five were ex-regulars added to the Company to give military experience, of whom two (CQMS Sharman and Sergeant Cartwright) were given senior positions. The other eight seem to have no particular place of origin or date of enlistment in common.

The list can be dated to a very specific period on the grounds that all of the Cowling recruits are named with the exception of Johnny Hoyle who is known to have been discharged on 30^th October; this provides a probable origin on or after 31^st October. The latest date for the list would be 4^th November, as this is the date that William Jones, identified in the list as ‘Private’ was promoted Lance Corporal.